Asia-Pacific

Photo: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (left) and South Korean President Moon Jae-in embrace Saturday (May 26, 2018) on the North Korean side of the shared inter-Korean area of Panmunjom. Credit: South Korean Presidential Blue House / Getty Images

Asian Sympathy Swinging Towards North Korea

By Kalinga Seneviratne

SINGAPORE (IDN) – The frenzied moves over the weekend of May 26-27 by leaders of South Korea and North Korea to revive the on-again, off-again North Korea-US summit, and pictures flashed across the region of the two Korean leaders warmly hugging each other for the second time within a month, are rapidly turning public opinion across the region in North Korea’s favour with the United States and President Donald Trump seen as the “evil”.

The pictures accompanying reports in Asian news media on Trump’s cancellation of the much anticipated summit always carry side-by-side a smiling affable North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and a stern-looking Trump.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 28 May 2018

Image: Montage of Trump and Kim. Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Uncertainty Abounds As Trump Cancels Summit With Kim

By Ramesh Jaura

BERLIN | GENEVA (IDN) – May 24, 2018 smacks of a 'historic day' marked by a smokescreen of uncertainty and speculations in the aftermath of U.S. President Donald Trump calling off his summit meeting with Kim Jong-un, the leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), commonly known as North Korea.

The situation has prompted United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres to remark that he is "deeply concerned." Speaking in Geneva on May 24, where he unveiled his new Agenda for Disarmament entitled, Securing Our Common Future, at the University of Geneva, in Switzerland, Guterres called on the U.S. and North Korea "to continue their dialogue to find a path to the peaceful and verifiable denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula."

: Ramesh Jaura; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 25 May 2018

Photo (left to right): Sun Zhijun, vice-minister of Publicity Department of CPC Central Committee; Xia Weidong, full-time deputy director of Office of National Steering Committee for Ethical and Cultural Progress; Xiang Zhaolun, vice-minister of the Ministry of Culture; and Zhang Hongsen, vice-minister of State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television; attend the news conference during the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in Beijing, 20 October 2017. Credit: Liu Wei/chinadaily.com.cn

China Extending Capabilities In Reengineering Global Opinion

Viewpoint by Zi Yang*

SINGAPORE (IDN) – On March 21, 2018, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) released its ‘Plan for Deepening Reform of Party and State Organs’. Among the 60 items added to China’s reform agenda, four were related to state media. That month, the CCP greatly increased the power of China’s so-called ‘Ministry of Truth’ — the Central Publicity Department (CPD). It also announced plans to create Voice of China, the world’s largest media conglomerate.

Previously hidden behind state institutions, the CPD now publicly declares its control over all Chinese press and publications. The administration of copyrights, censorship and monitoring of foreign publications imports are only a few of the CPD’s new tasks. As part of its deceptive tactics, the CPD employs the names State Press and Publication Administration or State Copyright Administration when communicating with foreign counterparts.

: Asia Editor; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 23 May 2018

Photo: Women Cross DMZ, in partnership with the Nobel Women’s Initiative and the Women’s Peace Walk, a coalition of more than 30 women’s peace organizations in South Korea, will travel to Seoul, South Korea May 24-26 for the #WomenPeaceKorea: A New Era delegation. Credit: Stepehen Wunrow | Women Cross DMZ

The 'Libyan Model' is Unhelpful: Korea needs its Own Process for Peace and Nuclear Disarmament

By Rebecca Johnson*

SEOUL (IDN) – I'm now in Seoul, taking part in the peace actions and international meetings organised by Women Cross the DMZ, referring to the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea.

News has been dominated by fears that the US National Security Advisor, John Bolton, may have jeopardised the hoped-for Singapore Summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump. Was this Bolton's intention?

As South Korea's President Moon Jae-in meets with Trump in Washington, it is hoped that all efforts will be made to consolidate plans for the Singapore Summit to be successful. Bolton's references to the "Libyan model" for North Korea's disarmament were extremely unhelpful.

: Asia Editor; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 22 May 2018

Photo: On April 1, 2018 local time, President Tran Dai Quang of Vietnam (right) met in Hanoi with State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi (left), who was paying an official visit to Vietnam.

