Live Streaming
Program Highlight
Company Profile
International News (6893)
June
Myanmar minister attends ASEAN defence meeting despite calls to exclude junta
Written by Nur Yasmin
Myanmar's military-appointed defence minister joined a meeting of his Southeast Asian counterparts on Wednesday, despite pressure from some countries in the regional bloc and pro-democracy groups to exclude the junta from such gatherings.
General Mya Tun Oo is the most senior Myanmar official to attend a ministerial meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian nations (ASEAN) since the junta was sidelined late last year over its failure to honour a peace plan agreed with ASEAN.
Divisions persist within the 10-nation bloc over how to deal with the military that seized power in Myanmar last year and has led a bloody crackdown against its opponents.
Singapore, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia have urged current chair Cambodia to exclude the junta until progress is made toward ending hostilities.
The Malaysian defence ministry said that even though Wednesday's meeting involved the military government, "this does not mean Malaysia recognises the (junta) as the legitimate government of Myanmar".
Cambodian Defence Minister Tea Banh said the Myanmar general's presence indicated a unified bloc.
"This is a participation to find solutions and this accusation, that accusation, we can't respond to all of them," he told a news conference, referring to criticism over including Myanmar in the meeting.
Details of the ministers' discussion were not available but a joint statement shared with media showed all of them pledged support for efforts to "bring about a peaceful transition to normalcy in Myanmar" through a special envoy.
Democracy activists in Myanmar and elsewhere raised concerns that efforts to engage with the junta legitimise it.
"(ASEAN defence ministers') engagement with the junta, which has included military exercises, may likely amount to the aiding and abetting of the junta's war crimes and crimes against humanity," the ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights network said last week in an open letter signed by more than 650 civil society organisations.
All 10 Southeast Asian defence ministers are also due to meet their Chinese and Japanese counterparts virtually later on Wednesday, Tea Banh said. (Reuters)
June
Taiwan scrambles jets to warn away Chinese planes in its air defence zone
Written by Nur Yasmin
Taiwan scrambled jets on Tuesday to warn away 29 Chinese aircraft in its air defence zone, including bombers that flew south of the island and into the Pacific, in the latest uptick in tensions and largest incursion since late May.
Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory, has complained in recent years of repeated missions by the Chinese air force near the democratically governed island, often in the southwestern part of its air defence identification zone, or ADIZ, close to the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Islands.
Taiwan calls China's repeated nearby military activities "grey zone" warfare, designed to both wear out Taiwanese forces by making them repeatedly scramble, and also to test Taiwanese responses.
The latest Chinese mission included 17 fighters and six H-6 bombers, as well as electronic warfare, early warning, antisubmarine and aerial refuelling aircraft, Taiwan's defence ministry said.
Some of the aircraft flew northeast of the Pratas, according to a map the ministry provided.
However, the bombers, accompanied by an electronic warfare and an intelligence gathering aircraft, flew into the Bashi Channel, which separates Taiwan from the Philippines and into the Pacific, before turning back to China on the same route.
Taiwan sent combat aircraft to warn away the Chinese aircraft, while missile systems monitored them, the ministry said, using standard wording for its response.
It was the largest incursion since Taiwan reported 30 Chinese aircraft in its ADIZ on May 30. The largest to date this year occurred on Jan. 23, involving 39 aircraft.
There was no immediate comment from China, which has in the past said that such moves were drills aimed at protecting the country's sovereignty.
Taiwan Foreign Minister Joseph Wu said on Wednesday the large-scale exercise by the Chinese military showed China's military threat is "more serious than ever".
"But there's no way #Taiwan will cave in & surrender its sovereignty & democracy to the big bully. Not a chance!," Wu said on Twitter.
A U.S. State Department spokesperson told Reuters in an email that Beijing should "cease its military, diplomatic, and economic pressure and intimidation against Taiwan".
China launched its third aircraft carrier on Friday, the Fujian, named after the province opposite Taiwan.
China's military said last month it had conducted an exercise around Taiwan as a "solemn warning" against its "collusion" with the United States.
That came after U.S. President Joe Biden angered China by appearing to signal a change in a U.S. policy of "strategic ambiguity" on Taiwan by saying the United States would get involved militarily if China were to attack the island.
China has stepped up pressure on Taiwan to accept its sovereignty claims. The Taipei government says it wants peace but will defend itself if attacked.
