ASEAN Archives - Page 131 of 143 - Investigative Journalism Reportika

More than a dozen senior NLD officials sentenced for ‘graft’ in Myanmar in April

Editor3 years ago07 mins

Military courts in Myanmar sentenced a total of 14 Cabinet ministers and senior officials from the deposed National League for Democracy (NLD) government to lengthy prison terms on corruption charges last month, according to data compiled by RFA’s Myanmar Service. On April 22, Deputy Minister for Construction Kyaw Lin was sentenced to 20 years in prison while directors-general Aung Mint Oo, Ye Min Zaw and Nay Aung Ye Myint were sentenced to two to four years in prison. That same day, Kachin State Chief Minister Khet Aung, Director of the State Municipal Authority Soe Naing, and ministers Wai Lin, Win Nyunt, La Sai, Naw Li, Zaw Win and Ne Win were also jailed on corruption charges. Former State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, the head of the NLD who was arrested on the day of the military’s Feb. 1, 2021, coup, was sentenced to five years in prison on April 27 in the first of 11 corruption cases against her. Yangon Region Social Affairs Minister Naing Lin was also handed a prison sentence for corruption the following day. Naw Naw, the son of Khet Aung, told RFA that his father had worked tirelessly on behalf of the country only to end up jailed for 12 years on bogus corruption charges. “This sad development can be seen throughout the country, where all those who had worked in good faith are meeting the same fate,” he said. Mar La Myint, the wife of Ne Win, said her husband’s sentence was a blow to him and his entire family. “He was imprisoned before for his political beliefs, but this time it’s worse,” she said, adding that her husband was “incapable of corruption.” Other notable NLD officials who were sentenced on corruption charges last month include Sagaing Region Chief Minister Myint Naing, Bago Region Chief Minister Win Thein, and Yangon Region Transport Minister Nilar Kyaw. Plan to maintain power When asked for comment on last month’s sentences, junta deputy minister of information, Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun, told RFA that only those who are guilty of the charges against them had been sentenced. “We have no reason to put [NLD officials] into prison if didn’t do anything wrong,” he said. “If it were not for [their acts of] corruption, we wouldn’t have arrested them. No one is above the law. If you commit a crime, you will be punished accordingly.” But Win Myat Aye, minister for Humanitarian and Disaster Management for the shadow National Unity Government (NUG), told RFA the sentences were “part of the junta’s plan to hold onto power.” “They’ll do whatever it takes to reach their goal. From the very beginning, they seized state power by force. They’ll keep on using force to hold on to power,” he said. “What they are doing is illegal and not in line with the wishes of the people.” Political analyst Than Soe Naing said he sees the prison terms as part of a bid by the junta to exclude the NLD and its key party leaders from upcoming military-sponsored elections. “They are carrying out these unfair actions under unfair laws by unfair tribunals so that the NLD and all the party’s top leaders will not be able to run in the next election,” he said. “This year has seen a lot of unjust imprisonment under unjust legal procedures. I’m sure they are doing this to prevent the NLD taking part in the elections they are planning to hold.” Aung San Su Kyi, whose NLD ruled the country for five years and won re-election in November 2020 in a landslide vote that the army refused to honor, was sentenced in January to six years for violating export-import laws, the communications law and the natural disaster management law. She had already been sentenced to six years in prison on five of 18 charges lodged against her since the junta overthrew and detained her. With last week’s five-year sentence, she faces 11 years imprisonment from six charges, with 12 more charges pending. RFA records show that a total of 64 people, including NLD leaders and cabinet members, have been charged with corruption, in the 15 months since the military seized power. Translated by Khin Maung Nyane. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.

