Asia News Digest
Chickenhawks Use 'Leaks' To Subvert U.S.-China-North Korea Talks
The Rumsfeld-Cheney "Chickenhawks" who are pushing war against all countries named in the "axis of evil," are using "leaks" to attempt to subvert the talks between the U.S., North Korea, and China.
The first "leak" was that of a U.S. war plan against North Korea, presented through Greg Sheridan, the foreign editor of The Australian. On April 22, under the banner "World Exclusive," Sheridan reported that "The Pentagon has produced detailed plans to bomb North Korea's nuclear plant at Yongbyon if the communist state goes ahead with reprocessing of spent fuel rods." The existence of such plans is nothing new, since the Clinton Administration had detailed plans in 1994, and these were close to being implemented before the 1994 agreement was worked out. The "leak" was, however, intended to serve the utopian drive to undermine any chance for success in the just-ended U.S./China/NK talks in Beijing.
The Australian article acknowledged the raging fight between the "Pentagon hawks" promoting military action, and those promoting diplomacy, with President Bush at this time endorsing the latter.
This planted "leak" followed the "leak" on April 21 in the New York Times of a Rumsfeld memo (known as a Rummygram) calling for "regime change" in North Korea, which was plastered all over the Korean press, North and South, on April 22. Another "Rummygram" called for fellow Chickenhawk John Bolton, Under Secretary of State for Arms Control, to replace Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia James Kelly as the U.S. representative to the talks in Beijing. The Bolton replacement was rejected (or ignored), and Kelly, and the North Korean delegation, led by Li Gun of the American Affairs Bureau, proceeded with the three-day meeting, which began April 23.
Hoover Institute Utopian Wants War Against Pyongyang
Thomas Henriksen of the Hoover Institute demanded that the U.S. ignore South Korea's objection to confronting the North, reported the Washington Times on April 21. South Korean President Roh Moo-Hyun opposes a war on the North, Henriksen complains, but Roh's "accommodation tactics" can be "surmounted." First, move U.S. troops off the border, "removing them as human shields"; upgrade our sea and air forces; destabilize the North with covert and psy-ops; blockade them by sea to prevent arms proliferation. None of this requires talking to them, he adds. "Nothing other than a regime change in Pyongyang will realistically bring peace to the peninsula."
India-Pakistan Talks May Start as Early as June
Emphasizing that Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's recent call for talks with Pakistan is not "flippant," India's Minister of State for External Affairs, Digvijay Singh, told reporters that the talks could begin as early as June, provided Pakistan responds to India's concerns. He said "even one line" issued by Islamabad shunning violence would be helpful in restarting talks to resolve the Kashmir crisis, according to The Hindu of April 23.
Digvijay Singh, however, made it clear that New Delhi is not going to go to the talks with an open agenda. "This time there will be a firm agenda decided upon by both sides before any of the leaders meet," the Minister said.
In Islamabad, according to The Dawn, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf said Pakistan is "prepared to engage in a comprehensive dialogue with India on Kashmir and all other outstanding issues," according to a quote cited by the Associated Press of Pakistan. Musharraf was speaking at a banquet on April 23 for visiting Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
Indonesia and Russia Use Barter Trade, Avoiding the Dollar
Indonesia Agriculture Minister Bungaran Saragih hailed Indonesia's purchase of Russian warplanes for rubber and crude palm oil, reported the Jakarta Post on April 24. "I am happy at the counterpurchase, whereby our agricultural products can be bartered for industrial products of another country," Saragih said before attending a meeting with Vice President Hamzah Haz. The Vice President has openly called for Indonesia to move away from the use of the dollar for trade, due to the pending dollar collapse. The Agricultural Minister said that even though bartering was a primitive way of carrying out trade, it was better than no trade at all. "We shouldn't merely show off that we are modern, while having nothing," he said.
During her visit to Russia, Indonesian President Megawati Soekarnoputri ordered two Sukhoi SU-27s, two Sukhoi SU-30s, and two combat MI-35 helicopters, in order to reinforce Indonesia's Air force. The purchase contract was worth US$197 million, of which 12.5% would be paid in cash, and the remaining 87.5% would be paid through the counterpurchase.
Indonesian Economists: Break Dependence on Dollar
Two economists in Indonesia detailed the depth of the dollar collapse internationally, and called for Indonesia to break its dependence on the dollar. In a report titled "Should Indonesia Rely on the U.S. Dollar?," Imam Nur Azis and Jason Meade from the Center for Indonesian Reform, Jakarta, and both graduates of Leeds University in the U.K., said the dollar would "remain weak over the next decade at least, for a number of reasons." These include: the U.S.'s "enormous budget deficits which are being financed by taking on new debt"; the mass of borrowings of the government that is "not intended to finance anything productive or positively beneficial to the United States ... [but] spent on increased defense and homeland security-related initiatives"; the Bush tax cut proposals, whose "repayment will come either in the form of further government cutbacks, or increased taxes, or both. Whatever the final formula, the outcome will be the samea severe reduction in the economic health of the average American consumer and of the national economy generally."
