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Category: ASEAN

Minister in Myanmar’s ousted government dies days after release

Editor06 mins

Read RFA coverage of this topic in Burmese. A former minister in Aung San Suu Kyi’s ousted government has died shortly after being released from prison, family friends and party colleagues told Radio Free Asia, the latest jailed member of Myanmar’s last elected government to die. Win Khaing, 74, was minister of electricity and energy in the government formed by Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy, or NLD, which was overthrown on Feb. 1, 2021, when the generals ended a decade of tentative reform and reimposed hardline military rule. “The respected Win Khaing joined hands with the NLD to make it the best. He was involved in both management and policy reforms and was capable of carrying them out,” said NLD colleague Bo Bo Oo, the party’s deputy chairperson for the Sanchaung township in the main city of Yangon. “The loss of our distinguished Win Khaing is a loss for all Myanmar citizens, the whole country’s loss,” Bo Bo Oo told Radio Free Asia from an undisclosed location. Family friends said Win Khaing died of heart disease and diabetes in hospital late on Friday. He had been released from the infamous Obo Prison in Mandalay on Oct. 28 due to deteriorating health and taken to Mandalay General Hospital. Win Khaing was arrested shortly after the 2021 coup and later jailed for 28 years on corruption charges related to a hydro-power project. Almost all NLD leaders, including Suu Kyi, have been jailed on various charges that they have dismissed as politically motivated. Calls to Myanmar military spokesperson, Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun, went unanswered. Military-run media did not report Win Khaing’s death but the news spread quickly in Myanmar’s second-biggest city. ‘Military is responsible’ Some residents drew parallels with the death last month of Zaw Myint Maung, another top NLD member who died of cancer days after being released on medical grounds from a lengthy sentence in the same prison. “Of course, they only give amnesty to a person when they know they’re going to die,” said one resident who declined to be identified for security reasons. “People in Mandalay knew he had been released a week before he passed away.” The civilian shadow administration in exile, National Unity Government, or NUG, formed by former NLD members, has criticized the junta officials for failing to provide prisoners with adequate medical treatment. A spokesperson for the NUG, Nay Phone Latt, denounced the “ illegal capture and jailing” of pro-democracy politicians. “The military is completely responsible for this,” Nay Phone Latt said. The death of elderly NLD members raises concerns for the fate of Myanmar’s most popular politician, Suu Kyi. The 79-year-old daughter of the hero of Myanmar’s campaign for independence from colonial rule was also arrested after the 2021 coup. She was sentenced on various charges, that she dismissed as trumped up, and jailed for 33 years though her sentence was reduced to 27 years. The Nobel Peace Prize laureate is believed to be in solitary confinement in prison in the capital, Naypyidaw, but her exact whereabouts are unknown. About 2,000 other NLD members have been jailed by the military regime since the coup along with thousands of other democracy campaigners. Among those to have died in custody was Nyan Win, a top NLD adviser to Suu Kyi, who died of COVID-19 in 2021. A year later, the junta executed former NLD lawmaker Phyo Zayar Thaw, for treason and terrorism charges. RELATED STORIES Myanmar democracy champion Tin Oo, dead at 98 Relative of Myanmar’s ex-dictator arrested over social media posts Over 100 Myanmar political prisoners have died since coup, group says Translated by Kiana Duncan. Edited by RFA staff. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

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Perhaps it would be better if Myanmar’s civil war became a ‘forgotten conflict’

Editor04 mins

It’s become fashionable in some quarters to suggest the three-year-old Myanmar civil war might be solvable if only more people remembered that it was taking place. Julie Bishop, a former Australian foreign minister appointed the UN Special Envoy on Myanmar in April, recently gave her first address to a UN General Assembly committee, in which she warned that “the Myanmar conflict risks becoming a forgotten crisis.” One might enquire by whom this conflict is apparently becoming “forgotten.” One can hardly say with a straight face that it has been forgotten by the 54 million people of Myanmar, nor by the 3.1 million people who have been displaced, nor the million or so Rohingya who must still live in hell-hole refugee camps abroad because they know the military junta wants to finish the genocide it started years ago. It is certainly not forgotten by the people who matter the most. Displaced people from Lashio cross the Dokhtawaddy river as they flee their homes following clashes between Myanmar’s military and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), in Zin Ann village between Lashio and Hsipaw township in Myanmar’s northern Shan state, July 8, 2024 But the claim also invites the question: Would there be any improvement if the conflict was less forgotten? Frankly, if any Western democracy or the UN wanted to intervene, they’ve had several years to do so. If ASEAN wanted to stop play-acting at mediation, it’s had since April 2021 to carve some teeth into the Five-Point Consensus, its unrealized peace plan. Post-colonial settlement This conflict has been raging since February 2021, though some might say, quite accurately, that it has actually been waiting to erupt since the 1950s. Whereas nearly every other Southeast Asian country underwent something like a civil war or democratic revolution after gaining independence from European colonial powers, Myanmar never did so. That process was left stillborne by the military coup of 1962. Because the military has shown that it cannot be trusted to share power with a civilian government, only now, do the people of Myanmar have the possibility of throwing off the foul despotism that has enchained them throughout the post-colonial era. RELATED STORIES newsletter. The views expressed here are his own and do not reflect the position of RFA. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

