Grasp the pattern, read the trend

Asia in Review

(1/5/2018)

Brought to you by CPG

Dear Reader,

Welcome to the first issue of CPG's Asia in Review in May 2018, updating you on the latest developments in law, politics and international relations in Asia. 

I hope you enjoy reading!

Very best regards,

Henning Glaser

Director, German-Southeast Asian Center of Excellence for Public Policy and Good Governance (CPG)

Webpage: www.cpg-online.de, Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CPGTU/

Main Sections

• Law and Politics in East Asia

• Law and Politics in South Asia

• Law and Politics in South East Asia

• International Relations, Geopolitics and Security in Asia

• Background Reading

Law and Politics in East Asia 

China’s rule of law development: Regresses in the wake of anti-corruption campaign

(dql) Recent hasty and non-transparent trials as well as secret arrests of high-ranking party officials and top business executives in the course of President Xi Jinping’s sweeping corruption crackdown have put into perspective progress which has been made in judiciary reforms and rule of law in China over the past five years, Wang Xiangwei writes in [South China Morning Post].

Japan: Momentum for Abe’s constitutional revision vanished?

(dql) On Japan’s Constitution Day on Thursday Prime Minister reiterated in a video message at a rally of a conservative organization his push for constitutional revision. [Mainichi] The prospects for realizing this are bleak. A poll this week revealed that 58% of eligible voters oppose a revision of the constitution under Abe reflecting growing distrust against the Prime Minister who since months has been battered by ongoing cronyism scandals in which he is suspected to be involved. [The Asahi Shimbun]

In a related development, Tadao Yanase, vice minister for international affairs at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, and formerly executive secretary to Abe, is expected to testify in Diet on the school operator Kake Gakuen scandal in which the beneficiary is one of Abe’s closest friends. [The Japan Times]

Law and Politics in South Asia 

India: Muslims struggle for justice [Opinion]

(ot) India’s state institutions have failed to provide justice for Muslims in the country, leaving them more vulnerable and insecure in the first four months of 2018 than ever before. The trend is illustrated by a number of crimes and instances of violence directed against Muslim communities across the country. Anti-Muslim sentiments are promoted by the justice system, the public, and the ruling Bharatiya Jatana Party (BJP).

Many people fear that anti-Muslim violence in India is going to intensify in the coming months leading up to the country’s general elections. However, it is being seen by the BJP party as a legitimate method of mobilizing Hindu votes in the election. [Al Jazeera]

Pakistan: Targeted killings of Hazara Shia Muslim spark protest

(ot) At least six people belonging to the Hazara community, a Shia Muslim minority, have been killed in a series of targeted attacks against the community in the city of Quetta this week. Three people were also wounded. The latest string of incidents started on Saturday morning, with two Hazara men having been shot dead while sitting inside their electronic shop. [Geo TV, The Express Tribune]

Quetta is home to roughly 600,000 Hazara Shiaz, most of whom live in two enclaves on either side of the city. The community has repeatedly been under attack for more than a decade, with many shootings and bomb attacks claimed by sectarian groups such as Lashkar-e-Jhangvi. According to the government’s National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR), at least 509 people from the Hazara community have been killed in Quetta since 2013. The weekend incidents were the fourth of such attack in April.

The weekend killings sparked anger among community members and led to a widespread demonstration against the authorities, ending on Wednesday. The protesters demanded the government to put immediate end to the targeted killings of the marginalized community and to hold the perpetrators accountable for the crimes. They dispersed after community leaders met with the country’s army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa. [Al Jazeera]

Pakistan: Freedom of expression under threat

(ot) On Tuesday, Pakistani media freedom watchdog Freedom Network published its report “Press Freedom Barometer 2018”, ahead of World Press Freedom Day on 3 May. The report documented 157 cases of attacks and violations against journalists and media groups from 1 May 2017 to 1 April 2018. These included instances of killings, abductions, physical attacks, arrests, threats, and other forms of harassment. Thirty-five per cent of the violent instances was conducted by state actors. Other perpetrators included militant groups, political parties, religious groups, and criminals. Islamabad is the most dangerous place for journalists, with 35 per cent of the violations having occurred in the country’s capital city. The continued oppression against freedom of speech has also resulted in growing self-censorship of the media. [Voice of America, The Wire, Freedom Network]

