Profiling Asia PDF

 Abstraction PROFILING ASIA The Asia and the Pacific region is home to 60 per cent of the world’s population – some 4.3 billion people – and includes the world’s most populous countries, China and India. The region also contains some of the smallest populatio...

 Abstraction PROFILING ASIA The Asia and the Pacific region is home to 60 per cent of the world’s population – some 4.3 billion people – and includes the world’s most populous countries, China and India. The region also contains some of the smallest populations on the planet, especially among the Small Island Developing States in the Pacific. This diversity is accompanied by changing demographic trends, characterized by overall lower fertility and mortality rates, as well as rapid urbanization and sizeable migration flows within and outside the region (United Nations Development Programme, 2019). THE PEOPLE RACES AND ETHNICITY. There is an abundance of ethnic groups in Asia, with adaptations to the climate zones of the continent, which include Arctic, subarctic, temperate, subtropical or tropical, as well as extensive desert regions in Central and Western Asia. The ethnic groups have adapted to mountains, deserts, grasslands and forests, while on the coasts of Asia, resident ethnic groups have adopted various methods of harvest and transport. Some groups are primarily hunter-gatherers, some practice transhumance (nomadic lifestyle) others have been agrarian for millennia and others becoming industrial or urban. Some groups or countries in Asia are completely urban (e.g., Hong Kong and Singapore) the largest countries in Asia with regard to population are the People's Republic of China, India, Pakistan, Japan and South Korea. Colonization of Asian ethnic groups and states by European peoples beginning in the 16th century, reaching its peak in the late 19th and early 20th centuries (except in the former Soviet Union, which was dissolved in 1990). Demographics. Asia is the largest and most populous of earth's continents and it’s located in both the northern and eastern hemispheres. Asia comprises a full 30% of the world's land area with 60% of the world's current population. It also has the highest growth rate today, and its population almost quadrupled during the 20th century. The estimated population for Asia in 2016 is 4.4 billion. Asia has the two most populous countries in its borders: China and India.  REGIONS ETHNIC GROUPS RELIGION Indian, Bengalis, Munda, Mizo, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism South Asia Tamils, Marathi, Angami Naga, and Sikhism Chagossians, Nepalese Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Hmong, Lao, Vietnamese, Jainism and Sikhism, Shintoism, Southeast Asia Chams, Khmer, Negrito, Shan, Sindoism, Taoism, Confucianism Thai and Christianity Arabs, Azerbaijanis, Kurds, West Asia Judaism, Christianity and Islam Persians, Turkic Major: Han, Yamato, and Buddhism, Shintoism, Korean East Asia Sindoism, Taoism, Others: Tibetan, Uyghur, Confucianism Kazakh, Manchu and Mongol Islam (Turkic/Indo-Iranian Major: Turkic, Indo-Iranian, Central Asia peoples) and Buddhism and Mongolic peoples (Mongolia) Table 1. The regions of Asia and the Pacific alongside with its ethnic groups and religion. China is currently the most populous country on earth with an estimated population in 2016 of 1,377,124,512. It accounts for 31.69% of Asia's total population and over 18% of the world's population. India is not too far behind with an estimated population of 1,285,800,000, accounting for 29.36% of the continent's population and 17.5% of the world's population. It's estimated that India's population will surpass China's by 2022, when each country will have a population of about 1.45 billion people. HUMAN ACTIVITIES Culture defines people’s values, beliefs, and personal interests. Culture is important because it allows people to maintain a unique identity society. The arts and learning of a race or a nation are in its culture. The Asia and the Pacific region has a rich body of indigenous artistic traditions which make it well known all over the world. Throughout history, various cultures have come into existence, shaped by politics, religion, technology, and myriad other factors that influence people and perspectives. In Asia, as in many other regions in the world, the origins of theatre and dance can be traced back to several early, archaic types of performance. In Asia they include early religious rituals, ancient movements imitating animals, or so-called animal movements, and martial arts. RITUALS. In most of the Asian religions, such as Hinduism and Buddhism, such a strict division between the sinful bod y and “pure” spirituality has not existed and thus the human body has retained its holiness; it has been accepted as a worthy medium to praise even spirits and gods. In fact, most of the so-called “classical” styles of Asian performing arts (formulated roughly from the 13th to the 19th centuries) can be analyzed or deconstructed so that these original “root” traditions can be recognised. In the later “classical” traditions these root Photo 1. The wai kru ceremony in Thailand pays homage to the guru or the traditions are, however, intermingled with each master teacher. Source: Jukka O. other in surprisingly various ways. In most of the Asian religions, such as Hinduism and Buddhism, such a strict division between the sinful body and “pure” spirituality has not existed and thus the human body has retained its holiness; it has been accepted as a worthy medium to praise even spirits and gods. Many forms of performance, for example temple dances, are, in fact, regarded as offerings, prayers, gaining merit or a kind of spiritual meditation. One example of how theatrical practice evolved from rituals is the mudras or symbolic hand gestures, so crucial to Indian dance and theatre traditions. They developed from the age- old sacred gestures used in religious rituals by the Brahman priests. An abundance of ceremonial elements can Photo 2. A Buddhist procession in Burma. Source: Jukka O. Miettinen still be found in many of the Asian theatrical traditions simply because most of them stem originally from earlier rituals, and actually a dance or theatre performance itself can, in many cases, still be regarded as a ritual. TRANCE RITUALS AND SHAMANISM. In this “other” state of mind the performer/performers of the ritual, and sometimes also members of the audience, are able to contact the spirit world. Trance rituals are strongly associated with the early belief system usually called shamanism. The term was earlier related to the so-called Northern Shamanistic Belt, which extended from northern Scandinavia to