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Category: ASEAN

Man wanted in Lim Kimya murder is Cambodian official’s brother, records show

Editor05 mins

A Cambodian man who is wanted by Thai police in connection to the murder of a former opposition lawmaker is the brother of Pich Sros, a politician who initiated proceedings against the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party, or CNRP, that led to its 2017 dissolution, and holds a minor government position. On Tuesday, Lim Kimya, a former CNRP member of parliament, was gunned down in central Bangkok. One suspect in the murder — Ekalak Paenoi, a former Thai marine — was arrested on Wednesday in Cambodia’s Battambang province and as of this writing is still in the country pending extradition to Thailand. But a second man, believed to be the so-called “spotter” in the murder who followed Lim Kimya on a bus from Cambodia to Thailand, remains at large. Pich Sros, founder of the Cambodian Youth Party.(Fresh News) Pich Sros is also a member of the Supreme Consultative Council, an ad hoc body created by then-Prime Minister Hun Sen in 2018 to include smaller political parties who did not have any seats but were included in the new body to advise the government. Though the party failed to win any seats in 2018 or 2023, CYP joined the council with the lead representative, in this case Pich Sros, given a rank equal to a cabinet minister. Cambodians in the country and abroad expressed anger with both the murder and what they see as the government’s seeming disinterest in investigating the case. Thit Kimhun, a CNRP official, told RFA the opposition party would hold ceremonies for the slain politician in Long Beach, California, and Lowell, Massachusetts, on Jan. 19, while others would be hosted in France, Japan and South Korea. “We won’t allow this injustice to happen in Cambodia and now in Thailand,” she said. “We will continue to investigate and demand justice for Lim Kimya and his family.” In Springvale, Australia, a seven-day memorial ceremony will begin Jan. 12 with the local Cambodian community urging the Thai and Australian governments to investigate, said Chea Yohorn, president of the Khmer Association of Victoria. “The suspect is not an unknown guy,” Seng Sary, a political analyst based in Australia, told RFA. “He is a brother of Pich Sros. Giving justice to Lim Kimya will restore Cambodia’s reputation. We shouldn’t let him escape.” Calls to Pich Sros went unanswered Friday but earlier in the day he posted a photo to Facebook showing journalists packed tightly around an unseen figure, cameras and microphones shoved toward his face. The image depicts then-U.S. Ambassador Patrick Murphy speaking with reporters outside the trial of Kem Sokha. Above the photo, Pich Sros wrote a pithy note: “journalists have the right to ask questions/ but don’t have right to force people for answers/ journalists have the rights to ask/ but don’t have the right to demand for answers according to what they want.” We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

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Myanmar junta bans 7 books with LGBTQ+ themes

Editor06 mins

Myanmar has banned seven books because of their LGBTQ+ content and will take legal action against their publishers, the military government announced, adding that the books were “obscene” and socially unacceptable. The banned domestically published books are “A Butterfly Rests on My Heart” by Aung Khant, “1500 Miles to You” and “Love Planted by Hate” by Mahura, Myint Mo’s “Tie the Knot of Love”, “Match Made in Clouds” by DiDi Zaw, “DISO+Extra” by Red in Peace and “Concerned Person U Wai” by Vivian, the Ministry of Information said. “These books are not accepted by Myanmar society, they are shameless and the content that can mislead the thinking and feelings of young people,” the Ministry of Information said in a statement published in state-run media on Thursday. LGBTQ+ people face widespread prejudice in socially conservative Myanmar, where British colonial-era legislation criminalises gay sex with up to 10 years in jail. The LGBTQ+ community made some advances during nearly a decade of tentative reforms, when the military partially stepped back from power to let a civilian government led by Aung San Suu Kyi rule, establishing some rights groups and holding festivals. But the democratic experiment ended in February 2021 when the military ousted Suu Kyi’s government and cracked down on dissent, with LBGTQ+ people among those who have been particularly hard hit, U.N. rights investigators have said. The ministry said the publishers of the seven books by Myanmar authors had broken the law by putting out obscene literature without permission and prosecutions would take place. Radio Free Asia tried to contact some of the publishers and authors of the banned books but was not able to. RELATED STORIES Junta censors tighten grip on Myanmar film industry Myanmar’s junta cuts filmmaker’s life sentence to 15 years as part of wider amnesty Myanmar’s junta shuts down publisher for distributing book on Rohingya genocide One reader in the main city of Yangon said he could not understand why the books were banned. While most were about LGBTQ+ people, they were not obscene, he told RFA. “These books can be read for entertainment. I don’t think they’re dirty,” said the reader, who highlighted strong characters in DiDi Zaw’s “Match Made in Clouds.” One Myanmar author, not among those whose books were banned, told RFA that while the expression of sexuality might be considered obscene, there was also the issue of free expression. “It doesn’t mean that obscenity should be allowed but banning books violates freedom of expression,” said the author who declined to be identified for security reasons. One member of the LGBTQ+ community said the military represented oppressive chauvinism. “The army is dominated by chauvinism. So women, children and LGBT people will always be oppressed,” the community member who also declined to be identified told RFA. “Taking action against books published about LGBT people but considered obscene is oppressing us … It makes me think we have to work harder in the revolution against the junta.” The U.N. Human Rights Council said in a report last year that Myanmar’s 2021 coup had precipitated an unprecedented human rights crisis. “Women, girls, and LGBT people are severely and uniquely impacted by this crisis, yet these impacts are all too often obscured and ignored by the international community,” it said. Edited by Mike Firn We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