The authors point to what they characterize as the collapsing university education, due to both the increased costs caused by collapsing state government revenues, and the harassment of foreign students by the new anti-terror laws.
The article concludes: "The U.S. economy is the pillar on which the strength of the dollar rests. Without the economy, the dollar will be of little value. Therefore, it is quite prudent for the Indonesian government to reexamine the wisdom of its reliance on the dollar. As Vice President Hamzah Haz has noted, the switch from the U.S. dollar to the euro ought not to be carried out for political reasons, but there are definitely sound economic reasons to question the future strength of the dollar."
Chinese Premier Will Attend ASEAN Meeting on SARS
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao will attend the April 29 ASEAN emergency SARS [Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome] meeting in Bangkok, reported the Bangkok Post April 24. The heads of state of the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations will meet at the Thai Foreign Ministry for a one-day summit. There had been some question as to whether or not Premier Wen would attend, due in part to strict policies for Chinese visitors imposed by the Thais and others, before China's steps last week to rectify inadequate attention to the SARS outbreak.
This will be Wen's first trip outside of China since assuming the premiership. ASEAN will also use the occasion to hold separate talks with the Chinese Premier.
Ahead of the summit, ASEAN Health Ministers and their counterparts from Japan, South Korea, and China met this past weekend in Kuala Lumpur. Thailand's Foreign Minister said the talks would discuss cooperation to avoid subjecting visitors to repeated screening at points of entry as they move from one country to another, rehabilitation of SARS patients, and ways to contain the epidemic.
China's State Council Mobilizes Public Health Measures
At a press conference April 20, the Executive Vice Minister of the Chinese Ministry of Health, Gao Qiang, and Vice Minister Zhu Qingsheng, reported on the actual number of SARS cases and announced measures that were being taken by the Chinese government to deal with the epidemic. While the reaction to the SARS threat from Chinese authorities has been slow, pressure from the World Health Organization (WHO), combined with a senior military doctor at a PLA (military) hospital sounding the alarm bells, propelled the issue to the highest levels of government, making it the focus of meetings by the Chinese Government State Council.
Among the measures taken was the extraordinary cancellation of the traditional Spring Festival, when tens of millions of Chinese go travelling. "The purpose of such an act," Gao said, "is to prevent the massive movement of people and the possible spread of the disease." Starting April 21, the government released a daily update about the SARS cases. Within hours of Gao Qiang's press conference Health Minister Zhang Wenkang and Beijing Mayor Meng Xuenong were demoted.
A press release by the State Council Information Office said that of the confirmed SARS cases, 1,307 are located in Guangdong province. In addition there are 339 cases in Beijing, 108 in Shanxi, 35 in Inner Mongolia, 12 in Guanxi, two in Shanghai, two in Henan, and one in Ningbo. With many more suspected cases or SARS, and the numbers are expected to rise as testing takes place.
Gao said the epidemic reporting system must be carried out more strictly. Any officials found incompetent in reporting cases or consciously suppressing information will be severely punished, he said. While denying any intentional coverup of SARS, Gao admitted that the Ministry of Health had not "given out clear instructions or effective guidance" on the disease.
Monitoring will be strengthened with supervision groups sent to all the affected provinces. The government will also mobilize the medical elite and research circles of the country to jointly develop treatments for the disease and work to reduce deaths. Medical aid and subsidies will be provided to those too poor to pay for treatment, while offering health-care subsidies to medical workers treating the disease. The Ministry of Health also initiated closer coordination and cooperation with the WHO on combatting SARS.
China Can Contain SARS Epidemic, But Must Act Fast
China can contain the SARS epidemic if it takes the necessary measures, but it must act fast, said Dr. Henk Bekedam, WHO's chief representative in Beijing, on April 22. There are now 2,158 reported cases of SARS in China, and another 918 suspected cases. The epidemic has killed 97 people, while 1,213 recovered patients have left the hospitals.
"If you put all the [right] measures in place, it gives you quite a bit of hope that you can contain it," Bekedam said. "On the other hand, I am concerned that it takes only a handful of cases to get an explosion." The real danger is if the disease gets out of hand in the impoverished interior regions, where there is no health structure to begin to deal with such an epidemic. In general, peasants have to pay for their own medical care. In Inner Mongolia, one of the poorest regions of China, anyone suspected of having SARS will now be given free care and hospitalized.
