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This Policy Brief examines the geopoliticisation of development cooperation within the Indo-Pacific region. First, we discuss the emergence of Indo-Pacific strategies and how these intersect with geopolitics and development cooperation amongst traditional develop-ment actors such as the United States and the Euro-pean Union. Second, we examine how these narratives have shaped the development cooperation approaches of China and India, both significant geopolitical actors. Third, we look at how these dynamics have played out in key regions of the Indo-Pacific, especially Southeast Asia, South Asia, and the Pacific Islands. We argue that while geopolitical competition brings opportunity to these regions, this opportunity needs to be strategically managed to deliver positive development outcomes. Geopolitics has always been a factor in development debates and development cooperation historically, and we should not expect this to change (Power, 2019; Liao & Lee, 2022). In the last decade, this competition has heightened with China’s global rise – economically, strategically, and geopolitically. As China became perceived as a potential competitor to traditional global and regional powers such as the United States, the European Union, Japan, or Australia, we saw a rise in strategies to manage, balance, or counter this rise. Consequently, emerging Indo-Pacific frameworks and strategies are shaping and dominating the discourse on global geopolitics, including development cooperation. As a result of sharp geopolitical competition, develop-ment cooperation has become a contested space. China’s powerful rise and the subsequent proliferation of Indo-Pacific strategies to counter this rise are key drivers of this dynamic. While this competition can breed division, between and within countries and regions, it can also give rise to increased multipolarity, partner country agency, and positive competition towards development outcomes. Competition and the numerous new strategies, resources, and initiatives that come with it, can offer opportunity for partner countries to secure resources and commitment toward their own development agenda. Rather than being “forced” to choose sides, countries and regions can and are using geostrategic competition to their advantage. Competition provides choice, a seat at the table, and opportunities for decision-making. However, taking ownership and direction over these strategies and resources can challenge partner countries and regions. Hedging is one option but carries risks, especially when politics get in the way, and development gains may be subsequently compromised. While there is a plethora of Indo-Pacific strategies that articulate visions for the region and ways powers should strengthen economic, diplomatic, security, and development ties with the Indo-Pacific countries, Indo-Pacific countries themselves should also have their own strategies, which outline their vision and objectives for engagement with great powers and other actors who seek and vie for their partnership.

By Andrew Firmin
LONDON, May 22 2023 (IPS)

Thailand’s voters have spoken. In the 14 May general election, they overwhelmingly backed change. Two major opposition parties won 293 seats in the 500-member House of Representatives.

The party that unexpectedly came first, Move Forward, quickly announced it had formed a coalition with the runner-up, Pheu Thai, and six others, accounting for 313 seats. So if democracy is respected, when parliament next meets, the Move Forward-headed coalition should become the government and its leader, Pita Limjaroenrat, prime minister.

But there’s a problem: Thailand’s powerful military. Over the past century, Thailand has had 13 military coups, most recently in 2014. At the last election in 2019, widely considered neither free nor fair, junta head Prayut Chan-o-cha donned a civilian suit and held onto power.

But this time, voters made it abundantly clear they don’t want the military in power. Now Thailand stands at a fork in the road: will a new, democratically elected government be allowed to take power? Or, as before, will the military intervene to stop it happening?

A biased system

There’s a powerful tool at the military’s disposal. Under the new constitution it introduced in 2017, the prime minister needs to win the approval of a majority vote of the combined House of Representatives and Senate. The Senate has 250 members – all appointed by the military.

This means 376 votes are needed across the two houses, leaving the new coalition short. The military minority might still be able to retain its grip, using Senate votes to disregard the reality of its lack of support.

The appetite for renewal Move Forward spoke to has been expressed on the streets for years – despite the government unleashing violence and criminalising protesters. Young people have been at the forefront of protests, demanding democracy, military reform and – challenging a long-held social taboo – stronger limits on the monarchy’s power.

Royal reform has historically been kept off the political agenda. In part this was because the previous king, Bhumibol Adulyadej, reigned for over 70 years and was broadly respected. But the same doesn’t go for his successor, Maha Vajiralongkorn, a billionaire playboy who spends much of his time in Germany. Vajiralongkorn expects a bigger say in government, and the military has been happy to comply. He insisted that clauses to protect royal power be included in the 2017 constitution and in 2019 took control of two army regiments. One of his first acts was to assume direct control of the crown property bureau, with a reported value of US$40 billion.

