Asiatica.org

The US Defense Bill 2010

2009-10-27T17:50:25+01:00

To make sure we're spending our defense dollars wisely, we're cutting tens of billions of dollars in waste and projects that even the military says it doesn't need — money better spent on taking care of you and your families and building the 21st century military that we do need. (IBN)

Wise speech of Barack Obama before signing the defense bill this week. The bill, which funds Pentagon operations, had authorized a few unnecessary programs. Mr Obama allocated "only" USD 560 million this year.

Once signed the bill, the law will raise military pay by 3.4 % and assign USD 6.7 billion for mine-resistant armored vehicles. Another USD 7.5 billion will be used for the Afghan army. Apparently, Obama has not planned to solve the Afghan situation by political means yet.

Perceptions of Borders and Human Migration: The Human (In)Security of Shan Migrant Workers in Thailand, by Ropharat Aphijanyatham

2009-10-08T12:00:07+01:00

The book by Ropharat Aphijanyatham Perceptions of Borders and Human Migration: The Human (In)Security of Shan Migrant Workers in Thailand (Irasec – Observatoire - Occasional Paper n°1, September 2009, 84 pp), is freely available from the IRASEC, the Research Institute on Contemporary Southeast Asia, and the Observatoire des Trafics Illegaux Transfontaliers dans la Sous-region du Mekong.

The book can be freely downloaded from here.

These are the two institutes, the IRASEC and the Observatoire des Trafics Illegaux Transfontaliers dans la Sous-region du Mekong (both sites in English and French).

The Future Media Empire of China

2009-10-06T10:57:31+01:00

China plans to spend billions of dollars in the next few years to develop media and entertainment companies that it hopes can compete with global giants like the News Corporation and Time Warner (The New York Times).

Apparentely, China wants to backup its rising status and power worldwide creating entertainment, news and culture companies market-oriented, giving less voice - at least a public voice - to the government.

The way to capitalism and imperialism is paved by entertainment: any big difference between China and the "bread and circuses" of the Roman Empire?

International Indology Graduate Research Symposium (IIGRS), Sept. 28-29, 2009

2009-09-23T11:29:16+01:00

The first International Indology Graduate Research Symposium (IIGRS) will be held at St. Hilda’s College, Oxford University, 28th – 29th September 2009.

Please find the programme and contact me directly at nina.mirnig_at_univ.ox.ac.uk should you be interested in attending.

Nina Mirnig, on behalf of the Organizing Committee (University of Oxford)

AJISS-Commentary no. 73, “Lessons from the Uighurs’ Revolt” by Keiko Chino

2009-09-10T15:57:09+01:00

G8/G7 summits held in Italy are prone to accidents despite the relatively low interest of international society: Japanese Prime Minister Masayoshi Ohira died shortly before the 1980 Venice Summit, prompting Japan to send an acting prime minister, and the 1994 Naples Summit was held just after the death of North Korean leader Kim Il Sung. This year's summit in L'Aquila in central Italy was also plagued by an accident - riots in China's Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region.

Chinese President Hu Jintao hurried home, resulting in the absence of the central player in the summit's limelight. In other words, a primary theme of the G8 summit - whether China is really trustworthy - was revealed. However, the Uighur issue was totally skipped, not even mentioned in the Declaration. This is in stark contrast to the 1989 Paris Summit, which issued a political declaration after harshly condemning China for the killings of pro-democracy protesters at Tiananmen Square. Even the torch relay before the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing drew harsh international criticism due to China's handling of the unrest in Tibet.

A Japanese foreign ministry official told me there were “many reasons” behind the silence at the summit, which had too many agenda items to be discussed on a limited time schedule. The “many,” I guess, can be summarized as follows: the world owes too much to China. As such, world leaders avoid issues that would offend China.

The Uighur problem and the G8’s silence on this revealed at least two things. Firstly, the G8 summit missed a golden opportunity to present its “raison d’etre”. It has been pointed out in recent years that the importance of the G8 summit is declining. The rise of the G20 and even the G2 (the United States and China) replacing the G8 have been talked of this year. It is certainly true that the G20 better reflects the reality of the global economy than the G8 does. Yet the question is: can the G20 hold responsible discussions on the problem of the Uighurs?

