Bharat Rakshak

In the post-Cold War era, changes at systemic and sub-systemic levels motivated India to reorient its foreign and economic policy priorities. The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation’s (SAARC’s) dismal success compounded India’s frustration, leading to a search for friends beyond South Asia.

As an inward-looking, snail-paced Indian economy attempted to open up, it naturally looked at ASEAN countries as role models and potential partners. Thailand didn’t disappoint India on that count. However, the 1997 financial crisis hit the Thai economy hard, and it took Bangkok several years to get back to normalcy. It was only in 2004 that India signed the Early Harvest Scheme with Thailand; and yet it was among the first countries with which India had inked such a deal.

What started as a small step towards an FTA with Thailand in 2004 culminated into inking of the 2009 India-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement in Goods. That trade has become a significant player in bilateral ties is evident from the point that during the first decade of this century, the total trade volume went up six times, crossing the $ 6 billion mark in 2010. The two countries are working to increase it further, which is evident from discussions on enhancing cooperation in areas such as energy, food industries and petroleum, and inking of six important MoUs. It is hoped that by 2014 bilateral trade will cross the $14 billion mark. The proposed Chennai- Dawei corridor project, which aims to link India and Thailand, is an added advantage of the relationship.

Incidentally, India’s engagement with Thailand and its Look East policy have been complimented by Thailand’s Look West policy, started in 1996. As a consequence, bilateral ties have gone from strength to strength. Today, there are several regional platforms which India and Thailand share. India is an integral member of the Asia Cooperation Dialogue — a Thai initiative.

While one finds enough reasons to feel good about Indo-Thai ties, a lot needs to be done to realise the fullest potential of the partnership between the two countries and take it to new heights. Needless to say that there cannot be a better moment than now for joining hands to take up responsibilities — fighting transnational terrorism, handling neighbourhood problems as also promoting bilateral cooperation.

Pyongyang, April 20 (KCNA) -- The people of the DPRK are enraged at south Korea's Lee Myung Bak group of traitors that defamed again the dignity of the DPRK supreme leadership and slandered the celebrations of the Day of the Sun.

Jo Hun Gil, an officer of the Korean People's Army who attended the Pyongyang city army-people rally, expressed his surging anger, saying:

"We can no longer stand the behaviors of the Lee Myung Bak group of rats. Such group should be beaten to jelly at once."

He didn't hold his temper to use vulgar words unable to repeat.

Ham Kyong Guk, head of a workshop at the Pyongyang Steel Factory, told KCNA:

"Lee Myung Bak is worse than a beast and little different from scum. This rabid dog should be cut to pieces for insult to the dignity of our supreme leadership."

Pang Sun Im, a citizen living in Sinwon-dong, Pothonggang District, said with knives she bought at a direct sales shop:

"I have bought these sharpened knives to stab to death the rat-like Lee Myung Bak group. My family is enough to cut this rat and its clan to pieces. It is my desire to dash to the south right now to kill all of those rats."

The earlier bilateral trade target for 2015 was fixed at $25 billion. However the trade value has already touched $20 billion and hence the revised target for 2015 is $45 billion. (is this feasible, within 2-3 yrs can the trade double?? )

According to Leonard F. Hutabarat, counsellor at the Indonesian embassy in India, the trade value is loaded in favour of Indonesia . Indonesian exports to India are around $11 billion. Indonesia exports to India coal, rubber, wood, palm oil and other items while it imports electronics, textiles and others.

Invites Indian investments in the areas of agriculture, rubber, mining, coal, textiles, defence, information technology and other areas.

shyamd wrote:http://www.ris.org.in/images/RIS_images ... _cover.pdf

If anyone is interested in India ASEAN connectivity. Think military and look at the plans.

Acharya wrote: Which city is that west of Delhi

For good or bad: The U.S. military buildup in Asia

2012-06-10 19:21 Text

South Korean Kim becomes youngest winner in JapanLee’s chairmanship boosts Moon’s presidential bidKim Jong-un’s late mother made public in video clipSaenuri to stick to primary rulesControversy grows over F-35 flight testHow to end fraud in the labMalaysian prince’s ‘pill’ targets scourge of dengue feverDoctor tries oriental medicine to treat hair lossFSS tries to smooth over chief’s blunderSaKong to discuss Asia’s role at San Francisco FRB meeting

Proclaiming its fate to be strongly tied to Asia, the United States unveiled on Saturday detailed plans to build and strengthen its military presence in the region. Time will tell whether the growing U.S. presence becomes a positive force for the peace, development and prosperity of Asia, or simply heightens the tensions in a region already convoluted by an arms race.

Asia is increasingly caught in the paradox of prosperity: as countries become more prosperous, they spend proportionally more of their new wealth on defence. They go on massive shopping sprees not only because they can afford to but mostly because they want to protect their economic interests to ensure sustainable growth and development.

