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Year: 2024

UN rights envoy urges action to stop Myanmar’s access to weapons, funds

Editor07 mins

Financial institutions must do more to stop the Myanmar junta acquiring weapons, a U.N. human rights rapporteur said, singling out Thailand as the new main source of military supplies that Myanmar was getting through the international banking system. Thailand said it was studying the report from the special rapporteur for human rights in Myanmar, Tom Andrews, adding that its banking and financial institutions follow the banking protocols of any major financial hub. Many Western governments have imposed sanctions on the Myanmar junta that seized power in a 2021 coup and Andrews said international community efforts to stop the flow of weapons have had some success. The junta’s procurement of weapons, dual-use technologies manufacturing equipment and material through the international banking system was down by a third from US$377 million in the 2022 financial year to US$253 million in 2023, he said. But the junta had taken opportunities to skirt restrictions and its “forces continue to systematically assault Myanmar civilians using powerful weapons of war obtained from abroad,” Andrews said in his report. The junta, known as the State Administration Council, or SAC, had altered its sources of weapons and military supplies and exploited gaps in sanctions regimes, changed financial institutions and taken advantage of the lack of political will on the part of governments to coordinate and enforce action, he added.  “The SAC has identified and is aggressively seizing opportunities to circumvent sanctions and other measures taken by the international community,” said the rapporteur. Andrews contrasted the response to Myanmar’s bloody crisis from two of its neighbors: Singapore and Thailand. Singapore, long a major supplier of military equipment with close commercial ties with Myanmar, had “articulated a clear policy opposing the transfer of weapons”, in line with a U.N. General Assembly resolution that passed overwhelmingly after the coup. Following an investigation by the Singapore government, exports to Myanmar of weapons and related materials from Singapore-registered entities using the formal banking system dropped from almost US$120 million in FY2022 to just over US$10 million in FY2023, according to Andrews. ‘Leading source’ Thailand, on the other hand, does not have an explicit public policy position opposing the transfer of weapons to Myanmar, Andrews said, adding that exports from Thailand-registered entities more than doubled over the same period, from just over US$60 million to nearly US$130 million. “Many SAC purchases previously made from Singapore-based entities, including parts for Mi-17 and Mi-35 helicopters used to conduct airstrikes on civilian targets, are now being sourced from Thailand,” he said. “Thailand has now become the SAC’s leading source of military supplies purchased through the international banking system,” he added. Andrews noted that, as with Singapore, he found no evidence that the Thai government was involved in or aware of the transfers but noted that if it were to respond in the same way the Singapore government had, “the SAC’s capacity to attack the people of Myanmar would be significantly reduced.”    Thailand’s foreign ministry said in a statement it had seen Andrews’ report and was looking into it. “Many countries have been named and certainly these are countries where the majority of financial transactions in the region would pass through,” the ministry said. “Our banking and financial institutions follow banking protocols as any major financial hub. So we will have to first establish the facts before considering any further steps.” Andrews called on states that support human rights in Myanmar to halt the sale of weapons to it by their companies and for financial institutions to freeze relations with Myanmar’s state-owned banks. The rapporteur said the findings in his report covered purchases via the formal international banking system and not military procurement pathways such as in-kind trade or purchases with hard currency. While Singapore’s military exports to Myanmar had dropped dramatically, and those from Russia and China also declined, Indian exports remained constant, according to Andrews, while acknowledging some of Myanmar’s military procurement from those countries may have moved to informal channels.  Edited by Taejun Kang and Mike Firn. 

