ASEAN-Burma relations
Websites/Multiple Documents
Description:
Archive from March 2005
Source/publisher:
Various sources via "BurmaNet News"
Date of entry/update:
2012-04-17
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Category:
ASEAN-Burma relations
Language:
English
more
Description:
About 186,000 results (August 2017)
Source/publisher:
Various sources via Youtube
Date of entry/update:
2017-08-22
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Category:
ASEAN-Burma relations
Language:
English, Burmese (မြန်မာဘာသာ)
more
Description:
Treaties, economic, political, cultural, strategic interaction, home pages of ASEAN countries etc.
Date of entry/update:
2003-06-03
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Category:
ASEAN-Burma relations
Language:
English
more
Source/publisher:
ASEAN Secretariat
Date of entry/update:
2003-06-03
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Category:
ASEAN-Burma relations
Language:
English
more
Description:
"ASEAN Today" website
Source/publisher:
"ASEAN Today"
Date of publication:
2019-09-10
Date of entry/update:
2019-09-10
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Category:
ASEAN-Burma relations
more
Description:
Articles on this category from BurmaNet News
Source/publisher:
BurmaNet News
Date of entry/update:
2016-03-01
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Category:
International Relations, ASEAN-Burma relations
Language:
English
more
Description:
"Burma is becoming a regional player in Southeast Asia.
Just a few years ago the suggestion that Burma might become a responsible stakeholder in the Southeast Asian community would have been derided and laughed off.
Yet 2014 sees Burma chairing the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) for the first time. It is an unprecedented moment in the country?s history given its isolation from the international community for much of the last fifty years..."
Gareth Robinson
Source/publisher:
"New Mandala"
Date of publication:
2014-05-21
Date of entry/update:
2014-07-14
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Category:
ASEAN-Burma relations
Language:
English
more
Description:
"What can Myanmar?s chairmanship learn from the European Union members? divided position on external affairs, such as the deep, public disagreements associated with the Iraq war, the incapacity to produce collective action during the EU?s reaction to the 2011 Libyan crisis, and again the unwillingness to share a common initiative in response to the more recent developments in Mali? It is a discouraging question, particularly in the light of the EU High Representative?s apparent obsession with the ?reality of 27 member states who are sovereign, who believe passionately in their right to determine what they do?, as Ashton argued in 2011. As disagreements within the European Union have seriously damaged the relations among the member states as well as the political development of the EU as a whole, a major message from a European view lies in the conviction that divisions weaken any project of integration and the attempt to create a united community, which ASEAN plans to achieve by 2015..."
Ludovica Marchi
Source/publisher:
"New Mandala"
Date of publication:
2014-05-13
Date of entry/update:
2014-07-14
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Language:
English
more
Description:
8,250 results (May 2005)
Source/publisher:
ASEAN Secretariat
Date of entry/update:
2005-05-23
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Category:
ASEAN-Burma relations
Language:
English
more
Description:
"The Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia is a peace treaty among Southeast Asian countries established by the founding members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), a geo-political and economic organization of 10 countries located in Southeast Asia." [Wikipedia]
Source/publisher:
ASEAN Secretariat
Date of publication:
1976-02-24
Date of entry/update:
2009-07-22
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Category:
ASEAN-Burma relations
Language:
English
more
Description:
"The Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia is a peace treaty among Southeast Asian countries established by the founding members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), a geo-political and economic organization of 10 countries located in Southeast Asia."
Source/publisher:
Wikipedia
Date of entry/update:
2009-07-22
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Category:
ASEAN-Burma relations
Language:
English
more
Individual Documents
Description:
"More than a month on from a democracy-suspending military coup in Myanmar, many see the junta’s increasingly violent crackdown on dissent as approaching a point of no return. As the United States and others press for tougher sanctions on the junta’s leaders, Southeast Asian nations are under pressure to intervene to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe.
With its credibility on the line after past failures to tackle human rights crises in the region, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is still widely seen as the best hope for a diplomatic solution amid uncharacteristic outspokenness from some of its member states who are pushing to build a regional consensus on the need for Myanmar to return to democracy.
But the grouping isn’t speaking with one voice, with some of its members describing the putsch as an internal matter, consistent with the bloc’s long-held tradition of non-interference in members’ domestic affairs. Moreover, the organization’s diplomatic efforts have been met with skepticism by those protesting across Myanmar who are staunchly opposed to any engagement that would confer legitimacy onto Naypyidaw’s generals..."
Source/publisher:
"Asia Times" (Hong Kong)
Date of publication:
2021-03-04
Date of entry/update:
2021-03-05
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Human Rights Reporting (global, regional and Myanmar), Political role of the Tatmadaw, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar, ASEAN-Burma relations
Language:
more
Description:
"Pro-democracy demonstators in Myanmar show no signs of backing down amid the ongoing crackdown by security forces. Police fired tear gas and warning shots to disperse protestors, who have been on the streets every day since the military siezed power over a month ago. Demonstrations are taking place around the country and strikes are planned in at least one state. Diplomatic efforts to ease the crisis stalled on Tuesday as ASEAN countries failed to make a breakthrough in talks with Myanmar's military junta..."
Source/publisher:
"DW News" (Germany)
Date of publication:
2021-03-03
Date of entry/update:
2021-03-04
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Political role of the Tatmadaw, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory, The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar, ASEAN-Burma relations
Language:
more
Sub-title:
In a virtual meeting, regional foreign ministers will call for Aung San Suu Kyi’s release and encourage talks between the civilian leader and the military.
Description:
"ASEAN foreign ministers are preparing to hold virtual talks with a representative of Myanmar’s military on Tuesday, as anti-coup protesters returned to the streets in the main city of Yangon defying fresh threats from Senior General Min Aung Hlaing.
Singapore’s foreign minister Vivian Balakrishnan, in a televised interview late on Monday, said the Association of Southeast Asian Nations will tell the military it is appalled by the violence in Myanmar and call for the release of the country’s elected leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, and for the two sides to talk. “Instability in any corner of Southeast Asia threatens and affects the rest of us,” he said, adding that the coup will cause “grievous damage to Myanmar’s society and economy”.
The military’s February 1 power grab has plunged Myanmar into chaos, drawing hundreds of thousands of people on to the streets of cities and towns across the country as doctors, teachers and other civil servants stop work in protest against the coup.
In the bloodiest crackdown yet, security forces opened fire on protesters on Sunday, killing at least 18 and wounding dozens more.
The killings triggered widespread international condemnation, including from the United Nations and a group of ASEAN legislators who said they were “alarmed at the scale of arbitrary arrests and surge in violence in Myanmar”. ASEAN, which comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam, also renewed its efforts to open a channel between Myanmar’s military and civilian leaders.
Philippine foreign minister, Teodoro Locsin, indicated on Twitter that ASEAN would be firm with Myanmar and said the regional group’s policy of non-interference in a member’s internal affairs “is not a blanket approval or tacit consent for wrong to be done there”.
He also called Aung San Suu Kyi “Burmese democracy’s only hope”. ‘Illegitimate military-led regime’
But ASEAN’s effort to engage with Myanmar’s military was met with a fierce rebuke from groups in the anti-coup movement.
Sa Sa, a representative of a committee of deposed legislators, said ASEAN should have no dealings with “this illegitimate military-led regime”, while the alumni of ASEAN youth programmes in Myanmar said the bloc should be talking to the international representatives of Aung San Suu Kyi’s administration, not to the military government.
“ASEAN must understand that the coup or the re-election promised by the military junta is utterly unacceptable to the people of Myanmar,” it said it a letter to ASEAN.
Aaron Connelly, a research fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, said ASEAN member states were in a difficult position..."
Source/publisher:
"Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of publication:
2021-03-02
Date of entry/update:
2021-03-02
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Political role of the Tatmadaw, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar, ASEAN-Burma relations
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Myanmar is not alone in a region where the armed forces continue to play outsized political roles
Description:
"Myanmar’s recent reversion to outright military rule has ended a brief and tentative experiment with electoral democracy and restored the country’s status quo ante as a junta-run dictatorship.
While international condemnation grows around the putsch, Myanmar is not alone in a region where the armed forces continue to play outsized political roles.
While Southeast Asia’s militaries are deeply enmeshed in politics, their political authority could soon grow as the region teeters towards a potential conflict in the South China Sea and as internal strife simmers in various locales.
Southeast Asian states spent US$34.5 billion on defense in 2019, up 4.2% from 2018, according to data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) think tank.
A report last year by SIPRI’s Siemon T. Wezeman found that military spending by the ten ASEAN states increased by 33% between 2009 and 2018, “significantly more than the global increases [in] military spending or the growth in most other regions and subregions.” Thailand has seen two military coups in the past 15 years, in 2006 and 2014, both against the democratically elected governments of the Shinawatra siblings.
Thailand is now ruled by the military-civilian hybrid government of Prayut Chan-ocha, the junta leader who took charge in 2014. He faces mounting street-level resistance among protesters who question his democratic legitimacy..."
Source/publisher:
"Asia Times" (Hong Kong)
Date of publication:
2021-02-27
Date of entry/update:
2021-02-28
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Political role of the Tatmadaw, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar, ASEAN-Burma relations
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Given its own history of transition from military rule, Indonesia is probably the nation best placed to lead the bloc’s diplomacy on Myanmar.
Description:
"Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi is spearheading an effort to get the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to get more involved in resolving the political situation in Myanmar.
Retno flew to Brunei yesterday and is scheduled to visit Singapore today for talks aimed at building a consensus within ASEAN on unfolding political crisis inside the country.
Her visit comes just over two weeks after the Myanmar military, or Tatmadaw, seized power, arresting State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi and abrogating her party’s landslide victory at national elections in November. The coup has been followed by an escalating nationwide civil disobedience campaign that has brought the country’s government to a standstill.
“Many countries, including Indonesia, have raised concerns,” Retno said in a statement from Brunei. “Raising concerns is one thing, but the question is: What can Indonesia and ASEAN do to help Myanmar get out of this delicate situation?” Her tour came after Indonesian President Joko Widodo and Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin agreed to instruct their foreign ministers to talk to Brunei, this year’s chair of ASEAN, about setting up a special meeting to address the political crisis in Myanmar.The coup looms as an important test for ASEAN, which claims to occupy a position of diplomatic centrality in Asian diplomacy, but has often been sluggish in its response to regional crises. This is because of ASEAN’s decision-making process, which is based on the principles of consensus – meaning that any ASEAN member state can veto a course of action – and an allergy to any hint of “intervention” in member states’ internal affairs..."
Source/publisher:
"The Diplomat" (Japan)
Date of publication:
2021-02-18
Date of entry/update:
2021-02-19
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Political role of the Tatmadaw, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar, ASEAN-Burma relations
Language:
more
Description:
"To date, ASEAN has over 200,000 coronavirus infections across all 10 member states, with more than 6,000 fatalities as a result of the deadly disease. Although other regions such as Europe and the Americas have recorded more COVID-19 cases compared to Southeast Asia – the pandemic has still managed to ravage livelihoods and local industries in the latter region.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has projected that growth in Southeast Asia will decelerate from 4.4 percent in 2019 to one percent this year before rebounding to 4.7 percent in 2021.
“The evolution of the global pandemic – and thus the outlook for the global and regional economy –is highly uncertain. Growth could turn out lower, and the recovery slower, than we are currently forecasting,” said Yasuyuki Sawada, ADB’s chief economist. For ASEAN member state Myanmar, despite the low reported cases of COVID-19 in the country which stands at 343 infections as of 23 July – the social and economic effects could be severe, noted the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
An IMF publication titled, ‘Six Charts on Myanmar's Economy in the Time of COVID-19’ states that the pandemic shock has affected the economy’s key growth engines. It explains that the kingdom has seen a sharp decline in exports, remittances, and tourist arrivals. At the same time, domestic economic activity has been constrained by strict measures to curb the virus. According to a recent report by the Myanmar Trade Promotion Organisation (MTPO), the tourism industry has been hit hardest by the pandemic, followed by the garment industry. Other sectors that have been feeling the pinch include the rubber export and manufacturing sectors.
Local media in the country reported that nearly one third of all companies in the country have temporarily shuttered due to the pandemic..."
Source/publisher:
"The ASEAN Post" (Malaysia)
Date of publication:
2020-07-24
Date of entry/update:
2020-07-24
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Burma/Myanmar's relationship with the Global Economy, ASEAN-Burma relations
Language:
more
Description:
"The “Association of South-East Asian Nations” or “ASEAN” was formed from the ASEAN Declaration in Bangkok on 8th August 1967 (as a successor to the Association of South-East Asia, “ASA” in 1961), and is just four years younger than the EEC (now the EU). ASEAN is now a grouping of ten geographically, culturally and politically diverse countries, although initially consisted only of those countries which avoided any socialist experimentation: Singapore/Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines and Indonesia. Most of the Mekong countries joined later: Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos.
ASEAN has 651 million people and a land mass of 4.5 million sq kms (50% larger than India and one-half the size of China), and a nominal GDP of US$ 3 trillion (on a PPP basis 4x higher at $13 trillion) and US$ 4,600 nominal GDP per capita. By comparison, the EU has twenty-eight countries, 513 million people, and an almost identical land area of 4.48 million sq kms, but it has a nominal GDP that is 7X higher than ASEAN at US$ 19 trillion (or $23 trillion translating to just 2X on a PPP basis), and a US$ 37,300 nominal GDP per capita. The likelihood is that ASEAN will narrow the gap between its nominal and PPP GDP over the next few years, generating substantial gains for investors.
What is common to all ASEAN countries is the agricultural economic base (except for Singapore & Brunei) and their consequently more manageable workforces, their Chinese (mostly Fujian) diaspora business culture, and their Japanese/Taiwanese/Korean led industrial investment. The Mekong countries share a common Buddhist heritage, but are a mixture quasi-democratic, and factional 1-Party States.
The oldest cultures in ASEAN, the Mekong countries are the least developed, due to their proximity to China and its socialist sphere of influence from 1950-1980. That proximity is now a positive as China embarks on its “Belt & Road” initiative and its manufacturers rush to avoid rising labour costs and US/China trade friction, diversifying production to Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Myanmar. Currently the former closed countries, Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos, “continental ASEAN” or the old Indochina, are now leading ASEAN in growth from their lower economic bases, and after a temporary lapse in 2020, are all expected to be back to 6-7% growth rates in 2021..."
Source/publisher:
"The Asia First Newsletter''
Date of publication:
2020-07-10
Date of entry/update:
2020-07-10
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
“One Belt, One Road” initiative, Burma's economic relations with ASEAN, Burma's economic relations with China, ASEAN-Burma relations, China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Description:
"The strategically vital Mekong subregion has been gaining salience in Beijing’s strategic calculations as China faces growing pushback from the US and other countries. The global pandemic appears to be consolidating a few trends in China’s ties with the Mekong nations. In this emerging scenario, it is likely that China will keep its focus on the Mekong subregion in the post-COVID-19 period.
Cooperative partnerships with some countries have been further deepening, while China’s “mask diplomacy” has raised concern among citizens who want their governments to adopt a more cautious approach and there have been new factors that have been added to existing difficult relationships often viewed through the confrontational lens.
Apart from China-ASEAN cooperation in engaging with the Mekong subregion, Beijing has been using the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC)–––a subregional cooperation mechanism jointly established by Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam–––in engaging with the subregion in the fight against the global pandemic.
In February, Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited Vientiane, Laos, to participate in the fifth LMC foreign ministers’ meeting where he called for “concerted efforts” to fight against the COVID-19 epidemic.
The global pandemic provided Cambodia and China to further consolidate their cooperative partnership. During Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen’s visit to China in early February at a time when “anti-Chinese sentiments” were rising has been interpreted as demonstrating “solidarity” and China-Cambodia relations has described as “a model” for neighbourhood diplomacy..."
Source/publisher:
"Observer Research Foundation (ORF)" (India)
Date of publication:
2020-06-20
Date of entry/update:
2020-06-24
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
“One Belt, One Road” initiative, Burma's economic relations with China, ASEAN-Burma relations, China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Sub-title:
The regional body has been notably silent on genocide in Myanmar, ducking behind the myth of non-interference.
Description:
"On 26 June, leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will meet virtually for their 36th semi-annual summit. The meeting is expected to include a focus on the re-opening of borders and economies post-pandemic, as well as discussions about the continuing tensions in the South China Sea and progress against the ASEAN 2015–2025 Community Building Blueprints.
For ASEAN, the summit comes at a critical time. Since the mid 1970s, ASEAN has progressively increased its clout as a credible regional organisation, but today this centrality is threatened by shifting regional dynamics. Major powers within and outside the region have proposed the establishment of alternative regional frameworks: Australia’s proposal for an Asia-Pacific Community, the notion of the Indo-Pacific region, and what became the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, involving some ASEAN member states but not ASEAN as a regional organisation. With ASEAN members interacting more independently with external partners and trading regimes, the importance of a Southeast Asian regional association is arguably diminished.
