Asia
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ABBAS NASIR. In Pakistan, the art of undermining democracy. What is Imran Khan about?
The country’s military is disempowering politicians who stray from its positions on security policy and choking the press for reporting about its critics. Continue reading »
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RAMESH THAKUR. Did John Bolton try to sink the Trump-Kim summit?
Had former U.S. President Barack Obama “done a Trump” with North Korea — agreed to a summit with Kim Jong Un without requiring denuclearization first, secretly sent his secretary of state to Pyongyang, described Kim as “honorable.” canceled joint military exercises with South Korea, been prepared to consider pulling U.S. troops out of Korea — Continue reading »
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ADAM NI. Despite strong words, the US has few options left to reverse China’s gains in the South China Sea.
At a top regional security forum on Saturday, US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis said China’s recent militarisation efforts in the disputed South China Sea were intended to intimidate and coerce regional countries. Continue reading »
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VIRAJ SOLANKI. India boosts relations with Myanmar, where Chinese influence is growing.
India has a deepening bilateral security relationship with Myanmar, and is taking steps to help address the crisis in Rakhine State. But Chinese influence in Myanmar is growing – and meaningful cooperation between Beiijing and New Delhi remains unlikely. Continue reading »
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BIJAY KUMAR MINJ. Modi’s four years ‘have weakened India’s tolerance’.
India Inclusive event hears that attacks against minorities have increased since the BJP came to power Continue reading »
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GLEN S. FUKUSHIMA. Is Trump stringing Abe along?
Japan has been reeling ever since 8 March when US President Donald Trump met with South Korea’s national security adviser Chung Eui-yong and announced, to the world’s surprise, that he would accept the offer to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Until then, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was confident that he was ‘managing’ Continue reading »
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TONY WALKER. Australia needs to reset the relationship with China and stay cool.
Let’s call it the “China syndrome”. This describes a condition that is a bit compulsive and not always rational. Australia’s response to China’s continuing rise mixes anxiety, even a touch of paranoia, with anticipation of the riches that derive from the sale of vast quantities of commodities. Economic dependence on China is two-edged and potentially Continue reading »
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JOHN MENADUE. Continuing corporate failures.
There is a growing and unfortunate litany of corporate failure in Australia – and not just the banks and wage theft on a large scale. One continuing failure has been an unwillingness by our corporate sector to equip itself for the Asian Century and beyond. Instead of addressing their serious failings ,business executives invariably respond Continue reading »
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KAVEH L AFRASIABI. Hidden Message To UN On Iran.
In a remarkable and somewhat unprecedented rebuke of the US administration, India’s Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj has announced that India will not respect unilateral U.S. sanctions on Iran and will recognize “only the UN sanctions.” Bound to raise tensions with Washington, India’s brave decision reflects both India’s political evolution and the primacy of her own Continue reading »
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LUCY BERAUD-SUDREAU. Asia’s defence budgets dispel ‘arms race’ myth.
Asian defence spending has not grown faster than the region’s economies – and the share of defence budgets allocated to procurement and R&D has held steady over time. Continue reading »
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BEH LIH YI. Malaysia’s new deputy PM aims to be a role model for women.
PUTRAJAYA: Wan Azizah Wan Ismail’s childhood ambition was to become a doctor and cure disease. Now that she is Malaysia’s most powerful female politician, she says her mission is to improve women’s rights. Continue reading »
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RYAN DAGUR. Indonesia won’t revoke list of approved Islamic preachers.
Indonesia’s Ministry of Religious Affairs has ignored the protests of Muslim groups and continues to list and publish the names of preachers who are qualified to give religious instruction, in a bid to counter rising radicalism. Mastuki, the ministry’s spokesman, told ucanews.com on May 29 that they would not change their policy as it was designed Continue reading »
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STEPHEN FITZGERALD AND LINDA JAKOBSON. Is there a problem with Australia’s China narrative?
Australia’s China policy is flawed. Diplomatic relations between Canberra and Beijing are strained, to the extent that Australia’s prime minister and foreign minister have not been welcome to visit the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Yet at a time when Australian leaders have been frozen out, leaders from countries experiencing far more serious issues with Continue reading »
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JAMES FALLOWS. America Is Fumbling Its Most Important Relationship.
The United States has a China problem—and pundits and politicians are making it worse. China is an increasing problem for the United States. But the latest reactions and assumptions about China among America’s political-media leadership class hold every prospect of making China-related problems much worse. How can this be? It involves the familiar tension between short-term Continue reading »
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MELVIN GOODMAN. A Major Win for Trump’s War Cabinet.
President Donald Trump’s abrupt decision to run away from a summit meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un should not be a surprise to anyone. The White House is encouraging the notion that China’s Xi Jinping is to blame for souring the notion of a U.S.-North Korean summit and for toughening Kim Jong Un’s Continue reading »
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WANNING SUN. Megaphone diplomacy is good for selling papers, but harmful for Australia-China relations.