At bilateral meet, Japanese, Thai PMs urge end to war in Ukraine

Editor3 years ago2 years ago09 mins

Japan and Thailand urged an end to the war in Ukraine and discussed working with the international community to provide humanitarian assistance, Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-Cha said after he met with his Japanese counterpart, Fumio Kishida, in Bangkok on Monday. The two countries also signed a defense deal as they reaffirmed their bilateral relationship during Kishida’s trip to Thailand, which coincides with the 135th anniversary of diplomatic relations and ten years of the strategic partnership between the two countries. Kishida arrived in Thailand Sunday evening for a two-day trip after visiting Vietnam, a staunch Russian ally, which nevertheless announced a humanitarian aid package worth U.S. $500,000 to Ukraine during the Japanese leader’s trip. “Concerning the situation in Ukraine, Thailand and Japan reaffirmed the principles of territorial integrity, international law, and the United Nations Charter. Both sides expressed concern over the escalation of tension in the situation and urged all relevant parties to cease all hostilities and violence and exercise utmost restraint,” Prayuth said in the statement. Japan condemned Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine and joined a slew of Western nations in imposing sanctions on Moscow. Thailand, meanwhile, abstained from a United Nations resolution vote to suspend Russia from the U.N. Human Rights Council for alleged human rights abuses in the war in Ukraine. It did however support a strongly worded U.N. resolution that “deplored” the aggression by Russia against Ukraine. Kishida said Japan admired Thailand for supporting the latter resolution. “I agree with Prime Minister Prayuth to denounce the violation of sovereignty and territorial integrity, unilateral use of force in any region, and disapproval of the use of weapons of mass destruction or the threat to use it,” the Japanese PM said. Prayuth also said he had proposed a “new approach towards ending confrontation which calls for the need to change the narrative of the Ukraine situation from conflict to humanitarian consideration for those who are affected by the Ukraine situation.” He said he had a similar approach “to resolve the situation in Myanmar and attached importance to humanitarian assistance for the people of Myanmar.” He did not give details about the so-called approach. Thailand shares a 2,400-kilometer (1,500-mile) long border with Myanmar. It has not outright condemned the coup in Myanmar or the actions of its security forces, which toppled the elected National League for Democracy (NLD) government on Feb. 1, 2021. Before arriving in Bangkok, the Japanese PM visited Hanoi where he spent fewer than 24 hours. He was received by all three of Vietnam’s top leaders, including the prime minister, the president, and the chairman of the national assembly. Speaking about Vietnam’s commitment of humanitarian aid for Ukraine, a Vietnamese analyst, Le Dang Doanh, said that Kishida’s visit helped Russian ally Vietnam “adjust its stance towards the Ukrainian war.” South China Sea At a meeting with his Vietnamese counterpart Pham Minh Chinh and the other Vietnamese leaders, Kishida also discussed the issue of the disputed South China Sea, and the need for a free and open Indo-Pacific. Vietnam shares interest with Japan in safeguarding maritime security in the South China Sea, where China holds expansive claims and has been militarizing reclaimed islands. China is involved in maritime disputes with Japan over the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea. China claims sovereignty over nearly all of the South China Sea, where Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam all have claims. In Bangkok Monday, Kishida said that Japan along with Thailand hoped to “achieve the goal of [a] free and open Indo-Pacific and will closely cooperate to handle the matters of the South China Sea and North Korea and nuclear weapon and ballistic missile tests.” Defense deal Meanwhile the new defense equipment deal announced by Kishida and Prayuth would help facilitate the transfer of hardware and technology from Japan to Thailand, but the leaders provided no details. The deal “would support the strengthening of defense cooperation between the two countries and incentivize Japanese investment in the Thai defense industry, which is one of the targeted industries,” Prayuth said in a joint press conference held at the Government House in Bangkok on Monday evening. “The signing of our defense equipment and technology transfer agreement is a major step forward in expanding bilateral defense cooperation,” Kishida said. The two countries will later decide on the specific types of equipment for transfer. Apart from the defense deal, the two leaders also witnessed the signing of agreements to deepen financial cooperation between Japan and Thailand. Additionally, Japan gave Thailand COVID-19 emergency support worth 50 billion yen (U.S. $384 million) in loans and 500 million yen in grants aid, according to a joint statement. The two leaders discussed improvements in agricultural supply chains and agreed to continue working together on the Mekong sub-region, “particularly in promoting connectivity, human resource development, and sustainable development,” the statement said. Japan is Thailand’s biggest foreign investor, followed by the United States and Singapore. According to the Thai commerce ministry, Japanese investors represented 28.6 percent of the overall foreign investment in Thailand, worth more than 82.5 billion baht (U.S. $ 2.39 billion), in 2021. Japan’s investments, especially in the automotive industry, have been vital to Thailand’s economic growth in the last several decades.

Philippines vote: Marcos seen as pro-China; Robredo will likely test Beijing ties

