Category Archives: SLIDER

EXSE FOCUS

Missiles Deployed on Disputed South China Sea Island, Officials Say-NYT

The Pentagon has evidence that China has deployed surface-to-air missiles on one of the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea, a U.S. official said. Taiwan’s Defense Ministry issued a statement on Wednesday, also saying that antiaircraft missiles were present on the island. Tensions over the sea have been inflamed by China’s extensive effort to build artificial islands there, intending to bolster its claim to sovereignty over most of the sea and the many reefs and islets in it.

Related: Chinese Missiles in South China Sea Underscore a Growing Conflict Risk-NYT

Related: Beijing’s missile move in South China Sea could make US think twice about getting too close-The Guardian

Related: Beijing accuses US of ‘ulterior motives in hyping up’ South China Sea missile move-The Guardian

Will ASEAN Remain Central to US Asia Policy?-The Diplomat

ASEAN centrality, or stuck in the middle? When U.S. President Barack Obama hosts leaders from the ten countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on Monday and Tuesday, he will symbolically reinforce the concept of ASEAN centrality—traditionally the idea that the group’s diverse states should economically integrate and gradually develop a collective voice in the world. But other kinds of centrality will also be apparent as observers and officials confront regional security issues in which two of ASEAN’s strongest suitors, the United States and China, are on opposing sides./Graham Webster is on the money here when he says that the US-ASEAN Summit, especially in the context of greater US involvement in the region, is locking in the next administration to at least continue the US commitment to SE Asia. Any reversal of ‘the Pivot’ would cause great disillusionment among ASEAN members about the intentions and limits of American power in the Pacific. The US is already fighting an uphill battle of maintaining influence in SE Asia opposite to China. To abandon the project when US relations with countries like Vietnam and the Philippines are at historic highs might to irreparable damage to the American image in the region.

Related: Obama Unveils New ASEAN Economic Initiative at Sunnylands Summit-The Diplomat

Top Leadership at Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank Continues to Shape Up-The Diplomat

The China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank recently added five vice presidents. Since its doors officially opened for business in mid-January with the first meeting of its board of governors, the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has been quick to get down to business. The development bank, the newest on the scene in Asia and a friendly competitor to the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the World Bank, is looking to get its first loans off the ground to support infrastructure development across Asia.//Look for the first AIIB loans to be announced soon. Will they be for railways in Thailand (see below) or for an infrastructure project in Laos or Myanmar? Our bet’s on Laos. 

Thailand bets on China-led AIIB to finance massive infrastructure needs-East by Southeast

Will China’s AIIB-backed ‘railway diplomacy’ be enough to jumpstart Thailand’s lagging economy? On January 26, Thailand’s cabinet approved a budget of 52.82 billion baht (US$1.47 billion) to join the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). Thailand will hold around a 1.43 percent share of the bank with payments beginning in five installments of 2.112 billion baht (US$58.90 million) due by the end of 2019. “As the country [has] aggressive plans to improve its much needed infrastructures, the AIIB would offer great opportunities in terms of more loan availability” explains Nithi Kaveevivitchai, a research economist at the Bank of Ayudhya.

Beware ASEAN’s Coming Economic Gloom-The Diplomat

Regional economic prospects are dimming in Southeast Asia, with unemployment expected to rise and increasing concerns over job security preoccupying many – with Malaysians in particular being the hardest hit – a survey by the Financial Times has found.

China’s Silk Road revival steams ahead as cargo train arrives in Iran-The Guardian

Goods travel 6,462 miles in 14 days as part of efforts to resurrect ancient trade route connecting east with Europe. A long-distance cargo train has travelled from China to Iran as part of an attempted revival of the ancient Silk Road, a trans-Asian trade route connecting the east to Europe and the Mediterranean Sea. The 32-container train, which arrived in Tehran on Monday, took 14 days to complete the 6,462 mile (10,399km) journey from China’s eastern Zhejiang province through Kazakhstanand Turkmenistan – one month less than the sea route from Shanghai to the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas.// Much is riding on OBOR. But if transport times can be cut by that much for goods, the investment may be worth it. How much will that cost savings be passed on to the consumer?

SUSTAINABILITY AND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Xinjiang Region of China Bans Glacier Tourism, Citing Risk to Ecosystem-NYT

Glaciologists in China and elsewhere have said for years that climate change is the main cause of glacier erosion, which threatens the water sources of much of humanity. Officials in the far western region say that tourism is harming the fragile glaciers and that they should be observed from a distance. The Xinjiang government announced this month that it was banning tourism on glaciers across the region, which is one-sixth of the Chinese land mass.//A prudent decision by the regional government. The challenge of mitigating environmental damage caused by tourism is one that is faced across the region. Is this a decision that will be mirrored in other sites around China?

Bhutan Should Come Clean on Hydropower Megaplan-The Diplomat

Environmentalists are concerned about the nation’s secretive hydropower plans. The tiny nation of Bhutan might enjoy world renown for its environmental record, but it is overlooking concerns being raised by environmentalists over the country’s plans to construct large hydropower plants to generate 10,000 megawatts of surplus electricity for export to India. Climate Action Tracker, an independent group, rated Bhutan’s pledged contribution to the 2015 UN Climate Change Conference in Paris as “sufficient,” a rating accorded to just five countries. Soon thereafter, the carbon comparator tool of the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit praised Bhutan for being an unparalleled carbon sink, absorbing three times more carbon dioxide emissions than it produces.

The Vanishing Lakes of Phnom Penh-The Diplomat

Cambodia’s capital was once home to 2 flourishing lakeside communities. Commercial land development changed everything. Luc Forsyth and Gareth Bright have set out on a journey to follow the Mekong river from sea to source. The Diplomat will be sharing some of the stories they’ve found along the way. For more about the project, check out the whole series here.//The destruction of urban wetlands is a familiar tale throughout SE Asia. See the sordid story of Vientiane’s That Luang Marsh as another example. In Phnom Penh, while Boon Kok Lake is being developed for condos and shopping, the building plans aren’t what doomed it. A boom in the urban population caused more sewage to be filtered through the lake to the point where the stench was unbearable. The utility of the lake as a place to fish for the city’s poor, however, is now gone. 

Why Reducing Ivory Demand in China Will Not Curb Poaching in Africa-The China File

“When the buying stops, the killing can too,” reads the popular slogan that WildAid uses in its anti-ivory campaign to raise awareness in China. WildAid, along with most Western environmentalists, contend that curbing demand in China for ivory is the key factor to help save the African elephant from extinction. Damien Mander disagrees. Mander is the founder of the International Anti-Poaching Foundation and a leader in a new movement that is militarizing the fight against illegal wildlife poaching in southern Africa.

CHINA

U.N. Rights Official Urges China to Release Detained Lawyers-NYT

Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein, the high commissioner for human rights, expressed concern over a “very worrying pattern” of arrests and disappearances. The Chinese authorities have arrested more than 250 lawyers, legal assistants and activists in a crackdown that began in July.

