IV. International (3-01-10)

. China was a big topic 2/22 in discussions on Japan’s defense advisory group guidelines by a new advisory group whose members reflect the ruling party’s emphasis on Asia and the UN. Members said Japan should closely follow trends in China, such as its military buildup, and that Japan could establish a new form of security cooperation with South Korea.

     . Japan plans to revise the National Defense Program Guidelines based on the report and establish the Mid-term Defense Program by the end of this year. The advisers will likely push P.M. Hatoyama’s pet proposals, such as creating an East Asian Community and deepening the Japan-US Alliance.

     . The line-up of new members underscores Hatoyama’s emphasis on Asia. New Members include:

Takashi Shiraishi, President of Developing Economies of Japan External Trade Organization, is known for his studies on S.E. Asia; Takeko Hirose of Senshu University specializes in politics and diplomacy in S.E. Asia; Yasuhito Matsuda of U. of Tokyo is an expert on politics and diplomacy of China & Taiwan. Panel members, e.g., Todashi Yamamoto of the Japan Center for International Exchange, Yoshihide Soeya of Keio University, are experts on international cooperation.

. China sold a record amount of US Treasury’s in Dec. ceding its place as the world’s biggest foreign holder of US debt to Japan. Japan now owns $768.8 billion in US Treasury’s vis-à-vis China’s $755.4 billion.

     . China’s foreign currency reserves rose to nearly $2.4 trillion at the end of last year. For most of the past decade, China’s government has taken much of the money pouring into the country as a result of its trade surplus and parked it in a relatively safe US federal debt.

     . Chinese analysts have occasionally raised the idea of using the Treasury sales to influence the US during disagreements about economic policy and/or other issues, e.g., Taiwan. But government officials have steered clear of such threats. If they try to sabotage the US by hammering US debt prices, they run the risk of sending the values of their holdings plummeting.

. The increase of US Treasury’s from Japan appears to have come from private financial institutions shifting investments out of risky high-yielding foreign financial products into safer assets in US Treasury’s. The US is still the safest place to invest.

     . Hideo Kobayashi, a visiting professor at Yokohama National University’s Center for Risk Management & Safety Sciences says Toyota failed to recognize differences in the way Japanese and Americans perceive recalls.

     . Nippon Kaidanren (Japan Business Federation) plans to stop soliciting political donations from its members (1600 companies and organizations) starting this year, in part because of the ascendancy of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan which opposes such fundraising, sources said. In 2008, it raised about 3 billion yen ($33 million) in donations from its members.

. A total of 108 people, including 33 victims of the 228 massacre and 75 family members filed a lawsuit against the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)) in Taiwan, demanding an apology for the massacre and compensate them for the hardship.

     . In a related news, Kaohsiung City government will commemorate the 63^rd anniversary of the massacre with a series of events highlighting the theme of “forgiveness.” People gathered at the school during the massacre to protest against the brutality of police and soldiers in southern Taiwan.

     . A group of independence advocates and university professors asked the Ministry of Education 2/26 to focus more on Taiwanese history and less on Chinese history. “Taiwan history in national history; Chinese history is world history” were some slogans shouted by protesters.

. Kookmin Bank’s trade union in South Korea blames upper management of financial authorities for the apparent suicide of a mid-level manager (who jumped to his death from a Han River bridge) who was in charge of its online system development. SK closed the uncertainty that is increasingly overshadowing Asia’s 4^th largest economy with a host of economic indices showing mixed signals on its outlook. Industrial output has been expanding at a faster pace over the past few months with its large manufacturers turning more bullish on growing overseas demand for Korean-made products.

     . Korea ranked below Ethiopia and Ghana 6 decades ago. Ethiopia helped South Korea during the Korean War, sending 6,037 soldiers to SK to fight the Communist invasion. Ethiopia is now the poorer nation with a per capita income of $280 in 2008 vs. $19,136 for SK during a comparable period.

     . LIG Nex2 showcased its up-to-date tactical multi-band and multi-role radio (TMMR) that allows an integrated transmission of voice, image and video data as well as text messages and email, during the Seoul International Aerospace & Defense Exhibition 2009.

