VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

North Korea's Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of leader Kim Jong Un, on Tuesday accused a U.S. military spy plane of entering the country's Exclusive Economic Zone eight times, state media KCNA reported.

Kim warned that the U.S. forces will face a "very critical flight" if they continue what it called "illegal intrusion," repeating an accusation it made on Monday that the U.S. had violated its airspace by conducting surveillance flights. It also warned such flights may be shot down.

The Pentagon earlier brushed aside Pyongyang's accusations of airspace violations and said the U.S. military had adhered to international law.

"So those accusations are just accusations," Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh told reporters.

Kim accused the U.S. Air Force of intruding into the North's "economic water zone" on Monday off the east coast of the Korean peninsula in the sky above the sea 435 km (270 miles) east of Tongchon of Gangwon Province and 276 km southeast of Uljin of North Gyeongsang Province.

A country's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) - which extends 200 nautical miles from the 12 nautical-mile territorial zone around the coast - is a right to exploit marine resources within but does not confer sovereignty over the water's surface or the airspace above it.

U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller urged North Korea "to refrain from escalatory actions" and reiterated a call for it "to engage in serious and sustained diplomacy" when asked about the North Korean statements at a regular news briefing on Monday.

Calling the issue "one between the Korean People's Army and the U.S. forces," she told South Korea to refrain from getting involved in a statement carried by KCNA.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said Pyongyang was escalating tensions by using threats over what it said was "normal flight activity" by the South Korea-U.S. alliance in a statement Monday night. (Reuters)

The role of the monarchy in Thailand is at the core of a looming deadlock that could tip Southeast Asia's second-largest economy into crisis, with reformers once again vying to dislodge the grip on power of the royalist military establishment.

Despite a stunning victory with its allies in a May 14 election over pro-military parties, the progressive Move Forward party led by Pita Limjaroenrat faces an uncertain path to government.

The main reason is that part of Move Forward's political platform is the once-unthinkable proposal to amend Thailand's "lese majeste" law, Article 112 of the criminal code that punishes insulting the monarchy with up to 15 years in prison.

In a country where reverence for the monarch has for decades been promoted as central to national identity, the idea is so radical that minority parties and many members of the appointed Senate have vowed to block Pita from becoming prime minister.

"The proposed amendment is disrespectful and is offensive to the monarchy," Senator Seri Suwanpanon told Reuters.

The military has for decades invoked its duty to defend the monarchy to justify intervention in politics, and used the lese majeste law to stifle dissent, critics say.

In parliament, a giant portrait of King Maha Vajiralongkorn hangs over the chamber where on Thursday members will vote for a prime minister.

But the battle over who gets the job could lead to weeks or even months of deadlock thanks to the votes of a 250-seat Senate, appointed by a junta, that could block the election-winning progressive alliance from securing its choice in a combined vote of both chambers.

The system was set out in a constitution drafted after a 2014 coup led by then-army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha, the prime minister whose party lost badly in the May election.

Much depends on whether Move Forward's main ally, second-place winner Pheu Thai, sticks with it or seeks other coalition partners if Pita's bid looks doomed.

King Vajiralongkorn, 70, who has no role in choosing a government, has remained silent on the lese majeste issue since the election. The Royal Palace did not respond to a request for comment.

SWEEPING CHANGE

Move Forward's proposed amendment reflects cultural changes that have in a few years swept Thailand, where the monarch has for decades been held up as almost semi-divine.

On the surface, much remains the same. The king's portrait hangs on city streets and buildings. The nightly Royal News airs the royal family's good deeds.

But subtle changes are evident. In cinemas, many no longer stand for the royal anthem before every film. Satirical memes spring up on social media before the government orders them removed.

The biggest change, however, is political. In the last election in 2019, no party would have dared suggest amending the lese majeste law.

But Move Forward not only dared, it won the most seats in May though the amendment was only one plank of a progressive platform.

The shift emerged with student-led demonstrations in 2020 that began as protests against military rule but evolved into criticism of what the protesters called a military-palace power nexus, and finally into criticism of the king.

Politicians did not lead the protests but Move Forward called for reform of the lese majeste law when activists began to be charged under it.

About 250 of the 1,900 prosecutions linked to the 2020 protests were under Article 112, according to the group Thai Lawyers for Human Rights.

The prosecution of so many under the law pushed the issue into mainstream discourse, analysts say.

"We can now see the real fault line in politics is the role of the monarchy in Thailand's political order," said Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political analyst at Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University.

NUMBERS GAME

With many senators expected to vote against Pita for prime minister, Move Forward's 312-seat alliance of eight parties in the 500-seat lower House of Representatives may not be enough to secure him the premiership.

To get to the 376 votes he needs, Move Forward and main partner Pheu Thai need to convince 64 lawmakers from the Senate, or from other parties in the lower house.

