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Asia in Review

(No. 36, September/2019, 1)

Brought to you by CPG

Dear Readers,

AiR’s team is presenting you the first issue of ‘Asia in Review’ (AiR) in September updating you on the latest developments in geopolitics and international relations as well as constitutional politics, law reform and governance in Asia.

I wish you an informative read.

With the best wishes,

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/Hong Kong: Students boycott school and university after violent protest weekend

(dql) Defying a government ban, anti-government protesters took to the streets in Hong Kong’s city center for the 13th consecutive weekend of protests. In the course of the protest violence erupted Saturday night as police and protesters faced off in the worst clashes since demonstrations began in the city in June. [CNN]

On Sunday afternoon thousands of demonstrators converged on the airport, blocking access to the world’s third busiest airport by passenger numbers, before police intervened and dispersed the crowd. [Aljazeera]

In a latest development, thousands of students on Monday boycotted the first day of the new term to hold rallies and protest against the now shelved, yet not formally withdrawn extradition bill, adding new pressure on embattled Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam and her government which, however, continues to be backed by Beijing, according to statements of China’s Foreign Ministry on Sunday. [The Guardian] [Sohu, in Chinese]

Meanwhile, during his visit to Hong Kong-neighboring Guangdong province China’s Public Security Minister Zhao Kezhi called on the country’s police to “be on high alert for all kinds of subversive infiltration and sabotage activities, and resolutely crack down on all violent and terrorist activities” and “do an excellent job in safeguarding our ‘southern gate’” alluding to Hong Kong and its protest’s possible influence on Guangdong province. [South China Morning Post]

China expels Wall Street Journal reporter

(dql) Last week, Chinese authorities denied renewal of press credentials for a Wall Street Journal foreign correspondent known for this critical coverage of Chinese domestic and foreign policies. The move, which effectively forces the journalist to leave the country due to the ensuing non-renewal of his visa, comes weeks after the journalist co-authored a report on ongoing investigations of Australian law enforcement and intelligence agencies into a naturalized Australian cousin of President Xi over alleged money laundering and high-stakes gambling. [Wall Street Journal]

South Korea: Main opposition party again takes to the streets

(dql) Following last weekend’s rally [AiR No. 35, August/2019], South Korea’s Liberty Korea Party continued its extra-parliamentary opposition against the Moon administration as it held another mass protest in Seoul this weekend to demand Justice Minister nominee Cho Kuk to withdraw, who is under heavy pressure over alleged privileges his daughter enjoyed in her college admissions process and his large investments in a private equity fund. According to party estimates around 50.000 people joined the rally. [Korea Herald] [Korea Times]

Law and Politics in South Asia 

India: Assam declares about 2 million people stateless

(ls) Over the weekend, the Indian state of Assam published a citizenship list aimed at removing “foreign infiltrators”. The publication of the list left almost two million people stateless. Most of those excluded were expected to be Muslim. The government aims to replicate the process nationwide. Assam has long seen large influxes from Bangladesh, particularly in the country’s 1971 war of independence. Only those who can demonstrate that they or their forebears were in India before 1971 could be included in the list. [South China Morning Post]

The persons concerned may well end up in a limbo of statelessness. Bangladesh’s Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen already declared that people who were left off the citizen register in India’s Assam are not Bangladeshi. “Under no circumstances, Bangladesh would be affected,” he said. [Daily Star]

The development needs to be seen against the background of the pro-Hindu – and, vice-versa, anti-Muslim – policies of the governing Bharatiya Janata Party, which is also in power in Assam. In January, India’s lower house passed legislation that grants citizenship to people who moved to India from neighboring countries as recently as six years ago, but only as long as they are not Muslims.

