Others must step in if US abandons humanitarian aid legacy
[email protected] or filling in
this Google form . Submissions should not exceed 400 words, and must include your full name and address, plus a phone number for verification
Advertisement
As the date of
the 50th anniversary of the fall of Saigon draws closer, my family feels forever grateful to Murray MacLehose, the former governor of Hong Kong, and Queen Elizabeth. They allowed my family to stay in a Hong Kong refugee camp after we fled Saigon on April 30, 1975, the last day of the Vietnam war.
When I was four years old, my family was rescued by the Clara Maersk, a Danish cargo boat, which docked into Hong Kong harbour on May 4, 1975. In a moment of serendipity, Queen Elizabeth was
making her first visit to Hong Kong as we arrived.
On May 2, the Clara Maersk's captain Anton Olsen answered the mayday message of Captain Pham Ngoc Luy of the Truong Xuan cargo boat, which was sinking on the high seas. We were among
the 3,628 refugees who had been squashed onto the Truong Xuan after we escaped the communist army as it advanced into Saigon on April 30. These captains are my heroes.
Our journey from Saigon to Hong Kong took four days. According to Luy's memoir, the US 7th Fleet sailed by the Truong Xuan but was unable to help as the fleet was far away. My aunt, who was also on board the Truong Xuan, later told me that the US government helped pay the expenses for our journey, given that there were US allies – South Vietnamese army members – on board. I am grateful for the US' goodwill.
Advertisement
However, I have an ambivalent relationship with the United States. I love American culture, but I feel immense grief because the US war machine was so destructive to civilian lives during the war. Yet today, I hope the US will not fully withdraw its foreign aid for vulnerable people who face numerous illnesses. If there are gaps in US foreign aid, then I hope that Europe and Australia can contribute to programmes.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
25-07-2025
- South China Morning Post
Schools need more support to integrate talent visa dependants into Hong Kong
Feel strongly about these letters, or any other aspects of the news? Share your views by emailing us your Letter to the Editor at letters@ or filling in this Google form . Submissions should not exceed 400 words, and must include your full name and address, plus a phone number for verification When asked about the process of transitioning a student from one school to another, I often resort to the same analogy: it's like repotting a plant. The plant may thrive in its new, larger environment, but there's always a risk that the roots won't take hold. The Post's report on the challenges faced by the children of Top Talent Pass Scheme and Quality Migrant Admission Scheme visa holders (''I felt lost': mainland Chinese talent children on their struggles to settle in Hong Kong', July 18 ) should come as no surprise. Young people encounter a host of obstacles even when moving to a new school within the same city: new teachers, new buildings and, above all, new peers. The complex social dynamics unique to every school environment require careful navigation – a process that can prove difficult even for adults. The complexity of these dynamics is multiplied a hundred-fold by the language barriers that many mainland students run into in Hong Kong schools. Disparate educational regimes and subtle cultural differences between the mainland and Hong Kong only exacerbate the situation. School administrators may have experience in integrating a handful of new students each year, but they likely find it overwhelming to do so on the scale described in the report. We must not assume that students, teachers and schools will simply sort themselves out when they are placed under such strain. Instead, schools must receive more direct support to integrate new arrivals seamlessly into communities. We can take lessons from Hong Kong's many international schools, which regularly welcome large numbers of new students among their ranks.
AllAfrica
12-06-2025
- AllAfrica
Forging a European third pole in the Indo-Pacific
At the 2025 Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, European leaders signaled an ambitious new intent to play a bigger role in Indo-Pacific affairs. French President Emmanuel Macron called for a 'strategic balance' in Asia, while European Commission Vice President Kaja Kallas described Europe as a 'partner, not a power.' Officials from Germany, Sweden, and Finland echoed these views. The proposition is that Europe could serve as a stabilizing third pole, positioned between China's assertiveness and the United States' fluctuating and uncertain commitments. This framing has intuitive appeal. Europe is viewed as technologically capable, geopolitically distant and less hegemonic than either the US or China. Yet the Indo-Pacific remains a maritime-first theater, where strategic relevance is defined not by sentiment but by presence and sustained investment. The Indo-Pacific region accounts for over 60% of global maritime trade and encompasses some of the world's most contested flashpoints, including the South China Sea, the East China Sea and the Taiwan Strait. China now fields the world's largest navy, with 355 ships in 2025 and a projected 440 by 2030. The US retains dominance in tonnage and strike capability but is capable of building only 1.5 ships annually, compared to China's at least eight. By contrast, European capabilities remain insufficient for sustained operations in the Indo-Pacific. Only France, the United Kingdom and Italy operate aircraft carriers. The UK has two Queen Elizabeth-class carriers, but only one is deployable at a time due to maintenance cycles. As of 2025, the UK's Royal Navy fields just 16 operational F-35Bs, well