Despite a growing optimism about the country’s future security and economic situations, the Pakistani security establishment sees institutions of media, development, and human rights as primary national security concern. It has been taken more seriously by the military than threat from India, Afghanistan, or the U.S. In addition, the security establishment is also suspicious that information warfare that could attribute to the country and its agencies as sponsors of terror in the region. [The Interpreter]

Sri lanka: High Level Bribery

(hg) The President’s recently appointed Chief of Staff and the Chairman of the State Timber Corporation (STC) have been arrested by the Bribery Commission while accepting a the first rate of a bribe of a total amount of Rs 540 million by an Indian investor attempting to acquire shares of a state owned sugar factory. [Ada Derana 1]

President Sirisena ordered to interdict the two suspected persons with immediate effect demanding to take strict legal actions. [Ada Derana 2]

Ironically, the President´s administration came to power to root out corruption which then was particularly found on the side of Chinese investors.

Nepal: Communist parties´ unification moving on

(hg) After recent difficulties to formally unite, the leaders of Nepal´s two communist parties CPN-Maoist Center and Prime Minister KP Oli´s CPN-UML have finally agreed in a one-on-one meeting that the united communist party´s central comittee will be composed by almost the same number of each party’s members, although the CPN-UML is stronger and that the Sun, the symbol of CPN-UML will be the symbol of the new party.

Nonetheless, conflict remains over the Maoist leader´s demand to either to get the chair of the unified party for the next two years or a share of the power for the whole Oli’s Prime Minister term. A favorable date to announce the unification, May 5, Karl Marx’s bicentennial birthday, has passed without an announcement of the expected unification of the parties. [Himalayan Times] [The Wire]

Bangladesh: Deadly violence and party politics

(hg) The vice president of a small minority party – the Parbattya Chattogram Jana Samhati Samity (PCJSS) – was murdered and another party official wounded by assassins. While the PCJSS is accusing the United People’s Democratic Front, the latter is blaming a quarrel inside the PCJSS. [Daily Star]

The PCJSS represents various non-Muslim tribal minorities of the Chittagong Hill Tracts, were it has launched an armed insurgency against Dhaka with alleged Indian support until a 1997 peace accord.

Later the same day, a local Awami League leader was was killed and 30 others were injured in a clash between two rival groups of Awami League (AL) in the area. [The Independent]

Bangladeshi veteran politician claims no democracy, rule of law, and rights in Bangladesh

(hg) The head of the right Jatiya Party, ex-dictator General Ershad, claimed there is no democracy, rule of law, freedom of speech and people’s rights in the country.  Not long ago, a Jatiya Party MP demanded to resort to extra-judicial killings of rapists. [Daily Star]

The Maldives´ politicized judiciary in a divided polity

(hg) China friendly President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom of the Maldives´s faces two opposition forces, a breakaway faction of his own party led by his half-brother and long-term dictator Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, and another one supporting Indian-friendly, self-exiled former president Mohamed Nasheed. Since the liberalization 2005, the judiciary became one of the most powerful political weapons in the country despite the fact that political violence still plays a role. The one who wields this weapon “can lay waste to political rivals, secure or destroy futures and simply force any opponent into submission” without the need to shed blood and invite foreign attention. After incumbent President Yameen had radically shifted his country´s leaning from India to China tables suddenly turned on February 1, 2018 when the country's Supreme Court ordered the release of jailed politicians that belong to the opposition under unusual circumstances. When the President arrested the two judges, among them the Chief Justice, and declared a state of emergency claiming a planed coup, the opposition tried to muster enough international support to get rid of the government with a mix of geopolitical and rights-related arguments. The two arrested Supreme Court judges – “once 'poster boys' for the country's 'corrupt' and compromised judiciary” became paragons of justice for the opposition whose leader Nasheed has lost his presidency in 2012, - exactly because he had arrested the Chief Justice for releasing an oppositional politician who had been involved in public protests against Nasheed.

