TRUMP IN ASIA

OPINION

Xuan Loc Doan is a UK-based researcher. He holds a PhD in International Relations and researches and writes on a number of areas. These include Vietnam’s domestic and foreign policy, ASEAN, EU, UK’s politics and international politics in the Asia-Pacific region.

TRUMP IN ASIA 

Trump’s high-stakes tour could shape future of regional dominance

By XUAN LOC DOAN NOVEMBER 3, 2017 

Of all of the recent trips to Asia by US presidents, and of all of the current president’s overseas tours, Donald Trump’s visit to Asia could be the most crucial, as it could shape the future of US leadership in the region.

It may be an overstatement to say that Trump’s trip is his last chance to revitalize America’s regional leadership, as the five-nation visit is the president’s first to the region. However, it is probably right to argue that should he fail to demonstrate meaningfully his commitment to the United States’ regional alliances and partnerships during this 12-day trip that started on Friday, it would further damage America’s already weakened position in this dynamic, complex and vital region.

As is often said, if a week is a long time in politics, then a year is an eternity. This is just as true in international politics, especially in the Trump era. The global political landscape has changed radically – almost inverted – since his election as president of the United States about a year ago.

Only a year ago the prospect that the US would turn into a fierce critic of the global liberal economic and political order it had shaped and led for seven decades and that China could become its ardent advocate was almost inconceivable.

Such an unreal reversal of roles is now happening, however. And Trump’s largely unexpected victory in last November’s US presidential election was a defining reason behind this shift.

With an “America First” doctrine, a nativist, protectionist and isolationist policy aimed at satisfying populist sentiments at home, the new president has abandoned his country’s postwar role as the leader of the liberal order based on free trade, international agreements, the rule of law and democratic values.

Perceiving that Trump is ceding the United States’ long-held global leadership mantle, over the past year, China’s Xi Jinping has made remarkable steps toward filling that void.

In January, just three days before Trump’s swearing-in as America’s 45th president, Xi made a headline-grabbing address – the first by a Chinese leader – at the World Economic Forum. In that keynote speech at the WEF in Davos, Switzerland, regarded as the spiritual home of capitalism, the Chinese president denounced isolationism and protectionism and presented his highly controlled nation as a robust defender of free trade and an open economy.

Speaking at the United Nations Office at Geneva a day later, he went even further, urging the world to “uphold the authority of the international rule of law” and, again, positioned the People’s Republic of China as a responsible and law-biding player in that order.

At the recent Congress of the Communist Party of China, which elevated him to the almost sacred status of Mao Zedong, the PRC’s founder, Xi hailed China as a “mighty force” in the world and a role model for political and economic development. He even asserted that his country’s political system “is a great creation” that offers “a new choice for other countries.”

Little more than a year ago, hardly anybody could have imagined that the authoritarian leader of a communist nation would make such bold statements at such important international and domestic forums. Some might have even laughed at such a prospect.

But all of this is no longer laughable. Undoubtedly, Trump’s numerous missteps and mishaps, both at home and abroad, have emboldened the Chinese leadership’s confidence.

Since taking office, Trump has pulled the US out of key international agreements, such as the Paris climate accord and the Iran nuclear deal. His posture has greatly alarmed many countries, including Washington’s closest allies, and tremendously damaged America’s global leadership.

Undoubtedly, Trump’s numerous missteps and mishaps, both at home and abroad, have emboldened the Chinese leadership’s confidence In contrast, Xi Jinping has proactively and assertively portrayed himself as a great international statesman and his country as a reliable, even indispensable, global leader by publicly stating that the rising superpower is committed to honoring those international treaties.

Perhaps nowhere in the world is America’s recession and China’s assertion felt more strongly than in Asia.

The Trump White House’s inward-turning stance is exemplified by his decision to abandon the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). His withdrawal from this huge US-led trade deal, which would also have had other far-reaching geopolitical implications, is seen by many as an abandonment of America’s traditional regional leadership role not only in trade but in other vital areas, such as security.

