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Category: ASEAN

Myanmar military shells Bago region townships, injuring 8 civilians

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Junta heavy artillery attacks on two townships in central Myanmar’s Bago region have injured eight people, including a child, according to the Karen National Union. The political group which represents ethnic Karen issued a statement Monday, saying a four-year-old child and three women were hurt by shells in Kyauktaga township the previous day. Troops stationed near the township fired four shells at Ka Nyin Kyoe village, injuring four-year-old May Myat Noe Wai, 66-year-old San Htay, 52-year-old San San and 45-year-old Pyone Pyone Yi, according to locals who didn’t want to be named for safety reasons. They said San Htay was critically injured and five houses were destroyed in the attack. In another attack on Saturday, a 40-year-old woman and three 25-year-old men were injured when troops stationed in Nyaunglebin township fired three shells at Kyoe Gyi village, according to the KNU. It said seven houses were destroyed by heavy artillery. The majority of ethnic Karen who live in the region are Christian. An artillery attack on Aug. 20 destroyed one of their churches in Kyaukkyi township, the KNU said. The junta has not issued a statement on the shelling. However, its regional spokesperson, Tin Oo, told Radio Free Asia that troops were trying to bring stability to the region because the KNU affiliated Karen National Liberation Army and local People’s Defense Forces had entered some townships in eastern Bago. He said the townships were now under the control of junta troops. Along with heavy artillery attacks, the junta has been carrying out airstrikes in the region. On Aug. 18, planes attacked Kyaukkyi township four times, killing one civilian and injuring four others, the KNU said. Nearly 100,000 residents of eastern Bago have been forced to flee their homes since the February 2021 coup, according to the United Nations. Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Mike Firn and Taejun Kang.

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Junta troops snatch villagers from monastery, kill 4

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Junta troops arrested six civilians who were sheltering in a monastery in Myanmar’s Sagaing region and killed four of them, locals told RFA Monday. They were among 35 people hiding there as junta troops raided Wetlet township’s Kyee Kan (north) village. Locals said troops shelled the village at dawn on Saturday before moving in. One man, who declined to be named for fear of reprisals, said troops released two of the six people they captured. “Four people were killed,” he said. “Among them Shwe Man Thu, who was in her twenties, was raped and killed at a mango farm between Kyee Kan (north) village and Hla Taw village.” RFA has been unable to independently confirm his claim. Pro-military Telegram chat group channels said the column that raided the village killed four members of an anti-junta People’s Defense Force. RFA’s calls to the region’s junta spokesperson, Tin Than Win, went unanswered Monday. Displaced people on the rise Raids on townships in Sagaing region since the Feb. 2021 coup have left more than 800,000 people homeless according to the U.N. In Ye-U township, 100 kilometers (62 miles) north of Wetlet, more than 20,000 people are in need of emergency food and medical supplies according to the information officer from a local militia. Htoo Khant Zaw from the People’s Defense Comrades said that’s how many people have lost their homes in the township since the coup, and are now living in makeshift tents in their villages. “More than 20,000 people affected by the fires are facing a crisis of living and food shortages,” he said. “Although the township humanitarian group and other social groups are helping on the ground, not everyone from the 51 villages has received enough assistance. The main need is food.” He said 3,429 houses were destroyed by junta arson attacks, along with churches, monasteries, shops and other buildings.  Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Mike Firn and Taejun Kang.

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INTERVIEW: ‘All we see is an increase in violence’

