HONG KONG -- Once again, it is time to give away the Asian Institute of Discord Analysis (Aida) "awards" for the just concluded Year of the Horse, an offbeat listing made exclusively for The Japan Times.
In the field of intra-Asian relations, Aida judges had no difficulty picking the recipient of the "Diplomatic Folly of the Year" honor. In support of their choice, they merely quoted an AP dispatch filed from Jakarta on Sept. 6:
"Thailand and Burma (Myanmar) exchange artillery fire, while Vietnam shoots at Philippine planes. Filipinos demand a chunk of Malaysia, which threatens to cut off water supplies to Singapore. All this was happening among Asian countries supposed to be the closest of friends.