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Category: ASEAN

Southeast Asia’s mounting food insecurity

Editor013 mins

According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), global rice prices in August were 31% higher than the previous year, and at a 15-year high, which has left the inflation-sensitive governments of Southeast Asia scrambling for answers.  Net rice importers such as populous Indonesia and the Philippines and net exporters like Thailand alike are wrestling with a surge in prices of the staple, driven by five underlying weather and international factors. First, states are confronted by declining agricultural output due to an acute El Niño effect this year, which has caused hotter than average temperatures across Southeast Asia, and a decrease in overall rainfall.  In parts of the region, this also resulted in above average haze pollution caused by wildfires, in addition to annual haze generated by crop burning. Across the board, agricultural yields have been down, but rice, which is dependent on monsoon rains, has been particularly vulnerable in most countries. A worker rakes wheat in a granary on a private farm in Zhurivka, Kyiv region, Ukraine, Aug. 10, 2023. Credit: Efrem Lukatsky/AP Second, the ongoing war in Ukraine and Russia’s unilateral withdrawal from the July 2022 Black Sea Grain Initiative has created dislocations in global supplies of wheat, cereals, and cooking oil. Before Russia pulled out, 32 million tons of grain were exported, mostly to the developing world.  Although successful Ukrainian attacks on Russia’s Black Sea fleet have allowed some ships to continue exports, without a firm agreement in place, this could be temporary. Southeast Asian states are all highly dependent on wheat imports and Ukraine is the 7th largest producer, with an annual production of 33 million tons. Its exports comprise 10% of global supplies.  Third, as a result of El Niño-caused heat wave and food shortages, in August 2023, India announced curbs on rice exports. India is the largest exporter of rice in the world, accounting for 40% of global supply. India’s exports account for 11% of the global rice supply.  Fourth, for the lower Mekong River states, Cambodia and Vietnam, rainfall shortfalls due to El Niño have been exacerbated by China’s retention of record amounts of water at their cascade of 11 upriver dams, plunging water levels in the river to an all time low.  Fifth, declines in rice yields in the net-exporting states, such as Thailand and Vietnam, have led to higher prices and hoarding.  Net importers The most immediate impact will be felt by the net importers:  Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia. Between January and August, Indonesia imported 1.6 million tons of rice – more than triple the 429,000 million tons imported in 2022. Rice prices are now 16% higher year-on-year, a rise that prompted President Joko Widodo last month to order the release of stocks from BULOG, the strategic rice reserve, to try to keep a lid on inflation.  In April, Jakarta contracted to import a total of 2.3 million metric tons of rice to shore up national stocks. In the Philippines, estimates that rice production would fall by 1.8% in 2023 caused rice prices to hit a record high in September. Workers unload rice imported from Vietnam by the Indonesian Logistics Bureau at the port of Malahayati, in Indonesia’s Aceh province, Oct. 11, 2023. Credit: Chaideer Mahyuddin/AFP Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who is concurrently the Secretary of Agriculture, imposed price caps last month of 41 and 45 pesos (US$0.72 and US$0.79) per kilogram (2.2 pounds) for average and well-milled rice, respectively. As a candidate, Marcos had pledged to bring the price of rice down to 20 pesos per kilogram.  The Philippines imported a record 3.9 million metric tons in 2022-23. In September, Marcos signed a five-year purchase agreement with Vietnam, which supplied 90% of Philippine imports in 2022. In early October, Marcos lifted the rice cap, promising a slew of other measures to control prices, which remain high.  Domestic rice production in Malaysia only satisfies 70% of demand, and yields declined in 2023 due to excessive heat.  The government has imposed a price cap of 26 ringgit (US#5.50) per 10 kilograms (22 pounds)  for domestically produced rice. Nonetheless, prices have been surging and Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has threatened to take legal action against hoarders.  In September 2023, the government announced a 36% increase in rice imports. This month, the government announced that restaurants could purchase imported rice RM160 ($34) per kilogram, half the normal wholesale price.  Anwar, who is also the country’s finance minister, has announced some 400 million ringgit  ($84.72 million) in subsidies to purchase imported rice for government use, while the Minister of Agriculture imposed rice price caps in the important vote banks of Sabah and Sarawak.  Net exporters Even the net exporters have seen instability in their rice markets.  As the second largest exporter in the world, accounting for 15% of exports, Thailand has benefitted from surging rice prices. The announcement of Indian curbs led to a 20% spike in Thai rice prices. Thai rice peaked at $650 a ton in August, nearly 50% higher than a year earlier. Nonetheless, the country has been hit by El Niño, with rainfall down 18%. The Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives estimates rice production will decline by 3-6% in 2023-24, down to 25.8 million tons, while its reservoirs were at 54% capacity.  Thailand usually exports half of its rice harvest. But because of soaring prices, there’s been an increase in domestic hoarding. This year Thailand is expected to export just under 9 million tons. Vietnam, the third largest exporter in the world, accounting for 14% percent of global exports, expects to harvest 43 million tons in 2023.  In 2022, Vietnam exported 7.1 tons, a ten-year high. This year the goal is to export 7.8 million tons, a 10 percent increase over 2022.  Vietnam has already exported 5 million tons in the first seven months of the year, an 18% year-on-year increase. Thus far, Vietnam is benefitting from surging prices, with a 30-35% increase in value in exports. But while things are good for now, diminished rainfall,…

