Far East Archives - Page 4 of 13

28Nov

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Far East

Dispatch From Nepal: The Disaster Didn’t End When the Earth Stopped Shaking

NOVANEWS By Dinesh Paudel and Gregory Reck The author interacting with disaster-affected communities in Saipu, Nepal. (Photo: Dinesh Paudel) Writing in a blog post shortly after the Hurricane Katrina disaster in Louisiana, writer and activist Jim Wallis pointed out that often it takes a natural disaster to reveal a social disaster. One can even go further and point out that, when it comes to disasters, the categories of "natural" and "social" are indistinguishable. Natural disasters not only reveal social disasters; they unleash forces that deepen them. All "natural" disasters occur within historical and socioeconomic contexts so that the dividing line between natural and social causes and consequences are inevitably blurred. While international attention is focused on the recent ...

16Nov

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Far East, USA

US Feigns Human Rights Concerns in Philippines. Extrajudicial Executions and Duterte’s “War on Drugs”

NOVANEWS By Tony Cartalucci New Eastern Outlook Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is heading a controversial campaign against crime, embodied in his “war on drugs” which has led to violence spanning the nation’s troubled urban centers. President Duterte’s comments have ranged from reasonable, to utterly indifferent regarding fears of extrajudicial executions, vigilantism, and very real human rights abuses – opening a door of opportunity for his political opponents both at home and abroad. President Duterte’s inability to clearly condemn extrajudicial executions and vigilante violence, along with his inflammatory, provocative, even dangerously demagogic statements both invites further abuses, as well as both legitimate and opportunistic criticism of him, his administration, and ...

10Nov

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Far East, Saudi Arabia, USA

Politics Over Principles: US Denies Philippines Weapons, Continues Arming Saudis

NOVANEWS By Ulson Gunnar New Eastern Outlook Perhaps the biggest challenge the US faces regarding its credibility globally is the self-inflicted damage it does to its alleged principles and values as a center of global power. A perfect example of this is unfolding in the dramatic unraveling of US-Philippine relations where any and every means of finding leverage over Washington’s wayward ally is being brought to bear on Manila. The most recent manifestation of this occurred when the US blocked the shipment of US rifles destined for the Philippines’ police forces. PhilStar Global’s article, “Duterte cancels rifle sale blocked by US over rights concerns,” would report that: The US State Department had earlier halted the sale of about 26,000 rifles to the Philippines when US Sen. B...

6Nov

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Far East

What the Philippines Says Vs. What it Does

NOVANEWS By Joseph Thomas Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has been identified as a menace to US foreign policy in Asia Pacific by both his supporters and his opponents. For his supporters, he is propped up as a hero of “anti-imperialism,” while his detractors claim his leadership incites instability, is nonconstructive and is leading his Southeast Asian state to ruin. The truth, however, exists somewhere in between. A look at the Philippines within Southeast Asia reveals a nation that has long existed within America’s geopolitical and economic sphere, but also a nation more recently emerging from that sphere, pulled into the political and economic orbit of Beijing and in a wider sense, an increasingly influential and growing Asia. The Philippines eventually replacing its various, c...

28Oct

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Far East

Duterte’s China visit a ‘turning point’

NOVANEWS The BRICS Post Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has made good on a promise he made in August to steer relations with China toward mutual benefit and bilateral cooperation. During his visit to Beijing on Thursday Duterte said that he was still committed to discussing the South China Sea territorial dispute in a bilateral fashion with his Chinese counterparts. Chinese President Xi Jinping welcomed the Philippine initiative and warmly shook hands with Duterte saying that both countries had emerged from a relationship of “winds and rains”. As the first country to visit outside ASEAN since he took office in June the Philippine president is committed to continuously engaging China in a diplomatic dialogue rather than anger officials there. Relations between the two countries r...

