Myanmar: Bleak outlooks for Democracy and Human rights in Myanmar

Myanmar is an ongoing transition with a rebalancing of power structures, constitutional development and external support of different kind. The first article focuses on four of dimensions of this transition, namely, the transition to democracy; from war to peace; from a war economy to a liberal open-market economy as well as a transition of the society as such. Pondering the progress made and to be expected in the nearer future the general assessment is sobering. Significant for the status of the political transition is the second article on the rather authoritarian style of Aung San Suu Kyi’s government. It has increasingly cracked down on journalists and activists in a climate in which it is not easy to say in how much it is influenced by the remnants of the old order or the authentic style of an Aung San Suu Kyi in government instead one of in opposition.

(Mizzima, Gulf News)

Cambodia: Politica Rights Under Pressure

Two articles shedding light on the current situation of human rights in Cambodia. The first link contains a research report conducted by human rights NGOs that reveals that, despite a basically solid legal framework which meets international standards, infringements of fundamental rights continue to occur in Cambodia, due to misapplication of law and recent legislation containing restrictions on the exercise of rights and freedoms. The second link leads to a ruling of the Phnom Penh Municipal Court in which analyst Kim Sokhas been sentenced to 18 months for defamation of Hun Sen and stirring up public disorder. Rights groups view this decision as a further testimony to Prime Minister Hun Sen’s usage of the judiciary to intimidate political opponents and silence critical voices to secure his re-election next year.

(Cambodia Daily, McClatchy)

Thailand's Return to Democracy May Raise Tension

According Thailand’s former Prime Minister Abhisit, tensions could very well arise during the country’s return to democracy next year. To blame are a new constitution which institutes a Senate of appointed soldiers, judges, and bureaucrats with the power to stifle elected politicians in the House of Representatives, as well as a two-decade national strategy which currently is being crafted and is likely to cause tensions with elected governments.

(Bloomberg)

Indonesia: Former Indonesian president's son launches think-tank

The recent foundation of a political think tank by Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono, son of Indoenesia’s former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, is viewed by observers as part of a strategic plan to ensure his election as Indonesian president in 2019.

(The Strait Times)

Indonesia´s War on Drugs and its Human Right Toll

Two articles on the war on drugs in Indonesia highlighting the immense increase of drug suspects killed in this year by security forces as a result of a government-ordered shift in the treatment of drug criminals.

(Daily Telegraph, The Star)

Indonesia denies claims of Papuan rights restrictions

The Indonesian government has declared accusations of infringement of political rights of West Papuans as baseless.

(Radio New Zealand)

Malaysia: Moderation under threat as Malaysia faces Islamic tide

With an ongoing violent radicalization and influx of violent extremism of Islamic provenance in the region, the Islamic mainstream gets steadily more conservative in two of Southeast Asia's biggest Islam nations: Indonesia and Malaysia. The article gives a thorough overview of the situation in Malaysia with looming elections as an amplifier of Islamization.

(The Australian)

Vietnam: Standards for Party high-ranking officials issued

High ranking officials of the Vietnamese Communist Party are working from now on under the scrutiny based on written standard and assessment criteria. Introducing a novelty in Vietnam, the Party’s General Secretary signed a related official document on Monday containing specific provisions to assess the performance of party officials falling under the scrutiny of the Party Central Committee, Politburo and Secretariat.

(The Voice of Vietnam)

Rohingya Refugee Crisis in South Asia

Two article addressing India’s refugee policy. Reflecting a harsh treatment of refugees, India’s government has declared all Rohingya refugees illegal immigrants to be deported to Myanmar, even those among them who possess an identity card issue by the United Nations (link 1). In a related development government officials from India, Bangladesh and Myanmar met for talks on the deportation of the Rohingya refugees in India.

(Independent, Coconuts)

Bangladesh: Judicial Politics over Constitutional Identity

A constitutional amendment which empowered the Parliament to remove top court judges from office has been invalidated by Bangladesh’s Supreme Court triggering a strong reaction from the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Besides a general report on the crisis (link 1) some central passages from the verdict are quoted as well (link 2). The impact of the decision lies firstly in the fact that the verdict refers to the constitutional identity of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh and secondly in the decision’s nature as one by which a Court decides on a law that is affecting its own business thus conflicting with the principle nemo iudex in sua causa.

