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October
Former Australia PM Abbott says in Taiwan to help end its isolation
Written by Nur Yasmin
Former Australian prime minister Tony Abbott said on Thursday he was in Taiwan to help end its international isolation, offering his support to the democratically run island even in the face of what he called China's "challenges".
Abbott, who made the comments to President Tsai Ing-wen at her office in Taipei, is not visiting in any official capacity, but his trip comes as Western democracies seek to support the island in the face of growing pressure from China, which claims Taiwan as its own territory.
Abbott praised Taiwan's success at controlling the COVID-19 pandemic despite its absence from global bodies such as the World Health Organization, its membership being blocked by China as it views Taiwan as one of its provinces, not a country.
"It is in large measure to try to help to end this isolation from which Taiwan has been suffering for so many decades that I am here in this country and I do hope that this will be the first of many visits," he said.
Taiwan shows others in the region it is possible to be both rich and free, and democracies should stand together, Abbott added.
"Of course not everyone and not everywhere is pleased at Taiwan's progress, and I do note that Taiwan is challenged on an almost daily basis by its giant neighbour," he said.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Abbott in was Taiwan as a private citizen.
"I didn't have any conversation with him before that. Tony has served as my envoy to India. We went to India. We spoke, but Tony is there as a private citizen. So what he's said and what messages he passed, he passed on in that capacity."
Abbott's visit comes after China carried out four days of mass air force incursions into Taiwan's air defence zone beginning last Friday.
Australia, like most countries, has no official diplomatic ties with Taiwan, but has joined its ally the United States in expressing concern at Chinese pressure, especially militarily.
Taiwan says it is an independent country and will defend itself if China attacks.
October
Philippine Vice President Robredo joins race for president
Written by Nur Yasmin
Philippine Vice President Leni Robredo, a staunch critic of President Rodrigo Duterte's brutal war on drugs, joined the race for president on Thursday, promising to usher in a government that cares for the people, not personal interests.
Robredo, 56, who was elected separately from Duterte and was not his running mate, said her decision was a difficult one but she wanted to be of greater service to a country facing unprecedented health and economic shocks.
"If we truly want to liberate ourselves from this situation, we should change not just the surnames of those in power; the corruption, the incompetence, the lack of compassion must be replaced by competence and integrity in leadership," said Robredo, who is running as independent candidate.
Robredo will face at least four other candidates who have made their presidential runs official, including the son and namesake of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, whom she beat by a slim margin in the 2016 vice presidential contest.
Duterte can not run for president in the election in May next year due to rules on term limits. He had said he would run for vice president but announced on Saturday he would retire from politics.
Candidates have until Oct. 8 to register. Duterte's daughter, Sara Duterte-Caprio, who political analysts expected to join the race at the eleventh-hour, just as her father did in 2015, insisted on Wednesday she wanted to remain mayor of Davao city.
A poll of people's preferred candidates last month showed Robredo, a human rights lawyer and widow of a former interior minister, trailing Marcos and others, including former boxing champion Manny Pacquiao and Manila mayor Francisco Domagoso.
Robredo's backers, including another prominent Duterte critic, former Supreme Court Justice Antonio Carpio, have for months been urging her to run with a "Let Leni Lead" battle cry.
They cheered her decision and promised support.
'ROOT OF PROBLEMS'
Soon after her announcement, hashtag #LabanLeni2022 (FightLeni2022) became the top trending Philippine item on Twitter, while supporters posted photos of themselves on social media wearing pink, the colour associated with Robredo.
"What is at stake are the lives and the future of the Filipinos ... billions upon billions of pesos went into questionable contracts while millions of Filipinos struggle," said Robredo, taking a swipe at the government over questions on its use of $1.3 billion in pandemic funds.
"The lack of good governance lies at the root of our many problems. This needs to end," Robredo said.
The government had dismissed suggestions of wrongdoing.
Robredo, a congresswoman before becoming vice president, has been a thorn in Duterte's side, questioning his war on drugs, his embrace of China and recently the handling of COVID-19.
Under Duterte, Robredo served as housing minister but quit after being excluded from cabinet meetings. After criticising what she called "senseless killings" in the war on drugs, Duterte appointed her "drugs tsar" but sacked her after 18 days.