And now, as ASEAN leaders prepare for next week’s summit, one of its member states – Myanmar – is preparing its defence against allegations of genocide brought by the state of Gambia before the International Court of Justice. Simultaneously, the International Criminal Court is investigating allegations that Myanmar’s senior authorities forcibly deported and persecuted the Rohingya people.
In explaining the ASEAN stance on the Rohingya crisis, much has been made of the “ASEAN Way” – the principles of sovereignty, non-interference and consensus decision-making enshrined in numerous ASEAN agreements and declarations.
Running in parallel with these developments in international justice has been a tide of international condemnation and sanctions against Myanmar, related to its violence against the Rohingya ethnic minority. The UN Secretary General, the Security Council and the General Assembly have all expressed concern, and the US, Canada and the EU have imposed sanctions..."
Source/publisher:
"The Independent" (UK)
Date of publication:
2020-06-17
Date of entry/update:
2020-06-17
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), ASEAN-Burma relations, Discrimination against the Rohingya
Language:
more
Description:
"In a survey by Visa, around 64 percent of consumers in Southeast Asia are confident of going cashless for a full day, highlighting the region’s strong drive towards digital payments. Moreover, the 2019 World Payments Report shows that the value of non-cash transactions in Asia is projected to grow from US$96.2 billion in 2017 to US$352.8 billion by 2022, a meteoric rise of over 266 percent.
Contactless payments allow people to make payments by tapping their payment cards or phones on point of sales (POS) terminals instead of swiping or inserting their cards. QR (quick response) codes are two-dimensional bar codes which can carry purchase transaction information – allowing merchants to receive payments from customers when scanned. Surveying 504 people in Myanmar across Yangon, Pathein, Mandalay and Magway in September 2018, Visa found that up to 60 percent of consumers use cashless payments to settle payments in hypermarkets and supermarkets. Nevertheless, awareness of cashless payment systems in Myanmar is still rather low compared to other ASEAN member states.
Obstacles
There are several challenges in getting Myanmar to go cashless.
Digital payment solutions rely on electricity and the internet, and the lack of reliable electricity supply in rural areas is probably the biggest obstacle in converting people from cash to digital.
Another problem in Myanmar is a lack of training around such technology.
“Even in Yangon and Mandalay, where people are familiar with technology, some employees do not know how to accept payments by phone or card and sometimes ask for cash instead because the internet is down,” Nyein Chan Soe Win, CEO and co-founder of e-commerce and ride hailing platform Get Myanmar told local media.
Although the Ministry of Transport and Communications revealed that there were over 56.8 million mobile subscribers in the country during the fiscal year 2017-2018, relatively few people have bank accounts in Myanmar.
Payment consultants Mercator Advisory Group estimates that 74 percent of Myanmar’s citizens do not have a bank account and only five percent have debit cards – making it hard to develop an e-payment system based on mobile phones..."
Source/publisher:
"The ASEAN Post" (Malaysia)
Date of publication:
2020-06-06
Date of entry/update:
2020-06-06
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Burmese think tanks etc. dealing with the Burmese/Myanmar economy, Sustainable/alternative development in and for Burma, ASEAN-Burma relations
Language:
more
Description:
"Although trade with Indian neighbour is down 40 percent, Myanmar’s commercial exchanges with its ASEAN partners remain healthy, according to Thura Swiss June 5.
According to the latest reports from the Ministry of Commerce, the aggregated sea and land trade between Myanmar and the rest of the block, for the first half of the 2019-20 fiscal year, amounted to US$6.9 billion.
Myanmar still imports twice as much as it exports with its regional partners (US$2.14 billion exports value versus US$4.75 billion imports). Taken as a whole the ASEAN block is the country’s 2nd trade partner – after China. In ASEAN, Thailand stands out as the number one trading partner, followed by Singapore and Malaysia coming third..."
Source/publisher:
"Mizzima" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2020-06-06
Date of entry/update:
2020-06-06
Grouping:
Individual Documents
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Sub-title:
Three Asean heavyweights - Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines - have offered to buy rice produced in Myanmar, U Khin Maung Lwin, deputy secretary of the Ministry of Commerce, told The Myanmar Times.
Description:
"The Philippines and Malaysia have offered to purchase 300,000 tonnes and 50,000 tonnes of rice from Myanmar, respectively, while Indonesia has yet to confirm the quantity it wants.
The Philippines is already an existing rice export market for Myanmar, having already bought 60,000 tonnes of rice this year with a further 10,000 tonnes en route. Due to COVID-19, the Asean countries are beefing up their rice reserves, which presents an opportunity for Myanmar to negotiate long term export contracts with them, U Khin Maung Lwin said.
“Currently, international rice prices are surging now so we will need to negotiate for favourable terms,” he said.
He added that Myanmar must weigh international demand for rice against its own needs.
“Demand is rising in the rice market but we also need to consider domestic food security. On the other hand, if there is too much supply inside the country, prices may plunge," he said.
The Ministry of Commerce suspended rice export licenses in April but resumed in May and has since allowed 150,000 tonnes to exported. It has so far built up an export reserve equivalent to 10 percent of total exports, and purchased 50,000 tonnes of for domestic reserves.
Myanmar expects export 2.5million tonnes of rice in fiscal 2019-20 and earned more than US$542million from the export of 1.8 million tonnes of rice up until May 15. Around 14 percent of the exports were conducted at the border while more than 85pc was shipped out. .."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Times" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2020-06-04
Date of entry/update:
2020-06-04
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
more
Description:
"This book of proceedings is based on several papers presented at the
seminar Political Instability in Southeast Asia, organized by the
Department of Asian Studies and the Center of Asia-Pacifc Studies at
Metropolitan University Prague on April 19th, 2013. This relatively small
academic gathering was held as part of the series of workshops
organized in the framework of the RESAREAS project, ofcially entitled
the Cooperation Network for Research of Non-European Areas. This
was the third seminar of the series and had originally been entitled
Political Instability in Asia. Interestingly, all the papers which responded
to our Call for Papers dealt with the region of Southeast Asia. Our team,
based around the Department of Asian Studies at MUP, took this as
a good omen that our eforts and area of focus – i.e. a concentration on
Pacifc Asia with a strong dedication to Southeast Asian afairs in our
research and teaching activities – is heading in the right direction.
Therefore, focusing on Southeast Asia in this little edited volume makes
it both more specifcally focused and realistic. Furthermore, of course,
this region deserves much more attention than it is actually getting. And
I daresay this statement bears even more validity in Czechia as well as
within post-Communist Central Europe in general. The simple fact is that
Southeast Asia has so far been heavily understudied in the Czech Republic.
This is something of a paradox since Charles University and other notable
institutions have had a long tradition of (mainly linguistic) Oriental Studies
programs such as Indology, Sinology, as well as Japanese and Korean
Studies. Also Middle Eastern Studies there and at the Oriental Institute of
the Academy of Science of (still regarded geographically, if not always
culturally, as part of Asia) have been well established for decades. Palacký
University in Olomouc and Masaryk University in Brno also have
departments which give lectures on East Asian languages and cultures..."
Source/publisher:
European Social Fund (Evropský sociální fond)
Date of publication:
2013-00-00
Date of entry/update:
2020-03-06
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, ASEAN-Burma relations
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
174.47 KB (142 pages)
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Description:
"The United States has delayed a regional ASEAN summit scheduled to take place in Las Vegas next month due to fears of the coronavirus, a senior administration official said Friday (Feb 28).
"As the international community works together to defeat the novel coronavirus, the United States, in consultation with ASEAN partners, has made the difficult decision to postpone the ASEAN leaders meeting," said the official on condition of not being named..."
Source/publisher:
Agence France-Presse (AFP) (France) via "CNA" ( Singapore)
Date of publication:
2020-02-29
Date of entry/update:
2020-03-01
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Public Health, ASEAN-Burma relations
Language:
more
Description:
"For the second year running, the ASEAN Studies
Centre at ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute conducted
The State of Southeast Asia survey from 12 November
to 1 December 2019. A total of 1,308 respondents from
the ten ASEAN member states participated in the 2020
edition of the survey, which seeks to understand the
perceptions of Southeast Asians on regional affairs and
ASEAN’s engagements with its Dialogue Partners,
especially the major powers.
The survey which was conducted online drew from a
specialised pool of respondents from five professional
categories: research, business and finance, public sector,
civil society, and the media. The purposive sampling
method was used, based on two criteria: respondents
must be Southeast Asian nationals and have adequate
knowledge of regional affairs as inferred from their
profession and job scope. The survey findings are not
meant to be representative of the extant Southeast
Asian view on regional affairs. They do, however, serve
to present a general view of the prevailing attitudes
among those in a position to inform or influence policy in ten ASEAN member states on regional political and
economic issues.
The survey has eight sections: (1) background of
respondents, (2) regional security outlook, (3) major
powers’ regional influence and leadership, (4) geo-
economics and regional integration, (5) geopolitics and
regional architecture, (6) China and US’ engagements
with the region, (7) perceptions of trust, and (8) soft
power. The survey contains 58 questions, of which 18
touch on “baseline” issues which were included in last
year’s survey. The remaining 40 questions, which are
highlighted in the report with an asterisk (*), address new
issues for the regional discourse in 2020. The findings for
the “baseline” questions for the preceding and current
years are presented side-by-side to facilitate comparative
analysis. We have also taken the liberty to rearrange the
ordering of the questions and organise them under new
headings to improve the report’s clarity and cohesion. For
the purpose of readability, the figures in this report are
rounded up or down to the nearest one decimal point..."
Source/publisher:
ASEAN Studies Centre
Date of publication:
2020-01-16
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-09
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), ASEAN-Burma relations, Burma's economic relations with ASEAN
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
1.19 MB (17 pages)
more
Description:
"Six ASEAN countries have been on the list of the countries hit by novel coronavirus infection issued by World Health Organization, but Myanmar is still excluded.
According to WHO figures available on February 3 morning, there are 14,557 lab-confirmed cases across the world—14,411 in China including 14 in Hong Kong, 7 in Macao and 10 in Taiwan. Of those confirmed cases, 2,110 are in serious condition. A total of 304 people died in China and one in the Philippines. The one who died in the Philippines had close contact with a confirmed patient. Apart from China, 23 countries are hit by coronavirus and ASEAN countries include Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia and the Philippines.
According to WHO, China remains at a very high danger level while other affected countries are at a high level.
Previously, WHO defined novel coronavirus suspects as having fever, coughing, need for hospitalization and a history of visit to Wuhan 14 days ago and health staff or those having close contact with the confirmed patients. As for February 1, a history of visit to Wuhan has been changed to a history of visit to China.
"Although infection is transmitted from human to human in China, WHO has regarded it as limited human to human transmission only. This is because infection is found in family members and health workers who have close contact with patients. This means that health workers should also stay alert to the infection," said Dr Khin Khin Gyi, deputy director of the Central Infection Disease Control Department under the Public Health Department..."
Source/publisher:
"Eleven Media Group" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2020-02-04
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-04
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Tuberculosis and other lung/respiratory tract diseases, Public Health, ASEAN-Burma relations
Language:
more
Description:
"(This article will be updated continuously. It was originally published on January 28, 2020. It was last updated on February 1, 2020)
Due to the developing situation in China and Asia concerning the Wuhan Coronavirus, we will be operating this article as a running live update service to keep businesses involved in the ASEAN region updated with the latest relevant regional news. Note the potential for cases to rise in Thailand and Vietnam, given their popularity and ease of access by Chinese nationals over the Lunar New Year festivities is of particular concern. India also appears to be at risk..."
Source/publisher:
"ASEAN Briefing"
Date of publication:
2020-02-01
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-02
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Tuberculosis and other lung/respiratory tract diseases, Public Health, ASEAN-Burma relations
Language:
more
Topic:
Economy, Markets, ASEAN +3 Macroeconomic Research Office, Tourism, E-Commerce, Myanmar
Topic:
Economy, Markets, ASEAN +3 Macroeconomic Research Office, Tourism, E-Commerce, Myanmar
Description:
"The ASEAN Post recently published an article on whether 2020 will be a good year for Myanmar’s economy. That article noted that the ASEAN +3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO) had given Myanmar’s economy a positive outlook for the fiscal year of 2019 to 2020; expecting it to expand by 7.1 percent up from 6.8 percent in the previous fiscal year. However, there may be some events that could act as obstacles to this growth.
The positive outlook is largely thanks to reform momentum, improving business sentiments, growth in manufacturing, tourism related expansion and stronger fiscal spending. According to AMRO, the five key sectors with growth potential in Myanmar this year are (1) the tourism industry, (2) property, (3) insurance, (4) digital transactions and (5) the stock exchange business. However, according to reports, economists have noted that the downside is the ongoing Rakhine crisis as well as the lawsuit filed against Myanmar in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) by Gambia, which could tarnish the country’s image as an investment destination. One of the five key growth sectors this could clearly impact is the tourism industry.
Myanmar has taken several measures to attract tourists. Among these measures are relaxed visa requirements. Aside from that, there have also been a slew of new flight routes coming in and out of Myanmar and neighbouring countries including India, China, Cambodia, and Thailand all throughout last year..."
Source/publisher:
"The ASEAN Post" (Malaysia)
Date of publication:
2020-01-12
Date of entry/update:
2020-01-12
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Burma's economic relations with ASEAN, Burma/Myanmar's relationship with the Global Economy, ASEAN-Burma relations, Sustainable development, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory
Language:
more
Description:
"Wildlife trafficking, like drug and human trafficking, is often a trans-boundary crime. Animal parts and products, non-timber forest products, and living creatures heading to the pet trade find their way across borders every day, passing fluidly between jurisdictions and human societies.
Given legal and language barriers, it can be challenging to catch criminals, follow leads, or even keep up to date on the policies and legislation that govern wildlife. These are very real concerns for the participants in a recent cross-border cooperation workshop in which members of the Provincial Wildlife Enforcement Networks (P-WENs) from five provinces in the Golden Triangle area of Laos, Thailand and Myanmar met in Tachileik, Shan state, Myanmar. The workshop, which was organized by WWF, was attended by a range of wildlife authorities and law-enforcement officials, including representatives from the national and provincial forest departments, forest police, customs, prosecution, and police, to name a few..."
Source/publisher:
"Asia Times" (Hong Kong)
Date of publication:
2020-01-08
Date of entry/update:
2020-01-11
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
more
Description:
"Myanmar has potential investments from Hong Kong and ASEAN countries such as Singapore and Thailand in 2019-20 FY, according to the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Economic Relations.
Among ASEAN countries, Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Brunei, Cambodia and Laos made investments in Myanmar.
A total of 50 countries invested in 1,876 businesses in 12 sectors from 1988 to November 2019 and the total investment is about US$83 billion.
In that period, the investment amount of nine ASEAN countries is over US$38 billion and it is over 46 per cent of total foreign investment.
The investment amount of ASEAN countries are as per following: over US$22 billion from Singapore, over 11 billion from Thailand, over 2 billion from Vietnam, about 2 billion from Malaysia, over US$270 million from Indonesia, about US$150 million from Philippines, over US$120 million from Brunei, over US$24 million from Cambodia and about one million from Laos..."
Source/publisher:
"Eleven Media Group" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2020-01-08
Date of entry/update:
2020-01-09
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Burma's economic relations with ASEAN, Burma/Myanmar's relationship with the Global Economy, ASEAN-Burma relations
Language:
more
Description:
"A TOTAL of 1,807 victims of human trafficking were rescued in Thailand last year, a marked increase from 622 in 2018.
According to the Bangkok Post, the highest figure was 982 victims in 2015.
Police said about 60 per cent of those rescued last year were women and most were trafficked for labour.
“Nearly three-quarters of them were Burmese migrants bound for neighbouring Malaysia.”
Lawyers and activists said the spike in victims uncovered by the authorities could put pressure on the nine government-run shelters that support survivors. They said this put a strain on the budget allocated for victims’ wellbeing and affected the ability of staff members to provide support.
Thailand has ramped up efforts to tackle trafficking in recent years, under scrutiny from the United States and following criticism of its failure to stop trafficking in its multibillion-dollar seafood industry, and the sex trade.
Those identified as trafficking victims can choose to receive help from the government. This includes staying at a shelter and being compensated through a state fund that provides living and rehabilitation expenses in addition to lost wages.
Victims are also entitled to legal aid and job opportunities while awaiting trial to give testimony or being returned home..."
Source/publisher:
"New Straits Times" (Malaysia)
Date of publication:
2020-01-08
Date of entry/update:
2020-01-08
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Trafficking: global, regional and national reports, Smuggling of people - Burma-Myanmar related, ASEAN-Burma relations
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Myanmar is the leading country in Southeast Asia in eliminating corporal punishment and child labour following the ratification of a minimum age obligation and passsage of a landmark legislation.
Description:
"In November, the parliament approved the ratification of the International Labour Organization’s Minimum Age Convention No 138. The 18-article convention seeks to abolish child labour and support the physical, mental and economic development of young people, while allowing Myanmar and other underdeveloped countries to employ children aged 12 to 14 for non-harmful light work. This follows the enactment of the Child Rights Law a few months earlier, a move which garnered widespread recognition and support among civil society organisations for the advancement of children's rights, particularly in ending violence against children. The legislation was applauded by the likes of UNICEF, Human Rights Watch and Save the Children.
