In The News

Thailand, Neighbours Agree on Jobs Strategy

Supalak Ganjanakhundee May 1, 2003
Thailand has become a host nation to almost half a million legally working migrants and countless illegal immigrants. Though it continues to be in a better condition than its neighboring states, the Thai economy is still feeling the strain from too many workers and too few jobs. A cooperative solution is being negotiated to create jobs in the home countries of the illegal immigrants, which...

Three Faces of Globalization

Franklin L. Lavin April 30, 2003
US President Bush and Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong met in Washington to sign a bilateral free trade agreement between the two countries. This will contribute to the opening up of barriers to economic globalization and, as Franklin Lavin, US ambassador to Singapore, points out, improve existing cross-border cooperation in the construction of barriers to two other facets of globalization...

Asean to Take Tough Joint Action

Bertha Henson April 30, 2003
SARS is taking its toll on Southeast Asian economies as travel advisories warn businessmen and tourists to steer clear of countries with high numbers of SARS cases. To combat further economic damage, ASEAN leaders convened in an emergency summit in Bangkok to agree on a unified strategy for containing the spread of SARS and reducing the panic that has been caused by it. In the proposal, people...

2 Koreas Struggle Over Nuclear Issue

Joint Press Corps April 29, 2003
Divergent opinions regarding the nuclear weapons program in North Korea undermined the recent Inter-Korean ministerial talks between North and South Korea. South Korea advocates a dismantling of the North Korean nuclear weapons development program. North Korea however, insists that it will only discuss the issue with the United States. The contentiousness of this issue undermines on-going...

SARS Is the Spark for a Riot in China

Erik Eckholm April 29, 2003
Frustrated rural Chinese ransacked a junior high school on Sunday in the first reported case of popular protest against Beijing's handling of the Sars epidemic. As this article in the New York Times reports, "More conflict appears possible as China's government – used to treating the public, especially in rural areas, in a highhanded fashion – applies stringent measures to contain...

China's Mediation Backfires on North Korea

Nayan Chanda April 28, 2003
As Beijing played host to the first US-North Korea talks, reports from Washington claimed that the Pentagon is seeking China's help in bringing about regime change in North Korea. Under Washington's urging, China indeed took the initiative to invite North Korea to Beijing for talks, but it did not bargain for what the North Korean representative delivered. By using that meeting to claim...

Blast Rocks Jakarta's Airport

April 28, 2003
It does not appear that international efforts to prevent terrorist attacks have had much effect in Southeast Asia. A recent bombing of the International Airport in Jakarta, Indonesia follows several prior attacks on high profile public places, including an attack on a United Nations office in Jakarta. Although security has been tightened around such public venues, the perception remains that no...