Is China a threat to regional stability in the Asia Pacific?
It would be yes with respect to China growing capabilities and capacities as a world giant, economically and politically. With the growth in military armaments and the capability to manufacture nuclear weapons, China can be considered as a threat to the region. However few conditions need to be created in order to see how China can be a threat to the region.
It will be possible if;
- Taiwan decides to confront China requesting for independence and change their name into Republic of Taiwan. China as conventional has been firm on their interest on Taiwan and any immediate request from Taiwan will only worsen the situation. On the other hand, U.S has stated undoubtedly that they against any physical attack by China on Taiwan, it can be presume that if this clashes is happening, it will shake the relationship between China with its ASEAN neighbors, worsen their tension relationship with their long-lasting rivalry, Japan and in particular with the U.S. This will also invite the participation of South Korea in the dispute due to their position as U.S allies in East Asia.
- By having India and Pakistan as country with nuclear weapon capability in Asia will also increase the probability of China becoming the threat to Asia Pacific. Any border dispute between these three big Asia giant is enough to put the world on a shaky condition. Although India have never directly demonstrate their support to U.S regarding any issue that involve China, however this could be amended as a repayment to the U.S due to its favoring action on India in acknowledging them as a nuclear power state. While North Korea is assumed to have developed nuclear weapon, China has shown their reluctance to lay any pressure on them and this has also annoyed U.S. China with its aim to be at the par with U.S in current world affair will sooner or later use their capacity to stand off from any pressure created by U.S.
- Disputes among ASEAN country members and China about maritime border becoming unpleasant. Currently China is claiming a large area of South China Sea as their maritime territory however due historical matter, this issue remains disputed. Although the impact of this crisis will not affect the Asia Pacific region greatly, it can be predicted that if China does not handle this issue cautiously, it will trigger tension between China and countries within South China Sea. It is know that within this maritime territory, Philippines and Taiwan are among the claimers and having to have this two country involve in a dispute will only encourage the involvement of the U.S.
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i welcome anyone to have a say about this issue. this is an analysis base on international current affair and it represent my own analysis. therefore, please do not feel offended with it and i apologies for any inconveniene caused by it.
when there is a will, there is away...
Oil fuelling Islamic finance sectorSunday 24 September 2006, 8:15 Makka Time, 5:15 GMT
The Islamic finance sector is prospering due to a growing demand from investors, both Muslim and non-Muslim, and the flow of oil money from the Gulf.
Analysts estimate that the Islamic finance sector - which complies with Sharia law based on the Quran - is now worth up to $500 billion, compared to $200 billion two years ago.
Islamic retail banks and investment funds now number in the hundreds and financial institutions in non-Muslim countries, including Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, HSBC, Lloyds TSB and UBS, are increasingly choosing to offer products that are compatible with Sharia law Islamic finance bans the earning and payment of interest and forbids investment in businesses linked to the alcoholic drinks and gambling industries.
Japan will be the first major industrialised country to issue Islamic bonds if the Japan Bank for International Cooperation goes ahead with a plan aimed at attracting money from oil-rich Muslim countries.
'Better than ever'"The [Islamic finance] industry is doing better than ever," said Rodney Wilson, director of post-graduate Islamic studies at Durham University in the northeast of England. "There is a lot of money flowing into the Islamic finance institutions and conventional banks which are also offering Islamic finance products. It's obviously related to the high price of oil and the money flowing into the Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates".
Investments into the Gulf region are increasingly complying with Sharia law such as the building of a so-called economic city north of Jeddah in Saudi Arabia at a cost of $27 billion.
Islamic finance is also growing in southeast Asia. Earlier this month, the central bank of Malaysia said it planned to conduct Islamic financial business in international currencies to help increase investment from abroad.
Savings accounts
"The [Islamic finance] industry is doing better than ever". Rodney Wilson, director of postgraduate Islamic studies at Durham University, EnglandModern Islamic capitalism was created in Egypt during the early 1960s with the introduction of savings accounts. But in the 1990s it really took off with the development of Sharia investment funds. One area of Islamic finance which is burgeoning is the bond market, with much of the investment coming from non-Muslim overseas investors, according to a recent study by a London-based law firm. During the first half of 2006, the value of issued Islamic bonds, or sukuk, more than doubled to $4.585 billion, according to Trowers and Hamlins, whose offices abroad are based mainly in the Gulf region. Earlier this month, the Kuwait Finance House launched the first sukuk in China to finance construction of a power station, whose profits will be shared among investors.
Oil wealth"There has been a huge inflow of oil wealth into Islamic investment funds which are, naturally enough, seeking Islamically-compliant vehicles, such as sukuks, in which to channel funds"Neale Downes, a partner at Trowers and Hamlins "There has been a huge inflow of oil wealth into Islamic investment funds which are, naturally enough, seeking Islamically-compliant vehicles, such as sukuks, in which to channel funds," said Neale Downes, a partner at Trowers and Hamlins. "Foreign investors represent an increasingly dominant segment of the market for Islamically-compliant debt. What is really significant is that they are now comfortable buying corporate sukuk and not just those issued by sovereign borrowers," he added.
The influence of Islamic finance is spreading across the world.
