ASEAN risks losing relevance if it remains passive, avoids taking positions on issues: PM Lee - CNA

JAKARTA: In a world fraught with geopolitical uncertainty, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) must be proactive and not avoid taking collective positions on issues, or it could risk losing its relevance, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Tuesday (Sep 5).

Tensions between the United States and China - both of which have strong links with ASEAN economies - have threatened to strike an overbearing influence on the bloc, while in its own backyard, ASEAN members have had different approaches to resolving the Myanmar crisis.

Describing the present situation as one of “great geopolitical and geoeconomic uncertainty”, Mr Lee said how the 10-member grouping responds will determine whether its centrality still holds in the years ahead. 

Speaking during a retreat session with fellow leaders at the ASEAN Summit, he outlined how ASEAN centrality must be manifested consistently in its positions, actions and policies and be based on a “unity of purpose and action”.

“We have to be united in dealing with difficult issues, whether external or internal, for example the situation in Myanmar,” said Mr Lee. 

“We will each have our own national interests and positions on the geopolitical challenges, but we still have to work towards common landing points. And this inevitably will involve all of us with some give and take.”

As global superpowers de-couple their economies and become more assertive, the bloc’s passive, consensus-based “ASEAN Way” that is rooted in the principle of non-interference cooperation through lengthy dialogue has sometimes been criticised as ineffective.

Mr Lee said ASEAN has done well in ensuring its external partners engage the grouping on its terms and for the benefits and value it brings, which is why there needs to be a doubling down of efforts at economic integration, especially in areas of green and digital economies.

But he added that even as the grouping steps up external engagement in an open and inclusive way, it has to accept that “geopolitical rivalry will play out in our region, as is happening elsewhere in the world; we may not wish it but we have to accept it”.

“The solution is not to remain passive and avoid taking positions on all issues. Otherwise, ASEAN will lose its relevance. We have to be prepared to engage all sides actively, in mutually beneficial ways,” he said.

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2023-09-05 13:25:29Z
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Indonesian President Jokowi calls on Asean to be 'captains of our own ship' amid big-power rivalry - The Straits Times

JAKARTA – Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Tuesday called on South-east Asian leaders to become bolder, more agile and devise a long-term tactical plan to address growing global challenges.

Likening Asean to a large ship, Mr Widodo said it has a major responsibility towards the hundreds of millions of people who are sailing together on it.

“And despite having to sail through a storm, we as leaders must ensure that this ship can continue to sail, and we have to be captains of our own ship to achieve peace, to achieve stability, to achieve prosperity together,” he told his counterparts at the start of the plenary session of the 43rd Asean Summit.

Nine South-east Asian leaders, including newly minted Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet and prospective member Timor-Leste’s Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao, were present.

New Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin did not attend, and was represented instead by Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs Sarun Charoensuwan.

Myanmar generals, barred from high-level Asean meetings for failing to make concrete progress on a peace plan to end a crisis, did not send a non-political representative.

Earlier, in his opening remarks to kick off the three-day summit from Tuesday to Thursday, Mr Widodo also repeated his consistent message that Asean will not become a proxy for any power and that it will cooperate with anyone for peace and prosperity.

“Don’t make our Asean ship an arena of rivalry that destroys each other, but make this Asean ship a space to foster cooperation to create prosperity, create stability, create peace that is not only for the region but also for the world,” he said.

Indonesia, this year’s rotating chair of the 10-nation bloc, is facing mounting pressures to resolve the situation in Myanmar, which has sunk into violence following a military coup in 2021, and speed up the negotiations on the Code of Conduct in the disputed South China Sea.

To Asean leaders, Mr Widodo also noted that future challenges “are increasingly difficult and result in a struggle for influence by big power”, but Asean’s unity and centrality are key in addressing this.

Unity does not mean that there will be no differences in opinions, but instead there is harmony in diversity, he said, adding: “Differences in opinions actually nourish democracy and precisely show that we as a family have an equal position.”

He added: “The world’s oceans are too wide to navigate alone. On the way, there will be other ships, Asean’s partner ships. Let us together realise equal and mutually beneficial cooperation to sail together towards the epicentrum of growth.”

Under the theme “Asean Matters: Epicentrum of Growth”, the priorities of the summit are to lay a strong foundation for the grouping’s long-term vision, beef up its resilience in facing the current and future challenges, strengthen its position as an epicentre of growth, and ensure a safe and peaceful Indo-Pacific region.

The three-day talks will kick off with the plenary and retreat sessions of the Asean Summit, and other high-level meetings with dialogue partners including the East Asia Summit and the Asean Plus Three Summit.

