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Public hearing in American Samoa underscores opposition to marine sanctuary plan

Editor010 mins

A public hearing in American Samoa about U.S. plans to expand a Pacific marine sanctuary has failed to assuage fears of tuna cannery job losses and further economic decline in the territory, according to workers, business owners and political leaders. After a decade of lobbying by the Hawaii-based Pacific Remote Islands Coalition, the U.S. government earlier this year said it could double the size of the protected area around uninhabited U.S. islands in the Pacific Ocean, making more ocean area off-limits to fishing fleets. But the proposal has been greeted with dismay in American Samoa, where residents fear a heavy blow to the economically crucial tuna industry. Dozens of placard-wielding employees of the StarKist cannery in American Samoa protested outside a recent hearing held in Pago Pago by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which oversees protected marine and coastal areas. “I have seven children between the ages of two and 17, they are all in school, and I have been supporting my family working for StarKist Samoa,” Tanielu Malae, the sole breadwinner for his family, said at the May 25 hearing. “Do the people in Hawaii that made this proposal know what it is like for people like us that did not have proper education if we lose our jobs.” Employees of the StarKist cannery in American Samoa are fearful about losing their jobs if the marine sanctuary plan goes ahead. Credit: Joyetter Feagaimaali’i/BenarNews American Samoa’s Lieutenant Governor, Talauega Eleasalo Ale, who said he was at the hearing as a resident rather than representing the territory’s government, made an emotional appeal to “brothers and sisters” in Hawaii.  “What you are doing is unnecessary and it is painful and mean because you are not gaining anything extra by this proposition, but you are hurting us and cannery workers in this room that live off this land and rely on the fish that is coming from those islands,” he said. “If you really believe that we are your brothers and sisters you have to let this go.”  American Samoa’s governor and other politicians have voiced their opposition to the sanctuary expansion and criticized lack of consultation with the territory. ‘Fight against biodiversity loss’ The total area of the expanded sanctuary would be 2 million square kilometers (770,000 square miles), larger than the Gulf of Mexico, compared with about 1.3 million square kilometers (495,000 square miles) now.  It encompasses waters around several islands, atolls and reefs that the oceanic administration says are “home to some of the most diverse and remarkable tropical marine life on the planet.”  The tropical waters are also ideal for skipjack tuna which travel the equator in search of schools of small fish to feed on. Tuna fishing provides about 5,000 jobs in American Samoa – where the South Korean-owned StarKist tuna cannery is the territory’s largest business – but the industry has been in decline. The American Samoan islands, located to the south of the marine sanctuary, are home to less than 50,000 people after suffering a shrinking population for at least the past decade.  “There are roughly 5,000 indirect and direct jobs that will be impacted,” said Taotasi Archie Soliai, Director of Marine Wildlife Resources in the territory. “Think about that number,” he said at last week’s hearing. “These are underserved marginalized stricken disenfranchised minorities and indigenous communities that will continue to suffer because of these types of Federal policies driven by people who do not care.”  This October 2018 photo provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service shows birds at Johnston Atoll within the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument. Credit: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service/AP Advocates of marine sanctuaries say they are crucial for the survival of endangered species and the health of the oceans.  The Pacific Remote Islands Coalition, which includes activists, scientists and nonprofit organizations, said that expanding the Pacific marine sanctuary will “meaningfully protect” the interconnected land, reef, sea and deep ocean environments.  The coalition also wants to rename the sanctuary “through a culturally appropriate process that honors the cultural, historic, and ancestral significance of the region.” “Nature is declining globally at rates unprecedented in human history. Intact natural ecosystems such as the Pacific remote islands are more resilient to the effects of climate change and can help in the fight against biodiversity loss,” the group said in its 250-page submission to the U.S. government. Questionable benefits for tuna stocks For tuna, which have large ranges, it’s unclear if protected areas can produce an increase in their numbers.  Research published in January in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science predicted “weak to non-existent” benefits for skipjack and bigeye tuna numbers from marine protected areas. The study’s modeling was based on Kiribati’s Phoenix Islands Protected Area and hypothetical sanctuaries making up about one third of the western and central Pacific Ocean. Businessman Vince Haleck, who owns three long-line fishing vessels, told the Pago Pago hearing that an expanded marine sanctuary is meaningless without proper policing of American Samoa’s own waters to prevent unregulated fishing by China-flagged vessels. “Literally thousands of vessels, my boats, our boats see them all the time, catching our fish and selling it to us,” he said. Despite talk of U.S. Coast Guard assistance, “nothing has happened,” he said. “The Chinese will continue to fish in our waters, and we can’t seem to have the political will from Washington to be able to address this issue.”  Haleck said a possible consequence of the expanded sanctuary is that purse seiner vessels, which trail vast nets to scoop fish from the ocean, will find it more economic to take their catch to Mexico than American Samoa. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration also held public hearings last month in Hawaii, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. BenarNews is an RFA-affiliated news organization.

