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Tuesday, June 30, 2015

Help strengthen Bahasa Melayu, urges president of teachers body


Khai Zem Mat Sani
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN




BRUNEIANS need to be more active in strengthening the Malay language by speaking it or through the written word, the president of the Brunei Malay Teachers Association (PGGMB) said.

Hj Antin Hj Ahad said modernisation and the emphasised usage of an international language has eroded the value of Bahasa Melayu.

“English has become the more dominant language as it is considered trendy and modern while the use of Bahasa Melayu among the public is slowly dissipating,” said Hj Antin.

“Since we are striving for modern lifestyle as well as technological development, we are slowly abandoning the use of Bahasa Melayu under the notion that emphasising the use of an international language will help to ease communication,” he said.

“The value of Bahasa Melayu is not as strong as before where most of former education were concentrated in Malay medium and now has been manipulated by the English language.”

He went on to say that early education in Brunei emphasised Bahasa Melayu as a compulsory subject that required students to study and excel in examination.

“Nowadays, that regulation is not highly implemented in the education system where some student who failed in Bahasa Melayu were still given chances to further their study.”

He said it is not to condemn the students for not excelling in the Malay language but more like showing them that their Malay language skills and knowledge must be equivalent to English medium subjects.

“The education system must emphasise Bahasa Melayu like the former system where Bahasa Melayu was seen as the important subject that could enhance the students’ chances in furthering their study,” he added.

Hj Antin (pictured) said that if Bruneians keep on imitating other cultures, they are indirectly moving away from their own way of life, customs, race and, most importantly, identity.

As one of PGGMB’s main goals in enhancing the education amongst locals, particularly in Bahasa Melayu, the association has established rapport with other foreign associations in Asian countries.

The association has extended its network to other ASEAN countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore.

Hj Antin said that the efforts in strengthening Bahasa Melayu were not just made within the sultanate but also in this region as well as some European countries that offer Bahasa Melayu as a course or subject in some higher education institutions.

PGGMB over the years has served to become an important asset for the Ministry of Education in its efforts to enhance the quality of education amongst young generation of the sultanate, the association president said.

The association has more than 2,000 members. Pg Datin Paduka Hjh Mariam Pg Hj Matarsat is deputy president.

Besides PGGMB, there are several governemnt agencies that work on maintaining the values of Bahasa Melayu, such as the Language and Literature Bureau and the Supreme Council for the Malay Muslim Monarchy (MIB).


Sumber - The Brunei Times

MPK members have doubts about future of OVOP campaign


Khai Zem Mat Sani
BRUNEI-MUARA


SOME members of Village Consultative Councils (MPK) in the Brunei-Muara District and Tutong District have expressed their concern over MPK’s bid to promote the One Village One Product (OVOP) movement as they lack marketing knowledge or professional help to boost their products.

Speaking to The Brunei Times, Hj Amran Hj Johari, 59, a member of the MPK Kg Kiudang and a tea and herb enthusiast, said that sales were declining due to flaws in marketing.

“We were able to sell a total of 200 boxes of our product during the expos and bazaars (in 2013), but it is not enough to sell our products just during such events,” he said.

“We want to sell the product to supermarkets but we may not be able to arrange meetings and make deals with investors, be it local or foreign,” he said.

“We understand that we are encouraged to be independent in all matters, but we lack so many things such as staff, and access to loans from banks,” he added.

“As we are doing this alone without proper instruction from professionals we cannot achieve what people expect of us,” Hj Amran said.

The village head of Kg Kiulap, Hj Mohammad Abu Bakar also shared similar sentiment when he said that they were lacking qualified people to help in commercialising their product.

“Most of the members are senior citizens and there is no one who is capable of being a marketer for our product. This has happened to other MPKs too.

“The main product of MPK Kg Kiulap is kueh and crackers. But due to the problems that we face, we have not been able to show our product to the public and this has affected our market,” he said.

Besides problems with marketing, both of them also expressed their disappointment with local supermarkets for not taking interest in promoting the local product in the market.

Hj Mohammad said that some of the local products that have been placed in supermarkets are not displayed prominently.

“Most of the local products are not displayed properly. This may be why people are unaware about the existence of our products,” said the village head.

Meanwhile, supervisors from different supermarkets said that they had never received local products from MPKs.

A supervisor from Hua Ho Department Store who preferred not to be identified, said that the store had never received any food products from MPKs. “All products have to get through us before we can put them on the shelf. I am aware of the local products from Sabli’s and other Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs), but there are no MPK food products.”

Sharing similar sentiment, a supervisor from the Giant Hypermarket Rimba, who wanted to be identified as Didi, said that it only had local products from SME.

“I’m aware about the MPKs’ OVOP from the bazaar, but not from our supermarket. The only local products we have is from SMEs,” said the supervisor.


Sumber - The Brunei Times

Brunei Darussalam looks to a new bourse to diversify economy


Plans to launch a stock exchange in Brunei Darussalam by 2017 will bolster its capital markets in line with plans for regional market integration as well as aid the broader drive to diversify its economy away from dependence on oil and gas.

In mid-May, the Autoriti Monetari Brunei Darussalam (AMBD) said it was researching the possibility of establishing a bourse in the next two years, building on new capital market rules introduced by the central bank in February. Brunei Darussalam and Myanmar are the last two ASEAN members without a stock exchange, but this is set to change shortly following Myanmar’s announcement that it intends to launch a bourse later this year.

Regional opportunities

According to the AMBD, the planned exchange will help strengthen the domestic economy by providing a funding source for small businesses and improve corporate governance. The bourse will also be key to maintaining the Sultanate’s regional influence as ASEAN integration deepens over the coming years, according to officials. “This is also a stepping stone to enable Brunei Darussalam to participate in ASEAN Exchanges,” Mahani Mohsin, executive director for insurance/takaful and capital market supervision at the AMBD’s regulatory department, said in June.

ASEAN Exchanges is an initiative to integrate regional stock exchanges, combining the Indonesia Stock Exchange, Vietnam’s Hanoi Stock Exchange and Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange, and other neighbouring bourses. The first phase of the project kicked off in 2012 with a three-way link between the Thai, Malaysian and Singaporean exchanges, but industry participants have called for a deepening of post-trade linkages, to bolster the pan-ASEAN initiative.

However, with an eye towards regional integration, Brunei Darussalam’s central bank issued guidelines for a Securities Market Order (SMO) in February, easing the way for a future exchange. The SMO was enacted in 2013 as an important pillar to support the growth of Brunei Darussalam’s capital markets.

Local reaction

Business leaders have welcomed the move, with around 12 major domestic firms potential candidates to list on the exchange, including downstream oil and gas service firms, financial institutions like Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam (BIBD) and utilities such as Telekom Brunei. However, the growth of the exchange may be gradual. “Initial success would be slow, for a full-blown capital market it will be a longer journey,” Javed Ahmad, managing director at BIBD, the country’s largest lender, told Reuters in May.

Officials from the AMBD told OBG last year that a proposal to create an equity market through initial public offerings of minority stakes in larger state-owned firms was under discussion.

Multinational companies have also shown interest in a new bourse. Last year, lighting solutions giant Philips said it would review the possibility of listing on a Bruneian exchange.

At the same time, creating a local bourse is crucial to establishing the Sultanate as a financial centre, according to Badlisyah Abdul Ghani, CEO of CIMB Islamic Bank. “Coming up with a Securities Law [Order] to enable the establishment of a stock exchange will definitely provide the right platform to strengthen [Brunei’s] indigenous market as it allows for Brunei entities and even foreign entities to tap the equity market,” he told local media in June.

SME boost

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which make up 95% of the Sultanate’s businesses, will also benefit from a more mature capital market environment − a key impetus for the country to launch the exchange as a means to strengthen funding of small businesses and diversify the economy.

As largely state-run institutions, local banks are under pressure from the government to boost lending to SMEs. The lack of personal income tax in Brunei Darussalam, including for sole proprietors, presents challenges when it comes to funding small businesses. Although new small corporations are exempt from corporate tax for three years and firms with annual income below BN$250,000 ($186,404) pay reduced corporate tax rates, many SME owners prefer to remain sole proprietors. Those that do incorporate often structure their business so that profits are directed to a separate sole proprietorship, making it difficult for bankers to judge their creditworthiness.

Investors are increasingly calling for an organised market for equity funding, also in view of the fact that Brunei Darussalam’s bond market is limited to the issuance of short-term sukuk (Islamic bonds) by the Ministry of Finance, to which only banks are allowed to subscribe. Access to international bond markets is also difficult, as Brunei Darussalam does not have a sovereign rating.


Sumber - Oxford Business Group

Monday, June 22, 2015

MoHA starts portal for private jobs


Billah Hasan
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN


JOBSEEKERS can now apply for vacancies in the private sector through the Ministry of Home Affairs’ (MoHA) newly-launched job portal.

The online system, named e-Labour Exchange, also allows registered employers to post vacancies and seek potential employees.

Hj Shahrul Jeffri Dato Paduka Hj Ibrahim, acting head of the ministry’s Local Employment and Workforce Development Agency, yesterday said the system will speed up the recruitment process.

Hiring Bruneian workers will be faster and more cost-effective for employers, he said during the launch of the system at the Ministry of Home Affairs headquarters.

He added that employers can access the website www.jobcentrebrunei.gov.bn anytime and obtain the list of jobseekers who qualify their requirements.

Through the new system, jobseekers can register and update their profiles online.

