Malaysia and India should work to finalise an under-negotiation comprehensive bilateral free trade pact by the end of this year, Malaysian Prime Minister Mohammed Najib Tun Abdul Razak said here Wednesday.
“I believe the time has come to move forward towards a resolution that will spur economic growth for both our nations,” Razak said at a [...]
Posts Tagged ‘east asian nations’
Malaysian PM for economic pact with India by year-end
January 21st, 2010 |
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‘On hold’
July 23rd, 2009 |
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By Kim Ghattas
BBC News, Phuket
The political turmoil inside Iran has left Washington grappling for a way forward in its attempts to engage its long-time foe.
In a BBC interview, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Tehran did not have the "capacity" to make decisions about its relations with the outside world at the moment.
"The internal debates going on inside Iran have made it difficult, if not impossible, for them to pursue any diplomatic engagement, not just with us but anyone, like the P5+1 (permanent UN Security Council members plus Germany), there is so much that is on hold."
She added that Washington was looking to engage Iran as an entity, and as a country that was on the path to acquiring nuclear weapons.
She refused to be drawn on whether the US would talk to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad if he accepted the offer of engagement, saying it was hypothetical.
Asian arms race
The secretary of state repeated her comments about a defence umbrella over the Gulf region, which have alarmed Israel.
She described it as a restatement of policy that is rooted in bilateral relationships with countries in the Gulf.
"You know we do a lot of military business and sell a lot of weapons systems in the Gulf, [it's part of our] commitment to making sure that Iran doesn’t get a nuclear weapon to undermine their confidence that this is the right path to take and continue doing what we’re doing which is to beef up the defensive capabilities of countries that are very worried about Iran."
"I’ve been quite amazed at the extent to which other countries are willing to go to enforce these sanctions [on North Korea]"
Hillary Clinton,
US Secretary of State
Engagement and nuclear proliferation were the themes of the day at the Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean) summit. At the top of Mrs Clinton’s agenda here was North Korea’s nuclear programme and Burma.
While Mrs Clinton told North Korea it had no friends left, and Pyongyang responded by calling her "not intelligent" and "a funny lady", the secretary of state said she had been "amazed" by the cooperation in efforts against North Korea.
A US official travelling with the delegation described it as a collective policy that was paying off.
Mrs Clinton said: "I’ve been quite amazed at the extent to which other countries are willing to go to enforce these sanctions which says to me that they are now equally concerned about the possible implications, not only of North Korea having deliverable nuclear weapons which we are determined to prevent, but also the arms race it would provoke in the region."
Such an arms race, she added, would destabilise North East Asia, "which is the principal reason why I think China is committed to do all that it can with us to try to remove that danger".
Brokering deals
A united front also appeared to emerge on Burma, at least according to the secretary of state.
She said Asean countries were "of one voice" and that Nobel peace prize winner Aung Sang Suu Kuii should be released, but she also indicated that engagement was being considered.
"There have also been volunteers from amongst neighbouring nations, the Indonesians are particularly keen to do that," she said.
"There’s a willingness on the part of many neighbours and those who do business with Burma to try to up the contact and the pressure to help them see a way forward."
"Part of the challenge [is that] the people currently running Burma are worried that if they give up power and move toward democracy, they could end up in an international criminal court," Mrs Clinton said, indicating that "two foreign ministers" in the region had mentioned the point to her.
"So a lot of the neighbours in the region are actually thinking of taking a more pro-active approach through Asean’s regional forum to try to think of deals that could be brokered."</p
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
N Korea calls Clinton ‘pensioner going shopping’
July 23rd, 2009 |
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Exchange of insults reflects lack of progress at regional summit over country’s nuclear programme
The stand-off over North Korea’s nuclear programme took a turn for the petty today, with the country’s leadership claiming Hillary Clinton looked like a “primary schoolgirl” or “a pensioner going shopping”, after Clinton compared them to “small children”.
The exchange of jibes reflected the lack of progress at a regional summit being held in Phuket, Thailand.
North Korea, attending the talks, said it had no intention of re-entering six-nation talks on its nuclear programme, because of the “deep-rooted anti-North Korean policy” of the US.
“The six-party talks are over,” the spokesman for the North Korean delegation, Ri Hung Sik, said at the Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean) security forum.
Clinton said North Korea had “no friends left that will protect them” from international determination that the regime dismantle its nuclear programme.
She called on North Korea to dismantle its weapons programme verifiably and irreversibly or face further isolation and the “unrelenting pressure” of international sanctions. She said the international community was prepared to offer a package of incentives if Pyongyang complied, including the normalisation of diplomatic relations.
