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March
Human Rights Watch says over 2,000 Afghan evacuees in detention in UAE
Written by Nur Yasmin
Human Rights Watch accused Emirati authorities on Wednesday of arbitrarily detaining for more than 15 months as many as 2,700 Afghan evacuees who have not qualified for resettlement elsewhere.
Many of the Afghans in Emirates Humanitarian City are suffering from depression and other psychological ailments, have no access to legal counsel, and have inadequate educational services for their children, a Human Rights Watch report (HRW) said.
"Living conditions have also deteriorated significantly, with detainees describing overcrowding, decay of infrastructure, and insect infestations," the report said of the facility in Abu Dhabi.
A UAE official told Reuters the UAE continues to work with the United States and other international partners to resettle remaining evacuees in a timely manner as per the original agreement. The official did not comment on the accusation that the Afghans were being detained.
"We understand that there are frustrations and this has taken longer than intended to complete," the official said.
The UAE official said the country is committed to ensuring Afghan evacuees live in safety, security and dignity, and said evacuees have received high-quality housing, sanitation, health, counseling, education and food services.
Human Rights Watch said it had received no responses to requests for comment from the UAE ministries of interior and foreign affairs.
The U.S. State Department office that handles the relocation of Afghans told the rights group in a letter that the U.S. commitment to resettling eligible Afghans - including those in Emirates Humanitarian City - is an "enduring one", the report said.
Private evacuation groups and the Emirati military flew thousands of Afghans into the UAE during the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan that ended 20 years of war. Several private groups continued chartered evacuation flights after the U.S. departure.
The evacuees were housed in Emirates Humanitarian City and Tasameem Workers City - apartment complexes converted into refugee housing - and many eventually were cleared for resettlement in the United States, Canada and other countries.
Between 2,500 and 2,700 Afghans, however, did not qualify for resettlement elsewhere and as of January remained in what the HRW report called "arbitrary detention".
The UAE official said the Gulf country has hosted more than 17,000 evacuees evacuated after the Taliban takeover of Kabul in August 2021, and has resettled around 87% of them.
"Emirati authorities have kept thousands of Afghan asylum seekers locked up for over 15 months in cramped, miserable conditions with no hope of progress on their cases," said Joey Shea, Human Rights Watch's UAE researcher.
Sixteen Afghans interviewed late last year by the rights group said they could not freely leave the site, with security guards or minders watching them closely on hospital visits and during the only shopping mall visit they have been permitted.
The report said Emirati authorities are not abiding by international law and U.N. guidelines for dealing with asylum seekers and migrants, making their detention "arbitrary".
The UAE is not a party to the U.N. Refugee Convention.
Human Rights Watch called on the UAE to immediately release the Afghans, allow them access to "fair and individualized" processing to determine their refugee status and protection requirements, and permit them to live where they want until their cases are resolved.
The organization urged the U.S. State Department to use its leverage to win the release of the Afghans and expedite any applications for asylum or humanitarian parole.
The United States has resettled more than 88,000 Afghans evacuated during and after the U.S. troop withdrawal. Thousands who worked for the U.S. government, however, remain in Afghanistan awaiting the processing of their special immigration visa applications. (Reuters)
March
Australia PM visits Fiji to discuss nuclear submarines, regional security
Written by Nur Yasmin
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese met his Fiji counterpart in Suva on Wednesday to press Canberra's message that its $245 billion nuclear powered submarine programme does not violate its nuclear non-proliferation commitments.
Australia is party to a nuclear-free zone treaty with 12 other South Pacific nations, including Fiji, in a region where sensitivity over nuclear weapons is high because of the effects of nuclear weapons tests by the United States and France.
The strategically located region has been a focus of rising tensions between the United States and China over Beijing's ambitions to increase its security presence.
China this month renewed its diplomatic push for Pacific island countries to cooperate with Beijing on security, after a proposed 10-nation deal was rebuffed in June.
Albanese met with Fijian Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka on Wednesday to discuss regional security, a day after unveiling details of the AUKUS submarine programme in San Diego with the leaders of United States and Britain.
Australia will buy three U.S. Virginia-class submarines early next decade. British and U.S. nuclear-powered submarines will also be deployed in Australia from 2027.
