Asia Pacific Voices

Myanmar Polls Preparation Underway; Opposition Threatens Boycott

Lim May-Ann — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 07:18:37 +0000

Myanmar is gearing up to prepare for its first elections in two decades, designating constituencies for its national and regional parliaments, state media reported Thursday.

Phyo Min Thein, a former political prisoner, resigned as head of The Union Democracy Party (UDP) last week and said he would not participate in the election because it would not be free and fair. Considered one of the frontrunners in the opposition, they have also threatened to pull out of elections in the event of foul play.

At least seven parties are believed to be proxies of the military, retaining control of key ministries and enjoy a 25 per cent quota of parliamentary seats under a new constitution. Forty parties have been allowed to register to stand in the polls.

Sources:

Opposition Threatens Boycott [The Straits Times, 11 Aug 2010]

Myanmar Designates Constituencies for Rare Elections [AFP, 12 Aug 2010]

ASEAN foreign ministers meet in Hanoi

Lim May-Ann — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 03:00:45 +0000

ASEAN foreign ministers met in Hanoi on Tuesday July 20, ahead of the 17th ASEAN Regional Forum on Friday. One of the main issues discussed was the Korean Peninsula tension following the sinking of a South Korean warship on March 26. The ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting spokesman Tran Ngoc An said at a news briefing that the ten ministers expressed concerns over the Cheonan incident, and called for an early resumption of the six-party talk on North Korean denuclearization. Involving China, South Korea, North Korea, Japan, Russia, and the United States, the meeting is the key to long-term peace and stability in the Korean Peninsula. The Ministers also supported the statement by the United Nations Security Council earlier this month which denounced the attack but did not specify who is to blame.

On the sideline of the meeting, Indonesia Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa told that ASEAN has decided to expand the 16-nation East Asia Summit (EAS) to include the United States and Russia in the group. EAS currently comprises of the 10 ASEAN states, plus Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea. Natalegawa believed that having the US and Russia will help counterbalance China’s dominance within the group.

US, Russia to join East Asia Summit [AFP, 20 July 2010]
ASEAN foreign ministers convene ahead of regional security forum [Xinhuanet, 21 July 2010]

Oil spill in Yellow sea after pipeline explosion

Lim May-Ann — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 02:56:01 +0000

Two pipelines at an oil storage belonging to the China National Petroleum Corp, China’s biggest oil company, exploded in Dalian’s Xingang Harbour in Liaoning province on Friday July 16. The blast, which happened after a Libyan-flagged tanker discharged its load at the port, triggered a spill of approximately 1,500 tonnes of crude oil into the Yellow sea off Dalian. Although the fire which lasted throughout the weekend has now been successfully put off, the authorities predicted that cleaning-up the spill will take up to 10 days. Meanwhile, investigators are also trying to determine the cause of the accident.

Following the accident, the Chinese authorities rushed dozens of oil-skimming vessels to the site to remove the slick off the port. Around 1,000 fishing vessels were also mobilized to aid with the cleaning operation. As of Monday, the spill which initially covered 50 square kilometers has been reduced to 45 square kilometers.

China rushes to clean up oil spill after pipeline blast [Channel NewsAsia, 19 July 2010]

US to Join East Asia Summit

Bill Hatch — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 02:07:02 +0000

US President Barack Obama will attend the 2011 East Asia Summit in Jakarta, Indonesia, say reports quoting informed sources in Washington.

The decision is a significant one as the US had not previously engaged at the highest level with ASEAN-centric regional processes, though its leaders have attended APEC, which has a different membership and mandate.

The East Asia Summit is an ASEAN-led forum that brings together leaders from the 10 ASEAN countries as well as China, Japan, Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand to discuss general problem solving in the Asia-Pacific region.

Reports say that formal announcement of US participation is likely to come this week when Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visits Hanoi to attend the ASEAN Regional Forum, an annual security-focused dialogue.

Obama to attend EAS in ‘11 [China Post]
US to join East Asia Summit [The Nation]

Malaysia to hang three Indonesian drug traffickers

Lim May-Ann — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 07:47:40 +0000

On July 18, the Malaysian High Court sentenced three Indonesian men to death for drug trafficking. Amri Alamsyah, aged 42; Iskandar Ibrahim, aged 33; and Muham¬madiah Hassan, aged 31; all from Aceh, were arrested in April 2005, and found guilty of trafficking 1,858.6 grams of cannabis in front of a motorcycle shop on Jalan Kampung Baru in Sungai Petani. The drugs were found in a plastic bag on the floor of the car Amri was driving.

When making their defense, the three testified that they were waiting to meet with a man at a restaurant in Sungai Petani for a roof repair job when they were arrested. They also claimed to only knew of the cannabis when it was shown to them at the police headquarter after the arrest. However, provided the proofs from the witnesses, Justice Datuk Zamani A. Rahim rejected their claims, and announced the death sentence.

The men remained calm when the sentence was delivered. It is reported, however, that they are set to appeal against the conviction soon.