Save the Children, which has operations in Myanmar, hailed the nation as a leader in the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on the issue of any form of punishment perpetrated against children..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Times" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2020-01-07
Date of entry/update:
2020-01-08
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Children, Children's rights: reports of violations in Burma against more than one ethnic group, ASEAN-Burma relations
Language:
more
Topic:
Economy, Markets, ASEAN +3 Macroeconomic Research Office, Tourism, E-Commerce, Myanmar
Topic:
Economy, Markets, ASEAN +3 Macroeconomic Research Office, Tourism, E-Commerce, Myanmar
Description:
"It was reported recently that the ASEAN +3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO) had given Myanmar’s economy a positive outlook for the fiscal year of 2019 to 2020, expecting it to expand by 7.1 percent up from 6.8 percent in the previous fiscal year. This is largely thanks to reform momentum, improving business sentiments, growth in manufacturing, tourism related expansion and stronger fiscal spending.
According to AMRO, the five key sectors with growth potential in Myanmar this year are (1) the tourism industry, (2) property, (3) insurance, (4) digital transactions and (5) the stock exchange business.
Looking at the tourism industry, several measures have been taken to attract tourists. Among these measures is the easing up on visa requirements. Beginning 1 October last year, tourists from Australia, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland and Russia were given visas on arrival for US$50 each at Yangon, Mandalay and Nay Pyi Taw international airports. Even more recently, on 1 January, the government of Myanmar relaxed its visa regulations for five more countries. Travellers from the Czech Republic, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Hungary and Austria will be given visas on arrival when entering the country for the next three years.
There have also been a slew of new flight routes coming in and out of Myanmar and neighbouring countries including India, China, Cambodia, and Thailand all throughout 2019..."
Source/publisher:
"The ASEAN Post" (Malaysia)
Date of publication:
2020-01-08
Date of entry/update:
2020-01-08
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Burma's economic relations with ASEAN, Burma/Myanmar's relationship with the Global Economy, Burma/Myanmar's relationship with the Global Economy, Sustainable/ethical/responsible tourism (Burma/Myanmar), ASEAN-Burma relations, Burma/Myanmar's Foreign relations, general
Language:
more
Description:
"It is for the first time for ASEAN to have an Intergovernmental Human Rights Commission whose main job is to deal with all human right problems within the association. This newly formed body would not be effective unless it deals properly by collective arrangements within the region. ASEAN would face criticism as a lip service body, which fails to take a firm action to deal with the Rohingya issues. Persecution and human rights violations against the Rohingya inside Burma, especially in Arakan state, have persisted for over 20 years, with insufficient international attention. Within the study of International Relations, the problem of forced migration and displaced persons are understudied, despite they are daily features in global conflict. The problem have great significance to understand the international society’s behaviour, yet “there has been little systematic attempt...to explore what the central concepts within IR might offer to the study of forced migration” (Betts and Loescher 2011, 11). Forced migration and displaced persons are both causes and consequences of conflict and instability, hence mitigation needs involvement of both states and non-state actors. The Rohingya problem has been unique since their displacement is not caused by internal conflicts but because of denial of citizenship. Within ASEAN member countries we are witnessing some groups of people holding this status. Including the Rohingya people, almost everywhere the non-citizens facing official and non-official discrimination. Having social and practical hostilities from their surroundings. This essay, however, explores why ASEAN continues to turn a blind eye to the plight of the Rohingya even though ASEAN has inaugurated the Intergovernmental Human Rights Commission..."
Source/publisher:
Airlangga University (Indonesia) via "Academia.edu" (USA)
Date of publication:
2012-03-12
Date of entry/update:
2020-01-04
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, The rights of non-citizens, ASEAN-Burma relations
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
427.9 KB (12 pages)
more
Description:
"The year 2019 has been a fruitful year for China and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in their concerted efforts to consolidate ties and forge a closer community with a shared future.
One year into the implementation of the landmark China-ASEAN Strategic Partnership Vision 2030, the two sides have built stronger economic and trade links, further synergized their development plans, and made major progress in managing differences. All these were achieved while the world is afflicted with rising protectionism and unilateralism that undermine globalization and development.
In fact, the China-ASEAN partnership has become one of the most dynamic partnerships that the bloc has with a dialogue partner, said Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, whose country is the rotating chair of ASEAN for 2019..."
Source/publisher:
"Xinhua" (China)
Date of publication:
2019-12-15
Date of entry/update:
2019-12-16
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
ASEAN-Burma relations, China-Burma relations, Burma's economic relations with ASEAN, Burma's economic relations with China
Language:
more
Description:
"Earlier this year, in June, Save the Children released its Global Childhood Report 2019. The report involved a total of 176 countries, and took a look at indicators such as children’s healthcare, education, nutrition and protection. But while Singapore took lead in terms of providing a safe and fostering environment for children, leaving other ASEAN countries far behind, countries like Lao, Cambodia, Myanmar, and the Philippines performed the worst in the bloc.
The ASEAN Post has published several articles citing this particular report. We looked at the dire state in Lao, Cambodia, and the Philippines, and also commended Singapore for being able to grab top spot for the second year in a row. Nevertheless, today it’s pertinent to also take a closer look at Myanmar.
Talking about children in Myanmar is timely as recently, the country’s Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (Assembly of the Union) approved Myanmar’s ratification of an international treaty to abolish child labour in the country. The Minimum Age Convention (138) of the International Labour Organization (ILO), which includes the abolition of child labour, was approved on Tuesday..."
Source/publisher:
"The ASEAN Post" (Malaysia)
Date of publication:
2019-12-09
Date of entry/update:
2019-12-15
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Children, Child labour in Burma, Children's rights: reports of violations in Burma against more than one ethnic group, ASEAN-Burma relations
Language:
more
Sub-title:
A short paper on the region‘s response to the recent refugee crisis.
Description:
"The objectives of this short report are to: (a) give a comprehensive historical
background on the plight of the Rohgingya and the events of the migrant crisis;
(b) identify, explain the role and response of entities such as the governments of
ASEAN and other organizations such as the United Nations (UN) and relevant
non-governmental organizations (NGOs); (c) explain the political, economic and
social aspects, factors and developments on the issue; (d) give a conclusion and
recommendations based on the author‘s research. Studying refugees and forced
displacement flows is essential in understanding emerging trends in migration, as
well as an indicator of consequences of conflict, economic stagnation, and
environmental degradation. As of 2014, the United Nations High Commissioner
on Refugees (UNHCR) reported an accelerated growth in global forced
displacement whilst reaching unprecedented levels. There are 59.5 million
individuals globally that were forcibly displaced because of persecution, armed
conflict, generalized violence, or human rights violation1
. Crises in the Middle
East, Africa, Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia have severely stretched the
global humanitarian system. In addition, the gaps can be observed on the current
global legal framework in protecting, asylum seekers, refugees and internally
displaced persons (IDPs). Out of the 59.5 million displaced, 19.5 million are
refugees, 28.2 million are IDPs, and 1.8 million are asylum-seekers. 42,500
individuals are forcibly displaced daily due to conflict and persecution..."
Source/publisher:
"Academia.edu" (USA)
Date of publication:
2015-11-28
Date of entry/update:
2019-12-07
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Genocide, Internal displacement/forced migration of Rohingyas, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, ASEAN-Burma relations
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
540.62 KB (12 pages)
more
Sub-title:
In 2017 Myanmar established the Union Enterprise for Humanitarian Assistance, Resettlement and Development in Rakhine State (UEHRD) to facilitate peacebuilding. Two years on, peace remains elusive.
Description:
"On October 18, 2019, Myanmar celebrated the second anniversary of the formation of the Union Enterprise for Humanitarian Assistance, Resettlement and Development in Rakhine State (UEHRD), an institution to facilitate peacebuilding in the Myanmar state that has attracted much global attention. The event in Nay Pyi Daw was attended by representatives of the Myanmar government, military, local civil society, as well as organisations like ASEAN.
Speaking in her role as Chairperson of the UEHRD, Aung San Suu Kyi emphasised self-reliance in resolving challenges in Rakhine State. Her statement came even as Myanmar responds to international pressure, especially on the fate of the Rohingya. Suu Kyi understands well her need for ASEAN as an organisational buffer to help manage the international pressure to build peace in Rakhine State. But the space for ASEAN to manoeuvre in the situation is limited, and subject to Myanmar’s willingness to cooperate..."
Source/publisher:
"Eurasia Review"
Date of publication:
2019-12-03
Date of entry/update:
2019-12-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Genocide, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, ASEAN-Burma relations
Language:
more
Description:
"Several actions were organized across Southeast Asia from 20 to 22 September 2019 in support of the Global Climate Strike. One of the aims of the global strike was to mobilize young people and put pressure on world leaders who were scheduled to meet at the United Nations Climate Action Summit in New York.
The protest actions in Southeast Asia highlighted various issues such as the impact of large-scale mining, haze pollution, and continuing dependence on fossil fuels. Like in other parts of the world, the climate strikes in Southeast Asia featured the active participation and leadership of young people.
Below is an overview of protest activities across Southeast Asia:
Myanmar protesters demand the declaration of a climate emergency
More than 200 people marched from the new Bogyoke Market to Sule Pagoda, and then gathered outside Mahabandoola Park in Yangon on 21 September. They urged the Myanmar government to declare a climate emergency, impose a moratorium on projects that harm the environment, and promote environmental justice..."
Source/publisher:
"Global Voices"
Date of publication:
2019-09-25
Date of entry/update:
2019-12-02
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Climate Change - climate education, introductions, films, guides, links, bibliographies, Climate Change - governmental and inter-governmental bodies, treaties, meetings, reports, commentaries, Climate Change - networks, campaigns, guides, resources, Climate Change - Migration Global, Climate Change - Migration Burma/Myanmar, ASEAN-Burma relations
Language:
more
Description:
" On a par with the “super drug traffickers” threat, human trafficking is giving Southeast Asian countries a big headache with the recent death of 39 Vietnamese nationals while trying to enter Britain being the latest case in point.
The Asean Post quoted the United States Department of State Trafficking in Persons Report 2019 as stating that in the case of Vietnam, traffickers typically subjected their victims to forced labour in construction, fishing, agriculture, mining, logging and manufacturing sectors.
They are primarily trafficked to Angola, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, the Republic of Korea, Taiwan and the United Arab Emirates.
Taking into account the wider Asian region, the Asia Pacific is in fact facing the biggest problem when it comes to human trafficking.
According to the 2016 Global Slavery Index by the Walk Free Foundation, it is estimated that 25 million people are trapped in modern slavery in the region, accounting for 62 per cent of the global total.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen urged Asean to cooperate with China to tackle the human trafficking issue, according to a report from The Khmer Times.
“Human trafficking, exploitation of labour, sex trafficking, child labour and organ trafficking are serious crimes. It is necessary for Asean and China to pay attention and work together to prevent them,” he said..."
Source/publisher:
"New Straits Times" (Malaysia)
Date of publication:
2019-11-30
Date of entry/update:
2019-12-01
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Trafficking: global, regional and national reports, People smuggling - international standards and mechanisms, ASEAN-Burma relations
Language:
more
Description:
"The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) provides momentum for regional economic integration and connectivity, helping China and ASEAN forge a closer community of shared future, said Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Hor Nam Hong.
Hor made the remarks Saturday at the opening ceremony of the 16th China-ASEAN Expo themed "Building the Belt & Road, Realizing Our Vision for a Community of Shared Future."
The deputy vice prime minister envisioned that the China-ASEAN strategic partnership and the BRI will further deepen the cooperation between the two sides in the joint pursuit of shared prosperity.
Statistics show that China has signed cooperation agreements with more than 130 countries across the globe and 30 international organizations on jointly building the Belt and Road, benefiting people of the involved nations.
Highlighting regional economic cooperation, this year's China-ASEAN expo is expected to lift the practical and comprehensive cooperation between China, ASEAN and other countries participating in the BRI to new heights..."
Source/publisher:
"Xinhua" (China)
Date of publication:
2019-09-23
Date of entry/update:
2019-11-26
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
“One Belt, One Road” initiative, Burma's economic relations with ASEAN, Burma/Myanmar's relationship with the Global Economy, Burma's economic relations with China, ASEAN-Burma relations, China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Description:
"A series of key reports released over the past month have proven just how ineffective global efforts to address climate change have been.
Greenhouse gases (GHG) keep on rising, and the planned production of fossil fuels provides countries with no chance of achieving the 2015 Paris Agreement – a treaty ratified by 184 countries which aims to limit global temperature increases to below two degrees Celsius by 2100 and no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius.
Despite ambitious goals, the voluntary nature of the Paris Agreement – along with its numerous loopholes and technicalities – means that decisive action in reducing emissions, addressing climate change and adopting renewable energy remains elusive. With Southeast Asia expected to face the brunt of the damage from climate change, a report by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) yesterday that GHG in the atmosphere have reached another new record high means that the region can look forward to more rising temperatures, sea levels and disruptions to marine and land ecosystems.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) noted last year that average temperatures in Southeast Asia have risen every decade since 1960 – with Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam among the 10 countries in the world most affected by climate change in the past 20 years..."
Source/publisher:
"The ASEAN Post" (Malaysia)
Date of publication:
2019-11-26
Date of entry/update:
2019-11-26
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Climate Change - Migration Global, Climate Change - Migration Burma/Myanmar, ASEAN-Burma relations
Language:
more
Description:
"South Korea and five member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Monday on boosting development cooperation in education, smart cities and other fields, Seoul's aid agency said.
The MOU, signed with Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, the Philippines and Vietnam, aims to expand official development assistance (ODA) in the five countries under five flagship programs designed by the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), KOICA said in a release.
The signing took place on the margins of the special summit between leaders of South Korea and ASEAN partners being held in Busan to commemorate the 30th anniversary of their dialogue relations.
The programs focus on forging digital partnerships for inclusive development, providing assistance for higher education and establishing smart cities and transportation, the aid agency said.
The programs are designed based on the New Southern Policy, a key policy initiative pushed for by the Moon Jae-in government that seeks to deepen economic and other ties with ASEAN members and India..."
Source/publisher:
"The Korea Times" (South Korea)
Date of publication:
2019-11-25
Date of entry/update:
2019-11-25
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Burma's economic relations with ASEAN, Burma's economic relations with South Korea, Burma/Myanmar's relationship with the Global Economy, ASEAN-Burma relations, South Korea-Burma relations
Language:
more
Description:
"China’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) continues to draw criticism and disapproval. Its sceptics brand it as China’s Marshall Plan or as a ‘neo-imperial project’. To ensure the initiative’s success, China should heed some of these concerns and take steps to improve the implementation of BRI-related projects. Doing so is particularly important in ASEAN — a region that stands to greatly benefit from BRI investment, if done right. ASEAN is the world’s sixth-largest economy with a total GDP of more than US$2.5 trillion. Economies across the region are growing steadily at an average annual rate of around 5 per cent. Sustaining this growth requires the region to meet its growing infrastructure needs, which are estimated to amount to US$2.8 trillion from 2016 to 2030.
China’s BRI is important for ASEAN because it can help to fund and meet the region’s infrastructure needs. It also supports the success of the ASEAN Community Vision 2025 and Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity 2025 initiatives.
A major BRI–ASEAN project is the Pan-Asia Railway Network designed to connect China with Southeast Asia. Its three main railway routes — the eastern, central and western routes — all begin in Kunming, China. The eastern route has a total estimated cost of US$600 million and will pass through Vietnam and Cambodia into Thailand. The central route will pass through Laos, Thailand and Malaysia into Singapore. As a high-speed railway project, it is the most expensive route with an estimated cost of more than US$33 billion. The western route will pass through Myanmar into Thailand and is estimated to cost US$2 billion..."
Source/publisher:
"East Asia Forum" (Australia)
Date of publication:
2019-01-26
Date of entry/update:
2019-11-23
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
“One Belt, One Road” initiative, Burma's economic relations with ASEAN, Burma/Myanmar's relationship with the Global Economy, Burma's economic relations with China, ASEAN-Burma relations, China-Burma relations
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
36.6 KB (3 pages)
more
Description:
"The ASEAN Safe Migration Campaign was launched in December 2018 at the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta. Building on the 2017 ASEAN Consensus on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers signed in Manila, the campaign seeks to ‘raise public awareness on safe labour migration that benefits all’. While well-intentioned, the campaign is hindered by a simplistic concept of safe migration that falls short of addressing the challenges faced by migrant workers in the region. Significant ambiguity surrounds the concept of ‘safe’ migration. Without a clear understanding of the term, scholars and practitioners are using the term loosely. Safe migration is open to subjective interpretation and its meaning differs across actors. If we neglect to examine what safe migration means in a given context, contradictions will compromise efforts to protect and promote the rights of migrant workers.
