The Thai government and Muslim separatists in the south of the country have announced they will stop fighting each other during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.
The conflict has killed more than 5,000 people in the last decade.
The agreement is the first major step since February, when the two sides signed a first-ever peace talks deal.
Malaysia is facilitating the negotiations but correspondents say that progress has been slow.
Attacks in the region have occurred almost daily despite several rounds of talks since March.
'Stepping stone'
Mediator Ahmad Zamzamin Hashim said that both parties had "reached a common understanding to work towards a violence-free Ramadan".
Under the terms of the "Ramadan Peace Initiative", Thai security forces will refrain from "aggressive actions" while rebel groups including the Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN) will not engage in "armed attacks, bombings and ambushes" against Thai troops.
"This is a stepping stone to what we want to achieve in the future. If there are no incidents, we can see the light at the end of the tunnel. It will be a precedent, a stepping stone," Mr Hashim said.
The deal is for a 40-day period from 10 July to 18 August and will be effective in the southern provinces of Yala, Pattani, Narathiwat and Songkhla, he said.
Thailand's National Security Council chief and lead peace negotiator Paradorn Pattanatabut welcomed the rebels' pledge, but warned that some splinter groups were opposed to dialogue.
"But I'm convinced that the BRN will be able to curb violence," he told the AFP news agency in Bangkok. "In the past they never came out and made a clear announcement of their goal."
The BBC's Jennifer Pak in Kuala Lumpur says that it has been a shaky peace process and that the deal is a verbal agreement - nothing has been signed.
Our correspondent says that the worry is that the negotiators representing rebel groups do not have full command of their troops.
But the peace talks are different from previous attempts because this is the first time that the Thai state has recognised the insurgents and is allowing their demands to be heard and discussed.
Thai negotiators have suggested the possibility of creating some form of locally-elected administration in the region, but full autonomy for the south remains off the agenda because the Thai constitution stipulates that the Buddhist-majority kingdom must not be divided.-British Broadcasting Corporation
Indonesia's most wanted Islamic militant has appeared in a video posted on the Internet delivering a tirade against the country's anti-terror police and urging "jihad", police said Wednesday.
Santoso is the leader of a group called the Eastern Indonesia Mujahideen that hides out in the jungles around Poso on Sulawesi island, an area considered a hotbed of terrorism.
In the six-minute video posted on YouTube, a man calling himself Syaikh Abu Wardah Santoso describes Detachment 88 -- the elite police anti-terror squad -- as "a real enemy, a real satan".
"My brothers in Poso, I have felt how cruel Detachment 88 is to these people," he said in the video that was posted on the Internet at the weekend.
"Today, God almighty has decided that jihad will continue until judgement day."
Police said the man was the terror suspect commonly known as Santoso. The video has now been removed from YouTube.
"We saw the six-minute video and can tell from the circumstances of the video that it is Santoso in his hiding place," Central Sulawesi police spokesman Soemarno, who like many Indonesians goes by one name, told AFP.
The call to jihad came after raids across the country in May which in part targeted militants believed to be raising funds for Santoso's group. More than 20 suspected militants were killed or captured in the raids.
Terror expert Noor Huda Ismail told AFP his information was that the video was of Santoso. He said it was a "wake-up call" for militants to continue fighting and gathering funds for Santoso's group.
The militants around Poso are thought to be among the few that remain a real threat in Indonesia, which fought a decade-long battle against terror groups after attacks on Western targets, including the 2002 Bali bombings.
They regularly launch attacks but these tend to target Indonesian security forces and be low-impact. Last month a suicide bomber attacked a police station in Poso but no one was hurt apart from the attacker.
Detachment 88 was set up in the wake of the Bali bombings, which killed 202 people including many foreign tourists.-Channel News Asia
President Barack Obama has invited his Vietnamese counterpart to visit the United States this month, sources said Wednesday, looking to boost cooperation on security and trade despite concerns over the communist state's rights record.
President Truong Tan Sang's visit would be only the second by a Vietnamese head of state to Washington since the former war adversaries normalised relations and comes as both governments see growing common interests.
