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Category: ASEAN

Life sentence for Vietnamese tycoon already facing death penalty

Editor03 mins

Businesswoman Truong My Lan was sentenced to life in prison on Thursday in relation to a multi-billion-dollar fraud for which she already faces the death penalty, Vietnamese media reported. The Chairwoman of property developer Van Thinh Phat appeared at Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court to hear the verdict after a month-long trial. Lan, 68, was found guilty of fraud, money laundering and cross-border currency trafficking. In April, Lan was sentenced to death for embezzling US$12.5 billion, and a total of 40 years for bribery and violating bank regulations. The court ordered her to repay $27 billion in loans to companies in the Van Thinh Phat group from Siam Commercial Bank, or SCB, in which she holds a 91% stake. Lan’s lawyers said she planned to appeal the death sentence, although a date has not been announced. RELATED STORIES Van Thinh Phat chairwoman sentenced to death in Vietnam’s biggest fraud trial Van Thinh Phat case tests investor confidence in Vietnam One year after inmate’s execution Vietnam continues sentencing people to death On Thursday Lan was sentenced to life for fraudulent property appropriation, 12 years for laundering more than $18 billion, and eight years for illegally transferring $1.5 billion out of the country and receiving $3 billion from abroad, according to Vietnamese daily the Tuoi Tre. During the trial of Lan and 33 other defendants, including her husband Eric Chu, the court heard that the Van Thinh Phat chairwoman told senior staff at the property company, SCB and Tan Viet Securities to issue more than 300 million bonds, allowing her to appropriate $1.2 billion from nearly 36,000 investors. Last Friday, as the trial ended, Lan had been allowed to address the court, appealing for clemency. “Standing here today is a price too expensive for me to pay. I consider this my destiny and a career accident,” Lan said, according to the VNExpress news site. “For the rest of my life, I will never forget that my actions have affected tens of thousands of families.” Edited by Taejun Kang. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

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Police say son of Cambodian Muslim leader facing sexual assault charges

Editor03 mins

The son of a high-ranking Cambodian Muslim cleric has been arrested on charges of sexual assault and rape after police received complaints from residents of a Phnom Penh student dormitory.  Police said they heard complaints from four victims between 13 and 15 years old and have also spoken with four witnesses. Kamarudin Suhaimi was arrested on Tuesday, denied the charges in a court appearance and was being detained as police continue their investigation, according to Fresh News. Suhaimi is the son of Sos Kamry, the chairman of the Highest Council for Islamic Religious Affairs in Cambodia. Kamry told the Khmer Times that the allegations were “a rumor” and that his son hasn’t committed any crimes. Suhaimi had been the manager of security, hygiene and health at the girls’ dorm for the An-Nikmah Al-Islamiyah Phnom Penh Institute, which lists itself as an elementary school on its Facebook page. He was relieved of those duties following complaints from students of inappropriate behavior and language directed toward students, the school said in an Oct. 12 statement. The aunt of one of the alleged victims told Radio Free Asia on Wednesday that Suhaimi sexually assaulted her niece “a few times.” “But my niece didn’t dare to tell because she was threatened,” she said. RFA was unable to contact Kamry for further comment on the charges against his son. National Police Chief Sar Thet was also unavailable for comment on Wednesday.  Ny Sokha, president of human rights group Adhoc, praised the authorities’ actions and told RFA that he hopes police and prosecutors will give justice to the victims regardless of the suspect’s influential father.  “We want to see justice for both sides. Authorities should be working on the case to show that it isn’t under the influences of powerful people,” he said.  Translated by Yun Samean. Edited by Matt Reed. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

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Myanmar junta extends census as fighting, floods slow election preparations