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North Korea forces exhausted soldier-laborers to keep daily diary

Editor07 mins

North Korea is forcing exhausted soldiers assigned to a high-profile state construction project to keep a daily diary to prove their loyalty. But many complain that after working 14-hour days with no weekends, they are too drained to think about what to write, a resident and a soldier in the country told Radio Free Asia. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in 2021 unveiled an ambitious plan to address a housing shortage in the capital Pyongyang by building 10,000 new homes in the city by the end of the year, and a total of 50,000 by the end of 2025. Soldiers with orders to provide free labor for the project, called “stormtroopers,” live in squalid conditions with inadequate food rations and they are under pressure to meet tight deadlines. On Feb. 25, Kim Jong Un and his young daughter Ju Ae attended the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of a new street in Pyongyang’s Sopho district. During the ceremony, Kim presented a diary book to a contingent of young stormtroopers who were building houses in the city.  North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his daughter Kim Ju Ae attend a ceremony for the construction of a new street, in Sopho District, Pyongyang, in this photo released on February 26, 2023, by North Korea’s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). Credit: KCNA via Reuters Diaries with the title “Days of My Youth” were later distributed to every soldier, and from then on, they were made to fill it with a new entry each day, a resident of the northeastern province of North Hamgyong told RFA’s Korean Service on condition of anonymity for security reasons. “These stormtroopers … work 14 hours per day and they have no rest days except for major national holidays,” he said. “There are frequent accidents where workers fall because they were falling asleep on the job, but now on top of all this [authorities] are telling them to write daily journal entries.” Forcing loyalty Their entries will be checked once per week, according to the resident. “If you skip even one day, or write an entry insincerely, you will be singled out in front of everyone and humiliated during life review sessions on Saturday,” he said. The review sessions are not just a facet of the military.  Every North Korean citizen must attend such sessions in companies, organizations, or neighborhood watch units, and review how they can be more loyal. Citizens are made not only to criticize themselves, but also to report instances of deficient loyalty among their peers.  For the stormtroopers, the diary assignment is yet another way that the government is forcing them to prove their loyalty.  “How can they expect struggling young people who go to bed hungry every day to be in the mood to write a diary every day?” the resident said. The diary also serves as a reminder of the project’s deadline, he said. “At the bottom of each diary page it says ‘There are ______ days left to report loyalty to the Mother Party,’ implicitly urging the completion of the construction before Oct. 10,” which is Party Foundation Day. A former stormtrooper who worked in Pyongyang, but was sent home to the northwestern city of Sinuiju after being injured in an accident, told RFA that the diary is also used in punishments.  “A member of the stormtrooper platoon I was in deserted because he was starving and he hid at a relative’s house in the city,” she said. “He was captured after ten days. The brigade commander forced him to write self-criticism letters to fill in the blank pages in his diary.” People who have heard about the plight of the stormtroopers are unhappy that the government gave the diaries as gifts to the soldiers, but monitors what they write and punishes them for it, the soldier said. Shortly after a major holiday in April, the party committee at North Korea’s top university received a letter penned by a citizen that strongly criticized diary censorship,” she said. “The writer of the letter faked his name, so the judicial authorities couldn’t investigate any further.” Translated by Claire Shinyoung Oh Lee and Leejin J. Chung. Written in English by Eugene Whong. Edited by Malcolm Foster.