Now, new light is shed on the currently arrested Chief Justice after a leak of several statements given to the police by some other as well as testimonies from top police officials and the intelligence report following the February 1 court order on social media. Until now, there are no indications the leaks could be fake. According to lower court judges the jailed chief justice the other jailed judge had influenced their rulings "to ones president Yameen wanted" until they switched sides. [Avas 1]

In another leaked statement by the Anti-Corruption Commission chief, the latter reports that he was made aware that the arrested Supreme Court judges were hatching a plot to overthrow the government by a "friend". He also admitted that he was aware, the two top court judges along with the now jailed chief judicial administrator were trying to buy apartments in Malaysia funded by the tycoon and opposition Jumhoory Party (JP) leader. [Avas 2]

Meanwhile, a former Attorney General and famed local advocate called for the resignation of the judges who acted under apparent pressure from two top-court judges. [Avas 3]

The leaks reveal once more the state of judicial independence in the island country. Noteworthy in this context is that the opposition camp remained suspiciously silent over the leaks including twitter-happy ex-president Nasheed. Arguably, judicial independence seems indeed gauged in the Maldives “simply by the side you are on. In Maldives, to go from villain to hero takes only a split second. Merely swapping sides can absolve all your sins.” [Avas 1]

Law and Politics in Southeast Asia 

Cambodia: Preparations for a deeply flawed election in July

(ls) Cambodia began registering political parties for the July 29 general election that is almost certain to extend the 33-year-old rule of Prime Minister Hun Sen after the Supreme Court dissolved the main opposition party. The National Election Committee (NEC) said Hun Sen’s Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) was the first to register along with the little known, pro-government Cambodian Youth Party (CYP). Registration will end on May 14. [Reuters]

Meanwhile, another opposition party announced on Thursday that it will boycott the general election, saying it will not be free and fair. The Candlelight Party – previously the Sam Rainsy Party and a founding member of the now banned Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) – said it will not take part in election. The CNRP, previously Cambodia's main opposition party, was dissolved by a court order late last year as sought by Hun Sen. 118 former top CNRP members, including 55 former members of parliament, were banned from politics for five years. [Bangkok Post]

Malaysia: Latest developments before the General Election on 9 May

(ls) Malaysia’s general election is only a few days away. Whereas Prime Minister Najib Razak and his main challenger, former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, are in full campaign mode, opposition politician Tian Chua filed a suit against the Election Commission (EC) for barring him from defending his parliamentary seat of Batu in Kuala Lumpur. Chua, who held the Batu seat for two terms from 2008, was disqualified because of a RM2,000 (S$675) fine imposed on the politician in March for insulting a police officer. Malaysian law disqualifies a Member of Parliament from public office if he or she is sentenced to imprisonment for a term of not less than one year or is fined not less than RM2,000. [Straits Times 1]

Illustrating the shake-up of Malaysian politics, former finance minister Daim Zainuddin made a surprise appearance at an opposition rally, rather than at one organized by the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition. Daim was in the Cabinet of then Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad – who is now an opposition leader – and he was also Umno’s treasurer. [Straits Times 2]

Meanwhile, Kuala Lumpur police are investigating Mahatir under the new Anti-Fake News Act after complaints over Mahathir’s claim that his chartered plane was sabotaged. [South China Morning Post] On a side note, the first person charged and convicted under the new law has been reported to be a 46-year-old Danish national of Yemeni descent. The man was arrested after he allegedly made “false and damning claims” in relation to the murder of a Palestinian lecturer in Kuala Lumpur in April. [Business Insider]

