Regional Roundup for the final week of 2016

Happy New Year 2017 and Good Riddance to 2016 from East by Southeast!

EXSE FOCUS

12 Asian Geopolitical Trends and Events From 2016 That’ll Matter in 2017 The Diplomat Here’s wishing the Asia-Pacific a happy and prosperous new year. Watch these issues in the coming year.

 Corruption, crackdowns and conflict: our predictions for 2017 Southeast Asia Globe Southeast Asia Globe picks five issues we expect to be top of the news agenda next year

The ASEAN Crisis, Part 3: What Should ASEAN Do About the South China Sea Dispute?—The Diplomat Three ways ASEAN can improve its ability to mediate in the South China Sea disputes.//This is the final installment in a three-part series. Read Part 1 and Part 2 here. The author stresses the importance of narrowing the development gap between ASEAN countries to foster a more unified ASEAN community.

Chinese warships enter South China Sea near Taiwan in show of force Guardian Beijing’s only aircraft carrier cruises past Taiwan’s Pratas Islands in an exercise state media said showed the country’s improving combat capabilities. A group of Chinese warships led by the country’s sole aircraft carrier entered the South China Sea on Monday after passing south of Taiwan, the self-ruled island’s defence ministry said.

The Mekong Part III: Scaling Back Lao Dams – RFA The Stimson Center, a nonpartisan research center in Washington, D.C., says in a recent report that Laos may be able to mitigate the damage by creating an efficient national power grid and by turning to other sources of power. Brian Eyler, Stimson’s director for Southeast Asia, says, “…there’s still time to make strategic choices regarding water-energy planning in Laos that can minimize to some extent the effects of dams on downstream environmental flows.”

China to ban its elephant ivory trade within a year Mongabay The Chinese government today announced it will close its domestic commercial ivory market by the end of 2017, a move conservation groups are calling a “game-changer” for elephants, which are being rapidly driven toward extinction due to ivory poaching.

China offers $14 million arms package to Philippines for free—South China Morning Post China has offered to provide $14 million worth of small arms and fast boats to the Philippines for free, aiding President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs and fighting terrorism.//Last year, the US provided $82 million in military aid to Philippines.

Scientists discover 163 new species in Greater Mekong region, spurring conservation push—South China Morning Post A rainbow-headed snake, a tiny frog and a lizard with dragon-like horns are among more than 150 new species confirmed by scientists last year in the ecologically diverse but threatened Mekong region. //Some of the species discovered are beautiful. Check out pictures here

As China’s Largest Freshwater Lake Shrinks, Solution Faces Criticism NYT A proposed sluice gate faces a chorus of opposition from scientists and environmental groups who say it could have disastrous effects on the lake’s fragile ecosystem.

No Trial for Beijing Officers Over Death of Environmentalist – NYT Prosecutors found that the officers misused force and delayed medical care for Lei Yang, a 29-year-old environmentalist, but declined to take the widely watched case further.

Life in China, Smothered by Smog—New York Times Beijing and other parts of China have for days been under a “red alert” issued because of dangerously bad air quality.

Related: Smog refugees flee Chinese cities as ‘airpocalypse’ blights half a billion—The Guardian

Malaysia calls for ASEAN to coordinate aid for Rohingya—DVB Malaysia said on Monday the plight of Rohingya Muslims in Burma was a regional concern and called for the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) to coordinate humanitarian aid and investigate alleged atrocities committed against them.

Related: Rohingya plight now an Asean issue—Bangkok Post

REGIONAL RELATIONS

Duterte says he’ll set aside South China Sea feud ruling against Beijing—South China Morning Post The Philippine president said on Saturday he would “set aside” a ruling by an international arbitration tribunal that invalidated Beijing’s claims to most of the busy South China Sea, because he doesn’t want to impose on China.

Strong Environmental and Social Safeguards Must Accompany Asia’s Infrastructure Drive  ADB Asia’s spending on growth-boosting infrastructure is set to get a tailwind from development financing while the safeguard systems used by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and other development banks as conditions for their loans are under international scrutiny.

