Asia-Pacific

Photo: President Xi visited Southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region from from July 21-23 for the 70th anniversary of Tibet's "peaceful liberation". Credit: Xinhua

The Chinese President's Strategic Tibet Visit

Viewpoint by Shastri Ramachandaran *

NEW DELHI (IDN) — The significance and strategic implications of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Tibet from July 21-23 is unlikely to be lost on those entrusted with India’s external affairs, national security and defence.

How New Delhi views this landmark visit to the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) by a Chinese president—the first since President Jiang Zemin’s visit in 1990—needs to be adequately articulated to enable an informed understanding of what it means in the context of the current impasse in eastern Ladakh between the armed forces of the two Asian giants.

: Shastri Ramachandaran; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 29 July 2021

Photo by RODNAE Productions from Pexels. Source: interstaff.com.au

Workers Open to Abuse in Australia's New ASEAN Agriculture Visa

Viewpoint by Abul Rizvi*

MELBOURNE (IDN) — After years of resisting pressure from the Australian National Party and the farm lobby to create an agriculture visa, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has at last relented. A new agriculture visa for workers from ASEAN nations is currently being negotiated. Applications will likely start from November 2021 or early in 2022, subject to vaccination take-up in ASEAN countries.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; OPINION; 26 July 2021

Photo: Ambassador Chen Xu. UN human rights council passes China's resolution calling for people-centered development for human rights. Source: Global Times.

China Counters Western 'Hypocrisy' At UNHRC With Development Rights Push

By Kalinga Seneviratne

SYDNEY | GENEVA (IDN) — China came out with its guns blazing at the recently concluded 47th sessions of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) pointing out western hypocrisy on human rights, by particularly targeting Canada and Australia. China was supported on this counterattack by over 60 developing country members of the UN body.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 22 July 2021

Photo: The joint drills of the Chinese, Russian and South African Navy demonstrate the countries' willingness to cooperate to ensure stability, according to spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of National Defense Senior Colonel Ren Guoqiang. © Marshal Ustinov missile cruiser.

Russia and China: Geopolitical Rivals and Competitors in Africa

Interview by Kester Kenn Klomegah*

MOSCOW (IDN) — The growth of neo-colonial tendencies, the current geopolitical developments and the scramble for its resources by external countries in Africa: these are some of the issues researcher and business analyst Lipton Matthews recently discussed with Kester Kenn Klomegah for InDepthNews (IDN). Matthews is associated with Merion West, The Federalist, American Thinker, Intellectual Takeout, Mises Institute, and Imaginative Conservative.

: Kester Kenn Klomegah; THE WORLD; Africa; 22 July 2021

Photo (Left to Right): Bandula Vithanarachchi of TTV Media Hub and Manish Uprety F.R.A.S. of ALCAP

ALCAP Ventures into Sri Lanka for Joint Movie Production

By Niba Mirza*

COLOMBO (IDN) — Sri Lanka which from time immemorial is linked to South America through the Indian Ocean is now also connected through Joint Movie/ Documentary co-production and audiovisual exchange.

The Asociación Latinoamericana de Comunicación Audiovisual Parlamentaria, ALCAP, or the Latin American Parliamentary Association of Audiovisual Communication, signed a MOU with TTV Media Hub of Sri Lanka so that bridges between Sri Lanka and South America can be diversified and strengthened via enhanced Audiovisual exchange and Joint Movie Production.

: Asia Editor; SUSTAINABILITY; Quality Education; 20 July 2021

Photo: German Chancellor Angela Merkel (L) paid an official working visit to White House and held talks with President Joe Biden (R) on July 15, 2021. Source: India Punchline

US-China Relations Face Transitional Period Ahead

Viewpoint by M.K. Bhadrakumar *

NEW DELHI (IDN) — The 'official working visit' by the German Chancellor Angela Merkel to the White House on July 15 has been most conspicuous for its subdued tone regarding the most fateful topic of her discussion with President Joe Biden—China.

Merkel's guarded remarks about China at the joint press conference with Biden came as no surprise but what took the breath away is that Biden himself treaded softly on that topic.

: Opinion Editor; THE WORLD; USA and Canada; 19 July 2021

Photo: Prime minister Yoshihide Suga. Source: Asianews.it

Who Wins from The Tokyo Olympics Going Ahead?

Viewpoint by Corey Wallace

The writer is Assistant Professor at Kanagawa University.

YOKOHAMA, Japan (IDN | East Asia Forum) — Since the beginning of the pandemic, the Tokyo Olympics have cast a shadow over Japan’s COVID-19 response. Critics—including a former Japanese prime minister—questioned whether the government’s lacklustre early response to the outbreak and its ‘risky’ cluster-based strategy were a product of political considerations concerning the Games. A former health minister even asked whether under testing and ageing Japan’s more than 90,000 annual pneumonia deaths conveniently obscured the true impact of COVID-19.

: Asia Editor; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 18 July 2021

Photo: Fiji's Health Secretary Dr James Fong. Credit: Fiji govt/Fiji Times/File

15-Year-Old Girl Among Latest Fiji Covid Deaths as Virus Cases Soar Over 11,000

By Josefa Babitu*

SUVA (IDN) — A 15-year-old girl has become Fiji’s youngest death due to the covid-19 coronavirus pandemic, taking the total of deaths due to the virus to 58.

Health Secretary Dr James Fong has confirmed this after an investigation by medical personnel classified the case as another covid-19 death.

The girl from Colo-I-Suva was declared dead on arrival by the attending medical officer at the Raiwaqa Health Centre last week.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; SUSTAINABILITY; Health & Well Being; 14 July 2021

Photo: For a half century, the French nuclear bomb tests and their consequences have cast a shadow over Tahiti. Image: Bruno Barrilo/Heinui Le Caill

France Denies Covering-Up Deadly Nuclear Tests in French Polynesia

By Asia Pacific Report newsdesk

SUVA (IDN) — The French government has denied any cover-up over radiation levels in the Pacific following its nuclear testing in the region, as state-backed discussions took place in Paris about the legacy of the explosions, reports France 24.

A two-day meeting called by French President Emmanuel Macron was held following fresh allegations that the testing from 1966 to 1996 caused hidden atmospheric and ground radiation.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 14 July 2021

Combating COVID-19 and Ensuring No One is Left Behind

Viewpoint by Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, Kanni Wignaraja, and Bambang Susantono

Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana is the Executive Secretary, Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). Kanni Wignaraja is the Assistant Secretary-General, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Bambang Susantono is the Vice-President of Asian Development Bank (ADB).

BANGKOK (IDN) — If the world wants to beat back the COVID-19 pandemic and ensure no one is left behind in the recovery, two issues thrown into sharp relief by the pandemic need attention: digitalization and regional cooperation.