Asia-Pacific

Photo: Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin on June 5, 2019, The Kremlin, Moscow. Credit: en.kremlin.ru Moscow.

Russia and China Are Coming Closer Again

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power

LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – In her famous decree in 1767 Empress Catherine the Great proclaimed Russia to be a European power. She wanted Russia to be a major player in European politics. She compelled the Europeans to accept Russia as a great power as a condition for doing business. In 1815 Russia was considered an equal in the 1815 Concert of Europe.

In contrast, Imperial China at that time was self-sufficient and inward looking. It basked in its own superior culture. It did not want to open up trade relations with Europe and the emperor questioned the ability of the British who were knocking on the door to “acquire the rudiments” of Chinese civilization.

: Jonathan Power; THE WORLD; Russia; 13 August 2019

illustration: Sandeep Joshi. Source: The Tribune

Exploding the Myth of the ‘Ugly Indian’

The new-generation tourists are the millennials, and they are anything but ugly — at least when abroad. They travel light and are averse to carrying stuff. They travel not to pick up things, but to gather experiences.

By Shastri Ramachandaran*

NEW DELHI (IDN) – East Asian hotels and resorts, especially in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam, have a despicable practice of not letting a guest leave until the room has been gone through with a toothcomb. A lot of hotels in Europe are also behaving like those in East Asia, especially when it comes to Indians. In parts of Europe, there are hotels that discourage Indians while a few keep a separate section for Indians.

: Shastri Ramachandran; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 11 August 2019

Photo: Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives at the swearing-in ceremony of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed as Jammu&Kashmir Chief Minister, at Jammu University, in Jammu and Kashmir on March 1, 2015. The J&K Governor N.N. Vohra is also seen. Credit: India Prime Minister's Office.

Hindu Nationalists Succeed in Depriving Jammu & Kashmir of ‘Special Status’

By Pieter J. Friedrich*

GREENWOOD, Canada (IDN-INPS) – Terror grips the most militarized zone in the world after India’s Central Government terminated Jammu and Kashmir’s 70-year-old "special status" as the first step towards stripping the disputed region of statehood entirely.

Internationally infamous as the world’s hottest potential nuclear flashpoint, J&K originally acceded to India in 1947 only on the condition that the newly-formed country be restricted from interfering in the domestic affairs of the mountainous northern region.

: Suresh Jaura; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 08 August 2019

Image source: OpEd in The Hindu – For a malnutrition-free India

Stunting a Hurdle to Sustainable Development in India

By Sudha Ramachandran

BANGALORE (IDN) – India’s needs to redouble its efforts to reduce stunting among its children not only because this would improve their mental and physical development, learning capacity and life chances but also, to meet the 2022 deadline set by its National Nutrition Mission and enable the world to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.

According to India’s National Family Health Service-3 and 4 (NFHS-3 and 4) figures, the proportion of its children under five years of age that are stunted declined from 48% in 2006 to 38% in 2016. While the decadal decline is significant, the reduction per year was just 1%.

: Asia Editor; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 07 August 2019

Image: The Dragonbear (Source: David Parkins)

Troubled Prospects for Gulf Security Architecture

Viewpoint by James M. Dorsey

James M. Dorsey – a senior fellow at Nanyang Technological University’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, an adjunct senior research fellow at the National University of Singapore’s Middle East Institute and co-director of the University of Wuerzburg’s Institute of Fan Culture – offered this viewpoint to IDN.

SINGAPORE (IDN) – Russia, backed by China, hoping to exploit mounting doubts in the Gulf about the reliability of the United States as the region’s sole security guarantor, is proposing a radical overhaul of the security architecture in an area that is home to massive oil and gas reserves and some of the world’s most strategic waterways.

: Phil Harris; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 07 August 2019

Australia Urged to Sign & Ratify the Nuclear Weapons Ban Treaty

By Neena Bhandari

SYDNEY (IDN) – Australia must sign and ratify the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), says a new report released here by the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), the Australian-founded initiative which won the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize.

The report comes amidst growing international tension with important agreements, including the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) – widely known as the Iran nuclear deal – and the 1988 Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty between the United States and Russia, being undermined.

: Neena Bhandari; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 06 August 2019

Photo: Chinese enthusiastically celebrate country’s successful test launch of a nuclear missile (1966). Source: UCS

China Holds Firm on No First Use of Nuclear Weapons, Misses U.S. Assurances

Viewpoint by Gregory Kulacki

The writer researches the cross-cultural aspects of nuclear arms control negotiations between the United States, China and Japan. He is China project manager and senior analyst at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS). The following was first published at UCS's blog on July 24, 2019.

CLAREMONT, CA, USA (IDN | UCS) – Ever since I took this job 17 years ago U.S. colleagues of all political and intellectual persuasions have been telling me that sooner or later China would alter, adjust, amend or qualify the policy that China will never, under any circumstances, use nuclear weapons first.

: Asia Editor; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 03 August 2019

Photo: Mosques affiliated to Wahabis are fast becoming popular among youth in Kashmir. Source: India Today.

Saudi-Iranian Rivalry and Turkish Ambitions Meet in Kashmir

Viewpoint by James M. Dorsey

SINGAPORE (IDN) – Thought that sectarianism was a pillar of Saudi-Iranian rivalry? Think again, think Kashmir where the two countries’ geopolitical rivalry and Turkish ambitions cross sectarian lines.

: Phil Harris; OPINION; 31 July 2019

Photo: Tea plantation in Sri Lanka. Credit: Sri Lanka government

Tea the Invigorating and Sustaining Wine of Life

Dr. K. Mulaffer

Chairman, Sri Lanka Land Reclamation and Development Corporation (1990-1992); Chairman, Building Materials Manufacturing Corporation (1992-1994) & Project Director & Coordinator, National Equipment & Machinery Organization (1994-1995)

COLOMBO (IDN) – My American friends must understand that choosing tea is like choosing wine. And here is why? The natural flavors of teas are quintessentially different from country to country, from which height, district, season and year, it’s grown. It is the same as with Wines.

: Asia Editor; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 28 July 2019

Graphic: The anti-corruption organizations of China and Laos have decided to jointly supervise the construction of China-Laos Railway and establish a mechanism to uphold integrity, which can be seen as a model for clean governance. Credit: Song Chen/China Daily

China’s Risky Bets Along the Belt and Road Initiative

Viewpoint by James M. Dorsey

SINGAPORE (IDN) – China’s infrastructure and energy driven one-trillion-dollar Belt and Road initiative involves risky bets across a swath of land populated by often illiberal or autocratic governments exercising power without independent checks and balances.