ASEAN Archives - Page 70 of 137 - Investigative Journalism Reportika

Vietnam court sentences music teacher to 8 years in prison

Editor2 years ago04 mins

A court in Vietnam’s Dak Lak province has sentenced music lecturer Dang Dang Phuoc to eight years in prison and four years of probation for allegedly “conducting anti-state propaganda,” his wife and one of his lawyers told RFA Tuesday. The 60-year-old instructor at Dak Lak Pedagogical College in Vietnam’s Central Highland, frequently posted on Facebook about educational issues, human rights violations, corrupt officials and social injustice. Police arrested him on Sept. 8 last year, and charged him with “making, storing, spreading or propagating information, documents and items aimed at opposing the State of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,” which carries a maximum 12-year prison term. Even though Phuoc didn’t receive the maximum sentence, lawyer Le Van Luan said the court should have been more lenient towards his client. “With the circumstances of the case, that sentence is too heavy compared to what Mr. Phuoc did,” he said. Phuoc’s case has drawn international attention, including from Human Rights Watch, who’s deputy Asia director Phil Robertson described the sentence as “outrageous and unacceptable.” “What it reveals is the Vietnamese government’s total intolerance for ordinary citizens pointing out corruption, speaking out against injustice, and calling for accountability by local officials,” he said on hearing the verdict. “Those were precisely the things that Dang Dang Phuoc did in Dak Lak, and now the government claims such whistle-blowing actions are propaganda against the state.” During the past decade, Phuoc has campaigned against corruption and advocated for better protections for civil and political rights. He has signed several pro-democracy petitions and called for changes to Vietnam’s constitution, which grants the Communist Party a monopoly on power. “This unjust prison sentence reveals General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong’s anti-corruption campaign is a sham game that is really more about holding on to power, and marginalizing political rivals, but does not care to address the Communist Party of Vietnam’s widespread malfeasance in its ranks,” said Robertson, comparing Trong with China’s authoritarian leader Xi Jinping. Police kept a close watch on Phuoc’s wife Le Thi Ha ahead of the trial, warning her she would lose her job if she talked about the case on social media. She was allowed to attend the trial, along with Phuoc’s four lawyers. Ha told RFA her husband plans to appeal the verdict. Translated by RFA Vietnamese. Edited by Mike Firn.

