Asean struggles for unity on Myanmar conflict - Bangkok Post

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov walks with Thailand's Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai and East Timor's Foreign Minister Bendito Freitas during the Asean Post Ministerial Conference with Russia at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Thursday. (Photo: Reuters)

JAKARTA: Southeast Asian countries struggling for unity on how to achieve peace in Myanmar were expected on Thursday to release a statement on their deliberations at a conference this week, with little sign of progress on their conflict-ridden neighbour.

The 10-member Association for Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), which includes Myanmar, has been trying to press its ruling generals to implement a five-point peace plan agreed with the junta shortly after a coup in early 2001.

But Myanmar's military has paid little more than lip service to the Asean plan, which includes a halt to violence and negotiations between the military and its pro-democracy opponents, leading to new doubts about the bloc's effectiveness.

Asean chair Indonesia on Wednesday urged the group's foreign ministers, gathering in Jakarta for one of their regular conferences, to remain united in tackling Myanmar's escalating violence, and the Indonesian foreign ministry said a joint communique would be issued that day.

But no statement had been released as of early Thursday. Reasons for the delay were not clear but an Asean official said a communique was being finalised and would be released soon.

Asean is also this week holding meetings with envoys from the United States, China, Russia and other major partners.

United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken is due to meet Chinese diplomat Wang Yi later on Thursday, the latest in series of interactions between the rival powers.

Rifts apparent

Rifts within Asean over Myanmar were highlighted when Thailand invited Myanmar military officials to a meeting last month aimed at "re-engaging" with the junta, which has been barred from high-level Asean gatherings.

Most Asean members shunned the meeting, which Thailand's Foreign Affairs Minister Don Pramudwinai defended, saying his country was suffering in terms of its border, trade and refugee problems.

Mr Don said on Wednesday said he had recently met Myanmar's jailed former leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, the first foreign official to be granted access to the Nobel laureate since her detention by the military more than two years ago.

While the Southeast Asian bloc is sticking with the peace consensus, analysts have called for the bloc to explore other avenues, including extending the term of a special envoy to Myanmar beyond one year.

Indonesia, as Asean chair this year, is working behind the scenes to bring all stakeholders in the conflict together for informal talks. But diplomats say it is struggling to bridge gaps between the warring factions.

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2023-07-13 05:54:00Z
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Thai Parliament votes for PM with reformist front runner Pita facing hurdles - The Straits Times

BANGKOK - Thailand’s Parliament opened on Thursday to vote for a prime minister, with front runner Pita Limjaroenrat saying he was confident despite a barrage of last-minute hurdles that could undo his bid for the premiership.

It is a pivotal moment in the dramatic aftermath of his progressive party’s shock May election win, with fears for renewed political instability in a country that has seen over a dozen military coups in the last century.

To win, Mr Pita needs support from at least some members of the country’s more established parties and junta-appointed senators, who were spooked by his Move Forward Party’s victory and horrified by its plans to amend the kingdom’s strict royal defamation laws. 

Complicating his path to top office further, Mr Pita faces the threat of parliamentary suspension, and two cases that have been filed against him and his party. 

He was nonetheless bullish ahead of Wednesday’s session, where lawmakers will debate for long hours before beginning to cast their votes.

“I am confident in myself that I will work with my full capacity to respond to people’s hopes and the support that they gave to me,” Mr Pita told reporters ahead of the session opening.

“I will try my best in showing my vision and explaining all senator’s doubts.”

As the session began, the streets approaching Parliament were empty of people, and razor wire could be seen on highway overpasses. 

Containers covered by tarpaulins decorated with images of Thai landmarks ringed the Parliament compound perimeter. 

The elections in May saw Thais reject the government of Mr Prayut Chan-o-cha, and Pita’s MFP has formed an eight-party coalition that includes election runners-up Pheu Thai Party. 

But the chances of Mr Pita leading the coalition into government are looking increasingly slim. 

The coalition holds 312 seats, short of the 375 it now needs across both Houses of Parliament to claim the prime ministership.

Finding those votes will prove difficult in the military-appointed, 250-member Senate because of the MFP’s push to reform Section 112 of Thailand’s criminal code, which bans defaming or insulting the royal family. 

His plans to shake up the country’s powerful business monopolies have also sparked concern. 

Another hurdle emerged Wednesday when the Election Commission recommended Mr Pita’s suspension from Parliament over allegations he broke campaign rules – a move the MFP branded as an “abuse of power”. 

The recommendation followed a probe around Mr Pita’s ownership of shares in a media company, prohibited under Thai law.

Mr Pita has said he inherited the shares in the iTV television station, which has not broadcast since 2007, from his father and denies any wrongdoing.

In Parliament on Thursday, he defended himself again, telling lawmakers: “I am fully qualified.”

But it was clear the allegations will colour the vote. 

“The Parliament cannot accept Pita’s name for consideration because he is prohibited to become a minister,” conservative senator Praphan Koonmee told Parliament, referencing the commission’s decision. 

