Regional Roundup for Week of 7.14.18

This week we discovered that five of the thirteen boys rescued from Tham Luang Cave were stateless migrants from parts of Myanmar. It might seem striking that children from both sides of the border get together to play on the same Thai soccer team, but in the Golden Triangle borders have always been relatively porous. Historically, many different ethnic groups have migrated across its borders including the Hmong, Lao, Shan and Wa peoples. People have always moved through this region with little regard for borders, which in the large scope are relatively new. Most came out of China, and the largest pushes happened when Chinese dynasties fell or at a time of major upheaval. In fact, Thai people passed through the area as they migrated from China over 1000 years ago before they settled in what is today called Thailand.

EXSE FOCUS

Mekong Delta faces a bleaker future than people realize  –VnExpress International

A combination of negative developments has put at serious risk the viability of Vietnam’s rice bowl as also the source of most of its seafood exports. With every passing year of environmental degradation, land loss in the Mekong Delta assumes progressively grave proportions.//Veteran Mekong Rich Cronin in a rare op-ed.

Unsung heroes return home as boys regain strength in hospital –Bangkok Post
Volunteers and officials who took part in the mission to save 12 young footballers and their coach have left behind an unforgettable legacy and returned home to warm welcomes from local residents, while the boys made thumbs-up gestures from their hospital beds.  Bird’s nest climbers returning home from Chiang Rai’s Mae Sai district arrived in Hat Yai district of Songkhla on Wednesday — and were greeted with a banner reading “Libong Heroes” and a welcoming party of officials at the airport.

                Related: Stateless and Poor, Some Boys in Thai Cave Had Already Beaten Long Odds –New York Times

NLA approves 20-year national strategy –Bangkok Post
The National Legislative Assembly has voted unanimously to approve the National Strategy, with binding effect over the next 20 years and penalties for non-compliance. After the 179-0 vote in favour on Friday, the strategy will be submitted for royal endorsement by the prime minister within 20 days. //When implemented, this will cement the Thai military’s already strong influence on Thai politics for the foreseeable future.

                Related: National strategy wins NLA backing –The Nation

REGIONAL RELATIONS

South Korea-Vietnam Navy Ties in the Spotlight –The Diplomat
This week, South Korea’s chief of naval operations paid a visit to Vietnam as part of a wider Asia trip. The trip once again spotlighted the growing security collaboration underway between Hanoi and Seoul as part of their wider strategic partnership, with consequences not just for bilateral ties but for the wider region as well.

Philippines enters social security partnership with Germany, Japan –Investvine
The Philippines, now has bilateral Social Security Agreements (SSAs) with Germany and Japan effective June 1 and August 1 of this year, respectively, ensuring the protection of social security rights for more than 230,000 Filipinos abroad, the official Philippines Information Agency of the government announced in a statement on July 6. Social Security System president and chief executive officer Emmanuel F. Dooc said that these bilateral SSAs, are aimed at reducing or eliminating nationality- and territory-based restrictions on social security, will benefit an estimated 47,214 Filipinos in Germany and 182,917 Filipinos in Japan, who are working or residing permanently in these two countries.

US, Vietnam to Cooperate on Freedom of Navigation in Disputed South China Sea –VOA
The U.S. top diplomat reaffirmed America’s commitment to a “free and open Indo-Pacific” region during his first trip to Vietnam, saying Washington and Hanoi will work together to uphold freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo concluded his first trip to Vietnam as the top U.S. diplomat on Monday. //The current growing resentment towards China in Vietnam could strengthen defense ties with the United States in the near future.

Japan Re-affirms its Support for Mekong Irrigation Facilities Improvement –MRC The government of Japan has re-affirmed its support to the Mekong River Commission in continuing activities under a project to improve irrigation facilities across the lower Mekong countries of Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand and Viet Nam, MRC CEO Pham Tuan Phan said. In a meeting, held on 5 July 2018 in Vientiane, between the CEO and representatives from the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Japan offered its clear support to this project and its on-going associated activities which require US$1.4 million to implement.

Cambodia, Thailand end cross-border rail transport talks –Mekong Eye  Cambodia and Thailand on Friday concluded negotiations on the transport of goods and people by train across their shared border, with an official agreement expected to be signed in upcoming months. The ball is now on Thailand’s court, according to Cambodian officials, who said they are now waiting on their Thai counterparts to hold internal discussions before a final agreement on cross-border rail transport between the two countries can be signed.

US to Cease Issuing Visas to Laos Citizens Following Deportation Row –Laotian Times  The Trump administration has ordered suspension of the issuance of certain visas to citizens of Laos after the country refused to take back its persons deported from the United States. The US Department of Homeland Security made the announcement on Tuesday afternoon, saying it had ordered the State Department to sanction visas for Laos and Myanmar because the two countries “have denied or unreasonably delayed accepting their nationals ordered removed.” //The majority of Lao nationals the United States is deporting are Hmong who have little to no remaining ties to Laos.

