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February
Thailand to seek travel bubbles with China, Malaysia
Written by Nur Yasmin
Thailand will have talks on bilateral travel bubble arrangements with China and Malaysia later this month, an official said on Monday, as part of efforts to bolster a steady recovery in its crucial tourism sector.
Thailand received a record of nearly 40 million foreign visitors in 2019 - more than a quarter of those from China - but total arrivals slumped to about 0.5% of that last year, due to weaker external demand and tight quarantine and entry requirements.
Southeast Asia's holiday hotspots have suffered billions in lost business from the lack of tourists from mainland China, which has yet to agree any travel bubble arrangements.
An agreement with Thailand would determine the number of people allowed in the exchange, including protocols for visas, travel and insurance, said government spokesperson Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana, adding China had agreed to discuss the "tourist exchange".
It comes a week after Thailand reinstated its "Test & Go" travel scheme for vaccinated arrivals of all nationalities with health insurance, who can skip quarantine if COVID-19 tests are negative.
In contrast, China requires lengthy quarantine for most arrivals including Chinese nationals and has a zero-tolerance policy towards outbreaks.
Thailand is also dealing with an increase in new cases lately, reaching 10,000 on Saturday, the most in three months. (Reuters)
February
Hong Kong's zero-COVID strategy under pressure as cases soar
Written by Nur Yasmin
Hong Kong reported a record 614 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, healthauthorities said, in the biggest test yet for the city's zero-COVID strategy as it grapples to contain a growing outbreak.
The global financial hub, which is following mainland China's strategy of suppressing all coronavirus outbreaks as soon as possible, has seen cases soar since January with over 2,000 infections compared with just two in December.
In addition to the confirmed infections, there were more than 600 other preliminary positive cases on Monday, authorities said.
Hong Kong recorded 342 cases on Sunday, slightly below the previous day's record of 351 cases. Dozens of bank branches, including outlets of HSBC and Bank of China (601988.SS), suspended operations on Monday to help curb transmissions.
Health Secretary Sophia Chan said over the weekend that she expects cases to rise "exponentially". read more
The former British colony has become one of the most isolated cities in the world, with flights down around 90% due to strict coronavirus regulations and schools, playgrounds, gyms as well as most other venues shut. Restaurants close at 6 p.m. (1000 GMT), while most people, including the majority of civil servants, are working from home.
The economic and psychological tolls from the hardline approach are rapidly rising, with measures becoming more draconian than those first implemented at the start of the pandemic in 2020.
Government quarantine facilities are also nearing their maximum as authorities struggle to keep up with their rigid contact tracing scheme.
Thousands of people queued up in rainy weather across the city on Monday for mandatory COVID-19 tests, ordered for people who had visited locations where infections had been reported.
In total, Hong Kong has recorded 213 COVID deaths and around 15,000 cases since early 2020, far less than other similar major cities.
REVERBERATIONS
Health experts said the city's current strategy of shutting itself off as the rest of the world shifts to living with coronavirus, is not sustainable. read more
The official Chinese Communist Party newspaper, the People's Daily, said in an editorial on Monday that a "dynamic zero infection" strategy is the scientific option for Hong Kong, suggesting that no change is being planned.
Around 80% of the city's 7.5 million residents have had at least one COVID-19 jab but the majority of elderly remain unvaccinated, government figures show.
Out of these around 40% have received the Chinese-made Sinovac (SVA.O) vaccine, believed to be far less effective against the disease than the one produced by Germany's BioNTech (22UAy.DE), the other vaccine available in the city.
Infections have been recorded across government departments from hospitals and housing to the independent anti-corruption body.
Two pet cats tested positive for coronavirus, the government said on Friday, as it urged pet owners to avoid kissing animals. In January, authorities ordered a cull of more than 2,000 hamsters in dozens of pet shops, after tracing an outbreak to a worker in a shop where 11 hamsters tested positive.
The government has also tried to assuage worries over a shortage of food from the mainland after some cross-border truck drivers tested positive. Several drivers have been forced to isolate but overall fresh food supply “remained stable”, it said on Sunday.
There have been shortages of imported foreign food and cost increases due to tight air restrictions. (Reuters)
February
In Philippines election, late dictator's son aims to restore family pride
Written by Nur Yasmin
As frontrunner in the Philippines' presidential race, the son of late dictator Ferdinand Marcos appears poised to complete a remarkable rebranding of the family name 36 years after a "people power" uprising ended his father's autocratic rule.
With official campaigning beginning on Tuesday, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., 64, holds a double-digit lead in the polls, three months ahead of the May 9 elections.
His push for the presidency has been aided by what political analysts say has been a decades-long public relations effort to alter public perception of his family and supporters. Critics accuse the Marcoses of attempting to rewrite history.
