Category: Politics

Myanmar’s ruling military won’t allow Asean Envoy to meet detained former leader Aung San Suu Kyi as she is charged with crimes. The military will however not block the special Southeast Asian envoy to visit the country.

Zaw Min Tun Junta’s spokesman said in a comment that the military issued a statement dated Wednesday that describes a delay in the United Nations approving the military government’s UN ambassador nomination as political intentions. The country has been in political and economic paralysis since the military’s February 1 coup. It has triggered an outpouring of anger and people protested with some civilians forming militias to take on the powerful army.

Erwan Yusof, the bloc’s special envoy said last week on the ASEAN plan that Junta’s inaction was “tantamount to backtracking”. Some member countries were in “deep discussion” to exclude Min Aung Hlaing from a summit this month. The special envoy is in consultations with the parties in Myanmar who mentioned that he does not take sides or political positions and looks forward to visiting the nation.

According to the Junta Spokesman, the chief justice was appointed by the previous government to handle Aung San Suu Kyi’s case.

After a dramatic walkout three and a half years ago, the United States is returning to the UN Human Rights Council. On Thursday, new members of the UN’s top right body were elected by the United Nations General Assembly.

In 2018, the US has quit the council after accusing it of hypocrisy and obsession with haranguing Israel under former president Donal Trump’s rule. However, under President Joe Biden, Washington will come face to face with a fortified China that took advantage of the US absence to flex its muscles.

With 18 countries standing for 18 seats, the election is a non-contest and members are selected through a secret ballot. The UN Human Rights Council is commissioned for strengthening the promotion and protection of human rights worldwide and to address the violation and make recommendations.

According to one of the European diplomats, “the Chinese and all those who are fundamentally against human rights as the Europeans understand them. Oppose economic, social, and cultural rights. It is not a trend, but it is undeniably growing stronger”.

The executive director of the Universal Rights Group think-tank in Geneva said that the US has “basically focused on just one thing which is China”.

On Thursday, Japan’s powerful lower house of parliament was dissolved in a formal step for an October 31 general election that could decide the stay for Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in office.

As soon as Kishida took office as prime minister, the election came in less than three weeks. These elections could determine the faith of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party if there is any major loss of seats. This has increased the chances of the leader to be dispatched through the “revolving door” that claimed six previous Japanese premiers between 2007-2012.

Kishida is positive to achieve the modest target of 465-seat House of Representatives to maintain his ruling coalition majority. Before the dissolution, LDP and its junior partner Komeito together controlled more than 300 seats and it would allow for a significant reduction in numbers. They have forged an alliance that includes the Japanese Communist Party while none of the opposition boasts support for more than a single figure.

The party is cooperating in various constituencies to try to reduce the ruling coalition’s majority. The leader has focused his election pledges on establishing a “new capitalism” that will result in economic growth that is widely spread.

On Wednesday, the top diplomats from Israel and the United Arab Emirates are scheduled to hold three-way talks in Washington. The US President Joe Biden’s administration embraces and looks forward to expanding the normalization drive.

Israel’s Foreign Minister Yair Lapid and his UAE counterpart Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan will separately meet US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, following a similar virtual event last month. As the first Arab country in decades to normalize relations with Israel, Donald Trump considered the Abraham Accords as a crowning achievement of his administration as it allowed the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, and Morocco to normalize relations with Israel.

A senior State Department official said in a statement that the Abraham Accords can “help to achieve a more peaceful and prosperous Middle-East”. He also said that it’s not a substitute for a two-state solution. The national security adviser called for “the need for an alternative plan to the nuclear agreement. They hope that normalization can be leveraged to advance progress on the Israeli-Palestinian track.

The Biden administration has been “actively working to expand” normalization but refused to give any further details regarding the meeting.

On Tuesday, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said that his country’s weapon development is necessary for the face of hostile policies against the United States and a military buildup in South Korea.

On Monday, in a speech at the “Defense Development Exhibition,” Kim said that Pyongyang was only increasing its military in self-defense and not preparing for war. This remark was made by the leader standing next to a huge variety of weapons that included the country’s intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM’s). Among these weapons was one of North Korea’s largest ICBM Hwasong-16 that was unveiled at a military parade in October 2020 which has not yet test fired.

Kim stated, “we are not discussing war with anyone, but rather to prevent war itself and to literally increase war deterrence for the protection of national sovereignty”. He further added that North Korea’s main enemy is “war itself”.

Regarding the talks with the United States, Pyongyang said it is not interested in diplomatic talks with them as long as Washington maintains policies such as sanctions and military activities in South Korea. However, Kim disagrees the US has no hostile feelings face towards North Korea.

On Sunday, the latest round of discussion between India and Chinese military officials over the Ladakh impasse came to a halt. The Indian Army said that the Chinese stance was “not agreeable” and “could not provide any forward-looking proposals”.