Siberia, Manchuria, and Korea in the east. In this form of shamanism, the shaman “priest” had various roles. He or she could act as a healer, or as an oracle, or the shaman could function as a mediator between the ancestors or sprits and the community he or she was serving. ANIMAL MOVEMENTS. The tradition of imitating the movements of animals seems to stem from the earliest periods of known human existence, that is, the times when humans were hunter-gatherers and their entire livelihood depended on the natural world and the animals Photo 3. Krishna performing peacock’s dance in a performance. around them. Source: Paula Tuovinen DANCES. Hula – a Polynesian dance form accompanied by chant (oli) or song (mele, which is a cognate of “meke” from the Fijian Language). The hula dramatizes the words of the oli or mele in a visual dance form. Additionally, it means “Goddess of the Grandmother”, an ancient Hawaiian term often used to describe brown haired beauties who have been graced with a grandchild through their first born. Haka – a ceremonial dance or challenge in Māori culture. It is a posture dance performed by a group, with vigorous movements and stamping of the feet with rhythmically shouted accompaniment. Haka is performed to welcome distinguished guests, or to acknowledge great achievements, Photo 4. Group of men performing Haka. occasions, or funerals. Source: Google Images Martial Arts. Many movements, particularly those related to fighting, can be traced back to ancient martial arts and weapon worship. Most of the Asian cultures have their own sophisticated martial art systems also known now in the West, such as the Chinese taiji (t’ai chi), the kalaripayattu and thangta of India, Thai boxing, the silat of the Malay world and the Japanese kendo and judo etc. Many of these martial systems have a very long history. LIVELIHOOD AND PRODUCTION. Asia and the Pacific is the World’s largest food market. In Central Asia, Climate threats to food security could reduce livelihood options in agriculture, potentially triggering migration movements within the region or further abroad Labor is becoming scarce on developing farms. India’s agricultural workforce fell from 259 million in 2004-2005 to 228 million in 2011-2012. More than 2.2 billion people in the region rely on agriculture for their livelihoods Asia and the Pacific accounts for 37% of the world’s total emissions from agricultural production, and the People’s Republic of China alone accounts for more than 18% of the total. Rice is by far the most important crop throughout Asia and the Pacific- 90% of the world’s production and consumption occurs in this region. TRANSPORT, COMMUNICATION AND TRADES Rail and road transport has become important for moving passengers within individual states and for transporting bulk goods over longer distances. Concurrently, there has been considerable development of ports and harbours—including container facilities in the larger ports—which have been linked to their hinterlands by rail and road. Air transport has proved to be not only the speediest but also often the cheapest means of transport, especially for costly items of relatively small weight and bulk. Air transport has played a particularly important role in landlocked countries— such as Afghanistan, Nepal, and Laos—and in the opening up of relatively inaccessible and fragmented areas, such as Indonesia. 1. Junk Boats. Junk, a classic Chinese sailing vessel of ancient unknown origin, still in wide use. Chinese junks sailed to Indonesian and Indian waters by the early Middle Ages. You'll find these ancient ships cruising around Hong Kong's Victoria Harbour. They're more for leisure and cruising than for transportation, and Photo 5. Group of men performing Haka. Source: Google Images offers a nice change of pace in the busy city. 2. Cyclo. The cyclo is a three-wheel bicycle taxi that appeared in Vietnam during the French colonial period after a failed attempt to introduce rickshaws. A double seat-- that is supported by the two front wheels, with the driver sitting behind. Nevertheless, they remain as a popular tourism attraction, but are not generally useful for city tours because they Photo 6. A photo of a cyclo. Source: Google Images are banned from many major roads as traffic hazards. 3. Bullet Train. High-speed rail is a type of rail transport that operates significantly faster than traditional rail traffic, using an integrated system of specialized rolling stock and dedicated tracks. Most bullet trains can be found on East Asia. The High-speed rail in China and Shanghai Maglev Train, the Shinkansen and SCMaglev of Japan, Korea Train Express and Taiwan High Speed Rail. 4. Elephant. Elephant riding is perhaps one of the biggest attractions for tourists in Thailand, and is definitely a must-try. They also hold an important part of transporting goods to remote locations. 5. Bamboo Train or Nori. A norry or nori is an improvised rail vehicle from Cambodia. Cambodia's bamboo trains are what they sound like. A 3m frame pieced together with bamboo planks atop barbell-like bogies powered by a small gas engine, these trains travel along old Photo 7. An image of a nori. Source: Google Images train tracks. 6. Rickshaw. A Rickshaw originally denoted a two or three-wheeled passenger cart, now known as a pulled rickshaw, which is generally pulled by one man carrying one passenger. Over time, cycle rickshaws (also known as pedicabs or trishaws), auto rickshaws, and electric rickshaws were invented, and have replaced the original pulled rickshaws, with a few exceptions for their use in tourism. Pulled rickshaws created a popular form Photo 8. An image of a rickshaw. Source: Google Images of transportation, and a source of employment for male laborers, within Asian cities in the 19th century. Their appearance was related to newly acquired knowledge of ball-bearing systems. Auto rickshaws are becoming more popular in some cities in the 21st century as an alternative to taxis because of their low cost. 7. Songthaew. A songthaew is a passenger vehicle in Thailand and Laos adapted from a pick-up or a larger truck and used as a share taxi or bus. It consists of two benches attached to some sort of wheels and engine, often trucks. While they're not the most comfortable, Photo 9. An image of a songthaew. they can handle rough terrain. Source: Google Images 8. Jeepney. A Jeepney is a jeep-bus hybrid used commonly as public buses in the Philippines. These came from the heavy use of Jeeps after WWII, from there, they were modified to carry more people. 