Three Indonesians to hang for drug trafficking [The Star, 19 July 2010]

Leading garment brands look to ASEAN as production base

Lim May-Ann — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 07:27:58 +0000

South East Asia appears as an attractive location for the world’s leading fashion brand to base their production. Last month, major fashion brands like Guess, Marks and Spencer, Mango, and Polo Ralph Lauren, along with many others, met with the owners and executives of textile mills and garment factories of South East Asia. Following this meeting in Singapore, they signed the memoranda of understanding, as part of the Source ASEAN Full Service Alliance (SAFSA), the three-year pilot program which aims at maximizing efficiencies along ASEAN’s textile and apparel industry supply chain, and offering a value-added full-service product to global customers.

Although it is difficult for ASEAN to compete in labor price with China, the region’s advantage lies in the ability of member countries to cooperate, which is to link different components of the supply chain from different ASEAN countries. R.J. Gurley, director of ASEAN Competitive Enhancement Project, gave an example, “if we could take a garment factory from Cambodia and partner it with a textile factory from Thailand, we could provide that buyer with at least the basic service of sourcing fabric.”
ASEAN may capture bigger garment production market [Channel News Asia, 12 July 2010]

Thirteen countries meet in Bali to discuss tiger conservation

Lim May-Ann — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 02:34:47 +0000

Delegates from 13 countries are meeting in Bali, Indonesia from 12-14 July at the Pre-Tiger Summit Partners’ Dialogue to discuss plans to prevent tiger extinction. The meeting, sponsored by the World Bank’s Global Tiger Initiatives program, is attended by senior officials from countries which still have wild tiger population, namely India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, China, Russia, Laos, Cambodia, Burma, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia, as well as non-governmental organizations. The meeting will serve as a preparatory meeting for the upcoming Tiger Summit for Heads of Governments in St. Petersburg, Russia, in September.

In his opening remark on July 12, Indonesia Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan highlighted that now is the critical time to act against tiger extinction. Global tiger population is currently estimated at 3,200, an all-time low record, with only six sub-species remaining out of nine. More rigorous law enforcement is required from all countries to put an end to massive habitat destruction and illegal trading, the main threats to tiger population in the wild.

Global plan to rescue tigers being formulated [The Jakarta Post, 12 July 2010]
Countries Meet In Effort to Tackle Illegal Tiger Trade [Jakarta Globe, 12 July 2010]

DPJ Faces Defeat in Polls

Lim May-Ann — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 09:29:05 +0000

Japan’s ruling party Democratic Party of Japan faced the prospect of political gridlock Monday as bad losses in weekend parliamentary elections undermine its attempts to reduce the second-largest economy’s ballooning budget deficit and revive growth. The DPJ won only 44 out of 242 seats — far below its stated goal of 54.

The shattering defeat results in the DPJ scrambling for coalition allies, leaving the current leadership of Prime Minister Naoto Kan increasingly vulnerable. If the Democrats fail to join forces with another party or two to gain a majority in the upper house – a prospect that looks unlikely – they will likely have difficulty moving ahead on their agenda.

Taking office a month ago after the resignation of the deeply unpopular Yukio Hatoyama, Kan pledged to restore the nation’s vigour after two decades of economic malaise and tackle a public debt nearing 200 percent of GDP.

Official results will be released later today.

Sources:
Big election losses could hinder Japan ruling party attempts to tackle debt, revive economy [TODAY, 12 July 2010]
Election defeat erodes hope for strong leadership in Japan [Channel NewsAsia, 12 July 2010]
Japan braces for gridlock after ruling party loss [Associated Press, 12 July 2010]

Google is back in China

Lim May-Ann — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 06:31:59 +0000

After Google’s decision in March to shut down its service in China due to dispute over internet censorship, Chinese official said on Sunday July 11 that the government has agreed to renew Google’s operation license once again. This approval came after Beijing Guxiang Information Technology Co. Ltd, the operator of Google’s China website, submitted an application letter to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) to renew Google’s Internet Content Provider (ICP) license.

In the application letter, Guxiang agrees to “abide by Chinese law,” and “ensure the company provides no law-breaking content as stipulated in the 57th statement in China’s regulations concerning telecommunications,” which states that any organization or individual is prohibited from using the Internet to spread any content that attempts to subvert state power, undermine national security, infringe on national reputation and interests, or that incites ethnic hatred and secession, transmits pornography or violence.

The renewed license suggests a compromise that would lead to a win-win situation. Google will not risk losing the Chinese market which has the largest number of internet users. At the same time, China avoids damage in investment and technology sectors from the complete Google withdrawal.

China confirms Google’s operation license renewed [Xinhuanet, July 11 2010]

Google’s China compromise stuns observers [Financial Times, 9 July 2010]

Chinese demand fuels German export growth

Bill Hatch — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 07:42:52 +0000

Germany’s exports were up 9.2% in May, thanks in large part to the Euro’s fall in value but also due to an increase in demand from China.

Quotes in a Financial Times article by experts emphasizing the importance of Chinese demand include:

“Without China we would hardly have seen this recovery – it’s a frightening trend,” said Hannes Hesse, managing director of the VDMA engineering association.

“Demand?” said Diether Klingelnberg, chairman of Klingelnberg, a maker of

machine tools based near Cologne. “It’s China, China, China by a long way, then India, Brazil, then Russia – and the US remains weak, as do many of our European markets.”

The news comes on the same day that Singapore sovereign wealth fund Temasek Holdings announced it would overweight its Asian investments for the foreseeable future.

German exports jump on Chinese demand [Financial Times]
German exports rebounded in May as global recovery gained pace [BusinessWeek]