But Vajiralongkorn is buttressed from criticism by Thailand’s notorious lèse majesté law, which makes it illegal to defame, insult or threaten the monarch. The government has used this law extensively against protesters. At least 242 people have been charged with lèse majesté offences since 2020. Altogether over 1,800 people are estimated to have been detained under Thailand’s suite of repressive laws, with hundreds of child protesters criminalised.

Spotlight on political parties

Move Forward directly reflects the concerns of the youthful protest movement. Its proposals include reform of the lèse majesté law and closer scrutiny of royal spending. It wants to ‘demilitarise’ Thailand, including by scrapping military conscription, cutting military budgets and making the army more accountable and transparent.

These are ideas that break new ground in Thai politics, and many of the electoral roll’s three million new voters embraced them. Move Forward compensated for its lack of resources through intensive social media use and by encouraging its young supporters to engage with their older family members. Through such means, Move Forward went beyond the youth vote: it won almost every seat in Bangkok, traditionally held by pro-military and pro-royal parties, and also performed well in areas that usually back Pheu Thai.

Runner-up Pheu Thai is a more established force, dominated by the economically powerful Shinawatra family, which has long been at odds with the military. Both parties have relatively youthful figureheads – Limjaroenrat is a 42-year-old and Paetongtarn Shinawatra is 36 – offering a sharp contrast with the old military order, represented by 69-year-old Prayut. But beyond that, it isn’t the most natural of alliances, with the two brought together more by what they oppose than anything else.

Having expected to win the election, Pheu Thai may face the temptation of cutting some other deal that excludes Move Forward – although an alliance with pro-military parties would anger many supporters. Even if the two stick together, they might have to come to an arrangement with some pro-military parties, notably Bhumjaithi, which came third. But Move Forward ruled out any deals with parties involved in the current government, while Bhumjaithi has made clear its opposition to any lèse majesté law changes. The cost of compromise would likely involve dropping this, disappointing voters who invested their hopes in change and confirming continuing military and monarchical influence.

Time for democracy

Beyond the Senate, there are other challenges. The military establishment dominates supposedly independent institutions such as the electoral commission and constitutional court.

Both Move Forward and Pheu Thai may face attempts to close them down. There’s a history of this. Pheu Thai is the third version of a Shinawatra family-led party, while Move Forward is the successor to Future Forward, which picked up support from many young voters to finish third in the flawed 2019 election only to be dissolved. Already a complaint has been filed against Limjaroenrat.

But the military should accept that the political landscape has completely changed. It must stop trying to hold back the tide, whether by parliamentary manoeuvrings, abuses of the law or an outright coup. It can’t keep denying the democratic will of a clear majority, because this risks turning Thailand into another Myanmar, where the military can only retain power through the ultimately self-defeating exercise of ever-increasing brutality.

Instead, Thailand has the opportunity to offer a shining regional example by going the other way. It’s time for the military to understand this and act accordingly.

Andrew Firmin is CIVICUS Editor-in-Chief, co-director and writer for CIVICUS Lens and co-author of the State of Civil Society Report.

 

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Les voyageurs ne pouvaient pas acheter de billets de train aux automates ou encore en ligne en début de journée.

Um den einstigen Fitness-Influencer Julian Zietlow wird es nicht ruhig. Nachdem der Deutsche grosse Neuigkeiten angekündigt hatte, wurde es plötzlich still, Zietlows Profil ist in den sozialen Medien nicht mehr auffindbar.

Sterben die Insekten, bricht unsere Nahrungsmittelkette zusammen. Was können wir dagegen tun.

Die Schlacht um die Stadt gilt als längste und blutigste seit dem Beginn des russischen Angriffskriegs in der Ukraine im Februar 2022. Nach Monaten haben die Russen nun die Stadt erobert. Während der Kreml jubelt, sind Militär-Experten weniger glücklich.

Vor dem Zürcher Obergericht hat der beschuldigte 21-Jährige am Montag jegliche Aussage zu den ihm vorgeworfenen Taten von Ende Februar 2020 verweigert. Er soll damals auf dem Zürcher Strichplatz eine Polizistin angefahren und weitere Personen gefährdet haben.