China Telescope to Displace 9,000 Villagers in Hunt for Extraterrestrials-NYT

Thousands of villagers in Guizhou Province will relocate to make room for a $184 million telescope to detect signs of alien life and gather other data about space. The telescope will be 500 meters, or 1,640 feet, in diameter, making it by far the largest instrument of its kind in the world. The government hopes to complete it by September. Officials plan to give each person the equivalent of $1,800 for housing compensation, the report said. Guizhou is one of China’s poorest provinces.//If aliens land in China, these villagers should be first in line to meet them as part of the compensation plan. That being said, under-compensation is a huge problem in SW China, where the economic value of the environment villagers live in is often ignored. See our series on relocation in Sichuan’s Yalong River valley for more. 

Related: China’s giant telescope represents its big ambitions for science-The Guardian

Lung Cancer Deaths Soar in China’s Steel Country, Report Says-NYT

Researchers say the cause of the fourfold rise since the 1970s in Hebei Province, a steel-making center, is probably air pollution. Hebei’s air pollution is among the worst, if not the worst, in China. China is the world’s top steel producer, accounting for about half the world’s output, and Hebei is far and away China’s biggest steel maker, according to official figures. Satellite photos of northern China regularly show a miasma of smog centered on the province, home in 2013, to the six most polluted cities in the country, according to Greenpeace.

Steel is suffering like coal once did: but Cameron will not oppose China– The Guardian

America has imposed massive tariffs, but Britain’s courtship of Beijing may leave British steelmakers with no protection. A historic industry is plunged into peril as the life is slowly squeezed from it by slowing demand and a flood of cheap imports as the government merely stands by. Sound familiar? It is the grim reality facing British steelmaking. But to anyone with a sense of recent industrial history it is unlikely to come as a surprise; this was also how Britain’s once mighty coal industry was snuffed out during the late 1980s.

200 Kunming officials punished for corruption-Go Kunming

Chinese president Xi Jinping’s wide-ranging campaign against corruption shows no signs of slowing down, and the Kunming municipal government is nowhere near immune. A report released over the weekend states some 200 low-level Spring City members of the Communist Party faced at least some form of “disciplinary action” in 2015. The majority of cases involved fraud or embezzlement, and many came about due to citizen complaints. The Municipal Commission for Discipline (MCD) received nearly 6,000 tips via often anonymous emails, letters and phone calls last year concerning graft, an increase of 48 percent over 2014. The government report did not list any offender names or their individual punishments.//”Hunting tigers and swatting flies” as saying goes. Xi’s anti-corruption campaign has utterly devastated Yunnan’s officialdom.

SOUTHEAST ASIA

As Demographics in Cambodia Shift, Youth Seek Political Change-NYT

Two-thirds of the population is under 30, and that generation has outgrown the authoritarian style and patronage system of Prime Minister Hun Sen. The opposition nearly won the election, but protests over the vote led to a government crackdown. By November, the political battle had come down to a single standoff: the government threatened to arrest the opposition leader, Sam Rainsy, if he set foot in Cambodia again. Mr. Sam Rainsy, who was traveling abroad, vowed to return. For many Cambodians, the 2013 election was the biggest opportunity yet to break out of that rut. Youth like Ms. Thy Sovantha were a central part of that hope, as a demographic shift gave them a larger say than ever before.//The upcoming election could be Hun Sen’s last. But, he is one of, if not the most savvy politicians in the region and while it is tempting to count him out, Hun Sen always seems to have another trick up his sleeve. 

Bangkok bombing suspect was tortured into confessing, says lawyer– The Guardian

A Chinese ethnic Uighur man arrested in Thailand over a bombing that killed 20 people in Bangkok last year has denied charges of murder or involvement in the attack, retracting an earlier confession that his lawyer said was a result of torture. Adem Karadag, also known as Bilal Mohammed, is due to appear at a military court on Tuesday along with a second suspect, Yusufu Mieraili, to formally hear the charges. Police said both men had confessed to having a role in the 17 August explosion.//It’s unlikely that either suspect will receive a fair trial. This is a case that Beijing will want settled quickly and quietly, and with billions of baht on the table in loans, the junta in Bangkok will hesitate to do much that would anger their closest ally.

Salween Farmers Demand Government Accountability for Land Confiscation-The Irrawaddy Magazine

RANGOON — Participants at a land rights seminar in Mon State urged the incoming National League for Democracy (NLD)-led government to address past practices of land confiscation with a special court dedicated to the issue. Mon State’s Salween Eastern Farmers and Land Users Seminar was held in Moulmein for two days, from February 14-15, with over 90 representatives participating from five Mon State townships and one Tenasserim Division township, all selected for their locations east of the Salween River. Also present were Moulmein-based farmers’ organizations and civil society groups focused on land rights. At the seminar, it was demanded that farmers should be able to bring land rights cases to a special court when conflicts over ownership occur. Participants also called on the government to create a policy that would give land users the right to own land rather than simply being allowed to work on it.

This week’s news digest was compiled by Brooke Rose with added analysis by William Feinberg. 

Happy Lunar New Year from ExSE! There seems a bit of controversy over the naming of this festival once popularly known as Chinese New Year – the issue is that the name’s lack of inclusivity. The US government is now calling it Lunar New Year in its public pronouncements and press releases. Rightfully so, perhaps, given that that holiday is celebrated in Mongolia, Korea,Vietnam, Taiwan, Vietnam, and Singapore and not called Chinese New Year in the home languages of those countries. But in Chinese, it’s also not popularly called Chinese New Year  – or at least uses of other forms translated as simply New Year or Spring Festival greatly outweigh the use of Chinese New Year in both the official media and vernacular uses. And as far as I know, even though the holiday falls on the occasion of the new moon marking the beginning of spring, not a single country out there uses the word Lunar New Year in its vernacular labeling of the holiday. Correct me  if I’m wrong. It’s all quite confusing. So Happy Spring Festival everyone!

Tomorrow Barack Obama will host leaders of Southeast Asian countries at the first historic US-ASEAN Summit. This is a significant step in the key strategic relationship emerging between the US and ASEAN. And both blocs have China to thank for it. In other words, for the US-ASEAN relationship, China’s regional missteps and economic woes are gifts that keep on giving.

EXSE FOCUS

 Obama’s Sunnylands Summit: Does ASEAN Really Matter? – The Diplomat OK, OK, I get the symbolism, but it is a measure of how devalued the language of diplomacy can be that US President Barack Obama would hold an unprecedented summit at Sunnylands in California with ten heads of state whose countries comprise the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to talk of a “strategic partnership.”

Related: Time for a New US-ASEAN Human Rights Dialogue – The Diplomat

            Related: U.S. Drawing Southeast Asia Closer With California Summit – NYT

 US President Barack Obama likely to promote virtues of TPP – and independence from China – during summit with Southeast Asian leaders – The South China Morning Post A summit next week between Southeast Asian leaders and President Barack Obama is unlikely to deliver any big economic prizes, but will allow the American side to press the advantages of joining a Pacific trade pact that doesn’t include China. The meetings at Rancho Mirage in California set for Monday and Tuesday will be the first summit of its kind for the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations on US soil. Its special nature is intended to show the Obama administration’s commitment to countering growing Chinese influence in a region that is home to 620 million people and a US$2.6 trillion economy.