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Myanmar junta bombs Rohingya Muslim village killing 41, rescuers say

Editor05 mins

The Myanmar air force has bombed a fishing village in Rakhine state killing 41 civilians and wounding 52, most of them Rohingya Muslims, residents involved in rescue work said on Thursday, in an attack insurgents condemned as a war crime. Military planes bombed Kyauk Ni Maw village on the coast in Ramree township on Wednesday afternoon sparking huge fires that destroyed about 600 homes, residents said, sending clouds of black smoke up over the sea. The area is under the control of anti-junta Arakan Army, or AA, insurgents but a spokesman said no fighting was going on there at the time of the air raid. “The targeting of innocent people where there is no fighting is a very despicable and cowardly act … as well as a blatant war crime,” AA spokesman Khaing Thu Kha told Radio Free Asia. Villagers survey ruins in Kyauk Ni Maw village in Rakhine state after a Myanmar air force raid on Jan. 8, 2025.(Arakan Princess Media) RELATED STORIES Myanmar’s Arakan Army takes a major town, says ready for talks Myanmar’s junta answers rebel proposal for talks with week of deadly airstrikes EXPLAINED: What is Myanmar’s Arakan Army? The AA has made unprecedented gains against the military since late last year and now controls about 80% of Myanmar’s westernmost state. On Dec. 29, the AA captured the town of Gwa from the military, a major step toward its goal of taking the whole of Rakhine state, and then said it was ready for talks with the junta, which seized power in a February 2021 coup d’etat. But the junta has responded with deadly airstrikes, residents say. The military denies targeting civilians but human rights investigators and security analysts say Myanmar’s army has a long reputation of indiscriminate attacks in civilian areas as a way to undermine popular support for the various rebel forces fighting its rule. “The military is showing its fangs with its planes, that people can be killed at any time, at will,” aid worker Wai Hin Aung told RFA. Villagers watch homes burning in Kyauk Ni Maw village, in Rakhine state, after a raid by the Myanmar air force on Jan. 8, 2025.(Arakan Princess Media) The bombing of Kyauk Ni Maw is the latest bloody attack on members of the persecuted Rohingya Muslim minority. About 740,000 Rohingya fled from Rakhine state to neighboring Bangladesh following a bloody crackdown by the military against members of the largely stateless community in August 2017. Over the past year, Rohingya have suffered violence at the hands of both sides in the Rakhine state’s war, U.N. rights investigators have said. The AA took a hard line with the Rohingya after the junta launched a campaign to recruit, at times forcibly, Rohingya men into militias to fight the insurgents. On Aug. 5, scores of Rohingya trying to flee from the town of Maungdaw to Bangladesh, across a border river, were killed by drones and artillery fire that survivors and rights groups said was unleashed by the AA. The AA denied responsibility. Edited by RFA Staff. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

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Landowners restrict public access to hundreds of religious sites in Myanmar’s Bagan

