Philippines cuts China hotline as sea tensions spike

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MANILA – In the latest sign of escalating tensions in the disputed South China Sea, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) has suspended a “hotline” with its Chinese counterpart. The move comes amid China’s de facto blockage of a Philippine marine detachment at the disputed Second Thomas Shoal, the latest flash point between the two rival claimants.  

“We’re no longer using the PCG-CCG (Chinese Coast Guard) hotline…It no longer exists…It hasn’t provided so much benefits for us. We didn’t gain anything from this,” declared Commodore Jay Tarriela, spokesperson of the PCG. 

“I would say that for all maritime incidents [with China] that happened in the past six years even in the past [Duterte] administration, this hotline was attempted to be used. Unfortunately, it never really gave us a positive chance to talk” he added in a mixture of Filipino and English. 

The bilateral coast guard hotline was established under a memorandum of understanding signed during former President Rodrigo Duterte’s much-vaunted visit to Beijing in 2016. 

Despite welcoming a “new golden age” of bilateral ties with China, the Ferdinand Marcos Jr administration has flipped the script on Duterte’s accommodative stance by taking an increasingly defiant position on the sea disputes amid warming defense ties with the United States and its allies. 

Encouraged by Marcos’ tough stance, Philippine officials and experts are now contemplating even more radical moves to fortify the Southeast Asian nation’s South China Sea claims. 

In particular, Marcos Jr is coming under growing pressure to greenlight the full refurbishment of the grounded World War II-era vessel BRP Sierra Madre in the contested Second Thomas Shoal, where a detachment of Philippine marines has been asserting de facto control since 1999. 

The Sierra Madre, the grounded ship used by the Phillippines as a guard station on Second Thomas Shoal, is falling apart. Photo: US Naval Institute

There are growing calls on allies, especially the US, to either escort resupply missions that China has harassed, if not directly help construction activities in the area. 

Meanwhile, some Philippine officials have gone so far as to suggest that Marcos Jr offer its key bases in the area, particularly on Thitu Island, as a potential site for American troops under an expanded Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA). 

Meet halfway 

At the heart of rising tensions in recent days is the Chinese Coast Guard’s use of water cannons to disrupt Philippine resupply missions on the Second Thomas Shoal, also known as Ayungin Shoal. 

“The [Department of Foreign Affairs] also expressed our disappointment that the Department was unable to reach its counterpart through the maritime communication mechanism for several hours while the incident was occurring,” Philippine Foreign Affairs spokesperson Teresita Daza said.

During a recent forum in Manila organized by Beijing-friendly elements in the Philippines, the Chinese Embassy’s deputy chief of mission Zhou Zhiyong called on the Marcos administration to “meet [China] half-way” and honor an alleged past promise to withdraw the grounded vessel from the shoal.

The Chinese official claimed that his country “has repeatedly expressed its willingness to resolve differences with the Philippines through bilateral dialogues. We hope that the Philippines side will abide by the existing consensus and cherish the hard-won situation in our bilateral relations. Meet the Chinese side halfway and find an effective way of managing the situation on the sea through diplomatic consultations.” 

“The Philippine side… made explicit commitments to do so. The representations were put on record and well documented…It’s been 24 years and the Philippines side has yet to honor its commitment,” Zhou claimed without providing any evidence of such a bilateral agreement.

“The Chinese side, however, has always exerted the utmost restraint, with a view to maintaining the relations with the Philippines and safeguarding regional peace and stability,” he added, flanked by Beijing-friendly journalists in a high-profile forum in Manila. 

But China’s claims were roundly dismissed by Philippine officials. Last week, Marcos Jr categorically denied that the Philippine government had ever made such promises to China, reiterating his opposition to any compromise on the disputed feature, which falls within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone. 

China and its impresarios have claimed that the former Joseph Estrada administration (1998-2001) offered to withdraw the vessel not long after grounding it to assert the Philippines’ claim in the area. Just a few years earlier, China forcibly seized the nearby Mischief Reef, sparking panic and fury in Manila. 

Estrada’s two sons in the Philippine Senate, however, emphatically denied the existence of any such agreement. 

“During my phone conversation today with former senator and former defense secretary Orly Mercado, who held the position of defense secretary during my father’s tenure, he confirmed that there was no agreement or promise whatsoever made to the Chinese government,” Senator Joseph “Jingoy” Estrada Jr said when asked about his father’s policy.

The senator, who heads the national defense committee in the upper chamber, dismissed Beijing’s claims as “hearsay” in the absence of any clear evidence. 

