Obama, Australia and ASEAN

Published on Nov 18, 2011 by Luke Hunt

FAR EAST CORRESPONDENT — As U.S. President Barak Obama began his address to the Australian Parliament yesterday, some of the locals had worked themselves into a lather. The pro-China lobby was complaining that a decision to allow US troops to be permanently based in Darwin might upset Beijing. The preoccupation with China is everywhere these days, and it’s understandable to a point down south, given the extent to which the Chinese government has sustained the Australian economy through the global financial crisis by paying top dollar for items like iron ore. .

KR Tribunal to Resume

Published on Nov 15, 2011 by Luke Hunt

ASIAWATCH — For more than a decade the critics have exerted undue influence over attempts to try the surviving leaders of the Khmer Rouge and deliver some kind of justice for the atrocities committed under their rule. Cambodia, they say, is too corrupt, too inept, or just to disinterested to find culpability for one of the great travesties of the 20th century. Luke Hunt reports. The critics remain out in force but despite their often hysterical cries about the flaws of a troubled country the main event is about to resume next Monday at the Extraordinary Chambers for the Courts in Cambodia (ECCC). Former Brother Number Two Nuon Chea, one-time head of state Khieu Samphan, the former foreign minister Ieng....

U.S. Urged to Rethink ASEAN

Published on Nov 15, 2011 by Luke Hunt

FAR EAST CORRESPONDENT — For years, critics have argued that U.S. foreign policy relegated Southeast Asia from its former perch near the top of the diplomatic totem pole. And it’s true that the 2001 attacks on New York and Washington, and the subsequent War on Terror, diverted the spotlight toward the Middle East and Central Asia. The economic importance of China and India has also preoccupied policy wonks within the Beltway, although some critics, like Hawaii-based academic and author Mohan Malik, have consistently argued that too much hype has been attached to both countries. Read more in The Diplomat. .

Burma Turns One

Published on Nov 14, 2011 by Luke Hunt

FAR EAST CORRESPONDENT — Twelve months ago, the Burmese military allowed elections that resulted in the first civilian government coming to power since it took control in 1962. The poll was widely regarded as a sham, indeed it still is by many, but the change has pushed the country in a direction welcomed in much of the international community. President Thein Sein has revised laws on political parties, freed 300 political prisoners, sought a conciliatory line with pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi and defied one of its few allies – China – by suspending construction of a mega-dam inside Burma that had generated enormous local resentment. The government has also legalized trade unions and eased censorship laws. These are....

Taiwan Bound

Published on Nov 11, 2011 by Luke Hunt

FAR EAST CORRESPONDENT — Just decades ago, all that mainland China brought to Kinmen, a tiny Taiwan-controlled island off the Fujian coast, was trouble. In the mid-50s, China launched two brutal artillery campaigns that killed over 2,600 island residents and soldiers and prompted the United States to threaten Beijing with a “nuclear response” if the islands were taken. Read more from Cain Nunns in Global Post. .