Editor3 years ago09 mins

China would likely enjoy friendly ties with the Philippines if Ferdinand Marcos Jr. wins next week’s presidential election, while his main challenger, Vice President Leni Robredo, has vowed to seek help in protecting Philippine waters in the South China Sea, American analysts said. They say Marcos Jr. closely hews to the stance of outgoing President Rodrigo Duterte, who chose to ignore the 2016 Hague tribunal ruling that threw out China’s expansive claims in the South China Sea as Beijing promised rivers of money for infrastructure development. “Marcos is the most pro-Beijing of all candidates,” said Greg Poling, a Southeast Asia analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a Washington-based policy research organization. “He is the most pro-Chinese in a system where most people are anti-Chinese. He avoids the press and debates, and what we have are these off-the-cuff remarks that are pro-Chinese. He is a friend of the Chinese embassy,” said Poling, director of CSIS’s Southeast Asia Program and Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative. He was referring to anti-Chinese government sentiment among much of the Philippine population who see their fishermen’s livelihoods being threatened and lives being endangered by alleged harassment on the part of Chinese navy and coast guard ships. Marcos Jr., the son and namesake of the country’s late dictator deposed by a people power revolt in 1986, has consistently led opinion polls ahead of the May 9 general elections to replace Duterte, who is limited by the constitution to a single six-year term. The latest survey conducted by independent pollster Pulse Asia from April 16-21 showed Marcos Jr. in the lead with 56 percent support, and Robredo in second place with 23 percent. The eight other candidates competing, including boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao, are already out of contention, according to experts. Marcos Jr. is running alongside Sara Duterte-Carpio, Duterte’s daughter, in what they tout as a continuity ticket that would safeguard the outgoing leader’s legacy. Pundits say that a Robredo government would take a tougher stance on Beijing over the sea dispute, and put an immediate stop to the Duterte government’s deadly war on drugs, which has killed thousands and battered the country’s international image. ‘Not a man of strong opinions’ Poling said that Marcos Jr. does not appear to “have many political beliefs” when it comes to the South China Sea, while Robredo has said she would enforce a 2016 arbitral ruling invalidating China’s claims to almost the entire, mineral-rich South China Sea. Robredo has stressed repeatedly that the West Philippine Sea, or that part of the South China Sea that falls within the country’s exclusive economic zone, belongs to the Philippines, and that she “will fight for that.” And she has put forward an idea never even entertained by the Duterte administration: that the ruling could be used to create a coalition of nations to pressure China. Poling said Robredo may not be ideologically pro-American or a “cheerleader for the alliance,” but she appears to be a nationalist who could tap allies for help in the territorial row that has dragged on for years. “She is pragmatic about the South China Sea. [She believes] China is a threat and violates the rule of law in the South China Sea,” Poling said, adding that there was reason to believe that her victory could strengthen the Philippine-U.S. alliance. Manila is Washington’s biggest ally in Southeast Asia, where an increasingly assertive China is encroaching on other claimant nations’ exclusive economic zones in the disputed South China Sea. Duterte tested the U.S.-Philippines relationship, threatening to drop one of many bilateral security agreements and vowing never to set foot in the United States while president. Marcos Jr. has said he would not rock the boat if he won, and would largely continue with Duterte’s policies. But, unlike the outgoing leader, he does not appear to have animosity towards Washington, analysts point out. “The impression you get of him is that he does and says things not of his own initiative but based on what people around him say. He is not a man of strong opinions,” said Vicente Rafael, a professor of Southeast Asian Studies at the University of Washington. Both candidates have little foreign policy experience, though in this election that area does not carry enough weight to swing votes, analysts said. Domestically, the Philippine economy is just recovering after being in one of the world’s longest lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Foreign policy “is not a big deal in these elections,” according to Andrew Yeo, a senior fellow at The Brookings Institute. “The biggest issue is recovering from the pandemic.” Yeo said that relations with the U.S. are unlikely to get worse under Marcos Jr., because “the Philippine military is very supportive of the alliance with the U.S. and so is the foreign policy establishment.” “Marcos Jr. would have to calibrate his policies carefully, because he has to rely on the military and defense and foreign policy establishment for military and foreign policy. He will have to play some politics to keep them satisfied,” Yeo said. On Robredo, the Brookings fellow said that it is clear she would support the alliance with the U.S., which supports the rule of law and freedom of navigation in the seas. “She won’t bend to the will of China, like Duterte who gave up on the Hague ruling. She won’t do that,” he said. BenarNews is an RFA-affiliated online news service.

