Category: East Asia & Pacific

  • Your 10 questions for Serap Ataay

    Your 10 questions for Serap Ataay

    How has the Arab Spring affected Turkey? What is the Turkish government’s stand on the revolution currently engulfing the Middle East?

    The ongoing transformation in the region emerged and developed as a consequence of the aspirations of the local people. They basically call for transparency, rule of law, political participation, freedom, constitutional reforms and better economic opportunities. From the very beginning, the Turkish Government encouraged the leaders of the countries in question to listen to the voice of their people and respect their demands. We are contributing and determined to contribute more to these countries’ efforts to come out of transitional period by achieving their ambitions on the basis of social consensus.

    What are the challenges you encounter in your attempt to promote stronger bilateral ties between Turkey and Malaysia?

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    Due to different geographical locations, the priorities of Turkey and Malaysia justifiably diverge. Indeed, this might present itself as a challenge when you intend to foster bilateral relations. Keeping this limitation in mind, our Embassy focuses on areas of cooperation in every field. PM Najib’s official visit to Turkey last year boosted our relations, and we expect that relations will reach even higher levels when PM Erdogan returns this visit, most probably this year.

    What made you choose a career in the diplomatic field, and what are the most important character traits, qualifications and skills for one to be a successful diplomat?

    I had decided to become a diplomat when I was 14. At that age, I think I was influenced by some relatives who aspired to be in foreign services. As for the character traits of successful diplomats, common sense and patience to listen to other people, I believe, are the most important ones.

    How is Malaysia seen in the eyes of the Turkish people?

    Malaysia is seen quite positively in Turkey. On the other hand, it would be fair to argue that Turkish people are not much exposed to the news about Malaysia. It is our intention and duty to help narrow the gap between the two. Recently, the Malaysian Government provided assistance for the victims of the devastating earthquake in Van province of Turkey. Besides, there were many other individual acts of support shown by Malaysian people. For example, the Association of Wives of Ministers and Deputy Ministers (Bakti), headed by Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor made a donation. Gestures like these were highly welcomed by the Turkish people and I am certain that helping hands extended during difficult times will always be remembered.

    Is Turkey still interested in becoming a European Union member, given the fact that the deepening sovereign debt crisis is creating so much uncertainty to the region’s economy and financial system? If so, why?

    European Union (EU) membership is a long term strategic goal for Turkey. We are firmly engaged in accession process. The resoluteness and political will in our side cannot and will not be disturbed by provisional crises like the one EU has been going through.

    What is Turkey’s strategy and target for its economy amid the current global economic turmoil?

    Turkey has entered the current economic crisis with strong public finance, strong banking sector, political stability, strong political will, fiscal consolidation and prudent monetary policy.

    We are taking the necessary measures to keep the effects of the recent crisis in Turkey to a minimum. For instance, we are committed to our fiscal discipline and monetary policy; diversify our export markets, reduce imported energy dependency by promoting energy efficiency and renewable energy, and increase domestic savings. We also introduced some structural reforms to enhance investment environment.

    Turkey is the 16th biggest economy in the world now. Our target is to be in the top 10 by 2023, when we will be celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Proclamation of the Turkish Republic.

    What are things that Malaysia can do to attract more investments from Turkish businessmen? And what are the sectors that would interest them the most?

    Facilitating legal framework and close cooperation of relevant institutions form the basis of investment relations. Investment Agencies of Turkey and Malaysia, ISPAT and MIDA, has agreed to sign a Memorandum of Understanding, recently. Turkish Central Bank and Bank Negara have also agreed to sign a barter agreement. These are steps in the right direction.

    Currently, Turkish investments in Malaysia are mostly concentrated in the defence industry. On the other hand, I am observing gladly that three Turkish companies in cosmetic, building materials and food Industries have decided to make investments in Iskandar. It is quite encouraging.

    I see a great potential in the construction sector. Turkey’s construction industry is the second biggest in the world, after China. Turkey’s capable and experienced construction companies should take their share from Malaysia’s infrastructure projects.

    Ongoing FTA negotiations, once concluded, will not only expand bilateral trade, but also affect investment from both sides positively.

