Eric Teo Chu Cheow - The Japan Times

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Eric Teo Chu Cheow

For Eric Teo Chu Cheow's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:

COMMENTARY / World

May 7, 2005

Jubilee breathes new life into Bandung

SINGAPORE -- Indonesia recently brought together 80 leaders of the "decolonized peoples of Asia and Africa" to celebrate the historic 1955 Bandung conference of nonaligned nations.

COMMENTARY / World

Apr 21, 2005

Feuding risks for East Asia

SINGAPORE -- Southeast Asian countries view the recent Sino-Japanese and South Korean-Japanese feuds with interest and deep concern for possible impli- cations in four areas:

COMMENTARY / World

Apr 14, 2005

Righting past humiliations

SINGAPORE -- China, South Korea and Indonesia have seen a rise of nationalism commensurate with their increasing economic confidence. The rise in national- ism can also be traced to historical humiliations suffered by China and South Korea a century or more ago, and to Indonesia's ordeal in the Asian financial crisis (1997-98). Hurt national pride has been dictating their reactions to the West and to their neighbors.

COMMENTARY / World

Apr 1, 2005

How to stabilize China, according to Hu

SINGAPORE -- China needs stability as it faces one of its most radical economic, social, cultural and political transforma- tions in history. This message was clearly delivered during the National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing three weeks ago. President Hu Jintao needs stability to consolidate his own power within the four-generation leadership after ousting Jiang Zemin last autumn from the Communist Party of China's (CPC) Central Military Commission.

COMMENTARY / World

Mar 21, 2005

Three leadership styles, three challenges

SINGAPORE -- The different leadership styles of Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi in organizing relief and reconstruction after the Dec. 26 tsunami hold important lessons for managing peace, politics and stability in the region.

COMMENTARY / World

Feb 26, 2005

Disaster poses Yudhoyono's biggest test

SINGAPORE -- Two months after a tsunami ravaged Aceh and parts of North Sumatra province, a joke making the rounds in Jakarta says the initials of In- donesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Vice President Jusuf Kalla, or SBY-JK, stand for Sudah banyak yang jadi korban ("Never have there been so many victims"). Indeed, since Yudhoyono's inauguration in October, Indonesia has been hit by several earthquakes and floods.

COMMENTARY / World

Feb 19, 2005

Diaspora bridges China and ASEAN

SINGAPORE -- On Feb. 9, the start of the Year of the Rooster, ethnic Chinese communities across Southeast Asia took stock of their progress and their future in the shadow of China's peaceful development and its strengthened status within the region of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

COMMENTARY / World

Jan 30, 2005

Treading softly on Jakarta's sensibilities

SINGAPORE -- Many observers believe the Dec. 26 tsunami disaster has opened up Aceh and the rest of Indonesia to the West. In fact, Aceh has been intermittently "closed" to international scrutin for 30 years amid the struggle by Acehnese secessionists to create an independent state. Now, as the Indonesian armed forces (TNI) assist in the delivery of Western humanitarian relief -- and Jakarta seeks to win the hearts and minds of ordinary Acehnese -- the political reality could change.

COMMENTARY / World

Jan 16, 2005

New beginning for Malaysia, Singapore

SINGAPORE -- This year promises to usher in a new entente between Malaysia and Singapore, leading to better Asian regional cooperation and development. Singapore-Malaysian bilateral relations hit a new high after Singapore Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong made a one-day working visit to Kuala Lumpur on Dec. 13 to meet Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi and Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak. Both sides now expect bilateral negotiations to go forward after being stalled for two years.

COMMENTARY / World

Dec 31, 2004

Laying a foundation for a new East Asia

SINGAPORE -- Optimism for East Asian integration and community building ran high at the conclusion of the 10th ASEAN Summit on Nov. 30 in Vientiane, Laos, and the back-to-back meetings between the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations and its Asia-Pacific partners -- China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand. The year 2005 may see a firm foundation laid for an East Asian community after seven developments:

COMMENTARY / World

Nov 27, 2004

Challenges and opportunity

SINGAPORE -- As the first Indonesian president to be elected through direct universal suffrage, and backed by a mandate from a considerable majority of Indonesian voters, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is injecting new energy into the 10-member Association for Southeast Asian Nations. Furthermore, by demonstrating that democracy can take root in a moderate Muslim country, Yudhoyono has proven Western skeptics wrong and given a welcome boost to ASEAN's reputation as a region of stability, development and progress.

COMMENTARY / World

Nov 15, 2004

Work cut out for Australia and Indonesia

SINGAPORE -- John Howard ensured his control over Australian politics for the next four years on Oct. 9 when he swept to an impressive fourth term as prime minister and his Liberal Party-led coalition increased its lead over Labour in both Houses. Howard's victory was attributed to the recent good performance of Australia's economy as well as to the strong security assurances he gave the Australian electorate.

COMMENTARY / World

Oct 21, 2004

Power of opinion rising in Muslim Asia

SINGAPORE -- Three major political events in Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta and Bandar Seri Begawan the past month could have profound effects on the rising power of civil society and of party and public opinion in Southeast Asia.

COMMENTARY / World

Oct 15, 2004

China's ASEAN strategies

SINGAPORE -- The world's attention has been focused on China's smooth political transition at the last Chinese Communist Party plenum, the possible overheating of the Chinese economy and its impressive haul of 32 gold medals at the Athens Olympics. But little has been said of Beijing's strategy for its "new" diplomacy, which has clearly become more sophisticated and active as China seeks "big power" status regionally and internationally.

COMMENTARY / World

Oct 2, 2004

Toward ASEAN integration

SINGAPORE -- The Association of Southeast Asian Nations has begun a more promising phase of its integrative process in the face of three formidable challenges:

COMMENTARY / World

Sep 14, 2004

Indonesians' choice: change or status quo

SINGAPORE -- Indonesians go to the polls Sept. 20 in the second round of balloting to choose between Megawati Sukarnoputri and Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (affectionally known as SBY) as president for the next five years.

COMMENTARY / World

Aug 21, 2004

Singapore's new foreign policy troika

SINGAPORE -- On Aug. 12, Lee Hsien Loong became Singapore's third prime minister since its independence in 1965. However, his predecessors, Goh Chok Tong and Lee Kuan Yew, remain in the Cabinet: Goh as senior minister and Lee as minister mentor.

COMMENTARY / World

Aug 7, 2004

High expectations await Lee Hsien Loong

SINGAPORE -- After nearly 14 years at the country's helm, Goh Chok Tong has announced that he will step down as Singapore's prime minister on Aug. 12. Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong will become the nation's third prime minister since it gained independence in 1965. It is believed that Goh will remain in the Cabinet, probably as a senior minister, just as Goh's predecessor (and Lee Hsien Loong's father) Lee Kuan Yew has done.

COMMENTARY / World

Jul 21, 2004

Indonesian voters showing their savvy

SINGAPORE -- Results of the first round of Indonesia's presidential election on July 5 indicate that the electorate has grown more sophisticated than many observers had expected -- only six years since the country emerged from decades of authoritarianism.

COMMENTARY / World

Jul 14, 2004

Winning over Hong Kong

SINGAPORE -- After Hong Kongers somberly commemorated the 15th anniversary of Tiananmen on June 5, they jolted China's central government by organizing, like last year, another massive July 1 demonstration, setting the stage for another big political standoff with Beijing ahead of the September Legislative Council (Legco) elections.

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