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June
Vanuatu says security deal with Australia to be ratified later this year
Written by Nur Yasmin
The Pacific Islands nation of Vanuatu said on Tuesday a security treaty with Australia would be put to parliament before the end of 2023, as concerns over China in the region saw neighbouring Papua New Guinea delay signing another such treaty.
Vanuatu's Prime Minister Ishmael Kalsakau said, during a visit by Australia's Defence Minister Richard Marles, that a security treaty signed with Australia in December 2022 is still being examined.
Some Vanuatu politicians who favour ties with China have expressed concern over the deal.
Vanuatu's National Security Council was "going through the text" and it will next be considered by his government's Council of Ministers, Kalsakau said in Vanuatu's capital Port Vila.
"It will be presented for ratification before the end of this year in Parliament," he said.
Papua New Guinea (PNG) said a proposed security treaty with Australia will be delayed as it considers the impact on its sovereignty.
PNG Prime Minister James Marape told parliament on Tuesday an upgraded Australian security treaty was "a work in progress".
PNG last month signed a defence cooperation agreement with the United States, prompting some domestic political backlash, amid concerns it could embroil PNG in strategic competition between the U.S. and China. Marape denied it compromised PNG's other foreign relationships, and urged the public not to be misled by social media.
Pacific Islands nations are being courted by China, a major infrastructure lender which struck a security pact with Solomon Islands last year, and the United States, which is re-opening embassies closed since the Cold War.
Washington and its allies are concerned about Beijing's naval ambitions in a region occupying vital sea lanes, that played a pivotal role in World War Two.
On Tuesday, Marles said Australia was happy with the progress being made on the Vanuatu security agreement and that
it was "a profoundly important principle" that "the Pacific's security has to come from the Pacific family itself". (reuters)
June
Chinese universities raise tuition fees by as much as 54%
Written by Nur Yasmin
Chinese universities are drastically increasing tuition fees this year, with some making their first rises in two decades, hurt by a reduced national budget for tertiary education and tight local government finances.
The higher fees come amid a financial crunch among local governments after three years of disruptive COVID-19 policies, a property crisis and a sluggish economy. Chinese universities, almost all public, rely heavily on state funding.
Shanghai-based East China University of Science and Technology raised tuition fees by 54% to 7,700 yuan ($1,082) annually for some freshmen majoring in science, engineering and physical education, and by 30% in the liberal arts, according to statements issued on Sunday.
Tuition for science and engineering rose by 40% at Shanghai Dianji University, while students majoring in management, economics and literature will have to pay 30% more compared with a year earlier, according to a notice on Monday.
In April, the financial hub of Shanghai decided after a public hearing to raise tuition - unchanged for over 20 years - for the academic year starting this autumn.
China's densely populated southwestern Sichuan and northeastern Jilin provinces also raised tuition for different majors, with the maximum increase as much as 41% in Sichuan, according to local government statements.
The education ministry's expected budget expenditure for tertiary education in 2023 fell 3.7% to 102.6 billion yuan from the previous year, according to a budget report from the ministry.
A research team led by senior education experts last month also called for an extensive increase in university tuition for international students, according to a study led by Beijing Institute of Technology professor Liu Jin.
The study suggested increasing tuition fees for international students to as much as 110,000 yuan per year from about 20,000 yuan. (Reuters)
June
China, US talks in Beijing strike upbeat tone but risks remain
Written by Nur Yasmin
Meetings between senior U.S. and Chinese officials in China this week struck an upbeat chord, with both sides agreeing to maintain communication lines, even as Beijing remains leery of more "provocative" U.S. moves and open clashes are still a risk.
Statements from Washington and Beijing on meetings between Daniel Kritenbrink, assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, and Chinese officials including Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu were positive, describing the talks as candid and productive.
Just before Kritenbrink arrived in Beijing on Sunday, the U.S. navy reported an "unsafe interaction" on Saturday when a Chinese warship crossed in front of a U.S. destroyer in the sensitive Taiwan Strait, raising the prospect of future face-offs that could spiral out of control.
Kritenbrink's visit also followed China's apparent snub last week of U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who had sought a formal meeting with his Chinese counterpart but was bluntly rejected.
"The two sides conducted candid, constructive and fruitful communication on promoting the improvement of Sino-U.S. relations and properly managing and controlling differences," the Chinese foreign ministry said in a statement on Tuesday of Kritenbrink's meetings.
Both sides also agreed to continue to communicate, according to the statement.
"The two sides had candid and productive discussions as part of ongoing efforts to maintain open lines of communication and build on recent high-level diplomacy between the two countries," the U.S. State Department said late Monday.