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Exclusive: How Chinese nationalism is sending jitters through the Arctic

Editor010 mins

This story was reported with the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation. Read their story here On an early morning in late July, a luxury expedition cruise ship, boasting the latest in high-end Arctic travel, made a slow approach to the docks of Ny-Ålesund, a remote settlement in Norway’s Svalbard Islands. At 79 degrees north latitude, Ny-Ålesund is the northernmost inhabited outpost on Earth. Isolated in the Arctic’s desolate winter, it hosts just 30 year-round residents. Newayer, a Chinese travel agency, chartered the vessel for 183 tourists from Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Beijing. Each passenger paid at least $13,000 for a two-week “Three Arctic Islands” tour, marketed as an exclusive opportunity to reach the “top of the Earth,” complete with “the luxury of Chinese hospitality.” Clad in matching red jackets bearing a polar bear logo, the travelers disembarked at their first stop: China’s Yellow River Research Station in Ny-Ålesund. There they marked the 20th anniversary of the station – one of several research facilities established on Svalbard by different nations. More than 100 Chinese tourists waved national flags beneath a Chinese Communist Party-style banner hung on the research station’s door. The travel agency’s blog likened the celebration to “raising the Chinese national flag during the Olympics.” Among the participants, a woman in a People’s Liberation Army, or PLA, uniform was seen saluting and posing for photos. A PLA Ground Force patch is visible on her right arm, two professional cameras are slung over her shoulders. “The big picture of China’s ambitions in the Arctic is that it reflects a clear, long-term strategic goal: China wants to be a significant presence in the Arctic,” says Isaac Kardon, a senior fellow for China Studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a Washington D.C. think tank. Since declaring itself a “near-Arctic state” in 2018—despite lacking territorial claims—China has steadily built its presence through legal, military, commercial, and individual channels. Svalbard has become the latest frontline. An Arctic Battleground for Great Powers A remote Norwegian archipelago roughly twice the size of Hawaii, Svalbard lies less than 1,000 kilometers from the North Pole, some 650 kilometers north of mainland Norway. Chinese tourists celebrate for a drone-style video at China’s Yellow River Research Station in Svalbard, Norway, July 2024 Entering the ‘gray zone’ Fan Li, the CEO of Newayer, the tour agency, told RFA and NRK that their tour group informed the research station of its plans to stage a celebration at Yellow River, and to hang banners and wave Chinese flags outside the station. The station never objected or even raised it as an issue. “The staff at the Yellow River Station came out to engage with us, and everyone was quite happy about that,” Li told RFA and NRK. A video of the tour group’s celebration was posted to Newayer’s social media account. It further features eight guests telling the camera that they are PLA veterans and perform coordinated military salutes to China while a patriotic song plays as a soundtrack. Afterward, passengers gathered to share their stories of service in the PLA. Li said that the presence of veterans on board was merely a “coincidence” and that when Newayer realized the connection, the company organized a ceremony and incorporated the clip into its video. According to Li, all of those featured were retired, as it’s difficult for active military members in China to travel abroad. However, one cruise participant, who identifies herself in the video as Yin Liu, was photographed wearing military garb bearing the insignia of the PLA on Svalbard. On camera, Liu says she enlisted in 1976 and fought in Vietnam in 1984 and gave the name of her unit. Ying Yu Lin, an expert on the PLA at Tamkang University in Taiwan, identified Liu’s fatigues as a “Type 21” training uniform issued by China’s Ministry of Defense in 2023. It is restricted to military personnel and would not be accessible to civilians, Lin said. The “Type 21” uniform can be seen on the Chinese Defense Department website. Members of China’s Arctic expedition team, based at the Yellow River Research Station, take a boat out for sampling on the Austre Lovenbreen glacier in Svalbard, Norway, June 22, 2024. Questions of diplomacy But sources familiar with diplomatic discussions say that Norway is unlikely to take a leading role in pushing back against China. “Like many countries, Norway just doesn’t have a lot of equities in its dealings with China,” says Kardon. Overt criticism or perceived slights can cause notable damage, like in 2010, when Beijing banned imports of Norwegian salmon after its Nobel committee awarded the Peace Prize to Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo. But as long as that’s the case, room for more muscular tactics in the Arctic will grow. Last month as China celebrated the 75th anniversary of the People’s Republic, the Chinese Coast Guard engaged in joint operations with Russian forces in the Arctic. This was preceded in September by a meeting of Russian and Chinese officials in Beijing to discuss economic development and resource extraction in the region, and earlier, a Chinese and Russian meeting in Svalbard to explore opening a joint research center in Pyramiden, a former Soviet mining hub on the islands. “So if you’re looking for a pattern here, I would say this is the latest version of what China and Russia are trying to do—find a way to get to the red line without crossing it,” says Lanteigne, referring to the Yellow River celebration incident. “It is a very subtle signal, one that really demonstrates that China is now starting to deviate more directly from Norway regarding what is and is not proper activity on Svalbard.” Lanteigne views this as a pressing challenge that the Norwegian government must confront head-on. “I think there needs to be the understanding that with the Arctic beginning to militarize as a whole, Svalbard is caught in it, whether it likes it or not.” Edited by Boer Deng We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