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Million coal workers at risk: China, India face biggest cuts by 2050

Editor09 mins

In the bustling hot city of Siliguri in northeast India, Jitendar Kumar spends his days breaking up and shifting cinder pieces at a coal depot.  The 30-year-old has been working for half his life with coal, a legacy he inherited from his father, who spent 40 years in Ranigunj, India’s first coalfield that traces back to 1774, in West Bengal. “I also started there but later chose the city over the mines,” Kumar said. “Like many here, coal puts food on our table. I don’t know what else to do.” India, the world’s second-largest coal producer, has around 337,400 miners in its active mines. Labor activists estimate that this number could quadruple when accounting for informal workers in the sector. This week, a new report said state-owned Coal India, the world’s largest government-owned coal producer, is facing the biggest potential layoffs of 73,800 direct workers by 2050. Globally, close to a million coal mine jobs, or more than a third of the coalmining workforce, could vanish by 2050, with the vast majority of these losses expected in Asia, especially in China and India, the U.S.-based think tank Global Energy Monitor (GEM) said. That means, on average, 100 coal miners a day could face job cuts as the coal industry winds down due to a market shift towards cheaper renewables and planned mine closures, it said. This infographic shows where potential coal mining job layoffs are by 2050. Credit: Global Energy Monitor Nearly half a million workers may lose their jobs before 2035, GEM said. The drop in employment, the think-tank added, will likely occur irrespective of particular coal phase-out strategies or climate action since such shifts are probably inevitable due to the market’s inclination towards more economical wind and solar energy options. In Asia, more than 2.2 million people work in coal mines, according to GEM, with China leading the way. China is home to over 1.5 million coal miners, responsible for generating more than 85% of the nation’s coal. This represents half of the global coal production. It is followed by India and Indonesia. GEM said Indonesia, with about 160,000 coal mine workers, is expected to boost production enough to rival India’s output for the first time next year.  The non-government research organization said that China’s Shanxi province alone will likely lose about a quarter million mine jobs by midcentury. The projections are based on data from the Global Coal Mine Tracker, which offers live information about 4,300 active and proposed coal mines globally, accounting for over 90% of the world’s coal production. “Coal mine closures are inevitable, but economic hardship and social strife for workers is not,” said Dorothy Mei, project manager for the Global Coal Mine Tracker at Global Energy Monitor. “Viable transition planning is happening, like in Spain where the country regularly reviews the ongoing impacts of decarbonization,” she said, adding that governments should learn from its success to plan their own “just energy transition strategies.” To limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius under the Paris Agreement’s guidelines, GEM estimates that only 250,000 coal miners would be needed. This is less than 10% of the current workforce. Economic impact Coal mine jobs also greatly influence local economies. Mining towns often depend heavily on coal companies for wages, taxes, and even schools or hospitals. Past job losses from the 1980s and 1990s bankruptcies had led to economic distress, and future job cuts could have similar effects. The workers deserve a “just transition” to new employment sectors, particularly those offering well-compensated positions in the clean and renewable energy domain, GEM said. Mining is in progress at an open-cast mine near Dhanbad, an eastern Indian city in Jharkhand state, Sept. 24, 2021. Credit: Associated Press In 2016, China’s Ministry of Finance introduced the Industrial Special Fund, designating US$14 billion for the reemployment of 1.8 million workers in the coal and steel industries. However, with each person estimated to get just over US$6,887, GEM said the fund’s sufficiency is debatable. China Energy, the nation’s leading mining and energy firm, is among the country’s top five renewable energy investors. With renewables making up 28.5% of its capacity and coal at 72%, the company aims to boost clean energy to over 50% by 2025, aligning with government goals. Chance for sustainable future Following a year marked by devastating mining accidents, significant labor disputes, and public opposition to mining activities, it is essential that coal miners be provided the chance to seek a safer and more sustainable future, GEM said in the report. Hundreds of workers died from underground blasts, tunnel collapses, and equipment mishaps in mines worldwide. At least six people were killed when a significant section of the pit wall at the Axla League coal mine in China crumbled in February, with 47 others still missing. The China Labor Bulletin, an NGO monitoring work-related accidents in China, recorded 69 coal mine-associated incidents and fatalities in 2022, with 23 reported in the current year. “The coal industry, on the whole, has a notoriously bad reputation for its treatment of workers,” said Ryan Driskell Tate, GEM’s program director for coal. “What we need is proactive planning for workers and coal communities … so industry and governments will remain accountable to those workers who have borne the brunt for so long.” Edited by Taejun Kang and Elaine Chan.

