Oceanía (Continuación)

MundoAsiaMundoOceanía, , ,

There is increasing discussion in the international press of uneasy parallels — with some pointing to similarities and others highlighting major differences — between the developing situation in East Asia today and the Balkans tinderbox 100 years ago. Even former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has joined the debate (“A maritime Balkans of the 21st century?” Foreign Policy, Jan. 30). At the heart of the conversation is China’s parallel with a rising Germany a century ago.

Australia today is experiencing tensions between its historical origins, cultural roots and political antecedents in Europe, and its geographical location and trading interests in Asia.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoOceanía,

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard is going American in a big way by setting the next national election seven months from now. The record length of the campaign is bad news for her opponent, Tony Abbott, and may be even worse for the nation’s 23 million people. Turning to a permanent campaign like that of the United States is shrewd politics. It puts opposition leader Abbott on the defensive, forcing him to offer more than tired conservative nostrums about the magic of lower taxes, less regulation and vague paeans to freedom. Instead, Abbott must offer specifics on how he will increase competitiveness and prosperity and how to pay for it.…  Seguir leyendo »

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When China ratified the United Nations law of the sea treaty in 1996, it was hailed as an important step toward stability and peaceful settlement of disputes in East Asia’s vast, valuable but conflict-riven offshore zone.

So the recent move by the Philippines to turn to the U.N. for a ruling on whether China’s sweeping claims to ownership and control over nearly all of the South China Sea in the maritime heart of Southeast Asia is in line with the 1982 treaty seemed like a perfectly law-abiding step.

But China’s Xinhua news agency said the Philippines’ referring the issue to a U.N.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoOceanía, ,

This summer, life in Australia resembles a compulsory and very unpleasant game of Russian roulette. A pool of hot air more than 1,000 miles wide has formed across the inland. It covers much of the continent, and has proved astonishingly persistent. Periodically, low pressure systems spill the heat towards the coast, where most Australians live. At Christmas it was Perth. Then the heat struck Adelaide, followed by Tasmania, Victoria, and southern New South Wales and Canberra. Over this weekend, it's southern Queensland and northern New South Wales that look set to face the gun. And with every heatwave, the incidences of bushfires and heat-related deaths and injuries spike.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoOceanía

A veces los países no dan con una buena política hasta después de haber agotado todas las demás opciones disponibles. Así ha sido en el caso de la tardía adopción por parte de Australia este mes, después de años de muchas disputas políticas, de un nuevo criterio pragmático, pero no insensible, para abordar el asunto de los buscadores de asilo que llegan por mar.

El meollo del problema –y lo que lo ha convertido en un asunto internacional más que un simple problema interior de Australia– es que los aspirantes a refugiados (principalmente procedentes del Afganistán, del Pakistán, del Iraq, del Irán y de Sri Lanka) han estado muriendo en cantidades espeluznantes.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoOceanía,

Australia is the world's first Murdochracy. US citizen Rupert Murdoch controls 70% of the metropolitan press. He has monopolies in state capitals and provincial centres. The only national newspaper is his. He is a dominant force online and in pay TV and publishing. Known fearfully as "Rupert", he is the chief mate.

But Murdoch's dominance is not as it is often presented. Although he is now one of the west's accredited demons, thanks to his phone hackers, he is but part of a media system that will not change when his empire is broken up. The political extremism that is the concentration of the world's wealth in few hands and the accelerating impoverishment of the majority will ensure this.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoOceanía

Uluru, the large red rock in the Australian outback, is a sacred site for aboriginal people. Photographs do not convey how dramatically it looms: an enormous crimson heart in the middle of thousands of miles of flat, muted desert.

It was here, on Aug. 17, 1980, that a dingo — an Australian wild dog — dragged a baby called Azaria Chamberlain from a tent as her parents sat by the campfire. Her body was never found.

