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Asia in Review

No. 11, March/2020, 3

Brought to you by CPG

Dear Readers,

The AiR team at CPG is presenting you the weekly ‘Asia in Review’ (AiR) with news on human rights, constitutional politics, international relations, and geopolitics in Asia. Despite some restrictions due to the global health crisis caused by the COVID-19 virus, we are seeking to maintain our regular service without disruption over the coming weeks.

Stay healthy and please enjoy the read!

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 activists urge USA to sanction human rights violations 

(dql) In a move to retain the international community’s attention to the anti-government protest in Hong Kong amid the Cocid-19 pandemic, pro-democracy groups have issued an open letter to US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo calling on the USA to impose sanctions on individuals accused by them of human rights violations in Hong Kong. [Hong Kong Free Press]

The letter refers to the American ‘Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act’ enacted last November. It requires the US State Department to annually conduct a review of Hong Kong’s autonomy, rule of law and special status and calls for sanctions against China and Hong Kong officials the USA considers responsible for human rights violations in Hong Kong. [AiR No. 48, November/2019, 4]

The letter came a few days before Hong Kong pro-democracy activist and Umbrella Movement founder Chan Kin-man was released from prison after 11 months having been convicted for his leading role in the protest movement in 2014, which occupied thoroughfares in Hong Kong’s business district for almost three months and brought the city to standstill. Chan vowed to continue to fight for democracy and universal suffrage in Hong Kong. [Aljazeera]

China: US legislation against forced labor in Xinjiang

(dql) US lawmakers introduced a bill which aims at preventing goods made from forced labor in China’s Xinjiang region from entering the USA by requiring importers to obtain certification from the US government proving that goods were not produced using forced labor by Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang. [South China Morning Post] [rubio.senate.gov, for the text of the bill] 

The move is the latest in a recent string of US legislative efforts to confront China over its human rights record, including the 2019 Uighur Intervention and Global Humanitarian Unified Response Act and the 2019 Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act. [AiR No. 50, December/2019, 2] [AiR No. 49, December/2019, 1]

China: Critic of government’s Covid-19 handling missing

(dql) According to reports of his friends, Ren Zhiqiang, a critic of the Chinese government’s response to the outbreak of the coronavirus, is missing. His disappearance is widely seen as being related to an essay in which the former real estate tycoon and blogger, who had 37 million followers before his account had been shut down, accuses the Communist Party of having “concealed the cause of the outbreak” and using “propaganda to hush a scandal”. Ren added that, studying a speech given by President Xi Jinping last month, he “saw not an emperor standing there exhibiting his new clothes, but a clown who was stripped naked and insisted on continuing being emperor.” [Straits Times] [China Digital Times]

Japan: Parliament affirms Abe’s power to declare state of emergency over Covid-19

(dql) Japan’s lawmakers approved legislation providing Prime Minister Shinzo Abe with the authority to declare a state of emergency in case of an escalation of Covid-19 and to give authorities more room for maneuver to curb the spread of the virus, including – among others – ordering residents to stay indoors as well as demand school closures and event cancelations. [Nikkei Asian Review] 

Commenting on the new legislation, Abe announced, that the declaration of the state of emergency was, however, not imminent. [Japan Times]

South Korea: Ruling party ready to form a ‘proxy’ party for upcoming legislative election

(dql) South Korea’s ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) announced to form a separate party together with civic organizations and minor parties to gain more proportional representation seats in the upcoming general election.

The decision follows similar moves of other political parties to create ‘proxy’ parties to run in the general election in April which will be held under the recently revised electoral system which due to the proportional representation system will make it easier for minor parties to win parliamentary seats. [Korea times] [AiR No. 8, February/2020, 4]

South Korea goes ahead with general election despite corona outbreak

(hg) South Korea pushes ahead with next month's general election as planned despite struggling with the second highest number of novel coronavirus cases in Asia after China with more than 8,300 people infected and over 80 deaths to date. The current DP-government is credited for relatively good crisis management boosting its chances in the elections, which will use proportional representation for the first time, potentially enabling minor parties to win more seats in parliament. [Nikkei Asian Review]

South Korea: Students bring ‘climate-change case’ before the Constitutional Court