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Drug runners in Laos shoot at police, abandon vehicles packed with meth and heroin

Editor05 mins

Alleged drug runners in northwest Laos shot at police and fled on foot into dense jungle leaving behind two vans packed with meth and heroin, a police social media post said. At about 9 p.m. on June 21, officers noticed that the two vehicles did not have license plates and ordered them to pull over for inspection. The occupants of the vehicles allegedly shot at the police and abandoned the vehicles, fleeing into the forest, the Bokeo province police department said on its Facebook page. After inspecting the vehicles, they found around 5.8 million meth pills and 225 kilograms (almost 500 pounds) of heroin. It’s the latest incident in Laos’ struggle to eradicate drugs from proliferating inside the country. Lao Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone reported on June 10 to the Lao National Assembly that cracking down on drugs remains a national priority and in the first half of this year, the government was able to arrest 2,616 drug suspects.  “Most of the drugs are from either Myanmar or China because they can’t be produced here in our country,” an officer of the Bokeo Police Department, who like all unnamed sources in this report requested anonymity for security reasons, told RFA Lao. He said that part of Laos is prone to drug smuggling, and that by law, samples of the seized drugs would be sent to a lab to verify that they are indeed meth and heroin. The rest will be destroyed. The officer explained that they did not pursue the suspects because they were armed and it was very dark in the forest, so they didn’t want to take unnecessary risk. Related Stories Lao police seize 14 million meth pills, arrest two suspects Despite eradication efforts, opium poppy cultivation persists among Hmong in northern Laos Police raid karaoke bar in northern Laos area known for drugs, trafficking A resident who lives near where the incident occurred told RFA he heard gunshots at around 9 a.m. “It was at night and nobody at my house had gone to bed yet,” he said, “The next morning, I found out that there was a clash between police and drug smugglers.” He said he and his neighbors were disappointed that the suspects were not apprehended. Another resident said that he wished the police would have brought the suspects in because it is likely they are smuggling drugs in from other countries. There is a large market for drugs in Laos, particularly among younger people, an employee of a rehab center in the province said. “Many Laotians, especially youths aged 15 or 16 have become addicted to drugs and are admitted to the rehab center. Sometimes, the center has up to 30 of them,” she said.  “Drugs, particularly meth, are available anywhere in our village and region,” she said. “Drugs destroy people’s lives. If the government can’t stop this, many more people will be affected.” Translated by Max Avary. Edited by Eugene Whong and Malcolm Foster.

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‘Neither hospitals nor doctors’ for 10,000 displaced in Myanmar

Editor04 mins

About 10,000 people in Myanmar, most of them members of the mainly Muslim Rohingya minority displaced by fighting, are in urgent need of food and medical aid, residents told Radio Free Asia on Tuesday.  Fighting between junta forces and autonomy-seeking Arakan Army insurgents has intensified in recent weeks in Maungdaw township in western Myanmar’s Rakhine state, compounding hardships for the population after junta troops shut down hospitals, prohibited travel and forcibly conscripted villagers into the army. The fighting has forced residents from four neighborhoods in the outskirts of Maungdaw town to take shelter in schools for the past two months.  Food and medical resources are now running out as the fighting in the area intensifies, said one resident, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals.    “We can hear heavy artillery all the time. People have been killed and wounded as a result of shells landing on their houses. There are no hospitals, no doctors, that’s why people are so worried,” he said.  Fighting between insurgent armies and the junta that seized power in a 2021 coup has intensified since late last year in several parts of the country, including Rakhine state, where Arakan Army fighters occupy nine townships and have captured nearly all junta outposts, including those on the Bangladesh border.  While civilians have been suffering throughout the country, the Rohingya people have faced particular hardship with human rights groups saying both sides in the conflict have abused their rights, accusing them of helping their rivals and press-ganging them into their armies. Rohingya have for decades faced persecution in mostly Buddhist Myanmar with more than 700,000 fleeing to neighboring Bangladesh in 2017 from a military crackdown following Rohingya insurgent attacks on police. The Maungdaw resident said this time, junta roadblocks imposed as part of their anti-insurgent operations meant fleeing to Bangladesh was not an option and no aid groups were able to provide food and medical care. Residents reported casualties from the shelling but could not confirm the number or details. Access to the internet and telecommunications has been cut. Rakhine state’s junta spokesperson Hla Thein did not respond to calls from RFA requesting comment on the situation. According to the junta-controlled Myanma Alin newspaper, junta officials provided more than 2,000 households in Maungdaw’s affected neighborhoods with a bag of rice each on Saturday. The World Food Programme said on Tuesday its warehouse in Maungdaw township was burned down on Saturday. The U.N. food agency has not been allowed to travel in Maungdaw township since last month.  The Arakan Army warned residents to evacuate on June 16, saying in a statement its fighters would attack Maungdaw town.  Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Kiana Duncan and Mike Firn.     

