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2811. Development of Sri Lanka’s East Container Terminal Port: Japan & India’s Regional Cooperation in South Asia Shaping Up

Author:
Monika Chansoria
Publication Date:
06-2019
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Japan Institute Of International Affairs (JIIA)
Abstract:
Signing the Japan-India Vision Statement in Tokyo on 29 October 2018, the Prime Ministers of Japan and India reviewed cooperation on development of connectivity via quality infrastructure and capacitybuilding carried out bilaterally, as well as, with other partners. More so, the need to do this in an open, transparent and non-exclusive manner based on international standards, responsible debt financing practices, and in alignment with local economic and development strategies and priorities was highlighted.1 The synergy finds embodiment in collaborative projects between Japan and India in the Indo-Pacific region, especially in Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Bangladesh, and Africa. In slightly over six months since this statement, Sri Lanka recently announced on 28 May 2019, its decision of entering into a trilateral partnership with India and Japan to develop a deepsea container terminal. The state-run Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) said a Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) had been signed between the three countries to jointly develop the East Container Terminal (ECT) of the Colombo Port next to a $500-million Chineserun container jetty in Colombo harbor.
Topic:
Development, Regional Cooperation, Infrastructure, and Trade
Political Geography:
Japan, South Asia, India, and Sri Lanka

2812. The Role for Middle Powers in the Free and Open Indo-Pacific: Looking at Opportunities for Canada and Australia

Author:
John Berkshire Miller and Thomas S. Wilkins
Publication Date:
06-2019
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Japan Institute Of International Affairs (JIIA)
Abstract:
The Indo-Pacific, as a geographic concept that connects the vast oceans of Pacific and the Indian along with the states in between, is not a new idea. Indeed, the idea of a broader geographic region – rather than more traditional subsets such as East Asia, South Asia, or the more expansive Asia-Pacific – has been used for more than a decade by scholars and practitioners in the region. An Indian naval captain began using the concept in geopolitical terms more than a decade ago, but the terminology has not been limited to scholars in Delhi. Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, back during his first stint as Prime Minister in 2007, spoke to India’s parliament about his country’s vision for Indo-Pacific noting a “confluence of the two seas” and pressed for a need to transcend beyond traditional frameworks that often separated or minimized the geopolitical connections between South Asian and the Indian Ocean region with that of East Asia and the Pacific.
Topic:
Regional Cooperation, International Affairs, and Geopolitics
Political Geography:
Canada, Australia, Asia-Pacific, and Indo-Pacific

2813. Territorial Annexation of Tibet: Tenure of the 13th Dalai L ama (1876-1933) recorded by Charles Bell (For mer Br it ish Polit ical Representative in Tibet, Bhutan, and Sikkim)

Author:
Monika Chansoria
Publication Date:
05-2019
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Japan Institute Of International Affairs (JIIA)
Abstract:
Histor y often tends to repeat itself, or as Spanish-American philosopher, Jorge Agustín Santayana wrote in 1905-06 in The Life of Reason, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it”. While setting out to write on, or about Tibet, it is inevitable to conclude that there never was, or will be, a long walk to freedom either for Tibet, or for the holy chair of the successive Dalai Lamas – the god and king-in-one incarnation of Chen-re-zi, the Lord of Mercy – the patron deity of Tibet. The Dalai Lama not only governs his subjects in this life, but can influence their rebirth in the next, or as Tibetans believe is the “Ruler in this life, the Uplifter in the hereafter.” The journeys of the Dalai Lamas in and out of Tibet recount being perennially those, which forced them out of their homeland in the most pressing, dark, and arduous circumstances. These have been recorded most persuasively by Sir Charles Bell, British civil servant, and former British Political Representative in Tibet, Bhutan, and Sikkim, whose accounts dedicated to the memory of the 13th Dalai Lama stand testament to their long and affectionate friendship. Bell’s work Portrait of The Dalai Lama published in 1946 is amongst the finest accounts on Tibet’s chequered history. It’s important to understand Tibet’s geography and the course of events that shaped its historical and political destiny in order to realize the relations that Tibet shared with the powers that encircled it. The Chinese overlord ship, which commenced early in the 18th century and ended in 1912, was often little more than nominal. China’s endeavor to control the foreign policy of Tibet sprang mainly from two reasons: First, the Chinese desired the country as a barrier on the west; and second, from 1642, when the supreme authority of the Dalai Lama was established– China sought his spiritual backing to restrain the turbulent Mongols from invading the northern Chinese provinces.
Topic:
Diplomacy, Religion, History, and Territorial Disputes
Political Geography:
Asia, Tibet, and Bhutan

2814. The Coming of Ages of the EU Strategic Thinking on Asia Part 2: Understanding Each Other Challenges: Towards a New Partnership with Japan

Author:
Valerie Niquet
Publication Date:
04-2019
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Japan Institute Of International Affairs (JIIA)
Abstract:
For both Japan and the European Union, deepening their partnership in an increasingly unstable world has become an essential element, if not yet a priority. Since he came to power in 2012, Prime Minister Abe and his cabinet understand the importance of expanding cooperation opportunities for Japan beyond the scope of traditional alliances in order to implement the concept of proactive contribution to peace. This is also a priority for the European Union, that, like its most prominent member States, understands that the EU’s Asia policy cannot be summed up to its relations with China.
Topic:
Bilateral Relations, European Union, Partnerships, and Strategic Stability
Political Geography:
Japan, Europe, and European Union