In addition, Trump has threatened to terminate his country’s free-trade agreement with South Korea, a key strategic ally.

All of this has puzzled and rattled America’s important Asian partners and allies.

In contrast, with the TPP collapsing, the PRC, which was excluded from the 12-member accord, has pushed to conclude the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), a rival trade pact of 16 East and Southeast Asian countries.

In May, Beijing inaugurated its Belt and Road Initiative, a global trillion-dollar infrastructure and trade plan. Though the grandiose project won’t generate huge win-win opportunities for all participating countries as Beijing preaches, almost all nations in the region have now signed up to join it.

Yet while worried by Trump’s “America First” foreign policy, many Asian countries are still hoping he could rethink his posture and continue US engagement with the region, especially in the areas of trade and security.

With perhaps a few exceptions such as Cambodia that have already fallen deeply into China’s orbit, almost all regional states still count on the world’s biggest economy and military to maintain regional prosperity and security.

Leaders from Japan, Australia, India, South Korea, Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore have already traveled to the Trump White House, with some of them making trade concessions, mainly because they wanted such a commitment of US engagement from Trump.

A recent Pew Research Center survey found that the US is still seen more positively than China in India, Japan, South Korea, the Philippines and Vietnam.

However, compared with previous years, America’s image in the world,  including many Asian countries, this year has significantly weakened while China’s favorability has considerably strengthened. In Australia, a key strategic US ally, and Indonesia, the United States now is less favored than China.

Again, Trump’s election and his subsequent policies have hugely contributed to this weakening of America’s global and regional image. If this trend continues, it is very likely that China will hold a competitive advantage in favorability over the US in the years to come.

Against this background, Trump’s trip to Japan, South Korea, China, Vietnam and the Philippines is a very high-stakes one. It could make or break America’s regional leadership.

If he clearly demonstrates that the US remains deeply committed to the region, by offering concrete and positive measures to strengthen economic and security ties with Asian countries, bilaterally or multilaterally, that will greatly help restore trust in American leadership.

In contrast, if he fails to do that – or, worse, continues to harden America’s already damaged position in the region – many countries, notably small, but geo-strategically important, nations such as Vietnam and Singapore, may move away from Washington and toward Beijing.

At the moment, for both economic and security reasons, they still seek to maintain balanced ties with the world’s two superpowers. Still, any combative move by Trump will tip the balance in China’s favor, especially if Beijing pursues a benign posture toward its neighbors as it has done of late.

Before the recent Party Congress, the Chinese leadership sought to repair strained ties with Vietnam and Singapore. Just days before Trump begins his Asian trip, Beijing unexpectedly decided to mend relations with South Korea after a year-long standoff over Seoul’s decision to install Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), a US-operated anti-missile shield, on its soil.

If this is not tactical behavior but a genuine shift in Beijing’s policy, Trump must work hard during his current trip to convince America’s Asian partners and allies that the US under his leadership remains a sine qua non of the region’s peace and prosperity.

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Source: Asia Times 

Xuan Loc Doan is a UK-based researcher. He holds a PhD in International Relations and researches and writes on a number of areas. These include Vietnam’s domestic and foreign policy, ASEAN, EU, UK’s politics and international politics in the Asia-Pacific region.

ENB Poppy Appeal 2017

Suba-Poppy Appeal

Note:

Poppy Day

Remembrance Day (sometimes known informally as Poppy Day) is a memorial dayobserved in Commonwealth of Nations member states since the end of the First World War to remember the members of their armed forces who have died in the line of duty.

2,080 mass graves in Indian-administered Kashmir LOC

India ordered to probe 2,080 mass graves in Kashmir
by Rifat Fareed

3 Nov 2017

APDP maintains that 8,000 people have disappeared in the decades-old conflict [Shuuaib Masoodi/Al Jazeera]

Srinagar, Indian-administered Kashmir - The state-run human rights commission has told the government in Kashmir to investigate at least 2,080 unmarked mass graves discovered in border areas of the restive region.

The Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP), a human rights group in Kashmir, told the commission there were 3,844 unmarked graves - 2,717 in Poonch and 1,127 in Rajouri, twin districts in the region that lie along Line of Control (LoC) that divides the disputed territory between India and Pakistan.

In response, the commission acknowledged the presence of 2,080 unmarked graves and asked the government for a comprehensive investigation to be completed in six months, including DNA tests of the bodies to compare it with family members of the disappeared.

In 2011, the commission directed the government to investigate the mass graves. At the time, a special team from the commission said 2,730 unidentified bodies were buried in 38 sites across northern Kashmir.

"The commission has no hesitation to issue the same directions, which were already issued in the case," the recent order said.

The association welcomed the commission's latest demand to investigate mass graves in India's Jammu and Kashmir state.

"It is an acknowledgement from the institution that is run by the government. It provides further legal remedies for the family members of missing," Khurram Parvez from APDP told Al Jazeera.

"We have been demanding that there be an independent commission to do a credible probe on the mass graves."

Parvez said the probe might give an "answer" to families of disappeared who do not know whether their relatives are dead or alive.

"We have done a study of 53 cases for a report where the bodies were exhumed from unknown graves. It was found that 49 bodies in the graves were of civilians and one was a local militant, three bodies were unknown. These people were dubbed as foreign militants by the government," Parvez said.

Since 2011, instead of complying with directions from the human rights commission, the government continues to avoid such an investigation on the pretext it would lead to a "law and order problem" in Kashmir, APDP said in a statement.

The European Parliament adopted a resolution in July 2008 and called on India's government ensure independent and impartial investigations into all mass graves, APDP said.

Officials contacted by Al Jazeera declined to comment on Friday.

The state government has said most of the missing were likely Kashmiri youths who crossed into Pakistan for weapons training. Those comments have been dismissed by family members of the disappeared.

'Emotional closure'

Tahira Begum, 39, from Baramulla whose husband disappeared in 2002, said if the government investigates the graves it would provide "emotional closure" to family members.

"We want to know whether our family members are buried in these graves. At least, we will get an address to mourn," she told Al Jazeera.

Tahira said she had to leave her three sons in an orphanage after her husband disappeared.

"My kids would run from school and ask me where their father is. For years, I told them he has gone for work outside. But as time passed, I couldn't lie to them any more."

Her husband disappeared after leaving home for work and never returned. "I went everywhere to look for him but failed. I just want an answer - what happened to him," she said.

Nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan each administer part of Kashmir, but both claim the Himalayan territory in its entirety.

Rebel groups have been fighting since 1989 for the Indian-administered portion to become independent or merge with Pakistan.

Nearly 70,000 people have been killed in the uprising and the ensuing Indian military crackdown. India maintains about 500,000 soldiers in the territory.

Anti-India sentiment runs deep among Kashmir's mostly Muslim population and most support rebels against Indian rule despite a decades-long military crackdown to fight the armed rebellion.

India has accused Pakistan of arming and training the rebels, allegations that Pakistan denies.

Rebel groups have largely been suppressed by Indian security forces in recent years, and public opposition to Indian rule is now principally expressed through street protests.

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA NEWS

Spain issues arrest warrant for Carles Puigdemont

NEWS/SPAIN
Spain issues arrest warrant for Carles Puigdemont
by Creede Newton

Carles Puigdemont left Spain after Madrid fired him and his government last Saturday [Jordi Bedmar/Generalitat de Catalunya/AFP] 

Barcelona, Spain - A Spanish judge has issued an international arrest warrant for dismissed Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont.

Puigdemont has been in Belgium since Spanish authorities fired him and his cabinet on Saturday after the regional parliament declared independence.

Judge Carmen Lamela issued the order on the grounds that it was public knowledge that Puigdemont is in Belgium.

The warrant added two charges: prevarication (lying) and disobedience.

It also names the four other ex ministers who accompany Puigdemont in Brussels.

