The World Views

Southeast Asian nations Cambodia and Laos decided to decline official visits proposed by DPRK diplomatic Chief in July—a move that indicates North Korea’s regional allies tried to distance themselves from the regime due to its provocative actions including missile and nuclear tests.  North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho initially intended to make an official visit to Cambodia and Laos during his trip to attend the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) held in Laos in July, but his proposal was rejected by both countries, which have close ties with the DPRK.  The Forbes magazine quoted a document, which was written by an unidentified former North Korean official, as saying that Ri's "attempted ... official" visits to Laos and Cambodia in July 2016 were “rejected.  Cambodia and Laos have been known as traditional allies of North Korea, but the regime’s recent provocative actions have pushed these countries to forge closer cooperation with South Korea. In June, South Korea

Egypt abruptly requested the United Nation Security Council for the delay of vote on resolution regarding Israeli settlement on Thursday apparently after President-elect Donald Trump had urged Obama administration to block the resolution.  UNSC originally was due to vote on Egyptian-drafted resolution which demands Israel to immediately and completely halt its illegal resettlement program in Palestinian territory and east Jerusalem. It was not clear how long the postponement would last, but it is reported by Reuters that Donald Trump held phone talk with Egypt’s strongman Abdel Fattah el-Sisi before delaying the UNSC vote.   “U nfair to all Israelis” Recently, Israeli government also called upon the US administration to vote against the resolution. In response, President-elect Donald Trump, who also promised to recognize Israel's illegal annexation of east Jerusalem, Obama administration to veto the resolution, adding that "it puts Israel in a very poor negotiating

The longest ruling leader of Iraq Saddam Hussein was captured today in 2003 after spending more than 9 months hiding himself from the targeting of the US. Saddam came to power and served as the Iraqi president from 1979 to 2003. In Mach 2003, after accusing Iraqi government of secretly producing weapon of mass destruction and committing crimes against humanity, the US administration, under the presidency of George W. Bush, decided to invade Iraq. In 2005, Saddam was found gu ilty of crimes against humanity and then was sentenced to death by hanging. However, the weapon of mass destruction was never found in Iraq as accusation of the US. The American invasion of Iraq has sparked controversy over the existence of Islamic State of Iraq and Levant or Daesh. There have been anti western rhetorics saying that the US-led military intervention in Iraq helped create Daesh. --- -Shia-Sunni split and the rise of ISIL There are two groups in Iraq such as Sunni minority and Shia majo

" During the war, you have to reduce the ship to the shore. You don't run away because there is a war unless Syrian people want you to leave. If I am the reason of the war, I will leave," Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad wants to be remembered as the man who saved Syria if his war-torn nation could strive to put an end to the bloodiest civil war. Iranian intelligence official was quoted as saying by Russian stated owned media Sputnik that President Assad has refused safe heaven provided by Tehran, where he could safely hide and command his army at home. But he stubbornly decided to stay in Damascus. In late February, US and Russia brokered a cessation of hostilities aimed to hinder fighting in Syria, paving the way for peace talks, but Assad's fate has still remained controversial since the West demands Assad to step down while Putin reiterates that Assad's future and Syrian internal affairs must be decided by Syrians

India is moving East to woo China's rivals in South China Disputes, and it is the time that India should arm them to counter the rise of China.         [Prime Minister Narendra Modi calls on Nguyen Phu Trong, General Secretary of Vietnamese Communist Party on Saturday on his two-day tour to Vietnam.] Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called Vietnam "a strong pillar of India's Act East Policy" during his meeting with Vietnamese Communist Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong on Saturday before heading to China to participate in G20 summit. He added,"our bilateral ties are based on strong mutual trust, and understanding, and convergence of views on various  regional  and international issues." Act East Policy, transformed from "Look East", was launched in 2014 under the leadership of PM Modi. The policy aims at developing comprehensive cooperation with Asia Pacific nations in various fields including economic, politics an d

During a Foreign Policy address in Ohio on Monday, Republican Presidential nominee Donald Trump pledged to his supporters that he would end the so called “Nation Building” and “Regime Change” strategies, vowing to establish more partnership with other foreign allies and moderate Islamic countries in an effort to fight against extremist ideologies. “[When] I become a President, the era of nation building will be brought to a very swift and decisive end, and new approach, whi ch will be shared by both parties in United States, by our allies oversea and by our friends in the Middle-East, must be to halt [radical Islam],” said Donald Trump. "Our current strategy of nation building and regime change is a proven, absolute failure" Trump seems to be right at this time pointing out the failure of American foreign policy which focuses too much on nation building and regime change. Generally, the terrible mess in Middle East emerged when some western countries tried to in

( Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev walks with his Cambodian counterpart Hun Sen during his official visit to Cambodia last November  )  Russian President Vladimir Putin inviting ten ASEAN leaders to Russia to attend the ASEAN-Russia summit in Sochi in May is seen as a historic and as a reaffirming of a new commitment of Russian government toward strengthening the relations with this regional bloc. The Russia-ASEAN Summit, which will be held to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the official dialogue partnership between ASEAN and Russia, is very important in itself since it  will be serving as a very special forum to discuss some very important  topics such as energy, defense cooperation, food security and disaster prevention and relief. The summit proposed by Russian government essentially illustrates the new effort and commitment of Russian government to get closely engaged with the countries in the Asia Pacific, especially the ASEAN bloc compr

(Phnom Penh,Cambodia. Photo: Prime Minister Hun Sen’s Facebook) Cambodians have struggled to rebuild and transform the country from the killing field to the land of hope after having gone through 2 decade long civil war. This country could fully realize peace in 1998, almost 5 years after the UN-backed and first democratic election was held, by integrating Khmer Rouge solders into the society. Since then, the kingdom has strived to apply for a member of various international and regional organizations, paving the way for the rapid growth by receiving the international community's assistance. Almost 2 decades now Cambodia has so far been able to sustain its growth basing upon agricultural sector, light industry and green industry, known as tourism, and Cambodians enjoy the so called negative peace, which is the absence of war and stability. Actually, peace and stability become the centerpiece for the country's growth and contribute the increase in number of foreign in