Myanmar could be mid income nation by 2030: ADB

Strong economic growth could lift Myanmar to the rank of middle income nation by 2030 if the formerly army-ruled country overcomes a host of reform challenges, the Asian Development Bank said Monday.

Myanmar's gross domestic product (GDP) has the potential to expand at an annual pace of 7.0-8.0 percent, while per capita income could triple over the next 18 years, the Manila-based multilateral lender said.

It called for greater investment in infrastructure, education, health and social services to put the country on a sustainable recovery path.

ADB Vice President Stephen Groff said there was "really quite strong potential for growth" in Myanmar.

In order to realize its potential, there needs to be a continuous strong commitment to reform," he added.

Decades of economic mismanagement under military rule saw Myanmar fall far behind its neighbors in terms of living standards.

Myanmar is currently one of just a handful of countries in Asia still considered a low-income nation, along with Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia and Nepal.

The World Bank classifies low-income countries as those with gross national income per person of $1,025 or less.

But in the future Myanmar could match economic growth enjoyed by fast-growing neighbors in the region, Groff said.

"This growth needs to be inclusive, needs to reach everybody from the middle class to the very poor," he added.

The ADB and the World Bank both recently opened offices in the impoverished country, which is emerging from decades of military rule under a new reformist government.-Interaksyon (August 20, 2012 6:38PM)

Thai growth picks up pace

Thailand’s economy grew faster than economists forecast in the second quarter as the government’s stimulus measures boosted domestic demand after last year’s floods, helping offset a global slowdown.

Gross domestic product increased 4.2 per cent in the three months through June from a year earlier, after expanding a revised 0.4 per cent in the previous quarter, the National Economic and Social Development Board said in Bangkok on Monday. That exceeded all 16 forecasts in a Bloomberg News survey that had a median prediction of a 3.1 per cent rise.

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, who marked her first year in office this month, has shelved politically contentious legislation to focus on the economy as Thailand recovers from the worst floods in almost 70 years in 2011. Southeast Asian nations from Indonesia to Malaysia have also cut interest rates or increased public spending to boost consumption as Europe’s debt crisis and a faltering US recovery curb exports.

“Economic uncertainty, especially from the euro region, remains a key risk in the second half,” Arkhom Termpittayapaisith, secretary-general of the National Economic and Social Development Board, said at a media briefing. “We need to accelerate budget spending to boost the local economy.”

The government agency cut its estimate for expansion this year to a range of 5.5 per cent to 6 per cent, from an earlier outlook for 5.5 per cent to 6.5 per cent growth, and reduced its forecast for export growth to 7.3 per cent from 15.1 per cent on concern the European debt crisis will damp demand, Arkhom said.

Outlook ‘bleak’

“Domestic consumption and investment are pillars of the Thai economy amid a very bleak external demand outlook,” Supavud Saicheua, managing director at Phatra Securities in Bangkok, said before the data release. “My biggest concern will be next year. The end of some stimulus policies may slow down domestic consumption, while the economic crisis in Europe will continue to hurt exports.”

The baht was little changed at 31.52 per dollar as of 10.36am in Bangkok on Monday, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Thailand’s benchmark SET Index of stocks fell 0.3 per cent.

The Bank of Thailand kept its policy rate at three per cent for a fourth meeting last month, and cut its expansion forecast for the year to 5.7 per cent from 6 per cent. It reduced its export growth estimate to 7 per cent from 8.3 per cent and said inflation will be 2.9 per cent from an earlier prediction of 3.3 per cent.

Adjust policy

There is room to adjust monetary policy to support economic growth if needed, and the central bank is ready to do more, it said at the time. Finance Minister Kittiratt Na-Ranong said earlier this month he’d like to see the baht weaken slightly to help exporters and the benchmark rate should be 2.5 percent as inflation is now manageable.
“The stronger data is unlikely to alter the call for easing by the BOT, although the timing might be delayed,” said Wee-Khoon Chong, a fixed-income strategist at Societe Generale SA in Hong Kong. “Export data has already shown weakness.”

Exports fell 4.2 per cent in June from a year earlier, the fourth decline in six months, even as the local unit of Toyota Motor had record local sales this year after supply constraints eased and the Thai government offered as much as 100,000 baht (Dh11,649) in tax savings for first-time buyers.

Meeting the government’s full-year export growth target of 15 per cent will be “difficult,” after shipments contracted by 2.1 per cent in the first half, Arkhom said.

“To reach the target, we need to ship $25 billion per month, which is a very high level,” he said.

Higher wages

Yingluck’s government has raised minimum wages and pledged to spend more than 2 trillion baht on infrastructure and water- management projects over the next seven years to boost growth and prevent a repeat of the flood disaster, which killed more than 700 people and cost the economy 1.4 trillion baht.

Thailand’s economy, the biggest in Southeast Asia after Indonesia, grew 3.3 per cent last quarter from three months earlier, compared with a revised 10.8 per cent increase in the previous period. The median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey was for a two per cent gain quarter on quarter.-GulfNews.com (August 20, 2012 14:57)

Singapore, Malaysia men face life over heroin in books

Two men from Singapore and Malaysia faced life in an Australian prison Monday after police charged them over more than five kilos (11 pounds) of heroin found hidden in Chinese books.

The men, a 49-year-old Singaporean and a 32-year-old Malaysian, were questioned by customs officials after they arrived at Melbourne Airport on a flight from Kuala Lumpur on Friday.

Australian Federal Police (AFP) linked them to two packages which were found in Melbourne's central business district, where the men were due to stay.

"One package was examined and was found to contain 22 sealed Chinese books," police said in a statement.

"Following an examination of one of the books, AFP officers seized 350 grams of a white powdery substance, which initial testing identified as heroin."

Testing is ongoing but police suspect a total of 5.6 kilos of the drug was concealed within both packages.

The men were charged with attempting to possess a commercial quantity of a drug--an offence which has a maximum penalty of life imprisonment and/or an Aus$825,000 (US$860,000) fine.-Interaksyon (August 20, 2012 3:52PM)

11 Indonesian seamen rescued off Zambales

Eleven Indonesian seamen were rescued last Sunday after the tugboat they were boarding encountered a problem while sailing on rough sea  off Sitio Laoag, Barangay Maloma, San Felipe, Zambales.