The International Swaps and Derivatives Association recently signed a deal with the International Islamic Financial Market, based in Bahrain, to define Islamic standards. While the leading Islamic speculative fund, Algo Al-Qayyim Fund, was approved in February to operate on the British island of Jersey. And according to a study last year by London South Bank University, the European property market is the preferred investment area for Islamic funds.
get this from
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/A098C4AA-C2D9-4D7C-8E39-9BCF6BEAE6D6.htm
in the kitchen...
when there is a crack in a wall,
when there is a wind that blow,
we should know that,
there is nowhere a secret can be kept safe...
p/s: we never think what we might encounter later but we always keep ourself aware that danger is everywhere and there is nowhere we can excuse from meeting it...
antara aku dan DIA...
sehari-harian aku mencari erti kehidupan, malah mungkin bukan seharian malah sepanjang kehidupan aku yang aku ingat. antara ingat atau lupa, banyak sudah pengalaman yang aku tempuh, samada berseorangan atau berkeluarga, tetapi selalunya berseorangan. pernah aku diajukan soalan, kenapa aku tidak berkongsi masalah tetapi hanya memilih untuk berkongsi kegembiraan dengan keluarga. persoalan itu hanya aku jawab hanya DIA yang sanggup mendengar permasalahan aku. hanya DIA yang akan membantu aku kelak tatkala semua manusia sibuk mencari menusia lain untuk melangsaikan 'hutang' dunia. aku pasti yang ada disitu hanya DIA dan DIA lah yang akan menentukan duka dan gembira aku.
keluarga hanya sementara malah keluarga hanya sebuah simbolik untuk perpaduan. tanpa keluarga, tiada institusi yang bisa berdiri tegak. walaupun aku sedar aku punya keluarga tetapi yang pasti sejarah tidak dapat aku perbaiki. sejarah hanya akan sah apabila ia diterima dengan rela. sejarah aku masih belum dan sukar untuk diterima malah sejarah aku pernah dihina oleh orang yang aku sayang. tetapi selama ini DIA yang membantu aku sehingga aku berdiri tegak di bumi asing. hanya DIA yang tahu mengapa aku disini. kitab yang dikarang oleh DIA adalah muktamad dan aku rela malah tanpa paksa aku terima.
sering kali aku terduduk apabila cuba menjawab persoalan hidup. mampukah aku berdiri sekali lagi untuk berdepan dengan persoalan hidup. suku abad tidak menandakan aku kuat didalam menjawab soalah hidup. hidupnya aku selama suku abad, hanya berdiri lagi bersendiri dan kadang-kadang dihiasi dengan carutan, hukuman dan penghinaan tatkala aku baru setahun jagung mengenal apa itu hidup, keluarga dan saudara mara.
makin jauh aku pergi, makin mudah untuk aku fahami kenapa aku disini. walaupun aku sekadar menumpang kasih didunia, DIA tidak pernah menjadikan aku sebahagian daripada penumpang. aku tidak pernah kenal erti ayah dan aku tidak pernah diperkenalkan erti sejarah hidup. yang yang telah diperkenalkan kepada aku ialah, perasaan beban dan rasa malu kerana kewujudan aku adalah kerana itu. tetapi DIA 'mengajar' aku bahwa, yang aku cari ialah kegembiraan akhirat dan bukan kegembiraan dunia. mungkin aku tidak akan mengetahui sejarah hidup aku yang sebenarnya, tetapi setiap hari yang aku lalui, aku sering bertanya kepada DIA, siapa aku dan kenapa aku dilahirkan dengan sejarah sedemikian rupa. tidak pernah aku sesali kewujudan aku, tetapi kesedihan akan timbul apabila sejarah hidup aku dipermainkan oleh orang yang aku sayangi dan dia merupakan sebahagian daripada sejarah itu. selama suku abad, aku hidup didalam teka-teki dan yang sering menjadi korban ialah perasaan seorang anak kecil yang hidup mudanya tidak pernah diperkenalkan siapa 'sejarahnya'.
untuk yang disayang, sebagai seorang dewasa,pengorbanan yang telah dibuat memanglah besar tetapi fahamilah, untuk seorang anak kecil mengorbankan kegembiraannya sewaktu kecil menghadapi setiap persoalan mengenai sejarah awalnya, adalah sesuatu yang amat memalukan dan mahu dielakkan dan jika mati itu adalah sebagai jawapan terakhir, mungkin itu yang akan dilaksanakan.
mungkin DIA tahu apa yang terbaik untuk aku dan aku redha dengan apa yang telah ditentukan oleh DIA. aku tidak punya siapa kecuali seorang yang aku sayangi dan DIA. sekiranya aku pergi dahulu, DIA lah tempat aku mengadu dan DIA lah tempat untuk aku memohon pertolongan. aku tidak pernah bertanya malah sering mengelak untuk bertanya, bukan kerana takut, bukan kerana malu tetapi kerana ingin mejaga hati dan perasaan seorang dewasa yang telah berkorban untuk anak kecilnya. untuk yang tidak pernah mengalaminya, mudah untuk mereka mengatakan bahawa orang lain juga mempunyai sejarah yang sama, tetapi pernahkan mereka laluinya. ingin juga aku padamkan sejarah hidup aku agar tidak dipersoalkan lagi tetapi bisakah ia dilakukan.
untuk yang mengetahui diri aku, sedarlah, antara paksa atau rela, sejarah tidak pernah menipu tatepi yang menipu adalah sang penulis sejarah. terserahlah bagaimana sejarah itu hendak dikarang, tapi ingat yang hidup akan mati dan tatkala masa itu sampai, DIA lah penentu segalanya.