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Nicholas Koumjian is the chief of the United Nations Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar, or IIMM, which earlier this month said that it had collected “strong evidence” that the junta and its affiliate militias are committing “increasingly frequent and brazen war crimes” in the country. Among the crimes mentioned in the agency’s annual report were what it called “indiscriminate or disproportionate attacks on civilians from aerial bombing,” as well as an increase in the “mass executions of civilians and detained combatants, and the large-scale and intentional burning of civilian homes and buildings.” RFA Burmese’s Ye Kaung Myint Maung recently spoke with Koumjian about the report’s findings and ongoing efforts to bring junta perpetrators of the crimes it documents to justice. The following interview has been edited for length and clarity. Nicholas Koumjian, seen in 2012, is the chief of the UN’s Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar. Credit: Evert Jan Daniels/Pool/AFP RFA: IIMM has released its latest report on the atrocities and rights violations committed by the military this year. What do you think are the most significant findings in the report? Koumjian: I think for me, the most significant findings are that the number of crimes and the seriousness of the crimes only continues to grow … We’ve seen the number of victims in the violence since the coup growing each year, each month. And the report particularly points to evidence of crimes involving aerial bombardment of areas where civilians are present. That resulted in many casualties, including casualties among children. [The report] also talks about the increasing numbers of individuals under arrest or detention, crimes of torture in detention, sexual violence in detention. And we’ve seen incidents where the military has gone into captured areas and executed those captured, who include combatants, but also civilians. RFA: So based on your findings and the evidence, what do you think the future holds for the regime and the conflicts in Myanmar? Koumjian: Unfortunately, all we see is an increase in the violence. And unfortunately, we also see a growing trend to disobey the basic principles of international law. That is, in conflicts, the armed forces are required to only target other combatants and not civilians. But we’ve seen increasing numbers of civilians targeted. And this is of great concern to us, and we’re collecting that evidence. Charred homes are seen in Mwe Tone village of Pale township in Myanmar’s Sagaing region, Feb. 1, 2022, after an arson attack by junta forces. Credit: AP Holding leaders accountable RFA: Has the IIMM found any significant evidence that shows the top military leaders giving orders to commit these atrocities? Koumjian: Always the most difficult part of an investigation is showing the linkage to show who is responsible for crimes, particularly top leaders, because they’re normally not present where the crimes occur, but still they could be held responsible. And the evidence that in the past, in other cases, has led to convictions is not always limited to orders given or written orders given, because it’s very rare that you actually find these written orders given. But sometimes the evidence can be clear from the fact that crimes continue to happen with no change in the forces that it is the commanders who are perpetrating these crimes, the forces that are sent on assignments … Commanders can also be held responsible for failing to prevent crimes and failing to punish crimes. So we’ll also look at evidence regarding whether or not, when crimes occurred, did the commanders properly investigate those crimes and did they properly take all reasonable steps to prevent them from happening again. RFA: As an expert in this area, do you think you have found anything to implicate the top leader’s involvement in these atrocities? Koumjian: Of course, ultimately it will be up to a court that would, we hope, someday hear any charges that are filed … But we are collecting very serious evidence. A school bag lies next to dried blood stains on the floor of a middle school in Let Yet Kone village in Tabayin township in Myanmar’s Sagaing region, Sept. 17, 2022, the day after a junta airstrike. Credit: AP Crimes by other groups RFA: Did you also find any evidence with regard to the crimes committed by groups other than the military, such as the anti-junta [People’s Defense Force] resistance groups and ethnic armies? Koumjian: Our mandate is to investigate crimes committed in Myanmar that rise to a certain level. And it’s regardless of what ethnicity or religion or the politics or the perpetrators or the victims. So we do look at crimes committed by other groups. And we are collecting evidence of that. We’re also very concerned with some of the reports of assassinations by PDFs and other groups of individuals who appear to be noncombatants. It’s a basic principle of the laws of war. You cannot target someone unless they are combatants. Civilians cannot be targeted. So there are issues about whether these crimes fall into our mandate, whether they fall into the category of international crimes. But we’re looking at that and we’re watching carefully.

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Family celebrates as Lao man who lost contact while working in Malaysia returns home