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2023-09-05 05:40:00Z
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Chinese spy agency suggests that a Biden-Xi meeting hinges on 'sincerity' - CNA

BEIJING: China's top security agency has hinted that any meeting between President Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden in San Francisco later this year will depend on the United States "showing sufficient sincerity".

Biden on Sunday (Sep 3) expressed disappointment that Xi was not attending an upcoming summit of G20 leaders in India, but added that he was going to "get to see him".

Biden did not elaborate but the next likely opportunity for Biden to hold talks with Xi, as the two countries seek to stabilise troubled relations, is an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in San Francisco in November.

"To truly realise 'from Bali to San Francisco', the United States needs to show enough sincerity", the Ministry of State Security said in a post on Monday on its WeChat social media page.

It was referring to the last meeting between Biden and Xi on the sidelines of a G20 summit on Indonesia's resort island of Bali in November last year. It did not mention the APEC summit in its post.

It is unclear if the ministry, which is China's main intelligence agency, is privy to, or has influence over, Xi's considerations on diplomatic engagements.

This weekend, Premier Li Qiang will lead a delegation to a G20 summit in New Delhi, the Chinese government has announced, all but confirming that Xi would not attend.

The ministry in its post said Biden's administration had adopted a dual-natured strategy towards China, inviting competition with China but also wanting to control the competition.

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2023-09-05 05:11:00Z
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Ho Ching Suggests Caning Diners Who Allegedly Left Outram Restaurant Without Paying S$245 Bill - MS News

Ho Ching Says Outram Restaurant Customers Who Dined & Dashed Should Be Caned

Earlier this week, it was reported that a pair of diners failed to pay the S$245 bill they racked up after dining at a restaurant along Outram Road.

One of the employees at the restaurant reportedly had the bill deducted from his salary due to the oversight.

Outram Restaurant Asks Man & Woman To Settle S$245 Bill After They Allegedly Leave Without Paying

Madam Ho Ching, wife of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, has chimed in on the matter, saying the alleged freeloaders ought to be caned.

She also shared her thoughts on whether it was fair and logical for the employee to incur the expense, or if the employer should help to foot the bill in such situations.

Ho Ching shares thoughts on Outram restaurant incident

On Monday (4 Sep) afternoon, Madam Ho penned a Facebook post titled, “There are cheats and there are cheats”, in response to the dine-and-dash incident at the Outram restaurant.

Source: Ho Ching on Facebook

In Madam Ho’s view, cheats who prey on vulnerable members of our society are the “lowliest of the low life”.

She also suggested that such individuals should be caned for “preying on the weak and vulnerable”.

Ho Ching says employees should be given benefit of doubt

Madam Ho also took the opportunity to share her thoughts on opinions brought up by some members of the public.

Responding to netizens’ opinions that it was heartless of the employer to make the staff pay, she pointed out that this was shifting the blame from cheaters to employers.

She called such an arrangement a “perverse system”.

Source: Shin Min Daily News

“Just think — what if employers are required to absorb such losses? More cheats will turn up,” she warned.

Dishonest employees may even fake incidents or work in cahoots with cheats to scam their employers.

Dishonest employees will also report fake incidents of cheating customers to disguise their own stealing of ingredients.

However, Madam Ho said employers should consider giving their staff the benefit of the doubt if it’s the first time a staff member has been involved in such incidents., or if such incidents happen rarely.

Whatever the case, she stressed that such practices should fall under the employer’s prerogative and should not be a requirement.

Thinks most people who have forgotten would return to pay within the week

Madam Ho also responded to netizens who pointed out that the diners who dashed off might have forgotten to pay or walked off absentmindedly.

She disagreed, pointing out that most people who have forgotten to pay would return soon after to foot the bill.

Rarely would someone be totally forgetful that they don’t come back at all to pay.

In such a scenario, looking at the accused’s track record is still important.

For those who have forgotten to pay for the first time, Madam Ho said that the authorities could consider exercising discretion if restitution or repayment is made with apologies.

On the other hand, if a request for leniency came from those with a long track record of such acts, Madam Ho said it’d be “stupid” for anyone to take their plea at face value.

Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at news@mustsharenews.com.

Featured image adapted from Temasek and Shin Min Daily News. 

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2023-09-05 04:08:18Z
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Burning Man festival road reopens, allowing thousands to escape muddy trap - CNA

BLACK ROCK CITY, Nevada: Burning Man organizers reopened the road leading out of the remote Nevada desert festival on Monday (Sep 4), allowing tens of thousands of attendees to escape after they had been trapped for days by mud.

But many of the 64,000 people who remained on site as of Monday may choose to stay one more night and watch the festival's giant namesake effigy go up in flames on Monday night, one day past schedule.

Unexpected summer rain turned the week-long, annual counterculture arts festival into a muddy nightmare.

