Indonesia Parliament Tries to Prevent Ratification of ASEAN Charter

The Indonesian House of Representatives is attempting to prevent ratification of the ASEAN Charter. The Charter, which critics argue has been watered down to the point of ineffectiveness, is designed to increase unity in the ten member state Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Notable in the Charter is a provision for majority voting, and mandatory application of ASEAN rulings, in some areas. Currently, ASEAN rules by consensus, and member states are not obligated to apply ASEAN ruling, a large reason for ASEAN being seen as little more than a talking shop.

LINKS

ASEAN Charter (ASEAN) "Indonesian parliament seeks delay of ASEAN Charter ratification" (People's Daily Online) "Profile: Association of South East Asian Nations" (BBC)

The governments of: Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Vietnam have completed ratification of the ASEAN Charter. Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand have yet to ratify the treaty. The goal is for all ASEAN states to have the ASEAN Charter ratified before a group meeting in the Thai capital, Bangkok, in December.

The location is symbolic. ASEAN traces the association's roots to the ASEAN Declaration, often called the 'Bangkok Declaration', in Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, the only country in Southeast Asia which was not made a colony by a foreign power. By having the ASEAN Charter ratified before the meeting in Bangkok, ASEAN will be making another statement about the evolution of the association.

Fortunately, Burma has already ratified the Charter. Although this is a sign that the ASEAN Charter indeed was watered down in the area of human rights, at least Burma won't hold up this further integration of Southeast Asia. That holdup could be up to the Philippines, which has threatened to not ratify the Charter depending on Burma's actions. Now, apparently Indonesia has also become a potential obstacle to the ASEAN Charter coming into force.

Hopefully, the Philippines and Indonesia ratify the ASEAN Charter so that ASEAN can become more unified and form a stronger economic and military rival to China.

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Found this article interesting? Check out:
History: The Roadmap to the Future.
History: The Roadmap to the Future--Africa.
History: The Roadmap to the Future--Asia.
History: The Roadmap to the Future--Europe.
History: The Roadmap to the Future--Latin America.

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The Science Fiction Channel + Technorium.
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Name Change for the Philippines

This post starts off largely as a response to an AsianWeek article about a proposed name change for the Philippines, a Southeast Asian country named after a sixteenth century Spanish monarch. The post could end up being updated occasionally.

The Philippines should have a name change.

For romantic reasons, having the country named after a foreign conqueror is shameful and an embarrassment, especially in an Asian cultural sense. A couple of states are named after foreign Europeans, at least in part--Colombia and the United States of America, for instance. However, in those cases, the bulk of the population and leadership is not indigenous. So what if their country is named after a European foreigner? They are the descendants of European foreigners themselves. The majority of Filipinos' bloodlines were in the Philippines long before the arrival of the Spaniards, and few Filipinos have any discernible amount of European blood; even fewer have considerable amounts. So having their country named after a foreign 'white' guy who (indirectly) conquered them and set in motion the history which has led to the decrepit state of the Philippines today, is an enormous shame.

Pragmatically, the orthography relating to the Philippines and Filipinos is a valid issue. Just in the case of the Internet, to gather information on the Philippines there could be searches for: Philippines, Philippine, Phillippines, Phillipines, Filipines, Filipino, Filipina, Filipinos, Philippino, Philippinos, Phillippinos, Pilipino, etc., not to mention colloquialisms such as 'Pinoy.' In contrast, just 'Japan' and 'Japanese' soundly cover the country and people and language of that nation.

'Philippine Islands' is also an embarrassment. Makes the country sound as though the Philippines were a Pacific Island country. While Polynesia should not be disrespected, Polynesia doesn't get that much respect, either. The Philippines is a nation of almost 100 million. Tourism can't provide for all, and the people of tourist countries generally aren't greatly admired. (Yeah, yeah. People should be admired on the basis of individual merit; unfortunately, the world doesn't work that way, and nationalities are lumped together and stereotyped.)

A name change for the Philippines will not suddenly turn the country into a developed state. However, a name change will be more beneficial than just being the 'Philippines', if only for the greater ease for potential investors looking for information about [the former Philippines]* along with the moral boost from an indigenous name.

Also of note, the main indigenous language of the Philippines, Tagalog, doesn't even have the 'f' phoneme, and as with many East Asian languages, 'L' and 'R' sound similar and closer to 'R'. Apparently such is the case with many of the Philippines' myriad indigenous languages. How lame is having a country whose name much of the country cannot properly pronounce?

