When world leaders talk about ‘human rights’ and when they do not

By on    Burma, Cambodia, China, Exclusives, Japan, Life, NE Asia, North Korea, Philippines, South Korea, Stateside, Top Stories, U.S. Politics, Vietnam  

When world leaders talk about ‘human rights’ and when they do not

Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk, East-Asia-Intel.com The spectacle of the ASEAN summit in Phnom Penh did more to lay bare the problems, conflicts and paradoxes of relations among the region’s wildly different and widely scattered nations than to resolve them. The fact that at least three of the leaders at this year’s ASEAN summit […]

The Burma Road back to normalcy is long and uncertain

By on    Burma, China, Columnists, COMMENTARY, Exclusives, John Metzler, NE Asia, Top Stories, United Nations  

The Burma Road back to normalcy is long and uncertain

John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is on the road to Burma to witness a “critical moment” in the isolated Southeast Asian state’s slow but sure transition to a more open political system which may bring democracy, or could legitimize the long-ruling military regime. Recently, British Prime Minister David Cameron visited […]

Beijing uneasy about Burma’s drift toward West, plans ‘dollar diplomacy’ initiative

By on    China, Exclusives, Intel Brief, NE Asia  

Beijing uneasy about Burma’s drift toward West, plans ‘dollar diplomacy’ initiative

Special to WorldTribune.com By Willy Lam, East-Asia-Intel.com The Chinese Communist Party leadership is set to use dollar diplomacy to prevent the Yangon (Rangoon) regime from falling into the embrace of the United States. Beijing’s uneasiness toward the liberalization policies of Burma’s President Thein Sein has been reflected in its low-key reaction to the landslide victory […]

Sapped by its major ally China, Burma reaches out to the West and Japan

By on    China, Columnists, COMMENTARY, Exclusives, Japan, John Metzler, NE Asia, United Nations, World Links  

Sapped by its major ally China, Burma reaches out to the West and Japan

John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — In a world beset by war, ethnic conflict and humanitarian disasters, Burma seems one of those rare places where diplomats can say they are making a positive difference. Maybe that’s precisely because this Southeast Asian land, was until recently a pariah state, suffering from the self- inflicted wounds of […]

New Burma Road: Watch for the geopolitical landmines

By on    China, Columnists, COMMENTARY, Exclusives, Japan, John Metzler, Life, NE Asia, North Korea, Stateside, Top Stories, U.S. Politics, United Nations, World Links  

New Burma Road: Watch for the geopolitical landmines

John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — With the historic visit of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to Burma, the highest profile American diplomatic contact in fifty years, the United States has entered a high stakes geopolitical chess game in Southeast Asia. Burma, a political pariah state has long been courted by China, coveted by India, […]

Hillary on a roll: Is Pyongyang next?

By on    Exclusives, NE Asia, North Korea, South Korea, Stateside, Top Stories, U.S. Politics, World Links  

Hillary on a roll: Is Pyongyang next?

Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk, East-Asia-Intel.com SEOUL — Hillary Clinton would like nothing better than to wrap up her tour as one of America’s most successful secretaries of state than by going to North Korea and persuading North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-Il to return to six-party talks in return for a serious sign of […]