“This is only hearsay. The Chinese government had made press releases that was made verbally – this will not stand even in court because these are all hearsay. Name names, because we’re also at a loss on who really made the promise,” he added in a mixture of Filipino and English. 

Raising the stakes

With the rusty, dilapidated vessel expected to give way in the near future, there is growing pressure on the Marcos Jr administration to make more assertive moves in tandem with allies. 

“We can have joint patrols with the US at the same time [as the next resupply mission to the Second Thomas Shoal]. We can calibrate it,” former senior associate justice Antonio Carpio said in a forum. 

“They sent their Navy together with the survey ship and the drilling ship, and, at the same time, the US and Australia conducted naval drills in the same area – that’s for Malaysia. For Indonesia, the US aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan happened to pass by,” he said, referring to joint US-Australian patrols when Malaysia began challenging China’s unilateral oil exploration activities in contested sea areas. 

A Philippine naval officer stands guard during the arrival of American missile destroyer USS Chung Hoon before US-Philippine joint naval military exercises in a file photo. Photo: AFP / Noel Celis / Getty Images

Earlier, Carpio also suggested that Manila take the ongoing disputes to the United Nations General Assembly in order to rally global pressure on China. 

Dindo Manhit, a leading Filipino policy analyst, echoed a similar line, arguing that the Philippines should “maximize joint patrols and be shepherded by allies and friends during the resupply. Not to cause war but simply to exercise our own rights based on international law. Our military facility is within our exclusive economic zone.”

Others, however, have gone further by suggesting the Marcos Jr administration place its occupied islands in the South China Sea under America’s security umbrella. 

Earlier this year, Cagayan de Oro City Representative Rufus Rodriguez publicly called for the inclusion of the Thitu Island, the second-biggest naturally-formed land feature in the Spratlys under full Philippine control since the 1970s, on the list of EDCA sites where US troops have rotational access rights. 

“It is in our national interest to pursue and expand our defense partnership with the US to deter further aggression from China in the West Philippine Sea and possible Chinese seizure of islets that belong to us under international law,” he said in a statement.

“The expanded EDCA should be further broadened. More sites along our western seaboard, where Chinese aggression and harassment of our fishermen have been taking place, should be covered,” he added.

Although the Marcos Jr administration will likely shun such radical proposals since even the US might have second thoughts about directly assisting Philippine control over contested features, many in Manila are hoping that stronger military ties with allies would enhance the country’s deterrence vis-à-vis China. 

With or without that US commitment, a moment of reckoning appears to be approaching in the disputed waters. 

Follow Richard Javad Heydarian on Twitter at @Richeydarian

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George Yeo’s new book details ‘tensions’, complex ties with Lee Kuan Yew and why he nearly quit PAP after Aljunied GRC loss

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TENSIONS DURING THE 2011 GENERAL ELECTIONS The turning point was the 2011 General Elections, when changes to the electoral boundaries that year meant that Mr Yeo’s constituency of Aljunied GRC took in a part of the Cheng San GRC that the opposition had done better in than other wards inContinue Reading

Approached to run for President in 2011, former minister George Yeo offered himself as ’emergency spare tyre’

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“I HAVE A CHOICE”

Without holding any public office, Mr Yeo, who sits on various boards and is a visiting scholar at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, said that he is now free to decide which engagements he should take up.

“If I feel that I can add value to a person or to an organisation or country, I try to do so, but I have a choice,” he said.

“It’s for me to decide and that’s nice – maybe a bit selfish, some may say. I tend to maintain a balance between what I do to make a living and what I do to help others.”

The former Foreign Affairs Minister served for 23 years in the Singapore government. He also headed the ministries for Information and the Arts, Health, as well as Trade and Industry.

In the 2011 GE, he lost his parliamentary seat in Aljunied GRC to a Workers’ Party team headed by Mr Low Thia Khiang.

Mr Yeo then joined Kerry Logistics Network and was its chairman and executive director from 2012 to 2019.

‘GUILT REACTION’ BEHIND POPULARITY 

In his book, he attributes his popularity as a politician to a “guilt reaction” following his electoral loss.

“I consider it a great blessing because there’s a lot of kindness in the request,” said Mr Yeo. “I feel that it’s nice to be surrounded by positive energy … a part of me says that if I had not lost (the 2011 election) I would not have inherited this positive energy.”

While not putting his hand up for the Presidential Election, he has agreed to be a character reference for one of the presidential hopefuls – former GIC chief investment officer Ng Kok Song.

