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August
UN says over 200 former Afghan military, officials killed since Taliban takeover
Written by Nur Yasmin
More than 200 members of Afghanistan's former military, law enforcement and government have been killed since the Taliban took over, the U.N. mission in Afghanistan said on Tuesday, despite a "general amnesty" for old enemies.
The mission said in a report it had recorded at least 218 extrajudicial killings with links to the Taliban from their takeover of Afghanistan in mid-2021 up to June.
"In most instances, individuals were detained by de facto security forces, often briefly, before being killed," the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said.
Senior Taliban leaders have said there is an amnesty for former government officials and members of the military by order of their supreme leader.
The Taliban-led foreign affairs ministry said in response to UNAMA that it had not received reports of any cases of non-compliance with the order and any cases that did occur would be investigated.
U.N. human rights chief Volker Turk said the killings were a "betrayal of the people's trust" since the victims had been assured they would not be targeted. U.N. rights office spokesperson Jeremy Laurence said the scale of killings was "shocking" and expected the true count to be higher.
UNAMA said about half of the killings it recorded occurred in the four months after the Taliban took over, as U.S.-backed foreign forces were withdrawing, in August 2021, and 70 were recorded in 2022.
"For the majority of violations discussed in this report, there is limited information regarding measures taken by the de facto authorities to investigate incidents and hold perpetrators to account," UNAMA said, referring to the Taliban administration.
"The apparent impunity with which members of the de facto authorities continue to commit human rights violations against former government officials and ANDSF members is of serious concern," UNAMA said, referring to the old Afghan National Defence and Security Forces.
In total, UNAMA had recorded 800 incidents of human rights violations connected with the Taliban against former government employees and military including arbitrary arrests, disappearance and torture.
The majority were against former members of the security forces and police, the mission said.
The Taliban-led foreign affairs ministry said their supreme spiritual leader had issued the amnesty order and another order against torture or ill-treatment of people in custody.
It denied state sanctioned extra-judicial killings or targeting people who fought in or worked for the foreign-backed former government.
"No military staff of the previous administration has been arrested, detained or tortured because of his activities in the security institutions," it said in a statement that the U.N. issued with its report.
"Those employees of the previous administration who joined the opposition groups of the Islamic Emirate (the Taliban administration) or had military activities to the detriment of the system, have been arrested and introduced to judicial authorities." (Reuters)
August
North Korea's Kim blasts 'irresponsible' top officials for flood damage
Written by Nur Yasmin
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has lashed out at top officials for their "irresponsible" response to flood damage, saying they had "spoiled" the national economy, state media reported on Tuesday.
Kim inspected a tideland on the west coast on Monday after seawater recently destroyed an embankment with inadequate drainage system, flooding more than 560 hectares of land, including over 270 hectares of rice paddies, news agency KCNA said.
Chastising officials for their "very irresponsible" neglect of duties, Kim singled out Kim Tok Hun, premier of the cabinet, for inspecting the destroyed site once or twice "with the attitude of an onlooker".
"He said ... in recent years the administrative and economic discipline of the Kim Tok Hun Cabinet has got out of order more seriously and, consequently, the idlers are spoiling all the state economic work with the irresponsible work manner," the KCNA said in an English-language dispatch.
Such irresponsibility and lack of discipline from officials is "mainly attributable to the feeble work attitude and wrong viewpoint of the premier of the cabinet," Kim said.
This week's visit is the latest in a series of inspections the North Korean leader has made of flood-hit farmlands amid mounting concerns over a food crisis in the reclusive country.
Lim Eul-chul, a professor of North Korean studies at South Korea's Kyungnam University, said Kim's harsh criticism could herald a cabinet reshuffle. It also demonstrates that the economy is not developing as planned, Lim added.
"After all, Kim appears to be furious over the national economy not improving as much as he wants," Lim said.
The North has suffered serious food shortages in recent decades, including famine in the 1990s, often as a result of natural disasters. International experts have warned that border closures during the COVID-19 pandemic worsened matters. (Reuters)
August
Thailand's Srettha wins PM bid as ally Thaksin returns after years in exile
Written by Nur Yasmin
Real estate mogul Srettha Thavisin won the backing of Thailand's parliament on Tuesday to become prime minister, paving the way to a new coalition government and an end to weeks of uncertainty and political stalemate.
