Grasp the pattern, read the trend

No. 1, January/2022, 1

Brought to you by CPG

Dear Readers, 

Welcome to the first issue of the Asia in Review in 2022, which comes with the very best wishes for a good New Year from the entire AiR Team! 

For the great effort to produce this and the previous AiR issue over the holidays, I want to thank the team behind the Asia in Review and appreciate the work done.

If geopolitics and the continuation of US – China rivalry have shaped both domestic constitutional politics and international relations in 2021, we will most likely see even more of the same in 2022. Likewise, the pandemic´s fallout will continue to accelerate and amplify mostly destabilizing societal dynamics such as alienation, polarization, and radicalization in many countries in the region. 

Among the important dates against this background are the Olympic Games in China, elections in the Philippines (President, Senate, House of Representatives), South Korea (National Assembly and President), India (President, upper chamber of parliament, legislatures in seven states and one union territory, several by-elections), Japan (50% of the upper house), and Nepal (general elections parliament) and the Chinese Communist Party´s 20th Party Congress. 

Throughout this new year, the Asia in Review Team will continue to provide you with a reliable and coherent weekly picture of the geopolitical and domestic developments including events like these and many more.  

Special greetings are extended this week to everyone who celebrates Myanmar’s Independence Day in this week. 

With best regards,

Henning Glaser

Editor in Chief

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

Main Sections

• Constitutional Law and –Politics, Human Rights and National Security in East Asia

• Constitutional Law and –Politics, Human Rights and National Security in South Asia

• Constitutional Law and –Politics, Human Rights and National Security in Southeast Asia

• International Relations, Geopolitics and Security in Asia

• Announcements

Constitutional Law and –Politics, Human Rights and National Security in East Asia

China: New Xinjiang Party chief appointed 

(tp) Ma Xingrui has been appointed as new Party secretary for Xinjiang on Saturday, December 25. Ma was the Party secretary in the tech hub Shenzhen for two years before becoming governor of Guangdong in 2017. 

He replaces Chen Quanguo who has been accused of carrying out a ruthless crackdown on Muslims and the Uyghur minorities in China’s westernmost province and sanctioned in July 2020 by the US over human rights violations in the course of the crackdown [see AiR No. 28, July/2020, 2].

In his first leadership meeting, Ma called for efforts to modernise the region’s supply chains and improve the international business environment, including through tax breaks.  Ma also highlighted the importance of long-term stability, saying that it remained a “general goal” in Xinjiang society, with a focus on balancing regional “development and security.” 

Experts interpret the statements as a signalling a greater emphasis on regional economic development while the security crackdown targeting Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities China is accused of is unlikely to see a significant change in direction. [SupChina][Reuters]

This comes as China faces growing international pressure after alleged human rights abuses against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in the region saw a number of sanctions against officials and the blacklisting of companies in Xinjiang. Officials in Beijing have denied US accusations of “genocide” or using forced labour in Xinjiang, instead claiming that its policies are designed to combat extremism [see AiR, No. 25, June/2021, 4].

China: Iron self-sufficiency set to increase 

(tp) Under the 2021-2025 raw material development plan, China is set to optimise iron self-sufficiency and use more scrap metals to reduce reliance on imports whilst streamlining production quotas for rare earth and tungsten. 

Authorities from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), the Ministry of Science and Technology, and the Ministry of Natural Resources say that the supply of scrap metal would be “significantly” increased to more than 30 percent of the total, which would reduce steelmaking capacity and encourage domestic mining. 

Despite global challenges to supply chains in the face of the deglobalisation tide and coronavirus pandemic, China remains a global leader in metal production. However, its lack of control over upstream mineral resources remains a major obstacle for the world’s second largest economy. In 2021, China imported more than 80 percent of iron ore requirements, about 60 percent of which was exported from Australia. China’s high reliance on Australian iron ore imports and vulnerability to the surging cost of iron ore continues to pose a challenge to the country’s economic security. [South China Morning Post].

Chinese internet-data surveillance network gathering mass data on foreign targets, documents show

(tp) Chinese agencies, military and police are being equipped with mass information on foreign targets provided by its internal Internet-data surveillance network, according to a Washington Post review of hundreds of Chinese documents, contracts, and company filings. 

China’s network of government data surveillance services, named the public opinion analysis software, has been continually developed over the past decade to warn officials of politically sensitive information online. This reflects a wider drive by Beijing to refine its propaganda efforts through artificial intelligence and big data.

The Washington Post’s review of over 300 government projects since the start of 2020 indicate that there were orders for software designed to collect information on foreign targets from social media platforms Twitter and Facebook. The documents also show that state media agencies, propaganda departments, military and cyber regulators are using and purchasing more sophisticated systems to collect data on Western targets. 

This includes a police bureau’s $42,000 purchase in Nanping city of a system that “supports collection, discovery, and warning functions for ... Twitter and Facebook social media data according to different classifications and keyword groups, as well as overseas information lists.” 

Twitter suspended 23,000 accounts linked to CCP efforts to spread propaganda and undermine Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protests in June 2020. In December, Twitter removed a further 2,048 accounts undermining accusations of human rights abuses in Xinjiang.

Experts warn that the increasingly available information and social media surveillance technology used by Chinese police could further worsen the targeted harassment of Beijing’s critics.  [The Washington Post] [See also The New York Times].

China: Hong Kong Stand News pro-democracy website shutdown

(tp) Pro-democracy website Stand News was closed down on Wednesday morning after being raided by more than 200 Hong Kong police officers. Authorities claim that the website articles incited secession and subversion of state power and called for foreign governments to impose sanctions. 

Seven people linked to Stand News have been arrested, accused of “conspiracy to publish seditious publications” while all staff have been dismissed. Seditious publications are publications that encourage people to rebel against the governing authority of a state. 

Setup in 2014 as a non-profit organisation, Stand News marks another prominent pro-democracy media outlet to close this year, after pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily was raided and shutdown in a similar police operation in June [see Air No. 25, June/2021, 4].[Firstpost] [BBC]

The increasing suppression of pro-democracy news outlets comes after Beijing’s imposition of the national security law during Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protests in June 2020 [see AiR No. 26, June/2020, 5]. Asia Program coordinator at the Committee to Protect Journalists, Steven Butler, said that the arrests “amounts to an open assault on Hong Kong’s already tattered press freedom, as China steps up direct control over the former colony”. [The Guardian]

In a related, latest development, Hong Kong online news portal Citizen News has disclosed that has shut its website and will stop it operations citing the intention to ensure their employees’ safety.

Founded in 2017 by a group of veteran journalists, Citizen News has been vocal in expressing concerns over the freedom of press in Hong Kong. Over the past years, the reporting team grew from ten people to dozens. [South China Morning Post].

China: Covid rulebreakers paraded through streets and publicly shamed

(tp) Despite public shaming of criminal suspects being outlawed in China in 2010, four alleged violators of Covid-19 rules in China have been paraded through the streets of Guangxi region’s Jingxi city, forced to wear hazmat suits and carry placards displaying their names and photos. The individuals were accused of transporting illegal migrants to China’s borders which remain closed due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

Guangxi News said the parade provided a “real-life warning” to the public, and would “deter border-related crimes.” 

Other suspects accused of similar border-related crimes have been paraded in recent months, included two prisoners in November who were forced to read out their crimes to the public on a microphone.

This comes as the 13-million-person lock-down in the central Chines city of Xi’an has seen residents say they are being starved in their homes as harsh new health rules prevented them from going outside to even buy food. [DailyMail].

China: Scientific breakthrough in hypersonic missiles claimed 

(tp) Chinese scientists claim to have developed next-generation hypersonic weapons with infrared homing technology which they say US military may not have until 2025.

According to the researchers from the National University of Defence Technology, the heat-seeking capabilities of the missiles allow them to home in on almost any target with unprecedented accuracy and speed, including stealth aircrafts, aircraft carriers and moving street vehicles. 

This is said to have transformed the nature of conventional warfare as the hypersonic missile will be able to search for, identify and lock onto a target based on its heat signature when flying at low altitudes where the air is thickest. 

Experts say that the use of hypersonic missiles in a future World War Three could see Russia and China dominating the field and cutting off the internet while the West has been consumed with the Middle East. [Daily Mail UK]

“With effective hypersonic precision strike weapons, the critical value of ‘strategic depth’ in traditional warfare will no longer exist. All the critical political, economic and military assets of a country will be at risk,” according to lead scientist Professor Yi Shihe from the National University of Defense Technology, Changsha. [South China Morning Post].

China: Plans to expand Tiangong space station for long-term living

(tp) Chinese space agencies have announced several key milestones for 2022 after a successful year of 55 orbital launches. As one of the fastest growing space programs in the world, China has launched satellites, space stations and rovers to Mars and the moon in less than 20 years. [Nasaspaceflight]

The 2022 plans include six launches to expand the Tiangong space station for long-term living, a ship designed as a rocket launch pad at sea, the extended mission of the Zhu Rong Rover to the south of Mars, and the Moon rover Yutu 2 to reach an enigmatic cube object – described as a “mystery hut” – in January or February. 

While China’s target launch count for 2022 is currently unknown, it is expected to launch at a similar or higher rate than last year. 

It is also expected to continue increasing the number of new Chinese based companies testing and operation their own small rockets. One such company, i-Space, is planning to conduct the first launch of the Hyperbola-2 rocket in 2022. [South China Morning Post].

Japan: Growing political momentum for constitutional change 

(la) Japan’s current constitution makes the longest standing constitution without change since its enactment in 1947. But political parties in favor of constitutional revision are gaining more and more momentum, making the situation increasingly tighter for the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDP), the primary opposition party and is the second largest party in parliament that has a reserved stance on constitutional reform. 

Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party plans to address the topic during an ordinary session to be convened in January 2022, during which the party hopes to debate the possibility of creating an emergency situation clause. Amid the current COVID-19 pandemic, the LDP expects high public understanding for such a clause, which would for example include a special extension of lawmakers’ terms and the approval of government ordinances without passing through Parliament in the occasion of a natural disaster.

In its quest for constitutional revision, the LDP is backed by opposition parties Nippon Ishin no Kai, and the Democratic Party for the People (DPP), both of which have increased the number of their seats in the lower chamber after this year’s October elections. [See AiR No. 46, November/2021, 3]

Kishida, also affiliated with the LDP, is planning to proceed with the original agenda of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, in which four proposals are laid out which are to be debated about. These proposals include a stipulation legitimizing the existence of Japan’s Self Defense Forces in Article 9 of the constitution, the introduction of an emergency clause as described above, improvement in education and the elimination of constituency mergers for the upper chamber of Parliament. 

The CDP, together with the Japanese Communist Party, sticks to its cautious stance regarding constitutional amendment, stating it is difficult to argue that the introduction of an emergency clause is demanded by the public. Instead, the CDP calls for prioritizing parliamentary debate about the restriction of television commercials concerning a national referendum on constitutional reform. However, the CDP is expected to receive increasing pressure from its political opponents during the upcoming ordinary diet session, which observers doubt the party can withstand forever. [The Japan Times]

Observers have found new Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to be in a difficult position, caught between political pressure to reform the controversial Article 9 that renounces Japan’s right to wage war, and the burden to stabilize Sino-Japanese relations – two tasks that many argue to be mutually exclusive. [Brown Political Review].

Japan: Fisheries Ministry strikes down Okinawan objection

(ec) Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries has nullified the Okinawa Prefecture government’s decision to withdraw its prior approval for transplanting numerous coral colonies from the site of a planned US military base. Okinawa Governor Denny Tamaki’s approval from July 28 was conditional that the transplanting would avoid the summer typhoon season and rising water temperatures, in order to improve the reef’s survival chances. Tamaki withdrew support on July 30, after the Defense Ministry’s Okinawa Defense Bureau started work on July 29. [The Asahi Shimbun 01]

This dispute is the latest in a series of conflicts between Okinawa and Tokyo over a Defense Ministry project for a new airfield at Ginowan, which is intended to take over the functions of the US military base at Futenma. The project is deeply unpopular amongst Okinawans. [The Asahi Shimbun 02] [See AiR No. 50, December/2021, 2].

Japan:  No charges against former PM Abe over political scandal

(la) The Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office decided to not indict former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe over a political scandal for the second time on December 28. Abe was center of controversy, because his camp had paid financial inducements to his supporters to attend lavish annual dinner parties, in violation of the Public Offices Election Law, and the Political Fund Control Law. With this decision, the investigation into Abe’s case is effectively ended.

Abe already escaped indictment one time earlier, but after a citizens’ prosecution inquest panel found the matter inappropriate, the prosecutor’s office started to investigate the case again. However, it is believed that the prosecutors did not gain enough evidence to ground for an indictment. [The Asahi Shimbun].

Japan: Former Komeito lawmaker indicted for illegal loan brokering

(la) Former lawmaker of the Japanese Komeito party Kiyohiko Toyama was charged with three others on December 28 for illegally meddling with public loans under the national COVID-19 business assistance scheme. Toyama is suspected to have received around ¥10 million (about $87,000) for helping secure loans from the government-backed Japan Finance Corp. (JFC) even though he was not licensed to do so. The former lawmaker admitted to the allegations. 

Toyama, 52, resigned from parliament earlier this year in February after visiting a hostess bar in Ginza, Tokyo despite government calls to avoid unnecessary outings amid the current covid pandemic. Before that, he had served as a senior vice minister at the Japanese Finance Ministry, which manages the JFC for one year until September 2020. [Mainichi].

North Korea to prioritize internal affairs over external affairs in 2022

(dql) North Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party has laid out its policies for 2022 after completing last week’s Plenary Meeting of the party’s Eighth Central Committee. Attended by leader Kin Jong-un, the party plenum decided to prioritize internal affairs over external affairs in this year, including tackling challenges to the regime’s legitimacy posed by e sluggish economy, food insecurity, the rural-urban imbalance, and the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. Foreign policy directions were absent in the party’s announcement of the meeting results which comes at surprise as session on foreign policy was held during the five-day meeting, attended key officials including Foreign Minister Ri Son-gwon, United Front Department director Kim Yong-chol, and International Department director Kim Song-nam. 

Kim in his speech stressed to make “radical progress in solving the food, clothing and housing problem for the people,” adding that “[e]mergency epidemic prevention work should be made a top priority in the state work," in 2022.

The meeting came as Kim marked 10 years in power in which he has established absolute power at home and expanded the country’s nuclear and missile arsenals. Although North Korea's economy has been suffering in the past two years due to border shutdowns in the wake of Covid-19, persistent UN sanctions and the fallout from natural disasters, observers and analysts see no signs of political instability in North Korea. However, if the current difficulties continue, the long-term stability of Kim's leadership could be questioned. [Korea Herald] [NPR] [BBC].

South Korea: Age of candidacy in parliamentary and local elections lowered

(dql) South Korea’s parliament approved with overwhelming majority on Friday, December 31, a bill to revise the Public Official Election Act to lower the age of candidacy in parliamentary and local elections from currently 25 years to 18 years. It marks the first time the age of candidacy has been lowered since the adoption of the country's constitution was in 1948.

The first elections under the new law will be the by-elections to fill five seats in the National Assembly scheduled for March 9, the same day on which the presidential election will be held. [Yonhap News Agency].

South Korea: Former president Park released from prison after presidential pardon

(dql) Following President Moon Jae-in’s announcement of her pardon earlier this month [see AiR No. 52, December/2021, 4], former President Park Geun-hye was released from prison on December 31 where she has been serving a combined 22-year sentence for corruption and influence-peddling upheld in January by South Korea’s Supreme Court. Park had been in jail since March 2017, after being impeached and removed from office the same month. [Aljazeera] [AiR No. 3, January/2021, 3].