Duterte's spokesperson, Harry Roque, asked about Robredo's comments, said everyone had the right to stand for public office.
Aries Arugay, political science professor at the University of the Philippines, said voters disgruntled with the handling of the pandemic would gravitate towards Robredo who has been active in trying to respond to the health crisis.
"For voters negatively affected by the pandemic who think the government has failed, it's a no-brainer to vote for Robredo," Arugay told Reuters.
Should Robredo win the presidency, she would be the third woman to lead the Philippines after democracy champion Corazon Aquino in 1986 and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in 2001.
October
EXCLUSIVE U.N. expert calls for N.Korea sanctions to be eased as starvation risk looms
Written by Nur Yasmin
North Korea's most vulnerable risk starvation after it slipped deeper into isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic and U.N. sanctions imposed for its nuclear and missile programmes should be eased, a U.N. rights investigator said in report seen by Reuters.
The worsening humanitarian situation could turn into a crisis and it is coinciding with a global "creeping apathy" about the plight of North Korea's people, said Tomas Ojea Quintana, U.N. special rapporteur on human rights in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
"Sanctions imposed by the UN Security Council should be reviewed and eased when necessary to both facilitate humanitarian and lifesaving assistance and to enable the promotion of the right to an adequate standard of living of ordinary citizens," he said in a final report to the U.N. General Assembly, to be presented on Oct. 22.
North Korea does not recognise Ojea Quintana's mandate or cooperate with him and its mission in Geneva did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The government in Pyongyang does not take questions from foreign media.
Leader Kim Jong Un in June said the food situation was "tense" because of natural disasters last year and acknowledged that citizens had faced sacrifices during the pandemic. In April, North Korean officials called a U.N. report on child malnutrition a "sheer lie".
North Korea has not reported any COVID-19 cases and has imposed strict anti-virus measures, including border closures and domestic travel curbs.
But many North Koreans relying on commercial activities along the border with China have lost their incomes, and that has been compounded by the impact of sanctions, Ojea Quintana said.
"People’s access to food is a serious concern and the most vulnerable children and elderly are at risk of starvation," he said, adding that North Koreans "should not have to choose between the fear of hunger and the fear of COVID-19".
"Essential medicines and medical supplies are in short supply and prices have increased several fold as they stopped coming in from China, and humanitarian organisations have been unable to bring in medicines and other supplies."
Most diplomats and aid workers have left North Korea amid strict travel restrictions and a shortage of essential goods and health facilities, Ojea Quintana said.
Progress in vaccination, women and children's health and water and sanitation was eroding, he said.
"The current worsening humanitarian situation could turn into a crisis and must be averted," he said.
'CREEPING APATHY'
He also voiced concern that growing challenges to obtaining information were "leading to a creeping apathy in global attention to the worsening human rights situation there".
Ojea Quintana called for easing military tension on the divided peninsula and urged the United States and South Korea to "send clear signals" to revive diplomacy aimed at securing the North's denuclearisation.
In recent weeks, North Korea carried out a series of weapons tests including ballistic missiles and a cruise missile with potential nuclear capabilities.
Ojea Quintana welcomed a pledge by U.S. President Joe Biden and South Korean President Moon Jae-in last May to work to improve North Korea's rights situation.
"In any possible upcoming peace negotiations, the Republic of Korea and the United States of America should secure commitments with measurable benchmarks ... to a meaningful process of engagement on human rights," he said.
North Koreans are still detained in political prison camps, along with their families, while some have been released from labour training centres due to the unavailability of food and work, he said. The camps, known as kwanliso, the existence of which is denied by the state, can be qualified as constituting crimes against humanity, he said.
October
WHO says COVID-19 aid to North Korea being held in quarantine
Written by Nur Yasmin
COVID-19 aid supplies have arrived in North Korea but are being held in quarantine in its seaport of Nampho, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday, as the isolated nation shows few signs of easing strict border lockdowns.
North Korea sealed its borders when the coronavirus pandemic began last year, though officials in neighbouring South Korea and the United States have cast doubts on its claim to have never had a case, despite a lack of signs of major outbreaks.
In its latest weekly report for South and East Asia, covering the period to the end of September, the WHO said it had begun shipments through China's port city of Dalian, near the border with North Korea.