Two people familiar with the trip plans, who were not allowed to be quoted by name, told AFP that Obama has invited Sang to the White House during the last week of July.
The White House and Vietnamese embassy declined immediate comment.
Vietnam has been eager to expand military cooperation with the United States as Southeast Asian nations accuse a rising China of increasingly aggressive tactics to exert territorial disputes.
While tensions remain high between China and the Philippines, friction has appeared to ease between Beijing and Hanoi in the run-up to Obama's decision to invite Sang.
The Vietnamese president visited Beijing last month to discuss disputes. Chinese state media said that the historic rivals agreed to establish a hotline to resolve incidents involving fishing boats in the hotly contested South China Sea.
But the growing US relationship with Vietnam has faced sustained criticism on Capitol Hill, which accuse the administration of paying only lip service to calls on Vietnam to improve human rights.
Representative Frank Wolf, a Republican from Virginia, charged that the Obama administration has been "incredibly weak" in promoting human rights in Vietnam and elsewhere.
"If you voted for Obama and you thought that he was going to be an advocate for human rights and religious freedom in Vietnam, you have been cheated," Wolf told AFP.
"He is the worst president we have ever had on this issue," he said.
Administration officials who testified before Congress last month said that Vietnam's human rights record was deteriorating, with the country holding more than 120 political prisoners and stepping up curbs on the Internet.
The stance of Congress comes in part because of appeals from Vietnamese American constituents, many of whom fled communist rule.
Duy Hoang, a spokesman for Viet Tan, a US-based advocacy group banned by Hanoi, said that Obama should press Sang to institute "true political freedom" and to free prisoners including the prominent Catholic dissident lawyer Le Quoc Quan.
Obama has made Southeast Asia a priority, seeing an opportunity to build relations with a region that has posted high economic growth rates and is mostly friendly to the United States.
Since the start of his second term, Obama has met at the White House with the leaders of Singapore, Brunei and -- in a visit that would have been unthinkable before recent democratic reforms -- Myanmar.
The United States has also been expanding commercial relations with Vietnam, which is one of a dozen nations negotiating the US-backed Trans-Pacific Partnership.
The Obama administration has envisioned the pact as the basis for a new order, which would set rules for the Asia-Pacific region at a time of rapid change marked by China's rise.
Presidents Bill Clinton normalised relations with Vietnam and paid a landmark visit of reconciliation in 2000. President George W. Bush also visited in 2007 for an Asia-Pacific summit.
The only previous Vietnamese president since the war to visit the White House was Nguyen Minh Triet in 2007 at Bush's invitation. Protesters trailed his six-day US visit.
Sang visited Hawaii last year for an Asia-Pacific summit and Vietnamese prime ministers have visited Washington several times since 2005.
Secretary of State John Kerry, a Vietnam veteran who was active in normalisation of relations, has said that he plans to visit Hanoi soon.-Channel News Asia
Eight brand new attack helicopters capable of navigating safely in bad weather will be acquired for P3.4 billion for the Air Force.
A bid bulletin of the Department of National Defense (DND) shows that the project would involve the purchase of eight helicopters with full night operation capability, complete weapons system and integrated logistics support package.
“These helicopters shall be capable of performing close air support during day and night,” read the bulletin.
The deadline for the submission of bids has been slated tentatively on July 24, but it can be moved if prospective bidders request for an extension.
The DND said: “The guiding principles for this project shall be based on affordability and sustainability while conforming to the requirements of our Air Force in furtherance of accomplishing its mission.”
A prospective bidder, to be qualified, must have completed within 10 years from the date of submission of bids a contract similar to the project.
Bids that are higher than the approved budget contract of P3.4 billion will be rejected at the outset.
The helicopters must be delivered within 540 calendar days from the opening of the letter of credit, which serves as an assurance that the government would pay the winning bidder.
The Air Force’s inventory has been depleted due to recent accidents that killed some of its pilots.-The Philippine Star
Japan faces increasingly serious threats to its security from an assertive China and an unpredictable North Korea, a defense ministry report said on Tuesday, as ruling politicians call for the military to beef up its ability to respond to such threats.