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North Korea holds nationwide anti-US rallies on 74th Korean War anniversary

Editor08 mins

North Korea held mass anti-U.S. rallies nationwide on Tuesday to mark the 74th anniversary of the start of the 1950-53 Korean War, residents in the country told Radio Free Asia. The city of Hyesan, in the north on the Chinese border, herded more than 80,000 residents into a stadium and forced them to chant slogans against America and listen to speeches decrying Washington for four hours, a resident there told RFA Korean on condition of anonymity for security reasons. “The anti-American mass rally held today to commemorate the 6.25 War was larger than any mass rally I have ever seen in my life,” she said, referring to the war by the date of its start, as is customary in the Korean language when referring to important events. She said that the rally started at 8 a.m. and went until noon. Following the event the crowd split into three groups and headed for different parts of the town, shouting anti-American slogans and parading through the streets, she said. “At 3 p.m., a ‘War Veterans Reunion Meeting’ was held at the Hyesan Movie Theater, attended by members of the Socialist Patriotic Youth League and Socialist Women’s Union of Korea,” she said. People attend a mass rally denouncing the U.S., June 25, 2023 in Pyongyang, North Korea. (KCNA). Hyesan has a listed population of 250,000, but many registered there are either connected with the military or have been assigned to the city from elsewhere to work, meaning the actual population of the city is only about 140,000, the resident said. This means that more than half of the population was in the stadium on Tuesday. The resident said orders were given for “everyone from elementary school students to war veterans, who could walk” to be mobilized for the rally. “This 6.25 War-related event was not held only today but has been taking place every day since the 23rd, starting with the Socialist Patriotic Youth League and the Socialist Women’s Union of Korea,” she said. “This will also be the first time that this kind of event lasted three straight days.” A different take In North Korea, the war is officially called the “Great Fatherland Liberation War,” even though most historians agree that in the early hours of June 25, 1950, it was the North that crossed the 38th parallel that divided the peninsula to invade the South. Fighting ended in 1953 with an armistice, not a treaty, meaning the war is technically still ongoing.  North Korea claims that it was victorious against the United States and its allies in the war, even though 2.5 million Koreans died – fighting on both sides – and North Korea ended up controlling slightly less territory than it had before the war. People attend a mass rally denouncing the U.S., June 25, 2023 in Pyongyang, North Korea. (KCNA). On a national scale, Tuesday’s rallies, held all over the country are the largest ever held to commemorate the war, an official from Hyesan’s surrounding Ryanggang province told RFA Korean on condition of anonymity to speak freely. “Today’s mass rally was prepared nationwide from June 16 in accordance with (national leader) Kim Jong Un’s direction on June 13,” he said. June 25 kicks off an entire “anti-American struggle” month that ends on July 27, the anniversary of the signing of the armistice, which North Korea calls “Victory Day.” People attend a mass rally denouncing the U.S., June 25, 2023 in Pyongyang, North Korea. (KCNA). He said that Kim Jong Un ordered that this year’s anti-American struggle month be filled with events commemorating the war to whip up an anti-American atmosphere. “Each party and labor group will continue to hold gatherings on stories related to the 6.25 War, watch movies and visit the anti-espionage struggle exhibition hall and the class education center until July 27, which is the Day of Victory in the Great Fatherland Liberation War,” he said, adding that students will participate in Korean War-themed writing and art contests. People attend a mass rally denouncing the U.S., June 25, 2023 in Pyongyang, North Korea. (KCNA). The event for the 73rd anniversary of the Korean War last year was only one hour long, so people are complaining that they had to do so much this year, the official said. For years, authorities promised that once North Korea had nuclear capabilities, a “flowery path will unfold, and tailwinds will blow for our people’s future,” he said.  Now that North Korea has nuclear weapons, though, the narrative has shifted. It’s the fault of Washington that living standards in North Korea are still so low. “Residents are complaining that they are talking about the U.S. and its imperialist plans these days,” he said. Translated by Claire S. Lee and Leejin J. Chung. Edited by Eugene Whong and Malcolm Foster.

