Asia
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RAMESH THAKUR. Japan’s nuclear options.
Hiroshima was the first city in the world to be attacked by an atomic bomb on Aug. 6, 1945. The last time that an atomic weapon was used was to bomb Nagasaki on Aug. 9, 1945. By the end of that fateful year, an estimated 214,000 people had died from the two bombs. Ever since, Continue reading »
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JOSEPH E STIGLITZ. The US is at Risk of Losing a Trade War with China.
The “best” outcome of President Donald Trump’s narrow focus on the US trade deficit with China would be improvement in the bilateral balance, matched by an increase of an equal amount in the deficit with some other country (or countries). In fact, significantly reducing the bilateral trade deficit will prove difficult. Continue reading »
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Australia draws line under anti-China hysteria. Will it be enough to unfreeze relations? (South China Morning Post 11.08.18)
Bob Carr says Malcolm Turnbull’s reset of relations with China was inevitable, as the fears his government has allowed to spread – about Chinese money in Australia’s democracy and China’s growing influence in the region – had little substance, and have done Australia more harm than good. Continue reading »
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RAMESH THAKUR and RICHARD BUTLER. A spying scandal exposes Australia’s immoral behavior toward East Timor (Washington Post, 10.08.18)
Australia is leading the Western world in enacting tough new laws to curb foreign interference and influence-peddling in domestic affairs. The primary intended target is China. Continue reading »
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RICHARD WOOLCOTT. An Updated Approach to Australia’s Engagement in the Asia and the South West Pacific.
The Australian Government and the Opposition must now base policy on three realities, namely that; (a) Trump is essentially a unilateralist, despite the contradictory comments he often makes; (b) United States involvement in Asia and the South West Pacific will be less active during Trump’s Presidency; and that (c) China’s role in the Asia and Continue reading »
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NICK BISLEY. Is there a problem with… the Quad?
At the sidelines of the 2017 East Asia Summit (EAS) in Manila, senior officials from Australia, India, Japan and the United States’ respective foreign ministries met under the aegis of the ‘Australia-India-Japan- United States consultations on the Indo-Pacific’. This was followed by a stage-managed meeting of the four countries’ naval chiefs at the Raisina Dialogue, Continue reading »
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WILLIAM PESEK. Toyota driving into a fierce economic storm.
What GM used to be to America, Toyota is to Japan: a weathervane for macro trends. On Friday, the carmaker admitted it is downhill from now. Continue reading »
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ANTHONY PUN. The Battle for Indo-Pacific.
China is surrounded by at least 16 countries, some with common borders and territorial disputes with her. Japanese PM’s proposal in 2005 to form a Quad alliance (US, Australia, India and Japan) is seen by China as the introduction of Cold War in the Asia Pacific. Former Australian Ambassador to China, Geoff Raby provides a Continue reading »
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SCOTT BURCHILL. Syria – a few definitive outcomes.
As the war in Syria grinds towards some kind of resolution, it is possible to say a few definitive things about what is going on in the region and the role of external players. Continue reading »
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AMITENDU PALIT. Does Australia need a lesson in Indian economic strategy?
The recently released Indian Economic Strategy to 2035 report outlines three core objectives for improving the Australia–India economic relationship. These include making India one of Australia’s top three export markets by 2035, making India the third-largest Asian recipient of Australian foreign direct investment by the same year and bringing India ‘into the inner circle of Australia’s strategic partnerships and Continue reading »
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‘Matter of death and life’: Espionage in East Timor and Australia’s diplomatic bungle (Lateline, 26.11.15)
East Timor’s most senior leaders have accused Australia of committing a crime and acting immorally after a spying scandal that rocked the relationship between the two countries. Continue reading »
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GEOFF RABY. An Australian-ASEAN Hedging Strategy on China
Australia’s diplomacy in recent years can at best be described as underwhelming, if not at times inimical to Australia’s national interests. In March, however, the presence of ASEAN Heads of Government in Australia, meeting at Prime Minister Turnbull’s initiative, was an event of major significance. It is to be hoped that it will mark a Continue reading »
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ANTHONY PUN. The Battle for the South Pacific.
The Battle for the South Pacific is on! China is already in Australia’s backyard, the South Pacific, wooing and cultivating friends with soft power. As part of China BRI initiative, Chinese investment with the South Pacific nations totalled US 1.78 billion outstripping Australia’s AUD137M for subsea internet cable connecting Australia-PNG-Solomon Islands. The current scorecard is China Continue reading »
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ELAINE PEARSON. Cambodia’s ‘dirty dozen’ have no place in Australia.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen’s crackdown on dissent is in full swing ahead of national elections later this month. But who are the generals around Hun Sen who act like a praetorian guard protecting him and the ruling party, helping to crush or eliminate political opponents, and then obstructing efforts at accountability? Continue reading »
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The future of Chinese economic growth
At any level of development in any country, but especially from upper-middle incomes, growth momentum can be broken by adverse developments of several kinds. Continue reading »
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VINCENT CHEOK. Understanding China and the Chinese – An Australian Perspective – Part 2.