A 2007 six-party agreement in which North Korea began dismantling its nuclear complex at Yongbyon in return for fuel oil deliveries broke down in April this year, when North Korea threw out UN inspectors and restarted its weapons programme. It has since raised tensions by conducting an apparent nuclear test (some experts say it could have been a hoax using huge quantities of high explosive) and a series of missile tests.
In an interview on Monday, Clinton said the US should not over-react to North Korean provocation. She told ABC television: “Maybe it’s the mother in me, the experience I’ve had with small children and teenagers and people who are demanding attention: Don’t give it to them.”
Pyongyang’s reaction took three days to come, but the delay did not lessen its evident fury.
“We cannot but regard Mrs Clinton as a funny lady as she likes to utter such rhetoric, unaware of the elementary etiquette in the international community,” a foreign ministry statement said. “Sometimes she looks like a primary schoolgirl and sometimes a pensioner going shopping.”
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North Korea ‘has no friends left’
July 23rd, 2009 |
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North Korea has no friends to protect it from international efforts to end its nuclear programme, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said.
At an Asian regional forum in Thailand she said there was widespread agreement that North Korea could not be allowed to maintain nuclear weapons.
North Korea’s envoy at the meeting said his nation would not re-enter six-party talks on ending its nuclear programme.
A spokesman in Pyongyang added that Mrs Clinton was "not intelligent".
Mrs Clinton said there was widespread concern among the members of the Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean) over North Korea’s recent "provocative behaviour".
"Sometimes [Mrs Clinton] looks like a primary schoolgirl and sometimes a pensioner going shopping"
North Korean spokesman
North Korea dropped out of the six-party talks after the UN censured its long-range missile test in April.
An underground nuclear test and further missile tests followed, provoking new UN Security Council sanctions, allowing for inspections of North Korean vessels suspected of carrying banned arms and tighter financial pressure on the already isolated state.
‘No place to go’
At the Asean forum on the resort island of Phuket, Mrs Clinton said North Korea’s nuclear ambitions threatened regional security and risked triggering an arms race.
"The United States and its allies and partners cannot accept a North Korea that tries to maintain nuclear weapons, to launch ballistic missiles or to proliferate nuclear materials," Mrs Clinton said in Phuket.
"And we are committed to the verifiable denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula in a peaceful manner."
"There is no place to go for North Korea; they have no friends left that will protect them from the international community’s efforts to move towards denuclearisation."
Even Burma had said it intended to implement the new UN resolution, she said.
Mrs Clinton outlined benefits for North Korea if it ends its nuclear activity.
"Full normalisation of relations, a permanent peace regime and significant energy and economic assistance are all possible in the context of full and verifiable denuclearisation."
Before she spoke, the spokesman for North Korea’s delegation in Phuket, Ri Hung Sik, attacked Washington’s "deep-rooted hostile policy" and said there would be no return to the six-party talks until US policy changes.
Separately, a spokesman in Pyongyang described Mrs Clinton as a "funny lady" – responding to her comments that North Korea’s behaviour was that of an unruly child.
"Her words suggest that she is by no means intelligent," the spokesman said, quoted by state news agency KCNA.
"Sometimes she looks like a primary schoolgirl and sometimes a pensioner going shopping. Anyone making misstatements has to pay for them."</p
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
US ‘will repel nuclear hopefuls’
July 22nd, 2009 |
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US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says the US is prepared to bolster the defence of its Gulf allies if Iran develops a nuclear weapons programme.
Mrs Clinton said if the US extended a "defence umbrella" over the region, it was unlikely that Iran would be any stronger or safer having a weapon.
She said the US was still offering engagement to Iran but warned that the "nuclear clock was ticking".
She spoke in Thailand where she is attending a regional summit.
Expulsion option
Foreign ministers from the Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean), as well as EU and US envoys, are meeting on Wednesday in Thailand.
Mrs Clinton reiterated President Barack Obama’s policy that talks were still an option between Iran and the US, but that "crippling action" could also be considered.
Speaking in an interview for Thai television, she said: "If the US extends a defence umbrella over the region, if we do even more to support the military capacity of those in the Gulf, it’s unlikely that Iran will be any stronger or safer because they won’t be able to intimidate and dominate as they apparently believe they can once they have a nuclear weapon."
Western powers fear that Iran is developing nuclear weapons, but it says its nuclear development is only about enriching uranium to the level needed for power.
Iran has not responded to Mr Obama’s offer of engagement.
Mrs Clinton also spoke about concerns over the transfer of nuclear technology from North Korea to Burma.
Asean has a policy of non-interference in members’ affairs, but Burma has provoked widespread censure.
Mrs Clinton condemned Burma’s treatment of jailed pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, saying Asean could consider expelling Burma from the regional grouping.