This money could otherwise be spent on healthcare, education, gender equality and social protection, as well as addressing the impacts of climate change, says Oxfam. Credit: Jeffrey Moyo/IPS

By Baher Kamal
ROME, May 22 2023 (IPS)

Two shocking findings have just been revealed: the G7 countries owe low- and middle-income countries a huge 13.3 trillion USD in unpaid aid and funding for climate action, at a time when one billion people now face cholera risk, precisely because of the staggering reduction and even non-payment of committed assistance.

Such an inhuman reality also reveals that the G7 (Group of the seven wealthiest countries), who represent just 10% of the world’s population, continue to demand the Global South to pay 232 million USD –a day– in debt repayments through 2028, on 17 May 2023 revealed a new analysis from Oxfam ahead of the G7.

The Group of Seven (G7) countries owe low- and middle-income countries a huge 13.3 trillion in unpaid aid and funding for climate action, according to an Oxfam new analysis launched ahead of the G7 (United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, France, Italy, and Canada) Summit in Hiroshima, Japan (May 19- 21, 2023)

This is the amount of interest and debt repayment that the mid and low-income nations –including the 46 Least Developed Countries (LDC5)– have to continue transferring -every single day– for the total 10 trillion USD they have been forced to borrow from rich states, private banks and financial corporations.

 

The findings

The Group of Seven (G7) countries owe low- and middle-income countries a huge 13.3 trillion in unpaid aid and funding for climate action, according to an Oxfam new analysis launched ahead of the G7 (United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, France, Italy, and Canada) Summit in Hiroshima, Japan (May 19- 21, 2023).

“This money could otherwise be spent on healthcare, education, gender equality and social protection, as well as addressing the impacts of climate change,” adds this global movement of people fighting inequality, working in 70 countries, with thousands of partners and allies.

 

Meanwhile, cholera threatens one billion humans

Such a huge G7 country’s debt to the Global South in their unmet aid pledges would be vitally needed to save the lives of up to one billion people in 43 countries now facing cholera risk amid a ‘bleak’ outlook, as reported by World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN Children Fund (UNICEF) on 19 May 2023.

In their new alert, the two specialised organisations said that more countries now face outbreaks, increasing numbers of cases are being reported and the outcome for patients is worse than 10 years ago.

After years of steady decline, cholera is making a “devastating comeback and targeting the world’s most vulnerable communities.”

 

Killing the poor in plain sight

“The pandemic is killing the poor right in front of us,” said Jérôme Pfaffmann Zambruni, Head of UNICEF’s Public Health Emergency unit.

Echoing the bleak outlook, WHO data indicates that by May 2022, 15 countries had reported cases, but by mid-May this year 2023 “we already have 24 countries reporting and we anticipate more with the seasonal shift in cholera cases,” said Henry Gray, WHO’s Incident Manager for the global cholera response.

 

Cholera cases spiking

“Despite advances in the control of the disease made in the previous decades we risk going backwards.”

The UN health agency estimates that one billion people in 43 countries are at risk of cholera with children under five particularly vulnerable.

“Cholera’s extraordinarily high mortality ratio is also alarming.”

Southeastern Africa is particularly badly affected, with infections spreading in Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe, according to the United Nations.

 

Deadly combination

A deadly combination of climate change, underinvestment in water, sanitation and hygiene services – and in some cases armed conflict – has led to the spread of the disease, said the two UN agencies.

Despite these and so many other threats facing the most vulnerable countries, the wealthy G7 states continue to drastically cut their committed aid, while causing the largest impacts of their highly lucrative addiction to fossil fuels, one of the main causes of the current climate emergency.

 

Wealth “built on colonialism and slavery”

“Wealthy G7 countries like to cast themselves as saviours but what they are is operating a deadly double standard —they play by one set of rules while their former colonies are forced to play by another,” said Oxfam International interim Executive Director Amitabh Behar.

“It’s the rich world that owes the Global South. The aid they promised decades ago but never gave. The huge costs of climate damage caused by their reckless burning of fossil fuels. The immense wealth built on colonialism and slavery.”

In fact, already in 2020, the G7 countries accounted for more than 50% of global net wealth, estimated at over 200 trillion USD.

