Taiwan readying a reciprocal show of force at China

By:
On:
In: Asia

Taiwan is preparing for its annual Han Kuang military exercises, a defiant show of force as fears mount of an impending conflict with China.

South China Morning Post (SCMP) has reported that Taiwan is readying for its Han Kuang 2023 military exercise, which is scheduled to be held from July 24-28.

Significantly, this year’s iteration includes simulations of breaking a Chinese blockade, adding to scenarios rehearsed in previous exercises that emphasized defeating a Chinese amphibious invasion.

A US-built system will perform round-the-clock computer simulations of joint, combined and coalition operations as part of the upcoming drills.

Live fire exercises, meanwhile, will emphasize combat force preservation, maritime interception, protection of major facilities such as sea and airports, civil defense mobilization, air defense, and counter-amphibious invasion, according to the SCMP report.

Last year’s Han Kuang exercise focused on different scenarios. In an August 2022 article for Global Taiwan Institute, John Dotson noted that Han Kuang 2022 emphasized dispersal and civil defense drills, naval and air maneuvers, counter-amphibious invasion exercises and a simulated airport seizure.

Dotson mentions that while many of the scenarios featured in Han Kuang 2022 can be realistically expected as part of a Chinese invasion, the heavily scripted nature of the exercise gives it limited value in preparing Taiwan’s military for a real shooting war.

Han Kuang 2021 was broadly similar to 2022’s iteration. In an October 2021 article for the Global Taiwan Institute, Dotson notes that Han Kuang 2021 featured dispersal, biological warfare counter-amphibious invasion, air defense and emergency takeoff and landing drills.

Moreover, he mentioned that Han Kuang 2021 showed Taiwan’s capability to use major highways as improvised runways and the coastal deployment of road-mobile HF-2 and HF-3 anti-ship missiles.

A Hsiung Feng-3 anti-ship missile is fired from the Tuo Jiang stealth corvette. Photo: Handout
A Hsiung Feng-3 anti-ship missile is fired from the Tuo Jiang stealth corvette in a file photo. Photo: Handout

However, Dotson points out that the exercise’s limited scope and timeframe and scripted and piecemeal nature makes it inadequate in preparing Taiwan’s military for an actual Chinese invasion, noting in particular the small number of fighter jets involved in emergency takeoff and landing drills and limited civil defense scenarios.

Han Kuang 2020 was a prelude to the scenarios in 2021 and 2022, but it was notable for introducing several new firsts.

For example, Lienhai Sung notes in a June 2020 article for the Global Taiwan Institute that Han Kuang 2020 included the first-ever deployment of a newly formed Combined Arms Battalion, joint anti-decapitation law enforcement special forces units, joint operations between regular and reservist artillery units and a live-fire torpedo exercise.

Sung mentions that Han Kuang 2020 showed Taiwan’s progress in developing asymmetric warfare capabilities and reservist forces to counter China’s increasingly powerful conventional and paramilitary forces.

But he also cautions that Han Kuang is meant as a capability demonstration, not a field training exercise. Accordingly, Sung says that Han Kuang should measure Taiwan’s progress in developing desired capabilities and not serve merely as a broad check of Taiwan’s overall military modernization.

Despite Taiwan’s determined efforts to shape perceptions of credible defenses through the Han Kuang exercises, it has larger systematic limitations.

Wu Shang-Su notes in a 2015 commentary in the peer-reviewed Journal of Defense Management those include internal issues such as conscription, the high likelihood of Chinese penetration into Taiwan, questionable popular resolve to defend the island against invading forces and the overall slow modernization of Taiwan’s military.

Dotson notes in a February article for the Global Taiwan Institute that conscription is hugely unpopular in Taiwan. The current four-month service contract is too short for meaningful training, with five to seven days of refresher training on alternate years also being inadequate.

Although he mentions that Taiwan plans to revamp its conscription model in 2024 by extending the contract of service to one year, increasing pay for conscripts and laying out a broad framework for how conscripts would be used as “garrison troops” for territorial defense as opposed to all-volunteer main battle troops who will bear the brunt of frontline fighting.

It is an open secret that Chinese spies have extensively penetrated Taiwan’s military, with severe implications for the island’s defense. A Reuters December 2021 special report covers China’s extensive espionage within Taiwan’s military, with top-ranking officers bribed to leak classified information to Chinese spies.

The Reuters report notes that leaked intelligence can be helpful for invasion preparations, while disloyal officers can refuse to fight, misdirect their troops or even defect to China. It also states that Chinese agents can spearhead decapitation operations against Taiwan’s command and control, political and military leaderships.