South Korea: Anti-corruption agency under pressure over illegal surveillance allegations

(dql) South Korea’s main opposition party, the People Power Party (PPP), has accused the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) – an independent agency of the South Korean government responsible for prosecuting crimes and investigating allegations involving “high-ranking officials” or their direct family members – of illegal and politically motivated surveillance of party members, including presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol. The accusations came on the heels of revelations that the anti-corruption agency obtained and checked phone records of journalists, politicians and their family members. 

The CIO denied the allegations arguing that its phone records checking was legal, undertaken in an attempt to identify the source of leaked documents pertaining to a political scandal involving the chief of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office. [Korea Joong Ang Daily]

The accusation against the CIO comes as campaigns for the presidential election in March 2022 are in full swing, with Yoon currently ranking at second place in a four-way race, 11 percent points behind Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party. [Korea Herald]

Related to Yoon’s campaign, the PPP has claimed it has detected suspicious opinion rigging attempts against its presidential candidate, citing results of screens of online comments by a self-developed software program that reveals that malicious defaming comments against Yoon which were repeatedly uploaded on various user accounts differed only in small changes, such as adding different emojis. The screens also revealed that the number of “likes” on political comments in favor of the DP and its presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung was deliberately jacked up. 

The PPP announced plans to file a complaint with election and law enforcement authorities over the issue. [Yonhap News Agency].

South Korea: PPP plans overhaul of election campaign as Yoon’s support drops 

(aml) The main opposition People Power Party (PPP) has announced that it will overhaul its election campaign committee as presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol’s support rates have been dropping significantly in recent polls. 

Two months ahead of the March 9 presidential election, Yoon has been under critic for allegations that his wife lied in her resume when applying for a job at Suwon Women’s University in 2007 [AiR, No.51, December/2021, 3], as well as for conflicts with PPP chairman Lee Jun-seok.

Kim Chong-in, head of the PPP’s election committee announced a restructuring of the committee, including a reshuffle of the subcommittee heads, on Monday, January 3, and that the campaign will be put on hold until the changes are made. Yoon had previously canceled all his plans after one last meeting at the New Near opening of the local stock market. The restructuring is supposed to react to the public sentiment that considers the PPP in need of a renovation. [The Korea Times]

Yoon had especially lost support among young voters in their 20s and 30s which are seen as important swing voters. This is partially explained to be caused by the appointment of Shin Ji-ye as senior deputy chair of the Seasidae Preparatory Committee. Shin is a young feminist politician who was supposed to appeal to young female voters but who is quite unpopular in the voter’s group of young men. Shin announced her resignation on Facebook and explained that she had faced internal resistance from the PPP. She had previously often clashed with chairman Lee over gender issues as Lee advocates for anti-feminist men in their 20s. Yoon took the blame for Shin’s resignation in a Facebook post and apologized for failing “to read the minds of those in their 20s and 30s with care” by viewing gender issues through the lens of the older generation. [Yonhap News Agency].

South Korea: Advancing naval and space capabilities 

(dql) South Korea’s Ministry of Defense has announced the start of the construction of the second unit of the Changbogo-III Batch-II class submarine, a new 3,600-ton-class military submarine to be equipped with vertical launch tubes for submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBM) and sonar systems. Construction of the 89-meter-long and 9.6-meter-wide submarine is expected to be completed by 2026, with handover to the Navy in 2028. It is expected to have 10 up from six equipped in the 3,000-ton Batch-I submarines. The DAPA, however, declined to offer related details, citing security reasons. [Yonhap News Agency 1]

The Ministry also announced that a program upgrade of the anti-submarine warfare (ASW) systems and combat information processing capabilities of its three Gwanggaeto Daewang (KDX-1)-class destroyers has successfully been completed with the return of Eulji Mundeok (972), the second ship of the destroyers, to service. 

The first ship that was upgraded under the program was Yang Man-chun (973). It returned to service in September 2020. Gwanggaeto Daewang (971), first-of-class sister ship, completed the process in October 2021. [Janes]

Furthermore, the Ministry revealed plans to launch a civilian-military project in 2022 to design a solid-fuel space launch vehicle as part of 24-task initiative with which South Korea aims to domestically develop cutting-edge technologies, to boost the space industry and to strengthen civilian-military cooperation. [Yonhap News Agency 2]

South Korea’s military has recently been increasing efforts to build space security capabilities. In October the country launched its first homegrown space rocket [see AiR No. 43, October/2021, 4].

On January 1st it also launched a new coordinating body to strengthen military space capabilities and to plan and execute joint space operations. It is supposed to play the role of a “control tower” when coordinating the development projects of that the branches of the military have been working on separately.  The Joint Chiefs of Staff explained that since space powers like the US, China, Russia, and Japan have been raising their budgets for the development of related technologies to become the leading power, South Korea’s ability to use space is crucial and directly linked to its overall national capabilities. [The Korea Herald] [The Korea Times].

Taiwan to open new Ministry of Digital Development

(zh) Taiwan’s parliament approved the government’s plan to form the Ministry of Digital Development, which oversees information security, telecommunications and digital technologies, and the digital economy. The new ministry would include relevant operations of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications and the National Communication Commission (NCC), whereas the existing Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) would be transformed into a ministry-level council. [Focus Taiwan]

Slated to open in July, the new ministry might not be able not have its entire staff members in place when opening, after the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) in a surprising move has filed a petition for a reconsideration of the NCC’s draft digital communications act which contains obligations to be imposed on providers of intermediary services, hosting services or online platform services. The bill serves as the legal basis to transfer personnel and resources of NCC to the new ministry. The KMT cited for its intervention concerns that the amendment bill could suppress freedom of expression. [Taipei Times]

Digital development has been a critical pillar in Taiwan’s national policy and diplomacy. In last year’s US Summit for Democracy held by President Joe Biden, Taiwan had addressed a video presentation themed “countering digital authoritarianism” [see AiR No. 50, December/2021, 2]. At last year’s 4th Global Policy Conference on the 4th Industrial Revolution held by the South Korean Presidential Committee, the island also scheduled a speech titled “Taiwan’s digital social innovation [see AiR No. 51, December/2021, 3].

Taiwan launches All-Out Defense Mobilization Agency, anticipates more Chinse warplane intrusion

(zh) Taiwan has launched the All-Out Defense Mobilization Agency under the Ministry of National Defense (MND), a special agency in charge of the mobilization of reservists during wartime and for disaster relief. According to President Tsai Ing-wen, the “all-out-defense” concept is key for Taiwan to bolster defense capabilities and shows the island’s determination to safeguard national security. 

The new agency is part of the island’s reform of reserve forces amid heightened cross-strait tensions. Taiwan had also decided to introduce new reservist training in 2022 [see AiR No. 50, December/2021, 2]. [Focus Taiwan 1]

Taiwan has recorded approximately 950 Chinese warplane intrusions to its air identification zone (ADIZ) in 2021. Based on this pattern, the island is anticipating more sorties in 2022. According to a local think tank, the Institute for National Policy Research (INPR), the situation in the ADIZ will be a “turning point” in cross-strait relations. [Taiwan News 1]

To bolster its defense capabilities, Taiwan’s Air Force has signed a NT$429 million agreement with the French-based missile systems manufacturer MBDA for its Mirage 2000 jets. Meanwhile, the military has decided not to buy the United States’ HH-60W Jolly Green II helicopter, which is equipped with a night-vision imaging system, due to its high cost. The Air Force would instead upgrade its UH-60M Black Hawks. [Focus Taiwan 2] [Taiwan News 2].

Constitutional Law and –Politics, Human Rights and National Security in South Asia 

Bangladesh: Law minister rules out urgent enactment of law on Election Commission formation

(sk) Minister of Law, Anisul Haq ruled out the chance of an immediate enactment of a law on the Election Commission formation, citing the lengthy process the legislation the minister covering drafting and approval of the Cabinet, followed by displaying the bill on website of the Ministry for eliciting public opinion before submitting it to the parliament for vote. Furthermore, political parties hold talks with the president and submit suggestions for the chief election commissioner and four members, on the basis of which the president forms a “neutral and independent election Commission” through a search committee.

Haq’s statement comes in response to calls from almost all political parties on the government to meet the constitutional requirement to form the new Commission within the next parliamentary session to replace the current one whose five-year term will end on February 15. [Daily Sun]

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), meanwhile, has chosen not to participate in the continuing dialogue between political parties and President Abdul Hamid on the formations of the new Election Commission, which started on December 20. The BNP called the dialogue “pointless,” citing a lack of a constitutional guarantee of “a polls-time neutral government and impartial administration.” [Dhaka Tribune 1] [See also AiR No. 52, December/2021, 4]

The decision came after the party earlier the same day a three-point proposal for the new Commission to President Md Abdul Hamid, [Dhaka Tribune 2].

Bangladesh: 13 get capital punishment for 2016 murder of ruling party leader

(sk) A Dhaka court has sentenced 13 people to death and eight others to life in prison for the 2016 murder of businessman and Awami League leader Jahirul Huq.

Jahirul was the general secretary of the Natai South Union Ward-5 Awami League when he was killed in an attack over union council elections. [bdnews24.com].

Bangladesh: Anti-corruption watchdog recommends formulation of guideline to eliminate foreign recruitment anarchy

(sk) Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) has recommended the development of an integrated strategic policy to eradicate lawlessness in recruiting foreign workers in Bangladesh.According to the anti-corruption watchdog, the policy is necessary because a large number of foreign nationals work illegally in various sectors and send their earnings back to their home countries through illegal channels.

TIB also praised Bangladesh Bank’s recent circular, which allows foreign workers to remit their entire income to their home countries, calling it a positive decision. [Dhaka Tribune].

Bangladesh: Anti-Corruption Commission asks education directorate to act against alleged irregularities within 2 months

(sk) Bangladesh’s Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has given the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education (DSHE) two months to conduct a thorough investigation, present findings, and take action against officials and staff accused of irregularities pertaining to recruitment and development projects at DHSE.

The commission also recommended that the DHSE designate a responsible officer as a focal point member to help speed up the investigation of corruption charges and to communicate with the commission.[Dhaka Tribune].

Bangladesh: 23rd Chief Justice Hasan Foez Siddique sworn in

(sk) The newly appointed chief justice of Bangladesh, Hasan Foez Siddique, was sworn in on December 31. Outgoing Chief Justice Hossain retired the previous after he turned 67, the age boundary for a Supreme Court judge in Bangladesh. [The New Indian Express]

Siddique had served as the chief law advisor to the Ministry of Home Affairs, and as Additional Attorney General of Bangladesh. He was elevated as the judge of the High Court Division in 2009, and as a judge of the Supreme Court’s Appellate Division in 2013.

Bangladesh: Government will amend Digital Security Act if inconsistency found, law minister says

(sk/lm) Bangladesh would amend sections of the contentious 2018 Digital Security Act (DSA) if necessary, Law Minister Anisul Huq said on December 30 while attending a function organized by the Overseas Correspondent Association Bangladesh. [The Business Standard]

The DSA has drawn the attention of human rights organizations and international organizations, including the United Nations, due to its alleged misuse to muzzle critics and stymie their freedom of expression, especially in cyberspace. In the past three years, more than 1,500 cases have been filed under the DSA.

Speaking against this backdrop, Huq informed that the Bangladeshi government had formed a six-member team comprising several ministries to look into the issue. The working group has engaged with the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to find out whether human rights have been violated due to enforcement of the law. [The Daily Star]

Information Minister Hasan Mahmud last month said the DSA was necessary to ensure digital security for all people in Bangladesh in an increasingly digitized world. Mahmud – who is also serving as joint general secretary of Prime Minister Hasina’s ruling Awami League party – noted that several other countries have similar laws, citing India’s Information Technology Act 2000 and Pakistan’s Prevention of Crime Act 2016, among others. [AiR No. 49, December/2021, 1].

Bangladesh: No legal basis for Khaleda Zia’s request seeking treatment abroad, home minister says

(sk/lm) Bangladesh’s Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan on December 28 said the application by the chairperson of the country’s main opposition political party, Khaleda Zia, to travel abroad for advanced medical required further scrutiny, as there was no legal basis on the request.[Bangla News 24]

Zia, chairperson of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and an archrival of Prime Minister Hasina’s, was admitted to the critical care unit of a hospital last November, with doctors treating her saying they fear for her life if she is not allowed to fly abroad for medical care [see AiR No. 47, November/2021, 4]. However, the leader of the BNP has been barred by a court from leaving the country after being convicted and jailed on graft charges in 2018.

Bangladesh’s Law Ministry on December 27 had forwarded its legal assessment of the application to the Home Ministry. [AiR No. 52, December/2021, 4].

Bangladesh: At least five killed, dozens injured in post-election violence

(sk) After the fourth phase of the Union Parishad elections was held on December 26, at least five people including an Awami League activist and a defeated member candidate were killed in Thakurgaon, Patuakhali, Sylhet, Gaibandha, and Pabna, while dozens got injured amid violence.

There have also been reports of stabbings, collisions, chasing, vote-rigging, vote-stuffing, and irregularities in several locations. [The Business Standard] [Dhaka Tribune 1] [Dhaka Tribune 2]

The elections outcomes saw the ruling Awami League winning 49.74 percent of all chairman posts, continuing a downward trend from 53 percent in third, 56 percent in the second, and 76 percent in the first phase. The main opposition Jatiya party won six chairman posts, while independent candidates won 390. [The Daily Star]

The 7th and final phase in which 138 union parishads from 20 districts are contested will be held on February 7. [Prothom Alo].

India: State Elections will not be postponed

(sr) The All India Bar Association (AIBA) on Sunday, December 2, called on  the Election Commission of India to postpone the upcoming state elections in Goa, Manipur, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, citing public health risks in the face of the spread of the Omicron variant of Covid-19.

In call came in response to the announcement of India’s Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) that while cognizance of the High Court’s request of an election postponement [see AiR No. 52, December/2021, 4] had been taken, the elections will be held as scheduled. [NDTV] 

In order to ensure social distancing during the polls, the CEC announced that polling time would be increased by an hour and the number of voters per polling station would be capped at 1,250 instead of 1,500. He also said that all polling officials would be double vaccinated and given a booster shot if applicable. Additionally, thermal scanners and masks would be made available on polling sites and the facility of postal ballots would be given to persons above 80 years of age, affected with Covid-19 and people with disabilities. [Indian Express] [The Wire].

India: Only one woman member on the panel to review the legal age of marriage

(Sr) Sushmita Dev, a MP from the Trinamool Congress, has been appointed as sole female member of the 31-member panel which will review Prohibition on Child Marriage (Amendment) Bill that provides for the raise of the legal age of marriage for women to from 18 to 21. [Hindustan Times]

Indian Prime Minister Modi’s government in December tabled the new legislation in Parliament, bringing it on par with men, a move that rights activists caution might backfire because it does not address long-held social mores and instead penalize adult women [see AiR No. 52, December/2021, 4].

India: Mother Teresa charity banned from receiving funds from abroad

(vc/lm) The Indian government has refused to renew the foreign-funding license for a charity founded by Maria Teresa due to “adverse inputs”, just days after the organization faced a police investigation for “hurting religious sentiments of Hindus” amid rising intolerance towards Christians in India. [BBC] [The Guardian]

The Kolkata-based Missionaries of Charity (MoC), founded by Nobel Laureate Mother Teresa in 1950, is a Catholic religious congregation working in the humanitarian sector and provides education, medical care, social assistance and relief to the poor during disasters. NGOs receiving funds from foreign donors need to register for a permit, the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) and renew it after the expiry of five years. The MoC can appeal, but for now, a major source of funding has been cut off. [The Hindu]

The news came around a tense Christmas time, when churches have been vandalized and celebrations interrupted by hundreds of right-wing Hindus across the country. It also came less than two weeks after Hindu hardliners accused the charity of carrying out forced conversions of Hindus to Christianity in a home for girls it runs in Vadodara in the western state of Gujarat. The charity has denied these allegations. [The New York Times, $]

Authorities have sought to crack down on alleged campaigns to convert Hindus to Christianity and Islam. Several states ruled by Prime Minister Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have recently passed, or are considering passing laws that ban religious conversion for marriage. [AiR No. 52, December/2021, 4]

In October, Modi invited Pope Francis to visit India, home to around 24 million Christians and the second-largest Catholic community in Asia [see AiR No. 44, November/2021, 1]. But it remains to be seen if the government’s latest move to cut off the Christian charity’s foreign funding will complicate that invitation.