U.S. President Joe Biden's administration has pushed to boost engagement with China as ties between the world's two largest economies have deteriorated over issues ranging from democratically governed Taiwan, which China claims as its own, to military activity in the South China Sea.
But critics have questioned U.S. overtures to China, arguing that past decades of engagement have failed to change Beijing's behaviour.
'MORE COMPLICATED'
The recent interactions between China and the United States showed both sides are trying to manage disputes, but the risk of clashes will still rise if Washington does not cease its provocations and if it does not show sincerity in improving relations, state-backed Chinese newspaper Global Times reported late Monday.
China and U.S. ties have entered a "more complicated" phase - while China is willing to stabilise relations and is open to possible cooperation, it will also firmly fight back against the U.S. provocations, wrote Global Times, known for its nationalist leanings.
"We're working hard to manage the relationship as best as we possibly can," said Kritenbrink, when asked by reporters in Beijing on Tuesday about the current state of bilateral ties.
The already frayed ties took a sharp turn south in February as Secretary of State Antony Blinken scrapped a trip to China after what Washington described as a Chinese spy balloon flew through U.S. airspace.
Asked if Blinken would visit China soon, Kritenbrink said: "We'll see, I have nothing to announce."
On the odds of a meeting between Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders' Summit in San Francisco in November, he said, "I couldn't possibly say." (reuters)
June
Why dangerous encounters by US and Chinese militaries look set to continue
Written by Nur Yasmin
When a Chinese warship came within 150 yards of a U.S. destroyer in the Taiwan Strait on Saturday and forced it to slow down, it was the second time in a matter of days in which Chinese and U.S. military personnel came close to a major incident.
Late last month a Chinese fighter jet flew in front of a U.S. warplane over the South China Sea, drawing a rebuke from the United States.
After the warship encounter on Saturday, the White House accused China of “growing aggressiveness”. China has said that such U.S. military activity in international waters is "deliberately provoking risk.”
Here is why these recent close encounters between the U.S. and Chinese militaries may continue:
CHINA PUSHING BACK
Under President Xi Jinping, China has embarked on what U.S. officials say is one of the largest peacetime military buildups in history.
Beijing is using its growing military capability and economic clout to push back on decades-old U.S. military dominance in Asia. China regards the United States as an outsider interfering in a region in which it sees itself as a force for peace and stability.
A particular source of tension are the "freedom of navigation" patrols in which the United States and its allies sail naval vessels through the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea.
The United States says such patrols defend the right of all countries to sail in international waters.
China has complained about U.S. vessels and aircraft in the Taiwan Strait and in the South China Sea close to islands it controls, claims, or constructed and turned into military installations. The People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) typically trails the U.S. vessels.
Some analysts say Chinese military commanders have been encouraged to act more assertively against foreign military ships and planes.
"I think what we are seeing is likely a general encouragement, maybe even incentive scheme for (PLA) unit commanders to be aggressive when the opportunity presents, which is at the unit level encouraging more reckless behaviour,” said Jennifer Parker, a defence expert at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.
Other recent incidents in the South China Sea have seen a Chinese coast guard ship direct a "military-grade laser" at a Philippines vessel in February, and Vietnam last month demand Beijing remove survey vessels from its waters.
China said both incidents were lawful and normal.
Its defence ministry did not immediately have comment on the assertion it was encouraging more aggressive behaviour.
This approach from the PLA increases the chances of a collision, which could spiral into armed conflict, says Derek Grossman, senior defence analyst at the RAND Corporation, a U.S. think tank.
"In my view, this is the no. 1 scenario that leads the U.S. and China to war, and less so Beijing seizing a feature in the disputed South China Sea or attacking Taiwan," he said.
ON A COLLISION COURSE?
Making the situation more dangerous are the starkly different views of the U.S. and China about the source of the problem. The United States sees China as disrupting the status quo with its threats against Taiwan, the self-governed island that China claims as its own, and its territorial claims to the resource-rich South China Sea.
The answer from the U.S. perspective is to continue asserting its right to sail and fly near China.
China's ruling Communist Party sees those U.S. actions as provocative and believes U.S. pursuit of military dominance is the real cause of the dangers in the region, said Tong Zhao, a visiting scholar at Princeton University’s School of Public and International Affairs.
"Chinese officials generally don't see China's own behaviours contributing to risks," he said.
"And therefore their logic is China can only reduce the risk by stepping up its military measures to confront the U.S.'s aggressive behaviours, and to make the United States really feel concerned about incidents. And that's when the United States would eventually take the necessary measures to reduce the risk."