The Elephant in the US-ASEAN Room: Democracy – Asia Unbound Next week, at a summit in California, President Obama will meet the ten leaders of countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the most important regional group in Asia. The event, the first-ever US-ASEAN summit on American soil, is being touted by the White House as a sign of the importance of Southeast Asia. After all, the Obama administration has made relations with Southeast Asia a centerpiece of “the pivot,” or “rebalance to Asia,” a national security strategy that entails shifting American military, economic, and diplomatic resources to the Pacific Rim. There are indeed important reasons for holding the U.S.-ASEAN summit. Tensions are rising between several Southeast Asian nations and China, in part because of Beijing’s increasingly assertive actions in Asian seas.

Related: The Dark Heart of ASEAN – Project Syndicate

Related: Burma’s Outgoing President Cancels Visit to US-ASEAN Summit Next Week – The Irrawaddy

 The Future of US Foreign Policy: American Leadership In Asia – The Diplomat The Rebalance authors Mercy Kuo and Angie Tang regularly engage subject-matter experts, policy practitioners and strategic thinkers across the globe for their diverse insights into the U.S. rebalance to Asia. This conversation with Richard Fontaine – President of the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), former Senior Advisor and Senior Fellow at CNAS from 2009-2012, previously foreign policy advisor to Senator John McCain and at the State Department, National Security Council and Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and co-author of An Intensified Approach to Combating Islamic State – is the 31st in “The Rebalance Insight Series.”

 Requiem for a river: Can one of the world’s great waterways survive its development? – The Economist GUO, the driver, pulls his car to a merciful halt high above a crevasse: time for a cigarette, and after seven hours of shuddering along narrow, twisting roads, time for his passengers to check that their fillings remain in place. Lighting up, he steps out of the car and dons a cloth cap and jacket: sunny, early-summer days are still brisk 3,500 metres above sea level. Mr Guo is an impish little dumpling of a man, bald, brown-toothed and jolly. He is also an anomaly: a Shanghainese in northern Yunnan who opted to stay with his local bride rather than return to his booming hometown.//ExSE co-founder Brian Eyler gets a mention in this article which draws heavily from his 9/2015 blogpost on Cizhong and the Wunonglong dam. This article also mentions the heavy lifters working effectively on the policy side to promote sustainable solutions to the trouble of hydropower development on the Mekong.  Kudos for the Economist for choosing the Mekong as a highlight issue in the run-up to the Sunnylands meeting.

 Can China Jump-Start Its Maritime Silk Road in 2016? – The Diplomat According to the director of China’s State Oceanic Administration, China has big plans for the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road (MSR) in 2016. Xinhua cited SOA chief Wang Hong as saying that China will advance the MSR with an action plan this year. Wang also spoke of establishing “a China-ASEAN maritime cooperation center and a platform to boost maritime cooperation in East Asia,” according to Xinhua.

 80 Percent of Zero: China’s Phantom South China Sea Claims – The Diplomat Baudelaire said the devil’s best trick was convincing us he did not exist. China’s best trick might be convincing us its claims over the South China Sea do exist. Official rhetoric about its “indisputable sovereignty over the South China Sea islands” certainly sounds like a definitive Chinese position. And, of course, China occupies many islands in the area, its Coast Guard chases off foreign fishing vessels, and massive Chinese land reclamation projects provide new, persistent regional presence. But with the notable exception of the Paracel islands between Hainan Island and Vietnam, China has made no valid legal claim over the South China Sea.

REGIONAL RELATIONS

Decision in Philippines v. China Expected in May 2016 – The Diplomat Plus, updates on U.S.-India patrols, Asian defense spending rises, and more. Weekend security links.

US decides on next ambassador to Burma – DVB The U.S. Senate unanimously confirmed President Barack Obama’s nominee to be ambassador to Burma on Tuesday, after the administration assured lawmakers it would not rush to ease sanctions as the country moves from decades of military rule. The Senate voted 90-0 to confirm career diplomat Scot Marciel to the post in Burma, also known as Myanmar. Currently the principal deputy assistant secretary in the State Department’s Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Marciel has also been ambassador to Indonesia and served in Vietnam, the Philippines, Brazil and Turkey.

US urges China-Taiwan talks amid uncertainty after election – The Jakarta Post The Obama administration says it is urging China and Taiwan to maintain dialogue amid concern that the election of an independence-leaning party on the island could heighten tensions in one of Asia’s security hotspots. A House foreign affairs panel on Asia examined the implications for Washington of the January election that throws new uncertainty over the relationship between democratic Taiwan and the communist mainland, which claims the island as its own territory, to be recovered by force if necessary.

US-India Patrols in the South China Sea? Maybe Not Just Yet – The Diplomat Early on Wednesday, Reuters published an interesting exclusive, suggesting that the United States and Indian navies are considering the idea of jointly conducting patrols in the South China Sea. It isn’t explicit if the idea under consideration is a bilateral U.S.-India freedom of navigation patrol, which would require Indian and U.S. vessels to challenge excessive maritime claims, or simply a bilateral passing exercise or other less contentious patrol. Both India and the United States support freedom of navigation, globally and in the South China Sea.
Related: US and India risk angering Beijing as they consider joint naval patrols in the South China Sea – The South China Morning Post

SUSTAINABILITY AND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

How Mekong women hone science skills – SciDevNet [MANILA] Every two weeks, Somkhith Bouridam of the National University of Laos and her assistant, Palamy Changleuxay, participate in a conference call on a project to help countries across the Lower Mekong region use satellite imagery to cope with climate change and food insecurity. The five-year project called SERVIR-Mekong is being implemented by universities in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam along with the Bangkok-based non-profit Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC).

What a New Vietnam-Russia Deal Says About the Mekong’s Future – The Diplomat It is potentially an unusual business transaction. While the prospect of a Vietnamese company taking over a Russian group in of itself is unusual, the buyout of a strategic stake in a major fish distributor is also a reflection of changing attitudes to the management of the Mekong River.

Southeast Asia facing severe drought – Southeast Asia Globe With weather experts still assessing whether this year’s El Niño is the most extreme on record, its effects are being felt across the world, not least in Southeast Asia, where prolonged drought conditions are gripping most countries. The current El Niño – a cycle of extreme weather conditions caused by warmer than average sea temperatures in the Pacific – has been of concern to governments and agencies since December 2014 when the current ocean warming began.

China’s Uphill Battle Against the Ivory Trade – The Diplomat On January 13, in his New Year policy address, Hong Kong’s Chief Executive CY Leung announced a plan to ban ivory trade within the region. Zhang Li, secretary general of the China Committee for the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), professor at Beijing Normal University and an expert on elephants, hopes that mainland China will keep pace and enact a national ban on ivory trading, as promised by President Xi Jinping on his inaugural visit to the U.S. in September.

Qinghai Lake Activists Confront Chinese, Tibetan Poachers – Radio Free Asia On Feb. 12, a group of activist volunteers were attacked by poachers at a place called Chik Nga Chik after they had gone to check on reports of fishing in the lake, an area resident told RFA’s Tibetan Service on Friday. The poachers, who wore head coverings to conceal their identity, were later identified as Tibetans, RFA’s source said, speaking on condition of anonymity. “It is really sad when some Tibetans try to protect rare fish in the lake, while others try to take those fish,” the source said. Incidents of illegal fishing have increased in recent years around Qinghai Lake, also called Kokonor, with local Tibetans stepping up monitoring activities in response, sources told RFA in earlier reports.