The G8 is certainly at a crossroads, but the key is to improve it, not to discard it. I think it is time for the G8 to get back to grass roots. These include respect for democracy, or human rights and freedom, and an emphasis on open market economies. The G8 must address in a timely manner issues that cannot be ignored from the standpoints of human rights and humanism, such as China’s handling of the Uighurs’ revolt. The G8 should take up global issues that cannot be handled by the G20. Such issues should come before agenda items prepared well in advance like traditional cuisine for New Year’s in Japan.

Secondly, the incident revealed the seriousness of the problems facing China in both domestic and foreign affairs. What underlay the Uighurs’ riots were not just the clash between the authorities and the minority, but the ethnic conflict between the Hans and the Uighurs. It has been pointed out that mass migration of the Han people into Xinjiang along with the large-scale development of the western regions may be behind the riot. According to a book written by Ke Wang, a Kobe University professor, the 2000 population census of China showed that the Han population in Xinjiang had increased by 27% over the previous ten years, growing from 37.68% to 40.61% to Xinjiang’s total population. This is a result of the rapid economic development and growth propelled by the Chinese government.

An economically “strong” Han population oppressing the minority - a similar pattern can be found in China’s foreign relations. Clashes between China aggressively pursuing resources and energy around the globe and local peoples have often been reported from Africa, Latin America, the South Pacific and elsewhere.

The Chinese authorities insist that China is seeking a “peaceful rise,” but repression or conciliation await those who refuse to conform. There are also cover-ups and media control designed to consolidate the government’s line. Nonetheless, the number of riots and protests is only increasing: from 8,300 in 1993 to over 90,000 in 2006 (which translates to 250 per day.) It is all the more surprising that the Chinese government has stopped releasing the statistics (according to the August 6 morning edition of “The Mainichi Shimbun”).

It is important for China to respect ethnic traditions, cultures and religions, and to present a vision and policy to realize a multiethnic and multicultural country. As the Scriptures say, people do not live by bread alone. Both the United States, which is engaged in strategic and economic dialogue with China, and Japan, which is promoting a strategic relationship of mutual benefit with China, must rethink their approaches. An easy engagement policy well serves neither the international community nor China. This is the lesson from the Uighurs’ revolt.

[Keiko Chino is an editorial writer and columnist for "The Sankei Shimbun". The views expressed in this piece are the author's own and should not be attributed to The Association of Japanese Institutes of Strategic Studies]

Seven ex-Soviet states discuss joint military force to counteract NATO

2009-08-01T08:57:06+01:00

An scary news published on France 24:

The presidents of seven ex-Soviet states are meeting in Kyrgyzstan to discuss implementing the first joint rapid-reaction force of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation, a military alliance led by Russia, intended as a counterweight to NATO. (Continue)

It is clear that the Russian Federation is seeking a new, stronger international role after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. Will we come back to the times of the Cold War?

Journal of South Asia Women Studies vol. 11, no. 2

2009-07-22T21:01:10+01:00

I am very happy to announce the new issue of the Journal of South Asia Women Studies, vol. 11, no. 2. In this issue:

Note from the Editor: "India General Elections 2009", by Enrica Garzilli and "Indian Elections 2009: A Vote for Stability", by Domenico Amirante
Review Paper: "The Un-slammed Door: The Evolution of Compromise in Sangita Rayamajhi’s All Mothers Are Working Mothers", by Carol C. Davis
Paper: "Women Empowerment and Activism in the Indian state of Uttarakhand", by Annpurna Nautiyal

The National Mission for Manuscripts, India

2009-07-21T16:11:05+01:00

The National Mission for Manuscripts was established in February 2003, by the Ministry of Tourism and Culture, Government of India. The Mission seeks to unearth and preserve the vast manuscript wealth of India. The country possesses an estimate of five million manuscripts, probably the largest collection in the world, which constitute the 'memory' of India's history, heritage and thought. These manuscripts lie scattered across the country and beyond, in numerous institutions as well as private collections, often unattended and undocumented. The National Mission for Manuscripts aims to locate, document, preserve and render these accessible -- to connect India's past with its future, its memory with its aspirations. This is Kritisampada, the National Database of Manuscripts of India.