http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/asia_file/blog/2009/05/11/how_i_took_on_the_burmese_junta_and_won
Posted By: The Asia File at May 11, 2009 at 13:41:04 [General]
Posted in: Business
The repressive Burmese junta may have to put plans for an extensive new airport in their secretive capital Naypyidaw on hold after one of Australia's largest engineering companies pulled out of the project in rather hasty fashion because I exposed their involvement in the questionable development.
Rather bizarrely, the company in question, Downer EDI, claimed that it was unaware that its wholly-owned Singapore-based consultancy arm CPG had been contracted to design the airport until I informed them of the fact last week (see the full story here).
CPG was working alongside some pretty shady characters on this project and it really doesn't reflect well on a sizable publicly-listed company such as Downer, which is a constituent of Australia's benchmark ASX 200 share index.
Downer has also been a big donor to Australia's ruling Labor party, which has spoken out strongly against the Burmese junta and last year increased the scope of sanctions against the regime and its cronies.
But the company has moved to rectify the situation pretty quickly, saying it will pull out of the airport contract as soon as it can regardless of the possible financial penalties involved.
Most companies opt for damage limitation when caught out but not many executives would put their hands up so quickly and perform such a rapid U-turn. It's either a sign of how transparent and contrite they are or how seriously they believe they have erred.
I doubt the generals or their henchmen at Asia World, the Burmese conglomerate charged with building the airport, will be too pleased to have lost their major design partner. Particularly as they have worked with CPG, which used to be the Singapore public works department before it was privatised, in the past on other projects such as the redevelopment of Yangon (Rangoon) airport.
No international company with an ounce of decency should be involved in Burmese projects such as this that only benefit the generals at the expense of their people.
But I don't believe that extensive sanctions are the best way to curb the excesses of the vile military government in Burma and to promote democracy. The only hope for the country lies in greater engagement with the outside world, not more isolation.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
How I took on the Burmese junta and won -by Ben Bland
China’s “String of Pearls” strategy around India in tatters
http://frontierindia.net/wa/chinas-string-of-pearls-strategy-around-india-in-tatters/266/
May 11th, 2009 |
Posted by P. Chacko Joseph
Published in Opinion and Editorials
The Chinese “String of Pearls” strategy around India appears to be have broken. By definition, the “String of Pearls” describes the manifestation of China’s rising geopolitical influence through efforts to increase access to ports and airfields, develop special diplomatic relationships, and modernize military forces that extend from the South China Sea through the Strait of Malacca, across the Indian Ocean, and on to the Arabian Gulf (USAF Lieutenant Colonel Christopher J. Pehrson, “string of Pearls: meeting the challenge of china’s rising Power across the asian littoral” July 2006, Strategic Studies Institute, United States Army War College).
Around India, the Chinese pearls include Myanmar, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Mauritius, Seychelles and Pakistan.
Currently there might be no comprehensive policy by the current Indian government to contain it, but, a mix of luck, some policy, some internal and external events seem to have worked in favour of India.
Myanmar ( Burma): Sittwe Port, Coco Island, Burma Hianggyi, Khaukphyu, Mergui and Zadetkyi are the main names associated with Chinese interest in Myanmar. India shares a border of more than 1,600 kms with Myanmar. Myanmar also serves as a gateway to South East Asia and ASEAN and is supposed to be the Eastern Flank to the Bay of Bengal.
“Look East” policy by former Indian Prime minister, Father of Modern India, Hon. PV Narasimha Rao, had brought Myanmar in Indian sights. Subsequently, India had toned down its criticism of the junta, supplied Myanmar with military spares, joint action on rebels in each others borders and offered economic co-operation. Vice Senior General Maung Aye visited India from 2 to 6 April 2008. During his visit, The Kaladan Muti Model Transit Transport Project agreement was signed which saw India gaining access to Sittwe. India also signed Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement with Myanmar. India and Myanmar are engaged in various sectors like cross-border developmental projects, trade, IT, Telecommunication, hydrocarbon etc.
Myanmar does not lean towards China or India. It makes best of the competition between China and India which are competing for Myanmar’s resources.
Bangladesh: Bangladesh currently has an India friendly government and army. Before this Bangladesh had an anti-Indian government and Army. China had taken full advantage of it.
Nepal: China and India are currently locked under a tussle over Nepal. China can do little but has increased considerable influence with the Nepali Maoist. India is not expected to loose its clout in Nepal.
