Security

Will Sabahans Choose Malaysia Or Philippines?

Matters related to territorial disputes both land and maritime, particularly in the case of Southeast Asia (SEA), are among the most contentious issues in the region’s politics nowadays.

28 December 2020
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America’s Allies After Trump

America’s allies should be forgiven if they are confused about where American foreign policy is headed. Who isn’t, given the go-it-alone recklessness of Donald Trump’s presidency? Over the past three years, Trump has sowed strategic chaos, and his foreign policy, if one can call it that, brought new meaning to incoherence. President-elect Joe Biden will be better almost by default.

11 November 2020
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Suga On A Mission To Vietnam And Indonesia

Newly appointed Prime Minister of Japan, Yoshihide Suga certainly understands the political importance of continuity, especially in Southeast Asia. Suga recently made a first stop in Hanoi, Vietnam and continued on to his second visit in the region to Jakarta, Indonesia. Both these Southeast Asian countries are seen as key to Japan's “free and open Indo-Pacific,” strategy. There are other reasons for Suga to visit these two countries as well.

24 October 2020
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Japan, Vietnam Boost Defence Ties

Japan and Vietnam agreed to step up security and defence cooperation Monday, reaching an agreement in principle for Tokyo to export defence equipment and technology to the Southeast Asian nation.The deal comes as concerns mount over China's increasing assertiveness in the contested South China Sea, with Beijing expanding its military presence in the region.The pact would allow Japan to export equipment, likely including patrol planes and radar, to Vietnam, according to Japanese news agen

20 October 2020
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TikTok & WeChat Dogged By Security Fears

The United States (US) has fired a new salvo in its rivalry with China, ordering sweeping restrictions against Chinese-owned social media stars TikTok and WeChat.Here are some key facts about the platforms:What Is WeChat?WeChat, known as "weixin" or micro-message in Chinese, belongs to tech giant Tencent and has grown to become ubiquitous in daily life across China since its 2011 launch.It has more than a billion monthly users and is a "super app" used for everything from

8 August 2020
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Is crime on the rise in Thailand?

A recent survey in Thailand showed that Thais are more concerned about their safety than ever before and most say the economic slump the country is going through is the cause for this.The survey by Suan Dusit Rajabhat University, or Suan Dusit Poll, was conducted from 15 to 18, January on 1,365 people throughout the country following a spate of serious crime news – including rapes, robberies and drug dealing – culminating in a gold shop heist in Lop Buri province.On 9 January, a man shot and

21 January 2020
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Vietnam jails six on anti-state, security charges

Vietnam on Tuesday jailed six people on various security and anti-state charges in three separate cases, in one of the harshest days of sentencing in the communist country where dissidence is routinely quashed.The one-party state has long jailed its critics, though a hardline leadership in charge since 2016 has ushered in an uptick in arrests and convictions of activists, dissidents and bloggers. On Tuesday six people were sentenced to jail in various trials across the country.The lo

27 November 2019
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Jokowi kicks off new term

Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo was sworn in for a second term on Sunday, as helicopters flew overhead and troops kept watch in the capital Jakarta – days after Islamist militants tried to assassinate his top security minister.Foreign heads of state, lawmakers and political rivals looked on as Widodo, 58, and Vice President Ma’ruf Amin, 76, read an oath to start a five-year tenure leading the world’s biggest Muslim-majority nation.Outside parliament, red-and-white Indonesian flags dotted pa

21 October 2019
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Indonesia beefs-up security after IS-linked attack

Indonesian leader Joko Widodo ordered beefed-up security measures Friday after two militants from an Islamic State (IS)-linked terror group stabbed his chief security minister, with the politician in hospital recovering from emergency surgery.Police were searching for more suspects in the wake of the assassination attempt on Wiranto, a 72-year-old former army chief who goes by one name.The minister was knifed twice in the stomach as he left his vehicle in Pandeglang on Java island during an o

12 October 2019
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Indonesia minister stabbed by IS-linked pair

Two members of an Islamic State group-linked terror network stabbed Indonesia's chief security minister Wiranto on Thursday, the intelligence head said, sending the powerful politician to emergency surgery for his wounds.Television images showed security officers wrestling a man and woman to the ground in Pandeglang on Java island after the attack on Wiranto, who goes by one name, as he was exiting a vehicle.The suspects were identified as 31-year-old Syahril Alamsyah and Fitri Andriana,

11 October 2019
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Bangladesh to fence Rohingya camps

Bangladesh is set to erect barbed-wire fencing, guard towers and cameras around Rohingya camps, the home minister said Thursday citing security concerns, in a move critics said would turn the refugee settlements into prisons.Dhaka has been growing frustrated with the Rohingya in Bangladesh - who number nearly a million - since the collapse of a recent repatriation attempt to encourage them to return home to Myanmar.The stateless Muslim minority live in large camps in southeastern border towns

27 September 2019
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