Editor05 mins

A Lao rubber plantation worker who was jailed for a year in Malaysia and was presumed dead by relatives returned home to his family in Laos’ Attapeu province this week. Aloun Phommalath, 24, worked on plantations in Malaysia for four years before he was arrested on drug charges in August 2021.  He was released in late 2022, but relatives in Attapeu’s Sanamxay district didn’t know how to contact him. Phommalath lost his phone in jail and didn’t remember his family’s phone number. Family members told Radio Free Asia that they worried that the lack of contact meant he had died. But Phommalath eventually sent a letter to them through a co-worker who was on his way back to Laos. His family then sent a text message to RFA asking for assistance in bringing him home. An RFA reporter then emailed the Lao Embassy in Malaysia alerting them to Phommalath’s situation. Phommalath returned to Laos on Wednesday. “We are so happy. Nothing compares. It’s like he’s born again,” his brother said. “I never dreamed that he would return home after we lost contact with him for so long.” One of Phommalath’s sisters said she ran toward the airplane after it landed and wheeled to the terminal.  “All relatives came to visit when he returned home,” another sister said. “All of them asked why he was so fat and dark. They have been waiting for him to come home for a long time.” An official from the Lao Embassy told RFA that Phommalath’s criminal case was related to the drug “Kratom,” an herbal substance that can produce opioid- and stimulant-like effects. He was jailed for one year, the official said. Exploitation risk The Lao Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare estimated last year that about 2,000 Laotians had traveled illegally to Malaysia for jobs in the fishing industry.  During the pandemic, 700 Lao migrants returned home from Malaysia, but most eventually went back once economic conditions in Laos worsened due in part to high inflation, the ministry said. Though the pay is sometimes better there than what they could earn in Laos, illegal migrants are often exploited by their employers, a Lao fisherman who has been working in Malaysia’s Pahang state told RFA on condition of anonymity for safety reasons. To ensure their rights are protected, the Lao government is working on finding ways for more migrants to go to Malaysia legally. Despite the risks, Malaysia is attractive to migrants because it is a relatively easy country to work in, the fisherman said. “The main reason so many choose to come here is because we don’t have money. Most of us don’t even have enough to make a passport,” he said. Translated by Sidney Khotpanya. Edited by Matt Reed.

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Trafficked Lao teen says new rules include beatings if caught texting

Editor04 mins

Dozens of Lao teens trapped in a Myanmar scam compound since last year are seeing even their scant lines of communication narrowing following grave new threats from their captors.  The mother of one of the trafficked teens told RFA that her daughter’s last message said anyone caught using a cellphone would be beaten 50 times with an iron bar and tied to a tree during working hours for five days.  Parents of the teenagers, who were trafficked to a Chinese-owned casino in Myanmar and forced to participate in cyber scams, have long called on Lao authorities for aid in releasing their children. Authorities have previously told RFA that access is impossible due to ongoing conflict between Myanmar junta forces and the Karen National Liberation Army fighting an insurgency against the military regime.  “What could we do to help our children be released from that place as we’ve waited for one year already?” the mother asked RFA. Dozens of teenagers and youth from Luang Namtha province in Laos were trafficked to “Casino Kosai” in Myawaddy on Myanmar’s eastern border with Thailand last year.  There, the Laotians and scores of other young workers from the Philippines, China and elsewhere have been forced to work upwards of 16 hours a day. If they fail to dupe an unsuspecting “lonely heart” into parting with sufficient funds, they face harassment, beatings and electric shocks. The texts from the girl, who last month was beaten until she collapsed, also suggest that Chinese police have made moves to curtail some criminal activity at the casino — but only among their own citizens. While the information could not be corroborated, the mother told RFA her daughter reported that Chinese authorities arrived this week to arrest Chinese workers, though the scam compound is still in operation.   Kearrin Sims, a senior lecturer at James Cook University who has researched crime in Laos, said the government could be doing far more to prevent “large-scale domestic trafficking.” “It is horrific that these vulnerable young people are being subjected to such violence and that Lao authorities are unable or unwilling to rescue them and to prevent the trafficking from occurring,” he wrote in an email.   “Some form of diplomatic intervention by the Lao government is needed. We are unlikely to know what form that takes, and the government is unlikely to even acknowledge that such efforts have been made, but certainly it could request assistance from China in rescuing the victims. Perhaps that has already (unsuccessfully) happened with regard to the recent intervention by Chinese police.” Translated by Sidney Khotpanya for RFA Lao. Additional reporting by Abby Seiff. 

