These are the top stories making the front pages of major newspapers from across Southeast Asia today.
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US and China must manage tensions, cooperate on common challenges despite competition: DPM Heng
Even as the United States and China compete strategically, the two major powers must find a way to manage tensions and develop a framework for cooperation, said Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat. Speaking at the Credit Suisse Asian Investment Conference on the topic "Will Asia emerge stronger in a post-Covid-19 world?" on Monday (March 22), Mr Heng said a stable US-China relationship is important to the global commons. While the Biden administration will bring a more predictable approach to the world's most critical bilateral relationship, the US and China will continue to be strategic competitors, he said. "I am glad that both sides have acknowledged that there are areas that they could work together on, despite the competitive tenor of their relationship." He called the first high-level, face-to-face meeting between both countries under the Biden presidency last week "a step in the right direction". At the start of what Washington called "tough and direct" talks in Alaska last Thursday and Friday, top Chinese and US diplomats publicly rebuked each other's policies. China's official Xinhua news agency later said that both sides will set up a joint working group on climate change. Mr Heng said it is in the interest of both sides to cooperate on common challenges such as Covid-19 and climate change. "The meeting showed a recognition from both sides on the need for dialogue. It is important that they persevere - maintain open channels of communication, find a way forward to deal with their differences, and manage the tensions and frictions." While tensions could intensify for some time, he hoped that a framework for cooperation will be developed even as both sides continue to compete. "Fair, healthy competition can be positive, if it spurs innovation to achieve better solutions for the many complex challenges that the world faces," he said. He also said it is critical that both countries remain constructively engaged with the region. The US' presence has provided much needed stability since World War II, and its investments have been instrumental to the region's rapid growth. Welcoming the Biden administration's commitment to continue to engage and strengthen its partnership with the region, Mr Heng said ASEAN is an important partner for the US, not just in terms of tackling existing and emerging global challenges, but also in putting regional engagement efforts into concrete action. – The Straits Times
Covid-19 vaccine programme: Phase 1 could end sooner
Malaysia could be ahead of schedule in meeting its target of administering 500,000 vaccine shots in the first phase of the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (NIP). Medical experts said based on the current vaccination rate and capacity, the country was on the right track towards achieving its target, as long as there was total cooperation from those who had registered for the vaccine and there were no disruptions to the execution. Associate Professor Dr Malina Osman, an epidemiologist and biostatistician from Universiti Putra Malaysia, said more than 400,000 front liners and those eligible in the category had been vaccinated, with another 100,000 expected to be vaccinated this month. "This means by mid-April, almost all of them (500,000) will be fully vaccinated. "I believe we can achieve the target for NIP's first phase ahead of schedule with the current average vaccination rate. "And if we are ahead of the schedule, I suggest we continue with the second phase without waiting for the actual (previously announced) date to kick off," she told the New Straits Times. She said the smooth operations of Phase 1 would pave the way for future phases to be just as successful, charting the way to herd immunity by year end as projected. "This is achievable provided all of us who are eligible to be vaccinated give our full cooperation by registering to be vaccinated and complying with the schedule." On registered individuals who failed to turn up on the vaccination day, Malina believed there were reasons for their no-show, such as not feeling well, having no transportation to the vaccination centre, having no one to accompany them, forgetting or missing the appointment, or even because they were not aware about it. "Logistically speaking, this hiccup can be ironed out by having their attendance confirmed via MySejahtera App or phone calls. "Those who have persons under their care, such as parents, should make the effort to ensure they get vaccinated on schedule. "Liaison officers who are in charge of the clinic (for the vaccination programme) should also ensure that possible waste of the vaccine can be avoided." Manipal University College Malaysia's Community and Occupational Medicine professor Dr G. Jayakumar said the likelihood of achieving the target of vaccinating 500,000 healthcare professionals in the first phase could be within reach if there were no hiccups in vaccine supply. Therefore, he said the government should look for alternative vaccine manufacturers, such as from India, in the event that Malaysia's regular supply chain was disrupted. He also said reports claiming that front liners and vulnerable groups who found themselves missed out in the first phase of the NIP, should be looked into by authorities immediately to ensure the situation did not recur. Dr Jayakumar also raised concern over the number of vaccine registrants who did not show up for their vaccination appointment, calling for action to be taken against them if they failed to show valid reasons. "Once the vaccines are opened, they have a short shelf life for use. They have to be discarded once the period lapses. Those who don't show up may lead to wastage of vaccines. – New Straits Times
New cluster tied to Samut Prakan sites