They can also apply for courses offered on the e-Labour Exchange.

Applicants will be notified the status of their applications via SMS and email.

As of press time yesterday, a total of 2,021 jobseekers and 205 private employers have registered on the portal, with 138 vacancies up for grabs.

In an interview on the sidelines of the launch yesterday, Minister of Home Affairs Yang Berhormat Pehin Udana Khatib Dato Paduka Seri Setia Ustaz Hj Awg Badaruddin Pengarah Dato Paduka Hj Awg Othman lauded the initiative that will make the recruitment process more efficient and faster.

“This will ease all recruitment processes as everything was done manually earlier. (With the new system), it will be accessible anytime, anywhere.

“The most important thing which I would like to emphasise is this is the government’s continuous effort to facilitate jobseekers to potential employers,” he said.

The minister hoped all private employers in the country will register on the new system and encourage local jobseekers — including students looking for part-time jobs — to make use of the portal. Also present at the launch were Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Pehin Datu Lailaraja Major General (Rtd) Dato Paduka Seri Hj Awg Halbi Hj Mohd Yussof and other senior officials.


Sumber - The Brunei Times

‘More options, consideration for Jln Kecil residents’


Rachel Thien
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN


THE Legislative Council (LegCo) representative of Belait District Zone 1 yesterday said the Land Department needs to provide “ample options” and more consideration to the 20 residents around Jln Kecil Sg Liang who will have to give up their homes and land to make way for Sungai Liang Industrial Park’s (SPARK) expansion.

Yang Berhormat Hj Mohd Shafiee Ahmad said the Land Department as the authority in charge, needs to be more considerate towards the residents.

“There should be more discussions and consultation. I would like to see a win-win situation,” he said via a telephone interview.

“We do not want to burden the government and the residents. What happens if the residents are suffering? Our government then has to shoulder the problem,” he said.

The LegCo member said several of the land and home owners in Jln Kecil approached him about the dilemma, and he advised them to attend all functions relating to the issue for further discussions.

“I told them not to blindly accept what the Land Department offers. They must discuss this properly,” he said.

In a report on June 19, residents in the area felt that monetary compensation set in letters issued by the Land Department in May was “insufficient” for residents to rebuild or purchase houses or land of similar size elsewhere.

The home owners at Jln Kecil said they were not opposed to SPARK’s expansion, and that their issue was the compensation offered and the lack of options for resettlement.

According to the same report, some residents are still repaying existing loans for the construction of their houses.

Letters by the Land Department to the residents, dated early May, called for them to meet with the department’s officers at the Community Hall of Sengkurong in the first week of June to hand over their land grants.

The letter reminded residents that those who fail to do so during the meeting are liable to a $250 fine.

It added those disagreeing with the compensation offered have the right to write to the Land Office for the matter to be referred to court.


Sumber - The Brunei Times

Former Moro rebels pin hopes on long-term peace to improve lot


Six former MILF camps to be handed over to joint task force as part of reconciliation efforts

Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebel group chairman Murad Ebrahim (left) and
Philippine President Benigno Aquino (in yellow shirt) inspect rebel firearms during
a decommissioning ceremony in Sultan Kudarat last Tuesday.
Simuay Crossing, Sultan Kudarat: Mohammad Yakub Nur still remembers the period when he had to take up arms not just for protection, but to oust an oppressive government.

He recalls a tumultuous time when then President Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law in 1972. Barely out of his teens, Nur took up arms against the government and joined the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), a secessionist movement that aimed to establish a nation for Moros, the Muslims of southern Philippines.

“It was a difficult period, not just for me being a rebel but for my family as well,” Nur said.

Later on he switched his allegiance to a breakaway faction of the MNLF, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), a movement that not just wants to put up a state for Muslims in the Philippine, but also establish an independent area in the South where Moros can not only observe their faith, but also their distinct customs and follow Islamic law.

Nur rose up in the MILF hierarchy to become head of the operations department of the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF), the movement’s armed wing.

Nur said he had fought one battle too many and is looking forward to such a time when he can settle down with his family peacefully. At 57, he can only do so much as look back over the lost opportunities and the lives claimed by the conflict.

In ceremonies at the Old Sultan Kudarat Provincial Capitol building, Nur led 145 members of the BIAF in registering with the government for “decommissioning,” as part of processes agreed upon by the two sides.

Asked by Gulf News if he agreed to the decommissioning in exchange for any favour from the government, he said: “They did not promise us anything.”

During the ceremony, those who agreed to be decommissioned were issued a special card that makes them eligible for health benefits and other government assistance.

At the same ceremony in Simuay Crossing, 75 weapons ranging from Second World War era firearms as well as a heavy machinegun and several mortars were turned over to the International Decommissioning Body led by Turkey, with Brunei and Norway also being members. Some of the weapons are still in working condition or are serviceable. They will be stored in Camp Iranun in Maguindanao at a structure guarded by the government and the MILF. The handing over of the weapons and registration of the “decommissioned” MILF fighters signal the start of the decommissioning process.

President Benigno Aquino witnessed the ceremony alongside members and senior MILF officials as well as government officials.

Professor Miriam Coronel-Ferrer, the lead peace negotiator for the government, said the decommissioning process had been agreed upon earlier during the signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) in March last year. It is part of the “normalisation” phase of the pact that aims to provide former rebels with an opportunity to return to civilian life.

The fact that the ceremonies were performed at a dilapidated government building in Simuay Crossing was symbolic and intended.

“We are at a crossroad,” MILF chief negotiator Mohagher Iqbal said while pointing out that after over 17 years of negotiations, the government and the MILF only have the choice of two paths.

“The first road leads to a dark fearful Bangsamoro area — without hope, without peace, without justice. It leads to a Bangsamoro where people’s lives are shorter, where children do no have good education and where young men and women have no jobs and where natural resources are exploited to the detriment of the Bangsamoro people.”

“The second road leads to a Bangsamoro that is prosperous and free where children can dream and be whoever they want to be.”

“We in the MILF have made a choice. We choose a Bangsamoro that is happy and peaceful. We choose security over insecurity,” Iqbal said during a speech delivered at the decommissioning ceremonies in Simuay Crossing.

The MILF and the government had signed the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) in March last year after more than a decade of peace negotiations.

Lawmakers in both chambers of Congress are now reviewing the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) that will be implemented in Muslim majority areas in the Philippines after a referendum. Aquino said he expects to sign the new law before his term in office ends in 2016.

MILF Chairperson Murad Ebrahim said agreeing to decommissioning is by no means a sign of “weakness” for the MILF.

“Some people think that allowing the start of the decommissioning despite the fact that the Bangsamoro Basic Law has been passed is a sign of weakness. It is not. It is a sign of strength for our strength does not lie in our firearms but in the love and affection of the Bangsamoro people,” he said.

He said what is important is that the MILF rank and file has the support of the Bangsamoro people. “We may have all the arms in the world, and yet there will be no victory [without the support of the Moro people],” Murad said.

The CAB stipulates that 30 per cet of MILF combatants and weapons will be decommissioned upon the passage of the BBL, to be followed by another 35 per cent after the plebiscite and the appointment of members of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority. The remaining 35 per cent will be decommissioned once the Bangsamoro government is established and its leaders are duly elected.

Murad said that as part of the decommissioning process it had been agreed upon that six major camps of the MILF will be turned over to a joint MILF-government task force.

These former MILF camps are expansive and are situated in agricultural areas. Camp Iranun (former Camp Abubakre As Siddique), which overlaps the boundaries of three provinces in Central Mindanao for example, is about the size of Singapore.

The area is also rich in natural and mineral resources such as shale rocks. A foreign firm has been reported to be eyeing the establishment of a fracking facility at a site in Camp Iranun.

For Mohammad Yakub Nur, he can only do so much as pin his hopes on the prospect of the BBL being passed so that his children and grandchildren would be able to reap the promised benefits of a brighter economic future without the fear of conflict.

“We owe it to our Bangsamoro brothers that we right the wrongs that we had committed in the past. This is what we have collectively fought for,” he said.


Sumber - GulfNews.com

Mapim kecam China haram umat Islam puasa Ramadhan



Majlis Perundingan Pertubuhan Islam Malaysia (Mapim) mengecam sekeras-kerasnya tindakan kerajaan China yang telah mengisytiharkan pengumuman mengharamkan berpuasa pada bulan Ramadhan bagi kakitangan awam, pelajar dan guru di negeri Xinjiang iaitu negeri bahagiannya yang mempunyai populasi terbesar Muslim Uighur.

Keputusan itu samasekali tidak boleh diterima dan ia adalah suatu penindasan yang mesti dibantah bukan sahaja oleh setiap warga umat Islam, malah juga oleh komuniti dunia seluruhnya atas dasar hak dan kebebasan beragama.

Pengharaman itu dikuatkuasakan oleh kerajaan parti komunis China yang secara rasminya adalah kerajaan ateis yang mengarahkan semua restoran dibuka sepanjang Ramadhan seperti Notis yang dinaikmuat dalam sesawang Administrasi Makanan dan Ubatan China.

Dalam pengumuman yang dikeluarkan di daerah Bole dimaklumkan: "Dalam bulan Ramadhan dilarang berpuasa dan melakukan sebarang upacara agama".

Nampaknya setiap tahun pihak berkuasa China mengharamkan berpuasa dalam kalangan Muslim Uighur.

Akibatnya ketegangan etnik sering tercetus yang menyebabkan ratusan terbunuh dalam beberapa tahun yang lalu.

