Asia-Pacific

Photo: Jammu and Kashmir Police detained seven persons from Pulwama district of South Kashmir in connection with the deadly terror attack that left 40 CRPF personnel dead. Credit: HT

'Pulwama' Strike Should Remain a Limited One

By Ram Puniyani

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

MUMBAI (IDN) – There are reports that Indian Air force MIGS launched an attack on terrorist camps in Pakistan and dropped bombs demolishing the terror hubs and killing many. This has been the fallout of the dreaded terrorist attack in Pulwama in which 44 Central Police Force (CRPF) jawans (male police constables or soldiers) were killed when a car carrying explosives, probably RDX, drove into the convoy of trucks carrying 2400 CRPF jawans.

: Suresh Jaura; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 06 March 2019

Photo: Rohingya refugees walk towards a refugee camp after crossing the Myanmar-Bangladesh border. Credit: Mahmud Hossain Opu/Dhaka Tribune

Myanmar and Bangladesh Trade Blame, UN Concerned About Rohingya Crisis

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – A humanitarian crisis continues to unfold on both sides of the Myanmar-Bangladesh border, with almost 1 million Rohingya people now living in the world's largest refugee camp in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

While Myanmar and Bangladesh trade blame over the crisis, the United Nations is concerned about persistent military and civil tensions in Myanmar ahead of general elections in 2020, which it fears is impacting efforts towards the "dignified" and voluntary return of Rohingya refugees from Bangladesh.

: J Nastranis; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 05 March 2019

Photo: Pilgrims at the sacred Bo-Tree. Credit: Kalinga Seneviratne | IDN-INPS

India's Bid to Promote 'Buddhist Tourism' Encounters Hurdles

By Kalinga Seneviratne

This article is the 29th in a series of joint productions of Lotus News Features and IDN-InDepthNews, flagship of the International Press Syndicate. Click here for previous series.

BODHGAYA (IDN) – In recent years the Indian government has been promoting the concept of a 'Buddhist Tourism Circuit' (BTC) with Bodhgaya – the site of the Buddha’s enlightenment under a Bo-Tree – as its centrepiece. Yet, with less than 1 percent of India's population Buddhist today, lack of Buddhist communities around the Buddhist sites hinders the promotional pitch. Bodhgaya is a good example.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 03 March 2019

Photo: The first Xi–Modi meeting of 2018 at Wuhan, China in April was a rare one-on-one informal summit. Source: NDTV

Soft- and Hard-Power Challenges in China-India Diplomacy

Viewpoint by P S Suryanarayan

The writer is a Visiting Senior Fellow with the South Asia Programme, S Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore and the author of 'Smart Diplomacy: Exploring China-India Synergy' (2016). The author’s views are his own and do not represent the position of any institution. A version of this article originally appeared here on RSIS.

SINGAPORE (IDN-INPS) – Buoyed by four summit meetings and the formation of a new people-to-people mechanism in quick succession, China-India engagement appears to be on an upward trajectory. Though challenges remain, it is an opportune moment for the two countries to press ahead towards total rapprochement.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; OPINION; 28 February 2019

Photo: U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis (right) stands with Australia’s Minister for Defence Industry Christopher Pyne before an office call at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., April 6, 2017. (DOD photo by U.S. Army Sgt. Amber I. Smith)

Australia Increasingly Silent on U.S. Leadership in Asia

Viewpoint by Hugh White

The writer is Emeritus Professor in the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, The Australian National University. EastAsiaForum carried this article on 18 February 2019. A version of this analysis was first published in The Straits Times.

CANBERRA (IDN-INPS) – Sometimes what is left out of a major policy speech is as important as what is said. This was certainly true late January 2019 when Australia’s Defence Minister Christopher Pyne spoke about regional security in a keynote address to a prestigious audience in Singapore.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; OPINION; 27 February 2019

Photo: Kim and Trump shaking hands at the red carpet during the DPRK-USA Singapore Summit on June 12, 2018. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

Beyond the Second Trump-Kim Nuclear Weapons Summit

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power

LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – Kim Jong-un, paramount leader of the North Korean dictatorship, arrived in Vietnam by train and limousine ready to meet President Donald Trump. The two leaders met in June 2018 in Singapore, applauded themselves and each other and made some sort of a deal even if it wasn’t the one Trump boasted about – the total elimination of the North’s nuclear weapons.