(ef) A student group has brought a climate-change complaint before the South Korean Constitutional Court arguing that Korea’s climate-change law infringes on their right to life and a clean environment. The group argued that the stipulated target reduction of greenhouse gas emissions did not meet the standards of the 2015 Paris Agreement. The current South Korean emission reduction targets would lead to a global temperature increase of 3 degrees instead of the 1.5 degrees set out by the 2015 Paris Agreement. [Time Financial Review]

Law and Politics in South Asia 

India: Citizenship Amendment Act sent to Supreme Court by another state government 

(ls) Following the state of Kerala some weeks ago, the Congress government in Rajasthan has also called upon India’s Supreme Court to rule on the validity of the disputed Citizenship (Amendment) Act. The state government said that the law violates the principle of secularism, which is part of the basic structure of the Constitution, and the fundamental rights of equality and life. Under Article 131 of the Constitution, a state is empowered to request the Supreme Court to rule in cases of a dispute with the Centre. [Business Standard]

India: Congress loses MPs in two state assemblies

(ls) In a setback for the Indian Congress Party, one of its prominent politicians in Madhya Pradesh state joined Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) last week. Other legislators loyal to him are expected to follow. If the move leads to the state government’s collapse, it provides the chance for the BJP to take over a Hindi heartland state. On the federal level, the Congress lost general elections both in 2014 and last year seeing its political influence waning across India. [Straits Times]

In addition, the exit had spillover effects to neighboring Gujarat state, where five Congress legislative assembly members submitted their resignation. This reduces the Congress's strength in the state’s assembly to 68, which is short of the required number to win two seats in the biennial Rajya Sabha (India’s upper house of parliament) election. [India Today]

India releases prominent Kashmir politician as fights continue

(ls) Indian authorities have released Kashmir’s most prominent politician, Farooq Abdullah. The former chief minister is one of dozens of leaders detained or put under house arrest since the federal government withdrew the region’s autonomy in August last year. [Reuters]

Meanwhile, four militants were killed in a gunfight with Indian forces in Kashmir during a counter-militancy operation. Interestingly, the number of such operations has increased after a communication blockade has been lifted from the region. According to observers, the state’s security tracking system was also hit by the blockade. [AA]

Pakistan/Bangladesh: Arrests and disappearances of journalists

(ls) Pakistan’s National Accountability Bureau (NAB) arrested the editor-in-chief of a major media group that includes some of Pakistan's biggest newspapers and the Geo television network. He is accused of obtaining illegal concessions in a purchase of land plots back in 1986. Spokespersons said that the media group has been threatened over the last one and a half years over critical reports. In recent years, mainstream media houses have criticized pressure from authorities that has resulted in widespread self-censorship. [Al Jazeera]

In Bangladesh, a journalist went missing last week. Human Rights Watch has called for his immediate location. The journalist was among those accused in a criminal case against a prominent news editor, Matiur Rahman Chowdhury, and 30 others under the Digital Security Act. [Human Rights Watch]

Pakistan: Parliament passes law against child abuse

(ls) Pakistan’s parliament has passed a new law against child abuse, which introduces a penalty of life imprisonment for child abuse. The law also requires police to register a case within two hours of a child’s parents reporting them missing. In addition, it includes measures to speed up the process, including the establishment of a dedicated helpline and a new agency to issue alerts for a missing child. The law was enacted about two years after the rape and murder of a seven-year-old girl that shocked the country. [The Guardian]

Sri Lankan Defense Ministry takes legal action against rumor spreaders

(hg) The Sri Lankan Defense Ministry takes action against those spreading rumors and posting false and misleading information on the corona outbreak to create panic. Two persons who have posted false and misleading information on their Facebook accounts have already been arrested and are awaiting a potential maximum punishment of five-year imprisonment under the No.24 of the Computer Crimes Act of 2007.