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Read RFA coverage of this topic in Burmese. Myanmar’s military regime has been forced to extend its two-week census, an official told Radio Free Asia on Wednesday, after fighting and threats of retaliation against junta administrators, along with flooding in the wake of Typhoon Yagi, made it impossible to gather information in many parts of the country. The census, aimed at tallying potential voters ahead of the widely-criticized 2025 elections, has met strong opposition from the country’s ethnic armed groups who say preparations for a nationwide vote are impossible while they battle a regime that continues to arrest and kill its critics.  Since the country’s coup over three years ago, the junta has been under pressure from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to hold elections. But the regime has continued to extend a state of emergency across the country and brought in tough new registration laws that disqualify many parties from standing, including the National League for Democracy, deposed after winning a landslide victory in the 2020 election. RELATED STORIES: As Myanmar’s census draws to a close, observers question its accuracy Myanmar census-takers and their protectors face rebel attacks Myanmar junta invites insurgents, ‘terrorists’ to join election After the official census period ended on Tuesday, the junta’s ministry of immigration and population said more time was needed to reach households in areas of armed conflict and regions whose roads had been cut off by recent storms and flooding. “Although we conducted the census from Oct. 1 to Oct. 15, there are still regions that are left out,” Vice Minister of Immigration and Population Htay Hlaing told RFA. “We’ll continue there, but I can’t say how long it will last.” The junta plans to add 40,000 more enumerators to the nearly 110,000 already working to collect census data, his ministry said, adding that there are an estimated 13 million households in the country, with a population of over 56 million. Htay Hlaing declined to comment on how many people had filled out the census over the past two weeks. Census takers take down information in Yangon. Oct. 9, 2024. (RFA) On Wednesday, state-owned media encouraged those in “relevant areas” who remained uncounted to contact the Central Census Commission, adding that they would publish preliminary results in December.  Powerful ethnic armies continue to seize territory from junta forces in Rakhine state in Myanmar’s west, border regions like Kachin, Kayin and Kayah states, and central Mandalay region, casting doubt on how junta forces could do an accurate count there. Census takers and the troops and police guarding them have come under attack from rebel forces in Chin state and Sagaing, Yangon and Tanintharyi regions since early October.  A junta soldier on guard during the census in Yangon, Oct. 9, 2024. (RFA) Junta leader Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing on Tuesday called on Myanmar’s ethnic armed groups to cooperate with the election plans, warning: “Only when the country forges peace and stability will the government initiate the strengthening of the multiparty democratic system and correct reform processes as quickly as possible.” But former election monitor San Aung, who has been observing the latest preparations, told RFA the junta will not be able to complete the census in areas controlled by armies opposed to Min Aung Hlaing’s regime “There are so many forces defending areas that they won’t allow a census to be done in. Even in Yangon, it’s not easy to count,” he said, referring to Myanmar’s largest city, where guerilla groups bombed administrative offices days before the census began. “There are also very few enumerators. Getting the data in phases will probably also be difficult. They’re definitely endangering their security and their lives.” Translated by Kiana Duncan. Edited by Mike Firn.  We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

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Myanmar rebels capture border base near Chinese rare-earth mining hub

