Asia-Pacific

Photo: An Indian fighter jet flies over Leh, the joint capital of the union territory of Ladakh, on June 25, after the border showdown between Delhi and Beijing. Source: Bangkok Post.

Prelude to a China-India Strategic Showdown?

Viewpoint by PS Suryanarayana*

This article first appeared on East Asia Forum on 5 July 2020. You might also like to read a related article: Cultural Wisdom Might Help Resolve India-China Conflict

SINGAPORE (IDN) – Perpetual border tensions between Asia's biggest neighbours turned ominous in the harsh Himalayan terrain of the Galwan Valley in the twilight of June 15, 2020. The agreed de-escalation of a nearly 40-day confrontation was to take place in that valley in the western sector of disputed Sino–Indian boundary.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 09 July 2020

Photo: Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses the Indian troops during his visit to the forward post at Nimu in Ladakh, Friday, July 3, 2020. Credit: PIB/PTI

Cultural Wisdom Might Help Resolve India-China Conflict

By Kalinga Seneviratne

This article is the 42nd in a series of joint productions of Lotus News Features and IDN-InDepthNews, the flagship of the International Press Syndicate. Click here for previous reports.

SINGAPORE (IDN) – Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a special address given on Asadha Poornima day on July 4 marking the anniversary of Gautama Buddha's first sermon said Buddhism teaches respect for people, and respect for peace and nonviolence.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; SUSTAINABILITY; Peace & Justice; 06 July 2020

India's First COVID-19 Vaccine Gets Nod for Human Clinical Trials

News briefs compiled by Suresh Jaura*

TORONTO | NEW DELHI (IDN) – The focus of news in Indian media in the second half of June was on the start of human trials by India's 'first' indigenous COVID-19 vaccine, a nod to Indian start-ups to participate in space activities, emergency imposed by Indira Gandhi on June 25, 1975, persecution of 'dissenters', restrictions against Chinese goods, and Russian assurances to stand-off with India against China.

: Suresh Jaura; SUSTAINABILITY; Health & Well Being; 04 July 2020

Image: Small Island States at the forefront. Credit: Simon Sees at Flickr.

Sustainable Tourism and Fisheries Key to Growth in Post-COVID Pacific

Viewpoint by Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana

The writer, Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, is United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP).

BANGKOK (IDN) – Developing countries of Asia and the Pacific are experiencing unbalanced tolls of the COVID-19 pandemic. Grim milestones in infections and deaths have left countless devastated. Yet, we must look at the economic and social impacts in small island developing States (SIDS), where setbacks are likely to undo years of development gains and push many people back into poverty.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 30 June 2020

Photo: Collage of the pictures of the writer (left) with British Prime Minister David Cameron (centre) and Indian PM Narendra Modi (right) and the UN flag (right). Credit: TwoTone

The Relevance of Mahatma Gandhi for Britain and the World

Viewpoint by Lord Rami Ranger

The writer, Lord Rami Ranger, CBE of Mayfair is a Member of the British House of Lords.

LONDON (IDN) – There is a mischievous campaign against the statues of Mahatma Gandhi in the UK and other countries including the US launched by misguided and ill-informed few.

These statues were erected by a great public demand to recognise the immense contribution of Gandhi Ji to the free world. As a result, this protest is unwarranted, uncalled for, unnecessary and above all, counterproductive. [Ji is a gender-neutral honorific used as a suffix in many languages of the Indian subcontinent]

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 29 June 2020

Photo: Governor Tamaki (right) with U.S. Marines stationed in Okinawa (2019). Public domain | Source: Wikimedia Commons

Okinawa Governor Refuses to Host Prohibited U.S. Nuclear Missiles

By Jaya Ramachandran

GENEVA (IDN) – Governor Denny Tamaki of Okinawa district has rejected the U.S. plans to base on the island missiles capable of threatening China – apparently as part of President Donald Trump's move to challenge Beijing and upgrade the importance of Taiwan, 500 kilometres away from the island. If a plan for Okinawa to host such missiles were to develop, Tamaki said: "I can easily imagine fierce opposition from Okinawa residents."

: Jaya Ramachandran; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 27 June 2020

Photo: Portraits of Mao Zedong and Xi Jinping in a shop in China. Public Domain. Source: Wikimedia Commons

China's Disappointing Ways: From Mao to Present

Viewpoint by L. S. Herdenia

This article is the 11th in a series of joint productions of South Asian Outlook and IDN-InDepthNews, flagship of the International Press Syndicate.

NEW DELHI (IDN) – During the Chinese revolution, progressive forces of the world lent every possible support to it. At that time, it was widely believed that most of the Chinese people consumed opium and were always in a stupor. Additionally, the country’s economy lay totally shattered. It was said that the people in China went to the market with a bag full of currency note and returned with a pocketful of goods. It was the Communist party and its dynamic leader Mao Zedong who were trying to give a new life to the Chinese people.

: Suresh Jaura; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 25 June 2020

Photo: The evening flag lowering ceremony at the India-Pakistan International Border near Wagah. (August 2007) Source: CC BY-SA 3.0

Tensions Dominate India's Ties with Pakistan, Nepal & Sri Lanka

News briefs compiled by Suresh Jaura*

TORONTO | NEW DELHI (IDN) – Environmental degradation and climate change, US report on religious freedom, sex scandal, Covid-19, and cyber harassment in Pakistan are some issues the Indian news media has been highlighting in the first two weeks of June. These and many more are linked to India. The subcontinent's ties with Afghanistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka also draw the focus.

: Suresh Jaura; THE WORLD; South Asia; 24 June 2020

McDonald's and the Ongoing Indo-Chinese Conflict

Viewpoint by Manish Uprety F.R.A.S. and Jainendra Karn *

NEW DELHI (IDN) – Thomas Friedman first put forward the Golden Arches Theory of Conflict Prevention in 1996 which claimed that no two countries that both had McDonald's had fought a war against each other since each got its McDonald's.

However, life has its own logic and cannot be interpreted in binaries. The Western logic is rooted in the Greek traditions and is binary, whereas the logic in the Eastern traditions can be multi-dimensional such as the four valued Chatushkoti logic of the Vedas or Buddhism used by scholars like Patanjali and Panini, or seven valued Saptabhangi of the Jainas. It helps one get a bigger, better and richer picture of life.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 19 June 2020

Photo: Rose David of Wusi Village in West Coast Santo, Vanuatu stands next to her home that was destroyed by Category 5 Tropical Cyclone Harold in April 2020. Credit: UN Women/Betty Zinner-Toa.

Women in The Pacific Confront the Dual Impact of a Pandemic and A Tropical Cyclone

By UN Women

NEW YORK (IDN) – Although the Pacific has largely been spared by the spread of the disease relative to other regions around the world – with Fiji hardest hit of the six countries the UN Women’s Ending Violence Against Women and Girls programme works in, at 18 confirmed cases – all of which have since been cleared, and several countries without a recorded a case so far – the economic and social consequences have been deep.