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Myanmar junta chief seeks China’s help on border stability

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Read RFA coverage of these topics in Burmese. Myanmar’s junta leader called on China to help bring stability to their common border on his first visit to his northern neighbor, a year after insurgents in north Myanmar border regions launched an offensive that has raised questions about the sustainability of his military rule. China has extensive economic interests in Myanmar including energy pipelines running across it, from the Indian ocean to southern China’s Yunnan province, and is keen to see an end to the turmoil triggered by a 2001 military coup, when military chief Sen. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing ousted an elected government. Min Aung Hlaing arrived in the city of Kunming, the capital of Yunnan, on Tuesday for talks with provincial officials and regional meetings on investment opportunities. Myanmar’s state media has not reported any planned trip to the capital, Beijing. “The senior general discussed the need to place emphasis on stability of border areas and to accelerate cooperation for stability of border areas so that export and import trade can be conducted,” Myanmar’s military-run Myawady news outlet reported. A three-party insurgent alliance based in Shan state, on the northeastern border with China, made unprecedented gains against junta forces after launching an offensive on Oct. 27 last year, capturing at least five major border trade crossings. Insurgent allies in other parts of Myanmar have also been on the offensive, putting the military under unprecedented pressure and raising questions about the prospects of the military holding onto power. Analysts say China has become frustrated with the junta’s failure to end the chaos and had been reluctant to invite Min Aung Hlaing to visit Beijing, as a mark of its disapproval. While maintaining ties with the Myanmar junta, China also has contacts with the insurgent groups in northern and northeastern Myanmar battling to end military rule. China has called on both sides to negotiate and has offered to help the junta organize an election next year saying it hopes it can help encourage reconciliation. China has also pressed the insurgents to end their war and has closed border crossings to put economic pressure on them. China has also closed its border in some places to civilians fleeing fighting. In September, one Shan state insurgent group, the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, which is part of an alliance responsible for major territorial gains from the junta over the past year, agreed to cooperate with China to reduce conflict and to stop its campaign to capture major cities. Political analyst Than Soe Naing said China was likely to maintain its pressure on the anti-junta groups. “I believe China will continue to help the junta and pressure them,” Than Soe told RAdio Free Asika. “They’ll also probably pressure them not to allow people to participate in the Spring Revolution,” he said, referring to the uprising against military rule triggered by the 2021 coup. Residents of Shan state said the latest Chinese restrictions were on the stretch of border controlled on the Myanmar side by the United Wa State Army, a powerful militia that has not battled the junta for decades and is known to have close contacts in China. Residents told Radio Free Asia that China’s closure of the border since Oct. 27 had led to shortages of medicine, fuel, food, electronics and household items causing prices to surge. RELATED STORIES China undermines its interests by boosting support for Myanmar’s faltering junta China border restrictions prompts pricing surge in Myanmar China calls for action after attack on consulate in Myanmar Translated by Kiana Duncan. Edited by RFA Staff. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

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2024 US election live updates: Reactions from Asia