Rajshree Chandra, professor at the University of Delhi, describes how legal-constitutional, legal-exceptional and extra-legal measures are employed by the Indian government to confront “the Other”. [The Wire]

India: Anti-lynching Act passed in West Bengal

(ls) In India’s state of West Bengal, the West Bengal (Prevention of Lynching) Bill, 2019 was passed into legislation. It aims to “provide effective protection of the Constitutional rights of vulnerable persons and to prevent the lynching” of innocents. In particular, it introduces the death penalty as a punishment for cases in which a person dies. The new law comes in the aftermath of a string of incidents of people getting beaten to death over rumors of cattle smuggling and child theft. The Act also has provisions for dealing with “dissemination of offensive material” that may lead to mob violence. [India Today]

India: New hope for child rights after tough sentence for human trafficker

(td) In India, a human trafficker who trafficked several boys for forced labor has been awarded a rare life sentence. The region Rajasthan has about 250,000 child workers. Manufacturers often favor children for bead work and intricate embroidery. In January, a state-supported campaign against child exploitation started, with new checks at stations, awareness campaigns and a more systematic approach to fighting legal cases. [Reuters]

India to outlaw several single-use plastic products

(td) India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi plans to scrap plastics by 2022 and sets to launch the campaign with a ban on six items on 2 October this year. These include plastic bags, cups, plates, small bottles, straws and certain types of sachets. While some Indian states already have outlawed polythene bags, Modi plans on taking further steps towards freeing India of single-use plastic as worldwide concerns are growing about plastic pollution, with a particular focus on the oceans, where nearly 50% of single-use plastic products end up, killing marine life and entering the human food chain. [Reuters] [Indian Express]

Pakistan: New law guarantees women agricultural workers’ rights

(ls) In Pakistan’s Sindh province, the cabinet approved the Sindh Women Agriculture Workers Act 2019, which recognizes the right of women workers to have a written contract, minimum wage, social security, and welfare benefits including for child health, maternity leave, and access to government subsidies and credit. It also requires gender parity in wages and gives the right for women to unionize. The Act is expected to also pass the provincial assembly. [Human Rights Watch]

Bangladesh: High Court orders to remove “virgin” from Muslim marriage certificates

(ls) Bangladesh’s High Court has decided in a landmark decision that the word “virgin” must be removed from Muslim marriage certificates. The Court ordered the term to be replaced with “unmarried”. Before the ruling, brides had to select whether they were a Kumari (virgin), a widow or divorced. Rights groups had long criticized the term, used in marriage certificates since in 1961, saying it breaches the privacy of the woman getting married. [Al Jazeera]

Maldives: Commission finds that former president Yameen covered up Al-Qaeda murders

(ls) In the Maldives, the Presidential Commission on Investigation of Murders and Enforced Disappearances has concluded that three persons, including a well-known journalist, were killed by Bilad-al-Sham, a local extremist group linked to Al-Qaeda. The commission found that the previous government under president Abdulla Yameen covered up the murders. The group is also responsible for the assassination of a moderate legislator in 2012 and two liberal bloggers in 2012 and 2017. [Straits Times]

Sri Lanka: Uncertainty over niqab ban

(ls) After the state of emergency was lifted last week in Sri Lanka, there is growing confusion over the legality of the niqab, the Muslim face veil, as several women were briefly detained for questioning. Whereas community leaders maintain that the prohibition, which was part of the emergency decree, is no longer valid, no official position was given so far. The emergency regulation, issued eight days after the Easter Sunday bombings, stated: “No person shall wear in any public place any garment or such other material concealing the full face which will in any manner cause any hindrance to the identification of a person”. [Sunday Times]

Law and Politics in Southeast Asia 

Indonesia: Jakarta sends more security forces as violence continues in Papua

(ls/td) Indonesia’s Papua and West Papua provinces continue to grapple with incidents of violent unrest. In Papua’s provincial capital Jayapura, protesters torched a local parliament office, a building housing the offices of a state-controlled telecoms firm and cars parked on the street. More than 1,000 people took part in the protest. On Monday, one student was killed. Papuan independence leader Benny Wenda called for the United Nations to act on the crisis. [The Guardian] [Straits Times 1]

At least two civilians and one soldier have been killed in the remote district of Deiyai. However, information coming from the region is difficult to gather as an internet blackout remains in place. The government claims this is to stop the spread of misinformation and “hoaxes”. [ABC News]

The Indonesian government has sent 2,500 police officers and soldiers to confront the violence and restore order in Jayapura. 1,500 security forces had already been deployed in West Papua, which is the neighbouring province to Papua, the week before. [Straits Times 2]