Controlling the outbreak "will take longer in China than it will take in many countries where the health system is stronger," Bekedam said. "I believe the health system has collapsed over the past 10-20 years," but measures are now being taken. All hospitals, including military hospitals, were reporting cases, and another 2,500 public health workers have been added to work on containing the epidemic.
"In China, I think they know what the challenge is," Bekedam said. They are "moving in the right direction." Recently, an entire hospital in Beijing has been quarantined.
Asian Wall Street Journal Slanders Dr. MahathirAgain
On April 21, the Asian Wall Street Journal ran a report on the Malaysian Court of Appeals decision to uphold former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's conviction on a sodomy charge, highlighting the report with a picture of a balding, bearded man identified as Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad in the caption. Dr. Mahathir, as any Malaysian and millions of others know, is blessed with a full head of hair and is clean-shaven. Compounding the insult, the individual in the picture was actually Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the man who recently came into U.S. custody and is accused of having been the mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks.
In its April 22 issue, AWSJ clarified that the "error was entirely unintentional and wasn't intended to make any implications concerning anyone in Malaysia." However, the Prime Minister's office pointed out, this is the second time in six months AWSJ has made such a gross "error." Datuk Badariah Arshad, principal private secretary to Dr. Mahathir, wrote AWSJ editor Reginald Chua: "While this office prefers to give you the benefit of the doubt, it is nonetheless most disconcerting that the AWSJ continues to commit such obvious errors when it comes to reporting on Malaysia."
Sri Lankan Army Is Put on Maximum Alert
Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunge, following her meeting with Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickramesinghe, has ordered the military to be on maximum alert all over the island, reports The Hindu of April 23.
The President's concern followed the announcement by the Tamil Tigers separatist group that they are "temporarily" calling off negotiations with Colombo to settle the five-decade-old ethnic dispute between the Tamils and the Sinhalas that has taken more than 64,000 lives. Early last week, a communal riot broke out in eastern Sri Lanka, where two minority groups vie for dominance, between the Muslims and the Tamils. Although the riot was contained quickly, it has become evident that the Tamil Tigers are not interested in talking right now.
The Tigers called off the talks by citing the American decision not to allow the Tigers to come to the Sri Lanka Reconstruction donors' conference that took place in New York on April 14. President Kumaratunge considers the whole negotiation process initiated through the Norwegians a "sham," primarily organized by the Tigers to rebuild their fighting capabilities. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, who had actively promoted the talks, expressing a great deal of optimism, may find himself in a tight political corner. It is not wholly unexpected that President Kuamaratunge may even dismiss the Parliament.
On the other hand, it is almost certain that the Tamil Tigers would indulge in violence. They feel cornered at this point, and would try to break out of this situation by inciting violent incidents, President Kumaratunge fears.
Indian Left Calls for Nationwide Industrial Strike
Denouncing the Vajpayee government's economic policies as "anti-people," All-India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) General-Secretary Gurudas Dasgupta has called for a nationwide industrial strike on May 21. "There will also be strikes in power, port and dock, transport, and in the widest segment of private sector throughout the country. This was the beginning of a protracted battle to defeat the policy of hire and fire," said Dasgupta. He alleged that about 20 million people had been left jobless and 500,000 factories closed, while non-payment of wages and violation of labor laws have become rampant because of the BJP-led government's policies.
Apart from leftist trade unions like the Center for Indian Trade Unions (CITU), AITUC, and Trade Union Congress Committee (TUCC), the employees of the central government, banks, insurance, defense, and oil companies would be actively involved in the agitation.
It is not clear at this point how well the Indian Left can do in organizing this strike. But, it is a fact that the Vajpayee government has paid scant attention to the lack of employment and has continued to act as an anti-poor administration.
U.S. Eyeing Air Base in India
A classified U.S. Defense Department document, called "Indo-U.S. Military Relations: Expectations and Perceptions," now in the possession of the website rediff.com, says that the United States wants greater access to India's defense infrastructure, as it believes the country's strategic location offers a bright alternative in Asia. "India's strategic location in the center of Asia, astride the frequently travelled sea-lanes of communication linking the Middle East and East Asia, makes India particularly attractive to the U.S. military," the document says.
The document claims that India would be interested if technology transfer is part of an "important component for a robust military relationship between the two countries." "The necessity of the U.S. adopting a more liberal, less restrictive technology transfer regimen toward Indiaand for the United States not to impede the transfer to India of critical military equipment and militarily-relevant technologies from third parties, Israel, for exampleemerged from the interviews with Indians in virtually every context," the report says.
While there is a little doubt that Washington and New Delhi are engaged in developing a military relationship, the timing of the report and its release by Pentagon has something to do with Indian Defense Minister George Fernandes' visit to China. The publication of the report is seen as an attempt to plant seeds of suspicion by those who would like to see the development of a friendly and cooperative relationship between Beijing and New Delhi. +
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