asiapacificresearch--2020-12-02--Doctored Indignation: Australia-China Relations

Clay foot diplomacy is all the rage in Canberra , and the Australian government has become a solid practitioner .
Having stuck its neck out across continents and seas to proclaim the need to investigate China over the origins of the novel coronavirus , the Morrison government now finds itself in the tightest of corners .
Very much one to bite the hand that feeds it , Australia is trying to prove in international relations that you can , from behind the curtain , provoke your largest trading partner while still hoping to trade with it .
China is not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s policy towards it in recent years as a log of disagreeable actions .
The Chinese tech giant Huawei was excluded from its 5G network .
Ten investment deals across a range of industries have also been blocked , including animal husbandry , infrastructure and agriculture .
They have seen Australia strident on what China regards as matters of domestic concern : Hong Kong and Xinjiang .
Australia is also finding itself ever more comfortable in relationships such as the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue , where it keeps company with the United States , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is well on the way to becoming “ openly anti-China ” .
The ones to endure the “ deep reflexion ” demanded of Australia by Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian have not been politicians .
It has fallen to the importers and exporters to receive Beijing ’ s directed fury .
In May , the Australia-China barley trade was all but eliminated by tariffs in the order of 80.5 percent .
In November , tariffs ranging from 107 to 200 percent were imposed on Australian wine , a sorry blow for Australian @ @ @ @ @ @ @ million wine drinkers in the PRC .
Australia ’ s largest wine company , Treasury Wine Estates , claimed to have received a tariff rate of 169.3 percent .
As the managing director of Clare Valley ’ s Taylor Wines , Mitchell Taylor , explained , “ A tariff of this scale will basically kill the industry overnight.
” Winemakers in neighbouring New Zealand , and those in France and Chile , will be happy to see a rival in the Chinese market so dramatically shrunk .
Australian farmers and traders are baffled @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Canberra has misjudged the situation .
Feeble suggestions occupy ministerial briefs about whether China can be taken to the World Trade Organisation .
Trade minister Simon Birmingham has been unable to secure a line with his Chinese counterparts .
There is not much by way of tea and conversation being had by the two sides .
Then came a doctored image from Chinese political computer graphic artist Fu Yu .
It ’ s in the old image of propaganda accounts : use a murdering , invading soldier as a prop .
Find a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ case , the picture centres upon what is supposed to be an Australian soldier and an Afghan child .
The soldier has his blood smeared knife pressed against the child ’ s throat .
The child is holding a lamb .
The picture is helpfully captioned : “ Don ’ t be afraid , we are coming to bring you peace.
” Provocative and apt enough : the Australian effort in Afghanistan , along with those of other forces , has been marked by an irregular war of relentless savagery that has tended @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s own role has been distinguished by a lengthy spell of action by special forces that were found by the recently released Brereton war crimes inquiry to have committed a goodly number of civilian killings .
China ’ s foreign ministry sensed an opportunity .
On November 30 , Zhao Lijian tweeted the image .
“ Shocked by murder of Afghan civilians & prisoners by Australian soldiers , ” he chided .
“ We strongly condemn such acts & call for holding them accountable.
” Prime Minister Scott Morrison , instead of ignoring @ @ @ @ @ @ @ attached , was all indignant and promptly fell for the hook .
“ The post made today , the repugnant post made today of a falsified image of an Australian soldier threatening a young child with a knife , a post made on an official Chinese government account , posted by the deputy director-general of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs , is truly repugnant.
” In making such a statement , Morrison gave the coverage on Australian atrocities and misdeeds in Afghanistan even more air .
He returned to hollow notions of noble @ @ @ @ @ @ @ kindly things , ignoring their nastier missions .
Australian Department of Foreign Affairs Secretary Frances Adamson called upon the Chinese ambassador Cheng Jingye to lodge an official complaint .
Pleas were made to Twitter to take down the image but on this occasion , the social media platform has not been for turning .
An apology from China ’ s ministry of foreign affairs is also being sought .
Such moves have led to a cycle of mocking and rebuke .
“ On what grounds does Morrison feel angry over the use of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ FM ?
” asked Hu Xijin , editor-in-chief of Global Times , a state-owned publication .
For his part , Fu felt didactic , telling Morrison “ to make sure his Government ’ s military force becomes more disciplined to avoid any similar international tragedy ” .
Having found himself in full righteous gear , Morrison has unconvincingly called “ on China to re-engage in … dialogue .
This is how countries must deal with each other to ensure we can deal with any issues in our relationship , consistent with our national @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s sovereignty .
Not engaging in deplorable behaviour.
” Unfortunately for the prime minister , international relations is very much about deplorable behaviour , something which Australia has not been exempt from .
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Dr. Binoy Kampmark was a Commonwealth Scholar at Selwyn College , Cambridge .
He lectures at RMIT University , Melbourne .
He is a frequent contributor to Global @ @ @ @ @ @ @ [ email protected ]

Clay foot diplomacy is all the rage in Canberra, and the Australian government has become a solid practitioner. Having stuck its neck out across continents and seas to proclaim the need to investigate China over the origins of the novel coronavirus, the Morrison government now finds itself in the tightest of corners. Very much one to bite the hand that feeds it, Australia is trying to prove in international relations that you can, from behind the curtain, provoke your largest trading partner while still hoping to trade with it.
China is not of that view, seeing Australia’s policy towards it in recent years as a log of disagreeable actions. The Chinese tech giant Huawei was excluded from its 5G network. Ten investment deals across a range of industries have also been blocked, including animal husbandry, infrastructure and agriculture. They have seen Australia strident on what China regards as matters of domestic concern: Hong Kong and Xinjiang. Australia is also finding itself ever more comfortable in relationships such as the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, where it keeps company with the United States, Japan and India in an arrangement that is well on the way to becoming “openly anti-China”.
The ones to endure the “deep reflexion” demanded of Australia by Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian have not been politicians. It has fallen to the importers and exporters to receive Beijing’s directed fury. In May, the Australia-China barley trade was all but eliminated by tariffs in the order of 80.5 percent. In November, tariffs ranging from 107 to 200 percent were imposed on Australian wine, a sorry blow for Australian wine makers salivating at courting some 52 million wine drinkers in the PRC. Australia’s largest wine company, Treasury Wine Estates, claimed to have received a tariff rate of 169.3 percent. As the managing director of Clare Valley’s Taylor Wines, Mitchell Taylor, explained, “A tariff of this scale will basically kill the industry overnight.” Winemakers in neighbouring New Zealand, and those in France and Chile, will be happy to see a rival in the Chinese market so dramatically shrunk.
Australian farmers and traders are baffled and more than a touch concerned that Canberra has misjudged the situation. Feeble suggestions occupy ministerial briefs about whether China can be taken to the World Trade Organisation. Trade minister Simon Birmingham has been unable to secure a line with his Chinese counterparts. There is not much by way of tea and conversation being had by the two sides.
Then came a doctored image from Chinese political computer graphic artist Fu Yu. It’s in the old image of propaganda accounts: use a murdering, invading soldier as a prop. Find a suitable, vulnerable civilian. In this case, the picture centres upon what is supposed to be an Australian soldier and an Afghan child. The soldier has his blood smeared knife pressed against the child’s throat. The child is holding a lamb. The picture is helpfully captioned: “Don’t be afraid, we are coming to bring you peace.”
Provocative and apt enough: the Australian effort in Afghanistan, along with those of other forces, has been marked by an irregular war of relentless savagery that has tended to elude domestic understanding. Australia’s own role has been distinguished by a lengthy spell of action by special forces that were found by the recently released Brereton war crimes inquiry to have committed a goodly number of civilian killings.
China’s foreign ministry sensed an opportunity. On November 30, Zhao Lijian tweeted the image. “Shocked by murder of Afghan civilians & prisoners by Australian soldiers,” he chided. “We strongly condemn such acts & call for holding them accountable.” Prime Minister Scott Morrison, instead of ignoring it as a provocative prod with hook attached, was all indignant and promptly fell for the hook. “The post made today, the repugnant post made today of a falsified image of an Australian soldier threatening a young child with a knife, a post made on an official Chinese government account, posted by the deputy director-general of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is truly repugnant.”
In making such a statement, Morrison gave the coverage on Australian atrocities and misdeeds in Afghanistan even more air. He returned to hollow notions of noble soldiers in uniform sent overseas to do kindly things, ignoring their nastier missions. Australian Department of Foreign Affairs Secretary Frances Adamson called upon the Chinese ambassador Cheng Jingye to lodge an official complaint. Pleas were made to Twitter to take down the image but on this occasion, the social media platform has not been for turning. An apology from China’s ministry of foreign affairs is also being sought.
Such moves have led to a cycle of mocking and rebuke. “On what grounds does Morrison feel angry over the use of this cartoon by the spokesperson of Chinese FM?” asked Hu Xijin, editor-in-chief of Global Times, a state-owned publication. For his part, Fu felt didactic, telling Morrison “to make sure his Government’s military force becomes more disciplined to avoid any similar international tragedy”.
Having found himself in full righteous gear, Morrison has unconvincingly called “on China to re-engage in … dialogue. This is how countries must deal with each other to ensure we can deal with any issues in our relationship, consistent with our national interests and respect for each other’s sovereignty. Not engaging in deplorable behaviour.” Unfortunately for the prime minister, international relations is very much about deplorable behaviour, something which Australia has not been exempt from.
*
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Dr. Binoy Kampmark was a Commonwealth Scholar at Selwyn College, Cambridge. He lectures at RMIT University, Melbourne. He is a frequent contributor to Global Research and Asia-Pacific Research. Email: [email protected]


