Reason Must Prevail During Tillerson’s Talks

Posted by AsiaViews | Oct 2, 2017 | 0 |

CHINA

The China Daily

Sept 29, 2017

Symbolism matters on diplomatic occasions, and it will during the planned visit of US President Donald Trump to China later this year. Plenty of thought is no doubt being devoted to it, and plenty of endeavors will be underway to make sure his visit is successful, even fruitful.

However, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s ongoing trip to Beijing must be anything but symbolic.

Rather than being a routine show of mutual goodwill to set the stage for Trump’s visit, the guest and his hosts must avail themselves of their meetings to engage in candid communication to straighten at least one thing out－what each can expect from the other to ensure the situation on the Korean Peninsula does not deteriorate and spiral out of control.

Of course, trade is important. It may actually be the foremost topic addressed during the meetings, particularly as fear of a potential trade war looms large on both sides of the Pacific. Mutual assurances are indispensable for averting that scenario.

But as long as both parties make room for some give-and-take on trade issues, Tillerson’s talks will be of more immediate portent if they can take some of the heat out of the peninsula’s inflammable nuclear crisis.

Both Trump and Democratic People’s Republic of Korea leader Kim Jong-un appear jumpy these days. And the rest of the world seems to have grown increasingly blasé about this of late, even as the two leaders exchange vows of mutual destruction, few seem ready to believe their words should be taken seriously.

Perhaps; but that does not mean nothing will happen. The escalating exchanges of threats and insults pose an ever growing risk and they increase the chances of a costly miscalculation. That Pyongyang just took Trump’s most recent threat to eliminate it as “declaration of war” may well show its existential concerns: It is unlikely it will make good on its threat to shoot down US bombers flying in international airspace, unless they threaten its survival.

Reason dictates that despite all the saber-rattling and verbal abuse, every party is well aware that war has to be avoided as the costs would be too great to bear.

The latest UN sanctions need time to begin to bite. On Thursday, China announced it has ordered DPRK enterprises operating on its soil to close within 120 days.

But to ensure that the worst-case outcome does not materialize, while further coordinating their stances on the implementation of the UN sanctions to make sure they work, Beijing and Washington also need to discuss what else they can do to resolve the peninsula crisis peacefully.

(source: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/opinion/2017-09/29/content_32626648.htm)

About The Author

AsiaViews

Leave a reply Cancel reply

Neigborhood Watch

Subscribe To Newsletter

POINTS TO PONDER

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.

“It’s important that the government see these children as victims” says Dyah. “They deserve a chance to be children again.”

Reason Must Prevail During Tillerson’s Talks