Beijing seeks ‘dialogue over confrontation’, defense chief says

Editor2 years ago012 mins

China’s defense minister said at a major regional security forum on Sunday that Beijing seeks dialogue over confrontation, hours after a Chinese warship was accused of nearly hitting a U.S. destroyer in the Taiwan Strait. General Li Shangfu said at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore that China’s leader Xi Jinping proposed a set of so-called Global Security Initiatives (GSI) which features “dialogue over confrontation, partnership over alliance and win-win over zero sum.” In an apparent reference to the U.S., Li accused “some country” of taking a “selective approach to rules and international laws,” and “forcing its own rules on others.” “It practices exceptionalism and double standards and only serves the interests and follows the rules of a small number of countries.” The minister said it “even attempts to constrain others with a convention itself has not acceded to,” pointing to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) in 1982 that the United States, while recognizing it, is not a party of. The U.S. and China have been at loggerheads over a number of issues, among them China’s excessive claims in the South China Sea and the U.S. ‘s freedom of navigation operations (FONOP) to uphold its principle of a free and open Indo-Pacific. China has repeatedly accused the U.S. of “navigation hegemony” in the South China Sea. The U.S. military meanwhile said that a Chinese warship on Saturday came close to hitting an American destroyer when the latter was sailing through the Taiwan Strait during a joint Canada-U.S. mission. Near-collision The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said in a statement that its guided-missile destroyer USS Chung-Hoon and Royal Canadian Navy frigate HMCS Montreal were conducting a “routine” transit through international waters in the Taiwan Strait. During the transit a Chinese Navy destroyer “executed maneuvers in an unsafe manner in the vicinity of Chung-Hoon,” it said, adding that the Chinese ship “overtook Chung-Hoon on their port side and crossed their bow at 150 yards (140 meters).” “Chung-Hoon maintained course and slowed to 10 knots to avoid a collision.” The Indo-Pacific Command said that China’s actions violated the maritime ‘Rules of the Road’ of safe passage in international waters “where aircraft and ships of all nations may fly, sail and operate anywhere international law allows.” China’s Ministry of National Defense claimed the Chinese ship handled the situation “lawfully and professionally” but analysts said they found the event “disturbing” and “probably the worst such reported close maritime encounter in the South China Sea since October 2018,” when a Chinese warship approached the USS Decatur within just 45 yards (41 meters). “China is getting reckless while trying to enforce sovereignty in the Taiwan Strait,” said Richard Bitzinger, a senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore. “Beijing is just trying to force everyone to accept the idea that Taiwan Straits are somehow China’s de facto territorial waters,” the military analyst told RFA. The Canadian Navy’s HMCS Montreal conducted a routine transit through the Taiwan Strait with U.S. Navy destroyer USS Chung-Hoon, June 3, 2023. Credit: Canadian Armed Forces Minister Li Shangfu told the audience at the Shangri-La Dialogue that the U.S. ships are in the region “for provocation.” “What is key now is that we must prevent attempts to use freedom of navigation … as a pretext to exercise hegemony of navigation,” he said. Taiwanese military analysts said that the Saturday transit was a routine operation but the Chinese Navy’s reaction indicated a more resolute stance. “As President Xi Jinping had instructed, senior officials and military leaders should take a tough stance against challenges rather than showing a soft behavior that can be seen as weak,” said Shen Ming-shih, Acting Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Taiwan’s Institute for National Defense and Security Research. “That’s what the Chinese Defense Minister demonstrated in his speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue,” Shen said. Military expert Richard Bitzinger said the reason behind this approach may be that “the Chinese are worried that they have a narrow and closing window to exert themselves before the economy tanks and demographics catch up with them.” Using risks as weapons The Chinese minister of defense in his speech lambasted the U.S.’s Cold War mentality. He accused Washington of “expanding military bases, re-enforcing military presence and intensifying arms race in the region” – those actions that reflect its “desire to make enem[ies], stoke confrontation, fuel the fire and fish in troubled waters.” Li also accused the U.S. of “wilfully interfering in the internal affairs of others,” referring to the issue of Taiwan which he said was “core of China’s core interests.” The U.S. and China should seek common ground “grow bilateral ties and deepen cooperation,” he said. “International affairs should not be handled through confrontation,” the minister said, insisting that China is always “seeking consensus, promoting reconciliation and negotiations.” Chinese Defense Minister Gen. Li Shangfu delivers his speech on the last day of the Shangri-La Dialogue, in Singapore, June 4, 2023. Credit: AP Photo/Vincent Thian A day earlier, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said he was “deeply concerned” that Beijing has been unwilling to engage with Washington and refused to hold direct bilateral talks. “The Chinese minister’s speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue and the dangerous action of its warships in the Taiwan Strait are part of the strategy that I’d call ‘riskfare’, which plays on the concerns of the U.S. and other countries for risks,” said Alexandre Vuving, a professor at the Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies in Hawaii. “The U.S. emphasizes communication, but China emphasizes risks and is using risk as a weapon in its struggle with the U.S.,” he said. “Washington shows it’s concerned about risks in its competition with Beijing. Beijing sees it and weaponizes this U.S. concern.” The U.S.’s willingness to reopen communications with China is genuine and some analysts believe that, despite the absence of direct contacts between the U.S. and Chinese delegations in Singapore, there are hopes for closer interactions. Baohui Zhang, director of the Centre for Asian…