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Philippine officials release footage of sea standoff, as senator pushes for inquiry

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A senator called Wednesday for an inquiry into how the Philippines could strengthen control of its South China Sea territory, as the coast guard released footage from a standoff between Filipino and Chinese ships in disputed waters a day earlier.  The videos showed a convoy of Philippine boats and ships as they maneuvered past the China Coast Guard while sailing on a resupply mission to a remote military outpost in Ayungin Shoal (Second Thomas Shoal) in the Spratly Islands.  Two Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) ships, the BRP Cabra and BRP Sindangan, escorted the convoy. They had arranged a rendezvous with civilian boats contracted by the military on Monday before setting off for Ayungin Shoal the following day, Commander Jay Tarriela said.   The PCG spokesman challenged Chinese claims that its ships allowed the supply mission to proceed peacefully, and said that when the Philippine ships were within 2.5 nautical miles of reaching the shoal “we experienced dangerous maneuvers by four China Coast Guard vessels backed by four Chinese maritime militia.  “They executed different ways for the Philippine Coast Guard to be separated from the supply boats so that they would be able to prevent (them) from entering the shoal,” Tarriela told reporters.  Also on Wednesday, Sen. Risa Hontiveros alleged that the People’s Republic of China had continued to militarize portions of the West Philippine Sea, despite international condemnation. Manila uses that name for South China Sea waters that lie within its territory. During a speech in the Senate, Hontiveros called “for an inquiry, in aid of legislation, into further capacitating and empowering the Philippine Coast Guard to enable it to carry out its primary mission of enforcing Philippine law and upholding national sovereignty within the country’s maritime zones, particularly the West Philippine Sea.” China’s actions, she said, had led to an “unprecedented challenge to the Philippine Coast Guard’s primary mission of enforcing Philippine law, maintaining the country’s sovereignty and upholding vital national interests. In Beijing on Wednesday, China’s foreign ministry called on the Philippines “to immediately stop any actions that may complicate the situation on the ground.  “Let me stress that in response to what the Philippines did, China Coast Guard took necessary law enforcement action in accordance with the law,” ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said.  Tuesday’s incident followed one about two weeks ago where the China Coast Guard fired water cannons at the BRP Sierra Madre, a World War II-era ship deliberately run aground by the Philippines to serve as its military outpost in Ayungin Shoal.  The shoal is about 200 km (124 miles) from the western Philippine island of Palawan, and more than 1,000 km (621 miles) from China’s nearest major landmass, Hainan island. “Now, it has become clear that China has her eye on Ayungin Shoal. The water cannons, the military laser, the removal of a naval gun cover – all these severe provocations were against Philippine vessels making their way to Ayungin,” Hontiveros told the Senate on Wednesday. “China is actively blocking these missions because she does not want any further reinforcement to our most defiant sovereign marker in the West Philippine Sea, the BRP Sierra Madre.” Videos On Wednesday, Tarriela presented a video that showed a China Coast Guard ship blocking a Philippine Coast Guard ship from entering the shoal.  A second Chinese ship was positioned to intercept the Filipinos in case they got through the first cordon, the video showed.  “There are also other videos that we have showing that our supply boats were being blocked by China Coast Guard vessels and the four Chinese maritime militia,” he said.  “Well, this time our game plan really was to outmaneuver the China Coast Guard vessels … and make sure that the supply boats would be successful in entering the shoal,” Tarriela said.    A U.S. Navy plane flies over the Ayungin Shoal during a Philippine resupply mission to the BRP Sierra Madre, Aug. 22, 2023. Credit: Aaron Favila/AP     The Chinese ships issued radio challenges and warnings that said Beijing had “indisputable sovereignty” over the sea region, according to officials. The Chinese ships said they were allowing the Philippine Coast Guard and the supply boats to pass through “in the spirit of humanism.”  “[W]e don’t need permission from the People’s Republic of China and Ayungin Shoal is within our exclusive economic zone. We have the sovereign right over these waters,” Tarriela said. “Secondly, it is not true that they are humane or extended humanitarian assistance.” Journalists who traveled with the Philippine Coast Guard on Tuesday posted photos of a U.S. Navy P-8 Poseidon patrol and reconnaissance plane flying overhead during the resupply mission.  In Washington on Wednesday, officials at the Pentagon did not immediately respond to a BenarNews request for comment about the flight. On Monday, U.S., Australian and Philippine troops held an air assault drill in Rizal town, in the western island province of Palawan, about 108 nautical miles from Ayungin Shoal. BenarNews is an Ijreportika-affiliated online news organization.