9. Tuktuk. Found in Thailand, tuktuks are three-wheeled taxis that look like a motorcycle with a metal frame built around it. These can be found all over Thailand with 'taxi' signs on the roof. Photo 10. An image of a tuktuk. Source: 10. Carabao. Carabao (water buffalo) are Google Images found throughout the Philippines and have been used on farms for decades. While they are no longer a staple in transportation, they're still quite the tourist attraction. ECONOMIC, TRADES AND RESOURCES. While the economies of most Asian countries can be characterized as developing, there is enormous variation among them. The income classification is based on a measure of national income per person, or GNI per capita, calculated using the Atlas method. The thresholds to distinguish between the income groups have been adjusted for prices over time. As of 1 July 2018, low-income economies are defined as those with a GNI per capita of $995 or less in 2017; lower middle-income economies are those with a GNI per capita between $996 and $3,895; upper middle-income economies are those between $3,896 and $12,055; high-income economies are those with a GNI per capita of $12,055 or more.  Other countries relied on the exchange of basic raw materials and commodities such as rubber, tea, and tin for industrial products, often supplied by Western colonial powers. Since then different countries have adopted different strategies to achieve economic development. Industrialization has provided the primary means of economic development. For some economies this has meant manufacturing consumer goods, such as electronics, footwear, or clothing, often as contractors for foreign firms. Despite these changes, a majority of people in Asia are still engaged in agriculture, usually working small peasant holdings. In China and India, agriculture is still by far the biggest employer, though it provides a diminishing share of gross domestic product. UPPER MIDDLE LOWER MIDDLE HIGH INCOME LOW INCOME INCOME INCOME JAPAN TURKMENISTAN KYRGYZSTAN AFGHANISTAN SOUTH KOREA SRI LANKA UZBEKISTAN TAJIKISTAN HONGKONG MALDIVES BANGLADESH NORTH KOREA TAIWAN RUSSIA INDIA NEPAL BRUNEI MALAYSIA MONGOLIA SYRIA SINGAPORE THAILAND PAKISTAN ISRAEL GEORGIA BHUTAN KUWAIT ARMENIA CAMBODIA BAHRAIN AZERBAIJAN INDONESIA QATAR LEBANON LAOS SAUDI ARABIA JORDAN MYANMAR AUSTRALIA IRAQ PHILIPPINES GUAM IRAN EAST TIMOR NEW CALEDONIA TURKEY VIETNAM NEW ZEALAND AMERICAN SAMOA KIRIBATI PALAU FIJI MICRONESIA NORTHERN NAURU PAPUA NEW MARIANA ISLAND SAMOA GUINEA TUVALU SOLOMON ISLAND KAZAKHSTAN VANUATU Table 2. Chart showing how the thresholds, and various countries' economies have evolved over time. RESOURCES. As industry has become increasingly mechanized, it has often not provided much proportional growth in employment. It is the service sectors of the expanding cities that have shown the fastest growth in employment in recent years. In the poorer countries much of the employment growth is in what is known as the informal sector—a term referring to small, often family-owned businesses operating outside state regulation or control and mainly engaged in petty services or petty  manufacturing. Asian economic interdependence grew significantly during the late 20th century as a product of trade, investment, and better access to information. Biological Resources. Asia’s vastness and widely varying climatic conditions have produced the enormous diversity of life described in the discussions of plant and animal life. The distribution of economically valuable species, however, is highly uneven. The Arctic north of the continent and large areas of the central mountain massif—known as “the roof of the world”—are practically barren. In addition, even where there is water—and nowhere is water conservation pursued more carefully than in Asia—there are still many areas of undrained swamp. Table 3. Chart showing the different kinds of mineral resources of Asia and Pacific. Meanwhile, the Pacific region's rich natural resources support its major economic enterprises in agriculture, fishing, timber and trade. Tourism, a growing sector, also depends on the ecological endowment of the region. In the agricultural field, cash crop production and subsistence cultivation coexist. Similarly, a dual system of commercial and subsistence fishery production exists. Animal resources. Domesticated animals—principally sheep and goats, but also cattle, poultry, and pigs in agricultural areas—are the most economically important animal species. Hides, wool, and dairy products are of great economic significance in many areas. Among Asia’s populations of wild animals, the valuable fur-bearing mammals of Siberia have long been hunted. Various kinds of birds are found in different region of Asia and Pacific. Fish and other sea creatures and various kinds of crustaceans and mollusks are heavily exploited by the populations of East, Southeast Asia and Pacific. ECONOMIC ORGANIZATION. The following are the organizations founded and/or established in response to the Asian countries’ economic issues and disputes. South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).  8 member state includes Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives, and Sri Lanka.  Every area in the world was getting their own regional organization, South Asia Nation also decided to form a regional organization initiated by Photo 11. A logo of South Asian Association for Regional Pres. of Bangladesh Ziaur Rahman. Cooperation International  Founded in Dhaka conference in 1985 Business. Source: Google Images  Headquarters- Kathmandu, Nepal. Association of Southeast Asian Nations  Established on August 8, 1967 in Bangkok, Thailand with 10 members- Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam  Headquarters- Jakarta, Indonesia.  The collective nations of Southeast Asia to bind themselves together in friendship and Photo 12. A logo of Association of Southeast cooperation and, through joint efforts and Asian Nations. Source: Google Images sacrifices, secure for their people and for posterity the blessings of peace, freedom and prosperity. Aims and Purposes  Economic growth, social progress and cultural development.  Regional peace and stability  Active collaboration and mutual assistance  Training and research facilities Photo 13. A logo of Shanghai Shanghai Cooperation Organization Cooperation Organization Source: Google Images  Creation was announced on June 15, 2001 in Shanghai   Members- China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India, Pakistan  Headquarters- Beijing, China  Why?: The organization’s goals and agenda have broadened to include increases military and counter-terrorism cooperation and intelligence sharing. Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Photo 14. A logo of Asia  21 Pacific Member Economies Pacific Economic Cooperation. Source: Google Images  Established in 1989  Headquarters- Singapore.  