Association of South East Asian Nations

US Orders Non-Essential Embassy Staff to Leave Myanmar as Unrest Continues

Myanmar activists held candle-lit vigils overnight after scores of deaths in recent days from a military crackdown on anti-coup protesters and clashes in ethnic border areas.

Myanmar activists held candle-lit vigils overnight after scores of deaths in recent days from a military crackdown on anti-coup protesters and clashes in ethnic border areas as the United States ordered non-essential embassy staff to leave.

At least 521 civilians have been killed in two months of protests against the February 1, 2021 coup, 141 of them on Saturday, the bloodiest day of the unrest, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners. The advocacy group said a further eight people died on Tuesday, when thousands came out to march in several towns, according to media and photos on social media.

There were also new candle-lit protests overnight in towns across Myanmar in defiance of a curfew and at least one dawn march on Wednesday by demonstrators, media reports said.

Myanmar has been in turmoil since the army ousted an elected government led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, detaining her and reimposing military rule after a decade of tentative steps towards democracy.

Watch: ‘India Ambivalent on Myanmar as Government Is Unsure What Stand to Take’

Fighting has also flared between the army and insurgents in frontier regions, and refugees are spilling over borders. The Karen National Union (KNU) rebel group, which operates along the eastern border with Thailand, said on Tuesday it was bracing for a major government offensive. The group urged the international community, neighbouring Thailand in particular, to help Karen people fleeing the “onslaught” and called for countries to cut ties with the junta to stop the violence against civilians.

Meanwhile, the Kachin Independence Army, a rebel group in the north, attacked a police station in Kachin state at 3 am on Wednesday, the Kachin News Group said. A march by civilian protesters also took place at dawn on Wednesday in Moegaung in Kachin, the news service reported.

Police and a spokesperson for the Myanmar junta did not answer calls seeking comment.

UN refugee agency concerned

The United States on Tuesday ordered the departure of non-emergency US government employees and their family members from Myanmar due to concerns over civil unrest.

Opponents of the coup have called for a united front with insurgent groups. Rebels have battled the government for decades for greater autonomy in remote border regions. The military has justified its long grip on power by saying it is the only institution capable of ensuring national unity.

Also read: ‘Beyond Shame’: Manipur Govt Orders Denial of Food, Shelter for Myanmar Refugees, Then Backtracks

Military aircraft bombed KNU fighters on the weekend, sending about 3,000 villagers fleeing to Thailand. Thailand denied accusations from activists that refugees were being forced to return, but a Thai official on the border said the army was sending most people back because it was deemed safe on the Myanmar side. A spokesperson for the UN refugee agency said it was concerned about reports people were being sent back and it was seeking information from Thailand.

A border state in India withdrew an order to refuse refugees food and shelter after the measure drew fierce public criticism.

US says violence “reprehensible”

The military seized power saying that the November elections won by Suu Kyi’s party were fraudulent, an assertion dismissed by the election commission.

A civil disobedience campaign of strikes has paralysed parts of the economy, and protesters stepped it up by asking residents on Tuesday to leave rubbish at city intersections.

Residents use trash to block streets as a form of protest in Thaketa township, Yangon, Myanmar, in this image obtained by Reuters on March 30, 2021.

Western countries have condemned the coup and the violence and called for Suu Kyi’s release, and some have imposed limited sanctions.

Also read: Myanmar: As Death Toll Crosses 500, Protesters Launch Garbage Strike

In Washington, US secretary of state Antony Blinken said some foreign countries and companies with significant investments in enterprises that support Myanmar’s military should reconsider those stakes. He said the recent violence was “reprehensible” and followed a pattern of “increasingly disturbing and even horrifying violence” against demonstrators opposing military rule.

Indonesia has led efforts by members of the ten-country Association of Southeast Asian Nations, of which Myanmar is a member, to encourage a negotiated solution, despite an old agreement not to comment on each other’s problems.

Foreign criticism and Western sanctions against previous Myanmar juntas have had little short-term impact.

ASEAN Ends Impasse and Urges Non-Militarisation in South China Sea

Foreign ministers from the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) ended an impasse over how to resolve South China Sea disputes, calling for militarisation and island-building to be avoided.

Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono (6-L) joins foreign ministers and representatives of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) in the ASEAN-Japan Ministerial Meeting of the 50th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (AMM) and Related Meetings in Manila, Philippines August 6, 2017. Credit: Reuters/Rolex Dela Pena

Manila: Southeast Asian foreign ministers ended an impasse on Sunday over how to address disputes with China in the South China Sea, issuing a communique that called for militarisation to be avoided and noting concern about island-building.

The South China Sea has long been the most divisive issue for the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), with China‘s influence looming large over its activities. Some countries are wary about the possible repercussions of defying Beijing by taking a stronger stand.

ASEAN failed to issue the customary statement on Saturday, over what diplomats said was disagreement about whether to make oblique references to China‘s rapid expansion of its defence capabilities on artificial islands in disputed waters.

China is sensitive to even a veiled reference by ASEAN to its seven reclaimed reefs, three of which have runways, missile batteries, radars and, according to some experts, the capability to accommodate fighter jets.

The communique late on Sunday takes a stronger position than an earlier, unpublished draft, which was a watered-down version of one issued last year in Laos.

The agreed text “emphasised the importance of non-militarisation and self-restraint”.

It said that after extensive discussions, concerns were voiced by some members about land reclamation “and activities in the area which have eroded trust and confidence, increased tension and may undermine peace, security and stability”.

ASEAN‘s deadlock over the statement highlights China‘s growing influence on the grouping at a time of uncertainty over the new US administration’s security priorities and whether it will try to keep China‘s maritime activities in check.

Several ASEAN diplomats said that among the members who pushed for a communique that retained the more contentious elements was Vietnam, which has competing claims with China over the Paracel and Spratly archipelago and has had several spats with Beijing over energy concessions.

Another diplomat, however, said there was no real disagreement on the contents of the communique and stressed that the initial draft was seen by some members as weak.

Also on Sunday the foreign ministers of ASEAN and China adopted a negotiating framework for a code of conduct in the South China Sea, a move they hailed as progress but seen by critics as a tactic to buy China time to consolidate its maritime power.

(Reuters)

Malaysia PM Warns Uneven Growth Could Fuel Extremism

Malaysian PM Razak Najib warned that South East Asian countries needed to ensure more inclusive growth or risk fuelling extremism amongst the marginalised.

Malaysian Prime Minister Razak Najib waves to photographers upon arrival at the Manila International Airport in Pasay city, metro Manila, Philippines April 27, 2017. Credit: Reuters/Romeo Ranoco

Manila: Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak warned on Friday that South East Asian countries needed to ensure their economic growth was inclusive, or risk marginalised people turning to violent extremism or even overturning political systems.

“We know that those who see no hope in their own societies are more prone to the siren calls of terrorists who can exploit their vulnerability and fill them with their lies,” Najib told an entrepreneurship event during an Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Manila.

Islamist extremism is expected to be on the agenda, with fears for Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines about piracy, the rising threat of ISIS and the ease with which militants can acquire weapons and move between countries.

But the first order of the summit addressed a more pressing threat, as ASEAN called for calm from all involved in tensions on the Korean peninsula.

US President Donald Trump in an interview with Reuters said a “major, major conflict” was possible with North Korea over its missile programmes and China said the situation could slip out of control.

In a rare, stand-alone statement, ASEAN urged North Korea and all parties concerned “to exercise self-restraint in order to de-escalate the tension and refrain from actions that may aggravate the situation”.

Indonesian foreign minister Retno Marsudi said all countries were worried.

“The Korean peninsula is not that far from Southeast Asia. So whatever happens in the Korean peninsula, for sure it will affect us,” she told Reuters.

Dangers of disparity

Najib lauded the success of the 50-year-old ASEAN in expanding its collective gross domestic product to about $2.7 trillion, from $87 billion four decades ago, and said the region could become the world’s fourth-largest economy.

ASEAN has ten members: Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Singapore, Brunei, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines.

Trade integration was lagging, Najib said, and tariff removal and harmonised customs standards needed to be “vigorously pursued”.

The Malaysian leader, whose premiership has been dogged by corruption allegations, which he rejects, and is expected to call an election this year, also warned that economic disparity could be politically destabilising.

“The neglected underclass of those who felt left behind by economic growth, prosperity and globalisation can overturn elections and political systems,” he said.

Philippines Vice President Leni Robredo echoed Najib’s call for leaders to pay more attention to their poor.