Australia's defence officials have said the nuclear submarine fleet is needed as a deterrent to China's naval build up.
China has said AUKUS violates a nuclear non-proliferation treaty, which Australia rejects. Australia emphasised on Tuesday the submarines will not carry nuclear weapons.
Beijing's special envoy to the Pacific islands, Qian Bo, sought support this month from a sub-regional group of Fiji, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands for a security training and assistance role for China, a statement from the Melanesian Spearhead Group showed.
Qian has visited Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu and the Federated States of Micronesia in the past fortnight. In a statement on March 10, the leader of the Melanesian Spearhead Group - an intergovernmental organisation of Fiji, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and a pro-independence party of New Caledonia - said it would consider security assistance, including training and equipment from China.
"My members have affirmed in very strong terms that no one will choose their friends or enemies for them," MSG Director General Leonard Louma said.
The group's regional security strategy will be agreed upon at a meeting in Fiji in April.
New Zealand's Foreign Minister Nanaaia Mahuta heads to Fiji on Wednesday, while a U.S. delegation led by White House Indo-Pacific coordinator Kurt Campbell will visit Pacific island countries in the coming days, the U.S. embassy in Auckland said. (Reuters)
March
Malaysia palm oil, rubber farmers file EU petition contesting deforestation law
Written by Nur Yasmin
Malaysian palm oil and rubber smallholders on Wednesday filed a petition to the European Union to protest against a new law preventing imports into the bloc of commodities linked to deforestation risks.
The EU in December agreed on a deforestation law that requires companies to produce a due diligence statement showing when and where their commodities were produced and provide "verifiable" information that they were not grown on land deforested after 2020, or risk hefty fines.
"The regulation's unilateral and unrealistic demands on traceability and geolocation will prevent small farmers from accessing the European market," a group of six smallholder associations said in a joint statement.
They submitted the petition to the EU delegation in Kuala Lumpur, calling on its leaders to review the deforestation regulation and "recognise the harm" it would cause farmers.
Smallholders account for 26%, or around 1.5 million hectares of oil palm planted area in Malaysia, the world's second-largest palm oil producer.
Globally, more than seven million smallholders cultivate palm oil for a living, and rely on the commodity to escape poverty.
The EU rule places burden on smallholders and threatens their livelihoods, the groups said.
They said they were concerned about the potential labelling of Malaysia as a high-risk country for deforestation in the regulation.
"Given Malaysia and its small farmers' record on forest protection and sustainable production, and the mandatory adoption of the Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil standards across the palm oil supply chain, such a designation would be highly demeaning to the Malaysian government and unjustified," they said.
The European Union delegation in Malaysia did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Malaysia and Indonesia, the world's largest palm oil exporters, have accused the EU of blocking market access for their palm oil. (Reuters)
March
South Korea's Yoon says cooperation with Japan vital amid concerns on North Korea, supply chains
Written by Nur Yasmin
Jakarta (voinews): South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said on Wednesday that cooperation with Japan is vital in confronting North Korea's growing threats and protecting global supply chains, calling on both countries to not snarl relations in domestic politics.
Yoon made the remarks in a written interview with international media, including Reuters, as he prepares to depart for Tokyo on Thursday for a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, the first such visit in 12 years.
The planned trip comes after South Korea announced last week its companies would compensate victims of forced labour under Japan's colonial rule from 1910-1945, seeking to end a dispute that has undermined U.S.-led efforts to present a unified front against China and North Korea.
"There is an increasing need for Korea and Japan to cooperate in this time of a polycrisis, with North Korean nuclear and missile threats escalating and global supply chains being disrupted," Yoon said. "We cannot afford to waste time while leaving strained Korea-Japan relations unattended."
Some of the victims who were forced to work under Japanese colonial rule have rejected the government's compensation plan, potentially complicating Seoul's efforts to end the diplomatic spat.
But Yoon said it was time for the people of the two countries to move forward "rather than confront over the past", adding that Japan has expressed "deep remorse and heartfelt apology in regard to its past colonial rule through the position of its previous governments".
"What matters is to ensure that such positions and behaviour continue unwaveringly," Yoon said, urging both countries to "guard against bilateral relations being exploited for domestic politics".