Comedy and autocracy are made for each other

Editor2 years ago07 mins

Last month, Beijing police launched a criminal investigation into stand-up comedian Li Haoshi – who goes by the stage name House – after he sparked public ire with a joke that some said likened feral dogs to People’s Liberation Army soldiers “capable of winning battles,” prompting a nationwide wave of cancellations of other artists, particularly acts from overseas. In a recent commentary for RFA Mandarin, U.S.-based legal scholar Teng Biao says totalitarian regimes are the ultimate source of comedy material, and explains why the ruling Chinese Communist Party views comedy as an existential threat: Tyranny is a major manufacturer of jokes, because autocracy itself is a joke. Those who hold power without winning an election need to rewrite history and whitewash reality, so as to maintain a perfect image of glory and greatness. In 1966, the People’s Daily reported on Mao Zedong’s swim in the Yangtze River. It claimed the 73-year-old Mao had broken the world record, even after making deductions for the effects of the flowing river. More recently, the Red Guards are back, the White Guards [COVID-19 enforcers] are here, and we have ongoing agricultural management and the conversion of forests to farmland. Stand-up comedy company Xiaoguo Comedy’s FaceBook page. Credit: RFA screenshot from FaceBook When the population is 800 million, people are limited to one child per couple. When it reaches 1.4 billion, we can have three. What’s that all about? A diplomat who mouths off to the French media “doesn’t represent the official view.” There’s a real-name registration system for kitchen knives, and police are willing to travel to Thailand to kidnap a guy for publishing some gossipy books about Xi Jinping, whose portrait now hangs in temples and churches across the land. Winnie the Pooh is banned, and Chairman Xi carried a 200-pound of wheat without even shifting to his other shoulder. Anyone not laughing by this point? Jokes dissolve tyranny. Comedy and autocracy are made for each other. Despotism has to hold itself up as pompous, serious, truthful, powerful, and inviolable. And gods, emperors, wealth, ‘truth’, traditions and customs, science, traditional customs, are all grist for the mill of satire, for ridicule and spoofs. Stand-up has been described as “the art of offense,” but under a totalitarian regime, it is deadly. Comrade George Orwell, who saw the underpants of the totalitarian system many years ago, said that every joke is a tiny revolution. Late Chinese dissident and 2010 Nobel peace laureate Liu Xiaobo once wrote: “The political jokes people tell each other in private represent the conscience of the silent majority, and show us just how rotten are the foundations of post-totalitarian rule among the general public.” When we’ve all seen the emperor swaggering down the street stark naked, a burst of laughter is even more subversive than a child telling the truth. A joke that doesn’t pick quarrels or stir up trouble is hardly a joke at all. That’s why the censorship of jokes is never-ending under authoritarian regimes. Notice of show cancellations are placed by the locked doors at the show venue of stand-up comedy company Xiaoguo Culture Media Co that has closed its business in Beijing, China May 19, 2023. Tingshu Wang/Reuters Stand-up comedy, sketches, comic duos and other kinds of comedy have almost totally lost their ability to offer political or social criticism under the Chinese Communist Party, because even social comment can become political. So most comedians avoid them altogether, and limit their material to marriage, family, men and women or celebrities. And they are increasingly punching down, targeting those weaker than themselves, with the poor, farming communities, manual laborers and the disabled the most common targets. Ugly people, ethnic minorities, women, the elderly and black people are also discriminated against. There are even sketches and comic duos who stick to the Communist Party’s “main theme tune” and flatter the government, high-ranking officials, celebrities and the rich and powerful. Under a dictatorship, the consequences of complaining about those in power are serious. The Thought Police are ever watchful and are highly capable of winning battles. Translated by Luisetta Mudie. The views expressed here are Teng’s own and do not reflect the position of Radio Free Asia.