For about two weeks, thousands of people have taken to the streets across Indonesia’s easternmost territory for protests believed to have been initially sparked by racist comments made towards Papuan students in Surabaya over allegations of a damaged flagpole. [AiR No. 35, August/2019, 4]

East Timor: 20 years of independence

(ls) The current developments in Papua remind of events two decades ago in what is now East Timor. The country just celebrated 20 years since a UN-backed vote ended a decades-long occupation by Indonesian forces and paved the way for it to become an independent nation. However, there has been little justice for the families of those killed in a wave of bloodshed unleashed by the Indonesian army after the 1999 independence vote. Efforts to prosecute army commanders for crimes against humanity have largely been unsuccessful. East Timor, or Timor-Leste, was recognized as an independent state in 2002. [Channel News Asia]

The Timorese independence movement Fretilin began to oppose Portuguese colonialism in the early 1970s, while developing a revolutionary program that included the emancipation of women. The Conversation offers an overview of the historic events that unfolded since then. [The Conversation]

Malaysia: Corruption trial against former prime minister Najib has started

(ls/td) Malaysia’s former prime minister Najib Razak’s corruption trial involving illegal transfers from the state investment fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) into his personal bank accounts started on Wednesday with the prosecution saying that he had abused his powers to enrich himself. The former prime minister is facing 21 counts of money laundering and four counts of abuse of power for receiving illegal transfers. The United States Department of Justice has alleged that more than US$4.5 billion was misappropriated from 1MDB and about US$700 million of that ended up in Najib’s personal bank accounts. [Straits Times]

Myanmar: Filmmaker sentenced to prison over critical remarks

(ls) A Myanmar court has sentenced the prominent filmmaker Min Htin Ko Ko Gyi to one year in prison with hard labor for Facebook posts that criticized the military. According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners human rights group, 161 people are in jail or on trial in Myanmar on what the group says are politically motivated charges. [Reuters]

Singapore: Religious Harmony Act to be amended

(ls) Singapore is introducing changes to the Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act. The Act, in force since 1992, allows the government to issue restraining orders against preachers who engage in conduct or speech that undermines religious harmony, and fine and jail those who breach such orders. The yet unspecified changes shall adapt the Act to the social media age. In June, Singapore enacted the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act, addressing “fake news” on the internet. [Straits Times]

Channel News Asia has compiled some background information about the Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act. [Channel News Asia]

Singapore: Law Ministry plans to legalize conditional fee agreements

(td) Singapore’s Ministry of Law plans to allow conditional fee agreements, an additional payment option where a lawyer is paid only when the claim is successful. The country’s law currently prohibits conditional fee agreements. The new agreements will be considered for international and domestic arbitration proceedings, including mediation, as well as certain prescribed proceedings in the Singapore International Commercial Court. In addition to the lawyer's standard legal fees, a payment under the fee agreements may include a success-fee. Existing traditional payment methods will continue to be in place alongside the proposed agreements, involving fixed fees or arrangements where clients are billed by the hour. [Straits Times] [Ministry of Law]

Thailand: Oath saga not going away

(ls) In Thailand, the prime minister’s and his cabinet’s incomplete recital of the oath of office continues to preoccupy the political scene. Last week, the Office of the Ombudsman concluded that the government had breached the constitution by failing to recite the full oath of allegiance, which would have included also the passus on upholding and complying with the constitution. It will now be for the Constitutional Court to decide about the further consequences. [Reuters]

Meanwhile, his Majesty the King issued a written message of support for Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and his ministers to carry out their duties in line with their oath of office. [Bangkok Post 1]

Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam said that the parliamentary debate on the issue could be held behind closed doors if the content is considered inappropriate to be made public. The proposal was rejected by opposition parties. [Bangkok Post 2]

Thailand: Supreme Court confirms death penalty for Burmese citizens convicted of Koh Tao murder

(ls) Thailand’s Supreme Court has upheld the death sentences passed by the Criminal and Appeal courts for two Myanmar nationals convicted of the September 2014 murder of two British backpackers on the island of Koh Tao. The court rejected the argument that police had fabricated evidence and arrested them as scapegoats. [Bangkok Post]

