World – The Singapore Post

<strong>Is China getting edgy with ‘AUKUS’ enlarging footprint in the Indo-Pacific?</strong><strong></strong>

18Mar

By Nectar GanNo Comments

Is China getting edgy with ‘AUKUS’ enlarging footprint in the Indo-Pacific?

With Japan showing its keenness to join the AUKUS which is being led by the US, Australia, and the UK for the Indo-Pacific region, China, rattled by Tokyo’s planned move, has expressed its concern, stating that any attempt to “enlarge and upgrade the trilateral security initiative will represent a step in a more dangerous direction.” The US administration under President Joe Biden, which has proposed a $895.2 billion defence budget for fiscal 2025 with an aim to bolster Indo-Pacific strategy to deter China, has asked Britain and the UK to collaborate with Japan on defence technology under the AUKUS security partnership, Nikkei Asia said. This development has occurred close on the heels of reports which suggest that the Japanese government supports AUKUS efforts in th

India bank is required to provide donor and beneficiary details for electoral bonds.

18Mar

By Yusara AskariNo Comments

Asia, World

India bank is required to provide donor and beneficiary details for electoral bonds.

India’s Supreme Court has ordered the State Bank of India (SBI) to submit all the details of electoral bonds, including the unique codes linking donors to political parties, just a month before the country’s general election. The seven-year-old election funding system, called “electoral bonds”, allowed individuals and companies in India to donate money to political parties anonymously and without any limits. In its order on Monday, the Supreme Court gave the SBI until Thursday to provide the Election Commission of India with the unique identification numbers of the bonds, so as to allow donors to be matched with recipients. “You have to disclose all details … we must have finality to it,” Chief Justice DY Chandrachud said. Last week, the commission made public some data on don

18Mar

By Nectar GanNo Comments

Asia, World

Pakistan’s election did not bring political stability back; rather, it increased polarization. US specialist

United Nations/Islamabad, Mar 18 (PTI) A leading US expert in South Asian affairs has emphasised that the recent election in Pakistan did not restore political stability but instead resulted in the rise of polarisation in the cash-strapped country. A seminar on the political situation in Pakistan was organised at the United Nations last week by the Muslim American Leadership Alliance, the Dawn newspaper reported on Monday. During the post-seminar media session, Michael Kugelman, a leading expert in South Asian affairs associated with the prominent Washington-based think tank Wilson Centre, provided his insights on the political situation in Pakistan. Following the February 8 election marred by allegations of vote rigging, the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) headed by

What Was Achieved in 2024 During China’s Two Sessions?

14Mar

By Stuart WhiteNo Comments

China, World

What Was Achieved in 2024 During China’s Two Sessions?

The Center for China Analysis (CCA) is pleased to publish short perspectives on key outcomes of the Two Sessions by Asia Society experts Neil Thomas (Xi Jinping's Activities), Christopher K. Johnson (Elite Politics), Guonan Ma (Economic and Financial Policy), Lizzi C. Lee (Technology Policy), Li Shuo (Climate and Environmental Policy), Lyle Morris (Foreign Policy and National Security), and Rorry Daniels (Taiwan Policy). Policy outcomes broadly aligned with the forecasts made by Neil Thomas and Jing Qian in a CCA preview article published on February 29, although any personnel movements were delayed and the cancellation of the premier’s press conference was unexpected. Readers can view the recording of a CCA event held on March 6, “What Does the Two Sessions Mean for the Economy, Polit

Comprehending the Political Economy of China

14Mar

By Grace TsoiNo Comments

China, World

Comprehending the Political Economy of China

SHANGHAI – As China grapples with enormous challenges — including an imploding property sector, unfavorable demographics and slowing growth — doubts about the future of the world’s largest growth engine are intensifying.Add to that China’s geopolitical rise, together with deepening tensions with the United States, and the need to understand China’s political economy is becoming more urgent than ever. A recent book by MIT’s Yasheng Huang — "The Rise and Fall of the EAST: How Exams, Autocracy, Stability, and Technology Brought China Success, and Why They Might Lead to Its Decline" — can help. Huang unpacks the “EAST” heuristic from the historical record of the last two and a half millennia, especially the last 40 years, to arrive at a clear conclusion: China must make radical changes if

The once-powerful Hong Kong film industry struggles with shifting political and commercial realities.