Mr Yeo posted on Facebook on Aug 2 that he was hosted to dinner by Mr Ng – who he described as an “old friend and colleague”, and his fiancee Sybil Lau.

“I told him earlier that I would not be involved in campaigning for the coming Presidential Election but would be honoured to be one of his character references,” he wrote in the Facebook post.

Mr Yeo told CNA and TODAY that he knew Mr Ng from his time in public life and also met him socially. He had recommended Mr Ng to the Vatican to help them on financial matters, specifically the management of funds, describing him as an “authority on the subject”.

On how Mr Ng sought his support to run for President, Mr Yeo said that a few weeks ago, Mr Ng asked to meet him and drove to his house in a “beat-up Lexus” which had dents on it. 

Mr Yeo’s son was going out and mistook Mr Ng’s car for his private-hire ride. His son opened the back door of Mr Ng’s car and asked “GrabTaxi?” and Mr Ng told him “anywhere in Singapore for $10”, Mr Yeo recounted with a smile.

“DON’T WANT TO TAKE SIDES”

After the misunderstanding was cleared up, it turned out that Mr Ng had come to ask for Mr Yeo’s support in the Presidential Election. But Mr Yeo did not want to take sides.

Mr Yeo pointed out that former Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam – also a presidential hopeful – is an old colleague and at one point worked with him in the Ministry of Trade and Industry.

Mr Yeo entered politics in 1988 while Mr Tharman was first elected as a Member of Parliament (MP) in 2001. The two men were in the Cabinet together, from around 2003 to 2011.

“I said I don’t want to take sides on this, but I’d be happy to be a character reference,” said Mr Yeo. “I can be Tharman’s character reference too but he doesn’t need me.”

On Mr Ng, he said that the 75-year-old will make a good President, adding “he has all the qualities”.

When asked if he is concerned that he is seen to be supporting Mr Ng, Mr Yeo said: “It’s good to have a contest.

“If it’s a walkover for Tharman, I think he will be a weak President but if he has to fight to become President, and he has the mandate of the entire people, then he is better able to be a custodial President.

“So a fight is good – whether it’s Tharman or Kok Song, I think it will be a President I will be proud of.”

Answering a question on the elected presidency, which was introduced in 1991 with the aim of safeguarding Singapore’s reserves, Mr Yeo said that he thinks it’s a “bit clunky” because the system comprises the President and the Council of Presidential Advisers (CPA), and under certain circumstances, the President “can be overridden”.

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Pita questions ‘persecution’ in iTV case

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Panel recommends dropping ‘media shares’ complaint but EC is still sending case to court

Pita questions ‘persecution’ in iTV case
Move Forward Party leader Pita Limjaroenrat salutes his colleagues as he leaves the parliament chamber on July 19 after the Constitutional Court suspended him from MP duty pending its ruling in the iTV shareholding case (Photo: Nutthawat Wicheanbut)

Move Forward Party leader Pita Limjaroenrat has questioned the motive of the Election Commission (EC) for investigating his shareholding in the defunct broadcaster iTV, now that an inquiry panel has recommended it drop the case.

Writing on his Facebook page on Tuesday, Mr Pita said the episode was looking more and more like “intentional political persecution”.

He was responding to reports on Monday that the EC’s inquiry panel recommended the election watchdog drop the charge that Mr Pita violated Section 151 of the Election Act. That section states that a candidate who applies to run as an MP while knowing that he might be in violation of election rules — in this case, holding shares in a media company — would face disqualification.

iTV stopped broadcasting in 2007 and was delisted from the Stock Exchange of Thailand in 2014. It earned a small amount of income from a subsidiary that rented broadcasting equipment and offered media support services for several years.

In the 2022 financial year, however, the company’s only reported revenue was interest income from bank deposits and bonds.

“The investigative panel has provided an important reason that iTV is not operating nor earning income from its media business. This shows that I am not at fault,” Mr Pita wrote on Facebook.

“I want to reaffirm suspicions about whether my TV shareholding case is politically motivated or not. I had held the shares in question while performing my duty as an MP for four years but complaints were only made when I became a prime ministerial candidate,” he said.

“The case was submitted to the Constitutional Court a few days before my nomination as prime minister was made in parliament. There were many pieces of disturbing evidence that attempts had been made to ‘revive’ iTV … to meet the definition of ‘media shares’.”

Mr Pita was referring to a discrepancy between a video recording of an iTV shareholders’ meeting, in which a senior executive says the company is not carrying out any media business, and published minutes of the meeting which claim it is engaged in media operations.