*
Filipinos should choose a name that is: no more than three syllables; of short length in terms of letters (around 5-8); easy to spell and have basically one sensible way to spell; and be relevant to the [former Filipinos] especially pre-colonially relevant. Similarly, there should be only one spelling for the people and language (or one for both, i.e. Chinese [people] and Chinese [language]). Look at the names of the major countries of the world, and you will see a trend for short compactness. Even exceptions such as the United States of America or the United Kingdom (of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) often are shortened, to USA or UK, for instance.

LINKS

"Name Change for the Philippines" (AsianWeek--chose this title for the post before reading article).

A rational name change would make accessing information about the Philippines easier for foreigner investors, ordinary foreigners interested in the Philippines, and Filipinos themselves. Additionally, a suitable name change could help promote social unity and national pride/confidence--both grossly lacking among Filipinos--separate from colonial history for the Filipino people.

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Found this article interesting? Check out:
History: The Roadmap to the Future.
History: The Roadmap to the Future--Africa.
History: The Roadmap to the Future--Asia.
History: The Roadmap to the Future--Europe.
History: The Roadmap to the Future--Latin America.

Or:
The Science Fiction Channel + Technorium.
The Vegetarian Diaries + Biologeel.

Has Kim Bought the Farm?

Has North Korean President, Kim Jong-il, bought the farm? Is he dead?

There are varying reports on his condition, depending on the source. The North Koreans, unsurprisingly, are stating that things are basically normal. South Korea has reported that Kim has had a stroke, but is still alive. The Japanese, and at least one Chinese official, have stated that Kim has been having seizures.

One thing many agree on is that Kim Jong-il has not named a new leader to succeed him should he die or be incapacitated.

If Kim croaks and there is a power struggle among the elite to become the next Dear Leader, then that could be an opportunity for 'hard diplomacy' on the part of the United States to get North Korea to either transform into something resembling China or Vietnam, or to push for a complete overthrow of Communist authoritarian rule.

Alternatively, oppressed North Koreans could see a chance for revolution, in which case things will be even more precarious as the leadership tries to hold onto power.

If somehow North Korea collapses, and is then reunified with South Korea. The geopolitical ramifications for East Asia would be huge.

For starters, Korea (run by South Korea) would be in charge of developing a massive portion of their country. The Korean economy and development could stagnate as the South struggles to bring the North up to speed, similar to what has happened with West and East Germany after the reunification of that country. Korea's investment would be directed more internally and domestically rather than among its neighbors in the region.

Similarly, Japan and China would divert investment into the former North Korea. Both because neither want a poor and democratic, and thus potentially riotous, neighbor in the region. As with Zimbabwe's effect on southern Africa, North Korea dragging down Korea could make all Northeast Asia seem unattractive (though considering Japan's traditional clout and China's growing strength this is not such a threat).

However, as Northeast Asia diverts more attention to [North] Korea, Southeast Asia could be even more sidelined in terms of investment from the wealthier Northeast Asian. For some countries, such as the Philippines, in which the West is generally reluctant to invest, the loss of Northeast Asian investment would have a major impact on the development of Southeast Asia.

However, and upside would be that a unified Korea would entail that their would then be only one international pariah in East Asia. Burma.

With North Korea no longer a source of global scorn, pressure will be put more on Burma to reform, not least among Burma's fellow ASEAN states. With both North Korea and Burma reformed, work toward both Southeast Asian and East Asian economic integration could pick up speed.

LINKS

"Doubts mount over N Korea's Kim" (BBC)

For instance, currently the EU is unwilling to negotiate a free trade agreement with ASEAN--because Burma is a member of the Association. North Korea is also subject to trade embargos. With North Korea annexed by South Korea, and with Burma's junta overthrown, there would be less impediment for East Asia, Northeast and Southeast, forming an economic union which would promote free trade in the region, along with forming a strong negotiating position to create trade deals with other countries or trade blocs.

A lot is riding on what will happen after Kim Jong-il.

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Found this article interesting? Check out:
History: The Roadmap to the Future.
History: The Roadmap to the Future--Africa.
History: The Roadmap to the Future--Asia.
History: The Roadmap to the Future--Europe.
History: The Roadmap to the Future--Latin America.

Or:
The Science Fiction Channel + Technorium.
The Vegetarian Diaries + Biologeel.