. The world’s largest pearl was discovered by a Filipino diver in a giant tridacna (mollusk) under the Palawan Sea in 1934 in the Philippines. Known as the “Pearl of Lao-Tzu,” it weighs 14 pounds and measures 9 ½ inches long and 5 ½ inches in diameter. As of May 1984, it was valued at US $42 million. It is believed to be 600 years old.

     . The world’s second deepest spot underwater is in RP--about 33,440 feet (10,497 meters) below sea level, is known as the Philippine Deep or the Mindanao Trench. The Philippine Deep is in the floor of the Philippine Sea. The German ship Emden first plumbed the trench in 1927. The world’s deepest part of the ocean is the Marianas Trench, which is over 11,000 meters below the sea level.

     . RP is home to some of the world’s most exotic birds. One of the most endangered species is the exotic kalangay or the Philippine cockatoo (cacatua haema turopygia) which belongs to psittacidae or the family of parrots. Some cockatoos can live up to 50 years. They are known for mimicking human voices. Most of them measure 33 centimeters in length and weigh 0.29 kilogram.

. Thailand’s top court stripped Thaksin Shinawatra of more than half of his $2.3 billion fortune after ruling that the fugitive former premier abused his power for personal gain. The verdict was an apparent compromise at avoiding violence by the tycoon’s supporters.

     . The government scraped its second attempt in less than a month to sell rice from its stocks, as exporters’ bids were deemed unacceptably low.

     . PPT Chemical Pc, the country’s largest olefins maker, should be able to increase this year’s output by 29% despite the court-ordered suspension of several PPT group projects in Map Ta Phut.

. The destruction of Phnom Penh’s largest remaining lake (Puung Kak) in Cambodia is being filled with sand to make way for a residential and shopping district and has sparked a wave of thousands of forced evictions. Ten years ago, the area was thriving with fishermen.

     . The city had an agreement with Shukaku Inc which paid $79 million for a 99-year lease of the land. In late Aug. of 2008, a massive drainage pipe began pumping sand into the water a a rate of around 25 square meters per hours. Residents fled. Many had not been notified in advance.

     . According to the local human rights group Adhoc the number of human rights activists in Cambodia rose by about 70% in 2009. Most arrests were of people speaking out about housing and land rights. Now rising levels of rotting garbage, fish carcasses and raw sewage are plainly visible and malodorous.

. Last year around this time Tibetans decided to observe the traditional New Year (Losar) as an occasion of mourning those killed in China’s crackdown in 2008 following the Tibet uprising. With the New Year, a different kind of storm brewed over the Tibetan plateau.

     . Tibetans from Lhasa and Lithang to Markham and Ngaba have been engaging in experimental forms of nonviolent resistance in the tradition of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. Though China’s intensified repression has created an illusion of normalcy, Tibetans are ushering in a grassroots revolution, one that strengthens Tibetan nationhood and undermines the structure of Chinese Colonialism.

     . This quite revolution is perhaps best symbolized by Lhakar (a movement whose name means White Wednesday). Every week on this day, a growing number of Tibetans are making a political statement by wearing traditional clothes, speaking Tibetan, performing circumambulations, eating in Tibetan restaurants. They make Gandhi proud!

. The salaried middle-class in India can celebrate an entirely unexpected windfall of up to Rs 56,000 per annum from the reworked personal income tax slabs. The “aam admi” is hardly likely to be pleased with the hike in food prices.

     . After the huge 34% jump in allocation last year to plug operational gaps in the wake of the 11/26 terror attacks, the defense outlay has got a measly 3.98% hike this year, the lowest in 7 years.

     . Two top Naga rebel leaders, who are based in Amsterdam, are likely to call on the P.M. and House Minister P. Chidambara, official sources said.

. PM Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani said Pakistan had to cut down its development budget owing to the world economic meltdown and war against terrorism. His priority is to improve the economy through sustainable economic growth and bring about positive change in the lives of the common people.

     . Pakistan celebrated Eid Milad-vu-Nabi (Peace be upon him) with religious reverence and fervor renewing the pledge to follow the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad on 2/27. The day began with special prayers for development, safety, peace, unity and brotherhood among Muslim.

     . Exports of fruits and vegetables from Pakistan can easily be increased by 50% to 60% in volume if Pakistanis get the big Indian market, said Waheed Ahmed, Chair of the All Pakistani Fruit & Vegetable Exporters Importers and Merchants Assn. says.

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