Sri Lanka: This is another area where China is trying to influence. Hambantota port is being developed by China and China is a supplier of military wares to Sri Lanka. Indian influence in Sri lanka is not expected to be lost.
Maldives, Mauritius and Seychelles: china is trying, but, it is not successful in getting ports or bases in these countries due to Indian objections.
Pakistan: Pakistan is currently involved in counter insurgency in its own country and has a very heavy US influence. Pakistan proxy is not currently available to China due to US influence. Gwadar port, which was built with Chinese assistance is under the management of Singapore based company. Chinese have not been able to complete central Asia - Gwadar link due to US influence and Indian friendly government in Afghanistan.
There are two more countries that are within the Chinese String of Pearls strategy, i.e, Thailand and Cambodia. Thailand has a proximity with Indian Andaman and Nicobar Island. India needs to work on relations with Thailand. Cambodia is currently of less direct significance to India.
For china, the fight for dominance over these regions is not yet over as it needs to secure its energy and trade route with Middle East and Africa. India needs a strategy to keep these gains and discourage Chinese dominance within Indian Ocean.
China is a threat to global good
http://www.upiasia.com/Security/2009/05/11/china_is_a_threat_to_global_good/5754/
By Susenjit Guha
Column: Brain StormPublished: May 11, 2009TOOLBAR
Kolkata, India — As the world watches, unable to pressure the Sri Lankan government to agree to a ceasefire with rebel Tamil forces, a humanitarian crisis is underway with nearly 170,000 civilians displaced and 50,000 trapped in the war zone.
It has become common for rampaging armed forces, those in cahoots with terrorists that the world is battling, despots and dictators to be dismissive of the United Nations. Much of this cockiness lies in the covert moral and logistic support lent by China in regions marred by conflicts. China is hungry for resources to widen its reach for major slices of business and to make its presence felt globally.
The Sri Lankan offensive against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam is not at fault, as the LTTE, a terrorist organization, has used all possible means of violence over the years to foment terror in the beautiful island resembling a teardrop in the Indian Ocean. Lots of blood, sweat and tears have flowed in the quest for a separate Tamil homeland, in protest against the marginalization of Sri Lanka’s Tamil people. But the process of terror has always been condemnable and has encouraged terror groups like al-Qaida to emulate their suicide attack techniques.
But what happened so suddenly that the Sri Lankan armed forces finally managed to decimate the formidable LTTE?
We can look to China for an answer. Having supported despots in Africa and Myanmar for the sake of resources to feed a surging Chinese economy, Sri Lanka was a natural choice to complete China’s string of pearls in the Indian Ocean.
China has started building and ramping up ports in Burma, Bangladesh and Pakistan, which can be used for docking and refueling its navy. In addition, it is constructing a US$1 billion port in the fishing village of Hambantota in Sri Lanka’s southern corner. This port could double up as the Chinese Navy’s stopover point, during patrols, to guard against the piracy of oil imports from the Middle East and act as a base in the Indian Ocean.
It is no wonder that the Sri Lankan armed forces are fighting their last battle to crush the LTTE with an urgency never seen before. When Sri Lanka sought arms for its civil war, governments the world over shunned it, including India.
But China did not, and has been chipping in arms over the past two decades. Chinese arms supplies increased further when the United States suspended all military aid to Sri Lanka, citing human rights violations. Chinese aid to Sri Lanka jumped to US$1billion last year, leaving other nations lagging behind.
Likewise, China beefed up Myanmar’s armed forces and supported that country when it was accused of human rights violations in 2007, when monks and civilians protested against rampant corruption, price rises and food shortages.
Pakistan can deny that it harbors terrorists and yet fuel terror acts in neighboring countries on the strength of Chinese military aid and support. Meanwhile the United States and Western powers take Pakistan’s words at face value even as the terror situation steadily worsens.
According to Jane’s Defense Weekly, Sri Lanka has bought US$37.6 million worth of arms and supplies for its army and navy. China gave the country six F-7 fighter jets for free in 2007, according to reports of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. According to media reports, Lanka Logistics and Technologies – in which Sri Lanka’s defense secretary and brother of the president has a majority stake – handled the bulk of arms shipments from China.
These arms ultimately resulted in the deaths of thousands of civilians. At least 378 of those still trapped in the battle zone reportedly died in shelling of the area over the weekend. U.N. reports peg civilian casualties at 6,500 since January this year, which the Sri Lankan government vehemently denies. It has kept the war zone out of bounds for journalists and aid workers.