Budgetary constraints dictated that U.S. President Barack Obama draw down on the U.S.’ military operations and presence in the Middle East and Europe but not in Asia, where China’s military is increasingly challenging U.S. power and influence, though not necessarily yet its dominance.

In a much anticipated speech, Defence Secretary Leon Panetta said at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on Saturday that the U.S. would deploy more aircraft carriers, cruisers, destroyers, submarines and combat ships, carrying the most advanced technology and weapons, in Asia as part of what he called the rebalancing of the U.S. military to Asia.

If the U.S. naval deployment in the past had been equally divided between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, the Asian “pivot” will shift it 60/40 in the Pacific’s favour. The new policy not only calls for more frequent port calls and military exercises in the Pacific but also for beefing up the presence in Japan, Guam and northern Australia and for securing more access to military facilities in other friendly countries.

Under the plan, the U.S. military will have the ability to project its forces anywhere in Asia. Washington has a vested interest in securing the safety of commerce and access to natural resources and has called on countries in Asia to respect freedom of navigation.

The new U.S. policy seeks to strengthen ties through traditional alliances, such as with Japan, South Korea, Australia, Thailand and the Philippines, and also through partnerships with countries like Indonesia and India. Panetta also said the U.S. was seeking to build military-to-military relations with China and Myanmar.

With the center of global economic gravity shifting to the Asia-Pacific region, the U.S. interests are inextricably linked to the fortunes of this part of the world. But Asia is also home to some of the world’s potential flashpoints: the tensions on the Korean Peninsula and across the Taiwan Strait, the Kashmir dispute between nuclear-powers India and Pakistan, the overlapping territorial claims involving China in the South China Sea and the North China Sea.

The ongoing arms race has only intensified some of these tensions. Almost all the littoral states are investing heavily in strengthening their naval forces, taking their lead from China, signifying their intention to secure their maritime interests, from the safe passage of commercial vessels to the control of or access to the potentially big prize of rich underwater natural resources, including oil and gas reserves.

The new U.S. policy comes amid growing tensions between China and the Philippines as both seek to assert their claim over the gas-rich Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea. Responding to a question at the Shangri-La Dialogue, Panetta said the U.S. would not interfere in any territorial disputes but it would insist that such disputes and any others be resolved in a peaceful manner and in accordance with international laws.

In spite of the military buildup by the U.S. and the arms race among Asian countries, their governments profess to put diplomacy first in resolving their disputes. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China are currently working on a binding code of conduct to address conflicting territorial claims in the South China Sea. Besides the Philippines, China also has disputes with Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam in the region.

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in his keynote address to the Shangri-La Dialogue on Friday noted the evolution of a new security architecture in the Asia Pacific, not so much by design as by the proliferation of bilateral and multilateral cooperation agreements among countries in the region. He described these and the many joint military exercises as important confidence-building measures that would also help to eliminate the distrust often sowed by disputes and the rising tensions. They have certainly helped to keep peace in the region.

Yudhoyono repeated Indonesia’s proposal for a joint military exercise involving Indonesia, China and the U.S. for humanitarian operations, recalling the massive international military deployment in the largest peacetime military operation in the wake of the deadly tsunami in Indonesia in 2004.

Asia-Pacific countries are also engaging actively even as virtually everyone is building up their military capability. In the absence of the equivalent of Nato, Asia has several forums in which the member states have addressed their common security problems and challenges, such as the Shangri-La Dialogue organised by the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies, the ASEAN Regional Forum, the Asean Defence Ministers Meeting Plus and the East Asian Summit that involves 18 countries, including the U.S. and Russia.

While the military buildup by countries in the region, including the U.S., seems the inevitable outcome of Asia’s rising economic prosperity, few are contemplating ever using their sophisticated and deadly weapons against their enemies, knowing full well that if anyone fired the first salvo, it could completely derail and undo all the progress of the entire region.

As ironic as it may seem, in this context, many countries in the region welcome the stronger U.S. military presence in Asia to further guarantee their peace and prosperity.

By Endy Bayuni

Endy Bayuni is chief editor of the Jakarta Post. ― Ed.

(The Jakarta Post)
(Asia New Network)

Acharya wrote:

shyamd wrote:http://www.ris.org.in/images/RIS_images ... _cover.pdf

If anyone is interested in India ASEAN connectivity. Think military and look at the plans.

Which city is that west of Delhi

shyamd wrote:Central Asia for south East Asia access?

Gunjur wrote: I thought india is importer of electronics, Guru's please shed some light.

Ahead of the India-ASEAN commemorative summit in December, New Delhi will host the sixth ministerial meeting of the six-nation Mekong-Ganga cooperation initiative on Tuesday, with the objective of strengthening connectivity, and promoting cultural and tourism exchanges. This will be the first meeting after a four-year hiatus, and for the first time New Delhi will be hosting the meeting.