The first three of the victims were rescued by Sitio Laoag fisherman Ramon de la Cruz, 49, who later informed authorities that they were eight more who needed to be saved, according to Senior Inspector Randy Mendoza, chief of police of the San Felipe Municipal Police Station.

The nine Indonesians on board “Harlina 3” were identified as ship captain Firman Ichsandy, 35; Jam Hari, 25, chief officer; Mr. Aseng, 25, oiler/mechanic;  Mr. Jose; Mr. Soduino, 48; Mr. Suhermanto, 26; Mr. Agustinus Massor, 20; Mr. Nurudin, 25; Mr. Akram, 24; Mr. Miftahul Huda, 27; and Mr. Sulaiman, 34.  

They were temporarily housed at the Summer Inchiban Resort in Sitio Tek-Tek, Barangay Sindol, also in San Felipe where Indonesian acting consul Vera Kilapong visited them before the nine went back to Indonesia.

Mendoza said the seamen had left Indonesia on August 9 and were supposed to sail to China when they encountered big waves along the way

“While voyaging, the tugboat encountered high waves prompting the rope of the anchor to fall on the sea.  The rope then coiled the two propellers of the tugboat prompting its engine to stop working.  The tugboat was carried by high waves until it reach the vicinity of Sitio Laoag,” Mendoza said.

The first three who were saved by Dela Cruz -- Ichsandy, Hari and Aseng – said they had jumped off the tugboat to remove the entangled rope from the propeller but were carried away by strong current.

The eight other victims were rescued by the Philippine Coast Guard.-Interaksyon (August 20, 2012 5:27PM)

Myanmar says it ends media censorship

Myanmar said it had abolished media censorship on Monday in the latest in a series of rapid democratic reforms, delighting journalists who lived for decades under the shadow of the censors' marker pen.

Draconian pre-publication checks -- applied in the past to everything from newspapers to song lyrics and even fairy tales -- were a hallmark of life under the generals who ran the country for almost half a century until last year.

"This is a great day for all journalists in Myanmar, who have laboured under these odious restrictions for far too many years," said a senior editor at a Yangon weekly publication who preferred not to be named.

"It is also another encouraging example of the progress that the country is making under (President) Thein Sein's government," he added.

Media reforms have already brought a lighter touch from the once ubiquitous censors, with less controversial publications freed from scrutiny last year.

Political and religious journals were the last to be allowed to go to press without pre-approval from the censors starting from Monday.

"For now on, local publications do not need to send their stories to the censorship board," said Tint Swe, head of the government's Press Scrutiny and Registration Department (PSRD).

"Censorship began on August 6, 1964 and ended 48 years and two weeks later," the former army officer told AFP by telephone from the capital Naypyidaw.

One exception is film censorship which remains in place, an information ministry official told AFP. Television journalists for their part "self censor" by asking for instructions about sensitive news, he added.

Since taking office last year, former general Thein Sein has overseen a number of dramatic changes such as the release of hundreds of political prisoners and the election of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi to parliament.

Reporters jailed under the junta have also been freed from long prison sentences, and the decision to abolish censorship was greeted with sighs of relief in newsrooms around the main city Yangon.

"As a journalist, I'm glad that we don't need to send our stories to the scrutiny board," Nyein Nyein Naing, an executive editor at 7 Day News journal, told AFP.

"We have worried for many years and it's ended today," she said, but noted that the media could still get into trouble after publication if their content is deemed by the authorities to undermine the stability of the state.

A more open climate has already seen private weekly news journals publish an increasingly bold range of stories, most notably about opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, whose very name was taboo in the past.

But both the media and the authorities are still adjusting to the new era of openness.

Two journals were recently suspended for a fortnight for prematurely printing stories without prior approval from the censors, prompting dozens of journalists to take to the streets in protest.

And the mining ministry is suing a weekly publication which reported that the auditor-general's office had discovered misappropriations of funds and fraud at the government division.

Earlier this month the authorities announced the creation of a "Core Press Council" including journalists, a former supreme court judge and retired academics to study media ethics and settle press disputes.-ABS-CBN News (August 20, 2012 9:34PM)

New owl species discovered in Philippines

Scientists and birdwatchers have discovered 10 new owl species in the Philippines, using advanced recording equipment that can distinguish between their hoots, a conservation official said Sunday.

Eight of the new species were previously considered sub-species while two are totally new, said Lisa Paguntalan, field director of Philippines Biodiversity Conservation Programme.

"There is no significant variation in their forms. It was the sound difference of their calls that was very significant in distinguishing between species," she told AFP.

Paguntalan warned that many of these new species were possibly endangered because they were found only in small isolated islands or in tiny pockets of forests.

Ornithologists and birdwatchers from Michigan State University, Birdlife International and other groups used museum samples and high-quality photography and recording systems to show the owls were of different species.

The research took 10 years but the results were only announced after coordination between the various groups.

The two new species are the Cebu hawk owl and the Camiguin hawk owl, found in the central Philippine islands of Cebu and Camiguin respectively.

They are described as about eight to 12 inches (20 to 30.5 centimetres) in size and hard to spot.

The Philippines is an archipelago of more than 7,000 islands with diverse animal species evolving in different parts of the country but many of these unique species are threatened by destruction of their habitat.-Yahoo News (August 20, 2012, 12:25AM)

Visa Set to Enter Myanmar

Financial-services giant Visa Inc. Friday said it is taking its first steps toward entering the cash-dominated Myanmar market by training local banks to use electronic-payments systems.

The company said Myanmar needs to focus on preparing for an influx of international visitors, many be hoping to use ATM and credit-card facilities now that international sanctions against the former military state are being eased. As the country continues opening up to the rest of the world, hotels and airports are bustling with visitors, and a further boost is expected next year when it hosts the Southeast Asian Games and a regional World Economic Forum meeting.

"We know from experience that there will be an urgent requirement to provide basic ATM network and point-of-sale terminals for international visitors arriving in Myanmar for business and pleasure—and that is where we will focus first," said Peter Maher, Visa Group country manager for Southeast Asia and Australasia. "The sooner we deliver electronic payments, the sooner Myanmar will benefit from the increased spending."