So, what is safe migration? The most accurate answer is that it depends. The more helpful answer is that the meaning of safe migration is derived from how individual communities present and use the term. While basic aspects of safety such as the preservation of life are clear and undisputed, other associations often depend on how local actors define the concept. In the context of Southeast Asia, the ASEAN Safe Migration Campaign offers a window into understanding how safe migration relates to the region’s seven million migrant workers..."
Source/publisher:
"East Asia Forum" (Australia)
Date of publication:
2019-08-01
Date of entry/update:
2019-11-23
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
46.54 KB (4 pages)
more
Description:
"The establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) in December 2015 was a notable milestone in the economic integration of Southeast Asia. However, despite the AEC’s ambitious vision, the on-the-ground reality of Southeast Asian regionalism continues to raise some concerns. One such concern is the vast income gap among the ASEAN member states, which might become an obstacle to developing a true sense of regional solidarity and unity. Per capita income in the region’s richest country, Singapore, is over six times higher than in the poorest, Myanmar. ASEAN member states regard the vast income gap as a ‘matter of urgency’. To enable equitable development, the AEC requires that older ASEAN member assist newer members (known as the CLMV countries: Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam) in their efforts to enhance their economic capacity. Since 2000, when ASEAN leaders adopted the Initiative for ASEAN integration, the older six member have been supporting CLMV countries in five key areas: food and agriculture, international trade, small and medium-sized enterprises, education, and health and wellbeing.
According to a recent study, the CLMV countries are divided by a two-layer economic structure: Cambodia and Vietnam have been successful in bringing down the income gap with their older and richer ASEAN peers while Laos and Myanmar have lagged behind..."
Source/publisher:
"East Asia Forum" (Australia)
Date of publication:
2019-03-16
Date of entry/update:
2019-11-23
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
ASEAN-Burma relations, Japan-Burma relations, Burma's economic relations with ASEAN, Burma's economic relations with Japan
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
41.51 KB
more
Description:
"For the Mekong countries, including Thailand, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia and Vietnam, 2018 was a big year both domestically and regionally. Key developments from last year will inevitably continue to shape the politics of the region in 2019. In terms of domestic affairs, the most worrying trend is the consolidation of autocratic power in almost all countries. In Vietnam, the sudden death of president Tran Dai Quang in September 2018 created a huge power vacuum, which was filled by Vietnamese Communist Party chief Nguyen Phu Trong. By merging the two most powerful positions in Vietnamese politics, he has become the strongest Vietnamese leader since the death of Ho Chi Minh in 1969, edging the communist state towards the Chinese model of centralised rule.
Cambodia, in theory a multi-party democracy, has practically become a one-party regime after a sham election that saw Prime Minister Hun Sen’s Cambodian People’s Party win all parliamentary seats in July 2018. He is now one of the world’s longest-serving heads of government, having held the premiership for 33 years since 1985.
Things are no better in Thailand. Four years after seizing power, the military junta has made — and broken — five promises to hold a general election to establish a civilian government. Even if the sixth promise is fulfilled in February 2019, it will be difficult to see swift change, as the junta will exploit all means available to dominate the electoral process..."
Source/publisher:
"East Asia Forum" (Australia)
Date of publication:
2019-02-07
Date of entry/update:
2019-11-23
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
ASEAN-Burma relations, China-Burma relations, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
44.31 KB (4 pages)
more
Description:
"Despite fading foreign direct investment in China amid the Sino-US trade war, Bangkok Bank (BBL) says its international banking business is thriving from a shift towards Asean.
The bank's international banking business, covering nine of the 10 Asean nations, shows positive signs, mainly due to higher investment in Asean from regional business operators and foreigners, said a source familiar with the issue.
Large Thai and regional investors have shifted investment away from China and towards Asean, driven by trade tensions, and the fast-growing economies of the bloc are providing greater business opportunities, the source said.
The mainland's intense competition in all areas, including funding, market, technology and people, is compelling Thai business operators to shun China and shift to regional markets..."
Source/publisher:
"Bangkok Post" (Thailand)
Date of publication:
2019-11-21
Date of entry/update:
2019-11-22
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
ASEAN-Burma relations, China-Burma relations, Burma's economic relations with ASEAN, Burma/Myanmar's relationship with the Global Economy
Language:
more
Topic:
The US-China trade war.
Topic:
The US-China trade war.
Description:
"ASEAN members have issued a variety of incentives to attract investors affected by the US-China trade war.
These incentives come in the form of tax breaks as well as initiatives to improve the investment climate.
Investors should seek the help of registered advisors to better understand which incentives are beneficial for their business.
Governments across ASEAN have been unveiling an array of incentive packages to entice businesses affected by the US-China trade war.
Countries such as Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia have introduced tax breaks and initiatives to improve the ease of doing business whereas Vietnam, Singapore, and Cambodia have accelerated business reforms, such as executing free trade agreements (FTAs), and double taxation agreements (DTAs). We consolidate and briefly discusses the development of each country’s incentives over the past year. The developments showcase how ASEAN members are distinguishing themselves from the fellow competition and what opportunities are available for investors looking elsewhere in Asia..."
Source/publisher:
"ASEAN Briefing"
Date of publication:
2019-11-21
Date of entry/update:
2019-11-22
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
ASEAN-Burma relations, China-Burma-US relations, Burma/Myanmar's relationship with the Global Economy, Burma's economic relations with China
Language:
more
Description:
"The ASEAN-Hong Kong, China Free Trade Agreement (AHKFTA) came into effect on June 11 for Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, Singapore, and Thailand. The remaining ASEAN member states will complete the ratification process later this year. The deal was first signed and agreed in November 2017 to increase economic cooperation, reduce taxes, and increase investment between regional markets and Hong Kong.
Analysts have noted that with ongoing trade tensions, Hong Kong businesses are keen to expand investment opportunities in Southeast Asia, and particularly in Vietnam. At the end of 2018, Hong Kong businesses had invested more than 1,300 projects in Vietnam on key sectors such as textiles and garments, real estate and investments. Many expect these numbers to improve following the AHKFTA. Vietnam and Hong Kong trade
Vietnam is Hong Kong’s third largest trade partner and biggest export market in ASEAN. In the first five months of this year, Hong Kong accounted for 30.4 percent of total FDI investment in Vietnam, equaling US $5.08 billion.
Hong Kong’s importance as an entrepôt for trade between mainland China and Vietnam will continue to grow at a much faster pace with the FTA coming into force. Re-exports of goods of ASEAN origin through Hong Kong to China have been growing at an annual average rate of 6.4 percent since 2012..."
Source/publisher:
"Vietnam Briefing" (Vietnam)
Date of publication:
2019-06-21
Date of entry/update:
2019-11-21
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Burma/Myanmar's relationship with the Global Economy, Burma's economic relations with ASEAN, ASEAN-Burma relations, Burma/Myanmar's Foreign relations, general
Language:
more
Description:
"US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper has urged all South China Sea claimant countries, including the Philippines, to take a “very public posture” and assert their sovereign rights against China’s aggressive moves in the disputed waters.
Esper also said the United States was open to revisiting and strengthening its Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) with the Philippines “based on changes in the environment and world situation.”
Ambiguities
At a press conference with Esper on Tuesday, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said he initially introduced the idea of revisiting the MDT which was signed by the two countries in 1951.
Lorenzana cited the ambiguities in the treaty, including a provision that indicates that an attack on “Metropolitan Philippines” would automatically trigger a military response from the United States.
Esper meanwhile reiterated the US commitment to the MDT which covers the entire Pacific region, including the South China Sea..."
Source/publisher:
"Eleven Media Group" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2019-11-20
Date of entry/update:
2019-11-20
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
ASEAN-Burma relations, China-Burma-US relations, Burma's economic relations with ASEAN, Burma/Myanmar's relationship with the Global Economy
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Blackwater founder Eric Prince’s Frontier Service Group continues to expand in Asia
Description:
"The Frontier Service Group (FSG), founded by former US military contractor Eric Prince, is moving into Myanmar to provide security services for Chinese and other foreign investors, the Myanmar Times reported on March 19.
FSG, a Hong Kong-registered company, has established a joint-venture security company in Myanmar called FSG (Myanmar) Security Services Co Ltd and is advertising for 30 security personnel in Myanmar.
According to the Myanmar Times, the company profile lists Daw Sandar Win (Myanmar), Zhang Huagang (China), Tan Qing (China) and U Si Thu (Myanmar) as directors.
Prince is also the founder of the defunct military contract company Blackwater, which, the Myanmar Times says, “was condemned internationally after its employees allegedly opened fire on a Baghdad street in 2007, killing at least 14 civilians.”
The Myanmar Times quoted Doi Ra, a local Kachin NGO worker, as saying that “we need to know the details of FSG’s operations in Myanmar … the current information is almost non-existent.”
Doi Ra said civil society organizations were concerned that the company would be used to provide security for large-scale infrastructure projects such as the controversial Myitsone hydro-electric dam project in northern Myanmar..."
Source/publisher:
"Asia Times" (Hong Kong)
Date of publication:
2019-03-19
Date of entry/update:
2019-11-19
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Burma/Myanmar's relationship with the Global Economy, Burma's economic relations with ASEAN, Burma's economic relations with China, ASEAN-Burma relations, China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Description:
"The 35th Asean Summit has come and gone, and the United States has again lost ground in its struggle with China for the hearts and minds of Southeast Asia.
Over the last few years, the decline in US soft power in the region has accelerated, after its withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership and President Donald Trump’s “America First” policy, which neglects the region’s strategic interests while economically punishing and alienating potential supporters.
US soft power has been declining for years, absolutely and relative to China’s influence. In the run-up to the 2017 Asean summit, both the US and China lobbied heavily for their preferences. China wanted no reference to its claims and activities in the South China Sea and the 2016 arbitration ruling against it. It also refused to support any reference to the need for a “legally binding” code of conduct between China and Asean..."
Source/publisher:
"South China Morning Post" (Hong Kong)
Date of publication:
2019-11-06
Date of entry/update:
2019-11-19
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Burma's economic relations with ASEAN, Burma/Myanmar's relationship with the Global Economy, ASEAN-Burma relations, Burma/Myanmar's Foreign relations, general
Language:
more
Description:
"As ASEAN leaders descend on Bangkok for the ASEAN Summit, regional leaders such as Shinzo Abe, Moon Jae-in and Scott Morrison are expected to join them for the East Asia Summit (EAS). First held in 2005, the EAS is a meeting of 18 leaders for strategic dialogue and cooperation on key political, security and economic challenges. It brings together the major regional players — China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia, New Zealand and newest members Russia and the United States — to meet with the 10 ASEAN leaders annually on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit. While the G20 and APEC summits receive significant coverage, the EAS barely rates a mention in most media outlets. It is hard to point to a set of concrete initiatives and impact it has delivered. Despite its low profile, the EAS has the potential to be a valuable forum.
It is leaders-led. As Nick Bisley points out, the EAS’ leader-level format accurately ‘reflects the reality that, in statecraft, there are some things that only leaders can do’. While there is now also an EAS Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, an Economic Ministers’ Meeting and other ministerial meetings, its main value is the leaders’ meeting.
It is inclusive. Hosted by the current ASEAN chair, it provides a voice to a diverse range of countries in the region, not just to those that have set the agenda in the past. The 18 EAS participating countries collectively represent 54 per cent of the world’s population and 58 per cent of global GDP.
It has a broad remit. Unlike some other regional forums, the EAS aims to cover political, security and economic challenges facing the region. It has covered many different topics. Last year, EAS leaders discussed the South China Sea, the Korean Peninsula, the situation in Myanmar’s Rakhine State, counterterrorism, regional economic integration, maritime cooperation and connectivity. This year, it is expected that US–China tensions, the South China Sea and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) trade deal will be high on the agenda. Last year, RCEP participating states expressed their eagerness to sign off on the deal at this year’s summit, though it may still not be finalised in time..."
Source/publisher:
"East Asia Forum" (Australia)
Date of publication:
2019-11-02
Date of entry/update:
2019-11-19
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Burma/Myanmar's relationship with the Global Economy, Burma's economic relations with ASEAN, ASEAN-Burma relations, Burma/Myanmar's Foreign relations, general
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
37.92 KB (4 pages)
more
Description:
"Myanmar has urged ASEAN to intensify cooperation in rural development and poverty eradication efforts, according to the News Straits Times.
Minister for Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation, U Aung Thu, said that total poverty eradication is necessary for the sustainable development of a nation; and urged all ASEAN members to work together in lifting their people out of poverty.
He attributed the current success of the 10-member group in reducing poverty to exchanging experiences and finding new approaches in efforts to fight the problem.
U Tun Lwin, deputy permanent secretary of the ministry, said that the Myanmar government is implementing people-centred projects using a World Bank loan, among others..."
Source/publisher:
"Mizzima" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2019-11-12
Date of entry/update:
2019-11-17
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
more
Description:
"Countries in the Lancang-Mekong Basin, including China, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam, recently announced they would launch a joint operation against precursor chemicals in November.
The Lancang-Mekong Integrated Law Enforcement and Security Cooperation Center said officials from the six countries made the announcement in Kunming, capital of southwest China's Yunnan Province, which borders Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam.
Zheng Baigang, secretary-general of the center, said the joint action aimed at tackling the root causes of drug-related crimes and eradicating such crimes through measures to control the production and transportation of precursor chemicals in the region.
Liang Yun, head of the narcotics control bureau of the Ministry of Public Security, said the Golden Triangle region has become a regional and even global synthetic drug manufacturing center, which harms social stability and economic development in the Lancang-Mekong Basin..."
Source/publisher:
"Xinhua" (China)
Date of publication:
2019-10-30
Date of entry/update:
2019-11-16
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Burma/Myanmar's Foreign relations, general, ASEAN-Burma relations, The impact of climate change on the global environment
Language:
more
Description:
"We reiterated our intention to work towards the completion of the India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway Project and its extension to Cambodia, Lao PDR and Viet Nam, said a source from the statement of the 16th ASEAN-India Summit in Bangkok, Thailand.
The Trilateral Highway project includes three new major bridges, repair and strengthening of four existing major bridges, two new minor bridges, reconstruction of six existing minor bridges, repair and strengthening of nine existing minor bridges, reconstruction of 226 existing culverts, 20 bus bays and passenger shelters besides one rest area, according to the statement.
We emphasized the need to enhance ASEAN-India collaborative efforts in countering terrorism, radicalization, violent extremism, and transnational crimes, and the need to strengthen cooperation on cyber security through supporting the implementation of the ASEAN Cyber security Cooperation Strategy and the ARF Work Plan on Security of and in the Use of Information and Communication Technologies.
We underscored the importance of further strengthening trade and investment between ASEAN and India in order to achieve the trade target of 200 billion USD by 2022.We reaffirmed that the full and effective utilisation of the ASEAN-India Free Trade Area (AIFTA) will not only contribute to the realisation of our 2022 trade target but also to the promotion of sustainable and inclusive economic growth. We noted the decision of our Economic Ministers in September 2019 to initiate the review of the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA) to make it more user-friendly, simple, and trade facilitative for businesses, and constitute a Joint Committee for this purpose. ASEAN Leaders welcomed the conclusion of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) negotiations and the commitment to sign the RCEP Agreement in 2020..."
Source/publisher:
"Eleven Media Group" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2019-11-05
Date of entry/update:
2019-11-15
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
ASEAN-Burma relations, India-Burma relations, Burma's economic relations with India, Burma's economic relations with ASEAN
Language:
more
Description:
" Myanmar State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi has underscored that the country will not shirk its responsibility to take care of the rights and security of people, according to the Foreign Ministry Monday.
The counselor made the response to the remarks by United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres regarding Rakhine issue.
At the opening session of the 10th ASEAN-UN Summit in Bangkok on Sunday, Guterres expressed concern over the situation in Rakhine state and the plight of the refugees in Cox's Bazaar, saying Myanmar is responsible to ensure a conducive environment for safe, voluntary and dignified return of refugees.
The counselor pointed out that the Rakhine issue is a most complex one and that the UN and its agencies, which have been present in the region for 10 times longer than the present government has been in office, must have some idea of the extent of the complexities.
The Myanmar government was fully committed to take back the verified returnees based on the bilateral agreement signed with Bangladesh and the trilateral agreement signed with UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and UN Development Program (UNDP), she said.
She expressed appreciation to ASEAN and the ASEAN Secretariat for their constructive contribution to Myanmar's efforts in creating the most suitable environment to which the displaced people can return in peace and security and voluntarily..."
Source/publisher:
"Xinhua" (China)
Date of publication:
2019-11-04
Date of entry/update:
2019-11-13
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
ASEAN-Burma relations, Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Internal displacement/forced migration of Rohingyas, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Foreign direct investment (FDI) into Myanmar still lags other countries in ASEAN, according to a report issued by the ASEAN Secretariat last week.
Description:
"The report ASEAN Investment Report 2019: FDI in Services showed that FDI into Myanmar declined despite record-high inflows into other countries in the grouping.
FDI in Myanmar in 2018 slumped 11 percent to US$3.6 billion, primarily because of a 48 percent decline in investments in extractive industries.
