Asia
Asia
Fair Observer provides insightful and informed analysis of the important issues, events and trends in the unique nations of Asia.
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1962 war / 360° Analysis / Beijing / Chinese military / economy / India-China War / Indian Army / Manmohan Singh Chinese troops / Mulayam Singh Yadav / Nisar Ahmed / Nitin A. Gokhale / Politics / Salman Khurshid / BRIC / Global Security / AsiaThe longer the India-China border face-off persists, the worse it will for the Indian government since the perception that New Delhi is unable to deal with Beijing’s bullying tactics will only get reinforced with time. For Nisar Ahmed, the sudden arrival of television crews into Leh, Ladakh’s capital, last week was disconcerting. As a top hotelier, he was sprucing up his two properties to get ready for domestic tourists who start flocking in droves to this high altitude desert. But last week he also had a small worry. A border incident in which Chinese troops had entered 19 km deep in the Indian Territory and stayed put, created quite an international stir. For Ahmed,...
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360° Analysis / America / Justin Dargin / Kim Jong Un / Nishtha Chugh / North Korea / obama / President Park / Pyongyang / Seoul / South Korea / United States / Washington / Global Security / AsiaJustin Dargin, a geopolitics expert from the University of Oxford, speaks to Fair Observer's Nishtha Chugh about the implications of North Korea’s nuclear program and why its latest test is essentially a show of strength by its young leader. Nishtha Chugh: What is your evaluation of North Korea’s nuclear program compared to other nuclear states and industry technical know-how? Where do you think it stands? Justin Dargin: North Korea is a very recent nuclear state. It has conducted three nuclear tests so far, with the latest one conducted in February this year. When it conducted its first nuclear test in 2006, which was conducted underground, it did not produce the desired...
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360° Analysis / Kim Il-sung / Kim Jong-Un / North Korea / Nuclear / Nuclear Missile / Nuclear Program / obama / President Park / South Korea / United States / United States / War / Global Security / AsiaNorth Korea’s recent rhetoric is neither new nor surprising. While nuclear weapons in the hands of a volatile and irrational leader are cause for concern, it is unlikely that Pyongyang is on a suicide mission. The ongoing tensions between North Korea, South Korea and the United States have once again highlighted the vulnerability of the Korean Peninsula, a region often plagued by the possibility of war. The threat this time is from the untested 29-year-old Kim Jong-un, the Supreme Leader of North Korea and grandson of the country’s founder, Kim Il-sung. The supreme leader has threatened to turn Seoul, the capital of South Korea, into a “sea of fire”, with...
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360° Analysis / Asia-Pacific / Kim Jong Un / Kim Jong-il / Michael Bassett / North Korea / obama / Pyongyang / Seoul / South Korea / United States / War / Washington / Global Security / AsiaBrinksmanship is a logical tactic deployed by North Korea when it feels backed into a corner with nothing to lose, because it has everything to gain. [View, In Pictures: A Note From North Korea (Part 2)] The annual round of brinksmanship between the US and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) is seemingly more intense than in years past. This is a tactic that makes perfect sense for the DPRK, as no country has any political power over it. It is a tactic that is usually initiated by North Korea for the purpose of forcing the external world to give it concessions, and hopefully, a little respect. The DPRK wants mutual recognition and normalization of relations, and it sees...
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Ari Katz / China / Kim Jong-il / Kim Jong-Un / North Korea / Nuclear / obama / President Park / Pyongyang / South Korea / United States / Washington D.C / 360° Context / Global Security / AsiaBy Ari KatzAs tension between North and South Korea continues, an armed conflict, however contained, can potentially wreak havoc in the Korean Peninsula and the wider East Asian region. Background North Korea has continued its policy of aggressive posturing and combative rhetoric under new leader Kim Jong-un, albeit a note shriller than that of his father, the late Kim Jong-il. Against a strained history with South Korea, the communist state is now pushing the peninsula closer to conflict through renewed rhetorical blusters in recent months. With peace in Asia at stake, South Korea, the US, and China are all pushing Pyongyang to back down in an effort to defuse tensions and avoid a shooting war....
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Best of the Month / Egypt / European Union / Glenn Carle / India / North Korea / Politics / Sarah Eltantawi / United States / Europe / Focus Article / BRIC / Middle East / Americas / Africa / AsiaFair Observer's five best articles of April. It is already the end of April and 2013 is speeding up fast. Boston has suffered the tragedy of a bombing, Italy finally has a government, New Zealand and France have legalized gay marriage, Syria continues to implode, and the North Korean drama seems to be simmering down. Obama's budget continues to upset many people and the battle for gun control rages on in the US. Margaret Thatcher, an iconic British leader, died at the age of 87. The Economist called her a freedom fighter because she championed free markets when her Big Bang unleashed the City of London to emerge as a rival to Wall Street. Yet, the August 1843 publication...
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360° Analysis / India / Mumbai / poverty / Poverty Free World / Rahool Gadkari / Social Development / Finance & Economics / BRIC / Global Change / AsiaAs India focuses on stimulating economic growth, it must not neglect the challenges facing its 360 million below the poverty line citizens. India has been the topic of much discussion in the recent past. Attracting much attention from investors and corporations alike for its high growth numbers last decade, India rode the capital markets boom of the 2000s. With the influx of FDI that followed, India experienced unprecedented economic growth and rapid urbanization that led to the creation of a growing class of nouveau riche. But India’s growth has not been inclusive. Commentators often refer to the country’s dichotomous nature, juxtapositioning India the emerging economic giant...
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361 security / China / insurgency / international security / Kuala Lumpur / malaysia / Nicholas A. Heras / Philippines / RAS / United States / Focus Article / Global Security / AsiaIncreased insurgency in Sabah would present the Filipino government with the difficult choice of participating militarily in an election year, or doing nothing and risking the ire of Malaysia. Malaysian security forces have been battling a militant Filipino organization called the “Royal Army of Sulu” (RAS) in Malaysia’s Sabah State, in the northeastern region of the Borneo island. RAS fighters, the majority of whom are ethnic Tausug from the Philippine islands of the Sulu Archipelago that border Sabah, claim fealty to the Manila-based Sultan Jamalul Kiram III. Sultan Jamalul III is one of nine competing descendants of the historical Sultanate of Sulu who claim control...
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This is the final article in the three part series: Pakistan Beyond Bomb and Burqas. It examines the Loom Workers’ Strike in Faisalabad, and how it challenges hegemonic discourses on Pakistan dictated by the War on Terror. Read part one of the series here. Faisalabad and its adjoining district Jhang are the hub of hardline Islamist movements Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Sipah-e-Sahaba (SS) which repeatedly target and direct popular agitations towards members of the Shia sect. The Faisalabad Loom workers’ strike, however, questions the potency and legitimacy of these sectarian divisions in everyday life. During this time, ordinary workers began to question such divisions...