US Defense Secretary ‘deeply concerned’ about China’s unwillingness to engage

Editor2 years ago012 mins

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has urged China’s military leaders to engage after his call to meet with the Chinese counterpart was rebuffed, saying open lines of communication are “essential.” In his key address to the Shangri-La Dialogue security forum in Singapore on Saturday, Austin said that he is “deeply concerned that the PRC has been unwilling to engage more seriously on better mechanisms for crisis management between our two militaries.” The defense secretary referred to China by its official name the People’s Republic of China. “For responsible defense leaders, the right time to talk is anytime, the right time to talk is everytime and the right time to talk is now,” he said, adding that “dialogue is not a reward. It is a necessity.” “And the more that we talk, the more that we can avoid the misunderstandings and miscalculations that could lead to crisis or conflict.” Secretary Austin and Chinese Minister of National Defense Li Shangfu, who has been under U.S. sanctions since 2018, shared a brief handshake before an official dinner on Friday but did not speak to each other nor is a bilateral meeting between them anticipated. “A cordial handshake over dinner is no substitute for a substantive engagement,” Austin said. China’s Defense Minister Li Shangfu, attends the ministerial roundtable session during the 20th Shangri-La Dialogue, June 3, 2023. Credit: AP Photo/Vincent Thian The U.S. defense chief slammed China which, he said, “continues to conduct an alarming number of risky intercepts of U.S. and allied aircraft flying lawfully in international airspace.” Just last week, the U.S. military accused a Chinese J-16 fighter jet of performing an “unnecessarily aggressive” maneuver during the intercept of a U.S. Air Force RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft. “We do not seek conflict or confrontation, but we will not flinch in the face of bullying or coercion,” Austin said. The obvious rift between the two powers has “become the new reality,” said Huong Le Thu, a non-resident fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Regional countries have to accept it whether “they like it or not,” she told RFA. “But they can contribute to managing the tensions by lowering the heat through facilitating and encouraging dialogues between the U.S. and China,” the analyst added. Shared vision Carlito Galvez Jr., Senior Undersecretary and Officer-in-Charge at the Philippine Defense Department, said Manila believes that “the international law is the greatest equalizer among states.” The Philippines won a legal case against China’s claims in the South China Sea at a U.N. tribunal in 2016 but Beijing has so far refused to accept the ruling. The two countries have recently been embroiled in a new spat over their sovereignty in some of the islands in the Spratly archipelago. “As the old adage goes, good fences make good neighbors,” Galvez said. “It is only when neighbors have clear boundaries and respect for set boundaries that relations remain genuinely amicable,” the acting defense secretary said. Indonesia’s Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto said it is “imperative for us to overcome our geopolitical rivalries, our territorial disputes through dialogues, negotiations and win-win solutions.” “Compromise is the only way that communities and societies can prosper,” he said, warning that the rivalry between superpowers “has turned into a Cold War” and in any war, “the danger of a catastrophe is always near.” U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin is attending the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue for the third time this year. Credit: Reuters/Caroline Chia U.S. Defense Secretary Austin, however, insisted that his country “does not seek a new Cold War.” “Competition must never spill over into conflict. And the region should never be split into hostile blocs,” he said. Austin said Washington is not creating nor willing to create a new NATO in the Indo-Pacific as China has repeatedly alleged. Yet the U.S. wishes to build “nimble coalitions to advance our shared vision” in order to make the Indo-Pacific “more stable and more resilient,” Austin said. Washington lists Australia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Philippines, and Thailand as its “staunch allies” in the region and sees India, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Singapore as “valued partners.” Speaking about self-ruled Taiwan, Austin said his country “remains deeply committed to preserving the status quo there, consistent with our longstanding one-China policy, and with fulfilling our well-established obligations under the Taiwan Relations Act.” “Conflict is neither imminent nor inevitable. Deterrence is strong today, and it’s our job to keep it that way,” the secretary stated. Beijing considers Taiwan a Chinese province and resolutely protests against any involvement by “external forces” in the island’s politics. China Defense Minister Li Shangfu, left, listens to Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese deliver a keynote address during the opening dinner for the 20th Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, June 2, 2023. Credit: AP Photo/Vincent Thian Lt. Gen. Jing Jianfeng, deputy chief of the Central Military Commission’s Joint Staff Department, hit back at Lloyd Austin’s speech about Taiwan, saying it was “completely wrong.” “There’s only one China in the world, and Taiwan is a sacred and inalienable part of Chinese territory,” Jing said, adding that “it is the common aspiration and sacred responsibility of all Chinese people, including our Taiwan compatriots, to complete the reunification of the motherland.” China’s counterattack A researcher at People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Academy of Military Sciences, Senior Col. Zhao Xiaozhuo, said that it is the U.S. who has been trying to change the status quo in the Taiwan Strait. “The Taiwan Strait was pretty stable in the last ten years or so but the U.S. wants to destroy this stability,” Zhao told reporters at the Shangri-La Dialogue. “That way they can sell weapons to Taiwan and make a lot of money,” he said. Chinese participants at the security forum in Singapore have taken a proactive approach to counter criticism from the U.S. and its allies. Senior Col. Zhao said that Washington needs to change what he calls “erroneous actions” in the way it interacts with others. “When it comes to dialogue you have to take care of…