While noting that credit-card payment machines and ATMs depend heavily on "technical infrastructure," he added that Visa expects visitors to be able to use their internationally issued cards "within a matter of months—not years."

Responding to queries from The Wall Street Journal, MasterCard Worldwide's president for Southeast Asia, Matthew Driver said it, too, is "engaged with the appropriate parties to develop electronic payments" in Myanmar.

Visitors to Myanmar, from ambassadors to representatives of multinational companies, currently have to arm themselves with bundles of cash. Few establishments accept internationally recognized credit and debit cards—a product of decades of stringent economic sanctions against the country.

Visa said it will partner with selected banks to establish training workshops aimed at upgrading banking facilities over the next few months, and has already held one two-day event. It hasn't revealed which banks it is working with, but says they were chosen for "their ability to provide a safe, reliable and quality service."

Though Visa is not setting up an office in Yangon, and though infrastructure concerns mean that ATMs and full-fledged electronic-payment systems remain months away, analysts say the move marks a significant step toward the financial modernization of the once-reclusive country.

"It is a predictable move, but a significant one," said Sean Turnell, a Myanmar expert at Australia's Macquarie University, adding that Visa's market entry would have a "broader significance and heavy psychological effect" for keen investors looking to park their money in the nascent market.

"The local banking sector is fairly primitive," he said. "Right now the first thing Western businessmen notice is that they can't bring their cards with them—it really makes them think that this is another world."

Visa's entry, analysts say, also indicates that the world's largest corporations are taking cautious steps into the market despite hurdles—eager to balance Myanmar's enormous potential with the current uncertainty. Recent weeks have seen firms like PepsiCo Inc. pairing up with local distributors to sell their products in the country of 54 million people.

U.S. Ambassador to Singapore David Adelman last week traveled to Myanmar with a delegation of approximately 20 companies— including advertising giant Omnicom Group Inc. and Caterpillar Inc. –looking for opportunities.

Analysts say that U.S. companies offering financial services face additional scrutiny owing to fears over corruption, money laundering and local partners' links to Myanmar's former military regime.

"The financial sector has always been a lightning rod for criticism with specific sanctions" against many local banks, said Macquarie's Mr. Turnell.

In July, the U.S. government announced a broad easing of Myanmar trade curbs that included a loosening of restrictions on U.S. businesses providing financial services. But Visa noted that it is still "bound by certain legal obligations under prevailing international sanctions."

The U.S. still does not authorize American financial institutions to provide services to Myanmar's Ministry of Defense, armed groups in the country or anyone blocked under the sanctions program against the country, including businessmen with links to Myanmar's former military regime.

A February report by the U.S. Congressional Research Service on U.S. sanctions on Myanmar noted that the USA Patriot Act—legislation designed to prevent terrorism—identified some banks in the country as "primary money-laundering jurisdictions of concern," particularly owing to weak oversight over the banking sector and connection to individuals involved in organized crime.

"Anyone going into Myanmar needs to be alive to the corruption risk," said Kyle Wombolt, a partner at law firm Herbert Smith in Hong Kong, which advises clients entering the market. He added that the legal infrastructure remains complicated for investors and corporations and is unlikely to be reformed in the near future.

"This is a market that no one knows, still," he said.-The Wall Street Journal (August 19, 2012 8:36AM)

WORLD NEWS: Anti-Japan protests across China over islands dispute

Anti-Japanese protests have taken place in cities across China after Japanese nationalists raised their country's flag on disputed islands.

Thousands of people took to the streets in Shenzhen, Guangzhou and a number of other cities demanding that Japan leave the islands in the East China Sea.

In Shenzhen, some demonstrators attacked Japanese restaurants and smashed Japanese-made cars.

The islands are known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China.

Early on Sunday, at least 10 activists swam ashore after a flotilla carrying about 150 people reached the Japanese-controlled islands.

The activists - who had earlier been denied permission to visit the islands - swam back to their boats and were being questioned by Japanese customs officials.

However, as news of the action spread, angry protests broke out across China.

In the south-eastern city of Shenzhen, a Japanese-branded police car was overturned and smashed with a metal bar.

Footage carried by Hong Kong Cable TV showed other Japanese-branded cars and restaurants being damaged.

Protesters waved Chinese flags, burned images of the Japanese flag and shouted slogans denouncing Japan's claims over the islands.

Bottles of water were thrown at police when they tried to calm protesters down.

"They [Japan] should return the islands to us and apologise," said one protester quoted by Reuters news agency.

No arrests were made, according to Cable TV.

In neighbouring Guangzhou, demonstrators gathered near the Japanese consulate calling on Tokyo to quit the islands.

In Shanghai, protesters held a banner reading "down with Japanese imperialism".

An estimated 200 demonstrators also marched through central Hong Kong to the Japanese consulate chanting anti-Japanese slogans, broadcaster RTHK reported.

In the south-western city of Chengdu, protests shut down a Japanese department store and a branch of the Japanese clothing store, Uniqlo.

The BBC's Martin Patience in Beijing says the outbreak of protests was almost certainly sanctioned by the Chinese authorities, as they were well policed.

In the past, the authorities have used anti-Japanese sentiment to deflect criticism of their rule, he says.

The Japanese launched their flotilla on Saturday, saying they wanted to commemorate the Japanese who died near the islands in World War II.

Early on Sunday, 10 members of the group swam ashore to one of the islets and waved Japanese flags, emulating pro-China activists who had made the same gesture during a previous trip.

One of the politicians on the flotilla, Kenichi Kojima, told AFP news agency: "I want to show the international community that these islands are ours. It is Japan's future at stake."

Earlier this week, pro-Chinese activists sailed to the disputed island chain from Hong Kong in a protest aimed at promoting Chinese sovereignty.

Some of the activists were deported by Japan, and others sailed away from the islands.

The disputed islands - which lie on a vital shipping lane and are surrounded by deposits of gas - are also claimed by Taiwan.

Rows over them have caused Sino-Japanese ties to freeze in the past.

In September 2010, relations plummeted after the arrest of a Chinese trawler captain near the islands.

The captain was accused of ramming two Japanese patrol vessels in the area, but Japan eventually dropped the charges against him.