"What we are witnessing right now is nothing short of a counter-revolution," said Richard Heydarian, an author and academic who specialises in politics.
"The Marcoses are here to erase the 1986 (people power) revolution, and to restore the glory and fully rehabilitate the image of the Marcos regime."
Since the family's return from exile in the 1990s, Marcos has served as governor and congressman of the northern Ilocos Norte province, his father's bailiwick, before winning a seat in the Senate in 2010.
His sister is a senator and a former governor and former congresswoman, and his mother, Imelda, who ran unsuccessfully for president in 1992, was elected to Congress for four terms.
The return of a Marcos to Malacanang, the presidential palace, is unthinkable for millions of Filipinos, but over half the country's more than 60 million voters are 40 or under, and did not live through the Marcos regime and its oppression and plunder.
Ferdinand Marcos Sr., with Imelda by his side, was president for nearly two decades, ruling as a dictator before he was ousted in the "people power" uprising in 1986 that has become renowned around the world.
Marcos Sr. and Imelda, known for her vast collection of artwork, jewellery and shoes, were accused of amassing more than $10 billion while he was in office.
During his rule, 70,000 people were imprisoned, 34,000 were tortured, and 3,240 were killed, according to Amnesty International.
More than 11,100 victims of human rights abuses during the Marcos regime were paid compensation using millions from Marcos Swiss bank accounts, part of the family's ill-gotten wealth recovered by the government.
Among them was Loretta Ann Rosales, a political activist who was tortured and sexually abused during the Marcos regime and is now one of several complainants seeking to bar Marcos Jr. from the presidential race.
"We thought we had gotten rid of the Marcoses," said Rosales, who is also a former chairperson of the human rights commission. "I want him disqualified."
'LACK LEADERSHIP'
Marcos Jr. has questioned the Amnesty data and rejected long-standing narratives of oppression and failed government in his father's rule. He and his family have shunned questions about past atrocities and instead touted what their supporters claim as a 'golden age'.
The younger Marcos, also known as Bongbong, did not comment for this story. He has in the past spoken highly of his father, calling him his "idol", while expressing admiration for his "style of work", his qualities as a strong leader, and his "love for the Filipino" people, traits he said he has inherited.
"He had a very clear understanding of what needed to be done and how to do it, and that I think was his best quality as a leader," Bongbong Marcos said in a YouTube interview last year. "The problem we have now is we lack leadership."
The YouTube interview titled 'The Greatest Lesson Bongbong Marcos Learned From His Father' has been viewed 13 million times since it aired in September.
"He is doing very well because we have this pandemic of disinformation," said Victor Manhit, an analyst with the Stratbase think tank. "He has been dominating political discourse in social media."
Fact-checking organisation Vera Files said in a December report that Marcos was the "top beneficiary" of disinformation online to spruce up his image while discrediting rivals ahead of the start of the official campaign period.
"Because you are surrounded on social media by the same account saying the same things about Marcos (Sr.) being a good leader - benevolent, revolutionary, all those narratives - even if it sounds bananas and not grounded on facts, you are more likely to believe it is true," said Marie Fatima Gaw, communications research professor at the University of the Philippines.
Marcos has said he does not engage in negative campaigning.
He lost the 2016 vice presidential race to human rights lawyer Leni Robredo, who is also contesting the presidency, along with boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao, Manila Mayor Francisco Domagoso, and senator Panfilo Lacson, among others.
For Raphie Respicio, 48, a tricycle driver and tour guide in the Marcos family bastion in Ilocos Norte, no amount of criticism against Marcos will weaken his support for the former senator.
"He has done plenty of things here ... and he helped tricycle drivers earn a living through tourism," Respicio said. "We are 100% for Bongbong." (Reuters)
February
Japan PM Kishida calls for doubling booster shots to 1 mln a day
Written by Nur Yasmin
Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Monday he wants to speed up the country's COVID-19 booster shot programme to 1 million shots a day by the end of the month, about double the current pace.
Kishida told a televised parliamentary budget committee meeting that he has instructed ministers to work with local governments to speed up inoculations as much as possible.
Nationwide infections surpassed 100,000 on Saturday for the first time. Most regions are now under infection control measures to try to blunt the spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant that has exploded among a population where less than 5% have received vaccine booster shots.
Tokyo and 12 other prefectures are planning to extend the curbs, which had been due to expire on Feb. 13, by about three weeks, government sources told Reuters. (Reuters)
February
UK and South Korea to sign deal to strengthen supply chains
Written by Nur Yasmin
Britain and South Korea will on Monday sign an agreement to reinforce pandemic-damaged supply lines for key products like semiconductors, with trade minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan due to host her counterpart Yeo Han-koo in London.