“The voiceless and the powerless are now raring to be heard … their frustrations are being felt on a global scale,” she said in a speech.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte will chair meetings of the ASEAN leaders on Saturday. He made it clear on Thursday that Beijing’s contentious activities in the South China Sea – a divisive topic that figures at most ASEAN meetings – would not be discussed because it would achieve nothing.

Indonesia’s Marsudi said the South China Sea issue was discussed among her counterparts but the focus was on completing guidelines for negotiating an ASEAN-China maritime code of conduct.

Critics are sceptical and say China is trying to buy time while it develops islands it built from scratch, adding missiles and, according to some experts, the capability to deploy combat aircraft in disputed waters deep into Southeast Asia.

ASEAN secretary general, Le Luong Minh, said the code needed to be legally binding to put a stop to “unilateral actions” because a previous commitment to play fair had been ignored.

“It’s important … because of the complex developments in the South China Sea, especially the reclamation and militarisation activities and all those unilateral actions,” Minh told Reuters in an interview.

“In that context, the need for an instrument which is legally binding.”

(Reuters)

China’s Push for South China Sea Code Suspicious, Say ASEAN Members

An earlier declaration which limits activity in the South China Sea was not stuck to by China, which has built seven islands in the Spratly archipelago.

An aerial view of China occupied Subi Reef at Spratly Islands in disputed South China Sea April 21, 2017. Credit: Reuters/Francis Malasig/Pool

Manila: China’s support for finalising a code of conduct in the hotly contested South China Sea is generating some hope in Southeast Asia of settling disputes, but those working out the terms remain unconvinced of Beijing’s sincerity.

Signing China up to a legally binding and enforceable code for the strategic waterway has long been a goal for claimant members of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN).

But given the continued building and arming of its artificial islands in the South China Sea, Beijing’s recently expressed desire to work with ASEAN to complete a framework this year has been met with scepticism and suspicion.

“Some of us in ASEAN believe this is just another ploy by China to buy time,” said one senior diplomat familiar with the talks.

“China is expectedly stalling until it has completely attained its strategic objectives… What need is there for the green grass when the horse is dead?”

The framework seeks to advance a 2002 Declaration of Conduct (DOC) of Parties in the South China Sea, which commits to following the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), ensuring freedom of navigation and overflight, and “refraining from action of inhabiting on the presently uninhabited islands, reefs, shoals, cays, and other features”.

But the DOC was not stuck to, especially by China, which has built seven islands in the Spratly archipelago. It is now capable of deploying combat planes on three reclaimed reefs, where radars and surface-to-air missile systems have also been installed, according to the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative think tank.

Beijing insists its activities are for defence purposes, in areas it considers its waters. Malaysia, Taiwan, Brunei, Vietnam and the Philippines, however, all claim some or all of the resource-rich waterway and its myriad of shoals, reefs and islands.

Binding contract

The ASEAN diplomat said the two rounds of talks so far this year gave the impression of progress, but details worked out so far were “essentially the same” as the DOC.

Another diplomat from the 10-member bloc said the framework would be “re-stating most of the major points” of the DOC, but the hard part was getting China to agree to a legally binding contract.

“Here lies the big challenge. You need to understand this is not just a simple matter of conforming to a set of words,” the diplomat said.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang did not directly answer a question on whether China would support an enforceable code of conduct, but said China hoped for the framework and code to be completed this year.

Finalising the framework would be a feather in the cap for the Philippines, which chairs ASEAN this year. Manila has reversed its stance on the South China Sea, from advocating a unified front and challenging Beijing’s unilateralism, to putting disputes aside to create warm ties.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has opted not to press China to abide by an international arbitration decision last year that ruled in Manila’s favour and invalidated Beijing’s sweeping South China Sea claims.

There will be no mention of the Hague ruling in an ASEAN leaders’ statement at a summit in Manila on Saturday, nor will there be any reference to concerns about island-building or militarisation that appeared in last year’s text, according to excerpts of a draft seen by Reuters.

A diplomat at the ASEAN secretariat said there was urgency from all parties to get the framework done this year, but ASEAN was taking “a leap of faith” with China and there were concerns about what the end result might be.

Richard Heydarian, an expert on politics and international affairs at Manila’s De La Salle University, said China’s strategy was to project an image of being a responsible stakeholder rather than an aggressor, and avoid being bound to rules that could weaken its geopolitical position should the US assert itself in the South China Sea.