CHINA

Taiwan Blocks Leader of Uyghur Organization From Attending Conference – Radio Free Asia Taiwanese authorities have prevented the executive chairman of an international Uyghur organization from participating in a human rights conference to be held in Taiwan later this month, the World Uyghur Congress (WUC) said Friday. Dolkun Isa, WUC’s executive chairman, will not be able to attend the Asia Pacific Religious Freedom Forum on Feb. 18-21 because of likely pressure from Chinese authorities, the Munich, Germany-based organization of exiled Uyghur groups said in a statement. “It is a true shame that a democratic country such as Taiwan should be so influenced by the will of the Chinese government,” the statement said. “China has consistently maintained that human rights defenders—and those supporting the Uyghur community in particular—should be treated like criminals.”

 China Says Its Students, Even Those Abroad, Need More ‘Patriotic Education’ – NYT BEIJING – Chinese students, already immersed in classes and textbooks that promote nationalist loyalty to the Communist Party as a bedrock value, must be made even more patriotic and devoted to the party, even when they are studying in universities abroad, according to a new directive sent to education officials. //China already does this for students at home. Take required Marxist readings at the university level, for example. How probable will it be to successfully enforce this for Chinese students overseas? Furthermore, how will it affect relations with those host countries?

Satellite Images: China Manufactures Land at New Sites in the Paracel Islands – The Diplomat Satellite images show dredging and land filling by China at two new sites in the South China Sea, both in the Amphitrite group of the Paracel Islands, approximately 15 kilometers north-northwest of China’s military base at Woody (Yongxing) Island. Also newly visible is a helicopter base under construction at Duncan Island, another site in the Paracels, suggesting that Beijing may develop a network of bases in the South China Sea to support anti-submarine warfare helicopters, such as its recently deployed ASW Z-18F.

China’s Nuclear Industry Goes Global – The Diplomat A European nuclear plant built and operated by China? Unimaginable, one might say, as China still has to prove to be a reliable partner in operating critical infrastructure, meeting strict safety requirements, and managing the complex technology. Yet, nuclear reactors are about to be built with Chinese participation in the United Kingdom. And that is just the beginning. Chinese power corporations are initiating new projects all over the globe and have the potential to become the next big civil nuclear technology suppliers for several countries (see the map below). As this trend is assuming shape, the next decade will be critical to ensure that Chinese technology is safe and that China adheres to non-proliferation agreements.

Armed Chinese Threaten Lao Banana Workers – Radio Free Asia Armed Chinese guards are forcing Lao workers in the country’s northern Oudomxay province to labor in banana plantations contaminated with dangerous chemicals, local sources tell RFA’s Lao Service. A chief of the Nongbouadeang village in the province’s Houn district told RFA that 50 Lao workers in a Chinese-owned banana plantation in the neighboring village of Nammieng were working under Chinese overseers armed with automatic rifles.

Chinese begin big rush back home on planes, trains and automobiles as new year holiday ends – The South China Morning Post Traffic surged at China’s railway stations, airports and highways on Friday as millions of workers began their journeys back to work after the week-long Lunar New Year holiday. But many were delayed with the arrival of another cold front that brought heavy fog. The China Railway Group said it handled just over 9 million passengers on Friday, 6.9 per cent more than last year as most people travelling home would return to work on Sunday.

SOUTHEAST ASIA

Dateline Irrawaddy: ‘It’s Fair to Say That President U Thein Sein Is Burma’s Reform Icon’ – The Irrawaddy The Irrawaddy speaks with Minister of Information Ye Htut about President Thein Sein’s five-year tenure and the media’s role in the country.

Indonesia to form special TPP team this month – The Jakarta Post The decision whether to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) will be arrived at cautiously by first establishing a special committee to review the advantages and disadvantages of joining the US-led trade-pact agreement, an official has said. Office of the Coordinating Economic Minister’s deputy for international economic and financial corporation Rizal Affandi Lukman said the ministry was preparing a decree on the TPP committee. “Hopefully it can be signed soon. Our target is this month,” Rizal told thejakartapost.com in Jakarta on Tuesday. According to Rizal, the team will consist of two layers, namely government officials from relevant ministries, and public figures ranging from experts to chairmen of business associations. They will examine all terms in the trade agreement.

US, Thailand Launch 2016 Cobra Gold Military Exercises Amid Democracy Concerns – The Diplomat On Tuesday, the United States and Thailand kicked off the 2016 iteration of the annual Cobra Gold military exercises – Asia’s largest multinational drill – amid lingering concerns by Washington about its ally’s democratic future. Royal Thai Army Supreme Commander, General Sommai Kaotira, and U.S. Ambassador to Thailand, Glyn Davies, launched the 35th iteration of the annual exercise – which began as a bilateral drill between Washington and Bangkok – at the Royal Thai Navy Command Center in Sattahip district in Chonburi province.

Could improved tax collection strengthen democracy in Cambodia? – Southeast Asia Globe With Cambodia starting to collect more tax, some argue it could increase political accountability in the Kingdom. Cambodia has long been lambasted for not doing enough to collect taxes. In 2006, for example, it collected a little over $600m. In recent years, attempts to levy taxes on ordinary people have been met with protest but the overall amount of tax collected has been rising. The Department of Taxation recently announced that it collected $1.3 billion in 2015, up 21.6% from the previous year. The Department of Customs and Excise – which collects taxes on imports and exports – has yet to release its figures for last year. In 2014, it collected $1.34 billion.

Cambodia’s poverty rate dropping rapidly – Investvine The United Nations hailed Cambodia for its accomplishments in meeting its Millennium Development Goal targets in 2015. In a recent report, the UN calls Cambodia an “early achiever” performing “particularly well” on poverty alleviation. As the Cambodian economy grew on average 7.8 per cent annually from 2004 to 2014, achieving one of the fastest growth rates in the world during this period, some five million people were lifted out of poverty in the period. Cambodia’s poverty rate had been reduced to 14 per cent, down from 53.2 per cent in 2004. At the same time, an increasing number of Cambodians are entering the middle class. In 2016, Cambodia’s economic status will be elevated to the level of a lower-middle income country and the nation will be leaving the league of developing countries. //“Cambodia’s poverty rate had been reduced to 14 per cent, down from 53.2 per cent in 2004.” …based on what established standard for poverty?

The true cost of Laos’ banana plantations – Southeast Asia Globe When Chinese businessmen offered to rent land from impoverished Laotian farmers the deal was too good to turn down. Thousands of hectares of ruined rice paddies and numerous life-threatening illnesses later, the true cost of banana plantations is finally being counted in northern Laos.

This news digest was compiled by Rachel Tritsch with analysis from Rachel Tritsch and Brian Eyler.

EXSE FOCUS

China G.D.P. Growth at Slowest Pace Since 2009, Data Shows – NYT The economy grew at a 6.8 percent pace in the fourth quarter, official data released Tuesday showed — the slowest expansion since March 2009.