Azaria’s desperate mother, Lindy, was accused of lying, convicted of murder and sent to prison. The film about her, “A Cry in the Dark,” starring Meryl Streep, spawned a thousand jokes: “A dingo’s got my baby!”…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoOceanía

Australia is a land of dangerous creatures. Almost every year somebody is attacked by a crocodile or shark, the bodies of an unfortunate few never to be recovered, having been used to fuel the metabolism of a great predator. Although the chances of such a thing happening are small, the horrific possibility is never far from the minds of Aussies enjoying the beach or those in Australia's tropical north.

Things have not always been this way; before the 1970s attacks by crocodiles and large sharks were rare. As predator numbers increased, a spate of attacks caught Australians by surprise, and deaths occurred before precautions were taken.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoAsiaMundoOceaníaInternacionalOrden Mundial

Asia’s economic dynamism is beginning to find a parallel in the region’s diplomacy, particularly where security is concerned. Indeed, we may now be “present at the creation,” as former US Secretary of State Dean Acheson called his memoir, which described the construction of the post-World War II global security order. This time, what is being created is a security order for Asia that reflects its newfound primacy in world affairs, though what that order will ultimately look like remains to be determined.

Security has moved to the top of the regional agenda not only in response to China’s rise, but also because America and the West will be leaving a gaping hole in Asia’s security architecture when they remove their troops from Afghanistan, without first having established peace there.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoAméricaMundoAsiaMundoOceanía, ,

Lorsque Barack Obama s'adressera au Parlement fédéral australien, le 17 novembre, son propos sera surtout destiné aux pays de l'Asie-Pacifique, inquiets de l'influence grandissante de la Chine dans la région. En faisant escale à Canberra, la capitale australienne, avant de se rendre au sommet de l'Asean, à Bali (Indonésie), le président américain devrait réaffirmer l'engagement des Etats-Unis aux côtés de ses alliés traditionnels dans la zone, à commencer par l'Australie, la plus grande île du monde.

Les liens entre ces deux pays-continents vont bien au-delà des affinités linguistiques et culturelles entre deux anciennes colonies britanniques, même si la reine d'Angleterre est toujours formellement le chef de l'Etat australien.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoAsiaMundoOceanía, ,

When the Commonwealth heads of government meet in Australia later this month, one prominent leader is almost certain to be conspicuously absent: India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. India is a strong backer of the association of former British colonies (and some new entrants without that shared heritage, notably Mozambique and Rwanda), so no displeasure with the Commonwealth is implied. Instead, rumors in New Delhi suggest that the decision to send a delegation led by India’s ceremonial vice-president, albeit an able former diplomat, might be a not-so-subtle rebuke to the summit’s host, Australia.

On the face of it, it is hard to imagine two countries with less cause for conflict.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoOceanía,

En un momento en el que los espantosos sucesos de Noruega nos recuerdan cuánta intolerancia asesina hay aún en el mundo, tal vez una historia de signo contrario pueda devolvernos un poco de optimismo, en el sentido de que se están produciendo algunos cambios de actitud positivos e históricamente importantes.

El mes pasado, un jugador de fútbol de la primera división de Australia fue multado y suspendido y, a consecuencia del cúmulo de informaciones negativas aparecidas en la prensa, sufrió una profunda humillación pública. Lo que tuvo de inhabitual ese caso –y la magnitud de la respuesta– fue su delito. No fue una entrada brutal; no insultó al árbitro ni facilitó información privilegiada a los jugadores.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoOceanía, ,

I forgive you if you have never heard of my country.

At just 8 square miles, about a third of the size of Manhattan, and located in the southern Pacific Ocean, Nauru appears as merely a pinpoint on most maps — if it is not missing entirely in a vast expanse of blue.

But make no mistake; we are a sovereign nation, with our own language, customs and history dating back 3,000 years. Nauru is worth a quick Internet search, I assure you, for not only will you discover a fascinating country that is often overlooked, you will find an indispensible cautionary tale about life in a place with hard ecological limits.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoOceanía, ,

Rising sea levels could threaten the existence of small island states such as Tuvalu, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands and the Maldives. If the international community cannot or will not slow global warming, the least it can do is help those states prepare for life after land by recognizing a new category of state — the deterritorialized state.

