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

Jun 25, 2003

Hu recasting China's foreign policy

SINGAPORE -- China's new president, Hu Jintao, appears to be remaking his country's foreign policy. Taking over in mid-March after the 16th Communist Party Congress, Hu was immediately plunged into one of China's biggest crises in modern times, the battle against severe acute respiratory syndrome.

COMMENTARY / World

Jun 15, 2003

Different strokes for different war critics

SINGAPORE -- One of the most notable moments at the Group of Eight summit (June 1-3) in Evian, France, was the bilateral meeting between U.S. President George W. Bush and his French counterpart, Jacques Chirac, the first such encounter following their dramatic falling out over Iraq.

COMMENTARY / World

Jun 5, 2003

Breakwalls against U.S. tide

SINGAPORE — Big-power rapprochement was high on the agenda in both St. Petersburg, Russia, and Evian, France, this past week a month after U.S. President George W. Bush declared victory in Iraq aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln. But how does this rapprochement mesh with perceived American unilateralism?

COMMENTARY / World

May 22, 2003

Aceh won't derail Indonesia

SINGAPORE -- Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri has signed a presidential decree putting Aceh under martial law and authorizing military operations after the latest peace talks collapsed in Tokyo last weekend.

COMMENTARY / World

Apr 28, 2003

A silver lining to the SARS epidemic

SINGAPORE -- The outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, is sending shivers down the spines of Asian governments and citizens alike. China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Vietnam have been the most affected by this scourge, while other Asian countries are desperately trying to prevent the disease from reaching their shores. The 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, watch Singapore (one of the group's most developed members) battling the virus as the number of dead and infected rapidly rise.

COMMENTARY / World

Apr 12, 2003

Sizing up America after Iraq

SINGAPORE -- Three weeks into the war in Iraq, the main protagonists are already retooling their strategies for dealing with the United States. China, Russia, France, Germany, Britain, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, the Philippines and, lastly, North Korea (most likely the next target of American ire) have all begun analyzing the U.S.-led war in Iraq from both strategic and tactical points of view. In fact, the war in Iraq is as much about the U.S. role in the world tomorrow as whether Washington will play by the rules. Thus for many countries, contending with American power is perhaps more important than dealing with Iraq.

COMMENTARY / World

Apr 3, 2003

Will war affect Asian vision?

SINGAPORE -- The Asian financial crisis of 1997-1998 was a defining moment for a majority of East Asian countries. It made them more aware of their individual vulnerabilities, and impressed upon them the need for regional stability to ensure continuous economic growth.

COMMENTARY / World

Mar 22, 2003

ASEAN counting on China

SINGAPORE -- As the third generation of Chinese leaders since 1949 hands power over to the fourth, Southeast Asia and the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations are following the landmark political transition with keen interest. What does ASEAN expect from the transition?

COMMENTARY / World

Mar 16, 2003

U.S. risks danger of 'global overstretch'

SINGAPORE -- Although U.S. President George W. Bush appears determined to rid Iraq of President Saddam Hussein, the world is deeply divided. On one hand, Hussein has been ruthless, even with his own people, and may have hidden weapons of mass destruction and sponsored al-Qaeda terrorists. On the other hand, ethical questions have arisen about international norms for intervention, international policing and the importance of international opinion.

COMMENTARY / World

Mar 3, 2003

Rising challenges to American power

SINGAPORE -- U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell's recent visits to Japan, South Korea and China were a key test of U.S. diplomacy in Northeast Asia. His renewed focus on the region comes amid growing anxiety in Tokyo and Seoul over Pyongyang's nuclear brinkmanship and increasing resistance on the part of Moscow and Beijing to the hard line the United States has adopted toward both Iraq and North Korea.

COMMENTARY / World

Feb 15, 2003

Few hawks in Southeast Asia

SINGAPORE -- As the world awaits the outcome of another report by United Nations weapons inspectors in Iraq, and perhaps a second resolution (following U.N. Security Council Resolution 1441), war drums are beating ever louder in the United States, Britain and some allied nations.

COMMENTARY / World

Feb 2, 2003

Asian bridges via Okinawa

SINGAPORE -- Earlier this month a closed-door workshop and open public symposium focused on bridging the divisions within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and those between Japan and Okinawa as well as on strengthening the ASEAN-Japan partnership through governance, human security and community-building.

COMMENTARY / World

Jan 11, 2003

Anti-Americanism rises in Asia

SINGAPORE -- The United States has been perceived differently by Asian countries since President George W. Bush took over the helm in Washington. Asian governments have noticed a fundamental shift toward a more "unilateralist" stance in U.S. foreign policy -- a trend that became even more accentuated after 9/11. In addition, these governments have also seen a strategic shift from the multilateral "economics" approach of the Clinton era to one that is unilateralist and focuses on terrorism.

COMMENTARY / World

Nov 23, 2002

A vital role for Japan in Asia

SINGAPORE -- As Japan becomes mired in its own political, economic and financial problems and grapples with serious geostrategic concerns on the Korean Peninsula, there is great temptation for it to look inward. Such a shift, however, is to the detriment of the region, which is experiencing one of its greatest periods of transformation.

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By Alex K.T. Martin

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