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China to account for more than half renewable capacity rise, report says

Editor06 mins

The speedy deployment of renewable power worldwide is set to lead the largest annual increase in new renewable capacity ever, a report released on Thursday said. Renewable power capacity is expected to increase by a third this year and will continue to rise next year, primarily due to a stronger push by governments amid higher fossil fuel prices and energy security concerns, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in its latest Renewable Energy Market update. The Paris-based group said there would be a significant surge in the global addition of renewable capacity, with a record-breaking increase of 107 gigawatts (GW) expected in 2023, resulting in total renewable capacity of over 440 GW worldwide. That is 24% more than projected six months earlier and double what the world added in 2019. Furthermore, projections indicate that total global renewable electricity capacity will reach 4,500 GW, equivalent to the combined power output of China and the United States, by the following year. China is expected to account for nearly 55% of global additions of renewable power capacity in both 2023 and 2024, consolidating “its position as the undisputed leader in global deployment,” the IEA said. In 2022, China accounted for less than half of all new renewable power capacity worldwide.  By 2024, the report projected that China will deliver almost 70% of all new offshore wind projects globally, as well as over 60% of onshore wind and 50% of solar photovoltaic (PV) projects.  An infographic showing China’s renewable capacity increase between 2017 and 2024. Credit: IEA. According to the IEA, the “dynamic expansion” is also occurring elsewhere in the world’s major markets.  In Europe, many countries boosted their renewables to reduce their reliance on Russian natural gas after the invasion of Ukraine and the ensuing energy crisis.  In the United States, the wind and solar PV markets experienced a decline last year due to trade restrictions and limitations in the supply chain. However, these markets are anticipated to rebound significantly, with an estimated growth of approximately 40% expected in 2023. In India, renewable capacity expansion in both 2023 and 2024 is attributed to the accelerated deployment of onshore wind, hydropower, and distributed solar PV systems.  “Solar and wind are leading the rapid expansion of the new global energy economy,” IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said. “This year, the world is set to add a record-breaking amount of renewables to electricity systems … The global energy crisis has shown renewables are critical for making energy supplies cleaner, more secure, and affordable – and governments are responding with efforts to deploy them faster.” Birol said more robust growth faces challenges, including the “need to upgrade and expand power grids to ensure we can take full advantage of solar and wind’s huge potential.” According to the report, solar PV additions will account for two-thirds of this year’s increase in renewable power capacity and are expected to keep growing in 2024, with high electricity prices driving faster growth of rooftop panels. Meanwhile, wind power additions are forecast to grow by almost 70% year-on-year in 2023 after a slow couple of years. The faster growth is mainly due to the end of COVID-19 restrictions in China and recovering supply chain issues worldwide. The IEA said that compared to solar PV, wind turbine supply chains are still not growing fast enough to match increasing demand over the medium term due to rising commodity prices and continued supply chain challenges, resulting in some reduction in profit for manufacturers. Edited by Mike Firn.

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North Korea vows to try again after failed satellite launch