Nevertheless, the North has stopped nuclear testing. The U.S. only stopped in 1992 and France in 1996, so this is a very important step forward. It should not be minimized as the American “Blob” is doing. (The “Blob”, a creation of the White House of President Barack Obama, is the highly influential industrial/military/legislative/media complex, a majority of whom are hard line on foreign affairs.)

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 26 February 2019

Photo: Mahidol University that co-hosted the 1st Makhapuja International Conference on ‘The Future of Buddhism in Asia’.

Consumerism and Proselytism Threatening Buddhism in Asia

By Natcha Lim

This article is the 28th in a series of joint productions of Lotus News Features and IDN-InDepthNews, flagship of the International Press Syndicate. Click here for previous series.

BANGKOK (IDN) – Buddhist scholars attending the 1st Makhapuja International Conference on ‘The Future of Buddhism in Asia’ have warned that consumerist trends within the monastic order and aggressive proselytism by Islamic and Christian groups are a threat to the future of Buddhism in Asia.

Governments in the region lack adequate political solutions to defy "anti-Buddhist movements”, and this poses a huge challenge, said Professor Kapila Abhayawansa, Vice Rector for Academic Affairs at the International Buddhist College in Thailand.

: IDN-INPS Asia Editor; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 22 February 2019

Photo (from left to right): Noboru Yamaguchi (Japan); Yang Xiyu (China), Chung-in Moon (South Korea), Kevin Clements (Coordinator: Toda Institute), Joseph Yun (USA), Georgy Toloraya (Russia). Credit: Yukie Asagiri.

Experts Discuss Prospects of Peace on The Korean Peninsula

By Katsuhiro Asagiri

TOKYO (IDN) – Nearly 66 years have passed since the Armistice Agreement formally brought about "a complete cessation of hostilities" of the Korean War. One year later, Chinese Premier and Foreign Minister Zhou Enlai proposed a peace treaty. But U.S. Secretary of State, John Foster Dulles, refused – leaving a final peace settlement on the Korean Peninsula hanging in the air.

The signed Armistice established the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), the de facto new border between the two nations, put into force a cease-fire, and finalized repatriation of prisoners of war. The DMZ runs close to the 38th parallel and has separated North and South Korea since the Armistice Agreement was signed in 1953.

: Ramesh Jaura; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 19 February 2019

Photo: Bangladesh. Rohingya refugees who fled Myanmar to safety in Cox's Bazar. Credit: UNHCR/Santiago Escobar-Jaramillo

Rohingya Refugees Remain in A Perilous Situation

Viewpoint by Vincent Auger*

United Nations aid agencies and partners launched an appeal on February 15 to raise $920 million to assist more than 900,000 refugees from Myanmar and the more than 330,000 vulnerable Bangladeshis hosting them.

MACOMB, Illinois, USA (IDN-INPS) – Eighteen months after being driven from their homes in Myanmar by what UN officials described as a campaign of genocidal violence by the military, the situation facing Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh remains perilous. Hundreds of thousands of people live in camps (the camp in Kutupalong alone houses more than 600,000 people), relying on aid from the World Food Program and help from the government of Bangladesh.

: IDN-INPS UN Bureau; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 16 February 2019

Photo: Memorial where Gandhi was assassinated in 1948. His stylised footsteps lead to the memorial. CC BY-SA 3.0

India's Hindu Nationalists Celebrate Gandhi Assassination

By Ram Puniyani*

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

MUMBAI (IDN) – On January 30, 2019, when the whole country was observing the 71st martyrdom day of ‘Father of the Nation’, Mahatma Gandhi, the members of Hindu Mahasabha recreated the murder of Gandhi in Aligarh. Led by Hindu Mahasabha Secretary Pooja Shakun Pandey, a group of saffron wearing workers assembled with preparation for video shooting.