Related: Alibaba Searching for New Revenue Sources – NYT

Related: China’s National Bureau of Statistics Chief Falls Under Corruption Probe – The Diplomat

Related: Yunnan chasing Beijing GDP targets – GoKunming

Related: China’s Fading Factories Weigh on an Already Slowing Economy – NYT // Growth of China’s manufacturing sector instigated mass migration from rural farming to city factories.  The lowering of the national GDP announced last August has the potential to force a second migration for those not competitive enough to make it through the bumpy transition.  Will this cause China’s economy to be dominated by a few or enable more intense ‘capitalistic’ measures amidst those who remain?

Asia Pivot: Does the US Need to ‘Rebalance Harder’? – The Diplomat The Obama White House is realistically out of time to articulate a newly integrated vision for the Asia-Pacific region.

Related: Obama’s Asia Engagement Architecture: A Framework on Which to Build – The Diplomat

Related: EU Eyes Strategic Partnership With ASEAN as New Mission Officially Opens – The Diplomat

Related: US Begins 2016 Asia Outreach With Laos – The Diplomat

Selection of New National Leaders in Laos Indicates Tilt to Vietnam – Radio Free Asia With the selection of new national leaders and the arrests of some old ones, Laos appears to be cementing its ties to Vietnam as it is attempting to blunt Beijing’s push to exert more influence…. // This leadership change brings the potential for a move away from massive dam construction on the Mekong to alternative energy sources.

Related: Laos’s leadership transition raises questions over regional alliances – East by Southeast

Related: Forty years of Lao PDR: what’s next? – New Mandala

REGIONAL RELATIONS

Why the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership Is More Important Than TPP – The Diplomat TTIP will be the West’s last, best opportunity to set global rules as the emerging markets continue to gain ground.

What Does 2016 Hold for China-US Relations in Cyberspace? – The Diplomat Sino-U.S. relations in cyberspace in 2016 will be defined by three key policies.

Related: China and Indonesia: Joint Cyber War Simulations – The Diplomat

Related: China Finally Centralizes Its Space, Cyber, Information Forces – The Diplomat

John Kerry Urges China to Curb North Korea’s Nuclear Pursuits – NYT The secretary of state, in Beijing, warned that if necessary, the United States would take security steps China’s leaders have strongly opposed.

Related: Ahead of Kerry Visit, China Doubles Down on North Korea Position – The Diplomat

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank Is Open for Business: What Now? – The Diplomat The China-led bank has opened its doors. Is the AIIB an institution of great consequence in the Asia-Pacific?//In short, yes. The question is what consequences will it have? This article focuses on the US and Japan. Their lack of participation in the bank was to be expected and the country whose actions will have the biggest consequences is that with the most money in the pot – China. What effect will the AIIB have on investment in Southeast Asia? Will the quality of economic aid change because it is coming from a multinational development bank?  

Related: China’s New Development Bank Needs Better Human Rights Protections – ChinaFile

Related: Upholding the Asian Order – Project Syndicate

Vietnam Objects to Chinese Oil Rig in Disputed Waters – NYT While the dispute raised tensions between the neighbors, it did not approach levels seen in 2014, when anti-China demonstrations turned into deadly riots.

Related: US warship sails near island claimed by China in South China Sea – The Guardian

Related: From South China Sea Island, Taiwan’s President Presents ‘Roadmap’ for Peace – The Diplomat

Taiwan’s New Leader Faces a Weak Economy and China’s Might – NYT Tsai Ing-wen, elected Saturday as Taiwan’s first female president, brings what some call a more calm and rational approach to the island’s turbulent politics.

Related: China Largely Shrugs at Shake-Up After Taiwan Elections – NYT

SUSTAINABILITY AND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

A Conspiracy to Steal Secrets of U.S. Corn – NYT A Chinese national crawled in Iowa fields to get seed corn for a Beijing company.//For those who have read Paolo Bacigalupi’s ‘The Windup Girl’ this story will sound very familiar. 

China’s coal-burning in significant decline, figures show – The Guardian Official data shows coal use fell in 2015 across a wide range of measures as world’s largest polluter continues its transition to clean energy.

Related: China Has Done More About Pollution Than You Think (But It Must Do More) – The Diplomat

Related: China is ‘Rational’ Leader on Climate Change, Says Retired NASA Scientist James Hansen – ChinaFile

Kunming’s Stinky Lake, Beijing’s Saving Winds – ChinaFile Lake Dian in Kunming, the capital of southwest China’s Yunnan province, suffered greatly when, in the 1950s, Chairman Mao Zedong called on the Chinese people to “conquer nature” and reclaim land by filling lakes with soil.//Unfortunately the 1950’s isn’t the only time that Dianchi has suffered the policies of both the central and local governments. The current plans to build illegal housing developments on the shores of the lake is another example of man-made damage to the lake. 

Sharp drop in rubber price forces students out of college in South – NationMultimedia MORE than a hundred students in Trang province were forced to halt their studies as a direct result… // Rubber demand and prices continue to fall, making the large-scale investments of the early 2000s a sore spot for farmers who converted all their land to the once booming industry.

Irrigation Efficiency Key to Meeting Asia’s Growing Food Demands – ADB Across Asia and the Pacific, farmers every day wrestle with a huge challenge—how to meet the growing demand for food in the face of tightening land, water and environmental constraints.

Related: China’s bottled water industry poses new threat to precious resources – The Third Pole

Related: El Niño parches Asia Pacific, destroying crops and drying up water sources – Thanh Nien Daily

Thais turn on Mekong River pumps without consulting regional partners – Southeast Asia Globe  Thailand has begun pumping water from the Mekong River into drought-affected areas in the northeast of the country in a move that could have severe impacts downstream.

Xayaburi Dam Opponents Appeal Against Administrative Court Ruling | The Nation – International Rivers Residents affected by the Xayaburi Dam living in eight provinces along the Mekong River appealed to the Administrative Court Monday against five Thai government agencies that backed the building of the dam.

Mekong River Commission Faces Radical Change – The Diplomat Donors have dropped their funding, forcing a radical restructuring.//A sad turn of events for the moribund organization. It has been hamstrung by its own regulations in the past decade that has left it on the sideline of hydropower debate. Lao meddling in the MRC may be a factor, but more than anything, the MRC failed its own member states by not finding sustainable solutions to development issues in the basin. Many experts in the region have long dismissed the MRC’s potential as a regional broker That being said, a severe loss of funding will affect its ability to produce significant research on the river and its tributaries, something that it’s still quite good at, despite everything else. 

Related: Waking the Green Tiger – ChinaFile

Related: Shifting Sands in the Mekong River – The Diplomat

Cambodia Lags Behind 2020 Power Target – The Diplomat The country is reportedly struggling to achieve its goal of nationwide electrification.//The cost of electricity in Cambodia is among the highest in the world. The country needs cheaper electricity as much as it needs nationwide electrification. 