The meeting will witness participation of five Mekong region countries — Cambodia, Lao, Myanmar, Vietnam and Thailand. External Affairs Minister S M Krishna will chair the meeting, which will focus on speeding up connectivity and exploring ways to boost economic, cultural and tourism exchanges.

The grouping was formed in 2000 to leverage cultural and civilisational affinities among riparian states of the Ganga and Mekong rivers.

Klaus wrote:The latest issue of Frontline magazine explores the restoration efforts of the ASI at the Ta Prohm Buddhist temple complex, near Siem Reap- Cambodia.

Link to Article.

kshatriya wrote: On a side note, Most Cambodians wondered why India which has so much in common with Cambodia doesn't help them. The Frencies control most of their industries.

On a side note, Most Cambodians wondered why India which has so much in common with Cambodia doesn't help them. The Frencies control most of their industries.

some of Washington’s most powerful politicians have been among Suu Kyi’s strongest advocates in a rare show of bipartisan consensus...

...Suu Kyi is under political pressure from Thein Sein’s government to press the U.S. to remove the restrictions — and it’s a step that she appears willing to consider

This definitely struck a chord. I am not a lawyer, but I have developed an obsession with Myanmar and have done quite a bit of research (an abnormal amount) on the off chance that I’ll have the chance to travel there

As Prime Minister Manmohan Singh arrives in Phnom Penh on Sunday, he is likely to hear a common refrain in this part of the world: India is sorely needed here, but India is too slow.

It's a critical time for Asean countries -- they are struggling to remain cohesive and stay relevant. They are caught in a bruising territorial dispute with the big Heavy in the region, China. And now the even bigger US is sailing into their waters and telling them how to stand up to China, with its help. US defense secretary Leon Panetta told everyone he who would listen on Friday, "we are deepening our military engagement with our allies and partners in this region in order to ensure that we are able to promote security and prosperity in this region for many years to come."

For many, India is a natural balancer in this region. India struck roots here hundreds of years ago, and there are signs all around. But in the current strategic debate roiling the region, India is a peripheral presence. India's only statement so far has been to endorse the importance of ensuring freedom of navigation and mineral resources in the troubled wats of the South China Sea. In a joint statement with the Chinese, India also emphasized its stakes in the Asia-Pacific. That lone position by the MEA, India believes may have absolved it of all other responsibility. With $80 billion in bilateral trade, India needs a louder ASEAN policy.

"Asean needs India now, not 10 years later," says Kavi Chongkittavorn, a regional expert, of the Jakarta-based ERIA group. "we need strategic support from India about the way forward. How do we deal with the advent of big powers and still retain our relevance?" there is much talk about "Asean-led" and the "centrality" of Asean, but everyone knows its in danger of being swamped.

China watchers here say Beijing is likely to get more tough in the next six months, as the leadership transition will only be completed by next March. This is the time, they say, India needs to ramp up its engagement and support in this region. But there is no Indian voice that is heard here. Seoung Rathavy, secretary of state of the Cambodian foreign ministry, said 200 senior officials have gathered here to discuss the agenda of the key summits. She told journalists, "implementation of a declaration of conduct on the South China Sea is crucial for political and social stability of Asean."

The South China Sea disputes would be discussed at every meeting in the several summits that will be held here. The Chinese are unlikely to agree to the declaration of conduct on the issue, regarding it as their sovereign territory. Indonesian experts, familiar with their country's position, said very little forward movement would be expected.

For many, the US "pivot" is a mixed blessing. While many countries here are happy to get external support as they deal with the rise of China, there remains some uncertainty about whether the US would actually come to their help. For many, Vietnam and Philippines have been "burnt". In 2011, the US stopped short of fully backing up these countries during their respective stand-offs with China on the South China Sea.

Cambodia needs the kind of defence interest from India like Vietnam has. India should offer joint exercises with everyone in this region. Most of them have old naval fleets, and even with modest means, India can help upgrade them. In fact, India needs to work harder with naval cooperation with all the ASEAN countries. In 2011, Indian naval vessels paid port calls to many in the region before ending up in Shanghai. That should become a run-of-the-mill affair. A look at the map will show how India, with its still superior navy, can successfully block off the Malacca Straits for the Chinese if a conflict breaks out in the Himalayas. For India to carry out a successful blockade, it needs all the littoral countries on its side.

India, many Asean analysts here believe, should openly reiterate its position on an issue which will deeply affect India's own future. There is a sense that India is piggybacking on the US. Even Cambodia, which is believed to be close to China, is crying out for an alternative partner. The India linkages are for all to see, from the Ganesha idols to the Mekong river.