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Blast at Myanmar camp sounded like it came from the ‘world wars’

Editor09 mins

A farmer who lost his wife, three children and his mother when a bomb was dropped on his Kachin state village earlier this week said the powerful explosion wiped out buildings up to one mile away and sounded like something “used in the world wars.” “Houses built by NGOs and the locals are now left with only iron pillars.” Maran Bauk Lar told Radio Free Asia. “This was a type of bomb that has never been used in Myanmar.” The explosion at the Mung Lai Hkyet internally displaced persons camp at about 11 p.m. on Monday killed 29 people, including 11 children, and left 57 others wounded, relief workers told RFA.  The camp is near Lai Zar in the mountainous border area between Kachin state and China. Lai Zar is the headquarters of the Kachin Independence Army, or the KIA, which has fought the Burmese military for decades and controls areas of northern Myanmar.  KIA information officer Col. Naw Bu told RFA earlier this week that he believed the junta was targeting the headquarters in the attack. Maran Bauk Lar, whose wife and three children were killed in the Mung Lai Hkyet attack, found their bodies when he returned to the camp. His mother and sister-in-law also were killed. Credit: Provided to RFA Maran Bauk Lar said he was walking to his farm when he heard the explosion. When he returned, he found a deep pit and the remains of his sister-in-law and the other family members.  “My mother’s body was completely dismembered, and her skull was broken,” he said. “Only the bones remain. My wife and children were killed under the collapsed building. Our dormitories were completely destroyed. There is nothing left.” ‘Emboldened by the indifference’ The Mung Lai Hkyet camp has 658 residents, many of whom are now suffering from psychological trauma as they recover from the explosion, relief workers said.  Survivors have been temporarily relocated to a church in Woichyai, an internally displaced persons camp in Lai Zar.  “At the moment, they are sleeping on the floor of the church,” a person helping them said. “They have to start a new life from scratch. They don’t have a single penny in their hands.” Coffins are lined up next to graves as a mass funeral takes place to bury victims of a military strike on the Mung Lai Hkyet camp near the northern Myanmar town of Laiza on Oct. 10, 2023. Credit: AFP The Special Advisory Council for Myanmar, a group of independent experts working to support human rights efforts in the country, urged the United Nations and its member states to hold the junta responsible for the attack. “The Myanmar military is so emboldened by the indifference of the international community in response to its decades of atrocity crimes that it is now attacking camps for internally displaced people,” said Yanghee Lee, a member of the council and a former U.N. Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar. “The military is flagrantly massacring the most vulnerable people in society, and yet U.N. entities in Myanmar will not even publicly name the military as the perpetrator,” he said.  At the State Department, spokesman Matthew Miller said that the United States was “deeply concerned” by reports of the explosion. “We strongly condemn the military regime’s ongoing attacks that have claimed thousands of lives since the February 2021 coup and continue to exacerbate the region’s most severe humanitarian crisis,” he said on Tuesday.  A girl cries next to a grave as a mass funeral takes place to bury victims of the military strike on Mung Lai Hkyet camp near Laiza, Myanmar, on Oct. 10, 2023. Credit: AFP ‘The culture of military dictatorship’ Fighting in the area between junta forces and the KIA has intensified since July. Lately, there have been artillery strikes from the junta almost every day, local residents said. While some residents said they heard a plane just before Monday’s explosion, others told RFA that they heard nothing.  The KIA has formed an investigation team to determine what caused the blast, Naw Bu said, adding that it may have been a bomb dropped by a junta-operated drone.  “They always target the public, not only in our territory in Kachin state, but across the country,” he said of the junta. “It is the culture of military dictatorship.” A man stands amid debris left by the military strike on the Mung Lai Hkyet camp on Oct. 11, 2023, two days after the assault. Credit: AFP RFA’s calls on Wednesday to Win Ye Tun, the junta’s social affairs minister and spokesman for Kachin state, for comments on the death toll at Mung Lai Hkyet went unanswered. Junta spokesman Major Gen. Zaw Min Tun told RFA that junta troops were not behind the attack on Mung Lai Hkyet. He speculated that it was caused by an accidental explosion at a warehouse where the KIA stores gunpowder. A Mung Lai Hkyet resident told RFA that it was “totally untrue” that there are weapons factories and arsenals in the camp.  “There is no arsenal,” he said. “There are only civilians who are displaced persons.”  Translated by Htin Aung Kyaw. Edited by Matt Reed and Malcolm Foster.