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China-backed hackers step up spying on Taiwan: security firm

Editor05 mins

Suspected Chinese state-sponsored hackers have intensified cyber-espionage activities against Taiwanese targets since late last year, with a particular focus on its technology sector, an online security company said in a new report. U.S. cybersecurity company Recorded Future said RedJuliett – a “likely Chinese state-sponsored group” – has conducted a campaign to collect intelligence on government, academic, technology, and diplomatic organizations in Taiwan over the six months from last November. The RedJuliett campaign likely aimed to “support Beijing’s intelligence collection on Taiwan’s economic and diplomatic relations, as well as critical technology development,” Insikt Group, a team of researchers from Recorded Future, said in the report.  The hacking group likely operates from Fuzhou, the capital of southeastern China’s Fujian province, according to the researchers. Fujian is on the west of the Taiwan Strait and is the closest Chinese province to Taiwan. Insikt added RedJuliette “exploited known vulnerabilities in network edge devices such as firewalls, virtual private networks (VPNs), and load balancers for initial access.” The hacking group, believed to be active since at least mid-2021, also used the aliases Flax Typhoon and Ethereal Panda. RedJuliett conducted network reconnaissance or attempted exploitation of more than 70 Taiwanese organizations, including representative offices overseas. “Within Taiwan, we observed RedJuliett heavily target the technology industry, including organizations in critical technology fields,” the cybersecurity company said. RedJuliett conducted vulnerability scanning or attempted exploitation against a semiconductor company and two Taiwanese aerospace companies that have contracts with Taiwan’s military, as well as eight electronics manufacturers, two universities focused on technology, an industrial embedded systems company, a technology-focused research and development institute, and seven computing industry associations. Besides Taiwan, the group also expanded its operations to compromise organizations in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Laos, South Korea, the United States, Djibouti, Kenya, and Rwanda, according to the U.S. firm. China’s ‘destabilizing’ actions When asked about the Recorded Future report, Chinese foreign ministry’s spokesperson Mao Ning said she was not aware of it.  Mao, however, said that the U.S. firm has “fabricated disinformation” about China in the past. International security companies have warned against multiple hacking campaigns linked to the Chinese state and targeting foreign governments and organizations. China has repeatedly denied any involvement. Beijing considers the self-governed Taiwan a Chinese province that should be reunified with the mainland, by force if needed. Last Friday, China warned that supporters of independence for Taiwan could be tried in absentia and sentenced to death for “splitting the country.” The U.S. on Monday condemned China’s “escalatory and destabilizing language and actions” against Taiwan. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told a press briefing that threats and legal warfare “will not achieve peaceful resolution to cross-strait differences.” “We continue to urge restraint and no unilateral change to the status quo. And we urge the PRC to engage in meaningful dialogue with Taiwan,” Miller said, referring to China by its official name the People’s Republic of China. Edited by Taejun Kang.

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Hong Kongers in UK ‘feeling nervous’ over ID card changes