Under Modi’s government, receiving foreign aid has become severely difficult for the NGOs, especially after the introduction of new laws in 2015 and 2020 under FCRA. The act has been amended to regulate the foreign funding but has proved to have a chilling effect on organizations, particularly those critical of the government. Since 2017, 6600 NGOs have been refused to accept overseas funding including Greenpeace and Amnesty International [see AiR No. 39, September/2020, 5].

India: Resident doctors call off strike over understaffing

(vc) Resident doctors on December 31 called off a lengthy strike that had crippled health services at state-run hospitals in the Indian capital New Delhi after they received assurance from the government that their demands would be looked into. [The Times of India]

The protests, which started last November, were triggered by delays in placing medical school graduates in jobs at government health facilities.

India’s Supreme Court is currently hearing petitions challenging the introduction of an affirmative action policy aimed at increasing the share of positions reserved for underrepresented castes. In light of this, the Medical Counselling Committee suspended the job placements, waiting for the country’s top court to hear the pleas and give judgement regarding counselling. A court hearing has been scheduled for January 6. [Op India]

Medical students from across India had joined the protests, which intensified two weeks ago and grew angrier after police officers were seen beating junior doctors during a march on December 27. As the strike drew in recent graduates and tens of thousands of the more than 70,000 doctors who work at government medical facilities nationwide, emergency health services had been the worst hit. [The New York Times, $].

India: Central government holds real estate summit in Jammu; opposition claims territory up for auction

(sr) In an effort to opening the Jammu and Kashmir union territory to real estate investors, the central and local government have signed 39 Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) with a combined worth exceeding $2.5 million at a first-of-its-kind real estate summit in Jammu on December 27. [Hindustan Times] [Outlook India]

The summit comes after India’s central government, in a significant move in October 2020 enacted a series of new land laws – and amended some – ending the protections on land rights in the Jammu and Kashmir union territory. The most important change has been made in an act that governs the disposal of land in the region, as the government has omitted “being permanent resident of the state” as a criterion [see AiR No. 44, November/2020, 1]. Last month then, the territory’s administration changed land-use laws allowing re-classifying of agricultural land for non-agricultural purposes.

Against this backdrop, regional parties criticized the summit, alleging it was yet another step towards altering the region’s demographic identity. [Moneycontrol] [The Indian Express].

India: Six militants, soldier killed in Kashmir Valley

(rs/lm) Six suspected rebels and an Indian soldier were killed in two back-to-back gun battles in the Jammu and Kashmir union territory on December 30, rounding off another bloody year in the disputed territory. [Al Jazeera] [The Independent]

Police said in a statement that two of the slain suspected militants were Pakistani nationals but offered no evidence. It said three of the dead, including a Pakistani, were involved in an ambush on a police bus that was transporting police personnel in the outskirts of the region’s main city of Srinagar on December 13 in which three police officers were killed and 11 others wounded [see AiR No. 51, December/2021, 3]. [The Indian Express]

According to government records, at least 168 militants, 34 civilians and 30 Indian troops have been killed this year in the Kashmir Valley. In the last quarter of 2020, the Muslim-majority region witnessed a wave of civilian killings, with militants seemingly targeting non-Kashmiris, including migrant workers, and members of the minority Hindu and Sikh communities. Indian forces responded to this with a widespread crackdown [see AiR No. 41, October/2021, 2].

India: Government extends implementation of security law in Nagaland state, draws flak from Naga body

(sr) India’s Home Ministry extended on December 30 the implementation of a special law giving armed forces sweeping powers, in Nagaland state for another six months, citing “disturbed and dangerous” conditions in the region. [The Hindu 1] [Live Mint]

The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act gives Indian security personnel sweeping powers to conduct raids, warrantless searches and open fire, with broad protection from prosecution.

The demand for repealing the AFSPA had been raised by several quarters –including the state leader of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party – following a botched security operation that left 14 civilians dead last December [see AiR No. 49, December/2021, 1]. In the aftermath of the killings, the central government had constituted a high-level committee to examine the possibility of the withdrawal of the contentious AFSPA from Nagaland state [see AiR No. 50, December/2021, 2].

In an open letter to Prime Minister Modi, an organization that works for the rights of the Naga people globally, the Global Naga Forum, criticized the decision to extend the AFSPA in the state for another six months, alleging that the administration had “taken no moral responsibility for the murders”. [The Hindu 2]

In related developments, a Special Investigation Team constituted by the government of Nagaland has interrogated Army personnel in relation to the botched operation. This is the first instance that an investigation team formed by the government is quizzing a unit of the Indian Army. [The New Indian Express].

India: Ex-envoy to China Vikram Misri appointed Deputy National Security Advisor

(rs) Vikram Misri, who has served as India’s ambassador to China until last December, has been named the next Deputy National Security Advisor (NSA). He will succeed on Pankaj Saran, ex-Indian envoy to Russia and Bangladesh, who resigned from office on December 31. [NDTV]

In his new role, Misiri will report to NSA Ajit Doval. The other two deputy NSAs are Rajender Khanna and Datta Pandsalgikar. [The Indian Express].

Nepal: Ruling coalition parties internally distribute 20 seats in parliament’s upper house

(ns/lm) A meeting of leaders of Nepal’s ruling political parties on January 3 resulted in an internal allocation of 20 seats in Parliament’s upper house that will be up for election later this month.

Six seats have been allocated to Prime Minister Deuba’s Nepali Congress party, five seats each to the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) and the Communist Party of Nepal (CPN) (Unified Socialist), two seats to the People’s Socialist Party, and one seat to the Rastriya Janamorcha. No decision has been taken on one member who was nominated. [The Kathmandu Post]

The upper house of Nepal’s Parliament has a total of 59 members: Eight members are elected from each of the country’s seven provinces by an electoral college of each province, and three are appointed by the president on recommendation of the government. The members’ terms are determined by drawing lots – for two years, four years and six years.

Elections have already taken place for the 19 members who completed their two-year terms. After the upcoming election to replace the 20 members who will retire on March 4, an election to replace the remaining 20 members, who will retire after their six-year terms, will be held in two years.

Nepal: Election Commission, communist parties spar over ‘unconstitutional’ terms

(ns/lm) Nepal’s communist parties and the country’s Election Commission have clashed after the commission asked the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) (CPN(M)) to remove key communist rhetoric from the party statute, alleging anti-constitutionality.

After the (CPN(M) presented its party statue to the Election Committee last month, the election body requested it to remove the “People’s revolution”, “class struggle” and “communism from the document. To which the party opposed, stating that communism was the foundation on which they attempt to rebuild the Nepali society. The election body extracted those phrases itself later – ahead of the party’s general convention – and included them into the official record.

Nepal’s Constitution brands the country as an independent, indivisible, sovereign, secular, inclusive, democratic, socialism-oriented, federal democratic republican state. No political party is allowed to contradict the Constitution by its established goals.

Nepal: Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) unanimously reelects chairman Dahal

(ns/lm) Pushpa Kamal Dahal on January 3 was unanimously reelected as chairman of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) (CPN(M)) for the next five years, one day after the party had concluded its eighth convention. [The Kathmandu Post]

During the eight-day convention, the party delegates endorsed a proposal to have 15 office bearers, including chair, and a 299-member Central Committee. Through the proportional electoral system 154 members were elected, while the new Central Committee will be responsible for finalizing the additional 66 members in the future. [Khabarhub].

Nepal: Former JSPN party leader seeks to start new party from prison

(ns) Former lawmaker Resham Chaudhary has formed a new political party, the Citizens’ Liberation Party, with his supporters on January 3 applying to the Election Commission for the registration of the party under the leadership of Chaudhary’s wife. The commission, however, has not given the registration certificate to the party. [Online Khabar]

A former leader of the now-defunct Rastriya Janata Party Nepal, Chaudhary in 2019 was sentenced to life in prison for his role in orchestrating and carrying out the 2015 Tikapur massacre, during which armed protesters conducted an attack on security forces, killing eight.

At the time, protests had erupted across the country since Nepal’s politicians struck a deal to divide the country into six provinces in a new constitution that had been rushed through after being delayed by years of political deadlock. Sections of Nepal’s diverse population, mostly from the country’s western hills and southwestern plains, criticized that they had not been consulted enough for the new constitution.

Nepal: Famer protest movement against grievances and new legislation 

(ns) Farmers and interest groups protested at the end of year nationwide against hardships of their existence as farmers and the passing of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), a piece of legislation they see as a threat to the country’s sovereignty and being pushed through by the US as part of its Indo-Pacific strategy. [The Kathmandu Post]

In Kathmandu, protestors approached the parliament building which was surrounded by a vast number of police officers. [makalukhabar] 

In parts, the movement was reinforced by supporters of the Janamat Party, whose leaders articulated their sympathy for the protest and called upon its followers to obstruct a road in a district affected by protests. Janamat Party evolved from a former separatist movement that aspired to establish an independent and sovereign Madhesh state out of Nepal. [DBpedia].

Pakistan: Wife of Supreme Court justice says four men ‘intimidated, harassed’ her at Karachi home

(lm) The wife of Supreme Court’s Justice Qazi Faez Isa has alleged that four men in civvies had walked into her parents’ home in Karachi on December 29 and asked her to declare her political affiliations and other personal details in a detailed questionnaire. [Dawn]

Ever since he delivered a landmark verdict in 2019 asking the Pakistan Army and the country’s intelligence services to stay within their mandate, Justice Qazi Faez Isa – who is in line to become Pakistan’s chief justice in September 2023 – has had multiple run-ins with the all-powerful establishment. [The Indian Express].

Pakistan: Protests in Sindh province over contentious local government bill continue

(lm) Political parties and activists in Pakistan’s southeastern Sindh province continue to protest against plans of the provincial government to pass a local government bill that critics claim aims to curtail the powers of local bodies and municipalities. [Dawn]

The law – labeled a “black law” by its critics – reconstitutes the province, including its capital, Karachi, into townships controlled by municipal councils. It also delegates authority over public services like water, roads, transportation, hospitals and education centers to the Sindh provincial government. Protests over the bill – led by the Islamic Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan (JI) and Pak Sarzameen political parties – have been ongoing for the past few weeks, but no progress has been made to address the issues.

Significantly, Sindh is currently the only Pakistani province where an opposition party at the national level, Pakistan People Party, is the heading the government. In the rest of the provinces, Prime Minister Imran Khan’s ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party is in the government in one way or another.

Interestingly, the JI – known for its opposition to liberal laws for women –announced on January 2 that female activists would also be allowed to join the protest. In light of this, some observers argue that the participation of women in the recently held protest in Gwadar, a coastal town in Balochistan province, seems to have made political parties aware of the importance of women, especially in civil rights movements [see AiR No. 49, December/2021, 1]. [South Asia Monitor] [The News International]

Pakistan: Prime Minister Khan tells his PTI party to unite to win second phase of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa polls

(tj) In light of the surprising defeat of his ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) in the recently held first phase of local polls in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, a traditional PTI stronghold, Prime Minister Imran Khan on December 29 directed the province’s chief minister to ensure unity among party ranks for winning the second phase of polls. [Dawn 1]

In the first phase of the local body elections held on December 19, opposition parties had won 21 seats, while Khan’s PTI had secured six seats in the polls to elect mayors and other local government officials. Counting for 34 other seats is underway, but provisional results show a similar trend.

Against this backdrop, Prime Minister Khan later conceded that his party made “mistakes” but blamed its poor choice of candidates for the outcome. Khan also said that he would from now on be personally overseeing the party’s election strategy for the second phase of local elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, and across Pakistan. Days after the defeat in the provincial polls, the prime minister, who is also PTI chairman, dissolved the party’s organizational structure and reorganized it to activate it at the grassroots level.

Given that Khan’s party had won the past two provincial polls, as well as the last local body elections in the region, some observers consider the recent loss in the first phase of local elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa a reflection of declining PTI support ahead of national elections due in 2023. [The Diplomat]

Meanwhile, the Election Commission on January 3 rescheduled the second phase of local body elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s from January 16 to March 27 due to harsh weather at the request of the provincial government and political parties. [Dawn 2].

Pakistan: Shaukat Tarin sworn in as finance minister, to lay ‘mini budget’ in Senate

(tj/lm) Senator Shaukat Tarin, who is leading Pakistan’s negotiations for a $6 billion bailout program with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), was administered oath as the country’s finance minister by President Dr Arif Alvi on December 27. [Dawn 1]

Prime Minister Imran Khan in April last year appointed Tarin as finance minister – the fourth person to hold the post in the last two years – as part of a shake-up of the government’s economic team [see AiR No. 16, April/2021, 3]. He became an adviser in October because he was not able to get elected as a lawmaker within the stipulated six months. Last month then, Tarin won a by-election in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa provincial assembly for a vacant seat in the upper house of Parliament.

The finance minister presented a contentious finance supplementary bill, generally known as mini budget, to the Senate on January 4. Approval of the Finance Supplementary Bill, in addition to the State Bank of Pakistan Amendment Bill, is necessary to ensure that Islamabad’s sixth review of the IMF’s $6 billion Extended Fund Facility program is green-lighted cleared by the Washington-based lender’s Executive Board, which is scheduled to meet on January 12 to take a decision on the disbursement of about $1 billion in IMF special drawing rights [see AiR No. 47, November/2021, 4]. [Dawn 2].

Pakistan: Four soldiers killed in raid on Pakistani Taliban near Afghan border

(lm) Pakistan confirmed on December 31 that four soldiers were killed in the deadliest confrontation between the Pakistani Taliban, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and security forces since a month-long ceasefire arranged with the aid of the Afghan Taliban was called off last month. [The Straits Times]

The clash erupted when security forces on December 30 raided a suspected hideout in the former tribal region North Waziristan, a district of the country’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and a former Taliban stronghold. A statement said troops apprehended one suspected militant with weapons and ammunition, and lost four personnel in an intense exchange of fire that followed the raid. The TTP for its part claimed that seven soldiers had been killed in its counterattack, while its fighters escaped unharmed.

In a separate incident, the army on December 31 said two soldiers were killed in a clash in neighboring Tank district.

The government in November announced that a one-month ceasefire was agreed with the TTP, while negotiations got underway to end years of bloodshed [see AiR No. 45, November/2021, 2]. But the militants in December unilaterally declared an end to the agreement, accusing Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government of breaching terms made in the initial stages of peace talks, including a prisoner release agreement and the formation of negotiating committees [see AiR No. 50, December/2021, 2].

Meanwhile, officials said on December 31 the death toll from an overnight roadside bombing in Quetta, the capital of southeastern Baluchistan province, had risen to at least six passersby. There were no claims of responsibility for the attack that injured more than a dozen people, all civilians. [Voice of America].

Pakistan: ISI chief order government not to release his images to media

(lm) The newly appointed head of Pakistan’s powerful Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Lieutenant General Nadeem Anjum, has instructed Pakistani authorities not to release images or video footage of meetings he attended to the media. [The Times of India]

Lieutenant General Anjum was named director-general of the ISI last October following a surprise military shake-up that saw hitherto head Lieutenant General Faiz Hameed being appointed as Peshawar Corps Commander. [AiR No. 41, October/2021, 2].

Constitutional Law and –Politics, Human Rights and National Security in Southeast Asia 

Cambodia’s PM imposes age limit for prime minister’s post after he steps down

(am) Hun Sen, Cambodia’s prime minister, announced on December 29 that he will propose a law requiring an age limit for future prime ministers after his resignation. Under that law the head of the government would retire at the age of 72. 