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Letter from 3 UN rapporteurs urged Vietnam not to execute inmate

Editor06 mins

Three United Nations special rapporteurs sent a letter urging the Vietnamese government not to execute death row inmate Nguyen Van Chuong, who was convicted of murdering a police major, RFA has learned. The letter was not made public by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights until this week, but it is dated Aug. 10, about a week after Chuong’s family was suddenly asked to make arrangements to receive his remains, but were not given an execution date. The letter follows suit with similar pleas from rights organizations and the international community at that time, who feared Chuong’s execution was imminent. “In view of the urgency of the matter and the irreversibility of the execution of the death penalty, we respectfully call upon the highest authorities of Viet Nam to ensure Mr. [name redacted] is not executed,” said the letter, signed by the special rapporteurs on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions; independence of judges and lawyers; and torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Chuong’s name was blacked out in the version of the letter released to the public. “His execution, on the facts available to us, may constitute a violation of applicable international human rights standards and constitute an arbitrary execution,” the rapporteurs said, while also urging Vietnam to grant clemency or commute the sentence. Chuong was convicted in the 2007 robbery and murder of Major Nguyen Van Sinh in northeastern Vietnam’s city of Haiphong. Two others were convicted in the case.The family has submitted several petitions, asking all levels of government to reconsider Chuong’s death sentence. The letter detailed several alleged problems with the case that, if true, would make an execution of Chuong “inconsistent with standards of international human rights law, and amount[ing] to an arbitrary execution.” Problems with the case It said that the evidence used to convict the defendants in the case included confessions, which Chuong alleges were obtained under extreme duress. Chuong claims he was beaten and coerced by the investigator, RFA previously reported. Authorities deny that he was tortured at the time of the investigation. The letter also said that Chuong had a “strong alibi” with several people from his hometown – 40 kilometers (24 miles) from the crime scene – who said under oath that they saw him at a festival at the time of the crime. “Instead of investigating the validity of the alibi, the police arrested Mr. [name redacted] younger brother, on allegations of manipulating evidence and influencing witnesses,” the letter said. “Further, it is alleged that some witnesses who attested to Mr. alibi were coerced into changing their testimonies by the police.” RFA also reported that the testimonies of the other suspects contradicted each other and the make of weapon described and the marks on the victim’s body were inconsistent in their statements. Chuong’s family continues to appeal the case and calls for transparent investigation, his father told RFA Vietnamese. Vietnamese police investigations often rely on torture and forced confessions that result in “frequent miscarriages of justice,” Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at New York-based Human Rights Watch told RFA. “In this case, the tragedy is compounded by Vietnam’s use of the death penalty, which is a cruel, unusual and absolutely irreversible punishment that blatantly violates international human rights,” he said. “The Vietnamese government needs to wake up and recognize that their police force is a major part of the problem in the country, and unless there are serious and systemic reforms in the way the police operate, Vietnam will never be able to seriously comply with its international human rights obligations.”

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Myanmar national dies in Wa state after being sold into scam gang