Guards beat prison inmates to death in Myanmar’s Bago region, sources say

Editor2 years ago03 mins

Guards have severely beaten and interrogated 24 inmates of a prison in Myanmar’s eastern Bago region, according to sources close to the prison. Three of the inmates of Kyaik Sa Kaw Prison in Daik-U township were beaten to death according to one source, while others – in critical condition – were put in a dark room without food for four days. The interrogations were held over several days starting May 25. The source, who wished to remain anonymous for safety reasons, said the prisoners were accused of communicating with members of the Bago People’s Defense Force who are sheltering in territory controlled by the powerful Karen National Union ethnic organization. “They were beaten and interrogated for having connections with the armed group,” said the source. “They couldn’t say no. How could they have any contact from prison?” The source said the prison authorities have not yet informed the families of the three prisoners believed to have died. Others close to the prison identified one of the dead as Thant Zin Win. He was in charge of training and recruiting people for the Bago township People’s Defense Force. He was arrested along with other members of the anti-junta militia on December 14, 2022. Thant Zin Win was charged with breaking several sections of the Counter-Terrorism Law and sentenced to 80 years in prison, according to a Bago People’s Defense Force statement on Saturday. Sources close to the prison speculated that the interrogations took place in retaliation for a prison break at Taungoo in Bago region on May 18. Inmates grabbed guns from prison guards and nine managed to escape into the jungle where they were met by members of a local People’s Defense Force. RFA called Prison Department spokesman Naing Win on Wednesday to find out details of the alleged beatings and deaths but no one answered. Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Mike Firn.

Intense clashes in Myanmar’s Chin, Shan states leaves 19 dead

Editor2 years ago08 mins

Intense fighting between the military and anti-junta forces in Myanmar’s Chin and Shan states since the weekend left 19 dead, including four civilians, RFA Burmese has learned. The clashes, which killed an 11-year-old boy and left a dozen civilians injured, are the latest to erupt in two areas known as hotbeds of resistance to military rule since the Feb. 1, 2021, coup d’etat. Salai James, the chairman of the anti-junta Zofe Chin Defense Force, told RFA that a battle broke out between his paramilitaries and military troops in the Chin townships of Hakha and Thantlang on May 28. Over the course of two days, he said, junta troops fired heavy artillery on CDF positions with support from four fighter jets and a military helicopter. “The junta’s heavy artillery hit the edge of Hakah town, which is close to their artillery base,” Salai James said. “Eleven anti-junta fighters have been killed by their airstrikes so far, but we haven’t been able to retrieve all of their bodies yet as we are still fighting.” The bodies of only seven of the 11 dead CDF fighters had been retrieved as of Tuesday, he added. A Hakha CDF official, who declined to be named for security reasons, said that the fighting is “continuing to intensify” as the junta forces seek to regain territory between Hakha and Thantlang, which is currently controlled by a joint force of Chin defense groups. “They haven’t been able to operate safely in Hakha and Thantlang – that’s why they regularly attack those areas,” he said. “When their ground troops can’t beat the resistance forces, they use their air power to attack us.” Undated photos of anti-junta medics who died in junta attacks, from left; Angela, John Bosco, Caroline Khine Lin and Mya Htwe. Credit: Karenni Revolutionary Union Fighting between the two sides continued on Tuesday, residents of the two townships said. Since the coup, the junta has launched nearly 80 aerial attacks on Chin state, killing 64 people, including members of anti-junta local defense forces, according to a May 22 statement issued by the Institute of Chin Affairs. Shan fighting Fierce fighting also was reported in eastern Shan state, when a joint force of ethnic Karenni resistance groups battled junta troops in the townships of Pekon and Pinlaung, according to anti-junta groups. On May 27, junta troops “randomly fired heavy artillery” into Pinlaung’s Moe Bye village in an attack against members of the anti-junta Moe Bye People’s Defense Forces, killing an 11-year-old boy and injuring four civilians, Banyar, the director of the Karenni Human Rights Organization said Tuesday. “This kind of attack isn’t a one-off occurrence – the junta plans and attacks this way in many different places, knowingly firing at the civilian population,” he said. “This is not only a war crime but also a crime against humanity.” The Moe Bye PDF confirmed details of the battle, which was fought intermittently from May 27-29, in a statement issued on Monday. Additionally, four medics from an anti-junta unit based in neighboring Kayah state’s Demoso township were killed while treating the injured during the fighting in Shan state, the Karenni Revolutionary Union rebel group said in a statement on Sunday. The dead included Caroline Khine Lin, Angela, Mya Htwe and John Bosco – all between the ages of 17 and 23, the KRU said. Myanmar junta chief Min Aung Hlaing oversees a military display at a parade to mark the country’s Independence Day in Naypyidaw on January 4, 2023. Min Aung Hlaing declared at the Armed Forces Day ceremony in March, that the military would completely destroy NUG, PDF and the organizations supporting them. Credit: AFP And at around 4:00 a.m. on Sunday, junta forces launched a series of airstrikes on an area of Moe Bye where civilians had taken shelter from the fighting, injuring four people and damaging three homes, according to the Moe Bye People’s Defense Force. In a May 1 statement, the rebel Progressive Karenni People’s Force said that there have been at least 663 clashes in southern Shan state and neighboring Kayah state between the coup and April 30, 2023. The junta has yet to issue a statement on the fighting in Chin and Shan states and attempts by RFA to contact junta Deputy Information Minister Major Gen. Zaw Min Tun went unanswered Tuesday. The clashes follow a vow by junta chief Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing on Armed Forces Day in March to eradicate the shadow National Unity Government, the anti-junta People’s Defense Force paramilitary group, and the organizations that support them. Translated by Myo Min Aung. Edited by Joshua Lipes and Malcolm Foster.