Puigdemont told Belgian state TV, RTBF, earlier on Friday that he "did not flee" Spain, but he travelled to Brussels to avoid violence.

"Violence has never been an option for us," he said. 

He added that "it is impossible to prepare [a defence]" while in Spain.

Puigdemont will now face possible extradition from Belgium.

The Belgian attorney general told Spanish news agency, Efe, earlier this week that if his office receives a warrant for Puigdemont, the "law will be applied".

"If we receive [the warrant], we won't be able to make more comments or conjectures," he said.

Speaking to Dutch media outlet, Puigdemont's lawyer Paul Bekaret said that warrant "will take a while, because [it] has to be translated, and then processed by the federal police".

Nine ministers jailed

The warrant comes after nine Catalan government officials, including dismissed Vice President Oriol Junqueras, were jailed without bail in Madrid on Thursday on charges of sedition, rebellion, and misuse of funds.

Barcelona's city council issued a declaration calling for the immediate release of these politicians along with Jordi Cuixart and Jordi Sanchez, two pro-independence organisers jailed since October 16.

The declaration was signed by parties from across the political spectrum. Ada Colau, the left-wing mayor of Barcelona, said the declaration was a "great consensus in the defence of freedoms and fundamental rights".

The only parties that declined to sign the declaration were the centre-left Spanish Socialist Party, the centre-right People's Party, and the populist right Citizens party.

The accused former officials are required to deposit 6.7 million euros ($7.2m) to cover expected court costs. In the event they are unable to pay the amount, their property will be seized.

Santi Vila, the former Catalan Business Minister, was the only person granted bail. Vila paid the 50,000 euro ($58,300) fee and is expected to be released pending trial later Friday.

The Catalan government was sacked last Saturday after it declared independence the previous day.

The Spanish government took direct control of the breakaway region after applying Article 155 of the constitution the same day.

The political crisis over Catalonia's independence began on October 1 when a disputed referendum met a harsh police crackdown by Spanish police.

The Catalan government claims 90 percent of voters chose independence, but turnout was less than 50 percent.

Spain claims the vote was illegal, contravening the Spanish constitution.

Hundreds of people are protesting Spain's actions against the Catalan separatists throughout Barcelona.

A group of demonstrators on Passeig de Gracia, one of the largest streets in Barcelona, held signs and posters on Friday calling for the release of "political prisoners".

The Committee for the Defence of the Republic - a grassroots network of pro-independence protesters that has risen to prominence since October 1 - has called for widespread demonstrations to continue throughout the weekend to "rebuke" the imprisonment of their government.

Balfour Film

Balfour D100 Film

Catalonia: Judge jails eight removed ministers

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Barcelona, Spain - A Spanish judge has ordered that eight dismissed Catalan ministers be jailed while they are investigated on potential charges of sedition, rebellion and embezzlement.

The order was issued on Thursday after state prosecutors, who are investigating the leaders over their involvement in the breakaway region's declaration of independence, requested the ministers be held.

Mireia Boya Busquets, a Catalan MP from the far-left Popular Unity Candidacy party, tweeted "the legitimate government is in prison. This is a fascist state. If we normalise it, we erase ourselves as a people".

Among those jailed without bail are sacked Catalan Vice President Oriol Junqueras, Jordi Turull, former spokesperson for the government of Catalonia, former Minister of the Workforce Dolors Bassa, and others.

The only former minister who may be released is Santi Vila, the former head of the Ministry of Business, pending a 50,000 euro ($58,300) bail payment.

Catalonia: Judge jails eight removed ministers
by Creede Newton 

Meanwhile, a state prosecutor requested that the National Court issue a European-wide arrest warrant on Thursday for removed Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont and four other sacked ministers.

Jaume Alonso-Cuevillas, Puigdemont's Catalan lawyer, tweeted that it was a "grand injustice" and a "sad day for democracy".

The Belgian attorney general told Spanish news agency, Efe, that if his office receives a warrant for Puigdemont, the "law will be applied".

"If we receive [the warrant], we won't be able to make more comments or conjectures," he said.