    On the other hand, Turkey offers competitive investment opportunities for Malaysian companies. Khazanah Nasional Bhd’s latest investments in healthcare, transportation and construction in Turkey are quite heartening. We expect and call more Malaysian companies to follow Khazanah.

    How are trade, diplomacy and business ties been between Turkey and Malaysia and how do you see that evolving?

    The bilateral relations between Turkey and Malaysia have been progressing in every field. Malaysian PM’s visit to Turkey confirmed once again the political will in both sides to improve the relations even further. Turkish PM’s visit to Malaysia and the signing of Free Trade Agreement constitute our priorities for this year. I foresee that the relations will widen and deepen for the years to come.

    How are you adopting to Malaysia and what do you think about Malaysian women as compared to those in Turkey?

    It is my third year in Malaysia and I can say that my adaptation period was rather short and quite easy, thanks to the Malaysian hospitality. It is a very welcoming country, indeed.

    Active participation of Malaysian women in social and economic life is what impresses me the most. The high number of female students at universities is also very remarkable. I commend Malaysian women for playing such a critical role in the well being of their country.

    How important is Asia to Turkey and what is being done to improve business ties with the East?

    Turkey is aware of the rising strategic importance of the region. We increase our presence by opening new Embassies and also Commercial Offices. With this, we aim to better identify opportunities presented and create many bridges between Turkish people, Turkish business community and their counterparts here.

    The 3rd Turkish Products Exhibition that will be held at the KL Convention Centre between March 1 and 3 2012 can be cited as an example of our efforts to improve business ties between Turkey and Malaysia. About 70 Turkish companies will be participating to showcase a wide range of Turkish products i.e. agriculture products, automotive, machineries, building materials such as tiles and ceramics, chemicals, industrial products, food products, cosmetics, gifts, decorative articles, kitchen accessories, textiles and many more. This is a must visit for anyone looking for new business opportunities in the Turkish market.

    Simultaneously, in collaboration with JW Marriott KL, there will be a Cultural Week at this hotel from Feb 26 to March 3. Fascinating Turkish folk dances will be performed and selected Turkish food and delicacies will be served. Turkish handicrafts and arts such as glass blowing and marbling will also be showcased.

    I would like extend an invitation to all Malaysians to join us in these events.

  • Obama Claims Iran is “Isolated” When the Opposite is True

    Obama Claims Iran is “Isolated” When the Opposite is True

    Obama IranObama claims “a world once divided [on Iran]. . .now stands as one” and that Iran is “isolated”. Is it Iran or the US & Israel who are “isolated”?

    by Joshua Blakeney

    Press TV: US president Barack Obama has asserted the country’s ironclad commitment to Israel’s security; while repeatedly threatening Iran with what he calls ‘all options on the table’.

    Obama once again renewed US threats against Iran during his State of the Union address before a joint session of Congress on January 24, saying that Washington will maintain pressure on the Islamic Republic over its nuclear program.

    “America is determined to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, and I will take no options off the table to achieve that goal,” the US president said.

    Iran has categorically refuted the US-led allegations regarding its nuclear program, insisting that the country’s nuclear program is only intended for peaceful civilian purposes.

    Joshua Blakeney, staff writer from Veterans Today; joins Press TV to share his opinions on the issue of the US president’s State of the Union Speech.

    What follows is an approximate transcript of the interview.

    [SOURCE: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/223209.html]

    Press TV: Joshua Blakeney thank you so much for joining us. Let us go directly to the first question which starts with what the US president in the State of the Union address said and is it really a disinformation and that is that, Iran is on the path of acquiring a nuclear weapon?

    Blakeney: Yes, it was a quite myopic speech, coming from the president of the United States. I mean, I found it particularly telling that he made the statement that “the world was once divided and”, thanks to him, “the world is now united on the question of Iran.”

    I am having some feedback, I apologize. But the reality is of course that the Non-Aligned Movement – which is consisted of a 120 nations – issued a statement just eight days ago in which they endorsed Iranian sovereignty and expressed their hostility towards the US encroaching on Iranian sovereignty.