No other parties have announced alternative candidates. 

If Mr Pita loses the first vote, the House Speaker will table session after session until a prime minister emerges – raising the spectre of weeks of deadlock and economic uncertainty.

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2023-07-13 03:34:36Z
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NATO leaders send mixed messages in Japan office controversy - CNA

VILNIUS: NATO leaders sent mixed signals at their summit on Wednesday (Jul 12) on a possible plan to open an office in Japan, which has been blocked by France and criticised by China.

Asked about the plan at a press conference at the end of the summit in Vilnius, French President Emmanuel Macron said NATO should keep its focus firmly on the North Atlantic region.

But NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the idea of a liaison office in Tokyo was still up for discussion.

Alarmed by China's growing military power, the United States has pushed for the transatlantic alliance to share expertise and build ties with Asian countries such as Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

NATO officials have said the proposed Japan office would be small, with a staff of only a few people focused on building partnerships, and would not be a military base.

Macron said he agreed that NATO should have partners with other regions "with whom we manage major security issues in the Indo-Pacific, Africa and also the Middle East".

"But - and perhaps I'm a little bit simplistic - but it remains an organization of the North Atlantic Treaty," Macron said, referring to NATO's founding document.

"Whatever one says, geography is stubborn: the Indo-Pacific isn't the North Atlantic," Macron added.

"I think we made the right decision to stick to a close partnership, coordination and strategic intimacy but not wanting to expand the areas of conflict because it's not the right time and it's not why we're here."

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2023-07-12 18:02:00Z
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Thai foreign minister met Aung San Suu Kyi on secret Myanmar trip - Al Jazeera English

Don Pramudwinai tells ASEAN foreign ministers he met jailed elected leader as well as coup leader Min Aung Hlaing.

Thailand’s outgoing foreign minister travelled to Myanmar in secret, holding a meeting with internationally ostracised coup leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing and visiting jailed elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi, just days before a regional summit focused on the turmoil in the country.

Don Pramudwinai confirmed the visit to reporters on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers’ meeting in Jakarta on Wednesday, but did not go into detail.

He described it as “an approach of the friends of Myanmar, who would like to see a peaceful settlement”.

Khit Thit, an independent Myanmar news outlet, reported on Monday that Don had flown into Naypyidaw on a special military plane and returned home the same day after a meeting with Myanmar’s military council including Min Aung Hlaing. It did not mention him seeing Aung San Suu Kyi, who was detained by the generals as they seized power in February 2021 and has since been jailed following a series of closed-door trials condemned as a sham.

Thailand’s outgoing army-backed government has triggered controversy in recent months with its apparent overtures towards the military despite their failure to make progress on a jointly agreed ASEAN five-point plan to end the violence triggered by the coup.

Don is known to have travelled to Naypyidaw in April, and last month organised a meeting to “re-engage” with the generals who have been excluded from the group’s top summits due to their failure to implement the peace plan.

Thailand’s foreign ministry confirmed in a statement that the trip had taken place on Sunday and that Don met Aung San Suu Kyi, who is now 78, “for over an hour”.

Don told the ministers in Jakarta that she was physically and mentally healthy.

“She encouraged dialogue,” Don said.

Myanmar has been excluded from ASEAN’s top-level meetings because it failed to implement an April 2021 five-point peace plan [Ajeng Dinar Ulfiana/Pool via Reuters]

The military has rejected all diplomatic requests to meet Aung San Suu Kyi over the past two years despite it being part of the five-point plan.

Aaron Connelly, an expert on Southeast Asia at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in Singapore, said Don’s trip undermined ASEAN’s efforts to resolve the crisis. Myanmar joined ASEAN under a previous military regime some 25 years ago.

“A diplomatic process centred on Myanmar’s neighbors, rather than ASEAN, will be more sympathetic to the junta,” Connelly wrote on Twitter. “Its neighbors expect the junta to ultimately prevail and want to accelerate its pacification of the countryside and international legitimization.”

Indonesia’s Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi stressed the importance of ASEAN unity, and told her counterparts on Wednesday that “only a political solution [would] lead to a durable peace”. The group was thrashing out a joint position on Myanmar on Wednesday afternoon.

The United States, whose top diplomat Antony Blinken will also attend the summits in Jakarta, has already said it planned to use the meeting to encourage ASEAN to maintain a tough stance.

Daniel Kritenbrink, the top State Department official for East Asia, told reporters last week that Myanmar would be “one of the key issues” discussed in Jakarta.

Without criticising Thailand, Kritenbrink said the US expected the bloc to “continue to downgrade Myanmar’s representation in the ASEAN ministerial”.

“We also look forward to finding ways to increase pressure on the regime to compel the regime to end its violence and return to a path of democracy,” he said.

There was no reporting of Don’s trip in Myanmar’s official media.