'Climate is not good in Madrid'
The order and request for the arrest warrant for Puigdemont come after a court appearance by several Catalan leaders in Madrid earlier on Thursday.

The Catalan government was sacked last Saturday after they declared independence the previous day.

The Spanish prosecutor submitted a complaint against Puigdemont and his government for their push for secession.

Puigdemont remains in Brussels along with four of his former ministers.

"The climate is not good [in Madrid], it's better to keep a certain distance," Paul Bekaert, Puigdemont's lawyer in Belgium, told reporters earlier on Thursday.

"If they ask, [Puigdemont] will cooperate with Spanish and Belgian authorities," the lawyer added.

Commentators had said that Puigdemont's choice to stay in Belgium might cause Spanish courts to hold the accused without bail.

The same was done to Jordi Cuixart and Jordi Sanchez, two pro-independence organisers held without bail on similar charges.

'We have eight more names to add'
Spontaneous protests took place across Barcelona late on Thursday.

Thousands gathered in front of the Catalan parliament and palace of the government in Barcelona's Gothic Quarter.

Hundreds more circled the Spanish Government delegation on Avenida Diagonal, stopping traffic and forcing public transportation to follow impromptu routes.

"The streets will always be ours!" demonstrators chanted.

Many bore posters and apparel with the images of Cuixart and Sanchez.

"Now we have to add eight more names," Maria, a protester who only gave her first name, told Al Jazeera.

'No one is above the law'

Earlier on Thursday, Jose Montilla, a Catalan politician from the Spanish Socialist Party (PSOE) and former president of the Catalan government, criticised Puigdemont and the four dismissed ministers who remained in Belgium. "Enough of the tricks that have led us here," he said.

Montilla told Catalan radio he hoped justice would be exercised with "prudence", but reminded the sacked government that "no one is above the law".

Centre-left PSOE has joined with the nationalist, centre-right ruling People's Party in their opposition to Catalan independence.

The accused former government is required to deposit 6.7m euros ($7.2m) with the courts. If they are unable to do so, their property will be seized.

The Catalan politicians could face up to 30 years in prison for the charges.

The Spanish High Court has given the accused members of parliament a week to prepare their defence.

They are expected to appear before the court on November 9.

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA NEWS

ENB Balfour Declartion 1917 -100 years on!

The British government decided to endorse the establishment of a Jewish home in Palestine. After discussions within the cabinet and consultations with Jewish leaders, the decision was made public in a letter from British Foreign Secretary Lord Arthur James Balfour to Lord Walter Rothschild. The contents of this letter became known as the Balfour Declaration.

Foreign Office- (The British) 
November 2nd, 1917

Dear Lord Rothschild,

I have much pleasure in conveying to you. on behalf of His Majesty's Government, the following declaration of sympathy with Jewish Zionist aspirations which has been submitted to, and approved by, the Cabinet

His Majesty's Government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavors to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country.

I should be grateful if you would bring this declaration to the knowledge of the Zionist Federation.

Yours,

Arthur James Balfour

Why globalization is seen as a failure in the West

Ken Moak 

Western critics blame globalization and developing economies (read China) for factory closures, the loss of “high-paying” jobs, climate change, income inequality, rising crime and a host of other issues. Peter Navarro, US President Donald Trump’s trade czar, for example, accused China of “unfair trade practices” and manipulating its currency, which he claimed is responsible for closing 50,000 factories, stealing between 20 and 30 million jobs, and putting taxpayers on the hook for US$3 trillion.

Are Navarro and other critics’ allegations against China and other developing nations true?

The International Monetary Fund and other reputable organizations can attest to the fact that globalization is responsible for between 1.5% and 2% of global economic growth, lifting hundreds of millions of people out of poverty in the developing world and improveing living standards in the developed countries. Analysts at Morgan Stanley and other US economic and financial institutions have estimated that inexpensive Chinese “imports” alone have saved the average American family US$1,000 a year, allowing consumers to buy and save more.