    And therefore that was one utterance from the President of the United States that was evidently false.

    NAM meeting Tehran
    Obama forgot to mention in his State of the Union address that the 120 members of the Non-Aligned-Movement support Iranian sovereignty and denounce US-Israeli hostility towards Iran

    Obviously the insinuation that Iran is trying to acquire nuclear weapons is buttressed by no evidence and of course the IAEA, [International Atomic Energy Agency], any statements they have made in which they have indirectly implied this, has been inferred from evidence, so called, provided to them by itsmember states like the United States and Israel and Britain and therefore their statements are not reliable at all.

    Iran clearly is trying to develop a civilian nuclear program, like France has; like many countries in the world have; which is completely justifiable and indeed legal.

    And so the president of the United States I think reflected not necessarily his own perspective but those of his backers. You know, the United States political system is one where money speaks; in a capitalist system those who own capital have political clout.

    And the statements that Barack Obama made vis-à-vis the Middle East, and really in general to do with domestic economics also, I believe, were the product of his backers.

    And we know who is supporting the Democrat Party financially and what their agenda is in terms of Middle East policy.

    And that in my humble opinion is to promote the interest of the state of Israel, often in fact jeopardizing traditional US-Middle East policy which was to try and do bilateral negotiations within ensconced Middle East regimes. And therefore this speech has to go down as an embarrassment.

    And in fact if you look, if you go to about an hour, into Barack Obama’s State of the Union Address in about an hour into it, you will see that when he mentions Iran and when he mentions his ironclad support for the State of Israel, that actually only about half of the Congress persons clapped which might indicate that there is some discontent with this tendentious policy of the United States towards the State of Israel.

    blakeney presstv1Press TV: Joshua Blakeney, this all options on the table is something again perhaps, maybe because of a reelection year for Obama maybe its a signal and some say for the Israeli lobby at the same time the great length that the United States is going to get sanctions on Iran.

    We know that they have made and introduced the sanctions, trying to get EU [European Union] which they got their approval even though it’s at the behest of Europe in terms of what they are going through regarding the Euro zone crisis, of course going with his co-worker [US Secretary of the Treasury] Timothy Geithner all the way to China and we saw what happened there regarding getting China on board and of course then with India.

    I mean what is it that the US president means with this ‘all options on the table’?

    Blakeney: Well, I think it is largely empty rhetoric from the President of the United States and I think there is a tendency among the political class to think if they repeat something as many times as possible that it would begin to be true.

    And Barrack Obama said in his State of the Union address that the world is now united against Iran and that is patently false, is Venezuela against Iran? Is China against Iran? Is the Non-Aligned Movement of 120 nations against Iran?

    I do not think so, so we are seeing the decline of Anglo-America and this kind of Euro- American imperialist world that the planet has been victim of for the past 500 years really since 1492 and we are living in a multipolar world now, one where Iran has some agency.

    Iran China1
    China and Iran continue to trade with each other irrespective of the sanctions imposed by the U.S. and E.U.

    And if the European Union and the United States wants to work in Israel’s interests and against its own interests of doing commercial dealings with Iran, then Iran will go elsewhere and trade its resources and goods with other nations which I think is a good thing. I think it is good that we are living in a multipolar world.

    One of the intellectuals authors of the “war on terror” was an individual named Charles Krauthammer, who in 1990 authored a paper entitled The Unipolar Moment, in which he said, oh this moment after the Soviet Union has declined US must jumped on it, because it won’t be there for ever.

    And that unipolar moment, you know, metastasized into the invasion of Iraq and the invasion of Afghanistan. But I believe that actually they cannot invade and attack Iran because they are bereft of soldiers for a start; they’re overstretched militarily, the United States, and moreover Iran has a capability to defend itself.
    Press TV: So what is it [the US] trying to do there when it keeps saying it Joshua Blakeney, I mean, some say well it is a distraction from the problems that he [Obama] is facing at home. And I am talking about the Occupy movement, do you agree with that?

    Joshua Blakeney and Mark Glenn critically analyze Barak Obama’s State of the Union speech on Press TV.

