Asia
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MICHAEL KELLY SJ. Religious Persecution and Home Churches in China.
When will they ever learn? The best tonic to stir up religious fervor and greater commitment in a totalitarian society is to persecute believers. Continue reading »
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VIPS STEERING GROUP. Trump should involve himself in worsening Syria crisis
Respected US public interest group Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS) has issued a public warning that uncontrolled escalation of the final battle for Idlib in Syria is worsening the risk of direct US-Russian military clash there. They appeal to Trump to seek better advice and to get involved. Continue reading »
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HUMPHREY HAWKSLEY. US-led Indo-Pacific alliance against China is an outdated idea (Nikkei Asian Review, 03.09.18)
Asia should avoid being divided by Sino-American rivalry. Continue reading »
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CLIVE HAMILTON. None So Blind As Those Who Will Not See
Jocelyn Chey has a bee in her bonnet. In a series of articles on this blog she has repeatedly characterised my book, Silent Invasion: China’s Influence in Australia, as anti-Chinese. In her latest attack, she claims that I engage in racial profiling, lump all Chinese-Australians together and feed into anti-Asian propaganda. Continue reading »
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WANNING SUN. Reasons aplenty for China’s ban of the ABC.
As a form of symbolism, banning a website works much more effectively than conventional expressions of official displeasure such as flexing military muscles, cancelling a trade deal, recalling a country’s ambassador or refusing a foreign correspondent’s visa. Continue reading »
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RAMESH THAKUR. India’s VIP culture: Forget Lincoln’s definition of democracy. India’s government is of VIPs, by VIPs and for VIPs (Times of India, 04.090.18)
Last week, the Madras high court ordered the National Highways Authority of India to separate ordinary citizens from VIPs at toll gates, with a dedicated lane for the latter. Of course, high court judges are included in the list of VIPs. The court held it to be ‘disheartening’ and ‘very unfortunate’ that judges are ‘compelled Continue reading »
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JOCELYN CHEY. Chung Kuo, Cina: Déjà Vu.
The ABC has been off-line in China since 22 August and press reports speculate that the Chinese ban is retaliation for Canberra’s decision on foreign investment in the telecommunication industry, which effectively bars China’s telecom giant Huawei from participating in the roll-out of our 5G network. Chinese media did indeed call Canberra’s move (announced during Continue reading »
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WILLIAM CASE. UMNO’s ethnoreligious order is not gone — just waiting.
Malaysia’s new Pakatan Harapan government rode to power on a pledge to clean up Malaysia’s foul politics. It was wise to focus on the UMNO-led Barisan Nasional’s transgressions: Pakatan’s appeal lay less in its own glowing imagery and manifesto than in the electorate’s widespread contempt for the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), which leads the Continue reading »
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DUNCAN GRAHAM. A done deal – or a deal not yet done?
Trying to do business in Java on a Friday is seldom a good idea. The chantings that Prime Minister Scott Morrison heard mid-morning last Friday were not part of the standard welcome to overseas VIPs, but calling the faithful to prayer. That included Indonesian President Joko ‘Jokowi’ Widodo, much of his Cabinet and most senior Continue reading »
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MICHAEL SAINSBURY. Payne can give proper attention to Asia that Bishop failed to do- (Crikey)
Australia’s new Foreign Minister Marise Payne has plenty to learn from Julie Bishop’s significant missteps — and indeed non-steps — in the same role. Continue reading »
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ANTHONY PUN. How do the Chinese settlers in Australia feel regarding the deepening dispute between China and Australia?
The “China Panic”, a phrase coined by Professor Bob Carr, ex-Australian Foreign Minister and Director of Australian China Relations Institute (ACRI), started in December 2016 when the media and the Turnbull government started to “bash” China starting with a media blitz about Chinese political donations to political parties and alleging breach of parliamentary sovereignty and Continue reading »
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E. TAMMY KIM. Moon Over Korea (New York Review of Books 16.08.18 Issue)
Moon Jae-in eui Unmyeong [The Destiny of Moon Jae-in] by Moon Jae-in Seoul: Bookpal, 488 pp., ₩15,000 In Singapore on June 12, as Donald Trump vigorously shook hands with North Korea’s Kim Jong-un, the man behind this improbable meeting leaned forward in his chair and smiled. South Korean president Moon Jae-in, just thirteen months into Continue reading »
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MICHAEL KELLY. A journey with urban refugees in Bangkok.
Some days I feel like a people trafficker, though I’m not making a zack out of the trafficking. Other days I see myself as a latter-day Oskar Schindler. But mostly I just feel trapped along with the 1000 refugees and asylum seekers I’m doing my not-very-successful best to get the hell out of an open Continue reading »
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JAMES KYNGE. The US cannot halt China’s march to global tech supremacy.
The moment may one day be glorified in propaganda art. As the mist rolled off the Yangtze River, Xi Jinping stood on top of the Three Gorges hydropower dam in Yichang, a proud symbol of engineering prowess, and proclaimed that China would blaze its own trail to become a technology superpower. Continue reading »
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DAVID HUTT. Does China really dominate Southeast Asia?
Widespread reports of China’s hegemony over the neighbouring region miss the nuance of fast-shifting political and strategic dynamics. Continue reading »
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IAN BUCKLEY.Historical Light on Current Aims to Attack Iran
This article highlights the vitally important role played by former US intelligence officers to prevent ongoing illegal regime changes across the world, presently Iran. Then, to better understand current examples, it explores their historical origins, consequences and possible remedies aimed at prevention. Continue reading »
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FENG ZHAUKUI. Joining B&R can open up new opportunities for Japan.
Recently, more and more Japanese companies have taken actions that show their positive attitude about participating in the Belt and Road (B&R) initiative, and Japanese leaders have also made some positive gestures. Continue reading »
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TIM LINDSEY. Jokowi’s deputy pick confirms rise of conservative Islam in Indonesia
The selection of the controversial and highly conservative head of the Indonesian Ulama Council as Jokowi’s vice presidential running mate is disturbing. It reveals Jokowi’s lack of political authority and is yet another demonstration of increasing intolerance among Indonesian Muslims. Continue reading »
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NASSRINE AZIMI. Rethinking Our National Holidays?
I often ask my students to think what it means to live in a country with a constitution that prohibits wars of aggression, and removes from national priorities war-mongering discourses, distractions and impulses? Continue reading »
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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 »