A study conducted by the University of Pennsylvania, Trump’s alma mater,  found that automation was responsible for manufacturing job losses. Moreover, it was US businesses that decided to relocate jobs to developing countries with low wages, and lax labor and  environmental regulations that “hollow out” its manufacturing sector.

It could be argued that the persistently high US trade deficit with China is attributable to Washington’s policies and American manufacturing firms outsourcing to China. The US Congress has banned the sale of  “security sensitive” or “dual civilian/military use” products to China and other countries deemed potential “adversaries,” squandering  considerable export opportunities. Moreover, over two-thirds of “imports” (valued at approximately US$270 billion out of the total estimated US$350 billion in 2016) are goods produced by the US inside China. China in fact only exported US$180 billion to America in that year, a number close to the value of US exports to it. If the US relaxes export restrictions and readjusts the value of Chinese “imports,” America might have registered a trade surplus with China.

Post-World War II globalization

Globalization was promoted by the US and the UK to spur economic growth in the post-war period. In 1944, when victory over the Axis powers – Germany, Japan and Italy – was a foregone conclusion, the two English-speaking countries sponsored the Bretton Woods Conference (attended by 42 allied countries) to chart the world’s post-war economic road map, unfettered trade investment being its cornerstone. The conference established two institutions – the IMF and the World Bank – the former was to facilitate and promote trade and investment and the latter was to facilitate reconstruction.

Globalization was promoted by the US and the UK to spur economic growth in the post-war period
The US, being the largest financial contributor to and the biggest shareholder of both institutions, dictated the post-war rules to acquire a “America First”-type policy. For example, the chief US representative, Harry Dexter White, rejected the UK-proposed “bancor” and successfully demanded that the greenback become the “reserve currency” for international transactions, making the US the world’s “bank of last resort,” affording it an “unlimited” source of money (since the greenback is universally accepted as a medium of exchange, storage of value and unit of account) to strengthen its global dominance.

The US also insisted thati the IMF and World Bank operate as a bank,  promote US-style democracy, and apply the Washington Consensus (a neoclassical framework developed by John Williamson as a “one size-fitss-all” development path for emerging economies)  as loan conditions, including: implementing austerity programs in periods of economic slowdown or recession, privatizing state-owned enterprises, and liberalizing trade and investment.

These conditions were said to be instituted to protect and promote the interests of the West, particularly those of the US, “helping” the borrowing nations was just a side benefit. Privatization of state-owned enterprises was meant for Western (read US) firms to take over state-owned enterprises (banks and oil) in the borrowing nations,  as was the case with Russia and some African countries. Insistence of borrowing nations to implement austerity programs was to ensure the creditors are repaid. Unfettered trade and investment was to open the developing economies’ markets to the developed ones.

To further protect its market from foreign imports, the US Congress rejected the UK proposal of forming the International Trade Organization (ITO).

To replace the ITO, the US proposal,  the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) was set up to negotiate tariff liberalization or reduction, but on goods only. But it became clear that the West in general and the US in particular was (and still is) only interested in reducing tariffs on goods in cases where they have a comparative advantage. This was done by establishing non-tariff barriers  such as anti-dumping measures during the Tokyo Round of negotiations (which developing countries were neither invited to nor participated in).

It was not until the Uruguay Round (1986 – 1994) under the GATT framework that developing nations were invited to and participated in multilateral trade negotiations. That was only because the West and Japan wanted a non-agricultural agreement to access increasingly affluent emerging economies’ markets, China’s in particular.

However, the US and EU continue to apply NTBs to bar or restrict imports that are “hurting” domestic producers, albeit ones that they subsidize heavily. Farm subsidies account for approximately 50% of the EU budget, and over 25% of US farm income is from government handouts. The EU and US arbitrarily impose anti-dumping duties on Chinese-made steel and solar panels, accusing China of selling the products at “below cost.” The US recently imposed a 300% tariff on Canada’s Bombardier CS100-series planes, citing heavy government subsidies.