Editor07 mins

Read RFA coverage of this topic in Burmese Joint rebel forces have seized a key base for Myanmar’s pro-junta Border Guard Force in Kachin state, and residents say rebels will soon occupy a nearby town that serves as a hub for Chinese rare-earth mining and cross-border trade. Rebel control of these mines could potentially disrupt shipments of these lucrative rare earths, which are used in cell phones, cars and other products, and could cut off an important source of revenue for the junta, which has struggled financially amid global sanctions over its Feb. 1, 2021, coup d’etat. It would also give the Kachin Independence Army, or KIA, more leverage in dealing with China, which has seemed to favor the military junta in power, including possible future peace talks that might be brokered by China. On Tuesday, a coalition of rebel forces under the KIA took control of the No. 1002 Border Guard Force Battalion, located around 16 kilometers (10 miles) from the town of Panwa, which is near the Chinese border. KIA spokesperson Colonel Naw Bu told RFA Burmese that his group had captured the base at around 1pm and is now carrying out a security “clearance operation” in the area. The battalion serves as the guard force for Panwa – located around 160 kilometers (100 miles) east of the Kachin state capital Myitkyina – and is “crucial for the area,” he added, without providing information about casualties sustained in the battle. A resident of Panwa who, like others interviewed for this report, spoke on condition of anonymity due to security concerns, told RFA that only a handful of camps operated by pro-junta militias remain near the town. “The junta will soon lose Panwa,” he said, although he cautioned that “casualties will be high” if the junta uses heavy weapons to defend the town, due to the densely packed nature of the houses there. The capture of No. 1002 Border Guard Force Battalion marked the culmination of a week-long battle for the site. RELATED STORIES: Myanmar junta bombs rebels despite peace gesture China warns Myanmar rebel army to stop fighting China in delicate dance with Myanmar’s rebel groups Residents of Panwa township told RFA that fighting is still taking place near the border, with the junta conducting airstrikes in the area. One resident noted that rebel forces had earlier taken over a major junta battalion stationed in the nearby village of Lu Pi. “The junta has been carrying out airstrikes there since yesterday to support its ground forces,” said the resident, who also declined to be named. “We no longer hear gunfire, although there have been some exchanges with heavy weapons.” An aerial view of a rare-earth mine in Panwa captured on Oct. 15, 2024. (Google Earth) Residents said that around 500 people from villages near the battalion – including Lu Pi, Sin Khone and Pang Bu – had fled to Panwa amid the fighting. Meanwhile, they said, the junta has been bombing Hpa Re village, which lies within territory occupied by the KIA’s 7th Brigade, and China is patrolling its border with military helicopters. Rare-earth hub Panwa township is home to the largest number of rare-earth mines in Kachin state. Global Witness, an NGO that monitors the world’s natural resource exploration, said this year that more than 300 rare-earth mines are located in Panwa and Chipwi township to the northwest. According to statistics published by the Chinese customs department, China imported US$3.4 billion worth of rare-earth minerals from Myanmar between the military coup and August 2024. Most of the mines in Panwa have been shuttered amid fighting in the region, and the Chinese workers there have largely returned home. The junta has yet to release any information about the situation in Panwa and attempts by RFA to contact Moe Min Thein, the junta’s social affairs minister and spokesperson for Kachin state, went unanswered Tuesday. Translated by Aung Naing. Edited by Joshua Lipes and Malcolm Foster. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

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ASEAN openness constrained at Laos summit

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Southeast Asian leaders wrapped up this month’s summit in the Lao capital Vientiane by reaffirming their commitment to an “open, inclusive and transparent” ASEAN community. But some of the international media covering the meeting of the 10 member countries complained the vision was far from reality due to tough local reporting restrictions.  Authorities would not allow the 800-or-so media members to talk to people on the streets to ask how they were coping with inflation that the Asian Development Bank forecasts will average 20% this year. The media coverage manual said the press must report only from the National Convention Center hosting the summit or the Media Center a few kilometers away. Permission to report in the field was not available during the Oct. 6-11 meetings, an official at the Lao ministry of foreign affairs told Radio Free Asia. “They keep us in a small zone and keep a close watch, we can’t go anywhere or interview anyone,” said a reporter at a Japanese news service who, like all the journalists interviewed for this report, didn’t want to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue. “I could not enter the meeting rooms and take a photo there. The bland press releases are not the reason we come here,” a Lao reporter for a Western news agency said. A journalist at another Japanese agency agreed that lack of access and the expectation that reporters would write their stories from official handouts meant it was impossible to get to the “essence” of the meetings.   “The press releases are too bland,” they said. “At the convention center, there were no officials to advise the media about the programs, press releases, how to get access to the internet, slow connections and arrangements for photo opportunities. We have to deal with that among ourselves.”     A man walks past a billboard for a bank which finances Lao energy projects, Oct. 6, 2024 (RFA) On the streets of the capital the only indication a summit was taking place were ASEAN billboards and the motorcades intermittently passing by. Even tourists trying to take photos of the Vietnam-gifted National Assembly House were waved away by plain-clothes police. Back at the media center, there were no briefings from Lao leaders or high-ranking officials to talk about the topics discussed or inform journalists about the views of the country chairing ASEAN this year. RELATED STORIES Blinken warns ASEAN of China’s ‘dangerous’ actions in sea disputes Malaysia’s Anwar calls for a united ASEAN amid rising ‘global tensions’ Laos’ ASEAN chairmanship propels foreign minister to PM contender The newsworthy items came from visiting officials such as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., with all three weighing in on recent Chinese actions in the disputed waters of the South China Sea. Reporters told RFA they were impressed by the prompt briefings from Thai officials after key events such as the China-ASEAN and U.S.-ASEAN Summits, but a Lao reporter was less complimentary about their own government’s briefings. “The Lao foreign ministry is always late in handing out statements, and yet there’s nothing interesting there. We cannot add more information to make the news interesting either.”   Lao authorities almost totally control the media according to Reporters Without Borders. The country ranks near the bottom of its 2024 World Press Freedom Index. Translated by RFA Lao. Edited by Mike Firn and Taejun Kang. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