Meskipun kebebasan agama telah dikembangkan di China sejak dasar terbukanya pada 1979, namun ia sangat terbatas. Perlembagaan negara China memberi kebebasan terhadap kepercayaan agama, namun ia masih menghadkan aktiviti agama dan organisasi agama.

China mengiktiraf 5 agama - Buddhism, Daoism, Islam, Catholicism dan Protestantism dengan mensyaratkan semua aktiviti agama dilakukan di bawah naungan badan agama yang setia kepada negara (patriotic religious association).

Di kawasan autonomi Xinjiang Uighur, umat Islam telah menghadapi keganasan pada 2008 dan 2009. Pada 2014, kerajaan China mengharamkan semua aktiviti agama pada bulan Ramadhan.

Pihak berkuasa telah menuduh ia kononnya adalah akibat dari "ancaman teroris" dan "ekstrimis agama".

Jelas kerajaan China bermatlamat untuk memaksa Muslim Uighur memisahkan diri dari amalan agama mereka. Polisi ini akan memprovokasi ketengangan antara etnik dan mencetuskan konflik.

Tahun sebelum ini pelajar sekolah termasuk dalam arahan larangan berpuasa dan pelbagai amalan agama. Biro pendidikan kota Tarbaghatay mengarahkan semua sekolah dihubungi dan memberitahu pelajar arahan tersebut bahawa semasa Ramadhan pelajar etnik minoriti Uighur Muslim tidak dibenarkan berpuasa, tidak dibenar memasuki masjid dan tidak dibenarkan mengamalkan aktiviti agama.

Malah pemantauan lebih rapi akan dilakukan sepanjang bulan Ramadhan atas nama menjaga "kestabilan sosial".

Malah sebelum Ramadhan lagi, pengurusan masjid diarah menyiasat kad pengenalan setiap orang yang datang menunaikan ibadat di masjid.

Kami membantah keras penindasan yang nampaknya berterusan dilakukan oleh kerajaan komunis ke atas umat Islam.

Kami menuntut PBB bertindak tegas keatas kerajaan China yang menafikan hak agama kepada mereka yang sudah berpegang kepada agama yang dipilih. Memaksa mereka meninggalkan amalan agama yang mereka pilih adalah suatu kezaliman yang tidak boleh dibiarkan.

Kerajaan Malaysia perlu mengambil inisiatif supaya OIC melakukan sesuatu bagi berunding dengan kerajaan China supaya hak mengamalkan Islam dalam kalangan umat Islam berbangsa Uighur perlu dihormati.

Kami menggesa kerajaan Malaysia menghantar nota bantahan kepada Kedutaan China di Kuala Lumpur supaya pendirian Malaysia sebagai negara umat Islam disampaikan kepada pihak berkuasa China jika hubungan baik dua hala antara dua negara ini hendak diteruskan.


Sumber - Harakahdaily

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Selamat Menyambut Ramadhan dan Menunaikan Ibadah Puasa




PRESIDEN DAN SELURUH AHLI PARTI PEMBANGUNAN BANGSA (NDP) MENGUCAPKAN SELAMAT MENUNAIKAN IBADAH PUASA KHUSUSNYA KEPADA SELURUH RAKYAT DAN PENDUDUK NEGARA BRUNEI DARUSSALAM YANG BERAGAMA ISLAM, DEMIKIAN JUGA KEPADA UMAT ISLAM SELURUH DUNIA DI MANA JUA MEREKA BERADA.

SEMOGA KEHADIRAN BULAN RAMADHAN INI AKAN MEMBAWA KEBERKATAN KEPADA KITA SEMUA. AMIN.




Bolehkah Rohingya dapat pengadilan


Dr Mohd Hazmi Mohd Rusli, Fareed Mohd Hassan

PENINDASAN terhadap orang-orang Rohingya adalah isu yang hangat diperkatakan sekarang, terutama setelah meletusnya Rusuhan Negeri Rakhine pada tahun 2012.

Isu ini terus memburuk setelah ramai orang Rohingya meninggalkan ‘tanah air’ mereka menggunakan jalur laut yang ramai mengungkapkannya sebagai ‘pelayaran maut’ ke negara-negara jiran terutamanya Thailand, Malaysia dan Indonesia.

Adalah benar untuk menyatakan bahawasanya orang-orang Rohingya ini tidak bernegara. Dengan status sebegini, bolehkah Rohingya mendapatkan pengadilan antarabangsa untuk membela kekejaman yang dilemparkan terhadap mereka?

Terdapat beberapa tribunal jenayah antarabangsa yang ditubuhkan oleh Majlis Keselamatan PBB di Asia Tenggara yang telah membicarakan isu keganasan tentera Indonesia terhadap orang Timor-Leste pada tahun 1999 dan kekejaman Khmer Rouge sewaktu rejim Pol Pot di antara tahun 1975 sehingga 1979. Walau bagaimanapun, tribunal-tribunal ini telah diwujudkan menerusi perjanjian di antara Majlis Keselamatan PBB dan kerajaan Timor-Leste serta kerajaan Kemboja.

Adalah agak mustahil bagi kerajaan Myanmar untuk memohon kepada Majlis Keselamatan PBB untuk menubuhkan tribunal dalam negeri, yang mana banyak ketua kerajaan boleh disabitkan untuk jenayah kekejaman dan pembunuhan beramai-ramai terhadap orang-orang Rohingya.

Sejak Julai 2002, Statut Rom telah mula berkuat kuasa dan bertitik tolak dari sini, dunia telah pun memiliki Mahkamah Jenayah Antarabangsa (ICC). Oleh kerana kekejaman terhadap orang-orang Rohingya ini adalah jenayah pasca-2002, tidak ada keperluan untuk menubuhkan tribunal bagi menguruskan hal orang-orang Rohingya kerana kini telah wujud saluran ICC.

Mahkamah Jenayah Antarabangsa (ICC) telah diwujudkan menerusi sebuah triti yang dipanggil Statut Rom, bertujuan membicarakan dan menghukum individu-individu yang bertanggungjawab ke atas jenayah kekejaman pembunuhan beramai-ramai serta jenayah kemanusiaan, sama ada individu atau pelaku jenayah tersebut adalah seorang pemimpin negara ataupun tidak.

Artikel 7(2)(g) Statut Rom mendefinisikan penindasan sebagai ‘pelucutan hak asasi secara sengaja dengan melanggar lunas undang-undang antarabangsa disebabkan perbezaan identiti kumpulan tersebut’. Orang-orang Rohingya hampir kesemuanya beragama Islam dan secara etnik berbeza dengan kaum-kaum Myanmar yang rata-ratanya beragama Buddha.

Oleh kerana perbezaan ini, mereka telah dinafikan hak-hak asasi sebagai rakyat, tidak diberikan kerakyatan, disekat pergerakan dan telah ditindas secara berleluasa – penindasan yang dikatakan disokong dan ditaja oleh pemerintah Myanmar sendiri. Walaupun Rohingya bukanlah rakyat Myanmar yang sah, bidang kuasa ICC masih berlaku kerana jenayah-jenayah yang dikatakan berlaku ini mengambil tempat dalam wilayah Myanmar.

Selain itu, banyak orang Rohingya telah dibunuh setiap hari di Myanmar dan ini boleh dianggap sebagai jenayah pembunuhan beramai-ramai atau dalam bahasa Inggeris, genocide. ICC mempunyai bidang kuasa untuk membicarakan dan mendengar kes-kes seperti ini.

Artikel 6(1) Statut Rom menjelaskan bahawa jenayah pembunuhan beramai-ramai (genocide) merangkumi segala perlakuan membunuh, secara keseluruhan atau sebahagian, yang berlaku disebabkan etnik, kaum ataupun agama sesetengah kumpulan orang.

Lagi pula, Myanmar adalah negara parti kepada Konvensyen Pembunuhan Beramai-ramai 1948 (Genocide Convention 1948) yang memerlukan kerajaan Myanmar untuk menghalang dan menghukum individu yang terlibat dalam jenayah kemanusiaan ini.

Walau bagaimanapun, tiada inisiatif diambil oleh Myanmar setakat ini untuk membendung atau menghukum pelaku jenayah ini yang kebanyakannya adalah rakyatnya sendiri.

Akibat daripada ini, bencana kemanusiaan meledak mengakibatkan perpindahan secara besar-besaran Rohingya ke negara-negara jiran yang lain.

Walaupun Myanmar bukanlah negara parti Statut Rom, ini tidak bermakna pelaku-pelaku jenayah ini boleh terlepas tanpa sebarang sabitan. Pendakwaraya ICC boleh memulakan penyiasatannya sendiri di bawah Artikel 13(c) Statut Rom.

Majlis Keselamatan PBB boleh juga merujuk situasi di Myanmar ke ICC menerusi Artikel 13(b) Statut Rom, yang mana situasinya sama dengan konflik yang berlaku di Darfur, Sudan dan Libya dan ketiga-tiga negara ini bukanlah negara parti Statut Rom.

Walau bagaimanapun, inisiatif melalui saluran ini memerlukan penglibatan politik dari negara-negara Majlis Keselamatan PBB dan tidak diveto oleh mana-mana kuasa ‘big five’ (China, Amerika Syarikat, Rusia, Perancis dan Britain) bagi membolehkan situasi Rohingya dirujuk dan dibawa ke ICC.

