According to Zbigniew Brzezinski, there are five major shifts that will shape the world to come, besides that worrying story of America’s fracturing. They are – in no particular order – the Russians coming of age, the European community settling in as a moderating influence, the Islamic violent awakening and the emergence of China as the next superpower.
For Southeast Asia, the most direct issue is how Superpower China will evolve as the dominant influence in this part of the world. We are so used to the American role in the post-WW II era that a Chinese emergence is bound to produce multiple dislocations. China will never assume here the dominant position it has achieved in Africa. Southeast Asia is stronger and used to playing in the arena of power. But China could distract from the political development of Malaysia and Indonesia
Even now, India and Indonesia are pushing back in their own ways against China’s strength with a military alliance. The two countries have agreed to closer military ties, amid concerns over China’s military expansion in the islands of the South China Sea. India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Jakarta was a clear display of friendship between the two countries.
That friendship extends beyond trade and tourism, with their military ties elevated to a “comprehensive strategic partnership”.
President Joko Widodo has hailed Modi’s timely visit.
But the headline story now is the upcoming Singapore summit between North Korea and the United States. it is played so much as a power game between two narcissistic leaders that not much has been ventured by way of any analytical assessment. That will change after June 12, after the historical summit takes place in Singapore.
The headline drama overshadows the looming trade war being pushed by Donald Trump. In the long run, this will create fundamental damages. It would change the slogan ‘Make America Great Again’ to ‘Make America Poor Again’ if we are to listen to Prof. Philip Alston, UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty, who reported as follows:
“ [ US policies ] pursued over the past year seem deliberately designed to remove basic protections from the poorest, punish those who are not in employment and make even basic health care into a privilege to be earned rather than a right of citizenship,” Alston said.
Almost 41 million people live in poverty, 18.5 million of them in extreme poverty, and children account for one in three poor people, he said. The United States has the highest youth poverty rate among industrialized countries, he added.
China is again a big player in both games, the North Korean follow-up and the trade war. All in all, it is exciting for followers of the media if not for people who want to continue with their normal lives.
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