With economic cooperation expected to be high on the agenda during his trip, Yoon said stronger ties between the two countries would help global supply chains, and build more "stable" economic relations with China.
Yoon's visit also comes as North Korea has been raising tensions in the region weapons test, including the latest launch of two short-range ballistic missiles into the sea off its east coast on Tuesday.
North Korea's state news agency KCNA said the launches were part of a military drill to train its troops carry out their mission at any time and "annihilate the enemy" if necessary.
South Korea, the United States and Japan must further strengthen security cooperation to deter North Korea, Yoon said, adding that he expected GSOMIA, an intelligence-sharing pact with Japan, to be "invigorated" as the two countries restore trust.
South Korea has been conditionally maintaining the pact, which is intended to help the two countries share information on North Korea's missile and nuclear activities.
Yoon denounced North Korea for focusing on its "reckless" weapons programmes when the country's food shortages have "grown worse" and said South Korea "will never acknowledge North Korea as a nuclear state under any circumstances." (Reuters)
March
Pakistan security forces withdraw from around Imran Khan's home
Written by Nur Yasmin
Pakistani security forces withdrew from around Imran Khan's home on Wednesday, putting a halt to clashes that had erupted after police tried to arrest the former prime minister for not showing up in a case against him related to selling state gifts.
Police and other security personnel were seen leaving the Lahore neighbourhood were Khan's home is located. Earlier, security forces had fired tear gas and water cannons at hundreds of Khan's supporters who had cordoned off his home in an effort to prevent his arrest.
The violence had added to the instability in nuclear-armed Pakistan, which is struggling with an economic crisis and awaiting an International Monetary Fund bailout.
It was not immediately clear if the security forces had ended their court-ordered operation to arrest Khan. After they withdrew, Khan was seen standing outside his home, wearing a gas mask and talking to supporters.
A lower court in the capital Islamabad had last week issued an arrest warrant against Khan for defying orders to present himself in court to defend charges that he unlawfully sold state gifts given to him by foreign dignitaries while he was prime minister from 2018 to 2022.
In a tweet, Khan said he had signed a "surety bond" that would guarantee his appearance in the court by a March 18 deadline, and senior aide Fawad Chaudhry said Khan's party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, had asked the court to stop the police from arresting him.
According to a list shared by Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb last year, the gifts given to Khan included seven expensive wrist watches, including one valued at 85 million Pakistani rupees (about $300,000).
The list, which Reuters could not independently verify, also contained perfumes, diamond jewellery and dinner sets.
Khan has denied wrongdoing. (Reuters)
March
China to fully reopen borders to foreigners but near-term hurdles remain
Written by Nur Yasmin
China will reopen its borders to foreign tourists for the first time in the three years since the COVID-19 pandemic erupted by allowing all categories of visas to be issued from Wednesday.
The removal of this last cross-border control measure imposed to guard against COVID-19 comes after authorities last month declared victory over the virus.
Tourist industry insiders do not expect a massive influx of visitors in the short run or significant boost to the economy. In 2019, international tourism receipts accounted for just 0.9% of China's gross domestic product.
But the resumption of visa issuance for tourist marks a broader push by Beijing to normalise two-way travel between China and the world, having withdrawn its advisory to citizens against foreign travel in January.
Areas in China that required no visas before the pandemic will revert to visa-free entry, the foreign ministry said on Tuesday. This will include the southern tourist island of Hainan, a long-time favourite destination among Russians, as well as cruise ships passing through Shanghai port.
Visa-free entry for foreigners from Hong Kong and Macau to China's most prosperous province, Guangdong, will also resume, a boon particularly to high-end hotels popular among international business travellers.
"The announcement that China will resume issuing nearly all type of visas for foreigners from tomorrow is positive for Australian businesses whose executives would like to travel to here to visit their China-based teams, customers and suppliers and to explore new business opportunities in the mainland market," said Vaughn Barber, chairman of the Australian Chamber of Commerce in China.
Chinese events open to foreign visitors - such as the China Development Forum in Beijing later this month and the Shanghai Autoshow in April - are gradually resuming. The once-every-four-years Asian Games will also take place in the eastern city of Hangzhou in September after being postponed last year due to China's COVID concerns.
