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August
Singapore says ASEAN not as effective as hoped in Myanmar
Written by Nur Yasmin
The progress by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Myanmar has not been as effective as hoped, Singapore's foreign minister said in an interview.
The United Nations and many countries have urged ASEAN, whose 10 members include Myanmar, to restore stability through diplomacy.
"(ASEAN is) not as effective or as quick as we would have hoped for. But this is a difficult situation," Vivian Balakrishnan told Reuters.
In April, ASEAN announced a five-point consensus aimed at resolving the crisis. As part of those efforts, the bloc appointed Brunei's second minister for foreign affairs as special envoy to Myanmar in early August. read more
Balakrishnan said he hoped there would be progress to report on the envoy's visit before the ASEAN leaders' summit in November. But he cautioned that the military had to grant the envoy access to all stakeholders for the visit to be meaningful.
"The key litmus test now will be how they engage with our special envoy," Balakrishnan said.
The death toll as a result of Myanmar's Feb. 1 coup topped 1,000 this week, according to the Assistance Association of Political Prisoners (AAPP) activist group, which has been recording killings by security forces. read more
Myanmar's economy has collapsed and a humanitarian crisis worsened in the past month as coronavirus infections surged, overwhelming the health system.
Balakrishnan called the situation "dire" and said ASEAN was trying be constructive, facilitate dialogue and deliver humanitarian assistance.
"We have maintained lines of communication," Balakrishnan said, when asked whether ASEAN or Singapore had engaged with the shadow National Unity Government. "We're not trying to make things difficult. And we're not playing sides. But (military authorities) know we will engage everyone."
Singapore is small but wields strong economic and political influence in Southeast Asia. Some rights groups say Singapore has leverage in Myanmar thanks to its close ties with country as one of its biggest investors.
The city-state had a cumulative $24.1 billion of investments approved there as of 2020, according to official Myanmar data since 1988. That made it the biggest source of foreign capital there, ahead of China.
However, Balakrishnan said Singapore's "so-called leverage was overestimated", because the total also included multinationals that have invested in Myanmar.
He said economic sanctions would ordinary people but have a limited effect on the military authorities, who can better withstand isolation.
There has been no discussion within ASEAN about expelling or suspending Myanmar, the minister said, adding that the bloc wanted to be constructive but did not want to interfere in domestic politics.
He was speaking to Reuters two days ahead of Vice President Kamala Harris's trip to Vietnam and Singapore. The trip is set to show that the Biden administration is committed to a "free and open Indo-Pacific" and that the United States is in the region "to stay," according to a senior administration official. read more
"We hope to make progress on cooperation, pandemic recovery, on digital economy, green economy, and on cybersecurity," said Balakrishnan. "It's not just feel good diplomacy, there's substantive work to be done." (Reuters)
August
Greek PM, Turkey's Erdogan will discuss Afghanistan on Friday
Written by Nur Yasmin
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis will discuss the situation in Afghanistan with Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan on Friday, Mitsotakis' office said as Greece worries over a potential repeat of the 2015 mass arrivals of migrants.
Greece was on the frontline of Europe's migration crisis in 2015, when nearly a million people fleeing conflict in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan landed on its islands - most of them arriving via Turkey.
Like other European Union member states, it is nervous that the return of the Taliban to power in Afghanistan could trigger a replay of that crisis. read more
The Greek government has said over the past days that it does not want to become the entry point into the EU for Afghans fleeing the escalating conflict in their homeland, and that its border forces are ready to prevent that.
Mitsotakis and Erdogan will speak over the phone at 1630 GMT, the Greek prime minister's office said.
Separately, Greece's defence and civil protection ministers are due to inspect a wall that has been built at the northern border with Turkey at Evros on Friday. (Reuters)
August
Asia extends lockdowns, adds curbs to fight surge in Delta infections
Written by Nur Yasmin
Nations from Australia to Vietnam announced more drastic curbs and longer lockdowns for citizens on Friday, as authorities struggle to rein in outbreaks of the highly infectious Delta variant of the coronavirus.
In Australia's biggest city of Sydney, 2 million residents, or roughly 40% of its population, face curfew from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. next week, along with limits on exercise.
A lockdown of the entire city, now in its eighth week, was also extended until the end of September, with residents told to wear masks outdoors, except for exercise.