When the road finally reopened, a long line of vehicles snaked through the desert, inching along in an epic traffic jam as event organizers urged drivers to take it slowly on Monday and consider delaying their departure until Tuesday to reduce traffic.

"It really looked apocalyptic," said festival volunteer Evi Airy. "When you see the people walking barefoot in such a cold with the children. Some people have a small child here like three years old, four years old. I don't know how they survived."

The site in Nevada's Black Rock Desert sits atop the former Lake Lahontan, which the US Geological Society describes as a deep lake that existed as recently as 15,000 years ago. It is about 25km from the nearest town and 177km north of Reno.

For days, up to 70,000 people were ordered to stay put and conserve food and water as officials closed the roads, requiring vehicles to stay put. One person died at the event, officials said on Sunday, providing few details. An investigation was under way.

The way out is a 8km dirt road to the nearest highway.

Even before the gate was officially open, campers started leaving while it was still dark. Stuck vehicles littered the roads in the makeshift Black Rock City that springs up for the festival, some of them horizontally blocking lanes roads because they had lost control.

The desert path to the main gate was a graveyard of marooned cars.

At one point event workers gave instructions on how to traverse a "river" created by the rain, placing cones on an arc with instructions to take the bend at 30kmh, a course that still bathed vehicles in mud. But just past that final obstacle lay the gravel road toward civilization.

The temporary airport serving the festival was reopened earlier on Monday.

National Weather Service forecasters said on Monday the rain was over, after reporting the area received from three-quarters of an inch to 1.5 inches of rain since late on Friday.

Some festival-goers ignored the order to stay put and attempted to walk or drive out to the highway.

Others partied on in the rain.

Videos posted to social media showed costumed revellers - including a few children - sliding through the sticky mess, most of them covered from head to toe in wet earth.

Every year Burning Man brings tens of thousands of people to the Nevada desert to dance, make art and enjoy being part of a self-sufficient, temporary community of like-minded spirits. Originating in 1986 as a small gathering on a San Francisco beach, the week-long festival is now attended by celebrities and social media influencers. A regular ticket costs US$575.

The festival typically has a penultimate night send-off with the burning of a giant wooden effigy of a man, along with a fireworks show. Originally set for Sunday night, it was rescheduled for Monday night at 9pm local time, organizers said.

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2023-09-05 00:03:58Z
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Japan to allocate US$140 million more to help fisheries after China's import ban - CNA

TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Monday (Sep 4) that the government would allocate an additional 20.7 billion yen (US$141.41 million) to support the fisheries industry after China's total import ban on Japanese aquatic products.

The ban followed the start of Japan's release of treated radioactive water from the destroyed Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant last month.

The government had previously set up two funds worth 80 billion yen to help develop new markets and keep excess fish frozen until they can be sold when demand recovers, among other measures.

With the additional funding, from budget reserves, support would total 100.7 billion yen, Kishida said.

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2023-09-04 10:34:00Z
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China says premier will lead its G20 delegation, not president Xi Jinping - CNA

BEIJING: Premier Li Qiang will lead China's delegation to the G20 summit in India this weekend, Beijing said on Monday (Sep 4), all but confirming President Xi Jinping will snub the meeting of the world's biggest economies.

Speculation and media reports have swirled for the past week that Xi would snub the event, but China has remained silent on the issue.

US President Joe Biden has said he would be "disappointed" to see Xi skip the gathering of world leaders in New Delhi.

Beijing's foreign ministry confirmed on Monday that Li would be at the G20 Leaders' Summit on Saturday and Sunday, which it described as an important forum for economic cooperation.

"In attending this meeting, Premier Li Qiang will convey China's thoughts and positions on G20 cooperation, pushing for the G20 to strengthen unity and cooperation, and working together to combat global economic and development challenges," spokeswoman Mao Ning told a regular news briefing.

Asked whether the announcement meant Xi would not travel to New Delhi, Mao said: "I made an announcement about this just now. Premier Li Qiang will lead a delegation to New Delhi, India, to take part in the G20 Leaders' Summit."

The Group of 20 major economies consists of 19 countries and the European Union, making up about 85 per cent of global GDP and two-thirds of the world's population.

The summit has taken on additional importance this year as many countries wrestle with high inflation and economic turbulence amid a slowing recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

China, the world's second-largest economy, has set an annual growth target of around five per cent but has its own problems including weak consumer demand, soaring youth unemployment and a crisis in the crucial property sector.

Asked about Xi reportedly not planning to join the gathering in New Delhi, Biden told reporters on Sunday: "I am disappointed, but I am going to get to see him", without elaborating.

Xi has attended every G20 summit since coming to power except Rome in 2021, when he participated by video link.

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2023-09-04 10:09:00Z
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