China claims the islands have been a part of its territory since ancient times, but Japan says it took control of the archipelago in the late 1890s after making sure they were uninhabited.-British Broadcasting Corporation (August 19, 2012)

WORLD NEWS: Japan nationalists raise flags on island in China row

Nationalists raised Japanese flags on an island at the heart of a corrosive territorial row on Sunday, sparking street protests in China and an angry reaction from Beijing.

Around a dozen members of the right-wing group Gambare Nippon (Hang In There Japan) swam ashore, an AFP journalist witnessed, from a 20-boat flotilla carrying activists and lawmakers.

The landing comes just days after Tokyo deported pro-Beijing protesters who had landed on the island, part of a chain administered by Japan but claimed by China, which said Sunday's action was illegal.

Local Tokyo politician Eiji Kosaka, one of the men who made it to the island in the East China Sea, said the group had planted Japanese flags on a hillside and on the shore.

"This is undoubtedly Japanese territory," he told an AFP reporter aboard the flotilla on his return. "On the mountain we found (the ruins of) Japanese-style houses that had places for drying fish.

"It is very sad that the Japanese government is doing nothing with these islands," he said, adding the nationalists' expedition had been "a great success".

The 150 people who had sailed to the islands, including eight parliamentarians, were back on the boats and were heading back to far southwestern Ishigaki. They had spent around five hours at the islands.

Japanese coastguard ships had urged the activists not to land, with officers boarding some of the vessels to question people. No arrests were made.

China fiercely claims the archipelago, which it calls Diaoyu, but it is controlled by Japan, which calls it Senkaku.

The foreign ministry in Beijing reacted with vehemence.

"Japanese right wingers illegally violated China's territorial sovereignty," a statement quoted ministry spokesman Qin Gang as saying.

"The foreign ministry has already lodged solemn representations and expressed strong protest to the Japanese embassy in China and urged Japan to stop actions which harm China's territorial sovereignty."

Taiwan, which also has claims, summoned Japan's representative to protest against the "provocative" act.

Anti-Japan protests erupted in at least eight Chinese cities, with Japanese media reporting Japanese shops and cars had been damaged.

In the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, which borders Hong Kong, protesters waved Chinese flags and shouted slogans as they marched on major streets, with the numbers swelling to about 1,000, the official Xinhua news agency said.

One participant said protesters were marching towards the train station on the border with Hong Kong in a demonstration strung out over up to eight kilometres (five miles).

More than 100 people gathered near the complex housing the Japanese consulate in the southern city of Guangzhou, chanting "Japan get out of the Diaoyu Islands", Xinhua said.

Before the voyage, Kenichi Kojima, a local politician from Kanagawa, near Tokyo, told AFP the trip was about who owned the archipelago, whose seabed is believed to harbour rich mineral resources.

"I want to show the international community that these islands are ours. It is Japan's future at stake," he said.

Organizers, who had been refused permission by Tokyo to go ashore, said ahead of their departure that they would be holding a ceremony aboard boats to remember some of those who died in World War II.

In Tokyo, Tsuyoshi Yamaguchi, the senior vice foreign minister, said established practice was for only government officials to land there.

But he added: "In principle, it is alright for Japanese people to visit Japanese territory."

The dispute over the islands is one of the major stumbling blocks -- along with issues related to Japan's military occupation of parts of China during World War II -- to smooth relations between Asia's two giant economies.

Tensions spiked after Japan on Friday deported 14 pro-China activists who sailed to the islands from Hong Kong in a similar trip.

Some managed to land on Uotsurijima, the largest island, becoming the first non-Japanese to set foot on any part of the archipelago since 2004.

Emotions were also running high around the August 15 anniversary of Japan's World War II surrender, with Beijing and Seoul angry about a visit to a Tokyo war shine on Wednesday by two Japanese cabinet members.-Interaksyon (Augsust 19, 2012 5:48PM)

Architects offer solutions for Thailand disasters

Many households have to regularly face floods, while some in earthquake-prone areas have to worry about cracks. As natural disasters strike Thailand more often, a change in residential designs are necessary, experts said.

At a seminar on "Influence 2012: Flood Fight Design and Planning" organised last week by Siam City Cement, experts shared the view that residential designs must be adapted to take into account likely natural disasters like floods and earthquake.

Assoc Professor Dr Seree Supratid, director of the Climate Change and Disaster Centre of Rangsit University, said that after floods hit central Thailand last year, most people are haunted by that painful experience despite the government's massive 350-billion baht (US$11.1 million) budget to manage the country's water system.

"The government's policy to allocate 350 billion baht is focused on managing the country's water system. But in the future, we cannot predict whether the problem will be the same or more severe. As a result the government has to integrate the country's knowledge about the impact of climate change. This will help the government launch policies that can prepare for the future," he said.

He added that climate change will impact people's lifestyle, and residential places will have to be prepared for the impact of natural disasters.

Flood-proof residences

Professor Dr Bandit Chulasai, lecturer at the Faculty of Architecture at Chulalongkorn University, said that residential development in Thailand has to be redesigned to suit both a normal situation and natural disasters.

For example, for flood-prone areas, residential development must be designed to serve people who have to endure floods.

Chulasai said the Faculty of Architecture of Chulalongkorn University had joined hands with Siam City Cement to complete a 22-unit residential project at Klong Sai community of Maharat district in Ayutthaya province, which suffered dearly during last year's floods. At the heart of the design is the question of how people can stay in their homes when there is a flood.

The answer is to build houses that are three metres above the ground. All other essential systems such as drinking water drinking, toilet system, skywalk, and sky agriculture plants are also elevated. The elevated systems will allow people of the Klong Sai community to stay in their homes even if there are floods.

Meanwhile, the houses are also equipped with double wall and double roof to reduce heat. This is to ensure that residents do not need air-conditioning or even electric fans. In normal time, this will reduce their electricity bills. The design is based on the bad experience of people who were struck in their houses without electricity.

"I believe that this design will suit all those who live in flood-prone areas," he said.

Earthquake-proof structure

Association Professor Dr Amorn Pimanmas, director of the Engineering Institute of Thailand under The King's Patronage, said that engineers need to apply technology in building homes to cope with natural disasters, especially earthquake, as Thailand is not 100 per cent safe from tremors.