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Read RFA coverage of this topic in Burmese. Around 400 ancient religious monuments in Myanmar’s U.N.-designated World Heritage Site of Bagan are located on privately-held land, according to residents, who say access is restricted and maintenance is unregulated. The monuments — which include pagodas, stupas and temples — are on the property of private businesses and state-owned agencies, away from public view and oversight, the residents told RFA Burmese, speaking on condition of anonymity due to fear of reprisals. A resident of Mandalay region’s Nyaung-U township, located about 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) from old Bagan, said that without easy access to the monuments, it’s unclear whether they are being properly maintained. The Eden Group, which is developing a hotel, owns land with at least 24 temples, including the Agga Tae and Paungku temples, the resident said. “The fenced-in sections have never been fully protected,” he said, and it isn’t easy for the public to get access to the compounds. A man takes a selfie with an ancient pagoda to celebrate Bagan being named as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Bagan, Myanmar, July 27, 2019.(Ann Wang/Reuters) A source close to the Department of Archaeology and National Museum said that the pagodas are being repaired and maintained. “When necessary, we carry out maintenance,” the source said, noting that workers use chemicals to kill trees that grow on top of the monuments. “As for the pagodas in private compounds, we have the right to maintain all these monuments.” The source went on to say that laws, rules and regulations have been enacted to prohibit the construction of buildings near the pagoda area, including high-rise buildings. Nyi Mon, director of the Department of Archaeology and National Museum (Bagan), confirmed that officials from his agency are “constantly inspecting pagodas in the hotel compounds to ensure that preservation work is unaffected.” He dismissed claims that monuments located within hotel compounds are inaccessible to the public, and said that maintenance is regularly carried out on the sites “with international technology and advice.” ‘As if they belong to someone’ But a resident of Bagan pointed out that many of the sites lie behind locked gates, “as if they belong to someone.” “Vinyl sticker sign boards outside display the pagoda’s code number, name, and the maximum number of visitors allowed at a time,” he said. “However, the temples remain locked, and only archaeological staff are authorized to hold the keys.” “Since these heritage sites are managed by the private sector, concerns have been raised about their authenticity and credibility,” he added. Temples in Bagan, Myanmar’s central Mandalay Region, July 7, 2024.(Sai Aung Main/AFP) Myanmar’s prior military regime forcibly evicted residents of Bagan to the so-called “New Bagan City” during the 1990s under the pretext that their homes were located within cultural heritage sites. Nonetheless, ancient pagodas of great historic value still exist on land owned by prominent businessmen and state agencies. Translated by Aung Naing. Edited by Joshua Lipes and Malcolm Foster. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

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Myanmar’s Kachin rebels take key town on approach to Bhamo

Editor07 mins

Ethnic minority Kachin fighters in northern Myanmar captured military camps on the approaches to the major town of Bhamo on Wednesday, another setback for the junta that have been struggling for much of the past year to hold territory in the face of concerted attacks. Junta forces now control less than half the country after suffering major battlefield setbacks in 2024, including the loss of command headquarters in Shan and Rakhine states, rebel groups have said. The military, which has ruled the ethnically diverse country with an iron fist for most of its history since independence from Britain in 1948, has called for talks but there are few signs of realistic steps towards peace. The Kachin Independence Army, or KIA, fighting for self-determination in Myanmar’s northernmost state, captured the military’s last bases in Mansi town, in southern Kachin state, about 17 kilometers (10 miles) from the town of Bhamo, on the main road south. “It can be confirmed, the three camps were captured this morning at around 11 a.m.,” said KIA information Naw Bu told Radio Free Asia, referring to bases for the junta’s infantry battalions 601, 319 and artillery battalion 523. RFA tried to contact the military council’s Kachin state spokesman, Moe Min Thein, by telephone to ask about the situation but he did not respond. Naw Bu did not give any information about casualties but said the junta forces in Mansi had been supporting their colleagues in Bhamo, an Irrawaddy River town and transport hub with a population of some 80,000 people before the latest fighting erupted. So the fall of Mansi was a significant loss for the military, Naw Bu said. “Mansi is important. These camps were providing security for Bhamo,” he said. The KIA launched an offensive to capture both Mansi and Bhamo on Dec. 4. A Mansi resident taking refuge outside the town told RFA that the military had responded to the loss of Mansi with sustained airstrikes. “The sound of explosions can be clearly heard from where I am,” said the resident, who declined to be identified for safety reasons. Mansi’s residents fled months ago to surrounding villages and farms, many living in tents, adding to Myanmar’s growing population of displaced that the United Nations estimates at more than 3.5 million people. RELATED STORIES Myanmar junta says it releases 600 political prisoners in mass amnesty ‘Snatch and recruit’ arrests in Myanmar target youth for military service Air, artillery strikes set grim benchmark for civilian casualties in Myanmar in 2024 Bhamo burns Naw Bu said the battle for Bhamo was fierce and the KIA had captured its police and civil administration headquarters, where junta forces were stationed. The military was defending its remaining positions with airstrikes and heavy weapons, he said. Most of Bhamo’s residents have fled but about 20,000 remain, according to estimates by aid workers, who say there have been civilian deaths in the fighting. Residents said at least eight of the town’s neighborhoods had sustained major destruction in fires sparked by artillery and airstrikes, including Min Kone, Nyaung Pin Yat, Kokko Taw and Shwe Kyee Nar, and about 50 residents had been killed over the past month. One resident said many of those displaced from Bhamo were sheltering in forests and villages with few supplies to sustain them. “Food and medicine are in need and the pregnant women need medicine and are facing hardship giving birth,” the resident, who also declined to be identified, told RFA. The KIA, one of Myanmar’s most powerful guerrilla armies, has made significant gains in fighting over the past year, capturing rare earth and jade mines that export to China, as well all main crossings on the border with China in its area of operations. China, the junta’s main foreign ally, has been trying to end the violence in its neighbor where it has extensive economic interests including energy pipelines from the Indian Ocean, and it has been pressing insurgents to strike ceasefires with the junta. Edited by RFA Staff. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

