Asia-Pacific

Photo: An Indonesian man who arrived at Seletar Airport on March 7, was the first traveller detected to be infected with the coronavirus using the new Singapore-developed Covid-19 nasal swab test kit. Source: Mothership

Singapore's Fight Against the Coronavirus on Social Media

Viewpoint by Archana Atmakuri

The writer is a Research Analyst at the Institute of South Asian Studies (ISAS) at the National University of Singapore. This opinion piece first appeared on East Asia Forum on 6 March 2020.

SINGAPORE (IDN) — Over 60 countries are now fighting confirmed and suspected cases of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), with the highest number of cases outside China recorded in South Korea, Italy, Iran and Japan as of today. Singapore has 117 confirmed cases but 80 patients have recovered as of 5 March.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; OPINION; 09 March 2020

Photo: The tourist sector in Perth, the Australian city closest to Asia with a travel time of between 3 to 4 hours, is also affected by the impact of coronavirus. Credit: Dietmar Rabich. CC BY-SA 4.0

Coronavirus Exposes Australia's Economic Dependence on China

By Kalinga Seneviratne

SYDNEY (IDN) — Australia hasn't had a recession for 29 years. Economists are now warning that the coronavirus (COVID-19) is almost certainly driving the country towards it and thus exposing Australia's heavy dependence on China for its economic prosperity.

Until the mid-1970s Australians were paranoid about a 'yellow peril' (the Chinese takeover) and practiced a 'White Australia' policy that kept Asians away from migrating to the vast continent.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 07 March 2020

Photo: Sri Lanka Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena addressing the UN Human Rights Council on 26 February. Source: Colombo Telegraph.

Sri Lanka Challenges UN Human Rights Council's Impartiality

By Kalinga Seneviratne

SINGAPORE (IDN) — Sri Lanka's Minister of Foreign Relations, Dinesh Gunawardena, has officially withdrawn from the co-sponsorship of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) Resolution on "Promoting reconciliation, accountability, and human rights in Sri Lanka". His predecessor, Mangala Samaraweera, had co-sponsored it along with the U.S. and a number of European member countries, in October 2015.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 04 March 2020

Photo: Students trapped in China because of Coronavirus. Source: Internet

African Students Trapped In China

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) — The coronavirus is spreading fast beyond its China borders, with cases now rising in parts of Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Some 90,000 people have been infected in over 65 countries and 3,000 worldwide have died of Covid-19.

As soon as the virus emerged, the World Health Organization named thirteen countries in Africa (Algeria, Angola, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia) at greatest risk of acquiring the virus, due to established direct links or frequent travel to and from China.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 03 March 2020

Collage of four leading Chinese news organizations.

US Penalizes Chinese Media While Beijing Expels American Correspondents

By Shanta Roy

NEW YORK (IDN) – The Trump administration's ongoing war of words with China – involving tariffs, naval supremacy in the South China sea, allegations of espionage and support for pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong – have been further escalated by a decision to designate five Chinese state-run media organizations as "foreign missions".

: Shanta Roy; THE WORLD; USA and Canada; 02 March 2020

Photo: Community leaders in Afghanistan strategize human rights. Credit: UNAMA

The Civil Society Prepared for Intra-Afghan Peace

By Bernhard Schell

DOHA | KABUL (IDN) — Women, youth as well as community and religious leaders in Afghanistan have been craving for peace and earnestly preparing for it long before the United States signed a landmark agreement with the Taliban on February 29.

The deal sets the stage to end America's longest war stretching over more than 18 years and allow President Donald Trump to begin the promised withdrawal of American troops. U.S. forces and their allies have been present in Afghanistan since 2001.

: Bernhard Schell; SUSTAINABILITY; Peace & Justice; 01 March 2020

Photo: U.S. President Donald Trump (R) listens to Chinese Vice-Premier Liu He (L) during a meeting to discuss trade issues in the Oval Office of the White House in in Washington, Jan 31, 2019. Credit: IC

Trump's Trade Deal Poses New Dangers to Southeast Asia

Viewpoint by Calvin Cheng*

KUALA LUMPUR (IDN) — After two years of alternating between tense escalation and fleeting periods of calm, the United States and China reached a preliminary phase one trade deal in December 2019. Government spokespersons in both countries promptly cheered the signing of the agreement — but observers around the world remain a little more circumspect.The primary achievement of the phase one deal seemed to be tempering the uncertainty of further tariff escalation, with both sides agreeing to cancel their upcoming tariff hikes.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 27 February 2020

A High-Optics, Low-Outcome Trump Trip to India

Viewpoint by Bharat Karnad *

NEW DELHI (IDN) — It's unclear what Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said to U.S. President Donald Trump when the former called the White House on February 11. Reportedly what sealed the presidential trip to India was Modi's promise that some 5-7 million people would be lining the route from Ahmedabad airport to the new stadium in Motera to greet him.

Ahmedabad is the largest city of Gujarat, the state where Modi ruled as chief minister for over a decade. For a showman like Trump, the prospect of dawn-to-dusk U.S. television coverage rich in colourful imagery featuring millions of Indians attesting his international popularity and exotic locales like the Taj Mahal must have been too intoxicating to turn down, especially in a year in which he is seeking re-election.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; OPINION; 23 February 2020

Photo: Baxter with her kids before they fell victim to the brutality of her husband. Source: Internet.

Epidemic of Domestic Violence Shocks Australia

By Kalinga Seneviratne

SYDNEY (IDN) —The gruesome murder of a 31-year-old mother Hannah Clarke and her three small children aged 6, 4 and 3 years, by her estranged 42-year-old husband Rowan Baxter, a former footballer, has shocked the nation and brought into the spotlight an epidemic of domestic violence in Australia that has gone largely unchecked for years. It has also got Australians questioning the attitude of men towards women with their greater tendency towards violence against women.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 22 February 2020

Photo: U.S. President Nixon shakes hands with Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai. Source: Wikimedia Commons

Incredible Obsession With China's Supposed Malevolence

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power

LUND, Sweden (IDN) – In Munich at the Security Conference from February 14-16 the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, nailed her anti-Chinese colours to the mast. Despite being a liberal on many issues and the leader of the fight to impeach President Donald Trump, she has joined forces with Trump in preaching that the West must not allow itself to be penetrated by Huawei’s 5G phone technology (which is cheaper than any Western counterpart).