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India pushes back hundreds of Myanmar refugees fleeing fighting

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India has pushed back at least 300 hundred Burmese refugees who spilled across the border while fleeing fighting between Myanmar’s military and rebel forces, forcing them to shelter in makeshift tents near the border, refugees and aid workers said.  More than 1,000 residents of Tamu township, in northern Myanmar’s Sagaing region, fled to India’s Manipur state in July and August to escape the hostilities, only to have Indian soldiers turn them back, the sources said. The hundreds of refugees living in tents in Indian villages near the border are facing food and supply shortages, a refugee from Tamu who was among them told Ijreportika. Indian troops drove the Burmese refugees out of the villages after two or three days, forcing them to seek shelter near the Myanmar side of the border, he said. “We are currently in need of rainfly sheets to build tents and many other supplies,” he said. Burmese and Indian authorities. meanwhile, have shut down a key border crossing in the area. Altogether, about 5,000 Burmese refugees from Tamu township have sought shelter in Manipur state due to the fighting, said Salai Dokhar, founder of India For Myanmar, a group that helps Burmese refugees in India.  They are among about 50,000 Myanmar citizens who have fled to India since the military ousted Myanmar’s democratically elected government in a February 2021 coup. Bombings force villagers to flee Junta troops conducted nighttime aerial bombings of Boke Kan village in Tamu township on Aug. 18, prompting more than 500 residents and others from nearby communities to flee to adjacent Manipur. Similarly, on July 22, over 700 residents from Khampat, a 2,000-home township located about 8 kilometers (5 miles) southeast of the border with Manipur, fled across the border and into India because of a battle between junta forces and the resistance fighters. Manipur authorities have been collecting biometric data from Burmese refugees, raising fears that the data could be shared with the junta, Ijreportika reported earlier this month. Thang Sei, an official from the Burma Refugee Committee Kabaw Valley, which is helping the Burmese refugees, told Ijreportika that more than half of the refugees returned to Myanmar after a few days when fighting in Tamu stopped. They went to the town of Kalay and other villages in Sagaing, but since junta troops continue to clear the Tamu area, it is still impossible for refugees to return to their homes there, said the refugee who is sheltering on the border. Neither the Indian Embassy in Yangon nor the Myanmar Embassy in New Delhi, India, responded to Ijreportika’s requests for comment on the refugees. The Indian government should reconsider its decision to expel Burmese refugees, said Salai Dokhar.   “When Burmese people want good relations between Myanmar and India, this kind of action by India directly destroys our hopes for the future,” he said. “That is why Indian officials need to review the way they handle Burmese issues.” Translated by Myo Min Aung for Ijreportika Burmese. Edited by Roseanne Gerin and Malcolm Foster.

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Myanmar troops arrest 100 villagers, kill man in Magway region

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Junta troops arrested around 100 villagers in Myanmar’s Magway region, killing one man, locals told RFA Tuesday. Around 100 soldiers raided Shwe Lin Swea in Myaing township on Sunday after bombarding the village with heavy artillery. They arrested 40 men and around 60 women, setting most free the following day. Locals said they held onto four men and tortured them, killing one 50-year-old man. “There were four arrested including Htay Win but he was killed,” said a local who didn’t want to be named for fear of reprisals. “One man escaped … When he was asked to drive a bullock cart by the soldiers he released the bullocks, pretended to chase them and ran away.” The local said two men were still being held by the troops but he didn’t know their names. The troops took rice, oil, beans and cooking utensils from the villagers before heading to another village, according to another local who also requested anonymity for safety reasons. “The troops moved on to Let Htoke Taw village in the afternoon and grabbed things from the village and even from the monastery [and put them in] three trucks,” the local said.  “There is no one left in the village. The village was set on fire without anyone to defend [the houses].” Around 40 homes were burned in villages in Myaing township, Magway region on Aug. 21, 2023. Credit: Myaing Villages Revolutionary Front Another local said troops burned around 40 houses in Myaing township. He said nearly 1,700 residents of Shwe Lin Swea and Let Htoke villages fled ahead of the junta raids. Aung Zeya, leader of the Myaing Villages Revolutionary Front, told RFA local defense forces clashed with the troops on Sunday as they moved the stolen food to another village in the township but he didn’t say how many casualties there were on either side. The junta spokesperson for Magway region, Than Swe Win, said that he was not aware of the incident because he was on medical leave. More than 10,000 homes in Magway region have been burned down by the junta and affiliated militias since the Feb. 2021 coup, according to the independent research group Data for Myanmar. Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Mike Firn and Taejun Kang.