Although the country benefits from over 59 percent of investments from ASEAN countries, Myanmar is the only one among the CLMV countries - Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam - that saw a decrease in intra-ASEAN investment.
Myanmar continues to be favoured by companies based in Singapore, though many of them are subsidiaries of Chinese or Hong Kong entities.
In 2018, more than 48 per cent of all intra-ASEAN investments went to Indonesia, making it the largest recipient of intraregional investment.
Globally, the ongoing US-China trade war has seen combined FDI to the CLMV countries rising by 4 pc to $23 billion last year, accounting for 15pc of FDI in ASEAN, though Myanmar, along with Laos, still lagged behind.
“Chinese and other Asian multinational enterprises are shifting production to the CLMV countries for cost reasons and in some cases because of the effect of the United States-China trade tensions,” the report stated..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Times"
Date of publication:
2019-11-12
Date of entry/update:
2019-11-12
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
more
Description:
"As Thailand prepares to wind down its year-long chairmanship of Asean, it's time to reflect on the state of the 10-country alliance and relations with its dialogue partners. Based on what happened at the 35th Asean Summit from Nov 2-4 in Bangkok, the outlook is mixed.
Thailand's dream of proclaiming a major diplomatic success by bringing the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) to life was dashed when India opted out at the last minute. There had been high hopes that the huge regional trade pact would finally be signed -- four years after the original deadline of 2015 -- but the celebrations will have to wait until 2020, when Vietnam takes the chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
Despite the RCEP setback, the Asean summit and related meetings showcased the achievement of Thailand and the advancement of Asean in the international arena, said Piti Srisangnam, director of the Asean Studies Center at Chulalongkorn University..."
Source/publisher:
"Bangkok Post" (Thailand)
Date of publication:
2019-11-11
Date of entry/update:
2019-11-11
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
more
Sub-title:
U Aung Thu, minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation, urged the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to intensify cooperation in rural development and poverty reduction.
Description:
"“As total poverty eradication is essential for the sustainable development of a nation, I urge all ASEAN members to cooperate in lifting its citizens out of poverty,” he told ministers during a meeting in Nay Pyi Taw.
He attributed the current success of the 10-member group in reducing poverty to exchanging experiences and finding new approaches in efforts to fight the problem.
ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. U Tun Lwin, deputy permanent secretary of the ministry, said the government is implementing people-centred projects with a World Bank loan, among others.
“After studying the success in some ASEAN nations, such projects were initiated in Myanmar,” he said.
He said the country had seen average economic growth of 6.5 percent in the past few years, and poverty had fallen by 24.8pc. He attributed the growth and poverty reduction to government programmes boosted by support from development partners as well as local and foreign donors..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Times" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2019-11-11
Date of entry/update:
2019-11-11
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
more
Description:
"At the 33d summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Singapore last year, the issue of Myanmar’s Rakhine/Rohingya crisis was high on the agenda. The chairman’s closing statement expressed the group’s readiness to support Myanmar in repatriating refugees by conducting a needs-assessment overview in Rakhine State. The Muslim Rohingya had fled ethnic persecution there, committed by the Burmese-led army.
The association, or Asean, recognized the need to find comprehensive and durable solutions to the crisis and to create conducive conditions for refugees to return and rebuild their lives. Myanmar, also still known as Burma, was encouraged to carry out the recommendations of the Rakhine advisory commission led by the late Kofi Annan.
A year later, as the 35th Asean biannual summit ended in Thailand last week, only two paragraphs in the 17-page chairman’s statement — a summary of the conference’s consensus — were devoted to the Rohingya crisis. While much in those paragraphs repeated the language of the year before, the 2019 concluding statement showed that Asean was heeding the urgent need to garner more consistent political attention to the Rakhine problem..."
Source/publisher:
"PassBlue" (New York)
Date of publication:
2019-11-10
Date of entry/update:
2019-11-11
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), ASEAN-Burma relations, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Internal displacement/forced migration of Rohingyas, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
Language:
more
Description:
"WE, the Heads of State/Government of Brunei Darussalam, the Kingdom of Cambodia, the Republic of Indonesia, the Lao People's Democratic Republic, Malaysia, the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, the Republic of the Philippines, the Republic of Singapore, the Kingdom of Thailand and the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, Member States of ASEAN, on the occasion of the 35 th ASEAN Summit;
RECALLING previous ASEAN Joint Statements on Climate Change and ASEAN Leaders’ Statements on Climate Change to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the ASEAN Joint Statement to the United Nations Climate Action Summit 2019;
NOTING that ASEAN Member States (AMS) have reaffirmed our commitment to the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement, in particular the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities (CBDR-RC), in the light of different national circumstances, by:
Implementing measures to address climate change under the ASEAN SocioCultural Community (ASCC) Blueprint 2025, in alignment with the broader outcomes of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and national development priorities;
Promoting sustainable management of forests, including through the implementation of COP decisions on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation and the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks in developing countries (REDD-Plus) under the guidance of the Warsaw Framework, as well as enhancing biodiversity conservation, protection, and restoration of various terrestrial, coastal and marine ecosystems;
Achieving 21.9% reduction in energy intensity compared to 2005 levels, exceeding the 2020 target set by the ASEAN Plan of Action for Energy Cooperation (APAEC) 2016 – 2025;
Launching the ASEAN Regional Strategy on Sustainable Land Transport, the ASEAN Fuel Economy Roadmap for the Transport Sector 2018 - 2025: with Focus on Light-Duty Vehicles, and the Guidelines for Sustainable Land Transport Indicators on Energy Efficiency and Greenhouse Gas Emissions in ASEAN;...."
Source/publisher:
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Jakarta) via Reliefweb (USA)
Date of publication:
2019-11-03
Date of entry/update:
2019-11-10
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
ASEAN-Burma relations, Climate Change policy - global ( statements, studies, conferences etc.), Climate Change - Migration Global
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
91.06 KB (4 pages)
more
Description:
"The Southeast Asian bloc has agreed to boost efforts, including legal frameworks and law enforcement, to protect children from all forms of online exploitation and abuse. (L-R) Malaysia’s Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, Myanmar’s State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, Philippines’ President Rodrigo Duterte, Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha, Vietnam’s Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Brunei’s Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen, Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo and Laos Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith (Photo by TANG CHHIN Sothy / AFP)(Photo by TANG CHHIN Sothy / AFP)
Ten leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) signed the declaration to keep children safe amid the digital age following their plenary summit in Thailand.
“The rapid advances in and proliferation of Internet and evolving communications technologies have led to the emergence of unforeseen and unintended consequences that put children’s safety at risk and will likely continue to do so,” the leaders said in the declaration.
They have expressed concern with the global threats that make more children vulnerable to online sexual abuse material and other forms of online exploitation..."
Source/publisher:
"Manila Bulletin" (Philippines)
Date of publication:
2019-11-02
Date of entry/update:
2019-11-10
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
ASEAN-Burma relations, Children, Children's Rights - studies
Language:
more
Topic:
Child rights, East Asia and the Pacific
Topic:
Child rights, East Asia and the Pacific
Description:
" ASEAN and UNICEF launched in Bangkok today a joint publication entitled “Children in ASEAN: 30 Years of the Convention on the Rights of the Child” that features achievements and actions for children’s rights in the region. The report was released during the ASEAN CRC30 commemorative event co-hosted by Thailand’s Ministry of Social Development and Human Security (MSDHS) and UNICEF.
At the event, ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community Ministers and senior officials, civil society organizations, development partners and children representatives themselves discussed progress in implementing the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) as well as emerging challenges and new opportunities to realise child rights.
The report looks at what the next 30 years might look like for children in ASEAN. It highlights 10 actionable recommendations which include reinforcing regional systems and cross-border collaboration; ensuring no child is left behind; strengthening laws and policies; increasing public finance and social investment; as well as strengthening data collection, analysis and use.
Other suggestions are to ensure equal access to quality services; leverage innovation and technology; promote social and behaviour change; accelerate child-sensitive climate actions; and achieve gender equality..."
Source/publisher:
UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) (New York)
Date of publication:
2019-11-01
Date of entry/update:
2019-11-10
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund), Children's Rights - studies, ASEAN-Burma relations, Children
Language:
more
Sub-title:
ASEAN has a responsibility to help facilitate a repatriation process that prioritises the well-being of the Rohingya.
Description:
"After fighters attacked security targets in Myanmar's northern Rakhine state on August 25, 2017, the Myanmar military responded by killing and maiming thousands of Rohingya civilians, raping hundreds of women and girls, and burning entire villages to the ground. Almost two years after the military-led "clearance operation" that forced more than 745,000 Rohingya men, women and children to flee and seek refuge in Bangladesh, this humanitarian crisis seems more intractable than ever.
Systematic state discrimination against the Rohingya, making them stateless and without rights, and recurring state-sanctioned violence has spurred various influxes of refugees into Bangladesh in the 1970s and 1990s.
Together with more than 300,000 Rohingya who had already taken shelter during these previous waves of violence, Bangladesh now hosts over one million Rohingya refugees - most of whom reside in Cox's Bazar, now the world's largest refugee camp. It is a testament to Bangladesh's historic generosity that it did not turn away any recent arrivals despite already hosting large numbers of refugees..."
Source/publisher:
"Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of publication:
2019-07-22
Date of entry/update:
2019-11-08
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
ASEAN-Burma relations, Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Genocide, Internal displacement/forced migration of Rohingyas, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, The rights of non-citizens
Language:
more
Description:
"Since August 2017, widespread persecution and violence in Myanmar’s Rakhine state has forced hundreds of thousands of primarily Muslim minority residents, often identified as ‘Rohingyas’, to flee their homes and seek refuge in Bangladesh. According to UN figures, an estimated 200,000 people from Myanmar were already taking shelter in Bangladesh after earlier displacements. Many have also travelled to Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, often with the help of human traffickers. In Myanmar, civilian and military leaders deny targeting Muslims in Rakhine and insinuate that the international community is exaggerating the severity of the violence — a view echoed by nationalist hardliners.
The number of people in Bangladeshi camps has increased to more than 720,000, prompting ASEAN to deliberate a credible response. During the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in January 2019, discussion focussed on safe and voluntary repatriation of refugees currently living in displacement camps in Bangladesh. They finalised plans for the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management (AHA Centre) to conduct a needs assessment in Rakhine. This will allow them to better understand areas of cooperation that ASEAN could support in the repatriation process to build the confidence and trust of refugees to return home.
ASEAN seeks to establish a safe and sustainable environment that refugees will voluntarily return to.
But the recent escalation of violence between the Myanmar national armed forces and the outlawed Arakan Army, an insurgent group in Rakhine, forced ASEAN to postpone the AHA Centre needs assessment. ASEAN released a statement at the 33rd ASEAN Summit held in Singapore to express their deep concern at the growing humanitarian crisis in Myanmar..."
Source/publisher:
"East Asia Forum" (Australia)
Date of publication:
2019-03-08
Date of entry/update:
2019-11-07
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
ASEAN-Burma relations, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Internal displacement/forced migration of Rohingyas, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
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"Tens of thousands of Japanese companies operate in ASEAN and their number is increasing year by year.Japan is establishing chambers of commerce in many areas and many companies are participating in their activities. These chambers of commerce are members of the Federation of Japanese Chambers of Commerce and Industry in ASEAN (FJCCIA), a group consisting of 10 Japanese chambers of commerce in nine ASEAN countries, excluding Brunei. Their objective is to improve the business environment for Japanese companies in the ASEAN region.
Since 2008, FJCCIA has held a dialogue with the Secretary-General of ASEAN every year. This gives Japanese companies in ASEAN and the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) the opportunity to make proposals for improving the business environment to ASEAN. There has been success, for example, in improving the operation of certificates of origin, which are necessary to give preferential treatment to mutual goods in the ASEAN region’s trade.
Why is that important? Bilateral or multilateral free trade agreements (FTAs) can be signed to reduce tariffs and eliminate non-tariff barriers to increase free trade and investment. In the case of trade under FTAs, the importer submits a Preferential Certificate of Origin to customs when importing. The format of the certificate of origin is different according to each FTA and the importer must follow each agreement.
Normally, the most favoured nation (MFN) tariff rate is applied — a lower rate than the General Tariff Rate, Temporary Tariff Rate or Tariff Rate of the World Trade Organization. But among FTA countries, goods can be imported at an even lower preferential tariff than the MFN tax rate..."
Source/publisher:
"East Asia Forum" (Australia)
Date of publication:
2019-10-19
Date of entry/update:
2019-11-07
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
ASEAN-Burma relations, Burma's economic relations with Japan, Burma's economic relations with ASEAN, Burma/Myanmar's relationship with the Global Economy
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pdf
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37.97 KB (3 pages)
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"Southeast Asia is an important strategic partner in China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The region serves as a key link in the BRI’s Maritime Silk Road, which aims to connect China’s coast to South Asia, the Middle East and Europe through the South China Sea and Indian Ocean. But criticisms of the BRI highlight some of the risks of participation. Southeast Asian countries should address these risks by persuading China to adopt multilateral rules that broaden participation in the BRI, including by leveraging ASEAN’s potential role. According to a 2018 study by Oxford Economics and the CIMB ASEAN Research Institute, BRI projects in ASEAN countries amount to more than US$739 billion. Indonesia is home to the highest BRI investment total amounting to US$171 billion, followed by Vietnam (US$152 billion), Cambodia (US$104 billion), Malaysia (US$98.5 billion), Singapore (US$70.1 billion), Laos (US$48 billion), Brunei (US$36 billion), Myanmar (US$27.2 billion), Thailand (US$24 billion) and the Philippines (US$9.4 billion).
In April 2019, China hosted the second Belt and Road Forum which was attended by 37 heads of state, government and international organisations. During the Forum, President Xi Jinping said the BRI will adopt multilateral rules and international best practices in implementing the projects.
Xi’s apparent willingness to multilateralise the BRI is necessary to prevent projects in Southeast Asia from being exposed to operational risks, policy risks and project cancellations and to address criticisms of its lack of transparency and inclusivity..."
Source/publisher:
"East Asia Forum" (Australia)
Date of publication:
2019-07-13
Date of entry/update:
2019-11-07
Copyright holder:
https://www.eastasiaforum.org/2019/07/13/making-the-belt-and-road-work-for-southeast-asia/
Licence/Permission:
html
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
“One Belt, One Road” initiative, Burma's economic relations with China, Burma's economic relations with ASEAN, Burma/Myanmar's relationship with the Global Economy, ASEAN-Burma relations
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pdf
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40.17 KB (4 pages)
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"A 2019 ASEAN Business Award has gone to Myanmar’s Genius Coffee, also known as Aung Nay Lin Htun, said the firm’s founder U Ngwe Tun.
Aung Nay Lin Htun Co. Ltd, which processes Myanmar’s specialty coffee, including the specialty grade Genius Shan Highlands Coffee and Blue Pond Specialty Coffee, for the second year running won the ASEAN Business Award (ABA) for the Sustainable Social Enterprise on Saturday in the Thai capital, Bangkok.
U Ngwe Tun told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday that the award allowed the Genius Shan Highlands Coffee brand to be “further recognized” beyond Myanmar.
The ABA was initiated by the ASEAN-BAC (Business Advisory Council) in 2007 to annually recognize outstanding social enterprises that are innovative and have made significant, sustained contributions to help the disadvantaged.
Categories include small- and medium-sized enterprises excellence, corporate social responsibility, employment, growth and innovation, family businesses, young entrepreneurs, sustainability, green enterprise and female entrepreneur..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of publication:
2019-11-05
Date of entry/update:
2019-11-06
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Individual Documents
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Description:
"State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi responded to the remarks made by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres regarding the Rakhine issue. She underscored that Myanmar will not shirk its responsibility to take care of the rights and security of all those whom it must protect.
In the opening session of the 10th ASEAN-UN Summit in Bangkok on 3 November 2019, the UN Secretary General expressed concern over the situation in Rakhine State and the plight of the refugees in Cox’s Bazaar. He also stressed that it was Myanmar’s responsibility to ensure a conducive environment for safe, voluntary and dignified return of refugees.
