VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

A shadow government in Myanmar said it has raised $6.3 million on the opening day of its inaugural bonds sale, in its biggest move yet to generate funds for its "revolution" to topple the ruling military junta.

Myanmar has been in bloody turmoil since the military's Feb. 1 coup and movements that have sprang up to challenge the junta have been mainly supported by public donations.

The National Unity Government (NUG), an alliance of pro-democracy groups, ethnic minority armies and remnants of the ousted civilian government, said bonds went on sale on Monday to mainly Myanmar nationals overseas in denominations of $100, $500, $1,000 and $5,000, with two-year tenures.

Even though the bonds will generate no interest income for buyers, $3 million worth were sold in the first three hours, the NUG said, increasing to $6.3 million by the end of the day. Its overall target is $1 billion.

"From this, I witness the enthusiasm of people in the case of uprooting the fascist military," NUG spokesman, Dr. Sasa, said on Facebook.

The junta has outlawed the NUG and designated it a "terrorist" movement.

The NUG has not disclosed how the funds would be used.

A spokesperson for the junta did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Opposition groups have been trying to stifle the military's efforts to consolidate power by encouraging people not to pay taxes and to join protests, a civil disobedience campaign and boycotts of army-linked businesses and a national lottery.

Buyers of the bonds made payments via international transfers to an account in the Czech Republic, the NUG said.

A 27-year-old Myanmar citizen, who asked not to be named for security reasons, said she invested $500 in the bonds.

"We do not expect to get money back after two years. We are buying it because we want to contribute to the revolution," she said. (Reuters)

France will try to cement deeper ties in the Indo-Pacific region when its foreign minister arrives in Indonesia on Tuesday as it counters the loss of a strategic defence deal with Australia in September.

Paris accused its allies of stabbing it in the back when Australia opted for nuclear-powered submarines to be built with U.S. and British technology instead of a multi-billion dollar French submarine programme.

Canberra pressed ahead with a trilateral alliance (AUKUS) excluding France, which it said was crucial to tackle the perceived Chinese threat in the region.

France's partnership with Australia dating back to 2016 was considered the cornerstone of its Indo-Pacific policy and since losing that deal, Paris has been on the offensive to strengthen its ties in the region with high-level meetings ranging from Japan to India and Vietnam.

"This trip is about reaffirming France's commitment to the Indo-Pacific ... and to intensify the relationship with Indonesia," a French diplomatic source told reporters in a briefing ahead of Jean-Yves Le Drian's two-day visit.

Key to developing that relationship will be closer military cooperation. Indonesia wants to boost its defence capabilities, including with the possible purchase of submarines, warplanes and warships, amid ongoing tensions with China in the disputed South China Sea.

France has been negotiating with Jakarta for several months the sale of 36 Rafale fighter jets. It signed a letter of intent in June, although officials do not expect a deal to be agreed before the end of the year due to financing issues.

"The French are doubling down on other Indo-Pacific relations, including Indonesia, in a sense to compensate for losing the Australians," an Indo-Pacific diplomat said.

Highlighting just how angry Paris is with Canberra, a two-minute video announcing Le Drian's trip to Indonesia outlined its Indo-Pacific strategy naming numerous regional countries with the exemption of Australia. (Reuters)

 Taiwan and the United States discussed chip shortages and how to respond to China's economic "coercion" during the second session of an economic dialogue launched last year, Taiwan Economy Minister Wang Mei-hua said on Tuesday.

The talks came a week after a virtual meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping. After that meeting, Xi warned that supporters in the United States of Taiwanese independence were "playing with fire". read more

China claims fiercely democratic Taiwan as its own and has not ruled out the use of force to ensure eventual unification.

Speaking to reporters in Taipei after five hours of online talks, led on the U.S. side by Under Secretary of State for economic growth, energy and the environment, Jose Fernandez, Wang said they discussed supply chain collaboration, including on semiconductors.

"The semiconductor portion included the present short-term supply chain bottleneck problem. Even more important is the future long-term collaboration," she added.

Chip powerhouse Taiwan has said it is doing all it can resolve the global shortage of semiconductors, and has been especially keen to show the United States, its most important international backer, that it takes the problem seriously.

How to respond to China's economic "coercion" also came up, Wang said, focused on Lithuania which has faced pressure from Beijing for allowing Taiwan to open a de facto embassy in its capital Vilnius.

"We all share the belief that all countries, all economies, should not be subject to this kind of external coercion," she added.

China downgraded ties with Lithuania on Sunday over the spat.

Taiwan hopes the dialogue may lead eventually to a free-trade agreement with the United States and hailed last year's inaugural meeting as a step forward.

It was part of increased U.S. engagement with Taipei under former President Donald Trump that the Biden administration has continued, to the anger of Beijing.

The two sides held long-delayed talks on a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement virtually in July, and Taiwan said it hoped it would be possible to sign an FTA one day.  (Reuters)

Relatives of people killed in the Philippines' war on drugs have accused the government of attempting to evade accountability by asking the International Criminal Court (ICC) to defer its investigation.

The ICC, which in September approved an investigation into President Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs in which thousands of people have died, on Saturday temporarily suspended the probe at Manila's request.

"I am gripped by anger. I almost threw my cellphone when I read the news," said Normita Lopez, 57, whose son died in the anti-drugs campaign, her voice cracking with emotion.

"They are obviously scared of being investigated" she said.

The government, which previously refused to cooperate with the ICC, told the court on Nov. 10, that its legal system was more than capable of addressing suspected rights abuses.

"The Court may only exercise jurisdiction where national legal systems fail to do so, which is certainly not the case in the Philippines," its letter to the ICC said.

Governments can ask the ICC to defer a case if they are implementing their own investigations. A few weeks after ICC judges approved its probe, the Philippines said it had reviewed 50 cases that indicated foul play.

Still, Kristina Conti, who represents Lopez and other relatives of victims, expects the ICC to resume its probe.

"Our bet is that the ICC will determine the investigation is not genuine," Conti told Reuters.

Philippine Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said he had encouraged the victims' families to file complaints directly with the ministry and make use of a witness protection programme.

The release of details of the 50 drug war deaths marked a rare admission by the state that abuses may have taken place.

"Why is the government only doing this now? Is it because they were rattled by the ICC?," asked Llore Pasco, 67, whose two sons were killed in the crackdown. "They should have started investigating soon as the killings began in 2016."

Since Duterte unleashed his drugs war, security forces say more than 6,000 suspected drug dealers have been killed because they fought back violently. Rights groups say authorities summarily executed them.

Among those killed was high-school student Kian delos Santos, whose death in 2017 led to the first convictions of police officers in the drug war, and featured in a report by a former ICC prosecutor.

"The families look at the ICC as a source of hope," said delos Santos' uncle, Randy. (Reuters)