Kesimpulannya, keadilan dan perlindungan wajar diberikan kepada orang Rohingya dengan mengheret individu-individu yang terlibat  dalam jenayah kemanusiaan ke ICC. Masalahnya, siapakah yang akan memulakan proses keadilan melalui saluran ICC ini?


Sumber - Sinar Harian

Brunei aims to go smoke-free by 2016


Rabiatul Kamit
BRUNEI-MUARA

THE government is mulling over expanding its restrictions on smoking in public places as it seeks to make all public places smoke-free by 2016.

A Ministry of Health official yesterday said authorities were in the process of increasing the number of smoke-free areas in a move to reduce tobacco use as part of the country’s efforts to tackle the rise of non-communicable diseases (NCDs).

Dr Norhayati Hj Kassim, head of Health Promotion Centre, disclosed that they were targeting locations “where the public will visit or congregate”, but added that finer details were still being discussed.

Under the Tobacco Order 2005, she explained there were currently 28 categories of specified buildings that have been identified as smoke-free such as indoor workplaces, government premises, restaurants and public transport.

Smoking is also banned on sidewalks near business premises and within a six-metre radius from any smoke-free building as well as public staircases, hospitals and clinics.

To raise the effectiveness of anti-smoking efforts, the law was amended in 2012 to include a greater number of smoke-free areas. However, Dr Norhayati said they were looking to add more places to the smoking ban to protect the public from the dangers of tobacco.

If convicted, any person found guilty of flouting the smoking ban could be punished with a fine of up to $1,000 under Prohibition of Smoking in the Tobacco Order 2005.

She said the National Tobacco Control Committee was unanimous on the various anti-smoking efforts that have been implemented, reiterating their commitment to reducing tobacco use particularly among the youth.

“We have achieved quite a lot. In ASEAN, we’re one of the countries that have advanced in terms of actions recommended as per the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control,” she noted.

In addition to the expansion of smoke-free places, the government has also increased tobacco taxes from 62 to 83 per cent of the actual price as well as enlarged the pictorial health warnings on cigarette packaging to 75 per cent of the surface area.

More smoking cessation services have also been provided with 17 clinics available at health centres, National Dental Centre and a district hospital.


Sumber - The Brunei Times

Big powers back Asean-led security plan




It has taken several years for ASEAN and its dialogue partners to come up with good security design that would place the regional interests of all parties at heart. Quite a few security and strategic frameworks were considered but the ASEAN leaders were unhappy with them.

They detected among major powers a desire to influence the region in ways that could endanger their future stability. Worse, their ideas would put ASEAN at odds with the contesting powers, especially the US and China.

The US-centric security approach has been with the region for well over half a century. It was a time-tested security guarantor in the region. Now the US power is being challenged by the rise of new powers both in Asia and elsewhere. It no longer has the same outreach and power that it used to enjoy.

In the past three years, the US has set forth a newly balanced policy that has strengthened its presence in the Asia-Pacific, especially among its alliances. Washington has subsequently boosted security ties with Vietnam, its former foe. Meanwhile, it also has sought a closer economic link-up with the region through the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the high premium free trade arrangement among 12 members including Singapore, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam.

At the same time, China is rising so rapidly that it is shocking the socks off everyone - a new phenomenon for the region used to only an American presence built up over five decades. Since 1991 when China attended the ASEAN meeting in Kuala Lumpur for the first time, ASEAN has been learning distinctive new ways to engage China in all avenues of co-operation, particularly the dispute in the South China Sea.

However, Beijing's policy and action on land reclamations in the South China Sea in recent months has raised concerns within ASEAN and increased urgency for an earlier conclusion to a code of conduct on the waterway. China has just agreed to work on a second list of commonalities that would form the basis of a draft framework. It would be the key agenda for the next Joint Work Group on July 1-2.

Beyond the South China Sea, China has also proposed economic schemes that would essentially strengthen the connectivity with both mainland and archipelagic ASEAN and the rest of West Asia and Europe, through land and maritime routes. "One Belt, One Road" and the "21st Maritime Silk Road" are the two major paths China is pursuing. To accomplish these objectives China needs a friendly, peaceful and stable environment without any disruption. Disharmony in ASEAN-China relations would render negative impacts.

In 2013 China and Russia put forward to ASEAN a separate proposal on collective security - Russia's Framework Principles for Security and Development Cooperation in Asia and the Pacific and China's Treaty of Good Neighbourliness and Friendship. The two proposals were considered by ASEAN as they shared many similarities with the regional and international codes of conduct enshrined in the 1976 Treaty of Amity and Cooperation - as well as UN documents that resonate well with the ASEAN norms and values.

Obviously, Beijing and Moscow are eager to shape the emerging regional architecture here - the only region in the world that still has a comprehensive security framework. Last May, China had already advocated the concept of Asia for Asian security.

China and Russia shared the same view that the region needed a new security structure to ensure peace and security. President Xi Jinping has for the past two years been urging major powers and neighbours to seek foreign policy innovations to avoid conflict and build peace.

There is no secret that they have a common aim to mitigate what they perceive as US dominance in the region. That helps explain why the key objective for their new security framework is to weaken the alliance system the US established after the end of World War II.

At the ASEAN Regional Forum's senior officials meeting in Kuching, it was clear from the fierce discussion and contest between the major powers, ASEAN had to take up leadership and boost its centrality. In his annual report to the ASEAN leaders in April, Secretary-General Le Luong Minh stressed that the grouping needed to do things to beef up its centrality - to intensify its internal community building and integration processes, strengthen internal unity, cohesiveness and common positions on regional and international issues.

These must-do lists were in line with the paper submitted by Thailand, titled "ASEAN Centrality and Strategic Approach to the Future Regional Architecture", endorsed by the ASEAN foreign ministers at the 26th ASEAN Summit. The paper also suggested concrete follow-up action plans that the ASEAN members must do to shore up the group's creditability.

For instance, on issues related to regional flashpoints such the Korean Peninsula, the East Sea, the South China Sea, the strategy called for practical initiatives from the grouping. In the case of the South China Sea, ASEAN must have "a united position and propose ideas to maintain momentum on consultations regarding the drafting of code of conduct".

In the upcoming working group meeting with China on the maritime dispute, all ASEAN members must work hard to expedite the second list of commonalities, which would serve as the basis for the drafting of a code of conduct in the South China Sea. Singapore would take over the Thai coordinating role for ASEAN-China relations beginning August.

In the past, the dialogue partners often chastised ASEAN that its centrality must be earned with tangible action. However, in the new strategic environment, the role of ASEAN is much needed as the current acceptable balancing wheel between the old and rising powers.


Sumber - AsiaOne

Thursday, June 11, 2015

Don’t rely on foreign workers, farmers told


Waqiuddin Rajak
BRUNEI MUARA

THE Minister of Home Affairs yesterday urged locals with farm lands granted by the government to avoid being over reliant on foreign workers to manage their farms.

Yang Berhormat Pehin Udana Khatib Dato Paduka Seri Setia Ustaz Hj Awg Badaruddin Pengarah Dato Paduka Hj Awg Othman said this on the sidelines of a site visit to Kg Lumapas Village Consultative Council yesterday.

The minister explained that the government granted said farmers a lease on the lands to provide the locals and permanent residents an opportunity to contribute to the country’s economic growth.

“But recent reports said that it was as if these foreign workers had become the owners of the farm, while the real ones only remain as owners by name, receiving the output by the end of the month,” he said.

“And this is not healthy, both to our economy and to our long-term population,” he added.

Although this may be profitable, YB Pehin Dato Ustaz Hj Awang Badaruddin discouraged such practice as it would prevent future generations from developing the skills and capabilities required to manage farms.

“It is appropriate that we both come down to the field together and learn to manage the farm.”

The minister also clarified that he did not mean farm owners should not depend on foreign workers because their expertise is in demand for more joint ventures and foreign direct investments, different from the past where locals can farm the fields by themselves.

YB Pehin Dato Ustaz Hj Awang Badaruddin, meanwhile, said yesterday’s visit to the Lumapas Village Consultative Council was conducted to monitor the development of the farm since it was launched in 2013.

It was previously reported that the farm was a project developed to boost the village’s economy and self-sufficiency, especially through the output of its chilli plantations.

He lauded the diligence displayed by the participants, especially in realising their plan to proceed with the chilli farms on the 100-acre land granted by the Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources for farming purposes.

“They had chosen to focus on chilli plants for now. If the output is encouraging, it will then become the (leading product) here,” said the minister.


Sumber - The Brunei Times

Bruneians unfazed by international media perception of country


Brunei is often known internationally as a tiny oil-rich in country in Southeast Asia with a strict Islamic penal code, but some citizens tell Channel NewsAsia the foreign media have unfairly sensationalised the country's royals and laws.


By Sumisha Naidu

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN: Every Friday at 12pm, Brunei's capital city of Bandar Seri Begawan becomes a ghost town.

Muslims in the capital observe Friday prayers and for the next two hours, every business - from restaurants to entertainment outlets - must remain closed by law.

During the fasting month, a similar scenario occurs. In 2014, the government declared that restaurants will not be able to serve dine-in food between sunrise and sunset, regardless of the owners' or customers' religion.

These are just some of the effects of the deep Islamic roots that run through the nation of about 420,000 people. In 2014, the Sultan announced the rollout of a strict Islamic penal code, a first for a Southeast Asian country. Some of the harsher penalties include flogging, severing of limbs and death by stoning.

