Current Affairs is obviously about the on-going situations around us that hit the news on daily basis. And in this course we have been introduced the most recent political unrests and disputes that are happening around the world. Prof Omar Farouk distributed us five different research topics which are: the forthcoming Malaysia elections, the conflict in Mali, the unrest in Syria, the sea of tensions in China, and the countering militancy in Pakistan. Although the time was relatively limited to cover all these topics, most of them have been discussed in class thoroughly.
The topics that the professor emphasized on among these which were really interesting included the political maritime tensions between China and Japan, and the conflict in Mali. The central point of the discussion was about the island disputes between the China and Japan. This topic emphasized on China’s increasingly strengthening maritime power such sending patrols over its waters and on the disputed islets. Japan is also reacting to these intrusions when they increased their air patrols. Overall, the territorial disputes in South and East China are expected to continue which worries its citizens who are seeking a reform towards foreign policy.
In Mali, it is debatable whether the militants who toppled the government are religious extremists or politically-driven force. As the author of the article mentions, the demands of these groups is unacceptable and they are not ready for negotiation. Most importantly, the author warned the international community from doing the same mistake in 2006 where the agreement only benefited the armed groups instead of the population at large. Therefore, the demand of the population in the north should be considered rather than accepting agreements that fit the needs of these radical groups. All in all, although there are no quick fixes, it is in the hands of the ECOWAS, the AU, and the EU to take successful resolution to end the conflict and prevent it from escalating into a huge one.