BEIJING: China reaffirmed its support on Monday (Nov 20) for new countries joining the BRICS grouping of developing nations, even as Argentina’s likely next foreign minister was quoted as saying that her country would no longer do so. Argentina was among six countries invited to become new members of theContinue Reading
PUBLISHED : 20 Nov 2023 at 18:56
Police have found many counterfeit US dollar bills, coloured paper and copying material in the safes of a Taiwanese man slain in a hotel room in Bang Na district last week.
Senior police officers and forensic police officers opened the two safes at the Bang Na police station on Monday. They had been taken from the sixth-floor room of Chu Chiang Shen, 48, at Niran Grand Hotel on Soi Udomsuk 17 Road.
Police said that they would try to find Thai and foreign suspects who might be involved in the banknote forgery.
Chu was found dead in his hotel room on Thursday last week. His limbs were tied and his face was wrapped with a plastic sheet.
Witnesses said he checked in at the hotel alone on Tuesday afternoon last week. Detectives assumed that the murder happened in the hotel room from late Wednesday night to early Thursday morning.
A Myanmar man and a Cameroonian man were arrested shortly after the murder. Police were hunting for a Thai woman while assuming a Vanuatan suspect already left the country.
The counterfeit banknotes were taken out of the safes. (Photos: police)
The officers involved in the raid included Pol Maj Gen Theeradet Thamsuthee, investigative chief of Bangkok police, Pol Maj Gen Withawat Shinkham, commander of the Metropolitan Police Division 5, and Pol Col Surapong Sukyam, chief of the Bang Na station.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told a regular press briefing in Beijing that China was helping other countries get their people out. “Recently, some countries have asked China for assistance. From a humanitarian point of view, we have provided convenience for their citizens in northern Myanmar to evacuate throughContinue Reading
The incident last Tuesday (November 14) in which Australian sailors suffered minor injuries from sonar pulses from a Chinese destroyer couldn’t have come at a worse time for Anthony Albanese.
He’d just finished a very successful trip to Beijing. He was about to again meet President Xi Jinping at APEC in the United States late in the week. The incident was potentially serious in terms of unsettling a much-improved relationship.
The HMAS Toowoomba’s sailors had been undertaking the harmless task of unraveling fishing nets from around the ship’s propellers. The vessel was in international waters inside Japan’s exclusive economic zone on its way to a port. It had been supporting United Nations sanctions against North Korea.
The Chinese destroyer had been warned about the divers, but acted anyway.
There were two issues for Albanese: whether to raise the matter with Xi (assuming the President didn’t bring it up) and whether to indicate publicly he had done so.
We don’t know whether he raised it, because his office and ministerial colleagues won’t answer this question. There has been no opportunity to question him since his return at the weekend.
It seems obvious he should have discussed the matter with Xi. He has repeated endlessly that “we will disagree when we must” with China.
Not to canvass the incident would be a cop-out from this formula. It would carry the message that Australia, having established more positive relations with China – to the great benefit of our trade – was now unwilling to be forthright because it did not want to risk setting things back.
The Australian government was careful not to announce the incident until after Albanese was on his way home. The timing was diplomatic.
Then-Acting Prime Minister and Defense Minister Richard Marles said in a statement on Saturday the government had expressed “serious concerns” to the Chinese government, and described the Chinese vessel’s conduct as “unsafe and unprofessional.”
If Albanese did raise the incident, why not say so? Again, only to avoid offending the Chinese and that’s unacceptable.
The government points to Marles’s statement and claims that meant the matter was dealt with at the appropriate level.
This might be convincing if it hadn’t been for the fact Albanese was actually meeting Xi.
The silence is also being defended on the basis of this being a private meeting. This won’t wash either. When the PM and President met in Beijing Albanese gave a very detailed read-out of the encounter, even down to the jokes.
On Monday morning Albanese tweeted a picture showing he was back working with the team. Members of that team appearing in the media have been left intoning the unconvincing talking points.
Albanese should clarify whether he or not he talked about the incident – not just in the name of transparency but to demonstrate that the government’s China policy is as robust as he says. Not to mention that it would be of passing interest to know what the president said, if the matter was in fact one of the topics of their discussion.
The Prime Minister went on Sky on Monday afternoon to criticize the Chinese action but remained silent about whether it had been discussed in the Xi meeting.
He said the action by the Chinese ship was dangerous, unsafe and unprofessional, and one Australian sailor had been injured. It was a regrettable incident. He said this was one of those times when Australia disagreed with China; the event damaged the relationship.