Editor05 mins

A man is dead after being sold to a money-laundering gang in United Wa State Army territory, family members told Radio Free Asia Wednesday.  After Zaw Than went to the Wa-controlled Wein Kawng in northeast Myanmar for work, his family said they lost contact. But in early October, they received a phone call claiming their son owed more than 16 million kyat (US$7,500). The Chinese national told the family he had covered Zaw Than’s debts in late September after he allegedly lost the money gambling at a casino in Mong Pauk, just 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the border with China.  Zaw Than’s family reported the incident to Wa state’s police department, where they said they were told he had been trafficked into a gang known for its money-laundering schemes. The police officer told the family their son had been sold to the gang for over 95 million kyat (US$14,300) by the Chinese national who had called them demanding the ransom.  On Oct. 4, they traveled to Wein Kawng from their home in Shan state, asking police to help them find Zaw Than. The following evening, officers were able to locate him and arrange a meeting. But when they arrived, they said their son was badly beaten and struggling to breathe.  “He could not even breathe normally when I found him.” a family member told RFA, asking to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals..  “He died the same day because of his injuries from the beatings. They were all over his body, and many internal injuries. This is injustice. I want justice for him.” The family member said an autopsy confirmed their son died from his injuries. They have since complained to Wa state officials and their external relations department. RFA contacted Lashio-based Wa liaison officer Nyi Ran seeking comment on the incident, but he had not responded by the time of publication.  Wa state’s Mong Pauk, Pangsang, and Wein Kawng are well-known hubs for crime, including online scamming, sex trafficking, and money-laundering. Last year, 19 Myanmar nationals were sold and held against their will in one scam center in Mong Pauk after being told they would get high-paying jobs. Thai women have also reported being trafficked in the region.  The Wa army controls portions of southern and northern Shan state and keeps close ties with China.  Both territories are also attempting to crack down on the online crime rampant on the border. In September, Wa forces returned more than 1,300 Chinese nationals involved in online fraud. Despite this transfer, illegal businesses are still a recurring problem, a person assisting Wa state’s labor affairs ministry told RFA, adding that many Chinese nationals start businesses under Myanmar names.  RFA contacted the Chinese Embassy in Myanmar via email regarding gang activity and Zaw Than’s death, but the office did not immediately respond. Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Mike Firn.

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Hamas fighters may be using North Korean weapons, experts say

Editor010 mins

Experts say that Hamas militants may be using North Korean weapons after footage emerged of a fighter from the Palestinian group carrying a rocket-launcher suspected to originate from the communist nation. The video, recorded shortly after deadly attacks on Israel started last weekend and shared widely on social media, shows several men sitting in the back of a pickup truck brandishing weapons above a face-down, partially clothed woman. A rocket-launcher held by one of the fighters was identified as North Korean in origin by a military and weapons blogger with the handle War Noir in a post on X, formerly Twitter. “A recent video recorded today shows members of the Al-Qassam Brigades (#HAMAS) in #Gaza Strip,” War Noir wrote on Oct. 7. “One of the members can be seen with an uncommon F-7 HE-Frag rocket, originally produced in #NorthKorea (#DPRK).”  RFA was not able to conclusively determine if the weapon was North Korean, but its shape closely resembles the F-7 as depicted in the North Korean Small Arms and Light Weapons Recognition Guide published in May by the Geneva-based Small Arms Survey research project. Experts said that Palestinians have historically used North Korean weapons, which may have been first purchased by Iran or Syria, and then smuggled to the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, circumventing an Israeli-Egyptian embargo that has been in place since 2005. “The Syrians deal with Hezbollah a lot and Hezbollah deals with Hamas a lot,” said Bruce E. Bechtol Jr., a former intelligence officer for the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency. “A lot of the trade that North Korea does with both Hamas and Hezbollah is deals that they make through the IRGC, the Iranian Republican Guard Corps,” he said.  