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Insurgent army tightens its grip on northern Myanmar town

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Read RFA coverage of these topics in Burmese. An insurgent group battling Myanmar’s junta in Shan state has taken full control of a major town, a spokesperson told Radio Free Asia on Monday. The Ta’ang National Liberation Army, or TNLA, said it captured the final junta base in Hsipaw on Sunday and plans to use its position to strike other military camps in the area. The TNLA, is a member of the Three Brotherhood Alliance that launched Operation 1027 nearly a year ago in an effort to seize territory from the military that took power in a 2021 coup.  Since launching the offensive, heavy fighting for control of Lashio, Nawnghkio and other northern Shan towns has sparked concern from China, which borders the state to the east, and forced it to shut previously busy border crossings.  China has tried to protect its interests by brokering ceasefires between the junta and alliance members, but these haven’t lasted long.  The second round of Operation 1027 began when a five-month truce collapsed in June. Since then the TNLA has captured Kyaukme, Mongmit and Nawnghkio towns in northern Shan state, as well as Mandalay region’s Mogoke town.  Two months later, the TNLA turned its sights on Hsipaw. It captured most of the town on Aug. 12 but the junta held on to an infantry camp. On Sunday, the Infantry Battalion 23 base finally fell to the TNLA, spokesperson Lway Yay Oo said.  “We managed to completely control Hsipaw,” she told RFA. “According to our list, there must be over 50 captured soldiers and over 100 members of military families. We will release the family members.” Neither side has reported any casualties and RFA’s calls to Shan state’s junta spokesperson Khun Thein Maung went unanswered. RELATED STORIES: Myanmar junta charges hundreds for scamming on Chinese border Traders in Myanmar struggle as borders with China remain closed in rebel-held areas Rebels seize junta base near Chinese rare-earth mine in northern Myanmar By taking full control of Hsipaw the TNLA is in a stronger position to attack nearby junta camps. After capturing most of the town in mid-August it started targeting light infantry battalions 503 and 504 about a kilometer away. The junta has been hitting back with daily airstrikes. A Y-12 airplane dropped more than 80 bombs on TNLA positions on Friday, the group said in a statement published the following day.  In over two months of fighting in Hsipaw, junta airstrikes and artillery fire have killed 32 people, including young children and injured 100 more residents, according to local civil society groups.  Lashio under fire Another Three Brotherhood Alliance member has also been taking territory off junta forces in Shan state. Since the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, or MNDAA, captured the junta’s military headquarters in Lashio in July, and took full control of the town in August, civilians have borne the brunt of junta retaliation through frequent airstrikes and shelling. Junta bombs killed three villagers on Monday morning in the township’s Ei Naing village, residents said.  Three men in their 40s died and two other people were injured, including a child, according to a resident who didn’t want to be named for fear of reprisals. “The men who were attacked died on the spot. They didn’t have time to dodge because the bomb fell straight on their house,” he said.  The injured were moved to a safe location to receive medical treatment, he added. The bombs destroyed a church and five houses, according to an MNDAA-associated aid group. Residents stand outside a house bombed by junta planes in Ei Naing village, Lashio Township, Shan state on Oct. 14, 2024. (Facebook: Lashio Reconstruction) Frequent battles near Ei Naing village prompted heavy shelling by the junta, causing most of the 1,000 people living in the area to flee, residents said. Many returned to Lashio after the MNDAA took control of the township, but fled again following Monday’s attack.  In September, the MNDAA said it had cut ties with Myanmar’s shadow National Unity Government. It said it would work with China to bring peace and announced it had no plans to capture large towns in Shan state.  Days later the junta bombed Lashio and peace talks never took place. Since June, over 20 junta airstrikes on Lashio have killed three people and injured over 100, according to an MNDAA statement on Oct. 4. Translated by Kiana Duncan. Edited by Mike Firn.  We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

