Prayut says Thaksin’s plans to return are a police matter
PM insists issue is all about the rule of law
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said plans by fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra to return from self-exile to Thailand were not brought up during a meeting with the head of police on Monday.
Gen Prayut was responding to media questions about the meeting with national police chief Pol Gen Damrongsak Kittiprapas and whether the two spoke about Thaksin’s plans.
“We never talked about Thaksin, and should I have to get involved with him?” he said.
Asked what police need to be prepared if Thaksin did return, Gen Prayut said that the matter has nothing to do with the government as it is about the rule of law.
“If he returns, he will have to face legal procedures, that’s all. I have nothing to do with it,” he said.
Thaksin tweeted before the May 14 election that he was determined to return to Thailand before his 74th birthday on July 26. He also tweeted that he wanted to return home to care for his grandchildren. He said he was ready to face justice.
Thaksin was overthrown by a military coup on Sept 19, 2006, while overseas. He has since lived in self-imposed exile, except for a brief visit to Thailand in 2008. There are 18 records of him talking about him returning in that time.
The first was on March 30, 2009, when he addressed red-shirt protesters outside Government House via a video conference. “As soon as the first shot is fired at people, I’ll lead you to Bangkok,” he said.
Three years later, he conducted a phone-in to greet red-shirt supporters at a gathering in Surin and told them: “If I go home, I’ll have to come back cool. And I’ll let you know later how to come back cool.” The rest of Thaksin’s homecoming nods were recorded from 2021 to this May.
Thaksin was sentenced in absentia by the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions to 12 years in prison over four graft cases. He risks arrest as soon as he is in Thai jurisdiction.
US sanctions Chinese hypersonic weapon makers
A total of 31 additional Chinese companies have been sanctioned by the United States for alleged offenses including using US technology to produce hypersonic weapons and sell them to Pakistan and helping the Chinese government carry out human rights abuses against Uyghurs in Xinjiang.
Four of the newly sanctioned companies – Affiliates International, Changzhou Utek Composite Co Ltd, Beijing Luo Luo Technology Development Co Ltd and Tiger Force Electronics Ltd – were added to the US Commerce Department’s “entity list” based on contributions to Pakistan’s ballistic missile program.
The announcement came after China completed the delivery of four 054A/P frigates to Pakistan on May 9. The frigates carry China’s CM-302 surface-to-surface supersonic missiles and Pakistan’s P282 anti-ship hypersonic missiles.
However, some military experts believe that the core parts of the P282 came from China and it should really be considered a rebadged version of China’s CM-401 hypersonic missile, which has a speed of Mach 6.
“Preventing advanced technologies from being used as part of China’s civil-military fusion strategy and threatening US national security is our top priority,” said Alan Estevez, Undersecretary of Commerce for Industry and Security in the US. “Today’s actions are an important step in that effort.”
“It is imperative that we prevent China from acquiring US technologies and knowhow to enable their military modernization programs,” said Matthew Axelrod, assistant secretary for export enforcement in the US. “And that’s why, today, we’re adding parties tied to China’s hypersonics, naval modernization and military pilot training programs to our entity list.”
It is no secret that China treats Pakistan as a top market for its hypersonic missiles. Last November, Zhang Bin, a Chinese military commentator, published an article headlined, “China sells high hypersonic anti-ship missiles to Pakistan, showing some muscle to India.”
“Pakistan’s navy is obviously weaker than that of India, so Pakistan should purchase powerful hypersonic weapons such as China’s YJ-21E missiles,” Zhang said in the article. “If Pakistan buys YJ-21E, China can share information about naval battles with it.”
The CM302 missile is an export version of the YJ-12E. It has a speed of Mach 3 while YJ-12E can fly up to Mach 10.
Beijing’s opposition
Some Chinese firms, including Aviation Industry Corporation of China (VICC) 612 Institute, Beijing Iwintall Technology Co Ltd, Beijing Transemic Technology Co Ltd and Luoyang Institute of Science and Technology, were added to the Entity List for acquiring and attempting to acquire US-origin items in support of China’s military modernization, according to the US Commerce Department.
They were accused of having demonstrable ties to activities of concern, including hypersonic weapons development, design and manufacture of air-to-air missiles, hypersonic flight modeling and weapon lifecycle management using Western software.