More effective cooperation across the Pacific Region. Asian Development Bank  A regional development bank established on 19 December 1966.  Maintains 31 field offices around the world to promote social and economic development in Asia.  Headquarters- Ortigas Center located in the city of Mandaluyong, Metro Manila, Philippines.  Why?: Achieve a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, Photo 15. A logo of Asian Development Bank.Source: and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while Google Images sustaining our efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. LAW, ORDER AND WAR IN NON-STATE SOCIETIES Violence and War in Asia and Pacific. The forces of economic globalization, technological innovation, and population flow are rapidly transforming Asia. Despite this dynamism, some countries and subnational regions remain caught in protracted cycles of conflict and violence, contributing to underdevelopment, poor governance, and instability. In an increasingly inter-connected and porous region, with the stream of people, guns, legal and illegal trade, and ideologies crossing national borders, conflict and violence in one country can severely impact other countries.  It is between between intercommunal violence, gender-based violence, land and natural resource conflicts, cross-border insurgency and terrorism, and the links between conflict and regime type. Photo 16. Levels of violence and conflict in Asia. Source: Google Images  Photo 17. Philippines: terraced fields. Terraced rice fields on the island of Luzon, in the Philippines. Source: Skip Nall/Corbis RF HUMAN SETTLEMENT Settlement patterns. Agriculture remains the mainstay of Asia, though the proportion of the population engaged in agriculture is steadily declining. Although marginal lands in many parts of South and East Asia have been brought under cultivation, and many former pastoral ranges in Southwest and Central Asia are now irrigated, the broad ecological factors touched upon above have continued to give rise to geographic variations in population and economic activity. Parts of South and East Asia can support dense populations. Moister regions in the southwest—for example, in Turkey and northern Iran—support large populations. CENTRAL ASIA. Pastoral and farmer populations, who have coexisted in Central Asia since the fourth millennium B.C., present not only different lifestyles and means of subsistence but also various types of social organization. Pastoral populations are organized into so-called descent groups (tribes, clans, and lineages) and practice exogamous marriages (a man chooses a bride in a different lineage or clan). In Central Asia, these descent groups are patrilineal: The children are systematically affiliated with the descent groups of the father. By contrast, farmer populations are organized into families (extended or nuclear) and often establish endogamous marriages with cousins. EAST ASIA. Common ancestor of Han Chinese, Japanese and Koreans dated to 3000–3600 years ago. New research published in Hereditas has dated the most recent common ancestor of the three Major East Asian ethnic groups to the time of the Shang dynasty using a genome-wide study.  Chinese, Japanese, Korean, what is the difference? It is usually difficult to tell which of the three East Asian groups a person comes from just by looking at their appearance. Indeed, these three influential ethnic groups, i.e., Han Chinese, Japanese, and Korean share many similarities in appearance, language and culture. The genetic distinctions among the three East Asian groups initially resulted from population divergence due to pre historical or historical migrations. Subsequently, different geographical locations where the three populations are living, the mainland of China, the Korean Peninsula and the Japanese archipelago, respectively, apparently facilitated population differentiation. SOUTHEAST ASIA. Virtually all of Southeast Asia lies between the tropics, and so there are similarities in climate as well as plant and animal life throughout the region. Temperatures are generally warm, although. It is cooler in highland areas. Despite a strong agrarian base, the communities that developed in these regions were also part of the maritime trading network that linked Southeast Asia to India and to China. The islands of maritime Southeast Asia can range from the very large (for instance, Borneo, Sumatra, Java, Luzon) to tiny pinpoints on the map (Indonesia is said to comprise 17,000 islands). Because the interior of the islands were jungle clad and frequently dissected by highlands, land travel was never easy. Southeast Asians found it easier to move by boat between different areas, and it is often said that the land divides and these unites. A second feature of maritime Southeast Asia is the seas themselves. Apart from a few deep underwater trenches, the oceans are shallow, which means they are rather warm and not very saline. This is an ideal environment for fish, coral, seaweeds, and other products. Though the seas in some areas are rough, the region as a whole, except for the Philippines, is generally free of hurricanes and typhoons. However, there are many active volcanoes and the island world is very vulnerable to earthquake activity. AUSTRONESIAN SOCIETIES. Worldwide, regions such as Eurasia show predominantly patrilocal residence, while Africa has mostly strict patrilocal or matrilocal systems (Murdock 1949; Goody 1976). By contrast, the Austronesian-speaking societies of the Pacific are not only more ambilocal, but also have a ‘matricentric orientation’; that is, a theme of matrilineal descent and matrilocal kinship structures (Burton et al. 1996). Austronesian societies are a useful regional case to test hypotheses about the evolution of kinship norms (Lane 1961) and the interaction between residence patterns and divergent genetic findings. Pacific scholars have  American soldiers and became a major part of the U.S. military effort in the Highlands. Thousands of Degar fled to Cambodia after the fall of Saigon to the North Vietnamese Army, fearing that the new government would launch reprisals against them because they had aided the U.S. Army. The U.S. military resettled some Degar in the United States, primarily in South Carolina, but these evacuees numbered less than two thousand. In addition, the Vietnamese government has steadily displaced thousands of villagers from Vietnam’s central highlands, to use the fertile land for coffee plantations. Outside of Southeast Asia, the largest community of Montagnards in the world is located in Greensboro, North Carolina. Photo 8. A degar