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Cambodians conjure up US bogeyman behind Vietnam canal concerns

Editor012 mins

I was recently offered documents purporting to show that U.S. intelligence agencies have “been guiding Vietnam to sabotage” the Funan Techo Canal, Cambodia’s controversial megaproject that critics say poses a serious ecological threat to Vietnam’s southern rice-growing heartland. The Vietnamese-language documents offered by an official in Phnom Penh reveal nothing about alleged secret meetings or misinformation campaigns, merely restating Vietnam’s concerns about what its neighbor was doing based on publicly available reports.   It isn’t entirely surprising if Phnom Penh is now pushing the line that complaints about the canal are mostly American propaganda that Washington is helping direct Vietnam to regurgitate.    A Cambodian national flag is displayed during a groundbreaking ceremony of China-funded Funan Techo canal in Prek Takeo village, Cambodia, Aug. 5, 2024. (Heng Sinith/AP) It may make some psychological sense for Phnom Penh to pretend all the noise is a result of U.S.-China geopolitics and to think that Vietnam, its closest neighbor and increasingly important economic partner, isn’t actually angry at all about Funan Techo.  And Phnom Penh, somewhat justifiably, feels hemmed in by the uproar that followed Prime Minister Hun Manet’s announcement in May that construction of the canal will go ahead.  Although China has been funding almost every other megaproject in Cambodia, it refused to pony up most of the money for this one, leaving the Cambodian state to cover the costs that will likely end up being much higher than the $1.7 billion estimate.  Vietnam has made it known in private conversations with Cambodia’s leaders that it is unhappy about how Phnom Penh went about its assessments of the canal’s impact on the Mekong Delta. Reticent Vietnam The people of Southeast Asia would “benefit from transparency on any major undertaking with potential implications for regional water management, agricultural sustainability, and security,” a U.S. embassy spokesperson in Phnom Penh said recently. Yet it’s fanciful for Phnom Penh to think Vietnam doesn’t have concerns of its own about a neighbor’s construction of a 180-km (110-mile) canal near their shared border, or to think that Vietnam needs prodding from America to express these concerns to Cambodia’s government.  More often than not, in fact, it has been Washington that does the ventriloquizing for Hanoi.  One struggles to remember any Vietnamese minister giving a press conference or an official going on the record about Cambodia’s Ream Naval Base. Washington has alleged for years that Phnom Penh will allow China direct access to the base, which Phnom Penh denies.    Workers use excavators during the construction of the Funan Techo canal in Kandal province, July 9, 2024. (Tang Chhin Sothy/AFP) A Chinese naval presence in Cambodia wouldn’t be ideal for America’s security interests in the region, but the biggest threat would be to Vietnam, which lies just 30 km (18 miles) from the site. A Chinese naval base to its southwest would leave Vietnam pretty much encircled by Chinese forces at sea.  Yet most of what we know of Vietnam’s concerns comes from what the U.S. government has said about the matter.  Likewise, what we know about Vietnam’s concerns over the Funan Techo Canal comes either from its officials speaking anonymously to Vietnam’s state-run media, from the Cambodian government responding publicly to Vietnam’s concerns, or what one can infer from U.S. government statements.  Blaming foreigners The fact that American statements about the canal focus on the potential ecological and economic impact on Vietnam — hardly a top-line U.S. national security concern — suggests these fears originated in Hanoi.  It’s illogical to maintain that Hanoi would need U.S. intelligence services to warn it of the potential economic and ecological impacts of the canal.  Perhaps this has been discussed between Vietnamese and U.S. officials, but to imagine it’s all an American conspiracy to hammer Cambodia is rather desperate. But it has worked for Cambodia before.  In 2017, the Cambodian government instructed the Supreme Court to forcibly dissolve the country’s largest opposition party, the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), which might have given the ruling party a tough run at a general election the following year.    A supporter of the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party wears a poster of party leader Kem Sokha as she stands outside the Supreme Court in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Oct. 31, 2017. (Heng Sinith/AP) The false narrative Phnom Penh constructed was that the CNRP was plotting a “color revolution” with U.S. support. The party’s dissolution came months after Phnom Penh shut down newspapers and civil society groups it has accused of being part of a U.S. plot.  Not a shred of evidence was offered to prove any of this, yet it jibed with the ruling Cambodian People’s Party’s parochial and paternalistic view of Cambodian society: Everyone is peaceful until foreigners start whipping up our locals; its foreigners who convince Cambodians to demand their rights and liberty.  The claim that America is now dripping poisonous misinformation into Hanoi’s ears over the Funan Techo Canal has a similar ring to it. As it implies, Asia would be entirely peaceful if it wasn’t for a captious U.S. pressuring countries in the region to do its bidding.   RELATED STORIES Cambodia’s Funan Techo canal exposes cracks in Vietnam ties Will Cambodia’s Funan Techo canal be a success? Cambodian anti-Vietnamese sentiment will stalk Hun Manet beyond trade zone spat Cambodia launches ambitious Funan Techo canal project Chinese whispers Read between the lines, and what one can also infer is an argument that the region would be entirely happy with China’s behavior if it weren’t for U.S. interference.  Indeed, the Cambodian official who contacted me claimed that “the U.S., in collaboration with Vietnam, is obstructing the Canal Project…to eliminate Chinese influence in Southeast Asia.” These claims echo Chinese propaganda that asserts that it’s not really Vietnam or the Philippines who wants to assert their sovereignty in the South China Sea in the face of Chinese aggression, but the Americans who are forcing them to challenge China.  Beijing’s line that Vietnam is a proxy of U.S. geopolitical interests now appears to have seeped into…