"To support DPR Korea with essential COVID-19 medical supplies, WHO started the shipment through Dalian port, China for strategic stockpiling and further dispatch," the agency said, using an abbreviation of the North's official name.
The aid in quarantine in the North includes emergency health kits, medicines and medical supplies for essential health services, said Edwin Salvador, the WHO representative to North Korea.
"We are informed that these items, along with others from other U.N. agencies, remain under quarantine at the seaport," he said in a statement to Reuters.
The supplies went by ship to the North's port city of Nampho after its public health ministry told U.N. agencies a few months ago that some aid stranded in China would be let through Dalian's port.
"Consequently, WHO was able to transport some of the items by ship to Nampho seaport," Salvador added.
By Sept. 23 North Korea had tested at least 40,700 people for the coronavirus with no positive results, the WHO has said.
Chinese customs data show that maritime shipping routes between North Korea and China appear to be opening, but signs of goods movement between them via land have not been detected, an official of South Korea's unification ministry, which handles relations with the North, told the Yonhap news agency.
October
New Japan leader likely to stick to economic policy -Fitch
Written by Nur Yasmin
Japan's new Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is likely to continue the broad economic policies of predecessors Shinzo Abe and Yoshihide Suga, including support for the central bank's massive stimulus programme, ratings agency Fitch said on Thursday.
"The economy should benefit in the near term from an ebbing of the threat from the COVID-19 pandemic, regardless of the impact of policy reforms" proposed by Kishida, it said.
October
New Japan PM Kishida off to rocky start in polling
Written by Nur Yasmin
Japan's new Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida, is struggling to find his footing with voters just two days after he took the top job and launched his new government, multiple polls by local media showed on Tuesday.
On the lower end, the daily Asahi put Kishida's approval rating at 45% while Mainichi put it at 49%. The more conservative-leaning Yomiuri said 56% supported his government, while the Nikkei had 59%.
In all the polls, support for Kishida's new government was lower than that of his predecessor Yoshihide Suga's administration when it came into power last year, with the Asahi reporting a 20 percentage-point difference.
"I'm aware of the polling results, but also believe that there is quite a gap depending on the company that conducted the survey," said Kishida to reporters on Wednesday morning.
"Regardless, I will reflect on my actions based on these results - including the low approval ratings - and continue to work hard toward the upcoming election," he said.
Political consultant Takuma Oohamazaki said the results were not surprising, given that Kishida is popular within the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) but has struggled to win the support of swing voters.
"The selection of cabinet members, which included people with a history of scandal, as well as reports of a strong influence from former premiers Shinzo Abe and Taro Aso, appears to have dampened the mood among swing voters," he added.
Although Kishida's ratings are low for a fresh administration, they are still higher than the most immediate ratings for Suga, who became deeply unpopular during his tenure as he struggled to contain a fifth wave of coronavirus infections exacerbated by the Delta variant.
Kishida said he would dissolve the lower house of parliament on Oct. 14, and a general election is scheduled for Oct. 31, with the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and economic recovery set to become key issues.
Oohamazaki said that with Kishida's cabinet likely to be exposed to criticism from the opposition during parliamentary questioning starting Monday, approval ratings may continue to drop ahead of the elections.
"I don't think that drop will impact the election results too much, but we may be looking at the ruling coalition losing about 25 to 30 seats," he said.
For single-seat districts, the Mainichi poll said that 41% of respondents would vote for the ruling coalition, while 34% would vote for the opposition and 24% were undecided. The Yomiuri put support for Kishida's LDP at 43%, up 7 percentage points from the previous poll.
The premier unveiled his new cabinet on Monday. Although more than half of the ministerial roles were filled with fresh faces, the line-up also featured allies of former premiers Abe and Aso heavily, signalling their ongoing influence. (Reuters)
October
ASEAN discusses excluding Myanmar junta chief from summit -envoy
Written by Nur Yasmin
Southeast Asian countries are discussing not inviting the head of Myanmar's junta to a summit later this month, due to a lack of progress on an agreed roadmap to restore peace in the strife-torn country, a regional envoy said on Wednesday.
The junta's inaction on a five-point plan it agreed in April with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was "tantamount to backtracking", Erywan Yusof, the bloc's special envoy to Myanmar, told a news conference.
