Category: Indo-Pacific regions

News and analyses of events in the Indo-Pacific region

With sheer hypocrisy, USA picks its ‘human rights report’ to demonize the government of Bangladesh

The west led by the USA acts as the world’s police and courts. In the banner of “human rights stand superior to state sovereignty,” they always want to meddle in the internal affairs of other nations and will even go to war to achieve this. Many people’s human rights have been gravely abused by such actions all around the world. Tens of thousands of people have died and tens of thousands more have been hurt or made homeless in the Iraq War alone. Still, some western nations are willing to lecture others on human rights issues and criticize other nations they don’t agree with since they market themselves as “developed” and “democracy.”These western nations, who fought two world wars and arming to the teeth for the third, view “human rights” as their own concept and believe that it can only be established in accordance with their norms. Their hypocrisy, in the name of ‘human rights’, will have terrible effects on the global human rights movement and the implementation of Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

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Categories: America / Indo-Pacific regions / South Asia

The future of Japan and Bangladesh cooperation against the backdrop of a major power rivalry

However, Japan’s alignment with Quad and rising friction with China, a strategic partner of Bangladesh, is raising the chance of future complications for Bangladesh. Jolted by the Ukraine war and China’s assertiveness, Japan is looking to boost its defense capability, which is embraced a pacifist outlook after its defeat in the Second World War. Public opinion polls and commentators have found that since the end of the Ukraine conflict, the Japanese people have been steadily turning away from pacifism. While the world’s attention is on the situation in Russia and Ukraine, U.S. and NATO hostilities with China and North Korea are escalating substantially halfway across the globe in the Pacific Ocean, thus leading to the state of unease in Japan. Since the Obama administration’s “Pivot to Asia,” which was created in part to divert attention away from the decision to surge troops in Afghanistan and Iraq in the failed U.S. war strategies in the Middle East, the U.S. military’s naval and air presence in the Western Pacific has steadily increased.

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Categories: Indo-Pacific regions / South Asia

Is there any exit route for impending energy crisis in Bangladesh amidst geopolitical turbulence?

More than 1.8 billion people who reside in South Asia need economic solvency, improvement in social indicators and peace through political stability. Development is being impeded by the intensifying geopolitical competition, particularly between and among China, Russia, and the United States. This “great power competition,” which includes the dispute over the South China Sea, is…

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Categories: Indo-Pacific regions / South Asia

Is the war in Ukraine to blame for the global food crisis?

In 2021, over 193 million people in 53 countries/territories faced acute food insecurity (IPC/CH Phase 3-5; see Chart 1), according to the Global Report on Food Crises (GRFC 2022). In comparison to the already record numbers of 2020, this is an almost 40 million increase. Over half a million people (570,000) in Ethiopia, southern Madagascar, South Sudan, and Yemen were identified as being in the most critical phase of acute food insecurity (IPC/CH Phase 5; see Chart 1) and required immediate assistance to avoid widespread livelihood collapse, famine, and death. The number of people encountering crisis or worse (IPC/CH Phase 3 or higher; see Chart 1) approximately doubled between 2016 and 2021 when looking at the same 39 countries/territories represented in all editions of the report, with persistent increases each year since 2017.

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Categories: Africa / America / Central Asia / Eastern Europe and Russia / Indo-Pacific regions / Middle East / South Asia / Western Europe

Sri Lanka: how a South Asian country came under chaos

There is little doubt that a combination of internal and external forces contributed to Sri Lanka’s growth from a middle-to-high income country in South Asia to where it is today in just a few short years. For many years, Sri Lanka’s government has struggled with recurring budget deficits that have forced it to borrow frequently from both local and international markets, adding to the nation’s public debt. According to the breakdown of Sri Lanka’s foreign debt as of April 2021 is provided by the Sri Lankan Department of Foreign Resources, Sri Lanka’s international borrowing made up of 47% from the capital markets, 13% from the Asian Development Bank, 10% from China, 10% from Japan, 9% from the World Bank, 2% from India, and 9% from others. Sri Lanka’s foreign debt is owed to multilateral financial organizations and commercial creditors from Western nations. They sold the loan to ‘vulture funds,’ who actually took advantage of Sri Lanka’s every cent.

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Categories: Indo-Pacific regions / South Asia

BRICS can enable Bangladesh to explore greater business and geopolitical opportunities

Closer collaboration with BRICS under BRICS+ mechanism will open doors for Bangladesh to explore new markets and help to bridge the gap between two regional rivals China and India for its own benefits. India’s motivation for remaining in BRICS is not to support China’s global dominance. New Delhi believes it is more advantageous to stay in the BRICS alliance in order to restrain Chinese expansionism by securing multilateral agreements with Beijing. It will also embolden to skirt Western sanctions when it comes to do trading with Russia.

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Categories: Africa / America / Eastern Europe and Russia / Indo-Pacific regions / South Asia

Dhaka creates an enabling environment for its Big Neighbours

China’s multifaceted participation in Bangladesh is now a simple reality, and any attempt by India to challenge it will be ineffective. In Bangladesh, meaningful engagement with China will be critical for India’s security and regional stability in the northeastern states. Despite Western criticism of Bangladesh’s 2018 elections, China and India backed the current Dhaka administration.

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Categories: Indo-Pacific regions / South Asia

How the world obsessed with Ukraine forgot the Rohingyas

Long-term uncertainty about repatriation may incentivize Rohingya refugees to commit crimes. As a result of the extended ambiguity surrounding their repatriation, many Rohingya are becoming frustrated. Human trafficking, prostitution, and illegal drug trade will become victims of the Rohingya when they realize there is little support for them. As a result, the entire region’s equilibrium may be jeopardized.

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Categories: Indo-Pacific regions / South Asia
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