Asia-Pacific

Photo: Dr. Hassan Rouhani, President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, paid his first State Visit to India at the invitation of Prime Minister of the Republic of India, Narendra Modi, from 15-17 February 2018. Credit: pmindia.gov.in

Iran Looks East in the Face of Crippling U.S. Sanctions

Viewpoint by Micha’el Tanchum

The author is a Fellow at the Truman Research Institute for the Advancement of Peace, Hebrew University and an affiliated scholar with the Center for Strategic Studies at Başkent University in Ankara, Turkey (Başkent-SAM). This article first appeared in EastAsiaForum on 22 November 2018.

ANKARA (IDN-INPS) – Tehran has taken a significant step toward creating a multilateral framework for Eurasian security cooperation by convening its first ‘Regional Security Dialogue’ summit in late September 2018 with deputy national security advisers from Russia, China and India. In the face of U.S.-led international sanctions, Tehran’s efforts to develop multilateral security cooperation are providing a framework for Asia’s giants to partner with Iran.

: Africa & ME Editor; OPINION; 26 November 2018

Photo: Ambassador Azeez, Sri Lanka's Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva. Credit: UNCTAD

Sri Lanka Chaired UNCTAD Commission Boosts Multilateralism

By Jamshed Baruah

GENEVA (IDN) – "We need to look at how best multilateralism can be advanced and strengthened rather than at theories that suggest a 'doomsday' scenario or the 'dawn of an era of post-multilateralism'," said Ambassador A.L.A. Azeez, Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to United Nations in Geneva.

He was addressing the 10th session of the Trade and Development Commission of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) following his election by acclamation as its Chairperson.

: Jamshed Baruah; UN INSIDER; 25 November 2018

Photo: Colombo skyline in November 2017. Tallest buildings from left to right: Altair, Hilton Residence, Access Tower II, Empire Towers, Parkland Building (short white building), OnThree20, Lotus Tower. CC BY-SA 4.0

Continuing Political Instability Impacting Economic Policy-Making in Sri Lanka

By Friday Forum

The following media release issued by the Friday Forum (FF) on November 22, 2018 expresses grave concern about the situation in the aftermath of Sri Lanka President Maithripala Sirisena's move to remove Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and prorogue Parliament on October 26, 2018. The FF is an informal group of concerned citizens pledged to uphold norms of democracy, good governance, rule of law, human rights, media freedom and tolerance in our pluralist society. – The Editor

COLOMBO (IDN-INPS) – The FF shares the despair and disgust of most Sri Lankans with recent political events in the country that have now spiralled into a serious impasse in governance. The economic, social and political repercussions of this crisis will undoubtedly cause a serious set-back to the sustained and inclusive development and reconciliation that our nation urgently needs.

: Asia Editor; OPINION; 24 November 2018

Photo: Mass grave at the Killing Field of Choeung Ek. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

The Cambodian-UN War Crimes Trials are Finally Over

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power*

LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – Finally, finally, the over-long, ten year trials of the leaders of the murderous Khmer Rouge leadership of Cambodia, are over. The two defendants, Nuon Chea and Khieu Samphan, were each given a life sentence at the end of the first trial in August 2015 for crimes against humanity. Now they have been convicted of genocide.

Of the other three that were tried, one, the ex-foreign minister, Ieng Sary died in 2013, one, Ieng Thirith, the wife of Ieng Sary, was too ill with Alzheimer’s to appear and one, Kaing Guek Eav (“Duch”), voluntarily confessed three years ago and was sent to jail for 35 years.

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 20 November 2018

Photo: Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono co-chairs the ninth Ministerial Meeting of the Friends of the CTBT on September 27. The joint statement, organized by Japan, Australia, Canada, Finland, Germany, and the Netherlands and endorsed by other states, urges North Korea “to sign and ratify the CTBT as a matter of priority.” Credit: CTBTO.