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2023-07-12 10:16:36Z
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Platform workers in Singapore to get more bargaining power, better representation - The Straits Times

SINGAPORE – Deliverymen, cabbies and ride-hailing drivers who use platforms like Grab, Foodpanda and Lalamove for jobs are set to gain more bargaining power over issues such as earnings and their welfare.

The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) on Wednesday said the Government has accepted recommendations from a tripartite workgroup that will pave the way for representative bodies to champion platform workers’ interests under a new legislative framework, which will be implemented from the second half of 2024.

This means that the more than 88,000 platform workers here can soon negotiate for better working conditions as a group, through representative bodies that are legally empowered and act almost like trade unions.

Like unions, these bodies will be able to sign legally binding collective agreements with platform operators on behalf of workers, to ensure accountability from the companies.

There will also be a formal process to resolve collective disputes, with MOM being the first port of call for conciliation before the matter is brought before the Industrial Arbitration Court.

During a dialogue with about 120 workers at the Lifelong Learning Institute on Wednesday, Senior Minister of State for Manpower Koh Poh Koon said the issue of platform worker representation is complex as companies have different operating models while workers have different priorities.

The workgroup’s recommendations create a win-win framework for both platform operators and workers while taking into consideration the unique features of platform work, especially flexibility, he added.

The National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) said the new framework, when implemented, paves the way for the labour movement and its affiliated associations to officially represent platform workers.

NTUC noted that platform workers cannot form unions under existing laws as they are not recognised as employees, and hence face challenges in resolving disputes and during negotiations.

While the National Taxi Association (NTA), National Private Hire Vehicles Association and National Delivery Champions Association have been advancing the interests of platform workers, the associations are limited by the current lack of process for them to get a recognised mandate from the workers they want to represent.

The recommendations for the new framework were mooted by a tripartite workgroup formed in August 2022 to look into the issue of platform worker representation.

It comes on the heels of other protections that the Government is also working to implement for platform workers, including requiring Central Provident Fund contributions for those under 30 and standardising work injury compensation insurance.

The workgroup – which comprise representatives from MOM, NTUC, the Singapore National Employers Federation and platform operators – drew heavily from how trade unions in Singapore currently operate, noting that the existing rules of engagement between unions and employers have worked well in preserving industrial harmony here.

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2023-07-12 08:00:00Z
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Five primary schools filled about half their places by the end of Phase 1 - The Straits Times

SINGAPORE - Five primary schools have filled about half of their spots, after the first phase of the 2023 Primary 1 registration exercise wrapped up on July 5.

Phase 1, for children with older siblings already enrolled in the school, took place on July 4 and July 5.

The five schools that had about half of their places taken up were Chua Chu Kang Primary, Fern Green Primary, Gongshang Primary, Rosyth School and Tao Nan School, according to figures of vacancies for the next phase that were published on the Ministry of Education’s website on Tuesday.

Topping the list was Fern Green Primary School in Sengkang, which had filled 54 per cent of its total vacancies. It had 50 places left for Phase 2A, which is for children who have a parent or sibling who is a former pupil, or those who have a parent who is a member of the school advisory or management committee, or a staff member. Children from MOE kindergartens under the primary school of their choice also qualify for this phase.

The MOE announced on its website on Tuesday the number of places left for Phase 2A for all 181 primary schools. The figures do not include the 60 reserved places for Phases 2B and 2C, set aside by MOE since 2022 to ensure schools remain accessible to as many children as possible.

Popular schools like Tao Nan School in Marine Parade had 117 spots left for Phase 2A, out of its total of 360 places. Rosyth School in Serangoon had 75 places out of 270 spots left.

Phase 2A starts on Wednesday and ends on Friday.

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2023-07-11 21:00:00Z
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NATO welcomes Ukraine's membership but stops short of invitation - CNA

LONG-RANGE MISSILES

Zelenskyy did score wins elsewhere. French President Emmanuel Macron said Paris would start supplying long-range cruise missiles, following a similar announcement by Britain. These will allow Ukrainian forces to hit Russian troops and supplies deep behind the front lines.

Germany announced new aid worth €700 million, including two Patriot air defence missile launchers, and more tanks and fighting vehicles.

The summit was also buoyed by the prospect of Sweden joining NATO as its newest member after Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Monday abruptly dropped his objections to the move, while pushing to revive talks for Türkiye to join the European Union.

Moscow, which has cited NATO's eastern expansion as a factor in its decision to invade Ukraine, has criticised the two-day summit ending on Wednesday and warned Europe would be the first to face "catastrophic consequences" should the war escalate.

"Potentially, this issue (of Ukraine joining NATO) is very dangerous for European security ... and therefore those who will make the decision must be aware of this," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.

European leaders did not seem to understand that moving NATO military infrastructure towards Russia's borders was a mistake, he said.

At the rally in Vilnius, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda handed Zelenskyy a bullet-holed Ukrainian flag which had been flown on a Ukrainian tank during battles in Bakhmut.

"Ukraine is buying us time with their blood, so we can prepare and give a strong retort to Russia," Nauseda told the crowd.

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2023-07-11 20:38:00Z
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