Editor010 mins

Hong Kong residents will need to replace their ID cards over the next two years, authorities say, which could force those living in the United Kingdom or elsewhere to choose between going back and risking possible arrest, or being unable to return indefinitely. Smart ID cards issued before Nov. 26, 2018, will be invalidated in two phases in 2025, the government said on June 18. Cards belonging to people born in or after 1970 will expire on May 12, 2025, while cards issued to people born in 1969 or before will expire on Oct. 12 next year. Anyone outside of Hong Kong will be given a 30-day grace period to allow them to replace their old ID card on their return, the statement said. But overseas Hong Kongers who fled a political crackdown on dissent in the wake of the 2019 protest movement said they could be forced to choose between risking arrest on their return, and losing the ability to return to the city in future, where many still have families and property. Many Hong Kongers who settled in the United Kingdom on the British government’s lifeboat program for holders of the British National Overseas, or BNO, passport also hold a Chinese passport that is specific to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.  A first-generation Hong Kong ID card (left), with a second-generation Hong Kong smart ID card issued in 2018 (right). (Illustration/Photo: Matthew Leung/RFA) But anyone seeking to renew their Chinese passport without traveling back to Hong Kong could be stymied by a lack of valid ID card, a prerequisite for passport renewal applications. When the British government launched the BNO visa program, offering a pathway to long-term residency and citizenship, China reacted angrily, and announced it would no longer recognize the BNO passport. The catch While permanent residents won’t lose their right of abode in Hong Kong, and can get back into Hong Kong with a valid ID card alone, once the card expires returning Hong Kongers will effectively need a Hong Kong-issued SAR passport or another country’s passport to be allowed in through the immigration checkpoint. “There are always worries about going back to Hong Kong,” a said Hong Konger in the U.K. who gave only the nickname Ringo for fear of reprisals. “Some people weren’t planning to go back, while others may be waiting until after naturalization [as a British citizen].” “But now they’re going to feel a lot more nervous if they need to go back to Hong Kong before their ID cards expire,” she said. Hong Kong’s deputy director of immigration Eric Wong displays Smart ID Cards in his office, Feb. 20, 2002, in Hong Kong, as Hong Kong prepares to make its 6.9 million citizens carry “smart” identity cards. (Vincent Yu/AP) “And it’s more expense because they’ll need to spend money on a flight back to Hong Kong in the next year or so, which they might not have counted on doing,” Ringo said. A former Hong Kong immigration assistant who gave only the surname Chan for fear of reprisals said the announcement was likely an attempt to intimidate people who had fled the crackdown. “It’s obvious that they’re using the ID card replacement scheme to intimidate some Hong Kongers who emigrated to the U.K., making them feel as if they could face further difficulties if they go back to Hong Kong to renew their ID cards,” Chan said. The Hong Kong government slammed last week’s report from RFA Cantonese on the move, saying that the replacement of ID cards was part of measures to combat fraud and identity theft, and not to suppress or intimidate Hong Kongers. Police form a cordon at Causeway Bay on the 35th anniversary of the crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators at Beijing’s Tiananmen Square in 1989, near where a candlelight vigil is usually held, June 4, 2024, in Hong Kong, China, (Tyrone Siu/Reuters) “The invalidation of old ID cards will not affect one’s right of abode in Hong Kong and they could still travel in and out of Hong Kong as long as holding a valid travel document,” the government said in a June 21 statement. But the statement didn’t address the status of BNO passport holders whose Hong Kong SAR passports had expired. Passports revoked Exiled Hong Kongers also told RFA Cantonese that they are also concerned that the authorities have the power to revoke a person’s Hong Kong SAR passport at any time. Earlier this month, the city government announced it had revoked the Hong Kong SAR passports of six U.K.-based activists including former pro-democracy lawmaker Nathan Law, imposing financial sanctions on them and hitting back at the British government for “deliberately discrediting” the city with spying charges against one of its officials. Secretary for Security Chris Tang revoked the Chinese passports of U.K.-based activists Christopher Mung and Finn Lau, former pro-democracy lawmaker Nathan Law, former British consular employee Simon Cheng, who co-founded the advocacy group Hongkongers in Britain, and overseas YouTube hosts Johnny Fok and Tony Choi.  And many overseas Hong Kongers fear that they could be arrested under national security laws for social media activity carried out overseas. A man waves farewell to friends as departs for a permanent move to U.K. at the Hong Kong airport, June 30, 2021. (Vincent Yu/AP) Last November, a Hong Kong court handed down a two-month jail term to former overseas student Yuen Ching-ting, 23, after she pleaded guilty to “publishing online speech with seditious intent” to social media starting in September 2018, before the national security law took effect. The case against her was based on her posting of “inflammatory remarks” to social media platforms, including the banned 2019 protest slogan “Free Hong Kong! Revolution now!” while she was studying in Japan. Yuen was arrested in March after returning to Hong Kong from Japan, where she was studying. Local media outlets reported that she was in the city to change her Hong Kong identity card. She was initially arrested on suspicion of inciting secession, a…