asiapacificresearch--2020-12-03--Taiwanese Groups Protest Proposed Fukushima Water Dumping

Taiwanese environmental groups demonstrated in front of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building in Taipei last Thursday to protest against a proposed plan by the Japanese government to dump 1.2 million tons of wastewater from the 2011 Fukushima disaster into the Pacific Ocean .
The 2011 Fukushima disaster was caused by the meltdown of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactor after an earthquake and tsunami , devastating the coastline of Fukushima .
The event was considered to be the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl in 1986 .
The plan to dump nuclear wastewater into the ocean came to the attention of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the media last month .
Among the groups involved in the recent protest were stalwarts of the anti-nuclear and environmental movement such as the Green Citizens ’ Action Alliance ; Citizens of the Earth , Taiwan ; Wild at Heart ; the Green Party ; and the Taiwan Renewable Energy Alliance .
During the demonstration , groups presented a petition to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs , calling on it to urge the Japanese government not to go through with the plan .
The Tsai Ing-wen administration has stated that it will talk @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The groups cited the possible effects on the environment from the nuclear wastewater discharge , emphasizing their view that the effects on aquatic life could last for over forty years .
This could include fish caught by fishing vessels that ends up being eaten by consumers in Taiwan , Japan , and other countries .
The groups also emphasized that they were cooperating with Japanese civil society groups opposed to nuclear energy .
As in Japan , issues of what to do with nuclear waste have been a controversy for Taiwan as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the construction of a nuclear waste disposal facility on indigenous land on Orchid Island , also known as Lanyu .
The indigenous residents of Orchid Island , the Tao , were told that the waste disposal facility was a canning facility .
Other plans to construct waste disposal facilities have met with local resistance .
Advocates of nuclear energy in Taiwan have generally not helped matters .
In an infamous incident , Hung Shih-hsiu , the organizer of the advocacy group Nuclear Mythbusters and a former assistant of former Nationalist Party Chairman and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ every household in Taiwan should be given on a plastic bottle filled with nuclear waste in order to equally share the burden of this energy resource .
Hung Shih-hsiu debated Hung Sun-han of the Green Citizen Action Alliance , now a Democratic Progressive Party list legislator , before a 2018 referendum on whether or not Taiwan should scrap its goal of being nuclear-free by 2025 .
Though Taiwanese voted in favor of scrapping this goal in the referendum , they also voted against food imports from the radiation-affected Fukushima Prefecture , illustrating their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has been intent on promoting food exports from Fukushima and rebuilding tourism to the prefecture , and has made this a possible precondition for closer political and economic relations with Taiwan .
The environmental movement in Taiwan is generally opposed to nuclear energy .
Nuclear energy is seen as dangerous for Taiwan , given its frequent seismic activity , leading to the possibility of a nuclear disaster similar to the Fukushima incident .
Likewise , continual questions regarding nuclear waste disposal and mismanagement by state-run power utility Taipower have led to further questions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are increasingly visible at environmental protests against air pollution and global warming , although some have sought to distance themselves from Hung , who is Taiwan ’ s most famous nuclear energy proponent .
Though it did not prevent reactor restarts from being quietly approved under the Tsai administration , the pan-Green camp has historically been more opposed to nuclear energy , while the pan-Blue camp has been more supportive .
The pan-Blue camp has even sought to use the issue of nuclear energy to attack the Tsai administration in past years , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ maintain a stable power supply in Taiwan—this despite the fact that only 8 % of energy in Taiwan came from nuclear energy in 2017 .
At any event , the Tsai administration is unlikely to take any strong stance on Fukushima wastewater , prioritizing stable relations with the Japanese government .
Note to readers : please click the share buttons above or below .
Forward this article to your email lists .
Crosspost on your blog site , internet forums .
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Brian Hioe was one of the founding editors of New @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on social movements and politics , and occasional translator .
A New York native and Taiwanese-American , he has an MA in East Asian Languages and Cultures from Columbia University and graduated from New York University with majors in History , East Asian Studies , and English Literature .
He was Democracy and Human Rights Service Fellow at the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy from 2017 to 2018 .
Featured image is from New Bloom/Shingetsu News Agency

Taiwanese environmental groups demonstrated in front of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building in Taipei last Thursday to protest against a proposed plan by the Japanese government to dump 1.2 million tons of wastewater from the 2011 Fukushima disaster into the Pacific Ocean.
The 2011 Fukushima disaster was caused by the meltdown of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactor after an earthquake and tsunami, devastating the coastline of Fukushima. The event was considered to be the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl in 1986. The plan to dump nuclear wastewater into the ocean came to the attention of many Taiwanese after it was reported by the media last month.
Among the groups involved in the recent protest were stalwarts of the anti-nuclear and environmental movement such as the Green Citizens’ Action Alliance; Citizens of the Earth, Taiwan; Wild at Heart; the Green Party; and the Taiwan Renewable Energy Alliance. During the demonstration, groups presented a petition to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, calling on it to urge the Japanese government not to go through with the plan. The Tsai Ing-wen administration has stated that it will talk with the Japanese government regarding the matter.
The groups cited the possible effects on the environment from the nuclear wastewater discharge, emphasizing their view that the effects on aquatic life could last for over forty years. This could include fish caught by fishing vessels that ends up being eaten by consumers in Taiwan, Japan, and other countries. The groups also emphasized that they were cooperating with Japanese civil society groups opposed to nuclear energy.
As in Japan, issues of what to do with nuclear waste have been a controversy for Taiwan as well. The most well-known example is the construction of a nuclear waste disposal facility on indigenous land on Orchid Island, also known as Lanyu. The indigenous residents of Orchid Island, the Tao, were told that the waste disposal facility was a canning facility.
Other plans to construct waste disposal facilities have met with local resistance. Advocates of nuclear energy in Taiwan have generally not helped matters. In an infamous incident, Hung Shih-hsiu, the organizer of the advocacy group Nuclear Mythbusters and a former assistant of former Nationalist Party Chairman and presidential candidate Hung Hsiu-chu, argued that every household in Taiwan should be given on a plastic bottle filled with nuclear waste in order to equally share the burden of this energy resource.
Hung Shih-hsiu debated Hung Sun-han of the Green Citizen Action Alliance, now a Democratic Progressive Party list legislator, before a 2018 referendum on whether or not Taiwan should scrap its goal of being nuclear-free by 2025. Though Taiwanese voted in favor of scrapping this goal in the referendum, they also voted against food imports from the radiation-affected Fukushima Prefecture, illustrating their concern. Notably, the Japanese government has been intent on promoting food exports from Fukushima and rebuilding tourism to the prefecture, and has made this a possible precondition for closer political and economic relations with Taiwan.
The environmental movement in Taiwan is generally opposed to nuclear energy. Nuclear energy is seen as dangerous for Taiwan, given its frequent seismic activity, leading to the possibility of a nuclear disaster similar to the Fukushima incident. Likewise, continual questions regarding nuclear waste disposal and mismanagement by state-run power utility Taipower have led to further questions.
That being said, pro-nuclear groups are increasingly visible at environmental protests against air pollution and global warming, although some have sought to distance themselves from Hung, who is Taiwan’s most famous nuclear energy proponent.
Though it did not prevent reactor restarts from being quietly approved under the Tsai administration, the pan-Green camp has historically been more opposed to nuclear energy, while the pan-Blue camp has been more supportive. The pan-Blue camp has even sought to use the issue of nuclear energy to attack the Tsai administration in past years, claiming that nuclear energy is necessary to maintain a stable power supply in Taiwan—this despite the fact that only 8% of energy in Taiwan came from nuclear energy in 2017.
At any event, the Tsai administration is unlikely to take any strong stance on Fukushima wastewater, prioritizing stable relations with the Japanese government.
*
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Brian Hioe was one of the founding editors of New Bloom. He is a freelance writer on social movements and politics, and occasional translator. A New York native and Taiwanese-American, he has an MA in East Asian Languages and Cultures from Columbia University and graduated from New York University with majors in History, East Asian Studies, and English Literature. He was Democracy and Human Rights Service Fellow at the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy from 2017 to 2018.
Featured image is from New Bloom/Shingetsu News Agency