Muted U.S. Response to China’s Seizure of Drone Worries Asian Allies—New York Times The episode is seen as one more reason to fear Beijing, and to doubt whether the American Navy will rise to the defense of allies in the region.

Related: China Agrees to Return Seized Drone, Ending Standoff, Pentagon Says—New York Times

China says Trump’s pick of hostile trade adviser is ‘no laughing matter’—The Guardian State media voices concern about the appointment of hawkish Peter Navarro to key trade post

Thailand seeks to develop military production facilities with China—South China Morning Post Thailand and China were in talks about building military production facilities in Thailand, a Thai defence ministry spokesman said on Wednesday, the latest sign of warming relations between China and America’s oldest ally in Asia.

SUSTAINABILITY AND NATURAL RESOURCES

Dolphin deaths slowing Mongabay The critically endangered Irrawaddy dolphin’s population in the Mekong is “stabilising”, the World Wildlife Fund said yesterday. With the sighting of 10 new dolphin calves and six reported deaths in the past year, 2016 saw a 30 percent drop in the mortality rate compared to 2015, according to the statement, though the current population estimate of 80.

Shanghai water supply hit by 100-tonne wave of garbage—The Guardian Ships are suspected of dumping waste upstream on China’s Yangtze river before it floats into a key city reservoir

When going green isn’t good: algal bloom threatens China’s mangrove forest—South China Morning Post A massive algal bloom in southern China has turned the coastline green and is threatening conservation of a mangrove forest.

A Matter of Rights in the Future of the Mekong—International Rivers The United Nations Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council recently published the outcome of communications on the human rights impacts of the Don Sahong Dam.

Laos’ Xekaman 3 Dam Break Shuts Off Power to Vietnam—RFA A break in a critical waterway shut down a hydro-electric dam in southern Laos and raised questions about the quality of construction at the facility that sends most of the power it generates to Vietnam.

Uncertain path for Vietnam’s wind power sector—Mekong Eye Although Vietnam has great potential for renewable energy, and the government has put forward many plans advocating it, actual policies to secure investment and develop the sector have been slow to evolve.

Hydropower in Myanmar: For Whose Benefit?—Mekong Eye Amidst the many challenges Myanmar now faces, the threats to the environment are urgent – and they are growing more extreme.

Villagers wary of M’kiri mine project—Phnom Penh Post An environmental impact assessment released on Friday for a $245 million mining project slated to begin operations in Mondolkiri province next year has raised concerns about its potential effects on the environment and local communities.

Consumer pressure to ditch deforestation begins to reach Indonesia’s oil palm plantation giants—Mongabay Major oil palm growers in Indonesia have increasingly found that what’s bad for the environment is bad for business.

Study maps 187 land conflicts as palm oil expands in Kalimantan—Mongabay Palm oil production in Indonesia often comes at the expense of traditionally managed lands as well as the livelihoods of indigenous communities, causing widespread conflict in the archipelago country.

Stone, Sand, Water: the key ingredients changing the Salween landscape—Mongabay With industrial development hurtling ahead in Myanmar, dams are just one of the threats facing the Salween River.

CHINA

Uncertainty Over New Chinese Law Rattles Foreign Nonprofits NYT The law regulating NGOs remains opaque, and groups working on politically sensitive issues like human rights and legal reform are jittery about their future.

China to rein in outward investment as domestic growth stalls Guardian Government to make it easier for firms abroad to invest in China and tougher for Chinese companies to buy assets overseas to contain capital outflow. Beijing has signalled plans to curb Chinese firms’ investment in foreign assets, after revealing that companies from China are on course to spend 1.12 trillion yuan (£130bn) on everything from British football clubs to a Hollywood film producer in 2016.

China’s Anticorruption Drive Ensnares the Lowly and Rattles Families—WSJ A pig farmer’s confession to bribery—and what happened after he retracted it—shows a dark side to President Xi Jinping’s campaign. While popular as a tool to root out endemic graft, the policy is also upending life for citizens far removed from China’s top officials.

SOUTHEAST ASIA

Cambodia’s Experiment With Responsible Tourism The Diplomat In Cambodia, local communities open their homes to visitors as part of community-based tourism.

