China Africa relations – 60 years after Bandung

China Africa relations – 60 years after Bandung By Chua Chin Leng (chinadaily.com.cn)Updated: 2015-12-02 08:13

President Xi Jinping and his South African counterpart Jacob Zuma attend a bilateral signing ceremony in Beijing on Dec 4, 2014. China and South Africa signed 11 agreements. PHOTO BY WU ZHIYI / CHINA DAILY
After two centuries of colonization and exploitation by European colonialists, African nations regained their independence from Western domination after World War II. The new nations gathered at Bandung, Indonesia in 1955 to inaugurate the Non Aligned Movement of newly independent and developing countries of the world. Sixty years forward, individual Asian and African countries took separate paths towards social, economic and political development. All the countries of the Non Aligned Movements are still developing nations but at different level of success.

China has returned to Africa over the last few decades to trade and invest in the continent. China brought along technology and finance to develop the infrastructure, manufacturing and mining industries in the African countries in exchange for natural resources. The Chinese development projects cost a fraction of those offered by the Western countries and were attractively packaged with soft loans and terms that were freely negotiated by the governments on a willing buyer and seller basis and on fair and equitable terms for both parties, unlike during colonial days. The African countries have enjoyed a good era of peace and economic growth with Chinese technology and soft loans.

President Xi Jinping and his entourage, including the commerce minister, trade representatives and private corporations, are visiting Africa, meeting good friends in Zimbabwe prior to attending a China-Africa Summit. President Xi's delegation is arriving with promises of closer economic cooperation and strengthening relations with the African states.
China has a lot to offer the African countries. According to Vice-Commerce Minister Qian Keming, "China will help African countries to upgrade their industrial systems and structure, safeguard food security and to build infrastructure". And "Chinese companies will exhibit their competence in railways, aviation, electricity, telecom, machinery and smart manufacturing, (and)…To finance bilateral cooperation, China will set up funds and give African countries more low-interest bank loans."

Sixty years after the Bandung Conference, China is now in a better position to help the African countries with financing, technology and know-how to bring their countries to a higher level of economic development that the West failed to do so for centuries. China's assistance and foreign aid are strictly commercial, with no interference in the domestic politics of the African countries.

Against the negative Western narratives of exploitation, China's investments, developments and assistance to the African nation states are viewed very positively and welcomed by the African governments. How can there be exploitation when both parties negotiated on an equal partner basis on terms they mutually agreed to with no coercion? China will stick to its policy of non-interference in the internal affairs of sovereign states and will strictly stick to trade and development. Many of the African states have developed very close relations with China since post-independence and will continue to favor Chinese aid and economic relations. Many trade deals and investment projects will be signed during this trip by President Xi and his trade delegation.

China's relations with the African states have reached another level of sophistication, maturity and stability and will move to a higher plane after this summit with the African leaders in Johannesburg, South Africa. China has the blueprints for economic and infrastructure development and could share its expertise with the African nations. And with technology and financing, China could raise the quality of life of the African nations to become rich and prosperous developed nations of the 21st Century.

The author is a political observer from Singapore.

Gearing up for the next General Election

The PAP is celebrating their recent GE victory in a big way at its biennial party Convention. The morale is very high and PAP is extremely confident they will continue to be the ruling party to SG100. And the signs are good that they will be the govt of the day if they continue to deliver the goods that the citizens want and continue to work for the good of the citizens.

So soon after a GE the PAP is already talking about preparing to win the next GE. This, on its own, is a big plus factor in its favour. There is nothing to replace being prepared and working for a goal and not leaving things to chance.

What about the opposition parties? Are they going to prepare and gear up for the next GE and work as hard as the PAP, to start working now?  Understandably their morale must be low after the rubbing in the last GE. But as politicians, aspiring leaders of the people, this is no reason to be dejected, to wallow in self pity. The defeat must make them stronger, push them to want to work harder. Some people are lucky to have success thrust onto their laps. Some people would have to work very hard for success and must go through a lot of trials and tribulations.