asiapacificresearch--2020-12-03--Tens of Thousands of Indian Farmers Set Up Camp Outside Delhi Against Modi Government’s Pro-corporat

Tens of Thousands of Indian Farmers Set Up Camp Outside Delhi Against Modi Government’s Pro-corporate Laws

Indian farmers have gathered outside the capital New Delhi in huge numbers demanding the withdrawal of the three laws .
Their stand has forced the government to call for early talks Following the joint nationwide strike by workers and farmers last week on November 26 , India ’ s capital Delhi is witnessing an intense stand-off between the government and the farmers .
For the past four days , thousands of farmers ’ groups have marched on Delhi from neighboring States to protest against three controversial laws that were recently passed by the right-wing government of prime minister Narendra Modi @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , tens of thousands of farmers are camped in three locations on the borders of Delhi .
The farmers have come prepared with months of supplies and are determined not to head back till the Modi government relents .
Their determination has forced the government to advance proposed talks which will now be held on Tuesday .
Farmers groups across the country and progressive movements have also joined in solidarity .
The farmers are currently continuing with the indefinite protest under the banner of Samyukta Kisan Morcha ( United Farmers ’ Front ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The three laws are likely to weaken the existing regulation on base prices for agricultural goods , government-mediated produce markets and will enable a greater corporate role for agriculture .
Many have criticized the laws as a neoliberal package made for the agricultural sector that has been in crisis for nearly two decades .
Protesting farmers attending a public meeting at Singhu , a hamlet stradling the inter-state borders of Haryana and Delhi , on Monday .
Photo : Mukund Jha/NewsClick En route to the capital , farmers and their allies faced literal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the two neighboring States of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh .
Concrete barricades and barbed wires were put up , key national highways dug up , and police repression was mounted at the Delhi state border , with baton charges , tear gas and water guns in the middle of a cold wave .
The police in Delhi , which is directly controlled by the Modi government at the center , also sought permission from the state government to convert few stadiums into open-air detention centers for the protesters .
Despite such hostilities from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of farmers managed to break through and march into the capital .
Farmers groups have blockaded the Singhu border crossing , a major entry point into Delhi from western India .
Photo : AIKS/Facebook Thousands more have laid siege to major transport routes on two major entry points connecting Delhi with the rest of the country .
Border crossings of Singhu in the state of Haryana and Ghazipur of Uttar Pradesh , are already witnessing large blockades put up by farmers .
Farmers ’ groups have also threatened to completely surround the capital @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been hit with several charges of rioting and vandalism .
The intensification of the protests has forced the government to ask for compromises with the farmers groups to end the blockade .
The government initially agreed to let the farmers enter Delhi but protest at Burari ground , which is an obscure corner of the city .
The government also said it would talk to the farmers immediately if they went to this ground .
Organizers of the protest roundly rejected the government ’ s conditions for negotiations , as an attempt to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that they wanted to go to the central part of the city , to parliament , and if not permitted , they would continue to stay put at the borders of Delhi .
Joint solidarity protests were held in New Delhi by activists , academics , students movements , left parties and other concerned citizens .
The farmers have also received several allies in their struggle .
Several transport workers ’ and taxi drivers ’ unions in Delhi have jointly issued a two-day ultimatum to the government , threatening an indefinite strike if @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Medical camps have been set up at protest site by different volunteer groups supporting the farmers .
Photo : Newsclick In the neighboring States , farmers have also received support from different sections .
The Indian arm of the People ’ s Health Movement , Jan Swasthya Abhiyan ( JSA ) , has begun crowdsourcing resources to aid the farmers at the Singhu border .
Members of leftist parties in the region are joining the protests and mobilizing help for the farmers , and in other parts of the country , they are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : please click the share buttons above or below .
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Featured image : Farmers gather at the border of Delhi .
Photo : CPI ( M ) Twitter

Indian farmers have gathered outside the capital New Delhi in huge numbers demanding the withdrawal of the three laws. Their stand has forced the government to call for early talks
***
Following the joint nationwide strike by workers and farmers last week on November 26, India’s capital Delhi is witnessing an intense stand-off between the government and the farmers. For the past four days, thousands of farmers’ groups have marched on Delhi from neighboring States to protest against three controversial laws that were recently passed by the right-wing government of prime minister Narendra Modi.
As of Monday, November 30, tens of thousands of farmers are camped in three locations on the borders of Delhi. The farmers have come prepared with months of supplies and are determined not to head back till the Modi government relents. Their determination has forced the government to advance proposed talks which will now be held on Tuesday.
Farmers groups across the country and progressive movements have also joined in solidarity. The farmers are currently continuing with the indefinite protest under the banner of Samyukta Kisan Morcha (United Farmers’ Front) until the farm bills are repealed. The three laws are likely to weaken the existing regulation on base prices for agricultural goods, government-mediated produce markets and will enable a greater corporate role for agriculture. Many have criticized the laws as a neoliberal package made for the agricultural sector that has been in crisis for nearly two decades.
Protesting farmers attending a public meeting at Singhu, a hamlet stradling the inter-state borders of Haryana and Delhi, on Monday. Photo: Mukund Jha/NewsClick
En route to the capital, farmers and their allies faced literal roadblocks put up by the governments of the two neighboring States of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. Concrete barricades and barbed wires were put up, key national highways dug up, and police repression was mounted at the Delhi state border, with baton charges, tear gas and water guns in the middle of a cold wave.
The police in Delhi, which is directly controlled by the Modi government at the center, also sought permission from the state government to convert few stadiums into open-air detention centers for the protesters. Despite such hostilities from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, hundreds of farmers managed to break through and march into the capital.
Farmers groups have blockaded the Singhu border crossing, a major entry point into Delhi from western India. Photo: AIKS/Facebook
Thousands more have laid siege to major transport routes on two major entry points connecting Delhi with the rest of the country. Border crossings of Singhu in the state of Haryana and Ghazipur of Uttar Pradesh, are already witnessing large blockades put up by farmers. Farmers’ groups have also threatened to completely surround the capital and blockade it. The farmers have been hit with several charges of rioting and vandalism.
The intensification of the protests has forced the government to ask for compromises with the farmers groups to end the blockade. The government initially agreed to let the farmers enter Delhi but protest at Burari ground, which is an obscure corner of the city. The government also said it would talk to the farmers immediately if they went to this ground. Organizers of the protest roundly rejected the government’s conditions for negotiations, as an attempt to physically marginalize the movement. They said that they wanted to go to the central part of the city, to parliament, and if not permitted, they would continue to stay put at the borders of Delhi.
Joint solidarity protests were held in New Delhi by activists, academics, students movements, left parties and other concerned citizens.
The farmers have also received several allies in their struggle. Several transport workers’ and taxi drivers’ unions in Delhi have jointly issued a two-day ultimatum to the government, threatening an indefinite strike if farmers’ demands are not heeded.
Medical camps have been set up at protest site by different volunteer groups supporting the farmers. Photo: Newsclick
In the neighboring States, farmers have also received support from different sections. The Indian arm of the People’s Health Movement, Jan Swasthya Abhiyan (JSA), has begun crowdsourcing resources to aid the farmers at the Singhu border. Members of leftist parties in the region are joining the protests and mobilizing help for the farmers, and in other parts of the country, they are holding solidarity protests.
*
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Featured image: Farmers gather at the border of Delhi. Photo: CPI (M) Twitter


asiapacificresearch--2020-12-03--As Heatwave Hits Australia, Polls Find 71% Support Net Zero Emissions by 2030