The ministers will also begin work on an improved trade deal as Britain looks to use its exit from the European Union to build stronger ties with faster-growing economies throughout Asia and the Pacific.
"This is our Indo-Pacific tilt in action – strengthening ties with one of the largest economies in the world," Trevelyan said in a statement.
Monday's meeting is a precursor to formal trade negotiations, which are expected to begin later this year, to improve an existing agreement which effectively keeps in place the terms Britain had as a member of the EU.
Ahead of that, the delegations in London will look to improve supply chain resilience in the face of global disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic which is driving up production costs and fuelling inflation - currently at its highest in nearly 30 years in Britain.
Details of the agreement were not published in advance.
Britain said it wanted to ensure critical goods kept flowing between the two countries, citing chips used in advanced manufacturing as an example. Britain's auto industry, like others around the world, has been held back by a global shortage of semiconductors. read more
World leaders last year sought ways to strengthen supply chains by improving transparency and diversifying sources of key products. read more
Trade between Britain and South Korea was worth 13.3 billion pounds ($18 billion) in the year to September 2021, the government said. Both countries are seeking to join a trans-Pacific trade pact.
Leaving the EU has given Britain the power to strike bilateral trade deals, and ministers see South Korea and its wealthy middle classes as an important potential market for premium British goods, from folding bikes to pottery and Scotch whisky. (Reuters)
February
Myanmar junta chief said ASEAN envoy can meet Suu Kyi party members - Cambodian minister
Written by Nur Yasmin
Myanmar military leader Min Aung Hlaing agreed to arrange for an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) special envoy from Cambodia to meet members of the ousted ruling party on a future visit, a senior Cambodian official said on Monday.
The pledge, made in a Jan. 26 video call with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, represents a small concession in a deadlocked peace process since Myanmar's military seized power a year ago from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD).
Min Aung Hlaing did not identify which members of the NLD might be made available, said Kao Kim Hourn, a minister in Hun Sen's office who was part of the video meeting.
"They have said during the video conferencing between our prime minister and senior general Min Aung Hlaing that they would provide access to some of the NLD figures, but we don't know those yet," Kao Kim Hourn told Reuters by telephone.
A spokesman for Myanmar's junta did not answer a telephone call seeking comment.
Myanmar has been in crisis since the military seized power, with about 1,500 civilians killed in the junta's crackdown on its opponents, according to figures cited by the United Nations human rights office.
Involving all parties to Myanmar's crisis in dialogue is a key pillar of an ASEAN peace process adopted by the 10-nation bloc last year. Among the others are ending violence and welcoming a special envoy.
Kao Kim Hourn acknowledged that it was unlikely for the envoy, Cambodian Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn, to meet on his initial trip with Suu Kyi, who has been detained since the coup and is facing various criminal charges that carry jail terms adding up to nearly 150 years.
"The idea, the goal is to meet with all relevant, important stakeholders. But it may not be on one go - it could be a number of visits," Kao Kim Hourn said. "So, of course, it would be great to have Madame Suu Kyi be included."
Dozens of NLD party members have been detained since the Feb. 1, 2021, coup.
Nay Phone Latt, a spokesperson of the NLD's exiled remaining leadership, said any meetings with the ASEAN envoy should be agreed on by the party.
Min Aung Hlaing's pledge was not enough for Cambodia to invite Myanmar to next week's ASEAN foreign minister's retreat.
Cambodia, this year's ASEAN chair, last week asked Myanmar to name a non-political representative, continuing the exclusion of junta officials that began at last year's annual leaders' summit. (Reuters)
February
PNG's PM Marape tests positive for COVID-19 in Beijing, cancels France trip
Written by Nur Yasmin
Papua New Guinea's Prime Minister James Marape tested positive for COVID-19 upon arrival in Beijing on Thursday for the opening of the Winter Games and will not be traveling to France next week for an Indo-Pacific summit, his office said on Sunday.
"Prime Minister Marape will now abort the French leg of this trip due to COVID-19 restrictions, having returned a positive test result upon arrival in Beijing last Thursday evening," the prime minister's office said in statement on its Facebook page.
The office added Marape was due to return to PNG on Sunday but would not disclose any further details about his condition.
According to a statement posted on the website of the PNG's National Control Centre for COVID-19, Marape received his booster vaccination against the coronavirus on Jan. 24th.
On Saturday, while in Beijing Marape held a virtual meeting with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang to discuss strengthening economic cooperation, Marape's office said.
A joint statement published on China's embassy in the United States after the meeting stated that the two sides agreed to strengthen cooperation in trade, investment, energy, resources and infrastructure, among others.