Editor07 mins

On the heels of a failed spy satellite launch on Wednesday, North Korea vowed that a second launch would come soon, state media reported. Taking off from the Sohae Satellite Launching ground at 6:27 a.m., the Malligyong-1 satellite mounted on the new-type Chollima-1 rocket lost thrust over the Yellow Sea, the state-run Korean Central News Agency, or KCNA reported. The second stage of the rocket engine did not ignite properly, the report said, citing remarks made by a spokesperson from the National Aerospace Development Administration. “Scientists, technicians and experts concerned [will] start discovering concrete causes,” KCNA said. After determining them, the scientists will “take urgent scientific and technological measures to overcome them and conduct the second launch as soon as possible through various part tests.” Had the launch been successful it would have been the first time North Korea managed to place a reconnaissance satellite in its proper orbit. In seven attempts, only two satellites have reached orbit but both failed shortly after, U.S.-based satellite imagery expert Jacob Bogle told RFA’s Korean Service. “It’s a cliché to say that ‘space is hard’, but that’s because it is. Failures commonly happen in both government-led space programs like the ESA as well as in privately-funded programs such as SpaceX,” said Bogle.  South Korean military personnel recover what is believed to be a part of the rocket that North Korea said crashed into the sea off the west coast of the Korean peninsula, Wednesday, May 31, 2023. Credit: South Korea Defense Ministry/Handout via Reuters Bogle said it was very likely that North Korea would try again. “The launch window was from May 31 to June 11, and they launched on the very first day of that window. We don’t know what the internal decision-making process was but this could have been a rushed launch,” he said. “North Korea is the only country in the region without a reliable spacefaring capability, and Kim Jong Un has placed a lot of importance on acquiring it. … North Korea will likely try another satellite launch in the near-term.” North Korea’s account of the failed launch is likely true, the Rand Corporation’s Bruce Bennett told RFA. “This is possible, but other failures could also have happened. Kim has already promised to try again, so I think we can expect it,” said Bennett.   The goal of the launch was to put the spy satellite in a polar orbit, optimal for spy satellites, he said.   “A polar satellite travels roughly over the North Pole and the South pole as it circles the Earth. It flies at a much lower altitude, usually 200 to 1,000 km,” said Bennett.  A polar orbit is usually used for reconnaissance … [and] lets them see areas all over the Earth as the Earth turns, and the altitude is low enough for relatively good pictures on a periodic basis (weekly) for any given location.” Renewed condemnation Despite its failure, members of the international community reminded North Korea that the launch, even despite its failure, violated U.N. resolutions meant to limit Pyongyang’s missile and nuclear capabilities. “The EU strongly condemns the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) launch using ballistic military technology that occurred on 31 May,” Nabila Massrali, the regional bloc’s Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy said in a statement. “The EU calls on the DPRK to cease all actions that raise tensions and instead choose the path of dialogue with the main parties.” The International Maritime Organization’s Maritime Safety Commission adopted a resolution that condemned North Korea for conducting the launch without proper notification and for not adhering to UN resolutions, and called for North Korea to “cease unlawful and unannounced ballistic missile launches across international shipping lanes.” Lawmakers Anne-Marie Trevelyan of the U.K. and Young Kim of the U.S. also wrote tweets condemning the launch.   “Kim Jong Un’s consistent & rogue aggression must be taken seriously by the United States & our Indo-Pacific allies,” Rep. Kim (R-Calif.) said. “We must stand firm in holding him accountable & working toward complete, verifiable, & irreversible denuclearization of North Korea.” Reported by Lee Sangmin and Kim Soyoung for RFA Korean. 

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

Editor03 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.

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

Editor08 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.

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

Editor09 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.

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British minister raised Jimmy Lai case with China’s vice president but to no avail