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Thai police: Former Cambodian opposition lawmaker fatally shot in Bangkok

Editor04 mins

A former opposition party lawmaker was fatally shot just after arriving in Bangkok from Cambodia’s Siem Reap province, apparently by an assassin who fired at him as street vendors and others stood nearby, then casually rode off on a motorbike. as the CPP has used intimidation and the courts to neutralize the political opposition. Several Cambodians have said they were attacked in public in Thailand in 2023 because of their activism. Smash and destroy Last February, Prime Minister Hun Manet met with then-Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin in Bangkok to discuss a crackdown on what they called “interference” in Cambodian politics by Thai-based Cambodian political activists. In June, Hun Sen encouraged CPP supporters to “smash” and “destroy” opposition political activists in audio comments that were purportedly recorded at a party meeting and circulated on Cambodian social media. In November, six activists associated with the CNRP and one minor were deported from Thailand to Cambodia at the request of the Cambodian government. The six adults, who escaped Cambodia in 2022, were subsequently charged with “treason.” Cambodian activists remaining in Thailand told RFA in November that the arrests have increased their safety concerns, with one dissident saying that nearly 100 Cambodian refugees had fled their rented rooms for new housing and agreed to stop meeting up in-person. RELATED STORIES Cambodia charges 6 activists deported from Thailand with treason Cambodian opposition activist flees to US amid Hun Sen threats Government mum about Hun Sen audio calling for opposition to be ‘smashed’ Silent struggles plague Cambodian refugees in Bangkok Robertson urged Thai authorities to conduct a thorough and transparent investigation, adding that the French government should also “aggressively pursue justice” for Lim Kimya – “no matter where the path leads.” “Thailand’s international reputation is on the line in this case, and the Thai police and politicians should recognize they can’t just sweep this brutal murder under the rug,” he said. International human rights groups have condemned Thailand for assisting neighbors, including Vietnam and Cambodia, to undertake what the groups say is unlawful action against human rights defenders and dissidents, making Thailand increasingly unsafe for those fleeing persecution. Human Rights Watch has criticized what it called a “swap mart” of transnational repression in which foreign dissidents in Thailand are effectively traded for critics of the Thai government living abroad. Translated by Yun Samean. Edited by Matt Reed and Malcolm Foster. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

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Storming past guards, 60 foreigner workers escape from Cambodian casino