The report, the first since hawkish Prime Minister Shinzo Abe took office vowing to boost Japan's defenses, was likely to prompt a sharp response from Beijing, whose ties with Tokyo are strained by a territorial row.
China is also upset by remarks from Abe suggesting he wants to cast Tokyo's wartime history in a less apologetic tone.
"There are various issues and destabilising factors in the security environment surrounding Japan, some of which are becoming increasingly tangible, acute and serious," the annual defence white paper said.
"China has attempted to change the status quo by force based on its own assertion, which is incompatible with the existing order of international law," the report said, echoing recent comments by Abe and his cabinet.
"China should accept and stick to the international norms."
A Sino-Japanese dispute over rival claims to tiny East China Sea islets flared up last September after Japan nationalized the isles, known as the Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyu in China.
Japan has been gradually ratcheting up its expressions of concern about Beijing's military expansion. Last year's defence white paper, issued before the islands flare-up, flagged the risks of the army's role in shaping Chinese foreign policy.
Patrol ships from both countries routinely shadow each other near the islands, raising concerns that an unintended collision or other incident could lead to a broader clash.
"Some of China's activities involve its intrusion into Japan's territorial waters, its violation of Japan's territorial airspace and even dangerous actions that could cause a contingency, and are extremely regrettable," the paper said.
Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera said in February that a Chinese naval vessel had locked its fire control radar on a Japanese destroyer. Directing such radar at a target can be considered a step away from actual firing.
China denied the warship had locked its radar on the Japanese vessel. But the white paper said Beijing's assertion was "inconsistent with the facts."
Abe returned to power for a rare second term after his ruling bloc won a general election late last year, promising to revive the economy and strengthen Japan's defenses. He also wants to revise the post-World War Two pacifist constitution to legitimize the military, although winning support for contentious revisions is likely to take time.
Balance of power
Japan is already bolstering defence of the disputed islands and this year raised its defense budget for the first time in 11 years.
The military is conducting joint drills with the United States, its main security ally, and fortifying defences against missile attacks, while the government is reviewing its mid-term defense policy.
Japan plans to draw up a new defense plan by December, and Abe's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) submitted recommendations to the government last month that included looking into acquiring the capability to attack enemy targets.
Japan has long maintained that it has the right to strike enemy targets when an intention to attack Japan is clear, the threat is imminent and there are no other options.
But any sign that Japan is moving to obtain such capabilities could upset China and South Korea, where resentment against Japan's wartime aggression and colonisation runs deep.
The LDP also recommended that, in order to boost the defense of remote islands, the military should set up an amphibious Marines division equipped with tilt-rotor aircraft like the V-22 Osprey.
"The balance of power will be lost if we don't start considering striking back when attacked," said Osaka University professor Kazuya Sakamoto, who sits on a panel advising Abe on security policies.
"If we don't have weapons that reach an enemy, Japan cannot defend itself. It cannot maintain deterrence."
Such moves, Sakamoto added, should not unnerve China, with its arsenal of nuclear weapons.
Abe, whose LDP is expected to cement its grip on power in this month's upper house election, also wants to revise an interpretation of the constitution that bans using the right of collective self-defense, or aiding an ally under attack.
A panel set up during Abe's first 2006-7 term recommended that the ban be lifted in certain cases, such as intercepting ballistic missiles bound for the United States. A new committee of advisers is expected to reach similar conclusions.
North Korea launched a missile in December, stepping up the threat that the isolated, impoverished state poses to rivals. In February, it conducted a third nuclear test, which moved Pyongyang closer to developing long-range nuclear missiles.
"The launch of a missile ... showed that North Korea has advanced its technologies to extend the range and improve the accuracy of ballistic missiles," the white paper said. -GMA News
A taxi driver in Thailand has been charged with murder after allegedly stabbing an American with a machete during a fare dispute.
Police said they arrested Cherdchai Utamacha in Bangkok over the weekend, hours after closed-circuit television footage showed him attacking Troy Lee Pilkington, an American citizen who had lived in Thailand for three years.
Authorities allege that Cherdchai told police he was infuriated after Pilkington accused him of cheating and threw coffee in his face as the two argued over how much the American owed for a taxi ride.