In response to the remarks of the Secretary General, the State Counsellor underscored that the issue of Rakhine is a most complex one and that the UN and its agencies which have been present in the region for ten times longer than the present Government has been in office, must have some idea of the extent of the complexities. She stressed that the Government will not shirk its responsibility to take care of the security and rights of all those who it must protect. She added that the Government of Myanmar was fully committed to take back the verified returnees based on the bilateral agreement signed with Bangladesh and the trilateral agreement signed with UNHCR and UNDP. She expressed appreciation to ASEAN, the ASEAN Secretariat and the AHA Centre for their constructive contribution to our efforts in creating the most suitable environment to which the displaced people can return in peace and security and voluntarily. She reaffirmed Myanmar’s intension to continue its work with the help of our friends who approach the problems in Rakhine in a practical and balanced way.....ထိုင်းနိုင်ငံ၊ ဗန်ကောက်မြို့၌ ၃-၁၁-၂၀၁၉ ရက်တွင် ကျင်းပသည့် (၁၀) ကြိမ်မြောက် အာဆီယံ-ကုလသမဂ္ဂ ထိပ်သီးအစည်းအဝေး၌ ကုလသမဂ္ဂ အတွင်းရေးမှူးချုပ် Antonio Guterres က ရခိုင်ပြည်နယ် အရေးကိစ္စအပေါ် စိုးရိမ်ပူပန်ကြောင်း၊ ပြဿနာအရင်းအမြစ်ကို ဖြေရှင်းရေးနှင့် နေရပ်စွန့်ခွာသူများ မိမိဆန္ဒအလျောက် ဘေးကင်းလုံခြုံစွာ ဂုဏ်သိက္ခာရှိရှိ ပြန်လာနိုင်ရေးမှာ မြန်မာအစိုးရ၏ တာဝန်ဖြစ်ကြောင်း၊ မြန်မာနှင့် အာဆီယံတို့အကြား ပူးပေါင်းဆောင်ရွက်မှုကို ကြိုဆိုကြောင်းနှင့် ဆက်လက် ပူးပေါင်းဆောင်ရွက်သွားရန် တိုက်တွန်းကြောင်း ထည့်သွင်းပြောကြားခဲ့သည်။
အဆိုပါကိစ္စနှင့်ပတ်သက်၍ နိုင်ငံတော်၏ အတိုင်ပင်ခံပုဂ္ဂိုလ်က ရခိုင်ပြည်နယ် အရေးကိစ္စမှာ အလွန်သိမ်မွေ့ ရှုပ်ထွေးသည့် ကိစ္စတစ်ခုဖြစ်ကြောင်း၊ မိမိတို့ လက်ရှိအစိုးရသက်တမ်းထက် ဆယ်ဆမက ကာလရှည်လျားစွာ ယင်းဒေသ၌ ရောက်ရှိနေကြသည့် ကုလသမဂ္ဂ အဖွဲ့အစည်းများအနေဖြင့် ပြဿနာ၏ သိမ်မွေ့ရှုပ်ထွေးမှု အတိုင်းအတာကို အနည်းအကျဉ်းမျှ သိထားရန် လိုအပ်ကြောင်း၊ မိမိတို့ ကာကွယ်စောင့်ရှောက် ပေးရမည့်သူများအားလုံး၏ လုံခြုံရေးနှင့် အခွင့်အရေးများအား ကာကွယ်ပေးရန် တာဝန်ကို မိမိတို့ အစိုးရအနေဖြင့် ရှောင်လွှဲမည် မဟုတ်ကြောင်း၊ ဘင်္ဂလားဒေ့ရှ်နိုင်ငံနှင့် လက်မှတ်ရေးထိုးထားသည့် နှစ်နိုင်ငံ သဘောတူညီချက်၊ UNHCR ၊ UNDP တို့နှင့် လက်မှတ်ရေးထိုးထားသည့် သုံးပွင့်ဆိုင် သဘောတူညီချက်တို့နှင့်အညီ စိစစ်အတည်ပြုပြီးဖြစ်သည့် နေရပ်စွန့်ခွာသူများကို ပြန်လည်လက်ခံရန် အပြည့်အဝ ကတိပြုထားပြီးဖြစ်ကြောင်း၊ နေရပ်စွန့်ခွာသူများ မိမိဆန္ဒအလျောက် အေးချမ်းလုံခြုံစွာဖြင့် ပြန်လာနိုင်မည့် အသင့်လျော်ဆုံး ပတ်ဝန်းကျင် ဖြစ်စေရေးအတွက် မိမိတို့၏ ကြိုးပမ်းဆောင်ရွက်နေမှုကို ကူညီပံ့ပိုးပေးကြသည့် အာဆီယံ၊ အာဆီယံအတွင်းရေးမှူးချုပ်ရုံးနှင့် AHA Centre တို့အပေါ် ကျေးဇူးတင်ရှိကြောင်း၊ ပြဿနာအပေါ် လက်တွေ့ကျပြီး ဘက်လိုက်မှုမရှိဘဲ မျှတသည့် ချဉ်းကပ်မှုဖြင့် အကူအညီပေးနေကြသော မိတ်ဆွေများ၏ အကူအညီဖြင့် ဆက်လက် ကြိုးပမ်းဆောင်ရွက်သွားမည်ဖြစ်ကြောင်း ပြန်လည်တုံ့ပြန်ပြောကြားခဲ့ကြောင်း သိရှိရပါသည်။..."
Source/publisher:
Government of Myanmar via Reliefweb (USA)
Date of publication:
2019-11-04
Date of entry/update:
2019-11-05
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Internal displacement/forced migration of Rohingyas, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, ASEAN-Burma relations
Language:
Format :
pdf (Burmese version)
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103.93 KB (1 page)
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"The 10 member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) were ready to sign in 2020 a mega trade deal, which if executed, would create the world's largest trading bloc, Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha announced on Monday.
The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which has been primarily driven by China and would bring together almost a third of the global GDP, includes Australia, South Korea, Japan, India, New Zealand and the 10 ASEAN members Myanmar Brunei, Cambodia, Philippines, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, reports Efe news.
In his opening remarks at a meeting between the regional bloc and China, South Korea and Japan within the framework of the ongoing ASEAN summit here, Prayuth announced that ASEAN members have concluded their negotiations and were ready to sign the treaty next year.
The RCEP negotiations were formally initiated at the 2012 ASEAN summit in Cambodia.
It covers a population of 3.4 billion people, 47 per cent of the world's population, and involves a GDP worth $22.6 trillion (32.2 per cent of the world's GDP)..."
Source/publisher:
"Yahoo News"
Date of publication:
2019-11-04
Date of entry/update:
2019-11-04
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
ASEAN-Burma relations, Burma/Myanmar's Foreign relations, general, Burma's economic relations with ASEAN
Language:
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Description:
"Behind the scenes of this year's Asean and East Asian summits, currently taking place in Bangkok, the region's key nations -- China, India and Japan -- are engaged in a quiet battle for greater influence in Myanmar. While on the sidelines, the countries of Asean, especially Thailand, as the current chair of the regional organisation, are offering qualified support for its problematic ally, largely behind the scenes.
The fact that the State Counsellor, Aung San Suu Kyi, is here is a measure of how important she and the Myanmar government regard their relations with the region and its top powers. In the face of growing Western criticism, Myanmar is anxious to secure greater support from its Asian "friends".
Sources close to "the Lady", as she is affectionately known in the country, say she feels bitterly betrayed by the United Kingdom and United States. Last year she told a close confidante that Myanmar only had two friends it could really trust -- China and Japan, and to a lesser degree India. Asean's support, though less significant than the big three "neighbours", was taken for granted, according to diplomatic sources..."
Source/publisher:
"Bangkok Post" (Thailand)
Date of publication:
2019-11-04
Date of entry/update:
2019-11-04
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Burma/Myanmar's relationship with the Global Economy, Burma's economic relations with ASEAN, China-Burma-India relations, Burma/Myanmar's Foreign relations, general, ASEAN-Burma relations
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"India and Myanmar on Sunday reaffirmed that a stable and peaceful border was an important anchor for the continued expansion of the partnership between the two countries.
This was the agreement between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi of Myanmar during a meeting on the margins of the ASEAN-India Summit on November 3 in Bangkok, Thailand, a PMO release via PIB stated.
PM Modi emphasized the value India attaches to Myanmar's cooperation in ensuring that armed groups from the North East do not find space to operate across the India-Myanmar border.
He also underlined the priority India attaches to Myanmar as a partner at the crossroads of India's Look East Policy and the Neighbourhood First policies. Towards this end, he highlighted India's continuing commitment to improve physical connectivity to and through Myanmar to Southeast Asia, including through building road, port and other infrastructure. India would also continue to strongly support the expansion of capacity for Myanmar's police, military and civil servants, as well as its students and citizens..."
Source/publisher:
"The Morung Express" (India)
Date of publication:
2019-11-04
Date of entry/update:
2019-11-04
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
India-Burma relations, ASEAN-Burma relations
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Description:
"India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi laughs next to Singaporeand's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the ASEAN-India Summit on the sideline of the 35th ASEAN Summit in Bangkok, Thailand November 3, 2019. REUTERS Photo
Bangkok, November 3 (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday presented a brief blue-print for further expansion of India's multi-sectoral engagement with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), one of the most influential groupings for trade and investment globally.
In his opening address at the India-ASEAN summit, the prime minister said enhancing surface, air and maritime connectivity between India and 10 nations of the bloc will significantly boost regional trade and economic growth.
Modi said there was opportunity for boosting cooperation in the maritime security sphere and blue economy as well as in areas of agriculture, engineering, digital technology and scientific research.
The prime minister also welcomed convergence of views between India and ASEAN for cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region..."
Source/publisher:
"The Morung Express" (India)
Date of publication:
2019-11-03
Date of entry/update:
2019-11-04
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
ASEAN-Burma relations, India-Burma relations, Burma/Myanmar's relationship with the Global Economy
Language:
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Sub-title:
Guterres addresses ASEAN summit, where leaders try to salvage progress towards what could be world's biggest trade bloc.
Description:
"United Nations chief Antonio Guterres has expressed "deep" concern over the plight of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees, urging Myanmar to assume responsibility by dealing with the "root causes" of their flight and work towards their safe repatriation.
A brutal army campaign in August 2017 forced more than 740,000 members of the mostly-Muslim minority to flee Myanmar's Rakhine state, most seeking refuge in overcrowded camps across the border in Bangladesh. During its crackdown, which was launched in response to attacks by an armed group, the military carried out mass killings and gang rapes with "genocidal intent", according to United Nations-mandated investigators..."
Source/publisher:
"Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of publication:
2019-11-04
Date of entry/update:
2019-11-04
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Internal displacement/forced migration of Rohingyas, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, ASEAN-Burma relations
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Sixteen-nation Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership will cover half the planet’s people
Description:
"The world’s largest trade deal is unlikely to be signed this year, with a draft statement from south-east Asian leaders suggesting it will be delayed until 2020, despite China’s desire to bring it into operation as soon as possible as a counterweight to its debilitating tariff war with the US.
The 16-country Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership – known as the RCEP – would be the world’s largest when operational, spanning India to New Zealand, including 30% of global GDP and half of the world’s people.
But resistance from India – concerned about a flood of cheap mass-produced Chinese goods hurting small businesses in its economy – appears set to cruel hopes of finalising the pact at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Bangkok, where members of the 10-nation bloc have been joined by the leaders of powerful observer nations India and China for the East Asia Summit.
On a bilateral level, the Chinese premier, Li Keqiang, has met the Australian prime minister, Scott Morrison, on the sidelines of the Bangkok meeting, offering to help get the China-Australia relationship “on the right track”.
“We are ready to work with the Australian side to keep our relationship on the right track, deepen our mutual trust, and jointly maintain regional and global peace,” Li told Morrison..."
Source/publisher:
"The Guardian" (UK)
Date of publication:
2019-11-03
Date of entry/update:
2019-11-04
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
ASEAN-Burma relations, India-Burma relations, Burma/Myanmar's Foreign relations, general, Burma/Myanmar's relationship with the Global Economy
Language:
more
Description:
"This year marks a milestone for Thailand as Chairman of ASEAN 2019. The ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ASEAN BAC) has been mandated by ASEAN Leaders to organize the ASEAN BAC meetings and related events, parallel activities, and many key seminars and conferences. More importantly, ASEAN BAC will be organizing the upcoming ASEAN Business and Investment Summit (ABIS) 2019 in conjunction with the 35th ASEAN Summit and Related Summits in Thailand.
The ABIS 2019, ASEAN’s premier annual business and investment event, will be held on 2-3 November 2019 at IMPACT Exhibition Center (Hall 6), Muang Thong Thani. This event is jointly organized by the ASEAN BAC, in partnership with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, Ministry of Commerce of Thailand, and the Joint Standing Committee on Commerce, Industry, and Banking (JSCCIB) which comprises the Board of Trade of Thailand, the Federation of Thai Industries, and the Thai Banker’s Association. The event is expected to attract over 1,000 participants worldwide..."
Source/publisher:
"Bangkok Post" (Thailand)
Date of publication:
2019-11-01
Date of entry/update:
2019-11-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
more
Sub-title:
US delegation downgrade signals revised role, Modi defends India's hard line on RCEP
Description:
"Southeast Asian countries must stick together in the face of a trade war started by US President Donald Trump, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said on Saturday at the start of a regional summit held in the shadow of US-China tensions.
But as Asean leaders met in Bangkok on Saturday, there was no sign they had yet finalised a planned trade deal backed by China that could create the world’s biggest free trade area.
“Asean is quite a big market for the whole world. We don’t want to go into a trade war,” Dr Mahathir told a business summit on the sidelines of the main meeting. “But sometimes when they’re unnice to us, we have to be unnice to them.”
He described campaigns against exports of palm oil from Malaysia and Indonesia over concerns regarding labour and the environment as “sabotage”.
“If you cut back some imports of palm oil from Malaysia, we can cut back our imports from them,” he said..."
Source/publisher:
"Bangkok Post" (Thailand)
Date of publication:
2019-11-02
Date of entry/update:
2019-11-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
ASEAN-Burma relations, Burma/Myanmar's Foreign relations, general, Burma/Myanmar's relationship with the Global Economy
Language:
more
Description:
"Bangladesh wants a strong and effective role of the Asean in the Rohingya repatriation as the regional bloc begins its four-day summit in Bangkok today.
Dhaka says the problem, created by Myanmar, is now turning into a regional crisis, with the Rohingyas spreading across the member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean). The crisis will aggravate in future if it is not resolved.
“As a member of Asean, Myanmar’s role is more important now than ever before,” Col (retd) Faruk Khan, chair of the parliamentary standing committee on the foreign ministry, told The Daily Star yesterday.
He led a parliamentary delegation to Thailand, the current chair of Asean, and Singapore, with the specific objective of convincing those countries to come forward with a stronger role in making sure that Myanmar creates conducive conditions in Rakhine for the return of the Rohingyas.
The delegation highlighted the negative consequences of the Rohingyas’ prolonged stay in Bangladesh and some other Asean countries, and requested them to strongly raise the Rohingya issue at the summit with due importance..."
Source/publisher:
"The Daily Star" (Bangladesh)
Date of publication:
2019-11-02
Date of entry/update:
2019-11-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Internal displacement/forced migration of Rohingyas, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, ASEAN-Burma relations
Language:
more
Description:
"A Rohingya rights group today urged Asean leaders to review their relationship with Myanmar over its treatment of the minority group as country leaders meet in Bangkok for the 35th Asean Summit.
Myanmar Ethnic Rohingya Human Rights Organisation Malaysia (Merhrom) also asked if it was ethical for countries to do business with a “genocidal state”, adding that a stable regional environment is necessary for sustainability.
Merhrom president Zafar Abdul Ghani said the 35th Asean Summit, themed “Advancing Partnership for Sustainability”, was contradictory to the reality in the region.
“How do we expect to advance partnership for sustainability when Rohingya genocide is ongoing in Asean and affecting Asean member states and the rest of the world?
“Nothing has changed despite thousands of reports published, thousands of testimonies from the genocide survivors recorded and thousands of visits to the largest refugee camp in the world,” he said. “The most persecuted ethnic group in the world remains.”
In a statement, he said the region had become desensitised to the atrocities committed against the Rohingya, adding that a “state of denial” would continue to exist until the genocide is stopped..."
Source/publisher:
"Free Malaysia Today" (Malaysia)
Date of publication:
2019-11-01
Date of entry/update:
2019-11-01
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Genocide, Discrimination against the Rohingya, ASEAN-Burma relations
Language:
more
Description:
"'We are hungry for sustainable solutions. Four times we have been refugees. We need to stop being refugees", said a Rohingya man at Kutupalong camp in Bangladesh.
Southeast Asia's leaders are expected to discuss the issue of Rohingya refugees and ways of enhancing Asean's role in facilitating the voluntary repatriation process at their regional summit in Bangkok later this week.
As this year's Asean chair, Thailand has a critical leadership role to play in supporting durable solutions for Rohingya displaced in Myanmar as well as for those living in exile as refugees in Bangladesh and across the region. This must include prioritising refugee participation in decision-making. Days before the second anniversary of the Rohingya refugee crisis in August, the governments of Myanmar and Bangladesh agreed to start repatriation. This announcement was a surprise to many, including Rohingya refugees. So far, no refugees have volunteered to go back. The refugees have sent a message and Asean must pay heed: Without meaningful progress in realising equal rights, citizenship and justice for Rohingya, one of the world's largest refugee crises will continue..."
Source/publisher:
"Bangkok Post" (Thailand)
Date of publication:
2019-10-30
Date of entry/update:
2019-10-31
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
ASEAN-Burma relations, Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Internal displacement/forced migration of Rohingyas, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
Language:
more
Description:
"Myanmar State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi will pay an official visit to Thailand soon where she will attend the 35th summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and related meetings, according to an official announcement published in state media of the Global New Light of Myanmar Tuesday.
At the invitation of Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, Suu Kyi will make the trip to Bangkok.