"Connectivity" is India's mantra but it's China that's putting stakes on the ground. China is doing more on the Mekong river and China is building the Kunming-Singapore links, while India's trilateral highway to Thailand through Myanmar will take many more years to realise. The wasted opportunities are stacking up.

India is prepared to conclude the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in Services and Investment with ASEAN by next month, which will send a strong signal of deepening economic engagement, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced in Phnom Penh on Monday.

He also pitched for enhanced cooperation between India and 10-nation ASEAN for promotion of peace, security and stability in the region and addressing shared challenges.

Addressing the India-ASEAN Summit here, Dr. Singh said, “India’s relationship with ASEAN members and with ASEAN institutionally continues to grow in all dimensions. Commerce and connectivity are vital areas of this relationship and we have made good progress in both.”

He noted that the India-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement on Trade in Goods has served well, with the two-way commerce increasing to nearly USD 80 billion in the Indian financial year ending March 2012, exceeding our target of USD 70 billion.

“I would like to inform Your Excellencies that India is prepared to conclude the Agreement on Trade in Services and Investment Promotion before the Commemorative Summit in Delhi in December. This will be a strong signal of our deepening economic engagement, and will allow for rapid expansion in trade and investment flows in both directions,” Dr. Singh said.

The FTA in Goods was signed in 2009 but aspects related to Services and Investment were delayed due to strong differences between the two sides.

Dr. Singh, who was addressing the 10th Summit of the grouping, underlined that future of peace, stability and prosperity in the Asia Pacific requires increased cooperation and integration in the region.

“ASEAN has shown the way in this regard. We support the objectives of an ASEAN Community by 2015, the Initiative for ASEAN Integration and the ASEAN Master Plan on Connectivity,” the Prime Minister said.

He said ASEAN centrality is essential in the evolving regional architecture for peace, stability, development and prosperity.

Talking about physical, institutional and people-to-people connectivity, Dr. Singh said, it continues to be a “strategic priority” for India.

Two major Commemorative events this year - the India-ASEAN Car Rally and the ASEAN sailing expedition of the Indian Naval Ship Sudarshini - highlight the importance and the potential for connecting India and ASEAN by sea, surface and air links, he observed.

He noted that the two sides have been discussing the Maritime Transport Working Group and the ASEAN Connectivity Coordinating Committee.

The Trilateral Highway Task Force met in New Delhi and resolved to establish connectivity from Moreh in India to Mae Sot in Thailand by 2016, Dr. Singh pointed out.

“These are welcome steps in implementing the vision of India-ASEAN connectivity. We await route alignments on the extension of the Trilateral Highway and the proposed new highway to Vietnam so that these can be examined in an integrated manner. I look forward to early completion of the feasibility studies,” he said.

Against the backdrop of China’s row with East Asian nations over the South China Sea, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday advocated establishing of a “common set of principles” and “cooperative mechanisms” to deepen economic integration and ensure “open, inclusive and rule-based architecture” in the Asia Pacific region.

Linking India’s security and prosperity to the Asia Pacific region, he said, “our vision for this region is rooted in cooperation and integration”.

Addressing the East Asia Summit of 18 countries in Phnom Penh, Dr. Singh said the meet was “witness to important events and changes taking place in the Asia Pacific region”.

Speaking against the backdrop of sharp differences among East Asian countries over use of resources of mineral-rich South China Sea over which China lays sole claim, he said, “concerted effort and collective action on the part of the countries gathered in the region can strengthen mutual understanding and help us address shared challenges”.

For this, he said, “it would be necessary to develop a common set of principles, establish cooperative mechanisms and deepen regional economic integration”.

Noting that the EAS had built an impressive agenda for economic cooperation and for addressing some common challenges despite being new, the Prime Minister said, “we should try and bring the same spirit in addressing our differences”.

He said he had “no doubt that, together, we can create an open, balanced, inclusive and rule-based architecture in the region for our collective security, stability and prosperity”.

These comments came amid efforts by ASEAN countries to evolve a Code of Conduct for use of resources of South China Sea in view of China’s claim over the maritime region.

However, sharp differences have emerged among the 10-nation ASEAN grouping, with Cambodia advocating against internationalising the issue but Philippines and Vietnam refusing to agree.

Dr. Singh said ASEAN has been a bridge for India to the East and is central to the evolution of a regional architecture and its different cooperative frameworks.

“Forums such as the East Asia Summit can help create a large economic community in this region that will accelerate development and enhance prosperity, besides reinforcing mutual understanding and confidence in the region,” the Prime Minister said.

Dr. Singh said India welcomes the launch of Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership and supports the Phnom Penh Declaration on East Asia Summit Development Initiative.

The Prime Minister emphasised the importance of connectivity for increased commerce, contact and cooperation between India and East Asian countries and pressed for quick implementation of EAS Declaration on ASEAN Connectivity, adopted at the last Summit.