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What you need to know The U.S. presidential election is being keenly watched across Asia. The outcome of the race between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump will have a major impact on America’s relations with the region on issues like trade, security and climate change. Radio Free Asia reporters will be gauging reactions in Asia and will regularly update this post with what we hear from regular citizens and from governments. For most part, our reporting is from countries that are under authoritarian rule. Hopes run high in Harris’ ancestral village A tiny village located on the other side of the world in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu is offering prayers at the local Hindu temple, hoping for victory for one of their own, Vice President Kamala Harris. Harris, 60, was born in California to an Indian mother and Jamaican father, both of whom immigrated to the United States for higher education. In the village of Thulasendrapuram – where Harris’s maternal grandfather Painganadu Venkataraman “P.V.” Gopalan was born – residents have been gathering each day at the village temple to offer special prayers to the Hindu deity Ayyanar – worshipped in rural parts of Tamil Nadu as a guardian or protector – to watch over Harris. The residents refer to Harris as the “daughter of the land,” and say they feel a deep connection with her because of her ancestral ties to the village. The village is decked out with signs featuring Harris‘s portrait and banners wishing her good luck in the election, which will determine whether or not she will become America’s first female president and first president of Indian descent. “We in this village offer daily prayers for Kamala Harris to win the election,” Aruna Murli Sudhagar, the leader of the village, told Radio Free Asia. Read more of this story Posted at 5:13 pm Eastern on 11/5/24 Take a moment to explore our election coverage Live U.S. election map Deep dive: How would Harris and Trump differ on Asia? China focuses on threat of violent unrest as US voters head to polls US presidential election sparks curiosity in North Korea Vietnamese show interest In Vietnam, social media platforms are abuzz about candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, and at least three newspapers are asking, “Who will be elected U.S. president?” Nguyen Binh, a farmer in the southern province of Dong Nai, expressed surprise that Americans were free to talk openly about elections. He recalled that a number of independent candidates in Vietnam’s 2016 National Assembly election are in prison. “I only wish for one thing: that talented people in Vietnam and virtuous people in Vietnam can run for election fully, openly, and run comfortably without being coerced,” he said. “The right to self-determination belongs to the people with their votes, not from any political party.” Independent journalist Nam Viet said he believes that the interest shown by Vietnamese demonstrates their thirst for democracy. “The commenting, judging, choosing sides… of Vietnamese people in the U.S. election is sometimes funny, but it shows that a desire for change is still smoldering in the hearts of the nation,” he said. “The people must be rehearsing their right to self-determination,” Nam said, saying Vietnam holds “sham” elections. Posted at 5:34 pm Eastern on 11/5/24 Clockwise from top left, China’s President Xi Jinping, North Korea’s leader Jim Jong Un, Laos Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone and Vietnam’s Communist Party General Secretary To Lam. How do elections work in authoritarian Asian nations? In a world bracing for a close U.S. presidential election result this week, a large swathe of Asia picks its leaders without suspense — and mostly with little popular participation. Chinese President Xi Jinping was confirmed by the National People’s Congress in March 2013 with 2,952 votes for, one against, and three abstentions. Last year the rubber stamp parliament voted unanimously to give him a third term, putting him on track to stay in power for life. North Korea’s leaders have inherited their power from father to son for three generations. They are technically “elected” – but there is no choice. In 2014, Kim Jong Un was elected to the Supreme People’s Assembly without a dissenting vote with 100% turnout. Fellow communist states Laos and Vietnam pursue their own variations of the same Marxist-Leninist party-state model copied from the Soviet Union, with Hanoi avoiding strongman rule in favor of collective leadership. Cambodia has been dominated by the ruling party of Hun Sen, who banned the main opposition parties in the previous two parliamentary elections. Myanmar held a credible multi-party election in November 2020, a vote that delivered a strong majority to the National League for Democracy of de facto national leader Aung San Suu Kyi. But the military didn’t like the results and staged a coup on Feb. 1, 2021. Read more here. Posted at 5:05 p.m. Eastern, 11/5/2024 We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

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Malaysia objects to Vietnam’s South China Sea island building: media