The fare was 51 Thai baht (about $1.60), according to police, who interrogated the driver.
Security camera footage helped police track down the suspect quickly, Col. Thawatkiet Jindakuansanong said.
"When we traced the man to a house in Bangkok, we still saw blood stains on his shirt (and) shoes," he said.
Police said the driver smacked and stabbed Pilkington multiple times. They have not released a cause of death pending autopsy results.-Cable News Network
A coroner in Singapore has reaffirmed that American engineer Shane Todd committed suicide -- a ruling that caps a two-month investigation and is at odds with his family's contention that Todd was killed because of his work.
Soon after Todd was found hanging from the bathroom door in his Singapore apartment on June 24, 2012, Singapore's medical examiner concluded he had killed himself.
But Todd's parents disagreed and hired a pathologist in the United States who -- based on Singapore's autopsy report and photographs of the body -- suggested there was evidence that his death was a homicide.
The latest ruling by the coroner sides with the medical examiner's assessment.
'Everything points to murder'
"The cause of the deceased's death was asphyxia due to hanging," the coroner's report said.
"There was no foul play involved in the deceased's death. The deceased had committed suicide by hanging himself."
In the report, released Monday, state Coroner Chay Yuen Fatt extended his condolences to Todd's family.
"I hope that the family will be able to find closure and I wish them all the best," the coroner said.
Murdered for his work?
The report is the end result of a 10-day hearing into the death last month.
In it, Chay said Todd had "entertained suicidal ideations of overall increasing severity" in the months leading up to his death.
The United States Embassy in Singapore said the inquiry was "comprehensive, fair, and transparent."
"The coroner heard testimony from a wide range of witnesses in open court and received evidence in the form of written statements and records," it said in a statement Monday.
The decision is unlikely to appease Todd's family. CNN was unable to reach them for a reaction early Monday morning.
Singaporean lawyers hired by the Todd family have suggested Singapore's police work was sloppy and that an assumption of suicide led police to neglect other evidence.
During inquiry proceedings last month, the Todds' lawyers asserted a possible crime scene was altered: Todd's hanging body was cut down and laid on the floor and a nearby chair moved before a forensics team and photographer arrived. Police maintain this follows standard procedure.
The 31-year-old Todd had been working for a year and a half at the Singapore government's Institute of Microelectronics (IME) when he decided to quit his job and return home to the United States.
He was part of a team researching uses of Gallium Nitride (GaN), a semiconductor that can operate at extremely high temperatures.
Documents found on Todd's laptop after his death reportedly indicate IME may have had plans with Chinese telecom giant Huawei to co-develop an amplifier using GaN. Such a device could have both military as well as civilian uses.
Todd's parents believe their son may have been murdered over his knowledge of such a sensitive project. They say their son had warned them his life was in danger.
Both IME and Huawei deny that any joint GaN project ever went forward.
'Burden to those around me'
On the night of June 24, 2012, Todd's girlfriend Shirley Sarmiento, a nurse, discovered his body. She had gone to the apartment after he didn't answer calls or texts.
During the court proceedings, Sarmiento testified she didn't know the details of Todd's work but said Todd told her "how much he hated" it.
On one occasion he told her he was "working on something that could get him into trouble with the American government" and that "heavy hands" were coming after him, though he didn't elaborate.
But Todd had also confided in his girlfriend that he had been depressed since October 2011. But she said he "did not display any suicidal tendencies."
On his laptop, authorities found a two-page suicide note.
"I am so sorry it has come to this but I feel I am just a burden to those around me. I have tried to get jobs in the U.S. but I know I am not capable of fulfilling the duties required of me," he said in one.
What led to death?
In his report, the coroner says Todd did not possess confidential information from his work at IME and the GaN project did not materialize.
"At the time of his death, the major stressor in the deceased's mind was unlikely to be his workload," the coroner said.
Todd had already put in his 60-day notice to leave his job and his workload had decreased,
"Why then would the deceased commit suicide before he was due to return to the US?" Chay posed in the report.
He then hazards some guesses.