Used in the region In its recent attacks on Israelis, Hamas used weapons originating in a wide range of current and former states, including the United States, the Soviet Union, and North Korea, said N.R. Jenzen-Jones, director of the Armament Research Services intelligence consultancy, or ARES. A preliminary analysis of images reviewed by this consultancy shows “a militant armed with an RPG-7 type shoulder-fired recoilless gun, loaded with an F-7 series high explosive fragmentation (HE-FRAG) munition, produced in North Korea,” Jenzen-Jones said. “These have previously been documented in the region, including in Syria, Iraq, and in the Gaza Strip.” Other images showed militants using what appeared to be a North Korean Type 58 self-loading rifle, a derivative of the well-known AK series, he said. “North Korean arms have previously been documented amongst interdicted supplies provided by Iran to militant groups, and this is believed to be the primary way in which DPRK weapons have come into the possession of Palestinian militants,” he said.  “North Korean arms have previously been identified in the hands of the militant factions of Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, amongst other groups,” he added. Bechtol said that a North Korean arms shipment was intercepted in Thailand in 2009. A U.N. panel of experts determined the 35 tons of conventional arms and munitions was headed to Iran, and Israeli intelligence believed it was ultimately bound for Hamas and Lebanon-based Hezbollah. Bechtol said the shipment contained rocket propelled grenades, larger rockets, and the F-7.  “The North Koreans have also sold the ‘BULSAE’ antitank system to Hamas. It’s a very good antitank system and they could be firing that at Israeli tanks when they’re entering the Gaza Strip here within the next day or two,” said Bechtol. “So North Korea has given them some capabilities that are interesting.” The woman whose body was seen in the video was identified by her family as 22-year old German-Israeli citizen Shani Louk, who was abducted by Hamas militants when they attacked a music festival in Israel close to the Gaza border.  She is believed to be alive, but in critical condition at a hospital in Gaza, according to Palestinian sources her mother told German outlet Bild on Tuesday. But Israeli, German or Palestinian officials have not yet confirmed her status or whereabouts.  North Korea blames Israel North Korean media, meanwhile, blamed the recent violence on Israel’s “ceaseless criminal acts” against the Palestinian people. According to a report in the state-run Rodong Sinmun newspaper on Tuesday, “a large-scale armed conflict broke out between Palestine’s Islamic resistance movement and Israel.”  “The international community called the conflict the result of Israel’s ceaseless criminal acts against the Palestinian people,” and said that the “fundamental” way to end the bloody conflict is to create an independent Palestinian state.  That Hamas is using North Korean weapons is not surprising, Bruce Bennett, a defense researcher at the RAND Corporation think tank, told RFA.   “North Korea is selling things wherever it can to make hard currency,” said Bennett. “Whether North Korea directly provided it to Hamas or provided it through a third party, I don’t know. But the fact that there is North Korean equipment there does not surprise me at all.” ‘Commercial relationship’ Bennett said the F-7 rocket is an anti-personnel weapon and causes maximum casualties. “It’s not intended to, like, penetrate a tank,” he said. “It’s intended to cause fragmentation, like a terrorist bomb, and maximize the effect against people.” Even though Hamas appears to be using North Korean weapons, it would be inaccurate to describe them as allies, he said. “It’s a commercial relationship which is fed by the politics as well by North Korea being anxious to hurt the United States and anything associated with the United States,” said Bennett.  “The scary part of this though is as you think about the future, does North Korea have people on the ground with Hamas watching them do what they’re doing?” he said.  “Is North Korea thinking about doing this kind of thing to South Korea? We clearly don’t know at this stage, but I don’t think we can ignore that possibility.” Translated by Claire Shinyoung Oh Lee. Additional reporting by Eugene Whong. Edited by Eugene Whong and Malcolm Foster.