“Each and every day, the Global South pays hundreds of millions of dollars to the G7 and their rich bankers. This has to stop. It’s time to call the G7’s hypocrisy for what it is: an attempt to dodge responsibility and maintain the neo-colonial status quo,” said Behar.

“This money could have been transformational,” said Behar. “It could have paid for children to go to school, hospitals and life-saving medicines, improving access to water, better roads, agriculture and food security, and so much more. The G7 must pay its due.”

 

Billions of poor… and hungry

The G7 leaders are meeting at a moment where billions of workers face real-term pay cuts and impossible rises in the prices of basics like food. Global hunger has risen for a fifth consecutive year, while extreme wealth and extreme poverty have increased simultaneously for the first time in 25 years, reports OXFAM.

Despite a commitment last month from the G7 to phase out fossil fuels faster, Germany is now pushing for G7 leaders to endorse public investment in gas, the human solidarity movement further explains.

 

G7 owes the poor $9 trillion for their devastation

“It has been estimated that the G7 owes low- and middle-income countries $8.7 trillion for the devastating losses and damages their excessive carbon emissions have caused, especially in the Global South.”

G7 governments are also collectively failing to meet a long-standing promise by rich countries to provide $100 billion per year from 2020 to 2025 to help poorer countries cope with climate change, it adds.

Meanwhile, “In 1970, rich countries agreed to provide 0.7 percent of their gross national income in aid. Since then, G7 countries have left unpaid a total of $4.49 trillion to the world’s poorest countries —more than half of what was promised.”

Will this 10% of the world’s population ever meet its pledges to the 90% of all humans on Earth? What do you think?

 

Die Schweiz ist im Kampf gegen den Verlust der Artenvielfalt im letzten Jahrzehnt kaum vorangekommen. Das zeigen zwei Studien des Bundesamtes für Umwelt (Bafu). Rund ein Drittel aller Arten sind vom Aussterben bedroht, stark gefährdet, oder gelten als verletzlich.

Vendredi, une manifestation monstre envahissait à nouveau les rues de Belgrade. Pour les médias à la botte du régime d'Aleksandar Vučić, les rues de la capitale étaient quasiment vides ce soir-là. Décryptage d'un système de propagande.

- Articles / Courrier des Balkans, Une - Diaporama, Vucic, Serbie, Médias, Une - Diaporama - En premier

Vendredi, une manifestation monstre envahissait à nouveau les rues de Belgrade. Pour les médias à la botte du régime d'Aleksandar Vučić, les rues de la capitale étaient quasiment vides ce soir-là. Décryptage d'un système de propagande.

- Articles / Courrier des Balkans, Une - Diaporama, Vucic, Serbie, Médias, Une - Diaporama - En premier

Les pays du G7 veulent pouvoir tracer les pierres précieuses, afin de bloquer les exportations russes.

Adel Mansour takes his WFP food basket home on a cart in Abyan, Yemen. Credit: WFP/Ahmed Altaf

By Max Lawson
LONDON, May 22 2023 (IPS)

“G7 countries have failed the Global South here in Hiroshima. They failed to cancel debts, and they failed to find what is really required to end the huge increase in hunger worldwide. They can find untold billions to fight the war but can’t even provide half of what is needed by the UN for the most critical humanitarian crises.”

Hunger and debt

“If the G7 really want closer ties to the developing countries and greater backing for the war in Ukraine, then asking Global South leaders to fly across the world for a couple of hours is not going to cut it. They need to cancel debts and do what it takes to end hunger.

“Countries of the Global South are being crippled by a food and debt crisis of huge proportions. Hunger has increased faster than it has in decades, and all over the world. In East Africa two people are dying every minute from hunger. Countries are paying over $200 million a day to the G7 and their bankers, money they could spend feeding their people instead.

“The money they say they will provide for the world’s rapidly growing humanitarian crises is not even half of what the UN is asking for, and it is not clear what, if anything, is new or additional —and the G7 have a terrible track record on double counting and inflating figures each year.

“These food and debt crises are direct knock-on effects of the Ukraine war. If the G7 want support from the Global South, they need to be seen to take action on these issues —they must cancel debts and force private banks to participate in debt cancellation, and they must massively increase funding to end hunger and famine across the world.”