Australia had raised its strong objections to China “very clearly, very directly, through all of the appropriate channels in all the forums that are available.”
But he declined to confirm or deny raising it with Xi, on the grounds he does not divulge private conversations that take place on the sidelines of a conference.
“We’ve raised it very clearly through all of the normal channels.”
“When I was in San Francisco, there was no bilateral meeting with President Xi where you give a readout […] I don’t talk about private meetings on the sidelines, discussions I have with any world leader. That’s how you keep communications open. But I can assure you that we raised these issues in the appropriate way and very clearly, unequivocally. And China – there’s no misunderstanding as to Australia’s view on this.”
Albanese said he always spoke up for Australia’s national interest. “I do so directly,” he said, stressing he did so respectfully, not talking about private conversations.
At a news conference while at APEC Albanese said of the meeting with Xi: “I reiterated to him that it was a very positive visit [to Beijing] that was well received in Australia. And I reiterated to him that the signal that the impediments to trade between our two nations were reducing and being removed, was received positively in Australia.”
Michelle Grattan is Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
SINGAPORE: A senior prison warden was convicted on Monday (Nov 20) of seeking bribes of S$133,000 in exchange for transferring an inmate out of his prison cluster.
Kobi Krishna Ayavoo, 56, was also found guilty of instigating his colleagues to access the prison system to view the inmate’s information.
Kobi had contested 10 charges, mostly of seeking bribes from the inmate named Chong Keng Chye, but was convicted of all of them.
The prosecution had argued that Kobi sought the bribes from Chong between September 2015 and March 2016. These were for reasons including paying for car loan instalments, house renovations, a birthday celebration and credit card bills.
Chong was sentenced to 20 years’ preventive detention in 2005 for abusing his girlfriend’s son until the seven-year-old boy died.
Chong was housed in Changi Prison’s A1 cluster, a maximum-security prison for offenders who have been given lengthy sentences.
Chong testified that Kobi had promised to help him get a transfer out of A1 in return for lending or giving Kobi the cash.
Chong said he knew that Kobi did not have the capability or authority to help transfer him out of A1. However, Kobi said that he had a friend who was an intelligence officer, who could help Chong.
Kobi got a friend to see Chong, but Chong was still not transferred after a medical review in early 2016.
He rejected Kobi when Kobi asked him to get his friends or family to pass him money, and complained that he had not been transferred.
In his defence, Kobi denied asking for money from Chong on any of the eight occasions. He claimed that he spoke to Chong only during yard time, when there were always inmates within hearing distance.
Kobi alleged that Chong had lied in order to be transferred out of A1. When an allegation is made against a prison officer, either the officer or the inmate will be transferred.
Chong had written down details on a magazine in his cell whenever Kobi asked him for money. When he received a new magazine, he would copy over his records before discarding the old one.
In June 2016, before going to stay at Changi Medical Centre, Chong copied over his latest version of records from paper he tore from a novel in his cell.
The document included a bank number and a phone number provided to him by Kobi.
Chong explained that he decided to report Kobi using this document as he was afraid Kobi would “find trouble” for him after he returned to jail following a surgery he was to undergo, and failed to hand over the money Kobi had asked for.
A fellow inmate also testified about how Chong had told him about giving money to a prison employee in exchange for help.
This inmate said he was in Chong’s group of friends who “cliqued” together during yard recreation time.
He said he noticed Kobi pass by his cell many times every week to interact with Chong for about 10 minutes.
After Kobi was charged with seeking bribes from Chong, his employment with the Singapore Prison Service was suspended and he no longer had access to the prison’s system, which contained information about the inmates.
A colleague testified about how Kobi had called him and asked for help to obtain Chong’s inmate number, which the colleague helped obtain.
The colleague was charged for his involvement and fined.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Magdalene Huang said Kobi took “great pains” to pretend at trial that he had not been financially stretched.
However, documentary evidence showed that he was – bank statements stated that he finished spending his salary each month before the next month’s salary came in between August 2015 and March 2016, sometimes having a negative balance.
He also was late in his car loan repayment almost every month in 2015 and 2016 and was charged “overdue interest” fees.
There were several other documents showing Kobi had obtained bank loans.
The prosecutor said Kobi had reason to believe that Chong could give him money, as the latter gave everyone in prison the impression that he came from a very well-off family and used to tell inmates that he would give them money when they were released.
