Is Fukuda’s new doctrine sustainable?

Today’s Japan Times editorial is very interesting:

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Mr. Fukuda’s vision

In August 1977 then Prime Minister Takeo Fukuda in Manila gave a speech on Japan’s Asia diplomacy. Under what was later called the Fukuda doctrine, Japan promised to refrain from becoming a military power, to pursue “heart-to-heart” relationships of mutual trust in various fields, to seek solidarity with ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) on the basis of equal partnership, and to pursue mutual understanding with the Indochinese countries.

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Pictures.

Me talking to Barny on Yahoo! Messenger a couple of weeks ago:

me: Hey, nice IDC pics on your blog

Barny: Yeah

me: Pero bakit wala ako solo-pic doon? (But how come I don’t have solo pictures there?)

Barny: Eh bakit ka naman magkaka-picture doon eh blog ko yun, diba? (And why would you have a picture there? That’s my blog, right?)

Barny: LOL

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Me and Suzy in an internet cafe in Intramuros the other day:

Suzy: You need to change your profile pic!  Let me find you a nice pic

*Suzy grabs my mouse, scans through my Facebook photos, and picks a pic of me in debate mode.

me: No, not that! My face is blurred in that picture!

Suzy: That’s the idea! 

Myanmar relents.

The decision of the ruling junta to finally allow aid workers of "all nationalities" to distribute relief within Burma is a welcome development.

And this development, if seen through foreign news coverage, stems from the diplomatic efforts of United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon. It gives us another reason to consider the UN relevant, and to affirm our beliefs that the new UN chief is a highly able steward who can soften hard regimes through diplomatic offensives.

We can say that the Burmese people is on the winning side of the results of the Ban-Junta talks.

But if we take a second look at it, it seems that the junta only relented to Ban’s demands so it could gain more space for political manueverings, especially with regards to the referendum on the junta-drafted constitution. 

The international community, especially the ASEAN, should not let this recent development take our attention away from the referendum on the sham constitution. More than ever, there must be a calibrated effort to make sure that the vote of the Burmese people would be respected.

Lyceum’s performance at the Intramuros Debate Cup.

Three out of four Lyceum teams broke into the semi-finals of the Intramuros Debate Championship being held at the Mapua Institute of Technology. The semi-final rounds will begin any moment soon.

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For the junta, cementing military rule is more important than the cyclone victims.

There are a lot of a lot of angles to look at when analyzing the effects of the recent cyclone in Burma that killed over 100,000 people and destroyed millions of dollars in properties.

One implication that would most certainly affect the Philippines is another surge in global rice prices. It is reported that the damages on agricultural land in the affected areas are so dire that Myanmar officials are already stopping its rice exports. In fact, the Nyawpyitaw junta is expected to actually start importing rice to feed the people.

This is the culmination of the regime’s bastardation of Burma’s agricultural sector. Where once Burma was a major exporter of rice, the country’s contribution to the international rice supply has dwindled through the years. One major reason was the fact that, aside from neglecting agricultural infrastructure, the ruling generals have since set themselves up as the sole domestic buyer of rice in the country, according to the report of the Los Angeles Times. The bad thing about this is that since the junta buys rice very cheap, most Burmese farmers grow only what their families need, thereby slowing production.

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FSE review at the Lyceum.

My school, the Lyceum’s College of International Relations, will be holding review classes for the Foreign Service Officer Examination (FSE) next month. The classes would be conducted by retired ambassadors, career diplomats, and a journalist (who, I heard, will teach essay-writing techniques).

I’m not sure if registration is still on-going but those who are interested can call 527-8251, ext 132.

Fellow debater Cheenee Cengca, who graduated magna cum laude this year, will be taking the tests too. I wish her luck. She’d be my first personal friend in the Foreign Service.

So what is FSE all about? Here’s blogger and Foreign Service Officer Toe of KuroKuroATBP.com answering FAQs and giving useful tips on the tests:

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What food riots?

Foreign news organizations should check the facts before reporting.

In its editorial last week, The Japan Times mentioned there are food riots here in the Philippines. CNN reports the same, according to Dean Jorge Bocobo.

Selling of government-subsidized rice has been limited to two kilos per family because of decreasing supply, and the government has been distributing food stubs to the poor. But there are no food riots in the Philippines. 

The beginning of Fukuda’s end?

News feeds from NHK just a few minutes ago showed the ruling coalition ramming the controversial gasoline tax extension bill through the Lower House of the Diet, amidst protests from the opposition parties.

Members of the opposition boycotted the voting, and physically tried to block the speaker from entering the session hall. They held anti-government banners accusing the government of ignoring the people’s voice. Just outside the Diet building, motorists cue up to fill their tanks up before the price of petrol rise again by 25 yen per liter.

The Upper House of the Diet, which is controlled by the opposition Democratic Party of Japan (Minshuto), has initially rejected the proposed tax extension after negotiations between the opposition and the government reached a deadlock earlier this year. The proposal is quite unpopular with the public because of skyrocketing oil prices.

But under the constitution, the Lower House can legally force its will and disregard the Upper House. And this is what the Fukuda coalition just did.

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