man in Vietnam’s central Photo 9. The fleeting of Montagnards and highlands. Source: Save The Montagnard the green berets. Source: Slate.com People CAS E S T UDY LABOUR MIGRATION TRENDS: SCAPEGOATS OF #3 THE ASIAN ECONOMIC CRISIS Most Vulnerable Categories of Migr ant Workers in Asia th The Report of the Director-General to the 87 session of the International Labour Conference in 1999 stated: A… the primary goal of the ILO today is to promote opportunities for women and men to obtain decent and productive work, in conditions of freedom, equity, security and human dignity. @ (ILO, 1999c). Seen in this light, it is clear that most Asian migrant workers fail to secure decent work. The most seriously affected among them are three categories: female domestic workers and entertainers, trafficked persons and Lesson 2 CASES RELATED: ASIA, AUSTRALIA AND THE PACIFIC Introduction Concerns about geographic ignorance usually focus on people's inability to locate cities, countries, and rivers on a world map, and geographic instruction is often equated with conveying information about remote parts of the world. From this perspective it may be a surprise to some that geography has relevance to many of the critical issues facing society in the late twentieth century. Geographers and others using geographic knowledge and perspectives, in fact, are engaged in valuable research and teaching on matters ranging from environmental change to social conflict. The value of these activities derives from geography's focus on the evolving character and organization of the Earth's surface, on the ways in which the interactions of physical and human phenomena in space create distinctive places and regions, and on the influences those places and regions have on a wide range of natural and human events and processes. Such concerns are not simply exercises in expanding the encyclopedic knowledge of faraway places; they go to the heart of some of the most urgent questions before decision makers today: How should societies respond to the accelerated pace of environmental degradation in many parts of the world? What are the underlying causes and consequences of the growing disparities between rich and poor? What are the mechanisms that drive the global climate system? What causes the severe floods that have occurred in recent years, and how can society cope with such events? How is technology changing economic and social systems? Take the Challenge! In this module, challenge yourself to:  Enumerated sheer cases relating to the human geography of Asia, Australia and the Pacific;  Analyze how cases related to human geography affect with people, community and environment in Asia, Australia and the Pacific; and,  Apply concepts from sheer cases relating to the human geography of Asia, Australia and the Pacific in daily living. total fish catch. All told, the fisheries sector accounts for about 4% of GNP and directly employs over a million Filipinos, more than half of whom are engaged in small-scale fishing. Fish and other marine products supply up to 70% of the total animal protein intake and 30% of the total protein intake of Filipinos. And, with the growth of tourism in the coastal areas, Philippine coastal resources are predicted to become even more economically valuable over time. But time is not on the coastal communities’ side: Overfishing, over- exploitation and pollution are putting tremendous strain on Philippine coastal resources, resulting in the loss of fishery habitats, water quality and various types of marine life from corals to seagrasses to fishes. Already vulnerable to natural phenomena such as typhoons, cyclones and coastal storms, coastal communities are facing even greater risk from all kinds of unmanaged and potentially harmful human activities. Open access has resulted in over- exploitation of coastal resources -- 11 of the Philippines’ 50 major fishing grounds are overfished: San Miguel Bay, Lamon Bay, Lingayen Gulf, Manila Bay, the Batangas coastline, Ragay Gulf, Moro Gulf, Davao Gulf, Samar Sea, Visayas Sea, and the Pacific side of Bohol. Dynamite fishing, the use of cyanide, industrial pollution, domestic wastes and siltation are destroying the coral reefs. Mangrove forests are being converted into fishponds, beach resorts and residential and industrial estates, further reducing the natural habitats of the various fish, shellfish and crustaceans found in the coastal areas. The result: declining fish catch, which has already led to a situation where most fishing activities are becoming economically non-viable. Fishery experts say that in many areas around the country today, the limits of sustainable fishing has already been reached or even exceeded. Photo 6. Marine conservation efforts of Photo 7. Flooding of local coastal LGUs. Source: Global Nomadic. communities. Source: The Guardian. CAS E S T UDY THE DEGAR TRIBES: HIGHLANDERS OF VIETNAM #2 The Degar (referred to by French colonists as Montagnard) are the indigenous peoples of the Central Highlands of Vietnam. The term Montagnard means “mountain people” in French and is a carryover from the French colonial period in Vietnam. In Vietnamese, they are known by the term thượng (highlanders) – this term can also be applied to other minority ethnic groups in Vietnam. Thượng is the Vietnamese adaptation of the Chinese “Shang” (上 ). Montagnard was the term, typically shortened to “Yard”, used by U.S. military personnel in the Central Highlands during the Vietnam War. However the term has been viewed as derogatory and the official term is now Người dân tộc thiếu số (literally means minority people). Before the Vietnam War, the population of the Central Highlands, estimated at between 3 and 3.5 million, was almost exclusively Degar. Today, the population is approximately 4 million, of whom about 1 million are Degars. The 30 or so Degar tribes in the Central Highlands comprise more than six different ethnic groups who speak languages drawn primarily from the Malayo- Polynesian, Tai, and Mon-Khmer language families. The main tribes, in order of population, are the Jarai, Rhade, Bahnar, Koho, Mnong, and Stieng. Originally inhabitants of the coastal areas of the region, they were driven to the uninhabited mountainous areas by invading Vietnamese and Cambodians beginning prior to the 9th century. Although French Roman Catholic missionaries converted some Degar in the nineteenth century, American missionaries made more of an impact in the 1930s, and many Degar are now Protestant. Of the approximately 1 million Degar, close to half are Protestant, while around 200,000 are Roman Catholic. This made Vietnam’s Communist Party suspicious of the Degar, particularly during the Vietnam