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    Iran is on the right side of history contributing to the success of the Bolivarian Revolution in Latin America. Iran and many nations in Latin America are at the forefront of the resistance to the international imperialism of the US, Britain and Israel

    Blakeney: Yes, to an extent. You know it offers a scapegoat, a smokescreen to distract people. So I do agree to a large extent with what my colleague said.

    You know the fact of the matter is that US politicians need to pander and Kowtow to the Israel lobby in the United States.

    JJ Goldberg did a study in the 1990′s in which he deduced that 45% of Democrat party donations came from individuals who are partisan to the State of Israel.

    And in 2006 Richard Cohen did a study in the Washington Post, in which he indicated 60% of the Democrat Party [money] comes from individuals whose primary allegiance is to the state of Israel.

    So if 60% of the Barack Obama’s money is coming from individuals whose first priority is Israel, is it very surprising that Barack Obama would have this so called ‘ironclad’ consensus with the state of Israel?

    I think that this is historically precedented, if you look in 1965 for example, when the British empire was trying to extend self determination and self rule to the inhabitants of the Rhodesia, the natives of Rhodesia, we saw the local crazed ethnic nationalists form a schism in the British empire and rise up and declare independence likewise the US after the Cold War had no use for Israel anymore.

    The divergence between a rational U.S. Middle East policy and the Israeli Middle East policy of denying Arabs and Muslims cohesion and stability is analogous with the divergence of interests between the declining British Empire and regional Rhodesian white ethnic nationalists in 1965 (as portrayed from 5 mins 52 seconds in the above video). ]

    After 1967 Israel proved itself to be a formidable fighting force and within the context of the Cold War the United States could use Israel to smash up this or that Arab nation or to extend its Middle East policy.

    After the Cold War what use did the US have for Israel or for South Africa? In the case of South Africa, the Afrikaners did not have a lobby in the United States and so the US cast them adrift in the 1980′s and the VETO they provided them in the United Nations dissipated.

    Unfortunately, what would have been logical and rational from the perspective of US hegemony who would obviously want to win over Middle East governments to resist the hegemony of the …..

    Press TV: Joshua Blakeney, the US president said that this is the right time for the United States to be on the right side of the Middle East.

    Is the US on the right side of the Middle East? Quickly [we have] twenty seconds or less.

    Blakeney: No, it is definitely not. In the 1980s the Israeli government formulated a new policy of wanting to destabilize the Middle East which goes against US oil interests, against the US rational interests as a global hegemon.

    www.veteranstoday.com, January 28th, 2012

  • Japanese companies join forces for Istanbul bridge

    Japanese companies join forces for Istanbul bridge

    ISTANBUL- Hürriyet Daily News

    Only days after a failed government tender for the construction and operating rights of a large toll road and a third bridge over Istanbul’s Bosphorus, Japanese candidates decide to set up a consortium to re-try their chances

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    Fatih Sultan Bridge over the Bosphorus is seen in this undated photo. Turkey is seeking investors to build a third bridge to connect two sides of Istanbul.

    Gökhan Kurtaran
    [email protected]

    Four Japanese firms are still interested in building a third bridge over Istanbul’s Bosphorus following the failed tender by the Turkish government Jan. 10, according to a Japanese diplomat.

    “Japanese companies are still showing their interests to join the construction of the third bridge,” Yasuhiro Fukuda, trade attaché from Japanese Embassy in Ankara, told the Hürriyet Daily News in an interview yesterday.

    Mitsubishi, IHI, Obayashi and Itochu, the companies that were authorized to but did not attend the tender, along with five more foreign and nine local competitors, were still willing to take their chances and restart the talks with the government, according to the Japanese official.

    “They are open to talks on the details of the project with the government officials,” said Yasuhiro.

    The cost of the highway road project that stretches from Adapazarı to Tekirdağ in Turkey’s northwest, which also includes a third bridge over Istanbul’s Bosphorus, was estimated at $6 billion.

    “The project is too big to finance,” general manager of one of the Japanese firms told the Daily News under the condition of anonymity yesterday by phone. Both construction and operating rights of the third bridge and the highway should be divided and introduced as two tenders, which would ease financing, the source said.