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Myanmar airstrike on monastery where villagers were sheltering kills 17 activists

Editor04 mins

Myanmar junta forces killed 17 people in an airstrike on a monastery where people were taking shelter from fighting after insurgents battling to end military rule attacked a nearby army camp, members of anti-junta militia groups told Radio Free Asia on Monday.  The junta’s air force launched the attack on Saturday night on a monastery in Nant Thar village in the central region of Sagaing, killing a monk and 16 other people including three members of the same family, they said. Sagaing has seen unprecedented levels of violence since a 2021 military coup triggered an insurgency by pro-democracy activists who formed People’s Defense Forces around the country to confront the military. Junta forces have been accused of razing vilages, carrying out mass shootings and bombing villages indiscriminately as they hunt for members of the People’s Defense Forces. The airstrike in Indaw township followed an attack on a junta camp carried out by an alliance of fighters including members of the Indaw People’s Defense Force, the Kachin Independence Army, the All Burma Students’ Democratic Front, and other groups, activists said. Nant Thar has two monasteries, one under the control of rebel forces and another occupied by junta forces, said an official of the anti-junta Indaw Revolution group, who declined to be identified for security reasons. “People were called to the monastery and locked down by the junta troops when fighting erupted and the jet then bombed the monastery at midnight while people were locked down,” the group official said.  “They must have wanted to bomb the monastery on the mountain,” he said, referring to the monastery controlled by anti-junta forces. “They dropped the bombs on their own monastery by mistake.” The military has not released any information about the incident and calls to Sagaing region’s junta spokesperson, Nyunt Win Aung, for more information went unanswered. Junta troops have cut communication links to the village, a frequent tactic after big attacks.  More than 10 people, including children, were wounded, the Indaw Revolution official said, adding that some were in critical condition. The dead were cremated on Monday, he said. The village has been largely empty since April last year when anti-junta forces repeatedly attacked the military camp in Nant Thar, which is on a major road, residents said. But junta troops had prevented remaining residents from leaving, including those killed on Saturday, they said. Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Kiana Duncan and Mike Firn. 

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Thousands welcome Dalai Lama’s arrival in US for knee surgery

Editor05 mins

Updated at 18:40 ET on June 23, 2024. The Dalai Lama was greeted by a large crowd of chanting and flag-waving Tibetans and other supporters upon his arrival Sunday in the United States for knee surgery. It was the first trip to the United States for the 88-year-old Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader in seven years and his first overseas trip since November 2018, before the coronavirus pandemic. He lives in exile in Dharamsala, northern India,  After landing at Teterboro Airport, in New Jersey, he was greeted by people holding traditional khata white scarves, chanting, singing, waving flags and wishing him a quick recovery from the operation on his right knee. “It’s a moment of profound joy and spiritual fulfillment for us,” said Tsering Dickey, who traveled from New York with her family to see him at the airport. “Seeing His Holiness in person after such a long time brings hope and inspiration to our community and we hope and pray that his knee surgery goes well.” The Dalai Lama then traveled by car to New York, where thousands of well-wishers awaited him outside the Park Hyatt, lining up along 57th Street in Manhattan, where he will be staying. No public talks or engagements are currently planned for his visit.  The doctor suggested that successful right knee surgery would help his left knee function better as well, and that he may be able to walk properly within three weeks, Sikyong Pempa Tsering, the head of the Central Tibetan Administration, told RFA. Devotees wait for the arrival of the Dalai Lama outside of the airport in Teterboro, New Jersey, June 23, 2024. (RFA) The Dalai Lama enjoys strong support in the United States, where prominent lawmakers have spoken out about human rights issues in Tibet, though China considers him a separatist and has criticized those who meet with him.  The well-wishers included Tibetans and people from Himalayan regions, Mongolia, India, Vietnam, Bhutan and Nepal, as well as individuals from across the United States. “The presence of His Holiness here in the United States is a spiritual boon, as he is visiting after seven years,” said Tashi Kyiloe from New York. “It is a great opportunity for older people like me to receive his blessing.” The visit comes after the recent passage of a bill in the U.S. Congress that urgest the Chinese government to engage in dialogue with the Dalai Lama or his representatives, or democratically elected Tibetan leaders, to resolve the China-Tibet dispute. The Promoting a Resolution to the Tibet-China Dispute Act, also known as the Resolve Tibet Act, calls on China to cease its propagation of disinformation about the history of Tibet, the Tibetan people and the Dalai Lama. Additional reporting by Nordhey Dolma, Jolep Chophel, Yeshi Tashi and Tashi Wangchuk. Edited by Malcolm Foster.