War, since it was thought that they would be more inclined to help the American forces (predominantly Christian—mainly Protestant). In the mid-1950s, the once-isolated Degar began experiencing more contact with outsiders after the Vietnamese government launched efforts to gain better control of the Central Highlands and, following the 1954 Geneva Accord, new ethnic minorities from North Vietnam moved into the area. As a result of these changes, Degar communities felt a need to strengthen some of their own social structures and to develop a more formal shared identity. In 1950, the French government established the Central Highlands as the Pays Montagnard du Sud (PMS) under the authority of Vietnamese Emperor Bảo Đại, whom the French had installed as nominal chief of state in 1949 as an alternative to Ho Chi Minh’s Democratic Republic of Vietnam. When the French withdrew from Vietnam and recognized a Vietnamese government, Degar political independence was drastically diminished. The Degar have a long history of tensions with the Vietnamese majority. While the Vietnamese are themselves heterogeneous, they generally share a common language and culture and have developed and maintained the dominant social institutions of Vietnam. The Degar do not share that heritage. There have been conflicts between the two groups over many issues, including land ownership, language and cultural preservation, access to education and resources, and political representation. In 1958, the Degar launched a movement known as BAJARAKA (the name is made up of the first letters of prominent tribes; compare to the later Nicaraguan Misurasata) to unite the tribes against the Vietnamese. There was a related, well-organized political and (occasionally) military force within the Degar communities known by the French acronym, FULRO, or United Front for the Liberation of Oppressed Races. FULRO’s objectives were autonomy for the Degar tribes. As the Vietnam War began to loom on the Horizons, both South Vietnamese and American policy makers sought to begin training troops from minority groups in the Vietnamese populace. The U.S. Mission to Saigon sponsored the training of the Degar in unconventional warfare by American Special Forces. These newly trained Degar were seen as a potential ally in the Central Highlands area to stop Viet Cong activity in the region and a means of preventing further spread of Viet Cong sympathy. Later, their participation would become much more important as the Ho Chi Minh trail, the North Vietnamese supply line for Viet Cong forces in the south, grew. The U.S. military, particularly the U.S. Army‘s Special Forces, developed base camps in the area and recruited the Degar, roughly 40,000 of whom fought alongside irregular migrant workers. These categories may not be always mutually exclusive since some of the first two may also be in irregular status. Women Workers: Domestic Workers and Entertainers Indonesia, the Philippines and Sri Lanka mainly account for sending women as domestic workers for overseas employment. The popular destinations are the Middle East, Hong Kong (China) and Singapore. Entertainers are regarded as a professional category. The problems faced by domestic workers are well known (Wickramasekara, 1995; Gulati, 1993). Being confined to private homes as the work place, they have to work long hours for low pay and are quite often subject to abuse and exploitation. Confiscation of passports is a common practice. Sexual harassment is a common complaint by domestic workers. They enjoy hardly any protection and the national laws invariably favour employers. These abuses are proverbial in the Middle East while they are common even in Singapore and Hong Kong (China), which have better labour administration systems (Asian Migrant Centre, 1999). “The isolation of domestic workers, most of them women, who are as a rule excluded from national labour laws, is conducive to serious violations of human rights. The conditions of domestic workers often can be comparable to slavery: unduly long working hours, poor remuneration, no access to social security, inadequate food and isolation because they are afraid of the authorities and often do not speak the local language. As with trafficking, they are lured by the empty promises of agencies that are well organized and operate worldwide” (CHR, 2000). Entertainers and women who are trafficked into the sex industry become virtual slaves in debt-bondage to pay back exorbitant charges claimed by traffickers. Migrant Workers – Scapegoats of the Asian Economic Crisis? Among ASEAN countries, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand were hit particularly hard by the recent economic crisis. Three of the countries were receiving countries while Indonesia was a major labour-sending country. Sharp falls in GDP growth, business failures, capital outflows and rising local unemployment and worker layoffs naturally affected the migrant worker populations. What was the immediate impact? The crisis reduced overall demand for labour with the economic downturn. The construction sector was worst affected, which was a major source of demand for foreign workers. Apart from direct job losses, migrant workers including skilled workers suffered declines or loss of wages and other benefits. Migrant workers treated as ‘disposable commodities’ to save jobs for local workers. Both Malaysia and Thailand, hosts to a large migrant worker population, mostly on irregular basis, announced plans for deportation of irregular workers and non-renewal of work permits for regular workers. In Thailand, immigrant worker replacement was one of the seven planks of the Unemployment Relief Scheme announced by the government. Malaysia also toughened its stand in the drive for saving jobs for the locals. Some have voiced concerns on the treatment meted out to migrant workers, particularly in detention centres, and possible human rights violations (Human Rights Watch 1998). The Republic of Korea offered an amnesty to illegal workers to leave voluntarily and many took advantage of this. The legal trainee scheme also was downsized. Yet, repatriations and deportations were not high as expected. While there have been significant return flows in many countries, predicted mass deportations did not take place, however (SCM, 1998). While complete figures are not available, Malaysia had sent back about 200,000 Indonesian workers employed in the services and construction services in 1998 while Thailand reported repatriation of about 200,000 Myanmar workers by end of 1998. Philippines was largely unaffected from the crisis given that Philippines has been able to diversify countries of overseas employment. While unemployment