Asia-Pacific

Security Council Permanent Seat Remains an Illusion for India

By Santo D. Banerjee

NEW YORK (IDN) – A pious wish has been making the rounds since August 4 2017 in the online news sites in India. On that remarkable day, they carried reports from Washington, D.C. conveying the impression that India's permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council was just round the corner. The source was invariably the U.S. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert.

The TIMESOFINDIA.COM, for example, carried the following report that apparently served as template for others: "The US, which supports India being given membership at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), is likely to raise the issue of New Delhi's membership at the world body later this month, said the US State Department today [August 4]."

: Santo D. Banerjee; UN INSIDER; 06 August 2017

Photo: Hambantota Port. Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Sri Lanka Clears Major Hurdle For China’s Silk Route Project

By Kalinga Seneviratne

COLOMBO (IDN) - The signing of a deal between the Sri Lankan government and a Chinese company, basically transferring the ownership on a 99-year lease of the strategically located Chinese-built Hambantota Port and 5,000 acres of land surrounding it for an industrial park in southern Sri Lanka has cleared a major hurdle for China’s ambitious Maritime Silk Route project while at the same time raising concerns about security and sovereignty issues.

The government-owned Sri Lankan Port Authority has signed a 1.1 billion dollar deal agreeing to sell a 70 percent stake in the Hambantota port to China’s state-run conglomerate China Merchants Port Holdings. The Cabinet approved the deal on July 25 and the government signed it at a ceremony opened to the media on July 29.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 31 July 2017

Photo: Snapshot of a film: Spears to semi-automatics: The human cost of conflict in Papua New Guinea Highlands. Credit: ICRC

Women Bear the Brunt of Violence in Papua New Guinea

By Neena Bhandari

SYDNEY (IDN) – Violence is one of the most pressing issues, especially in the highlands, of Papua New Guinea (PNG) – one of the world’s most ethnically and linguistically diverse nations.

“Increased access to high-powered guns such as military style M16s and home-made shotguns, and the breakdown of traditional rules of warfare, has amplified the effects of violence, resulting in dozens – if not hundreds – of violent deaths and thousands of displacements each year, especially in the Highlands,” says International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) chief official in PNG, Mark Kessler. ”We are seeing wounds that one would see in war zones.”

: Neena Bhandari; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 29 July 2017

Photo: Dr. Jargalsaikhan Enkhsaikhan, Chairman of 'Blue Banner'.

UN Nuclear Ban Treaty and the Vital Role of Nuclear Have-Nots

By Dr. Jargalsaikhan Enkhsaikan

Dr .Jargalsaikhan Enkhsaikhan is Chairman of Blue Banner – a Mongolian NGO devoted to promoting nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament – and a former Permanent Representative of his country to the United Nations. Blue Banner is organizing an 'International Conference on Nuclear Disarmament Issues: Global and Regional Aspects,' on August 31- September 1 2017 in Ulaanbaatar to encourage effective strategies to move jointly towards the common goal of achieving a nuclear-weapons-free world.

ULAANBAATAR (IDN) - An event of truly historic importance has taken place at the United Nations Headquarters: On July 7 the text of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons was approved at the final session of the General Assembly mandated conference to negotiate a legally binding instrument to prohibit nuclear weapons leading towards their total elimination. It is the first legally binding instrument for nuclear disarmament to have been negotiated since the end of the Cold War more than two decades ago.

: IDN-INPS Asia Editor; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 28 July 2017

Photo: Hekitta: Pedestrians are forced to walk on the middle of the road because the garbage has taken over the pavement. Source: The Sunday Times | M.A. Pushpa Kumara

The Forgotten Professions: The Plight of a Nation

Viewpoint by Asanga Abeyagoonasekera

COLOMBO (IDN-INPS) - The Sri Lankan public has become the unfortunate victim of the nation’s health and sanitation crisis. The policymakers are questioned by both the public and the media of their inability to manage the ongoing situation.

One of the world’s most iconic cities, New York, was turned into a garbage dump in February 1968 due to the sanitation workers’ refusal to collect garbage. After 9 days, 100,000 tons of garbage had piled up and a state of emergency was declared. In Sri Lanka, garbage collection in Colombo and the surrounding areas has become a serious problem over the past few weeks. Sabotage by sanitation workers and relocation of the garbage dump, with an on-going blame-game, has aggravated the situation. A record high of 100,000 dengue patients is an indirect consequence. Hospitals have run out of beds compounding the health crisis.

