SEOUL: South Korea’s government said on Wednesday (Jan 17) it plans to implement a package of financial policies to support stock investors and small business owners squeezed by high-interest rates. The financial support measures come three months ahead of the country’s general elections and as the president holds a seriesContinue Reading
In addition, Beijing and Shanghai relaxed their home purchase restrictions in mid-December, including by lowering the minimum down payment ratio for first and second homes. However, these measures have failed to boost home buying sentiment as the sector has been deeply mired in a property correction since 2021. Of theContinue Reading
Scientists in China on Tuesday (Jan 16) announced that they have cloned the first healthy rhesus monkey, a two-year-old named Retro, by tweaking the process that created Dolly the sheep. Primates have proved particularly difficult to clone, and the scientists overcame years of failure by replacing the cloned cells thatContinue Reading
Scientists in China on Tuesday (Jan 16) announced that they have cloned the first healthy rhesus monkey, a two-year-old named Retro, by tweaking the process that created Dolly the sheep. Primates have proved particularly difficult to clone, and the scientists overcame years of failure by replacing the cloned cells thatContinue Reading
Myanmar has been under military rule since a coup nearly three years ago. But on Oct 27, 2023, resistance and ethnic armed groups came together to launch an offensive against the military.
CNA’s Leong Wai Kit tells Teresa Tang how they have made progress and where the country is headed from here.
India’s outbound tourism is expanding along with its economy, and it was the largest source of visitors to the Maldives last year. So what Modi says – or in the case of Lakshadweep, hints at – matters.
In the Maldives, officials saw the posts as an attempt to divert tourists from its own beaches. A trio of deputy ministers posted derogatory remarks mocking Modi’s attempts to promote Lakshadweep and demeaning Modi, including for his support of Israel.
The comments created a furore in India, which summoned the Maldivian envoy for a dressing down. The three officials have deleted their posts and been suspended.
Modi’s legions of online supporters rallied, using hashtags such as #BoycottMaldives and #ExploreIndianIslands. Indian business, often keen to curry official favour, chimed in: The Indian Chamber of Commerce’s Aviation and Tourism Committee asked trade groups to stop promoting the Maldives in light of “anti-India feelings” voiced by Maldivian officials. Booking agent EaseMyTrip said it was suspending bookings to the destination and published ads to that effect, with the slogan “Nation First, Business Later”.
The escalating spat has alarmed some Maldivians. “If the intention of the Indian government … was to irritate the Maldives or give a signal that ‘we too have islands and can destroy your tourism’, that’s not how states conduct relations,” says Mohamed Munavvar, a former attorney-general of the Maldives.
Munavvar, a former opposition party head, also criticised Muizzu’s response as “very immature”, adding that “India is a big country and our closest neighbour, to whom we have to turn in emergencies, and they have the right to develop their islands”.
DAVOS: Chinese Premier Li Qiang told the world’s political and business elites in Davos on Tuesday (Jan 16) that “discriminatory” trade barriers were a threat to the global economy, but the United States defended its restrictions on microchips as a national security measure. Li’s remarks came as the World EconomicContinue Reading
MOSCOW: North Korea’s foreign minister lauded comradely ties with Russia on Tuesday (Jan 16) ahead of a rare meeting in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has been invited by Kim Jong Un to visit the reclusive nuclear-armed country. Putin has deepened ties with North Korea since the 2022Continue Reading
Beijing’s fury over the remarks is the latest in a succession of clashes between the Philippines and China, which come as Manila bolsters ties with former colonial ruler the United States, including expanding an agreement on Washington’s use of its military bases. Other leaders have also congratulated Lai on hisContinue Reading
Observers that CNA spoke to predicted that cross-strait tensions would rise, with Beijing likely to intensify pressure on Taiwan in the lead-up to president-elect Lai’s inauguration in May.
“The goal there will be to get Lai to adopt a characterisation of the cross-strait relationship that comes as close to Beijing’s demands,” said analyst Amanda Hsiao from the Crisis Group non-profit.
The DPP has said that it favours maintaining the status quo, with Taiwan having its own government. It has also refused to acknowledge Taiwan as part of China, hence drawing Beijing’s ire.
Yet the mainland’s response has also been muted thus far, the experts noted.
They added that Beijing may be opting for less overt and forceful measures, to avoid attention or condemnation from the international community.
“There’s a degree of momentum there in the US-China relationship that I’m not sure either side wants to tear up right now,” said Ms Hsiao.
Both countries have only recently resumed some exchanges, including on the military front.
Beijing had cut off talks and launched large-scale war games around Taiwan in 2022, in the wake of then-US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to the island. It has continued to step up military pressure on Taiwan since.
Within Beijing’s playbook of protesting Mr Lai’s election, Nauru represents a “low-hanging fruit option”, said the Atlantic Council’s Mr Sung.
He added that China’s economic levers didn’t seem to have an impact at Taiwan’s polls. Beijing however has warned it could suspend tariff cuts on more Taiwanese products.
“Beijing needs to retool and optimise how it’s going to use economic sanctions in a way that can send its message against Lai without unduly alienating Taiwanese society,” said Mr Sung.
“Effective punishment needs to look like a precision strike, not carpet bombing.”