Editor06 mins

Malaysia has protested over Vietnam’s island building in the South China Sea in a rare negative exchange between the neighbors, Reuters news agency cited Malaysian officials as saying. Late last month, Radio Free Asia reported on Vietnam’s development of an airstrip on Barque Canada reef, an artificial island within the Spratly archipelago that Malaysia also claims. The reef’s landfill area is estimated to have expanded to nearly 2.5 square kilometers (617.7 acres) as of October 2024, more than doubling in a year. Two unidentified officials told Reuters that the Malaysian government sent a letter of complaint to Vietnam’s foreign ministry in early October, before RFA’s report, “but has so far received no reply.” Malaysia and Vietnam are among the six parties that hold overlapping claims in the South China Sea and to its numerous islands and reefs, alongside China, Brunei, the Philippines and Taiwan. The Philippines has said it was “monitoring” Vietnam’s island-building activities but has not officially protested. The recently leaked letter of complaint, if true, could be a rare point of tension as until now Malaysia has only complained about Vietnamese fishermen’s “illegal activities” in Malaysian waters. Kuala Lumpur claims at least 12 features in the Spratlys, including Vietnam-controlled Amboyna Cay and Barque Canada reef, and Philippines-controlled Commodore and Rizal reefs. Malaysia has a physical presence on five features – Swallow, Ardasier, Erica, Mariveles and Investigator reefs – which are also claimed by some other parties. Due to the complexity of those overlapping claims, regional countries generally stay quiet about their neighbors’ island building and instead focus their attention on China, which has reclaimed the most land in the South China Sea and completed the militarization of three large artificial islands. Suspected Vietnamese runway on Barque Canada reef, Oct. 2, 2024. Anwar visits China Malaysia has repeatedly rejected China’s claims in the South China Sea, most recently in 2023 over the latest edition of the Beijing-issued standard map of China, which encompasses areas lying off the coast of Malaysian Borneo. Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has reiterated on many occasions that Malaysia would continue to conduct oil and gas exploration in Malaysia’s exclusive economic zone in the South China Sea, despite objections from China. Anwar is in China on an official visit from Nov. 4-7, his third in two years, and observers say the trip signals a closer relationship between Malaysia and its big neighbor. “That may explain if there is any recent friction between Malaysia and Vietnam, which has had big issues with China in the South China Sea,” said Viet Hoang, a Vietnamese maritime expert. The Chinese government has not said anything publicly about the reclamation works done by Vietnam but Chinese analysts have warned about the risk of a new flashpoint. RELATED STORIES Vietnam expands strategic capabilities in South China Sea Increased risk of conflict in South China Sea, forum warns East Asia fails to adopt South China Sea statement amid finger pointing Malaysia is the rotating chair of the Southeast Asian grouping ASEAN in 2025 and its support would bolster China’s confidence in disputed waters, Viet said. For its part, “Anwar’s government seems to view China as a significant economic opportunity and is willing to set aside other issues to pursue this opportunity,” said Ian Chong, an associate professor of political science at the National University of Singapore. However, if Kuala Lumpur managed to carry on with some oil projects it is mainly thanks to the fact that “they’ve had a longer history of conducting such projects and are physically further away from China,” Chong said. Edited by Mike Firn. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

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US presidential election sparks curiosity in North Korea