Myanmar has been in turmoil since a Feb. 1 coup led by military chief Min Aung Hlaing that ended a decade of tentative democracy and the return of military rule has prompted outrage at home and abroad.
Erywan, the second foreign minister of ASEAN chair Brunei, said the bloc was in "deep in discussions" about not inviting the junta to participate in a virtual summit on Oct. 26-28, after the issue was raised by Malaysia and some other member countries.
"Up until today there has been no progress on the implementation of the five-point consensus, and this has raised a concern," Erywan said.
Myanmar junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun did not respond to calls from Reuters on Wednesday. Last week he told a news conference that Myanmar was cooperating with ASEAN "without compromising the country's sovereignty".
The bloc's effort to engage with Myanmar's military has been criticised by supporters of democracy, with a committee of ousted Myanmar lawmakers declaring the junta a terrorist group and saying ASEAN's engagement would give it legitimacy.
Still, excluding a leader from the summit would be a big step for ASEAN, which operates under consensus decision-making principles and prefers engagement, rather than confrontation, with member countries.
Erywan said the junta had not directly responded to his requests to meet detained former leader Aung San Suu Kyi, whose government was overthrown in the coup.
He added that he had proposed a programme for his visit to Myanmar to the military appointed foreign minister Wunna Maung Lwin last week, but the junta has not yet responded.
A source close to the Malaysian government said the ASEAN envoy was unlikely to visit Myanmar before the summit as the bloc had initially targeted.
More than 1,100 people have been killed since the coup, according to the United Nations, many during a crackdown by security forces on pro-democracy strikes and protests, during which thousands have been arrested. The junta says that estimate is exaggerated and members of its security forces have also been killed.
The ASEAN roadmap included a commitment to dialogue with all parties, allowing humanitarian access and ceasing hostilities.
Myanmar's long history of military dictatorship and alleged human rights abuses has been ASEAN's most tricky issue, testing the limits of its unity and its policy of non-interference.
But the foreign ministers meeting virtually on Monday voiced disappointment about the lack of progress made by the State Administrative Council (SAC), as Myanmar's junta is known.
On Monday, Malaysia's top diplomat Saifuddin Abdullah on Twitter said that without progress, "it would be difficult to have the chairman of the SAC at the ASEAN summit".
He reiterated this stance in parliament on Wednesday and said the ASEAN envoy was doing "whatever is humanly possible" to make progress on the roadmap. (Reuters)
October
Hundreds throng passport office in Afghan capital
Written by Nur Yasmin
Hundreds of Afghans flocked to the passport office in Kabul on Wednesday, just a day after news that it would re-open this week to issue the documents, while Taliban security men had to beat back some in the crowd in efforts to maintain order.
Taliban officials have said the service will resume from Saturday, after being suspended since their takeover and the fall of the previous government in August, which stranded many of those desperate to flee the country. read more
"I have come to get a passport but, as you can see here, there are lots of problems, the system is not working," one applicant, Mahir Rasooli, told Reuters outside the office.
"There is no official to answer our questions here to tell us when to come. People are confused."
A spokesman for the Taliban officials running the passport department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Also Read: Stranded at Tajik sanatorium, pregnant Afghan pilot fears for unborn baby
Poverty and hunger have worsened since the Islamist movement took over Afghanistan, which already suffered from drought and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Half a million people have been displaced in recent months, the United Nations says, and the number will only grow if health services, schools and the economy break down. read more
The hundreds who descended on the passport office came despite advice that distribution of passports would only begin on Saturday, and initially only for those who had already applied.
The crowd pressed against a large concrete barrier, trying to hand documents to an official who stood atop it, in a scene reminiscent of the chaos at Kabul airport in the last stages of evacuation after the withdrawal of U.S. troops.
The official urged them to return home and come back on Saturday.
"I am here to receive a passport, but unfortunately I couldn't," said a man in the crowd, Ahmad Shakib Sidiqi. "I don't know what we should do in this condition."
The bleak economic outlook drives their desire to leave, said Sidiqi and Rasooli.
"There is no job and the economic situation is not too good, so I want to have a good future for my kids," said Rasooli.
Sidiqi said he wanted a passport to accompany a member of his family to neighbouring Pakistan to seek medical treatment, but added they had no choice except to leave.