10Mar

By Nectar GanNo Comments

Asia, World

The once-powerful Hong Kong film industry struggles with shifting political and commercial realities.

As Filmart gets underway, Hong Kong’s major production companies, including Edko Films, Emperor Motion Pictures (EMP), Media Asia, One Cool Group and Universe Entertainment, will be unveiling their new titles in enormous booths at the front of the trade show floor, some of which will be as elaborate as film sets. Many of the films they are launching are big-budget Hong Kong-China co-productions, featuring top Hong Kong stars and directors, and aimed at audiences in both China and Hong Kong. EMP has Derek Kwok’s Raging Havoc, starring Andy Lau and Nicholas Tse; Mandarin Motion Pictures has The Prosecutor, starring and directed by Donnie Yen; and Media Asia is launching four new titles headed by Behind The Scene, produced by Infernal Affairs director Andrew Lau. One Cool’s slate includes

Why is the PTI of Pakistan battling for parliamentary reserved seats?

7Mar

By zadminNo Comments

Asia, World

Why is the PTI of Pakistan battling for parliamentary reserved seats?

Islamabad, Pakistan — It is the latest setback for former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party. On Monday, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) declared that the PTI-backed Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) could not claim allocated reserved seats in the national and provincial assemblies. PTI, unable to contest recent elections due to a ban on their electoral symbol, instructed its candidates to join the right-wing fringe religious party in order to extend their numerical strength in the National Assembly. In its 22-page judgment issued on Monday, the five-member electoral body decided 4-1 that the SIC failed to submit a party list for reserved candidates before the ECP’s deadline of February 22, two weeks after the February 8 election. Pak

Pakistan’s Generals Are Unable to Stuff the Results

7Mar

By Yusara AskariNo Comments

Asia, World

Pakistan’s Generals Are Unable to Stuff the Results

akistan’s worst-kept secret is that its military dominates its government. Whether to safeguard the nation against chaos or to protect their own privileged access to power and wealth, its generals have manipulated the country’s politics for decades. Pakistan’s voters, like voters elsewhere, want change. February’s ugly election fiasco shows that it’s only getting harder for the army to prevent political disrupters from upending their plans but, unfortunately for Pakistan’s future, they have yet again managed to override public demand for a new direction. A brief recap: The generals and popular leader Imran Khan decided some time ago they could no longer trust one another. The army then removed Khan from his post as Prime Minister and put him in jail, as it has done to many past Prime M

Asif Ali Zardari becomes President of Pakistan, while Shehbaz Sharif takes over as PM. For India, what does it mean?

5Mar

By Nectar GanNo Comments

Asia, World

Asif Ali Zardari becomes President of Pakistan, while Shehbaz Sharif takes over as PM. For India, what does it mean?

Shehbaz Sharif has returned as the Prime Minister and Asif Ali Zardari as the President of Pakistan after the two old-guard parties, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), reached a power-sharing agreement. The announcement comes after a nearly two-week-long political deadlock in the country following the February 8 elections, which resulted in a hung assembly with no party securing the 133 seats mandated for a simple majority out of 265 contested seats in the Pakistan National Assembly. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz won 79 seats while the Pakistan Peoples Party came third with 54 seats. The Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan (MQM-P) has also agreed to support the coalition with their 17 seats. The new government in Pakistan is faced with...

“Two sessions”: Amid economic troubles, Xi tightens power as China abandons a decades-old political custom.

4Mar

By Joanne SerriehNo Comments

China, World

“Two sessions”: Amid economic troubles, Xi tightens power as China abandons a decades-old political custom.

Thousands of delegates from across China are gathering in Beijing this week for the start of the country’s most prominent annual political event, where leaders will signal how they plan to steer the world’s second largest economy in the year ahead — and try to dispel deepening concern about the challenges it faces. Projecting confidence is likely to be high on the agenda for Chinese leader Xi Jinping and his top Communist Party officials during the days-long, highly choreographed event, known as the “two sessions,” when China’s rubber stamp legislature and top advisory body convene. The largely ceremonial gathering is taking on heightened importance this year as China’s economy has been roiled by a property sector crisis, hefty local government debt, deflation, a stock market rout a

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