"I asked health and police to work together, to give me a final list of what we can throw at this, to leave no shadow of a doubt as to how serious we are," Gladys Berejiklian, the premier of Sydney's home state of New South Wales, told reporters.
The state, which is Australia's most populous, reported 644 new infections on Friday, while southeastern Victoria state, home to Melbourne, recorded 55, as authorities there warned of a risk the outbreak could slip out of control.
In neighbouring New Zealand, an outbreak that began this week widened to the capital, Wellington, from the biggest city of Auckland, prompting Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to extend a nationwide lockdown until Tuesday.
Though Friday's 11 new infections are relatively few, Ardern's critics question if she can repeat last year's feat of almost stamping out COVID-19, given the highly contagious nature of the Delta variant.
Vietnam imposed its toughest order yet, barring residents of the business hub of Ho Chi Minh City from leaving their homes from Monday, although further details have yet to be announced.
"Each home, company, factory should be an anti-virus fort," said Pham Duc Hai, deputy head of the coronavirus authority in Vietnam's biggest city, adding that people were being asked not to go outdoors.
Like Australia and New Zealand, Vietnam was once lauded for success in containing the virus, but is finding earlier measures were insufficient.
It has more than 312,000 infections and 7,150 deaths, up from a May 1 figure of less than 3,000 cases and 35 deaths.
Japan plans to roughly triple daily COVID-19 tests to 320,000, an acknowledgement that its main containment strategy of breaking up clusters of infections was no longer working in big cities like Tokyo, the capital.
The move comes after new daily cases exceeded 25,000 on Thursday for the first time.
South Korea extended for two weeks social distancing curbs that include a ban on gatherings of more than two people after 6 p.m.
Thailand, which had also managed to hold down infection numbers until the Delta variant hit, said its cases had passed the 1-million mark on Friday. (Reuters)
August
In COVID hangover, as more around world get vaccinated, fewer give blood
Written by Nur Yasmin
From Seoul to Paris, and Moscow to Bangkok, concerned citizens are lining up for shots as COVID-19 case numbers swell. That may ease pressure on stretched hospitals around the world, but with it comes a hangover - a severe shortage of blood donors.
A number of countries don't allow people who have just been vaccinated to give blood, as well as banning those in recovery from coronavirus. With others simply staying home as new infections rise, doctors say donor pools have shrunk to alarmingly low levels, menacing urgent operations.
In South Korea, now grappling with record cases, donors can't give blood for seven days after a COVID-19 shot - and supply is down to just 3.2 days, as of Wednesday, from 6.5 days' worth this time last year, according to the Korean Red Cross.
The Korean Medical Association (KMA) has launched a blood drive, starting with doctors themselves, warning that patients in need of urgent surgery or transfusions could face emergency situations, KMA spokeswoman Park Soo-hyun told Reuters.
"There have been increasing times when hospitals notify us of postponement of surgeries or treatments and crowding due to lack of blood," Park said.
Recurrent waves of infections, driven by the highly transmissible Delta variant, and extension of lockdowns have started taking a bigger toll on donations, according to a Reuters review of the situation in different countries.
In Thailand, confirmed cases topped 1 million on Friday with authorities reporting record increases in deaths in recent weeks.
"Due to the COVID situation, not many people are donating blood so there is not enough and some surgeries have to be postponed," said Piya Kiatisewi, a bone caner surgeon at Lerdsin Hospital in Bangkok.
'SEPTEMBER WORRIES'
Like South Korea, Russia prohibits blood donations from the fully vaccinated - but for a whole month, not just seven days. It also doesn't accept blood from those in the middle of COVID-19 vaccination cycle.
The Kommersant business daily reported last week that donor activity in Russia has slumped, hit by the vaccination campaign, with blood service workers in six different regions reporting the problem to the paper.
To be sure, in western Europe concerns over vaccination-hit donations have been exacerbated by the traditional summer holiday period.
France's blood supply agency, the Etablissement Francais du Sang (EFS), said stocks were too tight for comfort. It said there are 85,000 red blood cell bags in reserve, below a comfortable level of 100,000 or more.
"No sick person will miss out on a transfusion but we are worried for September," an EFS spokesperson told Reuters, when the volume of surgical operations would typically increase.