"It would be an appropriate policy change to consider," she said when asked about the possibility on Thai television, AFP reported.</p
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Krishna leaves for Thailand to attend India-ASEAN Ministerial meeting
July 22nd, 2009 |
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External Affairs Minister S M Krishna left for Phuket, Thailand on Tuesday to attend the three-day Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and East Asia Summit.
Speaking to reporters, Krishna said that India’’s participation in the ASEAN meet and the East Asia Summit is an important element of the country’’s ”Look East” policy.
“India shares civilizational [...]
Memo to Clinton: US ain’t top dog
The US doesn’t necessarily lead the pack in world affairs – something Hillary Clinton should remember on her Asian tour
Speaking in Washington before embarking on this week’s Asian tour, Hillary Clinton set out the most definitive version yet of how the Obama administration intends to deal with the world. The US secretary of state spoke of “a new era of engagement based on common interests, shared values, and mutual respect” and of a foreign policy “blending principle and pragmatism”.
Contrasting this collaborative approach with the “for us or against us” stance of the Bush administration, Clinton said the US would opt for diplomacy first when dealing with Iran, North Korea and other nations or adversaries. There were no guarantees of success; and dialogue did not imply acceptance of repressive regimes. But “we cannot be afraid or unwilling to engage … as long as engagement might advance our interests”.
Clinton’s call for a “multi-partner” rather than a multi-polar world is the diplomatic equivalent of police brutality victim Rodney King’s famous (and unsuccessful) plea for mutual tolerance at the height of the 1992 Los Angeles race riots. “People, I just want to say, you know, can we all get along?” asked King. Clinton’s similar, less eloquent call for international amity and understanding may also have limited impact. Today North Korea’s hothead leadership lambasted her, saying she resembled “a pensioner going shopping“. So no breakthrough just yet.
More surprisingly perhaps, Clinton’s visits this week to India and Thailand, where she met leaders of south-east Asian nations and her Chinese, Russian, South Korean and Japanese counterparts, suggested to some that the US may struggle to maintain constructive partnerships with its allies, let alone its enemies. These tensions are only partly attributable to George Bush’s toxic legacy and resulting anti-Americanism. They have more to do with perceived changes in the global balance of power, principally a post-crash decline in US clout and a parallel expansion of Chinese and Indian influence.
In Delhi, Clinton was publicly slapped down over pre-Copenhagen pressure from Washington and others for binding caps on carbon emissions, with environment minister Jairam Ramesh complaining about mooted carbon tariffs on Indian exports. At the same time, she acquiesced in Bush’s nuclear technology deal with India, which drove a coach and horses through the international non-proliferation regime, and gave a green light to massive future US arms sales to India, hardly reassuring prospects for Pakistan.
Clinton also appears to have tip-toed around the issue of divided Kashmir, mindful perhaps of British foreign secretary David Miliband’s bruising experience in Delhi earlier this year. This is odd, given the high importance Washington attaches to its Afghanistan-Pakistan strategy and its wish that Pakistani troops, currently deployed along the Line of Control facing India, be redirected into the battle against the Taliban and Islamist militants. These and other strains are certain to resurface once the jolly bonhomie surrounding Clinton’s visit, more resembling a campaign trail meet-and-greet than a diplomatic summit, dissipates.
“Obama is committed to ratifying the comprehensive test ban treaty and strengthening the non-proliferation treaty [India is party to neither] … He also intends for the US to be part of the international effort to replace the Kyoto protocol with a treaty-based climate control regime including India, China and other emerging powers,” noted Strobe Talbott of the Brookings Institution thinktank in a recent article. Such fundamental differences do not bode well for the strengthened, strategic partnership with India that Clinton enthused about.
Clinton’s declaration in Thailand that the US was “back” in south-east Asia, and intended to give greater priority to its friends in the region, also elicited mixed responses. Her ever tougher line on North Korea, coupled with US pressure on Asean members to do more to confront the Burmese junta, makes many countries nervous.
This cage-rattling could yet prove counter-productive. Old ally Japan, for example, may be about to elect a party pledged to re-examine the role of the US military in the Asia-Pacific region. Others, such as Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore, are increasingly drawn towards Beijing’s powerful economic orbit. For its part, China itself may no longer be a US enemy – but it remains unclear whether, on a range of international issues, it can really be classed as a friend. Mostly China suits itself. These days it can afford to.
Yet possibly the biggest obstacle to the “new mindset” partnerships Clinton envisaged in her Washington speech is of her own creation – her very old-fashioned assumption that, in all such arrangements, the US will naturally be top dog and pack leader. This is what Iranian conservatives term the “global arrogance”. Memo to HC: it ain’t necessarily so.