Taiwanese soldiers in a row. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Although the Taiwanese public has overwhelmingly negative views of China, they harbor significant doubts about the US commitment to Taiwan’s defense.

A March 2020 survey by Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council shows that 90% of respondents oppose China’s “one country, two systems” model, with 90.5% against China’s military intimidation and 91.5% disagreeing with China’s diplomatic suppression of Taiwan.

However, an April 2022 survey by Inkstick shows 53.8% of Taiwanese aged 20 and above believe the US will not intervene on behalf of Taiwan, while only 36.3% say they do.

At the same time, Taiwan may be taking a less-than-optimal approach to its defensive strategy and military modernization. Asia Times pointed out in May 2022 that Taiwan’s “porcupine” and “Fortress Taiwan” strategies will not be enough if blockaded, starved, and pressed to surrender via attrition warfare.

Asia Times noted in December 2022 that Taiwan’s preoccupation with acquiring high-end prestige assets such as frigates and fighter planes, with a view to challenge and fight China’s military head-on, is an unrealistic and escalatory approach.

Nevertheless, Taiwan may move to a “pit viper strategy,” which would entail limited retaliatory missile strikes at major Chinese cities such as Beijing and Shanghai in the event of a conflict.

Continue Reading

Study finds 1 in 10 teens suffers from mental health disorder; professionals call for more support from parents

By:
On:
In: South-East Asia

Teenagers whom CNA spoke to attributed mental health symptoms to high stress levels, largely stemming from the pressure to perform well in school.

“I put a lot of stress on myself to study harder and take time off of relaxation to practise more. Sometimes, the stress gets so high that I’ll sleep at 4am,” said a secondary school student who is preparing for his O’Levels, adding he worries about comparing grades with his classmates.  

“I face issues like anxiety because of school. I get anxious when there’s a lot of people. How I cope with it – I try to take deep breaths, I try to think rationally in the situation. Then if I cannot cope with some stuff, I will try to seek help, maybe go for counselling,” said a polytechnic student.

“Mental health is very important because if your mental state is not well, then it will really deter you from making a lot of good decisions in your life,” he added.

PARENTS LACK UNDERSTANDING

The research found parents lagging behind their teenagers in being able to identify mental health issues.

Only one in 10 parents said they would observe such symptoms in their children, compared to one in three youths who would self-report them.

The study affirmed the need for parents to be more deeply involved in understanding and identifying their children’s mental health concerns, said Ms Sun Xueling, Minister of State for Social and Family Development.

Continue Reading

Visiting US Navy affirms ‘free and open Indo-Pacific’

By:
On:
In: South-East Asia

Carrier strike group led by USS Nimitz calls at Chon Buri

Crew members walk along the deck of the US Navy aircraft carrier USS Nimitz in Chon Buri on Thursday. (Photo: Wassana Nanuam)
Crew members walk along the deck of the US Navy aircraft carrier USS Nimitz in Chon Buri on Thursday. (Photo: Wassana Nanuam)

CHON BURI: The US Navy is prepared to go anywhere in the “free and open Indo-Pacific”, says a spokesman for a carrier strike group that is visiting Thailand this week.

The Nimitz Carrier Strike Group is on an 11-month patrol mission in the US 7th Fleet area of operations that began in November last year. It has just finished taking part in drills with Japan and South Korea, said Lt Ben Bushong, spokesman for the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz. It has also taken part in exercises with the Philippines.

During its mission the carrier strike group had passed through disputed parts of the South China Sea without any problem because it was “a free and open Indo-Pacific”, he said.

Lt Bushong did not mention what the group’s next destinations would be after its visit to Thailand, but said it was planning to visit all areas of the Indo-Pacific.

The carrier strike group arrived in Thailand on Monday and is scheduled to stay at the Laem Chabang port until Saturday.

During the visit, its personnel have been granted shore leave in Pattaya and Chon Buri. “We like to visit Thailand,” Lt Bushong said.

The aircraft carrier is as tall as a 23-storey building and as wide as four football fields and has about 5,000 crew members.

It arrived with the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Bunker Hill, the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers USS Decatur and USS Wayne E Meyer and a squadron of F/A-18 combat aircraft.

Continue Reading

Singapore property stocks hit by latest round of cooling measures

By:
On:
In: South-East Asia

SINGAPORE: Property stocks in Singapore took a hit on Thursday (Apr 27) after the government announced increased additional buyer’s stamp duty (ABSD) for residential properties.