Marape was to travel from Beijing to the Feb. 9-11 One Ocean Summit in the northwest of France on 9-11, held in the context of the French Presidency of the Council of the European Union, with the support of the United Nations.
Marape was also scheduled to meet France's President Emmanuel Macron, Marape's office said earlier in the week. (reuters)
February
Pakistan says it has killed 20 insurgents in three days of clashes
Written by Nur Yasmin
Twenty militants and nine soldiers were killed in recent days during insurgent attacks on two military bases in Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan province and the military's response, the military said on Saturday.
The attacks, the biggest in recent years by ethnic Baloch insurgents, began on Wednesday night.
“A total of 20 militants were killed during Panjgur and Nauski operations. Security forces have completed the clearance operation today,” said a statement by military’s media wing.
The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), which had earlier claimed the attack, also issued a statement on Saturday night saying “all targets successfully achieved.” It said 16 fighters sacrificed themselves in the attacks, a phrasing that indicated but did not say clearly that they had died.
Ethnic Baloch guerrillas have been fighting the government for decades, demanding a separate state and saying the central government unfairly exploits Balochistan's rich gas and mineral resources.
Last week, the army said insurgents killed 10 soldiers in an attack on a post near the port of Gwadar on the Arabian Sea, the heaviest death toll for the army in the Balochistan insurgency in years. (Reuters)
February
Taiwan says U.S. has not approached it on LNG diversion
Written by Nur Yasmin
Taiwan has not been approached by the United States on the issue of diverting some supplies of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) to Europe if the Ukraine crisis leads to a disruption, the economy ministry said on Monday.
Last month, the United States, the world's top producer of natural gas, asked Qatar and other major energy producers to examine whether they could supply Europe if Russia were to cut supplies as a result of tension over Ukraine. read more
The United States has also asked Japan if it could divert some LNG to Europe in case of such a disruption, Japanese government sources told Reuters last week, and Japan has said it would consider how it could help. read more
Responding to questions on whether Taiwan, another major Asian LNG customer, had also been asked to do so by the United States, the economy ministry said it had "not received any relevant information or inquiries".
In a statement, it added, "Our country's natural gas imports come from a variety of sources, and (it) continues to adapt the procurement strategy to diversify import risks."
Taiwan gets its LNG from more than 10 nations such as Australia, Indonesia, Qatar and Russia, from both long- and medium-term contracts and on the spot market as needed, the ministry said.
The island "continues to maintain diversified and stable natural gas sources".
Taiwan aims to generate more electricity from LNG in the shift away from both coal-powered and nuclear plants, and is building a massive new LNG terminal off its northwestern coast.
Last July, state-owned refiner CPC Corp signed a 15-year LNG supply agreement with Qatar Petroleum.
CPC said that from this year it would buy 1.25 million tonnes of LNG annually from Qatar, for domestic consumption.
Taiwan began importing LNG from Qatar in 1997. (Reuters)
February
Australian PM Scott Morrison signals reopening borders to tourists 'not far away'
Written by nuke
Travellers sit in the international terminal of Kingsford Smith International Airport the morning after Australia implemented an entry ban on non-citizens and non-residents, intended to curb the spread of COVID-19 in Sydney, Australia, Mar 21, 2020. (Photo: Reuters/Loren Elliott) -
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Sunday (Feb 6) that the reopening of the country's borders to international tourists may not be far away, adding that the parliament will debate the matter this week.
Australia, which shut its borders in March of 2020, has been going through a staggered reopening in recent months, allowing in only its citizens and residents, skilled migrants, international students and certain seasonal workers.
In January, Morrison said he hoped international borders could fully reopen before Easter.
His popularity has been sliding in recent months, however, in part reflecting questions about his handling of the Omicron outbreak, and he faces pressure from a federal election that must be called by May.
While the highly transmissible Omicron variant keeps spreading, hospitalisations and deaths have been stabilising, with News Corp newspapers over the weekend quoting unnamed sources as saying that Australia may reopen its borders within two or three weeks.
"We are looking forward to be able to make that decision to open up our borders and welcome visitors back to Australia again as soon as we safely and possibly can," Morrison said on Sunday. "But I really do not believe that that is far away."
The first 2022 sitting of the Australian parliament is to start on Monday and Morrison said that reopening borders to tourists will be addressed "very early on".
Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews said in an interview on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's Insiders programme on Sunday that the government is "very close" to deciding.
Australia, which has nearly 95 per cent of the eligible population aged 16 and over double-vaccinated against the coronavirus and nearly 9 million people with more than two doses, requires all international travellers to be vaccinated or provide evidence of a medical vaccination exemption to enter the country.
As of midday on Sunday, the country's latest daily reports showed 43 coronavirus-related deaths: 28 in New South Wales state, nine in Queensland and six in Victoria//CNA