Asia News Digest
Car Bomb Kills 11 Outside U.S. Consulate in Karachi
An extremely powerful car bomb struck the U.S. consulate in Karachi on June 13, killing 11all Pakistanisand injuring 45 others. No Americans were reported killed, but one Marine guard was injured. The United States has closed down the consulate, and President Bush said that the situation remains dangerous in Pakistan.
The bomb went off the day after U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld left Pakistan, after saying he had no proof that al-Qaeda is operating in Kashmir. "The facts are that I do not have evidence, and the United States does not have evidence, of al-Qaeda in Kashmir," Rumsfeld said after his meeting with Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf. Within 12 hours of Rumsfeld's statement, however, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw told the press that Britain believes that al-Qaeda has moved into the Pakistani part of Kashmir.
No statement has yet been issued by President Musharraf following the Karachi explosion; Musharraf was the recipient of a glowing tribute recently from David Ignatius on the commentary page of the Washington Post, in a column that identified the Pakistani President as the "most courageous world leader today."
Thailand Will Clean Out NGOs On Myanmar/Thai Border
Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra announced that the nest of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) on the border with Myanmar are an obstacle to reconciliation. The NGOs, centered around George Soros's Burma Watch, the U.S. government-funded International Republican Institute (IRI), and the UN, work among the various refugee networks from Myanmar, and have historically been the primary route for foreign efforts to bring down the Myanmar government. Thaksin named these groups, and said they "should not interfere, because they will cause problems for reconciliation attempts."
Thaksin announced that the "buffer zone" policy favored by NGOs, of sponsoring ethnic tribes near the border as a buffer between Thailand and Myanmar, is not and will not be supported his government.
The past two weeks have seen fiery rhetoric from the Myanmar government in Yangon, accusing Thailand of supporting Shan rebels, including shelling across the border. The campaign appears to be timed with a massive Myanmar military offensive against the largest remaining armed drug army still fighting Yangon, the Shan State Army (SSA). Thaksin has responded by instructing the military not to "overreact" to the Myanmar verbal assault, or to Myanmar's closing of the border.
Thaksin's pledge to clean out the drug-running, terrorist-supporting Soros network has earned him hysterical denunciations in the press in Thailand, and will undoubtedly provoke international attacks on Thailand. Already, the SSA chief, Col. Yawd Serk, has been featured in an interview in the anti-Thaksin The Nation of Bangkok (partly owned by Wall Street's Dow Jones corporation), whining that Thaksin was deserting them in the just cause of the SSA (drugs and subversion). The Nation is also attempting to fan dissent between Thaksin and the Thai military.
Fight Heats Up in Indonesia over IMF Policy
An open fight over International Monetary Fund diktats is heating up in Indonesia, even as creditors continue treating the country gently. While it is clear that Indonesia, with $130 billion in unpayable debt, could be turned into another Argentina if the IMF so chose, the international institutions and private creditors are continuing to grant a virtual debt moratorium policy to the country, even as Cabinet ministers are denouncing their "conditionalities," and the government refuses to carry out some of their most important demands.
While the special treatment of Indonesia is related to the war on terrorism and other geopolitical concerns, it appears more and more likely that the financial oligarchy simply can't deal with a blowout in Asia at this time. In April, debt due from Indonesia this year and next, to governments and international institutions was rolled over by the so-called Paris Club, both principle and interest (an unheard-of moveessentially a debt moratorium), totalling $5.4 billion. That same deal was accepted by the private banks at the "London Club," involving such banks as HSBC and Tokyo-Mitsubishi, for another $1.3 billion in debt service. On June 13, the IMF accepted another Letter of Intention, and agreed to extend the next tranch of the IMF agreement, $340 million.
If Indonesia were strictly following orders, this would be understandable. But in the last week alone:
*Planning Minister Kwik Kian Gie publicly called for Indonesia to break from the IMF, and was supported by the Vice President and the Speaker of the Parliament. This has caused turmoil in political circles, with no one sure where President Megawati Sukarnoputri stands. Coordinating Minister for Economics Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Jakti called on June 6 for an end to "blind criticism of the IMF," while the country is still asking for debt restructuring.
*However, at the same time, Dorodjatun also announced that the selloff of 51% of the government-owned Bank Niagaone of the IMF's foremost demandswas off the table, because the bids were a fraction of the market price.