“Early identification of specific projects and the evolution of innovative financing mechanisms for their implementation would also help move forward this important aspect of our cooperation,” he said.

Dr. Singh told the leaders of the East Asian grouping that India has been happy to carry forward several EAS-related initiatives which include Declaration on Malaria Control.

“We have proposed a programme on capacity building and vector control management systems to our ASEAN partners earlier this year and look forward to cooperating with other EAS members,” he said.

Referring to the Nalanda University project, he said it is gaining momentum and first two schools are expected to commence teaching in the academic year 2014-15.

India is fully justified in seeking the expeditious conclusion of a free trade agreement (FTA) in services with the Association of South-East Asian Nations (Asean) as an extension of the existing pact covering trade in goods. The goods FTA, which came into force from January 2010, has led to a considerable spurt in bilateral trade between India and the ten-member bloc: From under $44 billion in 2009-10 to over $79 billion in 2011-12. While India’s exports of $36.7 billion were lower than its imports of $42.5 billion last fiscal, that cannot be an argument in itself against having an FTA or saying it has only benefited ASEAN producers. A big chunk of India’s imports — palm oil from Indonesia and Malaysia, hard disk drives from Thailand, and pulses, or in the future, natural gas from Myanmar — would happen even without an FTA, given the country’s sheer deficit in these commodities. On the other hand, India’s trade surpluses with other ASEAN economies like Singapore, Vietnam and Philippines have grown, which again dispels the impression of the FTA turning the country into a one-way dumping street.

If FTAs are fine for goods — the overall efficiency gains from increased trade more than offsetting losses in individual cases — the question is, why not have it in services as well? This is precisely what the Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, has flagged at the recent India-Asean summit in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. An Agreement on Trade in Services and Investment Promotion, he has pointed out, would “be a strong signal of our deepening engagement and will allow for (a further) rapid expansion in trade and investment flows in both directions”. India definitely has a strong interest in pushing for such a pact, given that it would open up a 600 million-strong market (bigger than the US or the European Union) to doctors, engineers, lawyers, chartered accountants and other professionals from the country. Moreover, a host of Indian companies have set up shop in Asean countries and would want their investments, in sectors from steel and IT to natural resources, to enjoy some form of treaty protection.

Asean members, on their part, may not be as enthusiastic about inking an FTA in services or an investment promotion treaty with India. But these countries would also like to shake off excessive dependence on China (trade between the two was in excess of $360 billion last year), and engaging more with India is certainly one way to do that. India can play on this – as also its far less militaristic or threatening image — to extract a deal from Asean on services and movement of natural persons, similar to the concessions it extended through the FTA in goods. And the same logic applies to all FTAs it has already, or intends to enter into.

ASEAN Human Rights Declaration Doesn’t Meet Int’l Norms: US

The United States is warning that the Association of SouthEast Asian Nations' recently adopted human rights declaration does not meet international standards and could be misused by repressive governments in the region.

But the U.S. State Department said Tuesday it was “deeply concerned” the declaration could “weaken and erode” long-standing principles enshrined in the United Nations's Universal Declaration on Human Rights. State spokesman Victoria Nuland decries what she calls the declaration's use of “'cultural relativism' to suggest that rights in the UDHR do not apply everywhere.”

At issue for many is Article Seven, which suggests that national or regional exceptions to the “realization of human rights” may be necessary on the basis of “political, economic, legal, social, cultural, historical and religious backgrounds.” Rights groups say the clause provides a loophole to authoritarian governments in the region, such as Vietnam or Cambodia, to get around the agreement.

Others are concerned that several basic rights and freedoms are missing from the declaration. A statement by a network of more than 50 human rights groups, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, say freedom of association and freedom from forced disappearances are among the most glaring omissions.

The group's statement also laments that the process in drafting the declaration was “dictated by its member states with little meaningful consultation with the vast array of civil society and grassroots organizations” in the region.

NEW DELHI: Navy chief Admiral D K Joshi leaves for Vietnam on a three-day visit to bolster bilateral defence cooperation.

If we are to believe ASEAN’s Secretary General Surin Pitsuwan, the Game of Thrones in the South China Sea risks turning the region into a never-ending conflict that could destabilize the whole region.
He warned the Financial Times that “Asia was entering its “most contentious” period in recent years as a rising China stakes out its claim to almost the entire South China Sea, clashing with the Philippines, Vietnam, and others.” ”We have to be mindful of the fact that the South China Sea could evolve into another Palestine,” he said.
Although some countries bordering the South China Sea, like Indonesia, have seen an uptick in religious radicalism, it is fortunate that a religious element hasn’t been adding fuel to the fire, as in the Holy Land. But plain old nationalism, historical grievances, and conflicting territorial claims in a resource-rich, highly strategic area can be just as dangerous. The pessimism of Mr. Pitsuwan, the top diplomat in Southeast Asia, is an ominous sign.