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Did an American admiral claim the US will attack China in 2027?

Editor07 mins

A claim emerged in Chinese-language social media posts that U.S. Chief of Naval Operations Lisa Franchetti revealed during an internal meeting a U.S. plan to launch a war against China in 2027.  But this is misleading. Franchetti’s comments were part of a public statement in which she said it was important to ensure the U.S. is prepared for a potential conflict with China by 2027. The claim was shared on Douyin, Chinese version of TikTok in late September, 2024, alongside a 30-second video that shows U.S. Chief of Naval Operations Lisa Franchetti.  “A leaked video shows that Franchetti revealed U.S.’s plans to launch a war with China in 2027 during internal U.S. Navy operations meeting,” the claim reads in part. Chinese online users claim that in a leaked conversation Admiral Franchetti said the U.S. plans to go to war with China in 2027. (Screenshots /X, Douyin and Weibo) There are growing concerns about a potential U.S.-China war, particularly the assumption that such a conflict would be short and decisive.  War games and military novels often portray limited, quick engagements, such as battles over Taiwan, but history shows that wars between great powers are rarely brief. Instead, they tend to drag on, expanding across multiple regions and involving other nations.  Several factors could trigger a U.S.-China war, with Taiwan being the most significant. A Chinese attempt to invade or blockade Taiwan could prompt a U.S. response. Territorial disputes in the South China Sea, where China’s claims clash with those of U.S. allies like the Philippines, also pose risks. Additionally, alliances involving nations like Russia or North Korea could draw more countries into a broader conflict, turning a regional dispute into a larger war. The same claim about Franchetti was shared on X, formerly known as Twitter, and Weibo.  But the claim is misleading.  Original clip A combination of keyword searches and reverse image search on Google found that the clips of Franchetti were taken from a video released by the U.S. military on Sept. 18, titled: “CNO Release Navigation Plan 2024.” “Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti released her Navigation Plan (NAVPLAN) for America’s Warfighting Navy at the Naval War College, Sept. 18,” the caption of the video reads in part. “This strategic guidance focuses on two strategic ends: readiness for conflict with the PRC by 2027 and enhancing long-term advantage,” it reads further. Separately, the Navy’s navigation plan, the first update in two years, sets the year 2027 as a baseline for U.S. naval operations in response to goals stated by Chinese President Xi Jinping regarding target dates for China’s military modernization.   A review of the video and the navigation plan found no mention of a  U.S. plan to launch a war with China in 2027. Chinese military modernization China proposed  accelerating the modernization of its defense forces at a meeting of the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Committee in October 2020.  The meeting signaled that China’s armed forces should be prepared for the country’s great rejuvenation by 2027, a goal frequently mentioned by Chinese officials and reported in state-run media.  Since then, U.S. officials have debated and offered different viewpoints about whether China will attack Taiwan in 2027 or 2035.  When Chinese President Xi Jinping met U.S. President Joe Biden at a summit in San Francisco in November 2023, he denied that China planned to attack Taiwan in 2027 or 2035, according to media reports.  Translated by Shen Ke. Edited by Shen Ke and Taejun Kang. Asia Fact Check Lab (AFCL) was established to counter disinformation in today’s complex media environment. We publish fact-checks, media-watches and in-depth reports that aim to sharpen and deepen our readers’ understanding of current affairs and public issues. If you like our content, you can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram and X. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