Moreover, the government ordered all foreigners who are violating quarantine procedures to report immediately to officials under the threat of punishment for violations according to the Quarantine Laws. [NewsIn Asia]

Law and Politics in Southeast Asia 

Thailand: Election Commission takes criminal action against an opposition leader

(jk) Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, former leader of the now dissolved Future Forward Party, and already banned from politics for 10 years, may face up to 10 years imprisonment, a fine, and a 20-year ban from politics over his media shareholdings after the Election Commission (EC) has decided to file criminal charges against him. The EC alleges he was "applying to be an MP candidate knowing he was not qualified" due to his media shareholdings under Section 151 of the 2018 MP Election Act. [Bangkok Post]

Thailand: Two bombs explode outside Thai government office in Yala Province 

(jk) On Tuesday this week, Thailand's southern province of Yala saw the explosion of two devices outside the building of a Thai government body that oversees the administration of three mostly Malay-Muslim majority provinces in the country's south (Southern Border Provinces Administrative Center (SBPAC)). The explosions (at the time of writing) has reported to have led to 18 wounded and no fatal casualties. [Reuters]

Malaysia: Former PM Mahathir vows comeback if government goes wrong 

(jk/ew) Former PM Mahathir Mohamad has said he would not retire and continue his political work with the new Prime Minister in power. He has also said however that currently, the opposition coalition does not "have the majority in parliament,” and that “I don’t think a vote of no confidence will resolve the problem.” [South China Morning Post]

Mahathir expressed in an interview with Nikkei Asian Review the desire to “fulfill his duty” and to serve the Malaysian people in the best way he can. Mahathir stated he would be willing to run for office again in 2023 - when the next general election is due under normal circumstances - if the people of Malaysia support him doing so, although he cautioned that he would be 98 by then. 

Mahathir also mentions that he was extremely disappointed with the development of events in the previous weeks and that Anwar Ibriham shares the blame for the developments by being too impatient. Mahathir further made clear that no cooperation with the newly appointed PM would take place if it is not guaranteed that all charges against former prime minister Najib Razak were carried out without obstruction. He fears Najib may use his "influence" in UMNO - again part of the ruling coalition - to minimize charges against him.  [Nikkei Asian Review] 

In a related development, Mahathir remained uncontested as Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia chairman. His son Mukhriz Mahathir is at the same time challenging new Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin for the presidency of the party. [The Straits Times]

For an account on the power struggle among the political parties leading the government change and the prospects for reforms under  the new “more overtly Malay Muslim government” of Muhyiddin Yassin see [East Asia Forum].

Singapore takes step towards elections

(hg/ps/jk) Although Prime Minister Lee has until April next year to dissolve Parliament and trigger the start of general elections after the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee released its recommendations on the number and boundaries of the country’s single-member and multi-seat constituencies, earlier elections are possible.

Based on the experience that the release of new electoral boundaries indicates general elections within months some analysts say an election could be held as early as next month. In previous elections, the timing between the release of the electoral boundaries and the dissolution of Parliament has ranged from one day to one month and 26 days. The election must be held within three months from the date Parliament is dissolved.

Two possible scenarios according to constitutional scholar Eugene Tan are April or June with the Islamic fasting month Eid starting on April 24 - around 14 per cent of the Singaporeans are Muslim - and the development of the corona virus setting two important conditions for the timing. [South China Morning Post]

According to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, the date of the general election will depend on how Singapore continues to cope with the coronavirus outbreak. Singapore is facing extended challenges as the outbreak will likely last at least this year, possibly even longer he added in a Facebook post.

According to a professor from the National University of Singapore an early election would be advantageous for the ruling party as they received praise for their handling of the virus outbreak. [The Straits Times]

Cambodia: US Ambassador to Cambodia troubled by “fabricated conspiracy theories” in treason trail 

(ps) After Cambodian prosecutors accused opposition leader Kem Sokha of conspiring with the United States to overthrow leader Hun Sen [AiR No. 3, January/2020, 3], the US ambassador to Cambodia said he is troubled by fabricated conspiracy theories.

Kem Sokha was arrested in 2017 and his party banned in a government crackdown on opposition which was one of the reasons the EU removed some of its trade preferences to Cambodia. [AiR No. 7, February/2020, 3]

The US government has made it abundantly clear that they have never sought to interfere in Cambodia’s governance and that they respect Cambodia’s independence and sovereignty, the US ambassador said. [The Japan Times]

Indonesia: SBY's son takes over Democratic Party leadership 

(jk) Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's eldest son Agus Hartimurti Yudhoyono has taken over the leadership of the Democratic Party from his father as he was elected party chairman last weekend. Agus previously ran for the governorship of Jakarta in 2016, changing his career from the military to politics. Agus had served as the party’s deputy chairman since late 2019 and as party leader may run for President in the future. [The Jakarta Post]