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Wielding metal rods, nearly 60 foreigner workers –- many from Nepal and Pakistan –- stormed past security guards to escape from a northern Cambodian casino complex that’s home to an online scam operation, police said. Armed with rods fashioned from bed frames, the workers forced their way out of a gate near the Thai border in Oddar Meanchey province at about 5 p.m. on Sunday, according to provincial police official Bou Boran. The workers were fed up with the physical punishment they faced at the O’Smach resort, owned by Cambodian tycoon Ly Yong Phat, according to a local resident who witnessed the breakout. “Guards couldn’t stop or resist them, causing two to be wounded,” the resident said, requesting anonymity for security reasons. “They beat up the security guards, opened the door and rushed out.” The O-Smach resort, owned by Cambodian tycoon Ly Yong Phat, in Oddar Meanchey province, Cambodia.(RFA) In September, Ly Yong Phat and his LYP Group were sanctioned by the United States because of the company’s alleged links to human trafficking and forced labor at several casinos in Cambodia, including O’Smach resort. Vast networks of human trafficking claim over 150,000 victims a year in Southeast Asia, mostly in Myanmar and Cambodia. People are often trapped inside gated compounds where they are forced to work 16 hours a day looking for people to swindle on messaging apps or through phone calls. Those who don’t meet their quotas face beatings and torture. The 57 workers walked more than 5 km (3.2 miles) after they left O-Smach resort, Bou Boran said. Police shuttled them from there to the provincial capital, Samroang, where they were questioned, he said. The workers didn’t specify why they had fled the building, only said that they wanted to change where they worked, he said. “I asked them what was wrong and they said they wanted to go to work in Poipet,” Bou Boran said, referring to another Thai border town -– about 200 km (124 miles) from O-Smach –- that’s home to a half dozen casinos. RELATED STORIES Cambodian company sanctioned by US scrubs its identity US sanctions powerful Cambodian casino tycoon UN: Hundreds of thousands of people forced to scam Authorities should conduct an investigation into trafficking and forced labor at O-Smach resort, said Dy The Hoya, the migration program director at the Phnom Penh-based Center for Alliance of Labor and Human Rights, or CENTRAL. There have been many reports of foreigners of many nationalities –- not just Nepalese and Pakistanis -– that have been forced to do online scam work in areas along the Thai border, but authorities have yet to do a definitive investigation, he said. “We want to see all transparency and integrity, with the participation of stakeholders, especially Interpol, because this is a transnational crime,” he said. “It’s not just a crime in Cambodia. If we aren’t taking this seriously, the benefit would go to the criminals while our country loses its reputation.” Translated by Sum Sok Ry. Edited by Matt Reed and Malcolm Foster. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

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Myanmar junta says it releases 600 political prisoners in mass amnesty

Editor08 mins

By RFA Burmese Myanmar’s junta has released 5,864 prisoners, including about 600 political prisoners, to mark Independence Day, a spokesman for the military said, but there was no sign that one of the world’ most famous political prisoners, Aung San Suu Kyi, would be set free. Myanmar has a tradition on big holidays of mass prisoner releases, with the majority being those jailed for ordinary crimes. Occasionally political prisoners are included. Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun, spokesman for the junta known as the State Administration Council, said in a statement that 5,864 prisoners had been granted amnesty. “About 600 people prosecuted under 505 will be included,” he said on Independence Day on Saturday, referring to a section of the penal code that includes spreading fear and false news, which is used to target critics of the junta that seized power in 2021. The spokesman said 180 foreigners were being released, most of whom are believed to be from neighboring countries such as Thailand. There had been speculation that Myanmar’s most popular politician, Suu Kyi, might be released but the spokesman did not mention her and he did not respond to attempts to reach him for comment. The 79-year-old daughter of the hero of Myanmar’s campaign for independence from British colonial rule was arrested after the 2021 coup in which an elected government she led was ousted. She was later sentenced on charges she dismissed as trumped up and jailed for 33 years. 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 not known while concern for her health grows. Her younger son, Kim Aris, thanked his mother’s supporters for their prayers and hopes for her release. “I’ve held the same hope for her. Please don’t give up. Let’s continue to hold onto hope,” he said in a video message on Sunday. The military does not say how many prisoners of conscience it holds but the rights group Assistance Association for Political Prisoners says more than 28,000 civilians have been arrested in the nearly four years since the coup and 21,499 are in detention. One former political prisoner dismissed the amnesty as window dressing by the junta as it comes under pressure from its neighbors to end the war against ethnic minority and pro-democracy forces that has crippled its economy and triggered a humanitarian crisis. “It’s just for show to the International community,” the former prisoner who declined to be identified told Radio Free Asia, adding that most of the political prisoners being freed were near the end of their sentences. “They’re being released a day or two early.” RELATED STORIES 31 political prisoners died in prisons across Myanmar in 2024 ‘Snatch and recruit’ arrests in Myanmar target youth for military service Junta forces are mobilizing in central Myanmar amid Shan state ceasefire, rebel say ‘It’s a lie’ Among those freed was Khat Aung, a former chief minister of Kachin state when Suu Kyi’s party was in government, who was serving a 12-year term on various charges, the military said. Model and actress Thin Zar Wint Kyaw who was jailed for five years for her dissent was also released, a source close to her family said. “Her release has been confirmed, she’s in good health,” said the source. People in Myanmar’s Yangon city greet prisoners on a bus coming out of the Insein Prison after being released under an amnesty on Jan. 4, 2025.(RFA) Prisoners were emerging from jails across the country and rights groups were compiling data. A source in Kale town in the northwest said 23 people had been released there including four political prisoners. In the central town of Pyay, 11 political prisoners were among 60 people set free, said a source close to the town’s prison. The Political Prisoner Network Myanmar activist group told RFA that only 344 political prisoners, including 131 women, had been released as of Monday afternoon, not the 600 the junta announced. “It’s a lie to the public and the international community,” Thaik Tun Oo, a senior member of the group, told RFA from an undisclosed location. Thaik Tun Oo said the military did not dare release more political prisoners given the unprecedented setbacks it is facing in the war. “They don’t have the guts to release those sentenced for rebellion, who don’t accept their rule,” said Thaik Tun Oo. The only hope for most political prisoners was victorious anti-junta forces throwing open their prison gates, he said. Edited by Mike Firn. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

