Posted on July 27, 2017
By Asia Sentinel
Headline, India, Politics
Under fire from defence analysts and the federal auditor for its luckless and ill-equipped navy, long a victim of political and bureaucratic apathy, the Indian government is scrambling to bolster it against the backdrop of an increasingly assertive China which is intruding into the Indian Ocean in force. The two Asian giants have been locked…
Posted on July 27, 2017
By Philip Bowring
Headline, Philippines, Politics
How long will it be before Filipinos wake up to the sheer lack of achievement in President Duterte’s year in office? He still stands high in the polls because of his uncouth, action-man image. From far right to far left criticism is muted despite a performance that which does not bear too close examination nor…
Posted on July 26, 2017
By Asia Sentinel
Headline, Indonesia, Politics
Indonesia’s House Speaker, Setya Novanto, one of the country’s most powerful politicians and a man who narrowly dodged a bullet over allegations of seeking to suborn a bribe from Freeport McMoran, the US-based mining giant in 2015, may not be so lucky this time. On July 17, the country’s fearsome anti-graft agency Corruption Eradication Commission…
Posted on July 24, 2017
By Asia Sentinel
Headline, Pakistan, Politics
Notwithstanding Pakistan’s upbeat claims about defeating terrorism, continuing military operations in both urban and rural Punjab and new operations in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) show how the menace of terrorism continues to defy solution through a straightforward application of military force. Part of the problem is that the jihadi infrastructure remains intact, and…
Posted on July 24, 2017
By Willard
Economics/Business, Headline, Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Opinion
The steady erosion of the journalistic independence of the South China Morning Post, once the region’s most influential English-language daily, was demonstrated last week when the paper’s editors pulled an article linking an investor in Hong Kong’s Peninsula Hotel Group to Chinese President Xi Jinping’s chief of staff. The article, by long-time Money Matters columnist…
Posted on July 19, 2017
By Our Correspondent
Headline, Hong Kong, Politics
The continuing tightening of the noose around democratic practices in Hong Kong now appears to be playing itself out in the New York-based Asia Society, the prestigious nonpartisan educational organization dedicated to promoting mutual understanding between Asians and the United States, and its billionaire Hong Kong chairman. There have long been worries about Chan’s influence.…
Posted on July 18, 2017
By Asia Sentinel
Headline, Politics
The Canadian government should fast-track its consideration of the refugee claims of seven people who sheltered US National Security Agency whistle-blower Edward Snowden before he left Hong Kong in 2013. The Hong Kong government has sent the adult asylum seekers detention notices, indicating that they could soon be deported to countries where they would face…
Posted on July 18, 2017
By Asia Sentinel
Headline, Indonesia, Society
The increase of Indonesia’s health budget allocation from 3.7 percent of Gross Domestic Product in the 1990s to 5 percent in 2017, totaling Rp104 trillion (US7.28 billion), is designed to alleviate some of the country’s healthcare delivery problems, with 75 percent of citizens still greatly depending on public health care. But one of the biggest…
Posted on July 18, 2017
By George Russell
Blog, Economic Outlook 2017, Economics/Business, South Korea, South Korea
South Korea’s long-running political upheaval ensured that 2017 kicked off amid controversy. The very first day of the year saw president Park Geun-hye denouncing her impeachment by the National Assembly. However, on March 10, the Constitutional Court upheld the ruling, ending a presidency mired in controversy since Park’s election in 2012. Park was then arrested…
Posted on July 18, 2017
By George Russell
Economic Outlook 2017, Economics/Business, Japan, Japan
For Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, 2017 has been the year that his political credibility came into doubt. A poll conducted by the Mainichi Shimbun newspaper on June 17 and 18 showed that Abe’s approval rating fell 10 points to 36%, and the rate of disapproval reached 44% - his first net negative rating since…