Inaugurating a ceremonial summit of all 10 Asean leaders, PM Manmohan Singh said, "We should intensify our political and security consultations, including in regional forums such as the East Asia Summit, the ASEAN Regional Forum and the ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting Plus. We should work together more purposefully for the evolution of an open, balanced, inclusive and transparent regional architecture."

Significantly, India pushed for greater cooperation on maritime security, which acquires special importance in the current environment. "As maritime nations, India and ASEAN nations should intensify their engagement for maritime security and safety, for freedom of navigation and for peaceful settlement of maritime disputes in accordance with international law," the PM said. He also picked up and legitimized use of the new term — Indo-Pacific — that presumes New Delhi's role and interest in the Asia-Pacific theatre.

Vietnam has asked India to take a more active role in the South China Sea, which is site to escalating disputes between China and some of its neighbors bordering the important body of water through which passes some of the most important sea lanes in the world.

Source of the conflict is China’s increasing aggressiveness in asserting its claim to a number of islets in the area, which are also claimed wholly or in part by Vietnam, Taiwan, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei. Japan has a similar conflict with China in another area.

The plea of Vietnam is understandable, as it has joint exploration ventures with India in the area. Interestingly, both Vietnam and India share a common experience of having previously engaged China in a shooting conflict.

It is possible India will take to heart the plea of Vietnam, as in fact it had responded in kind to a Chinese act of making graphic claims on its passports and visas over its shared border with India.

On the surface, the entry of India, if it heeds the plea of Vietnam, may seem welcome to the other claimants in the area who are being harassed by China. India has a strong military and is therefore no pushover.

But that is not what the world wants for this area. More so for the Philippines which can ill afford a military conflict. The Philippines may welcome the entry of other powers only as a matter of pride — finding an ally that can prove to be a match for the bully in the ‘hood.

In the end, however, it is in the interest of everybody if an armed conflict is avoided, an armed conflict that can only grow more certain as the number of actors in the play increases and the plot gets more unwieldy.

At this point, it is enough for other powers to make some noises and give the impression that the world will not stand idly by if China goes beyond what is internationally acceptable in its conduct pertaining to the South China Sea conflict.

World powers such as the United States, India and Japan must make it unequivocably clear to China that there is a line it cannot and must not cross. They must make it abundantly clear that hooliganism has no place in the family of nations.

Creating this icon entails a devil of a time
The BMA's next symbol will look fantastic, but there are a few pressing problems to solve first

Published: 16 Feb 2013 at 00.00Newspaper section: News
For decades, the emblem of the Hindu god Indra riding Airavata, the mythological elephant, has adorned City Hall and provided a colourful backdrop to Bangkok's seat of power.


A City Hall official shows an illustration depicting the statue of the Hindu god Indra riding Erawan the elephant which will be placed in front of the new headquarters of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration in Din Daeng (background). THANARAK KHOONTON

Now it is to be turned into an elegant sculpture by Thailand's finest artists to commemorate the new City Hall.

A bronze statue of the Hindu god, with one hand carrying vajra, a thunderbolt, riding the mythological elephant, known in Thai as Erawan, will stand at the new headquarters of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) in the Din Daeng area.

If the work progresses without any problems, Bangkokians will see this masterpiece by next year when the centre of the city's administration will relocate to the new site, said Prathip Srichan, senior fine arts official of the BMA's Public Works Department.

The plan to build the statue actually started a long time ago but was shelved until former Bangkok governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra began his first term, says deputy city clerk Jumpol Sumpaopol, who chairs a committee considering the statue project.

MR Sukhumbhand revived the project in 2009 and wanted the statue to be situated at the new City Hall headquarters instead of a BMA area near Ratchadamnoen Avenue as in the original plan.

His inspiration to have the sculptured icon revived came about after he saw the black statue of Indra riding the three-headed Erawan at Wat Devarajkunchorn Varaviharn, a riverside temple in the Thewes area.

That was on March 21, 2009 when MR Sukhumbhand joined the ceremony to open the temple's Golden Teak Museum, presided over by HRH Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn.

Since then the former governor has been encouraging officials to work on the next city icon project.

They began by asking abbot Phra Thepkhunaphon about how his temple built the statue.

The abbot introduced them to two key figures, Pradit Yuwaphuka, a national sculpture artist, and Thawatchai Sisomphet, a leading sculptor, saying they were crucial in building the temple's Indra god sculpture.

They were invited to work on the new statue which is designed around the picture of the green Indra on the Erawan elephant, the emblem of City Hall.

"The picture comes from an original painting made by HRH Prince Narisara Nuvativongse," Mr Jumpol said.