BN is facing its toughest election yet. But, as a Reuters report argues, the chances of incumbent PM Najib losing are seen as slim, in large part because of rural areas that faithfully vote for BN. Votes in sparsely populated areas carry more weight than votes in cities. For example: Igan on Borneo, with just 19,592 voters, is the country’s smallest constituency in terms of electorate size. By contrast, Bangi, an urban constituency in Selangor state held by the opposition, is the biggest with 178,790 voters. Both elect one lawmaker. [Reuters]

And, in terms of religion, Hew Wai Weng argues in the New Mandala, that Malaysia’s 14th general election is not so much a contest between Malays and non-Malays, Muslims and non-Muslims, Islamists and secularists, but more about various competitions of ideas among Muslims of different backgrounds. [New Mandala]

Myanmar: Aung San Suu Kyi promises investigations to UN Security Council

(ls/jm) Myanmar’s government leader Aung San Suu Kyi met with United Nations Security Council envoys on Monday over the fate of nearly 700,000 mainly Rohingya Muslims who fled to Bangladesh, pledging to investigate any credible accusations of abuse. Suu Kyi’s office also said in a statement after the meeting that cooperation was needed from Bangladesh on the repatriation of refugees. [Reuters]

During the trip to Myanmar, UN delegates met also the head of the army, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, who denied his forces had committed rape and other sexual abuses during a crackdown which he ordered. “The Tatmadaw [army] is always disciplined … and takes action against anyone who breaks the law,” he told the delegates. [South China Morning Post]

Meanwhile, in a surprising ruling in favor of two jailed Reuters reporters, the judge in the case announced Wednesday that he would accept evidence from a police captain who testified that an officer was ordered to entrap one of the journalists. The police captain has been sentenced in secret to a year in prison for an unspecified violation of the police disciplinary code. Prosecutors had urged the judge to declare him a hostile witness. In rejecting their motion, the judge said he found the captain credible. [New York Times] At the time of their arrest, the two Reuters reporters were investigating the extrajudicial killing of 10 Rohingya men in the village of Inn Din in the north of Rakhine state.

Myanmar: Security and human rights situation in Kachin State deteriorating

(jm) On Monday, over 5,000 people were in the streets of Myitkyina (Kachin State), protesting against the situation of civilians due to the conflict between Tatmadaw and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) that lasts for 7 years. Since the beginning of the conflict, more than 100,000 civilians had to leave their house and live now in refugee camps. 2,000 persons are trapped in the jungle. The group of demonstrators was composed of Kachin youths, leaders from social and religious organizations, ethnic residents and some refugees from camps near the city. [Myanmar Times 1]

U.N. Special Rapporteur on the situation of Human Rights in Myanmar, Yanghee Lee, alerted on the increase of killings, injuries and displacements of innocent civilians in Kachin State and also pointed out that a food convoy organized by the Myanmar Red Cross was prevented from entering in a village which left 100 civilians out of adequate access to food or medical supplies. [UN News]

The President’s Office spokesperson, U Zaw Htay assured that the government has rescued 200 persons that were trapped in the fight between the KIA and the Tatmadaw but he also affirmed that during this operation they saw people with weapon in the middle of civilians. He reminded that the humanitarian assistance should be on the benefit of civilians and not for the KIA members. [Myanmar Times 2]

Thailand: Is the old parties’ loss the new parties’ gain?

(ls) The Constitutional Court of Thailand has given the ruling National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) a deadline to provide an explanation on its controversial order on political party affairs. According to NCPO Order 53/2017 issued last December, members of parties were required to reconfirm their membership and pay related fees between April 1-30, or they would lose their membership status. In April, the Constitutional Court accepted petitions by the Democrat and Pheu Thai parties asking it to rule on the validity of the order amending the organic law on political parties. [Bangkok Post 1]

As for the Democrat Party, only 1 in 25 members have confirmed their party membership, resulting in a membership drop from 2.5 million to only 100,000. What contributed to the sharp drop was the fact that the parties were not allowed to communicate messages about the reconfirmation requirement to their members. Moreover, most members are not prepared to pay a membership fee. [Bangkok Post 2] The order has largely been seen as an attempt by the ruling junta to set the stage for a new party backing the military. The Pracharath Party, which is among the new parties applying to register with the Election Commission, is reported to be backed by the regime.