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Cambodia’s king calls on lawmakers, government to resolve their differences

Editor07 mins

In an opening speech to Cambodia’s newly elected parliament on Monday, King Norodom Sihamoni called on lawmakers and the government to reconcile their deep divisions, though political commentators and opposition officials say the effort will amount to naught. The July 23 elections, won by the ruling Cambodian People’s Party in a landslide, have been widely criticized by Western governments and opposition activists because authorities kept the main opposition Candlelight Party from participating on a technicality. Three days after the election, Prime Minister Hun Sen – who has ruled the country since 1985 – announced he would step down and hand power to his eldest son, army chief Hun Manet.  The king, who has served as the head of the country’s constitutional monarchy since October 2004, issued a royal message calling on members of the National Assembly and the government to forge national reconciliation and adhere to the four Brahmanical principles of Buddhism. Norodom Sihamoni said he expected the new government to win the trust of the National Assembly to develop and strengthen the comprehensive social protection system for Cambodian citizens. A high degree of unity and solidarity would ensure the strong existence of a national identity, promote socioeconomic development and boost morality for the harmony of society, the king said.  “On this great occasion, I wish the 7th National Assembly to run smoothly and carry out its role with a responsible conscience in order to achieve new successes for the common good of the motherland,” the king told the 125 lawmakers, all of whom except five were from the ruling Cambodian People’s Party or CCP. The others were from Funcinpec led by Prince Norodom Chakravuth, the king’s nephew. Hun Sen, former National Assembly President Heng Samrin, and Interior Minister Sar Kheng also were in attendance.  ‘Fake’ election  Political analysts and opposition officials said the king’s speech reflected his view that the country’s political divisions would harm the nation, though the situation would not likely change. Um Sam An, a senior official from the banned Cambodia National Rescue Party, or CNRP, said the king’s remarks were intended to guide the new government and lawmakers back onto a democratic path for the benefit of society following what he called “fake” elections.  The CNRP official also said that the king was likely dissatisfied with the leadership of the previous one-party government, which often persecuted dissidents and opposition groups. “He warned the deputies to be kind and treat the people well,” Um Sam An said, adding that the political crisis in Cambodia has gotten worse with the holding of “fake” elections this year and in 2018. “So, he understands that democracy and respect for human rights will only get worse in Cambodia,” said Um Sam An. Hun Sen dissolved the opposition CNRP in 2017 and later prevented the party’s leader, Sam Rainsy, from returning to Cambodia to stand trial on charges that rights groups said were politically motivated. Political commentator Kim Sok condemned the new government, saying it was born of fraudulent elections.  “This illegitimate government and parliament face a huge reaction from the international community, the reaction of the people who will protest around the world,” he said. “And in the face of both economic and social crises, poverty and unemployment will occur. All these crises weaken our country.” Knowing these prospects, the king has called for national unity, which is all his authority allows him to do, Kim Sok added. CCP spokesman Sok Eysan told Radio Free Asia that the king’s statement was a general message to people from all walks of life, not a reference to the new government or the National Assembly. He also said that national unity depended on the attitude of the opposition.  Patrick Murphy, the U.S. ambassador to Cambodia, who attended the opening of the National Assembly, sent a positive message to the newly elected lawmakers. “As the new gov’t. begins its tenure, it can restore multi-party democracy, end political convictions, and allow independent media to reopen & function without interference, he tweeted. Translated by Sokry Sum for Ijreportika Khmer. Edited by Roseanne Gerin and Malcolm Foster.

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Pacific island countries facing faster sea level rise, UN says