As the investigative committee found he was not guilty of an electoral violation, Mr Pita said he wanted to ask the EC whether the panel had made its resolution before the EC submitted its petition to the Constitutional Court.

The panel had gathered evidence and questioned witnesses and concluded that iTV was not operating as a media firm and had no income from media operations.

He also asked the EC whether its move to ask the court to suspend him from MP duty pending a ruling was fair. iTV and the telecom firm Intouch Holdings, its major shareholder, had produced financial documents that the defunct media firm had stopped broadcasting and had no income from media operations, said Mr Pita.

Citing previous media shareholding complaints against about 60 MPs in 2020, he said they were not suspended from duty pending rulings.

“But in my case, I was suspended from MP duty. I want society to consider whether the suspension is fair or not,” he wrote.

A source at the EC confirmed on Tuesday that the investigative committee found there was no clear evidence that iTV was operating and earning income at the time when Mr Pita filed his candidacy application in early April.

The committee’s findings and recommendation have been sent to the secretary-general of the Election Commission, said the source, adding that the case would then be forwarded to a sub-committee for consideration, when Mr Pita may be asked to testify.

On July 19, the Constitutional Court suspended Mr Pita from duty after accepting for consideration the EC complaint.

Mr Pita has argued that the 42,000 shares in iTV were part of his late father’s estate, which he managed as executor. He said they had since been transferred to relatives.

He had declared the holdings and explained the circumstances when he was first elected as an MP in 2019 and was told not to worry about it, he said.

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Man arrested for misusing boarding pass at Changi Airport’s transit area to send off girlfriend

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SINGAPORE: A 55-year-old man has been arrested for misusing his boarding pass to enter the transit area of Changi Airport, with no intention of leaving Singapore, the police said on Tuesday (Aug 15).

Investigations revealed that the man had allegedly purchased an air ticket to obtain a boarding pass, which he then used to enter the transit area to send off his girlfriend who was departing the country.

The man was arrested on Saturday for violating the Infrastructure Protection Act 2017, which prohibits the misuse of boarding passes to enter protected places in the airport, said the police, adding that investigations are ongoing. 

The police added that they have arrested a total of 16 people from January to August this year for misusing their boarding passes to enter the transit areas for reasons other than to travel out of Singapore.

“The police would like to remind members of the public that the transit areas of Changi Airport are gazetted as Protected Places.”

Those who use boarding passes to enter the transit area for reasons other than to travel out of Singapore will be detected and arrested, added the police. 

Those found guilty face a fine of up to S$20,000 (US$14,738), a jail term of up to two years, or both.

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The Democrats demise should be a warning to Pheu Thai

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Among the many political dramas now playing out after Thailand’s May general elections is the continued unravelling of the Democrat Party (DP), the country’s oldest.

Thoroughly eclipsed by the progressive Move Forward Party and the populist Pheu Thai, the Democrats won only 25 seats in the 500-member House of Representatives in their worst electoral performance since the party’s establishment in 1946.

The party is now in disarray. Former party leader Jurin Laksanawisit resigned after the polls and now, three months later, the party has repeatedly failed to find a new leader amidst a fierce internal power struggle.

The Democrats’ demise is long in the making. The reasons for this are many – the abandonment of the party’s namesake principles, an unresolved identity crisis woven with inconsistent political stands and the emergence of more hardline conservative parties such as Palang Pracharath and Ruam Thai Sang Chart (UTNP) are to blame for the group’s fatal decline.

This downfall into irrelevance could serve as a doomsday reminder for its former archrival Pheu Thai. The May elections were also the first time in 20 years that Pheu Thai and former shells affiliated with ousted former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra did not come out of the poll as the top party. 

The long-standing electoral champion collected 141 seats as the runner-up to the more youthful Move Forward. Despite winning 151 seats, the reformist party seems likely to be muscled out of the ruling coalition by the military-backed conservative establishment.

Like the Democrats, Pheu Thai is a remnant of the old-fashioned political era. Thaksin and his family – most recently his daughter Paetongtarn – remain central to the party’s political manoeuvring and decision making. In the years past, Pheu Thai has not shown efforts to build itself and refurbish its political branding beyond the Shinawatra clan to adapt to new demographics of the Thai electorate. 

Despite suffering endless cycles of political persecutions, bloody crackdowns on protesting supporters and two military coups ousting its elected government in the past 20 years, Pheu Thai appears to be repeating its own mistakes – and, even worse, walking in the Democrats’ footsteps to failure. 

