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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Ethnic Sectarianism / India / Pakistan / Politics / Sovereignty / 360° Context / AsiaAn exploration of the many contesting narratives of what or “who“ defines the meaning of Pakistan Background “I know the minefields of personal sorrow and betrayals that don’t make it to newspapers. I also know of a Pakistan beneath these images that is rich with extraordinary possibilities.” Taymiya Zaman, “Not Talking About Pakistan.“ Sixty six years after the creation of an independent state, the idea of Pakistan remains deeply contested. The notion of a separate state for Muslims in India, later coined as Pakistan (or Land of the Pure), was first put forth by the poet-philosopher, Muhammed Iqbal in 1930 in the form of the two-nation theory....
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360° Analysis / Asia-Pacific / North Korea / Nuclear / United States / US / Global Security / AsiaCultural diplomacy, not bellicose rhetoric, should begin to define North Korea-US relations. The Harlem Globetrotters basketball team’s recent trip to North Korea should have been hailed as an effective cultural diplomatic venture. This trip was made possible by the official invitation of the North Korean President Kim Jung-Un, and, headlined by the star power of Dennis Rodman, should have opened a serious discussion in US foreign policy circles over non-confrontational methods to engage with North Korea. Instead, the trip gathered a storm of disapproval from the US media, whipping up a media frenzy of sensational reporting and aggressive bombast towards North Korea’s...
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360° Analysis / China / Diaoyu / Diaoyu Protection Societies / Fire-control radar / Japan / military / Nationalism / Noda Yoshihiko / Pinnacled Pavilions / Politics / Senkaku / Sino-Japanese / Xi Jinping / BRIC / Global Security / AsiaBy Wilson ChewOfficial belligerence conceals the varied sources of militant Chinese nationalism over the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands The Japanese name for the Diaoyu Islands is Senkaku, or "Pinnacled Pavilions," which sounds far more fitting for a sitcom setting than for an international flashpoint. Yet flashpoints they are – a cluster of uninhabited islets and rocks jutting from the East China Sea, over which China and Japan are once again drifting towards war. This latest round of confrontations, which began in 2012 and has since become a steady stream of saber rattling on both sides, poses potentially disastrous consequences for the region. With Chinese and Japanese military assets...
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360° Analysis / Politics / United States / Europe / Arts & Culture / Middle East / Americas / Africa / AsiaBy Hannah StormEach week, at least two journalists die doing their job somewhere in the world. Hannah Storm, of the International News Safety Institute, discusses the dangers of the profession. In the first 20 days of this year, at least 10 journalists and media workers were killed doing their jobs. These 10 people weren’t household names, famous journalists whose deaths – like those of Marie Colvin and Tim Hetherington – generated column inches and inspired a collective call for better safety standards for media around the world. And yet, every one of these 10 deaths tells the story of a life unjustly cut short as one person tried to shine a light into the darkest corners of...
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Politics / United States / Europe / 360° Context / Arts & Culture / Middle East / Americas / Africa / AsiaAs more and more journalists are being targeted for their professional activity, the concepts of media freedom and journalist safety deserve a closer look — from the relative comfort of Europe to the killing fields of Syria and beyond. Background When Judge Gurfein ruled in favour of the New York Times for its right to publish the Pentagon Papers, he concluded that “a cantankerous press, an obstinate press, a ubiquitous press must be suffered by those in authority in order to preserve the even greater values of freedom of expression and the right of the people to know”. Indeed, the notion of uninhibited media is so engrained in our perception of democracy, that it carries...
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US Senate Resolution 298 is simply a continuation of a failed containment policy, argues Michael Bassett. Cultural engagement, and not containment, is the path to unification on the Korean Peninsula. The “North Korea Nonproliferation and Accountability Act of 2013,” Senate Resolution 298, which passed in the US Senate by a unanimous vote on February 25, is most likely to be another unproductive measure taken by the US government against North Korea. Worryingly, Section 3(7) of the resolution directs that the US government should “…explore all appropriate measures for enhanced military operations in the Asia-Pacific Region…” This language in the...
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China / Chomsky / Freud / Japan / Laos / North Korea / Politics / United States / Europe / Focus Article / BRIC / Arts & Culture / Middle East / Americas / Africa / Asia / OceaniaFair Observer's five best articles of February. By February, the new year loses its newness and 2013 is no exception. While all of us have settled into 2013, the world continues to be as eventful as ever. Italy has had yet another election. Kerry is off on his first foreign trip as Secretary of State. Karzai is asking the US to curtail its role, and the conflict in Syria shows no signs of resolution. The world economy is wobbly with the Eurozone in deepest distress. At Fair Observer, we try our best to make sense of the world and please find our best articles for February below. As always, we want to know what you think and please email us at info@fairobserver.com to tell us how we can...
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360° Analysis / Bangladesh / India / Laws / New Delhi / Politics / Rape / Woman's health / BRIC / Arts & Culture / AsiaLaws on rape do not usually refer to the “moral character” of the victim, presumably because it is generally not relevant to the crime. Moreover, the phrase itself is an anachronism, besides being vague and hard to pin down. But it is time that rape laws did refer to a woman's moral character – specifically to prohibit references to it in court during prosecution of cases involving rape. On February 2, 2013, the Indian government passed an Ordinance tightening rape-related laws – hopefully, a first step towards their comprehensive reform. A key measure has been the amendment of the Indian Evidence Act (1972) to disallow evidence, or cross examination, on the...
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Afghanistan / al qaeda / ISAF / ISI / Islamabad / Kabul / Karzai / NATO / obama / Pakistan / Politics / Taliban / terrorism / troops / US / Washington / White house / withdrawal / 360° Context / AsiaBy Will CalhounAs the US prepares to exit Afghanistan, what will be the consequences? Background As the conflict in Afghanistan enters its 12th year, the US is poised to withdraw 34,000 troops from the war-torn country by next year. The consequences of the withdrawal will be enormous. The Taliban remain a serious threat and, besides the danger that extremism would continue to grow, the U.S. would also lose a valuable foothold in a region that contains a neighboring nuclear state: Pakistan. There are currently 66,000 American troops in Afghanistan. In his State of the Union address, President Obama vowed that the war would be over by 2014. However, the plan is that a contingent of troops will remain. The...