Vietnam ‘opinion workers’ push Russian fake news on Ukraine on social media

Editor3 years ago2 years ago010 mins

Vietnamese “opinion workers” who promote the Communist Party and protect its image on social media now have a new role: spreading fake or misleading reports that support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Facebook. Facebook groups like “Đơn vị Tác chiến Mạng” (Cyber CombatUnit), “Truy quét Phản động” (Elimination of Reactionary Forces), “Bộ Tự lệnh Tác chiến” (Combat Command), and “Trung đoàn 47” (Regiment 47) that have worked to counter criticism of the Communist Party all now post information in favor of Russia. For example, Trung đoàn 47, which is believed to be part of a cyber combat force in the Vietnam People’s Army, posted this justification for the invasion: “Mr. Putin said: ‘Moscow has done everything it can to maintain Ukraine’s territorial integrity as well as protect the interests of Donetsk and Lugansk’s people but Kiev had blocked Donbas, suppressing local residents and shelling Donbas.’” Đơn vị Tác chiến Mạng posts fake news on a nearly daily basis. One video clip shows Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meeting with members of his Cabinet and a close-up shot of a handful of white powder on his desk that looks like heroin. Đơn vị Tác chiến Mạng claimed that Zelensky posted this video on his website before it was quickly deleted. Facebook attached an alert on the video to let viewers know it is an altered recording, though it is still available. Even wider of the mark has been coverage of the massacre in Bucha, a town outside the capital Kyiv where hundreds of Ukrainians were killed by Russian soldiers. The torture and murder of Bucha residents apparently carried out by Russian soldiers before Ukrainian forces retook the town has drawn international calls to bring perpetrators to justice for war crimes. But Don Vi Tac Chien Mang said the atrocities were faked by Ukraine officials and soldiers, who, the Facebook group claimed, transported the corpses to Bucha from another location. RFA sent evidence to prove the video was fake to Meta, Facebook’s parent company, asking for comment as to why the social media platform had not yet identified it as such. A team representative said a response would be forthcoming within 24 hours, but RFA did not receive a reply. ‘It cannot discourage me’ The pro-Russian disinformation comes from a force of tens of thousands of cyber troops created by the Hanoi regime to watch and attack people online for posting information seen as detrimental to the Vietnamese Communist Party. Targets include individual netizens like Phan Chau Thanh, a Vietnamese businessman living in Poland who along with his friends began to organize the delivery of relief aid to Ukraine refugees in Poland right after the war broke out. “I find this war extremely unjustifiable,” Thanh said. “How can Russia carry out an invasion of another country right in the middle of Europe in the 21st century? Therefore, I want to provide Vietnamese people with updates about the war through the eyes of a person living in Europe.” Posts from his Facebook account garner thousands of views among Vietnamese, including government officials and the army of official influencers. “Since the war started, or over the past 60 days, my Facebook account has been blocked four times,” he said, due to reports accusing him of violating Facebook’s community standards. In December 2021, Meta, Facebook’s parent, announced that it had removed from the site a network of users who attacked political dissidents in Vietnam through similar methods. Thanh said he has also received a flurry of obscene and nasty comments, a typical tactic of Vietnamese cyber troops. “Of course, it makes me feel down, but it cannot discourage me,” he said. “It irritates me, but in many cases it gives me stronger determination to keep going.” RFA sent Facebook a message containing Phan Chau Thanh’s complaints but did not receive a response. In many cases, Vietnamese opinion workers are amplifying fake news created by Russian propagandists. Their influence could be seen recently when a video of four Ukrainian men ripping apart Vietnamese flags went viral on Facebook, passed on as “evidence” of the Ukrainian government’s hostile view toward the Southeast Asian nation. The video fueled a wave of criticism against Ukraine and served to support the Vietnamese government’s decision to maintain neutrality in the face of Russia’s brutal attack. It turned out the flag-tearing incident occurred in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv 16 years ago. Fallout from the video Oleksandr Gaman, Ukraine’s ambassador to Vietnam, was forced to address the fallout from the video on the embassy’s Facebook page. “The information war, part of the burning war in Ukraine, has come to Vietnam. Russia is making every effort to create frictions between Ukrainian and Vietnamese people,” Gaman said in a video speech posted on April 19, adding that old videos and photos and fake facts were being presented as the official position of Ukraine. A representative from the Ukrainian Embassy in Hanoi told RFA that Russia also has a large army of fake newsmakers. Natalia Zhynkina, the embassy’s temporary chargé d’affaires, said Russia was taking advantage of the image of the former Soviet Union, a country that supported Vietnam during its war with the United States, to make its propaganda appealing to the Vietnamese. But she questioned the effectiveness of Russia’s tactics. “A question should be asked about the effectiveness of Russia’s communication attempts in Vietnam,” she told RFA. “I believe that the information created by Russia has failed to attract the attention of young people. A communication campaign based on hostility and a war will never succeed.” Despite Russia’s efforts, many Vietnamese have shown support for Ukraine in various ways. Hundreds of people in Hanoi have taken part in events at the Ukrainian Embassy and fundraising events to raise money for those affected by the armed conflict. Reported by RFA’s Vietnamese Service. Translated by Anna Vu. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.

Laos shrugs as villagers lose farms to dam reservoir

Editor3 years ago06 mins

Developers who built Laos’ Nam Khan 3 dam have not compensated farmers who lost crops to rising water in the reservoir, sources living near the dam told RFA. A Lao government official said the displaced villagers were unlikely to get any more money. The dam, which sits on the Nam Khan River, began operating in 2016, and the villagers were relocated downstream to a newly built resettlement village. While they received money for lost homes, they were never given any compensation or new plots of farmland. Instead, they were told that they could continue to work at their farms upstream from the dam. But those farms are now flooded. “The dam owner recently made a survey. When they close the waterway, the water in the reservoir is on the rise and floods the villagers’ farmland,” a villager living near the dam in the province’s Xieng Ngeun district in the northern part of the country told RFA’s Lao Service on condition of anonymity for safety reasons. “The villagers have not received compensation like a plot of new cultivated farmland in a resettlement village. It seems like the dam owner just got their land for free and they get nothing at all,” the villager said. According to the villager, the dam has negatively affected more than 650 people in 10 villages. “There are only a few parts of the farmland that are not completely flooded. The villagers have not received money for their lost farmland, but all of them want it. If we do not get the compensated, for our lost farmland, it will be so sad,” a second villager said. A Xiengngeun district official confirmed to RFA that the rising water in the reservoir has damaged farmland and trees and caused landslides. “The dam owner has to investigate and solve these problems, and the district has informed them they should do this,” the official said. An official at the province’s Energy and Mines Department, however, told RFA that the villagers were not entitled to compensation for flooded farms because the dam owned the land and had allowed the farmers to cultivate it. The Nam Khan 3 Dam is a 60-megawat dam, designed and constructed by the Sinohydro Corporation of China and owned by the state-run Électricité du Laos, which financed the project by borrowing about $130 million from China’s Exim Bank. The Nam Khan River, where the dam was built, meets the Mekong River at the ancient city of Luang Prabang in the northern part of Laos. The project is one of dozens of dams that Lao has constructed on the Mekong River and its tributaries under its controversial economic strategy to become the “Battery of Southeast Asia” by selling electricity to neighboring countries. But displaced villagers commonly complain that they are not sufficiently compensated for what they have lost in the name of development. The energy official said the villagers would not be able to cultivate any of the land near the reservoir without permission. “Water is rising in the areas belonging to the dam owner, so there is no problem,” the energy official said. “As there is no farmland left in the resettlement village, there will be no compensation to those villagers who are affected by the dam,” said the energy official, who pointed out that the villagers already received compensation for their houses, as well as some of the trees on their property. From the local government’s point of view, the issue of compensation has already been settled, he said. When villagers who said they were told they could continue to farm on land that has now been flooded complained to the National Assembly for relief, they were told that the issue of compensation had been resolved and they were not eligible for additional relief. Reported and translated by RFA/Lao service. Written in English by Eugene Whong.