Besides, the Shanghai Supercomputing Technology Co Ltd, a joint venture of the Shanghai Supercomputing Center (SSC) and Dawning Information Industry Co Ltd or Sugon, was sanctioned by the US for offering cloud-based supercomputing capabilities to support hypersonic research.
Sugon, a Beijing-based supercomputer maker backed by the Chinese Academy of Science (CAS), has been sanctioned by the US since June 2019. Earlier this month, the SSC said it plans to boost the speed of its Dawning 4000A system, China’s fastest commercial supercomputer, by connecting it with the Hefei-based Quantum Origin’s quantum computers.
Several firms were accused of importing mobile phone inspection software, fingerprint analysis technology, biostatistics software and DNA testing items from the US to China, which used these items in its repression against Uyghur Muslims and members of other minority groups in Xinjiang.
Multiple entities faced sanctions for recruiting western pilots to train People’s Liberation Army pilots on western aircraft maneuvers and tactics.
“In order to maintain its military and technological hegemony, the US has repeatedly generalized the concept of national security, abused state power, unreasonably suppressed Chinese companies, and wantonly disrupted the international economic and trade order and world trade rules, seriously endangering the stability of the global industrial and supply chains,” Wang Wenbin, a spokesperson of the Chinese foreign ministry, said Tuesday.
“It has reached a point of hysteria and would stop at nothing to do so,” Wang added. He said China resolutely opposes the US curbs and urges the US to immediately correct its wrong practice of politicizing, instrumentalizing, and weaponizing economic, trade, and technological issues under the guise of military-related and human rights issues.
Ties with Iran
This latest round of sanctions came hard on the heels of another, earlier this month.
On June 6, Iran unveiled its first-ever hypersonic missile, Fattah, and claimed that it can move at a speed of up to Mach 15, or 15 times the speed of sound. On the same day, the US Treasury Department sanctioned a network of seven individuals and six entities in Iran, China and Hong Kong in connection with Iran’s ballistic missile program.
It said P B Sadr, an Iran-based firm, purchased centrifuges, modules with radar applications, accelerometers and gyroscopes from China on behalf of Iran’s Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics (MODAFL). Centrifuges are essential for the production of nitrocellulose, a raw material for propellants and combustible components.
A spokesperson of the Ministry of Commerce said Monday that China opposes the US move to sanction Chinese entities on the grounds of alleged involvement in Iran.
“The US approach lacks factual basis and due process, and damages the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies and individuals,” said the spokesperson. “The US should stop its unreasonable suppression of Chinese companies and individuals.”
Prior to this, the US Treasury Department on March 9 imposed sanctions on five Chinese companies, and one person for allegedly supplying parts to an Iranian maker of drones sold to Russia.
Read: China’s fastest yet quantum computer still way behind US
Follow Jeff Pao on Twitter at @jeffpao3
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Sasana Symposium 2023: Malaysia’s real-time payment system ‘robust and reliable’ and ‘second to none’, but not hitting max capacity
E-payment use in M’sia has surged to 291 transactions per capita, targeting 400 by 2026
Bank-fintech collaboration crucial, combining trust and security with fintech’s innovation
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MH370 joke: Malaysia asks Interpol to track down comedian
Getty ImagesMalaysia is seeking Interpol’s help in tracking down a New York-based comedian who joked about the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.
Jocelyn Chia, a US national who grew up in Singapore, is being investigated under laws related to incitement and offensive online content, police say.
Her joke, posted online last week, prompted an official protest from Malaysia and an apology from Singapore.
MH370 went missing after taking off from Singapore in March 2014.
Despite a four-year search in the Indian Ocean, the main body of the plane was never found. All 239 people on board are presumed dead.
On Tuesday Malaysian national police chief Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani said an application was going to be filed with Interpol to get Ms Chia’s “full identity” and “latest location”.
The row began after she posted a clip of her recent stand-up set at Manhattan’s Comedy Cellar venue.
It included a routine about the historic rivalry between Singapore and Malaysia, which were once briefly part of the same country.
Noting that Singapore had risen to be a “first-world country” while Malaysia remained “developing”, she joked that Malaysian airplanes “cannot fly”.
Ms Chia added: “Malaysian Airlines going missing not funny huh? Some jokes don’t land.”
The video, which created uproar in Malaysia, was removed by TikTok, which cited a violation of its hate-speech guidelines.
Singapore’s ambassador to Malaysia said Ms Chia did not speak for Singaporeans. Vivian Balakrishnan, Singapore’s foreign minister, condemned her “horrendous statements”.