The 35th ASEAN Summit, the second of its kind hosted by Thailand in 2019, will last from Oct. 31 to Nov. 4 and the summit will discuss issues related to the ASEAN Political-Security Community (APSC), the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) and the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community, according to the Thai Foreign Ministry.
Suu Kyi is also expected to hold bilateral meetings with other ASEAN leaders during the summit..."
Source/publisher:
"Xinhua" (China)
Date of publication:
2019-10-29
Date of entry/update:
2019-10-29
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
ASEAN-Burma relations, About Aung San Suu Kyi
Language:
more
Description:
"When Min Hlaing Oo first set foot in Hebian village, Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture of Southwest China's Yunnan Province, the thing that impressed him most was its tidiness.
After staying in the village for several days, Oo, who is also a village head in Myanmar, was totally enchanted by the way it was organized. "I wish my village could be the same as this village," he told the Global Times.
Oo is one of the dozens of grass-roots officials from ASEAN countries who visited Hebian village this May to learn about China's experiences in poverty alleviation, as well as share their countries' knowledge in combating poverty at the village level.
"What China has done in its poverty reduction work cannot be completely copied by other ASEAN countries, but it's useful for them as a reference, as most ASEAN countries are still agricultural societies. Besides, China's rapid urbanization and industrialization also serve as a useful lesson for these ASEAN countries," Li Xiaoyun, a professor at the China Agricultural University, told the Global Times.
Since 2012, China has made tremendous achievements in reducing poverty in its rural areas. In the past six years, the country has lifted 82.39 million rural poor out of poverty, with their numbers going from 98.99 million in 2012 down to 16.6 million in 2018, Xinhua reported..."
Source/publisher:
"Global Times" (China)
Date of publication:
2019-05-21
Date of entry/update:
2019-10-27
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
more
Description:
"Ever since Myanmar undertook a series of political, economic and administrative reforms in 2011, the country’s economy has steadily improved. According to data from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Myanmar is enjoying some of the highest growth rates in the region. The ADB predicts that the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) will grow by eight percent, higher than any other country in Southeast Asia.
Similar to other Southeast Asian nations at the moment, Myanmar is also pushing for an upgrade on its infrastructure. One of the main infrastructure projects underway is the upgrading of the Yangon Circular Railway. Myanmar is also developing three Special Economic Zones to increase foreign direct investment into the country.
More recently, however, The International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned that Myanmar’s economy “appears to be losing momentum”.
Nevertheless, with major plans for the future, Myanmar’s energy demands are expected to grow concurrently with its development. According to the Ministry of Electricity and Energy, energy demand is expected to increase at 15 percent annually, double that of the forecasted economic growth. Meanwhile, the Japanese International Co-operation Agency (JICA) – Myanmar’s largest source of official development assistance (ODA) – is expecting demand for electricity to multiply fivefold to 15 gigawatts (GW) by 2030..."
Source/publisher:
"The ASEAN Post" (Malaysia)
Date of publication:
2019-04-30
Date of entry/update:
2019-10-25
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
more
Description:
"When the 34th ASEAN Summit concluded last month in Bangkok, Thailand, it came as no surprise that the bloc was met with heavy criticism for suggesting Rohingya refugees will repatriate back to Myanmar within two years.
More than 700,000 Rohingya were forced to flee northern Rakhine state in western Myanmar during a 2017 military-led crackdown the United Nations (UN) has said included mass killings and gang-rapes executed with “genocidal intent”. Almost 400 Rohingya villages were burned to the ground during the violence.
A final statement from the weekend summit said ASEAN leaders supported Myanmar’s efforts to “facilitate the voluntary return of displaced persons in a safe, secure and dignified manner”. The statement did not even include the term Rohingya.
The criticism ASEAN faced in relation to the way it has been handling the Rohingya issue is nothing new. Human rights observers have often claimed that the 10-member bloc has done little to ensure the safety of the Rohingya, asserting that diplomacy between member countries, as well as its adherence to a non-interference policy, has consistently trumped human rights concerns..."
Source/publisher:
"The ASEAN Post" (Malaysia)
Date of publication:
2019-07-28
Date of entry/update:
2019-10-25
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
ASEAN-Burma relations, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Internal displacement/forced migration of Rohingyas, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, The rights of non-citizens, Laws, decrees, bills and regulations relating to nationality, citizenship and immigration (commentary)
Language:
more
Sub-title:
The 2014 ASEAN Civil Society Conference (ACSC) in Yangon, Myanmar, saw a record attendance and provided a surprisingly open space for civil society. But the opposing trends of democratic developments and authoritarian backlash in the member states have al
Description:
"In a time where civil liberties and human rights seem to be on the decline in the region (e.g. Brunei’s introduction of sharia law, the shooting of demonstrating textile workers in Cambodia, Thailand’s coup d’état), ASEAN civil society is presenting itself as organized as rarely before. But government crackdowns are on the rise, and nation states are denying civil society representatives space at the regional level.
Civil society has the potential to address the democratic deficit of regional organizations by establishing alternative regionalism from below.
Civil society can give voice to transnationally marginalized groups, such as migrant workers, whose interests are represented neither by their states of origin or residence nor at the regional level.
All justified doubts about the sincerity and sustainability of its transition process notwithstanding, Myanmar has currently opened up spaces for civil society advocacy. National organizations can benefit from interactions with the regional level.
ASEAN’s ambitious plan to establish a “people-centered” community is undermined by the reluctance of several member states to engage in dialogue with civil society..."
Source/publisher:
"GIGA Institute of Asian Studies" (Germany)
Date of publication:
2014-11-10
Date of entry/update:
2019-10-18
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
ASEAN-Burma relations
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
327.4 KB
Local URL:
more
Description:
"Chinese Vice Premier Han Zheng on Friday met with leaders attending the 16th China-ASEAN Expo and the China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit, to be held from Sept. 21 to 24 in Nanning, the capital city of south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
The foreign leaders are Myanmar's Vice President U Myint Swe, Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam, Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Hor Namhong, Lao Deputy Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone, Thai Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Commerce Jurin Laksanawisit, and Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, special envoy of Indonesian president and Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs.
When meeting with U Myint Swe, Han, who is also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said that the next year marks the 70 anniversary of the establishment of China-Myanmar diplomatic ties, and the two countries should take the opportunity to maintain the good momentum of high-level exchanges, deepen the Belt and Road cooperation, and promote bilateral relations to a new level..."
Source/publisher:
"Xinhua" (China)
Date of publication:
2019-09-21
Date of entry/update:
2019-10-16
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
ASEAN-Burma relations, China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Sub-title:
The Htamanthi Wildlife Sanctuary in Sagaing Region has been declared as the newest ASEAN Heritage Park.
Description:
"The environment ministers of the 10-country Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) classified the 215,072-hectare sanctuary in northern Myanmar as a heritage park during the 15th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on the Environment (AMME) in Siem Reap last week.
Aside from the Htamanthi Wildlife Sanctuary, there were already seven other ASEAN Heritage Parks in the country - the Alaungdaw Kathapa National Park, Indawgyi Lake Wildlife Sanctuary, Inle Lake Wildlife Sanctuary, Khakaborazi National Park, Lampi Kyun Wildlife Reserve, Meinmahla Kyun Wildlife Sanctuary and Nat Ma Taung National Park.
A Forest Department official said the designation of the Htamanthi Wildlife Sanctuary as a ASEAN Heritage Park will boost “international attention on the park and improve opportunities to secure funding and support for conservation”.
Five protected areas in Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam have joined the network of ASEAN Heritage Parks (AHPs), areas of high conservation value that best represent the region’s rich natural resources and cultural identity..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Times" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2019-10-16
Date of entry/update:
2019-10-16
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Cultural Heritage, ASEAN-Burma relations
Language:
more
Description:
"Myanmar on Monday hailed the designation of its wildlife sanctuary in northwestern Sagaing region as an ASEAN Heritage Park (AHP).
Official media's hailing followed the selection of Htamanthi Wildlife Sanctuary as AHP at the 15th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Environment held in Cambodia last week.
Established in 1974 on the eastern bank of Chindwin River, the Htamanthi Wildlife Sanctuary is a reserve for wildlife animals which include rare wildlife species and endangered species, and covers an area of nearly 2,151 square kilometers.
Of the two wildlife sanctuaries -- Taninthayi Wildlife Sancuary in Taninthayi Region and the Htamanthi Wildlife Sancuary in Sagaing region applying for AHP status, the later one was selected in line with the AHP's standards..."
Source/publisher:
"Xinhua" (China)
Date of publication:
2019-10-14
Date of entry/update:
2019-10-15
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
ASEAN-Burma relations, Cultural Heritage
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Myanmar will reap the benefits of a regional trade pact being hammered out by the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), according to its secretary-general, Lim Jock Hoi.
Description:
"Lim said that once the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is concluded between ASEAN, Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand, the region will experience more growth and development.
ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Lim said that ASEAN is confident that the regional pact will be completed despite Malaysia’s recent decision to backtrack on its commitment to the deal, and the intensifying trade spat between Japan and South Korea.
“I am optimistic that RCEP negotiations will continue as planned,” he told reporters during a forum in Bangkok.
If concluded successfully, the RCEP could be one of the largest trade blocs in the world, accounting for 45 percent of the world’s population, 40pc of global trade, and about one third of the world’s GDP.
Lim said Myanmar need not immediately join the RCEP, but can take its time in preparing its economy before agreeing to the pact..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Times" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2019-10-08
Date of entry/update:
2019-10-08
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
more
Description:
"Environment ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are due to meet in Cambodia next week to discuss transboundary haze pollution and other environment-related issues, a Cambodian spokesman said on Saturday.
They will gather at the 15th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on the Environment (15th AMME) and related meetings, scheduled for Oct. 7-10 in northwest Siem Reap province, said Environment Ministry Secretary of State and Spokesman Neth Pheaktra.
"During the meeting, the ASEAN environment ministers will discuss a wide range of issues of regional cooperation on the environment including climate change, environmentally sustainable city, biodiversity conservation, coastal and marine environment, environmental education, water resource management, chemical and hazardous waste management, transboundary haze pollution control and eco-schools," he told Xinhua.
The spokesman said the biennial meeting is expected to adopt three key documents - the draft ASEAN Joint Statement on Climate Change, the draft ASEAN Strategic Plan on the Environment, and the request to designate five national parks in Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam as ASEAN Heritage Parks..."
Source/publisher:
"Xinhua" (China)
Date of publication:
2019-10-05
Date of entry/update:
2019-10-07
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
The impact of climate change on the global environment, Biodiversity - global and regional, Climate Change - Migration Global, ASEAN-Burma relations
Language:
more
Sub-title:
The 16th China-ASEAN Expo and China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit that took place in Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, last month signifies advances in China’s Belt and Road Intiative, observers say.
Description:
"The theme for this year’s event, which has been held since 2013, was “Building the Belt and Road, Realising Our Vision for a Community with a Shared Future”.
“China wants to join hands with ASEAN for cooperation, construction, mutual benefits, building, trade facilitation and people-to-people understanding. We want to cooperate in infrastructure upgrading too. We are trying to have closer China-ASEAN relationships,” said Chinese Vice Premier and a member of the standing committee of the political Bureau of the Communist of China (CPC) Central Committee Han Zheng in his opening speech at the event.
China will start construction work for Belt and Road Initiative in 2021. The project, a global development strategy adopted by the Chinese government involving infrastructure development and investments in 152 countries and international organisations in Asia, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and the Americas, was proposed by China’s President Xi Jinping in 2013, and has so far garnered the supports of 152 countries. The main goal for the project is for China to promote trade and economic cooperation between the countries of the world by forming an economic corridor stretching from east to west.
During held Belt One Road Forum in Beijing in April, leaders from more than 30 countries signed BRI cooperation agreements. Representatives from more than 150 countries and 90 international organisations also signed more than 280 agreements valued at more than US$64 billion in connection with the initiative..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Times" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2019-10-04
Date of entry/update:
2019-10-04
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
more
Topic:
Asean, Myanmar, Repatriation, Rohingya
Sub-title:
ASEAN’s commitment to decision-making by consensus and non-interference in the internal affairs of member states severely restricts its ability to play an effective and pro-active role in the Rohingya crisis.
Topic:
Asean, Myanmar, Repatriation, Rohingya
Description:
"On 22 August 2019, Myanmar’s authorities launched a third repatriation attempt to facilitate the return of displaced Rohingya Muslims. The government dispatched buses to Cox’s Bazaar tasked with bringing back some 3,000 Rohingya refugees to their place of abode in Rakhine State. Not a single refugee boarded the transportation provided.
Unlike the first two repatriation attempts, this third attempt was of heightened significance. A team from ASEAN was at the Myanmar reception centres to witness the repatriation exercise. For Myanmar, the presence of ASEAN officials was an opportunity to validate its preparations for the repatriation exercise and to affirm that Myanmar was serious in facilitating the return of the displaced Rohingya. In this sense, the presence of ASEAN officials had good public relations value for Myanmar.
Reactions to the failed repatriation attempt have been varied. The Myanmar authorities expressed surprise at the refugees’ refusal to return to Rakhine. They blamed the presence of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) for this failure, asserting that the group was active in Cox’s Bazaar, deterring Rohingya from returning home. The Myanmar government accused the Bangladeshi authorities of not doing enough to counter its activities and facilitating the return of the Rohingya Muslims..."
Source/publisher:
"ASEAN Today"
Date of publication:
2019-09-26
Date of entry/update:
2019-10-02
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Internal displacement/forced migration of Rohingyas, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, ASEAN-Burma relations
Language:
more
Topic:
Bamboo construction, Climate Change, Global Warming, ASEAN
Topic:
Bamboo construction, Climate Change, Global Warming, ASEAN
Description:
"The world has 11 years left, as reported by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to beef up its efforts to reduce global temperatures before it crosses the threshold leading to climate catastrophe. While ASEAN countries have expressed their joint commitment through national pledges to take action and fight climate change, they are also focusing on developing their nations as well. GlobalData’s lead economist for Construction Industry, Danny Richards, said that construction output among ASEAN member states will grow six percent annually over the next five years.
However, the building sector accounts for 39 percent of global carbon emissions, where 28 percent is from building operations (heating, cooling, lighting, etc.) and 11 percent is attributed to embodied-carbon emission which refers to carbon that is released during the construction process and material manufacturing. Cement and steel emit eight percent and nine percent, respectively of the total amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the world.
Director of the World Green Building Council (World GBC), James Drinkwater, says that once a building of high-embodied-carbon emission is constructed, those emissions add to the total amount of carbon in the air. The construction sector can reduce carbon emission by using materials with low or no embodied carbon..."
Source/publisher:
"The ASEAN Post"
Date of publication:
2019-05-09
Date of entry/update:
2019-09-18
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Climate Change - Burma/Myanmar: general, Climate Change - Migration Burma/Myanmar, The impact of climate change on the environment of Burma/Myanmar, The impact of natural disasters on the environment and people of Burma/Myanmar, ASEAN-Burma relations
Language:
more
Description:
"Two years on, Asia is no closer to ending its worst refugee crisis in decades. Over 900,000 Rohingya are in Bangladesh alone, including 759,000 who fled a campaign of violence by the Myanmar military in Rakhine State that began in August 2017.
Hundreds of thousands had already left in earlier episodes of violence to Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia, as well as in India and further afield. This is an Asian crisis, but Southeast Asia should show stronger leadership.
Southeast Asia’s leaders will come together on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly this month and during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in November. ASEAN has been one of the few actors able to engage the Myanmar government since 2017. The region’s leaders must show compassion for the Rohingya and push Myanmar to take steps to end the violence, discrimination, and persecution that forced out the Rohingya. Otherwise this tragedy will continue.
As a medical humanitarian organisation providing health care to Rohingya in Malaysia, Myanmar and Bangladesh, MSF witnesses the daily struggles they face. In Bangladesh and Malaysia, the Rohingya do not have refugee status and need some form of temporary legal stay. In Myanmar, they are denied citizenship and treated as foreigners. Statelessness is the root of their vulnerability.
In Malaysia, MSF treats Rohingya patients badly injured in work accidents who are deterred from seeking medical care at public hospitals due to fear of being reported to immigration. Yet recent research demonstrates that including refugees in the legal workforce could add millions to gross domestic product and tax revenue, as well as create jobs for Malaysian citizens..."
Source/publisher:
"Reliefweb" via Médecins Sans Frontières
Date of publication:
2019-09-13
Date of entry/update:
2019-09-14
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, ASEAN-Burma relations
Language:
more
Description:
"Heads and diplomats of embassies of ASEAN countries and the representatives from the UNDP and the UNHCR met the displaced persons who had re-entered Myanmar, the Ministry of Information reported on September 11.
The delegation comprising the heads and diplomats of embassies of nine ASEAN countries and neighbouring countries China, India and Bangladesh and the representatives of the UNDP and the UNHCR led by Deputy Minister Khin Maung Tin of the Ministry of State Counsellor Office left for Rakhine State by flight on September 10.
