Pearls and Irritations

In Asian media this week: World must brace ‘for extreme chaos’. Plus: Beijing pivots towards military junta; Yoon now engulfed in political strife; Haggling intensifies to decide on Japan’s leader; Indonesia’s debate over joining BRICS; Anwar Ibrahim always one of the elite.

Difficulties with trade, growth, defence, security, alliances and climate figure prominently in the Asian media response to Donald Trump’s election as US president. The media look to the future with trepidation, even anxiety.

Most strident in its reaction is The Asahi Shimbun. The world, it says in an editorial, seems poised to plunge into an era of extreme chaos – a result of Trump’s “America First” agenda.

“Trump’s style is to prioritise short-term deals over values like freedom and democracy and over alliances,” the paper says.

South Korean media express concern over the country’s defence cost-sharing deal with the US, under which Seoul contributes some $US 1 billion a year. Trump has said it should be $US10 billion.

Korea JoongAng Daily says Trump views allies as countries that exploit America. South Korea must open communication channels with the Trump camp as soon as possible, it says.

South Korea needs to reformulate strategies on diplomacy, security and international trade, says The Korea Herald. Uncertainty lingers over how Trump will handle relations with North Korea, it says.

The Korea Times expresses concern over the future of the Ukraine war. As long as the war continues, its editorial says, so too will the dangerous military co-operation between Russia and North Korea.

The Jakarta Post says Trump’s return could bring economic troubles for China and other Asian countries – including Indonesia. The biggest issue was his threat to impose tariffs of 60 per cent on Chinese goods and of 10-to-20 per cent on all other foreign goods.

“That is certainly bad news for export-driven economies in the region, including Indonesia,” the paper says. “President Prabowo Subianto has set a target of 8 per cent annual economic growth and Trump could well drag this ambitious goal farther from reach.”

Thailand’s traditional balancing act between strong powers is high on priorities for Bangkok Post. Thailand must not be seen as having an unfairly close relationship with China, the paper says, as this could undermine the image of Thai exports.

Global Times echoes Beijing official line and says both the US and China stand to gain from co-operation and lose from confrontation. “China-US relations have weathered many storms over the past few decades,” its editorial says.

“What pushes the relationship… to move forward is always the win-win co-operation for mutual benefit rather than a zero-sum game.”

South China Morning Post says that no matter who won the US election, change was never part of the equation for Beijing powerbrokers.

“China long ago determined… there would be continuity of policy that has for the best part of a decade been marked by tensions over trade, Taiwan and bipartisan efforts to curb China’s growing power,” the SCMP editorial says.

The Hindu takes a more-human tack, outlining its worries about climate change and public health issues.

It lists these as carbon emissions, climate mitigation and adaptation for poorer countries, biodiversity, possible future pandemics and sustainable development.

The paper says: “It does not bode well for any of them that in the second half of this decade… Donald Trump will be the US President.”

Chinese Premier cosies up to Myanmar boss

Min Aung Hlaing, leader of the Myanmar junta, visited China this week – his first trip there since the 2021 coup, raising concerns Beijing was tilting more clearly towards the military.

The trip is relatively low-level, the Burmese exile website, The Irrawaddy, said in its first report. He was invited only as a participant in a Greater Mekong Subregion summit, held in Kunming, south-west China. But the invitation signalled Beijing was backing the junta.

It suggested Min Aung Hlaing might feel humiliated, but rejecting the invitation was not an option.

“Being invited by China is better than not, in term of his regime’s legitimacy,” it said.

“Beijing has shown it is willing to support whichever power broker provides protection for its economic interests and access to the Indian Ocean…

“[I]t is safe to say that China has officially declared war on the Myanmar opposition and the oppressed Myanmar citizens who want to be free of the regime. China has now extended a lifeline to the regime and Min Aung Hlaing.”

