ACT OF FOLLY TO ENCOURAGE TAIWAN SECESSIONISTS

Posted by AsiaViews | Mar 25, 2018 | 0 |

CHINA

China Daily-Mar 19

Now that US President Donald Trump has signed into law a bill that encourages the United States to send officials “of all levels” to Taiwan to meet their “counterparts” on the island, and vice versa, the precious predictability consecutive past US administrations cautiously sought to preserve in China-US relations may soon be a thing of the past.

The current US president has a penchant for trying to profit from unpredictability. But it is foreseeable that the uncertainties caused by the so-called Taiwan Travel Act will harm his country’s relations with China and do a disservice to the efforts the two countries have made over the decades to build friendly relations on the bedrock of the three communiques that normalized ties.

While most agree Trump’s latest move is a provocation to Beijing, many in the US and elsewhere seem to believe the law’s “nonbinding” nature will not instigate an immediate change in bilateral ties and view it as just another tool the Trump administration is hoping to use to pressure Beijing for more concessions in trade talks.

However, China’s Foreign Ministry is taking the matter a lot more seriously and has made strong representations to the US, as it severely violates the one-China policy, the political foundation of the China-US relationship.

If the Trump administration views the island as a winning piece in its competitive game with what it regards as a “strategic rival”, it is in for a rude awakening. As Beijing has said on many occasions and expressed in terms that could not be any clearer, Taiwan is a matter of reunification left over from history and is thus an internal affair that brooks no interference from outside.

For all its dismay at the folly of the move, Beijing may continue to try to avoid confronting Washington up front. But that does not mean it will meekly swallow the bitter pill of the US breaking its agreements in this way. Especially, since in doing so, it is sending “very wrong signals” to the secessionists in Taiwan.

The country’s Anti-Secession Law obligates the government to resort to “non-peaceful means” if any major incidents entailing Taiwan’s secession from China should occur. And since those pursuing the island’s “independence” have interpreted the US’ move as support for their determination to challenge the mainland. Trump and his advisors should be aware that they intend to lead them a merry dance in their misguided attempts to achieve their impossible aim.

The prospect of a military response from Beijing to reunify the island with the motherland should its redline be crossed, which has been talked about lately, should not be casually dismissed.

Instead of seeking to continually prick Beijing, the US should blunt its sharp points and honor its commitments so that the complications of history can be peacefully unraveled.

(first published in China Daily-http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/201803/19/WS5aaef2b9a3106e7dcc142557.html)

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EXTRICATING NDONESIAN CHILDREN FROM ISIS INFLUENCE ABROAD

Indonesia urgently needs to revisit the possibility of repatriating the neediest of its young citizens stranded abroad, whose families had earlier joined ISIS. Most of these children are in camps in northern Syria but there are also small numbers in the Philippines, Afghanistan and Iraq. “Extricating Indonesian Children from ISIS Influence Abroad”, the latest report from the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC) argues that the government could begin by bringing back small groups of unaccompanied children under ten years of age, who pose minimal security risk and are most vulnerable to deteriorating conditions in the camps.“The problem is that health and security conditions are worsening by the day in the Syrian camps, and the children are growing older,” says Dyah Kartika, IPAC analyst. “They need access to schools, a nurturing environment, and medical attention. If the government waits too long, the children will be further exposed to ISIS ideology.” The new report examines a 2019 list of Indonesians in camps and prisons run by the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The Indonesian government has been trying to verify their citizenship, but with pseudonyms, misspellings and bad transliterations, it is a daunting task. At the time the data was collected, between March and June 2019, there were 555 Indonesians in SDF camps and prisons, including 367 children. Among the children, approximately 277 were under the age of ten and 34 were unaccompanied. In June 2021, there are fewer than ten children who are both unaccompanied and under the age of ten that could be prioritized for return. Bringing back children of ISIS families is no easy task. The report analyses the main challenges faced by the Indonesian government. These include definitional issues, bureaucratic competition, the difficulty of verifying nationality, evaluating the toll of exposure to conflict, assessing security risk, and finding relatives or others willing to provide care once the children are returned. In addition, COVID has meant stringent restrictions on travel, placing further obstacles in the way of repatriation. There are several models for rehabilitation of children exposed to violent extremism in Indonesia that could be modified to accommodate the needs of children repatriated from abroad. The report examines these models and argues that the government does not need to have every detail of rehabilitation programs in place before it starts extricating children from ISIS influence. It can start by bringing back the most vulnerable children and then modify programs as needed.

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ACT OF FOLLY TO ENCOURAGE TAIWAN SECESSIONISTS