OPINION

Image credit. Peterson Institute for International Economics.

Trump Fighting the Wrong Battle in A Tit-For-Tat Confrontation with China

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power

LUND, Sweden (IDN) – In Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s “The Hound of the Baskervilles”, Sherlock Holmes lectures Watson on the unlikely subject of free trade.

Holmes: “Capital article this on free trade. Permit me to read you an extract from The Times: ‘You may be cajoled into imagining that your own special trade or your own industry will be encouraged by a protective tariff, but it stands to reason that such legislation must in the long run keep wealth from the country, diminish the value of our imports, and lower the general condition of life in this island.’”

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 31 December 2019

Photo: Indian President Ram Nath Kovind (left), Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (centre) and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 17 February 2018 in New Delhi. The three-day “substantive and productive” talks helped boost cooperation in areas of defense and security, trade and investment, and energy. Rouhani and Modi also deliberated on regional situations in their wide-ranging talks. Credit: media.mehrnews.com

Iran Turns to China and India In the Face of US Sanctions

Viewpoint by Mohammad Soltaninejad

Mohammad Soltaninejad is Assistant Professor of Middle East studies at the University of Tehran. This article appeared in the most recent edition of East Asia Forum Quarterly, ‘Economics and security’, Vol. 11 No. 4.

TEHRAN (IDN-INPS) – In the face of the United States withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal and adopting a ‘maximum pressure’ policy against Iran, Tehran is turning to China and India to circumvent US sanctions. In response, the United States is trying to deny Iran’s access to Chinese and Indian resources to pressure Iran into returning to the negotiation table.

: Asia Editor; OPINION; 30 December 2019

Photo: Statue of Hugo Grotius in Delft, the Netherlands. CC BY-SA 2.0

From 1928 On War Is Deemed Illegal

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power

LUND, Sweden (IDN) – When it comes to war the world does move on for the better. Right now there are no interstate wars. The longest running civil war of our era, in the Sudan, is over. The second longest, in Afghanistan and Syria, are winding down. Only one country in the world actually threatens the use of nuclear weapons – North Korea – but its arsenal and its credibility on the issue are both small.

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 24 December 2019

Photo: Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing a rally on 22 December in New Delhi. Source: thehindubusinessline.com

India’s Citizenship Amendment Act Is ‘Pro-minorities and Not Anti-Muslim’

Viewpoint by Jainendra Karn*

NEW DELHI (IDN) – India is not a signatory to the UN’s 1951 Refugee Convention which defines a refugee yet the Government of India under Prime Minister Narendra Modi has kept the promise that Mahatma Gandhi had made to persecuted people living deplorable lives in India’s neighbourhood through the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).

: Asia Editor; OPINION; 23 December 2019

Photo: UN Secretary-General addressing Global Refugee Forum. Screenshot UN WebTV.

Build A More Equitable Response to Refugee

Viewpoint by António Guterres

The following are extensive excerpts from the UN Secretary-General’s opening remarks at the first Global Refugee Forum (17-18 December 2019). It came at the end of a tumultuous decade in which the number of refugees has risen to over 25 million people worldwide. Guided by the Global Compact on Refugees, the Forum was an opportunity to translate the principle of international responsibility-sharing into concrete action.

GENEVA (IDN-INPS) – I have been fortunate to have had many formative experiences in my life: as a social volunteer in the poor neighbourhoods of Lisbon; being part of a democratic revolution in my country; public service in parliament and government.

: Jamshed Baruah; OPINION; 19 December 2019

Photo: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Source; rse-venezuela.com

The Putrid Mess of Israeli Politics

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power

LUND, Sweden (IDN) – Israeli politics gets messier and messier. Now there is to be yet another election, hard on the heels of the last one which, in turn, was hard on the heels of the one before.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appears to have two major aims in life. The first is to remain prime minister for as long as he feels like it. (He is already Israel’s longest serving premier.) The second is to escape prison. He has been charged with bribery and graft. Only if he is holding his high office can he escape prosecution.

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 17 December 2019

Photo: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov with President Vladimir Putin. CC BY 4.0

NPT Review Conference Should Not Repeat the ‘Sad Experience’ of 2015

Viewpoint by Sergey Lavrov

The following are extensive excerpts from Russiaan Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s remarks at the Moscow Nonproliferation Conference on “Foreign Policy Priorities of the Russian Federation in Arms Control and Nonproliferation in the Context of Changes in the Global Security Architecture” Moscow, 8 November 2019.

: Ramesh Jaura; OPINION; 17 December 2019

Photo: Sri Lanka's new President Gotabaya Rajapaksa speaks during his first address to the nation in Anuradhapura, in the North Central Province, on 18 November 2019. Source: A. Hapuarachchi | Xinhua.

Did Sri Lanka’s Presidential Election Bring Back a Polarising Wartime Figure?

Viewpoint by Dr Palitha Kohona

The writer is former Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations, and former Foreign Secretary.

The Economist proclaimed recently that Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the man who, as secretary of defense, presided over this horrifying episode (the final phase of Sri Lanka’s terrorist inspired internal conflict), has just been elected president of Sri Lanka. To Sinhalese Buddhists, about 70% of the population, he is a hero. After all, the militia he destroyed was appallingly cruel and bloodthirsty and had tormented Tamils as much as, if not more than, other Sri Lankans.

: Dr. Palitha Kohona; OPINION; 12 December 2019

Photo: Collage of Kaveh Zahedi and Van Nguyen. Credit: ESCAP.

Urgent Need for Accelerating SDG Progress in Asia-Pacific

Viewpoint by Kaveh Zahedi* and Van Nguyen**

BANGKOK (IDN) – “The 2030 Agenda is coming to life”, declared the Secretary-General at the opening of the first SDG Summit [September 24-25], a quadrennial event for the follow up and review of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. As leaders from Asia-Pacific took the floor, they highlighted country progress of SDG implementation and reaffirmed commitment to achieve the 2030 Agenda. Statements reflected different approaches across the region. Yet all converged on one priority: accelerated actions and transformative pathways.

: UN Bureau; OPINION; 11 December 2019

Photo: The UN membership considered the 2015 Iran deal to be very fair. The Security Council gave it unanimous support. Indeed, the U.S. is now in breach of international law by opting out. Credit: UN Photo.

European Support for the US Has Backed Iran into a Corner

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power

LUND, Sweden (IDN) – The Europeans have not done well in countering President Donald Trump’s onslaught on Iran. When Trump unilaterally decided that the U.S. should withdraw from the 2015 Iran Nuclear Deal, which committed Iran to winding down its nuclear research in return for the West, Russia and China (the latter two were also part of the deal) lifting sanctions which were crippling the Iranian economy, the Europeans huffed and puffed and then did little.