HRH Prince Narisara Nuvativongse was a son of King Rama IV (King Mongkut). He offered his painting of Indra on Erawan to King Rama VI (King Vajiravudh) to mark his 60th birthday more than 80 years ago.

The painting was later used as a model by Sanit Ditphan, an artist of the Fine Arts Department, to draw the picture that has become the emblem of City Hall since Oct 24, 1972.

With the help of the two artists, City Hall worked further on its plan to build the bronze statue but it was difficult to get the concept to materialise, according to Mr Prathip.

In addition to the design work and the selection of an appropriate spot to erect the statue, which were both time consuming, recruiting a contractor for the project was another problem.

"There weren't any bidders when the BMA called for tenders for the statue last year," said Mr Prathip.

Mr Prathip said prospective bidders faced problems of high construction costs, a lack of skilled labourers and how to relocate and erect a statue that stands 10.4 metres high and weighs more than 10 tonnes - excluding the statue base - from the foundry to the city's new headquarters.

That is because the underground area in front of the BMA's new building where the statue will be located is a car parking area, so the ground paving would not be strong enough to hold the heavy cranes needed to lift the statue.

In order to maintain the statue in as pristine a condition as possible, the BMA had set a condition that the contractor could only separate the statue of Indra on Erawan from its base during relocation.

"That requires very high relocation technical skills and there is a very high risk of a mistake," Mr Prathip said.

As a result, with a budget of just 37 million baht to construct the statue and relocate it, likely contenders for the job felt it was not worth it.

A BMA source said City Hall has been considering an increase in the budget from 37 million baht to 48 million baht. The administration has also considered altering the rules for relocating the statue from the use of heavy cranes to slide rails.

The final decision is awaiting the approval of city clerk Ninnart Chalitanon.

Officials hope the long-awaited statue will be finished in time for the new Bangkok governor and city staff to move into their new offices in Din Daeng next year.

The city's symbol reflects the efforts of the administration to solve the capital's problems as depicted in the picture of Indra using a thunderbolt against devils.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/3 ... -of-a-time

February 5, 2013, 4:19 p.m. ET
A Wise Man for the World
Singapore's philosopher-king on an ascendant China, the threat of Islamism and America's entitlements crisis.

China already dominates Asia and intends to become the world's leading power. The United States is not yet a "second rate power," but the inability of its political leaders to make unpopular decisions bodes poorly. Russia, Japan, Western Europe and India are, for the most part, tired bureaucracies. If Iran gets the bomb, a nuclear war in the Middle East is almost inevitable.

These are among the many frank forecasts laid out in a slim volume based on the experiences and insights of Lee Kuan Yew, the founder of modern Singapore, its prime minister from 1959 to 1990, and Asia's ranking philosopher-king for much of the past half-century. Tiny Singapore has always been too small a stage for a leader of Mr. Lee's intellect and ego. His interests have extended across the globe, as has his influence. For decades, world leaders, corporate CEOs, scholars and journalists have made the pilgrimage to Singapore to seek his views.

"Lee Kuan Yew: The Grand Master's Insights on China, the United States, and the World" forms a kind of last testament of the ailing, 89-year-old Mr. Lee. It is based on interviews with Mr. Lee by the authors—Graham Allison, a professor of government at Harvard's Kennedy School, and Robert Blackwill, a former U.S. diplomat—to which the authors add a distillation of Mr. Lee's speeches, writings and interviews with others over many years.

The book focuses forward on Mr. Lee's prognostications, not backward on his accomplishments. Messrs. Allison and Blackwill refrain from commentary on the man and his ideas, letting readers interpret for themselves. The downside of such restraint is that "Lee Kuan Yew" doesn't truly convey Mr. Lee's combative candor or the exceptional subtlety of mind that I was privileged to experience in my own interviews with Mr. Lee over two decades. It was his combination of penetrating brilliance about the wider world and prickly pettiness in his own Singaporean laboratory (e.g., banning two Dow Jones publications for the sin of free expression) that made him so fascinating.

Beyond Singapore, China has always been Mr. Lee's primary focus. China, he says, is determined to be "the greatest power in the world," and it expects to be accepted on its own terms, "not as an honorary member of the West." Yet despite China's progress over the past 30 years, Mr. Lee says, it has multiple "handicaps" to overcome, chief among them an absence of the rule of law and the presence of widespread corruption. The biggest fear of China's leaders, he says, is popular revulsion at the corrosive effects of graft. The Chinese language itself—which "is exceedingly difficult for foreigners to learn sufficiently to embrace China and be embraced by its society"—is another obstacle to China's great-power aspirations. So is a culture that does not "permit a free exchange and contest of ideas." (Mr. Lee adopted English as Singapore's national language; he never fully adopted free expression.)