Adak Nyuol Bol stands outside her farm which has been submerged by floodwaters. South Sudan is on the frontlines of the climate crisis and currently experiencing a fourth consecutive year of flooding. Credit: World Food Programme (WFP)

Climate Change

“The G7 owes the Global South $8.7 trillion for the devastating losses and damages their excessive carbon emissions have caused. In the G7 Hiroshima communique they said they recognized that there is a new Loss and Damage fund, but they failed to commit a single cent.

“It is good they continue to recognize the need to meet 1.5 degrees, and stay committed to this despite the energy crisis driven by the war in Ukraine, but they try to blame everyone else —they are far off track themselves to contribute their fair share of what is needed to meet this target and they should have been on track years ago.

“They confirm their commitment to end public funding for fossil energy, they maintain their loophole on new fossil gas, using the war as an excuse. This means they have continued to wriggle out of their commitment to not publicly fund new fossil fuels, making a mockery of their fine statements. The G7 must stop using fossil fuels immediately —the planet is on fire.”

Health

“The G7 had hundreds of fine words on preparing for the next pandemic, but yet failed to make the critical commitment —that never again would the G7 let Big Pharma profiteering and intellectual property rights lead to millions dying unnecessarily, unable to access vaccines. Given a 27 percent chance of a new pandemic within in a decade, this omission is chilling.”

More on debt, food and hunger

“Over half of all debt payments from the Global South are going to the G7 or to private banks based in G7 countries, notably New York and London. Over $230 million dollars a day is flowing into the G7.

Countries are bankrupt, spending far more on debt than on healthcare or food for their people. Debt payments have increased sharply as countries in the Global South borrow in dollars, so rising interest rates are supersizing the payments they must make.

“The G7 saying they support clauses to temporarily suspend debt payments for those countries hit by climate disasters is a positive step and a tribute to Barbados and Prime Minister Mia Mottley for fighting for this. They need to go further and cancel debts for all the nations that need it, a growing number daily.

Money is flooding from the Global South into the G7 economies —that is the wrong direction.”

Max Lawson is Oxfam International’s Head of Inequality Policy.

Footnote: The UNOCHA’s current total requirement for humanitarian crises is nearly $56 billion. The G7 communique says they will commit to providing over $21 billion to address the worsening humanitarian crises this year (paragraph 16).

IPS UN Bureau

 

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Eklat in der Aargauer SVP-Spitze: Gleich mehrere Mitglieder engagieren sich lieber für einen FDP-Konkurrenten. Nun muss Glarner kurz vor den Wahlen im Herbst wichtige Positionen neu besetzen.

Les parlementaires déposent toujours plus d’interventions. Des garde-fous supplémentaires sont exigés. D’aucuns craignent une érosion de la démocratie.

Ecobank Bénin a doté samedi 20 mai 2023, plusieurs hôpitaux de la commune de Grand-Popo de matériels de santé. Outre l'appui aux formations sanitaires de cette commune du département du Mono, des ballons et des maillots ont été également offerts aux jeunes. De quoi permettre aux différentes couches de la communauté de célébrer dans la ferveur, la 102e édition de "Nonvitcha", fête identitaire des communautés Xwla et Pédah.

Des équipements sanitaires au profit de plusieurs hôpitaux de la commune de Grand-Popo. Les centres de santé des arrondissements de Adjaha, Avlo, Djanglanmey et de Sazoué ont été équipés chacun, d'une table d'accouchement moderne ce samedi 20 mai 2023. Ceci, grâce à Ecobank Bénin, soucieuse du mieux être des populations. En plus des tables d'accouchement, le centre communal de santé a été doté d'un concentrateur d'oxygène de 10 litres. La banque dans son geste de solidarité n'a pas oublié la jeunesse de Grand-Popo. 04 jeux de maillots de 18 pièces chacun, 10 ballons et 100 chasubles leur ont été offerts dans le cadre des festivités de Nonvitcha qui riment avec activités culturelles et sportives.