While some of our neighbours face earthquakes, some areas of Thailand are also in risky areas. According to Building Act BE2007, buildings in the country must be able to withstand earthquake of a magnitude of 8. But most buildings in Thailand, built before 2007, were not required to meet that rule.

Pimanmas said he had seen damage suffered by old buildings, particularly ones with open first floors. This is risky as concrete is the first to go after an earthquake, and this could damage the entire building. It is thus necessary to protect the buildings which were built before 2007.

To mitigate earthquake-related risks, a new innovative system is available. Carbon fibre can be wrapped around posts, to ensure that there are no concrete breaks after an earthquake. Without the cracks, the steel inside would remain safe and so would the entire building.

"Although earthquake is not common in Thailand like in some other countries in this region, we can't say it won't happen more often in the future. The best way to stay with the new environment is to design and equip your buildings for the unexpected," he said.-Asia News Network (August 19, 2012)

Millions join the annual exodus in Indonesia

For more than one week now, millions of people in Indonesia have been on the road. They have only one aim: just to reach their hometowns or villages before Idul Fitri (or Eid-ul-Fitr) , the biggest festival of the year for Muslims.

It doesn't matter what kind of vehicles they use, how crowded it is, how much they pay to sneak into a bus, ship, train, plane or even a bajaj (motorised pedicab). Due to the long holidays, this year more than 16 million people are joining Idul Fitri exodus.

Some people will lose their lives in tragic accidents but the journey must go on. Idul Fitri must be celebrated with loved ones.

So far, it seems this year's exodus has gone relatively smoothly compared to previous years, thanks to long holidays and the government’s efforts to improve the situation.-Asia News Network (August 19, 2012)

6.3-magnitude quake hits Indonesia's Sulawesi

A powerful 6.3-magnitude quake shook Indonesia's central Sulawesi province on Saturday, damaging buildings and injuring at least three people.

Panicked residents in two mountainous districts near the epicentre ran from their homes into the streets as the quake rocked their villages for around 15 seconds.

An AFP reporter in the provincial capital Palu also felt violent shaking.

"There are three villages near the epicentre where 23 homes have been damaged to some extent, and those villages are experiencing a blackout," head of Sigi district Disaster Mitigation Agency Rezmin Laze told AFP.

"At least three people have been injured by falling debris and rescuers are having difficulty evacuating them to Palu."
The quake hit around 56 kilometres (35 miles) southeast of Palu, according to the US Geological Service (USGS), at around 5:40 pm (0940 GMT) at a depth of 20 kilometres (12 miles).

Parigi Moutong and Sigi districts were the hardest-hit, according to Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency.

Herlina, a receptionist at the Tunas Harapan Hotel in the town of Parigi, told AFP the shaking sent guests running into the street.

"Everyone was scared... but everything's fine now. There was no damage to the hotel and I haven't seen any damage on the street," said Herlina, who like many Indonesians goes by one name.

USGS initially reported the quake's magnitude at 6.6, while Indonesia's geophysics agency measured it at 6.2.

Indonesia sits on the Pacific "Ring of Fire" where continental plates collide, causing frequent seismic and volcanic activity.-Yahoo News (August 19, 2012 01:43AM)

AFP, DND urged to upgrade land-based capabilities

Chinese warships along with their mammoth amphibious vessels and helicopter carriers, all in battle formation, suddenly appear on a military radar screen – intruders to the country’s exclusive economic zone in the hotly disputed West Philippine Sea in Palawan.

In a security scenario like this, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) can still effectively repel the incursion by employing an alternative land-based fighting strategy while still in the process of developing credible air and maritime defense capabilities, a United States-based think tank suggested.

“An alternative strategy would be for it (AFP) to take advantage of its geographic location to the Spratly Islands and meet China’s challenge from an asymmetric angle. Rather than directly confront Chinese strengths in air and naval warfare, the Philippines could pose a challenge with a strategy built around new technologies for coastal defenses that would have lower long-term procurement and maintenance costs,” Felix Chang of the Philadelphia-based Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI) said.

Earlier, another US-based think tank warned the Chinese navy’s buildup of large amphibious ships and aircraft carriers could enable China to undertake punitive raids against Palawan by the early 2020s.

During an arms exhibit in Bangkok in early March, the China Shipbuilding Co. revealed a new concept for a 20,000-ton Landing Helicopter Dock (LHD) amphibious assault ship that would carry over 1,000 troops, a design that likely will soon enter the Chinese navy.

“China’s intention to base its nuclear ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) and future aircraft carriers on Hainan Island signals Chinese military desires to be able to impose control over the South China Sea (West Philippine Sea) region,” the Center for a New American Security in its third bulletin said.

But this particular case, FPRI said the Philippines, while building a strong Air Force and Navy, must also develop a credible land-based defense, particularly in the coastal areas of Palawan and Zambales.

“Palawan Island is situated only 450 kilometers from even the most distant Philippine claims in the Spratly group. Mobile land-based anti-ship cruise missiles could cover most of these contested islands,” the FPRI said.

These mobile land-based anti-ship cruise missiles could be acquired by the Philippines to bolster its air and maritime defenses. These include the US’s RGM-84L Harpoon, RGM-109B Tomahawk, India’s BrahMos, and Russia’s P-800 Yakhont.

FPRI said Vietnam has recently ordered two batteries of P-800 missiles to protect its South China Sea claims.

“Four batteries of such anti-ship missiles mounted on wheeled or tracked vehicles and dispersed along Palawan’s long road network could satisfy the Philippines’ capability requirement to deliver the massed firepower necessary to penetrate shipboard defenses,” the FPRI said.

“Unlike its still limited air and naval capabilities, the AFP acquiring and employing these land-based mobile anti-ship missiles would be to defend its exclusive economic zone (EEZ) from intruders and reduce the possibility that China could suppress them with either air or ballistic missile strikes.”

FPRI noted that Chinese reconnaissance satellites might find it easy to detect and locate fixed installations and help target land-attack missiles against them.

Mobile targets, however, are far tougher to locate, as coalition forces during the First Gulf War discovered during their hunt for Iraqi Scud-B mobile ballistic missiles in 1991.

