Many Asean air force chiefs to skip Myanmar meeting - Bangkok Post

Thailand will attend but regional bloc remains divided on dealing with military junta

PUBLISHED : 7 Sep 2023 at 20:20

Local residents and defence group members cremate bodies in Pa Zi Gyi on April 13, two days after an air strike in the Sagaing region of Myanmar killed about 170 people. (Photo supplied)

Several Southeast Asian air force commanders plan to shun an upcoming meeting chaired by Myanmar’s military rulers but Thailand will be represented at the talks.

The annual Asean Air Chiefs Conference usually gathers top air force leaders from the 10-nation bloc to discuss cooperation in defence, combating extremism, and disaster relief.

Myanmar is the current chair of the group and is scheduled to host the meeting next week, but at least three Association of Southeast Asian Nations countries told AFP they would not send their top officials.

The junta has been accused of war crimes over air strikes carried out by its jets — mostly Chinese- and Russian-built — in support of ground troops battling opponents of its 2021 coup.

Its air force chief Htun Aung, who will chair the conference, has been sanctioned by the United States and Britain.

ACM Alongkorn Vannarot, who will be retiring as chief of the Royal Thai Air Force at the end of this month, will make the trip to neighbouring Myanmar, a Ministry of Defence official told AFP.

While Asean has halted high-level meetings with Myanmar’s generals, Thailand has pursued its own bilateral talks with the junta and also engaged India and China in parallel discussions abouyt Myanmar in recent months, further dividing the bloc.

The air force chiefs of the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia will not attend the meeting, officials told AFP.

Malaysia’s air force chief will not attend, a spokesperson said, while the Philippine commander plans to send a video message to his counterpart rather than go in person.

Indonesia’s air force chief “will not be attending and won’t be sending anyone to represent him either”, air force spokesperson Agung Sasongkojati told AFP without giving a reason.

At the Asean leaders’ summit in Jakarta this week, the group accused the junta of targeting civilians in the grinding conflict sparked by its coup, and of ignoring a peace plan agreed with the bloc to end violence.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said there had been “no significant progress” in the five-point plan agreed with the junta more than two years ago.

Asean has barred junta officials from high-level meetings over their refusal to engage with the plan and their opponents.

Cambodian air force commander Soeng Samnang declined to comment on whether he would attend the Myanmar meeting, and the defence ministry could not be reached for comment.

The air forces of Singapore, Brunei and Vietnam did not respond to requests for comment.

War crime claims

Amnesty International said last year the junta was using air strikes as “collective punishment” against civilians supporting anti-coup fighters, and in March the United Nations said the military had carried out more than 300 air strikes in the past year.

Also in March, the junta held a parade to mark Armed Forces Day, with flyovers by Russian-made Yak and Sukhoi Su-30 jets.

The military bombed a gathering in northern Sagaing region in April that media and local residents said killed about 170 people, sparking renewed global condemnation of the isolated junta.

Human Rights Watch said it had evidence the military had used a thermobaric “vacuum bomb” in the attack, saying it likely amounted to a war crime.

Air strikes on a concert held by a major ethnic rebel group in northern Kachin state killed around 50 people last October.

The junta has said that reports civilians were among the dead were “rumours”.

AFP has contacted a Myanmar junta spokesman for comment.

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2023-09-07 13:20:00Z
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Kremlin: US answerable for health risk from giving Kyiv depleted uranium shells - CNA

The Kremlin said on Thursday (Sep 7) that the United States would have to answer for the "very sad consequences" of its decision to provide depleted uranium munitions to Ukraine.

The Pentagon on Wednesday announced an assistance package for Ukraine including armour-piercing depleted uranium ammunition for Abrams tanks. Britain has already sent similar shells.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said NATO's heavy use of such ammunition in bombing Yugoslavia in 1999 had caused a jump in cases of cancer and other diseases.

"These consequences are also felt by subsequent generations of those who somehow came into contact or were in areas where these weapons were used," he told reporters, saying the same would now happen in Ukraine.

The use of depleted uranium munitions is fiercely debated; the International Coalition to Ban Uranium Weapons says ingesting or inhaling even depleted uranium dust can cause cancers and birth defects.

But a United Nations Environment Programme report on the impact of depleted uranium on Serbia and Montenegro, in then-Yugoslavia, found "no significant, widespread contamination".

The UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, says that studies in former Yugoslavia, Kuwait, Iraq and Lebanon "indicated that the existence of depleted uranium residues dispersed in the environment does not pose a radiological hazard to the population of the affected regions".

Some Serbian politicians have disputed this and reported an increased incidence of malignancies, and deaths from them.

Britain's Royal Society said in a report in 2002 that the risks to the kidney and other organs from the use of depleted uranium munitions were very low, both for most soldiers in the field and for those living in the conflict area.

Britain says in its guidance that inhaling enough depleted uranium dust to cause injury would be difficult.

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2023-09-07 11:22:08Z
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Amid global tensions, PM Lee urges ASEAN, major powers to foster strong cooperation under alternative regional initiative - CNA

During his intervention at the ASEAN-India Summit on Thursday, Mr Lee said India’s support is "crucial" in addressing common challenges, such as the problem of Myanmar.

"Our external partners and Myanmar’s neighbours, including India, have important roles, working with ASEAN to facilitate national reconciliation," he said at the summit, attended by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Mr Lee said ASEAN and India should explore "concrete projects" to implement the AOIP and collaborate in emerging areas like clean energy and pandemic preparedness.

"We should also strengthen supply chain resilience and food security to address likely shocks to come," he added.

Mr Lee also said that ASEAN and India must press on with economic integration.

"We hope that the ongoing review of the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement will make it more user-friendly and trade facilitative for our businesses," he said. 

AUSTRALIA'S ROLE "IMPORTANT" IN ENSURING SECURITY IN SOUTHEAST ASIA

During the ASEAN-Australia Summit also on Thursday, Mr Lee said Singapore welcomes the ASEAN-Australia Joint Leaders’ Statement on Food Security.

It reaffirms the countries' commitment to unimpeded trade and flow of food products, and to building more resilient and sustainable agrifood systems.

"The war in Ukraine and adverse weather events caused by climate change have disrupted agricultural production and food value chains," Mr Lee said at the forum, attended by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

Mr Lee also welcomed the signing of an upgraded ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area two weeks ago, which he said strengthens the countries' supply chains and reduces business costs, while setting standards for emerging areas of cooperation like the digital economy.

He noted that ASEAN has just launched negotiations on an ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement and hopes to work with Australia "as a frontrunner in this field". 

Separately, Mr Lee said that he hopes that ASEAN can leverage on Australia's expertise in the deployment of renewable energy.

"The Clean Energy and Climate Transition track for next year's Special Summit with Australia is thus timely," he said. 

But Mr Lee also called on ASEAN and Australia to work on tangible projects under the AOIP to further underpin Australia’s role in the Indo-Pacific, even as Australia's "firm commitment" to the AOIP signals its continued support for ASEAN centrality.

"Australia’s contributions have been an important factor in ensuring the security and stability of Southeast Asia," he added.

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2023-09-07 08:00:00Z
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Japan PM speaks to China's Li about Fukushima radioactive water release - CNA

TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Wednesday (Sep 6) he explained Japan's stance on the release of treated radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear plant to Chinese Premier Li Qiang on the sidelines of a regional meeting in Indonesia.

Japan started releasing the water from the wrecked plant into the ocean last month, drawing strong criticism from China. In retaliation, China has imposed a blanket ban on all aquatic imports from Japan.

A massive earthquake and tsunami in 2011 triggered a nuclear meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant in the world's worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl 25 years earlier.

Kishida told reporters he spoke briefly with Qiang ahead of a session at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Jakarta.

"During the chat, I explained Japan's position on the treated water to Premier Li," Kishida said. He refused to say how Li had responded.

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2023-09-06 13:49:00Z
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For foreign envoys in China, Xi's G20 absence confirms worrying trend - CNA

He has only left China twice - to visit Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow and to attend a meeting of major BRICS emerging economies in South Africa last month, where he also missed a keynote address without explanation.

SCRIPTED COMMENTS

By comparison, Xi managed five overseas visits in 2022 - when the country's borders were effectively shut due to rigid pandemic controls - and a dozen in 2019 before COVID-19 struck.

Some Western leaders like French President Emmanuel Macron and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken have travelled to China to hold talks with Xi this year.