If we do nothing and these nations become uninhabitable, their citizens will not only become displaced persons seeking refuge in other countries; they will also lose control of their vast maritime zones, including valuable fisheries and mineral deposits, which will likely become the property of neighboring states or the global commons.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoOceanía,

In recent weeks visitors to Christchurch described the mood as optimistic, energised since the earthquake of 4 September, determined to rebuild. We were used to hearing about aftershocks; Cantabrians were used to toughing them out. And then this – shattering the fantasy that surviving one tragedy somehow exempts you from another.

It feels like much longer than a few days. There is, in general, what a friend calls a belief shortfall. For those of us not in Christchurch, not experiencing aftershocks day and night, not bereaved or homeless or without electricity and water, there's the weirdness of the mornings, waking to realise it's still happened.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoOceanía,

There was cricket in Sydney last week. The crowd wore pink fluorescent wigs and hats cut from watermelons. Shirts were optional. Australians are fun-loving when there is fun to be had. It’s part of our national character. So is our disregard for authority, which we celebrate, while at the same time being one of the most law-abiding nations on earth.

That’s what the rest of the world sees, and it’s all true. But we want to see something more in ourselves, a hard-working stoicism — and right now it’s the northeast state of Queensland, where once-in-a-century flooding has devastated countless communities, that shows it most clearly.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoOceanía,

Le 21 août 2010 devait avoir lieu le renouvellement de la Chambre des représentants et de la moitié du Sénat fédéral australiens. Ces élections devaient s'inscrire dans le cycle électoral prévu par la constitution australienne, les dernières ayant eu lieu en 2007. Alors qu'en 2007 l'enjeu portait sur la reconduite ou non de John Howard dans ses fonctions, les élections de 2010 revêtent un caractère inédit. Pour la première fois depuis la tenue d'élections dans le pays, le chef du gouvernement, s'il dispose d'une majorité partisane au parlement, n'a pas été explicitement choisi par le corps électoral.

En juin 2010, Kevin Rudd, premier ministre travailliste, avait été évincé par son propre parti suite à la campagne menée contre lui par les entreprises de l'industrie minière.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoOceanía,

One is a whip-cracking, larrikin cowboy, another a surfer with a social conscience, the third a hard-nosed farmer. Throw in a defence department whistleblower, add a tyro Greens MP for good measure and there you have the cast of characters who will decide the shape of Australia's new government.

While the acting prime minister, Julia Gillard, and her conservative nemesis, Tony Abbott, begin the vexed task of trying to pull together a workable minority government, the spotlight has narrowed to the blokes from the bush who hold the keys to the Aussie prime ministerial residence, known affectionately as The Lodge.

This gang of three – Bob Katter, Rob Oakeshott and Tony Windsor – are veteran anti-politicians, mavericks with big electoral majorities who have entrenched their support by snubbing the big parties.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoOceanía,

There are few certainties left in Australian politics. Two months ago, the Labor party moved to terminate its leader, Kevin Rudd – the first time a prime minister had been toppled by his own party before facing re-election. On Saturday, it was the turn of voters to overturn one of the general laws of electoral behaviour. It has been a long time since it last happened – namely, with the Scullin Labor government in 1931 – but a government has failed to secure a second term in its own right.

The result is disastrous for Labor. To be sure, a hung parliament means that Prime Minister Julia Gillard may yet form a minority government with the support of independent and Green MPs.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoOceanía,

It might be a hotly contested campaign in serious economic and environmental times, but Australia's federal election has never strayed far from the absurd.

In the red corner it's Labor leader and brand new prime minister, Julia Gillard – the flame-haired, childless, former lawyer and self-declared atheist. In the blue corner is coalition leader, Tony Abbott – the exercise-obsessed family man and former trainee priest.

Both leaders are far from political rookies and yet neither entered the campaign with the authority of incumbency. By her own admission, Gillard has struggled to find her feet and appear "real" on the hustings, while Abbott (who isn't called the Mad Monk for nothing) has been under 24-hour watch from his minders.…  Seguir leyendo »