With ample jungle cover and good emissions discipline, FPRI said the Philippine coastal defense batteries could remain hidden and highly effective against the Chinese forces.

“To counter these batteries, China would have to send aircraft, helicopters, or unmanned aerial systems deep into Philippine airspace over Palawan to pinpoint them, placing them at risk from land-based Philippine air defenses,” FPRI said.

Ramping up external defense to protect its territorial claims in the West Philippine Sea has forced the country to confront the central issue of how it can exert enough air-sea control in the hotly contested region so its opponents are denied unimpeded access.

China has already fortified all its occupied reefs and islets in the region with their vessels frequently spotted in the region either on patrol or bringing supplies to their troops on forward deployment in the Spratlys.

“Since the outcome of air and naval warfare is largely determined by the platforms that carry them out, the core procurement decision for Manila is: What set of capabilities it can afford that could best put at risk its adversary’s platforms – the most formidable of which are those of China’s modernized air and naval forces. In the missile age that means the capabilities the Philippines eventually chooses to acquire must be able to deliver sufficient firepower to overcome its adversary’s ability to defend its platforms,” Chang said.-The Philippine Star (August 19, 2012)

Wescom to monitor Taiwan drills in West Phl Sea

Tension in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) is expected to ratchet up again following Taiwan’s plan to conduct unilateral live fire exercises in the hotly contested waters of the region.

The military’s Palawan-based Western Command (Wescom) said while the Taiwanese live fire exercises are weeks away, they are closely monitoring the security development in the region.

A Taiwanese newspaper said its Coast Guard would be staging the unilateral exercise next month in the disputed waters off Taiwan-occupied Itu Aba Island, among the biggest in the Spratlys.

“For now, the situation there, especially within our regime of islands to include Pag-asa, remains normal,” said a senior Wescom official.

The official said he has yet to know if the scheduled visit of United States Ambassador Harry Thomas by the end of this month at Wescom has something to do with the planned Taiwanese exercises.

Citing information Wescom had obtained, he said the scheduled live fire drill has already drawn anger from Vietnam.

As tension mounted last month due to the aggressive behavior of China to enforce its territorial claim over the entire disputed region, Taiwan announced it will deploy new armaments in Taiping Island (Itu Aba).

“Taiping Island is one of the islands in the area that has long been governed by Taiwan. Its sovereignty is indisputable,” the Taiwanese foreign ministry said in a statement.

The live fire exercises were confirmed by the Taipei-based United Evening News.

It said that the Taiwanese Coast Guard will be using the newly deployed 40mm artillery and 120mm mortars during the drill.

It added that the range of the 120mm mortars is 6.1 kilometers, compared with 4.1 kilometers for the mortars currently being used by Taiwanese coastguards in the island.

Itu Aba is located near two islets occupied by Vietnamese troops and another reef occupied by Chinese.

A few kilometers up north are two islands being occupied by Filipino troops.

Tension in the region escalated last month when China announced a new city and military garrison in the disputed Paracel Islands, followed by the deployment of a fishing fleet to the Spratly archipelago.-The Philippine Star (August 19, 2012)

US destroyer to dock in Manila

As the US becomes more vocal about the South China Sea conflict to protect its interest for free navigation in the area, yet another of its Navy vessels is set to dock in Manila for what officials term simple replenishment - meaning, there will be no interaction between the Philippine and US navies.

The Philippine Navy on Friday said they were expecting the arrival of the guided missile destroyer USS Milius (DDG 69), due to dock at the South Harbor in Manila on Saturday for a 4-day replenishment activity.

This is the first time this year that a US destroyer of the MIlius' class is visiting the country. It comes amid heightening tension in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea), where China is pressing its claims over the Spratly Islands in the South China and the Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal, off Masinloc, Zambales. China claims most of the West Philippine Sea, ignoring rival claims, for other parts of the area, by Vietnam, Taiwan, the Philippines, and non-active claimants Malaysia and Brunei.

"Yes, the warship will be here (on Saturday) and it will stay at the port from August 18-21. I want to clarify that this is not an official visit and so our Navy will not interact with them. They will be here for replenishment," Navy spokesman Col. Omar Tonsay said Friday.

The US Embassy in Manila said "the ship's visit highlights the strong historic, community and military connections between the United States and the Republic of the Philippines."

The warship was commissioned on November 1996 under Commander Daine E. Eisold. Its present skipper is Commander Nicholie Bufkin.

"USS Milius is an ARLEIGH BURKE-class Aegis guided missile destroyer that provides multi-mission offensive and defensive capabilities in support of the Nation’s maritime security strategy. Milius can operate independently or as part of aircraft carrier strike groups, surface action groups, expeditionary strike groups, and underway replenishment," according to a Facebook page on the warship.

The warship was named in honor of Navy pilot Captain Paul L. Milius (1928-1968), who died in 1968 when his OP-2E observation plane was hit by anti-aircraft artillery in a mission over Laos.

Earlier this year, two US nuclear-powered submarines visited Subic, Zambales, which used to be the site of the largest US naval base outside the mainland. The Philippine Senate voted in 1991 not to renew the Military Bases Treaty covering Subic and Clark Air Base, along with several other minor facilities.

In recent weeks, however, the US has signaled a "pivot" of its naval forces, revealing plans to move more of them to the Pacific side, a matter publicly protested by China which accused the US of meddling in the maritime row and upping the risk of confrontation.

US officials have said Washington has a stake in ensuring free navigation in the area.-Interaksyon (Ausgut 18, 2012)

WORLD NEWS: Japan boats head for disputed islands as China protests

Japanese politicians have set sail for a group of disputed islands, in the teeth of protests by China which claims them for its own.

A flotilla of some 20 Japanese boats set out for the Senkaku (Chinese: Diaoyu) islands and is expected to anchor off them early on Sunday.

The politicians plan to commemorate Japanese dead in World War II, when Japan occupied eastern China.

But Japan's government has denied them permission to land on the islands.

China says the event will undermine its "territorial sovereignty" and this is the latest move in an escalating dispute over the islands.

On Friday, Japan deported several Chinese activists who had landed there this week.