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EXPLAINED: Why is an internet-famous Vietnamese monk on a trek to India?

Editor04 mins

A Vietnamese monk who he would no longer adhere to a vow of poverty as he continued to study the Buddhist virtues. A newspaper report said he had announced he would no longer be begging for alms to prevent disruption to “security, order, and social and political safety.” RELATED STORIES Vietnamese monk leaves Laos, enters Thailand Publisher’s partner says book about ‘barefoot monk’ hasn’t received approval Vietnamese followers of ‘barefoot monk’ question call for social media silence How TikTok made a barefoot Vietnamese ‘monk’ go viral Supporters were quick to question whether he had been forced to write the letter under duress, or whether someone else had wrote it for him. At about the same time, the Government Committee for Religious Affairs announced on its website that Thich Minh Tue had “voluntarily retired.” Why is he walking to India? But then in November, Thich Minh Tue announced that he wanted to go on a pilgrimage to visit religious sites in India, where Buddhism originated. The question remains whether he will be allowed to return to Vietnam after the pilgrimage, a Thai observer told BenarNews. The observer, who requested anonymity for security reasons, noted that Thich Minh Tue is being accompanied by Doan Van Bau, a former security official in the Vietnamese government who specialized in criminology and psychological operations. “It is unclear whether he was assigned to escort the monk out of the spotlight in Vietnam and lessen his influence there,” he said. Vietnamese monk Thich Minh Tue, center, walks in Chong Mek, Ubon Ratchathani Province, Thailand, Dec. 31, 2024, as he arrives in Thailand from Laos.(RFA) A Thai police officer said Thich Minh Tue came into the country legally. “He didn’t indicate plans to travel to Myanmar, only stating he was coming for a pilgrimage, and we haven’t found any violations,” said Police Lt. Col. Kittipong Thanomsin of the border town of Chong Mek. “There are no concerns or need for special coordination, as we conduct regular checks as usual,” he told BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated online news outlet. “There has been no communication from Vietnam.” Edited by Matt Reed and Malcolm Foster. BenarNews’ Nontarat Phaicharoen and Ruj Chuenban in Bangkok contributed to this report. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