Related: Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh ordered to switch completely to biofuel – Thanh Nien Daily

Loggers Accused of Destroying Evidence in Cambodia – Radio Free Asia Heaps of lumber were put to the torch this week in Mondulkiri province as logging outfits allegedly attempted to destroy evidence of illegal activity in fear of impending Cambodian government raids…

Related: Hun Sen Creates Committee to Tackle Illegal Timber Trade in Cambodia – Radio Free Asia

CHINA

Chinese-Made Cars Arrive in U.S. Showrooms – NYT There were snickers in 2007 when the Chinese said they would soon be making cars for the United States. It wasn’t soon, but the vehicles have begun to arrive.

Related: So What Would It Mean to ‘Beat China’ on Trade? – NYT

China to Try Canadian on Spying Charges – NYT Kevin Garratt, who ran a cafe near China’s border with North Korea, will be tried on charges of spying and stealing state secrets nearly a year and a half after he and his wife were detained.

Miners in China Are Rescued After 36 Days Underground – NYT The four men were among 29 miners caught when a cavernous gypsum mine in Pingyi County, Shandong Province, collapsed on Dec. 25. Thirteen are still missing.

Is China’s Silk Road Coming to Europe? Not So Fast – The Diplomat China’s attempts to extend the New Silk Road westward have encountered problems.

Related: The ‘Belt and Road Initiative’ Is Not ‘China’s Marshall Plan’. Why Not? – The Diplomat

Related: Xi’s Visit Cements Egypt’s Place on the ‘Belt and Road’ – The Diplomat

3 Rights Advocates Are Sentenced to Prison in China – NYT The advocates were sentenced to terms ranging from two and a half to five years after they were convicted of inciting subversion in the southern city of Guangzhou.

Related: China to Expel Peter Dahlin, Swedish Human Rights Advocate – NYT

Database Tracks ‘Tigers and Flies’ Caught in Xi Jinping’s Corruption Crackdown – NYT ChinaFile has compiled an online visual database of all the corruption cases that have ensnared senior and low-ranking officials since Mr. Xi took power.//A comprehensive and incredibly interesting project. Kudos to ChinaFile. 

Related: China Vows to Keep up Anti-Corruption Efforts in 2016 – The Diplomat

China Considers Larger Role in Afghanistan Peace Process – NYT One reason for China’s engagement is that a stable Afghanistan could become a critical transportation hub and market for Chinese goods.//Interesting. It is probable that as the One Belt, One Road is implemented more deeply, China’s abandonment of its non-interference policy will quicken (in practice, not in rhetoric). As the US knows well, trade routes don’t protect themselves. 

Related: China’s New Era of Diplomacy: Engaging in Syria – The Diplomat

China Deepens Its Footprint in Iran After Lifting of Sanctions – NYT The countries’ strategic pact gives China a western gateway to Middle East markets, and has saved Iran from international isolation and economic ruin.

Related: China’s Balancing Act in Iran – The Diplomat

African Economies, and Hopes for New Era, Are Shaken by China – NYT Plunging prices are revealing how much nations, hailed in recent years as perhaps having outgrown their roots in raw materials, still depend on those commodities.

China’s Marines Conduct First Military Exercises in the Gobi Desert – The Diplomat China’s marines held live-fire drills, including a counterterrorism exercise, in Xinjiang.//The Gobi is certainly an interesting place for marines to conduct exercises. Then again, the Iraq War proved that marines can be called on to operate in deserts for years at a time. 

Related: China’s Comprehensive Counter-Terrorism Law – The Diplomat

China Is Said to Force Closing of Women’s Legal Aid Center – NYT The center opened after Beijing hosted a landmark women’s conference in 1995, and its loss represents another blow to civil society groups in China.//The situation for rights groups in China, both domestic and foreign, is getting worse by the day. 

Related: Couple’s Lawsuit Is First Test for Same-Sex Marriage in China – NYT

China Shutters Uyghur Websites For ‘Harming Ethnic Unity’ – Radio Free Asia Chinese authorities have shut down two websites aimed at the mostly Muslim Uyghur ethnic group in recent weeks, placing their management under investigation for “harming ethnic unity”…

One Child – ChinaFile Now, as China closes the book on the policy after more than three decades, it faces a population grown too old and too male, with a vastly diminished supply of young workers.

China Embraces Craft Beers, and Brewing Giants Take Notice – NYT Chinese consumers are swapping mass-produced local beers for a bevy of imports and locally brewed brands, and a merged Anheuser-Busch InBev-SABMiller aims to capitalize.//A number of ExSE friends are involved in the craft brew industry and is business has indeed been booming. When wealthy Chinese are shouting “干杯” with 45 RMB  IPAs instead of cheap 雪花啤酒, your revenue is going to jump. 

SOUTHEAST ASIA

Asean set for tourism push – Jakarta Post In order to build a real sense of community, Asean will for the first time launch a regional tourism campaign to promote 600 destinations to boost arrivals and income when the regional grouping turns 50 next year. // This move has the potential to greatly benefit Southeast Asia’s economies and could lead to further regional collaboration going forward.

Related: China to support Indonesia as ASEAN hub – Jakarta Post

Vietnam’s Communist Party Gives Old-Guard Leader a New 5-Year Term – NYT The reappointment of Nguyen Phu Trong is unlikely to alter the country’s strategic balance in relations with China and the United States.

Related: Vietnam Faces Last-Minute Maneuvering for Communist Party Leadership – NYT

Kaw Thoo Lei: ‘A Peaceful Land’ – The Diplomat Myanmar’s Karen minority continue to fight for sovereignty over their territory.

Related: Can Suu Kyi Break Myanmar’s Ceasefire Deadlock? – The Diplomat

Related: Myanmar president hails ‘triumph’ of democratic transition in final speech – SCMP

Myanmar police force hundreds from factory area slums as land-grabbing grows rampant – SCMP Hundreds of Myanmar families were left destitute on Tuesday after government workers used mechanical diggers to flatten swathes of Yangon slum housing as the bitter competition for land intensifies in the fast-industrialising city.//Yes, Myanmar now appears to be a democracy. But this political classification will mean nothing if the rights of its most desperate citizens are not respected. Good governance isn’t something that happens once every few years. 

Cambodia’s Hun Many Calls for Stronger US Ties – The Diplomat The son of the country’s premier urges both sides to boost relations in spite of lingering differences.

Related: John Kerry praises Cambodian revival but insists concerns over human rights and democratic process remain – SCMP

Related: Southeast Asian Nations Still Fall Short on Ensuring Basic Freedoms: NGO Reports – Radio Free Asia

An Art Powerhouse From North Korea – NYT The Angkor Panorama Museum is the most ambitious foreign project by the Mansudae Art Studio in Pyongyang, which employs hundreds of North Korean artists. // This is an interesting relationship in spite of the international nuclear focus.  Maybe North Korea just needs to feel a little included in the world…

Wreckage found off Thailand coast is not from missing MH370 plane – The Guardian Malaysian transport ministry says metal panel does not match Boeing 777 and cannot be part of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, which disappeared in 2014.

Thailand unveils draft of new constitution but authors offer little hope that it will resolve deeply ingrained divisions – SCMP Thailand published a draft constitution on Friday but the official in charge of drawing it up said he feared it would not resolve long-running troubles and critics said it would produce weak civilian government under the sway of the military.//’weak civilian government under the sway of the military’ is likely what it was designed to produce. Grim days ahead for the Kingdom if this constitution is passed.

