In The News

Times of India: Orwellian Option

Nayan Chanda December 19, 2018
US-Sino trade tensions run high, especially since the arrest of a Huawei Technologies executive in Canada. Huawei reports it supplies equipment to 45 of the world’s 50 largest telecommunications companies, so the trade war could soon ensnare other nations like India. “Three of India’s top telephone carriers use Huawei equipment and the company has been invited to take part in the next generation...

Asia Sentinel: Curbing Asia’s Corrupt Governments

December 17, 2018
Civil society organizations from nine ASEAN member states are trying to fast-tract the UN Convention Against Corruption: Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste and Vietnam. Corruption wastes funding and weakens governments, and Transparency International reports that corruption is entrenched throughout Asia. Ending a culture of cheating and fraud...

Economist: Rohingya Refuse to Return to Myanmar

December 10, 2018
The vast majority of Rohingya refugees fleeing the surge of anti-Muslim violence in Myanmar into Bangladesh, some 700,000 since August 2017, resist returning to Myanmar. Hundreds of Rohingyas have staged protests against the prospect of return and “demanded guarantees of citizenship and security” before returning. As a result, the government of Bangladesh has delayed repatriation, and as a recent...

NPR: Genocide Verdict for Khmer Rouge Leaders

Scott Neuman November 16, 2018
Between 1975 and 1979, the Khmer Rouge regime terrorized Cambodians and killed about 2 million people and displaced millions more in an attempt to restore an agrarian society, as explained by the Cambodia Tribunal Monitor. Scott Neuman, writing for NPR, explains how the Khmer Rouge came to power after the Vietnam War and ended only after a 1979 invasion by Vietnam. An international tribunal – the...

Economic Times: India-Japan Strategic Partnership

Sanjay Pulipaka November 8, 2018
Japan and India, under prime ministers Narendra Modi and Shinzo Abe, continue to improve relations as a bulwark against more powerful China and develop balance of power in the Indo-Pacific region. “Both premiers have invested heavily in the bilateral relationship and made sustained efforts to push their respective bureaucracies to catch up with their vision,” explains Sanjay Pulipaka for the...

Asian Age: #MeToo in India?

October 12, 2018
No country is immune from boorish behavior by some powerful elites. The #MeToo movement began in the United States, with accusations and investigations against film directors, journalists, corporate and political leaders, a Supreme Court nominee and more – and may be spreading to India with an accusation of a Bollywood actress. An Asian Age opinion essay poses questions that apply to the movement...

South Asia Journal: India-China Water Sharing Data

Chandan Kumar Duarah September 29, 2018
Dams, volatile weather patterns, pollution complicate the water supply from cross-border rivers, increase environmental hazards and even brings ruin to some communities in China and India. The two countries have shared hydrological data since 2006 with some disruptions, such as damaged equipment due to flooding. But improved technologies, including satellite imagery, and increased cooperation...