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South China Sea

A turbulent South China Sea: 5 things that may happen in 2025

Editor011 mins

TAIPEI, Taiwan/MANILA – The South China Sea has become one of the world’s most perilous geopolitical hot spots in recent years, with China stepping up the reinforcement of its expansive claims and countries from outside the region getting increasingly involved. Here are five areas to watch in 2025: Taiwan Strait The situation in the Taiwan Strait has been becoming notably more tense, with nearly 3,000 incursions into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone between January and November 2024, as well as two major military exercises – Joint Sword A and B – coinciding with important political events on the self-ruled island. Chinese leader Xi Jinping reiterated in his in 1999 to serve as an outpost. In the last few years, China’s coast guard has been blocking and disrupting Philippine resupply missions to the ship, the BRP Sierra Madre, and the troops stationed there. On June 17, 2024, in an unprecedented confrontation, China coast guard personnel, armed with pikes and machetes, punctured Philippine boats and seized firearms during a Philippine rotate and resupply mission, wounding a Filipino sailor. Both sides later called for de-escalation. On Dec. 12, China said it had granted permission to the Philippines to resupply the “illegally grounded” warship on Second Thomas Shoal on a humanitarian basis. But the June 17 incident showed that the situation could easily escalate into conflict, especially given the proximity of Second Thomas Shoal to a Chinese naval base on Mischief Reef, an artificial island that China built and has fully militarized. Manila and Washington signed a Mutual Defense Treaty in 1951 under which both parties are obliged to support each other in the event of an armed attack. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in November revealed that the U.S. military had set up a Task Force Ayungin, the Filipino name for the Second Thomas Shoal. Chief of the Philippine armed forces, Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr., told an RFA reporter in Manila that his country was pursuing a three-pronged strategy when it comes to maritime defense: to establish an effective presence; to create effective deterrence and modernize military equipment; and to leverage alliances and partnerships with like-minded nations. Beijing, however, is not expected to give up its demand that Manila removes the BRP Sierra Madre and leave the disputed shoal. For its part, the Philippines is determined to defend it. “We’ll never abandon our territory at Ayungin,” insisted Col. Xerxes Trinidad, the Philippine armed forces’ spokesperson. Vietnam’s island building Vietnam’s island building in the South China Sea has reached a record, with the total area created in the first six months of 2024 equaling that of 2022 and 2023 combined, according to a study by the Washington-based Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI). Between November 2023 and June 2024, Hanoi created 692 new acres (280 ha) of land across a total of 10 features in the Spratly archipelago. Vietnam’s overall dredging and landfill totaled about 2,360 acres (955 ha), roughly half of China’s 4,650 acres (1,881.7 ha). “Three years from when it first began, Vietnam is still surprising observers with the ever-increasing scope of its dredging and landfill in the Spratly Islands,” AMTI said. Vietnam occupies 27 features and has been carrying out large-scale reclamation works on some over the past year. <imgsrc=”” alt=”Satellite image of Barque Canada Reef, May 11, 2024.” height=”813″ width=”1500″>Satellite image of Barque Canada Reef, May 11, 2024.(AMTI/Maxar Technologies) A new 3,000-meter airstrip is nearly finished on Barque Canada reef, where the total landfill area more than doubled in one year to nearly 2.5 square kilometers, or 617.7 acres, by October 2024. Vietnam has had only one airstrip on an island called Spratly, measuring 1,300 meters, but besides Barque Canada, AMTI said that “it would be unsurprising” if Hanoi also considers runways on Pearson and Ladd reefs. New bases and runways “would give Vietnam a position on the other side of China’s ‘Big Three’ islands,” said Tom Shugart, adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security. He was referring to China-developed Fiery Cross, Subi and Mischief reefs, which are the largest artificial islands in the South China Sea. The next four largest are all newly expanded Vietnamese reefs. “Its progress in the last five months suggests that Hanoi is determined to maximize the strategic potential of the features it occupies,” said AMTI, adding that “it remains difficult to say when the expansion will end—and what new capabilities Vietnam will have once it has.” Code of Conduct in the South China Sea Malaysia is taking over as chairman of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, from Laos this month and every time the chair changes hands, the question of a legally binding code of conduct (COC) for all competing parties in the South China Sea surfaces. China and ASEAN countries have been negotiating a COC after reaching an initial Declaration of Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea in 2002. More than two decades later, it seems many obstacles remain despite Beijing’s repeated assertions that the consultation process is going well and agreement is close. Premier Li Qiang told an ASEAN summit in October that China and the bloc were “striving for early conclusion” of the code of conduct. China and five other parties, including four ASEAN countries – Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam – hold conflicting claims over parts of the South China Sea but China’s claim is by far the most expansive, covering nearly 90% of the sea. China is adamantly against what it sees as “a politicization” of the COC, as well as any “external interference” in the matter. Yet its assertiveness has prompted some countries to seek a counterweight from outside ASEAN. “Negotiations on the COC continue at a snail’s pace,” former Thai Foreign Minister Kantathi Suphamongkhon told Reuters news agency in October. “An agreement seems impossible,” said Philippine legal expert, former Supreme Court justice Antonio Carpio. “China will never agree to some provisions, Vietnam to some others and so on. The target of concluding the COC by 2026, therefore,…

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