Last month, the Future Forward Party, or Anakot Mai, burst into Thailand’s political scene, led by the auto parts tycoon Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit and Thammasat University law lecturer Piyabutr Saengkanokkul. Thanatorn has spoken with the New Mandala about the compromised electoral conditions the Future Forward Party is likely to face and the kepticism that followed the party’s debut. [New Mandala]

In another development, the Supreme Administrative Court has ruled that the termination of Pheu Thai Party key member Chaturon Chaisaeng’s passports was illegal. The court agreed with Chaturon that the termination of his passport was politically motivated, since the former minister had criticized the junta-sponsored draft of constitution. [The Nation]

Thailand: Lèse majesté law once again in the spotlight

(ls) One of Thailand’s most prominent lèse majesté convicts, labour rights activist Somyot Prueksakasemsuk, has been released from prison after seven years of jail time. Back in 2011, the authorities charged Somyot as the editor of a red-shirt magazine that had published two articles written by an exiled politician. Groups dedicated to human rights have pointed to wide-ranging examples of the lèse majesté law being misused for political purposes, rather than to protect the monarchy. At least 94 people have been charged with the crime since the 2014 coup. [The Nation 1]

In the otherwise conservative “Nation”, a remarkable editorial titled “Thailand can do without lese majeste statute” calls to review the law. The editorial describes how even criticizing the monarchy in good faith “can be and is deemed lese majeste”, and that cases were often “handled as though Thailand was still an absolute monarchy rather than a nation under the modern rule of law.” [The Nation 2]

Vietnam: Changes of personnel to be expected at the Central Committee Plenum

(ls) The Vietnam Communist Party’s 7th Plenum of the Twelfth Central Committee will be held this month. On that occasion, as many as three new faces could be entering the Politburo, the Vietnamese Communist Party’s top decision-making body. Dinh La Thang, the former Ho Chi Minh City party secretary, was dismissed for corruption last year already. Earlier this year, Dinh The Huynh, head of the Party’s Secretariat, announced he would step down because of ill-health. And President Tran Dai Quang, who has been suffering from poor health for months, might also be replaced. [The Diplomat]

ISEAS’s Le Long Hiep shares information who could be the candidates to fill the open seats. He holds it highly likely that Nguyen Thien Nhan, currently Politburo member and Party Secretary of Ho Chi Minh City, is the frontrunner for the replacement of President Tran Dai Quang. Hiep also discusses the possible inner-party consequences of these appointments. [ISEAS]

David Brown argues that, at the plenum, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong will be able to advance his proteges the several vacant politburo positions. Named to the top party post in 2011, Trong embodies tradition, unswerving faith in Marxism-Leninism and moral rigor. Brown describes how he has campaigned for years to restore the Vietnamese Communist Party’s internal discipline and, so doing, improve its image. [Asia Sentinel]

International Relations, Geopolitics and Security in Asia

China’s military spending: On the rise

(dql) The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) has released its fact sheet on world military expenditure 2017 revealing that military expenditure in Asia rose for the 29th successive year with China as largest spender in Asia having the worldwide highest increase (5.6%) in military spending in 2017. China with a total spending of 228 billion USD is followed by India as second largest spender in Asia with spending at 63.9 billion USD and an increase of 5.5% compared with 2016, and South Korea in third position which spent 39.2 USD, an increase by 1.7% between 2016 and 2017.

