Chuyên mục: ASIA

EU free trade deal will trap Vietnam in low-wage, low-skill cycle

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ 2 bình luận

By Ruth Kelly | ActionAid, Programme Policy Manager  Mar 15, 2016 (updated: Mar 15, 2016)

https://assets.euractiv.com/lazy-load/img/crop/16x9/800/https://www.euractiv.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/03/Vietnam-motorbike.jpg

euractiv – The EU Ombudsman criticised the Commission this month for failing to provide an audit of how its Free Trade Agreement with Vietnam would affect human rights before signing off the deal. Ruth Kelly, explains how it will trap Vietnam in a low-profit-low-wage cycle.

Ruth Kelly is ActionAid’s Programme Policy Manager.

Dung is 31. She works in a footwear factory in Vietnam and rarely gets a day off. She has high hopes for her 5 year-old daughter and new baby son. Rather than working in the shoe industry and mining sector, like their parents and grandparents before them, Dung hopes that they will have the opportunity to study and to get good jobs in medicine and engineering. Tiếp tục đọc “EU free trade deal will trap Vietnam in low-wage, low-skill cycle” →

CSIS Southeast Asia Sit-Rep – May 19, 2016

~ Trần Đình Hoành ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

CSIS Southeast Asia SIT-REP

This issue includes the case for fully lifting the U.S. ban on lethal arms sales to Vietnam, analyses on the Philippine presidential elections and issues facing the incoming administration of president-elect Rodrigo Duterte, an overview of the challenges facing President Barack Obama on issues related to the Trans-Pacific Partnership when he visits Vietnam, and much more. Links will take you to the full publications, multimedia, or to registration for upcoming programs when available. To jump to a section, select one of the following: Tiếp tục đọc “CSIS Southeast Asia Sit-Rep – May 19, 2016” →

CSIS – Southeast Asia from Scott Circle – May 12, 2016

~ Trần Đình Hoành ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

Fully Lifting the U.S. Lethal Arms Ban Will Add Momentum to U.S.-Vietnam Relations

By Murray Hiebert (@MurrayHiebert1), Senior Adviser and Deputy Director, and Phuong Nguyen, Associate Fellow (@PNguyenDC), Southeast Asia Program (@SoutheastAsiaDC), CSIS

May 12, 2016

Ahead of President Barack Obama’s visit to Vietnam in late May, officials and analysts in both Washington and Hanoi have been talking about whether the United States should fully lift the ban on the sale of lethal weapons to Vietnam that was imposed when the Vietnam War ended in 1975. The issue has been given added urgency as bilateral relations have increasingly warmed and in light of shared U.S. and Vietnamese interests in preserving maritime security in the South China Sea. Tiếp tục đọc “CSIS – Southeast Asia from Scott Circle – May 12, 2016” →

Asian LNG Demand: Key Drivers and Outlook

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

Oxfordenergy

The LNG Industry has long regarded the Asian markets of Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, China and India as high growth importing markets, willing to sign long term contracts with price terms linked to crude oil prices.  The rebound in Asian LNG demand in 2010, following the post-financial crisis year of 2009, re-affirmed this paradigm with LNG markets further tightening following the Fukushima tragedy. The signal for new LNG supply projects could not have been clearer in 2010 and 2011.

While the LNG supply projects triggered by such high demand growth and price signals were being constructed however, Asian demand for LNG began to wane.  This appeared to be partly a consequence of mild winters but also LNG import prices and a general regional economic slowdown, perhaps led by China, also contributed.  This paper seeks to provide a ‘ground level’ understanding of the existing, emerging and potential Asian LNG markets and highlights data sources from in-country government departments, often overlooked from a European or North American perspective.

The picture presented in this paper is one of LNG having to shed its mantle of a premium fuel whose import price is linked to that of oil and ‘re-market’ itself as fuel which can contribute to a lower carbon future, by displacing coal in national energy mixes, and equally importantly reducing particulate emissions. This however calls for a radical renaissance in marketing by upstream LNG producers and strenuous efforts in cost reduction through competition in the liquefaction equipment sector.

The paper provides a framework for analysing and monitoring these markets which, if not currently deemed to offer the high levels of future LNG demand anticipated from the standpoint of the early 2010s, will nevertheless constitute a key element of the global LNG balance for the foreseeable future. As such they will significantly impact the fundamentals and pricing dynamics of the increasingly ‘connected’ global regional gas markets.