Why the Philippines is deploying navigation buoys in the South China Sea

Editor2 years ago09 mins

Earlier this month, the Philippine Coast Guard deployed five 30-foot navigational buoys near islands and reefs within its territory in the South China Sea, saying the move highlighted the nation’s “unwavering resolve to protect its maritime borders.” Within two weeks, China had deployed three navigational buoys of its own, positioning two near Manila’s beacons at Irving Reef and Whitsun Reef, to ensure “safety of navigation.” The tit-for-tat deployments signaled a new front in a long-running dispute over sovereignty of the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, one of the world’s most important sea trade routes that is considered a flashpoint for conflict in the Asia-Pacific. But the buoys also underscored an increasingly proactive approach by the Philippines in enforcing its maritime rights, analysts say. “Such a move illustrates Manila’s awareness of the changing nature of regional geopolitics,” said Don McLain Gill, a Manila-based geopolitical analyst and lecturer at De La Salle University. “The Philippines also recognizes that no other external entity can effectively endorse its legitimate interests other than itself.” The Philippines deployed five 30-foot navigational buoys near islands and reefs within its territory between May 10 and 12. Credit: Philippine Coast Guard/Reuters China claims nearly all of the South China Sea and has for years militarized artificial islands, while deploying coast guard boats and a state-backed armed fishing fleet around disputed areas. In 2016, an international tribunal ruled in favor of Manila and against Beijing’s expansive historical claims to the region, but China has since refused to acknowledge the ruling. The Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, Vietnam and Taiwan all have claims in the sea — and Manila’s buoy deployment prompted an official protest from Hanoi. Since taking office in June last year, Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has been more vocal in condemning China’s aggressive actions in the region and has restored traditional military ties with the United States. Raymond Powell, the South China Sea lead at Stanford University’s Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation, said the recent deployment of buoys showed the Philippines’ newfound determination to “proactively assert its maritime interests.” ‘A war of buoys’ While Marcos Jr. was praised by some for the deployment, others have criticized the move as needlessly provocative. Filipino security analyst Rommel Banlaoi said the unilateral action heightened security tensions and could have “unintended negative consequences.” “What the Philippines did was problematic because the international community recognizes the South China Sea as disputed waters,” said Banlaoi, who chairs the advisory board of the China Studies Center at New Era University’s School of International Relations. “This might trigger a war of buoys,” he said in an interview last week with local radio station DZBB. The Philippines National Security Adviser Eduardo Año said the deployment of buoys was meant to enforce the 2016 arbitral ruling in the Hague. “This is not a provocation. What we call provocations are those who conduct dangerous maneuvering, laser pointing, blocking our vessels, harassing our fishermen,” he told reporters in an interview, referring to recent Chinese actions in the South China Sea. Jay Batongbacal, director of the University of the Philippines Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea, said the installation of the buoys demonstrated the Philippines was exercising jurisdiction over its waters for purposes of improving navigational safety. “Such buoys are harmless devices that warn all other ships of potential hazards and should in no way be regarded as provocative or threatening,” Batongbacal told BenarNews. He asked why critics were silent about China building artificial islands, installing anti-air and anti-ship missiles, and deploying missile boats and large coast guard vessels that actively interfere with Philippine boats in its maritime territory. Angering Vietnam Not only did the buoy deployment set off another round of recriminations between Beijing and Manila, it also triggered a rebuke from Vietnam, which claims parts of the Spratly Islands as its own. When asked about Manila’s action, Vietnamese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Pham Thu Hang said Hanoi “strongly opposes all acts violating Vietnam’s sovereign rights.” Analysts say, however, the spat is unlikely to escalate, as Vietnam has far bigger issues to deal with in terms of China’s incursions into its territorial waters. A Chinese survey ship, escorted by China Coast Guard and maritime militia, was found lingering within Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone for several days from May 7, often within fifty nautical miles of its southern coast. Workers prepare a navigational buoy for deployment in the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone in the South China Sea on May 15, 2023. Credit: Philippine Coast Guard/Reuters Powell said the incursions were “much more provocative than the Philippines’ buoys.” “I think Vietnam’s pro-forma protest over the latter will be noted and largely forgotten, both in Hanoi and in Manila,” Powell told BenarNews. Vietnam’s reaction to the Philippines’ move was natural “due to its potential political ramifications at the domestic level,” said Gill. But he added that Southeast Asian nations had a track record of settling maritime disputes in an amicable manner. In 2014, for example, the Philippines and Indonesia settled a maritime border dispute after two decades of negotiations by using international law, particularly the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. “Unlike China, Southeast Asian countries have illustrated a rather positive track record of being able to compromise and solve bilateral tensions between and among each other given the countries’ collective desire to maintain stability in the region,” Gill said. BenarNews is an RFA-affiliated news service.