Editor09 mins

British foreign minister James Cleverly raised the case of jailed Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai with a top Chinese official recently to no avail after a court in the city rejected Lai’s judicial review over the hiring of a top British lawyer, according to a government report published on Thursday. “I raised [Lai’s] case with Chinese Vice President Han Zheng earlier this month, and we have raised it at the highest levels with the Hong Kong authorities,” Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs James Cleverly said in a statement introducing his government’s six-monthly review of the situation in Hong Kong, a former British colony. Han attended the coronation of King Charles III in London on May 6, amid growing criticism of the ruling Conservative Party, which appears to be backing away from promises of a tough stance on China. Cleverly didn’t say if a face-to-face meeting with Han had taken place, but said his government would “work with China where our interests converge while steadfastly defending our national security and our values.” He accused the Chinese and Hong Kong authorities of deliberately targeting “prominent pro-democracy figures, journalists and politicians in an effort to silence and discredit them.” British foreign minister James Cleverly, second from right, is reflected in glass with Britain’s Ambassador to Chile Louise De Sousa, in Santiago, Chile, May 22, 2023. A London-based group says the U.K. should do more to pursue those responsible for an ongoing crackdown on dissent in Hong Kong. Credit: Esteban Felix/AP He called on the Chinese Communist Party and the Hong Kong government to implement recommendations made by the United Nations Human Rights Council last July, which included repealing a national security law that has been used to justify a crackdown on peaceful political opposition and public dissent in the wake of the 2019 protest movement. “The Hong Kong authorities use the National Security Law and the antiquated offense of sedition to persecute those who disagree with the government,” Cleverly said, pointing to the ongoing trial of 47 opposition politicians and democracy activists for “subversion” after they organized a democratic primary election in the summer of 2020, as well as Lai’s national security trial for “collusion with a foreign power.” He said Beijing “remains in a state of non-compliance” with a bilateral treaty governing the 1997 handover of Hong Kong to Chinese rule, pointing to a “steady erosion of civil and political rights and Hong Kong’s autonomy.” Benedict Rogers, who heads the London-based rights group Hong Kong Watch, called for further action against “those who are actively undermining China’s obligations to the people of Hong Kong.” “A failure to do so will only embolden the Chinese government to deepen its human rights crackdown, putting at risk not only Hong Kongers but U.K. nationals and businesses operating in the city,” Rogers said in a statement responding to the government report. Emergency visas In April, British lawmakers called on their government to issue emergency visas to journalists at risk of arrest or prosecution in Hong Kong, and to apply targeted sanctions to individuals responsible for Lai’s arbitrary arrest and prosecution. The group also expressed concerns over last week’s ruling by Hong Kong’s Court of First Instance, which rejected an appeal from Lai’s legal team after the city’s leader John Lee ruled that his British barrister, Tim Owen KC, couldn’t represent him. Jimmy Lai Chee-ying, founder of Apple Daily walks heading to court, after being charged under the national security law, in Hong Kong, Dec. 12, 2020. Credit: Tyrone Siu/Reuters Policy director Sam Goodman said Hong Kong’s courts no longer have enough judicial independence to act as a check on the current national security crackdown, nor to ensure a fair trial for political prisoners. “There is no such thing as a common law system which operates with ‘Chinese Communist Party’ characteristics,” Goodman said, adding that Hong Kong’s “common law system … has been systematically dismantled by Beijing.” Exiled former pro-democracy lawmaker Ted Hui welcomed the criticism of Hong Kong’s human rights record. “In the long run, it will … unite our allies in free countries, and they will take a relatively tough stance, which will have an effect on their leadership,” Hui said.  “If more allies of free countries clearly say that Hong Kong’s human rights are regressing, and that the national security law is a violation of human rights, then that is a very clear position,” he said. Pro-democracy activists display a banner and placards read as “No democracy and human rights, no national security” and “Free all political prisoners” during a march in Hong Kong, April 15, 2021, to protest against the city’s first National Security Education Day, after Beijing imposed a sweeping national security law. Credit: Yan Zhao/AFP The Hong Kong government slammed the U.K. report as “malicious slander and a political attack on Hong Kong,” while Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said the British government “has yet to wake up from its colonial dream.” “It continues … to interfere in Hong Kong affairs through a misleading ‘report’ which is steeped in ideological bias and inconsistent with the facts,” Mao told a regular news conference in Beijing. Lai’s son Sebastien warned earlier this month that Hong Kong is now a “risky” place to do business, and that arbitrary arrests, sentences and raids will likely continue under the national security crackdown. International press freedom groups say the ruling Communist Party under supreme leader Xi Jinping has “gutted” press freedom in the formerly freewheeling city, since Lai’s Apple Daily and other pro-democracy news outlets were forced to close. Translated by Luisetta Mudie. Edited by Malcolm Foster.

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North Korea arrests 5 Christians during underground church service