The issues created by structural changes

The West  – and the US in particular – have undergone significant structural changes since the 1980s, including the relocation of manufacturing abroad and the automation of production in an effort to increase profits and export pollution. Developing nations, China in particular, offered low production costs made possible by cheap killed labor and efficient infrastructure.

However, they did not implement sufficient job retraining programs to address displaced workers or the changing labor market. The advent of technological changes alters the job market, so a skill that is in demand today may disappear, or new ones are required tomorrow. Consequently, structural unemployment not only persisted but grew.

Caving in or pandering to vested interest groups have created trade issues and climate change. Canada’s former prime minister Stephen Harper refused to ratify the Tokyo Accord on greenhouse gas emissions to protect the interests of  the Alberta oil sands industry. Trump’s revival of the oil and coal industries will likely worsen climate change. His tearing up of the Trans-Pacific Partnership and making what Canada and Mexico refer to as “harsh” demands could erode trade between the US and its two partners, exacerbating economic issues in all three.

Politicians in the developing economies are not blameless for the world’s economic and climate change. Chinese leaders’ inability or unwillingness to curb industrial overcapacity is a source of trade fiction between China and other countries. Turning a blind eye to factories dumping toxic chemicals into the atmosphere might be responsible for climate change.

A final comment

It could be argued that it was the West, the US in particular, that was “eating the developing countries’ lunch.” Colonizing underdeveloped lands, exploiting their resources and enslaving their indigenous people enriched and empowered the West.  The much-hailed Marshall Plan, a post-World War II aid program for the reconstruction of Western Europe and later Asia was an “America First” policy, requiring recipient nations to become liberal democracies and spend the money on US-made goods.

The problem with “Nation First” policies is that national interests often collide, resulting in trade and geopolitical conflicts. Not ceasing to engage in military exercises with South Korea and demanding that North Korea  stop building nuclear weapons would escalate rather than reduce tensions in the Korean Peninsula. Likewise, the US not acknowledging that its trade policies and the composition of trade might be the cause of the deficit with China could lead to a US-China trade war.

Globalization is not the cause of the West’s economic ills, but the way it is used and managed might be. The West is also unhappy with China’s rapid economic and military rise, preventing it from eating the “whole cake.”
============================
Ken Moak taught economic theory, public policy and globalization at university level for 33 years. He co-authored a book titled China's Economic Rise and Its Global Impact in 2015. HIs second book, Developed Nations and the Economic Impact of Globalization, was just published by Palgrave McMillan Springer.

How Catalonia’s crisis is turning into a European problem

Catalan regional president Carles Puigdemont in Brussels

After helping engineer a political showdown that triggered a constitutional crisis in Spain, deposed Catalan regional president Carles Puigdemont did what many renegade politicians do: He turned up in another country.

On Monday, Puigdemont and several other senior Catalan officials made their way to Brussels, the capital of Belgium and, more importantly, the European Union. Back home, he and a number of his allies face rebellion and sedition charges, which could lead to a sentence of up to 30 years in prison. Though Catalonia's secessionists have won next to no sympathy from foreign governments, they pinned their hopes on a romantic loyalty to the European project and its liberal values. Their cause is only creating headaches for E.U. administrators and statesmen.

How Catalonia’s crisis is turning into a European problemBy Ishaan Tharoor November 1 at 1:00 AM 

Puigdemont's presence in Brussels was already roiling the Belgian political scene, let alone the broader European one, and surfacing the many divisions within the country's fragile ruling coalition. The country's French-speaking liberal prime minister had no time for the Catalan leader, while his Flemish nationalist partners were far more sympathetic.

Belgian leaders stressed Puigdemont was not in their country by invitation, though they do allow other E.U. citizens to apply for asylum. Belgium sets the bar for asylum very high, and there is no indication yet that applying is Puigdemont's reason for traveling there.

“We really shouldn’t be importing Spanish problems,” a Belgian government official told Politico.