(The Hindu, The Daily Star)

India proved James Madison right about federalism

Modern federalism can be traced all the way back to James Madison and the Philadelphia constitutional convention 230 years ago. The event arguably constitutes the most important American contribution to democratic government. Without it, vast and populous countries such as India, Canada, Australia, and Germany could not be governed in such a diverse yet unified manner.

(Economic Times)

North Korea - The In- and Outside of a Tyrannic Regime

To avoid further everyday news on North Korea, the links to two background articles about this country are posted. The first deals with the killing spree of Kim Jong-un against his family revealing the foundations and maintenance of his regime’s power. The second article is a thorough analysis of the past failures of the USA and her allies in confronting North Korea.

(Esquire, The National Interest)

China: Xinjiang’s police hiring binge comes from party boss’s Tibet playbook

China’s northwestern border province Xinjiang has seen an exponential growth in security related job-offers in the past two years, reflecting increasing police presence and surveillance in the region.

(South China Morning Post)

Mongolia: Mongolia’s new president is Mongolia first and China last

Mongolia’s new President Khaltmaa Battulga won the presidential election with a nationalistic, anti-China campaign. Since more than a month in office, a core issue and challenge of his administration will be to balance the relationships of Mongolia with Russia and China

(East Asia Forum)

Taiwan: President Tsai Ing-wen’s approval rating sinks to new low

A little bit more than one year after her inauguration as President of the Republic of China in May 2016, when she had an approval rating of almost 70%, Tsai Ing-wen is currently facing nationwide dissatisfaction with her performance and an approval rating below 30%.

(Taipei Times)

Japan: The old and the new in Abe’s revamped administration

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe played safe in his cabinet reshuffle in the wake of political scandals and falling approval rates. Whether he will re-gain public support with his new administration remains questionable. 

(East Asia Forum)

Indo-German ties

The article reviews the diplomatic ties between Indi and Germany highlighting the importance of classical German Indology - the study and teaching of Sanskrit, comparative linguistics and comparative religions by German scholars – as an important link between the countries and cultures.

(Deutsche Welle)

How Singapore expands ‘soft power’ through education

With its universities constantly ranked among the world’s best and its schools coming up first in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), Singapore’s education system is arguably as powerful a political bargaining chip. At the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, 80 percent of the intake are from overseas, expanding the reach of Singapore’s “soft power”.

(Study International)

Thai Diplomacy between China and the US: Where is it heading to?

Thailand’s diplomacy – famous for being among the most flexible in Asia – has oriented itself after the 2014 closer to China. Since then relationships to China and the US have changed however with less momentum for the Sino – Thai relations than widely expected and an improved relationship to the US in the wake of the current US administration’s overall Asia policy focusing on North Korea and the South-China Sea. With the prospects of Thailand’s ‘bamboo foreign policy’ remaining open the article examines some of the influencing factors and possible scenarios.

(The News Lens)

Pakistan’s Rebalancing Away from the US

Three articles on Pakistan’s geostrategic and geopolitical position in Asia. Southern Asia’s evolving geopolitics are leading to the intensification of the China-Pakistan nexus (link 1). Whereas the relationships with India and the United States remain difficult, Pakistani Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and China's Vice-Premier Wang Yang have agreed to further promote cooperation on all issues of mutual interest (link 2). At the same time, a new direct sea route between Pakistan's port of Karachi and Hamad Port in Qatar has been launched as the Gulf blockade continues (link).

(War on the Rocks, First Post, Samaa)

Sri Lanka as geopolitical Prize

Three article pertaining to developments in Sri Lanka’s relationship to major powers in Asia. India has expressed interest to operate Sri Lanka’s second international airport situated in Mattala (link 1). The development comes shortly after Sri Lanka signed a $1.1 billion deal with China, giving the state-run China Merchants Port Holdings a 70% stake in a joint venture to run the port of Hambantota, about 40 km from Mattala. Analysts say the port is part of Beijing’s bigger push to challenge US naval dominance in the Indian Ocean and New Delhi’s influence in the region (link 2). At the same time, Sri Lanka and other South Asian countries are driven by the fact that closer ties with China could be a way to balance power with India.

(The Hindu, Nation, South China Morning Post)

Malaysia-Indonesia border issue will probably be solved with political will

Facing an unsuccessful series of 28 meetings of the technical committee on the Malaysia-Indonesia border issue, Malaysian Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman expressed his conviction that a resolution of the issue would rely on the political will of the Prime Ministers of the two countries.

