Southeast Asia

Alleged human rights advocacy organisation, Amnesty International, has had several of its recent reports called into question regarding the very real possibility that its “advocacy” work is nothing more than politically-motivated attacks on nations targeted by its Western sponsors.

Singaporean Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen reiterated the importance of the city-state’s policy of Total Defence. In his statement coinciding with the 75th anniversary of the British surrender of the island to Japanese forces in 1942, he spoke specifically about the 5 pillars of Total Defence.
He emphasised that Singapore cannot depend on other nations for its defence, and warned that “the strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must.”

Saudi King Salman, left, and Indonesian President Joko Widodo, right, attend a meeting at Merdeka Palace in Jakarta, Indonesia, Thursday, March 2, 2017. (AP/Dita Alangkara)
 
(ANALYSIS) — Saudi Arabia’s king, Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, has recently undertaken a sweeping tour of Southeast Asia in what the media and analysts are claiming is a bid to firm up economic and political ties with Muslim-majority nations in the region.

 Saudi Arabia’s king, Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, has recently undertaken a sweeping tour of Southeast Asia in what the media and analysts are claiming is a bid to firm up economic and political ties with Muslim-majority nations in the region.

It should be noted that today’s cooperation between Russia and Indonesia is rapidly developing, just like the ties Moscow establishes with other countries of the ASEAN region. Among common business interests of the two above mentioned states one can name arms supplies, energy and transport infrastructure development.

First the Golan Heights, now the South China Sea – The United States used to patrol this regularly to ensure “freedom of navigation” for all the nations who claim part (or all) of the sea and the islands within it. Now it is being reported that it has called its aircraft carriers home and left the competing states to sort it out for themselves: hoping, of course, that they won’t.

They call him “Ahok”, and according to many, he is the best thing that ever happened to Jakarta – this enormous, polluted and until recently unloved capital city of Indonesia.
Very loosely translated, “Ahok” is an abbreviation of the Chinese words (yes, he is ethnic Chinese). The meaning is: “never stop learning” (ban-hok), a piece of advice given to him by his greatest role model – his father.

The Southeast Asian state of Myanmar has recently become the epicentre of an expanding humanitarian crisis. But because the current government of Myanmar is headed by a regime favoured by American and European interests, little attention and even less action has been given to the conflict.