US-China Trade Deal – The Show Isn't Over Yet
Viewpoint by Manish Uprety F.R.A.S. and Dr. Yiyong Liang*
NEW DELHI | BEIJING (IDN) – Trade wars are fascinating where not only the outcomes but also the tactics and strategy matter. Sun Tzu said: "All men can see these tactics whereby I conquer, but what none can see is the strategy out of which victory is evolved."
The world was waiting with a baited breath for easing out of tensions between the U.S. and China during the meeting of President Donald Trump with Vice Premier Liu He. The ongoing China-U.S. trade war resulted in profound consequences including contributing to conditions pushing the entire global economy to the edge of a possible recession in 2020. The accompanying contortions including contradictory reports and veiled criticisms alongside high rhetoric from both sides was not of much help either.
Opinion Editor
Australia Burns Furiously but Still Remains an Attractive Destination to Sri Lankans
By Dr Palitha Kohona
The writer is former Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations, and former Foreign Secretary.
COLOMBO (IDN) – Summer temperatures continue to establish new records. The capital clocks up an unprecedented 44 degrees Celsius, a more familiar figure in Middle Eastern cities. Bush fires have continued to burn for months, destroying hundreds of thousands of acres of forest and farmland (an area bigger than Scotland has been consumed by the fires so far) and thousands of houses.
Dr. Palitha Kohona
The Significance of Taiwan's Forthcoming Election
Viewpoint by Jonathan Power
LUND, Sweden (IDN) – In the Chinese government's eyes it has three rebellious parts of China on its plate – Tibet, Hong Kong and Taiwan. In Tibet, protestors from time to time have clashed with police and soldiers. In Hong Kong, the reform and freedom demonstrations are now in their eighth month. In Taiwan, society has constructed a form of democracy anathema to Beijing.
On January 11 Taiwan goes to the polls. China does not welcome this and indeed President Xi Jinping over the last two years has been increasingly strident in his criticism of Taiwan's continuing policy of remaining apart.
Jonathan Power
Iran Turns to China and India In the Face of US Sanctions
Viewpoint by Mohammad Soltaninejad
Mohammad Soltaninejad is Assistant Professor of Middle East studies at the University of Tehran. This article appeared in the most recent edition of East Asia Forum Quarterly, 'Economics and security', Vol. 11 No. 4.
TEHRAN (IDN-INPS) – In the face of the United States withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal and adopting a 'maximum pressure' policy against Iran, Tehran is turning to China and India to circumvent US sanctions. In response, the United States is trying to deny Iran's access to Chinese and Indian resources to pressure Iran into returning to the negotiation table.
Asia Editor
UN Warns of Growing Inequality Triggering New Great Divergence
By Santo D. Banerjee
NEW YORK (IDN) – In the run-up to 2020, the UN has warned that despite remarkable progress on laying a solid foundation for human development, Thailand, like many other countries, is facing challenges in tackling inequality. This is also a theme on which the 2019 Human Development Report (HDR) from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) focuses.
Santo D. Banerjee
The Fate of Indo-British Relations in The Aftermath of BREXIT
Viewpoint by Manish Uprety F.R.A.S. and Jainendra Karn *
NEW DELHI (IDN) – Will Uncle Christmas fulfill Nicola Sturgeon's wish this year? In the aftermath of the British elections that painted England blue, Nicola presented her formal request for a fresh referendum on Scottish independence and has called for the Scottish parliament to be given permanent powers to hold subsequent referendums on independence from the UK.
A man of his words, Boris Johnson as the incumbent prime minister plans to redeem his pledge on BREXIT when Britain shall leave the European Union (EU) on January 31, 2020, and the Department for Exiting the European Union will be wound up.
India's Citizenship Amendment Act Is 'Pro-minorities and Not Anti-Muslim'
Viewpoint by Jainendra Karn*
NEW DELHI (IDN) – India is not a signatory to the UN's 1951 Refugee Convention which defines a refugee yet the Government of India under Prime Minister Narendra Modi has kept the promise that Mahatma Gandhi had made to persecuted people living deplorable lives in India's neighbourhood through the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
India No More A Refuge for The Persecuted
Viewpoint by Shastri Ramachandaran *
This article is the 11th in a series of joint productions of South Asian Outlook and IDN-InDepthNews, flagship of the International Press Syndicate.
NEW DELHI (IDN) – India has no refugee policy. It is not a signatory to the UN's 1951 Refugee Convention, which defines a refugee. Now, India avowedly wants to be a refuge for persecuted Hindus in the region and professedly for that purpose has enacted the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
Hindu Nationalist Govt. Leading India to the Edge of a Cliff
Viewpoint by Dr. Ram Puniyani
NEW DELHI (IDN) – Citizenship Amendment Bill, while passed in both houses of Parliament has elicited diverse and negative responses all over India. On one hand we see massive protests in North East leading to death of four people. On the other there is a sever discomfort among those upholding Indian Constitution and among the Muslim community all over the country.
Suresh Jaura
UN Expects Trade Growth in Asia-Pacific in 2020 Despite Decline in 2019
By Devinder Kumar
NEW DELHI | BANGKOK (IDN) – United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana has welcomed the agreement reached between China and the United States on December 13, defusing tensions in a 19-month trade war. She expects it to "reduce policy uncertainty".
She further underscored the importance of the multilateral trading system to underpin future trade growth. "For the Asia-Pacific region, the challenge is to increase trade and deepen economic integration to support sustainable development."
Devinder Kumar
Did Sri Lanka's Presidential Election Bring Back a Polarising Wartime Figure?
Urgent Need for Accelerating SDG Progress in Asia-Pacific
Grassroots Buddhism Flourishes in the Outskirts of Bangkok
Germany Must Help Shape Faltering Multilateral World Order
Climate Change – What is in Store for Sri Lanka?