Spring exited into summer with record temperatures soaring to more than 40° Celsius in much of New South Wales and South Australia over the final days of November .
It was a harbinger of already existing climate change and a reminder of the federal government ’ s abrogation of responsibility to set serious emissions ’ targets .
Meanwhile , public support for action on climate change is higher now than it was at the peak of the catastrophic bushfires last summer .
According to the latest Guardian Essential poll , 81 % support a net zero emissions target by 2050 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and 75 % support a net zero target by 2030 , rather than mid-century ( an 11 point increase ) .
According to Bureau of Meteorology ( BOM ) senior meteorologist Dean Narramore , Andamooka in outback South Australia reached 48°C on November 28 .
In NSW , 46.9°C was recorded at Smithville near the SA border .
Sydney broke 40°C on back-to-back days : 40.8°C on November 28 and 40.5°C on November 29 .
Narramore said this was only the second time in 162 years of records that Sydney Observation Hill recorded @ @ @ @ @ @ @ consistent with the findings of the sixth biennial State of the Climate 2020 , a report produced by the BOM and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation ( CSIRO ) .
The report synthesises the science informing our understanding of climate in Australia and includes new information about this country ’ s climate in the past , present and future .
The report highlights many recent changes .
Most are expected to continue and include : warmer air and sea temperatures ; increased numbers of very hot days ; ongoing sea level @ @ @ @ @ @ @ weather ; and longer and warmer marine heatwaves .
State of the Climate 2020 , by the Bureau of Meterology and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation .
The report demonstrates the interaction between these indicators of climate change and points to their impact on health , food security , tourism , conservation and biodiversity .
The full report is available on the CSIRO and BOM websites .
Australia ’ s warmest year on record was 2019 , and the seven years from 2013 to 2019 all rank in the nine warmest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that most years are now warmer than almost any observed during the 20th century .
There is a greater frequency of very hot days in summer , compared with earlier decades .
National daily average maximum temperatures are on the rise : in 2019 , there were 33 days that exceeded 39°C , more than the number observed from 1960 to 2018 combined , which totalled 24 days .
The report concludes that the increase in greenhouse gas concentrations has been the predominant cause of global climate warming over the past 70 years @ @ @ @ @ @ @ carbon dioxide ( CO₂ ) concentration reached 410 parts per million ( ppm ) , while all greenhouse gases combined reached 508ppm CO₂–equivalent , levels the report said , had not occurred for at least 2 million years .
Emissions of CO₂ from burning fossil fuels are the major source of the increase , the report notes , followed by emissions from changes to land use .
While the ocean and land have absorbed more than half the extra CO₂ emitted , the rest remains in the atmosphere .
The impact of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in many countries , including Australia .
However , the report notes that these reductions have only “ marginally ” slowed the current rate of CO₂ accumulation in the atmosphere , and are “ barely distinguishable from natural variability in the records.
” The report ’ s science is designed to inform a government , industry and communities ’ economic , environment and social decision-making .
The federal government ’ s gas recovery plan shows it is lagging well behind public opinion on the need to act with urgency .
The National Greenhouse @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s quarterly update on emissions released on November 30 , showed a structural decline in emissions , with electricity reductions the largest single factor .
The pandemic caused a 6.7 % drop in transport emissions over the year to June , due to fewer cars on roads and fewer passenger flights .
But these decreases in emissions were partially offset by increases in emissions from stationary energy and land use , land use change and forestry sectors and increases in LNG exports .
The report noted that the 4.3 % decrease in emissions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ result of a 5.9 % reduction in coal generation and a corresponding 14.5 % increase in supply from renewable sources in the National Electricity Market .
The federal government claims the figures show it will meet its 2020 target , with the Prime Minister saying Australia may not use its controversial method of emissions accounting — using carry-over credits from Kyoto — to achieve its 2020 emissions target , a miniscule 5 % cut below 2000 levels .
However , scientists dispute this .
Frank Jotzo , director of the Centre for Climate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , said the reduction in emissions “ are almost entirely due to the competitiveness of renewable energy sources and to circumstances that have nothing to do with federal government policy ” .
Jotzo said Australia ’ s Paris Agreement target , to cut emissions to 26 % to 28 % below 2005 levels by 2030 , could be raised with “ very modest ” policies .
“ It ’ s becoming more and more evident that the existing 2030 target can be readily made without the use of the carryover credits , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ A stronger 2030 target could be readily made with some sensible policy efforts .
The drivers for that are increasing renewable energy , meaning less and less coal-fired power on the grid .
These are tremendous savings.
” Even a survey of business leaders has found a majority want the federal government to do more to combat the climate crisis as part of the economic recovery plans from COVID-19 .
According to the Carbon Market Institute ’ s survey released on November 30 , a majority said the government ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of staying under 1.5° C warming , and 78 % said the government ’ s emissions target of 26–28 % below 2005 levels by 2030 was inadequate .
Seventy nine per cent said using carry-over carbon credits to meet the Paris targets from over-achieving on the Kyoto targets “ should not be allowed ” .
Eighty-eight per cent supported a net zero target by 2050 , up from 83 % last year .
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Spring exited into summer with record temperatures soaring to more than 40° Celsius in much of New South Wales and South Australia over the final days of November.
It was a harbinger of already existing climate change and a reminder of the federal government’s abrogation of responsibility to set serious emissions’ targets.
Meanwhile, public support for action on climate change is higher now than it was at the peak of the catastrophic bushfires last summer. According to the latest Guardian Essential poll, 81% support a net zero emissions target by 2050 (a 10-point increase since January) and 75% support a net zero target by 2030, rather than mid-century (an 11 point increase).
According to Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) senior meteorologist Dean Narramore, Andamooka in outback South Australia reached 48°C on November 28. In NSW, 46.9°C was recorded at Smithville near the SA border. Sydney broke 40°C on back-to-back days: 40.8°C on November 28 and 40.5°C on November 29. Narramore said this was only the second time in 162 years of records that Sydney Observation Hill recorded back-to-back 40-degree temperatures.
These readings are consistent with the findings of the sixth biennial State of the Climate 2020, a report produced by the BOM and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO). The report synthesises the science informing our understanding of climate in Australia and includes new information about this country’s climate in the past, present and future.
The report highlights many recent changes. Most are expected to continue and include: warmer air and sea temperatures; increased numbers of very hot days; ongoing sea level rise; more periods of dangerous fire weather; and longer and warmer marine heatwaves.
State of the Climate 2020, by the Bureau of Meterology and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation.
The report demonstrates the interaction between these indicators of climate change and points to their impact on health, food security, tourism, conservation and biodiversity. The full report is available on the CSIRO and BOM websites.
“The current heatwave and early fire season are graphic reminders that Australia has warmed on average by 1.44 ± 0.24°C since national records began in 1910, with most warming occurring since 1950 and every decade since then being warmer than the ones before,” the report notes.
Australia’s warmest year on record was 2019, and the seven years from 2013 to 2019 all rank in the nine warmest years. This long-term warming trend means that most years are now warmer than almost any observed during the 20th century.
There is a greater frequency of very hot days in summer, compared with earlier decades.
National daily average maximum temperatures are on the rise: in 2019, there were 33 days that exceeded 39°C, more than the number observed from 1960 to 2018 combined, which totalled 24 days.
The report concludes that the increase in greenhouse gas concentrations has been the predominant cause of global climate warming over the past 70 years.
In 2019, the global average carbon dioxide (CO₂) concentration reached 410 parts per million (ppm), while all greenhouse gases combined reached 508ppm CO₂–equivalent, levels the report said, had not occurred for at least 2 million years.
Emissions of CO₂ from burning fossil fuels are the major source of the increase, the report notes, followed by emissions from changes to land use.
While the ocean and land have absorbed more than half the extra CO₂ emitted, the rest remains in the atmosphere.
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has reduced fossil fuel emissions in many countries, including Australia. However, the report notes that these reductions have only “marginally” slowed the current rate of CO₂ accumulation in the atmosphere, and are “barely distinguishable from natural variability in the records.”
The report’s science is designed to inform a government, industry and communities’ economic, environment and social decision-making.
The federal government’s gas recovery plan shows it is lagging well behind public opinion on the need to act with urgency.
The National Greenhouse Gas Inventory, the federal government’s quarterly update on emissions released on November 30, showed a structural decline in emissions, with electricity reductions the largest single factor. The pandemic caused a 6.7% drop in transport emissions over the year to June, due to fewer cars on roads and fewer passenger flights. But these decreases in emissions were partially offset by increases in emissions from stationary energy and land use, land use change and forestry sectors and increases in LNG exports.
The report noted that the 4.3% decrease in emissions from the electricity sector is mainly the result of a 5.9% reduction in coal generation and a corresponding 14.5% increase in supply from renewable sources in the National Electricity Market.
The federal government claims the figures show it will meet its 2020 target, with the Prime Minister saying Australia may not use its controversial method of emissions accounting — using carry-over credits from Kyoto — to achieve its 2020 emissions target, a miniscule 5% cut below 2000 levels.
However, scientists dispute this. Frank Jotzo, director of the Centre for Climate Economics and Policy at Australian National University, said the reduction in emissions “are almost entirely due to the competitiveness of renewable energy sources and to circumstances that have nothing to do with federal government policy”.
Jotzo said Australia’s Paris Agreement target, to cut emissions to 26% to 28% below 2005 levels by 2030, could be raised with “very modest” policies.
“It’s becoming more and more evident that the existing 2030 target can be readily made without the use of the carryover credits,” he told the Guardian on November 30. “A stronger 2030 target could be readily made with some sensible policy efforts. The drivers for that are increasing renewable energy, meaning less and less coal-fired power on the grid. These are tremendous savings.”
Even a survey of business leaders has found a majority want the federal government to do more to combat the climate crisis as part of the economic recovery plans from COVID-19.
According to the Carbon Market Institute’s survey released on November 30, a majority said the government’s policies were inadequate to meet Paris targets of staying under 1.5° C warming, and 78% said the government’s emissions target of 26–28% below 2005 levels by 2030 was inadequate.
Seventy nine per cent said using carry-over carbon credits to meet the Paris targets from over-achieving on the Kyoto targets “should not be allowed”. Eighty-eight per cent supported a net zero target by 2050, up from 83% last year.
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asiapacificresearch--2020-12-03--Philippines to be Asia’s Worst Economic Performer