NO COMMUNICATION
Add to this one other problem: the lack of reliable communication channels between the two militaries.
The U.S. military has long pushed China for open lines of communication with the PLA - both at senior and lower levels - to mitigate the risk that accidents become military flare-ups.
China's leaders, by contrast, have been slow to establish military contacts and quick to shut them down during periods of diplomatic tension, U.S. officials say.
China suspended several high-level military dialogues with the Pentagon after former U.S. House speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan last summer and declined a U.S. request for a phone call between the two countries' defence chiefs after the downing of Chinese spy balloon in U.S. airspace this year.
A senior U.S. defence official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told Reuters that since 2021 China had declined or not responded to more than a dozen requests to talk with the Pentagon and nearly ten working-level engagement requests.
China's defence ministry did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment.
Analysts say that China is wary of military talks that could give the United States greater insight into PLA operations. Chinese leaders would also prefer to keep U.S.-China discussions focused on trade and economic issues.
The dangers are not hypothetical, however.
In 2001 a U.S. spy plane made an emergency landing on Hainan island after a collision with a Chinese fighter jet.
One Chinese pilot died and Beijing detained the 24-member U.S. crew for 11 days, releasing them only after Washington sent a letter saying it was "very sorry." (Reuters)
June
Over 100 bodies remain unclaimed after Indian rail disaster
Written by Nur Yasmin
Indian authorities made fervent appeals to families on Tuesday to help identify over 100 unclaimed bodies kept in hospitals and mortuaries after 275 people were killed in the country's deadliest rail crash in over two decades.
The disaster struck on Friday, when a passenger train hit a stationary freight train, jumped the tracks and hit another passenger train passing in the opposite direction near the district of Balasore in the eastern state of Odisha.
Till Monday evening around 100 bodies were yet to be identified, a senior state health department official told Reuters.
Bijay Kumar Mohapatra, health director of Odisha, said authorities were trying to source iced containers to help preserve the bodies.
"Unless they are identified, a post mortem cannot be done," Mohapatra said, explaining that under Odisha state regulations no autopsy can be conducted on an unclaimed body until 96 hours has passed.
At state capital Bhubaneswar's biggest hospital, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), large television screens displayed pictures of the dead to help desperate families who are scouring hospitals and mortuaries for friends and relatives.
A detailed list was made of distinguishing features for each body, but relatives could first view photographs, however gruesome, to identify missing loved ones, a senior police official told Reuters.
The trains had passengers from several states and officials from seven states were in Balasore to help people claim the bodies and take the dead home, the police official added.
A forlorn Parbati Hembrum, from West Bengal's Hooghly district, stood near the help desk at the Balasore railway station, looking for information on her son Gopal.
The 20-year-old had travelled in the Coromandel Express with three others from their village but while the other three returned home Gopal has not.
Tarapada Tudu, standing next to his relative Hembrum, said Gopal was admitted in Balasore hospital after the accident but when they looked for him there, the hospital said he was released the same day after being treated for minor injuries.
But, filled with dread over the lack of contact with Gopal, Tudu said he and Hembrum will travel to Bhubaneswar to look for him among the dead.
A team from the federal Central Bureau of Investigation reached the site on Tuesday to start a probe into the cause of the disaster while a separate inquiry by railway's safety commission started on Monday.
A signal failure was the likely cause of the disaster, according to preliminary findings, which indicated the Coromandel Express, heading southbound to Chennai from Kolkata, moved off the main line and entered a loop track – a side track used to park trains – at 128 kph (80 mph), crashing into the stationary freight train.
That crash caused the engine and first four or five coaches of the Coromandel Express to jump the tracks, topple and hit the last two coaches of the Yeshwantpur-Howrah train heading in the opposite direction at 126 kph on the second main track.
Following non-stop efforts to rescue survivors and clear and repair the track, trains resumed running over that section of the line on Sunday night. (Reuters)
June
Russia, Ukraine face off at World Court over MH17 airliner downing
Written by Nur Yasmin
Ukraine and Russia face off at the top United Nations court on Tuesday over Moscow's alleged backing of pro-Russian separatists blamed for the shooting down of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17 in 2014.
Judges at the International Court of Justice will hear Ukraine's claim that Moscow violated a U.N. anti-terrorism treaty by equipping and funding pro-Russian forces who international investigators concluded shot down the jetliner over eastern Ukraine, killing all 298 passengers and crew.