The islands, also claimed by Taiwan, are close to strategically important shipping lanes, offer rich fishing grounds and are thought to contain oil deposits.

Emotions have been running high since the commemoration on Wednesday of Japan's surrender in World War II, when China and South Korea both protested against a visit to a Tokyo war shrine by two Japanese cabinet members.

Flotilla

Just before 21:00 (12:00 GMT), the 150-strong party sailed out of the Japanese port of Ishigaki.

They are expected to arrive off the disputed islands in the East China Sea at dawn on Sunday.

"I want to show the international community that these islands are ours," Kenichi Kojima, a local politician from Kanagawa, near Tokyo, told AFP news agency before he boarded.

"It is Japan's future at stake."

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gan said: "Any unilateral action taken by Japan on the Diaoyu Islands is illegal and invalid."

Earlier this week, activists sailed to the disputed island chain from Hong Kong in a protest aimed at promoting Chinese sovereignty.

China had praised Japan's "wise" decision to free them, saying in an article on Xinhua news agency's website that the speedy action had averted a deterioration in relations.

Rows over the disputed islands have caused Sino-Japanese ties to freeze in the past.

China claims the largely uninhabited islands has been a part of its territory since ancient times but Japan says it took control of the archipelago in the late 1890s after making sure they were uninhabited.

In September 2010, relations plummeted after the arrest of a Chinese trawler captain near the islands.

The captain was accused of ramming two Japanese patrol vessels in the area, but Japan eventually dropped the charges against him.-British Broadcasting Corporation (August 18, 2012)

Burma to investigate Rakhine clashes

Burma has set up a commission to investigate recent violence between Buddhists and Muslims in the west of the country, in which dozens died.

The move was announced by President Thein Sein, who earlier rejected UN calls for an independent inquiry.

The clashes between Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims also displaced thousands of people.

The UN welcomed the inquiry, saying it could make "important contributions" to restoring peace.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's spokesman said it could create a "conducive environment for a more inclusive way forward to tackle the underlying causes of the violence, including the condition of the Muslim communities in Rakhine".

Long-standing tension

A statement on Thein Sein's website said on Friday the 27-member commission would include representatives from different political parties and also religious organisations.

It said the commission would submit its findings next month.

The violence in Rakhine state began in late May when a Buddhist woman was raped and murdered by three Muslims. A mob later killed 10 Muslims in retaliation, though they were unconnected with the earlier incident.

Sectarian clashes spread across the state, with houses of both Buddhists and Muslims being burnt down.

The UNHCR has said that about 80,000 people have been displaced in and around the Sittwe and Maungdaw by the violence.

There is long-standing tension between Rakhine people, who are Buddhist and make up the majority of the state's population, and Muslims.

Most of these Muslims identify themselves as Rohingya, a group that originated in part of Bengal, now called Bangladesh.-British Broadcasting Corporation (August 18, 2012)

World rich list shows emerging Asian Century

Asia is set to have the world's wealthiest residents, with city-state Singapore heading the rich list.

Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea will do well, too, according to by a new survey that predicts which countries will be home to the wealthiest citizens by 2050.

By one measure, they are already are. Singapore's per capita income is estimated by Knight Frank and Citi Private Wealth's 2012 Wealth Report to be the highest in the world at $56,532 in 2010, measured by purchasing power parity. Norway follows at $51,226, then the U.S. ($45,511), Hong Kong ($45,301) and Switzerland ($42,470). (The International Monetary Fund listed Singapore 3rd in the world in 2010-11 by per capita GDP, behind Qatar and Luxembourg, which weren't included in the Knight Frank report).

By 2050, the Wealth Report estimates the world's wealthy citizens will be dominated by Asia: Singapore ($137,710), Hong Kong ($116,639), Taiwan ($114,093) and South Korea ($107,752). The only western economy projected to remain in the top five is the U.S., with an estimated per capita income of $100,802.

Danny Quah of the London School of Economics predicts that by 2050, the world's economic center of gravity will be somewhere between India and China, the report notes. In 1980, the global economic center lay in the middle of the Atlantic.

Some of the world's super-rich have already crossed the Pacific. Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin, a native of Brazil, moved to Singapore in 2009 has since renounced his U.S. citizenship. Jim Rogers, the co-founder of the Quantum Fund with George Soros, also moved to the former British colony in 2007.

"I have moved -- I have sold my house in New York. I have moved to Asia and my girls speak Mandarin, speak perfect Mandarin ... I'm preparing them for the 21st century by knowing Asia and by speaking perfect Mandarin," Rogers told CNN recently.

"It's easier to get rich in Asia than it is in America now. The wind is in your face. (The U.S.) is the largest debtor nation in the history of the world," Rogers added.

"The largest creditor nations in the world are China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore. The assets are in Asia. You know who the debtors are and where they are. Look at Greece. Look at Spain. I mean, I don't like saying this. You know, I'm an American, too. But facts are facts."

The report's list of fastest growing economies between 2010 and 2050 also gives more credence that the world's wealth is moving toward Asia. Of the top 10 fastest rising economies -- Nigeria, India, Iraq, Bangladesh, Vietnam, the Philippines, Mongolia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Egypt, respectively -- all but three are in the region.

Old World economies will have the worst growth performance in the next 40 years, the report predicts: Spain, France, Sweden, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria, the Netherlands, Italy and Germany are at the bottom of the list. But Japan and its aging population will have the weakest projected growth of all economies, Knight Frank estimates.

However, just because the denizens of Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan are projected to live in the world's wealthiest regions doesn't mean all will share in the wealth.

In the report Tina Fordham, Senior Global Political Analyst at Citi, warns that the dissatisfaction with income inequality shown in the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations "will gain momentum, and that there could be a long-term recalibration between governments, businesses and society as a result."

On Monday, a court ordered the protesters of Occupy Central in Hong Kong, one of the last outposts of the global protests sparked by Occupy Wall Street, to give up its encampment at HSBC's headquarters in the city.-Cable News Network (August 18, 2012)

WORLD NEWS: Kim warns troops to prepare for 'sacred war' during US-South Korea exercises

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un told his troops to be vigilant during upcoming training exercises between South Korea and the United States, saying they should be ready to lead a "sacred war," state media reported Saturday.