The defence alleged that Chong was lying, but the prosecution said there was a stigma in prison of being labelled a snitch.
In fact, Chong suffered the consequences of reporting Kobi – his friends and fellow gang members have distanced themselves from him in prison, said Ms Huang.
The Singapore Prison Service previously told CNA that Kobi had been suspended since July 2017.
Ms Huang said Kobi has been receiving about half his pay – S$2,000 a month – since he was suspended.
This continued until December 2022, when he reached retirement.
She said an innocent man would want to expedite proceedings so his name can be cleared quickly, but Kobi instead delayed court proceedings.
For example, he chose to undergo a non-emergency surgery days before trial was set to start in September 2018.
He was admitted to hospital for a fracture before the new trial dates in January 2019, and went for a COVID-19 swab test the day before trial dates in September 2020.
He then reported sick at the entrance of the State Courts in February 2021 and went to a private clinic, where he received a swab test that later turned out negative.
He was admitted to hospital in April 2021 over complaints of fainting and again went for another swab test claiming he had been coughing and sneezing in September 2021.
Kobi will return to court for sentencing in January.
“(We) will lead the country steadily and firmly follow the right path. Please give us a chance,” he said. While the United States does not diplomatically recognise Taiwan, it is the island’s most prominent ally and arms supplier. During Hsiao’s three-year stint in Washington, she had enabled US-Taiwan relations toContinue Reading
MANILA – “I do not think anybody wants to go to war,” Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said following his meeting with Chinese paramount leader Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Cooperation (APEC) summit in San Francisco last week.
“We really should view this as a work in progress. It’s a process,” Marcos Jr added, referring to the two sides’ intensifying maritime disputes in the South China Sea.
The seemingly cordial meeting saw the two leaders agree on the need to establish guardrails in their bilateral relations. Both sides also made their respective redlines clear, with the Filipino president realistically acknowledging that “the problems remain and it is something that we need to continue to communicate [on with our Chinese counterparts].”
With few signs yet of big-ticket investments from the West, Marcos Jr is also intent on reviving frayed economic ties with China, which has yet to implement multi-billion infrastructure pledges in the Southeast Asia nation.
In many ways, the Marcos-Xi meeting mirrored the pragmatic undertones of the much-covered summit between US President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart.
Tellingly, the Filipino president immediately visited the US naval facility in Hawaii after the APEC Summit. There, the two allies finalized new defense deals, including on intelligence sharing and maritime security cooperation.
By all indications, Marcos Jr seems intent on enhancing the Philippines’ bargaining position and overall deterrence capabilities vis-à-vis China, while keeping communication channels with Beijing intact.
By combining engagement and deterrence, the Filipino president hopes to reset his country’s terms of engagement with the Asian superpower.
“Let me say that I have waited a very long time to say, aloha!” declared Marcos before a cheering crowd at the Hawaii Convention Center. “The Filipinos and the Filipino-Americans in Hawaii hold a very special place in my heart for all the wonderful experiences that we had here with our Filipino compatriots,” he added, referring to his family’s years of exile in Hawaii following the fall of his father’s dictatorship in 1986.
The Filipino president’s main mission in Hawaii, however, was discussing ways to further expand military cooperation with the US Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM), which is seeking access to strategically situated bases across the Philippines to keep China’s ambitions in check.
During a speech at the Daniel K Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies (APCSS) in Honolulu, the de facto think tank of the INDOPACOM, Marcos Jr emphasized his country’s intensifying disputes with China.
Marcos Jr said that the situation in the South China Sea “has become more dire” in recent months, with China inching “closer and closer” to dominating waters off the coast of the Philippines.
“Unfortunately, I cannot report that the situation is improving… The situation has become more dire than it was before,” lamented Marcos Jr, acknowledging the desperate conditions and growing fears of armed clashes in the disputed waters.
But the Filipino president stuck an uncompromising line, maintaining “The Philippines will not give a single square inch of our territory to any foreign power.”
Marcos Jr’s two-day visit culminated in a meeting with INDOPACOM chief John Aquilino, who visited EDCA bases in the Philippines earlier this year. The two reportedly discussed ways to further enhance maritime security cooperation through intelligence-sharing and greater interoperability.
With fears of a potential Chinese military intervention over the Second Thomas Shoal, the Filipino leader likely also discussed ways to jointly deter the Asian superpower. Manila has reiterated its commitment to resupply its marine detachment on the contested shoal and fortify the grounded BRP Sierra Madre vessel there.
