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Regional Press Review 09 May 2008
May 9, 2008
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This week,
The challenges in improving relations between China and Japan.
Opposition to Thai Prime Minister’s plan for an Asian rice cartel.
And Myanmar’s future in light of the cyclone tragedy.
A devastating cyclone swept through Myanmar last Saturday, causing widespread damage. An estimated 100,000 people are feared dead.
Joining the immediate international relief effort were Myanmar’s ASEAN neighbours including Singapore, the Philippines and Thailand. ASEAN Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan highlighted the need to ratify a 2005 Agreement on Disaster Management and Emergency Response in light of this latest disaster. Thailand’s The Nation newspaper.
Surin was right in reiterating that given the frequency of such major natural disasters, Asean must on its own as well as in collaboration with its friends and partners, intensify efforts in disaster management and emergency response.
While the isolationist Myanmar’s acceptance of international aid came as a surprise, the paper also noted that apart from UN-related agencies, foreign aid-donors lacked experience in dealing with the Myanmar government.
Like it or not, there must also be some guarantee that this valuable assistance would not be diverted by the authorities and go directly to the state-run warehouses for the consumption by the junta leaders and their troops.
In light of the widespread suffering and the inability of the authorities to cope, The Nation newspaper warned that the government’s plan to go ahead with a May 10 referendum could backfire.
For the Rangoon regime it is a nightmare come true, as the disaster struck just a week before the referendum was to be held on the new constitution. The Burmese people are angry and want to express themselves. They have one chance for the time being. Despite constant intimidation from the authorities, most Burmese voters would vote "No".
The Jakarta Post was critical of the Myanmar government’s refusal to allow foreign journalists from entering the country following the disaster. Citing the outpouring of aid following the 2004 Aceh tsunami as a reason to open up Myanmar to the world press, the paper noted that it was the unimpeded media and foreign journalists who brought stories of that tragedy to people’s living rooms.
The world will certainly look beyond the repressive policies of the regime in lending humanitarian assistance to the people of Myanmar. The question is, can the Myanmar junta do the same and allow unimpeded access not only to charity organizations but more particularly to international media, to help tell the tragedy to the rest of the world.
Chinese President Hu Jintao met Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda during a historic visit to Japan this week. The visit aimed to ease decades of friction between the two countries.
Singapore’s Straits Times on the challenges ahead.
The psychic wounds on the Chinese side are so deeply seared and Japan's official view of wartime events is so ambiguous it is not possible to heal the breach for all time.
The paper noted that a reversal of fortunes had also strained relations.
China is reclaiming its superpower status of its dynastic epoch, which is making the LDP-mould of politicians and old-time zaibatsu leaders resentful; whereas Japan is in decline, a position they could never abide as their nation was undisputed king in Asia, as if by birthright. They also knew Japan was never superpower material at the peak of its economic strength in the 1980s. They are not sure if China will wear its power lightly. This troubles the Japanese people.
While the countries share common interests, The Straits Times felt that improving relations would also be made difficult by the historical burden they share.
Tibet, Taiwan, energy exploration and even an inconclusive investigation into food safety issues are enough to keep their foreign ministries busy. But these are nowhere as harmful as an inability by both sides to decide once and for all how they want to consign the deadweight of history.
Finally, Thailand’s newspapers were critical of its Prime Minister’s plans for the country to form a cartel with other rice-growing countries in an attempt to set world rice prices. The Nation newspaper said.
No one knows what is going through his mind, but Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej, has, essentially, decided to take on Mother Nature. By asking fellow Southeast Asia rice-growing countries to form a cartel - the Organisation of Rice Exporting Countries, an Opec for rice - Samak is trying to do the impossible.
The paper cited the government’s inability to solve its current irrigation problems, thus relying heavily on the unpredictability of seasonal rain.
The Bangkok Post noted that Prime Minister Samak himself had criticized Opec for the market manipulations of oil.
What he has not done is consider that if Thailand arrogantly controlled rice prices, Mr. Samak's Orec would earn this country many times the criticism currently given to Saudi Arabia and Opec.
Finally, the paper warned that if Thailand were to attempt to withhold food from the market, the world would simply grow more food and compete. It suggested alternatives.
It can increase its market through dozens of methods - from bringing neighbours into cooperatives in the region, to exporting dishes, markets and restaurants worldwide. Now is the time to abandon talk of a rice cartel, and renew the effort to sell Thai food and cuisine everywhere. It is tested, it is moral and it can be more and more profitable.
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