US Navy Chief Warns Pyongyang

Published on Feb 2, 2013 by Luke Hunt

FAR EAST CORRESPONDENT — The Chief of the U.S. Pacific Command, Admiral Samuel Locklear, has warned North Korea that any further nuclear tests would only increase the country’s isolation while posing a threat to the regional security environment. Read and hear more from Voice of America. .

Miss Universe Pageant for Indonesia?

Published on Feb 2, 2013 by Luke Hunt

FAR EAST CORRESPONDENT — Ever since the Netherlands officially recognized Indonesia’s independence in 1949, moderates have wrestled with Islamic hardliners who would like to bring the country under Sharia law and punish the mildest offenses with the rough end of a rattan. Judging by Islamist protests in recent years, it is not difficult to imagine how zealots would react to the sight of scantily clad women strutting across a stage in an international beauty contest held on home soil. The Puteri Indonesia Foundation, however, is putting these views to the test by proposing a Miss Universe pageant in Indonesia. Read more in The Diplomat. .

Al Rockoff Tells It Like It was

Published on Feb 2, 2013 by Luke Hunt

FAR EAST CORRESPONDENT — American photojournalist Al Rockoff took the stand at the Khmer Rouge Tribunal this week and gave a graphic eyewitness account of the forced evacuation of Phnom Penh in April 1975, shortly after Pol Pot and the ultra-Maoists seized control of the capital. Read more in The Diplomat. .

Vietnam Sabotaged from Within

Published on Jan 30, 2013 by Luke Hunt

Last year saw a number of Vietnamese state-owned enterprise officials being arrested for economic crimes or “irregularities” at the companies under their care.  As covered previously on Pacific Money, one of the most shocking such arrests was that of Nguyen Duc Kien, a famous tycoon and founder of one of Vietnam’s largest banks. Read more from James Parker in The Diplomat.  .

US Military Philippines Woes

Published on Jan 27, 2013 by Luke Hunt

FAR EAST CORRESPONDENT — A series of unfortunate mishaps in the past two weeks has afflicted United States military forces stationed in the Philippines. On January 6th, a BQM-74E target drone that appeared to be of American origin was found floating in the waters off Masbate, an island province in the central Philippines. Read more from Mong Palatino in The Diplomat. .