Cyclone Mocha: Before and After

Editor2 years ago04 mins

Myanmar’s Sittwe University is seen Nov. 12, 2022 [left] and May 18, 2023. Credit: Google Earth [left]; Planet Labs Cyclone Mocha hit Myanmar’s coast on May 14 with sustained winds reaching over 220 kilometers per hour (137 mph). Hundreds of Rohingya Muslims were killed when the storm tore through western Myanmar’s Rakhine state, according to RFA reporting. Villagers gather materials to rebuild in Kyay Taw Paik Seik five days after Cyclone Mocha. (Photo: RFA) A view of the few remaining structures in Kyay Taw Paik Seik in the aftermath of the storm. (Photo: RFA) Some 130,000 Rohingya have lived for more than a decade in internally displaced persons camps in and around Sittwe, the capital of Rakhine. The camps are poorly funded by the junta and run by volunteer groups. The village of Dar Paing Ywar Thit in Myanmar is seen April 14, 2023 [left] and May 21, 2023. Credit: Maxar Technologies [left]; Planet Labs The Dar Paing camp for internally displaced Rohingya in Sittwe was among the hardest hit by Cyclone Mocha in Rakhine state. (Photo: Citizen Journalist) Residents of Dar Paing navigate roads flooded by Cyclone Mocha. (Photo: Citizen Journalist) Nearly 1 million Rohingya were forced to leave their homes in Rakhine state following a military crackdown against the Muslim-minority in 2017. About 740,000 fled to Bangladesh and live in Cox’s Bazar, also hit hard by Cyclone Mocha. The village of Bay Dar in Myanmar is seen Nov. 12, 2022 [left] and May 21, 2023. Cyclone Mocha cut a new inlet, seen on the right side of the photo, allowing the sea to pour in and leaving the village on a peninsula. Credit: Maxar Technologies [left]; Planet Labs Another camp for internally displaced Rohingya in Sittwe known as Bay Dar Rohingya Village also sustained heavy damage from Mocha. (Photo: RFA) Wooden dwellings in Bay Dar were reduced to piles of debris by the storm. (Photo: RFA) Residents of Bay Dar salvage what they can of their belongings three days after the cyclone made landfall. (Photo: RFA) While the death toll was significantly lower in other parts of Sittwe, damage from the storm was substantial. In villages such as Kyay Taw Paik Seik, aid workers say residents are in urgent need of shelters and drinking water, as sea water has mixed in with most of the reservoirs from the flooding that followed the storm. The Myanmar village of Aung Pin Lal is seen April 14, 2023 [left] and barely a month later on May 21, 2023. Credit: Maxar Technologies [left]; Planet Labs

