Conflict

39 Chinese warplanes seen near ADIZ
China, Conflict, Singapore

39 Chinese warplanes seen near ADIZ

Hong Kong: China continues to enter in Taiwan’s air defence zone. Recently thirty-nine Chinese warplanes breached the air defence identification zone (ADIZ) on Sunday. "No doubt this is part of the broader campaign by Beijing aimed at eroding the will and ability of Taiwan to continue resisting," said Collin Koh, a research fellow at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore. While the Chinese incursions were likely a reaction to the large naval presence Tokyo and Washington were putting in the area, they also served another purpose, said Koh. The flights by the People's Liberation Army aircraft came a day after the United States and Japanese navies put on a massive show of force in the Philippine Sea. The Philippine Sea is the area of the Pacific Ocean eas
Cambodia: Asean’s spoiler or saviour?
China, Conflict, Politics, World

Cambodia: Asean’s spoiler or saviour?

Cambodia: Asean's spoiler or saviour? This handout from the National Television of Cambodia (TVK) taken and released on Dec 7 shows Myanmar's Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin, left, listening to Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen at the Peace Palace in Phnom Penh. (Photo: AFP) Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen will be the Tatmadaw's first guest of honour in Nay Pyi Taw this weekend. Whatever the outcome of his two-day trip, it will have both intended and unintended consequences for the future of the Asean process, especially the five-point consensus (FPC). For nearly a year since the coup on Feb 1, Asean has assumed the role of peacemaker, going strictly by the book to ensure that the crisis in Myanmar would come to an end through the grouping's agency and good practices. After Brunei ha...
In Kashmir, India batters press freedom – and journalists
Conflict, World

In Kashmir, India batters press freedom – and journalists

SRINAGAR, India (AP) — For five years, Sajad Gul wrote about conflict wracking his homeland, a disputed Himalayan territory where a violent armed rebellion and India’s brutal counterinsurgency have raged for over three decades. That changed on a snowy Wednesday night in January with a knock at his house. Gul was surrounded by Indian soldiers wielding automatic rifles who bundled him into a vehicle and sped away, plowing through the snow-laden track in Hajin, a quiet village about 20 miles from Srinagar, the region’s main city, said his mother, Gulshana, who only uses one name. Journalists have long contended with various threats in Indian-controlled Kashmir and found themselves caught between warring sides. But their situation has gotten dramatically worse since India revoked the region’
FTI warns of ‘big wave’ risks
Business, China, Conflict, World

FTI warns of ‘big wave’ risks

A nurse prepares a Covid-19 vaccine for use at Bang Sue Central Station which is currently serving as a venue for mass vaccinations during the Covid-19 pandemic. Nutthawat Wicheanbut The Omicron Covid-19 variant will form part of a "big wave" posing a great challenge to industrial operators who need nothing but urgent adjustment to the rapid changes of the world, says the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI). Besides the highly contagious virus which caused many European countries to reinstate strict measures to curb disease transmission, digital disruption, climate change, an ageing society and conflicts between giant economies will continue to keep manufacturers anxious and busy in 2022 and following years, said Kriengkrai Thiennukul, vice-chairman of the FTI. "These factors are like a...
Why Moei River has become a war zone
Business, China, Conflict, Opinion, World

Why Moei River has become a war zone

Why Moei River has become a war zone Villagers seeking refuge cross the Moei River into Thailand on Dec 19 just after the Myanmar military launched attacks in Karen State opposite Tak province in Thailand. (Photo: Jittrapon Kaicome) This week's exodus of thousands of people fleeing for their lives from Myanmar's Karen State into Thailand's Mae Sot district in Tak was not unexpected. Prior to this, several agencies including those in Thai security, community leaders along the border, and military leaders of the Karen National Union (KNU) shared the opinion that this dry season -- the end of November to late April -- will see a fierce offensive from the Myanmar junta army aimed at suppressing armed ethnic organisations, particularly the KNU. Since early this year, the Myanmar army has ca...
Russia and dilemma of Ukraine-Kazakhstan
Conflict, World