Over the past decade, the US Pentagon has provided “over-the-horizon” operational support over the shoal by flying drones and sailing warships close to the contested area. But the Philippines and US are now reportedly seriously considering potential contingencies, including an armed conflict with Chinese maritime forces in the area.
The Philippines is also pursuing regular joint patrols with the US and other like-minded naval powers near the contested area. The US has repeatedly emphasized that it will come to the Philippines’ rescue should its troops, vessels and aircraft come under attack by a hostile third party in the South China Sea.
But the two allies are also discussing ways to more effectively counter China’s evolving “gray zone” strategy, namely the deployment of gigantic coast guard vessels and an armada of militia vessels to intimidate rival claimant states in the area.
The Philippines’ expanding security ties with the US may strengthen its hand in the South China Sea, but not without its own costs, not least a “short sharp war” with China in the disputed waters.
The economic costs are already mounting. Amid rising tensions in the South China Sea, Beijing has effectively frozen its investment pledges to the Philippines.
“We have three [big-ticket] projects that won’t be funded by the Chinese government anymore. We can’t wait forever and it seems like China isn’t that interested anymore,” complained Philippine Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista last month at an investment summit.
Meanwhile, foreign direct investment (FDI) from traditional Western partners has also been falling in the Philippines. Meanwhile, there are growing indications that the Biden administration’s “Indo-Pacific Economic Framework” has hit a snag amid stiff bipartisan opposition at home.
In effect, the West has yet to offer the Philippines any major economic incentives amid Marcos Jr’s hard pivot away from China and back to traditional allies.
As a result, there is growing pressure on the Filipino leader to revive communication channels with Beijing in order to not only prevent an armed conflict in the South China Sea, but also reopen discussions on large-scale investment deals.
The Marcos Jr administration is intent on dealing with the Asian superpower from an enhanced geopolitical position amid deepening defense ties with the Pentagon. It remains to be seen, however, if Beijing is open to any meaningful compromise or engagement in response to Manila’s double act.
Follow Richard Javad Heydarian on X, formerly Twitter, at @Richeydarian
SINGAPORE: The Singapore Slingers on Monday (Nov 20) said that they will “stop playing” as the ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) in which they compete is facing an uncertain future. The resumption of the league in the near term was unlikely as it no longer had the support of the International Basketball FederationContinue Reading
PUBLISHED : 20 Nov 2023 at 17:29
An investigation has been launched after three Chinese women in girl student uniforms, with deformed faces and amputated hands, were found by police begging on the roadside at different spots in Bangkok.
Social Development and Human Security Minister Varawut Silpa-archa said on Monday that the beggars might be victims of human trafficking,
Kanthat Pongpaiboonvej, alias ‘good Samaritan’ Kan Chompalang, on Nov 10 led officials from the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security and Bang Phlat police to an area in front of a department store in Pin Klao area after being informed that a Chinese woman in girl student uniform had begged for money under a pedestrian crossing. Her face and head appeared deformed, appearing to have been attacked with acid or hot water, and her hands amputated.
The woman was found with a strap bag, a chair, a money box and a room keycard. She was taken to Bang Phlat police station for an interview via an interpreter.
She said she arrived in Thailand alone on Nov 10 to beg for money, not knowing that doing so is illegal. She was a divorcee, she told police, and had two children back in China. As for the scars on the face, she said as a child playing with a friend, there was an explosion in a car and some liquid splashed on her face.
Mr Kanthat said he had been informed that six other Chinese women were seen begging at other spots in Bangkok, some with one hand cut off and others with both hands amputated. Their faces were also deformed, similar to the woman found in the Pin Klao area.
Police managed to locate two other women, raising the total of those in police custody to three. One, about 33 years old, was found sitting on the roadside in Pratunam area with a plastic begging bowl. She was brought to Phayathai police station for questioning. Police found in her possession 10,400 baht in 20-baht and 100-baht notes.
Police were still looking for the four other Chinese women.
Mr Varawut said the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security had coordinated with other agencies, including immigration police, to establish how the women had entered the country, whether they carried proper travel documents and whether they had come voluntarily or been victims of human-trafficking. The matter is delicate to deal with, since they are foreigners, he said.
After a failed second attempt in August, Pyongyang said it would carry out the third launch in October, though it never materialised. South Korea has said Pyongyang is providing Moscow with arms in exchange for Russian space technology. Analysts have said there is significant technological overlap between space launch capabilitiesContinue Reading