America First is not necessarily Australia First. That is, leaving aside the biological or human tendencies to be ‘tribal’ or sectarian etc, in my opinion, the Australian perspective, mindset and psyche as to how China and the Chinese are viewed must obviously be different from the Americans. It is and must in fact be based Continue reading »
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PATRICK LAWRENCE. What’s going to happen when Assad wins the war in Syria? (Asian Times, 17.07.18)
Given the unexpected pace of events in recent weeks, the end of Syria’s seven-year agony appears to be very near. It is now all but certain that Bashar al-Assad’s government will win its long war against Sunni jihadists and their foreign supporters. The focus in Syria is already turning from conflict, casualty counts, and displacement Continue reading »
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PEPE ESCOBAR. China’s silky charming of Arabia (Asian Times, 11.07.18)
President Xi Jinping has promised more than $23 billion in loans and aid to Arab states, as Beijing ramps up ties with the Middle East; this includes aid for Palestine; Beijing foresees importing a whopping $8 trillion from Arab states up to 2025. Continue reading »
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KARL WILSON with Steve FitzGerald – Opening-up: The view from down under (China Daily 12/07/18)
Stephen FitzGerald (right) and former Australian prime minister Gough Whitlam meet Chairman Mao Zedong on Nov 2, 1973, in Beijing. Australia’s first ambassador to the People’s Republic of China reflects on decades of transformation Editor’s note: This year marks the 40th anniversary of the launch of China’s reform and opening-up policy. China Daily talks to Continue reading »
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HANKYOREH EDITORIAL. President Moon’s vision for peace and prosperity after denuclearization
In a “Singapore Lecture” during the final day of his state visit to Singapore on July 13, President Moon Jae-in outlined his vision for an inter-Korean economic community and peace on the Korean Peninsula. It could be seen as his second “vision for peace,” after the one he presented in the German capital of Berlin Continue reading »
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GAURAB SHUMSHER THAPA. China and Nepal reach across the Himalayan divide (Asia Times 6/7/2018)
Nepalese Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s visit to China last month was closely watched by both domestic and international observers. Continue reading »
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Get-tough rhetoric has denied us any sway with Beijing (AFR, 10/07/18)
As foreign minister I recall an irritating flare-up in our relations with one of the Pacific states. There had been a “misunderstanding” at Sydney airport that upset the island state’s prime minister. The anger ran strong and the state contemplated a big anti-Australian gesture: terminating an arrangement under which we trained their police. And, here’s the rub, inviting Continue reading »
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PETER DRYSALE AND SHIRO ARMONSTRONG. Getting Australia’s geopolitical and economic strategies aligned (Australian Financial Review, 08/07/18)
Australia, it has been said, is faced with hard choices in strategic policy because its principal security partner is the United States and its major trading partner, China. By defining Australia’s national interest comprehensively where both China and the United States matter – and where security and economics are integrated into strategic decision making from Continue reading »
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TOM HUSSAIN. In Pakistan’s currency crisis, China is the problem and the solution. (South China Morning Post 7/7/2018)
Having racked up unsustainable bills in supporting Beijing’s infrastructure master plan, Islamabad is bailed out by China to the tune of US$1 billion – leaving it more dependent than ever on its ‘all-weather ally’. Continue reading »
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BERTIL LINTNER. As Trump turns away, China gains in Myanmar (Asia Times 4/7/2018)
US leader has left predecessor Obama’s engagement policy to wilt on the vine, giving Beijing an opening to renew its trade and security agendas Does US President Donald Trump have a distinct policy towards Myanmar, and if so how does it differ from the engagement gambit championed by his predecessor Barack Obama? Continue reading »
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BHIM BHURTEL. India’s myopic ‘muscular’ neighborhood policy (Asia Times 2/7/2018)
Despite one “muscular diplomatic” debacle after another, India has been unrelenting in its bullying attitude toward its small and weak neighbors. India is imposing another economic blockade on a third South Asian country, Maldives. Continue reading »
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ANDREW SALMON. South Korea unveils plan for N Korean economic enrichment (Asia Times 3/7/2018)
Ideas for the North’s development and regional integration, while ripe with promise, face obstacles and remain dependent on the US and denuclearization South Korea presented its master plan for North Korean economic cooperation to the public last week, laying forth a roadmap not only for economic development north of the Demilitarized Zone, but also for Continue reading »
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RICHARD A. BITZINGER. US, China cash in on Asia’s growing appetite for arms.
The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) has just released its data on the global arms trade for 2017, and it is big news for Asia as a whole, and for China and the United States in particular. Continue reading »
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RAMESH THAKUR. Australia and the Quad (The Strategist)
On 18 January, admirals from Australia, India, Japan and the US sat together on stage at the high-profile Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi. Their presence reflected the shared strategic assessment that China has become a disruptive force in the Indo-Pacific. Taking time out to deliver a lecture at India’s National Defence College, Australian Defence Industry Continue reading »
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MACK WILLIAMS. Korea: what should Australia be doing?
While the pace of media reports about the Korean Peninsular has slowed a little since the Singapore Summit there has been much going on – in public and under wraps. Skepticism about the North’s commitment to the core issue of denuclearisation has grown but it is still clearly too early to form definite conclusions about Continue reading »