rates rose in Thailand and Malaysia, some sectors were still reporting labour shortages (SCM, 1998). This is because local workers have not been keen to go into these jobs involving arduous and risky work with low pay, usually one third to one half of wages paid to national workers. Both Thailand (rice milling and fishing industry) and Malaysia (plantation sector) therefore, eased some of the restrictions initially imposed. This highlights the structural nature of the demand for migrant labour (Martin, 2000). It is also noteworthy that domestic workers were not affected to that extent although they have suffered wage cuts as in Hong Kong (China). At the same time, there was considerable pressure for re-emigration on the part of countries like Indonesia to escape from the trap of poverty and unemployment in the heat of the crisis. Hugo (1999) reported that largest official migration was in 1998 under these conditions. Migrants as Scapegoats of the Crisis The media and politicians in the crisis-affected countries fuelled public resentment against migrant workers in the wake of the crisis. The ICFTU observed in 1998: “The financial tornado that is devastating Asia's economies has found an easy target: the migrant workers from neighbouring countries”. The statement issued by the Conference on Social and Political Dimensions of the Asian Economic Crisis at the Second Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) in March 1998 is highly relevant in this context. It urged ASEM governments to stop the forced repatriation of migrant workers immediately. It also added: “… migrant workers should not be used as a scapegoat for economic problems or manipulated by governments and business to fragment labour and bring down wages”. Photo 10. Fluxing of Chinese migrant Photo 11. Asian workers and their family workers to Southeast Asia. Source: South caught in bind during Middle East tension. China Morning Post. Source: Al Jazeera CAS E S T UDY IMMINENT GEOPOLITICAL ISSUES IN OCEANIA: #4 DISPUTE OF TERRITORIES 21st-Century Geopolitics of Oceania: Micronesia, Poly nesia, and Melanesia Oceania is the largest region of the world, though it’s also its most scarcely populated. Encompassing Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and all of the many islands east of the Philippines and Indonesia, this broad stretch of territory is literally transoceanic in scope, though it paradoxically doesn’t seem to have any overt geostrategic significance in modern-day International Relations. It’s been almost exclusively under the control or influence of the Western Powers since the end of World War II, and most people outside of Oceania don’t pay it any attention at all nowadays since events here rarely make global headlines except when natural disasters occur. For all intents and purposes, one might wonder whether there is any modern-day geopolitical significance to this region whatsoever, but the reality is that Oceania is poised to become a central zone of competition in the New Cold War, albeit one which will be kept out of the limelight for the most part because the shadow jostling between Great Powers here probably won’t be dramatic enough to attract much outside attention. Island Hopping Along the Latin American Silk Road The Pacific islands of Oceania form an integral part of China’s Sea Lines of Communication (SLOC) to Latin America, which will become ever more important in the coming decade as the People’s Republic expands its influence in South America, the Caribbean, and Central America through the Transoceanic Railroad (TORR) and Nicaraguan Canal projects. Accepting the trend of deeper Chinese interest and New Silk Road engagement with the Americas, it follows that the transit region of Oceania acquires its own related significance to Beijing by default in becoming an indispensable component to its plans. The problem, however, is that Oceania is still pretty much under the control or influence of the US, Australia, New Zealand, and France, or in other words, the unipolar world, and this is demonstrated most clearly through the “Compact of Free Association” that the Micronesian states signed with Washington following their “independence”, Australia’s military and diplomatic involvement in Melanesian conflicts, and France and New Zealand’s territorial holdings in Polynesia. Moreover, roughly a third of the countries which still have official relations with Taiwan (6) are in Oceania, and it’s just as important for China to “flip” their loyalty as it is for Beijing to do so with the remaining Latin American Cold War “holdovers” too. This is difficult to do because of the overwhelming economic sway that the unipolar world holds over these states through the tourism, fishing, and tax haven industries, as well as the large amount of aid that they give to these commercially despondent countries. What China needs to do is find a creative way to “win” them over to its side, and it could potentially do this by incorporating them into its One Belt One Road vision of New Silk Road connectivity. Although their domestic markets are incomparable to any of China’s other partners and therefore mostly insignificant in the consumption sense, these countries could play a valuable role if the emerging seabed mining industry becomes large-scale and profitable. In the event that it does, then China could work out a way to help these countries reinvest their profits into sovereign wealth funds linked to New Silk Road projects and institutions (such as the New Development Bank) in order to help them establish economic sovereignty and liberate themselves from their dependency on Western aid, tourism, and offshore tax-evading holdings. The issue, though, is that China isn’t the only Great Power who can provide this opportunity. The existing regional hegemons of the US, France, and Australia are capable of carrying out seabed mining operations and starting sovereign wealth funds, to say nothing of India and Japan, both of which are presently cooperating on the pan-hemispheric “Asia-Africa Growth Corridor” (also known as the “Freedom Corridor”) and are ready to challenge China wherever they can. Japan already has an historical legacy of influence in Micronesia following its post-World War I administration of the islands from Germany (and prior to the US’ control of them after World War II), while India is always eager to use its colonial-era diaspora to make inroads in some of the former British colonies  such as those in Oceania. Polynesia is mostly a French geopolitical playground, so it wouldn’t be a problem for Paris’ allied partners to get involved here, either. China therefore has its work cut out for it, and it’s for this