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Manila dismisses China’s ‘gunboat’ claim

Editor09 mins

Updated Oct. 10, 2023, 06:20 a.m. ET. The Philippines’ military chief on Tuesday rejected a claim that its navy vessel was driven away from a disputed reef in the South China Sea by the Chinese coast guard, calling it “Beijing’s propaganda.” Early on Tuesday, the China Coast Guard said a Philippine Navy gunboat came into China’s “jurisdictional waters” near the Scarborough Shoal in the Spratly Islands. “On Oct. 10, a Philippine Navy gunboat intruded into the waters adjacent to China’s Huangyan Island, ignoring China’s repeated warnings,” Chinese Coast Guard spokesperson Gan Yu said in a statement, using the Chinese name for a shoal the Philippines calls Bajo de Masinloc. Gan said that China Coast Guard ships “took necessary measures, such as tracking and controlling the ship’s route, to drive away the Philippine vessel according to the law.” Beijing’s claim – which comes against a backdrop of deteriorating relations between the neighbors – was rejected by the Philippines’ top military commander, who denied such an incident had taken place. “That is just propaganda from Beijing … to show that they are doing something,” Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. told RFA-affiliated news organization BenarNews on Tuesday. A Philippine navy boat was in the vicinity of Bajo de Masinloc, but it was carrying out a maritime patrol. “It was sailing and it just so happened that the China Coast Guard was there and we issued a challenge,” Brawner said. “Our ship continued with its mission. He added the boats were “far” away from each other. A China Coast Guard ship is seen from a Philippine fishing boat at the disputed Scarborough Shoal April 6, 2017. Credit: Reuters Both Beijing and Manila claim sovereignty over Scarborough Shoal, which China seized after a standoff with the Philippines in 2012 and has maintained control over since. The Chinese spokesperson accused the Philippines of violating China’s sovereignty over the shoal, adding: “We call on the Philippines to immediately stop its infringement.”  On Monday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry also warned Manila against “making provocations and creating troubles at sea,” saying “China has made serious démarches [diplomatic protests] to the Philippines on multiple occasions.”   The ministry was responding to a statement by the Philippines on Saturday that China’s “unfounded” claims in the South China Sea and Beijing’s actions there are “irresponsible.” ‘Stirring up trouble’ The latest incident marks a further deterioration in the relationship between the two neighbors. A Beijing-based think tank, the South China Sea Probing Initiative (SCSPI), accused the Philippines of “stirring up” the situation in the sea. This week, U.S. and Philippine warships are conducting a bilateral training exercise called Samasama (Together) 2023 in the waters off the Philippines. The exercise, joined by several other U.S. allies, is being seen as a testament of the strong bond between the two militaries. “Currently, the Philippines is at the vanguard of challenging China at sea, much more aggressive than any other party including the United States,” SCSPI said in a post on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter. “Wait and see,” it added in a thinly veiled threat, “The Scarborough Shoal Incident in 2012 is a wake-up call for both China and the Philippines.”  The 2012 standoff began on April 8, 2012, after the Philippine Navy attempted to arrest Chinese fishermen who it accused of illegal fishing in the waters near Scarborough Shoal but the attempt was blocked by Chinese maritime surveillance ships. Naval vessels from both sides were deployed in the standoff that lasted more than two months. The Philippines pulled its two vessels out on June 15, 2012, but China kept its ships at the shoal. Scarborough Shoal has since become a hot spot and a trigger point between China and the Philippines in the contested South China Sea. Most recently, in late September, the Philippines said China had installed a 300-meter (984-foot) floating barrier to block Philippine fishermen from accessing the waters around the shoal.  The Philippine coast guard carried out a “special operation” to cut the barrier and remove its anchor. An aerial view shows the BRP Sierra Madre on the contested Second Thomas Shoal, locally known as Ayungin, in the South China Sea, March 9, 2023. Credit: Reuters The risk of confrontation has also risen in recent days over another disputed atoll in the South China Sea, internationally known as the Second Thomas Shoal. The Philippines calls it Ayungin Shoal, where it maintains an outpost with less than a dozen marines, stationed on a rusty WWII landing craft, the BRP Sierra Madre.  Manila accuses China of regularly blocking its resupply missions to the troops on the Sierra Madre. It said on Aug. 6, 2023, Chinese Coast Guard ships fired a water cannon at one of the Philippine ships resupplying the outpost. China calls it Ren’ai Jiao and maintains that the atoll lies within its jurisdiction. Six parties – China, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Taiwan – claim parts of the resource-rich South China Sea together with the islands inside but Beijing’s claim is by far the most extensive, occupying nearly 90% of the sea. An international tribunal in 2016 ruled that China’s claims in the South China Sea were illegal and invalid, but Beijing refused to accept the ruling. Edited by Mike Firn and Elaine Chan. BenarNews is an RFA-affiliated online news organization. Updated to include comment from Philippine military commander Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr.

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Over 13,000 flood victims relocated in Myanmar’s Bago region

Editor05 mins

Flooding in Myanmar has caused chaos across five regions, according to junta authorities, with 13,000 people in Bago region alone being relocated due to heavy rain. The Bago River overflowed, flooding 12 neighborhoods and seven villages across the region’s capital, according to Lay Swe Zin Oo, the director of the Department of  Disaster Management and the military-run Ministry of Relief and Resettlement. “More than 13,000 people from over 3,000 households are moving to camps. There are about 34 camps in total,” she told RFA. Residents were warned to evacuate early Sunday morning when the Bago River quickly rose more than one foot (30 cm) above critical level, according to the Department of Meteorology and Hydrology. By Monday morning, the river had risen three more feet.  Water remains over a yard (91 cm) deep in low-level areas of Bago city, and roughly 18 inches (46 cm) of water still cover roads and railways, according to the the Metta San Yae Social Assistance Association, an organization relocating flood victims.  “It was at person-level height in the street that flooded the neighborhood. The base of the stilt houses was already flooded,” an official of the group told RFA, adding that several main streets were impassable. “Now, it’s still raining. It has been raining for about four days.” Trucks and buses stuck at 39-Mile near Bago city due to flooding on Oct. 9, 2023. Credit: RFA According to a press release from the junta’s Ministry of Information on Sunday, vans, buses, and cargo trucks to and from the city have been paused until the water recedes. Two train lines to Yangon from Mandalay region and Mon state were flooded, leaving more than 800 passengers stranded at the entrance of Bago city. Aid was being delivered to the passengers, who were being transferred to Yangon by car, the press release said, adding that four other train lines through Bago have been canceled this week. Bago region in central Myanmar has faced a challenging rainy season. In August, more than 18,000 residents were forced to move when more than a week of heavy rain flooded 13 neighborhoods.  Other areas around the country have also been impacted by flooding, including Yangon and Mandalay regions, Mon and Shan states.  Residents said Sunday that more than a hundred vehicles were stuck in places between Pyinoolwin township in Mandalay region and Nawnghkio township in Shan state. Despite the rainy season wrapping up, monsoons like this can occur at the very end of the season, said Hla Tun, director of the junta’s Department of Weather and Hydrology. “Monsoon season is not over in Bago, Yangon and the delta region of Ayeyarwady. It usually rains when the season is on its way out,” he said. “The nature of the monsoon is that it is a bit rough when it comes and leaves.” Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Mike Firn.