Are the opposition parties busy preparing for the GE just like the PAP?
They could be but not beating the drums.  So far only the SDP seems to be active and trying to show that they have not been defeated. At least there was some news on the activities in the opposition camp. It may be a strategy not to ruffle the grass and warn the enemy. But this strategy of not to be seen has proven to be disastrous in the last GE. The opposition parties must be seen to be working, not just during the GE. They must be seen to be involved in the affairs of the state and the people the whole year round. Keeping mum and not being seen is not the way to go.

The opposition parties cannot be seen as parties that have no views on things, have no issues to talk about. By being reticent, not to be seen, not to be heard, they are indirectly saying everything is fine, there is no issue to talk about. Don’t they have any views about the CPF, the MedishieldLife Scheme, the high cost of living, the influx of foreigners to take away the good jobs of Singaporeans, the silly schemes to train our PMETs to be security guards and taxi drivers and throw away all their experience and training to remain in the main stream of economic activities? What about the high cost of living, the regular breakdowns of public transport system, the selling of national icons, the trading of assets from left hand to right hand to generate fictitious growth and value?

There are many issues that are troubling and need to be questioned, addressed and alternative solutions be offered. There are many things that the opposition parties can do and should be doing to tell the people they have not gone to sleep, to hibernate and to wake up to run as candidates in the next GE. The battle starts now if they want to be counted.

The ball is in the courts of the opposition parties. If they are not doing anything, not seen to be doing anything, they will lose by default in the next GE, with another good rubbing.

The Loots of the World on exhibition

The Treasures of the World from the British Museum is now on display at the National Museum. A collection of 239 pieces or rare and ancient objects of art and lifestyle of civilizations from around the world will be on show till 29 May 16. Some of the pieces are 800.000 years old. Many of the artefacts are from Europe, Middle East, Africa and even South East Asia. The many attractions include mummies from Egypt.

The collection must be worth a fortune today. The British are great collectors and must have paid handsomely for them I am sure. Some may question if they are the loots of the British Empire, taken from the colonies when Great Britain ruled the world. If so, the cost of collecting these historical artefacts must be quite economical, like got it for a song. Some may wander, if these are the loots, would the British Museum return them to their rightful owners or when would they be returned.

The fact that the British Museum are exhibiting them openly means that these objects must not be loots but acquired legally or bought legally. The British Museum would not be so arrogant nor have the audacity to exhibit them if they were not acquired through proper means.  Singapore’s Asian Civilisation Museum recently returned a piece of their collection to India when they discovered that it was a loot or a stolen piece. Many countries have started to return the loots that they stole from their former colonies or loots they took by forced or by deception or by theft. There is now a new morality, to return stolen objects of art or loot to their rightful owners. The biggest piece of such object is the continent of North American that the indigenous people are demanding for its return and the matter has been raised at the United Nation.

When would all the loots be returned by the thieves of the past, by the ex colonialists?

San Bernardino – It’s all coming back home now

The American govt was in a state of denial on the killings in San Bernardino by a heavily armed man and a woman in combat uniform. Not sure if it was anything else but a terrorist attack. The assault rifles, handguns, bombs, fake bombs, explosive devices and the name, Syed Rizwan Farook  and Tashfeen Malik did not ring any bell. Could be just two disgruntled employees. Ok believe whatever you like, it is anything but terrorism. Happy?

Obama was quoted to have said this by CBS News, ‘The one thing we do know is that we have a pattern now of mass shootings in this country that has no parallel anywhere else in the world…’ So, what is it? Finally they had to admit that it was nothing else but a terrorist attack, something they brought it upon themselves.

It is all coming back now. The wars the Americans are conducting in the Middle East, the killings of Arabs and Muslims for whatever reasons the Americans in Washington and the Pentagon think fit and reasonable, are coming back to American soil now and will only get more frequent and worse. You can kill some people some of the time. But you cannot kill all the people all the time. They will get wiser and will come back after you, in your homeland, in your home town, in your streets.

The war has arrived in home ground, like it or not. The protagonists will use the cheapest way to inflict as much damage to the Americans as they could.  Incidents like what happened in San Bernardino will be a morale booster to the Arabs and Muslims who have had enough of American bombings, killings and terrorizing their countries.  The man and woman, called them terrorists if that makes the Americans feel better, will be seen as warriors, as martyrs. This terrorist act will be seen as a heroic act against the invaders in their countries.