The issue of China’s influence in Australia is complex. It ranges from worries about national security, political donations and media infiltration to concerns about scientific collaborations, Confucius Institutes, the patriotism of Chinese students, and allegiance of the Chinese community. The most recent trope is China’s so-called “debt trap” diplomacy with Australia’s neighbours in the Pacific. Continue reading »
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JOHN MENADUE. Who is in charge of Australia’s relations with China? The Australian Prime Minister or ASIO?
ASIO is on a roll in co-ordinating the attack on China and its alleged covert operations in Australia. Only last Friday we learnt that super patriot Andrew Hastie, formerly an officer in SAS and currently Chair of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, cleared his parliamentary speech with ASIO but not his own Continue reading »
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QUENTIN DEMPSTER. Australia’s sledge hammer to crack foreign influence pedlars.
New laws to protect Australia’s democratic governance and economy are about to be determined, now with heightened fear about Chinese influence. Draft bills before federal parliament cover electoral funding, cybersecurity and espionage and a new enforceable regime of self-registration for transparency of foreign influence. Continue reading »
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CAVAN HOGUE. Korea: the Hermit Kingdom rises again?
The peace negotiations on the Korean Peninsula remain fragile and neither the USA or the DPRK trusts the other. Neither side has been specific about what they will accept and the question remains what it has always been. What does Kim want in return for what he is willing to give and what is Trump Continue reading »
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CLIVE KESSLER Mahathir, Anwar and the Islamic threat.
Malaysia’s recent national elections either announced a new dawn or they simply mark the beginning of another dark and difficult time in the country’s much-contested political story. Continue reading »
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Australia must position itself in Asia (ABC radio interview with Hugh White)
http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/breakfast/australia-must-position-itself-in-asia-expert-says/9794492 Continue reading »
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WANNING SUN. Is Anti-China Rhetoric Harming Social Cohesion in Australia?
In September 2016, I published a major report on the Chinese-language media in Australia, and one of the points I made there was that the state Chinese media have been making gradual inroads into Australia’s existing ethnic Chinese newspapers and radio programs. Many commentators have cited this trend as evidence of China’s influence within our Continue reading »
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MICHAEL O’KEEFE. Why China’s ‘debt-book diplomacy’ in the Pacific shouldn’t ring alarm bells just yet
Talk of Chinese “debt trap” diplomacy is nothing new, but a recent report by Harvard University researchers has resurrected long-held fears that China’s debt diplomacy poses a threat to Australian interests in the Pacific. Continue reading »
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JOSE BELO and MICHAEL SAINSBURY. Timor-Leste’s new leaders warn president
Former presidents Xanana Gusmao and Tuar Matan Ruak scotch unity government talk Overwhelmingly Catholic Timor-Leste could be heading for more political strife despite a coalition headed by independence hero Xanana Gusmao having a clear win in May 12 elections. Continue reading »
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RICHARD TANTER. Tightly Bound: Australia’s Alliance-Dependent Militarisation.
Australia’s unique military and intelligence relationship with the United States, combined with the country being geographically a part of Asia but historically, culturally and intellectually identified with the Anglo-Saxon world, have significant implications for Canberra’s current military modernisation. Richard Tanter examines how the country’s dependence on its alliance relationships helps determine the direction of that Continue reading »
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DUNCAN GRAHAM. Praying is fine – Action is better.
Five guards and an inmate died in a Jakarta prison riot last week, allegedly launched by Islamic State. More than 150 terrorists are held at the overcrowded jail where turmoil erupted six months ago. Then early on Sunday church bombings in Surabaya, Indonesia’s second largest city, killed nine at the start of the Muslim fasting Continue reading »
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DAVID COWARD. The man who did for Mao – a review of a biography of Simon Leys by Philippe Paquet
In 1932, Malcolm Muggeridge, then based in Moscow for the Manchester Guardian, filed reports of what he had found out about Soviet Russia, from the food shortages and forced labour to the deaths of 3 million people following the collectivization of agriculture in the Ukraine. His copy was censored and he was ridiculed by the Continue reading »
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JOCELYN CHEY. Caught in the middle: Chinese Australians feel unwanted
International disputes between contending powers frequently result in persecution of local ethnic minorities. Look at how local German and Japanese communities were treated during the two World Wars, for instance, or how people of Middle Eastern background have been profiled since the rise of Al Qaeda and ISIS. As suspicions of China predominate in Canberra, Continue reading »
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CAVAN HOGUE. Malaysia’s first new government in six decades revels in a shocking victor.
The surprising Malaysian election results show yet again that we shouldn’t put faith in polls and pundits. Despite serious gerrymandering and other bits of nastiness the Barisan Nasional lost the election. The return of Dr Mahathir raises questions about the future. He has promised to hand over to Anwar Ibrahim but hasn’t said when. Najib looks Continue reading »
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RAMESH THAKUR. VIP culture is a blight on India’s democracy – a culture of impunity lies behind India’s rape epidemic
Solving India’s sexual violence crisis means holding the perpetrators of wrongdoing accountable – no matter their power in society. For Prime Minister Narendra Modi, this means ending the VIP culture within his own party. Continue reading »