Srettha, who was thrust into the spotlight just a few months ago by the populist Pheu Thai Party, secured the support of more than half of the legislature, on a day when the party's billionaire figurehead Thaksin Shinawatra made a historic homecoming after years of as a fugitive in self-imposed exile.
Political neophyte Srettha, a former president of property developer Sansiri (SIRI.BK), will be tasked with forming and holding together a potentially fragile coalition that will include parties backed by the royalist military, which overthrew Pheu Thai governments in 2006 and 2014 coups.
Among those ousted was former telecoms tycoon and Premier League football club owner Thaksin, who fled into exile and was jail in absentia in 2008 for abuse of power and conflicts of interest. A government led by his sister, Yingluck Shinawatra, was ousted in a coup in 2014.
Thaksin, 74, received a rapturous reception upon his return from supporters at a Bangkok airport, before being escorted by police to the Supreme Court then to a jail to serve a sentence of eight years.
The return of Thailand's most famous politician and Srettha's smooth ascent to the top job will add to speculation that Thaksin may have done a deal with his enemies in the military and establishment to allow his safe return, and possibly an early release from jail.
Thaksin and Pheu Thai have denied that.
Tuesday's events were the latest twist in a nearly two decade power struggle between Pheu Thai, which has won five elections, and a nexus of conservatives, generals and old money families that have long wielded influence on politics and the economy.
Srettha was declared by Pheu Thai as a prime ministerial candidate, alongside Paetongtarn Shinawatra, Thaksin's youngest daughter, in the run-up to a May 14 election in which the party finished second.
An attempt to form a coalition with the election winner, the progressive Move Forward, collapsed after it met fierce resistance from conservative members of the lower house and Senators under the influence of the military. (Reuters)
August
Why North Korea's satellite launches are so controversial
Written by Nur Yasmin
North Korea appears to be preparing for its second attempt at launching a reconnaissance satellite this year, a move that may prove as controversial as the nuclear-armed country's weapons tests.
A May 31 attempt - North Korea's first such launch since 2016 - ended in fiery failure when its new Chollima-1 rocket crashed into the sea.
North Korea told Japan on Tuesday that it would launch a satellite between Aug. 24 and Aug. 31, its second such attempt this year, prompting criticism from Japan and South Korea.
Here's what we know about North Korea's race for space, and why it's so controversial:
SPACE AMBITIONS
Since 1998 North Korea has launched six satellites, two of which appeared to have been successfully placed in orbit, the last one in 2016.
International observers said the satellite seemed to be under control, but there was lingering debate over whether it had sent any transmissions.
Experts said that North Korea had used a three-stage rocket booster like the Unha-3 of previous launches, but that a new launch pad was clearly built for a larger rocket.
A senior official at North Korea's space agency said after the launch that it planned to put more advanced satellites into orbit by 2020 and eventually "plant the flag of (North Korea) on the moon".
During a party congress in January 2021, leader Kim Jong Un revealed a wish list that included developing military reconnaissance satellites.
The Chollima-1 seems to be a new design and most likely uses the dual-nozzle liquid-fuelled engines developed for Pyongyang’s Hwasong-15 ICBM, analysts said.
South Korea has recovered some of the Chollima-1 wreckage - including, for the first time, parts of a satellite - but has not released detailed findings. Seoul said the satellite had little military value.
DUAL-USE TECHNOLOGY
The United States and its allies called North Korea's latest tests of satellite systems clear violations of United Nations Security Council resolutions, which prohibit any development of technology applicable to North Korea's ballistic missile programs.
North Korea has said its space program and defence activities are its sovereign right.
At the time of the 2016 space launch, North Korea had yet to fire an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). The satellite launch was condemned by governments in the United States and South Korea as a disguised test of missile technology capable of striking the continental United States.
Since 2016, North Korea has developed and launched three types of ICBMs, and now appears committed to placing working satellites in space. That would not only provide it with better intelligence on its enemies, but prove it could keep up with other growing space powers in the region, analysts said.
North Korea could use such satellites to more effectively target South Korea and Japan or conduct damage assessments during a war, said Ankit Panda of the U.S.-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
On the other hand, if North Korea can verify, with its own satellites, that the United States and its allies are not about to attack, it might reduce tensions and provide stability, he added. (Reuters)
August
Australia defence minister to travel to Philippines to observe drills
Written by Nur Yasmin
Australia's Defence Minister Richard Marles will travel to the Philippines to observe joint training drills focussed on regional security, his office said on Monday, amid tensions between the Philippines and China in the South China Sea.