Vietnam protests as China declares annual South China Sea fishing ban

Editor3 years ago08 mins

China has once again announced a unilateral fishing moratorium in the South China Sea, to vigorous protests by Vietnam but the Philippines has so far not reacted. The three-and-half-month ban began on Sunday and covers the waters north of 12 degrees north latitude in the South China Sea which Vietnam and the Philippines also call their “traditional fishing grounds.” Hanoi spoke up against the fishing ban, calling it “a violation of Vietnam’s sovereignty and territorial jurisdiction.” The moratorium applies to part of the Gulf of Tonkin, and the Paracel Islands claimed by both China and Vietnam. The Vietnamese Foreign Ministry’s spokeswoman said: “Vietnam requests China to respect Vietnam’s sovereignty over the Paracel Islands, sovereign rights and jurisdiction over its maritime zones when taking measures to conserve biological resources in the East Sea (South China Sea), without complicating the situation towards maintaining peace, stability and order in the East Sea.” Spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang said Vietnam’s stance on China’s fishing ban “is consistent and well established over the years.” Meanwhile the Philippines, which holds a presidential election next weekend, hasn’t responded to the moratorium. In the past, Manila has repeatedly protested and even called on Filipino fishermen to ignore the Chinese ban and continue their activities in the waters also known as the West Philippine Sea. Vietnamese foreign ministry spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang speaks at a news conference in Hanoi, Vietnam July 25, 2019. Credit: Reuters. Risks of overfishing China has imposed the annual summer fishing ban since 1999 “as part of the country’s efforts to promote sustainable marine fishery development and improve marine ecology,” Chinese news agency Xinhua reported. A collapse of fishery stocks in the South China Sea due to overfishing and climate change could fuel serious tensions and even armed conflict, experts said. “Overfishing is the norm in open-access fisheries, so restrictions on fishing represent a sensible policy,” said John Quiggin, professor of economics at the University of Queensland in Australia. “But China’s decision to impose such restrictions implies a claim of territorial control which other nations are contesting,” Quiggin told RFA. “The best outcome would be an interim agreement to limit over-fishing, until boundary disputes are resolved, if that ever happens,” he added. China’s fishing ban in the South China Sea is expected to end on Aug. 16. It also covers the Bohai Sea, the Yellow Sea, the East China Sea, with a later end-date. Chinese media said this week that the South China Sea branch of the Coast Guard and local authorities will patrol major fishing grounds and ports “to ensure that the ban will be well observed.” At the end of last year, Beijing issued a new regulation threatening hefty fines of up to tens of thousands of dollars on activities of foreign fishermen in China’s “jurisdictional waters.” The self-claimed “jurisdictional waters” extend to most of the South China Sea but the claims are disputed by China’s neighbors and have been rejected by an international tribunal. Rashid Sumaila, a professor at the University of British Columbia in Canada and author of a 2021 report on the fishery industry in the East and South China Seas, said in an interview with RFA that “the simmering conflict that we see in the South China Sea is mostly because of fish even though countries don’t say it out loud.” “Fishery is one of the reasons China’s entangled in disputes with its neighbors in the South China Sea,” Sumaila said. A file photo showing Chinese fishing boats docked in Jiaoshan fishing port in Wenling city in eastern China’s Zhejiang province on July 12 2013. Credit: AP. Distant-water fishing Meanwhile, China’s distant-water fishing causes serious concerns across the world, mainly because of the size of the Chinese fleet and its “illegal behavior,” according to a recent report. The report released in March by the Environmental Justice Foundation, a U.K. non-profit organization, traces “China’s vast, opaque and, at times illegal global fisheries footprint,” using mainly China’s own data. It found that China’s distant-fishing fleet that operates on the high seas and beyond its exclusive economic zone is “by far the largest” in the world. The number of Chinese distant-water fishing boats is unknown, but could be around 2,700, according to some estimates. China is responsible for 38 percent of the distant-water fishing activities of the world’s 10 largest fleets in other countries’ waters, the report said. Chinese fishing vessels operate “across the globe in both areas beyond national jurisdiction and in the EEZs of coastal states.” Researchers who worked on the report have identified “high instances of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, destructive practises such as bottom trawling and the use of forced, bonded and slave labour and trafficked crew, alongside the widespread abuse of migrant crewmembers.”