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What was Vietnam thinking, welcoming Putin?

Editor012 mins

Why did Hanoi welcome Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, for a state visit this past week?  Sure, invite him. Allow Russian state media to speculate on a visit. Meet with his underlings. But to actually unfurl the red carpet for a leader whose global travel has been sharply curbed by an International Criminal Court arrest warrant ?  From geopolitical, domestic, economic, and ideological points of view, it makes little sense – unless the rising security faction is dictating what happens within the Communist Party of Vietnam.  Some 15 deals on economic, educational, and political cooperation were signed. But those items could have been agreed upon without Putin’s presence. That was the smokescreen, however.    General Secretary of Vietnam’s Communist Party Nguyen Phu Trong, fourth from right, meets with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, center left, in Hanoi, June 20, 2024. (Vietnam News Agency via AFP) RELATED STORIES Putin visits Vietnam, aiming to renew Cold War ties Vietnam’s fraternal ties with Russia are put to the test Bear East: RFA Special report on Russia’s influence in Asia The deepening ‘securitization’ of Vietnamese politics Russia was the largest provider of military equipment to Vietnam until 2022, but that was before it invaded Ukraine and depleted much of its arsenal.  Sales to Vietnam have tanked since. Nobody should look at how Russian equipment is faring in Ukraine and conclude, “I need some of that.” However, that’s apparently what the Vietnamese military is thinking.  According to a finance ministry document leaked to the media last year, Vietnam thinks it can buy weapons from Russia via payments to a joint Vietnamese and Russian oil venture in Siberia, which would allow it to avoid U.S. sanctions.  Missiles in mind The New York Times cited a Vietnamese official saying the secret deal will be worth $8 billion over the next two decades. Some reckon this is now Vietnamese government policy, which might explain Putin’s visit.  Some observers believe Hanoi wants aircraft and new naval vessels from Russia. Its navy badly needs an upgrade. And it really wants BrahMos cruise missiles developed by a joint Russian and Indian venture.  Beijing has apparently pressured Moscow not to sell to Hanoi. Given that Russia is now utterly dependent on China, it’s unlikely that Moscow would agree to the sale.  Maybe Hanoi thought that by giving Putin some international publicity and support through the visit, Putin would return the favor with missiles. Maybe Hanoi thought it needed Putin to be there in person to drive a hard bargain: “If you don’t give us what we want, we’ll go to South Korea for military equipment.” Cargo containers are seen in Quy Nhon port in Vietnam’s Binh Dinh province on March 29, 2024. (Tran Thi Minh Ha/AFP) But it’s a risky business. It’s hard to imagine the U.S. not responding to any such deal to buy Russian weapons, however cleverly it’s designed to get around sanctions, with very forceful sanctions.  Indeed, it’s hard to imagine this not impacting Vietnam’s economy more generally. The economy isn’t spectacular at the moment, and Hanoi really cannot afford to jeopardize relations with the U.S., its second-largest trade partner and primary export destination. It certainly cannot afford to do so when Donald Trump, who famously remarked that Vietnam is the “worst abuser” of the U.S. on trade, could soon return to the presidency.  ‘Securocrats’ in charge But this risk-taking may be the consequence of the “securocrats” having taken over the Communist Party of Vietnam, having used party chief Nguyen Phu Trong’s signature anti-corruption campaign to purge their rivals over the past 12 months.  Trong, now 80, did not look very well in his meeting with Putin. It’s still uncertain if he’ll make it to the next party congress in early 2026. My guess is that Trong is no longer the arbitrator he seemed to be until very recently. In this vacuum, the “securocrats” – officials of the security ministry  – have quickly forged a stranglehold over the party.  After last month’s changes to the Politburo, there are now just two economics-minded technocrats in the 16-member elite decision-making body, the lowest number in decades.  Vietnam Communist Party official Dinh Tien Dung, left, meets with Chinese Communist Party official Wang Huning in Beijing, Sept. 28, 2023. (Yan Yan/Xinhua via Getty Images) To Lam, the former public security minister and now president, is tipped to become the next party chief.  There is talk that the securocrats aren’t yet finished purging the party of their economic-minded rivals—those who would put up a fight within the party against any major military deal with the Russians.  Dinh Tien Dung, the Hanoi party chief and former finance minister, “resigned” this week and will likely soon exit the Politburo. It was probably the securocrats who lobbied hard for the Putin visit to happen, silencing those who we know from leaks were dead against it.  Flow of information The anti-graft campaign has certainly weakened the bureaucracy. Civil servants are so petrified of being reprimanded for potentially making mistakes, especially when it comes to using state money, that they’ve simply stopped making hard choices, leading to a bureaucratic slowdown and major problems in state capacity. The bigger concern should be whether bureaucratic fear has also impacted the flow of information within the party. Are underlings still willing to give their superiors unwelcome but honest news?  According to Nguyen Khac Giang, of the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore, “the new [politburo] leaders…are more ‘thinkers’ than ‘doers,’ lacking significant achievements that justify their promotions. This reinforces the belief that in the uncertain context of the anti-corruption campaign, it is wiser for bureaucrats to play safe by doing less and surviving rather than taking risks.” To Lam is sworn in as Vietnam’s president at the National Assembly in Hanoi, May 22, 2024. (Nghia Duc/National Assembly via AP) Look north of the border and Xi Jinping, China’s paramount leader, has fully centralized power and thoroughly purged anyone competent or honest from the bureaucracy. It’s not that he has surrounded himself with…