On Sunday, Ms Chia told CNN that she had performed the routine “more than 100 times” without any problems.
She added that she stood by the joke and that the clip had been taken out of context.
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PM wants swift action on âPatani Stateâ probe
Security agencies looking into reports that activists are promoting independence referendum
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on Tuesday urged security agencies to speed up investigating a group of activists calling for a referendum on establishing an independent Muslim “Patani State” in the South.
Emerging from the weekly cabinet meeting, Gen Prayut said the government’s legal team and security agencies were investigating, and the authorities were checking media reports about a politician pulling strings.
However, he insisted the issue would be dealt with under the law.
“The most important thing is that we agree the gravity of the unrest in the far South should not go back to being as intense as before,” he told reporters.
“We intend to maintain peace in the region much as we can through the peace process.”
The prime minister added, however, that there could be disruption to peace efforts during the transition to the new government.
The authorities were spurred into action by the establishment of Pelajar Bangsa (“National Students”), a youth group representing students from the three southernmost provinces, during a seminar on the Pattani campus of Prince of Songkla University last week.
It is believed the group is the latest incarnation of the Federation of Patani Students and Youth (PerMas), which was disbanded in November 2021.
The seminar was titled “Self-Determination and Patani Peace”.
Speakers at the seminar included Worawit Baru, deputy leader of the Prachachat Party and MP-elect for Pattani; and Hakim Pongtigor, deputy secretary-general of the Fair Party.
The two parties are part of the prospective coalition led by the Move Forward Party, which is seeking to form the next government.
At the seminar, participants were given a ballot paper on which they were asked to vote for a referendum on an independent “Patani” state — the spelling preferred by those in favour of self-determination.
A picture of the ballot shared on social media prompted a reaction from netizens as well as security agencies.
However, both Prachachat and Fair have denied having anything to do with the ballot. They insisted they never entertained the thought, let alone acted, to support an independent state of Patani.
Move Forward Party leader and prime ministerial candidate Pita Limjaroenrat has also said he opposes the idea of an independence referendum.
Lt Gen Santi Sakuntanak, the commander of the Fourth Army Region that is responsible for the South, chaired a meeting on Tuesday to follow up on the investigation into the Patani State seminar.
He said the investigation was making headway as it was looking into details of the seminar and who is behind the independent Patani campaign.
He said the investigation gave strong indications that the law was violated at the seminar, adding that he had instructed investigators to gather evidence quickly.
BMAâs Green Line debt âcanât be solvedâ
Prayut says caretaker cabinet’s hands are tied and new government will have to make a decision
The overdue payment of around 50 billion baht that the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) owes to Bangkok Mass Transit System Plc (BTSC) will have to wait for a new government to resolve, the caretaker government said on Tuesday.
“We wish we could resolve this problem. We’ve tried to have it taken care of but now we have to admit it can’t be solved. Lately, multiple factors have prevented that from happening,” Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha after he met with Interior Minister Anupong Paojinda to discuss the Green Line debt, just after the weekly cabinet meeting.
Gen Prayut did not elaborate on the factors he alluded to that were impeding the government’s attempt to resolve the debt issue.
However an informed source said one was the Election Commission’s regulation limiting the ability of a caretaker cabinet to approve large budgets.
BTSC, which operates the Green Line, hopes to receive a first instalment — or about 20 billion baht — when the Bangkok Council convenes in early July, said the same source.
Bangkok governor Chadchart Sittipunt met with BTSC chairman Keeree Kanjanapas on Monday and said he would request the BMA council’s approval of the proposed 20-billion-baht payment, said the source.
The 50-billion-baht debt has been incurred through Krungthep Thanakom (KT), a business arm of the BMA, which hired BTSC to install the electrical and mechanical systems of the Green Line extensions and operate the electric rail service, said the same source.
Since the BMA lacks the funds to pay off the entire debt, the only option is to defer a decision on the debt payment until the new government takes office, Gen Anupong said.
He said some measures will have to be adopted to ease the burden shouldered by BTSC while it continues to operate the Green Line.
Mr Chadchart said the BMA had requested via the Ministry of Interior a decision from the caretaker cabinet on the debt payment issue, but he wasn’t sure if ministers were planning to discuss it this week.
Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam said the cabinet had not yet received any such request. He said the BMA must first decide what action should be taken on the overdue debt payment and then submit it to the cabinet for endorsement.
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