The standoff at the most recent WTO meeting in Cancún has illuminated the plight of small farmers in developing countries, who struggle to compete with subsidized farmers in the US and Europe. Leonard Wang argues that the economic hardships these farmers face are only the beginning of a larger...
A South Korean man around 50 years old, holding a sign with the text "The WTO has killed farmers," committed suicide during a demonstration at the WTO's meeting in Cancun, Mexico. Protesting against the WTO, an...
China has emphasized a bilateral approach on disputed claims in the East and South China Seas and fragmented the opposition. A united regional front could uphold the rules-based order and reduce the potential for conflict, argues journalist and author Yoichi Funabashi. “Mindful of its own tensions...
Ritualizing defense: Japan Coast Guard personnel hold joint exercises with the Philippines Coast Guard, top; the value of Japan Coast Guard was underlined in 2010 after it detained a Chinese fishing trawler in Japanese waters
TOKYO: In the...
During his first National Day Rally speech, Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced and expounded upon the continuance of Singapore’s “One China” policy in the wake of his non-official visit to Taiwan. Tracing the root of the policy back to Singapore’s independence in 1965, Lee...
THE one thing that will not change is our approach to foreign relations. We seek to be friends with all countries, especially our immediate neighbours and the major powers. We pursue win-win cooperation with all...
World trade has increased nearly twenty-fold over the past fifty years, bringing unprecedented prosperity – but mostly to developed countries. As the development round of the World Trade Organization draws closer, many key issues – including agricultural subsidy reform and essential drug access –...
The GATT/WTO Multilateral Trading System has been a powerful engine of prosperity during the last half-century, delivering a twentyfold increase in world trade. Throughout its existence, however, this system has been...
Every year, trafficking of children produces $10 billion worth of trade. Forced child labor is endemic in desperately poor areas of the world, and the trade in child workers is the modern-day vision of slavery. Journalist Sharon LaFraniere spent time with a group of children, some as young as six...
Click here for the original article on The New York Times website.
China’s expansive claims over the South China Sea and ongoing aggression push Vietnam to consider filing a suit with the Hague for violating the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. The international court has already ruled that China’s claims are overly expansive, but the country has not complied...
Representatives from Australia, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, Albania and the United States opened a command center in Bahrain November 7, launching Operation Sentinel, a security initiative for protecting the Strait of Hormuz. The operation is a response to...
Unite to protect: US-led coalition launches Operation Sentinel to protect Persian Gulf shipping; soldiers keep watch in the Strait of Hormuz
DENVER: Renewed conflict in the Strait of Hormuz pushed the United States to establish an international...
Large multinational corporations are often accused of taking advantage of lax environmental laws in developing countries to reduce costs. But China is signaling a new willingness to reject environmental degradation in exchange for jobs and economic growth. A report published by five Chinese non-...
Click here for the article in The Financial Times.