"We have to leave Afghanistan," he said. "It is a bad situation in Afghanistan - no job, no work. It is not a good condition for us to live."
The Taliban have said they welcome international aid, though many donors froze their assistance after they took power. (Reuters)
October
Vietnam to welcome more vaccinated travellers from December
Written by Nur Yasmin
Vietnam is planning from December to reopen key tourist destinations to vaccinated visitors from countries deemed a low COVID-19 risk, the government said on Wednesday, ahead of a full resumption targeted for June next year.
Vietnam imposed tight border controls at the start of the pandemic in an effort to keep out COVID-19, with some initial success, but that harmed its burgeoning tourism sector, which typically accounts for about 10% of gross domestic product.
Vietnam last month announced it would reopen the resort island Phu Quoc for vaccinated travellers from November. read more
It will from December also allow tourists from approved countries to visit UNESCO world heritage site Halong Bay and Hoi An, the highlands town of Dalat and beach destination Nha Trang.
"We are only open when it's truly safe," the government said in a statement.
"We are moving step by step, cautiously but flexibly to adapt to real situations of the pandemic."
The move follows similar steps taken by neighbouring Thailand, which will next month expand locations in its pilot scheme to allow vaccinated visitors.
Foreign arrivals to Vietnam fell to 3.8 million last year down from 18 million in 2019, when tourism revenue was $31 billion, equivalent to 12% of GDP.
The country is trying to speed up COVID-19 vaccinations, with just 13% of its 98 million people inoculated so far, one of the lowest rates in Asia. (Reuters)
October
U.S. security adviser Sullivan and China's Yang hold talks in Zurich
Written by Nur Yasmin
U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan and China's top diplomat Yang Jiechi began talks in Switzerland on Wednesday, in a bid to improve communication despite a deepening strategic rivalry and tensions over hotspots including Taiwan.
A source close to the Zurich talks told Reuters that the closed-door meeting was under way at an airport hotel in the Swiss city, where Chinese and Western journalists gathered.
It is Sullivan's first face-to-face meeting with Yang since their acrimonious exchanges in Alaska in March, which also involved U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
The White House said in a statement that the meeting follows up on President Joe Biden's Sept. 9 call with Chinese President Xi Jinping "as we continue to seek to responsibly manage the competition between the United States and the People's Republic of China."
That call ended a nearly seven-month gap in direct communication between the leaders, and they discussed the need to ensure that competition between the two - with relations sinking to their lowest level in decades - does not veer into conflict.
In a brief statement on Wednesday, China's foreign ministry said Yang and Sullivan will "exchange views on China-U.S. relations and relevant issues" during their Zurich meeting.
Taiwan has reported 148 Chinese air force planes in the southern and southwestern part of its air defence zone over a four-day period beginning on Friday, the same day China marked a patriotic holiday, National Day. read more
The United States urged China on Sunday to stop its "provocative" military activities near Taiwan. read more
Biden said on Tuesday that he has spoken to Xi about Taiwan and they agreed to abide by the "Taiwan agreement", as tensions have ratcheted up between Taipei and Beijing.
Biden appeared to be referring to Washington's long-standing policy under which it officially recognizes Beijing rather than Taipei, and the Taiwan Relations Act, which makes clear that the U.S. decision to establish diplomatic ties with Beijing instead of Taiwan rests upon the expectation that the future of Taiwan will be determined by peaceful means.
The White House said Sullivan will also visit Brussels for meetings with NATO and European Union officials, as well as Paris, and will brief the Europeans on his meeting with Yang.
With trade tensions also at the top of the U.S.-China agenda, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai, in Paris for Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development meetings, has said she hopes to hold discussions soon with Chinese counterparts.
On Monday, Tai unveiled the results of a months-long "top-to-bottom" review of China trade policy, pledging to hold "frank" talks with Beijing about its failure to keep promises made in former President Donald Trump's trade deal and end harmful industrial policies.
The Global Times, a Chinese state-run tabloid, said China is willing to build mutually beneficial trade with the United States but will not make concessions on principle and is not afraid of a drawn-out contest.
"The China-U.S. trade war has lasted for more than three-and-a-half years. Instead of being weakened, China's economy has taken a step forward in comparison with the scale of the U.S.," it said. (Reuters)