    “A smaller scale would make the project feasible and profitable for us,” the source said, adding that Japanese firms were preparing to start the talks with Turkey. “Any action plan including some incentives from Turkish government would be appreciated by us,” said the executive.

    Talks may start soon

    Despite the failure of the tender, Fukuda said this shouldn’t be taken as a sign that the Japanese firms are losing their interest in the project. Bilateral talks between a possible Japanese consortium and the Turkish government was possible soon, he added. Turkey’s Finance Minister Mehmet Şimsek said Jan. 11 the state was capable of funding the project on its own, but preferred not to.

    The government offers 25-year operating rights for the toll road project which spans 414 km.

    Cengiz, Gülsan, Kolin, STFA, Mapa, Nural, Park, Holding, Varyap and Yüksel were the possible local bidders. In addition to the Japanese firms, Stradag from Austria; Moskovskly Metrostroy, NPO and Mostovik from Russia; FFC Construction from Spain; and Astaldi from Italy also received specifications for the tender.

    via BUSINESS – Japanese companies join forces for Istanbul bridge.

  • ***30-story building built in 15 days*** Construction time lapse *View Fullscreen*

    ***30-story building built in 15 days*** Construction time lapse *View Fullscreen*

    What can you accomplish in 360 hours?
    The Chinese sustainable building company, Broad Group, has yet attempted another impossible feat, building a 30-story tall hotel prototype in 360 hours, after building a 15-story building in a week earlier in 2011.

    You may ask why in a hurry, and is it safe? The statistics in the video can put you in good faith. Prefabricated modular buildings has many advantages over conventional buildings.

    Higher precision in fabrication (+/- 0.2mm).
    More coordinated on-site construction management.
    Shorter construction time span.
    Lower construction waste.
    Also many other health and energy features are included in Broad Sustainable Buildings (BSB)

    The building was built over last Christmas time and finished before New Years Eve of 2012.

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    An Introduction to BROAD SUSTAINABLE BUILDING CO., LTD Jan.11, 2012
    Established in March, 2009, BROAD SUSTAINABLE BUILDING CO., LTD is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BROAD Group, solely operates the magnitude-9 earthquake resistant, 5x more energy efficient, 20x purer air, 90% factory-built, and 1% construction waste Broad Sustainable Buildings (BSB).
    BSB headquarter and its R&D Center are situated in the Xiangyin County of Hunan Province in Southern China, with 80,000sqm workshops, 900 employees in 2011. In 2012 with 220,000sqm workshops, 12,000 employees, and in 2013 with 360,000sqm workshops and 19,000 employees, reaching an annual production and installation capacity of 10 million sqms. BSB’s central goal is:
    1. Improving R&D of BSB technologies, setting up supply chains
    2. Sell BSBs in compliance with local regulations in the Hunan building market.
    3. Transfer BSB technology to 100 partnership enterprise, every Chinese province and distributed evenly in each nation worldwide.
    By December, 2011, BSB technology reached finalization, altogether with 12 BSBs built in Changsha, Xiangyin, Shanghai, Zhejiang and Mexico and developed 2 franchise partners in Ningxia and Fujian with identical factory sizes to the Xiangyin BSB Factory. Another 10 Chinese & international potential partners are in negotiation.
    BROAD envisions in the near future, there will be one BSB among three buildings worldwide, allowing all men and women to share BSB’s solace. Proving that by responsible use of technology, earth’s environment and human living can be elevated simultaneously.
    Lin Gang Industrial Zone, Xiangyin County, Hunan Tel: 86-731-84086266 Email: [email protected] www.broad.com/bsb

  • Turkey expects to acquire Japanese know-how on nuclear energy

    Turkey expects to acquire Japanese know-how on nuclear energy

    88352Turkey intends to sign, this spring with Japan, an agreement on cooperation in the nuclear energy sector, Turkish FM Ahmet Davutoglu stated in an interview with Japan’s leading economic periodical, “The Voice of Turkey” informs.

    Davutoglu noted that, “they believe in Japanese technology and its safety,” yet again stressing a readiness to cooperate.