The Diplomat, an Asian online newsmagazine, said Min Aung Hlaing had been invited to a multilateral summit rather than being hosted with bilateral pomp in Beijing. This was in line with previous visits by senior junta personnel.

China had held back from rolling out the red carpet for the man most responsible for the coup and the destabilising conflict that followed. But the visit did seem to mark a pivot toward greater support for the junta.

The story quoted Kyan Zaw, a spokesperson for the opposition National Unity Government, as saying he was deeply concerned about the visit.

Global Times, an official Beijing newspaper, played down the significance of the visit.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said Myanmar was an important country in the region, the paper reported. China had invited Min Aung Hlaing to the summit “as a usual practice”.

But The Irrawaddy later reported Min Aung Hlaing met Chinese Premier Li Qiang. He told Li resistance groups had turned down his proposal for peace talks. He said air force strikes on civilian areas were merely in response to attacks by rebel groups.

Li said he appreciated the Myanmar regime’s efforts to promote peaceful dialogue.

Familiar story: political scandal, plummeting popularity

Three months ago, Japan’s Fumio Kishida was in dire political strife, serious enough to end his time at the top. Now it is the turn of South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol to try to navigate the treacherous waters of political scandal and plunging popularity.

Yoon’s approval rating has fallen to 22.4 per cent, the lowest since his inauguration in May 2022, The Korea Herald, reported this week. Approval of the ruling People Power Party has dropped to 29.4 per cent – also a low point.

Yoon on Monday skipped his scheduled 2025 budget address to parliament, as the main opposition party, the Democratic Party of Korea, ramped up pressure on him concerning the recent disclosure of a phone conversation suggesting he had interfered in an election.

The phone call, between Yoon and a former close aide, suggested he had tried to influence the ruling party’s nomination process in a June 2022 by-election. His wife, Kim Keon Hee, was also said to have been involved.

The Herald said in an editorial it was regrettable Yoon had failed to reverse negative assessments caused by his own inaction in dealing with allegations regarding his wife.

“Troubles with the economy, especially weak domestic demand, and Yoon’s lack of communication with the public, were the other reasons behind [his] poor ratings,” the paper said.

On Thursday, Yoon offered a public apology for causing concern among the people, the paper said.

He also talked about his wife, who faced criticism over allegations involving her acceptance of a luxury handbag, stock manipulation and involvement in government affairs.  

“She should have conducted herself with greater caution,” he said. But he denied that she played any role in state affairs.

Yoon’s apology, however, came only after the People Power Party chairman Han Dong-Hoon had demanded it.

The Korea Times said in an early story, since withdrawn, that Han had also called on Ms Kim to cease her public activities.

Ishiba’s election: a seismic impact on Japan politics

Japan’s political future remains unclear, and Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s fate precarious, as haggling intensifies in the time before a special meeting of parliament on Monday.

Ishiba has said he will continue as PM and stand for re-election at the special sitting.

Ishiba was elected as Liberal Democratic Party leader, and PM, on September 27, after the effective resignation of Fumio Kishida. He called an election for October 27 but the LDP and its partner Komeito lost their majority.

Political parties are lobbying as many as they can of the 465 lawmakers, The Japan Times said. With 215 seats in the lower house, the LDP-Komeito coalition need the support of a third party.

It is trying to make an informal alliance with the Democratic Party for the People, a small centre-right party, the paper said.

Approval of Ishiba’s cabinet plummeted after the election, The Asahi Shimbun reported. The approval rating, measured by an Asahi Shimbun poll, was 34 per cent – a sharp drop from the 46 per cent recorded after the cabinet was formed.

“It is unusual to see such a large drop in a cabinet’s approval rate in such a short period of time,” the paper said.

It noted, however, that 60 per cent of voters believe it is not necessary for Ishiba to resign.

Ishiba’s whipsawing political fortunes hold lessons for entrenched parties in nations that hold regular elections, said an opinion piece in Singapore’s The Straits Times.

