The fact that such an article as this can be published, with at least one of scholars writing from WITHIN Indonesia, but apparently suffering no consequences, is a measure of how far Indonesia has come, democratically. But let’s face it – if the Maoist PKI had come to power, as seemed imminent until the ’65 coup prevented it – then NOT ONLY would Left-wing massacres have probably been as great as those actually carried out by the Right. But also these two writers would probably NEVER have lived in the relatively democratic, prosperous times of today, free to publish what they think.
I am interested to hear more academic report/views from New Mandala team and your editorial team on ‘Rose’ ‘s movement against Red-Shirt and Thaksin and her new ideas on the Monarchy. Also more rudeness and electronic disputes among so-called pro-democratic movement in Thailand.
The problem with the Melanesian concept is that it is a racial one (disguised by the author with the term “ancestry”). Culturally they are extremely diverse. Whereas the island and coastal people have much in common culturally, the highlanders of Papua and PNG belong to a patchwork of cultures that have been geographically separated for thousands of years. Rather than some ugly conflict between Melanesian racism and Javanese imperialism, they should all be united by the spread of knowledge of all the world’s cultures, and of the sciences.
Good questions, Mr Beale. The next question is, what has replaced that old-fashioned Maoism? Gangsterism, opportunism and intra-Party rivalries to carve up the spoils of any deal with Manila rank as leading possibilities. As the author of this piece is reported to have strong CPP/NPA/NDF connections, perhaps he can tell us.
[…] vọng của Hà Nội tăng lên sau phán quyết PCA:Hanoi’s hopes rise with China’s dashed nine-dash line (New Mandala 14-7-16) ◄ Zachary Abuza: Ba điều mà Việt Nam cần […]
All member states of UN accept that West papua is part of Indonesia.
Indonesia should watch Vanuatu and Solomon island and respond appropriately to their unfriendly act. Indonesia should not take lightly countries who sponsor separatist group and undermine Indonesia sovereignty.
These deserve attention more than China
Abad Santos – given that Jose Maria Sison is nearly 78 years old, and probably in ill-health due to 9 years imprisonment plus decades of deprivation and stress, is he even able to articulate modern views ? His Maoism is anyhow the siren call of a bygone era.
Mark, you can see my report on shifting cultivation tenure in Chin here. I doubt Southern Chin around Kantpetlet has communal tenure. Normally the Kh’Maung swidden opened in a given year is owned by two to three clans which rent out plots against say 30 USD/yr
@ nguoi phan bien
My own quote is about Paracels which are being discussed here, not about Spratlys (can also be discussed somewhere if needed) as you quoted, possibly by mistake or …
The United Nations clarified it on July 13 that the tribunal that ruled
against China’s historic claims over the disputed South China Sea is NOT a UN agency.
The statement came amid apparent public misunderstanding of the tribunal’s operations.
The Permanent Court of Arbitration rents space in the same building as the UN’s International Court of Justice, but the two organizations are not related.
The UN said the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, which issued the decision on the case on Tuesday, operated out of the same building, the Peace Palace, as the UN’s primary justice branch, the International Court of Justice, but the two agencies were UNRELATED.
The PCA is a fee for service agency and since China did not participate so it has no representation in the case and paid no fees to the agency. The Philippines paid all fees and retained an all star American team of lawyers to represent it.
I’m busy reading the 500+ pages of ruling; so far I’m in agreement with some of the reasoning but vehemently disagree with others that seem quite idiotic.
Trading blocs exist for a reason and not just for trading. To be able to counter a regional or global power jointly is an added bonus. A political union however is an ambition which ASEAN will see as unrealistic to entertain. Even a monetary union is difficult to envisage in the region.
Burma must stay on good terms with her largest neighbour sharing a long and porous border. ASSK for all her Western and don’t forget Japanese affiliation appreciates that. She is positioned well to play a non-aligned game in the interests of her country.
What’s more important and harder to achieve in practice is national reconciliation so long as its first interpretation remains her relationship with the generals and not ending the civil war.
The Permanent Court of Arbitration has just ruled that China’s maritime claims along the 9 dash line are illegal.
If anyone says all the claimants are as bad as each other, China is no worse than anyone else, let them call on China to take the other countries to court.
The point was more the Bhutan government mandating conformity in dress, religion, and language, and the subsequent expulsion of their ethnically Nepalese and Hindu Lhotshampa minority.
@R.N.England
Looking at the maps carefully, Vietnam’s claims are more than 4/5 of the Chinese claims. When combined with other smaller claims, the total will leave China with absolutely nothing. This poses not only economic but most importantly security threats to China that in realpolitik terms unacceptable to any and all countries under the sun.
More to the point, article 298 in UNCLOS allows its signatories to retain their historical claims not subject to UNCLOS.
My belief remains unchanged; that NO COUNTRY in the SCS disputes has any moral high ground whatsoever. They should all sit down and negotiate a settlement without regard to UNCLOS. UNCLOS is a barrier to settling what is essentially a geopolitical issue and not a legal issue.