More than 2,000 Australian and Philippine defence personnel will participate in amphibious landing and air assault drills, with two Australian navy vessels, HMAS Canberra and HMAS ANZAC, having arrived to conduct the bilateral exercises with the Philippines Navy.
Australia holds annual defence exercises in South East Asia, although it is the first amphibious exercise - the movement of ground and air forces from ship to shore - with the Philippines.
Philippines military chief Romeo Brawner told reporters the exercise in Palawan, held on Monday by Australia, the Philippines and a U.S. aircraft, was "not directed against China".
Palawan is a southwest island province near the South China Sea.
China and the Philippines have been embroiled for years in on-off confrontations at a disputed shoal in the South China Sea.
At the bilateral drills in the Philippines, Exercise Alon will involve 1,500 Australian defence personnel, 1,200 Philippine personnel and 150 U.S. Marines who are part of the U.S. rotational force in Darwin in Australia's north.
An Australian defence statement last week said Exercise Alon will involve a "simulated, combined air assault using [US Marines Corp] Osprey tiltrotor aircraft in Palawan, a combined amphibious demonstration at Zambales and artillery and aviation live-fire serials at Crow Valley" in the Philippines.
Zambales is also near the South China Sea.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said he will make the first visit by an Australian leader to the Philippines in 20 years next month, to discuss defence and security cooperation.
Albanese on Monday played down the Australian navy deployment to the Philippines for training exercises, against the backdrop of the China tensions.
"This is business as usual, Australia conducts activities in our region," he said.
Marles will also stop in Malaysia to meet his counterpart, his office said. (Reuters)
August
South Korea will cooperate more with US, Japan if North's threats continue
Written by Nur Yasmin
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said on Monday trilateral cooperation with the United States and Japan will grow stronger if North Korea's threats increase.
He made the remark at a Cabinet meeting days after he took part in talks with the leaders of the Untied States and Japan where they agreed to deepen military and economic cooperation.
"The structure of the trilateral cooperation among South Korea, the United States and Japan will become more solid as North Korea's provocation and threats increase," Yoon said during the meeting which was televised live, heralding what he called the "opening of a new era" in the three countries' relations.
The three-way partnership would develop into a strong framework to promote regional peace along with the AUKUS pact between the U.S., Britain and Australia, and the Quad grouping of the U.S., Japan, India and Australia, Yoon said.
The summit at the Camp David presidential retreat was the first standalone meeting between the U.S. and Japan and South Korea, as they seek to project unity in the face of China's growing power and nuclear threats from North Korea.
Yoon said the trilateral cooperation did not exclude other countries, and that it would contribute to freedom, peace and prosperity in the region and the world. (Reuters)
August
Thailand's Pheu Thai joins military rivals in bid to form government
Written by Nur Yasmin
Thailand's Pheu Thai Party vowed on Monday to deliver on a raft of election promises and change the constitution, as it unveiled an 11-party alliance that includes some military-linked rivals that will try to form a coalition government this week.
Thailand's bicameral parliament has been deadlocked for weeks on forming a government, after the anti-establishment election winner Move Forward succumbed to conservative resistance in parliament, leaving second-placed Pheu Thai to take up the effort.
While the proposed alliance is a step towards ending the stalemate, the pact between the populist Pheu Thai and some of old military-linked enemies could prolong concern about a new bout of instability after nearly two decades of on-off turmoil.
Parliament will vote on Tuesday on the prime ministerial bid of Pheu Thai's Srettha Thavisin, a 60-year-old real estate mogul who was thrust into politics only a few months ago.
"We are confident that Srettha will pass the vote," Pheu Thai leader Cholnan Srikaew told a press conference.
"We must quickly work to restore the economy and come up with policies that will develop mechanisms for the stability of politics, the economy and society," he said, after announcing how many cabinet portfolios each party would get.
Pheu Thai's pact includes parties created by generals who were behind 2006 and 2014 coups against its governments, and engineered re-writes of a constitution to make it extremely difficult for election winners not favoured by the conservative establishment to form governments.
Most Thais disagree with the idea of a coalition government that includes military-backed groups, an opinion poll showed on Sunday.