Violence Flares in Laos – The Diplomat Hmong-government violence…picked up again.

Related: Talking democracy with a Laotian dissident – Southeast Asia Globe Magazine

7 Things to Know About the 2016 Philippine Elections – The Diplomat As the Southeast Asian state prepares to go to the polls later this year, here’s a closer look at what’s at stake.

Singapore’s New Political Reforms: What You Need to Know – The Diplomat The city-state premier has proposed key changes to the electoral system.

Democracy falters in south-east Asia as Malaysia’s PM cleared of corruption – The Guardian The extraordinary decision to drop corruption investigations into Najib Razak, Malaysia’s prime minister, highlights growing concern about lack of democratic accountability in Malaysia and across south-east Asia as a whole.//How does that old adage go again…”Corruption begets corruption”

This week’s new digest was compiled by Julia Zielinski with added analysis by the Julia and William Feinberg. 

EXSE FOCUS

Dammed if they don’t: Mekong countries face crucial choice today – Thanh Nien News This region is among the world’s most vulnerable to climate change impacts. Fish harvests, for instance, are already declining due partly to drought in Cambodia’s Tonlé Sap Lake, which supplies the country’s 15 million people with more than a third of their protein. The Mekong Delta and its rich agricultural lands are also under grave threat from rising sea levels, storm inundation and their vulnerability to extreme weather.

The Source of China’s Coal Dependency – NYT As far back as 2000, in an attempt to reduce coal pollution, the government unveiled a plan to replace coal-fired boilers and cooking stoves with electric heating by subsidizing the conversion to electric appliances and electricity rates. Yet 16 years on, only some 310,000 homes in central Beijing have clean heat. This is a small number considering the central district covers an area that’s less than 5 percent of Beijing’s total area and accounts for just a tenth of Beijing’s total population. //China intends to cut coal’s portion of the nation’s energy consumption by almost 2 percent in 2017 – how feasible is this, and will it affect the country’s dependency on other energy sources (e.g., hydropower)?

Southeast Asia burns up the ranks of global polluters – Thanh Nien News As Southeast Asian economies boomed last decade, so did their pollution. The region’s emissions of carbon dioxide grew more rapidly between 1990 and 2010 than any other part of the world, with the Asian Development Bank warning the associated global warming could trigger floods, water shortages and economic losses.

It’s Official: DPP’s Tsai Ing-wen Is Taiwan’s Next President – The Diplomat Taiwan’s Democratic Progressive Party is the opposition no more – the DPP won the presidency in Saturday’s elections in a landslide victory that resets Taiwan’s political landscape.

Related: Taiwan elects first female president – The Guardian

China’s Africa Strategy: Going Global With Infrastructure Investment – The Diplomat The Rebalance authors Mercy Kuo and Angie Tang regularly engage subject-matter experts, policy practitioners and strategic thinkers across the globe for their diverse insights into the U.S. rebalance to Asia.  This conversation with Dr. Lucy Corkin – Adviser at RMB Westport, Research Associate of the Africa-Asia Centre at School of African and Asian Studies (SOAS), University of London, and author of Uncovering African Agency: Angola’s Management of China’s Credit Lines (Ashgate 2013) – is the 27th in “The Rebalance Insight Series.”

Related: Zimbabwe: China’s ‘All-Weather’ Friend in Africa – The Diplomat

In 2016, let’s hope for better trade agreements – and the death of TPP – The Guardian The US concluded secret negotiations on what may turn out to be the worst trade agreement in decades, the so-called Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), and now faces an uphill battle for ratification, as all the leading Democratic presidential candidates and many of the Republicans have weighed in against it. The problem is not so much with the agreement’s trade provisions, but with the “investment” chapter, which severely constrains environmental, health, and safety regulation, and even financial regulations with significant macroeconomic impacts.

Eight Predictions for Southeast Asia for 2016: Part 2 – The Diplomat What can we expect for the region in 2016?

REGIONAL RELATIONS

The ASEAN Economic Community: The Force Awakens? – The Diplomat The agreement on the creation of an ASEAN Economic Community signed on November 22 in Kuala Lumpur by the leading nations of Southeast Asia finally entered into force with much fanfare on December 31, heralding the “awakening” of what could be defined as a new Asian power bloc. Almost echoing the European Union’s Common Market of the 1950s, ASEAN seeks to allow for the free movement of goods, services and skilled labor, a major departure from what has been considered since the earliest days of its existence as a political project for peaceful regional integration.

Related: Making ASEAN businesses happen – Investvine

The Storm Beneath the Calm: China’s Regional Relations in 2016 – ChinaFile On the surface, 2015 came to a close in a moment of relative tranquility after a turbulent year for China’s neighborhood. But the calm is misleading: the optics of regional diplomacy have become increasingly detached from the reality of the underlying tensions; this risks obscuring deepening fault lines.

Podcast: China and the West: Hope and Fear in the Age of Asia – CFR Three years into Xi Jinping’s tenure as president of China, the world is still grasping for an understanding of who he is and where he is leading the country. Dutch journalist Fokke Obbema takes us inside China in his terrific new book, China and the West: Hope and Fear in the Age of Asia, to help us consider the often competing and contradictory trends in China’s development and the challenge that the West appears to have in managing its relations with this dynamic—and often unpredictable—power.

China-led Asian infrastructure bank opens for business – The Jakarta Post China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank officially opened for business on Saturday in Beijing after a formal ceremony led by Chinese President Xi Jinping. Representatives from 57 member countries attended the opening ceremony, where China announced it would pledge $50 million to a special fund to prepare less developed countries for infrastructure projects.

Related: Xi Jinping says AIIB to boost Asia infrastructure investment – Thanh Nien News

            Related: President Xi Jinping pledges during opening ceremony for AIIB that China will devote itself to operation of new development bank – The South China Morning Post

 Philippines Pushes for Joint Naval Patrols With US in South China Sea – The Diplomat The Philippines proposed joint naval patrols with the United States in the South China Sea amidst ongoing territorial disputes between Manila and Beijing, The Philippine Star reports. During the U.S.-Philippine 2+2 ministerial consultations (See: “US, Philippines Boost Ties In Ministerial Meeting”), held in Washington D.C. on January 12, the United States committed to maintaining a military presence in the contested sea, according to the Philippine’s Department of National Defense spokesman, Peter Paul Galvez.

Thailand seeks closer Asean intel-sharing – The Nation THAILAND called yesterday for greater cooperation on exchange of intelligence among Asean countries following Thursday’s deadly terrorist attack in Jakarta. Indonesia has identified so-called Islamic State (IS) suicide bombers and gunmen as being behind the siege near a busy shopping district in the Indonesian capital that left seven dead including five attackers. Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan said more intelligence cooperation was urgently needed now that the IS brand of terrorism had entered the Asean region.

SUSTAINABILITY AND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Reinvigorating Domestic Demand for Growth and Sustainable Development – The Diplomat Economic and financial stability in Asia is critical as we embark on the new 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development – a universal and ambitious blueprint that expands the horizons of policymaking to implement the 17 new Sustainable Development Goals, reduce the region’s collective environmental footprint and secure the resources necessary to build the future we want.

