Modern Mongolia: From Genghis Khan to Traffic Jams

Published on Aug 22, 2013 by Luke Hunt

FAR EAST CORRESPONDENT — In Mongolia today there are reminders everywhere of the nation’s nomadic past. Upon arriving at Chinggis Khaan International Airport – the nation’s only international transit point – visitors are greeted by a statue of the fearless wandering conqueror of yore. Traditional portable homes – yurts – dot the outskirts of the capital city of Ulan Bator and fill the landlocked country’s vast steppe, ready to be folded up and carried to better pastures at a moment’s notice. And if you head out beyond the yurts into the hinterlands, three million wild Mongol horses can be seen running free – that’s more than the nation’s human population. Read more from Jonathan DeHart in The Diplomat. .

Drug Smuggler Schapelle Corby Could Be Freed

Published on Aug 20, 2013 by Luke Hunt

FAR EAST CORRESPONDENT — The Australian woman convicted of smuggling nine pounds (4.2 kilograms) of marijuana into the Indonesian resort island of Bali could be released from jail before the end of this year. Schapelle Corby has been incarcerated at Bali’s Kerobokan Prison since 2005, originally sentenced to serve 20 years behind bars. Indonesia’s correctional board approved Corby’s parole and has thus reduced her sentence. “In 2010, she asked for clemency, citing her poor mental state and last year, Indonesia’s president reduced her sentence by five years,” The Jakarta Post stated. “It means that she has served two thirds of her sentence and was eligible for parole late last year.” Read more from J.T. Quigley in The Diplomat. .

Differing Priorities Challenge US-Vietnam Ties

Published on Aug 16, 2013 by Luke Hunt

FAR EAST CORRESPONDENT — Since normalizing diplomatic relations with Vietnam in 1995, the United States has become Vietnam’s top trading partner and one of its leading foreign investors. Vietnam’s economic growth has been rapid in the past twenty years. In 2018, the country hopes to be recognized as a market economy and, by 2020, it hopes to reach industrialized status. Read more from Ryan McClure in The Diplomat. .

Sergio de Mello Remembered

Published on Aug 15, 2013 by Luke Hunt

FAR EAST CORRESPONDENT — Almost ten years ago, UN representative Sergio Vieira de Mello was killed in Iraq. His earlier work deserves to be remembered. In 1999, the United Nations officially established a peacekeeping mission in East Timor (Timor-Leste). The United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) aimed to stabilize the newly independent Southeast Asian nation, which had been ravaged by militias backed by the Indonesian military. The Indonesian occupation of East Timor lasted more than two decades and claimed around 200,000 lives. In May 1999, the Indonesian authorities agreed to a UN-monitored referendum in which the 800,000 people of East Timor would be given the opportunity to determine their own destiny. Read more from Kiran Mohandas Menon in....

No Means No On Indonesian Maids

Published on Aug 13, 2013 by Luke Hunt

FAR EAST ASIA CORRESPONDENT — Malaysia’s long suffering middle classes have been told. There will be no more maids from Indonesia available for them after legislation on the rights of its citizens working abroad comes into effect in 2017, prompting calls for more maids to be brought in from Cambodia and Myanmar. The issue of maids resurfaced when the Indonesia’s Consul-General in Sarawak, Djoko Harjanto, sought to remind Malaysians that a policy under the Domestic Worker Roadmap 2017, and announced two years ago, was not only aimed at Malaysia but worldwide. Read more from Luke Hunt in The Diplomat. .