Editor08 mins

North Korean state media has made no mention of Tuesday’s U.S. presidential election but that hasn’t stopped residents – particularly traders and executives – from learning about it and taking an interest, according to sources in the country. While official media outlets, including the Rodong Sinmun, report news from around the world, they regularly omit information about U.S. politics. But three sources in North Korea’s North Hamgyong province told RFA Korean that some residents had heard about the election through foreign radio broadcasts or other means, and were “very curious about it.” A corporate administrative executive in his 40s who, like others interviewed for this report, spoke on condition of anonymity due to security concerns, said he had learned about the U.S. election “through foreign radio about a month ago.” “[Then,] a few days ago, a close friend told me that there will be a U.S. presidential election in early November, and that former President (Donald) Trump and the current vice president, a black woman, were competing, which surprised me,” he said, referring to Kamala Harris. The administrative executive said that for his friend to know that level of detail about the election, he “must be listening to foreign radio,” without specifying the broadcaster. Several foreign news organizations transmit radio programs into North Korea, including Radio Free Asia and Voice of America. “Not only people who secretly listen to the radio, but also trade workers who frequently travel abroad, executives who attend political lectures, and executives who read ‘reference newspapers’ would generally know about the U.S. presidential election,” he said. RELATED STORIES North Korea orders wartime readiness during joint U.S.-South Korean military drills North Korea brushes off any hope of better U.S. ties under Trump Possible ICBM launch or nuclear test by North Korea close to U.S. presidential election North Korea occasionally informs the general public about international situations, he said, noting that publications such as “reference newspapers and communications” are published separately by the official Korean Central News Agency, subject to approval by the government. Many ordinary North Koreans are aware of Trump, who met for talks during his 2016-2020 presidency with the country’s supreme leader, Kim Jong Un. “There are many ordinary citizens who are curious about the international situation and the United States,” he said. “This is because they know that the United States is the wealthiest and most militarily powerful superpower on Earth and that its role is crucial in adopting U.N. sanctions resolutions and designating state sponsors of terrorism.” The administrative executive said that details about what sanctions are imposed on North Korea by the U.S. are published in periodicals criticizing Washington, including a book called “Common Sense for Journalists,” which anyone can read. Views were mixed on whether North Korea would fare better if Trump, a Republican, or Harris, a Democrat, were elected. “People often say that Republicans are hardliners and Democrats are moderates,” he said. “On the other hand, some people say that having a Republican in power would be beneficial to us as in the past economic sanctions and other restrictions were often eased when Republicans were in charge.” Split on expected impact Another source from North Hamgyong‘s Hoeryong city, who also declined to be named, told RFA that while ordinary residents who are struggling to earn a living don‘t know much about the U.S. presidential election and aren’t interested in international affairs, “it seems that there are still quite a few people who know about [the election].” “At a drinking party with four [close] friends there was talk that Trump, who sat down with Kim Jong Un for talks, was running in the U.S. presidential election again,” said the man in his 40s. “Only one of the four friends was unaware of the election,” he said. “I think they found out about it through foreign radio, people who went abroad to earn foreign currency, or Chinese people I have connections with.” People hold signs ahead of Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance speaking during a rally on Nov. 3, 2024, in Derry, New Hampshire. Meanwhile, “the party has repeatedly spread negative propaganda against former U.S. President Donald Trump to the public … because no results were achieved through the North Korea–United States Singapore summit in June 2018 and the Vietnam Summit held in February 2019,” he said. Another official in North Pyongan province told RFA that trade organizations and economists are “very interested” in the election because it could drive fluctuations in prices and the global economy, which affect life in North Korea. “Those who are involved in large-scale businesses or are affiliated with national trade institutions have a slight hope that the domestic economy will recover through this U.S. presidential election,” he said. But the average citizen has little interest, he said, “because their lives have never improved, regardless of who is president.” Translated by Claire S. Lee. Edited by Joshua Lipes and Malcolm Foster. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

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Vietnamese fishermen in China’s detention for six months: think tank

Editor06 mins

Vietnamese fishermen have been in Chinese detention in the Paracel archipelago for more than six months, a Chinese think tank has reported, days after Vietnam demanded that China release all detained fishermen and their boats and stop its harassment of them. The Beijing-based South China Sea Probing Initiative, or SCSPI, a government-sanctioned think tank, said on the social media platform X that the fishermen “were detained in April and May” for illegally fishing activities in the waters around the Paracels. It did not provide other details including the number of detainees. Vietnam, China and Taiwan all claim sovereignty over the island chain, known as Xisha islands in Chinese and Hoang Sa in Vietnam, but Beijing has been controlling the entire area since 1974, after defeating troops of the then South Vietnam government. RELATED STORIES Vietnam says China attacked fishing boat near disputed islands EXPLAINED: What are the Paracel Islands and why are they disputed? Vietnam accuses China of ‘illegal detention’ of South China Sea fishermen Last week, a Vietnamese foreign ministry spokesperson said Hanoi had “resolutely” protested and demanded China “immediately release all the fishermen and fishing vessels, appropriately compensate them for the damages and stop the harassment against Vietnamese fishermen” without giving any further details. Vietnam says that the Paracels have been a traditional fishing ground for generations of its fishermen but China has been stopping and expelling Vietnamese vessels from the waters around the islands, and sometimes detaining them and demanding fines. A fisherman (C) receives medical treatment upon his arrival home, after his boat was rammed and then sunk by Chinese vessels near disputed Paracels Islands, at Ly Son island of Vietnam’s central Quang Ngai province May 29, 2014. Last month, Vietnam said Chinese law enforcement personnel boarded a fishing boat from Quang Ngai province and beat the crew with iron bars, seriously injuring four of them, prompting the Vietnamese government to publicly protest. ‘Destructive’ fishing activities The SCSPI said that the Vietnamese fishermen were detained for “harvesting live corals, electrofishing and other environmentally destructive activities.” It also published photos that it said showed explosives and detonators used by Vietnamese fishermen in the Paracels. On Nov. 1, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told a press briefing in Beijing that China hoped Vietnam would “earnestly raise the awareness of its fishermen and make sure they will not engage in illegal activities in waters under China’s jurisdiction.” Vietnamese authorities insisted that, as the Paracel islands belong to Vietnam, it is within the fishermen’s rights to operate in the archipelago’s waters. This year, the Quang Ngai provincial government told media that most of the fishing boats from the province used non-destructive methods such as trawling, line fishing and diving. The Asian Maritime Transparency Initiative, or AMTI, a U.S. think tank, said as for trawling, “China and Vietnam account for the largest share of overall fish catch in the South China Sea.” In its report ‘Deep Blue Scars’ from Dec. 2023, AMTI also accused China of causing the most coral reef destruction in the South China Sea through dredging and land fill, burying roughly 4,648 acres (18.8km2) of reefs.” Vietnam came second with 1,402 acres (5.7km2). Chinese fishermen have also been using an extremely harmful method of “dragging specially made brass propellers” to dig up reef surfaces for giant clam harvesting, AMTI’s report said. Edited by Mike Firn. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

