UN rights expert calls on Myanmar authorities to protect Rohingya population (UN News, 27 February 2017)
UN rights expert calls on Myanmar authorities to protect Rohingya population (UN News, 27 February 2017) Following the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights’ (OHCHR) flash report in February, in which it documented mass gang-rape, killings, including of babies and young children, brutal beatings, disappearances and other serious human rights violations by…
Read MoreNew frontiers in international law: The Asian paradox (OUPblog, 20 February 2017)
New frontiers in international law: The Asian paradox (OUPblog, 20 February 2017) Asia’s history offers a partial explanation of the current situation of its ongoing ambivalence towards international law and institutions, but this can also be attributed the absence of “push” factors driving greater integration or organization. There is some evidence that this is changing,…
Read MoreICJ makes public details of Malaysia’s bid to revise 2008 Pedra Branca judgement (Straits Times, 10 February 2017)
ICJ makes public details of Malaysia’s bid to revise 2008 Pedra Branca judgement (Straits Times, 10 February 2017) The International Court of Justice on Feb 10 released Malaysia’s application to revise the court’s 2008 judgment that awarded sovereignty of Pedra Branca to Singapore. In the 42-page application, Malaysia cited three “new facts” to argue that…
Read MoreThe Philippines to fast-track talks on South China Sea code of conduct in ASEAN 2017 (Manila Bulletin, 11 January 2017)
The Philippines to fast-track talks on South China Sea code of conduct in ASEAN 2017 (Manila Bulletin, 11 January 2017) THE Philippine government will fast-track discussions on the implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) and the possible completion of the Code of Conduct in the South…
Read MoreASEAN’s Golden Opportunity (Bangkok Post, 23 January 2017)
ASEAN’s Golden Opportunity (Bangkok Post, 23 January 2017) The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is celebrating 50 years of existence in 2017, with the Philippines holding the chairmanship of the 10-member bloc. The golden anniversary presents a golden opportunity for ASEAN leaders to show how important regionalism can be at a time when people…
Read More‘Protectionist’ India resorts to other tools to bypass WTO bilateral rules (Financial Express, 12 January 2017)
‘Protectionist’ India resorts to other tools to bypass WTO bilateral rules (Financial Express, 12 January 2017) With little flexibility under the World Trade Organization (WTO) and bilateral trade agreements to raise tariffs, India is increasingly resorting to other tools — anti-dumping duties, safeguard levies and minimum import prices (MIPs) — to provide the requisite protection to…
Read MoreUN rights expert to assess potential abuses in northern Myanmar (UN News, 6 January 2017)
UN rights expert to assess potential abuses in northern Myanmar (UN News, 6 January 2017) Yanghee Lee, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, will assess the human rights situation starting 9 January, following increasing concerns about civilians in Kachin State and the escalating violence in Rakhine State. The 12-day…
Read MorePersecuted Minority in Myanmar Is Escalating Its Armed Insurgency (NYT, 23 January 2017)
Persecuted Minority in Myanmar Is Escalating Its Armed Insurgency (NYT, 23 January 2017) The beginning of an armed resistance is just one of several developments that are reshaping the conflict over Myanmar’s persecuted Rohingya minority with potentially far-reaching consequences. The group that attacked the border posts, Harakah al-Yaqin, is believed to have several hundred recruits,…
Read MoreASEAN a ‘more open market’ than EU, US: World Economic Forum (Channel News Asia, 1 December 2016)
ASEAN a ‘more open market’ than EU, US: World Economic Forum (Channel News Asia, 1 December 2016) ASEAN, the 10-state Association of Southeast Asian Nations, is a more open market for international trade than either the European Union or the United States, according to a World Economic Forum report released on Wednesday (Nov 30). The…
Read MoreEU blames China for WTO environmental trade talks collapse (Channel News Asia, 5 December 2016)
EU blames China for WTO environmental trade talks collapse (Channel News Asia, 5 December 2016) Europe’s trade negotiator Cecilia Malmstrom has blamed China on Sunday for scuppering a global environmental trade deal by submitting impossible late demands at World Trade Organization talks aimed at scrapping import tariffs on exports worth more than US$1 trillion. “China…
Read MoreChina urges US to abide by WTO anti-dumping agreement (Channel News Asia, 2 December 2016)
China urges US to abide by WTO anti-dumping agreement (Channel News Asia, 2 December 2016) When China joined the WTO in 2001, it agreed to let WTO members treat it as a non-market economy when assessing dumping duties for 15 years. That gave trade partners the advantage of using a third country’s prices to gauge…
Read MoreMalaysia: Myanmar pursues ethnic cleansing of Rohingya (Al Jazeera, 4 December 2016)
Malaysia: Myanmar pursues ethnic cleansing of Rohingya (Al Jazeera, 4 December 2016) Malaysia has accused Myanmar of engaging in “ethnic cleansing” of its Rohingya Muslim minority, as former UN chief Kofi Annan visits a burned-out village in violence-hit Rakhine state. Tens of thousands of Muslim Rohingya have fled their homes since a bloody crackdown by…
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