Kim's comments came during a visit on Mu Island with troops who participated in the 2010 shelling of South Korea's Yeonpyeong Island, an attack that North Korea at the time said South Korea provoked by holding war games off their shared coast.

"He ordered the service persons of the detachment to be vigilant against every move of the enemy and not to miss their gold chance to deal at once deadly counter blows at the enemy, if even a single shell is dropped on the waters or in the area where the sovereignty of (North Korea) is exercised," the state-run KCNA news agency reported.

The warning followed an announcement by the United States and South Korea that their joint "Ulchi Freedom Guardian" training exercises would begin Monday and conclude by August 31.

North Korea was informed of the dates of the exercises by the U.N. armistice commission.

In June: North Korea slams use of its flag in U.S.-South Korea military drills
The Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission, which was established by the Korean Armistice Agreement that brought about an end to the Korean War, will supervise the exercise, South Korea and the United States military said in a joint statement. The commission includes representatives from Switzerland, China and other nations selected by the United Nations.

Washington and Pyongyang have no diplomatic relations. North and South Korea have no formal ties and remain technically in a state of war since a 1953 truce that ended the Korean War.

During the visit with troops, Kim observed Yeonpyeong Island "clearly visible from the post," KCNA reported.

The Yeonpyeong attack in November 2010 was the first direct artillery assault on South Korea by North Korea since 1953, when an armistice ending the fighting.

Two civilians and two South Korean marines died in the attack, which South Korea's government at the time called a "definite military provocation" by North Korea.

South Korea arrest activist after he visits North Korea

The sparsely populated Yeonpyeong is located just south of the Northern Limit Line, the line drawn in 1953 by the United Nations at the end of the Korean War. The United Nations drew the line three nautical miles from the North Korean coast and put five islands close to the coast under South Korean control.

That was supposed to be a temporary arrangement. But in the absence of a full peace agreement, the Northern Limit Line remains in place.

North Korea has been virtually isolated from the world by international sanctions over its development of a nuclear program.

North Korea threatens 'special actions' to take out South Korean government-Cable News Network (August 18, 2012)

WORLD NEWS: China urges Japan to halt disputed island visit

Beijing urged Japan Saturday not to "undermine China's territorial sovereignty," ahead of a planned trip by Japanese lawmakers to a disputed island chain in the East China Sea, state media reported.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang called on Japan to immediately halt the action by some lawmakers and members of right-wing groups, China's Xinhua state news agency said.
Any unilateral action taken by Japan with regards to the island chain is illegal and invalid, Qin said, according to the news agency.

China's protest comes a day after Japan deported 14 Chinese nationals who were arrested in the area after some of the group landed on the uninhabited islands Wednesday.

The deportation was a resolution aimed at ending a diplomatic incident between the two nations, Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura said Friday.

Both countries claim sovereignty over the uninhabited islands, which China calls Diaoyu and Japan calls Senkaku. Ownership of the islands would give either nation exclusive oil, mineral and fishing rights in surrounding waters.

The latest incident has heightened tensions between the two nations.

The arrests of the Chinese nationals have led to anti-Japanese protests in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Beijing.

Meanwhile, the Japanese contingent intend to visit the waters of the island chain to pay tribute to World War II dead Saturday evening, Xinhua said, in another move likely to strain relations.

The Wednesday incident coincided with the 67th anniversary of Japan's official World War II surrender. On the same day, two Japanese Cabinet ministers visited the controversial Yasukuni shrine in Tokyo, which honors Japan's war dead as well as war criminals.

China and South Korea, given their respective wartime occupation and colonization by Japan, have condemned such visits.

A commentary published by the Japan Times on Friday cited diplomatic experts in Japan as saying both nations would benefit from resolving the dispute quickly, with China facing a leadership change later in the year and Japan facing separate territorial fights with Seoul and Moscow.

Adding to the regional tensions before the anniversary was South Korean President Lee Myung-bak's visit Tuesday to what the country calls Dokdo, a small group of islets that Japan claims as Takeshima.

The move prompted Japan to recall its ambassador to Seoul and warn South Korea that it will take the issue to the International Court of Justice -- a proposal rejected by Seoul. Japan's finance minister has also said he will cancel a trip to South Korea because of the dispute.

Japan has long claimed the islets as its territory, but Seoul said all Korean territory was returned after the country won independence from colonial rule by Japan in 1945.-Cable News Network (August 18, 2012)

Storm Kai Tak leaves one dead, injures five in Vietnam

Thousands of houses were blown down by Storm Kai Tak last night as it changed direction and headed for the northern mountainous Vietnamese provinces of Phu Tho and Yen Bai after hitting the coast in Quang Ninh Province.

Three people were reported to have been severely injured.

The torrential rains damaged hundreds of hectares of crops and floods isolated many villages.

Although Storm Kai Tak, with winds of up to 73 kilometres per hour, made land fall in the northern coastal province of Quang Ninh at 7:30 p.m. last night, it brought heavy rains more than three hours earlier in the north-east, including Hanoi, Hai Phong and Quang Ninh.

In Hanoi, a taxi driver was killed and at least five others injured as fringe winds hit at about 4 p.m. yesterday.

The driver, who worked for the Mai Linh Company, died when a huge tree fell on his cab in Lo Duc Street in Hai Ba Trung District.

Workmen took three hours to free his body from the crushed vehicle.

Several other cars were also damaged by falling trees in the capital city but only one person was reported to have been injured.

Initial reports from the State-owned Hanoi Tree and Park Company showed that more than 80 trees, including many more than a century old, were blown down throughout the city.

In less than half an hour, heavy rains created flash floods about 30 centimetres deep in many parts of the capital and Hai Phong, causing severe traffic jams.

When the storm hit Quang Ninh's Mong Cai City, one man was injured. Many aquaculture farms were damaged and extensive blackouts occurred throughout the city.

At 10 p.m. last night, director of the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, Bui Minh Tang, said the storm had weakened into a low tropical depression.

"The low tropical depression will continue to pass through the northwest, but the whole northern region will have rains for the whole day [today]," said Tang.

He warned the local people to watch out for flash floods.-Asia News Network (Ausgust 18, 2012)