Editor07 mins

Just as they had every Sunday at 5 a.m., the five Christians gathered at the farmhouse for prayer and Bible study. But this time the police were waiting for them.  Tipped off by an informant, authorities arrested the believers on charges of believing in God, a crime in a country where all religion is illegal – except for the reverence everyone is required to show for the country’s leader Kim Jong Un, and its past leaders, his father and grandfather. Sources told Radio Free Asia’s Korean Service that the Christians, arrested on April 30, are relatives who met weekly at the farmhouse in Tongam village, outside Sunchon city in South Pyongan province, in central North Korea. “At the site of the worship service, the police retrieved dozens of Bible booklets and arrested all in attendance,” a resident of the province told RFA on condition of anonymity for security reasons. She said that an informant tipped off the police about the secret Sunday morning gathering. A South Korean Christian woman prays during a service denouncing North Korean leader Kim Jong Il’s dictatorship and alleged human rights violations against North Koreans, at Imjingak in Paju near the border village of Panmunjom. South Korea, Thursday, Dec. 31, 2009. Sources told Radio Free Asia’s Korean Service that 5 Christians arrested on April 30 during underground church service are relatives who met weekly at the farmhouse in Tongam village, outside Sunchon city in South Pyongan province, in central North Korea. Credit: Ahn Young-joon/AP News of the raid spread quickly throughout Sunchon, another resident who witnessed the arrest told RFA. “They were praying and reading the Bible together,” she said. “They got together with their relatives and [prayed] ‘Oh Jesus, Lord Jesus … ,’ like that. And then they got arrested.”  If the past is any indication, the believers will be sent to labor camps to serve time. RFA was not able to confirm their status after the raid. Christian roots It was not the first time that authorities had rounded up Christians in Tongam. Underground churches in the village were raided in 2005 and 1997, and the believers were sent to do hard labor in concentration camps. Tongam has a history with Christianity. It was once the site of a large church building that stood even after the Japanese occupied the Korean peninsula in 1905 and made Shinto the state religion.  “That church was at the foot of the mountain in Tongam village,” the second resident said. “I knew about it because my mother told me it was where the missionaries had been before liberation [from Japanese rule in 1945].” Sunchon had two Catholic and 31 Protestant churches before the Peninsula was freed from Japanese rule, according to a pastor with experience leading missions in North Korea. People bow to the statues of former leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il on Mansu Hill to mark the 11th anniversary of the death of Kim Jong Il in Pyongyang, Dec. 17, 2022. Credit: Cha Song Ho/AP The Soviet-controlled northern half of Korea after 1945 adhered to the idea that religion was the opium of the masses, and therefore promoted atheism. When North Korea was established in 1948, all religions became illegal. It was then that many of the churches in Sunchon began to disappear, and believers in Tongam had to go underground. North Korea is known to execute, torture and physically abuse individuals for their religious activities, the U.S. State Department’s 2022 International Religious Freedom Report said.  It is one of 17 countries identified to be involved in or condoning systematic, continuous and serious violations of freedom of religion and belief, according to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom’s 2023 annual report. Bibles and other religious materials are typically smuggled into the country over the Chinese border, where they are distributed to underground churches through a secret network, the second source said. Despite pressure from authorities, the five captured Christians have refused to renounce their religion, she said. “A staff member of the judicial agency told us that the [believers] refused to tell where they got their Bibles and said, ‘All for Jesus, even in death.’” Translated Claire Shinyoung Oh Lee. Edited by Eugene Whong and Malcolm Foster.

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The status of BRI projects in Bangladesh