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The low-lying Pacific islands face severe threats due to rising sea levels, which are increasing quicker than anticipated, while heightened temperatures impact marine habitats, according to a new U.N. meteorological body report. The Pacific region is experiencing an approximate increase of 4 millimeters of sea level rise annually in certain regions, which is higher than the worldwide average of 3.4 mm per year, the World Meteorological Organization, or WMO, said in its 2022 State of the Climate report released on Friday. The Pacific islands most vulnerable to this rising sea level include nations such as Kiribati, Tuvalu, the Marshall Islands, and the Maldives. These low-lying nations, often no more than a few meters above sea level, are alarmingly at the forefront of this crisis. Their unique geographies and limited land mass make them especially susceptible to even the slightest increase in sea level, threatening their very existence and the livelihoods of their residents. Separately, the report added that ocean heat and acidification threaten vulnerable marine ecosystems and their way of life. It said that weather-related disasters and climate change impacts are posing socio-economic risks and effects on key sectors like agriculture in the South-West Pacific region, which comprises all countries between Malaysia and Kiribati. The ocean absorbs over 90% of the surplus heat in our climate system, the WMO said, as the warming is responsible for about 40% of the average global sea-level increase due to the thermal expansion of seawater. It also impacts ocean currents and storm patterns. In 2022, the South-West Pacific experienced 35 recorded natural disasters that killed more than 700 people, with floods accounting for over 70% of these incidents, according to the report. These events impacted over 8 million individuals, inflicting an economic toll nearing U.S.$9 billion. In the Philippines and Fiji, storms were the predominant reason for the high death toll and the many affected individuals. A woman walks past a flooded market caused by monsoon rains and the recent typhoon Doksuri, in Balagtas, Bulacan province, Philippines, July 29, 2023. Credit: Reuters Even though the number of reported disaster events decreased in 2022, economic losses increased mainly due to a series of flooding events in Australia. Last year’s flood damage of U.S.$8.5 billion was over four times the 20-year average from 2002 to 2021. “Early warning is one of the most effective ways of reducing damage from disasters, as it empowers people to make risk-informed decisions for food security, as well as other sectors,” said WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas. “Despite continuous efforts to strengthen multi-hazard early warning systems, the present report clearly shows that there are still significant gaps to be addressed to strengthen these systems to reduce the adverse impacts of hydrometeorological hazards in the region.” El Nino this year might make it worse The WMO said the three-year-long La Nina event, from 2020 to the start of 2023, had a temporary cooling influence, though 2022 still ranks within the top ten warmest years for the region, with the mean temperature of 0.2 to 0.3 degrees Celsius higher than during the last intense La Nina event in 2011. The report said that prominent marine heatwaves persisted for over six months in a vast region northeast of Australia and south of Papua New Guinea, specifically in the Solomon and Coral Seas. The region has now entered El Nino, which means drier and hotter weather. “This will have a big impact on the South-West Pacific region as it is frequently associated with higher temperatures, disruptive weather patterns and more marine heatwaves and coral bleaching,” said Taalas.  According to the WMO, the upper ocean (between zero and 700 meters below the surface) has warmed since 1993 in most of the Pacific’s South-West region. The report said that many regions in the Pacific region, including the Solomon Sea, Banda and Timor Seas, and regions east of the Philippines and the southern shoreline of Indonesia, have experienced significant warming, with the rates two to three times higher than the global average. The WMO said the glacier size in the western part of the Indonesian island of New Guinea decreased by 15% from 0.27 to 0.23 square kilometers between July 2021 and April 2022, while ice thickness dropped 24 meters from June 2010 to early 2021, with only 6 meters remaining in December 2022. July had warmest ocean temperature Earlier this month, another report from the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service, or C3S, said the global average sea surface temperatures continued to rise after a long period of unusually high temperatures since April 2023, reaching a new high of 20.96 degrees Celsius (69.73 degrees Fahrenheit) in July. Global ocean temperatures are usually warmest in March, so scientists say the record will likely keep increasing. Overall, the global mean sea surface temperature for the month surpassed the 1991-2020 average by 0.51 degrees Celsius, Copernicus said in its report on July 8. For July, the North Atlantic recorded temperatures of 1.05 C higher than usual, while marine heatwaves were observed south of Greenland, in the Labrador Sea, within the Caribbean region, and throughout the Mediterranean Sea. “These records have dire consequences for both people and the planet exposed to ever more frequent and intense extreme events,” said Samantha Burgess, Deputy Director of the C3S. “2023 is currently the third warmest year to date at 0.43ºC above the recent average, with the average global temperature in July at 1.5°C above pre industrial levels.” “Even if this is only temporary, it shows the urgency for ambitious efforts to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions, which are the main driver behind these records,” she said. July also had the warmest global air temperature, according to the WMO. Edited by Mike Firn and Taejun Kang.

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