Cholnan acknowledged the political divisions in the alliance but said rival forces had a duty to the public to not delay the formation of a government.
"Throughout this time we faced division with a fair heart and a determination to overcome that division," he said. "The goal right now is shared responsibility for the sake of the country."
The alliance comprises 314 lawmakers and Srettha needs 375 votes from the combined upper and lower houses of parliament to be endorsed as premier and form the next government. It will be counting on support from non-alliance members, including from the upper house Senate, to get it over the line.
Pheu Thai said it would lead a coalition government that would deliver on populist promises including tackling graft, boosting the minimum wage and providing handouts in digital currency.
It also said it would forge ahead with changing the constitution to make it more democratic, but would steer clear of amending laws related to the monarchy.
Move Forward's bold plan to change part of the criminal code that insulates the palace from criticism was the main reason its government bid collapsed.
The party has declined to back Pheu Thai's multi-party effort, calling it a distortion of the election result and against the public will. (Reuters)
August
North Korea's Kim directs cruise missile test as South Korea, US begin drills
Written by Nur Yasmin
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw a test of strategic cruise missiles, state news agency KCNA said on Monday, as South Korea and the United States kicked off annual military drills that Pyongyang sees as a rehearsal for war.
Kim visited a navy fleet stationed on the east coast to oversee the test aboard a warship, KCNA said, without specifying the date of his trip.
The launch aimed to verify the "combat function of the ship and the feature of its missile system", while improving sailors' capability to carry out an "attack mission in actual war", KCNA said, adding that the ship's missile hit its target.
Kim said the ship would maintain "high mobility and mighty striking power and constant preparedness for combat to cope with sudden situations," KCNA said.
South Korea's defence ministry said it had detected signs of the launch, but that the KCNA claims were "exaggerated" and "different from the facts", but did not elaborate.
The latest missile test came as South Korea and the United States began the Ulchi Freedom Shield summer exercises on Monday, designed to enhance their joint responses to North Korea's nuclear and missile threats.
Pyongyang has denounced the allies' military drills as a rehearsal for nuclear war.
South Korea's military has said this year's exercises will be held on the "largest scale ever", involving tens of thousands of troops from both sides, as well as some member states of the U.N. Command.
President Yoon Suk Yeol said the drills would feature several contingency scenarios, such as cyber, terror and drone attacks, and a disinformation campaign by the North.
"True peace is preserved only by overwhelming force, not by one-sided begging or goodwill," Yoon told a meeting of the National Security Council.
"North Korea talks about preemptive nuclear strikes and preparations for an offensive war, but we will immediately and overwhelmingly retaliate for any provocations."
South Korean lawmakers have said the North could test-fire an intercontinental ballistic missile or take other military action to protest the allies' drills or last week's summit of South Korea, the United States and Japan.
Over the past two years, North Korea has been testing what it calls "strategic cruise missiles," which some analysts have said could be tipped with nuclear warheads. While modernising and bolstering its naval power, North Korea showcased a new, nuclear-capable underwater attack drone in March.
Choi Il, a former navy officer who runs a think tank focusing on naval power, said the missiles can fly more than 1,000 km (621 miles) and hit land-based targets, and the new ship appears to be a corvette-class vessel, designed to minimise radar detection.
Aboard the ship, Kim vowed to reinforce the navy with improved combat efficiency and modern means of surface and underwater offensive and defensive capabilities, KCNA said.
"We would put spurs to the modernisation of naval weapons and equipment, including the building of powerful warships and the development of shipboard and underwater weapon systems," it quoted the leader as saying. (Reuters)
August
China investigates citizen accused of spying for CIA, security ministry says
Written by Nur Yasmin
China is investigating a Chinese national accused of spying for the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the country's state security ministry said on Monday.
The 39-year-old Chinese national, surnamed Hao, was a cadre at a ministry and had gone to Japan for studies, which was where the spying recruitment occurred, the ministry said. Hao's gender was not revealed.
The statement came less than two weeks after the ministry said it uncovered another national also suspected of spying for the CIA after being recruited in Italy. The U.S. embassy in Beijing did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment, while the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo referred questions to the CIA, which was not immediately able to respond outside business hours.
The ministry said Hao had become acquainted with a U.S. embassy official known as "Ted" while sorting out a visa application. He invited Hao for dinners, presented gifts and sought Hao's help with writing a paper that Ted promised to pay for, the ministry said.