International Relations, Geopolitics and Security in Asia

China-USA relations: New round of tit-for-tat tariffs

(dql) The trade war between USA and the USA has reached a new stage of escalation, as new tit-for-tat tariffs on each other’s exports came into effect this weekend, with Washington imposing 15% tariffs on 110 billion USD worth of Chinese goods and Beijing increasing duties on 75 billion USD of U.S. imports. Further dimming prospects for trade talks expected to held later this month, both sides announced to add new tariffs in December. [Reuters] [Forbes]

In latest developments, China’s Ministry of Commerce confirmed  on Monday that China has lodged a complaint against the United States at the World Trade Organization over the latest U.S. import duties, while the USA and Poland on the same day signed an agreement to tighten guidelines of 5G network security in the European country, a move aimed to block Huawei Technologies and other Chinese telecommunications firms from its networks. [Aljazeera] [South China Morning Post]

Meanwhile, Russian mobile operator MTS has teamed up with Chinese tech giant Huawei for a 5G pilot scheme in Moscow in which for the first time the super-fast network will cover almost the entire city. This move, along with the above mentioned US-Polish agreement, clearly signals the emerging technology split between East and West. [Russia Today]

Cross-Strait relations: Taiwan to lose another ally this week?

(dql) The Solomon Islands, one of Taiwan’s few remaining diplomatic allies, has formed a team of ministers to talk to Beijing ahead of a possible switch in ties believed to be announced this week. The move would reduce the number of Taiwan’s allies to 16. The Pacific island nation, which has recognized Taiwan since 1983, would be a prized chip for China in its bid to win allies of Taiwan over. [Taiwan News]

Meanwhile, a US Navy research vessel sailed into Taiwan waters last week, further signaling a strengthening of defense cooperation between the two unofficial allies amidst deteriorating Cross-Strait relations. [Asia Times]

The move comes after the Trump administration in August approved sale of F-16 fighter jets to Taiwan, against which Beijing announced retaliation in form of sanctions against US companies manufacturing jets. [VoA] [AiR No. 34, August/2019]

Philippines and China agree to put aside South China Sea dispute as Duterte meets Xi

(ls) On the occasion of the Philippines’ Rodrigo Duterte visiting China’s Xi Jinping in Beijing, the two leaders agreed to continue dialogue, work on a code of conduct for the South China Sea by 2021 and operationalize a joint oil exploration deal. Regarding the Permanent Court of Arbitration’s 2016 decision, rejecting China’s wide-reaching claims over parts of the South China Sea, Duterte told Xi that the ruling was "final, binding and not subject to appeal". Xi, however, reiterated China's decision to ignore it. [Straits Times 1]

The two presidents eventually "agreed that while their variant positions will have to remain," they should not derail the "amity" between their two countries. [Rappler]

Despite Duterte’s strategy of rapprochement over the recent years, Sino-Philippine relations suffered a major blow in June after a suspected Chinese militia vessel sunk a Filipino fishing boat in the Reed Bank, followed in recent weeks by growing incursions by Chinese surveillance vessels and warships into Philippine waters. Ahead of Duterte’s visit, however, China eased bilateral tensions by issuing a formal apology for the incident. [Straits Times 2]

The two sides are currently exploring a two-track approach, exploring first a non-controversial deal in “undisputed” areas as a confidence-building measure towards a brokering a more contentious deal in areas of overlapping claims, particularly the energy-rich Reed Bank. Under a service contract, the Philippines would retain sovereignty to the maritime area and reap 60% of the project’s profits. [Asia Times]

South Korea and Japan relations further worsening

(jd) Amidst ongoing strained relationships with Japan, South Korean lawmakers visited a disputed island on Saturday. Known to South Korea as Dokdo, the island is also claimed by Japan, where it is known as Takeshima. The Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs called the visit “extremely regrettable.” [New York Times]

Meanwhile, Japan officially removed South Korea from the trade white list last week, while Seoul confirmed this weekend that the South Korean government is on track toward excluding Japan from its export control white list this month. [Japan Times] [Asia News Network]

North Korea-USA denuclearization talks: Hope dwindling

(jd) On Saturday, a senior North Korean diplomat officially warned the US that hopes are fading for the continuation of the stalled denuclearization talks. The statement came after Pompeo criticized Pyongyang’s behavior in the light of the recent missile tests as “rogue,” which the diplomat rejected as “thoughtless” comment. [Aljazeera]