Verification is Key to Denuclearization of North Korea

Viewpoint by Lassina Zerbo

"The CTBTO and its technological tools are uniquely placed to provide adequate verification and to monitor an end to nuclear tests in North Korea," writes Lassina Zerbo, the executive secretary of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organization. This article first appeared on Arms Control Association website on November 1, 2018. – The Editor

VIENNA (IDN-INPS) – On October 7, 2018 the U.S. Department of State issued a readout on Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's meetings in Pyongyang indicating that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un “invited inspectors to visit the Punggye-ri nuclear test site to confirm that it has been irreversibly dismantled.”

: UN Bureau; GLOBAL GOVERNANCE; CTBTO; 20 November 2018

Photo: Papua New Guinea's Prime Minister Peter O'Neill, right, and China's President Xi Jinping in Port Moresby on November 16.

China Chides U.S. for Portraying Silk Road as 'Trap'

By Devinder Kumar

PORT MORESBY (IDN) – China’s President Xi Jinping has rejected U.S. criticism of Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative, vowing it is not "a trap" and that it is not designed to serve any hidden geopolitical agenda. The project is also known as Silk Road Economic Belt.

Xi was addressing a meeting of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in the capital of PNG and referring to a massive infrastructure and development project spanning Southeast Asia, Central Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Africa, according to Iran's Press TV.

: Devinder Kumar; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 17 November 2018

ASEAN Refrains from Taking Sides as Trade Dominates Summit

By Kalinga Seneviratne

SINGAPORE (IDN) – Addressing a media conference at the close of the three-day 33rd ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) Summit on November 15, Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong expressed fears that “circumstances may come” where the regional organization would have to “choose one over the other”.

Though not naming them, he was referring to China and the United States (U.S.) two major trading partners of ASEAN that are currently having a fierce trade war that is impacting on the region.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 16 November 2018

Japan, Russia Join UNODC to Support Afghanistan's Counter Narcotics Efforts

By Reinhard Jacobsen

VIENNA (IDN) – The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Afghanistan, Japan and the Russian Federation have signed a declaration, highlighting the new development of the Trilateral Cooperation to support counter narcotics efforts of the Government of Afghanistan, according to UN Information Service (UNIS). The declaration also gives an overview of the past achievements.

This cooperation was initiated in September 2012 with the delivery of counter narcotics training provided to law enforcement officials from Afghanistan and its neighbouring countries of Central Asia, conducted at the All-Russian Advanced Training Institute of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, or the 'Domodedovo Training Centre' with the financial and technical support of Japan.

: Reinhard Jacobsen; UN INSIDER; 12 November 2018

Photo: Sri Lanka (Ambassador Azeez on the left) co-chaired the WHO Global Coordination Mechanism for the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases (GCM/NCD) along with the host country Switzerland. Credit: Sri Lanka Permanent Mission to the UN in Geneva.

WHO Determined to Prevent Noncommunicable Diseases

Sri Lanka Co-Chaired Meeting Focuses on Diseases Killing the Poor

By Jamshed Baruah

GENEVA (IDN) – Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) pose a serious global development challenge. As the year three of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) comes to a close, evidence shows that the international community is not on track to meet a vital goal. This is a disconcerting perspective because NCDs are causing far more deaths and disability than any other group of diseases, according to experts.

: Jamshed Baruah; SUSTAINABILITY; Health & Well Being; 10 November 2018

Photo: U.S. Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power meets Northern Province Governor H. M. G. S. Palihakkara at the Governor's Secretariat in Chundikuli, Jaffna, Sri Lanka on 22 November 2015. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

Sri Lanka Needs a Consensus Builder – Where Have All the Leaders Gone?

Viewpoint by H.M.G.S. Palihakkara *

The author is a Sri Lankan civil servant, diplomat and former Governor of Northern Province. This article first appeared in The Island and is being republished in view of its fervent plea for 'building a culture of consensual governance'. – The Editor.

COLOMBO (IDN-INPS) – Many concerned citizens are seen to describe the current state of our Republic as being at a crossroads. It is not difficult to join this conversation, not least because the challenges involved are multiple and touch upon all strata of our national life.