Samut Prakan has again emerged as a Covid-19 hotspot after a new cluster of infections was detected among the province's migrant workers, the Department of Disease Control (DDC) said on Sunday. In total, 584 people were placed under close supervision after 17 migrant workers tested positive for Covid-19, DDC's director-general, Opas Karnkawinpong, said yesterday. Authorities said the initial carrier was a 29-year-old worker from Myanmar, who came in for a test on March 13. After she was found to be infected, the DDC moved to test migrant workers at camps on Soi Sukhumvit 107 and 117 and found 16 more infected workers -- two from Myanmar, four Thais and 10 Cambodians. "Construction sites have multiple risk factors, such as shared facilities and in this case, the workers violated Covid-19 prevention rules by throwing a party," Dr Opas said. The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) said 45 local infections were Soy recorded in hospitals on Sunday, while 36 were found through mass testing, most of who were from Samut Sakhon, for a total of 81 cases. At present, the CCSA is focusing its efforts on preventing the outbreak that began in Bang Khae from spreading further, as cases found as far as Songkhla and Si Sa Ket have been linked to the cluster. A further 16 people were found to be infected with Covid-19 after visiting markets in Bang Khae, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) said on Sunday, bringing the total number of cases linked to the cluster to 384. About 2,600 people deemed at risk in Bang Khae have now been inoculated. To help bolster the availability of hospital beds in the city, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) is going to open a second field hospital near Rajpipattana Hospital in Thawi Wattana district. BMA's first field hospital, a 600-bed facility near Bang Khunthian Hospital, opened on Jan 12. Meanwhile, a survey carried out by the Suan Dusit Rajabhat University between March 15-18 on 1,155 respondents described the impact Covid-19 has on their savings. About 47% of respondents said their savings had fallen, while 22.5% said they were in deeper credit card debt. About 42.6% of respondents borrowed from family members, while 33% sought a bank loan and 27.7% borrowed from friends and close associates, the survey, also known as the Suan Dusit Poll, found. – Bangkok Post
Palace expecting 25% drop in new COVID-19 cases after two-week GCQ
The government is expecting at least a 25 percent drop in the number of new COVID-19 cases as a result of the two-week general community quarantine (GCQ) with stricter restrictions in Metro Manila and four provinces, Malacañang said Monday. Until April 4, Metro Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna and Rizal will be under a “bubble” where residents are only allowed to travel within these areas, with an exception to essential purposes like going to work. “We’re estimating that with these measures, and at the end of the two-week period, that the numbers would drop by at least 25 percent. But we’re hoping for more,” presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said in an interview over ABS-CBN News Channel. With the Holy Week nearing, Roque appealed to the public to stay home if not for essential purposes to help decrease the number of new cases. “Despite the fact that we have basically allowed people to work, we’re also appealing to everyone, it is Holy Week where traditionally, we have a long holiday anyway,” Roque said. “So, if they are not going out because of an essential activity, just to get the basics of food or water and to work, you might as well stay home because we all know that the tried and tested formula for preventing the further increase in cases of COVID is staying home,” he added. Additional guidelines the government revived were barring religious gatherings, limiting dine-in restaurants, cafes, and establishments to delivery, take-out and outdoor dining, and a common curfew from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. excluding workers. – INQUIRER.net
PM inaugurates key industrial zone in Long An
Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc on Sunday attended the inaugural ceremony of the Phước Đông Industrial Park and Port in the Mekong Delta province of Long An. The industrial zone is located in the Southern Key Economic Region and is expected to serve as a magnet to lure investors. Speaking at the ceremony, the PM hailed Long An Province’s efforts to develop industrial parks to create impetus for local socio-economic development, with gross regional domestic product (GRDP) registering an average annual growth of 9.16 per cent during 2016-20. He stressed the important role of businesses in national economic development and job generation, asking the local authorities to continue support for the investors, help them remove bottlenecks in their businesses, and work to further improve the investment climate with more effective measures in place. He also ordered the province to promote its potential, and sharpen focus on branching out key industries, high-tech industry, supporting industry and logistics so as to improve local livelihoods. “It is necessary to upgrade transport infrastructure, enhance regional linkages with HCM City and other southern localities,” he said, adding that local socio-economic development must go with environmental protection. PM Phúc emphasised the need to pen a long-term development plan which will enable Long An to make significant contributions to the economy. Phước Đông Industrial Park and Port is 39 kilometres from Tân Sơn Nhất Airport, 19 kilometres from Long An International Port, and 42 kilometres from Cát Lái Port. It spans an area of 128.8 hectares, of which 92.39 hectares are industrial land with ready-built factories and warehouses. The port system will be developed to welcome cargo ships with a capacity of 20,000 DWT in the future. Also on Sunday, PM Phúc hosted Consul Generals of the US, the Republic of Korea and India in HCM City, and leaders of multinationals GS Energy and Alibaba who are investing in Long An Province. – Viet Nam News