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Myanmar military transfers prisoners as insurgents advance

Editor06 mins

Read RFA coverage of this topic in Burmese. Junta authorities in western Myanmar have transferred nearly 370 prisoners out of the town of Sittwe in anticipation of an attack by ethnic minority fighters of the Arakan Army, or AA, to free them, a politician and family of the detainees told Radio Free Asia. The AA is one of the most powerful guerrilla forces battling the Myanmar military and it has repeatedly announced its aim to capture the coastal town of Sittwe, capital of the western-most state, and one of the last important places the military holds there. The military is worried that the prisoners may escape or be released if the AA attacks Sittwe, said a Pe Than, a former member of parliament from the state. “Sittwe wouldn’t be controlled by the junta if the AA attacked so they don’t not want to see the inmates released after being prosecuted,” said the former member of the Arakan National Party. “That’s why, I think, those arrested in such incidents have been transferred to other prisons,” he said, referring to people imprisoned on charges of aiding or collaborating with the insurgents. RFA tried to contact Rakhine state’s junta spokesperson, Hla Thein, for information on the transfer but he did not answer calls. The AA has captured territory some 24 kilometers (15 miles) from Sittwe but it does not appear an immediate threat to junta forces there. However, AA fighters are advancing on the junta’s Western Command headquarters in Ann township, about 120 km (75 miles) southwest of Sittwe, capturing an important junta defensive position on a hill on the approach to Ann on Monday. The AA, battling for self-determination for the mostly Buddhist Rakhine people, has taken territory across Rakhine state and controls 10 of the state’s 17 townships, and one in neighboring Chin state. It would be the first Myanmar rebel group to take over a state if it seizes, as it has vowed to do, all territory in military control there. RELATED STORIES ‘Direct hit’ airstrike on homes kills 15 civilians in Myanmar’s Rakhine state Myanmar military court jails 144 villagers detained after massacre Myanmar junta arrests dozens for sending supplies to rebel zone ‘Transferred to Insein’ About 200 of the 366 people transferred from Sittwe’s prisons were detained during a bloody junta raid on Byain Phyu village, on the outskirts of Sittwe, in June for being suspected AA supporters, residents of Sittwe said. “He said that they were about to be moved to other prisons and gave a message for the family not to worry and to take care of each other,” said a woman whose husband was among those transferred. “He said they were being transferred to Insein and Pathein prisons,” said the woman, who declined to be identified for safety reasons. Insein is Myanmar’s most notorious prison, in the main city of Yangon. Pathein is a town to the west of Yangon. Dozens of people were killed in the sweep of Byain Phyu, human rights group said, by soldiers fearful that AA fighters would stage an attack on Sittwe from the village. Most of the Byain Phyu villagers held in the prison were jailed for three years for unlawful association. Rakhine-based reporter Htet Aung and an unidentified colleague from the Development Media Group news outlet, which has reported on human rights violations by junta troops, were among those transferred, family members said. The two had been jailed for five years under a counter-terrorism law. Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Kiana Duncan and Mike Firn.  We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