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Download the report: Link Here is a table of the year-on-year trade statistics of Bangladesh with China from 2017 to 2022: Year Bangladesh’s Import from China Bangladesh’s Export to China Balance of Payment 2017 $11.06 billion $1.01 billion -$10.05 billion 2018 $12.22 billion $1.09 billion -$11.13 billion 2019 $13.22 billion $1.14 billion -$12.08 billion 2020 $13.31 billion $1.17 billion -$12.14 billion 2021 $15.88 billion $1.32 billion -$14.56 billion 2022 $18.5 billion $1.46 billion -$17.04 billion Trade statistics of Bangladesh with China from 2017 to 2022 As you can see, Bangladesh has a long history of having a trade imbalance with China. Accordingly, Bangladesh is importing more commodities from China than it is sending back to that country. As a result of recent growth, the trade imbalance has reached a record high of $17.04 billion in 2022. The Bangladeshi economy is suffering as a result of the trade deficit. In addition to slowing economic development, it is causing job losses and a drop in investment. According to a Dhaka-based report headlined, ‘Bangladesh Reassesses its BRI Strategy as the US Offers a New Alternative,’ the initial excitement in Bangladesh for BRI projects appears to have faded. In 2016, China proposed investing over USD 40 billion in infrastructure assistance and joint sector projects, as well as an additional USD 20 billion in development loans. However, by 2022, Dhaka was confronting the problem of growing foreign debt, owing over USD 4 billion to Beijing. Bangladesh had to request a USD 4.5 million rescue package from the International Monetary Fund in July 2022, as diminishing foreign exchange reserves made imports problematic. To alleviate the problem, Bangladesh has already abandoned or postponed many BRI infrastructure projects, including highway construction. List of the projects that have suffered cost overruns: Padma Bridge Completed Environment Damage, Cost Overrun, FundingIssues, FalseClaim The Padma Bridge is a major infrastructure project in Bangladesh, and while it is not directly under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), it has received financial and technical assistance from multiple international sources, including the World Bank. The Padma Bridge is a multipurpose road-rail bridge across the Padma River in Bangladesh. It is the longest bridge in Bangladesh and the sixth-longest in the world. The bridge is being constructed by the China Major Bridge Engineering Company (MBEC). In 2012, the World Bank withdrew its funding for the bridge after allegations of corruption. However, the Bangladesh government decided to self-finance the project and work continued. The Padma Bridge was embroiled in controversy over “BRI or not BRI” as well as delays, funding difficulties, worries about environmental effects, and the relocation of local populations. China has attempted to include non-BRI projects under BRI over the years in an effort to salvage its reputation due to delays, financial losses, and other issues. Padma Bridge is a glaring example of one such project. It has faced a number of issues over the years: Land acquisition: The Padma Bridge is being built on land that is home to a number of villages. The government has had to acquire land from these villages in order to build the bridge. This has led to protests and demonstrations from the villagers. Security concerns: The Padma River is a major shipping route and is home to a number of pirates. The government has had to take steps to secure the area around the bridge in order to prevent attacks from pirates. Cost overruns: The cost of the Padma Bridge has increased significantly since it was first proposed. Since it was initially suggested, the price of the Padma Bridge has greatly escalated.  For a developing nation like Bangladesh, an overrun of $1.3 billion on a $3.3 billion project is a significant burden. There have been a number of protests, demonstrations, and uproars against the Padma Bridge. These protests have been organized by a number of different groups, including environmental groups, villagers, and opposition political parties. In a sharp rebuttal to Chinese claims of Bangladesh’s biggest infrastructure project being part of BRI, Dhaka said that the Padma Bridge, which is scheduled to be launched on June 25, is not a part of China’s BRI. It also said that no foreign funds were taken to complete this multipurpose project. Check out our report: Padma Bridge is not a part of BRI Payra Deep Sea Port Cost Overrun, FundingIssues, China’s geopolitical interests, Corruption Delayed The government of Bangladesh and China signed MoU to develop three components of the Payra Deep Seaport in 2016. This is the third-largest port in the country, strategically located in the Patuakhali region on the banks of the Bay of Bengal. Two Chinese companies China Harbor Engineering Company (CHEC) and China State Engineering and Construction Company (CSCEC) will execute port development. The Payra Deep Sea Port has been plagued by financial problems since its inception. The original cost of the project was estimated to be $1.1 billion, but the final cost is expected to be much higher. The government of Bangladesh has had to borrow money from China to finance the construction of the port, and the debt burden is becoming increasingly unsustainable. In addition to the financial problems, the Payra Deep Sea Port has also been plagued by corruption allegations. The  Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) filed a case against several officials of the Bangladesh government and the China Harbor Engineering Company (CHEC) for allegedly misusing public funds in the construction of the port. The ACC has also filed a case against several officials of the Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) for allegedly awarding the contract for the construction of the port to CHEC without following due process. The delays in the construction of the Payra Deep Sea Port have been caused by a number of factors, including financial problems, corruption allegations, and environmental concerns. The construction of the port was initially scheduled to be completed in 2016, but the deadline has been pushed back several times. The port is now expected to be completed in 2023, but it is possible that the deadline will be pushed back again….

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