The top four spender are USA (610 billion USD), China, Saudi Arabia (69 billion USD), and Russia (66 billion USD). [SIPRI]

Chinese military build-up in the South China Sea

(ls) China has, for the first time, installed anti-ship cruise missiles and surface-to-air missile systems on three of its outposts in the South China Sea, CNBC reported on Wednesday, citing sources with direct knowledge of U.S. intelligence reports. China has made no mention of any missile deployments but says its military facilities in the Spratlys are purely defensive, and that it can do what it likes on its own territory. [Reuters 1]

At the same time, the Philippines have completed the purchase of their first-ever ship-borne missile systems, boosting its maritime deterrent as part of a military modernization program. A senior naval commander said the Philippines would now be more of a force in patrolling the South China Sea and its pirate-plagued southern waters. The missiles have a maximum range of eight km (5 miles). [Reuters 2]

China-US trade relations: Tensions remain after inconclusive high level talks

(dql) The two-day trade negotiations this week between Chinese and US senior officials failed to arrive at a deal to ease the ongoing fierce trade dispute. Beijing refused to accept strong US demands including a drop of China’s tariffs to match lower U.S. levels; the elimination of limits on U.S. investment in key industries; an end of state-sponsored cyber-attacks on U.S. targets; a boost of intellectual property safeguards; and a halt of subsidies for several advanced technology industries as well as reduction of the US trade deficit by 200 billion USD by 2020. [ArkansasOnline]

India-China relations: Modi-Xi talks end in border cooperation

(ot) On Saturday, the first informal meeting between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Wuhan, China, concluded with an agreement to improve military communication and to maintain peace in all areas of the India-China border region.

A joint statement issued by the Indian Foreign Ministry following the summit outlined proposals to strengthen direct lines of communication between the nations’ militaries to “build trust and mutual understanding and enhance predictability and effectiveness in the management of border affairs.” According to the statement, the two leaders also planned to “push forward bilateral trade and investment”, without identifying how that could be achieved. [CNN] [Reuters]

As a result, on Tuesday, Indian and Chinese militaries held a Border Personnel Meeting in Ladakh, India, where they discussed border management issues and agreed to maintain peace along the Line of Actual Control, the de-facto boundary between the two countries, as well as other confidence building measures. So far, the two side have agreed to carry out coordinated patrols in disputed area as well as to set up a hotline between the Indian Army’s Director General of Military Operations and the Chinese authority of similar position. [Hindustan Times]

The future of Russian security ties – between Pakistan and India

(hg) In times of an intensifying security cooperation between the US and India as well as loosening ties between the US and Pakistan, Moscow and Islamabad have pledged to improve defense ties. Pakistan seems, however, to be less restrained to engage with the new partnership than Russia that still appears trying to balance its South Asia relations rather than to abandon its traditional strategic partner India.

Pakistan’s national security adviser, Nasser Khan Janjua, has led for the first time a ministerial-level delegation comprising the heads of the various defense, national security and space ministries to Russia now. The visit comes short after India has pulled out from the Indo-Russian fifth-generation fighter aircraft program. This notwithstanding, with India having repeatedly requested Russia not to sell arms to Pakistan, Moscow might at the moment still be inclined to restrict the amount and type of arms offered to Pakistan as there are still important ties to India whose weapons are largely of Russian origin. At the same time, both Pakistan and Russia find themselves increasingly distant from the West, which provides an incentive to forcefully develop non-Western options. For the time being, Russia appears to be playing a balancing game justified by both the need to continue arms sales at least to some degree and the by far more uncertain hope that India might finally switch in its foreign policy orientation to a rapprochement with Russia. [Defence News] 

India: Military spending increases, joining the world’s top five defense spenders

(ot) India has become one of the world’s five biggest military spenders, joining the U.S. and China, according to a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute released on Wednesday. In 2017, India’s defense spending rose by 5.5 percent to 63.9 billion USD, surpassing France. The Indian government’s increased spending was motivated at least partially by geopolitical tensions with China and Pakistan. It was also the result of the country’s reliance on imported weapons and sprawling personnel costs.