No shots have been fired and the Chinese aircraft have not been flying in Taiwan's air space, but in its ADIZ, a broader area Taiwan monitors and patrols that acts to give it more time to respond to any threats. (Reuters)
June
Australia power crisis forces manufacturers to eye offshore moves, production cuts
Written by Nur Yasmin
Australia's biggest building materials manufacturers are cutting back operations, hiking prices and considering moving production offshore to manage a spike in power and gas bills, adding to pressure on the government to resolve the country's energy crisis.
The CEOs of Brickworks Ltd (BKW.AX), the country's largest brickmaker, and Boral Ltd (BLD.AX), the top maker of most other construction materials, flagged the changes even as Australia's new Labor government scrambles to try to beef up power supplies and bring down electricity prices.
Power prices have surged in Australia amid a shortage of coal-fired generation due to planned and unplanned outages, which has driven up demand for gas-fired generation at the same time as gas demand for heating jumped during a cold snap.
The price jump has been exacerbated by record high global coal and gas prices, stoked by sanctions on Russia.
That has left Australia's A$100 billion ($70 billion) manufacturing sector, a major power and gas consumer, exposed to soaring costs, especially those whose cheaper, long-term energy contracts are expiring.
Brickworks, for example, has gas contracts with Santos Ltd (STO.AX) averaging A$10 per gigajoule, locked in for two years, compared to the current government-mandated price cap of A$40.
"If we had to pay, when our contract rolled over, (the current spot price), we would no doubt be shutting plants down and moving production offshore," said Lindsay Partridge, managing director of Brickworks.
Brickworks pays just $3 per gigajoule for gas in the United States, where it owns Pennsylvania-based brickmaker Glen-Gery Corp.
"If we rolled over and you had to pay A$40, and I could buy gas in the U.S. for $3, then it's a pretty easy equation to work out," added Partridge.
The United States generates just one-sixth of Brickworks' earnings from building materials, but the company could save money by shipping product back to Australia, he said.
Boral, which downgraded its annual profit forecast in May partly due to energy costs, told Reuters it has cut back on operations due to "the speed and magnitude of the change in energy prices".
"We have been forced to temporarily curtail some areas of our operations and unfortunately have been left with no other option than to pass increases onto customers directly," said Chief Executive Officer Zlatko Todorcevski in an email to Reuters, without specifying the size or products affected by the cuts. "We have also had to accelerate plans to review our overheads as we offset these inflationary challenges."
Boral welcomed a move last week by the Australian energy market operator to cap wholesale power prices and take control over power supplies, but Todorcevski said those temporary measures "do not provide long-term confidence for large manufacturers".
The Business Council of Co-Operatives and Mutuals said this month manufacturers were choosing between shutting "uneconomic operations" and passing higher costs to consumers as energy bills jumped more than 600% in a few months.
Incitec Pivot (IPL.AX), Australia's top fertiliser maker, has said it would close its Brisbane plant at the end of 2022 because it was unable to line up an affordable gas contract.
GAS EXPORT CONTROLS
The latest crisis has highlighted the need for more gas supply in the domestic market, for a country which is the world's biggest exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG).
Manufacturers have long clamoured for gas export controls or a reservation of gas for the domestic market. Gas prices have more than tripled in price since 2014, when Australia started exporting LNG from the east coast.
In Western Australia, where 15% of gas is reserved for local consumption, domestic prices are a fraction of the capped east coast price.
"There's certainly a strong call from many quarters for something to be done and a lot of people point to gas export controls," said Tennant Reed, energy policy director at the Australian Industry Group.
Australia's new resources minister, Madeleine King, has said all options are on the table for dealing with gas supply challenges.
Successive governments have previously opposed a gas reservation on the east coast, under pressure from gas producers which say the structure would deter further investment.
"It was something I raised 10-12 years ago with the previous Labor government about allowing all the gas to be exported, and connecting up the east coast of Australia into international markets," said Partridge, the Brickworks managing director.
"Now it's all come home to roost." (Reuters)
June
N. Korea abruptly stops importing COVID containment goods from China
Written by Nur Yasmin
North Korea abruptly stopped importing COVID-19 prevention and control products from China in May, trade data released by Beijing showed, after the country bought face masks and ventilators from its neighbour in previous months.
Daily new cases of fever in North Korea, as reported by its state news agency, KCNA, have been declining since the reclusive country first acknowledged in mid-May that it was fighting an COVID-19 outbreak. But it has yet to reveal how many of those cases tested positive for the coronavirus.
North Korea did not import any face masks, thermometers, rubber gloves, ventilators or vaccines from China in May, according to data released by Chinese customs on Monday.
That compared with imports of more than 10.6 million masks, nearly 95,000 thermometers and 1,000 non-invasive ventilators from China in January-April.