Next, the delegation members met 11 Hindus who recently re-entered Myanmar at the guesthouse of Sittwe State on September 10. The heads and diplomats of embassies of nine ASEAN countries and neighbouring countries China, India and Bangladesh and the representatives of the UNDP and the UNHCR asked 11 Hindus questions. Replying to the questions raised by delegation members, 11 Hindus said that their family members were lost during the attack of ARSA terrorists in August in 2017; they said they were fetched to Bangladesh; they said Myanmar government brought them back for the information of Indian government and a religious leader of Hinduism in Rakhine State; they said they were threatened by the ARSA to murder; they said they were safe in living after returning Myanmar; they said they would like to settle and have livelihoods in Maungdaw; and they said they were holding NVCs, according to the report of the Ministry of Information..."
Source/publisher:
"Eleven Media Group"
Date of publication:
2019-09-13
Date of entry/update:
2019-09-13
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Internal displacement/forced migration of Rohingyas, ASEAN-Burma relations
Language:
more
Topic:
Myanmar, Rakhine State, Rohingya
Sub-title:
A leaked ASEAN report ignores risks to Rohingya and violence in Rakhine, showing that plans for repatriation will need to be driven by refugees themselves.
Topic:
Myanmar, Rakhine State, Rohingya
Description:
"A leaked ASEAN report seen by AFP and others has drawn sharp criticism from Rohingya groups, civil society, and former state officials and diplomats across ASEAN.
The report allegedly claims that 500,000 of the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh will make a “smooth” return to Myanmar over the next two years.
The region’s leaders will meet in Bangkok for the ASEAN summit on June 22-23 and the new report is on the agenda. ASEAN made a commitment to support Myanmar with its Rohingya repatriation efforts.
To fulfil this promise, ASEAN must change the mandate of the team behind the report—the Asean Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management (AHA Centre)—so that they specifically address violent conflict in Rakhine and the marginalisation of both the Rohingya and the ethnic Rakhine. Any viable repatriation plan must be driven by input from Rohingya in both Bangladesh and Rakhine State and must respect their right to self-determination..."
Source/publisher:
"ASEAN Today"
Date of publication:
2019-06-18
Date of entry/update:
2019-09-08
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Internal displacement/forced migration of Rohingyas, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, ASEAN-Burma relations
Language:
more
Description:
" Myanmar's navy will join maritime drills with the US in Southeast Asia next week, a spokesman said Wednesday (Aug 28), in a rare show of military cooperation despite Washington slapping sanctions on top army brass over the Rohingya crisis.
The inclusion in the drills does not violate US travel bans against Myanmar's commander-in-chief and three senior figures for overseeing a bloody campaign that drove 740,000 Rohingya Muslims into Bangladesh two years ago.
But there are growing calls to further isolate the military, expand sanctions and prosecute senior leadership for genocide against the stateless minority.
The drills come at a time of stepped-up US engagement in the region and tensions between China and several Southeast Asian nations over rival claims in the South China Sea.
"We were invited as part of ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) for the exercise," said Zaw Min Tun, a spokesman for the commander-in-chief's office in Myanmar..."
Source/publisher:
"CNA"
Date of publication:
2019-08-28
Date of entry/update:
2019-08-28
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
ASEAN-Burma relations, USA-Burma relations
Language:
more
Description:
"Asean has a lot of work to do for the sake of its own relevancy as Myanmar and Bangladesh make another attempt to repatriate thousands of Muslim Rohingyas to strife-torn Rakhine state. The authority in Myanmar’s capital Nay Pyi Taw had announced last week that Myanmar would accept 3,450 refugees from the list of 22,000 provided by Bangladesh earlier this month, as the first batch of people to resettle in Myanmar.
It is not known publicly how the list was made and on what ground their names were submitted to the Myanmar authority. The repatriation of nearly one million refugees, who fled from difficulties and conflict at home since 1990s to shelters in Bangladesh, will be an uphill task, due to scarred memories of all involved.
Of the 911,000 people sheltered in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar, nearly 740,000 left Rakhine state following brutal violence in August 2017. This saw Myanmar’s military (Tatmadaw) reacting in a heavy-handed manner to the series of attacks by militants working under the banner of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA).
The so-called clearance operation caused atrocities including arson, torture, gang rape, murder and massacre, acts that the United Nations considered ethnic cleansing. The UN even suggested that genocide charges be raised against those responsible from the Tatmadaw..."
Source/publisher:
"The Daily Star"
Date of publication:
2019-08-25
Date of entry/update:
2019-08-25
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Internal displacement/forced migration of Rohingyas, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, ASEAN-Burma relations
Language:
more
Description:
"ASEAN member states must impose targeted financial sanctions against all Myanmar Army-owned companies and anyone contributing or benefiting economically from them, ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) said today.
“It is shameful that companies in Southeast Asia are providing economic benefit to an army that stands accused of genocide and crimes against humanity. ASEAN has been unable to take any meaningful measures to respond to the Tatmadaw’s international crimes, but this is one step that member states and private business can and must take,” said Charles Santiago, Member of Parliament in Malaysia and APHR Board Chair.
“These companies run the risk of contributing to the human rights abuses perpetrated by the military in Rakhine, Kachin and Shan states. It is simple; no businesses in the region should enter into any commercial relationship with the Myanmar Army, or any enterprise owned or controlled by them.”
On Monday, the UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission (IFFM) on Myanmar issued a report on “The economic interests of the Myanmar military,” highlighting the foreign companies with commercial ties to the Myanmar Army. According to the report, 15 foreign companies have joint ventures and at least 44 have other forms of commercial ties with Myanmar Army businesses. Several of them are domiciled in Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, and Malaysia. In addition, a firm based in the Philippines sold military equipment to the Myanmar Army well-after the ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya people..."
Source/publisher:
"ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights"
Date of publication:
2019-08-08
Date of entry/update:
2019-08-19
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
ASEAN-Burma relations, Various rights: reports of violations against several ethnic groups
Language:
more
Description:
"Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi made her first diplomatic visit to Cambodia this week, underscoring the similarities between two countries that find themselves increasingly isolated from the international community.
According to the Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Suu Kyi arrived in Cambodia on April 29, flying from Beijing where she and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen attended the second Belt and Road Forum.
While the statement claimed the visit would strengthen cooperation within Asean – the Association of Southeast Asian Nations – Myanmar and Cambodia have been stumbling blocks to the bloc’s effectiveness, with both seen as being more loyal to China..."
Source/publisher:
"South China Morning Post"
Date of publication:
2019-04-30
Date of entry/update:
2019-08-18
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
more
Description:
"Malaysia’s foreign ministry said Tuesday that Myanmar’s government must pursue justice for alleged human rights abuses against the Muslim Rohingya minority so that hundreds of thousands who fled a brutal military crackdown can return safely to the country.
The call came ahead of a meeting of Southeast Asian foreign ministers in Bangkok this week. It also followed a weekend meeting between a Myanmar government delegation and representatives of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh to discuss creating conditions for their safe repatriation.
More than 700,000 Rohingya fled to Bangladesh after a counterinsurgency campaign by Myanmar’s military in the western state of Rakhine in response to attacks in 2017 by a Rohingya insurgent group. The campaign led to accusations that security forces committed mass rapes and killings and burned thousands of homes..."
Source/publisher:
"The Washington Post" via Associated Press
Date of publication:
2019-08-17
Date of entry/update:
2019-08-18
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Internal displacement/forced migration of Rohingyas, Genocide, ASEAN-Burma relations
Language:
more
Sub-title:
The number of landmine casualties is increasing yearly in Myanmar, said U Win Naing Tun, director general of the Department of Rehabilitation.
Description:
"“According to the records of the [ASEAN Regional Mine Action Center, or ARMAC] member countries, social media, and concerned organisations in rural areas, the number of mine casualties has increased yearly. Also, we’ve seen that the rate of disability is increasing,” he said in the opening speech at a meeting on mine-risk education held in Nay Pyi Taw on Tuesday.
Landmine explosions killed 27 people and injured 85 in 2015, killed 48 and injured 228 in 2018, and killed 33 and injured 98 as of the end of July. That is why we need more mine-risk education, U Win Naing Tun said.
“Mine awareness courses, rehabilitation of those who were injured by mines and their social and financial development are our main duty,” he said.
For fiscal 2017-18, the ministry earmarked K200,000 for each mine-affected person, and 525 people have received the subsidy. The states and regions of Kachin, Shan, Kayin, Kayah, Mon, Tanintharyi, Bago, and Rakhine are listed as having mines. Only the first phase of mine clearing, called a non-technical survey, has been done in Kayin and Kayah.
Myanmar started clearing mines in 2012. In 2016, the National Mine Risk Education Working Group was established to support mine-affected people and education. In 2017, a mine-education app was released..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Times"
Date of publication:
2019-08-14
Date of entry/update:
2019-08-14
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Reports and maps covering anti-personnel landmines and Burma/Myanmar, ASEAN-Burma relations
Language:
more
Description:
"ASEAN and Myanmar have held their second high-level meeting on the repatriation of Rohingyas from Bangladesh. Correspondent Leong Wai Kit shared more on how ASEAN will support the repatriation of Rohingya refugees..."
Source/publisher:
CNA
Date of publication:
2019-05-28
Date of entry/update:
2019-08-07
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Internal displacement/forced migration of Rohingyas, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, ASEAN-Burma relations
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Bangladesh has sought comprehensive engagement of the international community, particularly Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), in creating a conducive environment in northern Rakhine state and help repatriation and reintegration of the Rohing
Description:
"“If the Rohingya crisis remains unresolved for long, it may seriously undermine the security and stability of the entire region,” Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen said at the 26th ASEAN Regional Forum in Bangkok today.
Thailand, chair of ASEAN, is hosting the event where foreign ministers from 26 countries and representative from European Union, USA, UK, Japan, China and India are participating.
Foreign Minister Momen stated that Bangladesh is not in a position to bear the burden of the 1.1 million, including 750,000, who fled atrocities from Myanmar since August 2017, for indefinite period.
“It should be a global responsibility to resolve this issue,” he said.
At the forum, foreign ministers from Japan, USA, Canada, Australia, South Korea, New Zealand and Malaysia also urged Myanmar to create conducive environment for early repatriation of Rohingya in safety and dignity, while seeking ASEAN’s enhanced engagement in this process.
USA, Canada and Malaysia particularly emphasised on ensuring justice and accountability in relation to atrocities committed against Rohingyas, according to a statement of the foreign ministry.
At this regional high-level Forum, Abdul Momen also embarked on key regional issues, including denuclearisation of Korean Peninsula, degradation of marine environment, human trafficking, illicit drugs trafficking and cybercrimes.
He stressed on the need for sustained peaceful atmosphere in the Korean Peninsula for the continued stability in the Asia-pacific region..."
Source/publisher:
The Daily Star
Date of publication:
2019-08-02
Date of entry/update:
2019-08-04
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Internal displacement/forced migration of Rohingyas, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, ASEAN-Burma relations
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Activists back Mahathir for calling end to genocide and restoring full rights to Rohingya
Description:
"Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad’s comments on the Rohingya genocide has angered Myanmar, as it continued to deny crimes against the Muslim community in Rakhine state.
In an exclusive interview with Anadolu Agency last week, Mahathir had said that the Rohingya faced “massacre or genocide” and “they should either be treated as nationals, or they should be given their territory to form their own state.”
Taking exception, Myanmar’s Foreign Ministry, in a statement on Wednesday, expressed “dismay and objected” to the Malaysian leader’s comments.
Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Myint Thu who met Malaysian Ambassador to Myanmar Zahairi Baharim on Wednesday at the headquarters of Myanmar Foreign Ministry in Naypyitaw, rejected the allegations of genocide.
“Such allegations are not supportive to the ongoing efforts of Myanmar government and ASEAN [Association of Southeast Asian Nations] in finding a sustainable solution for peace, development and social harmony in Rakhine State,” he told the Malaysian envoy.
He also said that Malaysian leader’s statement was not constructive and described it as a breach of the principles enshrined in the ASEAN Charter. “It was also against the ASEAN’s cardinal principles of non-interference in the internal affairs and respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of ASEAN member states,” said the ministry statement.
Rohingya experts, however, blamed Myanmar for "buying time" and diverting the focus of international community, by repeatedly denying crimes, it has committed against the Rohingya Muslim community in the Rakhine state.
Some 750,000 Rohingya fled state persecution since August 2017 and took shelter in neighboring Bangladesh as thousands were killed, raped and hundreds of Rohingya villages were completely burnt..."
Source/publisher:
ASIA - PACIFIC
Date of publication:
2019-08-01
Date of entry/update:
2019-08-04
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, ASEAN-Burma relations, Genocide
Language:
more
Sub-title:
India recognizes humanitarian burden shouldered by Bangladesh’s society and economy, says ASEAN forum report
Description:
"India has urged the world community to help Bangladesh deal with the huge Rohingya influx from Myanmar, saying it poses a threat to regional security.
India recognizes the humanitarian burden on Bangladesh’s society and economy, said the Security Outlook 2019 of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Regional Forum held on Friday, according to BSS, Bangladesh’s state-run news agency.
India praised Bangladesh’s generosity towards displaced people in the report, the agency reported on Saturday
“India is deeply conscious of the humanitarian and security implications of the displacement of nearly one million people (Rohingya) in Bangladesh from contagious areas of Rakhine state in Myanmar,” said the outlook report.
“India recognizes the economic burden this crisis places upon Bangladesh’s society and economy,” it added.
The report said bordering northeastern India, Myanmar’s stability and prosperity is crucial for regional security. India has provided aid to Myanmar to facilitate the return of Rohingya to Myanmar’s Rakhine state, the place of their origin. Thailand, as the ASEAN chair, hosted this year’s forum with the participation of foreign ministers from 26 countries and representatives from the European Union, U.S., U.K., Japan, China, and India.
Addressing the event, A K Abdul Momen, Bangladesh’s foreign minister, sought support and cooperation from the world community to carry out the Rohingya repatriation to Myanmar in a safe manner..."
Source/publisher:
ASIA - PACIFIC
Date of publication:
2019-08-03
Date of entry/update:
2019-08-04
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Internal displacement/forced migration of Rohingyas, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, ASEAN-Burma relations
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Regional bloc accused of whitewashing Myanmar's crimes against Rohingya.
Description:
"The efforts by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to encourage a "dialogue" between the refugees and the Myanmar government has sparked fierce criticism from Rohingya activists who accuse the bloc of whitewashing the Myanmar military's crimes and legitimising its deeply flawed repatriation plans.
A team from the humanitarian arm of the 10-member trade bloc joined a Myanmar government delegation on a visit to the camps last week in a bid to launch fresh repatriation talks with Rohingya leaders and activists.
Almost 730,000 Rohingya crossed the border into Bangladesh and arrived in Cox's Bazar in August 2017 after fleeing military-led massacres in Myanmar's western Rakhine state.
However, relations between members of the Rohingya and those who are supposed to help them have often been fraught.
The United Nations's refugee agency, UNHCR, has sown mistrust by signing secret repatriation deals with Myanmar and pushing an identity card scheme that many Rohingya opposed, leading to alleged intimidation and violence when security forces tried to get them to sign up.
Rohingya refugees reject Myanmar delegation's offer to return (2:34)
Bangladesh authorities, praised for their generosity in hosting the Rohingya, imposed severe restrictions on the refugees, preventing them from moving freely, getting an education, earning a living and denying them official refugee status.
At a meeting during the visit by the team, a Rohingya youth activist asked the ASEAN visitors what they were doing to help some 128,000 Rohingya in Rakhine state who are trapped in disease-ridden detention camps..."
Source/publisher:
Al Jazeera
Date of publication:
2019-08-03
Date of entry/update:
2019-08-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, ASEAN-Burma relations
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Malaysia FM Saifuddin Bin Abdullah says perpetrators of violence against Myanmar's minority must "be brought to justice," in talks with members of Association of Southeast Asian Nations gathered in Thailand conference.
Description:
"Malaysia on Saturday said the perpetrators of violence against Myanmar's Rohingya minority must "be brought to justice," in sharp comments delivered at a normally tame regional summit of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
In talks on Saturday with Southeast Asian counterparts, Malaysia's Foreign Minister Saifuddin Bin Abdullah called for the "perpetrators of the Rohingya issue to be brought to justice," his ministry said in Tweet.
He also said repatriation of the minority from the fetid, overcrowded refugee camps of Bangladesh "must include the citizenship of the Rohingya." Myanmar does not recognise the Rohingya as citizens, instead officially labelling them "Bengalis," short-hand for illegal immigrants from neighbouring Bangladesh.
A military crackdown in 2017 drove more than 740,000 Rohingya Muslims into Bangladesh, carrying accounts of rape, mass killings and the razing of villages.
UN investigators have called for Myanmar's top generals to be tried for genocide.
But Myanmar's army and de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi have defended the action as necessary to flush out Rohingya rebels from Rakhine state..."
Source/publisher:
TRT World
Date of publication:
2019-06-22
Date of entry/update:
2019-07-29
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Laws, decrees, bills and regulations relating to nationality, citizenship and immigration (commentary), ASEAN-Burma relations
Language:
more