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Police question students of shuttered Vietnamese education company

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Read this story in Vietnamese A non-profit organization that offered courses aimed at fostering independent thinking among Vietnamese citizens still has the attention of government investigators almost a year after it was forced to shut down.  Authorities have summoned some 50 students and teachers for questioning in the 10 months since FreeHub Education Solutions Company Ltd., or FreeHub, was closed, according to Nguyen Ho Nhat Thanh, the company’s founder. FreeHub opened in 2022 with the goal of giving learners the ability to think from multiple perspectives and make sound decisions in their personal lives. It offered courses – both online and in person – in philosophy, psychology, sociology, economics, history, culture and art.  Even though the classes didn’t discuss Vietnamese politics, authorities still viewed FreeHub as a threat, Thanh told Radio Free Asia on Monday. “It worried security agencies, who accused us of having toppling schemes,” he said. “The current regime is an ideological dictatorship. Therefore, different thinking flows are seen as threats.” Students sit inside a stadium ahead of celebrations of the 70th anniversary of the 1954 Dien Bien Phu victory over French colonial forces in Dien Bien Phu city on May 7, 2024. (Nhac Nguyen/AFP) Vietnamese courts have sentenced numerous journalists, boggers and activists over the last decade in an ongoing campaign to crush dissent.  Additionally, more than 60 people have been convicted and jailed for long terms for suspected links to a self-proclaimed government-in-exile that was founded in the U.S. in 1991. The Ministry of Public Security listed the group – known as the Provisional National Government of Vietnam – as a terrorist organization in 2018.  Summoned for questioning Thanh, also known as Paulo Thanh Nguyen, said he closed FreeHub in late 2023 in response to police harassment of its students in several locations. In the announcement posted on his personal Facebook page, Thanh wrote that trouble with authorities began after FreeHub offered a course on community development. Since then, FreeHub’s Facebook page has been taken down and its service provider has blocked access to its website. Security forces have continued to target students anyway, going to their homes or summoning them to government offices where they have been told to write personal reflections or reports, Thanh said, citing discussions with students. Security officers forced them to hand over their cellphones and laptops and to provide passwords, he added.  “Teachers have also been summoned,” Thanh said. “Security officers said the program was run by a reactionary organization, distorting many things and warning them they were not allowed to continue participating.” RELATED STORIES Vietnamese Authorities Raid a Civil Society Training Class Vietnamese Authorities Beat Dissident Bloggers on Human Rights Day The Ministry of Public Security seems to want to make FreeHub into a major case by linking it with overseas organizations already labeled as “hostile forces,” Thanh added.  Police have only summoned FreeHub students and teachers so far. Thanh said he believes authorities are collecting evidence for his eventual arrest. RFA called the Ministry of Public Security’s Security Investigation Agency to seek comment on Thanh’s accusations. The officer who answered the phone suggested that RFA’s reporter come to headquarters in person or send in a written request in order to receive a response. Thanh previously organized human rights events like “Human Rights Coffee” – a space for activists to meet following anti-China protests in Hanoi in 2014. He has also conducted training programs for young activists in various cities and provinces. Translated by Anna Vu. Edited by Matt Reed and Malcolm Foster. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

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Investigative Journalism Reportika © March 2022 by Ij-Reportika is licensed under CC BY 4.0