In a just world, Prabowo Subianto should not be Indonesia’s new president. He ought to be facing the full strength of the law in court, if not serving time. The closest he’s come to justice is being banned from the US by three presidents, Clinton, Bush and Obama, and from Australia and presumably other jurisdictions. Continue reading »
Asia
It is difficult to reconcile new Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s expressions of concern for the security of his country with his advocation of an Asian version of NATO. The two ideas are contradictory to say the least. Even without mentioning China, it is clear that the alleged threat to Japan’s security emanates from China. Continue reading »
While the world looks on with trepidation at regional wars in Israel and Ukraine, a far more dangerous global crisis is quietly building at the other end of Eurasia, along an island chain that has served as the front line for America’s national defence for endless decades. Just as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has revitalised Continue reading »
South Korean novelist Han Kang has won the Nobel Prize for Literature, beating short-listed literary heavyweights like Thomas Pynchon, Haruki Murakami, Salman Rushdie, Gerald Murnane, and the all-odds-favourite, Chinese author Can Xue. Han Kang was as shocked as anyone else after receiving the call notifying her that she had won. When asked what she would Continue reading »
In Asian media this week: Europe’s China business chief says conflict unavoidable. Plus: US lacks strategy for China confrontation; Japan’s new PM calls snap election; Junta’s election “census” a counter-insurgency ploy; America’s Gaza failure shakes confidence in rules-based order; Seoul has no answer for Pyongyang’s dirty campaign. China and the EU are shaping up for Continue reading »
Before debating with Democrat VP candidate Tim Walz, the Republican
nominee JD Vance said the contestants’ views matter little because voters go for the top of the ticket, not the bottom. Continue reading »
Launching Cold War 2.0 against a reluctant Beijing while enabling Israel to set fire to an entire region is now official American foreign policy. The premier journal Foreign Affairs is advertising big time about a coming essay by outgoing US Secretary of State Antony Blinken – on “Biden’s Foreign Policy Legacy”, or in other words, Continue reading »
Japan’s new prime minister, Ishiba Shigeru, has called for an
Asian NATO. But salivating hawks should restrain the glee. Continue reading »
In an age of logic and evidence-based reasoning, modern research has revealed a thousand-year curse. It could be stopping the superstitious and spiritually-conscious Javanese from vigorously striving to return a thieved “emblem of Indonesian cultural heritage”. At first glance it’s a ridiculous assertion. But apart from a sudden surge of greed eroding goodwill, how else Continue reading »
In Asia media this week: Myanmar recalls retired veterans. Plus: Race starts for Japan’s new PM; US Gaza stance an obstacle for AUKUS; Kolkata protests over gruesome rape-murder; China-Africa summit strengthens South-South ties; Pope’s Indonesia visit contradicts ‘clash of civilisations’. Myanmar’s military junta is becoming more desperate and more brutal as it battles to retake Continue reading »