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To Lam moves to secure full term at pinnacle of Vietnamese power

Editor010 mins

To Lam’s recent relinquishing of the presidency of Vietnam is no sign of weakness or a challenge to his leadership. It was a logical step toward securing a full term as Communist Party general secretary. In a system that prides itself on collective leadership, there was consternation within the Communist Party of Vietnam, or CPV, about Lam’s rapid accumulation of power over the past year. The National Assembly has been signaling since August that this transfer of power would happen. For Lam, the presidency was just a stepping stone. While he seemed to enjoy the diplomatic function and traveled to eight countries in his brief five month tenure, and there’s a logic to the most powerful person being the country’s top representative, his priority is getting elected to a full term with his team at the 14th Party Congress in January 2026. While Lam may be the CPV general secretary, he still needs the support of the party Central Committee, and there are other power centers that he has to contend with. He has nothing like Xi Jinping’s hold over the Communist Party of China. Stacking the Politburo The 18-member Politburo elected at the 13th Party Congress in January 2021 has fallen to a low of 12 members. Lam has moved to fill the ranks. There have been five new Politburo members elected since May, including his protege, Luong Tam Quang at the Ministry of Public Security, or MPS. Deputy Prime Minister of Vietnam Tran Luu Quang delivers a speech at the Nikkei Forum “Future of Asia” in Tokyo on May 25, 2023 Lam understands that the party’s legitimacy comes through performance. Lam is not just stacking the Politburo; he’s appointing allies, especially those from his home province of Hung Yen, across key party positions. Lam installed another MPS deputy, Nguyen Duy Ngoc, as the head of the Central Committee office, a very powerful behind-the-scenes position in personnel issues and agenda setting. Lam now has his eyes and ears at the nerve center in the Central Committee. Ngoc also serves on the CPV’s 12-member Secretariat, which runs the party’s day-to-day affairs. Institutional checks Also new to the Secretariat is Le Minh Tri, who heads the Central Committee’s Civil Affairs Committee and is the prosecutor general of the Supreme People’s Procuracy. Le Hoai Trung, Lam’s top foreign policy adviser, who has been by his side in all foreign trips and meetings, also serves on the Secretariat. Lam is also moving to neutralize opposition. He appointed Vu Hong Van, a police major general also from Hung Yen, as deputy chairman of the Central Inspection Commission. Its chairman, Tran Cam Tu, is the one person on the Politburo who could cause the general secretary some trouble. He heads an investigative body with powers to investigate senior leadership that’s beyond Lam’s control. And as a reminder that Lam is not in complete control, on Oct. 25, the Politburo elected Tu as the standing chairman of the Secretariat, over Lam’s preferred candidate, Nguyen Duy Ngoc. Soldiers march in a parade in Dien Bien Phu, Vietnam, May 7, 2024. The other institutional check is the People’s Army. While armies tend to dominate politics in Southeast Asia, in Vietnam, power is the security police, a reflection of the regime’s fear of popular color revolutions. In addition to Lam and Luong Tam Quang, there are four other members of the Politburo who came up through the Ministry of Public Security. Many have looked to the military as an institutional check on the MPS, which is why the election of Luong Cuong to the presidency on Oct. 21 is seen as so important. Gen. Cuong is a career political commissar, becoming the chief of the Vietnam People’s Army’s General Political Department in 2016. As the top party official in the military, he also served on the Secretariat since 2016, becoming its standing chairman when Truong Thi Mai was forced to resign in May. In addition to Cuong, Minister of National Defense Phan Van Giang serves on the Politburo. Shoring up army ties Lam has been trying to build ties to the military. As general secretary, he is concurrently the chairman of the Central Military Commission, the highest defense decision-making body. In that capacity, he routinely meets with different military units and leadership. Lam’s also trying to carefully make his mark on personnel. He promoted Trinh Van Quyet, the current head of the General Political Department, to the Secretariat. He promoted three other senior officers from Hung Yen Province, including Deputy Minister of National Defense Hoang Xuan Chien, and Lt. General Nguyen Hong Thai, the commander of Military Region 1, which borders China. Even if the generals aren’t happy with a cop as chairman of the Central Military Commission, Lam is slowly putting his people into leadership positions. And all this matters, because the army comprises 11-13% on the Central Committee, the largest single bloc. Lam understands that getting allies into key positions should make himself unassailable just over a year from now at the 14th Congress. Through Luong Tam Quang, he can continue to investigate rivals. Other allies are in charge of personnel selection and drafting key party documents. The Communist Party of Vietnam has a culture of collective leadership – a norm that Lam briefly violated. By ceding the presidency, especially to a military man, he neutralizes some of the opposition to him, while giving up very little real power. In his consolidation of power, Lam took down eight different rivals on the Politburo since December 2022, a period of unprecedented political churn. Any more turmoil could be counter-productive. Lam seems to have succeeded in getting all his ducks in a row to be elected to a full term in January 2026. So rather than see the relinquishing of the presidency as a sign of weakness, it’s more accurate to think of it as a sign of growing political strength. Zachary Abuza is a professor at the National War College in Washington and an adjunct at Georgetown…