In Italy, the National Blood Centre said there were worrying shortages in a number of regions, including Lazio, centred on the capital Rome, which had led some hospitals to postpone planned operations to conserve stocks for emergencies. It blamed the shortfall mainly on many people being away on holiday and a lack of staff in some collection centres.
'AFRAID TO DONATE'
Across Europe, donation levels have also been plagued by uncertainty over whether people can give blood if they have not been vaccinated, officials in various countries said. Spain's Health Ministry, for instance, issued a call for donations this week, telling people it's safe to donate during the pandemic.
In Greece, "People are afraid to go and donate blood to hospitals because of the coronavirus", said Konstantinos Stamoulis, scientific director of Hellenic National Blood Center in Athens. "There are days when there is a reduction of up to 50% in blood donations compared to 2019," he said.
Back in Asia, many countries are now facing their most severe outbreak of coronavirus so far amid the Delta variant surge.
In Vietnam, the country's National Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion said it could meet only 50-70% of demand.
"We haven't been able to deploy mobile donor centres," said Le Hoang Oanh, head of the blood transfusion centre of Cho Ray Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam's coronavirus epicentre.
"Instead, we have to call for donors to go to our permanent centres, which is a challenge given the movement restrictions in the city." (Reuters)
August
Several countries, organisations reaching out to Taliban leaders to seek help in evacuation-Taliban official
Written by Nur YasminTaliban cadres are allowed to accompany Afghan civilians entering mosques for weekly Friday prayers, a Taliban official told Reuters on Friday.
The official also said several countries and organisations have reached out to Taliban leaders for help in evacuating their nationals or employees from Kabul. (Reuters)
August
Harris faces task of convincing Asia of U.S. reliability after Afghan chaos
Written by Nur Yasmin
Vice President Kamala Harris, in a visit to Singapore and Vietnam next week that aims to counter China's growing influence, will have to contend with a new problem: the collapse of Afghanistan, which has left allies questioning the credibility of U.S. foreign policy promises.
U.S. allies have complained they were not fully consulted on President Joe Biden's decision to withdraw American troops from Afghanistan by Aug. 31, which appeared at odds with his promises to recommit to global engagement. read more
With the Taliban's rapid takeover putting their national security interests at risk, countries in both Europe and Asia are wondering whether they can rely on Washington to fulfill long-standing security commitments, experts say.
Harris' trip aims to establish deeper ties with Southeast Asia, a region Washington considers key to checking Chinese expansion. A senior White House official told Reuters this month the vice president's focus would be on defending international rules in the South China Sea, strengthening U.S. regional leadership and expanding security cooperation.
Regional experts like Murray Hiebert at Washington's Center for Strategic and International Studies said Harris would have to try to reassure her hosts that Washington's commitment to Southeast Asia is firm and not a parallel to Afghanistan.
"The debacle in Afghanistan will prompt concerns again about U.S. staying power and keeping promises to allies," he said.
The chaotic evacuations from Kabul have evoked images of the 1975 U.S. withdrawal from Vietnam, whose Communist-ruled government Washington sought to isolate for two decades after the Vietnam War, but with which it now enjoys warm ties given shared concerns about China.
A senior administration official said Harris' trip would show that the United States was in the region "to stay," but concerns about the outcome in Afghanistan could muddy that message. read more
"What has happened in Afghanistan has been quite frustrating and upsetting for a lot of countries," said Yun Sun, co-director of the East Asia Program at the Stimson Center think tank. "The concern is one day when the United States determines you are no longer as important, they can just pack up and leave and there is nothing you can do about it."
"And of course there's China trying to capitalize on that narrative."
Vietnam has been a vocal opponent of China's territorial claims in the South China Sea and Singapore shares concerns about Beijing's increasingly assertive behavior in the region.
They and other Southeast Asian countries have welcomed the U.S. military presence there given China's militarization of the South China Sea and its vast coast guard and fishing fleet.
The U.S. Navy has maintained a steady pattern of freedom-of-navigation operations in the South China Sea and near Taiwan, but those appear to have done little to discourage Beijing.
The senior administration official said Washington was confident the United States' Indo-Pacific allies saw it as a "steadfast partner" and Harris would emphasize that on her trip.
SILVER LINING?
The official said Southeast Asia and the Indo-Pacific were priorities for the Biden administration and "that hasn't changed with Afghanistan."