Footage of elephants in Cambodia raises hopes for Asian species in the wild – The Guardian Rare footage of an elephant herd roaming through Cambodia’s biggest forest sanctuary has signalled the success of a 14-year conservation programme and raised hopes for the endangered species’ survival. The camera trap footage, taken in the spectacular and remote Cardamom mountains, shows 12 elephants, including young, grazing and lumbering through the forest.

China’s Multipronged Green Development Target – The Diplomat China is a major player in the renewable energy market, especially in the solar power sector. It has committed to generating 150 to 200 GW of electricity from solar power and 250 GW from wind energy by 2020. Renewable energy projects will be funded in part by an increased surcharge on electricity bills of 0.019 yuan per kilowatt-hour. Clean energy producers are to be given priority over coal-fired generators in selling power to distributers and large users, in a change of policy from guaranteeing operating hours for coal fired plants.

Related: No new projects: China’s degraded Yangtze River needs protection, not construction, President Xi Jinping says – The South China Morning Post

China puts green finance high up G20 agenda – China Dialogue China as leader of the G20 this year is being tasked with delivering faster progress on green finance to steer the world towards an environmentally friendly path. China, the UN, G20 and global financial institutions will this year aim to expand a system of green bonds to pay for the US$50 trillion of investment required to meet a 2C climate goal agreed at the Paris climate summit in December. Green bonds will also be needed to fund a huge environmental clean-up following decades of rapid economic growth, particularly in large developing countries.

Roundtable: What are the benefits of China’s ban on new coal mines? – China Dialogue On the final day of 2015, China’s central government said it would suspend the approval of new mines, with the ban starting in 2016, cutting coal’s share of national energy consumption to 62.6% in 2017, down from 64.4% currently. We asked experts on China’s energy and climate polices the following question: How will this ban help China meet its CO2 and renewable energy targets, and reduce other types of pollution from the mining, transportation and use of coal?

CHINA

Navigating China’s New Silk Road – Project Syndicate BEIJING – Since its introduction by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013, the “one belt, one road” initiative – an ambitious plan to revitalize the ancient Silk Road overland and maritime trade routes linking East and West – has attracted considerable attention. And for good reason: The project, which involves more than 60 countries and quite a few international organizations, implies unprecedented opportunities – and challenges.

President Xi Jinping pledges to revamp China’s sweeping anti-corruption campaign – The South China Morning Post President Xi Jinping called yesterday for a revamp of the Communist Party’s approach to fighting corruption, while vowing to continue with the highly-publicised campaign. Addressing the annual meeting of the graft-busting agency the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, Xi said supervision inside the party had to be strengthened, and that cadres needed to look at things from a “political perspective” and be loyal to the party. “We should revamp the structure and institutions and supervision mechanism [for fighting corruption],” CCTV quoted Xi as saying as he outlined the CCDI’s agenda for 2016.

Related: Former top Chinese police official and Zhou Yongkang ally jailed on corruption charges – The South China Morning Post

Xi’s new model army – The Economist CHINA’S biggest military shake-up in a generation began with a deliberate echo of Mao Zedong. Late in 2014 President Xi Jinping went to Gutian, a small town in the south where, 85 years before, Mao had first laid down the doctrine that the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is the armed force not of the government or the country but of the Communist Party. Mr Xi stressed the same law to the assembled brass: the PLA is still the party’s army; it must uphold its “revolutionary traditions” and maintain absolute loyalty to its political masters. His words were a prelude to sweeping reforms in the PLA that have unfolded in the past month, touching almost every military institution.

Beijing Builds ‘Monster’ Ship for Patrolling the South China Sea – The Diplomat China has finished construction on a second 10,000-ton China Coast Guard (CCG) cutter destined for patrols in the South China Sea, Chinese state media reports. The ship, designated CCG 3901, “has been completed recently and is ready to start protecting China’s maritime rights,” The Global Times announced. A sister ship, the CCG2901, already deployed to the East China Sea in 2015.

Young Chinese feeling on edge about environmental decline – The South China Morning Post A group of university students from southwest China showed how far they were willing to go to raise awareness on environmental protection by taking photos of themselves hanging dangerously from the edge of a building, the West China City Daily reports on Tuesday. The group of 10, all third year students studying Visual Communication Design at the Sichuan University of Science and Engineering in Zigong, took the photos in December last year.

SOUTHEAST ASIA

Islamic State Attack in Indonesia? A Look at the 2016 Jakarta Bombings – The Diplomat On the morning of January 14, a series of explosions and gunfire rocked the Indonesian capital of Jakarta, leaving at least seven dead and more than 20 injured. While it is still early days, the evidence so far suggests that the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is responsible. Though it is important not to exaggerate the significance of a single event, the attack highlights the growing reach of terrorists into Indonesia – the world’s most populous Muslim country – as well as the rising threat of militancy in Southeast Asia.

Related: Jakarta Attacks Hit Vulnerable Target – The Diplomat

 The Irrawaddy Business Roundup (Jan 16, 2016) – The Irrawaddy The administration of President Thein Sein has given concessions to operate two dry ports to a regional logistics giant, the latest contract to be awarded after the election defeat of the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party in November. According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, leaders of the National League for Democracy are concerned that projects are being rushed through before power is handed over in the coming months. The opposition party won an overwhelming majority at the polls and is set to lead the next government, which will inherit projects approved by the outgoing administration.

Shan State battles rage in tandem with peace talks – DVB As the second stage in Burma’s lurching peace process began with the Union Peace Conference in Naypyidaw on Tuesday, the absent Ta’ang National Liberation Army marked its 53^rd Revolutionary Day with skirmishes against Burmese troops. Fighting in the Kutkai area of northern Shan State broke out on the afternoon of 12 January between the group’s 447/335 Regiment and the Burmese army’s 99^th Light Infantry Division, according to a spokesperson for the TNLA.

Haunted by Close Call, Cambodia’s Long-Ruling PM Gears Up for Distant Election – The Irrawaddy PHNOM PENH — Cambodia won’t hold a general election for another two years. But look at Prime Minister Hun Sen, its long-ruling and mercurial strongman, and you’d think one was imminent. Hun Sen’s party narrowly won the last election in 2013 after losing seats to a resurgent opposition that shook his decades-long grip on power. Now, with a familiar mix of guile and ruthlessness, Hun Sen is stepping up attempts to boost his popularity, blunt the opposition and avert a potential disaster in 2018, say analysts.

Who Will Lead Vietnam? – The Diplomat Between January 20 and 28, Vietnam’s ruling Communist Party is scheduled to convene its 12th national congress. The Party congress is to Vietnam in some sense what the presidential election is to the United States: It decides who the country’s next leaders will be.

2 massive Vietnam War bombs found in southern province – Thanh Nien News Military officers in the southern province of Binh Duong on Wednesday successfully moved two general-purpose bombs weighing 226 and 360 kilograms found by locals to a safer place. One bomb, which is an M81, used commonly during the Vietnam War, was found near the bank of the Dong Nai River and the other, an M83, at a construction site.

Rachel Tristch compiled and provided commentary on this week’s news digest.