Already reeling from one of the worst Covid-19 outbreaks in Asia , the Philippines has been battered by multiple storms in recent weeks , displacing more than 300,000 residents and claiming the lives of 69 people .
The Philippines ’ National Economic and Development Authority ( NEDA ) estimated 90 billion peso ( US $ 1.8 billion ) in losses , as five typhoons – Ulysses , Rolly , Quinta , Tonyo and Siony – devastated the most industrialized regions of the country .
The government estimates a 0.15 percentage point reduction in the country ’ s gross domestic product @ @ @ @ @ @ @ acute economic crisis .
The Southeast Asian country ’ s GDP contracted 11.5 % year on year in the third quarter , on the back of a 16.9 % contraction in the previous quarter .
Even during the first quarter , when most experts anticipated positive growth , there was a 0.2 % contraction , ending an 84-quarter growth streak .
Until recently one of the region ’ s most promising economies , the Philippines is now projected to suffer its deepest growth decline , according to the International Monetary Fund ( IMF @ @ @ @ @ @ @ released last month , the IMF more than doubled its initial estimate of a 3.6 % year-on-year contraction last June .
Between 2019 and 2025 , the Philippines is expected to suffer a 13 % decline from its pre-pandemic forecast , the worst in the world followed by India , Argentina and Mexico .
This year , Philippine GDP will likely contract as much as 8.3 % , the worst in the entire region , on the back of a collapse in remittances from overseas Filipino workers , domestic spending and a tepid @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The Philippine Statistics Authority earlier reported a massive second-quarter drop in key sectors , including in real estate and the ownership of dwellings ( -29.7 % ) , the repair of motor vehicles ( -13.9 % ) and declines in wholesale and retail trade .
Other research and investment groups have been even more pessimistic .
Noting a weak recovery in the third quarter , Fitch Solutions Country Risk & Industry Research projects a -9.6 % contraction this year , from its earlier forecast of -9.1 % .
Another major contributing factor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ then strict and excessively protracted lockdown , the longest in the world which shut down as much as 75 % of total economic activity earlier this year .
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has still maintained a partial lockdown on Metro-Manila and major economic hubs due to the persistently high levels of Covid-19 infections .
Neighboring Indonesia , which has implemented more lax restrictions despite having some of the region ’ s highest Covid-19 cases , is projected to contract by only 1.5 % .
Restrictions on mobility and strict social distancing measures , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ household spending and private investments .
In the third quarter , household spending contracted by 9.3 % year-on-year , following a 15.3 % fall in the second quarter .
The persistence of a weak public health policy could contribute to a resurgence of Covid-19 cases , which could further shadow economic recovery until the first half of 2021 .
Aside from falling domestic spending and overseas remittances , which have been the engine of growth in the Philippines ’ services-dominated economy , overall investment is also expected to drop .
Capital Economics has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ -9.5 % .
The long-term outlook is challenging for the Philippines .
The IMF has warned of “ lasting damage ” and “ a long slog ” due to the ongoing pandemic and , in the case of the Philippines , “ significant scarring effects ( such as hysteresis and bankruptcies ) ” for countries such as the Philippines .
The Philippines ’ road to recovery looks bumpy , despite a forecast of 7.4 % growth in 2021 due to a base effect , according to Yongzheng Yang , the IMF resident representative @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would “ take a couple of years ” before the Philippines would return to its pre-pandemic output levels following “ prolonged social distancing ” measures .
The unemployment rate is also expected to almost double this year , from 10.4 % in 2020 from 5.1 % in 2019 .
Global economic headwinds could also mean a negative outlook for remittances , which are crucial to domestic spending in consumption-driven and labor exporting nations such as the Philippines .
“ Weak public confidence and low remittances as a result of the pandemic are expected @ @ @ @ @ @ @ consumption , ” warned Yang , highlighting “ significant weakening of remittance flows.
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Featured image : Residents of Albay had only begun cleaning up from the destruction of last week ’ s Typhoon Molave when the most powerful typhoon of the year slammed into the southern Philippines on Sunday ( 01-11 ) packing sustained winds up to 225km/h © IOM