Myanmar’s junta vows to defend China-backed copper mine after PDF threats

Editor3 years ago010 mins

Myanmar’s junta has vowed to defend a suspended Chinese copper mine, seen as a key source of revenue for the military regime, after the country’s armed opposition threatened to destroy the project if owners resume operations. The Letpadaung copper mine in Sagaing’s Salingyi township is a joint venture between China’s state-owned Wanbao Co. and the military-owned Myanmar Economic Holding Limited (MEHL) company. Following the military’s Feb. 1, 2021 coup, employees walked off the job to join the anti-junta Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM), reducing the mine’s operating capacity by more than 80 percent. In early April, junta Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin met with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in eastern China’s Anhui province in what analysts said signaled Myanmar’s desire for deeper economic ties to its northern ally. Not long after the trip, residents of Salingyi reported that workers were being called back to the mine to restart the project after more than a year of downtime, prompting threats from anti-junta People’s Defense Force (PDF) paramilitaries. Late last week, junta Deputy Information Minister Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun told RFA’s Myanmar Service that the military would deploy troops to protect the mine in the event of an attack. “As a government, we have a responsibility to protect all investments in the country, both legally and on the ground, and we must work to provide security for them,” he said, adding that the junta is “working to get things back on track” at Letpadaung. Zaw Min Tun didn’t provide details on the status of the mine or whether any other foreign projects had come under threat. His comments came in response to an April 21 joint statement from 16 PDF groups from Salingyi and nearby Yinmarbin townships threatening to destroy the mine if Wanbao brought it back online. A spokesman from the NRF, one of the PDF groups that issued the warning, told RFA that Chinese and other foreign-owned assets in Myanmar qualify as fair game for the armed opposition if they are generating income for the junta. “If the military can purchase weapons with that money, the people will suffer further persecution,” he said, calling the statement a warning to other foreign companies in Myanmar “earning money that will be used [by the junta] to buy bullets to kill people.” Sit Naing, a spokesperson from the Salingyi PDF, clarified that the groups “don’t have a plan to attack foreigners,” but said if foreign companies “keep working with the military and take part in persecuting the people, we will have to attack them, without fail.” Zin Mar Aung, foreign minister for Myanmar’s shadow National Unity Government (NUG), to which the prodemocaracy PDF has pledged its loyalty, expressed disappointment with China for its support of the junta in a recent statement. An excavator works on a section of the Letpadaung copper mine site in Sagaing region’s Salingyi township, in a file photo. Credit: RFA Resident protests Reports that operators are restarting the 60-year-old Letpadaung copper mine project – which has already faced criticism for appropriating land from 26 area villages and damaging the environment with chemical waste and dust – have also prompted opposition from Myanmar’s civilian population. Residents of Letpadaung have held daily protests demanding that Beijing respect the wishes of the people of Myanmar by shutting the mine down, and on April 25, nearly 560 prodemocracy groups sent an open letter to Chinese President Xi Jinping urging him to stop supporting the junta through the mine and other China-backed development projects. In an interview with RFA, a member of the CDM in Salingyi called on all copper mine staff to remain in the movement, even if they are called back to work by Wanbao. “As the project is directly affiliated with the junta, we are urging staff to hold out and refuse to return to work to resume operations, no matter how much incentive the company offers,” the CDM member said. “We ask that they go back to work only when the country is liberated.” Other sources were more direct in their condemnation of China, including a Salingyi township protest organizer who noted that Beijing has been backing the junta for much of the 15 months since the military’s coup. “They don’t give priority to the people, and they are prioritizing our enemy the military’s leader [Snr. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing], so China is our common enemy,” she said. “I want to appeal the workers to stand with the people. No matter how many incentives or extra salary they offer, don’t consider working for the enemy.” Reassessing control in Myanmar In response to an RFA email seeking comment on the situation in Salingyi, China’s embassy in Yangon said that Chinese projects in Myanmar “are meant to benefit Myanmar’s economic development, bilateral interests, and the livelihoods of the local people.” Attempts by RFA to contact Wanbao and Letpadaung copper mine officials went unanswered, as did calls to junta Deputy Minister of Information Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun. According to Myanmar’s Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, 32 Chinese garment factories were set on fire in the early months of the coup, while PDF attacks on Chinese projects have damaged the water supply pipeline to the Letpadaung project, as well as a gas pipeline and nickel plant in Mandalay region. A Myanmar-based analyst on China-Myanmar relations, who declined to be named, said the NUG’s statement was a “warning” to China, emboldening local PDF groups. “The PDFs are trying to make China reconsider whether the junta can effectively protect its interests, after it offered support to the junta,” the analyst said. “China should reassess who is really in control on the ground … We will have to wait and see if they decide to negotiate with the NUG after they do so.” Translated by Ye Kaung Myint Maung and Khin Maung Nyane. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.

