Blog Entries

Global Drives Aims to Improve Disaster Preparedness

david.fouquet@kuhbier.com — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 19:00:00 +0100

The lethal devastation that struck Japan in March was a traumatic reminder that the Asia-Pacific region is the most disaster-prone region on the planet, but also that the international community has not succumbed to fatalism and is in fact mounting a global race against time to reduce the risk and damage of such phenomena.

The effort is parallel to other associated campaigns to improve post-disaster emergency response or to mitigate climate changes that increase such disasters.

& [...]

Burma Generals Opt for MiGs rather than Food or Medicine

david.fouquet@kuhbier.com — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 19:00:00 +0100

What at first seems like a case of mistaken identity in Southeast Asia, may in fact be the real face of power and politics in Myanmar, one of the world's poorest and maligned countries.

Most in the West and much of the world tend to regard Myanmar, still referred to as Burma by many, as a destitute country whose ranking on poverty, health, education and other social scales is among the lowest on the planet. Much international spontaneous concern and aid w [...]

New Japanese Leadership Shows Broader Visions

david.fouquet@kuhbier.com — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 19:00:00 +0100

The recent elections in Japan may have marked a historic turning point not only for that important country, but for Asia and the International Community.

Not only did the Japanese electorate decide to attempt to close the era of what had essentially become a one-party state, it seemed also to have elected a potential new force not only in domestic politics, but in international affairs as well. In the uncertain real world of Japanese and global politics, only time will tell whether this [...]

An EU-China Summit that didn't reach the rop

david.fouquet@kuhbier.com — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 19:00:00 +0100

While the atmosphere at the EU-China Summit meeting in Prague May 20 seemed to be correct and cordial, it also seemed evident that the the six months' interval between the cancelled summit planned for Lyon in late 2008 and the one in Prague had not served to prepare any major breakthroughs.

Before the aborted meeting in Lyon, European diplomats had warned that little substantive headway should be expected on major problem areas, and Prague revealed that not much had changed, even if [...]

The EU-China economic dialogue--more process than results?

david.fouquet@kuhbier.com — Sun, 10 May 2009 19:00:00 +0100

Begun with some expectations more than a year ago and propelled into a possibly key and urgent role in the current economic recession, the EU-China economic and trade dialogue in Brussels May 7-8 unfolded with barely a trace of an achievement or impact.

The High-Level Economic and Trade Dialogue between senior Chinese and EU leaders was launched in late 2007 as an effort to replicate the US-China counterpart initiated by former US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson as a much-needed proble [...]

EU-Japan Summit looks to the future after lost decade

david.fouquet@kuhbier.com — Thu, 07 May 2009 19:00:00 +0100

EU-Japan relations have evolved a long way over more than 30 years, ranging from stormy acrimony to somnolent normalcy, but never reaching their full potential, a reality seemingly again acknowledged at a Prague summit meeting May 4 that could mark a fresh start.

These relations reached shrill peak of displeasure in the 1970s amidst a sudden emergence of Japanese economic and commerce power, accompanied by a painful European trade deficit that presaged the more recent discomfort experie [...]

A year after Nargis, Burma's future still clouded

david.fouquet@kuhbier.com — Mon, 04 May 2009 19:00:00 +0100

In the year since nature unleashed yet more devastation on the Irrawady Delta, evaluation reports about the survivors' conditions and the effectiveness of the relief efforts and government cooperation seem to vary widely, perhaps reflecting differing starting points and mind-sets.

Some stress the continuing plight of the populations, others the improving working conditions for international an local NGOs, while some continue to focus on the military-led government's general disr [...]

Thai-Cambodia temple/border dispute

david.fouquet@kuhbier.com — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 19:00:00 +0100

As part my activities as a lecturer and advisor on Asian studies with the Centre Européen de Recherches Internationales et Stratégiques (CERIS) (or European Centre for International and Strategic Research) in Brussels, I have to supervise work on some of the students' masters theses. This year, one has been submitted on the recent dispute between ASEAN neighbours, Thailand and Cambodia, over the Preah Vihear temple on their border.

I just finished reading it yesterday [...]