If Pita falls short, other scenarios come into play.

Pheu Thai, which has 141 seats to Move Forward's 151, could nominate its prime ministerial candidate with the eight-party alliance intact.

Loyal to self-exiled former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra who was ousted in a 2006 coup, Pheu Thai has been more careful in its messaging on lese majeste, so one of its prime ministerial candidates could win enough votes.

Another possibility is that Pheu Thai seeks other partners in the lower house for a coalition without Move Forward. Pheu Thai, however, is vowing to stick with Move Forward.

Titipol Phakdeewanich, dean of the faculty of political science at Ubon Ratchathani University, said using the law to crush dissent had backfired.

"By over-using Article 112, the conservatives dragged the royal institution deeper into politics," he said.

Move Forward says amending the law will prevent its misuse and benefit the monarchy. It wants the penalty reduced to at most a year in prison, and only the Royal Household Bureau to be able to file a complaint instead of anyone.

"Some senators misunderstood ... accusing Move Forward of wanting to topple the monarchy," party executive committee member Amarat Chokepamitkul told Reuters.

"We want to amend it to maintain good relations between the monarchy and the people." (Reuters)

VOINews, Jakarta - Indonesia, this year's chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), is striving to accelerate the finalization of the negotiations on the Code of Conduct (CoC) on the South China Sea.

Director General of ASEAN Cooperation at the Foreign Affairs Ministry (MFA), Sidharto R. Suryodipuro, noted that the negotiating parties can finalize the CoC, added to the fact that foreign ministers of the association are fully supporting the code finalization.

"The most important thing is to find a way to expedite the CoC deliberation process," Suryodipuro stated during a press conference ahead of the 56th ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting (AMM) in Jakarta on Monday (July 10) evening.

The director general noted that the bloc's members have made significant progress in the negotiations.

"In general, we (the MFA) gladly welcome the bilateral engagements at the high level, and we affirm our support for this progress through diplomatic channels," Suryodipuro remarked.

The CoC is expected to serve as an instrument to prevent conflict from occurring, especially between countries that are involved in maritime disputes over the sea.

China has been persistent in its claim of sovereignty on majority of the South China Sea and seen increasingly aggressive by conducting reclamation on islands in the area.

However, the claim is at odds with those laid by Taiwan as well as four ASEAN countries: the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam, and Vietnam.

Meanwhile, Indonesia has been in a dispute with China over the fishing rights in the former's Natuna Islands, located in the southern part of the disputed waters.

As a result, in 2002, China and ASEAN countries agreed on the signing of the Declaration on the Conduct (DoC) of parties on the South China Sea, which served as Beijing's first support for multilateral settlements on the issue.

The declaration itself was formulated in a bid to achieve several goals, including to build confidence among the parties as well as to arrange a legally binding formal document, which is the CoC.  (Antaranews)

VOINews, Jakarta - Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi, on Tuesday, welcomed the arrival of ASEAN foreign ministers ahead of the 56th ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting (AMM) in Jakarta.

ASEAN Secretary General Kao Kim Hourn arrived earlier, followed by Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines Enrique A. Manalo, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Timor-Leste Bendito Freitas, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Laos Saleumxay Kommasith, and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Brunei Darussalam Dato Erywan Pehin Yusof.

Of the 10 ASEAN member countries, only Myanmar will not attend the meeting following the regional organization's decision to exclude Myanmar's political representatives from various high-level meetings, as Myanmar's military junta has not implemented the ASEAN's five-point consensus.

The five-point consensus is a decision agreed upon by ASEAN leaders and Myanmar's junta leader General Min Aung Hlaing in April 2021 that aims to help resolve the political crisis of Myanmar.

The consensus calls for an immediate end to violence, holding of dialogue among all parties concerned, and the provision of humanitarian assistance to Myanmar, among others.

The series of AMM events are being held in Jakarta from July 10 to July 14, 2023.

The events comprise 18 meetings, including a meeting to discuss the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone (SEANWFZ), a meeting of the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR), an AMM plenary session, and a retreat session.

Furthermore, the agenda includes ASEAN foreign ministers' meetings with ASEAN dialogue partners, namely India, New Zealand, Russia, Australia, China, Japan, South Korea, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States.

It also includes the ASEAN Plus Three (APT) Foreign Ministers' Meeting, the East Asia Summit (EAS) Foreign Ministers' Meeting, and the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF).

The ASEAN foreign ministers' meeting will discuss several issues, including the Myanmar crisis and the South China Sea.

As the ASEAN chair this year, Indonesia has raised the theme "ASEAN Matters: Epicentrum of Growth," which reflects its focus on directing cooperation to strengthen ASEAN's relevance in responding to regional and global challenges and to build ASEAN's position as a center of economic growth in the region. (Antaranews)