Russia and dilemma of Ukraine-Kazakhstan

New Delhi: The apathy of the Russians is like that of a tiger cornered in a cage with no exit options, except for surrender. For a race which has traditionally been one of the bravest and mightiest defending themselves against Napolean in 1812 and against Nazi Germany during World War II, the element of prestige and national pride has a deep meaning. During each of these wars, the Russians were pitted against powerful armies but it was their grit, determination and a wholehearted society-based approach to tackling the enemy which enabled them to emerge victorious. Napolean attacked Russia with a 600,000 strong army, 180,000 horses and 1600 pieces of powerful artillery which could not be matched by the Russians. However, as part of a well planned strategy, the Russians decided not t...
Dutch prosecutors call for life terms for MH17 suspects
Conflict, World

Dutch prosecutors call for life terms for MH17 suspects

Dutch prosecutors call for life terms for MH17 suspects The trial is taking place at a high-security court near Amsterdam's Schiphol airport. BHOEVEDORP, Netherlands: Dutch prosecutors on Wednesday called for life in prison for four suspects on trial in absentia accused of downing Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 with a surface-to-air missile, killing 298 people. The ill-fated flight heading for Kuala Lumpur took off from Amsterdam's Schipol airport in July 2014, and prosecutors this week launched closing arguments in the closely watched trial. A verdict is not expected until late 2022 at the earliest. The four suspects on trial are Russian nationals Igor Girkin, Sergei Dubinsky and Oleg Pulatov, and Ukrainian citizen Leonid Kharchenko, accused of launching the BUK missile that hit the p...
China lets Nepal down
Business, China, Conflict

China lets Nepal down

Six years down the line from Kathmandu signing with Beijing a Transportand Transit Agreement and two years after the signing of the protocol onimplementation of the agreement, the treaty has turned into a non-starter.Businessmen in Nepal have been left with only protesting against Chinaat the two main trading points on the Nepal – China border ---Rasuwagadhi and Tatopani ---- accusing Beijing of imposing an unofficialblockade as container trucks loaded with importable consumer items havenot been allowed to cross the border into Nepal, according to reports fromKathmandu. To harass Nepalese traders, Chinese transporters have evenincreased freight charges over four times along the nearly 25 km stretchbetween the Chinese border point and the Nepalese border. The reasonsfor this Chinese betray
Human cost of China’s green energy rush ahead of Winter Olympics
Business, China, Conflict, World

Human cost of China’s green energy rush ahead of Winter Olympics

Human cost of China's green energy rush ahead of Winter Olympics China has vowed the upcoming Winter Olympics 2022 will be the first Games to be run entirely on wind and solar energy, and have built scores of facilities to increase capacity -- but activists warn ordinary people are being exploited. BAODING, China: Beaten, forced off their land, cheated out of money, and even falsely imprisoned -- farmers in China say they are paying a heavy price as authorities rush to deliver on ambitious pledges to ramp up national green energy output. China has vowed the upcoming Winter Olympics 2022 will be the first Games to be run entirely on wind and solar energy, and have built scores of facilities to increase capacity -- but activists warn ordinary people are being exploited by "land grabs" in ...
Year of Turbulence
Conflict, Opinion, Singapore, World

Year of Turbulence

Flying through the Covid cloud has been hard enough, and then there's the added drama of dealing with the lengthening shadow of China across the region. Pandemic drags on recovery: In the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, many Asian countries had enviable success, avoiding large-scale outbreaks and mass deaths. But the arrival of the more transmissible Delta variant this year and sluggish vaccine rollouts compounded by low availability sent cases surging. Combined with poor monitoring and easy movement among countries, often unofficially, Southeast Asia became a virus hotspot. The ballooning health crisis collided with churning political discontent in the case of Myanmar, Thailand and Malaysia. Economically, the new wave of infections, and attendant restrictions imposed to cu...