27Oct

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Far East

Philippines seeks common prosperity with China

NOVANEWS By M K Bhadrakumar | Indian Punchline Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte arrived in Beijing on Tuesday on a 4-day visit that Beijing calls ‘historic’. We are about to witness probably one of the most dramatic turnarounds in the geopolitics of the Asia-Pacific since the Vietnam War ended. Philippines is the US’ oldest ally in Asia and Duterte is just inches away from dumping an accord that gives the US access to five military bases in the Philippines. The US’ rebalance strategy may never be the same again as long as Duterte, who took over on June 30, remains in power. (New York Times ) That Duterte chose China for his first visit outside the ASEAN region itself carries much symbolism. At least 200 members of the Philippine business elite are traveling with him, signalling the ...

22Sep

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Far East

Duterte calls out ‘devil’ Ban Ki-moon & EU in latest tirade

NOVANEWS Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte © Lean Daval Jr / Reuters Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte says the UN chief and the EU are welcome to investigate his controversial drugs crackdown, while also challenging the organizations to visit the Philippines and debate human rights and extrajudicial killings with him. "I am inviting the United Nations' Ban Ki ... what's the name of that devil? ... Ban Ki-moon," Duterte said, as cited by Reuters. "I am inviting the EU, send the best lawyers of your own, also the rapporteurs, to come to the Philippines. I will write them a letter to invite them for an investigation." Read more ‘Guilty feelings’: EU aims to atone for own ‘sins’ by picking on Philippines drug war, Duterte says Since taking office 11 weeks ago, around 3,00...

21Sep

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Far East, Philippine, USA

Duterte Says U.S. Special Forces in Philippines ‘Have to Go’

NOVANEWS Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday called for the withdrawal of U.S. military from the restive Jolo and Basilan islands, marking his latest in a string of statements distancing the Filipino government from Washington. “These special forces, they have to go,” Duterte said in a speech during an oath-taking ceremony for new officials. “I do not want a rift with America. But they have to go.” Duterte, who was in the spotlight last week over his televised tirade against U.S. imperialism and President Barack Obama, said that the U.S. special forces now training Filipino troops were high-value targets for the Islamic State-linked Abu Sayyaf as counter-insurgency operations intensify. “Americans, they will really kill them, they will try to kidnap them to get ransom,” Du...

11Sep

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Far East, USA

Obama is putang ina ”Son of a Bitch!”

NOVANEWS Son of a Bitch! Hope for the Philippines? By Gary Leupp | Dissident Voice Son of a bitch (var. sonovabitch): Something that is very difficult or unpleasant. Used to express surprise, disappointment, anger, etc. (based on Merriam-Webster) Rodrigo Duterte, elected president of the Philippines last May, was supposed to meet with President Obama in Laos on the sidelines of the ASEAN meeting Monday. He had referred to Obama as a putang ina (“son of a bitch”) in a news conference, and earlier to U.S. ambassador Philip Goldberg with what was reported as a homophobic slur. (I understand that Duterte routinely uses the word bakla or “gay” to refer to elite men, but — like most Filipinos — actually is fine with gayness. The city of Davao, where he was mayor for many years, has lots of g...

29Jul

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Europe, Far East, USA

How the Australian, British, and US Governments Shamelessly Helped Kill Countless People in Indonesia in 1965

NOVANEWS Asia-Pacific Research The Hague-based International People’s Tribunal has ruled that the Indonesian regime that replaced Indonesian President Sukarno committed crimes against humanity in 1965. The governments of Australia, Britain, and the United States have also been pronounced guilty as complicit partners in the massacre of 500,000 to 1000,000 people or more in Indonesia. People were murdered in Indonesia due to their principles, political ideology, ethnic backgrounds, and opposition to foreign influence. Albeit the ruling is an important historical acknowledgment, the assistance that the Australian, British, and US governments provided to the coup and played in the massacres is not a secret. Asia-Pacific Research presents these excerpts from the Australian journalist John Pil...