*Several other banks and companies on the IMF "must sell" list have been removed or given more time.
Malaysia Deputy Prime Minister Warns of Threat to Oil Supplies
Malaysia's Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi warned ASEAN nations that they have to prepare for disruptions to their oil supplies, due to the danger that the "war on terrorism" is going to expand.
Speaking at the opening of a conference on oil and gas in the region, held in Kuala Lumpur, Badawi said that the possibility of a "much wider and extended war to weed out terrorism is a frightening prospect," which is contributing to the current volatility in global oil prices. "The current risk of supply disruptions is thus very real, and may perhaps carry greater repercussions than the 1973 oil embargo," he said.
Badawi said that the ASEAN Petroleum Security Agreement should be reviewed to ensure adequate energy supply during oil shortages. It should include increasing oil reserves in Asia. "It is high time that Asia builds up its own system of energy security through more regional partnerships and cross-border trading arrangements."
Southeast Asia pumps only around one-third of its crude requirements of some 20 million barrels per day, and is dependent on the Middle East for 70-80% of imports.
China Daily: Concern Over Russia Policy Towards U.S. and Eurasia
A June 10 commentary in China Daily reflects growing concern over Russian policy towards the U.S. and Eurasia. Written by an analyst at the China Academy of Social Sciences, the piece notes that assessing the current Chinese-Russian relationship has become a "hot issue." Strategic cooperation between China and Russia had never been aimed at any third country, the piece says, and would even benefit the United States, were the U.S. "willing to give up its unilateralism to a certain degree."
However, it adds, "the current change in Sino-Russian strategic cooperation has been caused by the policy adjustment of the Russian government and also the alteration of the international situation. The Russian government has stopped talking about the creation of a multi-polar world and opposition to unilateralism, the former theoretical base of Sino-Russian strategic cooperation. The U.S. withdrawal from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty has also changed the parameters of cooperation between Russia and China over maintaining strategic stability.
"The U.S. military deployment in Central Asia for operations in Afghanistan after the Sept. 11 event, has undermined the functioning of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and complicated regional security cooperation between China and Russia."
But, so far, "Russia has not accepted the principle of a unipolar world and the new relations between Russia and NATO have set certain restrictions on NATO."
The statement continues: "It should also be emphasized that the underlying reason for the limitation of Sino-Russian strategic cooperation lies in the limits of the two countries' national strength. They cannot satisfy their own pressing strategic needs of security and development merely through their bilateral cooperation. Thus, Sino-Russian strategic cooperation cannot be the most important tool used to realize their foreign policy goals [emphasis added].
"After Sept. 11, the focus of Sino-Russian strategic cooperation has shifted from global and regional-level cooperation to bilateral cooperation.... At the same time, the mechanisms and potential for strategic cooperation on global issues and regional security still exist."
The statement concludes: "Undoubtedly, Russia will by no means yield to another's will, while the United States will not play on equal terms with other members of the international community and always wants to force its own will upon others. Thus Sino-Russian strategic cooperation, based on common needs and interests, will develop as a defense against power politics and unilateralism. The effectiveness of this strategic cooperation will depend on not only common needs and interests, but also the cooperative diplomatic capacity of the two nations."
China To Help Fight Maoists in Nepal
Nepal's former Prime Minister and president of the political party the Nepali Congress, G.P. Koirala, told the state-run news agency, Rastria Samachar Samiti, that the "Chinese have promised to provide all the possible help in the fight against the terrorists." Koirala was in Beijing for a week.
Although Koirala did not specify what kind of assistance China would provide, the statement itself will cut some of the fog. A section of the Nepali Congress, the largest political party in the country, claimed earlier that the Maoists in Nepal were backed by Beijing against Nepal's monarchy. Former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, a senior Nepali Congress leader, had been in Washington seeking American help to counter the pro-China Maoists. President Bush has promised $20 million.
Subsequently, Nepal's monarch, King Gyanendra, dissolved the Parliament with the help of Deuba. The King's plan was to continue with the state of national emergency and restore absolute monarchy in Nepal. Koirala responded strongly against the move and has expelled Deuba from the party. It is evident that Koirala's statement will now pressure King Gyanendra, and others, to seek more help from Washington.
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