Security in South East Asia: How Are South East Asian Countries Ensuring Their Security in an Uncertain Asian Security Environment Due to the Rise of China as a Regional and Global Power?

<p>The countries of Malaysia, Viet Nam and Indonesia are using a hedging strategy to ensure their security. The Philippines is pursuing a dual policy of hedging and balancing with the US. Singapore is following a policy of hedging but is verging on bandwagoning with the US. All countries are leveraging off ASEAN and its associated fora as their first line of defence. While ASEAN and its fora are adequate for dialogue they are not effective in solving disputes among ASEAN countries or between ASEAN countries and China. The uncertain military rise of China and territorial and maritime disputes with China are causing South East Asian countries to feel insecure. While China professes a policy of “Peaceful Development” its actions in 2009 and 2010 indicated a more aggressive approach to its claims over the entire South China Sea that it now states is an area of “core Interest” to China along with Taiwan. South East Asian countries are expanding or have plans to expand their defence force capability. The US is considered an important actor in guaranteeing South East Asian security and keeping China’s territorial ambitions in check in the immediate future. The countries of Malaysia, Viet Nam, Indonesia, Philippines and Singapore are developing strong economic links with China but are keeping their military links at arms length while forging closer defence links with the US.</p>

Security in South East Asia: How Are South East Asian Countries Ensuring Their Security in an Uncertain Asian Security Environment Due to the Rise of China as a Regional and Global Power?

<p>The countries of Malaysia, Viet Nam and Indonesia are using a hedging strategy to ensure their security. The Philippines is pursuing a dual policy of hedging and balancing with the US. Singapore is following a policy of hedging but is verging on bandwagoning with the US. All countries are leveraging off ASEAN and its associated fora as their first line of defence. While ASEAN and its fora are adequate for dialogue they are not effective in solving disputes among ASEAN countries or between ASEAN countries and China. The uncertain military rise of China and territorial and maritime disputes with China are causing South East Asian countries to feel insecure. While China professes a policy of “Peaceful Development” its actions in 2009 and 2010 indicated a more aggressive approach to its claims over the entire South China Sea that it now states is an area of “core Interest” to China along with Taiwan. South East Asian countries are expanding or have plans to expand their defence force capability. The US is considered an important actor in guaranteeing South East Asian security and keeping China’s territorial ambitions in check in the immediate future. The countries of Malaysia, Viet Nam, Indonesia, Philippines and Singapore are developing strong economic links with China but are keeping their military links at arms length while forging closer defence links with the US.</p>

Christian Nation in Zambia: from Proclamation to Reset

December 2021 marks the 30th anniversary of the proclamation of Zambia a Christian nation. The leader of the Movement for Multi-party Democracy (MMD) party who came to power in 1991, a convinced Christian F. Chiluba, declared Zambia a Christian nation, arguing that Christianity was then professed by more than 70% of the population and that this was supposed to help the country to get rid of corruption and contribute to its prosperity. The article analyzes the reasons of decision to declare Zambia a Christian nation. It is emphasized that political goals prevailed then over religious ones, since the issue of preserving and strengthening power was high on the political agenda of the ruling MMD party. The economic background is also touched upon: as a pragmatic president Chiluba pursued a policy of economic liberalization and counted on financial assistance from Western countries and international donors. The following Christian presidents L. Mwanawasa, R. Banda and M. Sata used limited Christian rhetoric, but they collaborated with the Church with varying degrees of intensity. At the same time, the provision on the Christian nation in the Constitution was preserved. It is noted that the role of the religious factor in politics increased in the early 2010s. The politicization of religion, primarily Christianity, became apparent during the struggle for power led by the leader of the opposition Patriotic Front party Michael Sata, who was supported by some religious leaders. After Edgar Lungu (party Patriotic Front) came to power in 2015, Zambia was re-proclaimed a Christian nation, which was enshrined in the new edition of the 2016 constitution. At the same time, the country began the political rehabilitation of F. Chiluba, who, after leaving the presidency in 2001, was persecuted for corruption. The campaigns for the 2015 presidential elections and for the 2016 general elections have shown the relevance of the discourse on religion and politics in the political process, primarily in its aspect of the multiple relationships between religion, ethnicity and politics. The article shows that the issue of the proclamation of Zambia a Christian nation remains relevant in Zambian society and among African and Western theologians and researchers whose judgments and conclusions are often polar opposite. The author notes that the realities of the socio-political, socio-economic and cultural life in Zambia do not yet indicate the existence of the declared Christian nation. The high level of corruption, poverty, limited rights of some groups of the population do not correspond to Christian ideals and values and have become serious challenges for the modern Zambian society. The article emphasizes that, unlike a number of other countries south of the Sahara, where competition between Christianity and Islam has intensified in recent years, leading, among other things, to bloody conflicts, Zambia survives this conflict along the axis of competition between different directions of Christianity. The ruling PF’s manifesto for the August 2021 general election contains Christian rhetoric. The document states the PF’s commitment to partnership with the Church, which it recognizes as a key partner in the conversion of Zambians into a Christian nation. Further peaceful development of Zambia depends on a balanced internal policy of the authorities aimed at solving complex socio-economic problems in cooperation with representatives of all religions and their confessions.

