The Haze Saga....
Article 1
Article 2
Article 3
Excerpt from Article 2:
On the same day, Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen called his counterpart to offer Singapore's aircraft and personnel to seed clouds and aid in firefighting. Indonesia has accepted this,
Excerpt from Article 1:
A Jakarta-based MetroTV news reporter yesterday asked Mr Raffles if Indonesia would consider using helicopters or planes lent by neighbouring countries. "We have our own resources," Mr Raffles said. "Why should we be assisted and make ourselves look like we can't handle our problem?"
A few things can be gleaned from the above...sometimes, it is difficult for a country to tackle problems at home due to shortage of resources and equipment, which the Indonesian authorities admitted as much when it comes to combating the haze. So this is a gap that can be plugged by availing themselves to aid provided by other nations or the international community, which Singapore is more than glad to provide here as Indonesia's problem directly affects us as well....Note the specific examples of Singapore's help mentioned above...incidentally, Singapore also offered satellite images to help the Indonesian govt pinpoint the fire locations (hotspots).
However, sometimes, help is not accepted even when it is gravely needed due to national pride, and the embarrassment or loss of face when a bigger nation opt to receive help from a smaller or rival nation.....It can also be seen as a compromising of sovereignty in Article 3 above....
It's worthy of noting that Indonesia has finally ratified the Asean Trans-Boundary Haze Pact that is designed to combat the haze problem --- after dragging their feet on it for years, and being the last member country to jump on board (see Article 3 above).......This pact is a good example of international effort in resolving international problems....
Qns:
1) Does the presence of a foreign power ever help a country with problems? (Cam. 2008)
2) To what extent are international cooperation effective in addressing conflicts?
(For Qn2, note that 'conflict' does not involve environmental problems like the haze, but usually has a human element.....but if the haze led to a spat between countries, then it can arguably be considered a 'conflict')
For that matter, for a qn like [‘For the sake of the planet, tourism should be discouraged.’ Discuss.SRJC Prelim 2014)] note that the word 'planet' refers to the environmental aspect only. For instance, economic growth is not about the planet. But you can still bring in economic growth for this qn by arguing that we should not just look at the impact on the planet (i.e. envmt) but also consider other aspects like the economy, etc.)
The thing to note is that sometimes, the actual wording used in the qn is everything, limitng what u can or cannot include in your essay...so don't just reproduced verbatim a similar essay you have written or read before....Analyze the wording of the question judiciously
Article 2
Article 3
Excerpt from Article 2:
On the same day, Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen called his counterpart to offer Singapore's aircraft and personnel to seed clouds and aid in firefighting. Indonesia has accepted this,
Excerpt from Article 1:
A Jakarta-based MetroTV news reporter yesterday asked Mr Raffles if Indonesia would consider using helicopters or planes lent by neighbouring countries. "We have our own resources," Mr Raffles said. "Why should we be assisted and make ourselves look like we can't handle our problem?"
A few things can be gleaned from the above...sometimes, it is difficult for a country to tackle problems at home due to shortage of resources and equipment, which the Indonesian authorities admitted as much when it comes to combating the haze. So this is a gap that can be plugged by availing themselves to aid provided by other nations or the international community, which Singapore is more than glad to provide here as Indonesia's problem directly affects us as well....Note the specific examples of Singapore's help mentioned above...incidentally, Singapore also offered satellite images to help the Indonesian govt pinpoint the fire locations (hotspots).
However, sometimes, help is not accepted even when it is gravely needed due to national pride, and the embarrassment or loss of face when a bigger nation opt to receive help from a smaller or rival nation.....It can also be seen as a compromising of sovereignty in Article 3 above....
It's worthy of noting that Indonesia has finally ratified the Asean Trans-Boundary Haze Pact that is designed to combat the haze problem --- after dragging their feet on it for years, and being the last member country to jump on board (see Article 3 above).......This pact is a good example of international effort in resolving international problems....
Qns:
1) Does the presence of a foreign power ever help a country with problems? (Cam. 2008)
2) To what extent are international cooperation effective in addressing conflicts?
(For Qn2, note that 'conflict' does not involve environmental problems like the haze, but usually has a human element.....but if the haze led to a spat between countries, then it can arguably be considered a 'conflict')
For that matter, for a qn like [‘For the sake of the planet, tourism should be discouraged.’ Discuss.SRJC Prelim 2014)] note that the word 'planet' refers to the environmental aspect only. For instance, economic growth is not about the planet. But you can still bring in economic growth for this qn by arguing that we should not just look at the impact on the planet (i.e. envmt) but also consider other aspects like the economy, etc.)
The thing to note is that sometimes, the actual wording used in the qn is everything, limitng what u can or cannot include in your essay...so don't just reproduced verbatim a similar essay you have written or read before....Analyze the wording of the question judiciously
posted by Dark Shadow | 11:54 AM
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