Flight MH17 departed from Amsterdam and was bound for Kuala Lumpur when it was struck by a Russian-made missile on July 17, 2014 as fighting raged between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian government forces, the precursor of today's war.
It will be the first time lawyers for Ukraine and Russia meet at the ICJ, also know as the World Court, since Moscow launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.
A Russian Embassy official in The Hague could not be reached for comment. Ukraine will first present its case and Russia will then have an opportunity to respond. Moscow has tried to get the ICJ case thrown out, arguing the court has no jurisdiction.
Last November, a Dutch court convicted two Russian men and a Ukrainian national in absentia of murder for their role in the MH17 downing and sentenced them to life in prison. It also found that Russia had "overall control" over forces in the breakaway Donetsk People's Republic in eastern Ukraine since mid-May 2014.
A finding by the World Court that Russia equipped and funded rebels in eastern Ukraine responsible for the MH17 disaster would be a defeat for Moscow, which repeatedly denied sending troops or military equipment to eastern Ukraine in 2014.
It could boost legal claims for damages or reparations from not only the state of Ukraine but also from individual victims of the conflict.
Russia boycotted hearings at the court in March 2022 that dealt with a request by Ukraine to impose emergency measures in another ICJ case in which Kyiv is countering Moscow's claim it invaded Ukraine to prevent genocide against Russian-speakers.
Rulings of the ICJ, the U.N.'s top court for disputes between states, are binding but have no enforcement mechanism.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is also the subject of an arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court, also in The Hague, on charges of war crimes over Ukrainian child abductions. The Kremlin denies those charges. (reuters)
June
United Nations 'alarmed' by Hong Kong June 4 detentions
Written by Nur Yasmin
The United Nations said on Monday it was "alarmed" by detentions in Hong Kong linked to the 34th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown, while China said the financial hub was moving from "chaos" to prosperity.
Hong Kong police said they detained 23 people on Sunday for "breaching public peace" and also arrested a 53-year-old woman for "obstructing police officers" on the anniversary of the violent suppression of pro-democracy protests in Beijing in 1989.
The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights called on Twitter for the release of anyone detained for "exercising freedom of expression and peaceful assembly".
Hong Kong public broadcaster RTHK said the 23 people detained on Sunday were all later released.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said Beijing firmly suppported Hong Kong authorities in their efforts to maintain security and stability.
Wang also told a regular news conference on Monday that China's government had "long come to a clear conclusion regarding the political turmoil that occurred in the late 1980s".
"I also want to emphasize that any attempt to use this as an excuse to smear China and interfere in its internal affairs will not succeed," Wang added.
'POLITICAL MANIPULATION'
China's Foreign Ministry said in a statement late on Sunday that "today's Hong Kong is moving from chaos to stability and prosperity along the right track of "one country, two systems".
"External forces" including the United States should uphold international law and stop "futile political manipulation" over Hong Kong to contain China, a ministry spokesperson said.
Restrictions on speech and public protests in the administrative region of Hong Kong have stifled what were once mass candlelight vigils marking the anniversary of the Tiananmen crackdown, leaving cities like Taipei, London, New York and Berlin to keep the memory of June 4 alive.
Hundreds of police conducted stop-and-search operations and deployed armoured vehicles near Victoria Park, the previous site of yearly vigils.
Hong Kong activists say such police action is part of a broader campaign by China to crush dissent in the city that was promised continued freedoms for 50 years under a "one country, two systems" model when former colonial ruler Britain handed it back in 1997.
The U.S. Consulate posted a photograph on Facebook on Sunday of candles lined up in all of its windows. "In memory" it wrote.
The Canadian consulate said on its Facebook that it joined the people of Hong Kong and others around the world in "remembering the violent crackdown against unarmed and peaceful citizens" on June 4, 1989. It said Canada stood with all those "prevented from upholding their rights, including the right to assemble peacefully". (Reuters)
June
Aid group NRC resumes work with female staff in Taliban heartland
Written by Nur Yasmin
An international aid agency in Afghanistan has resumed operations in the southern province of Kandahar - the birthplace of the Taliban and home to its supreme spiritual leader - after its Afghan female staff were allowed to return to work.
The move comes after Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) Secretary General Jan Egeland told Reuters last month that key Taliban leaders in Kandahar had signaled a willingness to agree to an interim arrangement for NRC female aid workers.
"I am glad to confirm that we have been able to resume most of our humanitarian operations in Kandahar as well as a number of other regions in Afghanistan," Egeland, who was the U.N. aid chief from 2003-06, posted on Twitter on Monday.