Amid stalled talks between Washington and Pyongyang, South Korea’s top nuclear envoy is set to meet the Russian Vice Foreign Minister to discuss North Korea’s denuclearization. They are expected to discuss how to facilitate the stalled negotiations between Pyongyang and the US. [Hankyoreh]

Meanwhile, a US reconnaissance plane flew over Seoul and its surrounding regions in a North Korean intelligence-gathering mission stepping up US surveillance of North Korea amid fears that Pyongyang would continue missile tests. Pyongyang defended again the weapons testing, arguing that it is crucial as a means to defend against “imperialistic behavior,” referring to the United States’ behavior in the region. Since late July, seven rounds of weapons testing have been conducted, primarily using short-range missiles and projectiles. [Korea Herald 2]

Complicating the situation, Japan claimed that Pyongyang is developing a new range of short-range ballistic missiles which penetrate a ballistic missile shield defending Japan. [Japan Times]

Japan urges Iran to abide by nuclear deal

(jd) During a meeting last week, Japan’s Foreign Minister urged his Iranian counterpart to abide by the 2015 nuclear deal. Both sides agreed to maintain close communication to ease tensions in US-Iran relations which threaten to increase tensions also between Tokyo and Tehran which historically have had friendly ties. [Japan Today]

In a latest development, Japan has reportedly decided that it will not join a U.S.-led security mission to protect merchant vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz, but will consider deploying its naval force independently. [Channel News Asia]

Kashmir: Indian Supreme Court gets involved; Khan joins mass demonstrations

(ls) Over the weekend, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan joined a rally of thousands in Islamabad to protest against India’s decision. He promised to raise also the issue of rights violations allegedly perpetrated by India in the disputed region at the United Nations next month. In addition to the protest in Islamabad, major demonstrations were also held in Karachi, Lahore and Peshawar. [Al Jazeera]

India's Supreme Court has taken up legal challenges to the government's decision to revoke Indian-controlled Kashmir's special status. The Court ordered the federal government to file replies to several petitions related to the issue. [Straits Times]

Myanmar navy takes part in US-ASEAN exercises despite existing US sanctions

(ls) Myanmar’s navy takes part in the five-day maritime exercise led by the United States with seven ASEAN navies this week. Joint naval drills between the US and Myanmar are controversial as the US placed travel bans earlier this year on top Myanmar military figures for what a UN fact-finding mission called the military’s “crimes against humanity” carried out against the country’s Rohingya Muslim minority in the western state of Rakhine with “genocidal intent” in 2017. [The Irrawaddy]

However, there are growing calls to further isolate the military, expand sanctions and prosecute senior leadership for genocide against the stateless minority. “The U.S. should be working with members of the international community to push for accountability in Myanmar, not joining its military in exercises,” a statement from Fortify Rights said. [Defense Post]

Over the weekend, the website of Commander-in-Chief Min Aung Hlaing said a military court that visited the state of Rakhine found soldiers had shown “weakness in following instructions in some incidents” at a village said to have been a Rohingya massacre site. Though the investigation’s findings were kept secret, Myanmar’s army said it will court-martial respective soldiers. [Reuters]

Cambodia: 28 civil society and human rights organizations pressure UN Human Rights Council

(ls) In a letter sent to the UN Human Rights Council, 28 civil society and human rights organizations have alerted the governments represented in this body to an ongoing human rights crisis in Cambodia. The organizations write that, since the last Council resolution was adopted in September 2017, the situation of human rights in Cambodia, including for the political opposition, human rights defenders, and the media, has drastically worsened. [Human Rights Watch]

Background Reading

Disinformation, violence, and anti-Chinese sentiment in Indonesia’s 2019 elections

(ls) An interesting piece from ISEAS takes a look at the violence that broke out in Indonesia on 21-23 May 2019, which, according to the author, marks the world’s first instance of online disinformation leading to election-related riots. The author describes how a disinformation cascade followed the opposition’s claim that the election had been stolen by incumbent president Jokowi. Framed by this narrative, social media platforms saw a large spike in the volume of anti-Chinese disinformation. [ISEAS]

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