Hun Sen is 69 and considered to be the longest-serving PM in the world, having taken office on 14 January 1985. [Phnom Penh Post].

Cambodia: Government presents plan to promote gender equality 

(am) On 29 December, the Secretary of State at the Ministry of Environment spoke at a launch ceremony for the “Gender Mainstreaming Strategic Plan in Environmental Sector 2021-2025” as part of the government’s efforts to promote gender equality across all sectors.

The plan aims at enhancing gender equality in environmental management by promoting the role of women in the field. It also encourages multi-sector cooperation in promoting women empowerment, right to protection, elimination of violence against women, and sexual abuse prevention. 

It is believed that the strategic plan mainstreams gender vision in policies, strategies and action plans for ministries, contributing to achieving sustainable development in Cambodia. [Khmer Times].

Cambodian Environmental Group suspends operations amid court cases

(am) A Cambodian environmental group called Mother Nature has suspended operations in the country pending the results of court cases brought against the group. 

The group has adopted an aggressive approach to environmentalism and found itself targeted by authorities, resulting in at least six court cases. Members of the group were charged with insulting the king and plotting to overthrow the Prime Minister (PM). In turn, the PM has consistently warned of outside forces plotting to overthrow his government and believes the only way to destroy and prevent ‘color revolutions’ is to have full control of the armed forces and civil administration. [The Diplomat].

Cambodia: Supreme Court dismisses case on genocide during Khmer Rouge rule

(am/bs) The Supreme Court Chamber of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) dismissed the International Co-Prosecutor’s request to send case 004 to trial, the genocide case from the Khmer Rouge regime, against Yim Tith, key figure in the regime, accused of genocide, crimes against humanity, grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions of 1949, and violations of the 1956 Cambodian Penal Code. [ECCC] 

The Chamber issued three decisions according to which the judges rejected the International Co-Prosecutor’s request that Case 004 be sent to trial, for issuing an Indictment in violation of the Court’s internal rules. In its second decision, the court confirmed the considerations issued by the Pre-Trial Chamber on Case 400, and it concluded with the third decision clarifying that the case “is terminated in the absence of a definitive and enforceable indictment.”

A dissenting opinion stated that “the Pre-Trial Chamber’s decision has no validity and ought to be quashed for its irrationality.” [Khmer Times] 

The Cambodian Genocide lasted from 1975 to 1979 and the Khmer Rouge attempted to ‘purify’ Cambodian society racially, socially, ideologically and politically, destroying people from every social category. The Khmer Krom people were located in the southernmost territory of the regime and were especially targeted due to language, religion and ethnicity. [UNPO] 

A Cambodian volunteer group “CamboCorps” has worked in their village to assist elder survivors of the Khmer Rouge Regime in the past months. The volunteer group focused on listening to stories of the genocide survivors, learning about their health and living conditions and distributing the gift boxes funded by the United States Agency for International Development. [Khmer Times].

Indonesia: Jakarta increases minimum wage in 2022

(my) The governor of Jakarta agreed to increase the minimum wage by 5.1 percent in 2022. The new rule will officially come into effect from January 1 and only applies to workers who have worked with the same company for at least a year. 

Previously, the Indonesia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) and The Indonesian Employers Association (APINDO) disputed the Governor’s change from an initial 0.85 to 5.1 percent, due to pressures from labor unions. Both organizations fear the increase may push employers to transfer their business to other provinces with lower minimum wages. The new ruling will be final and binding, with room open for negotiation for businesses affected by the Covid-19 pandemic [see AiR No. 52, December/2021, 4]. [Jakarta Globe].

Indonesia bans coal exports

(dw) The government of Indonesia banned coal exports on January 1, due to various concerns that insufficient supply at domestic power plants may lead to extensive blackouts. 

Indonesia exported roughly 400 million tons of thermal coal in 2020, making the country the world's largest coal exporter, with China, India, Japan, and South Korea being its top customers. Indonesia’s Domestic Market Obligation policy requires coal miners to sell 25% of their annual output to the state at a maximum price of US$70 per ton, which is significantly below the market pricing. 

The coal mining association argued that this decision has not been discussed with the business secotr. They urged the government to review the decision since it greatly impacts the business group. [Channel News Asia] [CNBC Indonesia, in Bahasa Indonesia].

Indonesia: Sentencing delayed for Bali bombing suspect

(lb) Indonesian prosecutors have postponed sentencing demands of terror suspect Aris Sumarsono, known as Zulkarnaen. Zulkarnaen, the former operations chief of al-Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiyah is accused of behind deadly attacks, among them the 2002 bombings of the Indonesian resort island of Bali 2003 and the bombing of the J.W. Marriott hotel in Jakarta. He has eluded capture for 18 years and was arrested in December.

The demand was initially scheduled for November 24 but was postponed several times, the demand on December 29 was delayed because the prosecutors said they had not finished preparing it and needed more time. The next demand is set for 5th January 2022. [abc].

Indonesia: Muslim organization elected new chairman 

(dw) Indonesia's largest grassroots Muslim organization, Nahdlaltul Ulama (NU), elected a reformist Islamic scholar as its new chairman. The appointment marked a possible "political reorientation" for the organization. [The Jakarta Post] [see AiR No. 45, November/2021, 2]

The new chairman indicated that he did not want the organization to be used as a political instrument by any party, instead, it should be a communication platform for any Indonesian political party promoting inclusivity across social groups. [CNN Indonesia, in Bahasa Indonesia] [Sindo News, in Bahasa Indonesia]

In his vision, the new chairman promised to make NU a catalyst for change in Indonesian society. NU would work with the Indonesian government to achieve national goals and agendas. Experts predict that the new leadership would resurrect late President Wahid's concepts of moderate Islamic values, inclusion, democracy, and separation of religion and politics. [Tempo, in Bahasa indonesia] [Kompas, in Bahasa Indonesia].

Indonesia to receive stranded Rohingya refugees off Aceh’s coast

(my) Indonesia will be accepting 120 Rohingya refugees after receiving pressure from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and other local and international organizations. 

After the appeal from the UNHCR and the executive director of Amnesty International Indonesia, the Indonesian authorities changed their original plan to send Rohingya refugees back to Malaysian waters with supplies, clothes, and fuel. The pleas range from pointing out that Indonesia will be shirking international obligations to the concerns on the safety of refugees. [Aljazeera] [Radio Free Asia] [Radio Free Asia] [The Jakarta Post] [The Jakarta Post].

Indonesia: Case against oil and gas company over human rights violations to go on trial after 20 years

(dw) A case against an oil and gas firm accused of human rights violations is about to go to trial. 

The lawsuit, which was originally filed in the District Court for the District of Columbia in the United States in June 2001, claims that the oil and gas giant was responsible for human rights violations committed by members of the Indonesian military, including sexual assault, battery, and wrongful death in Aceh province. The corporation has attempted nine times to have the plaintiffs’ claims rejected over twenty years. 

Aceh Province is known for its vast oil and gas deposits and is one of Indonesia's most resource-rich regions. In 1971, the firm discovered a large amount of natural gas in the province’s vicinity, which it proceeded to extract and liquefy. Aceh was embroiled in a bloody civil war at the time, as the Free Aceh Movement fought for independence from Indonesia and was designated as a special military operation zone by the Indonesian government. As a result, the company had to engage the Indonesian military to secure its plant and employees. The company’s personnel allegedly carried out sweeping raids, torturing villagers whom they mistakenly believed to be rebels. [Nikkei Asia].

Laos expels state employees from national political party for corruption

(bs) The Lao government fired nine employees and demoted eight others from the only national political party, the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party, for corruption. 

The employees were involved in investment projects in Bokeo, in the North of Laos, using over $ 170 million of the government’s finances. The local authorities shared that those responsible for allocating national funds on a regional level file false reports to justify allocation discrepancies from corruption activities.

Corruption is allegedly rooted in the Lao government at every level so far that it has become part of the Lao culture. Corruption cases often remain unpunished. The latest case was in September 2021, when two Tax Department employees were disciplined for corruption without serving any jail time. 

According to [Transparency International’s 2020 Corruption Perceptions Index], Laos ranked 134 of 180 countries for high corruption levels in the country. [Radio Free Asia].

Malaysia: Youth party officially registered as a political party

(dw) The Malaysia United Democratic Alliance (Muda), a youth-based party, is now a legally recognized political party in Malaysia, with the registration process completed on December 23. [see AiR No. 51, December/2021, 3]

According to Muda’s chief, over 60,000 applications were logged via the party's registration drive online on the party's membership. [Malay Mail]

Experts argue that Muda’s inclusion in the 15th General Election in 2022 will reshape the political landscape since the party will represent Malaysian youth. Following the demands of the Undi 18 youth protest, Malaysia has lowered the voting age from 21 to 18 starting in December 2021 [see AiR No. 13, March/2021, 5]. Experts believe that a new political space will open up and that all political parties will attend to the preferences of the 18, 19, and 20-year-olds, who will make up a significant voting bloc. [Benar News].

Malaysia: Two Malay-Muslim-based parties to discuss coalition

(dw) The Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) of Kelantan state has scheduled a meeting with the United Malays National Organization (UMNO) on January 22 to explore the future direction of the Muafakat Nasional coalition, a Malaysian political coalition created by the PAS and UMNO to oppose the Pakatan Harapan coalition, as well as the parties’ prospects in the 15th general election. [Malay Mail]

The signing of the National Cooperation Charter formalized the political cooperation between the two main Malay-Muslim-based parties. This coalition's primary goal is to unite the Muslim community for electoral purposes. Despite rumors that the partnership was ending, both parties aspire for closer cooperation. [Berita Harian, in Bahasa Malaysia].

Malaysia seeks UN Green Climate Fund 

(dw) Malaysia's government is requesting $3 million from the United Nations Green Climate Fund (GCF) to build a national climate change adaptation plan. The proposal comes as a result of devastating floods that have forced over 70,000 people to flee their homes this month. Water, agriculture, food security, public health, forestry, and infrastructure will all be addressed in the strategy. The Malaysian government had never sought money for climate adaptation strategies to this day. [The Jakarta Post].

Malaysia: Concern raised after Malaysia Anti-Corruption Commission’s officer steps down

(dw) Transparency International Malaysia stated that any serious claims, particularly those involving the image of a law enforcement agency tasked with fighting corruption, must be probed quickly and transparently.

This statement comes after a member of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Consultation and Corruption Prevention Panel stepped down, reportedly in protest of the commission's lack of action against its chief commissioner's alleged ownership of millions of dollars in shares in two listed companies. Following his resignation, concerns were expressed over the relationship between business and law enforcement, as well as a potential conflict of interest within the institution. [Daily Express] [Free Malaysia Today].

Malaysia: High Court allows Malaysian mothers’ foreign-born children to obtain citizenship

(dw) A High Court decision on December 29, stated that children whose dads are aliens are entitled to citizenship by law. 

The High Court ruled that under the Federal Constitution, Malaysian mothers have the same right as Malaysian fathers to pass on citizenship to their children born abroad, and ordered the authorities to issue the necessary documentation, such as identity cards and passports, to such children born to Malaysian mothers. This ruling was made after a group representing six Malaysian moms successfully filed suit over the citizenship issue.

However, on September 14, the Malaysian government filed an appeal against the High Court's decision to issue citizenship-linked documents to Malaysian mothers’ overseas-born children. The Malaysian government's application to postpone or temporarily suspend issuing citizenship-related documents to infants born overseas to Malaysian mothers was unanimously dismissed by the Court of Appeal on December 22. The ruling of the Court of Appeal means that the government will have to deliver citizenship-related documents to children born overseas to Malaysian mothers who are married to foreigners, even before the appeal is heard in March 2022. [The Malay Mail] [Free Malaysia Today].

Malaysia: High court rejects Malay-Muslim groups' lawsuit to abolish vernacular school 

(dw) The Malaysian high court rejected a lawsuit demanding the government to abolish education using Mandarin and Tamil on December 29. The court stated in its conclusion that the Federal Constitution expressly protects education in mother tongues other than Bahasa Malaysia under Article 152. According to the court, the plaintiffs also failed to prove how vernacular education impeded their constitutional right to personal liberty.

The lawsuit was initiated by Gabungan Pelajar Melayu Semenanjung (GPMS), the Islam Education Development Council (Mappim), and the Confederation of Malaysian Writers Association (Gapena) to push the government to prohibit vernacular schools. They claimed that having vernacular schools violated Article 152(1) of the Federal Constitution, which declared Malay to be the national language. Sections 2, 17, and 28 of the Education Act 1966, which permitted Mandarin and Tamil schools to provide instruction in these languages, were also argued to be unconstitutional. [Malay Mail]

Board members of the vernacular schools applauded the decision as a constitutional basis for safeguarding Malaysia’s multicultural and multiracial society. [The Borneo Post].

Myanmar: Court defers Aung San Suu Kyi verdict 

(nm) Former democratically elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi is set to stand trial and receive verdicts on January 10 for charges that included the possession of unlicensed walkie-talkies. The Myanmar court has again postponed its verdicts until further notice. [Reuters]

Suu Kyi is facing numerous charges and awaiting decisions on 10 cases, including six that involve alleged corruption. She has denied all charges. [see AiR No.51, December/2021, 3].

Myanmar: State Ministers violate constitutional military draft 

(nm) Two state ministers of the Rakhine state, located in western Myanmar, were charged with violating the constitution. The charge was brought against the state’s chief minister Nyi Pu and a former municipal minister on December 22. 

Nyi Pu was among those who were ousted during the February coup where he was initially placed under house arrest but was later transferred to a detention center. He was charged with incitement after the National League for Democracy (NLD) encouraged supporters to resist the military rule. As he is an NLD central executive committee member, it is expected that further charges will be brought against him by the junta. [Myanmar Now].

Myanmar: More than 30 bodies burnt on Christmas Eve 

(nm) The Myanmar military was blamed for the massacre on Christmas Eve where more than 30 people were killed and their bodies set ablaze. In the conflict-torn Myanmar state of Kayah, the Karenni Human Rights Group and Save the Children aid group confirmed that two of the burnt bodies were Save the Children staff. [Reuters]

It was later confirmed that the bodies were of internally displaced people. The military said via the state media that they had shot and killed an unspecified number of “terrorists with weapons”, referring to the local anti-junta armed group.  

The Karenni Nationalities Defense Force, one of the largest civilian militias that oppose the junta, said that the bodies did not belong to their forces but were civilians seeking refuge from the conflict. [Channel News Asia] [Aljazeera]

The United Nations (UN) Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief called on Myanmar to investigate the reported killings of the 35 civilians allegedly by the Myanmar military and reminded that such atrocities are perpetrated in violation of international humanitarian law. 

The United States (US) Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the United Nations Security Council and three Myanmar allied ethnic armed organizations, publicly condemned the attack. The US renewed their call for an arms embargo on Myanmar’s junta on December 28. The need for accountability was stressed by UN Security Council members who called for an immediate cease of violence. Blinken also urged the international community to respond to the atrocities. [South China Morning Post] [Straits Times] [Channel News Asia] [Irrawaddy].

Myanmar: Leading actor jailed for three years 

(nm) Paing Takhon, a Burmese actor, singer, and model, has been jailed for three years after being on the junta’s celebrity wanted list for supporting the pro-democracy protests on December 27. 

The man was active in the anti-coup protests following the February coup. The junta has around 120 celebrities wanted for arrest where several are still on the run. [Straits Times].

Myanmar: Student activists face high risks of torture and violations by the junta

(nm) Since the February coup any non-Buddhists, LGBTQ people, student union members and National League for Democracy supporters appear to be at higher risk of facing harsher torture during junta interrogation. 

A fourth-year student from the Sagaing University of Education was detained in October. The family of the student activist has spoken out in fear of their daughter’s treatment whilst being held in military custody as she has reportedly been denied medical treatment.  