Ravi Velloor, the paper’s senior columnist, said: “Top of those lessons must surely be the perils of taking voters for granted.”

Velloor said Ishiba knew a number of cabinet members were eager to see him stumble so they could unseat him. He called an election to show he was a vote winner, reasoning that his opponents would then fall in line. It was a monumental misjudgement.

“The results were seismic for Japanese politics,” he said.

Jakarta plays two hands in dealing with Beijing

Indonesia is to become a full member of BRICS – the Global South grouping of nations of which China is a driving force.

At the same time, it is using its patrol ships to expel Chinese coastguard vessels from waters near the oil- and gas-rich Natuna Islands off northern Borneo, waters where the two countries have overlapping claims.

Both countries, it seems, are compartmentalising their economic and strategic interests.

Indonesia will continue the balancing act when President Prabowo Subianto visits Beijing later this month, says a long analytical piece in Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post.

It quotes Singapore public policy academic Dylan Loh as saying BRICS membership fits into Indonesia’s economic and development growth plans.

Within Indonesia, a debate about the wisdom of the new government’s pursuit of BRICS membership is playing out in the pages of The Jakarta Post.

A commentary by international relations specialist Muhammad Habib Abiyan Dzakwan, says the timing of Indonesia’s application for full BRICS membership is surprising, as it came less than a week after Prabowo assumed office.

Also surprising was the shift in direction. Despite countless promises of policy continuity, the application was a departure from the previous administration’s caution towards BRICS.

An opinion piece by two masters students says joining BRICS is unnecessary, as much of Indonesia’s economic outreach with member countries already happens outside of the BRICS framework.

Joining BRICS amounts to a transformative shift in the country’s diplomatic trajectory, says an analysis by senior diplomat Abdul Kadir Jailani.

“It … provides an impetus to reshape [the] mental framework in response to the rapidly changing dynamics of global politics,” he says.

Based on the size of its economy, Indonesia should have been one of the first members of the grouping that became known as BRICS, says a commentary submitted by Tenggara Strategics, a research grouping that is connected to The Jakarta Post.

“Jakarta has turned down repeated offers from the group,” the commentary says. “[But] in a recent interview…Prabowo explained that joining BRICS is a reaffirmation of Indonesia’s non-alignment foreign policy principle.”

Footnote: Indonesia is due to join BRICS at the next summit, in Brazil in 2025. Other ASEAN nations scheduled to join are Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.

For Malaysia’s elite, a tropical Eton

In the beautiful town of Kuala Kangsar, the royal town of Perak state, northern Malaysia, sits a transplanted piece of traditional England.

It is a boarding school, called Malay College, funded by government but available only to Malay boys. It was founded in 1905, to prepare the sons of the aristocracy for future leadership roles.

It was modelled on Eton College.

Among those to attend the college are two prime ministers, six of Malaysia’s 17 kings and a sultan of Brunei. The prime ministerial graduates are independence leader Tun Abdul Razak and Anwar Ibrahim.

Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post has published a feature article about the college and similar institutions, noting they are both revered and criticised for perpetuating elitism in Malaysian society.

“The college has faced criticism for being the only institution in Malaysia where Malay ethnicity is a prerequisite for entry – an anachronism in contemporary society,” the story says.

“Each Wednesday, members of the Malay College Old Boys Association, made up of alumni, can be seen donning their distinctive red ties adorned with white, black and yellow stripes – a tradition that has drawn public derision.”

In a recent budget presentation, Anwar revealed that the government subsidised each student at the college, and similar institutions, to the tune of $US3,500 a year.

The story quotes Praba Ganesan, from a democracy-outreach group called Kuasa, as saying the funding system is unfair to public schools.

“Why should rural schools which can’t afford computers and working internet connectivity struggle for those essentials when another school stays aloof and separate from the local population, paid for by taxpayers, in order to continue a tradition?” he wrote.