Defensive Realism’s Perspective on Rising China’s Behavior as A Status Quo State

China’s rise through rapid development especially in the economic sector have prompted debates on whether it seeks to overtake the United States (U.S.) and strive for domination. However, China insists that it has no such intentions since it benefits from the current system and wishes to pursue peaceful development. This paper will analyze why China is not seeking to displace the U.S. and alter the international order despite claims from offensive realism that states are revisionist as they pursue domination to guarantee its survival under anarchy. This paper argues that defensive realism can better explain the case and that China is a status quo state unlike claims from offensive realism. The writer conducted the study with defensive realism’s perspective and utilized indicators from Steve Chan, Weixing Hu, and Kai He to determine whether China is a status quo state. The results show that defensive realism can fill the gap left by offensive realism and that China is indeed a status quo state. Kebangkitan China yang ditandai dengan perkembangan pesat, terutama dalam bidang ekonomi, telah memicu perdebatan tentang apakah China berusaha untuk mengambil alih kekuasaan Amerika Serikat (A.S.) dan mendominasi tatanan global. Namun, China bersikeras dalam mengklaim bahwa tidak ada niat seperti itu karena mendapatkan keuntungan dari sistem saat ini dan lebih ingin mengejar pembangunan secara damai. Artikel ini akan menganalisis mengapa China tidak berusaha untuk menggantikan A.S. maupun mengubah tatanan global, meskipun ada klaim dari offensive realism bahwa setiap negara adalah revisionist karena mereka memperluas kekuasaannya untuk menjamin kelangsungan hidupnya di bawah sistem dunia yang anarki. Dalam artikel ini, penulis berpendapat bahwa defensive realism dapat menjelaskan kasus ini dengan lebih baik dan China adalah negara status quo tidak seperti klaim dari offensive realism. Penulis melakukan studi dengan perspektif defensive realism dan menggunakan indikator dari Steve Chan, Weixing Hu, dan Kai He untuk menentukan apakah China merupakan negara status quo. Hasilnya menunjukkan bahwa defensive realism dapat mengisi kekosongan yang ditinggalkan oleh offensive realism dan bahwa China memang negara status quo.

La publicidad desde el punto de vista de la Escuela Austríaca

In this paper I will try advertising from the point of view of the School of Austrian Economics. To do this, I will analyze the Mises’s comments in Hu-man Action about commercial propaganda, and also school important theo-ries, such as the Business Function, Dynamic Efficiency or Evolutionary Theory of Social Institutions. The aim is to check what relationship may be between these theories and the different definitions given about Advertising terms by some of the most important publishers of the moment. At the same time, it is intended to check whether advertising can be consistently explained with the Austrian theory. The Austrian School of Economics brings a human and real vision to the economical science, in which the individual and his actions are taken into account, starting all economic analysis from methodological individ-ualism, as are the individuals who by their actions give shape to the society. Thanks to the multidisciplinary approach of the school one can perfectly under-stand the development of advertising. The spectacular increase in the market has caused that the number of companies offering products and services con-stantly grows, this growth binds a process of constant competition which has led the advertising to a continually evolve. This explanation of advertising, ac-cording to the Austrian School, fully agrees with the view of some of the lead-ing advertisers. In turn, this article is a direct criticism of the political propagan-da, in which the results cannot be experienced freely by society and whose consequences are disastrous for social coexistence, the peaceful development of the cooperation and coordination of the company and all necessary human progress. Following the study, it concludes that advertising can be perfectly studied from the point of view of the Austrian School of Economics, which al-lows not only understand the economic benefits of advertising but also the dangers of political propaganda. Key Words: Advertising, Political Propaganda, Creativity, Competence Resumen: En este trabajo voy a tratar la publicidad desde el punto de vista de la Escuela Austriaca de Economía. Para ello, analizaré los comentarios de Mises en la Acción Humana sobre la propaganda comercial, así como impor-tantes teorías de la escuela, como la de la Función Empresarial, la Eficiencia dinámica o la Teoría Evolutiva de las Instituciones Sociales. El objetivo es com-probar qué relación puede haber entre dichas teorías y las distintas definicio-nes dadas sobre términos publicitarios por algunos de los más importantes publicistas del momento. A su vez se pretende comprobar si con la teoría austriaca puede explicarse la publicidad de forma coherente. La Escuela Aus-triaca de Economía aporta una visión humana y real a la ciencia económica, en la cual el individuo y sus actos son tenidos en cuenta, partiendo todo el análisis económico desde el individualismo metodológico, puesto que son los individuos los que con sus actos dan forma a la sociedad. Gracias a la visión multidisciplinar de la escuela puede entenderse perfectamente el desarrollo de la publicidad. El aumento espectacular dado en el mercado ha hecho que el número de empresas oferentes de productos y servicios crezca constantemen-te, a este crecimiento se une un proceso de competencia constante que ha provocado que la publicidad vaya evolucionando continuamente. Esta explica-ción de la publicidad, acorde con la Escuela Austriaca, coincide plenamente con la visión de algunos de los más destacados publicistas. A su vez, en este artículo se realiza una crítica directa a la propaganda política, cuyos resulta-dos no pueden experimentarse libremente por la sociedad y cuyas consecuen-cias son nefastas para la convivencia social, el desarrollo pacífico de la coo-peración y coordinación de dicha sociedad y todo el necesario progreso humano. A raíz de lo estudiado, se concluye que la publicidad puede estudiar-se perfectamente desde el punto de vista de la Escuela Austriaca de Economía, lo cual permite no solo comprender las ventajas económicas de la publicidad sino también los peligros de la propaganda política. Palabras clave: Publicidad, Propaganda política, Creatividad, Competencia