While Islam is Brunei's official religion, government figures state about 34 per cent of the population are of different religions, including Buddhism and Christianity.

The Ministry of Religious Affairs said the minorities are free to practice their faiths, but only among themselves. Public displays of non-Muslim festivities are prohibited as this could be construed as attempts to propagate religions other than Islam.

The laws sound restrictive but many non-Muslims appear unfazed.

"This is a Muslim country so we have to follow Muslim laws right?" said Jessica, a retiree.

“I think because I grew up here in Brunei, I’m used to the life here so I think everything is fine,” added Shar Pay, a teacher.

Professor James Chin, director of the Asia Institute at the University of Tasmania, said: "Being a minority in Brunei, they've always lived under restrictions, even before the Sharia law was imposed. So I think they are used to living with restrictions. They have a coping mechanism built in. The Chinese population has been there since the 15th century."

UNFAIR CRITICISM

Publicly at least, complaints are few and far between in Brunei, one of the world's richest nations. But internationally, the small nation has often been thrown into the spotlight over its religious policing and the lavish lifestyles of the royal family, to whom Sharia law does not apply.

Brunei is constitutionally an absolute monarchy, and there are very few limits to the powers of Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah.

But some locals have said foreign media have unfairly sensationalised the royals and the Islamic regulations, so much so that it has affected tourism.

"Actually before we had a lot of bookings but now it's quite quiet," said tour guide Ali Kairul Rizal. “When foreign media reports mention Brunei, it is all about the Sharia law, it is all about the bad things about our Sultan. But they didn't get the news where every single thing, where every single Bruneian was happy because of our Sultan."

Many Bruneians Channel NewsAsia spoke to also revered the Sultan for using his oil wealth to help the people. "We love him so much, I'm very proud to have him as our Sultan of Brunei," said one citizen.

"The majority of them would support the monarchy for the very simple reason that Brunei have extensive welfare provisions,” said Professor Chin.

“For example, there is no personal income tax in Brunei. The overwhelming bulk of the population works for the civil service. All medical care for Brunei citizens are free. Education is completely free. And almost everything else is subsidised."

RESTLESS YOUTH?

Still, some from the younger generations are growing restless. Locals talk of boredom, crossing over the border on weekends to the much more liberal Malaysia. Some bring back restricted quantities of alcohol and cigarettes - things not openly sold in Brunei.

"The majority are happy. Only a small number of them think they're restricted,” said Brunei director of Youth and Sports Abdul Malik Mohammad. “Rebels, it is normal for young people to like to rebel."

To some Bruneians, these small gripes are still outweighed by the benefits of being a citizen. They do not see a need to leave just yet as long as the country continues to deliver on the promise enshrined in its official name: The Nation of Brunei, the Abode of Peace.


Sumber - Channel NewsAsia

Tuesday, June 9, 2015

Malaysia Responds to China’s South China Sea Intrusion


By Prashanth Parameswaran

The country’s reacts strongly to Beijing’s incursion into its waters.

Last week, The Borneo Post reported that China had once again encroached into Malaysian waters in the South China Sea.

According to the June 2 report, confirmed by Malaysian officials, a Chinese Coast Guard ship had been detected intruding into Malaysian waters at the Luconia Shoals – which Malaysia calls Beting Patinggi Ali. In this case, the vessel was not just passing through, but had been defiantly anchored just 84 nautical miles from the coast of Sarawak, well inside Malaysia’s exclusive economic zone and on the southern end of China’s nine-dash line which covers about ninety percent of the South China Sea.

This is hardly the first time Chinese vessels have encroached on Malaysian waters. Indeed, as I have written before both here and elsewhere, these intrusions have become both bolder and more frequent over the past few years (See: “Playing It Safe: Malaysia’s Approach to the South China Sea and Implications for the United States”). They pose a clear threat not only to the country’s claims in the South China Sea, but its extensive natural resource activities there as well as the territorial integrity of the nation given that the waterway divides Peninsular Malaysia from East Malaysia.

In response, Malaysia, a nation which has traditionally sought to secure its interests in the South China Sea quietly without undermining its overall relationship with Beijing through what I have termed a ‘playing it safe’ approach, has become increasingly alarmed and recalibrated its policy. Over the past few years, Malaysia has been lodging diplomatic protests directly with Beijing while also shaping debate on the South China Sea within ASEAN, increasing its military capabilities and strengthening ties with other countries including the United States (See: “Malaysia’s South China Sea Policy: Playing It Safe”).

Malaysia’s reaction to this incident is indicative of its growing concern. While Malaysia has at times downplayed such South China Sea-related matters in the past and preferred to handle them privately, the country’s response this time was much firmer and more public. Shahidan Kassim, a minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, told a press conference following the incident that he had held meetings with the country’s foreign ministry, national security council, navy and coast guard on the issue. He also announced that Malaysia had sent its navy and coast guard to monitor the area “to ensure the sovereignty of the country.”

Shahidan also took to his personal Facebook page to provide the Malaysian public with further details about the country’s response as well as pictures of the feature in question. In the post, which was written in Malay, he said Malaysian navy and coast guard vessels had anchored around one nautical mile from the Chinese vessel to monitor its activities. He also clarified that the feature was not a case of overlapping claims but one of a foreign ship intruding into Malaysia’s waters.

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal published on Monday, Shahidan said that Malaysia would also be taking further diplomatic action, and that Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak would himself raise the issue directly with Chinese President Xi Jinping. He also reiterated the fact that this was not an issue of overlapping claims.

“This is not an area with overlapping claims. In this case, we’re taking diplomatic action,” he said in the interview.

Malaysia – like many other countries – has registered such diplomatic protests before. What is interesting in this case is that the country is making a point to reveal publicly that it is doing so at the highest levels, rather than just carrying this out more quietly as it often does.

The relative hardening of Malaysia’s line in the South China Sea thus far should not be viewed as an abandonment of its ‘playing it safe’ approach.’ Though the response has been firmer and more public, it is still quite measured. Shahidan did not publicly condemn Beijing’s actions to a level that would prompt an escalatory Chinese response, and the Malaysian vessels have also been deployed cautiously. The Najib administration has proven unwilling to let the issue damage the Malaysia’s broader relationship with its largest trading partner, and there is little evidence to suggest this will change anytime soon. Malaysia is also no doubt aware that it is not capable of confronting Beijing directly. Indeed, as I have noted previously, the country has been careful to build in mechanisms to prevent escalation even when it does confront Chinese vessels, down to the number of ships deployed.

Nonetheless, it is notable that Beijing’s assertiveness in the South China Sea has been so alarming that it has even hardened the position of a country that – unlike the Philippines and Vietnam – has been traditionally quieter in how it expresses its reservations.


Sumber - The Diplomat

MILF says ‘war is not an option’ in case BBL fails to get Congress nod


The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) on Monday assured the public that it will not take up arms even if the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) will not get Congress' approval, saying “war is not an option.”

On its website, the MILF clarified that it has “never issued any official statement that it will go to war over the non-passage of the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law which is under deliberations in both houses of Congress.”

“On the contrary, the MILF consistently maintains that no matter what happens to the BBL, the pursuit of peace would remain the menu in setting the armed conflict in Mindanao,” the MILF said in a statement.

“War is not an option to the MILF,” it added.

The MILF gave the assurance after Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. appealed to the rebel group not to resort to threats and warnings if Congress fails to pass the BBL, which will establish a new political entity in Mindanao to replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

The MILF, and its chief negotiator Mohagher Iqbal, have repeatedly said that the rebel group is committed to the peace process.

On Tuesday, Marcos welcomed the statement coming from the MILF.

"That is a very encouraging statement  from the MILF. It is an important point that helps the people’s confidence in the MILF as partners for peace,” Marcos said in a text message to GMA News Online.

Marcos chairs the Senate committee on local government, which is conducting public hearings on the proposed BBL.

Marcos earlier opposed the Malacañang-sponsored BBL and instead, will file a substitute bill after Tuesday's last public hearing.

Peace with MILF

Earlier in May, the Armed Forces of the Philippines also said that it believes the peace with the MILF will hold even if the deadline that Congressional leaders set to pass the BBL lapses.

"'Yung overwhelming numbers naman nila (MILF) are for peace naman, that will influence the other members who are — who might be hawkist. There are a lot of MILF members who are for peaceful means, who are doves," AFP spokesman Brig. Gen. Joselito Kakilala said then.

Iqbal, in an open letter to the Filipino people in May, also said that "even if the BBL will not pass Congress, [the MILF] will always pursue the path of peace in the resolution of the Moro Problem or Question in Mindanao."

He has also repeatedly warned, however, that failure to pass the Bangsamoro Basic Law could mean that more radical groups will eclipse the MILF in terms of influence on how to best resolve the conflict in that part of Mindanao.

"The next generation of Moro leaders, young and idealist, would be expected to be more radical than the contemporary Moro leaders, who, as a consequence of their 43 long years of struggle, are more pragmatic and reasonable," he said in his letter in May.

The BBL embodies the peace agreement signed by the government and the MILF in March last year.

Marcos heads the Senate local government committee, which is currently tackling the BBL. He had earlier said that his committee cannot pass the Malacañang-drafted bill as it has many questionable provisions.

In its statement, the MILF appealed to Marcos to “fast-track your process and come out with your committee report.”

“You may have all the best intentions, because you want a good BBL, but time is running out,” it said, noting that the BBL “has been in Congress for nine months already and, therefore, it is not true to say that the BBL is being rushed up.”