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In rare backtrack, junta says it will investigate senior monk’s shooting death

Editor02 mins

Myanmar’s military junta announced Friday that it would investigate the shooting death of a senior Buddhist monk, just one day after junta-controlled media denied responsibility. Sayadaw Bhaddanta Munindabhivamsa, the abbot of Win Neinmitayon Monastery in the Bago region, was shot dead Wednesday in his car as it left an airport in the central Mandalay region.  Television broadcaster MRTV announced initially that the abbot’s car was caught in a firefight between junta troops and guerillas from the rebel People’s Defense Forces, a grassroots militia formed by citizens opposed to military rule.  But another monk who was in the car with him said the attack on the car was carried out by junta soldiers. On Friday, the junta’s chief minister for the Bago region visited the monks of the Win Neinmitayon Monastery and admitted that the military had published incorrect information.  The junta later announced that it would re-examine the incident and respond accordingly. Related Story Senior Myanmar monk shot dead by junta soldiers, colleague says Dhammaduta Buddhist University and the Patriotic Myanmar Monks Union in Yangon released a statement Thursday expressing their condolences over the death of Sayadaw Bhaddanta Munindabhivamsa. The Samgha Samagga, a monk’s association in Mandalay, also released a statement condemning the shooting, labeling the incident as terrorism. At the time of his death, Sayadaw Bhaddanta Munindabhivamsa was 77 years old and had been a monk for 57 years. He also held many advanced Buddhist literature degrees. Edited by Eugene Whong.

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