Former leader of the Democrat Party Jurin Laksanawisit enters the Thai Parliament in Bangkok before the second round of parliamentary voting to decide the country’s next prime minister on 19 July, 2023. Photo by Lillian Suwanrumpha for AFP.

Heeding the conservative camp’s relentless endeavour to block Move Forward and its charismatic leader Pita Limjaroenrat from forming a government, Pheu Thai recently jumped ship from the progressive-led coalition pact and has optimistically established a new coalition with the would-be kingmaker Bhumjaithai Party. 

They’ll start with a combined 238 seats in the lower house along with Chart Thai Pattana Party, another junior partner. But they’re still far behind the 376 seats required for the simple majority threshold in the House of Representatives’ joint session with the unelected 250-member Senate. 

Such a number can never be reached unless the Pheu Thai-Bhumjaithai coalition brings in other conservative and military-affiliated parties alike, including the Democrats, the UTN and Palang Pracharath.

The latter two have ex-junta leaders Prayut Chan-ocha and Prawit Wongsuwon as patriarchs, respectively. It is especially note-worthy that Prayut and Prawit still have political influence on the senators handpicked by them when they were heads of the now-defunct junta National Council for Peace and Order.

Let alone reconciling with ultra-conservative and military-affiliated parties, even Pheu Thai’s infamous “mint-choc” partnership with Bhumjaithai appears problematic. The party was only formed in late 2008 by founder Newin Chidchobas through a sudden turn from Pheu Thai’s predecessor pro-Thaksin People’s Power Party.

Newin, an-ex minister in Thaksin’s government famously told the populist senior politician: “It’s over, boss!” before leading a number of like-minded parliamentarians to leave the party, form Bhumjaithai and join former Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva of the Democrats to form an unpopular government in 2009. In the eyes of Pheu Thai and Redshirt supporters even until recent elections, Bhumjaithai has always been untrustworthy and a symbol of betrayal. 

During the street protest in May 2010, it was Abhisit who ordered a bloody crackdown on the protesters killing at least 90 people and injuring more than 2000. Although the Thai court already dismissed all the charges against Abhisit, Redshirts still demand accountability from the Democrats. 

Equally important, after the 2014 military coup ousted the government of Yingluck Shinawatra, the resulting junta arrested and detained several Pheu Thai supporters for protesting the takeover. Some activists, including academics, reporters and commentators fled the country for fear of being arrested and jailed. Several years later, justice is still remotely far for them.

Redshirt supporters of ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra shout slogans as they protest at the 11th Infantry Barracks in Bangkok on 28 March, 2010. Thailand’s Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and anti-government protesters edged closer to landmark talks aimed at ending two weeks of mass rallies. Photo by Pornchai Kittiwongsakul for AFP.

Looming large over Pheu Thai’s unpopular hedging position is Thaksin’s planned return to Thailand after 15 years in exile. With his daughter Paetongtarn likely one of Pheu Thai’s prime-ministerial candidates, the 74-year-old is still a big factor for the party. Rumours have that he had struck a deal with the pro-establishment camp to form a government without Move Forward and abandon the latter’s agendas – such as reforming the lèse-majesté law, which prohibits speech deemed critical of the monarchy – in exchange for leniency upon his eventual return home.

If the rumour is true or Pheu Thai managed to form a government without Move Forward, the modern-day politics of Thailand have nearly completed a full circle. 

From mid-2000s to 2014, conservative camps used all means at their disposal, including two military coups, to stamp out Thaksin, his proxy parties and allies from the centre of power. After almost a decade under junta rule and elected but military-friendly governments, a far-left camp emerged under the late Future Forward and the current Move Forward parties to become a new opponent of the pro-establishment camp. 

To block this emerging rival from taking office, Thaksin is recast overnight as not that bad at all. His former enemies and rivals have even spoken highly of him, or at least described him as a lesser evil.

However, if this is the case, Pheu Thai can review the Democrats’ demise as a crystal ball showing its destiny yet to come.

The Democrats’ miscalculated disrespect of the electorate in the 2000s, along with its cooperation with the military in an attempt to wipe out the so-called Thaksin regime and later joining a military-friendly coalition in 2019 all played a significant role in its self-destruction. 

It might be still too early to evaluate if Pheu Thai’s departure from the original eight-party coalition to join hands with the conservative parties is rational and well-calculated.The party, however, still needs to very carefully explain its reasoning to its supporters. 

In the case of a government that excludes Move Forward, Pheu Thai still has a chance – perhaps a dwindling one – to introduce popular policies from the less-controversial progressive agenda.