“The flipside is truer: The passage of the BBL is getting snagged. This is the popular impression thus far created,” the group said.

'Revolutionary group'

In February, Iqbal reminded the government that, despite signing the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro in 2014, the MILF is still a revolutionary organization.

"While we may have signed a peace agreement with the government after 18 years of intermittent war and negotiations, that peace agreement has yet to be implemented. Until the peace agreement is fully implemented, we will remain to be a revolutionary organization," Iqbal said in a letter to senators holding an investigation on the Mamasapano clash in January, where more than 60 people died during a police operation against international terrorists in the area.

Forty-four Special Action Force troopers died in the clash, which the MILF maintains was an act of self-defense. Thy said they had not been informed of the operation as agreed to in ceasefire protocols.

The Mamasapano clash has contributed to the delay in the passage of the BBL, and has polarized public opinion on the peace process with the MILF.

Despite the delay on the passage of the BBL, the government and MILF peace panels have continued meeting on the eventual decommissioning of MILF armed units.

Iqbal said on Monday that the first 145 fighters from the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces, the MILF's armed wing, are set to disarm "very soon."


Sumber - GMA News Online

ASEAN must take a collective stance on the South China Sea


Author: Vignesh Ram, Manipal University

The South China Sea dispute has become the new normal in ASEAN meetings. The dispute, with its overlapping claims on various land features in the South China Sea, has started to figure as the most important territorial disputes in Asia, one that risks becoming a major power confrontation in the region. With this in mind, ASEAN must take a collective stand on the South China Sea.

The Declaration of Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DoC) concluded between the members of ASEAN and China was signed at Phnom Penh in 2002, exactly a decade before ASEAN’s folly over the same issue at the same venue. A number of changes in the security environment have contributed to this change. China has become more powerful and assertive in the region. And closer ties among certain member states as well as greater Chinese investment and influence in the region has allowed for rapid displays of allegiances in what seems to be a more transparent and open US–China rivalry in the Asia Pacific.

Given the regular flouting of norms by states involved in territorial disputes, the DoC can no longer be viewed as a sufficient way to regulate the behaviour of parties in the South China Sea until a Code of Conduct is agreed upon. So how can an impending flare up be contained?

One proposal has been to move towards a code of conduct. But China would not want to commit to any agreement until it has secured a relatively more powerful position in the disputed areas. China’s power projection capabilities currently far exceed that of any other country directly involved in the dispute. And China is in the process of building better access facilities for military aircraft to offset any ‘perceived’ threats in the future, should help come from friends and allies of the disputant countries opposing China.

Until it attains greater leverage, China will push its traditional stance of only discussing disputes bilaterally with member states, not with ASEAN as a whole. But China’s claim that discussions need not happen with ASEAN might not be correct in principle, given that the 2002 Memorandum of Understanding is between the governments of the member states of ASEAN and the government of the People’s Republic of China. From this wording it would seem natural that any negotiations should be held between ASEAN and China.

The time has come for ASEAN to look for new alternatives to finding a resolution. There are currently three distinctive approaches used by claimants that seem to be pulling the issue in different directions, and out of the reach of ASEAN.

One approach is to rely on international arbitration. This approach is being pursued by the Philippines. China has declined to participate in the Arbitral Tribunal. But, as per the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, the trial will still continue and may very well end in the Philippines’ favour. It is hoped that this result would weaken China’s ability to strongly push for its case in international forums. And this could lead to the questioning of the legal validity to the ‘nine dash line’, which forms the basis for China’s claims.

The second, employed by China, is to defy the spirit of the DoC. China has undermined the DoC through its building activities and by using water cannons and ramming ships. This has exposed the inability of smaller states to negotiate and has stalled progress on the issue, which has largely contributed to unprecedented gains for China.

The third is the regional approach. This is losing steam as disputant states such as Vietnam move to seek closer ties with extra-regional states.

Where does this leave ASEAN as an organisation?

With the deadline for an ASEAN community slated for the end of 2015, ASEAN will likely start to face criticism from the international community for its indecisiveness on the issue. The ‘Politico Security Community’, which is one of the main pillars of the ASEAN community building process, will be affected by ongoing tensions over the South China Sea. One of the main goals of the ASEAN Politico Security Community blueprint is to create a common vision on regional security issues. This will be impeded if ASEAN cannot agree on a regional approach to the problem.

A code of conduct is not the way forward for ASEAN. ASEAN should pursue a more inclusive approach and united stand on the dispute. The time might now be ripe for such a new approach. An economically slowing China, revised defence guidelines for the US–Japan alliance, US military deployments in Southeast Asia as well as its interests with India might be enough to signal to ASEAN that the power can tilt in the favour of its member states provided they are willing to wholeheartedly pursue a resolution.

The current ASEAN chair, Malaysia, has already signalled that 2015 will only set the wheels rolling for the community building process. Future chairs of ASEAN will need to display more commitment towards reaching a beneficial agreement over the issue. But if ASEAN fails to disengage from China’s growing divisive influence soon, it may become too weak for to act decisively on the South China Sea dispute.

A new understanding of the terms of engagement with China would be a welcome start. The building of a new consensus and renegotiating the ambiguous provisions will give more scope for temporary peace in the region.  For instance, Clause 6 (a), which speaks about maritime research, has been used for various activities that lead to resource exploitation and escalation of tension. Such clauses should clearly indicate what falls under the ambit of such measures. Similarly, newer amendments are needed so that there is a clearer understanding about the non-restrictive access to airspace (this in case to avoid a unilateral Air Identification Defence Zone) like in the East China Sea. A fractured ASEAN undermines any future ability for the organisation to bargain with China.

ASEAN is already split by competing trade and security agreements between China and the US. The South China Sea dispute is slowly but steadily undermining the centrality of ASEAN in the region’s geopolitics. ASEAN’s credibility as a torchbearer of successful regionalism in Asia is on the line. Unless ASEAN takes a more decisive collective stand on the South China Sea dispute, it would seriously undermine the concept of a ‘community’ that ASEAN is seeking to build.


Sumber - East Asia Forum

Could Indonesia Ban Booze?


By Dewi Kurniawati

Law under debate in Jakarta could call for prohibition with potentially dire economic results

Tattis, a 40-year old mother in Jakarta, complains every day about how difficult it is to get a cold beer in her neighborhood in Indonesia’s Banten province, a suburb of the sprawling city.

“It’s so hot these days, and getting a cold beer is like trying to find a treasure chest,” she told Asia Sentinel.

Things may now get a whole lot worse. First was the official ban on beer and other alcoholic drinks, which affects some 70 percent of commercial establishments including convenience stores and other small shops. The regulation was introduced in January by the trade ministry, but officially imposed in April to give those stores three months of preparation to submit to the new regulation.

The ban was specific only to the “Class A” alcoholic beverages – those with less than five percent alcohol content such as beer, low-alcohol wine, and Shandy. The ban is also restricted to the 16,000 minimarts and 55,000 small retailers in the Muslim-majority nation; supermarkets, hotels and food outlets would still be able to sell these alcoholic beverages.

Economic worries

The news was shocking enough to Indonesians in general as well as foreign observers. However, things are getting to a whole new level for this. Some lawmakers have continued their struggle in support of a bill prohibiting the consumption of alcoholic beverages in the largest Muslim population in the world despite deep concerns that this is not good for the country’s economy.

“This has huge consequences,” said a western businessman.  “There would also likely be a spread of illegal liquor, which actually kills a lot of people here every year already. Nobody in their right mind would want such a law but in the current environment, with idiocy at the helm, it could pass.”

Although the country has sporadically had shortages of imported spirits in the past as various interests fought it out over who got customs payoffs, it has never faced an all-out ban like the one that may be looming.

The potential ban is considered to be art of a wider move to turn away from globalization in the belief that it harms the country. Natural resource exporters are under pressure, foreign companies face mounting regulations, banks and other companies are being forced to place their data centers onshore, dollar transactions have been made illegal, a 2004 Water Law was reversed, leaving soft drink bottlers, water companies and even privatized city water providers with no legal basis for the permits they rely on to do business.

Islamic forces now want the courts to make private electricity suppliers illegal, ban the holding of foreign exchange to marginalize foreign investors.

Tourism impact

It is estimated that a complete ban would have a devastating effect on tourism as well as the drinks industry and distribution businesses, and put as many as 200,000 jobs at risk. Some 9.4 million international visitors entered Indonesia in 2014, spending more than US$1,100 per person. Visitors mostly are from Singapore, Malaysia, China, Australia, and Japan. The island of Bali lives and dies on tourism.

Nonetheless, the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the Golkar Party and the Democratic Party, respectively the largest party and second- and fourth-largest parties in the House of Representatives – have reportedly agreed to deliberations on the bill.

The Islamist National Development Party (PPP) and Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) initiated the measure in 2012. If enacted, it would prohibit the sale, production, distribution and consumption of all beverages containing more than 1 percent alcohol.  As written, it would subject any person consuming alcoholic beverages to three months to two years in prison or a fine of Rp10 million (US$775) to Rp50 million. The bill does include a clause allowing exemptions. In its explanatory narrative section, the exemptions include “consumption for customary uses, religious rituals, tourism, in pharmacies and in places authorized under the regulations.” However, it is uncertain if those exemptions will stay.

Some in the Indonesian government say the move may be taken as part of a broader commitment to protect young people from social ills like drugs and alcohol, rather than for ideological reasons. But some are still concerned about the potential impact it could have, including the rise of illegal sales of often-deadly bootleg alcohol and the overall negative message it would send.