I believe China will come around just like it has with land border negotiations with Vietnam and Russia in the recent past.
Ironically, my real concerns are that democracy, transparency and especially the prevalence of social media are the real barriers for countries to compromise and to settle disputes peacefully.
Dr Abuza neglected the obvious need for the smaller powers who benefited from this judgement to quickly settle their own mutual disputes, using the precedents set by the judgement, and if necessary taking their cases to the Court, promising in advance to abide by its judgements (as Malaysia and Singapore did some years ago). These actions would strengthen the court’s authority to the rest of the world’s benefit, as well as advancing the status of the smaller powers as good international citizens.
Your own quoted Australian archive in fact proves that you are wrong. The document explicitly states (p.3 on sovereignty) that “the French maintain that these islands were not transferred to Vietnam and that sovereignty still remains with France” In fact, the document specifically states that the French denied the Vietnamese claim about the transfer.
The predominant religion in South Korea is Christianity and the primary religious affiliation of Japanese people is Shinto. Both countries have a traditional culture which is steeped in Buddhism, but obviously this is not to the exclusion of other religions. How does the authors statement about,’…people who want to live in their own mono-cultural, mono-religious enclaves’ apply to these two nations? The fact that they cherish and uphold their traditional cultures is not equivalent to discrimination. The author’s statement is concerned with intolerant, religious enclaves that can’t ‘accept differences’ and for my part, I can’t think of any Buddhist ones, but just like you I can come up with a totally irrelevant list of Buddhist countries.
Not sure this enclave thing is a useful argument or childish point scoring. But, although it may look the same, the two Buddhist streams are not that much a like with so many fundamental differences- Mahayana and Teraveda.
The notion that all the people of the world are the same is a theoretical ideal. In many countries there exists only a thin strata of educated people ruling over a mostly savage and backward population. You wouldn’t want your teenage daughter parachuted over there, nor would you want them parachuted into your home town. No one disputes the value of ‘tolerance and diversity’ but there are limits to everything. The Rakhine people have reached their limit, and so have the Europeans.
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Private: Red scares and Indonesian politics
The fact that such an article as this can be published, with at least one of scholars writing from WITHIN Indonesia, but apparently suffering no consequences, is a measure of how far Indonesia has come, democratically. But let’s face it – if the Maoist PKI had come to power, as seemed imminent until the ’65 coup prevented it – then NOT ONLY would Left-wing massacres have probably been as great as those actually carried out by the Right. But also these two writers would probably NEVER have lived in the relatively democratic, prosperous times of today, free to publish what they think.
Thorns of the Thai rose
I am interested to hear more academic report/views from New Mandala team and your editorial team on ‘Rose’ ‘s movement against Red-Shirt and Thaksin and her new ideas on the Monarchy. Also more rudeness and electronic disputes among so-called pro-democratic movement in Thailand.
The West Papua wrecking ball?
The problem with the Melanesian concept is that it is a racial one (disguised by the author with the term “ancestry”). Culturally they are extremely diverse. Whereas the island and coastal people have much in common culturally, the highlanders of Papua and PNG belong to a patchwork of cultures that have been geographically separated for thousands of years. Rather than some ugly conflict between Melanesian racism and Javanese imperialism, they should all be united by the spread of knowledge of all the world’s cultures, and of the sciences.
A Red rage and Duterte
Good questions, Mr Beale. The next question is, what has replaced that old-fashioned Maoism? Gangsterism, opportunism and intra-Party rivalries to carve up the spoils of any deal with Manila rank as leading possibilities. As the author of this piece is reported to have strong CPP/NPA/NDF connections, perhaps he can tell us.
Hanoi’s hopes rise with China’s dashed nine-dash line
[…] vọng của Hà Nội tăng lên sau phán quyết PCA:Hanoi’s hopes rise with China’s dashed nine-dash line (New Mandala 14-7-16) ◄ Zachary Abuza: Ba điều mà Việt Nam cần […]
The West Papua wrecking ball?
All member states of UN accept that West papua is part of Indonesia.
Indonesia should watch Vanuatu and Solomon island and respond appropriately to their unfriendly act. Indonesia should not take lightly countries who sponsor separatist group and undermine Indonesia sovereignty.
These deserve attention more than China
A Red rage and Duterte
Abad Santos – given that Jose Maria Sison is nearly 78 years old, and probably in ill-health due to 9 years imprisonment plus decades of deprivation and stress, is he even able to articulate modern views ? His Maoism is anyhow the siren call of a bygone era.
Playing with fire
Mark, you can see my report on shifting cultivation tenure in Chin here. I doubt Southern Chin around Kantpetlet has communal tenure. Normally the Kh’Maung swidden opened in a given year is owned by two to three clans which rent out plots against say 30 USD/yr
http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs21/Andersen_K.E._2016-02-Communal_tenure_in_Chin_and_Shan_States-corr.pdf
Note that Southern Chin around Mindat does not feature communal tenure the way it is practiced in Nothern Chin around Hakha
Vietnamese fishermen versus China
@ nguoi phan bien
My own quote is about Paracels which are being discussed here, not about Spratlys (can also be discussed somewhere if needed) as you quoted, possibly by mistake or …
Vietnamese fishermen versus China
The United Nations clarified it on July 13 that the tribunal that ruled
against China’s historic claims over the disputed South China Sea is NOT a UN agency.