Shares of City Developments fell as much as 6 per cent from Wednesday’s closing price, while UOL slipped 5.29 per cent at session lows.

Real estate agencies PropNex and Apac Realty dropped 6.51 per cent and 7.63 per cent.

The broad Straits Times Index dipped 0.69 per cent earlier in the day but closed 0.36 per cent lower.

The government announced late on Wednesday night that foreigners will have to pay 60 per cent ABSD on any residential property they buy, doubled from 30 per cent.

For Singapore citizens buying their second residential property, the ABSD was raised from 17 per cent to 20 per cent. Those who buy a third one will have to pay 30 per cent ABSD.

This is the third round of cooling measures since December 2021, when the ABSD raised for housing developers as well.

Commenting on the declining stock prices of property developers, Mr Gary Ng, a senior economist at Natixis Corporate and Investment Banking, said “a cooled real estate market can dampen (the) profit outlook”.

“Many Singaporean developers have wide coverage in different property sectors, and those who are less diversified and have a bigger focus on the residential market may face more pressure,” he said.

Mr Ng added that there could be more headwinds ahead for property firms in Singapore because the hike in ABSD for foreigners is “massive”.

Minister for National Development Desmond Lee said last September that foreigners accounted for around 3 per cent of private housing transactions in 2020 and 2021.

Continue Reading

More charges await serial-killing suspect

By:
On:
In: South-East Asia
Forensic officers examine a car belonging to Sararat Rangsiwuthaporn, who is accused of killing a woman with cyanide in Ratchaburi, for possible evidence. (Photo supplied/Wassayos Ngamkham)
Forensic officers examine a car belonging to Sararat Rangsiwuthaporn, who is accused of killing a woman with cyanide in Ratchaburi, for possible evidence. (Photo supplied/Wassayos Ngamkham)

Police are preparing more charges against Sararat “Am” Rangsiwuthaporn, who is suspected of involvement in the deaths of a dozen people.

Crime Suppression Division (CSD) investigators are looking to obtain statements from two key people in connection with the case, CSD deputy commander Pol Col Anek Taosupap said on Thursday. They are Kantima “Pla” Phaesa-ard, 36, who survived a poisoning attempt allegedly made by the suspect, and Raphee Chamnarnrue, who took the family of a dead woman to file a police complaint.

Pol Col Anek said he had assigned another team to meet with doctors who specialise in poisons and chemicals. Officers want to learn more about the dangers of cyanide, and the amount that would result in harm to the body and cause death. This information will be included in a police report, together with evidence of test results that showed toxic substances in the body of one of victims linked to the suspect.

“We are confident that we have firm evidence to prosecute … the suspect in the case,” said Pol Col Anek. “Now, police investigators are preparing to press additional charges aside from a premeditated murder charge.”

The additional charges are premeditated murder with intent to steal property, poisoning, and theft. “Some offences carry the death penalty,” he said.

Other leads the police are expected to follow relate to the suspect’s reported involvement in money lending and a pyramid scheme.

Ms Sararat, 36, the ex-wife of a senior police officer in Ratchaburi province, was apprehended on Tuesday at the government office complex on Chaeng Wattana Road in in Bangkok by CSD police with an arrest warrant issued by the Criminal Court. She had a bottle of cyanide in her possession and she refused to give police a statement.

Sararat “Am” Rangsiwuthaporn, 36, who is accused of killing a woman with cyanide in Ratchaburi and suspected in as many as 12 killings in all, is taken to the Criminal Court on Wednesday. (Photo supplied/Wassayos Ngamkham)

Her arrest followed a complaint filed by the mother and elder sister of the late Siriporn “Koy” Khanwong, 32, from Kanchanaburi. Siriporn collapsed and died on the bank of the Mae Klong river in Ban Pong district of Ratchaburi where she had gone with Ms Sararat to release fish for merit-making on April 14. Cyanide was found in her body.

Investigators came to believe that Ms Sararat might have mixed cyanide in Siriporn’s food, causing her death. She allegedly also stole the victim’s valuables.

Deputy national police chief Pol Gen Surachate Hakparn said on Wednesday that two more dead victims has been linked to Ms Sararat, bringing the total to 12.

On Wednesday, the Criminal Court approved a police request to further detain Ms Sararat without bail on a charge of killing Siriporn.

Pol Col Anek said investigators had called Nipawan Khanwong, 35, the elder sister of Siriporn, who was with her sister before her death, to give a statement on Thursday. Ms Nipawan had reportedly asked the suspect about the death.