2815. Third UN Conference on Law of the Sea (1973–1982): Promoting Peace, Security, Law, and Order in the Oceans

Author:
Monika Chansoria
Publication Date:
04-2019
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Japan Institute Of International Affairs (JIIA)
Abstract:
The Third UN Conference on the Law of the Sea spanning between 1973 and 1982 remains engraved as an exceptional event in the pages of history of international relations, being one of the most ambitious projects of the United Nations, represented with nearly all of the international community. The Conference was viewed as a test of constructive international cooperation in an increasingly interdependent system where such cooperation was extremely vital.1 By means of Resolution 2750C(XXV), the UN General Assembly on December 17, 1970, decided to convene the Third Conference on the Law of the Sea in 1973, and instructed the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of the Sea-Bed and the Ocean Floor beyond the Limits of National Jurisdiction to act as a preparatory body for this conference. The Committee held six sessions and a number of additional meetings in New York and Geneva between 1971 and 1973 following which the UN General Assembly requested the UN SecretaryGeneral to convene the first session of the Third UN Conference on the Law of the Sea in 1973 in New York to deal with organizational matters, and a second session in 1974, as well as subsequent sessions if necessary, to deal with substantive work (as per Resolution 3029 (XXVII).
Topic:
Security, United Nations, Law, Law of the Sea, and Peace
Political Geography:
Global Focus

2816. Countering Foreign Influence and Inter ference in Open Societies —A Japanese Perspective on Authoritarian Infiltration

Author:
Hideshi Tokuchi
Publication Date:
02-2019
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Japan Institute Of International Affairs (JIIA)
Abstract:
It is almost a cliché that Australia and New Zealand are canaries in the coal mine for Chinese attempts at exerting political influence. In fact, Chinese influence is not a topic that affects just Oceania. It is already a serious challenge that confronts all democracies and open societies. According to Clive Hamilton’s “Silent Invasion,” a Chinese diplomat who sought political asylum in Australia told Hamilton that Australia’s openness, relatively small population, a large number of Chinese immigrants and commitment to multiculturalism have weakened Australia’s capacity to recognize and defend against the Chinese infiltration, but all democracies and open societies are susceptible to the threat
Topic:
Authoritarianism, Geopolitics, and Foreign Interference
Political Geography:
Japan, China, and Asia

2817. 1919 Paris Peace Conference Centennial: Recollecting India’s Representation and Participation

Author:
Monika Chansoria
Publication Date:
01-2019
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Japan Institute Of International Affairs (JIIA)
Abstract:
The Paris Peace Conference opened on January 18, 1919, paving way for an ensuing legacy of peacemaking. It aimed at fortifying the conceptual foundations in reference to the very essential premise on which peacemaking rests – i.e., bringing a conflict/war to a halt, and thereafter initiating a diplomatic process that seeks to provide a platform for initiating the process of reconciliation. Held at the Palace of Versailles, the Peace Conference saw delegates from 27 parties, with rigorous deliberations and recommendations that eventually got included into the Treaty of Versailles with Germany, held at the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles, on June 28, 1919.
Topic:
Diplomacy, Treaties and Agreements, History, and Peace
Political Geography:
India and Asia

2818. From Gaza and the West Bank: University Students Gather Towards A National Reconciliation

Author:
Palthink
Publication Date:
12-2019
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Pal-Think For Strategic Studies
Abstract:
In partnership with Al-Azhar University of Gaza, Islamic University of Gaza and Swiss Peace Organization and with support from the Swiss Government, Pal-Think for Strategic Studies and Birzeit University organized the closing conference for the project titled “National Dialogue Amongst Universities in Palestine”. More than 170 people of elite academics, researchers, professors and university students attended the conference.
Topic:
Nationalism, Peace, Community, and Mediation
Political Geography:
Middle East, Israel, and Palestine

2819. Can EU competition law address market distortions caused by state-controlled enterprises?

Author:
Matthew Heim
Publication Date:
12-2019
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Bruegel
Abstract:
This Policy Contribution considers whether European competition law could be applied more directly to state owned enterprises that create an unlevel playing field in Europe due to the support they receive from their home governments. This issue is now a priority for many Member States and the European Commission given the impact on European economic autonomy. Competition law may not be the appropriate tool for addressing the granting of illegal subsidies or other forms of support in third countries but it may be more effective than previously thought in dealing with the effect of state-owned entities that distort the internal market. If SOEs are not be resource-constrained or even profit maximising, such SOEs could be unconstrained by competitive pressures and therefore possess a de facto level of market power. By evolving existing exclusionary antitrust theories of harm, such as predatory pricing, to fit the specificities of SOEs, this Policy Contribution argues that it should be possible to add further tools to the EU’s toolbox. In any event, as part of its efforts to address the distortive effects of foreign state ownership and subsidies in the internal market, the Commission should develop a coherent and proactive competition policy to provide guidance to the market.
Topic:
Markets, Governance, Macroeconomics, and Strategic Competition
Political Geography:
Europe

2820. A new look at net balances in the European Union’s next multiannual budget

Author:
Zsolt Darvas
Publication Date:
12-2019
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Bruegel
Abstract:
Whenever the European Union’s budget is discussed, much of the political focus is on net balances – whether countries pay in more than they receive – rather than on the broader overall positive effects of EU spending. The largest net contributor countries have sought to limit their contributions, leading to the build-up of an ad-hoc, complex, opaque and regressive system of revenue corrections.
Topic:
Governance, Budget, European Union, and Macroeconomics
Political Geography:
Europe