While competition between the United States and China is inevitable, Mr. Lee argues, confrontation need not be. (We, of course, might view China's widespread computer hacking as a form of confrontation.) The U.S. shouldn't expect a democratic China: "China is not going to become a liberal democracy; if it did, it would collapse." In China's 5,000 years of recorded history, he notes, the emperor has ruled by right, and if the people disagree, "you chop off heads, not count heads."

Despite America's political gridlock and excessive debt, Mr. Lee remains optimistic about the future of the United States and its role in the world. In his view, America's "creativity, resilience, and innovative spirit will allow it to confront its core problems, overcome them and regain its competitiveness." Americans believe that they can "make things happen," and thus they usually do.

Still, Mr. Lee worries about the breakdown of civil society in the U.S.—individual rights (not paired with individual responsibility) run amok—and about a growing culture of entitlements. Sociologists, he says, have convinced Americans that failure isn't their fault but the fault of the economic system. Once charity became an entitlement, he observes, the stigma of living on charity disappeared. As a result, entitlement costs outpace government resources, resulting in huge debts for future generations. In the meantime, America's political leaders kick the can down the road to win elections. As so often is the case, Mr. Lee starkly says what others think.

Mr. Lee bluntly blames Saudi Arabia for encouraging the growth of Islamist extremism by financing mosques, religious schools and preachers world-wide to spread its "austere version of Wahhabist Islam." What the West can do, he says, is to give Muslim moderates the confidence to confront extremists for control of the Islamic soul. But, he warns, if moderates continue to be intimidated by extremists, they will find themselves living in repressive theocracies like Iran. And if Iran gets the bomb, other Islamic states like Saudi Arabia and Egypt will do so as well, unleashing the specter of regional nuclear war.

Mr. Lee's three political heroes are Charles de Gaulle, Winston Churchill and Deng Xiaoping, the Chinese leader who launched economic reform in the 1980s. The reason for Mr. Lee's admiration: Each held a weak hand at a critical moment in history and, through guts and determination, managed to win. Mr. Lee is a firm believer that leaders are born, though managers can be made, and that leaders should be judged by their accomplishments. "The acid test is in performance, not promises." As with his three heroes, Mr. Lee began with a weak hand in Singapore but, by playing it to maximum effect, made himself a wise man for the world.

Ms. House, a former publisher of The Wall Street Journal and a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter, is the author of "On Saudi Arabia: Its People, Past, Religion, Fault Lines—and Future."

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142 ... hare_tweet

Malaysia, 'going green', in Lee's words, might downplay Hindu artifacts but cannot exorcize the living evidence since 'for more than 2000 years, words of Indian origin have been insinuating themselves into the Malay language'...

Sukarno's folie de grandeur exploited the past, claiming the Sri Vijaya empire as the first Negara Indonesia, state of Indonesia. Lee had no time for such pretensions and told a seminar at the University of Singapore 'that it was really Hindu culture and civilization that made these (empires) possible.' He returned to the theme at New Zealand's Canterbury University, saying that though the Indonesian archipelago had enjoyed 'periods of greatness when the Hindus came in the seventh and again in the twelfth centuries,' the ruins of Borobodur suggest that 'a people (who are) primarily self-indulgent' could not maintain their heritage.74 Especially in Indonesia's humid heat... Lee, who calls air-conditioning the twentieth century's most significant invention, is amazed at what the Hindu pioneers achieved without it...

But not only did the Hindu pioneers manage, they left behind a legacy that saves present-day Indonesia from being caught up in religious extremism like the Achinese or the fundamentalism that Malaysia's Parti Islam SeMalaysia peddles: banning yoga and chopstics as un-Islamic. The 'underpinning of Buddhism and Hinduism gives Indonesians, particularly the Javanese, a certain balance, a certain ability to resist the inclination to extremism' that is evident in Malaysia.77

Lee contrasts political styles. Election rallies are solemn affairs in Malaysia 'starting with a prayer, the blessings of God, and so on.' But in Indonesia, the campaign is still fun with attractive girls in T-shirts and jeans playing guitar and singing. 'I am not sure whether it will continue though I think the chances are that it will. It's a different culture that must upset all the orthodox Muslim radicals.'78 Lee repeats that 'as a people the Javanese are not easily attracted to extremism.' The terrorists who killed more than 200 people in a Bali discotheque in 2002 and exploded bombs in Jakarta were foreigners who corrupted some locals: 'You look at Bali! It is a completely different culture. The Balinese were not responsible for the bombings. It was a Javanese who had been trained by people like Abu Bakr Bashir whose DNA is Arab.'79

If Jemayat Islamiyah leaders of Middle Eastern origin are Indonesia's Islamic future, Bali is its Hindu past.

- Looking East to Look West: Lee Kuan Yew's Mission India By Sunanda K. Datta-Ray