Investigators are also seeking to question a Mukdahan man whose wife had been given capsules by the suspect, who said they were a tonic. The woman consumed the capsules before she died.

As well, officers are looking into whether Ms Sararat’s elder sister, a pharmacist, was involved in the provision or use of cyanide. The initial investigation, however, showed that the suspect had purchased cyanide from another channel, said Pol Col Anek.

At this stage, investigators have not yet found any other people involved and they believe Ms Sararat had acted alone, he added.

Initial questioning of the suspect did not indicate any mental problems that might have led to the crimes. She spoke like a normal person, he said.

Cyanide is a controlled substance used in industries and cannot be purchased at drug stores.

A source close to the investigation said Ms Sararat had reportedly purchased cyanide online. Five teenagers called in for questioning told police that she brought them five parcels containing bottles of drugs with her name as the recipient and asked them to bury them. They claimed she had paid them 500 baht to do the job.

One of them reportedly suspected what was inside the parcels, so he opened one and sniffed one of the bottles. He developed symptoms including dizziness and confusion for about three days.

As it turned out, the teenagers never got around to burying the bottles because they were busy celebrating Songkran. Ms Sararat phoned them to ask whether they had done what she asked, but by then it was too late as police already found the bottles, according to the source.

Investigators are also checking the records of two logistics companies for evidence of deliveries that could implicate the suspect.

Ms Sararat, meanwhile, was said to have suffered from high stress and rising blood pressure after being sent to the Central Women’s Correctional Institute on Wednesday night. She was admitted to the institute’s hospital at around 10pm. After being treated, she was sent back to her cell, Corrections Department chief Aryut Sinthopphan said on Thursday.

The suspect is four months pregnant. A doctor checked her infant’s pulse and found it was normal, said Mr Aryut.

Meanwhile, Raphee Chamnarnrue, coordinator of the case against the suspect, said there were five groups of victims involved. They were  those who took part in a pyramid scheme with the suspect, those who loaned money to her, those who gave her money to provide money lending services, those who took their cars or assets to her to mortgage, and those who authorised her to borrow from savings cooperatives.

He called on relatives of dead victims who were in those five groups to contact him or police handling the case.

Crime Suppression Division (CSD) deputy commander Pol Col Anek Taosupap has assigned investigators to consult with doctors who have specialised knowledge of poisons in order to learn more about how cyanide works. (Photo supplied/Wassayos Ngamkham)

Continue Reading

‘Due processes’ followed in dropping SEA Games champion from squad: Fencing Singapore

By:
On:
In: South-East Asia

In a statement on Thursday, Fencing Singapore said it has been flexible when fencers meet “special circumstances”, noting that its athletes have been exempted from similar training requirements in the past.

“In such cases, upon being informed Fencing Singapore explores alternative arrangements to support the fencer’s needs, subject to sufficient lead time. 

“In Mr Lee’s case, with the SEA Games starting in May, this was not possible and we share in his disappointment,” the association said.

Fencing Singapore added that it had consider other national team members who were also aware of training requirements and “would have rightful expectations of taking Mr Lee’s place”.

It confirmed there would be no replacement for Mr Lee in the team event, while a fencer who “has met the necessary training requirements” will replace Mr Lee in the individual event.

In response to CNA’s queries, the Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) said Mr Si To Jian Tong was Mr Lee’s replacement in the individual event. 

A replacement request for the team event did not meet the criteria set by SEA Games organisers for late athlete replacements, said SNOC, which sets the selection criteria for major games and endorses nominations from national sports associations (NSAs).

“In addition to SNOC’s selection criteria, the selected athletes have to fulfil the NSA’s selection requirements to be nominated by the NSA to the SNOC for consideration,” SNOC added.

“We are guided by the NSAs in the areas of training requirements and these requirements are reflected in their selection policies.”

In a new Instagram post on Thursday, Mr Lee said: “It wasn’t meant to be a fight, it was just to share my situation and move on.

“Once again thank you to all for the words of encouragement … It really means a lot to me and I truly appreciate it.”

The 32nd SEA Games will be hosted by Cambodia and will run from May 5 to May 17.

Continue Reading

China includes ‘Covid war’ in history textbook

By:
On:
In: Asia
Students study in the classroom for the upcoming national college entrance exam on May 19, 2022 in Shenyang, Liaoning Province of China.Getty Images
By Fan Wang
BBC News

History textbooks for Chinese students have mentioned the country’s Covid pandemic response for the first time.