"There's a difference between ensuring open sea lanes in Asia, which is a priority for the United States, and the continued involvement in another country's civil war," he said.
At the same time, he said, Harris would continue to work on issues tied to Afghanistan during her trip, adding: "We can do more than one thing at a time."
Some experts point to a silver lining for Southeast Asia from the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, saying it will enable Washington to free up resources from a counterterrorism mission and focus more on countering Beijing. read more
"The shift to deterring and preparing for a conflict with a near-peer competitor will be accelerated as the counterterrorism mindset recedes," said Bonnie Glaser of the German Marshall Fund of the United States, referring to China.
Others warn that the chaos in Kabul could at least delay that shift. read more
Harris is due in Singapore on Sunday and will become the first U.S. vice president to visit Vietnam when she arrives there on Tuesday. She departs Vietnam two days later. (Reuters)
August
Only a limited number of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Indonesia are using government assistance, senior economist with the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Shigehiro Shinozaki, has said. “The use of government assistance by MSMEs affected by COVID-19 is still limited.
MSMEs need a platform to inform them comprehensively of the government’s assistance programs,” Shigehiro remarked during a webinar on ‘Asian Impact: ADB Research in Action’, accessed from Jakarta on Thursday.
Based on data supplied by 2,509 Indonesian MSMEs during a survey, the ADB has found that most MSMEs are availing the ultra micro assistance unveiled by the President. However, they only make up 22 percent of the MSMEs surveyed, Shinozaki noted.
In fact, 52 percent out of the 77.3 percent MSMEs benefiting from the Presidential assistance considered it very useful and 25.9 percent considered it useful, he informed.
Meanwhile, 14.4 percent of MSMEs are taking advantage of the interest subsidy, 11.1 percent of fund placement, 12.8 percent MSMEs credit guarantee, 10.7 percent MSMEs’ final income tax incentives, and 5.4 percent are availing the investment financing program, he said.
In fact, 57.6 percent of MSMEs are qualified for final income tax incentives, he pointed out. However, only 10.8 percent of MSMEs have registered for the incentives, while 60.6 percent have no knowledge of the procedure to apply for the incentives, he said.
“The government needs to further describe gradual and different approaches, depending on the sizes and (business) sectors of MSMEs and give much support for entrepreneurship and capital distribution growth,” he added.
In addition, it needs to prioritize policy which encourages the digital transformation of MSMEs, including those engaged in informal sectors, he said.
“The lingering pandemic should prompt the government to consider optimum approaches to MSMEs without having to hinder national income or increase budget burden in the wake of the COVID-19 (pandemic),” he said. (Antaranews)
August
Agriculture and food ministers from APEC's 21 member economies have reaffirmed their commitment to an open, transparent, productive, sustainable, and resilient APEC food system by launching a new 10-year food security roadmap.
A World Bank policy brief has shown that nearly 2.37 billion people lacked access to adequate food in 2020, an increase of 320 million in just one year, according to a press release issued by the 6th APEC Ministerial Meeting on Food Security and received here on Thursday.
A report by the Global Network Against Food Crises (GNAFC) has found that the number of people facing acute food insecurity who need urgent life and livelihood-saving assistance hit a five-year high in 2020.
It was against this backdrop that APEC ministers convened their annual APEC Ministerial Meeting on Food Security on Thursday. The meeting, which was chaired by New Zealand's Minister of Agriculture, Damien O’Connor, adopted the APEC Food Security Roadmap Towards 2030.
The roadmap details goals and key action areas where APEC is well-placed to help ensure people always have access to sufficient, safe, affordable, and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life.
"While food security was already a challenge, COVID-19 showed us that there are vulnerabilities in our food systems and in our economies, and that our food systems need improvement, especially to deliver on the APEC 2040 vision of an open, dynamic, peaceful, and resilient region," Minister O’Connor highlighted in his opening remarks.
The roadmap, which is aligned with New Zealand’s APEC 2021 priorities as well as the APEC Putrajaya Vision 2040, incorporates four key areas of focus, he added.
First, digitalization and innovation in terms of using digital levers to drive food sustainability; second, productivity in term of prioritizing systems that are fit for purpose; third, inclusivity in term of ensuring that underrepresented groups are set up to thrive; fourth, sustainability in term of tackling climate change and environmental challenges, he informed.