Joie et satisfaction des bénéficiaires
Benjamin Koulétio, Chef de l'arrondissement (CA) de Grand-Popo, au nom des CA et du maire empêché, a exprimé ses remerciements à Ecobank. Tout en promettant un bel usage des équipements reçus, l'élu local a souhaité que Ecobank dans l'avenir, pense aux autres arrondissements.
Comme lui, Flora Hègbè, sage-femme au centre de santé de Avlo, représentant le personnel de santé, et le Premier Vice-président de l'association Nonvitcha, Germain Hounkponou ont témoigné leur gratitude au donateur. Monsieur HOUNKPONOU a exposé les difficultés auxquelles les femmes sont confrontées lorsqu'elles vont accoucher. A l'en croire, la femme enceinte doit parfois parcourir de longues distances ou braver parfois un environnement difficile pour se rendre au centre de santé. Fier du don à eux offert, il a souhaité que Ecobank renforce ses actions au profit des populations.

Ecobank toujours aux côtés de l'association Nonvitcha
« Soyez les bienvenus. Ici, c'est chez vous », c'est par ces termes que le Président de l'association Nonvitcha a accueilli la délégation d'Ecobank Bénin conduite par son Directeur Général Lazare Noulekou. Ecobank selon Norbert Kassa, n'est pas à sa première action à Grand-Popo. Il a rappelé à l'occasion, une action de la banque au profit des populations du village de Gninhountinmey lors des festivités marquant le centenaire de Nonvitcha. Pour le Président, il n'est plus normal que les femmes accouchent sur des "lits de fortune". L'institution financière en dotant les centres de santé de tables d'accouchement, améliore sensiblement les conditions de prise en charge de la mère et de l'enfant.
A en croire Norbert Kassa, le don offert s'inscrit dans le cadre du Plan d'actions de Nonvitcha adopté par le conseil fédéral pour la période 2016-2020. Un Plan d'actions par lequel les populations ont exprimé leur ambition de toujours célébrer la fête identitaire avec « un programme social minimal de Ecobank ». A Ecobank, ce n'est pas que la santé, a-t-il poursuivi saluant le geste à l'endroit de la jeunesse.

Pour le Directeur Général de Ecobank, le don offert aux populations de Grand-Popo est « un acte symbolique qui a coûté plus de 4,5 millions de francs CFA ». Il s'inscrit selon lui, dans le cadre de la responsabilité sociétale de l'entreprise, réalisée grâce à la Fondation. « Ces actes sont des actes que nous posons un peu partout sur l'ensemble du territoire national de manière à accompagner les populations déshéritées » a souligné Lazare Noulekou rassurant de la collaboration avec Nonvitcha pour les prochaines éditions. Souhaitant par anticipation les vœux d'une bonne fête de Nonvitcha aux populations Xwla et Pédah, il a rassuré de la présence de la banque qu'il dirige pour la suite des manifestations à travers les actions de communication ; de quoi partager la vision et les objectifs du groupe aux populations de Grand-Popo et des environs.
"Ensemble, agissons pour le resserrement des liens de fraternité pour la promotion culturelle, et le développement communautaire", c'est le thème retenu pour la 102e édition de Nonvitcha. Les cérémonies officielles auront lieu samedi 27 mai prochain.

Quelques images de la cérémonie de remise de don

F. A. A.

Die EU-Kommission will den Vergleich und das Buchen von Reisen über verschiedene Verkehrsträger hinweg erleichtern. Ihr Vorschlag sieht jedoch eine faktische Ausnahme des Flugverkehrs von einer Plattform zum Datenaustausch vor, was bei Verbraucherschützern auf Kritik stößt.

Bulgarien hat seine Pläne für den Bau eines zweiten Kernkraftwerks am Donauufer mit russischen Kernreaktoren, die es vor sechs Jahren gekauft hat, nicht aufgegeben, da eine russische Beteiligung nun unmöglich ist.

Am 18. Juni wird in Zürich über einen städtischen Wohnraumfonds entschieden. Ziel ist es, bis 2025 gemeinnützigen und preisgünstigen Wohnraum zu schaffen. Bauträger sollen dafür finanzielle Unterstützung erhalten, um danach Wohnungen günstiger vermieten zu können.

Die rumänischen Behörden haben der Delegation des EU-Parlaments, die letzte Woche wegen der illegalen Abholzung mehrere rumänische Bezirke besuchte, widersprüchliche Daten übermittelt, sagten Mitglieder der Delegation.