China, Myanmar Agree 15-Point MoU on Economic Corridor –The Irrawaddy Chinese and Myanmar officials agreed a 15-point Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on building a China-Myanmar Economic Corridor, part of China’s One Belt One Road Initiative, said U Min Zaw Oo, the director of the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration (DICA). “The agreements have been reached. The 15-point MoU is ready,” U Min Zaw Oo told The Irrawaddy.“We hope both countries will sign it this year,” he said. // This could potentially be problematic since the corridor runs through conflict zones in Myanmar.

SUSTAINABILITY AND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

In ironic twist, drive for clean energy creates Asian coal boom –Nikkei Asian Review Coal, one of the world’s most polarizing commodities, has now become an Asian irony. Efforts to curb use of the so-called black diamond in the West have been a boon for coal companies in the East, more so now that the benchmark price for thermal coal exceeded $120 per ton in July, the highest since 2012. No one was surprised in March when Tambang Batubara Bukit Asam, one of Indonesia’s largest coal producer, posted a 123% year-on-year jump in net profit to 4.4 trillion rupiah( $325 million)  for the period ended December.

 Singapore to help ASEAN better tackle climate change with new programme –Channel NewsAsia There will be a slew of Singapore-led programmes from this year until 2020 as part of efforts to help ASEAN countries tackle climate change. Under the Climate Action Package (CAP) launched on Tuesday (Jul 10), Singapore will organise programmes to develop capacity in key areas such as disaster risk reduction, climate science, flood management and long-term mitigation and adaptation strategies.

Egat on the ropes –Bangkok Post The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat) is showing signs of decline as the 49-year-old wholly owned state utility struggles to tighten costs and reorganise in the wake of market decentralization and private competition. The company, which had not reduced staff since being established, now says it is cutting payroll and red tape as it strives to escape the fate of CAT Telecom, another state entity that has seen its bottom line succumb to stiff competition.//Decentralization will likely lead to onboarding more private energy generation assets within Thailand – most of them renewable energy. 

How bad Southeast Asia’s deforestation effect is? –International Business Times After global warming, many would argue that deforestation is the second biggest threat when it comes to environmental concerns. However, it turns out that’s not the case after all, especially when it comes to Southeast Asia. Researchers have recently discovered that the rate of deforestation across the highlands of Southeast Asia since 2000 has been much higher than expected.

Vietnam anti-pollution program gets $23.3 million in new funding –VnExpress International Vietnam government has approved an allocation of VND535 billion ($23.3 million) for an ongoing five-year program to curb environmental pollution. The new state budget fund will identify and implement better treatment and handling methods for public utilities that heavily pollute the environment, pesticides-laden locations and grade II wastewater in urban areas, according a decision by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

Transparency Concerns Raised About 7 Dam Projects in Southern Myanmar–The Irrawaddy Local residents are concerned about the lack of transparency surrounding seven proposed dam projects backed by international companies in southern Myanmar, some of which have already resulted in forced displacement, land confiscation and loss of crops without compensation, according to a report by the Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG). The seven projects are expected to have total capacity of 2,265 megawatts. Along with the local company Asia World, the major investors are from Thailand, Japan and Norway. Many of the proposed projects are designed primarily to export electricity to Thailand or China.

CHINA

China’s Belt-Road Initiative: Too Much of a Good Thing? –Asia Sentinel  China’s heavily-promoted Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), designed to ensure that all roads lead to Beijing on Beijing’s terms, is facing increasing headwinds across Asia and beyond as the leaders of countries involved have started to count the cost. In addition, China’s attempts at political and economic manipulation of smaller countries are becoming increasingly visible, making client countries suspicious as well. //With growing uneasiness about China’s influence in the region, some Southeast Asian countries will look to countries like Japan as an alternative option for infrastructure finance.

China releases 2020 action plan for air pollution –China Dialogue  China’s new plan for tackling air pollution (published on July 3) is more detailed and covers more cities than the one which expired at the end of 2017 – but it does not set tougher targets than those already in place. The earlier Air Pollution Action Plan, released in September 2013, may have been China’s most influential environmental policy of the past five years. It helped China to make significant improvements to air quality by setting PM2.5 targets for key regions, requiring significant reductions between 2013 and 2017 – of 15% in the Pearl River Delta, and of 33% in Beijing.

China tells the U.S. to stop hurting itself in the trade war –Washington Post Another day, another round of tariffs. After President Trump unveiled a new list of Chinese goods the United States plans to slap with import duties — this time worth a staggering $200 billion — Beijing punched back with a somberly worded warning.  “The behavior of the U.S. is hurting China, hurting the world, and hurting itself,” the Ministry of Commerce said Wednesday in a statement.

