Singapore – Page 10 – The Singapore Post

5Aug

By Desk TeamNo Comments

Brunei’s chairmanship is truly Asean

Brunei's chairmanship is truly Asean Myanmar armed forces chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, right, meets with Brunei's Second Minister of Foreign Affairs Erywan Yusof, left, in Nay Pyi Taw last month. MYANMAR NEWS AGENCY via AFP By default, Brunei's Asean chairmanship has brought into the open the bloc's strengths and weaknesses for all to see due to political disruption within the region. Throughout its 54 years of existence, Asean has been chastised and belittled as a talk-only-no-decision institution. Given the current environment, its success in maintaining regional sustainable peace and development for the past five decades nevertheless has become little more than a cliché. The international community tends to forget that the existing stability has been built and nurtured throu

2Aug

By Spost_adminNo Comments

China, Singapore, World

US troops to stay in Philippines, Agreement restored

The President of Philippines has announced that they have restored the packt between the presence of the US military troop on the territory. The Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) provides rules for the rotation of thousands of US troops in and out of the Philippines for war drills and exercises. It has assumed additional importance as the United States and its allies contend with an increasingly assertive China, particularly in the disputed South China Sea. “Let me thank President Duterte for his decision to fully restore the visiting forces agreement,” US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Friday in a joint press briefing with his Philippine counterpart, Delfin Lorenza. Duterte’s decision provides the US “some degree of certainty going forward”, he said, noting the

North Korea’s flirtation with the West is on again

2Aug

By Desk TeamNo Comments

Singapore, World

North Korea’s flirtation with the West is on again

North Korea’s on-again-off-again flirtation with the West appears be back in play. The North has agreed to reopen military and political hotlines with South Korea that just 14 months ago it had ordered shut down. At the time, the North said it was responding to a barrage of propaganda balloons launched by anti-Communists along the border between the two Koreas. The balloons mocked North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. But the real reason was that Kim wanted to send a message to his counterpart in Seoul, South Korean President Moon Jae-in. The message was that time is running out, that the North’s patience is limited and that any deal between Pyongyang and its enemies in Seoul and Washington must be made soon. To emphasize the point, Kim blew up an empty liaison office on his side of the

Two Koreas restore severed communications in surprise thaw

2Aug

By Desk TeamNo Comments

Politics, Singapore, World

Two Koreas restore severed communications in surprise thaw

Two Koreas restore severed communications in surprise thaw South Korean President Moon Jae-in (right) is credited with brokering the rapprochement between North Korea and the United States in 2018. SEOUL: North and South Korea signalled a surprise thaw in relations on Tuesday, announcing a restoration of cross-border communications that were severed more than a year ago and revealing that their leaders had exchanged a series of letters. The North unilaterally cut off all official military and political communication links in June last year after threats over activists sending anti-Pyongyang leaflets across the border. The suspension came with inter-Korean ties at a standstill, despite three summits between the North's Kim Jong Un and the South's President Moon Jae-in in 2018. But the ...

1Aug

By Desk TeamNo Comments

Business, China, Singapore, World

UK pivot could be good for Thais

UK pivot could be good for Thais This weekend the UK's HMS Richmond has entered Thai territorial waters to conduct a joint military exercise with the Royal Thai Navy. It represents the first visit of a Royal Navy ship to Thailand since HMS Daring visited in 2014. Notably, it is the first engagement of the UK Carrier Strike Group with an Asean nation as part of the UK government's commitment to becoming "a persistent, credible and reliable presence in the Indo-Pacific". To that end, the long overdue publication of a UK Indo-Pacific strategy could strengthen the UK government's definition of Global Britain, a term much touted much by officials in attempts to sketch out a vision of a post-Brexit landscape that aligns with its sea-faring empirical history and present need for productive and ...

Philippine leader retains pact allowing US war exercises

1Aug

By Desk TeamNo Comments

China, Singapore, World

Philippine leader retains pact allowing US war exercises

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The Philippines will keep having large-scale combat exercises with the United States after President Rodrigo Duterte retracted his decision to terminate a key defense pact in a move that may antagonize an increasingly belligerent China. Duterte’s decision was announced Friday by Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana in a joint news conference with visiting U.S. counterpart Lloyd Austin in Manila. It was a step back from the Philippine leader’s stunning vow early in his term to distance himself from Washington as he tried to rebuild frayed ties with China over years of territorial rifts in the South China Sea. “The president decided to recall or retract the termination letter for the VFA,” Lorenzana told reporters after an hour-long meeting with Austin, referring t

30Jul

By Desk TeamNo Comments

Asia, Business, China, Singapore, World

Anti-vaxxer propaganda spreads in Asia

Anti-vaxxer propaganda spreads in Asia A woman who has received her first dose of Sinovac Biotech's CoronaVac vaccine for the coronavirus disease drops her entry for the weekly raffle draw of sacks of rice for vaccinated residents at the Barangay Sucat Covered Court, in Muntinlupa City, Metro Manila, Philippines, on June 21. (Reuters photo) Though Gerry Casida is on the priority list for a free Covid-19 vaccine in the Philippines because of his asthma, he isn’t planning to get the shot any time soon. A video he found on social media of a woman claiming vaccines are being used for genocide helps explain why. "I’ve read a lot of posts on Facebook about how many died in other countries because of vaccines, and how that’s being concealed," said the construction worker, 43, from Manila. "My

First double-dip recession since 1998 looms

30Jul

By Desk TeamNo Comments

Business, Singapore, World

First double-dip recession since 1998 looms

First double-dip recession since 1998 looms A man walks at the empty Karon beach on Phuket Island on April 1 this year. (Reuters photo) Thailand will likely be the worst economic performer in Southeast Asia this year, with economists continuing to slash the country’s growth forecast amid surging Covid-19 infections, mounting political tensions and fading hopes for a tourism revival. The Finance Ministry on Thursday cut its 2021 gross domestic product forecast to 1.3% growth, from the 2.3% it expected in April. With new Covid infections and deaths continually breaking records since the latest surge began in April, some economists are flagging the possibility of a technical recession in the second half of the year, or even a second straight annual contraction, something the country hasn’

29Jul

By Desk TeamNo Comments

Business, Singapore, World

Racing for super app supremacy

Grab and Gojek have diversified their services. A push by corporates to become super app operators like the case of Malaysian-based airline AirAsia casts light on their determination to create ecosystems that could drive down costs and expand customer bases through integrated services, say business pundits. On Wednesday, AirAsia announced it would acquire Indonesian ride-hailing and payments firm Gojek's Thailand business, saying the deal is the right move to leverage the know-how of Gojek and integrate it with the stronger brand of AirAsia which is looking to expand into food deliveries and fintech services. A series of companies are striving to achieve merger and acquisition deals to expand their reach to boost revenue streams as existing businesses run out of steam. Business experts...

Cyber capabilities report: US dominant in cyber realm, but China catching up

26Jul

By Desk TeamNo Comments

China, Conflict, Singapore, World

Cyber capabilities report: US dominant in cyber realm, but China catching up

The United States has no peer when it comes to capabilities in the realm of cyberspace, but China is rapidly gaining ground in terms of strategic competition, according to a new report by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). The report released yesterday evaluates the cyber capabilities of 15 countries and how this intersects with international security, economic cooperation and military affairs. The US' dominance in the cyber realm can be gauged from the 2013 leak that revealed the National Security Agency's sweeping surveillance system. The country has also demonstrated its ability to bring down critical civilian and military networks, such as when it disrupted Iranian nuclear enrichment activities. In addition to its clear superiority in information and communica...

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