Geopolitics

Southeast Asian nations feud over China

Southeast Asian nations feuded Sunday over how to respond to Chinese expansionism in the South China Sea, with Vietnam insisting on a tough stance but Cambodia lobbying hard for Beijing, diplomats said.The debates among foreign ministers of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) at a security forum in the Philippines were the latest in years of struggles to deal with competing claims to the strategically vital sea.The ministers failed to release a customary joint stateme

7 August 2017
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Philippine military needs 20,000 more troops due to greater threats: Duterte

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has asked lawmakers to approve the recruiting of 20,000 more soldiers to tackle increased security threats following a bloody urban siege in the south, his spokesman said Sunday.Almost 700 people have been killed, according to the official count, in over two months of fighting in the southern city of Marawi against Islamist militants who have pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group.The militants, waving the black IS flag, have occupied parts of Maraw

6 August 2017
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Myanmar government probe finds no campaign of abuse against Rohingya

The commission examined the deadly violence which began in northwestern Rakhine State in October last year after attacks by Rohingya militants on police posts near the Bangladesh border.The government is refusing to allow a UN fact-finding team to conduct its own probe into whether the security response amounted to "ethnic cleansing" of the stateless Rohingya minority.Giving their conclusions on Sunday, a state-backed commission said it found no evidence that Myanmar security forces

6 August 2017
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Malaysia to gather refugees’ data via TRIS

The Malaysian government is taking initiative via its new Tracking Refugee Information System (TRIS) to gather refugees’ data in an effort to improve their quality of life probably by providing them job opportunities, basic education and healthcare in near future.Deputy Home Minister Nur Jazlan Mohamed told The ASEAN Post (in a press meet) that the government will look into the matter in two dimensions - solving the issues of the existing refugees in Malaysia and preventing more refugees from

2 August 2017
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Philippines has fastest growing HIV infections in Asia: UN

The Philippines has the fastest growing number of HIV infections in Asia, a report by the United Nations and the government showed Tuesday.The Southeast Asian nation saw a 140 percent increase in new cases from 2010 to 2016, even though the annual number of new infections in Asia-Pacific declined by 13 percent over the same period, according to the report."The Philippines has a small window of opportunity to act now and stop a major HIV epidemic from taking hold," Eamonn Mu

2 August 2017
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man looks at the burning of 1.8 tons of marijuana and 10 kilograms of methamphetamine in Banda Aceh, Aceh province

480 kg of hashish smuggling attempt foiled by police

A 59 year old farmer was arrested in the Gayo Lues district, Aceh province, on charge of smuggling 480 kilograms of hashish.Senior Commissioner Goenawan, the spokesman for the Aceh provincial police department confirmed the arrest of the suspect along with 480 kg of hashish on Saturday (July 29) at the Blangkejeren police station in Gayo Lues at around 07.30 p.m. local time, Antara News reported.

1 August 2017
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Philippine mayor linked to drugs killed in raid: police

A Philippine mayor accused of involvement in narcotics trafficking was shot dead along with 14 other people in a police raid Sunday -- the latest official to die in President Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs.Duterte has singled out local officials, policemen and judges as part of a crackdown that has made him popular with many Filipinos but has been condemned by human rights groups and other critics.Among those Duterte named was Reynaldo Parojinog, mayor of Ozamiz city on the southern isla

1 August 2017
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Indonesia may offer majority stake to China in high-speed rail project

Indonesia may offer China a majority stake, possibly up to 90% in the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed rail (HSR), to speed things up and reduce its risks, The Straits Times reported – citing Katadata, a Jakarta-based online business economic research firm.President Joko Widodo told his Cabinet on Tuesday to evaluate the viability of offering the Chinese consortium involved in the joint venture the larger stake.“Now, 60% is held by state-owned enterprises and 40% by the Chinese, so the President su

27 July 2017
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Avoid southern Philippines: Western governments

Western governments are warning their citizens against travelling to nearly all of the southern third of the Philippines, citing the rising threats of terror attacks and kidnappings by Islamist militants.Fresh alerts from Britain, Canada and Australia were released this week after President Rodrigo Duterte extended military rule across the southern region of Mindanao until the end of the year to combat the militants.The Canadian advisory on Monday warned against visiting any part of Mindanao

27 July 2017
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Trump names new US ambassador to Vietnam

President Donald Trump has nominated Daniel Kritenbrink, a career diplomat with extensive experience in Asian affairs, to be US ambassador to Vietnam, the White House said Wednesday.The Virginia native has been a diplomat since 1994 and currently works as senior advisor for North Korea policy at State Department, the White House said in a statement.Kritenbrink once worked as deputy chief of mission in Beijing and speaks Chinese and Japanese, the statement said. - AFP

27 July 2017
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