A member of the Mandalay’s Yadanabon University Students union said that no charge has been filed against her and she is being kept in isolation at the interrogation camp at Mandalay Palace. 

Furthermore, a third-year geology student at Yangon University and student activist has died in Myanmar military custody. The junta cremated his body without informing his relatives. He was taken to an interrogation center where he died the next day. The chair of the Yangon University Students Union said that the junta is especially harsh on young political activists and that they are subjected to torture, solitary confinement and denied medical treatment after being attacked. [Irrawaddy 1] [Irrawaddy 2].

Myanmar military carried out airstrikes along Thai-Myanmar border

(nm) The Karen National Union (KNU), a political organization with an armed wing representing the ethnic minority Karen people of Myanmar, said the country’s military carried out at least two airstrikes and used heavy artillery in Lay Kay Kaw, a rebel-controlled area of Myanmar near the Thai border on December 23. The violence sent hundreds fleeing to Thailand to seek refuge. 

The KNU group aims for self-determination for the Karen people and is currently one of the biggest opposition forces of the Myanmar military. 

Fighting between the Myanmar military and the KNU recently broke out and has left more than 4,200 people displaced and crossing the border to Thailand. Civil society groups have confirmed that the number of displaced peoples is as high as 10,000. A spokesman for the junta did not answer calls seeking comment. [Channel News Asia] [Aljazeera] [Reuters]

This comes after the KNU sought out international help and an emergency United Nations Security Council meeting to establish a “no-fly zone” near the Thai border, pre-empting the airstrikes by the Myanmar military. From his experience, the head of the KNU’s foreign affairs department said the airstrikes would not target military bases but civilian bases with schools, hospitals, houses, and villages. [Channel News Asia]

Following the clash, Myanmar’s junta published a statement on December 29 claiming they only used “limited force” and that the use of force was purely defensive. According to the statement, 21 people were arrested during raids, including members of the shadow National Unity Government. A spokesperson for the KNU said that the statements were “full of lies”. [Myanmar Now].

Myanmar junta continues attack on Sagaing Region, clashes with Kachin Independence Army

(nm) Myanmar junta soldiers have torched at least a dozen houses in the Sagaing Region on December 28. The junta troops that were stationed in the Sagaing Region set at least a dozen house ablaze. This attack continued from the previous air strikes, which claimed around 20 lives and thousands displaced. [Myanmar Now] [Irrawaddy]

Clashes between the Myanmar junta soldiers and local armed groups broke out on December 22 when the soldiers raided the village following air strikes [see Air No. 51, December/2021, 3].

The Myanmar military and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), meanwhile, counted several losses in a fighting on December 24 in Kachin State’s Indawgyi Lake. The fighting broke out in the village and the military later carried out an airstrike on a KIA base nearby. The junta released a statement saying that around 100 KIA troops and members of the People’s Defense Force (PDF) attacked two of their outposts in a village in Moguang Township, located east of the Indawgyi Lake where the attacks were first unleashed. [Myanmar Now]

KIA is an armed group opposing the military coup which previously captured three military outposts around Hpakant Township, located in the Kachin state, where Myanmar’s billion-dollar jade mine is located. [The Diplomat].

Myanmar: Reporter shot during junta attack 

(nm) A Federal News Journal Editor died from a gunshot by Myanmar’s military during an artillery attack on December 25 against members of the People’s Defense Force (PDF) in a town in southeastern Myanmar. 

The reporter was providing coverage of the Myanmar armed forces and the violence the military had been inflicting on Myanmar’s population since the February coup. [Reporters without Borders].

The Philippines: President Duterte signed office for peace process transition 

(my) An executive order was signed by President Rodrigo Duterte on December 27 to officiate the transition of the Office of the Presidential Advisor on the Peace Process (OPAPP) to Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation, and Unity (OPAPRU). 

The office will manage, direct, and supervise all aspects of the comprehensive peace process, including initiatives that promote and reinforce national reconciliation and unity based on the executive order. The order also allows the presidents to appoint an adviser with cabinet rank. [Philippine Star].

The Philippines: President Rodrigo Duterte established a new department for foreign Filipino workers

(my) The Philippine President Rodrigo R. Duterte, on December 30, signed into law measures to improve coordination among agencies concerned with overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and OFW affairs. 

On July 26, President Rodrigo Duterte mandated the establishment of the Department of Migrant Workers through signatories on Republic Act 11641. The establishment of the department was aimed to improve coordination between agencies of Overseas Filipinos Worker (OFW). Targeting 2.2 million Filipinos abroad, the department will accommodate any inadequacies suffered by the workers, including monetary or government assistance. [Philippine News Agency].

The Philippines: President Rodrigo Duterte signed Philippines 2022 budget

(my) President Rodrigo Duterte has signed the country’s most significant budget allocation in the country’s history with an 11.5 percent increase compared with the previous year to around $98 Billion. The budget was released to sustain the momentum in the country’s fight against the Covid-19 pandemic and economic recovery including continuing the infrastructure and healthcare development. [The Straits Times].

The Philippines: Ferdinand Marcos Jr. stays in lead in election poll survey 

(my) A presidential race survey by Social Weather Stations conducted from December 12 to 16 was topped by Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., who received 51 percent of votes. His closest rival, Vice-President Leni Robredo, comes second at 14 percent. The late dictator’s son has also taken the lead by 53 percent on a survey conducted by Survey Asia Poll on December 1-6.

The surge of popularity was coming from supporters who are born after the Marcos family fled the country in 1986 and are regard the reign of Marcos Sr. regarded as the golden era of the Philippines. [The Straits Times].

The Philippines: Human rights group questions official report on raid victims

(bs) A local human rights group shared doubts on the accuracy of an official statement from the authorities on a police and military raid in a village in the southern province Cotabato on December 29 to enforce an arrest warrant against a former member of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), a separatist group that controls 63 villages in various autonomous regions. Six people died and three police were injured during the raid. 

The chairman of the local Muslim human rights organization stated that the raid was not a legitimate conuter-terrorism operation, but instead murder arguing that the victims did not resist arrest. Lt. Col. Rommel Mundala, commander of the army’s 90th Infantry Battalion which supported police in the operation, however, insisted that the shooting begun after suspects fired on the approaching government troops. [Eurasia Review].

Thailand: Opposition parties seek the end Prime Minister’s term

(sd) Six opposition parties are planning to petition the Constitutional Court to interpret the constitutional validity of the current Prime Minister (PM)’s term believing that his term must end in August 2022, instead of in 2027. The parties believe that PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha’s term has already reached the eight-year maximum tenure since they consider it began when he became the leader of the former National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) after the coup in 2014. 

The comments were prompted by a report from a House of Representatives legal team, which said that Prayut’s term began in 2019 after his premiership received royal endorsement under the 2017 constitution. This would mean could stand in the next election and he could be Prime Minister until 2027. [Bangkok Post].

Thailand: New relief program means payout for laid-off workers

(sd) Around 3,000 workers who became unemployed due to Covid-19 have received financial aid from the Thai Labor Ministry. 

Approximately 24 million baht (USD 720,500) was paid to the laid-off workers as part of a new relief program implemented by the Department of Labor Protection and Welfare. The scheme targets people who were not compensated after losing their jobs, rewarding them compensation equal to the length of their employment. [Bangkok Post].

Thailand: Busy political year signals potential trouble for government

(sd) Following claims from the opposition that soldiers were interfering in by-election preparations, an army probe declared them false on 3 January. The Democrat Party complained that a team of approximately 100 soldiers was putting pressure on residents in a Thai province to vote for a specific candidate in the upcoming by-election. [Bangkok Post 1] [Bangkok Post 2]

Thailand’s next general election is scheduled 2023, but there will be by-elections in the provinces of Chumphon, Songkhla, and the Laksi district of Bangkok. There will also be an election in Pattaya City. All of these elections have the potential to cause political disruption and will cause government stress, according to a Democrat politician. Other situations that may put pressure on the current government include the restart of House sessions in March 2022, during which the opposition is said to be planning a vote of no confidence. [Bangkok Post 3].

Thailand: Opposition to launch a campaign in favor of decentralization

(kc/sd) The democratic Progressive Movement party has announced to launch a petition in April 2022 to gather support for reforming a power decentralization law.

The party said the campaign will take place between April and June. If it can collect more than 100,000 signatures in favor of decentralization of power, a proposal will be submitted to the parliament. The party aims at a constitutional amendment of Chapter 14 of the charter, which governs power decentralization, also calling for a revival of Chapter 9 of the now-abrogated 1997 constitution which enabled effective decentralized administration.

According to a representative of the Progressive Movement, the current legislation is based on ideas from the now-defunct National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), which took over during the coup in 2014. Under the current legislation, all power lies with provincial governors, rendering local administrative organization (LAO) politicians unnecessary, the representative said.

The movement, if successful, would give LAOs more authority over budgets and local development. The Progressive Movement said it hoped for a power structure similar to that of Japan or the United Kingdom. The party also said it doubted there would be any objection from the Senate if the movement made it to parliament. [Bangkok Post].

Thailand: Petitions for government aid for Myanmar refugees

(ay/sd) Thailand’s National Human Rights Commission has requested government aid for Myanmar refugees as the fighting between Myanmar’s military and the Karen National Union, a Myanmar political organization with an armed wing, escalated, causing an increased number of Myanmar refugees to cross the border into Thailand. 

The Commission said the government should act to “create stability and safety” along the Thailand-Myanmar border, as Thai people along the boundary are now also at risk. A clear policy on refugee assistance and working with other organizations to implement safety measures was essential according to the Commission, who sent two of its commissioners to the border district of Mae Sot in Tak province to support the aid effort in the area by cooperating with local human rights agencies. [The Straits Times] [See also AiR No. 52, December/2021, 4]

Moreover, according to the Director-General of the Department of Information, the confrontation on the Thai-Myanmar border is negatively affecting Thailand and endangering people living near the border area, while Thailand has urged the parties involved to resolve the situation as soon as possible through peaceful negotiations.  [Bangkok Post].

Thai government meets with rebels in peace talk after latest bomb attack

(ay/bs) The Thai government will meet a separatist armed group operating in the south of Thailand to discuss ending violent attacks in the area, which began in 2004 and has since claimed over 7000 victims. 

The latest attack was on December 29 when an improvised bomb exploded against the wall of an army operations base in the Rueso district, Narathiwat. According to the deputy chief investigator at Rueso, the explosion damaged a cement support post in the wall, causing it to partially crumble. The authorities found fragments of a 20-kilogram gas cylinder and other bomb components. [Bangkok Post]

The Thai government and Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN), the separatist group, previously met in January and March 2020, when they committed to ending the conflicts and finding a peaceful and lasting solution. In the following year, 2021, the BRN submitted a document to the Thai government asking for inclusivity of the Muslim Malay community and a political solution that meets their aspirations and to involve local stakeholders in a peace dialogue. [Inquirer].

Timor-Leste to ratify international agreement to facilitate mobility between Portuguese Language countries

(bs) Timor-Leste is preparing to start the process for the ratification of the Agreement on Mobility with the member states of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP).

The Minister of Foreign Affairs has already submitted the agreement to the National Council of Ministers and is waiting for its approval before sending the agreement to the National Parliament for ratification. 

Five out of nine countries forming the Portuguese-speaking community have already ratified the agreement namely Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Portugal, and São Tomé and Príncipe. Angola has had the agreement approved in parliament.

The agreement will then have to be submitted for registration to the United Nations Secretariat. Following this, each country is expected to implement national legislation to facilitate the international mobility of people between the signatory countries, in accordance with the guidelines defined in the agreement. [Visao Sapo, in Portuguese].

Vietnamese police arrest human traffickers for enforced prostitution in Cambodia

(am) Police in a southern province of Vietnam arrested three men and a woman for trafficking in persons, organizing illegal migration and enforced prostitution. A victim reported that she met one of the arrestees earlier in 2021 after they had connected online and agreed that the victim would move to Cambodia, where she unexpectedly fell victim of the human trafficking.

Other victims escaped and contacted the Vietnamese Embassy in Cambodia for support. [Vietnam Plus].

Vietnam: Police disrupt Christmas celebration of Montagnard Christians

(am/bs) Vietnamese authorities assaulted and arrested the pastor of the Montagnard Evangelical Church of Christ and harassed about 60 followers during the preparations for Christmas celebrations. Police accused the church of wanting to overthrow the government. 

While Vietnam’s Constitution protects religious freedom it also permits authorities to override constitutional rights for purposes of national security, social order, social morality, and community well-being. According to the 2018 Law on Belief and Religion religious communities must formally register their organizations and places of worship. However, only those religious organizations that have operated for at least five years are allowed to apply for registration to become legal entities.

The Montagnard Evangelical Church of Christ applied for registration under the law, but not only the church had not received any responses from the authorities, but the police also pressured the community to renounce their religion according to the pastor.

The local police denied harassing the members of the church. [Radio Free Asia].

International Relations, Geopolitics and Security in Asia

P5’s pledge on prevention of nuclear war

(pm) China France, Russia, the UK and the US – the five permanent members of the UN security council (P5) and nuclear weapons states recognised by the 1968 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) – issued on January 3 a joint statement pledging to prevent a nuclear war, affirming that “a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought.” 

The joint pledge was issued to improve the atmosphere at the 10th review of the NPT that was scheduled to take place at UN headquarters in New York this month, but was postponed to later this year. [The White House, USA] [DW].

China opposes on US defence act for fiscal 2022

(pm/dql) China has sharply rejected China-related content of the US$ 770 billion National Defence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022, signed by US President Joe Biden into law on December 27 after overwhelming passage of the bill in the Senate and the House of Representatives earlier in December. [The White House, USA]

The Act provides, inter alia, $7.1b spending on the Pacific Deterrence Initiative, and contains a statement of congressional support for the defence of Taiwan, along with an encouragement to the government to issue an invitation to Taiwan to join the RIMPAC naval exercises, the world's largest naval exercise expected involve more than 48 military units from 20 nations and 25,000 personnel. It also includes a ban on the Department of Defense procuring products produced with forced labour from China’s Xinjiang region. [Reuters] [CNN]

Beijing condemned the law as “full of Cold War mentality and ideological bias,” and accused if of “smear[ing] China’s national defense policy and military,” and of “groundless accusations against China on issues related to Taiwan and Xinjiang.”  [Xinhua] 

China’s First white paper on export controls attacks US 

(dql/pm) On December 29, China’s State Council, the country’s central government, issued China’s first white paper on export controls laying out the country’s position, institutions, and practices in improving export control governance. Stressing its commitments and actions to safeguard world peace and development, and security at national and international level, Beijing sharply criticized “individual countries” that “have generalised national security, fabricated excuses and used state power to interfere in normal trade and market transactions, repeatedly abusing export controls as a tool to suppress and bully other countries,” in apparent reference to the US. [South China Morning Post]

Since November, Washington has added dozens of Chinese firms on trade and investment blacklists, citing military ties or alleged involvement in the surveillance of Muslim minorities in Xinjiang. Among those companies were quantum computing and semiconductor companies, the world’s top commercial drone maker DJI Technology and China’s Academy of Military Medical Sciences [see AiR No. 48, November/2021, 5, AiR No. 51, December/2021, 3].

Cross-Strait relations: Presidents’ New Year’s speeches mark red lines 

(tp/zh) President Xi Jinping addressed the nation on Friday reviewing the country’s development achievements throughout the year and highlighted China’s contributions to improving the world.

Xi stressed the importance of maintaining a “strategic focus” and being mindful of “potential risks” in the Communist Party’s long-term vision to turn China into a global power in 2049, the 100th anniversary of the founding of the PRC. 

Xi also said that the complete unification of the “motherland” was an aspiration shared by both the people of China and Taiwan. 

