East-West Center in the News

(2012-01-08) "In China the same elements are in place but it is further back on the curve compared to Korea and Japan," said Deane Neubauer, an expert on higher education in Asia at the University of Hawaii's East-West Centre.

... "Demographic slow-down is going to look different in China than Japan and South Korea because of the size of the higher education system in China," said Neubauer.

"China is just beginning to see surplus capacity in higher education growth," Neubauer told University World News. "Now you see many higher education institutions in China scrambling around to justify themselves.

"We are beginning to see private institutions that are outside the state system and outside the prosperous coastal cities trying to find a new role. Many of them had concentrated on teaching but now they may be moving into research."

... "Regional differences are very considerable in China," said Neubauer of the East-West Centre. "And the difference between city and countryside is still palpable and extreme, so that if you are looking at participation and quality, there is a wide variation."

(2012-01-11) But the switch could actually make Hawaii consumers of electricity, gas and other petroleum products more vulnerable, according to Fereidun Fesharaki, an international oil consultant and a senior fellow at the East-West Center.

... "If the refining business is doing well and margins are strong with demand growing, the refiners can withstand the loss of business from fuel oil to renewables,” Fesharaki told Civil Beat by email. “If on the other hand, the refining business is weak and margins look bad the loss of fuel oil business will tip the balance to closure.”

(2012-01-12) International oil consultant Fereidun Fesharaki says he was not surprised by Tesoro's announcement to sell its refinery and 32 local stations.

It's a move he expected first by Chevron, which owns the state's other oil refinery.

"Refineries look at the long term and they see a no-growth market, expensive crude, and possibly losing ground," said Fesharaki.

...Fesharaki says there's a problem.

"Often people in Hawaii think if you use sun, wind or ocean it's free. It's not free," he says.

He says, right now, renewable energy costs are even higher than oil costs: about 100 dollars a barrel for oil and up to 200 for renewable energy.

He expects it will be our grandchildren who will see renewable energy prices at reasonable levels.

"The renewable push will be slowly and I emphasize very slowly over 20 to 40 year period of time," he estimated.

In the meantime, he believes another alternative is in order and within our reach.

The federal government has already labeled natural gas as what they call a "transition fuel."

(2012-01-15) While Beijing may expect Ma to move more quickly on closer ties, he will also need to spend time implementing policies already agreed to in his first term, Charles Morrison, president of the East-West Center, said in an interview with Bloomberg Television today.

“There may be expectations in Beijing now that he has won his second term, that he will be able to move faster on cross- strait relations than he has -- that probably would be a mistake,” said Morrison, speaking from Kuala Lumpur. “There are lots of things to consolidate right now, China and Taiwan have 550 direct flights a week, so a lot of human movement, the free trade agreement is just now beginning to take effect.”

-- Also appears in: BusinessWeek

(2012-01-21) "America matters to Asia in lots of ways beyond teacher training," it was highlighted including security. Though challenges such as "getting the right people" and producing a tailor-made programme, Dr Morrison assured that such challenges will not pose as a significant hurdle. "What we see is that there are a lot of resources that are available and the demand that is needed so I think this will be a very successful programme."

-- Also appears in: Borneo Bulletin Online

(2012-01-18) The new Japan Studies Fellowship, made possible by the generous support of the Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership, comes at a critical time," said Satu Limaye, director of the EWC's Washington office. "As the U.S. pays more attention to Asia, the United States-Japan alliance is a bedrock for other initiatives and activities. With this Fellowship, the East-West Center is able to bring specialists on issues of relevance to the overall U.S.-Japan relationship to Washington to interact with the policy and expert community and publish policy-relevant work--building a new network of rising specialists who will engage and act to further the U.S.-Japan partnership."

-- Also appears in: Targeted News Service

(2012-01-30) "Both experts and casual readers will enjoy and learn from Bill Sharp's observations" - Ray Burghardt, Chair, American Institute in Taiwan, and Director, East-West Center, Hawaii.

-- Also appears in: American Banking News, PR.com, PRLog, PR-USA.net

(2012-01-30) Denny Roy, who is a senior fellow with the East-West Center, a Hawaii-based congressionally-funded think tank, said Friday that a potential military base in the Philippines should not be seen as an alternative to the Guam military buildup because the military does not have to choose one or the other.

However, if the Defense Department is able to push some of its Pacific forces into the Philippines, it could lessen the amount of military might that moves to Guam, Roy said.

"If the U.S. and Philippine governments decided to go ahead with a U.S. base or bases in the Philippines, it's possible this could take some of the burden off of Guam to host a lot more military facilities in the future," Roy said, adding later: "Probably (the Defense Department) would like to have both options and to use each for different purposes. But if this panned out, it's possible that some assets that would otherwise have been based on Guam could be based in the Philippines."

... In response, Roy said that American forces in the Philippines would have a "geographic advantage" of being close to the "potential flash points" of Taiwan and the South China Sea.

-- Also appears in: Association of Defense Communities

(2012-02-02) It is difficult to give the Kyodo article proper weight because it is unclear who said it and why, said Denny Roy, an expert on Asian-Pacific military affairs. Roy is a senior fellow at the East-West Center, which is a federally funded think-tank in Hawaii.

In an interview with the Pacific Daily News, Roy explained that it is "very unlikely" that the Defense Department would make statements that so bluntly portray China as an adversary, so the Kyodo source is probably not a military official.

Even if they are, they are likely expressing a "disgruntled, minority view" fueled by frustration that it is not being followed, Roy said.

Roy also said it was not truly surprising that the Pentagon would at least consider Hawaii as an alternative.

"The military considers all kind of things that never see the light of day and would probably shock the average member of the American public," Roy said.

"You would think that, if the original problem was how do we lighten the burden on Okinawa, that several wide range possibilities would be considering, perhaps including Hawaii, unless it was felt that Hawaii is simply too far away," Roy said. ... ...

(2012-02-03) Denny Roy, who is a senior fellow at the East-West Center think-tank in Hawaii, said it is "very unlikely" that the anonymous source cited by Kyodo news service is a U.S. Department of Defense official.

... That doesn't sound like a military official, Roy said, because the military would be hesitant to bluntly portray China as an adversary. Even if the source is from the military, they are likely expressing a "disgruntled, minority view," Roy said.

... "The military considers all kind of things that never see the light of day and would probably shock the average member of the American public," Roy said.

"You would think that, if the original problem was how do we lighten the burden on Okinawa, that several wide range of possibilities would be considered, perhaps including Hawaii, unless it was felt that Hawaii is simply too far away," Roy said.