Health Ministry denies C-19 treatment centres are full
The Health Ministry said yesterday that treatment centres for those who have tested positive for COVID-19 still have rooms available and the delay in admitting new cases is because of transportation issues caused by the volume of patients. Health Ministry spokeswoman Or Vandine told Khmer Times yesterday the daily reports showing the number of patients who had been notified they had tested positive for COVID-19 and the number of infected patients waiting to be transferred to a treatment centre is correct, even if the information is delayed. After analysing the report data from March 15 to 20, Khmer Times observed that patients waiting to be treated were waiting a long time before moving to a hospital to begin treatment. For example, on Wednesday March 17, there were four people waiting to be transferred, but on Thursday March 18, there were no transfers and a total of 20 people waiting. Therefore, the four people waiting on Wednesday were still waiting on Thursday and had to wait longer than one day to be transported to a treatment centre. However, Vandine claimed the delay was only in the reporting and not the actual transfer of patients because of technical problems faced by the team making the reports. She also said that treatment centres in Phnom Penh have not reached capacity and can accept more patients, including the Khmer-Soviet Friendship Hospital, National Center for Tuberculosis and Leprosy Control and The Great Duke Hotel. Vandine said the steady increase of cases has made it: “difficult for the technical team to summarise the results.” “I would like to confirm that at present, the treatment locations for new COVID-19 patients in Phnom Penh are not yet full, but due to the ministry’s report coming out late [each evening], the [correct] number of people who need to be treated at various centres has not been announced by the ministry because of the increased COVID-19 cases of the past few days,” Vandine said. “When the COVID-19 patients are admitted to the centre, the next day the Ministry of Health doctors will enter the data into the list,” she said. She added that in the past, the number of positive COVID-19 cases in Phnom Penh was small, so that the Health Ministry team easily transported patients to the treatment centres quickly. Now the number has increased dramatically, sometimes 50 to 60 positive cases per day, which makes it more difficult to transport patients or summarise the data, she said. Vandine also called on Cambodians not to forget the importance of fighting the COVID-19 virus. They must be extra vigilant and implement the Health Ministry’s safety measures and cut down on moving from one location to another in order to prevent infection and stop spreading the virus in the community. – Khmer Times
Soldiers tell Thaketa residents they won’t leave ‘until the people are dead’
Soldiers opened fire on people in Yangon’s Thaketa Township on Saturday, killing a 15-year-old boy and injuring one woman. The armed forces, reportedly in full uniform, took over the township’s main roads: Myin Taw Thar, Shwe Pyi Thar and Zabuthiri, shooting their guns and shouting that they would “not go back until the people are dead,” eyewitnesses told Myanmar Now. Aung Kaung Htet, a Grade 11 high school student waiting for schools to reopen following the Covid-19 pandemic, was killed by a gunshot wound to the head. Another woman was shot in the leg. Residents of Thaketa said that soldiers asked them if they were “envious” of Hlaing Tharyar, an industrial Yangon township where a bloody crackdown by the junta’s armed forces on protesters and workers has killed dozens. One local told Myanmar Now that a soldier said, “you want your places to be burned, don’t you? We’ll burn the entire street to the ground.” The resident speculated that the soldiers were amplifying both their threats and violence since youth in Thaketa had fought back against them on Friday. Young people had used Molotov cocktails in self-defense against an attack by the regime’s forces on people protesting the February 1 military coup. Another local reported that the armed forces destroyed and damaged cars, shops, and CCTV cameras. The soldiers who terrorized the residents of Thaketa on Saturday were in full uniform, he said, but added that those who destroyed the CCTV cameras were wearing plainclothes. – Myanmar NOW
5,533,379 Indonesians have been vaccinated against COVID-19
Indonesia's COVID-19 Handling Task Force has reported that a total of 5,533,379 people comprising health workers, public service workers and elderly residents, have so far been vaccinated against COVID-19. The number of people receiving the first dose of vaccine jab on Sunday increased 408,431 people compared to that on Saturday. Meanwhile, 2,301,978 of Indonesians have been administered the second shot, or up 80,778 people from the previous day, the task force said here on Sunday. Hence, some 13.71 percent of the total 40,349,051 target people for phase I and stage II vaccination have received the first dose. Meanwhile, only 5.69 percent has been had the second shot. Meanwhile, the Food and Drug Administration (BPOM) has stated that the use of the vaccine made by AstraZeneca, which was suspended, can now be resumed for the COVID-19 vaccination program. The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) has also cleared the South Korean SK Bioscience vaccine for use. Earlier, on a different occasion, the MUI had appealed to Muslims to not hesitate to get the COVID-19 jab during fasting as receiving the vaccination would not be considered as breaking fast, based on a fatwa (edict). The Indonesian Government has set a target to administer COVID1-9 vaccines to a total of 181.5 million people within a year, in order to develop a herd immunity. The vaccination program has started since January 13, 2021, using vaccine produced by Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinovac. – AntaraNews.Com