South Korea and the United States have offered to provide help, including vaccines, but Pyongyang has not responded.
As Pyongyang has never directly confirmed how many people have tested positive for the virus, the World Health Organization said in June that it assumed the situation was getting worse, not better.
Overall, China's exports to North Korea slumped 85.2% to $14.51 million in May from $98.1 million in April.
The top export items were soybeans, granulated sugar, soybean meal and wheat flour.
North Korea bought $2.97 million worth of soybeans, $2.64 million of granulated sugar, $1.49 million of soybean meal and $846,598 of wheat flour in May, the Chinese customs data showed.
Chinese foreign ministry confirmed on April 29 that China had suspended cross-border freight train services with North Korea following consultations due to COVID-19 infections in its border city of Dandong. (Reuters)
June
Monsoon covers half of India; rainfall approaches average -weather dept
Written by Nur Yasmin
India's annual monsoon rainfall has covered more than half of the country and conditions are favourable for it to advance into central, northern and western regions this week, the weather department said on Monday.
The monsoon's progress will help farmers accelerate sowing of summer-sown crops, which has been lagging due to below-normal rainfall in the first half of June, especially in central India.
The monsoon has covered all of southern and eastern India and most of the central state of Madhya Pradesh, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said in a statement.
"Monsoon has revived. This week many regions in southern and central India would get heavy rainfall," an IMD official told Reuters.
Conditions are favourable for the monsoon to advance further into Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, said the official, who was not authorised to speak with media so declined to be identified.
India received 8% less rainfall over June 1 - when the monsoon season began - through June 19 compared with a historical average, IMD data showed. For June 1-14, the rainfall deficit was 36%.
The monsoon - which accounts for nearly 70% of India's annual rainfall and is the lifeblood of its $2.7 trillion agriculture-dependent economy - arrived on the coast of southern Kerala state on May 29, two days ahead of usual. Its progress later stalled for over a week.
Sowing of cotton, soybean, corn and paddy has lagged in key producing states, but could accelerate from this week, a senior government official told Reuters.
"Sowing window is still open. Farmers have completed land preparation operations. They will plant crops as soon as they get enough rainfall," the official said, declining to be identified.
Millions of people in the northeast and neighbouring Bangladesh have been marooned because of heavy rainfall in the past few days, but rainfall intensity in the region could moderate this week, the IMD official said. (Reuters)
June
Philippines' President-elect Marcos says he will head agriculture ministry
Written by Nur Yasmin
Philippines' President-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said on Monday he will head the Department of Agriculture himself to address severe problems faced by the sector.
Marcos, in a news conference, said increasing agricultural production and counteracting increases in prices of commodities would be among his priorities. (Reuters)
June
U.S. may let Tajikistan hold on to fleeing Afghan aircraft
Written by Nur Yasmin
The United States may let Tajikistan hold on to Afghan military aircraft donated by the U.S. that sought shelter in the Central Asian country following the U.S. withdrawal from Kabul last August, a U.S. military commander said.
U.S.-trained Afghan pilots flew dozens of military planes and helicopters to Tajikistan and Uzbekistan as they fled the Islamist Taliban who took over the country as foreign forces withdrew.
The Taliban have demanded that the two countries return the aircraft.
U.S. Central Command commander Gen. Michael Kurilla visited Tajikistan over the weekend.
"We are grateful to the Armed Forces of the Republic of Tajikistan for continuing to secure the aircraft that the Afghan Air Force flew into the country last August," he said in comments relayed by the U.S. embassy.
"The United States is working with the Tajik government to determine the best way to effectively use and maintain the aircraft," Kurilla said.
He said the aircraft would definitely not be returned to Afghanistan "because they do not belong to the Taliban".
"Our hope is to be able to hand over some or all of the aircraft to the Tajik government. I do not have a timeline on when this will occur, but we are working hard to make this happen."
The Taliban seized power as the United States and its allies withdrew troops after a 20-year war launched in the weeks after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks as U.S. forces hunted al Qaeda leaders and sought to punish their Taliban hosts.
Panicked Afghans clamoured to board flights out of Kabul, fearing reprisals and a return to a harsh version of Islamic law that the Sunni Muslim group implemented when it held power from 1996 to 2001. (Reuters)
June
Japan PM Kishida Says No Numerical Targets For Defence Spending
Written by Nur Yasmin
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who has vowed to substantially increase his nation's defense spending, said on Tuesday there are no numerical targets for the outlay.