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Church in village of Myanmar’s Catholic leader bombed in junta raid

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Read RFA coverage of these topics in Burmese. Junta forces damaged a church in the home village of Myanmar’s most prominent Christian, Cardinal Charles Maung Bo, one of several religious buildings destroyed in fighting between the military and pro-democracy forces, residents told Radio Free Asia on Thursday. Bo, Myanmar’s Roman Catholic leader, lives in the main city of Yangon and was not in Mon Hla village, in the central Sagaing region, when a junta drone bombed St. Michael’s Church on Wednesday night. “They’ve destroyed an entire side of the church, the whole right side,” said one woman in the village, who declined to be identified in fear of reprisals. The church’s bell tower and nave were also damaged, she said. Opponents of the junta have accused the military of targeting Christian and Muslim places of worship, destroying hundreds of them in its campaign against insurgent forces and their suspected civilian supporters. Bo has in the past called for attacks on places of worship to end and in 2022, he called for dialogue after a raid by junta forces on his home village. The junta’s spokesman in the Sagaing region said he “didn’t know the details of the situation yet.” About a third of Mon Hla’s population are Roman Catholic, rare for a community in predominantly Buddhist Myanmar’s central heartlands. Its residents trace their origins back to Portuguese adventurers who arrived before British colonial rule. Residents said it was not clear why the military attacked the village as there was no fighting with anti-junta forces there at the time. Thirteen people were wounded in two previous attacks on the village in October, they said. There were no reports of casualties in the Wednesday night attack on Mon Hla. Many villagers fled from their homes the next day when drones reappeared in the sky, the woman said. “We had to flee yesterday. Then today, the drones retreated so we could return. Now, we’ve fled again,” she said. The Sagaing region has seen some of the worst of the violence that has swept Myanmar since the military overthrew an elected government in early 2021. Insurgents groups set up by pro-democracy activists are waging a guerrilla campaign in many parts of Sagaing, harassing junta forces with attacks on their posts and ambushes of their convoys. The military has responded with extensive airstrikes, artillery shelling and, increasingly, drone attacks. In Kanbalu township, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) to the north of Mon Hla, junta forces attacked two villages, Kyi Su and Kyauk Taing, torching about 400 homes including two Buddhist monasteries and two mosques, residents there told RFA. “Our people had to run from the bombs dropped by drones,” said one resident of Kyi Su. “But for those who ran, their homes were raided and burned.” “Two monasteries are in ashes and two of our Muslim mosques are unusable.” Residents said many of the destroyed homes were simple, thatch huts, put up to replace homes destroyed in earlier fighting. RELATED STORIES Mass killings on the rise in Myanmar for fourth straight year Myanmar junta forces kill dozens in attack on monasteries Aid workers arrested, killed amid junta crackdown in Myanmar Translated by Kiana Duncan. Edited by RFA Staff. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

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