(The Sun Daily)

Beijing won't let Indonesia's Chinese burn again

Caught in between a rising Islamic conservatism reflected in the conviction of former ethnic Chinese and Christian Jakarta Governor for blasphemy and connotations of Indonesia becoming prey of China’s economic strength among the population, ethnic Chinese Indonesian fear to face of anti-Chinese feeling and hatred again.

(Foreign Policy)

What Singapore is by expelling China Hand Huang Jing

the expulsion of National University of Singapore Professor Huang Jing on grounds of influencing the government in favor of a foreign country embodies the rocky path of Singapore in adjusting and re-defining the country’s relationship with China.

(South China Morning Post)

Vietnam treasures ties with Cambodia: Party chief

At a recent reception in Hanoi, arranged in the context of the 50th anniversary of bilateral relationships between Vietnam and Cambodia, Vietnamese Communist Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and Nay Pena, Chairman of the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) Central Committee’s Inspection Commission and First Vice President of the Cambodian Senate, mutually confirmed their appreciation of the relationship between both countries.

(Nhan Dan)

The Coming War in Asia: Why It Is Hard to Imagine the Unimaginable

 A very topical commentary on Asia as a region with unprecedentedly interconnected and highly volatile situations and conflict spots such as the Kashmir conflict between India and Pakistan, the boder conflict between China and India vocer Doklam, the South China Sea, border issues between Laos and Cambodia, Chinese-Japanese tensions over Japan’s Defense White Paper, and Japan’s deployment of Patriot interceptors.

(The Diplomat)

How far are we from War between India and China

Two articles on India’s military in the wake of border conflicts Doklam and Kashmir. The tensions in the dispute over Doklam between India and China are rising as both sides are preparing for an eventual armed clash (link 1). Amidst this critical atmosphere Indian Defence Minister Arun Jaitley in a public speech on the eve of the Independence Day called upon the armed forces to defend the country’s borders with all might.

(The Independent, Indian Express)

Laos to withdraw troops after Cambodia threat

Laos announced to call back her troops from the border to Cambodia after a meeting between the Prime Ministers of both countries arranged to resolve the dispatch of troops on both sides to the border area.

(Aljazeera)

Asian Armament and Defense Trade

Five articles on arms sales in Asia. Against the background of a growing defense trade between India and the US since recent years and joint interests to counter China in the Indian Ocean, Admiral Harry Harris, Commander of the US Pacific Command, has offered India help to improve India's military capabilities in significant and meaningful ways (link 1). While the European Union is seeking to entrench its defense integration, EU member states take very different stances towards arms sales in general and with respect to Asia in particular. The Swedish government is currently working on a bill to tighten arms sales to undemocratic countries, France works on expanding its exports of arms with Asia as the currently most important market for European defense industries while the EU itself remains insignificant in effectively defining an own arms-export policy. Meanwhile, Germany, similar to France, is increasingly exporting weapon systems to Asia, especially South Korea (link 3). Facing spreading terrorism, ASEAN states have turned to Russia as an arms supplier (link 4), too. This is  reflected for example in the purchase of Russian fighter jets and the short-listing of Russian military vehicles by Indonesia (link 5). 

(NDTV, Asia Times, Deutsche Welle, South China Morning Post, Janes 360, Bangkok Post)

Defending Japan

Three articles on Japan’s security policy: the first is a critical analysis of Japan’s Defense White Paper 2017, the second informs about the joint military exercise of US Marines and Japanese Self-Defense Forces, and the third addresses the deployment of Patriot interceptor missile by the Japanese government preparing for the possible case of North Korean missiles fired at Guam.

(Asia Times, The Diplomat, Japan Times, XinHuaNet)

Vietnam´s Ongoing Orientation Towards the West: US-Vietnam Security Ties

Two articles on Vietnam’s leaning towards China-critical powers. In appreciation of Vietnam’s critical stance against China in the South China Sea conflict, the USA has promised to deepen the two countries security and defense cooperation (link 1). After the Japanese emperor’s visit to Vietnam earlier this year – the first by a Japanese monarch – the maturing bilateral relationships between the two countries seem to develop, especially in economic and security terms. With the 2009 established bilateral “strategic partnership” having been upgraded in 2014 to an “extended strategic partnership” centered on the South China Sea the countries focus on the shared maritime security interests against China.

