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11. The COVID-19 Pandemic in Oceania: Health Policy Decisions Matter

Author:
Neal A. Palafox and Wilfred C. Alik
Publication Date:
06-2022
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
East-West Center
Abstract:
Neal A. Palafox, MD, MPH, Professor, Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawaii, & Wilfred C. Alik, MD, Clinic Chief for the Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Hilo, HI, Co-Founder of the Micronesian Health Advisory Coalition, and Chairman of Marshallese COVID-19 Task Force, "articulate a disparate range of pandemic experiences across Pacific Island countries and territories (PICTs), in terms of COVID 19 community transmission, cases, mortality, and vaccination rates." Additional titles in the Asia Pacific Bulletin series This brief compares COVID-19 data across Pacific countries through the first week of June 2022. Data is drawn from regional reports from the World Health Organization (WHO) , which has monitored the pandemic in Oceania since early March 2020, and situation reports on US-affiliated Pacific Islands compiled by the Pacific Islanders Health Organization Associations (PIHOA). These reports articulate a disparate range of pandemic experiences across Pacific Island countries and territories (PICTs), in terms of COVID 19 community transmission, cases, mortality, and vaccination rates.
Topic:
Health Care Policy, Crisis Management, Vaccine, and COVID-19
Political Geography:
Oceania

12. Clean Energy Transitions in the Pacific Islands Present Opportunities for Strategic US Economic Partnerships

Author:
Kalim U. Shah
Publication Date:
06-2022
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
East-West Center
Abstract:
Dr. Kalim U. Shah, Professor of Energy and Environmental Policy and Director of the Island Policy Lab, Joseph R. Biden Jr. School of Public Policy and Administration, University of Delaware, explains that with some locales "targeting as much as 100% renewables for their energy mix… [t]he modernization of the Pacific Islands’ energy sector promises to strengthen local economies and enhance the quality of life for residents"
Topic:
Partnerships, Economy, Renewable Energy, and Energy
Political Geography:
Asia-Pacific and Oceania

13. FSM Engagement with the United States and China: A Lesson Learned for the Pacific Islands

Author:
Gonzaga Puas
Publication Date:
06-2022
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
East-West Center
Abstract:
Dr. Gonzaga Puas, Professor at Pacific Islands University and Founder of Micronesia Institute of Research and Development, explains that the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) is at a "junction, where the confluence of the two super-powers [the United States and China] meet... FSM is aware of its strategic importance and is judiciously managing the influence of both superpowers."
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Strategic Competition, and Dialogue
Political Geography:
China, Asia, North America, United States of America, Oceania, and Micronesia

14. Elevating and Engaging Micronesian Expertise in Hawai‘i and Oceania

Author:
Dina Shek and Shanty Sigrah Asher
Publication Date:
06-2022
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
East-West Center
Abstract:
Dina Shek, Legal Director of the Medical-Legal Partnership for Children in Hawai'i and Faculty Specialist at the William S. Richardson School of Law & Shanty Sigrah Asher, JD, Pacific Islander Liaison Officer at the Office of Economic Revitalization for the City and County of Honolulu, explain the importance of including indigenous expertise in policymaking and outlines steps to be more inclusive of Micronesian voices in policy formulation.
Topic:
Indigenous, COVID-19, and Community-based Organizations
Political Geography:
Hawaii, Oceania, and Micronesia

15. US-Japan Development Cooperation for Stability and Prosperity in the Pacific Islands Region

Author:
Hideyuki Shiozawa
Publication Date:
06-2022
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
East-West Center
Abstract:
Mr. Hideyuki Shiozawa, Senior Program Officer, Pacific Island Nations Program Team, Ocean Policy Research Institute, the Sasakawa Peace Foundation, accounts for regional complexities and Japan-US synergies as he outlines possible structures for Japan-US trilateral development cooperation with Pacific Island partners.
Topic:
Development, Political stability, Foreign Assistance, and Cooperation
Political Geography:
Japan, Asia, North America, United States of America, and Oceania

16. The COVID-19 Pandemic in Oceania: Health Policy Decisions Matter

Author:
Neal A. Palafox and Wilfred C. Alik
Publication Date:
06-2022
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
East-West Center
Abstract:
Neal A. Palafox, MD, MPH, Professor, Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawaii, & Wilfred C. Alik, MD, Clinic Chief for the Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Hilo, HI, Co-Founder of the Micronesian Health Advisory Coalition, and Chairman of Marshallese COVID-19 Task Force, "articulate a disparate range of pandemic experiences across Pacific Island countries and territories (PICTs), in terms of COVID 19 community transmission, cases, mortality, and vaccination rates."
Topic:
Health, Vaccine, and COVID-19
Political Geography:
Asia-Pacific and Oceania