Six Indonesians arrested for spreading ‘hoaxes’ online on Coronavirus

(jk) Six Indonesians have been arrested for allegedly spreading misinformation online about the coronavirus, including claims of cases where there weren't any or false claims on deaths related to the virus. The spread of misinformation carries penalties of up to six years in prison, and according to officials, the arrests should be "a lesson" not to spread false information about the virus. [South China Morning Post]

Lastly, the constitutional reform would have allowed the country’s de facto leader, state counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, to take over the office of president. At current, Article 59(f) of the constitution bars candidates whose spouse or children are foreign citizens, which applies to Suu Kyi whose two sons are British nationals.

Although a majority of MPs supported the reform, it did not reach the necessary threshold of more than three quarters as the 25% of the military appointed MPs rejected it. Insofar, the military used the constitutional veto it is effectively wielding besides its control over the state of emergency and key ministries such as defense, border and home affairs. [VoA]

Vietnam and Philippines stand out in Reporters without Borders list on disinformation

(jk) On the "World Day Against Cyber Censorship" on March 12, Reporters Without Borders published a report on countries violating internet and press freedoms. The 2020 report on "leading digital predators" contains four categories: harassment, state censorship, disinformation and spying and surveillance. With regards to disinformation and spreading state-sponsored disinformation online, the Philippines and Vietnam stand out. [RSF]

In particular, the report highlighted "Force 47 in Vietnam, an “army of 10,000 cyber-soldiers” run by the Ministry of Public Security. Similar in nature to Russia’s Web Brigades and China’s 50 Cent Army, Force 47 are a highly organised unit of commentators and trolls that participate in online forums and on social media, as well as edit Wikipedia entries, to counter critical content and spread pro-government narratives." [Southeast Asia Globe]

OCHA’s Weekly Regional Humanitarian Snapshot 

(hg) The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has released its weekly (10 -16 March 2020) regional humanitarian snapshot highlighting the Philippines – referring to those affected by a series of earthquakes in late 2019 –, Indonesia – referring to the victims of the West Java earthquake this month ­–, Myanmar – referring to still increasing civilian casualties and displacements due to intensifying clashes between the Myanmar Armed Forces and the Arakan Army –, and Afghanistan – referring to displacement due to ongoing conflict and natural disasters. [Relief Web]

Myanmar army sues Reuters over Rohingya women shelling report amid new clashes in Chin State

(jk) In Myanmar, the army has filed a lawsuit under section 66D of the Telecommunications Act against Reuters news agency and a lawmaker for criminal defamation after a news story  was published in January this year about the death of two Rohingya Muslim women as a result of army shelling. 

The army insists its artillery fire had not killed the women, instead, the Arakan Army (AA) was to blame for the deaths. The area where the shelling took place is not open to reporters. [Irrawady]

In the meantime, clashes and airstrikes over the weekend by government forces in western Myanmar’s Chin state killed at least 20 civilians, injured many more and saw over 1,000 villagers to flee their homes. [RFA]

Myanmar: Military’s representatives in parliament reject major constitutional reform initiated by ruling party

(hg) After weeks of tensions, with general elections slated for late this year, Myanmar’s parliament rejected a bundle of major constitutional amendments proposed by the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD). 

Some amendments aimed directly at the military’s constitutionally acknowledged role by gradually reducing the number of seats in the national and regional parliaments reserved for military appointees and by stripping the armed forces of its majority on a committee deciding on a state of emergency, which implies the handover of power to the army chief. Another amendment sought to make future constitutional reforms easier by lowering the constitutionally required threshold from three-quarters to two-thirds of the MPs. [The Economist]

Vietnam: conviction and lengthy sentence of Radio Free Asia blogger

(jk) A Radio Free Asia blogger of the U.S. Congress-funded RFA's Vietnamese language service was charged with “abusing his position and authority” in an old land-fraud case he reported on and convicted to 10 years in prison last week. The United States Department of State condemned the conviction and called for his immediate release. [RFA]

The blogger disappeared from Bangkok's streets back in January 2019 when he came to apply for refugee status at a Bangkok U.N. office. It was suspected then that he had been taken by Vietnamese agents against his will. Three months later he reappeared under arrest in Hanoi. [Committee to Protect Journalists]

Timor-Leste: Coalition led by Xanana Gusmao ready to form government

(jk) After the government coalition collapsed and the prime minister resigned last month over the failure to pass a budget in parliament [Asia in Review, No. 9, March/2020, 1], a six-party coalition is ready to form a government led by the first president, former prime minister and independence hero Xanana Gusmao. 