(Reuters, Project Syndicate)

 Malaysian navy ship berths at Middle Rocks

A Malaysian navy ship berthed at the new base on Middle Rocks for the first time. The Middle Rocks outcrop was awarded to Malaysia in 2008 by the International Court of Justice. 

(The Star)

What is the South China Sea code of conduct, and why does it matter?

ASEAN and China have agreed to set up a code of conduct in the South China Sea that is supposed to establish a set of norms to guide the conduct of parties and promote maritime cooperation in the South China Sea. Regional experts and diplomats believe the agreement's framework will be more symbolic in content than substantive.

(CNBC)

Ongoing tension in the South China Sea

Four articles pertaining to the position and policy of China in the South China Sea dispute. While the first link confirms a diplomatic win of China at the recent ASEAN Regional Forum in Manila, the second links informs about China’s plans to build up floating nuclear plants in the South China Sea, a further measure signifying China’s  assertiveness. This assertiveness is also reflected in Beijing’s fierce condemnation (link 4) of the US Navy freedom of navigation operation in the South China Sea on 10 August (link 3).

(South China Morning Post, The Diplomat, Xin Hua)

Sri Lanka Defence Officials in Rwanda to Acquire Reintegration Skills

A delegation from the Sri Lanka defense force have visited the Rwanda Defense Force (RDF) to learn from Rwanda’s recovery and reintegration efforts. RDF has a partnership with the Sri Lanka defense force especially in terms of training. Currently, 20 RDF officers are undergoing training in engineering in Sri Lanka.

(KT Press)

On the Spread of Terrorism Throughout the Region

Subject of the four links is the spread of violent terrorist Islamism in Southeast Asia. Referring to the jihadist’ motto "If you can't reach Syria, go to the Philippines!" the first article (link 1) provides an outline of the current pattern of spreading violent Islamic extremism in Asia in its historical depth. The arrest of two IS recruiters, one originally from Cambodia apprehended in Turkey (link 2) and one arrested in Jakarta and assumed to belonging to the Indonesian Jemaah Ansharut Daulah radical group (link 3) as well as the detection and thwarting of a planned bomb attack on the presidential palace in Indonesia by a group of five Islamic terrorists (link 4) reflect the critical exposure to Islamic terrorism in Southeast Asia.

(World Crunch, Khmer Times, Reuters)

Further Anti-Terror Initiatives in South East Asia

Two articles dealing with efforts to deepen security cooperation between Malaysia, Indonesia and Philippines. While the three countries agreed at the recent INDOMALPHI Trilateral Intelex meeting on security in Manila to set up points of contacts in charge of facilitating intelligence information sharing among the countries (link 1), Malaysian Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein announced the launch of the Trilateral Air Patrol between the three countries in the near future (link 2).

(The Borneo Post, Malaysian Insight)

Thai firms at risk from long arm of foreign anti-bribery and corruption laws

Exposed to globally effective anti-corruption laws such as the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the British Bribery Act, internationally operating Thai SMEs are still not sufficiently aware of the risks of non-compliance with those laws.

(The Nation)

Lao auditors target 590 government units

In an effort to tackle corruption and abuse of state budget, the Laotian State Audit Organisation has announced to target close to 600 units nationwide over the next five years and conduct investigations on violations of the country’s financial laws.

(Vientiane Times)

President Tsai Ing-wen will monitor progress of judicial reform in Taiwan

After the ending of a series of 10 discussions forums, held since February to the discuss the implementation of the reform of the judicial system in Taiwan, President Tsai Ing-wen urged the involved bodies and agencies to cooperate with each other to ensure the success of the large-scale reform. 

(Focus Taiwan)

America's Darwinian Nationalism

In order to prevail in the struggle for global dominance, the USA must to get back to her civilizational and founding basics: the aspiration to universal norms and the might which stems from there, argues Robert D. Kaplan in this article.

(National Interest)

The Global Garment Industry and the Women that make it Possible

The garment manufacturing industry is still harboring notorious human rights risks like sexual abuse, physical dangers, inconsistent pay and slavery is shifting geographically from China to Southeast Asia and South America. The article explores the links between first world brands and their supply chains to the local labor hell.

(The Fashion Law)