Already reeling from one of the worst Covid-19 outbreaks in Asia, the Philippines has been battered by multiple storms in recent weeks, displacing more than 300,000 residents and claiming the lives of 69 people.
The Philippines’ National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) estimated 90 billion peso (US$1.8 billion) in losses, as five typhoons – Ulysses, Rolly, Quinta, Tonyo and Siony – devastated the most industrialized regions of the country.
The government estimates a 0.15 percentage point reduction in the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), further deepening an acute economic crisis. The Southeast Asian country’s GDP contracted 11.5% year on year in the third quarter, on the back of a 16.9% contraction in the previous quarter.
Even during the first quarter, when most experts anticipated positive growth, there was a 0.2% contraction, ending an 84-quarter growth streak.
Until recently one of the region’s most promising economies, the Philippines is now projected to suffer its deepest growth decline, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
In its World Economic Outlook released last month, the IMF more than doubled its initial estimate of a 3.6% year-on-year contraction last June. Between 2019 and 2025, the Philippines is expected to suffer a 13% decline from its pre-pandemic forecast, the worst in the world followed by India, Argentina and Mexico.
This year, Philippine GDP will likely contract as much as 8.3%, the worst in the entire region, on the back of a collapse in remittances from overseas Filipino workers, domestic spending and a tepid fiscal and monetary response by the government.
The Philippine Statistics Authority earlier reported a massive second-quarter drop in key sectors, including in real estate and the ownership of dwellings (-29.7%), the repair of motor vehicles (-13.9%) and declines in wholesale and retail trade.
Other research and investment groups have been even more pessimistic. Noting a weak recovery in the third quarter, Fitch Solutions Country Risk & Industry Research projects a -9.6% contraction this year, from its earlier forecast of -9.1%.
“We at Fitch Solutions believe the Philippine economy will struggle to maintain its recovery momentum in Q4 2020 as domestic containment measures weigh on activity and demand,” Fitch Solutions said in a statement on November 12. “In 2021, base effects and supportive fiscal and monetary policy stances should drive a rebound, with the economy returning to pre-pandemic levels by mid-2022.”
Another major contributing factor to collapsing growth is the delayed but then strict and excessively protracted lockdown, the longest in the world which shut down as much as 75% of total economic activity earlier this year.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has still maintained a partial lockdown on Metro-Manila and major economic hubs due to the persistently high levels of Covid-19 infections. Neighboring Indonesia, which has implemented more lax restrictions despite having some of the region’s highest Covid-19 cases, is projected to contract by only 1.5%.
Restrictions on mobility and strict social distancing measures, Fitch Solutions warns, have heavily undercut household spending and private investments. In the third quarter, household spending contracted by 9.3% year-on-year, following a 15.3% fall in the second quarter.
The persistence of a weak public health policy could contribute to a resurgence of Covid-19 cases, which could further shadow economic recovery until the first half of 2021.
“The pandemic remains a major uncertainty and headwind to the Philippines’ economic recovery. Indeed, another upsurge in cases domestically could force the reimplementation of local lockdowns, hampering activity,” warned Fitch Solutions.
Aside from falling domestic spending and overseas remittances, which have been the engine of growth in the Philippines’ services-dominated economy, overall investment is also expected to drop.
“Fixed capital investment growth is set to remain challenged, eroding headline growth by 10.1 percentage points in 2020,” it said.
Capital Economics has also projected a similarly deep contraction of -9.5%.
“The Philippines saw a lackluster rebound in GDP in Q3 and improvements are likely to be harder to come by in the quarters ahead. Output is unlikely to regain its pre-crisis level until late next year,” noted Capital Economics.
The long-term outlook is challenging for the Philippines. The IMF has warned of “lasting damage” and “a long slog” due to the ongoing pandemic and, in the case of the Philippines, “significant scarring effects (such as hysteresis and bankruptcies)” for countries such as the Philippines.
The Philippines’ road to recovery looks bumpy, despite a forecast of 7.4% growth in 2021 due to a base effect, according to Yongzheng Yang, the IMF resident representative in the Philippines.
“Real GDP is projected to expand by, helped by – in addition to the base effect – an expected rebound in pent-up demand from the relaxation of quarantine measures and continued effects of the policy easing in 2020,” said Yang.
He warned it would “take a couple of years” before the Philippines would return to its pre-pandemic output levels following “prolonged social distancing” measures.
The unemployment rate is also expected to almost double this year, from 10.4% in 2020 from 5.1% in 2019. Global economic headwinds could also mean a negative outlook for remittances, which are crucial to domestic spending in consumption-driven and labor exporting nations such as the Philippines.
“Weak public confidence and low remittances as a result of the pandemic are expected to continue weighing on private investment and consumption,” warned Yang, highlighting “significant weakening of remittance flows.”
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Featured image: Residents of Albay had only begun cleaning up from the destruction of last week’s Typhoon Molave when the most powerful typhoon of the year slammed into the southern Philippines on Sunday (01-11) packing sustained winds up to 225km/h © IOM


asiapacificresearch--2020-12-04--US Struggles for Relevance in Southeast Asia

While many around the globe are hopeful that a change at the White House means a change for US foreign policy – many of the most contentious and disruptive aspects of US foreign policy carried out over the last 4 years were simply a continuation of policy that had already been in motion for years beforehand – and are policies that are unlikely to change any time soon .
This applies especially to Washington ’ s desire to reassert itself in Asia and Southeast Asia specifically in its increasingly desperate bid to “ contain ” China .
Lacking any sort @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to tilt from China toward the US and its Transatlantic partners in Europe – the US has instead invented a series of “ crises ” and “ concerns ” with the two centerpieces being “ conflict ” in the South China Sea and US “ concerns ” over nations downstream of Chinese dams built along the Mekong River .
Just as is the case with America ’ s interference in the South China Sea – nations along the Mekong are constantly pressured to share Washington ’ s “ concerns ” and work toward @ @ @ @ @ @ @ developed by Washington .
However , with the exception of Vietnam , these nations all have solid and growing relationships with China – and even Vietnam depends heavily on China economically .
Whatever issues dam construction along the Mekong River may be creating – there is more than enough incentives for all nations involved including China to resolve them bilaterally and without interference from disingenuous mediators with transparent motivations aimed at amplifying tensions , fraying ties , and inhibiting the collective rise of Asia .
And because of this obvious fact it is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have not taken Washington ’ s efforts seriously .
Instead , they appear to be paying them mostly lip service to buy time and avoid additional coercive measures from Washington .
However , it is clear that Washington has already included additional coercive measures alongside its South China Sea and Mekong strategies .
This includes funding opposition groups pursuing regime change to remove governments across the region who refuse to adopt US frameworks and proposals regarding these issues , and replace them with client regimes eager to cut ties with China regardless of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ most certainly cause .
An advocate of US interference in Southeast Asia and in Thailand specifically is Associate Professor Thitinan Pongsudhirak of Thailand ’ s Chulalongkorn University .
In a recent op-ed he penned for Bangkok Post titled , “ China-US rivalry on Mekong mainland , ” he noted specifically ( emphasis added ) : Here – Thitinan is admitting that the governments of Southeast Asia have pivoted to China and will only continue building further ties with Beijing regardless of the supposed urgency the US claims surrounds issues like the South China @ @ @ @ @ @ @ admits that the only way this will change is if “ a genuinely democratic system comes into place as per the demands of the protesting youth movement.
” Thitinan is referring to ongoing anti-government protests in Thailand who aim to overthrow the current government as well as Thailand ’ s traditional institutions and who have in recent months displayed increasingly extreme anti-Chinese views .
What Thitinan omits is that these protests are backed by organizations funded by the US government via the National Endowment for Democracy ( NED ) – a front whose @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the most prominent architects of US regime change projects around the globe including in Iraq , Syria , Libya , Ukraine , and most recently , Hong Kong .
And this is ultimately the only card the US has left to play – attempted regime change across Southeast Asia to either install client regimes that will cut ties with China – or create sufficient instability as to transform Asia ’ s collective rise into decades of internal conflict followed by a long , painful phase of reconstruction as North Africa and the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wake of a similar regime change campaign – the “ Arab Spring ” – starting in 2011 .
While many continue depicting protests and unrest from Hong Kong to Thailand as isolated , internal political disputes or even semi-connected “ pro-democracy ” movements – in reality they are part of a cynical , singular , and regional campaign by Washington to reassert itself vis-à-vis a rising China – with even “ associate professors ” advocating US foreign policy in Asia admitting the protests serve as the only vector through which US success can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ US interference and preventing a potentially region-wide crisis similar to the 2011 “ Arab Spring ” is a matter of ensuring Asia ’ s continued rise in the years to come versus spending the next several years containing conflict and costly rebuilding in its aftermath .
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Tony Cartalucci is a Bangkok-based geopolitical researcher and writer , especially for the online magazine @ @ @ @ @ @ @ article was originally published .
He is a frequent contributor to Global Research .