Todd was concerned he won't be able to get Defense Department clearance for a new job "because of his perceived involvement in violating US security, the possibility," and about his psychiatric condition, Chay wrote.
"These concerns in all likelihood caused him to feel that his deep sense of failure (which was magnified by his psychiatric anxiety) would follow him back to the US," the coroner concluded. "In the deceased's mind, all these factors eventually outweighed the happy prospects of reuniting with his family in the US and culminated in his ultimate decision to take his own life."-Cable News Network
Australia's newly reinstated Prime Minister Kevin Rudd will hold talks with Indonesia's president Friday, with the politically sensitive subject of asylum-seekers set to top the agenda.
On his first foreign trip since ousting Julia Gillard barely a week ago, he will meet with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to tackle a subject that will be key in upcoming Australian elections.
Despite Canberra's tough new policies banishing asylum-seekers to remote Pacific islands, thousands of would-be refugees continue to make the sea crossing to Australia, often from transit hubs in Indonesia.
Many have died trying to make the perilous journey in crammed, rickety boats, normally after paying huge fees to people-smugglers.
Rudd has already drawn Indonesia into the domestic debate, pouring scorn on opposition leader Tony Abbott and his plan to "turn back" the boats, saying this risked a diplomatic incident with Jakarta.
Although he is under pressure to take a tough stance on the issue, Rudd cautioned against expecting major outcomes from the talks as he arrived in Jakarta late Thursday.
"I think it's quite wrong to have huge expectations that there's going to be some headline result out of what is a regular meeting between the prime minister of Australia and the president of Indonesia," he said.
While the asylum-seeker issue would be discussed, talks would cover "the full breadth of our relationship", he added.
Ahead of Rudd's visit, Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa suggested Indonesia alone could not solve the problem, and said a multilateral approach was needed.
"We have been consistent in saying that this problem cannot be solved by one country," he said.
"It needs a joint effort from destination and transit countries, as well as countries of origin."
Rudd, a former foreign minister and ex-diplomat, won a 57-45 leadership ballot of Labor lawmakers, who were fearing crushing defeat at the polls in September.
Analysts say Rudd will use his two-day visit to Indonesia to try and burnish his leadership credentials ahead of the yet-to-be announced election date.
After arriving in Jakarta, Rudd had a brief, informal meeting with Yudhoyono at the presidential palace in the city.
On Friday, the pair will hold formal talks at the presidential palace in Bogor, just outside the capital, in the framework of an annual Indonesian-Australian leaders' meeting.
Given the record influx of arrivals, the Australian government has reportedly asked new Immigration Minister Tony Burke to consider other options, including stricter assessments and how to repatriate those deemed to be economic migrants.-Channel News Asia
The Philippines is set to buy two Maestrale-class frigates from Italy, a defense official said Wednesday, as the Asian nation races to upgrade its military amid mounting territorial disputes with China.
The frigates, along with 12 FA-50 fighter aircraft, are the most significant items on the government's 75-billion-peso ($1.7-billion) military modernization budget over the next five years, Defense Undersecretary Fernando Manalo said.
"We are modernizing not because we want to go to war with China," he told a news conference.
He said the government had a sworn obligation to defend the "West Philippine Sea," using the government's preferred term for Philippine-claimed areas in the South China Sea.
"We are not saying that this is part of our preparations to assert our sovereignty in the West Philippine Sea. What we are saying is that we cannot just give them up."
The frigates would add to two refurbished Hamilton-class cutters formerly used by the US Coast Guard that the Philippines acquired from its US ally to upgrade its ageing navy fleet, which includes some vessels that first saw action in World War II.
Manalo said the navy had already decided to acquire two new Maestrale-class frigates instead of buying used ones from the Italian navy, and had budgeted 18 billion pesos for them.
The Philippines could be ready to tender by the end of the year, he added.
Meanwhile, the government had alloted 18.9 billion pesos to acquire the fighter aircraft, which are built by South Korea, he added.
The modernization budget also provides for building or improving facilities to berth and provide maintenance to the vessels on the military's shopping list, Manalo said.