Gusmao, who initially supported the now resigned PM and was part of his governing coalition, was essential in bringing down the government by withdrawing his support over the budget. Now, he expects to return to power at the helm of a newly formed coalition. [Channel News Asia]

Asian data privacy laws through the lens of legal practitioners

(hg) Asia Business Law Journal provides a comparative overview of some of Asia’s data privacy laws analyzed by legal practitioners and covering India, The Philippines, Taiwan, and Thailand. [Vantage Asia]

International Relations, Geopolitics and Security in Asia

China-USA relations: Mutual accusations over coronavirus origin

(dql) Covid-19 has become a new diplomatic battleground between China and the USA. In a tweet, the spokesman of the Chinese Foreign Ministry claimed “that the new coronavirus might have been brought to China by the US military,” demanding that “the USA must be transparent and make data public” with regards to the questions “When did the patient zero occur in the USA?, How many people were infected? What are the names of the hospitals?” [Cincai News, in Chinese]

While US Secretary of State Pompeo rejected the remarks as an attempt to shift the blame to the USA, President Trump referred in a tweet on his administration’s support for affected industries to the virus as “the Chinese virus”, a designation Beijing in return condemned as smears from Washington. [South China Morning Post] [The Guardian]

Cyborg soldier race between China and USA

(dql) With China rapidly modernization its military, the country’s progress in developing technology linking soldiers’ brains directly to computers is alarming from the perspective of US military supremacy, writes Stephen Bryen who wonders whether in this race the first cyborg soldier will be an American or a Chinese one and also informs about the role of an leading American nano-technology expert who earlier had received substantial funding for his research and later was arrested for failing to disclose his work for the Chinese. [Asia Times]

Taiwanese jets warning off Chinese air force again 

(hg) Taiwan's air force has again scrambled to warn off approaching Chinese jets in context of a military exercise. 

The "island encirclement" drills come amid even worsening relations due to the global corona virus threat, with both countries accusing each other of spreading fake news, and Taiwan being embittered by China blocking its access to the World Health Organization repeating experiences of the SARS outbreak 2003. [Straits Times]

China-Iran relations: The Not-So-Special “Special Relationship”

(dql) The ongoing hostility between the USA and Iran opens the door for opportunities for deepening Sino-Iranian relations. However, they are also facing inherent limitations argues John Calabrese in [Jamestown Foundation: China Brief]

China: Arms sales in Southeast Asia 

(dql) Despite being in conflict with a number of Southeast Asian countries over claims in the South China Sea, China has been successful in selling 13% of its arms to this region between 1999-2018. Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand, which has a neutral stance in the South China Sea Conflict, have purchased weapons from China. [Defense World]

Japan set to develop supersonic weapons

(dql) Japan has announced to develop standoff hypersonic weapons, with the aim to deploy the Hypersonic Cruise Missile and the Hyper Velocity Gliding Projectile between 2024 and 2028. They are expected to enter service in the early 2030s. [Defense News]

India: Additional purchase of 400 Russian T-90S battle tanks

(dql) Signaling deepening military cooperation between with Russia, India’s Armed Forces announce its decision to buy additional 400 Russian T-90S battle tanks.

According to a British international affairs-think tank more than 1,000 T-90S tanks are currently operational in the Indian Army. [TASS]

Pakistan’s border fence to Afghanistan to be completed this year

(ls) In 2016, Pakistan began to build a 2,600 km border fence to Afghanistan, which is set to be completed this year. The border in difficult terrain has long been crossed by smugglers, militants, traders and families alike. Pashtun tribes had effectively ignored the border for generations. Moreover, Afghanistan disputes the border line drawn by British colonial officials in 1893, known as the Durand Line. Earlier this year, statistics have shown that the number of terrorist attacks in Pakistan has sharply declined over the last years. However, according to observers, corruption and bribery are likely to help people find ways to continue crossing the border. [Straits Times]

Pakistan: Impacts of the deepening US-Indian relations

(dql) AiR reported in [AiR No. 8, February/2020, 4] about the agreement on the expansion of US-Indian security cooperation and the purchase of more than US$ 3 billion of American military equipment during President Trump’s recent visit to India.