"Besides our effort to address the challenges of food security, the roadmap also emphasizes efforts in increasing productivity and efficiency, minimizing food waste, mitigating and adapting to climate change as well as reducing costs and facilitating food trade," said Philip Houlding, chair of the APEC Policy Partnership on Food Security Group.
The group spearheaded the development of the roadmap and drives public-private sector engagement on all aspects of food security in the region.
At the meeting, APEC ministers acknowledged the benefits of digitalization and discussed measures to promote innovation and improve the use of digital technology to ensure food security as the region recovers from COVID-19.
"The pandemic accelerated digital transformation and highlighted the abilities of an innovative digitally enabled economy to better recover and thrive," said Minister O’Connor.
"But effective recovery also requires all elements of government to work together to deliver this transformation and enhance food security in the APEC region," he added.
Ministers also highlighted the central role of the private sector throughout the food value chain with respect to production and processing, distribution, trade and investment, he said.
Furthermore, APEC ministers encouraged deeper collaboration between policymakers and the private sector to ensure an innovative, refreshed food system to meet the food security challenges of the future, he added.
"Without food security for all our people, we cannot achieve the other goals we have for our economies," O’Connor remarked. (Antaranews)
August
Afghanistan's fate means West is now perceived as weak, UK minister says
Written by Nur Yasmin
The fate of Afghanistan after a 20-year war led by the United States means that the West's resolve is now perceived as weak by major adversaries such as Russia, British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said on Thursday.
The war in Afghanistan has cost several hundred thousand lives and trillions of dollars but the Taliban are now back in power, and the West's leading powers are scrambling to evacuate their diplomats and Afghan staff from Kabul airport.
"What I'm uncomfortable with is that we have a world order now, where resolve is perceived by our adversaries as weak, the West's resolve," Wallace told BBC TV.
"That is something we should all worry about: if the West is seen not to have resolve and it fractures, then our adversaries like Russia find that encouraging," Wallace told LBC radio.
Britain fears the Taliban's return and the vacuum left by the West's chaotic withdrawal will allow militants from al Qaeda to gain a foothold in Afghanistan, just 20 years after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.
"Around the world, Islamists will see what they will view as a victory and that will inspire other terrorists," Wallace said. (Reuters)
August
Delta outbreak exposes New Zealand's low vaccination rates
Written by Nur Yasmin
New Zealand's coronavirus cases jumped on Thursday, as questions grew about the government's response to the pandemic given the slowest vaccination rate among developed countries and the economic pressures of prolonged isolation.
Eleven new cases were reported on Thursday, taking the total to 21 in the latest outbreak that ended the country's six-month, virus-free run.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the virus has not been in the community for long as authorities had linked its origin to a returnee from Sydney on Aug 7.
"This is a significant development. It means now we can be fairly certain how and when the virus entered the country," Ardern told a news conference.
"And the period in which cases were in the community was relatively short."
New Zealanders had been living without curbs until Ardern ordered a snap 3-day nationwide lockdown on Tuesday after a case was found in the largest city Auckland, the first in the country since February.
Ardern, who shut the country's borders in March 2020, had announced plans for a gradual reopening this month following pressure from businesses and public sectors facing worker shortages that policymakers fear will fuel inflation. read more
The new cases may delay those plans and are causing concern in the nation, which has struggled to get its population vaccinated.
Only about 23% of its 5 million people have been fully vaccinated, the lowest rate among the 38 members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
"It's no longer clear Jacinda Ardern's strategy is the right one," read one opinion piece in the New Zealand Herald.
Opposition National Party leader Judith Collins labelled the vaccination rollout as a failure.
Experts also said vaccinating everyone was the way to return to some normalcy.
"The virus is out there. We cannot go on thinking we will keep it out forever," said immunologist Graham Le Gros, Director of Malaghan Institute of Medical Research and Programme Director at Vaccine Alliance Aotearoa New Zealand.
"I think what is critical is that as a nation we now seriously focus on getting as many people vaccinated as possible, it is the only way our country can return to normality for the sake of our health and people’s livelihoods."
Apart from some anti-lockdown protests, New Zealanders mostly followed rules and stayed at home. The government warned not doing so will result in chaos, as seen in neighbouring Australia. read more
"We have seen the dire consequences of taking too long to act in other countries, not least our neighbours," Ardern said. (Reuters)