In contrast to previous years, the President did not mention China’s gross domestic product in his address, however strongly focussed on China’s successful efforts in poverty elevation, fighting the pandemic, and getting ready for the Beijing Winter Olympics. [CGTN] [Reuters 1]

Meanwhile, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen announced in her New Year’s speech that “we must remind the Beijing authorities to not misjudge the situation and to prevent the internal expansion of ‘military adventurism.”

Criticizing Beijing for “military adventurism within their ranks,” Tsai added that “the use of military means is absolutely not an option for resolving the differences between our two sides,” and that to ease tension in the region, the two sides must “work hard to take care of people’s livelihoods and calm the hearts of the people.” Tsai also said that Taiwan would continue to monitor the situation in Hong Kong after the arrests of senior staff at pro-democracy media outlet Stand News (see report above under “Constitutional Law and -Politics, Human Rights and National Security in East Asia”).

Days before Tsai’s message, China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) has warned of “drastic measures” if Taiwan makes moves seeking independence. The TAO also added that provocation on the island by leaning-independence forces and “external intervention” could become “sharper and more intense” and that cross-strait relations will be “more complex and severe.” Meanwhile, in an interview with state-owned media CCTV and Xinhua, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi warned that the US interference in Taiwan would bring the island into “an extremely dangerous situation” and cause “an unbearable price” for Washington. [HKFP]

On the other side, Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) hit back at the statement, urging Beijing to “seriously reflect on its work toward Taiwan and make correct judgement on the situation.” The MAC underscored its cross-strait policy of “not provoking”, calling for dialogue on an equal footing between two sides. [Reuters 2]

The MAC has also condemned Beijing’s raid of the Hong Kong pro-democracy media Stand News and the arrests of its staff, saying such misconduct is the proof of the hypocrisy of the “one country, two systems”. Echoing the government’s stance, Taiwan’s main opposition party Kuomintang (KMT) also voiced its concern over the arrests and the raid. [Focus Taiwan]

In recent months, Chinese military aircrafts have made a large number of incursions into Taiwan’s air defence zone and have stepped up efforts to isolate Taiwan on the international stage. Taiwan’s stance has been “to not succumb when facing pressure and to not rashly advance when receiving support,” Tsai said. [Al Jazeera] [South China Morning Post] [Office of the President Republic of China (Taiwan)].

China and Russia to build an international lunar research station

(pm) A new five-year agreement on space cooperation between the two countries from 2023-2027 is to be signed next year, according to an announcement by Russia’s national space agency Roscosmos. 

A core part of the cooperation will the creation of an International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) open to accession by other countries. It also includea plans to step up efforts to develop the ground segment of the two countries' national satellite systems, that will rival the US-led Global Positioning System (GPS):  Russia’s GLONASS and China’s BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) whose installation is expected for 2022. [South China Morning Post 1]

The announcement is the latest sign of increasingly close Sino-Russian relations in space, widely seen as a challenge to the US. 

In a separate development, Chinese accused Washington of seeking to maintain its dominance in space and warned that Elon Musk’s contract to build a new satellite for the US military capable of tracking hypersonic missile launches, concluded in October, may form part of that strategy. Musk’s SpaceX Starlink satellites forced China’s spacecraft to conduct manoeuvres to avoid collision. [South China Morning Post 2].

China-Australia relations: No national security grounds for withdrawing Darwin port lease, investigation concludes 

(pm) An Australian defence review has concluded that there are no national security grounds to overturn the 99-year lease of the Port of Darwin to Chinese company Landbridge Group, which in 2015 signed the AUS$ 506 million deal with the then Australian Northern Territory government to run the commercial part of the port. 

The port, however, includes also military facilities and hosts visiting US ships, marking its strategic importance to Australia and its allies.

The review, conducted following calls to abandon the deal over national security concerns, was commissioned by the cabinet’s National Security Committee chaired by Prime Minister Scott Morrison. [9 News].

China, Russia set to finalize deal for a second major gas pipeline project

(dql) According to Gazprom, Russian majority state-owned multinational energy corporation, the daily deliveries of Russian gas to China via the Power of Siberia reached a historic record on December 23. Power of Siberia is the largest gas transportation system in eastern Russia. It supplies gas to Russian consumers in the Far East and China.

The statement comes as Gazprom is slated to conclude an agreement in 2022 under which a second huge natural gas pipeline – Power of Siberia 2 – running from Siberia to China is to be build. The pipeline is expected to deliver 50 billion cubic meters of Russian gas to China annually. 

The project signals a fast-evolving gas pivot to Asia by Moscow in the face of increasing tensions between Russia and Europe over North Stream 2. [TASS] [VoA].

China’s strengthening foothold in Central Asia 

(dql) In an article published on the occasion of 30th anniversary of China of the establishment of diplomatic relations with the five former Soviet republics Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi praised “new heights of mutual political” reached between Beijing and the Central Asian states, highlighting their cooperation in fighting crime, terrorism, ethnic separatism, and religious extremism, as well as “foreign forces instigating ‘colour revolutions’ in Central Asia.” [South China Morning Post] 

For insights into the Indian and Russian concerns over China’s increasing influence in Central Asia China, see [Sunday Guardian Live] and [Deccan Herald].

Japan: Kishida outlines diplomatic approach in New Year’s address

(ec) Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has used his New Year’s address as an opportunity to lay out his intended diplomatic approach for 2022, outlining three guiding pillars of universal values, deliberative efforts to resolve worldwide challenges, and ensuring the safety and security of the Japanese people. 

Previously the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Kishida’s statement comes on the back of a series of radical changes and tests to Japan’s foreign policy, such as a dramatic rise in defense spending and growing cooperation with Taiwan in the face of Chinese moves in the Indo-Pacific. The Prime Minister is currently working towards a diplomatic victory at the upcoming UN Conference on the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, and is looking to engage in official talks with US President Joseph Biden early this year, though no date has been set. [The Japan Times] [See AiR No. 50, December/2021, 2] [See AiR No. 52, December/2021, 4]

Kishida’s address also focused on government efforts to combat the Omicron variant of COVID19 and the Prime Minister’s new capitalism project, which aims to encourage wealth distribution and growth through such measures as tax cuts for companies that increase wages. In December, the Japanese government approved of a record-breaking draft budget of 107.60 trillion yen (940 billion USD). [Kyodo News] [See AiR No. 52, December/2021, 4].

Japan and China agree to defense hotline

(ec) Japanese Minister for Defense Nobuo Kishi has confirmed the establishment of a defense hotline with the Chinese Defense Ministry after a video call with Chinese counterpart Wei Fenghe on Monday, December 27. The hotline is expected to strengthen communication methods the two countries introduced in 2018 to mitigate accidental clashes at sea and in the air. [The Asahi Shimbun] [The Mainichi]

Chinese moves in the Indo-Pacific area have drawn increasing concern from Japan, with the governing Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) seeking to increase military spending, court international support, and revise Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution to allow for collective defense efforts. Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, widely recognised as the leader of the LDP’s hawks, has been particularly vocal on the potential of a Chinese military adventure over Taiwan to drag Japan into a conflict. [Reuters] [See AiR No. 51, December/2021, 3]

For additional perspective on the challenges Prime Minister Fumio Kishida faces in conducting diplomacy with China, consider reading this article by Jeff Kingston in [The Diplomat].

South Korea-US agreement on end-of-war declaration text 

(dql) South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong announced on December 29 that South Korea and the US have “effectively” agreed on a draft text of an end-of-war declaration which would end the Korean War armistice signed in 1953 and affirm that war is over at last. The Minister also expressed his conviction that such a declaration would mark a “very useful opportunity to resume dialogue.” [Korea Herald]

Chung’s announcement comes amid the protracted impasse in inter-Korean peace talks and denuclearization talks between the US and North Korea, with the US upholding sanctions against Pyongyang which in turn continues to with its nuclear program while developing missiles capable of carrying warheads to targets as close as South Korea and Japan and as far as the U.S.

It also comes as North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has convened a major meeting of the ruling Workers’ Party which is believed to review past projects and discuss new policies. [CNBC]

For an critical perspective on the probability of an end-of-war declaration see Donald Kirk in [The Hill] who argues that such a declaration is realistically only possible under conditions dictated by Pyongyang that would eventually lead to a “sellout of South Korean democracy to North Korean dictatorship.”

South Korea conducts exercise near disputed islets

(dql) Yonhap News Agency has revealed military exercises conducted by South Korea’s Navy near the Dokdo islets which to the Defense Ministry as well as the Navy refused to confirm. The drills were aimed at strengthening the defense of the country’s easternmost islets, claimed also by Japan. 

The Dokdo drills were launched in 1986 and have been conducted twice a year since 2003. 

Dokdo, known in Japan as Takeshima, has been under South Korean administrative control since 1954 and has since then been a recurring source of tension between South Korea and Japan. [Yonhap]

Taiwan to take legal action over Nicaragua’s confiscation of former assets

(zh) Taiwan has vowed to take legal action against Nicaragua over the Central American country’s confiscation of its former property. In December, Nicaragua switched diplomatic ties from Taipei to Beijing [see AiR No. 50, December/2021, 2]. Citing the one-China policy, the country contends all the former assets left by Taiwan’s embassy now belong to China. 

Taipei has previously protested to Nicaragua over the decision [see AiR No. 52, December/2021, 4] and now “will pursue appropriate international legal proceedings.” [Focus Taiwan].

Taiwan: Opposition KMT chairman to visit the U.S. in early 2022

(zh) The chairman of Taiwan’s main opposition party, the Kuomintang (KMT), Eric Chu, is set to visit the United States in early 2022 after the Chinese New Year holiday from January 29 to February 6. The trip includes many stops at Washington, D.C., and meetings with U.S. government officials, lawmakers, and think tank representatives. Other KMT leaders are also considering visiting the U.S. to enhance cooperation and communication between the two sides. Besides, Chu does not rule out the possibility of visiting Japan as KMT values its relationship with Tokyo. [Focus Taiwan]

Meanwhile, the KMT has decided to establish its U.S. liaison office on Pennsylvania Avenue N.W., which is not far from the White House. The party also arranged closed-door meetings in Washington D.C. in January with U.S. think tanks, government officials responsible for Indo-Pacific affairs, and leading scholars. [Taipei Times][Taiwan News 1].

Pakistan approves first-ever National Security Policy

(tj/lm) Pakistan’s National Security Committee (NSC) — the country’s principal forum for consultation on matters of national security and foreign policy — on December 27 approved its National Security Policy (NSP) for 2022-2026, placing “economic security at the core” of the first-of-its kind document to ensure a “citizen-centric approach to security”. The NSP was endorsed by the cabinet on the next day.

In his remarks, Prime Minister and NSC Chairman Imran Khan emphasized that the security of the country rested in the security of its citizens and reposed confidence that Pakistan was well prepared to meet any internal and external threats. Further, he instructed the National Security Adviser (NSA), Moeed Yusuf, to present an implementation progress report to the NSC every month. [Dawn 1]

Presenting the five-year strategy paper, NSA Yusuf said Pakistan was shifting to a “Comprehensive National Security Framework”, the ultimate purpose of which is safety, security and dignity of citizens.

Seven years in the making, the document covers both traditional and non-traditional security challenges, including economy, food, water, military security, terrorism, population growth and dealings with the external world, especially major powers. It places special emphasis on economic diplomacy, underlining that Pakistan seeks transformation from being a geo-strategic to a geo-economic hub. [Dawn 2].

Bangladesh seeks more time to respond to US request for funding on foreign security forces

(sk/lm) Bangladesh has sought more time from the United States for sending feedback on the “Leahy Laws”, two statutory provisions that prohibit the U.S. Department of State and Department of Defense from using funding for assistance to foreign security forces or individuals who have committed egregious human rights violations. [The Daily Star]

Less commonly acknowledged, the law is also intended to promote accountability for violations through its “remediation” clause which allows the restoration of eligibility for US assistance once violators have been held to account. [U.S Department of State]

As per the amendments, the US needs to sign agreements with the countries it provides security assistance to. Bangladesh, in turn, is required to inform Washington of the security forces that receive the assistance. In the first week of December, the US therefore a letter seeking Bangladesh's response by December 15. 

Separately, Bangladesh’s Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen on December 24 wrote a letter to his US counterpart Antony Blinken again requesting Washington to withdraw sanctions announced last month on an elite Bangladesh paramilitary force [see AiR No. 50, December/2021, 2]. The foreign minister reiterated that the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) had carried out successful counterterrorism and counternarcotics operations, while also conveying his country’s commitment to “democratic governance and human rights”. [The Business Standard 1]

On January 2 then, the administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Samantha Power, in a video message said building on recent gains will require Bangladesh’s continued commitment to democracy and human rights. [The Business Standard 2].

India, Pakistan exchange lists of nuclear facilities, prisoners under decades-old agreements

(lm) India and Pakistan have exchanged lists of each other's citizens they are holding in prison, and details of each country's nuclear assets, under bilateral agreements that remained intact despite strained relations.

Pakistan shared with India's top diplomat in Islamabad on January 1 a list of 628 Indian prisoners being held in Pakistan, including 577 fishermen accused of illegal fishing in Pakistani territorial waters, and 51 others. India simultaneously handed over lists of the 282 Pakistani prisoners and 73 fishermen it is holding. The practice is consistent with the 2008 Consular Access Agreement, which requires both sides to exchange lists of prisoners in each other’s custody each January and July. [Sky News]

The two countries also exchanged lists of nuclear installations and facilities. Neither side gave details of nuclear facilities and installations, but it is largely believed that the list is comprised of known nuclear facilities. The exchange is part of a pact signed by the two countries in December 1988 called the Prohibition of Attack against Nuclear Installations and Facilities. [The Express Tribune].

Pakistani minister claims acquisition of Chinese J-10C fighter jets

(lm) Pakistani Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed on December 29 announced that the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) would perform a fly-over using 25 “JS-10” jet fighters newly purchased from China for the Republic Day parade on March 23. The minister also said the jets would counter the 36 Rafale omni-role fighter jets India was receiving from France [see AiR No. 51, December/2021, 3]. [Defense News] [NDTV]

There has not been official confirmation (nor denial) from Beijing or Islamabad of the procurement since Ahmed’s statement. The size of the order is unclear too: while the minister mentions 25 aircraft in one squadron ready by the March 23 date, other sources claim the total buy would actually be for 36 aircraft in two squadrons. [TRT World]

If Ahmed’s claim is true, Pakistan will be the first state to receive the delivery of these single engine 4.5 generation fighter jets. Furthermore, this would imply Islamabad secretly arranged the purchase much earlier, as aircraft acquisitions usually take years to arrange, not months. [Forbes].

Pakistan vows to continue fencing the Afghan border, conveys concern to Taliban

(lm) Pakistan has reportedly informed the Taliban rulers of neighboring Afghanistan that it was observing "maximum restraint" to avoid any escalation in tensions stemming from the installation of a security fence on the porous border separating the two countries. [The Express Tribune]

In 2017, Pakistan begun constructing a fence along the Afghan border to secure the area and to curb smuggling and illegal border crossing. Islamabad says about 90 percent of the construction work has been completed, despite protestations from Kabul, which has always contested that the barrier – which runs along the boundary known as the Durand line – would divide families and friends of Afghanistan’s largest ethnic group, the Pashtun.

Responding to recent attempts by Taliban border forces aimed at preventing Pakistan from building the barrier, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said on January 3 his country was determined to protect its “interests” and continue unilateral fencing the nearly 2,600-kilometer border. [Voice of America]

The first incident took place on December 18, a day before Pakistan was to host an extraordinary session of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation’s Council of Foreign Ministers on Afghanistan’s humanitarian situation [see AiR No. 51, December/2021, 3] Pakistani soldiers were stopped from installing the security fence along the eastern province of Nangarhar, the first such incident since the Afghan Taliban seized power from the Western-backed government in mid-August.

The Afghan Taliban leadership is reportedly worried about the conduct of their low-level soldiers since it understands the importance of its close ties to Islamabad.