Indonesia confirms invitation to Ukraine for G-20 summit, says Putin will attend

Editor3 years ago2 years ago08 mins

Indonesia has asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to be a guest at the G-20 summit, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo said Friday, belatedly confirming an invitation to the war-torn European nation’s leader that the United States had urged him to extend. The Indonesian president also said that Vladimir Putin, the leader of G-20 member Russia whose military invaded Ukraine in February, had agreed to attend the same summit in Bali in mid-November, although the Kremlin had not confirmed his participation. Indonesia hold this year’s presidency of the grouping of the world’s top 20 economies. “We know that the G-20 plays the role of catalyst in the global economic recovery and the two things are affecting the global economic recovery in a major way: COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine,” Jokowi said in a speech broadcast on YouTube. “It is in this context that I invited President Zelenskyy to attend the G-20 summit,” he said of his call Wednesday with the Ukrainian president. Meanwhile in Washington on Friday, the Pentagon’s press secretary said that Putin “absolutely shouldn’t be” welcomed at the G-20 summit. “He isolated Russia by his own actions and should continue to be isolated by the international community … [as one of the] consequences of his actions in Ukraine,” John Kirby told CNN. A day earlier, when asked whether President Joe Biden would attend the G-20 summit were Putin to attend as well, a White House spokeswoman indicated that a decision had yet to be made. “[T]he President has been clear about his view: This shouldn’t be business as usual, and that Russia should not be a part of this,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters. “But, again, [the G-20 summit] six months away; we don’t even have confirmation of these reports [about Putin’s attendance]. So I’m certainly not going to get into a hypothetical in this case.” Southeast Asia analyst Derek J. Grossman said Indonesia’s invitation to Ukraine reflected its stated foreign policy. “The nonaligned path in action,” the senior defense analyst at the Rand Corp., a U.S. think-tank, said on Twitter. Ukraine is not a G-20 member, but Indonesia, as the holder of the group’s presidency, can invite leaders of non-member countries as guests. Zelenskyy on Wednesday pre-empted Indonesia by announcing via Twitter that Jokowi had invited him to the summit. His attendance at the G-20 summit would “depend mainly on the situation in the battlefield,” Vysotskyi Taras, a senior Ukrainian government official, was quoted by Reuters as saying on Thursday. ‘War must be stopped immediately’ Jokowi, however, said he had turned down a request by Zelenskyy that Indonesia send weapons to Ukraine. “I reaffirmed [to Zelenskyy] that in line with our constitution and our independent and active foreign policy, we cannot send arms support to other countries, but we are prepared to send humanitarian aid,” Jokowi said. The Indonesian leader also said he had called for an end to the war, in his telephone conversation with Putin on Thursday. “It should be underlined that the war must be stopped immediately and peace negotiations be given a chance. Indonesia is ready to contribute to achieving that goal,” Jokowi said. “President Putin expressed gratitude for the invitation to the G-20 summit and said that he would attend,” he added. In Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia would prepare for the summit but did not say whether Putin would go to Bali. “Putin wished success for the Indonesian G-20 presidency and assured that Russia will do everything necessary and everything possible to contribute to it,” Peskov was quoted as saying by the Russian news agency TASS. But, Peskov said, “it is premature to talk about any other modalities of our participation.” Last month, President Biden said Ukraine should be able to participate in the G-20 summit, if the grouping did not expel Russia, the country that invaded its smaller neighbor and former Soviet socialist republic next-door on Feb. 24. Washington went a step farther on April 6, saying that it would boycott some of the group’s meetings if Russian officials attended, which it then did later in the month. On April 20, several nations, including Ukraine and the United States, walked out when Russian officials addressed a G-20 meeting convened by Indonesia in Washington. Indonesia had invited all members, including Russia, to attend the group’s meeting of finance ministers and central bank chiefs that day. Shailaja Neelakantan in Washington contributed to this report for BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated online news service.