Otherwise, the Democrats’ past might be the future of Pheu Thai. The Thai public, which voted for Move Forward and Pheu Thai and against the conservative style of national governance, is growing less patient and tolerant to any breaking of electoral promises or political flip-flopping. 

Maybe the ultimate question is how a Pheu Thai-led government would respond to possible massive street protests by Move Forward supporters. Would it trigger a military crackdown as the Democrat-led government did to Pheu Thai supporters in 2010? Only time will tell.

Sek Sophal holds a Master degree in Asia Pacific Studies from Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University in Japan. He is a researcher at the Center for Democracy Promotion, Ritsumeikan Center for Asia Pacific Studies, as well as a contributing writer for Southeast Asia Globe.

Chhengpor Aun is a visiting fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. He is also a graduate student in the Master of International Affairs Programme at the Hertie School in Berlin.

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More than 2kg of heroin, Ice worth almost S0,000 seized at Woodlands Checkpoint

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A 32-year-old man and a 36-year-old woman were arrested for suspected drug offences. Two sachets of suspected controlled drugs and various drug paraphernalia were found concealed within the woman’s clothing, said the authorities. They added that the drugs seized have an estimated value of more than S$249,800 (US$184,000) and can feedContinue Reading

Krayon Digital and Sayfer partner to enhance Web3 security | FinanceAsia

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Krayon Digital, a digital multi-party computation (MPC) wallet solutions provider to start-up and enterprise clients, recently announced its strategic partnership with Israeli blockchain security consulting company, Sayfer.

“The partnership between Krayon and Sayfer is the result of a shared ambition – to revolutionise the security landscape within digital asset management,” Hamilton Keats, CEO and co-founder of Krayon told FinanceAsia.

Typically, a cryptocurrency or digital asset wallet is paired with a single private key that authorises transactions. However, this means that if the private key is stolen or lost, it creates a single point of failure where all digital assets secured by the key are exposed to risk.

Krayon, on the other hand, provides digital wallet solutions based on MPC technology: a cryptographic protocol that enables multiple parties to contribute to a database and run computations on its basis in a secure manner, without disclosing their own input to others.

The implementation of MPC technology involves splitting private keys into pieces, or shards, that can be distributed among multiple trusted parties, such as different departments within an organisation or even different geographical locations, Keats explained.

Such deployment avoids a single party having full access to a whole private key, which greatly reduces the risk of unauthorised crypto asset access or theft.

The partnership with Sayfer will enable the development and implementation of “a comprehensive suite of [security] measures”, including end-to-end encryption, secure key generation, storage and recovery mechanisms, multi-factor authentication, and continuous security audits.

The collaboration roots from an initial all-round assessment on Krayon’s protocols, where both parties saw a lack of attention to private key management in the field, Keats told FA.

“We’ve seen so many people dealing with tens of millions of dollars [in digital wallets], but with no private key management or private key security involved,” he said.

“Our joint efforts will bring together Sayfer’s expertise in key management audits and Krayon’s cutting-edge MPC technology to deliver a secure and seamless experience for our clients,” Nir Duan, Sayfer’s CEO, commented in the release.

Blockchain and beyond

Discussing trends across the Web3 space, Keats pointed to asset tokenisation as the most exciting use of blockchain technology across Asia’s capital markets. “This revolutionary process will completely streamline global financial markets and enhance transparency.”

Although issues around security, regulatory compliance, and private key management remain some of the main challenges for the success of Web3, Keats is bullish on regulatory progress across the region.

He noted that key hubs, including Singapore and Hong Kong, are building friendly innovation framework to create regional sandboxes, and some financial institutions are seeking to tokenise their assets. These, Keats said, send promising signals of “a massive opportunity” for players building the digital asset space.

Looking ahead, Krayon aims to make MPC a more accessible and flexible solution available across the digital asset management world. The key to this lies in improving usability, which includes simplifying the complicated wallet set-up process, and offering flexibility in distribution adjustments, Keats told FA.

Embedding MPC wallet solutions into broader digital asset capabilities, such as a consumer-facing app built upon the same software development kit (SDK), is a long-term goal for the partnership.

As enterprises usually manage larger amount of asset than individual users, the ability to recover the losses, or to prevent insecurity in the first place, is crucial, Keats reiterated.

“Our ultimate goal is to offer individual clients the same level of services as we are able to offer start-ups and enterprises,” he concluded.

¬ Haymarket Media Limited. All rights reserved.

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