Sher Bano at [Modern Diplomacy] informs about the impact of deepening US-Indian security relations on Pakistan and argues that Pakistan, facing an increasing asymmetry in conventional weapons against its neighbor, needs an improvement of its overall conventional capabilities in order to counter the conventional imbalance, along with superior strategy and training as well as stronger ties with China while remaining strategically relevant to the US

Does the Corona crisis revive SAARC?

(ls) Last weekend, leaders and representatives of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) members held a video conference to discuss ways to combat the Coronavirus pandemic. Whereas seven countries were represented by their presidents or prime ministers, for Pakistan the Prime Minister’s special advisor on health took part in the session. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi proposed an emergency fund to fight the pandemic, with an initial offer of $10 million from India. Displaying the difficulties of the SAARC format, Pakistan’s representative raised a different topic when he sought the removal of all remaining restrictions in Kashmir. [The Wire]

Conversely, other news outlets such as [Defenseworld] report that Indonesia is still negotiating a deal to buy Su-35 fighter jets from Russia and has not abandoned it under pressure from the United States. 

Does the First Russia-Indonesia Joint Navy Exercise take shape?

(hg) Russia and Indonesia seem to prepare their first joint navy exercise this year under the label of the “first Orruda-2020 joint naval exercises.” The development highlights Russia’s efforts in increasing its defense ties in Southeast Asia in general and Indonesia in particular with whom it is commemorating 70 years of bilateral relations this year. [The Diplomat]

Indonesia drops arms deal with Russia and China under pressure from US

(hg) At the same time, the Trump administration successfully pressured Indonesia to drop arms deals with Russian about fighter jets and China about naval vessels respectively. Especially, Indonesia’s decision to not move ahead with the procurement of 11 Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jets – a major arms deal - reflects Washington’s still existing ability to leverage political and economic power in Southeast Asia. At the other hand, it might, however, also contribute to an already manifest reservation among Indonesian elites regarding the US influence in the region. [South China Morning Post]

Cambodia: Golden Dragon exercise with China taking place, despite COVID-19 outbreak

(jk/ps) More than 3000 soldiers were moved to Kampot province, Cambodia for the 4th annual Golden Dragon military exercise [AiR No. 9, March/2020, 1], held from March 15 - 30, despite COVID-19 fears.

Although other big military exercises have been cancelled or scaled back across the globe,  Cambodia and China conduct their military exercise during the virus outbreak. According to a Cambodian General the Chinese conduct health checks and brought health officials along. Furthermore, the Cambodian soldiers are from an area close to Laos where the virus has not been detected yet. The decision to hold the fourth annual Golden Dragon joint military exercise demonstrates support for China over its handling of the pandemic. [Khmer Times]

South China Sea: US Carrier Visit to Vietnam; Japan-Vietnam security ties boosted

(hg) The USS Theodore Roosevelt – the lead ship of the ten Nimitz class nuclear-powered aircraft carriers - made its second visit to Vietnam. The visit marks 25 years of diplomatic relations and growing security ties. It occurs amid again heightening tensions between China and the US in the South China Sea after the latter has just accused a Chinese ship of firing a laser at a U.S. surveillance aircraft flying over the Philippine Sea. 

Meanwhile, Japan and Vietnam agreed to boost their security cooperation after the chief of staff of Japan’s defense forces met with his Vietnamese counterpart in Hanoi. [The Diplomat]

Vietnam-Cambodia Naval Ties 

(hg) Vietnam and Cambodia held the latest in a series of frequent joint maritime patrols earlier this month. The patrol highlights the existing bilateral defense relationship between the countries despite the fact that Cambodia represents the ASEAN member state arguably closest to China while Vietnam is arguably most critical of the Chinese role in Southeast Asia. In light of increasing Chinese assertion with regard to the South China Sea, the rather regular patrol has some significance. [The Diplomat]

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