While many around the globe are hopeful that a change at the White House means a change for US foreign policy – many of the most contentious and disruptive aspects of US foreign policy carried out over the last 4 years were simply a continuation of policy that had already been in motion for years beforehand – and are policies that are unlikely to change any time soon.
This applies especially to Washington’s desire to reassert itself in Asia and Southeast Asia specifically in its increasingly desperate bid to “contain” China.
Lacking any sort of actual incentive for Southeast Asian nations to tilt from China toward the US and its Transatlantic partners in Europe – the US has instead invented a series of “crises” and “concerns” with the two centerpieces being “conflict” in the South China Sea and US “concerns” over nations downstream of Chinese dams built along the Mekong River.
These downstream nations include Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam.
Just as is the case with America’s interference in the South China Sea – nations along the Mekong are constantly pressured to share Washington’s “concerns” and work toward “addressing” them by adopting frameworks developed by Washington.
However, with the exception of Vietnam, these nations all have solid and growing relationships with China – and even Vietnam depends heavily on China economically.
Whatever issues dam construction along the Mekong River may be creating – there is more than enough incentives for all nations involved including China to resolve them bilaterally and without interference from disingenuous mediators with transparent motivations aimed at amplifying tensions, fraying ties, and inhibiting the collective rise of Asia.
And because of this obvious fact it is no surprise that nations along the Mekong have not taken Washington’s efforts seriously. Instead, they appear to be paying them mostly lip service to buy time and avoid additional coercive measures from Washington.
However, it is clear that Washington has already included additional coercive measures alongside its South China Sea and Mekong strategies. This includes funding opposition groups pursuing regime change to remove governments across the region who refuse to adopt US frameworks and proposals regarding these issues, and replace them with client regimes eager to cut ties with China regardless of the self-inflicted and irreversible damage it will most certainly cause.
An advocate of US interference in Southeast Asia and in Thailand specifically is Associate Professor Thitinan Pongsudhirak of Thailand’s Chulalongkorn University.
In a recent op-ed he penned for Bangkok Post titled, “China-US rivalry on Mekong mainland,” he noted specifically (emphasis added):
As a US treaty ally, Thailand stands out for its pivot to China under a military-backed regime since its military coup in 2014, but this trend could change directions if a genuinely democratic system comes into place as per the demands of the protesting youth movement. Similarly for Cambodia, if the younger generation and oppositional supporters can rise up, Prime Minister Hun Sen’s “all-in” approach to China may go on a different path. But for the foreseeable future, the Mekong mainland is likely to gravitate further into China’s orbit.
Here – Thitinan is admitting that the governments of Southeast Asia have pivoted to China and will only continue building further ties with Beijing regardless of the supposed urgency the US claims surrounds issues like the South China Sea and Mekong River.
He also admits that the only way this will change is if “a genuinely democratic system comes into place as per the demands of the protesting youth movement.”
Thitinan is referring to ongoing anti-government protests in Thailand who aim to overthrow the current government as well as Thailand’s traditional institutions and who have in recent months displayed increasingly extreme anti-Chinese views.
What Thitinan omits is that these protests are backed by organizations funded by the US government via the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) – a front whose board of directors are lined with some of the most prominent architects of US regime change projects around the globe including in Iraq, Syria, Libya, Ukraine, and most recently, Hong Kong.
And this is ultimately the only card the US has left to play – attempted regime change across Southeast Asia to either install client regimes that will cut ties with China – or create sufficient instability as to transform Asia’s collective rise into decades of internal conflict followed by a long, painful phase of reconstruction as North Africa and the Middle East has since suffered in the wake of a similar regime change campaign – the “Arab Spring” – starting in 2011.
While many continue depicting protests and unrest from Hong Kong to Thailand as isolated, internal political disputes or even semi-connected “pro-democracy” movements – in reality they are part of a cynical, singular, and regional campaign by Washington to reassert itself vis-à-vis a rising China – with even “associate professors” advocating US foreign policy in Asia admitting the protests serve as the only vector through which US success can emerge.
For Southeast Asia, foiling US interference and preventing a potentially region-wide crisis similar to the 2011 “Arab Spring” is a matter of ensuring Asia’s continued rise in the years to come versus spending the next several years containing conflict and costly rebuilding in its aftermath.
*
Note to readers: please click the share buttons above or below. Forward this article to your email lists. Crosspost on your blog site, internet forums. etc.
Tony Cartalucci is a Bangkok-based geopolitical researcher and writer, especially for the online magazine “New Eastern Outlook” where this article was originally published. He is a frequent contributor to Global Research.
Featured image is from Wikimedia Commons


asiapacificresearch--2020-12-04--War Itself Is a Crime, Let Alone What Our SAS Did in Afghanistan