The statement came amid apparent public misunderstanding of the tribunal’s operations.
The Permanent Court of Arbitration rents space in the same building as the UN’s International Court of Justice, but the two organizations are not related.
The UN said the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, which issued the decision on the case on Tuesday, operated out of the same building, the Peace Palace, as the UN’s primary justice branch, the International Court of Justice, but the two agencies were UNRELATED.
The PCA is a fee for service agency and since China did not participate so it has no representation in the case and paid no fees to the agency. The Philippines paid all fees and retained an all star American team of lawyers to represent it.
I’m busy reading the 500+ pages of ruling; so far I’m in agreement with some of the reasoning but vehemently disagree with others that seem quite idiotic.
Keeping friends close, Thailand closer
Trading blocs exist for a reason and not just for trading. To be able to counter a regional or global power jointly is an added bonus. A political union however is an ambition which ASEAN will see as unrealistic to entertain. Even a monetary union is difficult to envisage in the region.
Burma must stay on good terms with her largest neighbour sharing a long and porous border. ASSK for all her Western and don’t forget Japanese affiliation appreciates that. She is positioned well to play a non-aligned game in the interests of her country.
What’s more important and harder to achieve in practice is national reconciliation so long as its first interpretation remains her relationship with the generals and not ending the civil war.
Vietnamese fishermen versus China
The Permanent Court of Arbitration has just ruled that China’s maritime claims along the 9 dash line are illegal.
If anyone says all the claimants are as bad as each other, China is no worse than anyone else, let them call on China to take the other countries to court.
Tolerance in the time of terror
@John Smith
The point was more the Bhutan government mandating conformity in dress, religion, and language, and the subsequent expulsion of their ethnically Nepalese and Hindu Lhotshampa minority.
Vietnamese fishermen versus China
@R.N.England
Looking at the maps carefully, Vietnam’s claims are more than 4/5 of the Chinese claims. When combined with other smaller claims, the total will leave China with absolutely nothing. This poses not only economic but most importantly security threats to China that in realpolitik terms unacceptable to any and all countries under the sun.
More to the point, article 298 in UNCLOS allows its signatories to retain their historical claims not subject to UNCLOS.
My belief remains unchanged; that NO COUNTRY in the SCS disputes has any moral high ground whatsoever. They should all sit down and negotiate a settlement without regard to UNCLOS. UNCLOS is a barrier to settling what is essentially a geopolitical issue and not a legal issue.
I believe China will come around just like it has with land border negotiations with Vietnam and Russia in the recent past.
Ironically, my real concerns are that democracy, transparency and especially the prevalence of social media are the real barriers for countries to compromise and to settle disputes peacefully.
Hanoi’s hopes rise with China’s dashed nine-dash line
Dr Abuza neglected the obvious need for the smaller powers who benefited from this judgement to quickly settle their own mutual disputes, using the precedents set by the judgement, and if necessary taking their cases to the Court, promising in advance to abide by its judgements (as Malaysia and Singapore did some years ago). These actions would strengthen the court’s authority to the rest of the world’s benefit, as well as advancing the status of the smaller powers as good international citizens.
Vietnamese fishermen versus China
@p.phan bien
Your own quoted Australian archive in fact proves that you are wrong. The document explicitly states (p.3 on sovereignty) that “the French maintain that these islands were not transferred to Vietnam and that sovereignty still remains with France” In fact, the document specifically states that the French denied the Vietnamese claim about the transfer.
Tolerance in the time of terror
The predominant religion in South Korea is Christianity and the primary religious affiliation of Japanese people is Shinto. Both countries have a traditional culture which is steeped in Buddhism, but obviously this is not to the exclusion of other religions. How does the authors statement about,’…people who want to live in their own mono-cultural, mono-religious enclaves’ apply to these two nations? The fact that they cherish and uphold their traditional cultures is not equivalent to discrimination. The author’s statement is concerned with intolerant, religious enclaves that can’t ‘accept differences’ and for my part, I can’t think of any Buddhist ones, but just like you I can come up with a totally irrelevant list of Buddhist countries.
Tolerance in the time of terror
Not sure this enclave thing is a useful argument or childish point scoring. But, although it may look the same, the two Buddhist streams are not that much a like with so many fundamental differences- Mahayana and Teraveda.
Tolerance in the time of terror
The notion that all the people of the world are the same is a theoretical ideal. In many countries there exists only a thin strata of educated people ruling over a mostly savage and backward population. You wouldn’t want your teenage daughter parachuted over there, nor would you want them parachuted into your home town. No one disputes the value of ‘tolerance and diversity’ but there are limits to everything. The Rakhine people have reached their limit, and so have the Europeans.
Tolerance in the time of terror
Japan and the two Koreas could be cited as would be MAJORITARIAN “Buddhist mono cultural enclaves”.