Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia’s Thailand has been racked by political conflict for now over a decade.

Several meaningful events which recently occurred in the Asia-Pacific region (APR) allow us to talk about the conceptual aspect of some long-standing memes. The most important being ”Europe” and “the West”.

America’s 15-year occupation of Afghanistan has, in the end, hurt America almost as much as the land devastated by carpet bombings and drone attacks. The real story of the War on Terror was how America restructured her own government to manage drug operations on an unprecedented scale, protect international criminals and how the almost endless supply of unaccounted for cash bought the Bush presidency and helped bring about not just an American police state but one openly controlled by organized crime.

US foreign policy in Asia Pacific has centered around the so-called “Pivot to Asia,” initially rolled out as an alleged means for the US to strengthen ties with Asia, but was incrementally revealed as the latest leg in a decades-long attempt to encircle and contain China by overrunning the socioeconomic and political sovereignty of its neighbors, thus maintaining what US policymakers themselves refe

The Sun Herald (Sydney) of 22 May 2016 reported that the Australian families of the MH17 disaster had “served” the European court of Human Rights (ECHR) with a claim seeking compensation of $10 million for each victim.

The Sun Herald (Sydney) of 22 May 2016 reported that the Australian families of the MH17 disaster had “served” the European court of Human Rights (ECHR) with a claim seeking compensation of $10 million for each victim.

Last Monday, May 23, US President Barack Obama set off on his five-day trip to Asia, the tenth trip to this region in his eight-year presidency.
He spent the first three days in Vietnam. The agenda of the second part of the trip consisted of a regular G-7 summit scheduled for May 26 to be held in the Japanese resort town of Ise-Shima and a visit to the memorial complex in Hiroshima on the following day.

In the United States, the failed government drug policies are a common source of outrage among politically progressive people. The Rockefeller Drug Laws of New York, eventually turned into a national policy with the “War on Drugs” of the Reagan era, have done very little to combat the scourge of addiction.

During the upcoming Russia-ASEAN Summit (May 19-20) to be held in Sochi, Russia, additional talks will be held with Southeast Asian nations seeking to bolster ties with Russia, who has until recently played a disproportionately minor role in Asia relative to the United States.
Diversifying Economic Ties 

The final days of April broughtshocking news to the world: Filipino terrorist group Abu Sayyaf had executed a Canadian citizen, journalist and former employee of the mining company TVI Pacific, Inc. John Ridsdel. On September 21, 2015, he and four other tourists spending time at an upscale resort on the Philippine island of Samal were kidnapped for ransom by the group. Militants asked for $20 million in exchange for each hostage.