Ted introduced Hao to a colleague named Li Jun before his term at the embassy in Japan ended, the ministry said; Li and Hao then maintained a "cooperative relationship".
Before Hao completed studying, Li revealed being Tokyo-based CIA personnel and "instigated Hao into rebelling", telling Hao to return to China to work for a "core and critical unit".
Hao signed an espionage agreement, accepting assessment and training from the United States, according to the statement.
The ministry said Hao worked in a national department upon returning, "according to the requirements of the CIA", and provided the CIA with intelligence while collecting U.S. pay.
Relations between the United States and China have soured in recent years over a range of issues, including national security. Washington has accused Beijing of espionage and cyberattacks, charges China has rejected. China has also declared it is under threat from spies.
China called on its citizens this month to participate in counter-espionage work, after expanding its anti-spying law in July, alarming the United States. (Reuters)
August
US trip pays off for Taiwan VP with China drills more 'thunder than rain'
Written by Nur Yasmin
Taiwan Vice President William Lai managed to walk a fine line on his sensitive trip to the United States if China's drills in response are anything to go by, but Beijing's ire may not be allayed for long by a person it deeply dislikes.
China, which claims Taiwan as its own territory and has repeatedly denounced Lai as a separatist, held exercises around Taiwan on Saturday, the day after he returned, but on a far lower scale than previous war games in April and last August in protest at Taiwan-U.S. engagement.
China has a particular dislike of Lai, the frontrunner in polls ahead of January's presidential election, due to his previous comments about being a "worker for Taiwan independence".
But Lai did not meet any senior U.S. officials or lawmakers during the visit, aside from the head of the unofficial U.S. body that deals with the country's Taiwan ties. In his public events he talked about peace and dialogue, though he also said that Taiwan would not back down in the face of threats.
"The People's Liberation Army could not find an excuse to make a big fuss," said Ma Chen-kun, a Chinese military expert at Taiwan's National Defence University. "These drills were a lot of thunder, but less rain."
There was no live fire component, unlike last August when China fired missiles over Taiwan, the drill lasted only one day, and was not given a name, unlike the April one, though Chinese state media did launch a series of personal attacks on Lai on Saturday, including calling him a "liar".
Taiwan's defence ministry, in its daily report on Chinese movements over the previous 24 hours, said on Monday morning that it had spotted no Chinese military aircraft entering the Taiwan Strait over that period.
Both Taiwan and the United States had sought to keep Lai's U.S. visit low key, officially describing it as stopovers on his way to and from Paraguay and saying it was a decades-long routine for Taiwan presidents to transit in the United States during trips overseas therefore China shouldn't use the visit as a "pretext" for military drills.
China, in the long run, is unlikely to be ameliorated, believing as it still does that Lai is a dangerous separatist who may go back to pushing for Taiwan independence when he wins election, said Shen Dingli, a Shanghai-based International Relations Scholar.
"If Lai Ching-te becomes president and returns to his original stance or even strengthens it, he could force the mainland to deal with Taiwan using non-peaceful means," he said, using Lai's Chinese language name.
'NO SURPRISES'
Lo Chih-cheng, a senior lawmaker for the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, said Lai's trip was also about the broader process of showing him to the United States as a steady and trustworthy leader.
"Maybe you think the transits were a bit boring or simple, but also there were no surprises," Lo said.
An opinion poll published on Monday by the Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation showed Lai extending his lead and pulling well ahead of his nearest competitor to be Taiwan's next president, the former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je.
China's reaction could also have been muted since the visit came against the backdrop of both Beijing and Washington trying to improve relations, which could include a visit to the United States later in the year by President Xi Jinping for an Asia Pacific summit.
China's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but a ministry spokesman told reporters on Monday that it was hard for Lai to hide his "evil intent" to seek independence.
China could take other, trade-related, steps to punish Taiwan, having previously stopped Taiwanese fruit and fish imports. On Monday, China suspended Taiwanese mango imports citing a pest problem.
But China has its own domestic problems as well, not least economic ones like a property market crisis, and threat of war with Taiwan is not going to help that, said Fan Shih-ping, a professor at National Taiwan Normal University's Graduate Institute of Political Science.
"Noise about achieving unification through force is a negative for Chinese consumers. Who wants to spend if there's going to be a war?" he said. (Reuters)