“We are here because Brussels is the capital of Europe, it is not a question of Belgian politics,” said Puigdemont, in an attempt to reassure his hosts. “This is a European issue, and I want Europe to react.”

Puigdemont went on to paint a picture of a heavy-handed Spanish government, repressing Catalan aspirations and seeking to persecute its pro-independence leadership.

“The Spanish government was preparing an offensive against the people of Catalonia, calling [on] them to be loyal,” Puigdemont said, speaking to reporters in Catalan, Spanish and French. “We are facing a state that only understands the reason of force.”

Puigdemont defiantly described himself as the “legitimate president” of Catalonia, even though Madrid dissolved the regional parliament in Barcelona on Friday and removed Puigdemont from his elected post. He said he wasn't seeking asylum, but he had come to Brussels “to have more security.” He hired a prominent Belgian human rights lawyer with a track record of defending political dissidents, including Basque separatists.

Puigdemont had presided over weeks of escalating tensions between Madrid and Barcelona. His pro-secessionist government held a controversial independence referendum Oct. 1 that was met by a ham-handed Spanish response that partially suppressed the vote. In the days that followed, Puigdemont and his allies appealed to nationalist indignation within Catalonia, even as their political options narrowed. A declaration of independence by the Catalan parliament on Friday was followed by Madrid invoking Article 155 of the Spanish constitution for the first time — a move that imposed direct rule on Catalonia and took the whole country into uncharted territory.

“I am convinced,” explained Puigdemont, “according to the information that I have, that there would have been a violent reaction” had he remained at home. Reports late Tuesday indicated at least one Catalan ex-official was returning to Barcelona, but it was unclear if Puigdemont would do the same.

Confusion now reigns in Catalonia, with some of Puigdemont's allies still showing up for the meetings of a phantom Catalan republic. A photo posted by Catalonia's top foreign affairs official, Raul Romeva, showed a gathering of Catalan officials sitting in front of both the Catalan and E.U. flags, but not the Spanish one.

The majority of the region's political parties, including Puigdemont's, have agreed to snap elections in December that will lead to a new regional government. Puigdemont may be hoping Catalan voters, angered by the harsh treatment from Madrid, may come out and return the secessionists to power. His opponents will be galvanized by the vast pro-unity rally — attended by Spaniards from all over the country — that took place over the weekend in Barcelona.

“It's an opportunity,” Susana Beltran Garcia, a legislator with the centrist, pro-unity Ciudadanos party, told Bloomberg View. “The new government will be legal, democratic. It will have the legitimacy to talk to the Spanish government.”

But even as Puigdemont's own gamble looks increasingly to have failed, the underlying tensions fueling the moment will not go away. The continued divisions raise key questions for the European Union at a time of increasing nationalism around the continent.

“The E.U. is politically and intellectually unprepared for a crisis in Spain,” wrote Financial Times columnist Gideon Rachman. “The European project is based on the idea that the E.U. is a 'safe space' for liberal values. Once a country enters the club it is assumed to leave old conflicts, whether internal or external, outside the door.”

That was particularly true for Spain, which emerged from decades of dictatorship, and joined the continental bloc while building a democracy that better guaranteed the freedoms and autonomy of the country's diverse and often very distinct regions. Spain's homegrown experience with fascism through the middle of the 20th century made it more immune to the xenophobic populism that swayed recent elections in nearby countries like France, Britain and the Netherlands.

But even that could change, with the Catalan crisis provoking, in some corners, the resurgence of reactionary right-wing nationalism. As the animosities fester, the prospect of further chaos remains.

“Catalonia’s bid for independence demonstrates that traditional questions of nationhood and sovereignty can still stir the blood in modern Europe,” wrote Rachman. “There is also a possibility that the crisis could lead to violence between the Spanish central government and pro-independence forces in Catalonia. That would challenge Spain’s traditional status as a prime example of the benefits of the European project.”
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 Ishaan Tharoor writes about foreign affairs for The Washington Post. He previously was a senior editor and correspondent at Time magazine, based first in Hong Kong and later in New York. 

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