Pakistan minister slams Taliban curbs on Afghan women

(lm) Pakistan’s Information Minister Fawad Hussain on January 3 criticized the Taliban rulers of neighboring Afghanistan for placing curbs on women, denouncing the rules as stemming from a "retrogressive thinking” of an “extremist regime” and as posing threat to his country. [Voice of America]

Hussain spoke a day after the Taliban Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice issued a new edict limiting women’s ability to travel long-distance unless accompanied by a male escort. It also advised taxi drivers in Afghanistan to offer rides only to women wearing an Islamic hijab or a headscarf.

Islamabad is worried the worsening Afghan humanitarian and economic crisis could send more refugees to Pakistan and others neighboring countries. Pakistani leaders have therefore repeatedly urged the Taliban to listen to and address international concerns about rights of Afghan women, fighting terrorism and governing the country inclusively.

The Taliban, however, dismiss criticism of their government and polices as interference in internal Afghan affairs, saying they are ruling the country within the framework of Sharia, a religious law forming part of the Islamic tradition. 

Since regaining control of Afghanistan in August, the Taliban have prevented most Afghan women from returning to work and schoolgirls from resuming classes across many provinces, despite trying to rebrand as more moderate, in what Western governments decry as back-tracking from assurances they gave to observe human rights. [Deutsche Welle].

Vietnam, The Philippines likely to purchase BrahMos missile system from India

(lm) The Philippines is set to acquire the BrahMos shore-based anti-ship cruise missile system and other military equipment from India after receiving a long-awaited budget to bolster the country’s maritime defenses.

Two special allotment release orders with a combined worth of $55.5 million were issued by the Department of Budget Management on December 27 to meet initial funding requirements for a “Shore-Based Anti-Ship Missile System Acquisition Project”. Moreover, a team from the Philippine Navy reportedly visited the missiles’ production unit in Hyderabad last month as part of the procurement procedure. [Naval Technology]

The move comes at a time when Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte is executing a revised modernization program, with only six months left in his term. Under this program, Manila on December 28 signed a contract with South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries for two corvettes for the Philippine Navy. The country also intends to sign contracts for 36 Black Hawk helicopters and six offshore patrol vessels this year.

In March of last year, India and the Philippines signed an “implementing agreement” for the procurement of the BrahMos missile and other Indian defense equipment. However, negotiations were halted by budgetary limitations resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. If the acquisition proceeds, the Philippines will become the first overseas customer to procure the weapon system that has been by BrahMos Aerospace, a joint venture between India and Russia.

Currently, New Delhi and Moscow are jointly working to expand the range of the BrahMos and commence exporting the missile to third nations. [AiR No. 50, December/2021, 2]

Next week, India’s Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will embark on a three-day visit to Vietnam to celebrate the golden jubilee of establishing diplomatic ties between New Delhi and Hanoi. During his visit, the Singh is expected to hold talks on the acquisition of Indian defence equipment, including the BrahMos cruise missile. [Swarajya].

India-China relations: Beijing deploys armed robotic vehicles to Tibet 

(dql) Amid the Sino-Indian border standoff, China is reportedly deploying armed robotic vehicles equipped with machine guns machine to its western desert regions including those where Chinese troops are locked into a standoff with Indian soldiers.

According to Times Now, the People’s Liberation Army has deployed nearly 90 Sharp Claw unmanned ground vehicles or UGVs into Tibet. 38 of them have been moved to the western part of the province, close to where the Indian and Chinese armies are still face to face. 

The Sharp Claw UGV, produced by Chinese arms manufacturer Norinco, is used for reconnaissance, patrolling and transportation of weapons as well as for logistical work in difficult terrain. Furthermore, it can be fitted with weapons. [Times Now News].

India, China continue border infrastructure projects in Himalayan heights

(rs/lm) Continuing with infrastructure build-up on its side of the area near the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the western Himalayas, China is reportedly building a new bridge on Pangong Tso, a glacial lake at 4,242 meters, which will provide an additional axis to facilitate the speedy movement of troops and heavy weaponry. [India Today] [The Times of India]

The northern and southern shores of Pangong Tso were among the numerous friction points that surfaced after the start of the prolonged military standoff in June 2020. Before India and China agreed to pull back troops from the lake’s banks in February last year, the area had seen massive mobilisation and the two sides even deployed tanks, barely a few hundred metres apart in some locations [see AiR No. 8, February/2021, 4]. 

For its part, India also continues to improve its infrastructure in the border areas, with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh last week inaugurating three roads and 24 bridges built by the Border Roads Organisation, including the Chisumle-Demchok road at Umling La Pass that is considered to be a key stretch for military purposes. [The Indian Express].

China ‘renames’ 15 places in India as new border law comes into effect

(sr) India has hit out at China for giving “invented” names to several places in India’s northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh as Beijing looks to assert sovereignty over the territory in the eastern sector of its disputed border with New Delhi. [The Independent] [The Straits Times]

The Chinese Ministry of Civil Affairs announced on December 29 that it was assigning a new set of “standardized names” for 15 places in Arunachal Pradesh – including eight residential areas, four mountains, two rivers, and a mountain pass – in accordance with regulations released by the State Council, China’s chief administrative authority. China refers to Arunachal Pradesh as “Zangnan” and considers it as an extension of the southern portion of Tibet, covering eleven out of the twenty-five districts of the northeastern Indian state. [The Week]

The renaming, which followed a similar move in 2017, was announced just days before China’s new Land Border Law came into effect on January 1. Proposed in March – a year into the prolonged military standoff with India along the Line of Actual Control – the legislation calls China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity “sacred and inviolable”, which civilian and military agencies ought to “safeguard”. 

New Delhi said in October that it expected Beijing to "avoid undertaking action under the pretext of this law which could unilaterally alter the situation in the India-China border areas" [see AiR No. 43, October/2021, 4]. In November then, India deployed recently acquired US-made weaponry on the Tawang Plateau in Arunachal Pradesh state, an area adjoining Bhutan and Tibet [see AiR No. 44, November/2021, 1].

Pakistan ready to host SAARC Summit; India can join virtually, foreign minister says

(rs/lm) Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on January 3 said Islamabad was ready to host the next summit of the eight-nation South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), while also accusing India of making the grouping dysfunctional by refusing to come to Pakistan for the meeting. [The Hindu]

The 19th SAARC summit – bringing together the leaders of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka – was supposed to be held in Islamabad in November 2016. But the gathering was called off in the wake of a terror attack in the Indian union territory Jammu and Kashmir that killed 18 soldiers and injured over 20. At the time, New Delhi had blamed Islamabad for the attack.

More recently, a meeting of the SAARC foreign ministers – set to be held on the sidelines of the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly last September – was cancelled after the SAARC member states were unable to agree upon the participation of Afghanistan. [AiR No. 39, September/2021, 4].

Pakistan’s foreign minister draws flak for ‘disrespecting’ Saudi envoy

(lm) Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has come under fire from netizens for sitting in what they referred to as a disrespectful manner during his meeting with the Saudi Arabian ambassador in Islamabad on December 28. Many Saudis found Qureshi sitting with one leg crossed and the other pointing in the direction of the Saudi envoy offensive, calling it an “embarrassment” and “unislamic”. [Geo News] [The Print].

Bangladesh receives $283 million EIB soft loan for healthcare development

(sk) The European Investment Bank (EIB) granted Bangladesh a $250 million loan contract to boost the country´s healthcare sector and, especially, to purchase Covid-19 vaccinations. [The Business Standard].

The RCEP trade agreement, the world’s largest free trade deal

(bp) The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) has entered into force as of January 1. A free-trade agreement between the ten Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) plus Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea, the RCEP is the world’s largest free trade agreement, as it covers nearly a third of the global population and about 30 per cent of its global gross domestic product [China Macro Economy]. 

The deal took effect in Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Japan, Laos, New Zealand, Thailand, Singapore, and Vietnam on January 1, with South Korea to follow on February 1. However, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, and the Philippines are yet to ratify the trade deal, with Indonesia set to complete ratification in early 2022 [China Macro Economy] 

The RCEP will help promote trade and attract intra-regional investments to all participants in ASEAN, thus helping boost their economies, diversify supply chains, and reallocate foreign direct investments in the region. The trade pact will also benefit Laos by putting it on the global trade map. A key benefit of the pact is its common “rules of origin” framework, as RCEP exporters will generally only need to source at least 40 per cent of inputs from within the bloc for their final goods to qualify for tariff preferences when exported to other members. The trade deal will also have foreign benefits when building production facilities in lower-cost ASEAN markets, making use of the RCEP trade rules and preferences when trading within the region. Beijing also said the deal will serve as “powerful leverage” for keeping trade and foreign investment stable in 2022 and will gradually lift tariffs for China’s imports of coconut milk, pineapple products and paper products from ASEAN countries [China Macro Economy]. 

Implementation of anti-discrimination laws and policies, required for minorities across Southeast Asia

(bp) While laws and non-legal measures are deployed across Southeast Asia (SEA) to calm communal tensions, there is an increasing urgency for effective anti-discrimination laws and policies that protect minorities. Research conducted by [Asia Centre]highlights that the laws currently being used by governments for ethnically and religiously diverse people with divisive colonial histories, are formed by dominant ethnoreligious groups and are increasingly discriminatory towards minority groups. [The Jakarta Post]

The study analyzes the legal framework and the impact on freedom of religion or belief and racial discrimination in Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, and Singapore. In Malaysia, Muslims face tremendous difficulties to convert away from Islam, and there is a long-standing ban on Christians using the word “Allah” in their publications. Although the High Court overruled the ban in 2021, the issue remains highly controversial, and previous rulings led to communal violence and the destruction of both Christian and Muslim places of worship. 

In Myanmar, through the passing of its Religious Conversion Bill in 2015, it provided the government with control over conversion requiring approval from the Registration Board and a mandatory waiting time for religious education. It was one of four legislation laws with others including a monogamy law, an interfaith marriage law requiring there be no objections from community members for Buddhist women to marry non-Buddhist men and a law requiring women in certain regions to space the birth of their children 36 months apart.

In the Philippines, the countries’ diverse minorities and indigenous population feel discriminated and secluded by the government’s inaction toward deeply entrenched prejudice of non-Catholics and communal tensions. The government has also, through [Article 133], silenced critics to speak up against religious institutions. 

In Singapore, the government invokes the country’s multiculturalist base to silence criticism of its policies like the [Ethnic Integration Policy], to dictate a quota along with race and permanent residency lines within a precinct and apartment block of public housing.

According to the study, these laws exclude minority groups and politically please the majority. Hence, inclusive stakeholder processes are needed to ensure that such laws and policies conform to international human rights standards on the protection of minorities. [The Jakarta Post].

Brunei: Growth in bilateral trade with China

(sd) Bilateral trade between Brunei and China reached $23.77 billion between January and October in 2021 which, according to the Chinese Ambassador to Brunei, is a record high.

The Guangxi-Brunei Economic Corridor, which came into effect in 2014, was cited as being an important economic cooperative effort between the two countries. 

The Chinese ambassador spoke at an event on December 28 celebrating the 30th anniversary of China-Brunei relations, during which she expressed her gratitude that Brunei supported the one China principle and said China supported Brunei as Chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

The 30-year mark will also be a new starting point, according to the ambassador, who said the two states will work towards further development and economic recovery post-COVID, and the long-term objective plans of both countries, entitled China Vision 2035 and Brunei Vision 2035 respectively. [The Star] [The Business Report] [China Today].

Brunei, Japan to sign Memorandum of Cooperation

(sd) During a video conference on December 28, the Defense Ministers of Brunei and Japan expressed their desire to sign a Memorandum of Cooperation as soon as that would be based around defense cooperation and exchanges. 

The ministers also discussed bilateral and multilateral cooperation, specifically Japan’s entry to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Direct Communications Infrastructure (ADI).

Regional security issues and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) were also discussed during the conference.  Two countries expressed their desires to maintain a close relationship for the ASEAN Defense Minister’s Meeting Plus, due to be held in November 2022. [Borneo Bulletin] [Japan Today].

Cambodian PM and Japanese Ambassador discuss cooperation

(am) Cambodia’s Prime Minister, Hun Sen met on December 27 with the Japanese Ambassador to Cambodia to discuss cooperation between the two countries. 

National defense was an important topic of discussion and Japan plans to send its auto-defense ship to harbor at Cambodia’s port. The Ambassador also expressed support towards Cambodia to fulfill its mission as ASEAN chair in the upcoming year. [Khmer Times].

Cambodia, Laos reach 65 years of bilateral cooperation

(am) Marking 65 years of diplomatic relations, a meeting between Cambodia’s President of the National Assembly and an Ambassador of Laos took place this week to assure the strengthening of parliamentary cooperation between the two nations.

The countries plan on continuing their traditional friendship and being good neighbors following their history of cultural, traditional and religious cooperation. [Khmer Times 1] [Khmer Times 2].

Bilateral trade between Cambodia and US soars 

(am) Cambodian exports to the United State (US) increased by 31 percent in first 10 months this year, as compared to the same period in 2020, according to the US Census Bureau. 

Bilateral trade between the US and Cambodia has remained strong, despite the covid-19 pandemic. The Cambodian Chamber of Commerce Vice President claims instability of political movement in Myanmar and an uncertain market in Bangladesh has led to US buyers to purchase more goods from Cambodia. [Khmer Times].

Indonesia seeks Southeast Asian coordination on South China Sea disputes 

(lb/nm) Indonesia invited officials from five Southeast Asian nations to meet in February 2022 to discuss China’s growing assertiveness toward the South China Sea and a potential joint response. Countries that were invited include Brunei, Malaysia, The Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam. 

Currently, most of these Southeast nations have unresolved maritime and territorial issues with China. Despite Indonesia not being a claimant in the South China Sea, Beijing formally requested Jakarta to stop drilling for oil and gas near the Natuna islands inside of their exclusive economic zone (EEZ); China was met with refusals from the Indonesian government. China's claims to the South China Sea were invalidated by an international tribunal in 2016. [The Diplomat] [RFA].

Laos receives fundings to enhance national nutrition strategy

(bs) The European Union (EU), the Government of Luxembourg, and a religious charity organization, Caritas founded a project to improve nutrition in 46 villages in three Lao provinces. 

The project aims at strengthening the implementation of the Lao nutrition strategy by enhancing access to information on healthy and sustainable nutrition practices and developing a stronger cross-sector dialogue on both national and regional levels.

Over 33,400 people will benefit from the EUR 1.4 million funding tanks to the implementations of four projects; health and nutrition, nutrition governance, agriculture and strengthening livelihoods, and disaster risk reduction. [Vientiane Times $].

Myanmar establishes closer economic ties with China 

(nm) As of 2022, Myanmar will start accepting Renminbi, China’s official currency, as an official currency trading with China. Myanmar looks to restart several joint projects and develop closer economic ties with China. 

The Myanmar junta said it enjoyed a certain “kinship” with China as China has been financially supporting the junta and with COVID-19 vaccines. The ministries of information and investment released a statement affirming that infrastructure projects with China were a “priority” for the country’s economic revival. Additionally, the statement noted it would enhance bilateral cooperation and improve border trade between the two countries. [Reuters].

India’s Foreign Secretary two-day visit to Myanmar

(nm) The Indian Foreign Secretary, Harsh Vardhan Shringla, visited Myanmar for two days and in his first visit since the February coup. He announced it was necessary for the peace and stability for the border sharing countries.

Shringla met with the Chairman of State Administrative Council Generaland other senior officials of the Myanmar junta, where he reiterated India’s interests; the return of democracy in Myanmar, the release of detainees and prisoners, civil dialogue as a means to solving issues and the complete cessation of all violence. 

The two countries also further committed to ensure that each country’s territories would not be used for any activities that would obstruct the other. [The Diplomat].