In the face of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and an increasingly tense situation in Asia with missile tests from North Korea and a more assertive China, Kishida has vowed to strengthen defense fundamentally in five years.
The issue is expected to be a focus of public attention leading up to the election for Japan's less powerful upper house of parliament on July 10. Campaigning starts on Wednesday.
Asked at a debate of political party leaders how much he plans to raise Japan's defense spending and how he will finance the rise, Kishida said that there was no numerical target - and that the issue didn't come up in discussions with U.S. President Joe Biden last month.
"We never had talks with numerical targets in our minds (at the summit meeting) ... What I've been proposing is to build the necessary defense capability in five years, while keeping a close eye on what's happening in other countries," Kishida said.
"As we prepare to acquire what's necessary, it will become clear how big a (defense) budget we need, and then, depending on the size of the budget, we will need to think about how to finance it."
The yen's slide in recent weeks to 20-year lows against the dollar, boosting the cost of imported goods, will put upward pressure on procurement costs.
Although Kishida's ruling Liberal Democratic Party is expected to do well in the election, recent public opinion surveys have shown Kishida's support edging lower, with most voters particularly unhappy about rising prices.
Since no further national elections need to be held for the next three years, a substantial win for the LDP would free Kishida's hand to tackle policy issues ranging from a weak yen to revising the war-renouncing constitution.
(Reuters)
June
Singapore Announces $1.08 Billion Support Package To Handle Soaring Prices
Written by Nur Yasmin
Singapore will introduce a S$1.5 billion ($1.08 billion) support package for mainly lower-income groups to help mitigate increased living costs from inflation and rising energy prices, its finance minister said on Tuesday.
The plan is tilted towards low-income groups but will include rebates to all Singaporean households in the city-state of 5.5 million people for their utility bills, Lawrence Wong told a media briefing.
The package is off-cycle and will be partly funded by the higher revenues collected from the stronger-than-expected economic recovery last year.
Singapore has seen decade-high inflation lately and its central bank had tightened monetary policy three times in a span of six months.
"The Ukraine war has put tremendous stresses on global supply chains, and protectionist measures by countries have compounded supply chain disruptions," Wong said, according to a transcript provided by the finance ministry.
"Global energy and food prices have risen sharply, and we must expect global inflation to broaden to other areas and even to pick up further before it stabilises and gets better," he added.
($1 = 1.3857 Singapore dollars)
(Reuters)
June
No Biden Move On Chinese Tariffs Likely Before G7 Meeting, Sources Say
Written by Nur Yasmin
U.S. President Joe Biden is considering scrapping tariffs on a range of Chinese goods to curb inflation, but no decision is likely before next week's Group of Seven summit, people familiar with the matter said.
White House officials discussed options on Friday with Biden for reducing some of former President Donald Trump's punitive duties on China, including potentially substantial cuts, three of the sources said. The scale of any potential final move is not yet decided, they said.
Biden's advisers are poring over Trump-era tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars of Chinese goods - many of which they see lacking strategic value, the sources said.
A White House spokesperson said the goal was to align the tariffs with U.S. economic and strategic priorities, safeguarding the interests of workers and critical industries, while not "unnecessarily raising costs on Americans."
After weeks of fierce debate among key aides over the issue, Biden has come to favor swift action on the tariff issue, keen to use any leverage to reduce surging inflation ahead of the Nov. 8 midterm elections for control of Congress, two of the sources said.
The president told reporters on Saturday that he was in the process of making up his mind.
"Conversations on this issue are ongoing and intensifying," a senior administration official told Reuters. "But this is not a binary (choice to) lift all tariffs or don't. It has to make sense strategically."
Margaret Cekuta, a former U.S. trade official who is now a principal with the Capitol Counsel lobbying firm, said easing tariffs would likely have a limited impact on inflation and could take about eight months to become fully effective.
"Economically it doesn’t make sense, but it could help combat the psychological impact of high inflation," she said, adding that the administration was trying to analyze which tariff lines could have the greatest impact on prices.
One administration proposal calls for eliminating a large chunk of Trump's punitive tariffs on Chinese consumer exports, except those on $50 billion of goods tied to an initial so-called Section 301 probe, which focused on circuit boards, semiconductors, and other "strategic" goods, said one of the sources. The proposal also excluded changes to tariffs on steel and aluminum.
But it could remove tariffs on a large number of consumer goods hit with tariffs in 2018 and 2019 as Trump's trade war with Beijing escalated - some $320 billion at the time they were imposed. These included internet routers, Bluetooth devices, vacuum cleaners, luggage, and vinyl flooring.
(Reuters)