: IDN-INPS Asia Editor; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 27 July 2017

Photo: The Dzong in the Paro valley, built in 1646. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

Bhutan: A Buddhist Development Model Worth Emulating

Viewpoint by the Venerable Dr Omalpe Sobhitha Mahathera*

This article is the 16th in a series of joint productions of Lotus News Features and IDN-InDepthNews, flagship of the International Press Syndicate.

ENBILIPITIYA, Sri Lanka (IDN) – There will be many answers to the question: which is the country where the happiest people live? In response many famous, developed nations will come to mind, but you will be surprised that the name of a little-known country could be the right answer to this question. It is Bhutan, the wonderful and amazing country that beats all others on the happiness index.

Bhutan has been so identified following a worldwide survey on Gross National Happiness (GNH) – not Gross National Product (GDP). Its capital is Thimpu, which reminds us of the peace talks held there between the Sri Lanka Government and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) separatists in 1985.

: Phil Harris; OPINION; 19 July 2017

Image: Polish mural in Warsaw, reading "Solidarity with Liu Xiaobo". Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

Liu Xiaobo’s Death Holds China to the Light

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power*

LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) - China, since the days in 1793 and the mission of Earl Macartney, emissary of King George 11, has kept its distance from the West, preferring to be “as self-contained as a billiard ball”, to quote the great historian Alain Peyrefitte.

It was Peyrefitte who argued in “The Collision of Civilizations” that Macartney’s decision not to kowtow to the emperor gave the Chinese the impression that their civilization was denied. They withdrew into their bunker and have remained for the last two centuries prickly, ultra-sensitive, quick to take offence and too ready to assume the worst of West’s motives.

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 18 July 2017

Photo: Prime Minister Modi with Israeli counterpart Netanyahu. Credit: www.narendramodi.in

Modi's Israel Visit Underlines India's Balanced Approach in the Middle East

By Manish Rai*

NEW DELHI (IDN-INPS) - The recent three-day visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi marks the first trip of an Indian Premier to Israel after 25 years of diplomatic relations. Many analysts see the July 4-6 visit as a clear diplomatic tilt toward Israel after years of India keeping its distance.

Israel also gave a lot of importance to this state visit. Only a selected few world leaders such as U.S. President and the Pope receive a grand reception at Israel's Ben Gurion International Airport. So, it did not go unnoticed that India's Prime Minister received the same red-carpet treatment.

: IDN-INPS Asia Editor; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 16 July 2017

Photo: Former UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon delivers a congratulatory speech during a ground-breaking ceremony for the Ban Ki-moon Global Education Institute at the Handong Global University in Pohang, 374km southeast of Seoul, on July 11, 2017. Credit: Yonhap

UN Chief Welcomes Ban Ki-moon Global Education Institute

By J Nastranis

NEW YORk (IDN) - UN Secretary-General António Guterres has welcomed the ground-breaking ceremony for the Global Education Institute (GEI) initiated by his predecessor Ban Ki-moon on July 11 2017 at Handong Global University – in Pohang, 374km southeast of Seoul – the hub of UN Academic Impact (UNAI) for capacity-building in higher education.

"I am pleased to greet all those attending the ground-breaking ceremony for the Ban Ki-moon Global Education Institute," said Guterres in a message, adding: "The opportunity to enjoy an inclusive and equitable quality education is a prerequisite for improving lives and ensuring sustainable development."

: J Nastranis; UN INSIDER; 15 July 2017

Photo: Prime Minister Netanyahu thanks Modi for Israel visit. Credit: www.narendramodi.in

Terrorism Hinders Hailing Modi's Israel Visit Climaxing 25 Years

By Shastri Ramachandaran*

NEW DELHI (IDN-INPS) - Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s three-day visit to Israel from July 4 to 6, the first ever by an Indian Prime Minister, is a historic departure with ramifications that may have been missed in the euphoric aftermath of the moment.

This was also the first time that a high-level Indian dignitary visiting Israel did not travel to Ramallah, the seat of the Palestinian Authority. Usually, visiting dignitaries are at pains to emphasise, at least, optical equality between Israel and Palestine, and make it a point to visit Ramallah. This act of omission – or is it commission? -- alone, it is observed, takes India-Israel relations to a new level.