Asia needs to explore regional solution for ethnic woes Skip to main content

Asia needs to explore regional solution for ethnic woes

This photo taken on March 10, 2017 shows the remains of a burnt car left on a street in Lauk kai, along the China-Myanmar border in the northern Shan State of Myanmar. Photo: AFP
From the Rohingya crisis through Pakistan's terrorism quagmire to India's Hindu-Muslim conflicts, Asia was caught up in a number of ethnic issues in the past year. These issues, intertwined with Muslim extremism and Islamophobic sentiments, have become more complicated, posing the toughest challenge to Asia in the new year.
With the defeat of Islamic State in the Middle East, it's highly likely that extremists will flow back to the countries of their origins. If these terrorists collude with local ethnic armed groups in Asia, a string of terrorism strongholds may take shape in the region, putting the security of regional countries under long-term threat.
Worse still, the bombardment of media reports about Islamic-related terrorism attacks has given rise to Islamophobic sentiments worldwide. Such a fear deepens estrangement between the international community and innocent Muslims, jeopardizes religious reconciliation, raises the risks of violence and makes it even more difficult to untie already-intricate ethnic knots. 
It's also worth noting that certain problems are a combined result of historical, ethnic and religious disputes and the solution should thus be left to regional countries. However, some outside countries are interfering in regional affairs and ramping up tensions. 
What Asian countries need most is to find a path that best suits their actual national situation and answers their call for development. 
As a responsible power, China insists regional issues should be peacefully settled via communications among relevant parties and is willing to contribute to this end and play its due role.
The benefits of globalization are critical to the stability of Asian countries. Development is essential to addressing ethnic issues as poverty is the root cause of turbulence and conflicts. 
The international community should allocate more resources to extricating the region from poverty, promoting regional development through poverty alleviation and achieving peace and stability through development. 
China proposed a three-phase solution to the issue of Myanmar's Rakhine state in November. Apart from calling for an onsite cease-fire and communications between Myanmar and Bangladesh, China suggested priority should be given to strategies that address the root cause of the issue: poverty. 
The current situation in Asia suggests that improving the quality and speed of development, promoting economic cooperation and gradually establishing a mechanism to address ethnic issues are urgent tasks for the region.
In 2018, China will continue its efforts in maintaining stability in the Southeast Asian neighborhood and preserving the sound momentum of regional cooperation. Beijing will actively explore a way of resolving hotspot issues with Chinese characteristics so as to promote development through cooperation and settle regional issues through development.
Courtesy of Global Times
http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1082916.shtml

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Chronology of the Press in Burma

1836 – 1846 * During this period the first English-language newspaper was launched under British-ruled Tenasserim, southern  Burma . The first ethnic Karen-language and Burmese-language newspapers also appear in this period.     March 3, 1836 —The first English-language newspaper,  The Maulmain Chronicle , appears in the city of Moulmein in British-ruled Tenasserim. The paper, first published by a British official named E.A. Blundell, continued up until the 1950s. September 1842 —Tavoy’s  Hsa-tu-gaw  (the  Morning Star ), a monthly publication in the Karen-language of  Sgaw ,  is established by the Baptist mission. It is the first ethnic language newspaper. Circulation reached about three hundred until its publication ceased in 1849. January 1843 —The Baptist mission publishes a monthly newspaper, the Christian  Dhamma  Thadinsa  (the  Religious Herald ), in Moulmein. Supposedly the first Burmese-language newspaper, it continued up until the first year of the second Angl

Thai penis whitening trend raises eyebrows

Image copyright LELUXHOSPITAL Image caption Authorities warn the procedure could be quite painful A supposed trend of penis whitening has captivated Thailand in recent days and left it asking if the country's beauty industry is taking things too far. Skin whitening is nothing new in many Asian countries, where darker skin is often associated with outdoor labour, therefore, being poorer. But even so, when a clip of a clinic's latest intriguing procedure was posted online, it quickly went viral. Thailand's health ministry has since issued a warning over the procedure. The BBC Thai service spoke to one patient who had undergone the treatment, who told them: "I wanted to feel more confident in my swimming briefs". The 30-year-old said his first session of several was two months ago, and he had since seen a definite change in the shade. 'What for?' The original Facebook post from the clinic offering the treatment, which uses lasers to break do

Is 160 enough? One Indian man's family

By Sumnima Udas , CNN October 31, 2011 -- Updated 0857 GMT (1657 HKT) Ziona, center, with his has 39 wives, 86 children and 35 grandchildren in rural Baktwang village, India. STORY HIGHLIGHTS One man in India is the patriarch of a family of 160 in rural India Ziona, who only goes by his first name, has 39 wives, 86 children and 35 grandchildren. Ziona's father, Chana, founded the Christian sect in Baktwang that promotes polygamy "I never wanted to get married but that's the path God has chosen for me" Mizoram, India (CNN) -- The world's population hits 7 billion this week, but Ziona, the patriarch of what may be the biggest family in the world, is not bothered. "I don't care about overpopulation in India ... I believe God has chosen us to be like this (have big families). Those who are born into this family don't want to leave this tradition so we just keep growing and growing," he says with a smile. Ziona, who only goes by his f