If the bill is passed, publicly listed PT Multi Bintang, Indonesia’s biggest brewery, which is controlled by Heineken International BV, would be the prime casualty.  The company’s president commissioner, Cosmas Batubara, said the business and investment climate would be severely disrupted if the bill were passed, but remained optimistic of eventual changes to the bill, as it was still at its earliest stage.

“Lawmakers may have their opinions, but they do not represent the entire House,” Cosmas was quoted as saying by The Jakarta Post.


Sumber - Asia Sentinel

Sunday, June 7, 2015

Freeze public sector hiring, wage hikes: IMF


Fitri Shahminan
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN


BRUNEI needs to freeze wage increments and employment in government to generate fiscal savings and encourage private sector employment, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said.

“Reducing current and small capital expenditure could encourage efficient spending,” the IMF said following a consultation with the Sultanate on May 4.

In a media release issued yesterday, the IMF said this will help Brunei preserve resources, ensure fiscal discipline and realign incentives in favour of private sector employment.

“A public sector wage and hiring freeze would generate fiscal savings and encourage private sector employment,” the IMF said in the statement.

The Washington-based institution also proposed that Brunei drop projects in the national development plan that require large capital but have not been implemented successfully.

This will limit the number of these projects from being carried over to the next plan.

The IMF recommended these reforms given that the Sultanate has to deal with lower oil prices and production shock.

“Oil production and economic performance are expected to remain lackluster over the next three to four years as the refurbishment of oil facilities continues and prices only partically recover,” the IMF said.

The IMF said Brunei’s fiscal and current account balances are expected to fall from “sizable surpluses” - which the country has enjoyed for over a decade owing to strong energy prices and prudent policies - to “large deficits”.

“Brunei’s sizable financial assets are more than adequate to absorb these negatives shocks and insulate the economy from their impact,” the IMF said.

The IMF said the shift in global energy market gives the country an opportunity to “revisit and reframe policy priorities”.

IMF suggested that the country’s savings should be used to finance near-term fiscal and external deficits.

A multi-year programme should also be implemented to improve efficiency in public spending, address and troubleshoot price and wage distortions as well as promote growth of industries outside of the oil and gas sector.

The IMF proposed for “further progress” in public financial management reforms.

IMF added the current decline in oil price represents the opportunity to consider making fuel subsidy reform.

“The authorities should take advantage of the smaller gap between the retail price and the world price to formulate and initiate the implementation of a long-term strategy for fuel subsidy reform, similar to regional peers,” it said.

The Ministry of Finance announced at the second sitting of the Legislative Council Meeting in March that with a proposed national budget of $6.4 billion, Brunei would run into a deficit of $2.28 billion for the fiscal year 2015/216.

Minister of Finance II Yang Berhormat Pehin Orang Kaya Laila Setia Dato Seri Setia Hj Abdul Rahman Hj Ibrahim said weak oil prices will hurt total government revenue which is projected at $4.117 billion.

The government eventually only approved a budget of $5.7 billion and this should bring the actual deficit down to over $1.58 billion.


Sumber - The Brunei Times

Tuesday, June 2, 2015

Thailand's death camps may be the most horrifying places in Southeast Asia


BANGKOK, Thailand — The horrors of the transatlantic slave trade are not resigned to history. They've been revived on creaky boats plying the Bay of Bengal.

In 2015, there is a trade in human cargo that evokes the barbaric middle passage to America in the 1700s. The chattel isn't African captives but men and women called Rohingya, a Muslim ethnicity fleeing apartheid in Myanmar.

The Rohingya's desperation makes them easy prey for traffickers who promise passage to Malaysia, a Muslim-majority nation, for only $100. Instead, they're crammed onto boats for a voyage to secret prisons in Thailand.

The trip can take weeks. Roasting under a tropical sun, the seafaring captives are often permitted only a handful of rice each morning. They may get a few swigs of water every other day. Those who starve to death are simply tossed into the surf.

For those who survive, more agony awaits. The Rohingya are smuggled onto Thailand's beaches and forced into hidden jungle prison camps. Then the torture begins — daily beatings (and, for many women, rape) until relatives cough up more than $2,000 to spare their lives.

These death camps, and the boats that supply them, are perhaps the most dreadful places in all of Southeast Asia.

Rohingya migrants stand and sit on a boat drifting in Thai waters off the southern island of Koh Lipe in the Andaman
sea on May 14, 2015. A boat crammed with scores of Rohingya migrants -- including many young children -- was found drifting in Thai waters on May 14, with passengers saying several people had died over the last few days.

"We were beaten morning and night," says Hanif, 23, a scrawny Rohingya man who was stuck in a camp just nine months ago. He is now living illegally in Bangkok's outskirts.

"They'd beat us to convince our families to pay the ransom," Hanif says. "They'd also beat us randomly just to keep us weak so we couldn't escape."

Hanif is one of half a dozen death camp survivors interviewed by GlobalPost in Thailand. Their accounts are universally gruesome. All endured beatings, starvation, and disease in the hidden prisons. All witnessed deaths at sea as well as in camps, where bodies are dumped into mass graves.

"Women in the camps have it especially bad," says Salima, 30, who wasted away in a camp for months with her two children. "Maybe the guards spared me because I have kids. But younger girls were often handpicked and led into the jungle. They would return in pain asking, ‘Why? Why did I come to this terrible place only to lose my dignity?'"

Sir Anwar

In the camps, the captive Rohingya sleep in mud, under plastic tarps, inside wooden cages. Their food supply is a trickle of soggy rice. Every twitch, every plea for food, can be grounds for overseers to lash captives with bamboo rods.

The violence is used to impose maximum fear. Traffickers want their captives to be genuinely terrified when they press mobile phones to their faces and force them to call their relatives. The overseers will initially request ransoms as high as $4,500 but often settle for about $2,000. These are incredible sums for families who are already struggling under state-sanctioned apartheid back home.

The indignities don't stop there. According to Hanif and other former captives, they were groomed to treat the kingpin of the trafficking syndicate that enslaved them as a revered figure. The man's name, they say, was Anwar.

"We were forced to call him 'Sir Anwar,'" Hanif says. "We had to stand up straight and salute him. We were taught to show him honor."

As relatives back home in Myanmar scramble to raise cash — usually by selling off farmlands and resorting to loan sharks — the prisoners waste away. Their limbs become skinny as twigs. Purplish welts begin to cover their bodies.

"My children's bodies started to shrink," says Salima, whose kids were around 4 and 6 years old when she was imprisoned just one year ago. "At one point, the guards asked if I was ready to throw my kids away."

The lives of Salima and her two children were spared for $2,200. But others succumb to torture and the elements before their families can fulfill traffickers' demands. Just like on the boats, corpses accumulate in the camps, and bodies pile up in mass graves.

Overdue crackdown

Almost every detail emerging from Thailand's death camps is shocking. But equally shocking is the fact that Thai authorities have known about the camps for years.

"There are actually camps still operational here in Thailand," says Matthew Smith, founder of Fortify Rights, a nonprofit watchdog group that has specialized in documenting the plight of Rohingya Muslims. "We've even documented camps that held upwards of 2,000 people with captives moving in and out on a daily basis."

"Authorities have known about these camps for a long time," says Smith, who recently testified about the Rohingya trafficking crisis to the U.S. Congress. "The problem isn't a lack of knowledge. The problem is a lack of political will to stop this."

Thailand — like most countries — treats the Rohingya as an unwanted nuisance. That is unlikely to change: The military government's official policy upon spotting Rohingya at sea is to offer food and fuel so they can make it to Malaysia.

Unofficially, some Thai authorities have received kickbacks from traffickers for allowing camps to proliferate. As far back as two years ago, the military acknowledged soldiers' direct involvement in Rohingya trafficking but claimed — as top brass often do — that the corrupt officers only amounted to a few "bad apples."

Only now are authorities exposing these death camps with vigor.

"For years, we've warned the government so they can crack down. And they've been silent," says Maung Kyaw Nu, chairman of the Burmese Rohingya Association in Thailand. "Why does the government only take action now? After we've lost so many lives? They could have done this years ago and prevented so much tragedy!"

Ongoing raids have turned up nearly 80 Rohingya prison camps along with dozens of corpses in mass graves. A purge of Thai officialdom connected to the trade has resulted in more than 60 arrest warrants so far. Panicked traffickers, fearful of getting arrested, have abandoned incoming boats and left an estimated 8,000 people adrift at sea. Boats packed with hundreds of Rohingya (as well as Bangladeshis) have already drifted onto the shores of Malaysia and Indonesia.

Police have also locked up at least one alleged trafficking kingpin. His name is Anwar. Former captives speaking to GlobalPost were shown his photo, which was taken in police custody. They say he's the same Anwar who operated their jungle camps.

"That's him," says Sabir, a 24-year-old who was living in the camps less than a year ago. "He's a blood sucker."

Mass exodus

By now, the ruthless nature of Rohingya trafficking syndicates is known to all — including Rohingya living on their native lands in Myanmar.

But their attempts to escape via the Bay of Bengal will likely continue. All of the Rohingya interviewed by GlobalPost were aware that the sea journey might kill them. Their decision to accept this risk is a testament to their bleak lives in Myanmar.

"We already live so close to death back home," Salima says. "We're mistreated by police. We're unable to feed ourselves. Women get, you know, dishonored. We think, ‘Well, I might as well risk dying at sea.'"