Militants in Myanmar Spur Army Reprisals, Refugee Flight—WSJ Rohingya refugees are pouring from Myanmar into Bangladesh with stories of atrocities, fleeing what is emerging as the world’s newest guerrilla war.

Myanmar ‘Callous’ Toward Anti-Rohingya Violence, U.N. Says—New York Times  Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein, the body’s human rights chief, called the government’s approach “shortsighted, counterproductive and even callous.”

Myanmar military launches air strikes ‘continuously’ on ethnic rebels—South China Morning Post Myanmar government forces have started launching attacks on the headquarters of the military wing of one of the country’s ethnic rebel groups, the group said Saturday.

Thailand Takes Small Steps Forward After Longtime King’s Death—New York Times Thais are beginning to accept the king’s disappearance from their lives and the succession of his son to the throne.

New cabinet starts working Tuesday—Bangkok Post The reshuffled cabinet including five new appointees — none of them from the military — will get down to work on Tuesday when its regular weekly meeting is held at Government House.

Red-shirt leaders charged with illegal political gatherings—Bangkok Post Military prosecutors on Friday charged 19 leading red-shirt members with defying a ban on political gatherings in organising the launch of a centre to monitor the charter referendum.

Vietnam’s economy in first slowdown in four years Investvine Vietnam’s economy expanded an estimated 6.21 per cent this year, slightly less than in 2015 and marking the first slowdown in four years, but a fourth-quarter surge to 6.68 per cent was the best for a year, keeping it among

The Fault Lines in Vietnam’s Next Political Struggle—The Diplomat Infighting ahead of the next mid-term Congress is already visible.

Floods kill 24 in central Vietnam as forecasters warn of more rain—South China Morning Post Days of unseasonably torrential rains have killed at least 24 people in central Vietnam, authorities said on Monday, inundating large parts of the region including the popular tourist town of Hoi An.

Is Indonesia’s Vaunted Secularism Under Threat?—The Diplomat Do protests against Jakarta’s Chinese-Christian governor signal a turn toward Islam’s far right?

Related: The persecution of a Christian mayor in Indonesia—The Economist

Duterte Vows to Step Down as Philippines Leader If Regions Get More Power—WSJ  Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte vowed to step down as the country’s leader in two years—that is, if the Philippines switches to a federal form of government that provides more power to regions such as Mindanao, where he served as a mayor for 20 years.

Philippine rights body to investigate President Rodrigo Duterte’s claim he carried out killings—South China Morning Post The Philippines independent human rights watchdog said on Thursday it will investigate President Rodrigo Duterte’s admission he killed three criminals years ago, after the UN’s rights chief called for a murder probe.

Typhoon Nock-Ten Batters Philippines, Raising Flood Fears—WSJ The storm struck densely populated areas south of Manila after making landfall in the Philippines on Christmas Day, with strong winds uprooting trees and knocking down power lines, and heavy rains submerging several low-lying towns.

Philippine government files criminal charges against Senator De Lima, one of Duterte’s few critics—South China Morning Post The Philippine government filed a criminal case in court on Wednesday against a staunch critic of President Rodrigo Duterte, accusing her of trying to sabotage a congressional investigation into her alleged involvement in the drugs trade.

Lao Prime Minister Moves to Stop Land-for-Capital Deals—RFA Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith says he wants to end the Lao government’s policy of bartering land for development, in a reversal of a long-term practice that has seen large swaths of the country go to foreign-backed investors.

Lao Politburo Forces Officials to Give Up Their Luxury Cars – RFA Top Lao officials will have to give up the keys to their government-purchased BMW and Mercedes Benz automobiles as the politburo has decided that they can drive cheaper Toyotas instead.

The high cost of criticism—New Mandala The Cambodian government is increasingly critical of the international human rights community,

Indonesia Police in Counterterror Push After Slaying Two Suspects—WSJ Officers said that they are planning more counterterrorism operations after killing two militants in a shootout on Christmas Day.

Big thanks to Gabriella Neusner for running the news digest since September!