Category: Asia-Pacific

By Tae Han Goo

SEOUL (IDN) – South Korea’s large port city Busan hosted end of August the meeting of Foreign Ministers and Senior Officials of the little known Forum for East Asia-Latin America Cooperation (FEALAC) constituting 36 countries of East Asia, Southeast Asia and Latin America.

Though comprised mainly of developing countries, the two regions did not have an official cooperative mechanism bridging the two continents together until in September 1998, the then Prime Minister of Singapore Gho Chok Tong tabled a concrete proposal to enhance the relations. Subsequently, the EALAF (East Asia-Latin America Forum) Senior Officials’ Meeting was held in Singapore in September 1999, marking the beginning of FEALAC.

Analysis by Prem Shankar Jha

Prem Shankar Jha is a senior Indian journalist and the author of several books including Crouching Dragon, Hidden Tiger: Can China and India Dominate the West? This article is being reproduced courtesy of The Wire which carried it on August 17 with the headline: Modi Is Taking India to a Dangerous Place. – The Editor

NEW DELHI (IDN-INPS) – There was a discernible note of self congratulation in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Independence Day (August 15) speech this year. As usual, it was replete with claims – “In our country everyone is equal”, “Those who have looted the nation and looted the poor are not able to sleep peacefully today” – and exhortations – “Bharat jodo“, “Let us create a new India” – that are entirely devoid of content.

By Pallava Bagla

India celebrated 70 years of Independence from British colonial rule on August 15, 2017. This is the third in a series of three sponsored articles on India at 70. Pallava Bagla is an eminent Indian science journalist and author of book `Reaching for the Stars: India’s Journey to Mars and Beyond’ published by Bloomsbury. He can be reached at Pallava.bagla@gmail.com. – The Editor

NEW DELHI (IDN-INPS) – India has a rich tradition of using outer space as a tool for national development. The poorest of the poor have always been the beneficiaries of India’s space technologies, from farmers to fisher folk Indian satellites touch the lives of almost the entire 1.3 billion population.

By R S Sharma

India celebrated 70 years of Independence from British colonial rule on August 15, 2017. This is the second in a series of three sponsored articles on India at 70. R. S. Sharma is Chairman of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). – The Editor

NEW DELHI (IDN-INPS) – Building trust between governments and citizens is fundamental to good governance. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has been recognized as an essential tool for achieving the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set by United Nations for the welfare of mankind. It is globally recognized that ICT promotes good governance.

By Constantino Xavier

India celebrated 70 years of Independence from British colonial rule on August 15, 2017. This is the first in a series of  three sponsored articles on India at 70. Constantino Xavier is a fellow at Carnegie India, based in New Delhi. His research focus is on India’s foreign policy, with emphasis on relations with its neighboring countries and South Asian regional security. He can be reached at cxavier@ceip.org. – The Edtor

NEW DELHI (IDN-INPS) – The emerging concept of India as a “first responder” reflects the country’s growing capability and increasing willingness to assume the role of a leading power. By contributing its resources to prevent or mitigate regional and international crises, India is demonstrating its commitment as a responsible actor in the international order.

By Kalinga Seneviratne

This article is the 18th in a series of joint productions of Lotus News Features and IDN-InDepthNews, flagship of the International Press Syndicate.

YANGON, Myanmar (IDN) – “The desire for peace exists everywhere, but the majority of people are not in a position to enjoy peace, stability and security they desire,” noted venerable Dr Ashin Nyanissara, spiritual head of the Sitagu International Buddhist University (SIBU), in opening a two-day gathering of spiritual leaders and scholars at the university here on August 5.

The event was the second Global Initiative for Conflict Avoidance and Environmental Consciousness (SAMVAD) conference, following the first held in New Delhi in September 2015.

By 38 North

38 North is a website devoted to informed analysis of North Korea. 38 North is a program of the US-Korea Institute at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, DC. The following is Editor’s Column as it appeared on August 9, 2017 with the title Fake News. – The Editor

WASHINGTIN, D.C. (IDN-INPS) – Lost in the media scrum about threats and counter threats from President Trump and North Korea is a very important story that was totally missed. While headlines a few days ago blared that North Korea said it would never negotiate with the US on its nuclear and missile programs, in fact, it never said that. This isn’t the first time the media missed the story. It happens all the time, whenever it covers statements by North Korea.

Viewpoint by William R. Hawkins

William R. Hawkins, a former economics professor and Congressional staffer, is a consultant specializing in international economics and national security issues. He is a contributor to SFPPR News & Analysis, of the Conservative-Online-Journalism center at the Washington-based Selous Foundation for Public Policy Research. This article was published on August 2, 2017 in The World Tribune. Opinions expressed in Viewpoints are those of the writer and not necessarily shared by IDN-INPS. – The Editor

WASHINGTON, D.C. (IDN-INPS) – The state-owned press in China was all aglow about President Xi Jinping’s address to the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany. Xinhua proclaimed how “Many overseas experts and scholars have praised” it.

By Kalinga Seneviratne

This article is the 17th in a series of joint productions of Lotus News Features and IDN-InDepthNews, flagship of the International Press Syndicate.

YANGON, Myanmar (IDN) – A Myanmar government commission that investigated allegations made by an international human rights organisation and the media about the country’s security forces abusing the human rights of Muslims known as Rohingyas in Rakhine State has found these allegations to be “unproven” and slammed its critics, including the United Nations, for carrying out an international “smear campaign” against the country.

The 13-member Investigative Commission on Maungtaw in Rakhine State headed by Vice-President U Myint Swe released its report at a press conference on August 6.

By Dr Palitha Kohona*

COLOMBO (IDN) – Sri Lanka’s long history has been intimately conditioned by the monsoonal winds that buffet its shores and the tides and waves of the vast Indian Ocean. The greed and ambitions of its regional and distant neighbours who followed the winds and rode the waves coveting its treasures and its unique strategic location have been a bane as well as blessing.

While, time and time again, it was forced to ward off the marauding attention of external powers during the course of its long history, (in the early part, mainly from South India), geography provided it with the opportunity to exploit its fortunate position as a trading hub.

Now, once again history appears to be ready to place little Lanka at centre stage with emerging India nervously seeking to place constraints on it from engaging too intimately with distant powers (China in particular) and China identifying it as a central player in its One Belt One Road (OBOR) Initiative.