These are the top stories making the front pages of major newspapers from across Southeast Asia today.
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Work on Changi Airport T5 to restart, terminal to be ready around the mid-2030s
Singapore will restart work on Changi Airport Terminal 5, with construction to kick off in two or three years, as it seeks to build future capacity with the aviation industry recovering faster than expected from the pandemic.
Transport Minister S Iswaran on Tuesday (May 17) said the Government is now ready to push on with its plans for the mega project, which was paused for two years, as current and projected air travel demand has provided “a renewed impetus” to increase capacity.
“We have taken the opportunity of the two-year hiatus to comprehensively review the T5 design to make it more modular and flexible, and enhance its resilience and sustainability,” he said. “We will re-mobilise the design and engineering consultants progressively, to update and further refine the T5 design.”
Mr Iswaran said T5 will be operational by the mid-2030s, to meet an anticipated doubling of volume in the next two decades.
Work on T5 was put on hold in May 2020 when the Government said it would first focus on the Covid-19 challenge and wait to understand post-pandemic travel patterns better before resuming the project. Mr Iswaran gave the update on T5 at the Changi Aviation Summit, which gathered more than 300 aviation leaders at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre to discuss the future of the sector. – Straits Times
More Covid-19 recoveries than new infections yesterday
There were more Covid-19 recoveries as opposed to new infections recorded nationwide yesterday.
Based on data from the Health Ministry's CovidNow portal, there were 1,836 Covid-19 patients who fully recovered and 1,469 new cases reported nationwide.
This brings the latest cumulative number of recoveries to 4,416,982 cases, so far.
The portal also showed there were three new deaths among Covid-19 patients yesterday, one each in Kedah, Perlis and Melaka. Of the three deaths, only one involved an inpatient, while the Perlis and Melaka incidents were both Covid-19 Brought-in-Dead (BID) patients.
This latest death brings the total cumulative figure in the country to 35,623.
Malaysia so far has a cumulative total of 4,481,278 positive infections since the pandemic started in March 2020.
Data showed more than 99 percent or 1,466 of the new cases reported yesterday were locally transmitted while only three were imported.
Based on statistics provided in the portal, there are still 30,509 active cases in the country, with 95.9 per cent of them on home quarantine and 20 more warded in quarantine and treatment centres nationwide.
There are also 1,182 patients or 3.9 per cent currently admitted in hospitals, of which 36 are in the intensive care units.
Out of the 36 in ICUs, 17 patients are using ventilators. – New Straits Times
Downpours paralyse Greater Bangkok's morning traffic
Heavy rains in Greater Bangkok from Tuesday night to early Wednesday morning caused flooding and paralysed traffic on many roads and a flooded school was closed.
Officials reported flooding at pavement levels and paralysed traffic on Srinagarind and Sukhumvit 107 (Bearing) roads in Samut Prakan province. In Bangkok flooding occurred on Vibhavadi Rangsit Road, Kamphaeng Phet 2 Road, Phahonyothin Road in Bang Khen district, Ratchadaphisek Road near the Criminal Court, Ngam Wong Wan Road and sections of Lat Phrao Road including its intersection with Ratchadaphisek Road.
Some vehicles either stalled or were involved in traffic accidents while others avoided flooded lanes. Traffic was also extremely slow on the inbound expressway heading for Rama IX Bridge and on Ramkhamhaeng Road including its section at Lam Salee intersection.
Sattriwitthaya 2 School in Bangkok's Lat Phrao district was closed on Wednesday due to flooding of its grounds and in its vicinity. – Bangkok Post
PH, Australia elevate ties to 'strategic partnership'
The Philippines and Australia are set to elevate their bilateral relations to strategic partnership "at the end of the year," Australian Ambassador Steven Robinson AO said.
The envoy said this was the result of a series of talks and high-level engagements between the two nations over the past years, particularly the August 2021 Philippine-Australia Ministerial Meeting.
"What they did in August 2021 was to set up a pretty ambitious program, which talked about the areas of development that were involved in: peacebuilding, economic recovery, trade, security cooperation and the like. And what that has resulted in is that we're going to elevate our bilateral relationship to what's called a strategic partnership at the end of this year," he said at a reception hosted at his residence in Makati City on Tuesday night.
Robinson said this does not only reflect the expansion of cooperation between the two nations but also how Australia regards the Philippines as a close partner in the region.
Canberra and Manila's bilateral relationship is centred on development, education, people-to-people links, trade and investment, and defense.
This year, it also celebrates over 30 years of law enforcement partnership, focused on countering child exploitation and terrorism.
On education, Robinson said Australia is investing at least 90 million Australian dollars between 2017 and 2026 to help strengthen basic education in the Bangsamoro region.
"Peacebuilding too is important to Australia and what we do down in the south, in the BARMM really matters. We're a strong supporter of peace and development in Mindanao," he said.