But prospective visitors might not immediately arrive in droves.
Unfavourable views of China among western democracies have hardened due to concerns over human rights and Beijing's aggressive foreign policy, as well as suspicions surrounding handling of COVID-19, a global survey by the Pew Research Center in September showed.
"In terms of tourism, China is no longer a hotspot destination," said an executive at China International Travel Services in Beijing, declining to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter.
"Commercially, the wish of foreigners to run events in China also decreased after COVID, because too many things here are impacted by politics which has scared them off."
GEOPOLITICS
In a further relaxation of controls on outbound tourism, China added another 40 countries to its list for which group tours are allowed, bringing the total number of countries to 60.
But the list still excludes Japan, South Korea, Australia and the United States. Ties between those countries deepened as Washington faced off with Beijing over issues from Russia and Ukraine to Chinese military presence in the South China Sea.
"It's common to use tourist visas to come to China on business, but I don't know how enthusiastic institutional investors will be to do so, after all the drumbeat of scary news," said Duncan Clark, founder of BDA, a Beijing-based investment consultancy.
In 2022, just 115.7 million cross-border trips were made in and out of China, with foreigners accounting for around 4.5 million.
By contrast, China logged 670 million overall trips in 2019 before the arrival of COVID, with foreigners accounting for 97.7 million. (Reuters)
March
Australia says offered China briefing over nuclear submarine deal
Written by Nur Yasmin
Australia offered China a briefing over its nuclear-powered submarine deal with the United States and Britain but is not aware of any response from Beijing, Defence Minister Richard Marles said on Tuesday.
The government has made more than 60 calls over the last week to leaders including in the Pacific and southeast Asia to inform them about the agreement, known as the AUKUS pact, Marles said during a televised media briefing.
U.S. President Joe Biden, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Tuesday unveiled details of a plan to provide Australia with nuclear-powered attack submarines, a major step to counter China's ambitions in the Indo-Pacific.
China "firmly objects" to the nuclear submarine agreement, its foreign ministry said this month. (Reuters)
March
Taiwan says defence spending to focus on readying for 'total blockade' by China
Written by Nur Yasmin
Taiwan's defence spending this year will focus on preparing weapons and equipment for a "total blockade" by China, including parts for F-16 fighters and replenishing weapons, the military said in a report.
China, which views Taiwan as its own territory, staged war games around the island in August, firing missiles over Taipei and declaring no-fly and no-sail zones in a simulation of how it would seek to cut Taiwan off in a war.
In a report seeking parliamentary budget approval, a copy of which was reviewed by Reuters on Monday, Taiwan's defence ministry said it began reviewing its strategic fuel reserves and repair abilities last year, but did not give details.
In "anticipation of a total blockade of the Taiwan Strait", spending this year would include replenishment of artillery and rocket stocks, and parts for F-16 fighters "to strengthen combat continuity", the ministry said.
In an update on its threat assessment from China, the ministry said China's military has been conducting joint force operations with an eye to controlling strategic choke points and denying access to foreign forces.
"Recently, the Communist military's exercise and training model has been adjusted from a single military type to joint operations of land, sea, air and rocket forces," it said in the report, issued ahead of Defence Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng's taking lawmakers' questions in parliament on Wednesday.
"It is adopting an actual war approach and shifting from training to combat preparation."
China's Taiwan Affairs Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
China has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control.
Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Monday that China must modernise its military to make it a "Great Wall of Steel".
Xi also said that when it came to Taiwan, China must oppose pro-independence and secessionist activities and the interference of external forces.
Taiwan's defence ministry said China has systematically increased the strength of its "joint combat readiness" actions around Taiwan.
China's military's Eastern Theatre Command last year sent more than 1,700 aircraft into Taiwan's air defence identification zone. That is more than double the number from a year earlier and poses a "substantial threat" to Taiwan's defence, the ministry said.
China has been "normalising" no-navigation zones around the Bohai Sea, the Yellow Sea and the Taiwan Strait, the ministry added.
China hopes to hone its abilities to fight into the "second island chain", which includes an area from Japan to the Pacific islands, to "choke and control" the Bashi Channel, the Miyako Strait and Tsushima Strait, it said, three waterways crucial to access to the Pacific and East China Seas.