In Myanmar, Rohingya have endured oppression for decades. Even Rohingya with long family histories in Myanmar are written off as Muslim invaders from neighboring Bangladesh. Their ability to marry, work, and travel is restricted by authorities. More than 150,000 have been violently routed into refugee camps where food and medicine is scarce and death is routine.

Even those living outside these squalid camps are frequently preyed upon by soldiers and police. "We're always forced to work for police, as porters, for zero pay," says Hassam, 38, who was smuggled into Thailand within the last 12 months. "How can I feed my kids if I'm always working like a slave for someone else?"

The Rohingya mass exodus into the Bay of Bengal may be the largest refugee migration in Southeast Asia since the Vietnam War. And yet, according to Smith, the true number of Rohingya who've fled is "significantly higher than current estimates."

Fortify Rights believes that a commonly cited United Nations figure of 130,000 Rohingya fleeing by sea since 2012 is far too low and doesn't cover waves of departures from some of the most persecuted towns and cities in Myanmar. According to Smith, the number could be as high as 250,000.

As this nightmare has played out, the Rohingya crisis has gone from obscurity to a cause célèbre in the West. Last year, it also prodded the United States to plunge Thailand into its lowest human-trafficking ranking — a black mark shared by North Korea and Zimbabwe.

Pressure from the White House is at least partly responsible for Thailand's ongoing raids on death camps and arrests of complicit officials, Smith says. "Thailand is realizing it needs to clean up its act," he says. "But we've seen this in the past. A few arrests are made and there's a failure to convict. Authorities should realize that the international community is watching and expects more."

As for the fate of traffickers captured by authorities, the Rohingya interviewed by GlobalPost have a suggestion.

"Put them to death," says Salima, as her fellow Rohingya nod along. "Then take all the money they made and give it to us."


Sumber - The Week

Indonesia urges peace patrols in South China Sea


SINGAPORE (BLOOMBERG) - Countries with competing territorial claims in the South China Sea - including China - should carry out joint peace patrols there to reduce the risk of conflict, Indonesia's defence minister said.

Senior US military officials have recently urged South-east Asian countries to jointly patrol the waters as it seeks to reassure its allies that it will back them against China's assertions to about four-fifths of the sea. But they haven't mentioned China as a potential participant.

The proposed patrols would send a message that no single country should "build up strength or threaten anyone" in the waters, Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu said in an interview on Saturday on the sidelines of a regional meeting of defence ministers and military chiefs in Singapore.

Parts of the waters are also claimed by Vietnam, Taiwan, Brunei, the Philippines and Malaysia. Over the last 18 months, China has accelerated reclamation work on reefs, raising alarms regionally and in the US, which in turn has stepped up its aerial and sea patrols of the area.

Indonesia has long said it is a neutral party in the disputes, even as waters off its Natuna archipelago - an area rich in natural gas - appear to overlap slightly with China's claims.

Asked whether he thought China had designs on the Natuna islands, Ryacudu said "not yet" and added China had no right over them. "We have history there," he said.

Joint patrols in the waters would be hard to implement, even assuming countries agree to the idea. The 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations and China have been working toward a "code of conduct" for the waters for more than a decade without major progress.

Malaysia's Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said joint patrols with China were "not an impossibility."

"China has more to lose if the region is unstable," he told reporters on the sidelines of the Singapore forum. Patrols by more than one country have been very effective in other areas, like curbing piracy in the Malacca Strait, he said.

In his speech earlier to the Shangri-La dialogue, Hishammuddin urged South-east Asian nations to reach a code of conduct for the disputed waters soon.

"If we're not careful it could certainly escalate into one of the deadliest conflicts of our time," he said.

Ryacudu, a former army chief of staff, also said Indonesia's military should play a greater role in tackling Islamist extremists, particularly the threat posed by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

Between 200 and 500 Indonesians are believed to have joined the group in the Middle East, giving them new skills they could use if they return. Supporters at home might heed ISIS calls for violence in its name.

Ryacudu said the military's extensive network of command posts right down to the village level should be the "eyes and ears" of the state in tracking down suspects.

"If events are disturbing the people, then it's a police issue," he said. "But if they disturb the state, then the military should be involved."

The remarks appear to indicate a growing assertiveness by the military under President Joko Widodo, who is known as Jokowi. The military had a large political and internal security role under former dictator Suharto, but withdrew after his regime collapsed amid pro-democracy protests in 1998.

The police force has led the campaign against extremism for the past 15 years, winning praise internationally for its efforts.


Sumber - The Straits Times

War Clouds Over South China Sea As U.S. Declares Right To Waters And U.S. Warship Arrives At Subic


The drumbeat of war on distant horizons is reverberating through Southeast Asia with increasingly strong declarations of U.S. determination to stop the Chinese from expanding their writ over the South China Sea, notably islands claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei.

While Defense Secretary Ashton Carter was in Singapore vowing that U.S. planes and ships would go wherever they wanted in international waters, the U.S. navy missile cruiser Shiloh was hoving into view at the historic Subic Bay port northwest of Manila.

Reports of Carter’s tough remarks at a gathering of defense ministers and the Shiloh’s visit to Subic Bay, the largest U.S. navy base before the Americans were forced to give it all up more than 20 years ago, were couched in euphemisms that scarcely masked the impression of spiraling tensions. “We want a peaceful resolution of all disputes,” Carter began. “A routine port call,” said a Philippine navy spokesman when asked what the Shiloh was doing at Subic Bay, in the once roaring American base town of Olongapo.

Oh sure. Those soothing assurances somehow only heightened the sense of an impending collision in the South China Sea around the Spratly Islands, where China has added about 2,000 acres to its holdings in the past year and a half by reclaiming land from the shallow waters.  TV news programs in the Philippines and other countries repeatedly show what look like the makings of military bases, including air strips long enough for just about any plane, extending from shoals and atolls long since taken by China.

Not that gunfire is about to break out right away. Carter chose an especially supine grouping before which to call for a code of conduct that would unite all ten members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations behind a demand for freedom of navigation and peaceful resolution of all disputes. ASEAN, while bringing leaders of the ten together for meetings, has been notoriously ineffective in coming up with real agreements on anything, much less on mutual defense.

Nonetheless, the fear of armed conflict has risen as U.S. observation planes monitoring construction of the bases in the Spratlys, have defied Chinese demands not to violate what the Chinese see as their territorial space.  CNN aired a dramatic display of this confrontation in a report recording the voices of Chinese ordering a U.S. Navy P-8A Poseidon spy plane from flying over the fringes of the Spratlys. The pilot of the plane ignored the order, challenging Chinese authority and almost daring the Chinese to do something about it.

So far, rhetoric rather than gunfire has been the response. Carter in Singapore declared the U.S. would “fly, sail and operate wherever international law allows.” In Beijing, Chinese officials in tandem with the Chinese media have been excoriating the U.S. for inflaming tensions,  particularly in supporting the complaints of Philippine President Benigno Aquino III regarding China’s encroachment on islands claimed by Manila.

“One cannot help wondering whether Pentagon is now moving to the forefront in challenging China in the South China Sea,” said a commentary in the English-language China Daily, a major organ for the Chinese viewpoint that circulates in the U.S. and Europe as well as China. The paper singled out the Philippines for “involving countries which have nothing to do with the maritime dispute,” seeking “to consolidate its unwarranted claims on China’s territory and cover up its persistent trouble-making.”

Chinese diplomats have been on a global offensive to convey Chinese complaints. China’s ambassador to the U.S., Cui Tiankai, in an interview with the Wall Street Journal, said “we have to defend the facilities on these islands and reefs” while building up “for self-defense, not for attacking others.” He warned the U.S. against “attempts to replay the Cold War in Asia.”

The arrival of the Shiloh at Subic Bay, where the U.S. had a base from the early days of U.S. rule over the Philippines at the beginning of the last century, showed the close coordination between the U.S. and the Philippines over defense in the South China Sea.

U.S. officials in Manila said the Shiloh would stay in Subic Bay only long enough to refuel and take on other supplies before going on patrol in nearby waters. The question was whether the Shiloh, accompanied by other vessels, including destroyers and perhaps submarines, would enter waters close to the Chinese reclamation projects. The result would, at the least, provoke a fusillade of demands for the ships to go away as well as a critical comments from the Chinese officials and the Chinese media.

For Filipinos, the question was whether the occasional use of Subic Bay for U.S. navy vessels would be a precursor to a bygone era.  U.S. forces withdrew from Subic, and from Clark Air Base across the Zambales mountains, in 1991, after the Philippines refused to renew its longstanding bases agreement with the U.S. The Philippine-American alliance, however, has remained in force with U.S. troops going to the Philippines for frequent military exercises, and U.S. soldiers advising Philippine troops fighting Muslim rebels on the large southern Island of Mindanao and the outlying Sulu archipelago.

In recent years, the U.S. and Philippines have coordinated still more closely under a “visiting forces agreement” that has aroused widespread controversy in the Philippines. In a still greater historical irony, President Aquino goes to Japan this week in search of support — and perhaps assistance — for the Philippine position.

Japan has extended massive economic aid to the Philippines, but has refrained from military assistance to a country that still harbors bitter memories of a Japanese occupation that lasted more than three years after Japanese forces drove out the Americans at the outset of World War II. The Americans finally retook the Philippines after some of the bloodiest urban fighting of the war in and around Manila.


Sumber - Forbes