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Quick vision, fast hands: Burmese kite fighters compete in the sky

Editor03 mins

On any clear evening, kites can be seen in just about every direction in the skies above the suburbs of Mandalay. People fly kites for the pleasure of seeing the colorful designs. Or they watch for kite fighting – a game where one uses the kite’s string to cut the string of other kites. “I lost six today,” said Ko Paik, who uses his kites for kite fighting. “I beat about 20. More than 20, I guess.” There are more than 10 kite flying teams in Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-largest city and a center of Burmese culture. Kite flying competitions are held in three different locations every year. Most kite flyers are elderly or middle-aged, as many young people these days don’t spend time on the sport. “Times have changed. Back then, a lot of young people used to fly kites,” Mandalay resident Soe Han said.  Members of the younger generation would rather spend time playing games on their phone, he said. There are about 20 kite businesses in Mandalay. But they’re no longer as profitable because of the sport’s declining popularity and higher prices.  “Business was OK in previous years,” kite store owner Aung Ko Oo said. “But since the price of goods has gone up, people don’t spend time on this anymore.”  Kite flyer Ko Baw Di encourages young people to fly kites because it is relaxing and supports physical health. “You have to have a quick vision and fast hands while running at the same time,” he said. “Your brain has to work fast to win, too.” Translated by Myo Min Aung. Edited by Matt Reed.

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Death toll for anti-junta fighters surges in past two months

Editor05 mins

The death toll of anti-junta fighters has spiked over the past two months, surpassing 100 in August and September together, according to Burma News International’s Myanmar Peace Monitor, which compiles data on military conflict in the country. The higher death rate is another indication that civil war between the junta and rebels resisting the military’s rule since it overthrew a democratically elected government in a 2021 coup d’etat. During the previous six months – between February and July – a total of 132 members of People’ Defense Forces were killed, it said.  Many PDF members are ordinary citizens who have taken up arms against the military, and sometimes there is a lack of coordination or cooperation between the disparate units, sources told Radio Free Asia. “When the war intensified, the need for tactics and the differences in weapons and ammunition shows there is still a problem for the revolutionary forces,” said Captain Lin Chet Aung, a member of the Civil Disobedience Movement, made up of soldiers and government employees who quit to protest the coup. The rebel fighters need more weapons and train more on tactics and coordination, he said. “If you look at the areas where the killings took place, there is a lack of connection between the groups in their area, and a lack of information,” he said. “There is a lack of trust” between PDF units. ‘Must have run out of ammunition’ According to Myanmar Peace Monitor’s tally, the death toll included 51 people in Sagaing region, six in Magway region, 20 in Chin state, two in Kayah state, 10 in Tanintharyi region, three in Mandalay region, one in Kachin state, two in Bago region, five in Kayin state and one in Shan state. Some of the killings have come in bursts. On Sept. 18, seven PDF members were killed in a battle between the PDF troops and the junta in Palaw township in Tanintharyi region. They were arrested and killed due to lack of manpower and firing power, the person in charge of Myeik District No. 1 Battalion told RFA on condition of anonymity. “They were surrounded by more than 200 strong junta troops. They were arrested in a house in Mya Taung village,” the person said. “They must have run out of ammunition while shooting.” On Sept. 22, junta troops arrested and killed 27 PDF members near Chay Yar Taw village in Sagaing region’s Myinmu township, Captain Khin Thaung of Myengmu Township PDF told RFA. “They did not get time to run because they were evacuating the civilians,” he said. “Furthermore, security information was leaked out and they did not get information in time.” Political commentator Than Soe Naing said the PDFs must adapt to the change in the junta’s tactics. Resistance forces are suffering more casualties because they lack basic military strategy, he said. “This isn’t a situation like in the past when the junta launched offensives by using artillery,” he said. RFA attempted to contact junta spokesman Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun for a response on the recent increase in killings of PDF members, but he didn’t respond. Translated by Htin Aung Kyaw. Edited by Matt Reed and Malcolm Foster.

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