The Philippines purchased two class corvettes from South Korea 

(my) Representative of Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI), a major South Korean shipbuilding company, and Philippines Defense Secretary signed a deal on two anti-ship and anti-submarine corvettes. Both weigh 3,200 tons and measure 116 meters long with a range of 4,500 nautical miles. Other features include a 35-mm close-in weapon system, a 76-mm main gun, two three-tube torpedo launchers, and an Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA). The corvette is a smaller warship that can be highly maneuvered to protect bigger ships from attacks.

The purchase will modernize the Philippines' naval security after increasing pressure from China in the South China Sea. The Philippines received some reactions from China after protesting against fishing boats inside the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ), which was found to be manned by Chinese militias. Chinese coast guards also shot water cannons at Philippine boats which were supplying a naval detachment aboard the BRP Sierra Madre. [Benar News] [Radio Free Asia]

President Rodrigo Duterte’s decision to source from South Korea may come from a previous impression on South Korea’s donation of a decommissioned Pohang-class corvette in 2019. [South China Morning Post].

Singapore, China sign 14 agreements

(nm) Singapore and China signed 14 memoranda of understandings (MOUs) and agreements on December 29 at the 17th Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC) meeting. It is the highest-level annual assembly between the two countries and was co-chaired by the Singaporean Deputy Prime Minister and the Chinese Vice Premier. 

The content of agreements signed ranged from increasing cooperation in various fields such as finance, trade and customs, competition law, urban governance and planning, nature conservation and maritime safety. It is now the highest number of deals signed at the bilateral forum. [Channel News Asia].

Vietnam, Laos strengthen ties and discuss border work 

(am/sd/bs) The annual meeting between Vietnamese and Laotian border delegations discussed and assessed the border work among the two nations. 

The meeting was carried out in accordance with the Protocol on the Vietnam-Laos borderline and national border markers, and the Agreement on Border and Border Gate Management Regulations, both signed in 2016.

Officials said Vietnam and Laos have consciously made an effort to maintain stability and ensure security, which has meant COVID-19 prevention and control work and cooperation in border localities was made possible. The parties also said they would increase investment in border gate infrastructure and transport connectivity promote trade and strengthen communications on border-related policies. [Hanoi Times][Vietnam Plus]

Moreover, Lao and Vietnamese foreign ministers met in the 8th Vietnam-Laos political consultation to discuss past and future relations between the two countries. 

Among other areas, the representatives discussed the long-lasting political trust between Laos and Vietnam and their economic and defense cooperation along with the strategic partnerships in the Asia-Pacific and their cooperation in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on a regional level.

The ministers also renewed their commitments to implementing the Cooperation Agreement for 2021-25 and developing effective cooperation and exchange mechanisms. 

Also, the departments of international law and treaties, after reviewing existing international agreements, recommended mechanisms to develop effective internal procedures in compliance with those treaties and encouraged the signing of new agreements. [The Star].

Announcements

Upcoming Online Events 

5 January 2022 @ 9:00-11:00 a.m. (GMT-5), Atlantic Council, USA

Renewing the Path toward Democracy: Venezuela Post-January 5

This webinar will feature government officials and leaders from the U.S., Europe, and Venezuela who will offer insights on the current uncertainty of democracy in Venezuela from the Interim Government and the Unitary Platform and explore the possibility of restoring democracy in 2022.

More information is available at [Atlantic Council].

5 January 2022 @ 12:30 p.m. (GMT-5), Atlantic Council, USA

Running on Fumes? The Fight to Fix Ukraine’s Energy Sector

Despite Ukraine's efforts to accomplish decarbonization and implement energy reform, progress has been modest. The ramifications of the European energy crisis and Russian threats to energy security, as well as the future orientation of Ukraine's energy industry, will be discussed in this online event.

If you wish you attend this event, register at [Atlantic Council].

5 January 2022 @ 2:00-3:00 p.m. (GMT+8), ISEAS, Yusof Ishak Institute, Singapore

Introduction to Southeast Asian Forms of Mosque Architecture

This webinar will present the history of Southeast Asia's mosques during the past centuries, exploring various types of mosque architecture, their uniqueness, and their connection with local architectural traditions.

Further information about the event is provided at [ISEAS].

6 January 2022 @ 11:00 -12:00 p.m. (GMT-5), Middle East Institute, USA

The Future of Maritime Security in the Gulf and the Red Sea

This online session will discuss the future direction of the multilateral partnership in maritime security between the U.S. and the Middle East, examine opportunities and threats to such collaboration, and the expected engagement from the U.S. Fifth Fleet. 

If you wish you attend this event, register at [MEI]. 

6 January 2022 @ 10:00-11:30 p.m. (GMT-5), Brookings Office of Communications, USA

The January 6 Insurrection: One Year Later

This online session will take a look back at the one-year anniversary of the attack on the U.S. Capitol after the certification of the 2020 election. It will investigate the reverberations of the attempted coup and project the implications of the riot on the American democratic situation.

If you wish you attend this event, register at [BROOKINGS]

6-7 January 2022 (GMT+8), ISEAS, Yusof Ishak Institute, Singapore

Regional Outlook Forum 2022

Roundtables on "Regional Disruption amidst Global Recovery" will be held during this two-day annual conference. Experts will analyze major political factors in Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia at the event, which will be divided into six sessions.

Further information about the event is provided at [ISEAS].

6 January 2022 @ 11:00 a.m. (GMT-5), Atlantic Council, USA

What is Russia’s endgame in Ukraine?

Many experts have expressed concern about a possible escalation of the invasion of Ukraine. This webinar will investigate the Kremlin’s underlying intention behind the invasion and explore how the West can engage to prevent the war while still maintaining its Ukrainian partners.

If you wish you attend this event, register at [Atlantic Council].

6 January 2022 @11:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m. (GMT-8), Hoover Institution, Stanford University, USA

The January 6th Capitol Riots

In this webinar, Hakeem Jefferson and Didi Kuo will revisit January 6, 2021, when the U.S. Capitol was assaulted as the presidential election results were confirmed by Congress. The session will examine politics, violence, and electoral validity in the U.S. and its current democratic crisis on the anniversary of this historic event.

Further information about the event is provided at [Hoover Institute].

7 January 2022 @ 10:00 a.m. (GMT-5), Atlantic Council, USA

A conversation with Ishrat Husain, former Advisor to Prime Minister Imran Khan

At this online discussion, Ishrat Husain, the former advisor to prime minister Imran Khan, will offer insights on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), opportunities and threats to Pakistan’s economy, and challenges from the country’s internal governance that may largely impact the CPEC programs.

More information is available at [Atlantic Council].

10 January 2022 @4:30 -6:00 p.m. (GMT-8), Hoover Institution, Stanford University, USA

China’s Changing Demography

This online session will explore China’s demographic shifts in light of the results of the country’s seventh national census. The development of urbanization, equal sex ratio, rising graduation rates, aging trend, potential pandemic implications, and recent reforms in family planning and retirement regulations are among the topics that will be discussed.

Further information about the event is provided at [Hoover Institute].

11 January 2022 @12:00. -1:00 p.m. (GMT-8), Hoover Institution, Stanford University, USA

Accomplishment – Book Talk with Sir Michael Barber

This book talk session will introduce Sir Michael Barber’s new book, Accomplishment, a book that offers a strategy toward success one could follow.

For more information, visit [Hoover Institute].

11 January 2022 @10:00-11:45 a.m. (GMT-8), Hoover Institution, Stanford University, USA

US-India Roundtable: India and its Neighbors

This webinar will feature a panel of experts on India who will discuss the relationship between the U.S. and India, India’s aims and conflicts with its neighbors, especially China, Pakistan, and Central Asia.

If you want to know more about the event, visit [Hoover Institute].

11 January 2022 @1:00. -2:00 p.m. (GMT-8), Hoover Institution, Stanford University, USA

Tyrants on Twitter: Protecting Democracies from Information Warfare

This virtual event is a book talk on David Sloss’s up-coming book, Tyrants on Twitter: Protecting Democracies from Information Warfare. During the session, the author will provide a brief summary of the book, present his analysis of how China and Russia used social media to undermine democracy, and propose how democratic nations should collaborate to develop a new international framework for social media regulations in order to protect democratic countries from cyberwarfare.

For more information, visit [Hoover Institute].

10 January 2022 @ 10:00- 10:45 a.m. (GMT-5), Atlantic Council, USA

A conversation with Intel CEO, Patrick Gelsinger

This webinar will feature a conversation with Patrick Gelsinger, Intel's Chief Executive Officer, as part of the Atlantic Councils' #ACFrontPage event series, who will discuss how to harness unparalleled technical development for good.

If you wish you attend this event, register at [Atlantic Council].

10 January 2022 @ 10:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m. (GMT-5), Wilson Center, USA

The Geopolitical Implications of the European Green Deal

The European Green Deal's implementation is not only a major plan to reform Europe's economy and energy sectors, but it is also the European Union's new foreign policy, which has far-reaching geopolitical implications for global climate change and reflects the European Union's global policy priorities. This webinar will focus on the European Union's increasing prominence in climate change debates, as well as how it may utilize its relationships with both close and far-flung allies to promote just-transition policies and other green policies outside of its direct influence.

More information is available at [Wilson Center].

10 January 2022 @ 1:30-3:00 p.m. (GMT-5), Brookings Office of Communications, USA

Building a Modern Behavioral Crisis Response System: The Role of Federal Policy

This webinar will feature a panel of experts who will explore policy implementation on behavioral health crises and how federal policymakers and state officials can effectively engage in this development.

Visit [BROOKINGS] to find more details of the event.

11 January 2022 @ 9:00-10:00 a.m. (GMT-5), Brookings Office of Communications, USA

EU-Gulf relations: Charting the Way Forward

Despite recent pronouncements from the EU's foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, indicating the EU's desire to engage with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), the two countries' multilateral relations remain stagnant. This online discussion will explore the possibility of the re-establishment of EU-GCC collaboration, as well as the opportunities and challenges that it faces.

For more event details, visit [BROOKINGS].

11 January 2022 10:00-11:30 a.m. (GMT+8), ISEAS, Yusof Ishak Institute, Singapore

Covid-19 and structural crises: Rethinking and reshaping a new order

This webinar will offer insights into the COVID-19 pandemic and its profound impacts that resonate not only with the health sector, but also with the environment, finance, the economy, and politics. It will also address the underlying structural crises and encourage structural reform.

Further information about the event is provided at [ISEAS].

10 January 2022 @ 10:00 -11:00 a.m. (GMT-5), Foreign Policy Research Institute, USA

Ethiopia: What Does Peace Look Like?

The webinar will feature a conversation between two former ambassadors to Ethiopia, Aurelia Brazeal and David Shinn, and New York Times senior Africa correspondent Declan Walsh to exchange views and discuss the current crisis in Ethiopia and whether the country will achieve peace.

If you wish you attend this event, register at [FPRI]. 

11 January 2022 @10:30 a.m. (GMT+1), European Centre for International Political Economy, Belgium

How can stronger IP in EU Free Trade Agreements Boost Productivity and Economic Growth in Europe?

During this webinar, experts will discuss how IP in EU Free Trade Agreements can profoundly promote EU economic development and competitiveness in the post-COIVD era, as well as why IPRs should be given a more significant role in EU policy-making, particularly in EU FTAs.

If you want to know more about the event, visit [ECIPE].

11 January 2022 @ 2:00-3:00 p.m. (GMT+1), Bruegel, Belgium

Global Gateway VS. Belt and Road Initiative

With reference to the EU’s recent democratic policy, the Global Gateway, this webinar will compare the EU’s new policy with China’s Belt and Road Initiative and evaluate whether the Global Gateway will be able to effectively compete with the BRI.

For more details of the event, see [Bruegel].

11-24 January 2022 @ 3:00 -6:00 p.m. (GMT+8), Institute of Policy Studies, Singapore

Singapore Perspectives 2022

The annual Singapore Perspectives (SP) conference, which will take place on January 11, 13, 17, and 24, 2022, will begin on this day. The conversation will mostly center on how Singapore may be a truly global city by going beyond the physical city and into the new technologically enabled financial, economic, and social areas, since this year's main theme is "City."

If you wish you attend this event, register at [IPS]. 

Recent Book Releases 

John R. Allen, Frederick Ben Hodges, and Julian Lindley-French, Future War and the Defence of Europe, Oxford University Press, 352 pages, published on June 1, 2021, with a review in [Diplomatic Courier].

Taylor Dotson, The Divide: How Fanatical Certitude Is Destroying Democracy, The MIT Press, 240 pages, published on August 3, 2021. A review is available at [Los Angeles Review of Books].

Suzanne Schneider, The Apocalypse and the End of History: Modern Jihad and the Crisis of Liberalism, Verso, 288 pages, published on September 7, 2021, reviewed in [Left Wing Book].

Mustafa Akyol, Reopening Muslim Minds: A Return to Reason, Freedom, and Tolerance, St. Martin’s Essentials, 336 pages, published on April 6, 2021. Visit [Los Angeles Review of Books] for a review.

Terence Renaud, New Lefts: The Making of a Radical Tradition, Princeton University Press, 352 pages, published on September 7, 2021, with a review in [Boston Review].

Jeremy Brown, June Fourth: The Tiananmen Protests and Beijing Massacre of 1989, Cambridge University Press, 294 pages, published on April 1, 2021, briefly reviewed in [Seattle Book Review].

Yang Jisheng, The World Turned Upside Down: A History of the Chinese Cultural Revolution, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 768 pages, published on January 19, 2021. For a review, see [The Atlantic].

Sylvain Cypel, The State of Israel vs. the Jews, Other Press, 384 pages, published on September 28, 2021, reviewed in [The Guardians].

Calls for Papers

The Consortium of Southeast Asian Studies in Asia (SEASIA) invites paper proposals for the 4th SEASIA Biennial Conference 2022 “Managing disruption, developing resilience for a better Southeast Asia” to be held as a hybrid event on June 9-11, 2022, in Jakarta, Indonesia. Closing date for submissions is December 31, 2021. For more information, visit [SEASIA Conference 2022].

The Royal Irish Academy (RIA) welcomes submission of paper proposal for its International Affairs Conference 2022 on “Global Power Shifts: Connectivity, Cooperation and Conflict” schedule for April 29, 2022. Deadline for submissions is February 7, 2022. More information is available at [RIA].  

The European Association for Chinese Studies (EACS) invites paper proposals for its conference “A decade of China’s media going global: issues and perspectives” to be held on May 31, 2022. Manuscript can be submitted until February 15, 2022. If you are interested, you can find more details at [EACS].

Jobs and Positions

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is hiring a Project Specialist on the National Gender Equality Policy and Legal Framework to be based in Kyiv, Ukraine, with core responsibility in program development and management, including design, implementation, monitoring, evaluation and reporting on the Project interventions on the National Gender Equality Policy and Legal Framework portfolio. Closing date for applications is January 28, 2022. Visit [UNDP] for more information.

The United Nations is offering the position of the Secretary-General’s Envoy on Technology to be based in New York, USA. Applications can be submitted until January 22, 2022. If you are interested, you will find more details at [UN]. 

The United Nations is looking for an Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean to be based in Santigo, Chile. Deadline for applications is Janaury 24, 2022. Further information are provided at [UN].

The European Commission (EC)’s Directorate-General for Informatics (DIGIT) is recruiting a Director for DIGIT S responsible for the overall strategic orientation and management of the Directorate and, in particular, for the improvement of the Commission’s cybersecurity posture and maturity. Closing date for application is January 25, 2022. See [EC] for more details.

Team:

Antonia Lawrenz, Amna Pathan, Ayesha Zafar, Beatrice Siviero, Chun-Jou Hsiao, Duc Quang Ly, Ethan Carey, Ginevra Lapi, Henning Glaser, Lucas Meier, Marco Stojanovik, Natty Muenchorn, Prisca Mirchandani, Ruchika Saini, Sally Dobie, Shivani Raheja, Shreya Kahn, Tomwit Jarnson, Venus Phuangkom

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