Images of the book have been circulating online, sparking discussions over the country’s narrative on its fight against Covid.

Chinese Communist Party leaders declared a “decisive victory” over the virus earlier this year.

The country has also been accused of not being transparent in sharing coronavirus data.

A short clip showing a paragraph of a history textbook for grade eight students on Douyin, China’s domestic version of TikTok, started trending on Wednesday.

Uploaded by a user who appears to be a history teacher, the caption of the video post reads: “It’s already written in the history book.”

A copy of the book, published by the country’s major textbook publisher People’s Education Press, has been obtained by the BBC. The Covid reference appears in the section featuring “changes in social life”.

Next to a paragraph describing increasing Chinese incomes and lifestyle changes since the country opened up in the 1970s, a text box mentioned Covid.

“Our country adheres to the supremacy of the people and the life… protected people’s life safety and health to the largest extent,” it reads.

“We achieved major achievements in coordinating the prevention and control of the epidemic.”

Soon after the start of the pandemic in 2020, China adopted a strict “zero-Covid” policy which allows authorities to implement lockdowns and force people into quarantine camps.

The majority of the restrictions were lifted in December after widespread protests in the country against the policy.

The textbook’s narrative echoes Chinese leaders’ declaration of victory over the virus, but many people have questioned whether it contains the whole truth.

“Is there any mention of how it ended?” a user commented on Douyin, where the topic of “history textbook includes Covid response” has been viewed more than 500 million times.

“How come you have the face to write it in there?” another comment reads.

Most people’s comments also reflected the passing of time over the last three years.

“We witnessed history,” a top-liked comment under the clip says.

China claims it has one of the world’s lowest Covid fatality rates. According to data from the World Health Organization, there have been 120,923 deaths in the country since 3 January 2020.

China has been widely accused of underreporting coronavirus deaths, despite evidence of hospitals and crematoriums being overrun.

Related Topics

More on this story

Continue Reading

42 illegal migrants caught in Kanchanaburi

By:
On:
In: South-East Asia

Job-seekers from Myanmar said they had agreed to pay brokers B20,000 to B30,000 each

Officers watch over men and women from Myanmar who were found hiding in a forest near the Vajiralongkorn dam in Sangkhla Buri district of Kanchanaburi late Wednesday night. (Photo: Piyarat Chongcharoen)
Officers watch over men and women from Myanmar who were found hiding in a forest near the Vajiralongkorn dam in Sangkhla Buri district of Kanchanaburi late Wednesday night. (Photo: Piyarat Chongcharoen)

KANCHANABURI: Forty-two job seekers from Myanmar were arrested after illegally crossing the border into Sangkhla Buri district late on Wednesday night.

Soldiers, border patrol police and immigration officers were dispatched to tambon Nong Lu following a tip-off that a group of suspicious-looking people had been found at a forested area in Song Kalia village, said Col Thatchadet Arbuarat, deputy commander of the army’s Lat Ya task force, who was alerted at around 10pm.

By time the officers arrived, there was no one at the scene. The same informant told them that the people had boarded a vehicle headed towards a pier at Wat Wang Wiwekaram at Wang Ka village Moo 2 in tambon Nong Lu.

The team later found the men and women gathered near the Vajiralongkorn dam behind the pier. On seeing the officers, they ran into a nearby forest. All 42 people — 27 men and 15 women — were subsequently caught. All were Myanmar nationals without travel documents.

During questioning, they told authorities that they had travelled from Mandalay, Bago, Yangon and other parts of Myanmar. They entered Thailand via a natural crossing in Sangkhla Buri and were heading to promised jobs in Bangkok, Chon Buri, Phuket, Samut Prakan, Samut Sakhon and Rayong. Some were promised jobs in Malaysia.

The migrants told officers they had agreed to pay between 20,000 and 30,000 baht each to job brokers. The money was to be paid when they arrived at their destinations.

They were taken for body temperature checks as part of Covid 19-screening. All were normal. They were handed over to police at the Sangkhla Buri station for legal proceedings.

Large numbers of migrants continue to cross into Thailand illegally every day from Myanmar, where economic conditions have deteriorated considerably since the military seized power two years ago.

About 80,000 illegal border crossers, the vast majority of them from Myanmar, were estimated to have been caught in 2021. But as many as 100,000 more probably slipped past authorities and were now employed in various parts of the country, say groups that work with migrants.

A soldier in a protective suit conducts temperature checks on illegal migrants. (Photo: Piyarat Chongcharoen)

Continue Reading