"And that's going to be important in the future in terms of the stability not only of the Philippines but also the entire region," he added. – Philippine News Agency
Fed rate hike's impact on Vietnamese economy not significant
The latest interest rate hike by the US Federal Reversal (Fed) will weigh on the global economy, including Viet Nam, but experts expect impacts of the Fed’s move on the country will not be significant.
The Fed last week raised its benchmark interest rate by half a percentage point, the most aggressive step yet in its fight against a 40-year high in inflation.
Banking and finance expert Can Van Luc, chief economist of the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam, told Viet Nam News that the Fed’s move in theory will affect the country’s economic growth, foreign debt payment obligations, exchange rate and foreign investment.
“The Fed’s move may push up the global interest rate and slow global economic growth, which will reduce the demand for Viet Nam's export goods. It therefore will slow the country’s economic recovery in the context that the import-export turnover per GDP of Viet Nam stays high at around 185 per cent in 2021 and the US is Viet Nam's top import partner with an import revenue of $96.3 billion in 2021, accounting for 28.6 per cent of Viet Nam's total export turnover,” Luc said.
In addition, borrowing costs of the Vietnamese Government and its firms will increase when the US dollar strengthens against the Vietnamese dong in the wake of the Fed’s interest rate hike, Luc said. – Vietnam News
Biden invited to Phnom Penh ASEAN-US Summit in November
US President Joe Biden has been invited to attend the 10th ASEAN-US Summit in November in Phnom Penh, said Prime Minister Hun Sen. “At the ASEAN-US Special Summit in Washington DC last week, I invited President Joe Biden to attend the ASEAN-US Summit in Phnom Penh to upgrade ASEAN-US relations, but whether he can make it or not is another matter,” he said at the get-together with the Samdech Techo Voluntary Youth Doctor Association (TYDA) members yesterday.
On the ASEAN-US Special Summit in Washington DC last week, Mr Hun Sen described the outcome as “historic”. “This ASEAN-US Summit can be considered as a historic meeting and the convening of this special meeting is fitting because it marks the 45th anniversary of ASEAN-US relations.
The meeting was fruitful as it was agreed that we enhance the partnership between ASEAN and US,” he said. ASEAN and US had committed themselves to advance their strategic partnership to that of Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and planned to adopt it during the meeting in November.
Cambodian Institute for Cooperation and Peace executive director Pou Sothirak said it would be difficult to determine if Biden will attend the ASEAN-US summit in Phnom Penh.
“I hope he can come, if he has time, but the problem is that in November this year, there will be two other major summits. The G20 in Indonesia and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in Thailand,” he said. – Khmer Times
Arakan Army warns that battles with Myanmar army could ‘resume at any time’
The Arakan Army (AA) issued a warning on Sunday that renewed clashes with junta forces were imminent.
“For quite some time, military tension between the Myanmar army and the Arakan Army has continued to grow,” the AA’s information department said on the social media platform Telegram. “Clashes can resume at any time between the two parties and thus we urge the public to avoid areas where the Myanmar army is active and where its troops are based.”
The ethnic armed organisation cited an increase in the arrival of junta reinforcement troops as well as ongoing disruptions to and threats against the administration and jurisdiction of the AA by the military as contributing to the possibility of future fighting.
Pe Than, a former Lower House lawmaker from Myebon in Rakhine State, described the statement as a “final warning.”
“This time could be worse than in the past, because the warning was very strong,” he told Myanmar Now, adding that the public should take such statements seriously.
On May 6, AA commander-in-chief Twan Mrat Naing threatened Htin Latt Oo, the head of the Myanmar army’s Western Regional Command for allegedly undermining peace in Rakhine State.
“Htin Latt Oo, don’t mess around. I’m getting annoyed. I won’t give a sh-- about peace [if you carry on in this way]. I will come to where you are and crush you,” he tweeted. – Myanmar NOW
Task force to ease several COVID restrictions starting May 18
The COVID-19 Handling Task Force has decided to ease several restrictions related to COVID-19 handling in Indonesia from Wednesday (May 18, 2022).
The step is being taken as a follow-up to President Joko Widodo's instructions and by taking into account the controlled situation of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country. The new regulation nixes the rule for donning masks in open spaces that are not crowded with people.
It also lifts the obligation for vaccinated travellers, both domestic and international, to show COVID-19 test results, government spokesperson for COVID-19 handling, Prof. Wiku Adisasmito, said at an online press conference, accessed from here on Tuesday.
However, vulnerable people and those who are feeling unwell are advised to keep their masks on to prevent COVID-19 transmission.
"With the elaboration of this presidential directive, several changes to the COVID-19 handling policy will be made, namely those related to domestic and foreign travellers, starting May 18, 2022, or tomorrow," he informed.
The spokesperson emphasized that even though the government has allowed public activities to increase, people are still being asked to get vaccinated, implement a healthy lifestyle, and comply with the COVID-19 health protocols.
"The pandemic has not officially ended as per the WHO. Of course, this decision has considered the development of cases nationally and globally and continued to pay attention to the precautionary principle," he said. – AntaraNews.Com