reason why the Pacific islands of Oceania are becoming a zone of competition in the New Cold War. Photo 12. Geopolitical agreement between Photo 13. Melanesian people under the Australia and China over Oceania. Source: territories of Oceania. Source: Atlanta Black Pueblo en Linea Star CAS E S T UDY ROHINGYAN COMMUNITIES: STATELESS ETHNIC #5 OF MYANMAR Rohingya Crisis Since late August 2017, more than 671,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled Burma’s Rakhine State to escape the military’s large-scale campaign of ethnic cleansing. The atrocities committed by Burmese security forces, including mass killings, sexual violence, and widespread arson, amount to crimes against humanity. Military and civilian officials have repeatedly denied that security forces committed abuses during the operations, claims which are contradicted by extensive evidence and witness accounts. The Rohingya have faced decades of discrimination and repression under successive Burmese governments. Effectively denied citizenship under the 1982 Citizenship Law, they are one of the largest stateless populations in the world. Restrictions on movement and lack of access to basic health care have led to dire humanitarian conditions for those displaced by earlier waves of violence in 2012 and 2016.  Who are the Rohingya? The more than one million Rohingya Muslims are described as the 'world's most persecuted minority'. The Rohingya are an ethnic group, the majority of whom are Muslim, who have lived for centuries in the majority Buddhist Myanmar. Currently, there are about 1.1 million Rohingya in the Southeast Asian country. The Rohingya speak Rohingya or Ruaingga, a dialect that is distinct to others spoken throughout Myanmar. They are not considered one of the country's 135 official ethnic groups and have been denied citizenship in Myanmar since 1982, which has effectively rendered them stateless. Nearly all of the Rohingya in Myanmar live in the western coastal state of Rakhine and are not allowed to leave without government permission. It is one the poorest states in the country, with ghetto-like camps and a lack of basic services and opportunities. Due to ongoing violence and persecution, hundreds of thousands of Rohingya have fled to neighbouring countries either by land or boat over the course of many decades. Why aren't they recognised? Shortly after Myanmar's independence from the British in 1948, the Union Citizenship Act was passed, defining which ethnicities could gain citizenship. According to a 2015 report by the International Human Rights Clinic at Yale Law School, the Rohingya were not included. The act, however, did allow those whose families had lived in Myanmar for at least two generations to apply for identity cards. Rohingya were initially given such identification or even citizenship under the generational provision. During this time, several Rohingya also served in parliament. After the 1962 military coup in Myanmar, things changed dramatically for the Rohingya. All citizens were required to obtain national registration cards. The Rohingya, however, were only given foreign identity cards, which limited the jobs and educational opportunities they could pursue. In 1982, a new citizenship law was passed, effectively rendering the Rohingya stateless. Under the law, Rohingya were again not recognised as one of the country's 135 ethnic groups. The law established three levels of citizenship. In order to obtain the most basic level (naturalised citizenship), proof that the person's family lived in Myanmar before 1948 was needed, as well as fluency in one of the national languages. Many Rohingya lack such paperwork because it was either unavailable or denied to them. As a result of the law, their rights to study, work, travel, marry, practice their religion and access health services have been and continue to be restricted. The Rohingya cannot vote, and even if they navigate the citizenship test, they must identify as "naturalised" as opposed to Rohingya, and limits are placed on them entering certain professions such as medicine or law or running for office. How are they persecuted? Since the 1970s, a number of crackdowns on the Rohingya in Rakhine State have forced hundreds of thousands to flee to neighbouring Bangladesh, as well as Malaysia, Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries. During such crackdowns, refugees have often reported rape, torture, arson and murder by Myanmar security forces. After the killings of nine border police in October 2016, the government blamed what it claimed were fighters from an armed Rohingya group and troops started pouring into the villages of Rakhine State. A security crackdown on villages where Rohingya lived ensued, during which government troops were accused of an array of human rights abuses including extrajudicial killing, rape and arson - allegations the government denied. In November 2016, a UN official accused the government of carrying out ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya. It was not the first time such an accusation has been made. In April 2013, for example, HRW said Myanmar was conducting a campaign of ethnic cleansing against the Rohingya. The government has consistently denied such accusations. In August, residents and activists have described troops firing indiscriminately at unarmed Rohingya men, women and children. The government, however, has said nearly 100 people were killed after armed men from the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) launched a raid on police outposts in the region. In February 2018, the Associated Press released a video showing what they say is the site of a massacre and at least five undisclosed mass graves of Rohingya in Myanmar. The UN's special rapporteur to Myanmar said violence against the Rohingya bears the hallmarks of genocide. Myanmar's government razed at least 55 villages once populated by Rohingya, destroying with them evidence of crimes against the minority, according to Human Rights Watch. The rights groups released images in February that showed between December 2017 and mid-February, areas that were once full of buildings and greenery had been completed cleared. HRW described the actions by Myanmar security forces as an "ethnic cleansing campaign" and called on the UN and Myanmar's donors to demand an end to the demolitions. A total of 362 villages have been destroyed either completely or partially since Myanmar's military began a campaign against the Rohingya in August last year, according to HRW. Photo 14. Rohingyan rescued by local Photo 15. Worsening of Rohingyan fishermen in the coast of Indonesia. settlement influx. Source: The New York Source: Al Jazeera Times.