Malaysia’s Mahathir says Russia may take nuclear option

Editor2 years ago06 mins

The world is facing the grim prospect of a nuclear war as the Ukrainian conflict drags on, a former Asian leader has warned. “I don’t think you can make Russia surrender,” said former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad about the ongoing Ukraine war on Friday – the second day of the Future of Asia conference hosted by the Nikkei news group in Tokyo. “They will fight to the end, and in desperation they may resort to the use of nuclear weapons,” said the former statesman who will be 98 in July, adding that not only Ukraine and Russia, but “the whole world will suffer.” Mahathir served as Malaysia’s prime minister from 1981 to 2003 and again from 2018 to 2020. “Nuclear war is the worst kind of war because of the extent of destruction it causes,” he said, reflecting on the end of World War II when two atomic bombs were dropped on Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. A summit of Group of Seven (G7) of the world’s most developed nations was held in Hiroshima last week. “It seems that G7 countries went to Hiroshima trying to persuade the Global South that they should support the West’s efforts in the Ukraine war,” Mahathir said. The Global South is a term generally used for less developed countries in Latin America, Africa, Asia and Oceania, as opposed to more prosperous nations in the Global North including North America, Europe, and Australia, as well as several rich Asian countries like Japan, South Korea and Singapore. “We should not get involved in wars,” the former leader said before criticizing what he called “the mindset of some countries.” “Global North thinks that war is a solution to conflicts between nations,” Mahathir said. “Russia and the West were partners in the war against Germany,” he said, “but immediately after the war the West decided that their new enemy is Russia so they set up NATO.” ‘World government’ The rivalry between the world’s two superpowers China and the U.S. once again was highlighted at the Future of Asia event, in its 28th year this year. Sri Lanka’s President Ranil Wickremesinghe said on Thursday that his country “welcomes the G7’s announcement that they are prepared to build a stable and constructive relationship with China.” Singapore Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong went further adding: “Any attempt either to contain China’s rise or to limit America’s presence in the region will have few takers. Nobody wants to see a new cold war.” Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad (right) at a Q&A session at the Future of Asia conference, May 26, 2023. Credit: RFA/Screenshot from livestream For his part, Mahathir Mohamad urged Asian countries that they “should not take sides to support either the U.S. or China.” “We should support the world that includes the U.S., China and the rest.” “We should free ourselves from the influences by the West both in the economic and political fields,” said the former leader, known for his anti-Western rhetoric. In his opinion, the United Nations as an organization needs to be restructured in order to lead global efforts in dealing with common world problems such as climate change, pandemics and consequences of wars. “We should think of a common approach to deal with world problems, through a kind of world government,” he said. Future of Asia, held by Japan’s Nikkei annually since 1995, is “an international gathering where political, economic, and academic leaders from the Asia-Pacific region offer their opinions frankly and freely on regional issues and the role of Asia in the world.” This year’s theme is ‘Leveraging Asia’s power to confront global challenges.’ Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida delivered a speech Thursday saying Tokyo is “focused on co-creating the future” with its Asian partners. Edited by Mike Firn.

A new big brother for Laos?

Editor2 years ago01 mins

The Friendship Shield 2023 war games brought 200 Chinese troops and 700 Lao soldiers together for three weeks near the Lao capital Vientiane for joint military exercises. The drills between the two Communist states gave troops from impoverished, land-locked Laos firsthand experience using modern Chinese weapons, opening the way for the Southeast Asian country to replace its Soviet-era and Russian military supplies. Neighboring Vietnam, Laos’ biggest traditional ally, is believed to be watching the Sino-Lao relationship warily, while the U.S. is also concerned about China’s expanding military influence.

Category: ASEAN