Executive Summary

CSIS – Southeast Asia from Scott Circle – April 28 2016

~ Trần Đình Hoành ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

The Overlooked Gap in the Southeast Asia Maritime Security Initiative

By Conor Cronin (@ConorCroninDC ), Research Associate, Southeast Asia Program (@SoutheastAsiaDC), CSIS

April 28, 2016

Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter’s trip to the Philippines on April 13-15 was an affirmation of U.S. support for its treaty ally amid the simmering South China Sea maritime disputes. The timing of his visit—at the end of the annual Balikatan U.S.-Philippine joint exercises and just weeks before an expected decision by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague in the Philippines’ arbitration case against China’s nine-dash- line claim—was a clear message to Beijing and Manila that Philippine maritime security is a priority for the United States. Tiếp tục đọc “CSIS – Southeast Asia from Scott Circle – April 28 2016” →

CSIS – Southeast Asia SIT-REP – April 20, 2016

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CSIS Southeast Asia SIT-REP

This issue includes an update on the situation facing minority groups in Indonesia, an overview of the strategic case for the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement, and analyses on the Philippines’ security environment and U.S. Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter’s visit to India, and much more. Links will take you to the full publications, multimedia, or to registration for upcoming programs when available. To jump to a section, select one of the following:

Tiếp tục đọc “CSIS – Southeast Asia SIT-REP – April 20, 2016” →

ASEAN should choose CUES for the South China Sea

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8 April 2016 East Asia Forum

Author: Lee YingHui, RSIS

Recent developments in the South China Sea are a serious cause for concern for Southeast Asian states, which have a huge interest in ensuring the safety and security of these waters given their importance for international shipping. Ongoing militarisation in the disputed waters increases the risks of unintended military confrontations, threatening regional stability.

A U.S. Navy destroyer. (Photo: AAP)

China’s extensive land reclamation and installation of military facilities on the disputed islands, together with the United States’ increasingly high-profile naval operations in the region, further increase the complexity and volatility of the situation in the South China Sea. Tiếp tục đọc “ASEAN should choose CUES for the South China Sea” →

CSIS Southeast Asia SIT-REP, April 9, 2016

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CSIS Southeast Asia SIT-REP

This issue includes an analysis of Myanmar’s foreign policy outlook under the National League for Democracy government, an explainer on the Philippine presidential elections, and analyses on Vietnam’s challenges in dealing with China and the ASEAN Economic Community 2025’s blueprint, and much more. Links will take you to the full publications, multimedia, or to registration for upcoming programs when available. To jump to a section, select one of the following: Tiếp tục đọc “CSIS Southeast Asia SIT-REP, April 9, 2016” →

CSIS – Southeast Asia from Scott Circle – March 31, 2016

~ Trần Đình Hoành ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

 

Foreign Minister Aung San Suu Kyi Has China, Myanmar’s Military Watching

By Phuong Nguyen (@PNguyen_DC), Associate Fellow, Chair for Southeast Asia Studies (@SoutheastAsiaDC), CSIS

March 31, 2016

Myanmar experienced a number of firsts over the past week. The Union Parliament—which now counts former political prisoners, doctors, businesspeople, and poets among its ranks—on March 24 approved a new cabinet to serve under the incoming National League for Democracy (NLD) government, the first civilian government to rule the country in over 50 years. In a speech on Armed Forces Day on March 27, Commander-in-chief General Min Aung Hlaing urged Myanmar’s military to cooperate with the incoming government to help fulfill “the country’s fundamental needs of stability, solidarity, and development.” Tiếp tục đọc “CSIS – Southeast Asia from Scott Circle – March 31, 2016” →

CSIS Southeast Asia Sit-Rep – March 24, 2016

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CSIS Southeast Asia SIT-REP

This issue includes a survey of Japan’s energized agenda in Southeast Asia, and analyses on Indonesia’s turning point in its South China Sea policy, prospects for Myanmar’s peace process under the new government, and the reemerging debate on reviving a quadrilateral strategic dialogue between Australia, India, Japan, and the United States. Links will take you to the full publications, multimedia, or to registration for upcoming programs when available. To jump to a section, select one of the following:

Tiếp tục đọc “CSIS Southeast Asia Sit-Rep – March 24, 2016” →

CSIS: Southeast Asia from Scott Circle – March 17, 2016

~ Trần Đình Hoành ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

Southeast Asia Dances to the Tune of Japan’s Abe Doctrine

By Phuong Nguyen (@PNguyen_DC), Associate Fellow, Chair for Southeast Asia Studies (@SoutheastAsiaDC), CSIS

March 17, 2016

In Southeast Asia, Japan can be said to enjoy unrivaled popularity. According to the 2015 Pew Global Attitudes survey, an average of about 80 percent of respondents surveyed across four Southeast Asian countries said they hold a favorable view of Japan. While China’s expanding military footprint in the disputed South China Sea has a headline-grabbing impact, Japan’s influence in this critical region is felt more steadfastly, but increasingly so, in recent years. Tiếp tục đọc “CSIS: Southeast Asia from Scott Circle – March 17, 2016” →

CSIS Southeast Asia SIT-REP, March 10, 2016

~ Trần Đình Hoành ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

This issue includes an overview of U.S. policy toward Myanmar as the National League for Democracy government prepares to take power, and analyses on Australia’s 2016 Defence White Paper, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s shift on the South China Sea, and the role of ASEAN in defending rules and norms in the South China Sea. Links will take you to the full publications, multimedia, or to registration for upcoming programs when available. To jump to a section, select one of the following:

Commentaries

Deep insight into developments that move the dial

“Aung San Suu Kyi Is Key to Further Unlocking of U.S. Sanctions against Myanmar,” by Murray Hiebert (@MurrayHiebert1) Tiếp tục đọc “CSIS Southeast Asia SIT-REP, March 10, 2016” →

Consumer goods giants under fire for poor palm oil record

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

Italian confectionery maker Ferrero is leading the consumer goods industry on sustainable palm oil procurement while household names Colgate-Palmolive, Johnson&Johnson, and PepsiCo are the biggest laggards, according to a new scorecard by Greenpeace International.

deforestation indonesia palm oil
Deforestation in Borneo to make way for palm oil plantations. Several palm oil growers and consumer goods companies have made no-deforestation pledges in recent years. Image: Rich Carey / Shutterstock.com
By Vaidehi Shah

Sunday 6 March 2016

Eco-business: Greenpeace International on Thursday released a new report slamming consumer goods giants such as Colgate-Palmolive, Johnson&Johnson, and PepsiCo for failing to cut deforestation out of their palm oil supply chain.
The scorecard ranked the 14 global companies which have made no-deforestation promises in recent years on their performance in three key areas: responsible sourcing of palm oil; transparency about their supply chain; and their support for wider industry reform. 

The 14 corporations were: Colgate-Palmolive, Danone, Ferrero, General Mills, Ikea, Johnson & Johnson, Kellogg, Mars, Mondelez, Nestle, Orkla, PepsiCo, P&G and Unilever. Tiếp tục đọc “Consumer goods giants under fire for poor palm oil record” →

Reforming Electricity Reforms? Empirical Evidence from Asian Economies

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Executive Summary

Anupama Sen* Rabindra Nepal** Tooraj Jamasb*** & Tooraj Jamasb

February 2016

After more than two decades of attempts at electricity sector reform, there is a strong case for assessing empirical evidence on its outcomes, particularly for developing countries. Electricity reform programmes , implemented through the ‘standard’ or ‘textbook’ model, have their foundations in standard microeconomic theory and are based on the rationale that restructuring towards greater competition can lead to higher efficiency, maximise economic welfare, and transfer surplus to consumers. In practice, this has not always been the case, even in the OECD economies which pioneered the standard model.

This paper investigates the outcomes of the standard model for developing countries, by applying instrumental variable regression techniques on an original and previously untested panel dataset covering 17 non – OECD developing Asian economies spanning 23 years. While there is some cross – country literature on the effects of electricity reforms in developed and developing economies, there has been no systematic attempt thus far to examine their technical, economic and welfare impacts whilst accounting for cross – country institutional differences, for non – OECD Asian developing economies.

This paper fills a gap in the literature in the following ways: First, to our knowledge, this paper is the first to empirically assess the impact of electricity reforms on non – OECD Asian countries as a whole. Second, it applies econometric techniques to a new panel data set on 17 non – OECD developing Asian economies, from 1990 – 2013, which allows for cross – country comparisons whilst controlling for differing institutional and political contexts. Third, it draws the link between electricity reform and sector (technical) performance, economic impacts, and welfare indicators, assuming a cumulative impact of reform. In contrast with the theoretical literature, our results show a tension between wider economic impacts and welfare impacts for consumers: namely, the variables that are associated with a positive effect on economic growth appear to be associated with a negative impact on welfare indicators. Tiếp tục đọc “Reforming Electricity Reforms? Empirical Evidence from Asian Economies” →

Chiến lược xoay trục, tái cân bằng của Mỹ đối với châu Á – Thái Bình Dương

~ Phạm Thu Hương ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

Thứ tư, 20 Tháng 1 2016 16:58

(LLCT) – Cho đến khi kết thúc Chiến tranh lạnh, Mỹ vẫn coi châu Âu là trọng điểm chiến lược. Từ khi Bush (cha) lên cầm quyền, đồng thời với tăng cường thêm lực lượng ở châu Âu, Mỹ bắt đầu chuyển trọng tâm chiến lược toàn cầu sang khu vực châu Á – Thái Bình Dương (CATBD) với mục đích duy trì địa vị siêu cường trong thế kỷ mới. Chiến lược đối với CATBD của chính quyền B.Clintơn bắt đầu rõ nét hơn. Bản tuyên bố toàn diện nhất về chính sách mới đối với khu vực đã được Winston Lord trình bày trước Ủy ban Đối ngoại Thượng viện: Đối với Mỹ, không có khu vực nào quan trọng hơn CATBD và không có khu vực nào khác có tầm quan trọng như thế đối với Mỹ trong thế giới mới.

Tiếp tục đọc “Chiến lược xoay trục, tái cân bằng của Mỹ đối với châu Á – Thái Bình Dương” →