Major-General Paul Brereton presented his report into allegations of Australian war crimes in Afghanistan as necessary for a more effective ADF .
But if we ’ re horrified when the Army breaks the rules of war , we should also be outraged when it follows them , writes Nick Riemer .
A fortnight after its release , and now fuelled by China ’ s intervention into the controversy , the Brereton report continues to prompt intense discussion of its ‘ shocking ’ revelations of Australian war crimes in Afghanistan .
The shock has , no doubt , been less among @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
From the moment Australia sent troops to one of the poorest countries in the world – one that had never attacked us , and supposedly to ‘ deny opportunities for terrorists ’ – it was obvious that innocent people would be killed in droves .
And that ’ s what happened : more than 7,000 Afghans were killed by Australian troops during Operation Slipper , by no means all of them combatants .
Australian Army soldiers from Special Operations Task Group disembark from a US Army CH-47 Chinook helicopter after operations in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2010 .
( IMAGE : CPL Chris Moore , ADF ) The fighting robbed countless others of their loved ones , their livelihood , and any possibility of a normal life .
Thousands would have no choice but to become refugees – for those trying to get here , they would become targets of the brutal Australian war against asylum .
For all its impressive ability to cause misery far beyond these shores , the ADF is just a minor player in the ‘ great game ’ of 21st century warfare .
But @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people off cliffs , or gunning them down while they ’ re clutching their prayer beads in a field , Brereton has given it its AAA+ rating .
As a senior ADF officer himself , Major-General Paul Brereton downplays the fact that the conditions that spawned those sadistic outrages are systemic .
It ’ s hardly surprising that such regular war crimes reflect something about the army in which they occurred .
The depravity of ADF personnel now on the public record is hard for any normally constituted person to fathom .
What @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Corners video as an Australian soldier executes a young Afghan cowering in the field ?
No attempt to prevent a cold-blooded slaying , not a single outcry of horror , just the casual indifference of the soldier ’ s colleague to whether another human is slaughtered or not .
The only moment with a sense of urgency is when he calls off his dog , more concerned about the animal than the life that ’ s just been terminated before his eyes .
Between 2009 and 2013 alone , Brereton ’ s report @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of what he calls ‘ cruel treatment ’ .
How much other murder and torture was done in the remaining 13 years of Australia ’ s longest war ?
Major General Paul Brereton , who authored the report into Australian war crimes in Afghanistan .
( IMAGE : Rick McQuinlan , ADF ) English has a word for killers who gratuitously murder civilians and non-combatants for ideological reasons : ‘ terrorist ’ .
The term has been noticeably absent from official reactions to Brereton ’ s report .
But the report precisely confirms @ @ @ @ @ @ @ uniforms were on a five-year rampage in Afghanistan .
Increasing the SAS deployment there in 2007 , Howard said “ there is a lot at stake if terrorism acquires a safe haven again in Afghanistan ” .
And yet , as it turned out , the safest terrorist havens of them all – the ones that would never be attacked by Western missiles or helicopters – were in the ADF ’ s own bases in Uruzgan province .
This is the ‘ warrior culture ’ that we somehow expected to ‘ bring democracy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ demonstration we ’ ve had of the Australian idea of democracy since the revelations were first aired : journalists raided , whistleblowers persecuted with the full might of the state , while the psychopaths responsible for the crimes , some of them decorated by the highest Australian dignitaries , were defended by politicians .
Now , after the report , we ’ re witnessing the obligatory expressions of horror , part of a concerted attempt to preserve public confidence in the army and , indeed , the political establishment that ’ s so @ @ @ @ @ @ @ how genuine the horror is , it won ’ t be too long before it ’ s forgotten in the next spasm of our political cycle , as militaristic and Islamophobic as it is mediocre .
One thing we can be sure of is that , if a reprisal attack occurs on Australian soil , the official response will attribute no part of the blame to the SAS .
Less than 24 hours after Brereton ’ s report , The Australian was already tiring of the widespread criticism of the army .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ gone too far in critiquing the SAS ’ ‘ warrior ethos ’ : that ethos ‘ is vital ’ and it should not be disparaged , the paper stated .
Away from the far-right gutter , in the supposedly progressive media , we ’ ve often heard about how the actions of a ‘ few individuals ’ will ‘ damage the legacy ’ or ‘ taint the contribution ’ of the tens of thousands of other Australian soldiers deployed to Afghanistan .
The casual violence of this propagandizing should be breath-taking .
Regardless @ @ @ @ @ @ @ also started , Australia ’ s role in Afghanistan wasn ’ t a ‘ contribution ’ to the cause of global peace or democracy , but to the destruction of a society .
Originally promised for the benefit of Howard ’ s re-election campaign in 2001 , without the US even asking , Australian involvement was later continued for the base political advantage and the slavish US me-tooism of the Australian political class .
Prime Minister John Howard meets soldiers of the Australian Special Forces Task Group deployed on Operation Slipper in Afghanistan @ @ @ @ @ @ @ John Carroll , ADF ) With Brereton ’ s report , politicians have finally been forced to pull their heads out of the sand .
The ‘ hear no evil , see no evil ’ charade that has surrounded the Afghan war for so long is now over , at least in part .
But it ’ s important not to overstate the likely consequences of the revelations , and to read what Brereton himself has said about his report ’ s purpose .
“ Moral authority , ” he writes ( p. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of combat power .
If we do not hold ourselves , on the battlefield , to at least to the standards we expect of our adversaries , we deprive ourselves of that moral authority , and that element of our combat power.
” Brereton sees his investigation , in other words , as distasteful housekeeping , necessary to allow the ADF to fight future overseas wars as effectively as possible .
Moral reckoning is envisaged mainly as a means of improving the army ’ s combat-readiness .
On that line of reasoning , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in fact , the SAS ’ ‘ warrior culture ’ was on balance an advantage to the ADF , there would be fewer grounds to question it .
The crimes of the SAS are the ones that Australian public culture can acceptably criticise .
There is every reason for horror at the murders that Brereton ’ s report unmasked .
But once the bad apples of the Afghan campaign are tried or forgotten , the army will be free to prosecute whatever next bloody deployment politicians commit it to , accompanied by the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ABC ’ s political editor put it , “ the Anzac ideal is still worthy of veneration ” .
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Major-General Paul Brereton presented his report into allegations of Australian war crimes in Afghanistan as necessary for a more effective ADF. But if we’re horrified when the Army breaks the rules of war, we should also be outraged when it follows them, writes Nick Riemer.
A fortnight after its release, and now fuelled by China’s intervention into the controversy, the Brereton report continues to prompt intense discussion of its ‘shocking’ revelations of Australian war crimes in Afghanistan.
The shock has, no doubt, been less among those who actually understand what war means.
From the moment Australia sent troops to one of the poorest countries in the world – one that had never attacked us, and supposedly to ‘deny opportunities for terrorists’ – it was obvious that innocent people would be killed in droves. And that’s what happened: more than 7,000 Afghans were killed by Australian troops during Operation Slipper, by no means all of them combatants.
Australian Army soldiers from Special Operations Task Group disembark from a US Army CH-47 Chinook helicopter after operations in northern Kandahar, Afghanistan, in October 2010. (IMAGE: CPL Chris Moore, ADF)
The fighting robbed countless others of their loved ones, their livelihood, and any possibility of a normal life. Thousands would have no choice but to become refugees – for those trying to get here, they would become targets of the brutal Australian war against asylum.
For all its impressive ability to cause misery far beyond these shores, the ADF is just a minor player in the ‘great game’ of 21st century warfare. But in its capacity for throat-slitting, kicking people off cliffs, or gunning them down while they’re clutching their prayer beads in a field, Brereton has given it its AAA+ rating.
As a senior ADF officer himself, Major-General Paul Brereton downplays the fact that the conditions that spawned those sadistic outrages are systemic. It’s hardly surprising that such regular war crimes reflect something about the army in which they occurred.
The depravity of ADF personnel now on the public record is hard for any normally constituted person to fathom. What do we hear in that chilling Four Corners video as an Australian soldier executes a young Afghan cowering in the field? No attempt to prevent a cold-blooded slaying, not a single outcry of horror, just the casual indifference of the soldier’s colleague to whether another human is slaughtered or not. The only moment with a sense of urgency is when he calls off his dog, more concerned about the animal than the life that’s just been terminated before his eyes.
Between 2009 and 2013 alone, Brereton’s report records 39 cases of murder and two of what he calls ‘cruel treatment’. How much other murder and torture was done in the remaining 13 years of Australia’s longest war?
Major General Paul Brereton, who authored the report into Australian war crimes in Afghanistan. (IMAGE: Rick McQuinlan, ADF)
English has a word for killers who gratuitously murder civilians and non-combatants for ideological reasons: ‘terrorist’. The term has been noticeably absent from official reactions to Brereton’s report. But the report precisely confirms that state-sponsored, Australian terrorists in ADF uniforms were on a five-year rampage in Afghanistan.
Increasing the SAS deployment there in 2007, Howard said “there is a lot at stake if terrorism acquires a safe haven again in Afghanistan”. And yet, as it turned out, the safest terrorist havens of them all – the ones that would never be attacked by Western missiles or helicopters – were in the ADF’s own bases in Uruzgan province.
This is the ‘warrior culture’ that we somehow expected to ‘bring democracy’ to Afghanistan. What an edifying demonstration we’ve had of the Australian idea of democracy since the revelations were first aired: journalists raided, whistleblowers persecuted with the full might of the state, while the psychopaths responsible for the crimes, some of them decorated by the highest Australian dignitaries, were defended by politicians.
Now, after the report, we’re witnessing the obligatory expressions of horror, part of a concerted attempt to preserve public confidence in the army and, indeed, the political establishment that’s so heavily invested in it. Regardless of how genuine the horror is, it won’t be too long before it’s forgotten in the next spasm of our political cycle, as militaristic and Islamophobic as it is mediocre.
One thing we can be sure of is that, if a reprisal attack occurs on Australian soil, the official response will attribute no part of the blame to the SAS.
Less than 24 hours after Brereton’s report, The Australian was already tiring of the widespread criticism of the army. The report, its editorialist suggested, had gone too far in critiquing the SAS’ ‘warrior ethos’: that ethos ‘is vital’ and it should not be disparaged, the paper stated.
Away from the far-right gutter, in the supposedly progressive media, we’ve often heard about how the actions of a ‘few individuals’ will ‘damage the legacy’ or ‘taint the contribution’ of the tens of thousands of other Australian soldiers deployed to Afghanistan.
The casual violence of this propagandizing should be breath-taking. Regardless of the few clinics or schools it also started, Australia’s role in Afghanistan wasn’t a ‘contribution’ to the cause of global peace or democracy, but to the destruction of a society. Originally promised for the benefit of Howard’s re-election campaign in 2001, without the US even asking, Australian involvement was later continued for the base political advantage and the slavish US me-tooism of the Australian political class.
Prime Minister John Howard meets soldiers of the Australian Special Forces Task Group deployed on Operation Slipper in Afghanistan in 2005. (IMAGE: Sgt John Carroll, ADF)
With Brereton’s report, politicians have finally been forced to pull their heads out of the sand. The ‘hear no evil, see no evil’ charade that has surrounded the Afghan war for so long is now over, at least in part. But it’s important not to overstate the likely consequences of the revelations, and to read what Brereton himself has said about his report’s purpose.
“Moral authority,” he writes (p. 42), “is an element of combat power. If we do not hold ourselves, on the battlefield, to at least to the standards we expect of our adversaries, we deprive ourselves of that moral authority, and that element of our combat power.”
Brereton sees his investigation, in other words, as distasteful housekeeping, necessary to allow the ADF to fight future overseas wars as effectively as possible. Moral reckoning is envisaged mainly as a means of improving the army’s combat-readiness. On that line of reasoning, if it could be shown that, in fact, the SAS’ ‘warrior culture’ was on balance an advantage to the ADF, there would be fewer grounds to question it.
The crimes of the SAS are the ones that Australian public culture can acceptably criticise. There is every reason for horror at the murders that Brereton’s report unmasked. But once the bad apples of the Afghan campaign are tried or forgotten, the army will be free to prosecute whatever next bloody deployment politicians commit it to, accompanied by the usual comforting reassurances that, as the ABC’s political editor put it, “the Anzac ideal is still worthy of veneration”.
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Nick Riemer is a Sydney political activist and Linguistics academic.
Featured image: WO2 Gary Ramage, ADF