“China wants to come up with a symbolic framework that says to America ‘Hey, back off, we’re dealing with ASEAN on a very diplomatic level’, but nothing significant enough to operationally restrict their ability to respond if the Trump administration takes a tougher position,” he said.

(Reuters)

Philippines’ Officials Welcome South China Sea Ruling

Though China had claimed that it had widespread support, many countries have stuck to cautious comments about resolving disputes and international laws.

Chinese dredging vessels are purportedly seen in the waters around Mischief Reef in the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea in this still image from video taken by a P-8A Poseidon surveillance aircraft provided by the US Navy, May 21, 2015. US Navy/Handout via Reuters/File Photo

Manila/Ulaanbaatar: A decision invalidating China‘s vast claims in the South China Sea was a “crowning glory” that renews faith in international law, the Philippines’ top lawyer said on Friday, July 15, in Manila’s strongest comment yet on its sweeping win.

The remarks by Solicitor General Jose Calida follow two days of carefully calibrated responses from the Philippines and are almost certain to irritate China further.

Manila has so far been keen not to rock the boat in the hope of starting dialogue towards Beijing allowing it to exercise what the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague ruled were its sovereign maritime rights.

“It confirms that no one state can claim virtually an entire sea. The award is a historic win not only for the Philippines … it renews humanity’s faith in a rules based global order,” Calida told a forum on the South China Sea.

“The award opens a horizon of possibilities for all stakeholders. The award is a crowning glory of international law.”

Speaking at a meeting of Asian and European officials in Mongolia, Philippine foreign minister Perfecto Yasay said Manila “strongly affirms its respect for the milestone decision” while reiterating his call for “restraint and sobriety”.

China has refused to recognise Tuesday, July 12, ruling and did not take part in its proceedings. It has reacted angrily to calls by Western countries for the decision to be adhered to.

China‘s foreign ministry on Friday, July 15, said Beijing’s position on the case had the support of Laos, the current chair of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), a regional bloc long dogged by discord over how to deal with China‘s maritime assertiveness.

The verdict was discussed on Thursday, July 14, between Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Lao Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith ahead of a regional summit in Mongolia.

“Thongloun said that Laos supports China‘s position, and is willing to work with China to maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea region,” the ministry said in a statement.

The statement did not elaborate. Laos’ foreign ministry did not responded to Reuters‘ request for comment and its state media made no mention of Thongloun’s comments to Li.

Land-locked Laos, which is boosting economic ties with China, will be hosting a security meeting later this month at which the South China Sea is expected to dominate. ASEAN has not issued a statement about the ruling and its members have not said why.

China‘s foreign ministry later said Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen had told Li that Cambodia would uphold a “fair and objective stance” on the South China Sea issue and work to maintain friendly China-ASEAN relations, according to a statement.

Asked about Cambodia’s position, foreign affairs minister Prak Sokhonn told Reuters, “We are not involved in this arbitration case and just wish to stand by our policy of neutrality.”

Cautious approach

China has previously said it has widespread support for its rejection of the case but many countries have stuck to cautious comments about resolving disputes peacefully and respecting international laws.

China claims much of the South China Sea, through which more than $5 trillion of trade moves annually. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam have rival claims.

Philippines’ President Rodrigo Duterte ended his unusual silence at a private function late on Thursday, July 14, and said he wanted dialogue with China and was considering sending former President Fidel Ramos to Beijing to get the ball rolling.

“War is not an option,” he said. “So, what is the other side? – Peaceful talk.”

Immediately after the ruling, the normally brash and outspoken Duterte privately told his ministers to be magnanimous and not to pique Beijing, according to one minister.

But the cautious tone appears to be changing in the Philippines, where there are signs of public disgruntlement with the subdued government response to a decision that most of the country was celebrating.

The US, a key Philippines’ ally, is urging Asian nations not to move aggressively to capitalise on the court ruling, according to US administration officials.

The chief of its naval operations, Admiral John Richardson will discuss the South China Sea among other issues when he meets China‘s navy commander, Admiral Wu Shengli, from Sunday, July 17, on a three-day trip to “improve mutual understanding”, according to a US navy statement.

Chinese state media on Friday, July 15, reported again that China aims to launch a series of offshore nuclear power platforms to promote development in the South China Sea. Experts said little progress had been made on the plan, which would likely stoke further tensions.

(Reuters)