The ministry said China has also continued to use "grey zone" tactics to test Taiwan's response, including sending drones, balloons and fishing boats to areas close to Taiwan.
The ministry also said it would include prioritise funding in the budget this year for major U.S.-made weapons, including Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, and M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) mobile rocket launchers. (Reuters)
March
Philippines, US kick off joint drills amid China concerns
Written by Nur Yasmin
The Philippines and United States launched army-to-army exercises on Monday, with a focus on enhancing the Southeast Asian nation's ability to protect and defend its territory from external threats.
The drills come on the heels of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr's decision last month to expand the United States' access to his country's military bases - a move that has infuriated China since the Philippines is seen as a fulcrum of geopolitical rivalry between the two major powers.
More than 3,000 Filipino and U.S. soldiers will participate in the three-week long annual exercises called Salaknib, which involve multiple small-arms live-fire exercises, artillery and mortar live-fire events, and construction projects.
"The scenarios would involve the defence of the Philippine archipelago from potential foreign aggressors," Philippines Army Chief Lieutenant General Romeo Brawner told reporters following the opening ceremony.
"Since this is an army-to-army exercise, we will focus on defence operations such as air defence and also our defence from the shorelines," he added.
The majority of activities will take place at Fort Magsaysay, the Philippines' largest military camp, and one of the five existing sites the United States has access to under its Enhanced Defence Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) with Manila. Under the agreement, the United States can use the bases for joint training, pre-positioning of equipment and building of facilities such as runways, fuel storage and military housing, but not to maintain a permanent presence.
China has slammed the expanded agreement, calling it "part of U.S. efforts to encircle and contain China through its military alliance with this country".
"By doing these, the U.S. has not only heightened tension, driven a wedge between China and the Philippines, but also has disturbed and upset the joint effort of countries in this region to safeguard peace and stability in the South China Sea," the spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in Manila said in a statement on Sunday.
The Philippines has yet to disclose the additional bases to which the United States will have access, but a former military chief has said they include bases on the island of Luzon, facing north towards Taiwan, and on Palawan in the southwest, near the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. (Reuters)
March
Learning from Ukraine, Taiwan shows off its drones as key to 'asymmetric warfare'
Written by Nur Yasmin
Taiwan showcased new models of its domestically produced military drones on Tuesday, saying they are key to its "asymmetric warfare" capacity to make its forces more agile if they have to face a far larger Chinese military.
China, which has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control, has ramped up military activity near the democratically governed island to force it to accept Chinese sovereignty despite Taiwan's objections.
The war in Ukraine has lent new urgency to Taiwan military's efforts to bolster defence including a push to develop drones.
In a rare display of its drone capabilities, the military-owned National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST), showed off its latest models, including the Albatross II surveillance drone, and combat drones that operate with global positioning system satellites.
NCSIST head Art Chang said the war in Ukraine had focused attention on drones, and his institution had teamed up with Taiwan companies to build a "national team" to develop military drones.
Taiwan's military has announced a partnership with companies aimed at producing 3,000 drones next year.
Chi Li-Pin, director of Aeronautical Systems Research Division for NCSIST, said the armed forces should increase their adoption of drones in their strategies.
"I hope our national troops can familiarise themselves with this weapon of asymmetric warfare and use them boldly," he told reporters at an NCSIST facility in the central city of Taichung.
President Tsai Ing-wen has championed the idea of "asymmetric warfare" to make Taiwan's forces more mobile and harder to attack.
Taiwan's armed forces are well-equipped but still dwarfed by China's.
Among the drones on display was an attack drone with loitering munitions that can cruise towards a target before plummeting at velocity and detonating on impact.
China has sent its drones to areas close to Taiwan to test its responses, the island's defence ministry has said.
Last year, Taiwan shot down a civilian drone that entered its airspace near an islet off the Chinese coast.
The island's defence ministry said in a report to parliament this week, a copy of which was reviewed by Reuters, that China was quickly building up its combat capacity with drones, including swarms of flying robots.
In response, Taiwan will focus on developing its combat and surveillance drones, as well as anti-drone systems, the ministry said. (Reuters)