short of the 24 typically required for a full carrier air wing. France's sole carrier, the Charles de Gaulle, when docked, removes its carrier-based airpower from the theater. Italy's Cavour and Trieste remains reliant on AV-8B Harriers, with fewer than 10 next-generation aircraft available as of 2024. All three navies face shortfalls in escorts and support vessels. While a US carrier strike group typically includes four to six escorts and one to two support ships, European deployments often manage only two to three escorts. It is therefore unsurprising that less than 5% of Europe's naval assets are deployed to the Indo-Pacific. Europe's current naval presence may be limited but three avenues offer Europe the opportunity to make meaningful, near-term contributions to Indo-Pacific security. First, Europe could pursue full membership in the ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting Plus (ADMM-Plus), the region's foremost multilateral security forum. Established in 2010, ADMM-Plus comprises ASEAN and eight dialogue partners: The United States, China, Japan, India, Australia, Russia, New Zealand, and South Korea. The forum has conducted more than 20 joint exercises and supports expert working groups in areas such as maritime security, counterterrorism and cyber defense. However, bloc cleavages are deepening. Japan, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea are much more dependent on US defense systems, while Russia, in the aftermath of its war in Ukraine, is increasingly dependent on China. ADMM-Plus may be due for a strategic evolution, one in which Europe could act as a stabilizing third pillar of Indo-Pacific security. Europe's full membership as dialogue partners would enable it to contribute meaningfully to regional capacity-building, particularly in maritime domain awareness, counter-piracy and cybersecurity, areas where it possesses deep technical expertise. Second, Europe can increase its strategic relevance in the region by linking defense exports to local industrial development. Southeast Asian states increasingly expect arms deals to include technology transfers, job creation and long-term economic value. This was reflected in ASEAN chairman Anwar Ibrahim's SLD25 statement that 'trade is part of our strategic architecture.' Recent European defense deals have embraced this logic. Sweden's Gripen sale to Thailand included training and maintenance infrastructure. France's 7.5 billion euro (US$8.6 billion) Rafale agreement with Indonesia and Germany's 1.2 billion euro submarine contract with Singapore similarly offered industrial participation. To move beyond fragmented, bilateral arrangements, however, the EU should use instruments such as the European Peace Facility (EPF) and Security Action for Europe (SAFE), a 150 billion euro defense investment fund approved in May 2025. These mechanisms can support coproduction, joint ventures and localized assembly aligned with both European supply chain interests and Southeast Asia's development needs. Finally, programs like SAFE are designed to strengthen Europe's defense industrial base by financing large-scale joint procurement and infrastructure. But scaling this capacity cost-effectively may require trusted partnerships beyond Europe's borders. ASEAN offers that potential, particularly if it is more closely integrated into European defense supply chains. If structured to meet SAFE's eligibility criteria – such as majority EU ownership or controlled IP – these arrangements could support the program's objectives of efficiency, resilience and industrial depth while enabling Southeast Asian states to modernize affordably under transparent, rules-based frameworks. All in all, Europe's growing Indo-Pacific aspirations are diplomatically significant but strategically incomplete. To play a central role, Europe needs to embed itself in regional institutions such as ADMM-Plus, align defense engagement with economic development and integrate trusted regional partners into its defense industrial supply chains. These moves won't match American force projection or offset Chinese naval expansion, but they could anchor Europe as a durable, strategic partner in a region looking for options beyond the familiar two superpower poles. Marcus Loh is chairman of the Public Affairs Group at the Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA) Asia Pacific. He also serves on the executive committee of SGTech's Digital Transformation Chapter, contributing to national conversations on AI, data infrastructure, and digital policy. A former president of the Institute of Public Relations of Singapore, Loh has played a longstanding role in shaping the relevance of strategic communication and public affairs in an evolving policy, technology and geoeconomic landscape.
South China Morning Post
26-05-2025
- South China Morning Post
King Charles to open Canadian parliament tasked with countering Trump
King Charles arrived in Ottawa on Monday for a historic visit to open Canada's parliament, a brief trip seen as part of the pushback against US President Donald Trump's annexation threats. The 76-year-old monarch, who is Canada's head of state as part of the Commonwealth, was greeted at the airport by Prime Minister Mark Carney , who has invited him to give an address opening Canada's new legislature. The so-called throne speech outlining the government's priorities is typically given by the British monarch's representative in Canada , the governor general. Queen Elizabeth , the king's late mother, delivered a throne speech in Canada just twice during her long reign, in 1957 and 1977. Charles, making his first visit to Canada since his coronation, has never commented on Trump's repeated talk of making Canada the 51st US state. But he will be closely watched for any comments on Canada's sovereignty, and on trade.