Japan PM begins SE Asia trip, urges open seas, response on Ukraine

Editor3 years ago09 mins

Japan’s leader made a veiled but strong statement against Chinese assertiveness as he met Indonesia’s president on Friday at the start of a trip to Southeast Asia and Europe to promote a free and open Indo-Pacific and rally a regional response to the Ukrainian crisis. Tokyo is also considering giving Indonesia patrol boats so its coast guard could strengthen maritime security, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said, amid Chinese pressure on Jakarta over its oil and gas drilling operations in its own exclusive economic zone in the South China Sea. “I expressed a strong sense of protest against efforts to change the status quo unilaterally and economic pressures in the East China Sea and South China Sea,” Kishida said, after meeting with President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo in Jakarta. The Japanese premier’s remarks were a pointed reference to concern over Chinese activities in the region. Kishida’s eight-day tour will see him visiting “strategic ASEAN partners,” including Vietnam and Thailand. The prime minister will then proceed to Europe, with stops in Italy and the United Kingdom, both members of the G7 grouping of industrialized countries that also comprises Japan. Before embarking from Tokyo on his trip, Kishida said at the airport that he would like to “exchange frank opinions on the situation in Ukraine with each of the leaders and confirm their cooperation.” Indonesia is host of this year’s Group of 20 summit in November, an engagement that has placed Jakarta in a diplomatic bind, amid opposition to the participation of Russia because of its invasion of Ukraine and alleged war crimes there. On Friday, Jokowi confirmed that Indonesia had invited Ukraine’s president as a guest to the G-20 summit in Bali and that Russian leader Vladimir Putin would also attend. Kishida said he and Jokowi “exchanged views openly” on the Russian invasion, “which is a clear violation of international law and which we say has shaken the foundations of the international order, including Asia, and must be strongly condemned.” “Keeping in mind the U.N. resolutions agreed upon by the two countries, I and the president discussed this issue. We have one understanding that a military attack on Ukraine is unacceptable. In any area, sovereignty and territorial integrity should not be interfered with by military force or intimidation,” the Japanese leader said. Jokowi, for his part, called for all countries to respect sovereignty and territorial integrity. “The Ukraine war must be stopped immediately,” he said. A regional ‘reluctance to take sides’ The war in Ukraine has been a divisive issue among members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN. “Across the region there is a reluctance to take sides and an ambivalence about the concert of democracies lining up in support of Ukraine,” said Jeff Kingston, a professor and director of Asian Studies at Temple University in Tokyo. Most Southeast Asian countries – Singapore being an exception – have been hesitant to condemn Russia or join international sanctions against Moscow. Japan hopes to consolidate their responses during the prime minister’s visit. “Kishida will [also] seek to gain understanding of what is at stake and the potential implications for Asia in terms of China’s hegemonic aspirations,” Kingston said. China’s increasing assertiveness in the East China and South China seas will be high on the agenda, and Kishida said he would discuss with Southeast Asian leaders further cooperation “toward realizing a free and open Indo-Pacific,” and maintaining peace and order. Stops in Hanoi, Bangkok In Vietnam, where Kishida will spend less than 24 hours over the weekend, he will meet with both the Vietnamese prime minister and president. Bilateral talks will focus on post-COVID-19 and security cooperation, Vietnamese media said. Vietnam shares interests with Japan in safeguarding maritime security in the South China Sea where China holds expansive claims and has been militarizing reclaimed islands. In Thailand, Kishida will hold talks with Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha. Thailand is the host of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum summit in November. Bangkok and Tokyo are celebrating the 135th anniversary of diplomatic ties this year, and the two sides are seeking to sign an agreement on the transfer of defense equipment and technology to strengthen cooperation in the security field, according to the Bangkok Post. Government spokesman Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana said it would be the first official visit of a Japanese prime minister to Thailand since 2013. In March, Kishida visited India and Cambodia, his first bilateral trips since taking office in October 2021. Later in May, he will host a visit by U.S. President Joe Biden and a summit of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, or Quad. The White House announced on Wednesday that President Biden would visit South Korea and Japan May 20-24 to advance a “commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific and to U.S. treaty alliances” with the two countries. The trip will be Biden’s first one to Asia as president. “In Tokyo, President Biden will also meet with the leaders of the Quad grouping of Australia, Japan, India, and the United States,” the statement said without disclosing the date. The Quad is widely seen as countering China’s weight in the region. China has been sneering at the formation of the Quad, calling it one of the “exclusive cliques detrimental to mutual trust and cooperation among regional countries.” On Thursday, Chinese Foreign Ministry’s spokesman Wang Wenbin said that the Quad “is steeped in the obsolete Cold War and zero sum mentality and reeks of military confrontation.” “It runs counter to the trend of the times and is doomed to be rejected,” he said. Dandy Koswaraputra in Jakarta contributed to this report for BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated online news service.

Vietnam unveils world’s longest glass-bottom bridge

Editor3 years ago01 mins

The world’s longest glass-bottom bridge opened in Vietnam this month – suspended at a stunning height of 150 meters (490 feet) and spanning over 600 meters (1,970 feet) in length. The Bach Long bridge – meaning “white dragon” in Vietnamese – is a pedestrian bridge and tourist attraction that bends around a large valley centered between two peaks. Inspectors from the Guiness Book of World Records are expected to verify the bridge’s status next month. For now, the official longest glass-bottom bridge is in Guangdong, China. After over two years of COVID-19 shutdowns, Vietnam is eager to woo tourists back to the country after ending mandatory quarantines for international visitors in mid-March. It also resumed 15 days of visa-free travel for citizens from 13 countries. Credit: AFP

Category: ASEAN