The report showed that the world’s biggest military spenders has remained consistent in recent years, dominated by the U.S. and China, which spent 610 billion USD and 228 billion USD respectively. However, the balance of military spending is “clearly shifting” towards Asia, Oceania, and the Middle East, driven by spending increases in China, India, and Saudi Arabia. [Bloomberg] [South China Morning Post]

Nepal/Bangladesh connectivity by new tunnel

(jm) At the third conference of small- and medium-sized enterprises from China and South Asian countries on Sunday, the Nepalese Minister for Industry, Commerce and Supply announced the construction of a tunnel linking Bangladesh and Nepal. [The Kathmandu Post]

Bangladesh: Pres. Trump assures to keep pressuring for Rohingya repatriation

(jm) In a letter given by the U.S. ambassador to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the President of the United States recognized the Bengladeshi government’s efforts in the Rohingyas crisis and affirmed that his country will keep pressure on Myanmar in order to enable the return of the refugees. USAID President, Mark Green, and the CEO of the Carter Center will visit Bangladesh soon. The ambassador also congratulated the Prime Minister for the women development and empowerment in Bangladesh. [The Daily Star 1]

This support from the U.S.A. comes few days after Sheikh Hasina declared that her government is expecting China, Russia, India and Japan to play an important role into the Rohingya crisis. [The Daily Star 2]

Myanmar/Bangladesh: UNSC Delegation visit

(jm) A delegation of the United Nation Security Council visited several parts of Bangladesh and Myanmar related to the Rohingya crisis.

A central issue is the lacking part of the overall budget of 951 million of U.S. dollars needed to execute a plan to repatriate the refugees. With the monsoon season, the situation of the Rohingya already worsened.

On occasion of press conference with the representatives of the UNSC and discussions on the role of Myanmar, the representatives of China and Russia were skeptical about the possibility to support a binding UNSC resolution for the time being. [What’s in Blue]

ASEAN Summit recap: Economic and security issues dominated

(ls) At the end of the 32nd ASEAN Summit in Singapore, Southeast Asian leaders have given warning that a growing trade dispute between the US and China is putting their economic growth at risk. In terms of security, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong that Southeast Asia faces “very real” threats from Islamic State (IS) group despite their defeat in the Middle East. Fears are also growing that Southeast Asia, which is home to booming economies where a growing number of people are adopting digital technology in their everyday lives, could be increasingly targeted by cyberattackers. Human rights activists criticized that the summit failed to address pressing human rights issues in Southeast Asia. [South China Morning Post] [Al Jazeera]

The ASEAN leaders concluded their summit by releasing a communiqué that calls for exercise of self-restraint in the disputed South China Sea and “irreversible” denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. Read the full chairman’s statement of the 32nd ASEAN Summit at [PhilStar].

Thailand hoping to join new TPP

(ls) Thailand has expressed its hope of joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). “Thailand has made it clear that it wants to take part in the TPP,” Japan’s Minister for Economy, Trade and Industry, Toshimitsu Motegi, told reporters after meeting with Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak. Following the US pullout in January 2017 with the launch of President Donald Trump’s administration, the remaining 11 participating countries signed a revised TPP in March this year and are proceeding with domestic processes. Prior to the US pullout, Thailand had long rejected becoming a member of TPP. [Bangkok Post]

Background Reading

Chinese capitalism and economic integration in Southeast Asia

(ls) In an analysis for ISEAS, Yos Santasombat examines how China has become a skilled practitioner of “commercial diplomacy” in Southeast Asia. He holds that, as long as it continues to lead the way in regional integration, China’s state-led capitalism will seek to integrate itself into the ASEAN Economic Community. He writes that, as China rises, Southeast Asia has witnessed increased complexity and variations of “hybrid capitalism”, including alliances between state-led capitalism, transnational entrepreneurs emanating from China’s “going out” policy and ethnic Chinese in Southeast Asia. He distinguishes three main forms of Chinese Capitalism in Southeast Asia – neoliberal capitalism, flexible capitalism and Confucian capitalism – which intermingle into a range of local varieties under different socio-economic conditions. [ISEAS]

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