The Indian side made constructive suggestions to iron out the remaining area yet the Chinese side was not agreeable that did not result in the resolution of the remaining areas. However, both the nations have agreed to maintain communications and also agreed to maintain stability on borders. The Army official added, “It’s our expectation that the Chinese side will take into account the overall perspective of bilateral relations and will towards early resolution of the remaining issues while fully abiding by bilateral agreements and protocols”.

The Chinese statement also indicates the talks have failed. The Chinese military’s Western Theater Command said that India asked for unreasonable and unrealistic demands that added difficulties in the negotiations. India insists on resolving outstanding issues in all friction points including Depsang that are essential for overall improvement in the ties between the nations.

In the 13th round of the military talks with China, India has expressed an early disengagement of troops in the remaining friction points in eastern Ladakh. On Sunday, the meeting lasted for around eight and a half hours.

Under the leadership of Japan’s new Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, the United States does not expect its strengthening bilateral relationship with Japan to change direction. Former prime minister Shinzo Abe appointed Mr. Kishida as foreign minister, and he reappointed Mr. Nobuo Kishi as the defense minister and Mr. Toshimitsu Motegi as the foreign minister.

According to the analysts, this signals continuity for the nation as they face a rising and significantly more assertive China. Senior North-East Asia associate at the Woodrow Wilson Centre’s Asia Programme Ms. Shihoko Goto said,” It’s fair to assume that the Kishida administration will build on Abe’s focus, namely to keep US-Japan relations strong and to develop new opportunities for cooperation”.

She noted that a call on Monday (October 4), between Mr. Kishida and US President Joe Biden, illustrates the significance of the bilateral relationship in preserving stability in the Indo-Pacific. A US official readout stated that the leaders affirmed the strength of the US-Japan alliance, which is the cornerstone of peace, security, and stability in the Indo-Pacific and across the globe.

The world waits for Kishida’s strategy in bolstering Japan’s defense spending which was the key issue during the LDP leadership campaign.

The controversial law was passed in Singapore, in response to foreign interference in domestic affairs in a move that critics claim is designed to stifle dissent. This law will give authorities access to social media sites and internet providers and disclose users’ data or even block the content that they deem hostile.

The government of Singapore said that they needed such a law to counter “serious threats”. On Monday, after 10 hours of heated parliamentary debate, this law was passed. It will give the government power to act against local proxies, those people who live in Singapore and are deemed to have carried out “hostile information campaigns” for the foreign entities. The broad scope of the Foreign Interference (Countermeasures) Act (Fica) has, however, sparked concerns.

Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch issued a statement, “Today’s passage of FICA constitutes a human rights disaster for community activists, independent media, and opposition politicians because it hands arbitrary power to the Singaporean government to punish anyone based on vague allegations of involvement with foreigners”.

The nation supports such laws saying its multi-ethnic population made it more vulnerable to “hostile information campaigns, misleads Singaporeans on political issues or stir up dissent and disharmony by playing up controversial issues such as race and religion.

On Monday, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed is expected to announce the formation of a new government. Abiy’s Prosperity Party won 410 of 436 parliamentary seats in a June vote, which was hailed by the premier as the country’s first free and fair election in decades. Berhanu Nega, the opposition leader, had filed more than 200 complaints with the country’s election board alleging irregularities.

According to the data, he will lead Africa’s second-most populous country in 2018 after the country’s anti-government protests. Back in 2018, he was a less-known figure who went on to immediately win the hearts of millions with his reform measures. His win has overshadowed a deadly war in the northern Tigray region and has fixed his position to stay in power for the next five years. With the win, a sharp rise in ethnic clashes posed significant problems for him.

With a Nobel Peace Prize under his belt, the darling of the international community is now being accused of blocking aid to Tigray. Mr. Abiy will face old problems with his new government, especially finding the solution for the deadly war.

His swearing-in is unclear whether it will alter the course of the war pitting government forces against the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) rebel group, which dominated the national politics before he took power.

As the coronavirus hit, the chip crisis turned dire. In spring 2020, when the demand for electronics was skyrocketing, manufacturers warned they were running short of semiconductors. Their key components are needed to make devices from smartphones to cars.

The Tech companies had good reasons to postpone product launches as in the following months, the shortage forced factories to shut down assembly lines. The delivery of the computers was also late and took months.

As the politicians from Washington DCto Berlin were worried about the fallout, they called up chip-producing nations and asked them to aid with prioritizing orders from their countries. However, the chips which were produced were made by just a handful of firms and they could not do much about it.

In Pittsburgh, when the top United States and European officials gather on Wednesday for the first meeting of the EU-US Trade and Technology Council (TTC), the topic of manufacturing more chips will be high on the agenda. The White House said in a statement, “We commit to building a US-EU partnership, to design and produce the most powerful and resource-efficient semiconductors”.

EU’s DIgital Chief Commission Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager and Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis will co-chair the meeting along with US Secretary of State Antony Bliken, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, and Trade Representative Katherine Tai