Is China Using Force or Coercion in the South China Sea? –The Diplomat Tensions in the South China Sea have steadily increased in recent years in light of China’s enhanced island building activities, conducted to make room for what is now a string of fully fledged military bases, equipped with airstrips, electronic warfare equipment, and long-range anti-ship and anti-air missiles. The defense ministers of Australia, Japan, and the United States issued a joint statement on June 3, 2018, conveying their governments’ “strong opposition to the use of force or coercion as well as unilateral action to alter the status quo, and to the use of disputed features for military purposes in the South China Sea.”

Are arms exports a tool of Chinese foreign policy? –East Asia Forum At the 19th Chinese Communist Party Congress in October 2017, President Xi Jinping reaffirmed China’s ambition to complete the modernisation of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) by the middle of the 21st century. This has involved two decades of deepening civil–military integration as well as more recent reform of China’s defence and technological industrial base, the introduction of competition between Chinese state-owned defence enterprises and further integration of the private defence manufacturing sector.

SOUTHEAST ASIA

Anti-China Protests hint at Vietnam’s growing unrest with ruling party –Southeast Asia Globe When Vietnam was rocked by nationwide protests over a controversial bill on special economic zones (SEZs), locals took it to the streets of major cities and the provinces affected by the zones. Protesters clashed with police, and in Binh Thuan province, demonstrators attacked administrative buildings and set cars on fire. What caused such frustration was not the prospect of having more SEZs in the country, but the high likelihood that Chinese companies will be among the first to enjoy the suggested 99-year land lease rule.

Billions allocated to small, medium enterprise promotion –Vientiane Times   More than 2,715.8 billion kip will be sourced and allocated for the promotion of small and medium enterprises (SME) to facilitate better access to finance to grow their businesses. In this regard, the government will allocate 200 billion kip from the state budget. The remaining more than 2,515.8 billion kip (US$300 million) will be sourced from elsewhere following a resolution of the National Assembly (NA).

Indonesia: work starts on Chinese-funded high-speed railway –Southeast Asia Globe Work has begun on Indonesia’s long-anticipated high-speed railroad, a $5 billion project that will – when completed – become the first high-speed rail in Southeast Asia. Funded by loans from Chinese banks and overseen by China Railway Corporation, the 142km rail line is one of dozens of Chinese-funded infrastructure projects being undertaken in the region. The agreement to build a rail line to connect the Indonesian capital of Jakarta with West Java’s capital of Bandung was originally cemented in 2015. //Japan was originally the front runner to develop this railway, but China was awarded the project in 2015.

Mission accomplished: All Tham Luang survivors safely rescued –Thai PBS The five remaining survivors of the Wild Boards soccer team have been safely brought out of Tham Luang cave, ending three days of high-risk rescue operation that has captivated the world. “The 12 Wild Boars and the coach have safely emerged from the cave,” the Thai Navy SEAL declared on its official Facebook page. The five last survivors are on their way to joining their 8 team mates who are recovering at Chiang Rai hospital where they are being kept in an isolation ward.

As Vote Nears, Cambodia’s Leader Has Opponents, but No Competition –New York Times It’s election season in Cambodia, and the fireflies are out. Cambodians use that term — “ampil ampik,” in the Khmer language — to refer to little-known political parties that flash onto the scene shortly before an election, then fade back into obscurity. Twenty parties, some just a few months old, will be on the ballot when national elections are held this month.

Najib Has Been Arrested—Now What? –Council on Foreign Relations Earlier this month, the Malaysian government arrested former Prime Minister Najib tun Razak on charges of corruption and criminal breaches of trust, in allegations related to the 1MDB state fund scandal. The charges were brought swiftly; the new Malaysian government has been in office less than two months, after winning elections in May that turned in part on voter anger at the perceived high levels of graft in Najib’s administration.

Indonesia to set up new economic centers outside of heartland Java –Investvine Indonesia will extend its portfolio of economic growth centers beyond the economic heartland of Java, national development planning minister Bambang Brodjonegoro said, adding that the government was committed to creating those centers in its effort to reducing economic disparities between Java and other regions. Bambang said that 60 per cent of the country’s economy was based in Java, 20 per cent in Sumatra and the remaining 20 per cent in other regions.

YUNNAN

“Canteens” ease tensions between elephants and humans –Xinhua Environmental workers in southwest China’s Yunnan Province have opened a number of “canteens” for wild Asian elephants to reduce conflicts between villagers and the endangered animal. This year, staff from Xishuangbanna National Nature Reserve have created a total of around 100 hectares of the elephant’s favorite food, such as bamboo and paper mulberry, in three different sites.

This week’s news digest was curated by Kevin Rutigliano. @krutigliano95