But for several Western envoys in Beijing, regular access to Chinese officials or even scholars from state-linked think tanks - which play a key role in explaining China's policies to the world - has dropped off compared to before the pandemic, they said.

Scheduling visits for travelling dignitaries, as well as establishing protocols and ensuring media access, is also getting harder, several diplomats said.

When meetings are arranged, Chinese officials stick rigidly to scripted comments, the diplomats said, while some added they experienced hostile behaviour from nationalistic academics. This has curtailed the quality of information envoys can feed back to their capitals, they said.

Reuters reported in July on how some diplomats say they are also facing heightened scrutiny and interference from Chinese authorities.

However, envoys from two countries which enjoy close relations with China said they had experienced no such problems.

Yun Sun, director of the China Program at the Stimson Center, a Washington DC-based think tank, said curtailing access or not attending events is increasingly used by China as "leverage" against countries with whom it has disagreements.

"Engagement is seen and used by China as a leverage to shape other countries' behaviours," Sun said, adding that she had also heard that the lack of access and security restrictions for Western diplomats in China had "intensified".

And with China ramping up a sweeping national security drive, aimed in part at rooting out foreign spies, there is little sign of this trend letting up any time soon, analysts say.

"When the anti-West sentiment is on the rise within the Chinese bureaucracy, frequent contact or close working relationships with Western officials may raise questions about one's political trustworthiness," said Tong Zhao, senior fellow at the US-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

"To Chinese officials, the benefits of such engagements have become less evident, while the political and security risks are growing."

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2023-09-06 12:19:21Z
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Chinese Premier Li Qiang to Attend G-20 Summit With Xi Absent - Bloomberg

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1. Chinese Premier Li Qiang to Attend G-20 Summit With Xi Absent  Bloomberg
2. Xi's G20 no-show hints at China's shifting diplomatic priorities  CNA
3. Analysis: Xi reprimanded by elders at Beidaihe over direction of nation  Nikkei Asia
4. What Xi’s G20 absence means  Hindustan Times
5. Opinion: Looking For Excuses, Xi Skips G20 To Avoid Tough Questions On Economy  NDTV
6. View Full coverage on Google News

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2023-09-05 22:17:59Z
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Malaysia seeks return of ex-Goldman banker convicted in 1MDB case - The Straits Times

NEW YORK - Malaysia wants a former Goldman Sachs banker convicted in 2022 in New York of helping loot billions of dollars from its 1MDB sovereign wealth fund to return to the country before starting his 10-year US prison sentence.

In a letter on Tuesday, to US District Judge Margo Brodie in Brooklyn, federal prosecutors asked for a one-month delay in Roger Ng’s scheduled Sept 6 surrender, so they could talk to Kuala Lumpur about first letting him stand trial on charges there.

“The United States is also working to ensure that the procedures governing the defendant’s return to Malaysia will not unduly delay the service of his US sentence,” prosecutors said.

Ng’s lawyers agreed to the one-month delay, prosecutors said. Mr Marc Agnifilo, one of the lawyers, declined to comment.

The case stemmed from about US$6.5 billion (S$8.85 billion) in bonds that Goldman helped 1MDB sell in 2012 and 2013.

US prosecutors said US$4.5 billion of that sum was embezzled by officials, bankers and their associates.

Ng, 51, was convicted in March 2022 on bribery and money laundering conspiracy charges.

Judge Brodie called his embezzlement “a crime of pure greed” when sentencing Ng a year later.

At a court hearing in August, US prosecutor Drew Rolle said Ng could be returned to Malaysia to stand trial there once he is in US custody.

Mr Agnifilo said at the hearing that Malaysia wanted Ng’s cooperation with an ongoing 1MDB probe.

Ng was arrested in Malaysia in November 2018 and agreed to be extradited to the US three months later.

In a separate letter to Judge Brodie on Tuesday, lawyers hired in September by Malaysia’s government said the US had “backtracked” on its commitments regarding Ng’s surrender. The lawyers called the matter a “very serious issue”.

Another one-time Goldman banker, Ng’s former boss Tim Leissner, pleaded guilty and testified against Ng at trial. He has not yet been sentenced.

Jho Low, the alleged mastermind of the 1MDB scheme, was also criminally charged but is at large. REUTERS

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2023-09-05 17:00:40Z
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