"All our work is for women & men, girls & boys alike, & with equal participation of our female & male humanitarian colleagues," Egeland wrote.
The Taliban administration was not immediately available for comment.
The Taliban seized power in August 2021 as U.S.-led forces withdrew after 20 years of war. In April, Taliban authorities began enforcing a ban on Afghan women working for the U.N. after stopping women working for aid groups in December. U.N. and aid officials said the orders came from Taliban leaders in Kandahar.
The U.N. and aid groups have been trying to carve out exemptions for women to deliver aid, particularly in health and education. The Taliban administration has been promising since January a set of written guidelines to allow aid groups to operate with female staff.
Egeland said last month that when he complained that the guidelines were taking too long, Taliban officials in Kandahar suggested an interim arrangement could be agreed to allow Afghan women to return to work in the office and field.
The Taliban say they respect women's rights in accordance with their strict interpretation of Islamic law. They have also tightened controls on women's access to public life, barring women and girls from university and high school. (Reuters)
June
Pakistan's embattled Imran Khan faces blackout on local media
Written by Nur Yasmin
Coverage of Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan has disappeared from all mainstream news channels in the country after the media regulator asked networks to block out people involved in rioting last month, a Reuters survey showed on Monday.
A directive, seen by Reuters, was put out by the regulator last week referring to violent protests in Pakistan last month following Khan's brief arrest that saw military installations ransacked, allegedly by the former prime minister's supporters.
The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) asked television licensees to ensure that "hate mongers, rioters, their facilitators and perpetrators" are "completely screened out from media". It did not refer directly to Khan.
However, coverage of the former prime minister - Pakistan's most popular leader according to polls - has disappeared to the extent that his name and image are not being aired. His mention has also disappeared from news websites.
PEMRA officials did not respond to multiple requests for comment and queries on whether the directives pertained to Khan, and if the directive was meant to be an all-encompassing ban.
Khan has long been the most televised politician in Pakistan, with his speeches and gatherings getting wall-to-wall coverage and widespread viewership.
'BLANKET BAN'
The ban comes amidst a wider crackdown on Khan and his party that has seen dozens of his party members and thousands of his supporters arrested, which, he says, is being done by the country's powerful military.
The military has not responded to a request for comment on that allegation by Khan. It has previously denied orchestrating his removal his removal from power in a parliamentary vote last year.
Khan himself was arrested on charges of graft but released two days later after courts deemed the manner of his detention illegal. He remains out on bail, but faces dozens of cases.
In an interview, Khan said that the incidents of violence was used as a "pretext" to for a "blanket ban" on him and his party.
"We cannot be mentioned on television," said Khan, who now regularly speaks through his party's YouTube channel.
Senior officials of four major news channels did not respond to request for comment.
Even ARY News, considered a pro-Khan channel by the former prime minister's political opponents, had no mention of Khan on Monday, despite his standoff with the military dominating headlines globally for weeks.
"The reports of blocking all news related to Imran Khan is the latest in a series of disturbing steps that authorities have taken to crack down on the opposition," Dinushika Dissanayake, Deputy Director South Asia at Amnesty International, said in a statement. (reuters)
June
Ardern receives New Zealand top honour for leadership during COVID, mosque attack
Written by Nur Yasmin
Former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Monday received one of New Zealand's top honours, recognising her efforts for leading the country through the COVID-19 crisis, the terror attacks on two Christchurch mosques and the White Island volcanic eruption.
Ardern was named "Dame Grand Companion," the second highest honour in New Zealand, on King Charles' birthday holiday celebrated by the country on June 5, and she made the coronation honours list for this year. The awardee is usually chosen in New Zealand by the prime minister and then approved by the British monarch, the head of state.
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said Ardern was recognised for her service during some of the greatest challenges New Zealand had faced in modern times.
"Leading New Zealand's response to the 2019 terrorist attacks and to the COVID-19 pandemic represented periods of intense challenge for our 40th Prime Minister, during which time I saw firsthand that her commitment to New Zealand remained absolute," Hipkins said.
Ardern, who became the prime minister in 2017, resigned in January in a shock announcement saying she had "no more in the tank" to lead New Zealand.
Ardern said she felt "incredibly humbled" to receive the honour but was in "two minds" to accept it as the efforts for which she was getting recognised for "were about all of us rather than one individual."
"But I have heard that said by so many kiwis who I have encouraged to accept an honour over the years," Ardern said in a statement. "And so for me this a way to say thank you - to my family, to my colleagues, and to the people who supported me to take on the most challenging and rewarding role of my life." (Reuters)