Asian Studies Blog

For this blog post, I am using two articles, both from The Washington Post, because the second article helps give context for the first article. 1st Article: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/chinese-warship-nearly-hits-us-destroyer-in-south-china-sea/2018/10/02/877cc788-c5fb-11e8-9158-09630a6d8725_story.html?utm_term=.fe60eeab0aa7 2nd Article: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2016/07/13/why-does-china-care-so-much-about-the-south-china-sea-here-are-5-reasons/?utm_term=.de4eff56b5ac ( 1st ) Today, October 2nd, 2018, China accused the United States of violating its sovereignty after one of our navy vessels sailed next to some highly disputed islands(Spratly Islands) in the South China Sea over the weekend. The USS Decatur was completing a freedom of navigation mission; an act to promote lawfulness in oceanic territory in which multiple countries hold claim to the land. Having been extremely angered by this, one of China's Luyang-Class Destroyers was order...

Right now, it is very easy to say that the US's relationship with China is very sour amid the trade war. In an article published by CNN today, the Chinese government has blocked the warship, USS Wasp, from docking in Hong Kong in October. This retaliatory action by China is not a first. This also happened back in 2016 after another US ship ventured into the South China Sea. However, there is more to this problem. On Tuesday, the US approved a $330 billion dollar arms sale to Taiwan, which most likely aggravated China. Taiwan and China have been at odds with each other since the Chinese Civil War in 1949, which caused Taiwan to become independent. Now, leaders in Beijing feel that Taiwan is against unification.

 For decades, the country of North Korea has been one of the biggest nuclear threat to the world. In fact, President Kim Jong Un from mid 2017 to early 2018 was threatening to launch ICBMs at the United States. But the US isn't the only country to feel the wrath of Kim Jong Un. He also had a nasty relationship with South Korea's president Moon Jae-in. On a more positive note, Kim Jong Un and Moon Jae-in are holding a joint press conference in Pyongyang to sign a military agreement that would end the war conflict on the Korean Peninsula. The agreement states that North Korea must shut down Tongchang-ri Missile Testing site with expert supervision present. This summit between the two leaders is very significant because these talks ended in a draw back in 1953. For the past 65 years, nothing has happened to get things rolling until now.  https://www.cnn.com/2018/09/18/asia/north-korea-south-korea-summit-intl/index.html

When you turn on the faucet here in the United States, what comes out? Yes, WATER! Due to our developed infrastructure, most people in this country never think twice about it. However, in the middle east, it's an entirely different ball game. In article from NPR by Diaa Hadid, describes how the slum neighborhood of Korangi, in Karachi, Pakistan, has no running water. When residents need water, they call on a gentleman named Mohammad Zubair. Many residents believe he belongs to a water tanker mafia. It is more pricey for clean water to be delivered, whereas polluted water is cheaper. Because some can only afford the cheaper water, it sickens people frequently with diarrhea, which is the leading cause of child mortality in Pakistan. However, this dire situation hasn't been happening forever. Karachi used to have water flowing through its pipes, until the mafias started to siphon water out of the government pipes to private lands where it is stored, and then sold off. This bus...

On March 11th, 2011, one of the worst tsunamis ravaged Japan. The disaster was so severe that even waves from the Pacific Ocean were felt all the way in California. This tsunami also initiated another disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Okuma, Japan. After the tsunami hit, the active reactors at the time where able to shut down their fission reactions. Unfortunately the tsunami also disabled the emergency generators needed to operate the reactor cooling pumps. Due to the lack of cooling, three nuclear meltdowns, hydrogen-air explosions, and radioactive materials being released to the atmosphere resulted. In an article published by NPR on September 5th, 2018, it has been revealed that the first death of a former plant worker occurred recently. It is unknown the man's exact date of death, but he was in his 50's. He resigned in 2015 due to a diagnosis of lung cancer. His job description was to measure the radiation levels around the facility immediately fo...

https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/south-asia/delhis-refusal-of-foreign-aid-in-flood-crisis-sparks-debate Last year in the United States, citizens of Texas, Louisiana, and Puerto Rico were in the path of very destructive hurricanes in the fall of 2017. For those on the mainland, aid was ready to be delivered as soon as the storm had passed. Unfortunately in Puerto Rico, citizens were not as lucky. This was due to President Trump's delay in getting aid for Puerto Rico. Damage has been estimated at $95 billion dollars, and today the territory is still not 100% fixed. It is rather unfortunate to see world leaders act in a lazy and uncaring manner when a natural disaster happens. However, this is not just the case in the US..... Currently, this same issue is unfolding in Kerala, India. In early August, the city was subjected to monsoon rains that caused horrific flooding. 400 people were killed, and over 2,600 villages were annihilated. The Kerala government estimated the damage at ...