17. Elevating the Australia-Japan Strategic Partnership to “a new level”: challenges and responses

Author:
Thomas S. Wilkins
Publication Date:
04-2021
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Japan Institute Of International Affairs (JIIA)
Abstract:
In November of 2020, Australian Prime Minster Scott Morrison was the first head of government to physically visit Japan to meet with his new counterpart Yoshihide Suga since the latter’s assumption of office for the annual summit meeting of their bilateral strategic partnership. Commentators were surprised that Mr Morrison would travel internationally in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, but his determination to do so, enduring quarantine measures upon his return, was indicative of the high value that Australia ascribes to its “Special Strategic Partnership” with Japan. At a time of simmering strategic rivalr y in the Indo-Pacific region, Canberra places a premium on its close collaborative relationship with Tokyo, as both countries confront similar challenges in navigating the turbulent and unstable regional environment. It is in this context they affirmed their intent ‘to elevate bilateral security and defence cooperation under the Special Strategic Partnership to a new level.
Topic:
Security, Bilateral Relations, Partnerships, and COVID-19
Political Geography:
Japan, Asia, Australia, and Oceania

18. The View of the Coup from the Camp: Myanmar’s Emergent Trans-Ethnic Solidarity

Author:
Elliott Prasse-Freeman and Tani Sebro
Publication Date:
03-2021
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
Abstract:
Myanmar’s recent military coup has, for now, ended the country’s brief ten-year experiment with democracy. But the military junta did not anticipate a massive country-wide social movement against the brazen power-grab, in which millions have taken to the streets. As protests continue in urban centers, a trans-ethnic and pro-poor solidarity movement is emerging. Myanmar’s most excluded subjects, many of whom watch the protests from refugee camps, are now weighing both the possibilities and precariousness that the coup entails.
Topic:
Civil Society, Migration, Minorities, Displacement, Conflict, and Coup
Political Geography:
Asia, Myanmar, and Oceania

19. Southern Philippines: Keeping Normalisation on Track in the Bangsamoro

Author:
International Crisis Group
Publication Date:
04-2021
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
International Crisis Group
Abstract:
Peace in the Philippines’ majority-Muslim region requires disarming 40,000 ex-rebels and encouraging economic development where they live. But progress toward these goals, together called “normalisation”, is sputtering. Both Manila and the former insurgents need to hit the accelerator lest the process lose momentum entirely.
Topic:
Religion, Minorities, Ethnicity, Conflict, Peace, Economic Development, and Identity
Political Geography:
Asia, Philippines, and Oceania

20. Disrupting Cycles of Discontent: Transitional Justice and Prevention in the Philippines

Author:
Robert Francis B. Garcia
Publication Date:
07-2021
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ)
Abstract:
The end of authoritarianism in the Philippines in 1986 was an important opportunity to pursue transitional justice and effect societal transformation. This report examines how reparations, legal and institutional reforms, and truth telling about historical injustice and marginalization have contributed to prevention. But it also reveals how the limited and delayed nature of these efforts fits within a broader failure of society to address the root causes and legacies of the past. This, in turn, allows the risk of recurrence to persist. The study examines how the Philippines has responded to the repression and corruption under former president Ferdinand Marcos as well as armed conflicts that persist today. Reparations, for example, have contributed to the recognition and inclusion of victims of human rights violations by addressing grievances, providing redress, and increasing awareness of rights. In the Bangsamoro region, a truth commission addressed issues such as land dispossession, marginalization, and discrimination and made concrete recommendations for change. It is reasonable to argue that transitional justice in the Philippines has played a role in preventing the recurrence of the most serious and widespread human rights violations associated with Marcos. But many of its measures were not implemented at the opportune time and were not sufficient to either fully address the legacies of the past or to maximize their contributions to prevention. The lack of accountability for crimes committed under Marcos and the limited accountability in the decades since have perpetuated a culture of impunity. Post-dictatorship reforms have achieved much in way of reestablishing the democratic order but have not removed a corrupt system that can be traced back to colonial times. Limited structural change and economic policy have failed to address inequality. The persistence of rampant human rights violations since 1986 and the country’s recent swing back to authoritarianism are arguably at least partially the result of society’s failure to learn the lessons of the past.
Topic:
Reform, Criminal Justice, Memory, Institutions, Reparations, and Truth and Reconciliation
Political Geography:
Asia, Philippines, and Oceania