Sri Lanka is acting with the same nonchalance toward global criticism and pressure as Myanmar’s armed forces did last year, on the strength of counterweight China. Calls for evacuating the civilians have fallen on deaf years.
U.S. Lieutenant-Colonel Christopher J. Pehrson of the Pentagon’s air staff warned of China’s desperate need for the Hambantota port in a 2006 paper, a warning echoed by the U.S. Joint Forces Command last November.
With a trail of blood on its hands from volatile Africa, Myanmar and Sri Lanka, China is a threat to global good and reticent about human rights violations and human catastrophes, all in a bid to preserve its own commercial and national interests.
The United States has also been accused of partying with despots and affecting civilian casualties, but at least democracy allows a groundswell of dissent as was evident in the last U.S. presidential elections. China has stifled a moral counterweight, which makes it more dangerous.
--
(Susenjit Guha is a freelance writer living in Kolkata, India. He can be contacted at sguha60@yahoo.com. ©Copyright Susenjit Guha.)
A boost for DPJ, at LDP's expense
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20090512a2.html
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
ANALYSIS
By MASAMI ITO and KAZUAKI NAGATA
Staff writers
With Democratic Party of Japan President Ichiro Ozawa intending to resign over a political fundraising scandal, the party may regain some momentum for the upcoming general election, analysts say.
This could be bad news for Prime Minister Taro Aso, who has been enjoying a surge in the support rating for his Cabinet.
Norihiko Narita, president of Surugadai University in Saitama Prefecture, pointed out that the public's discontent was not with the DPJ but with Ozawa.
"Now that the DPJ is able to remove this big obstacle, it is going to have the wind at its back," Narita said, adding that if Ozawa had remained in his post, he was likely to have evoked even more public resentment.
"For the LDP, on the other hand, things are going to get tough," Narita said.
According to Narita, Ozawa's announcement to resign was "the biggest political decision" he has ever made, even more momentous than bolting from the Liberal Democratic Party in 1993.
"I think he just risked everything for his final battle to take power," Narita said. Ozawa's decision to step down "shows his strong will (for the DPJ) to seize control of the government."
With Ozawa set to walk away from the party's leadership, the question arises as to who the next DPJ president will be. Various names have been mentioned, including former DPJ chief Seiji Maehara and current deputy chief Naoto Kan.
However, critics agree the most likely candidate is former party chief Katsuya Okada.
With a scandal-free, "clean" image, it is likely that his leadership would unify the party, Narita said.
But Narita voiced concerns that Okada may not be as flexible as Ozawa over forming an alliance with other opposition parties.
Even though the Upper House is controlled by the opposition parties, the DPJ does not have an outright majority and must rely on the cooperation of other parties, such as the Social Democratic Party and Kokumin Shinto (People's New Party).
"Ozawa is realistic, but Okada has a tendency to stick to his opinions," Narita said.
SDP leader Mizuho Fukushima, however, stressed that her party will continue to cooperate with the DPJ.
"The opposition parties will continue fighting together no matter who becomes the head of the DPJ," Fukushima said. "The SDP will continue making efforts to bring down the LDP-led government."
The big question remains when Aso will dissolve the Lower House and call a snap election. There is not much time left, as the term of the lower chamber ends in September.
Nobuhiro Hiwatari, a political science professor at the University of Tokyo's Institute of Social Science, said Ozawa's resignation is unlikely to have any affect on the timing of the general election.
He predicted the election will be held after the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly race and the Group of Eight in July, with Aso hoping that public support will grow as more of his policies are implemented to pull the economy out of recession.
"There doesn't seem to be many people saying Aso should hold an election as soon as he can, and he may have gained more of a free hand," Hiwatari said. "And from Aso's viewpoint, he may be thinking of holding the election after" scoring more points.
Either way, the next few months are going to be a war of nerves for both the LDP and DPJ because the election will decide which party will lead the nation.
Hiwatari said that while Ozawa's three years of leadership strengthened the DPJ as an organization, it is still not clear what direction the party wants to take. With its membership ranging from liberals to ultraconservatives, the DPJ has often been criticized for not having unified policies.
"Ozawa was known for pouring his energy into election campaigns, but when it came to policies, all one really knew was that he was against the ruling bloc," Hiwatari said. Under its next president, the DPJ "needs to organize its policies because right now it is known for its inconsistencies."
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