This is new warfare, asymmetrical warfare, no war zone, no boundaries, no front line, no battle field. It can happen anywhere, right in the heart of New York or Washington or any town or city in the USA.  This will be the new normal as long as the Americans think it is convenient and normal to conduct wars in other people’s countries and to kill people with no qualms or conscience or remorse. It’s ok, they can’t get back at us! Sure they can and they would.

It is like winter, let is snow, let it snow. The Americans must know that they cannot go around starting wars and killing people and think that it is safe to do so, that they can go home and be safe in America, sleep well as if nothing happens. And the next morning go to Walmart to do some marketing and tuck in the beef steak in the pub when the sun goes down. The war is still going on in the Middle East and the Arabs are still being bombed and killed every morning, every night. The GIs could switch on and switch of like going to a movie for some excitement.

Japan’s remilitarisation – A gamble the Americans going to regret

In its obsession to contain the rise of China as the next superpower in Asia, the Americans are pulling out all stops to block and contain China. It has reached a point that it has to use its last trump card, a militarized Japan. The memory of Pearl Harbour is forgotten or swept under the carpet. A militant Japan is a safer bet that a mammoth China that is bigger than the USA in many ways. Is this a sound premise?

Historically China has never been a threat to the Americans or Europe in any way. It was the Americans and the Europeans that invaded, ransacked and looted China to the point of turning China into a semi colony. And during the Second World War China was a closed ally of the American led allies fighting Japan. Since China’s recovery as a normal nation and pursuing economic growth, it has worked closely and interdependently with the Americans for mutual benefits. The Americans helped to train and educate hundreds of thousands of Chinese engineers and scholars that would think more like the Americans in many ways, and they have returned to rebuild a modern China. They could only have good feelings of America from the education and living in America. In many ways, China is turning into a mirror image of the USA.

What was the history of Japan with the USA? Japan was forced to open up by the Americans. They learnt fast. Industrialized, militarized and challenge the West for world domination. They dealt a devastating blow to the American naval power when they attacked Pearl Harbour. They fought the Americans viciously in for supremacy in the Pacific Oceans. The Japanese were only tamed by the two Atom Bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. And they were rightly bottled up not to make mischief again by the Americans in a Pacifist Constitution and with many military bases in Japan presumably to protect Japan against a China and Korea threat. The real intent, to control Japan and to prevent a repeat of history.

Now the Americans are releasing this monster from the bottle to be used against China. The Americans believed the Japanese are the tame tiger they could control and use as they pleased. The Japanese obliged, bowed and bowed, yes boss, we will do your bidding, we will fight China.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his right wing ministers are now in charge and playing up Japanese militarism and nationalism. Japan would be the same Japan before the defeat by the Americans in WW2. Japan would rearm and be as powerful and glorious as before. The Americans are very happy with Abe’s anti China policy and his gungho style, to take on China militarily and forcefully.

In this madness, the Americans are fully behind Abe to abolish the Pacifist Constitution so that Japan can engage in wars all over again.  What is the real intent and objective of Abe? According to Naoko Kumada, a research fellow with the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Abe’s real intent and ambition are reflected in his book, Towards A New Country. In the book Abe explained the meaning of ‘The use of the right to collective self defence’…ie  for Japan to ‘become an equal of the US, rather than a subordinate’. And in the case of the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands, ‘there is no room for negotiation…only physical force is needed’. That is the real Abe, a strong believer of the use of military force.

The creeping changes to the pacifist Constitution and remilitarization of Japan is pushing Japan to a state it was before the Second World War. The role of the Emperor as the head of state has been resurrected, backed by the Army and with the Prime Minister as the Commander in chief. Japan is returning to its pre war stature and organization.

What would this hold for the Americans? Would the Japan of Abe return to his grandfather’s stance, to hold wild ambition to conquer the world, to turn against the Americans once again? Would there be a repeat of Pearl Harbour? Would the Americans be moved out of the military bases in Japan? With the rising tide of nationalism, the calling to rule the world, with the painful memory of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the bombing of Tokyo, would the Japanese forget and forgive the Americans for these attacks on Japan?

Would the Americans awoke one morning to see Japanese planes all over America just like in 1941?