The Evolution of China’s Sporting Diplomacy since 1949

The sporting diplomacy in China, as an integral part of China’s overall diplomacy, unswervingly upholds the fundamental foreign policy goal of preserving world peace and promoting common development since New China was founded. After adopting the policy of reform and opening, the sporting diplomacy in China has made historical achievements through intensive participation in international sporting competitions, extensive involvement in international sporting organizations, active hosting of mega sports events, and frequent engagement in cultural sporting exchanges with other countries. In the last decade, with a constant increase in China’s economy, cultural soft power and international influence of sports, China makes an all-round effort in the pursuit of major countrywide sporting diplomacy with Chinese characteristics. Currently, despite the severe challenges outside China, Beijing is making smooth preparations for the 2022 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, which embraces another milestone in the diplomacy of sport in China. This paper analyzes decision environments, goals, actions and defining features of China’s sporting diplomacy in different periods and follows on to summarize practical experiences in the development of the sporting diplomacy in China. The paper shows that the resounding success of China’s sporting diplomacy can be attributed to its commitment to serving the country’s diplomatic strategy and core interests, its commitment to following the Chinese path of sporting diplomacy, and its commitment to the traditional Chinese value of peaceful development. Finally, emerging issues and promotion strategies are presented.

The Research of Xi Jinping’s Thought of a Community of Human Destiny from the Perspective of Chinese Culture

Xi Jinping is a great leader who knows Chinese history and Chinese culture, and he is also a firm supporter of the excellent traditional Chinese culture. The dialectical absorption and criticism of Xi Jinping’s thought of a community with a shared future for mankind integrates the essence of the Chinese culture, and contains the profound heritage of Chinese culture. Deeply understanding and grasping the rich connotation of Chinese culture and the value of the times will help provide useful reference for the world, provide cultural accumulation and support for Xi Jinping’s thought of a community with a shared future for mankind, and create a new era for the ideal new era of harmony and harmony in the community with a shared future for mankind. Xi Jinping, with his profound historical accumulation and national studies, actively explores the positive ways of life and governance in the Chinese Hehe culture, and resonates with the contemporary era, and proposes a new concept and initiative of a community with a shared future for mankind, and promotes the construction of global politics and security, Economy, culture, and ecology. A community of shared future to promote the building of a world of lasting peace, universal security, common prosperity, openness, inclusiveness, clean and beautiful world, so as to realize the beauty of permanent and peaceful development of mankind that “open peace for all generations” and “seek great harmony for the world” Vision. The proceeding from his profound accumulation of Chinese studies, Xi Jinping shows the unique charm of the Chinese culture to the world through the telling of “Chinese stories”, and pro-motes the “peaceful development, harmonious coexistence, and win-win cooperation of different civilizations” by advocating the tolerance and mutual learning of different civilizations “, forming an important idea to promote the construction of a community with a shared future for man-kind. Xi Jinping’s idea of a community with a shared future for mankind is based on absorbing the essence of Chinese culture, focusing on internalizing the requirements of the new era, and forming a value, international outlook, and order concept through the refinement and sublimation of theory and practice. It has rich Chinese cultural connotation. It not only shows distinctive Chinese characteristics, but also contains the common value pursuit of all mankind. It has been written into UN resolutions many times. It has been enriched with global cooperation concepts and practices such as the “Belt and Road” initiative. Changes in the global governance system, the construction of a new type of international relations and common value norms for the new international order.