VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Myanmar's Supreme Court heard on Wednesday the latest in a series of appeals by former leader Aung San Suu Kyi against a slew of convictions, a source familiar with the case said, as she seeks to reduce her 33 years of jail time.

The 78-year-old Nobel peace laureate has been convicted of offences ranging from incitement and election fraud to corruption since the military arrested her during a February 2021 coup against her elected government.

Representatives of Suu Kyi, who was not herself present, made arguments in court on Wednesday about her conviction for a breach of the official secrets act and electoral fraud, said a source who sought anonymity as the matter is sensitive.

The court is expected to take up to two months to deliver its ruling.

A junta spokesperson could not immediately be reached for confirmation.

The 2021 coup plunged Myanmar into political and social chaos, with the junta drawing global condemnation for its heavy-handed crackdown on opponents such as Suu Kyi.

The military says defendants are given due process by an independent judiciary, countering criticism from rights groups over the jailing of members of the pro-democracy movement in secret trials and the resumption of executions after a gap of decades.

The Supreme Court is expected to hear Suu Kyi's appeals against convictions for misuse of state funds and violations of trade and telecoms laws over the next two weeks. (Reuters)

China hosted two Russian warships that had earlier sailed past Taiwan and Japan, and the vessels are expected to hold a joint drill with the Chinese navy during their visit, demonstrating the enduring military cooperation between the two countries.

The two frigates - Gromkiy and Sovershenniy - made port at the financial hub of Shanghai on Wednesday, Chinese state television reported. Both vessels belong to Russia's Pacific Fleet, headquartered in Vladivostok.

During their seven-day visit, the ships will conduct naval drills with the Chinese navy in Shanghai, that will include practices on formation movements, communication and sea rescues, according to the report.

The same ships, which belong to the Pacific fleet of the Russian Navy, passed through waters near democratically governed Taiwan at the end of June. They later sailed past Japan's Okinawa islands, the site of a major U.S. military base, earlier this month.

The passage prompted Japan to dispatch vessels to monitor their movements while Taiwan, which China claims as part of its territory, deployed an aircraft and also ships to keep watch over their transit.

At the end of China's President Xi Jingping's visit to Moscow for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in March, the two leaders issued a joint statement which contained familiar accusations against the West - that Washington was undermining global stability and NATO was barging into the Asia-Pacific region.

China and Russia have pledged stronger military ties, and on Monday, China's Defence Minister Li Shangfu met with the head of the Russian navy, Admiral Nikolai Yevmenov, in Beijing.

And just before that, Russia and China's foreign ministries held a round of consultations on anti-missile defence at end-June.

Last month, the chief of the joint staff department of China's Central Military Commission Liu Zhenli also held talks with Russia's chief of general staff Valery Gerasimov via video link.

Gerasimov was quoted by Tass news agency as saying that the two sides will continue to expand their military cooperation. (Reuters)

Leading Taiwan presidential candidate William Lai said on Thursday he would hasten military reforms to make the armed forces agile and capable of withstanding conflict, but stick to the objective of ensuring that war was an "unthinkable option".

China, which claims Taiwan as its own territory, has stepped up its military threats against the island, such as staging war games in April in which it practiced blockades and precision strikes.

Taiwan's vice president and a candidate for the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), Lai has consistently led the majority of opinion polls ahead of the January election. President Tsai Ing-wen cannot run again after two terms in office.

Tsai is overseeing a modernisation programme, focused on "asymmetric warfare" to make the island's forces more mobile, agile and harder to attack, while developing longer-range missiles and building stealth warships and a fleet of drones.

Meeting foreign diplomats in Taipei, Lai said building up Taiwan's deterrence was key, and pointed to Tsai's policies, including greater defence spending.

"I will continue to expedite these crucial reforms, with the understanding that a strong national defence reduces risks of armed conflict he said, in comments made available by the DPP.

"We will transition to an asymmetric fighting force with greater survivable, agile and cost-effective capabilities," he added.

"My objective is clear: We must always ensure that war remains an unthinkable option for all parties involved."

Hou Yu-ih, the presidential candidate of Taiwan's main opposition party, said this week he would reverse an extension of compulsory military service set for January, adding that he would ease tension with China, making the extension unnecessary.

As premier in 2018, Lai angered China by telling parliament he was a "Taiwan independence worker" whose position was that Taiwan was a sovereign, independent country - a red line for Beijing.

He reiterated to the diplomats that he would "work tirelessly to support the peaceful cross-Strait status quo".

He added, "We must maintain a steady hand as we navigate increasingly turbulent waters." (Reuters)

Hong Kong's legislature unanimously voted on Thursday to overhaul district-level elections by drastically reducing the number of directly elected seats, which critics said would further shrink democratic freedom in the Chinese-ruled city.

Under the amendment, only 88 seats would be directly elected by the public, down from 452 in an election that saw a landslide victory for the democracy camp in 2019.

The overall number of seats would also be reduced from 479 to 470. No date has been set for the next election.

The amendment will further stifle the remnants of democratic opposition in the former British colony, where a national security law that China imposed in 2020 has already led to the arrest of former lawmakers and district councillors and the break-up of several political parties.

Candidates who want to run in the next election will have to pass a national security background check and secure at least three nominations from several committees, effectively barring most democracy advocates from running.

"The pro-democracy camp are obviously gone in the election," Lemon Wong, the vice chairperson of Tuen Mun District Council and one of the few remaining democrats, told Reuters.

"I will try my best to enjoy the remaining six months of my career as a councillor, because it would be difficult to have a next time," Wong said.

Following months of anti-government protests in 2019, China imposed the national security law to criminalise what it considers subversion, secessionism, terrorism or collusion with foreign forces with penalties of up to life imprisonment.

Critics say the law is used to stifle dissent in the city that returned to Chinese rule under a "one country, two systems" formula meant to safeguard its freedoms for 50 years.

City authorities and the Beijing government deny cracking down on dissent but say it is vital to preserve the law and order that underpins the financial hub's economic success.

Although Hong Kong's district councils (DC) are mainly focused on community issues, such street sweeping and bus stops, Beijing and Hong Kong authorities say they want to ensure only "patriots" can be elected to them.

The city leader, John Lee, hailed the amendment as an important milestone in improving governance.

"We must plug the institutional loopholes and completely exclude those anti-China and destabilising forces," he said in a statement.

"This legislative exercise implements the principle of 'patriots administering Hong Kong' ... DCs are firmly in the hands of patriots."

China had promised universal suffrage as an ultimate goal for Hong Kong in its mini-constitution, the Basic Law.

A spokesperson for the EU said in a statement that it was calling on "the Chinese and Hong Kong authorities to restore confidence in Hong Kong’s democratic processes, and to pursue the establishment of universal suffrage that is enshrined in the Basic Law".

Pro-democracy politicians won 388 out of 452 district council seats during the last district council election in 2019, taking almost 90% of the seats and humiliating the pro-Beijing camp. (Reuters)