China Is Making Friends With Five Mekong States

Viewpoint by Nguyen Khac Giang*

HANOI (IDN) – Since Chinese President Xi Jinping took over power in 2012, Southeast Asia has become a focal point of China’s geopolitical ambitions. Instead of the clandestine and illegal tactics seen under Mao Zedong, the current strategy combines two major approaches: building Chinese-led institutional mechanisms and buying support with a flood of aid, concessional loans and investments.

This strategy is clearly illustrated by the stellar rise of the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC), an ambitious Chinese initiative that involves the six countries of the Mekong sub-region: China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.

: Asia Editor; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 22 May 2018

Photo: 74th ESCAP Session: Countries adopt regional actions to tackle inequalities. Credit: ESCAP.

Multilateralism in Action is Something We Need to See More Of

By Miroslav Lajčák

Miroslav Lajčák is President of the 72nd session of the United Nations General Assembly. Following are extensive excerpts from his Statement at 74th session of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) with focus on Inequality in the Era of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development on 14 May 2018 in Bangkok, Thailand. – The Editor.

BANGKOK (IDN-INPS) – In 2015, we made a promise. We committed to leaving no one behind. And, the theme of this session is a stark reminder of our promise: Inequality in the Era of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

: Ramesh Jaura; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 21 May 2018

Families in Asia-Pacific Could Benefit Much More from Growing Remittances

By Krishan Dutta

KUALA LUMPUR (IDN) – Around US$6 trillion in remittances are expected to be sent to developing countries by 2030: over half of these flows will arrive in the Asia Pacific regions, very often in small towns and villages, says a new report.

Remittances to the Asia-Pacific region amounted to US$ 256 billion in 2017 representing 53 percent of flows worldwide. They have grown by 4.87 percent since 2008, with rates flattening in recent years.

Besides, remittances contribute to the region more than 10 times the official development assistance (ODA) in the region where 400 million people – one out of every 10 people – are directly affected by remittances either as a sender or as a receiver.

: Krishan Dutt; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 19 May 2018

Image: Cover (cropped) of Report on Inequality in Asia-Pacific. Credit. UNESCAP.

Inequality on the Rise in Asia-Pacific – UNESCAP Reports

By Rita Joshi

BERLIN | BANGKOK (IDN-INPS) – The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, approved by the United Nations in September 2015, pledged to "leave no one behind". But two years since the Agenda began to be implemented, inequality in Asia and the Pacific is on the rise. This is affirmed by a study launched at the 74th Session (CS74) of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), which opened on May 11, 2018 in Bangkok.

The Report shows that satisfactory progress has been made at the regional level towards eradicating poverty (Goal 1), promoting health and well-being (Goal 3), and achieving quality education for all (Goal 4).

: Rita Joshi; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 13 May 2018

Image: International Monitoring System with 337 Facilities – 90%+ complete. Source: CTBTO.

CTBTO Must Credibly Confirm Dismantling & Closure of DPRK Nuclear-Weapon Test Site

By Tariq Rauf *

While North Korea has invited journalists from a handful of countries to witness the dismantling and closure of its nuclear-weapon test site at Punggye Ri, only the Vienna-based Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) has the required expertise, verification technology and credibility to confirm the closure of the Punggye Ri test site.

Contrary to popular belief, the highly competent International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has expertise only in monitoring and verification of civilian nuclear programmes, but not in the areas of dismantling of nuclear weapons and dismantling of nuclear-weapon test sites.

The IAEA monitors the “upstream” dimension of nuclear weapons development while the CTBT is intended to monitor the “downstream” final proof of a State's intention to develop nuclear weapons – that is, the actual nuclear test explosion.

: UN Bureau; GLOBAL GOVERNANCE; CTBTO; 13 May 2018

Mobilising Finance and Regional Cooperation Key To Sustainable Development in Asia-Pacific

Viewpoint by Shamshad Akhtar

Building on steady economic growth, how can Governments in Asia and the Pacific ensure that such performance is sustained over time, is inclusive and has minimal environmental implications? What is the near-term macroeconomic outlook in the region, and what are the major current and emerging challenges? These are some of the questions analysed in the Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific 2018, the latest flagship publication of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). The following OpEd by the UN Under-Secretary-General and ESCAP Executive Secretary Dr. Shamshad Akhtar highlights salient aspects of the Survey launched at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Thailand on 7 May 2018. – The Editor.