    Turkey’s FM also said accordance was reached toward continuing the talks on Iran’s nuclear program.

    Incidentally, even though Turkey constantly calls for the international community to apply pressure on Armenia to close down the Metsamor Nuclear Power Plant, Turkey itself is building several nuclear plants in seismically active zones.

    via Turkey expects to acquire Japanese know-how on nuclear energy | Armenia News – NEWS.am.

  • Obama: the US can no longer fight the world’s battles

    Obama: the US can no longer fight the world’s battles

    President plans to cut half a million troops and says US can’t afford to wage two wars at once
    obamaThe mighty American military machine that has for so long secured the country’s status as the world’s only superpower will have to be drastically reduced, Barack Obama warned yesterday as he set out a radical but more modest new set of priorities for the Pentagon over the next decade.

    obama graphic

    After the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that defined the first decade of the 21st century, Mr Obama’s blueprint for the military’s future acknowledged that America will no longer have the resources to conduct two such major operations simultaneously.

    Instead, the US military will lose up to half a million troops and will focus on countering terrorism and meeting the new challenges of an emergent Asia dominated by China. America, the President said, was “turning the page on a decade of war” and now faced “a moment of transition”. The country’s armed forces would in future be leaner but, Mr Obama pointedly warned both friends and foes, sufficient to preserve US military superiority over any rival – “agile, flexible and ready for the full range of contingencies and threats”.

    The wider significance of America’s landmark strategic change was underlined by British Defence Secretary Philip Hammond, who used a visit to Washington to warn that America must not delay the production of US warplanes bound for British aircraft carriers. The US strategy is expected to make a drawdown of some of the 80,000 troops based in Europe.

    “We have to look at the relationship with Americans in a slightly different light,” Mr Hammond told Channel 4 News. “Europeans have to respond to this change in American focus, not with a fit of pique but by pragmatic engagement, recognising that we have to work with Americans to get better value for money.”

    But there is little doubt that Europe will be a much-reduced priority under the new scheme. The blueprint’s status as the president’s own property, after a first three years in office dominated by wars he had inherited from his predecessor, was underlined by his rare personal appearance at the Pentagon flanked by Defence Secretary Leon Panetta and other top uniformed officials.

    Henceforth, Mr Obama underlined, the priorities would be maintaining a robust nuclear deterrent, confronting terrorism and protecting the US homeland, and deterring and defeating any potential adversary. To these ends, the US will also boost its cyberwarfare and missile defence capabilities.

    At the same time, iIf all goes to plan, the centre of gravity of the US defence effort will shift eastwards, away from Europe and the Middle East. The focus will be on Asia and – both he and Mr Panetta made abundantly clear without specifically saying so – in particular on an increasingly assertive China, already an economic superpower and well on the way to becoming a military one as well.

    The specifics of the new proposals, set out in a document entitled “Sustaining US Global Leadership: Priorities for 21st Century Defense”, have yet to be fleshed out. But they are likely to entail a reduction of up to 490,000 in a total military personnel now standing at some 1.6 million worldwide, as well as cuts in costly procurement programmes – some originally designed for a Cold War environment.

    The “Obama Doctrine” reflects three basic realities. First, the long post-9/11 wars are finally drawing to a close. The last US troops have already left Iraq, while American combat forces are due to be out of Afghanistan by the end of 2014 (though a limited number may stay on as trainers and advisers).

    Second, and as the President stressed in a major speech during his recent visit to Australia, America’s national interest is increasingly bound up with Asia, the world’s economic powerhouse, and where many countries are keen for a greater US commitment as a counterweight to China.

    Third, and most important, are the domestic financial facts of life, at a moment when government spending on every front is under pressure. For years the Pentagon has been exempt – but no longer, as efforts multiply to rein in soaring federal budget deficits.

    At $662bn, Pentagon spending for fiscal 2013 will exceed the next 10 largest national defence budgets on the planet combined. Even so, that sum is $27bn less than what President Obama wanted, and $43bn less than the 2012 budget.

    www.independent.co.uk, 06 JANUARY 2012