President Benigno Aquino vowed Monday to rebuild the air force by 2016.
The Philippines, which has one of the weakest military forces in the region, retired the last of its US-designed F-5 fighters in 2005.-ABS-CBN News
US troops trained their Philippine counterparts how to use surveillance drones Friday, as Manila seeks to boost military ties with Washington and counter what it perceives as a rising security threat from China.
The naval exercises are part of annual training operations between the two defense partners, but they have come under closer scrutiny this year due to simmering tensions between Manila and Beijing over rival claims to the South China Sea.
At a naval base around 13 kilometres (eight miles) southwest of the capital Manila, US Navy SEALs trained Filipino soldiers how to use small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or drones, launching one from a boat out at sea after which it circled the base and landed in the water.
US maritime civil affairs officer Jeremy Eden said these were the smaller "Puma" drones used only for surveillance and not the more lethal, armed versions employed in Afghanistan.
"They (the Filipinos) are very interested and highly motivated to learn and if they acquire the systems, they will use them effectively," Eden said.
The drones would be useful for the poorly-equipped Philippine military which faces both internal insurgencies and potential external threats, said Lieutenant Jojit Fiscar, a senior coordinator of the naval exercises.
"This would be a very good instrument to use. This unmanned aerial vehicle can monitor the actual movement of the targets," he said.
The US and Philippine troops also practiced marksmanship and piloting small rubber boats which are frequently used by naval commandos.
Military officials from both sides stressed that the exercises had nothing to do with China's claim to the South China Sea.
But Philippine Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin reiterated Friday that the Philippines was looking to give the United States greater access to its military bases, saying this was needed to respond to China's threats.
"At this point in time, we cannot stand alone. We need allies. If we don't do this, we will be bullied by bigger powers and that is what is happening now: there is China, sitting on our territory," Gazmin said.
"What are we going to do? Wait till they get into our garage?"
On Thursday he said the Philippines wanted to give the United States and also Japan greater access to its military bases.
President Benigno Aquino's spokeswoman Abigail Valte said separately that any increased US presence would comply with the Philippine constitution.
She also said China should not object. "Whatever we do within our territory... is perfectly within our rights."
China claims nearly all of the strategically vital South China Sea, even waters close to the shores of its smaller neighbors.
Tensions between Beijing and other claimants to the sea, particularly the Philippines and Vietnam, have escalated in recent years amid a series of Chinese political and military actions to assert its claims to the waters.-Interaksyon
Japan plans to deploy its self defense force (SDF) in remote areas and allow it to participate in military exercises with the US troops.
A Japanese government white paper said SDF would work with US forces to recapture sovereign islands in a clear signal that it will protect the disputed Diaoyu Islands, which China claims to be its own.
The announcement has alarmed Beijing. "The Japanese side has been advocating the 'China threat' and deliberately creating tensions in recent years," Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chuying said in reference to the announcement. She said China is transparent in its military's strategic intent and poses no threat to any country.
Japan has also offered help to Philippines in case it is unable to protect its islands, which China claims as well. - Times of India
Southeast Asian senior officials on Friday started a series of meetings here to discuss a slew of issues and security challenges facing the Association of Southeast Asian Nations as it transforms into a community by 2015.
Maritime and territorial disputes in the South China Sea and the fragile situation in the Korean Peninsula top the agenda during the series of meetings that will also be attended by ASEAN dialogue partners including the United States, Japan, China and South Korea.
The discussions are expected to focus on the roadmap for an ASEAN community, ASEAN's future direction and ASEAN's external relations, according to ASEAN officials.
In convening the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapons Free Zone Commission, ASEAN foreign ministers are also expected to adopt a revised plan of action to strengthen the implementation of the treaty on the SEANWFZ. ASEAN has been trying to get France, Russia, Britain and the United States to sign the protocol to the treaty.
On Saturday, ASEAN foreign ministers will meet for dinner in preparation for their formal meeting on Sunday. Their counterparts from Japan, China and South Korea will also meet with them for the so-called ASEAN Plus Three meeting later Sunday.
The ASEAN foreign ministers are expected to issue a joint communique at the end of their meeting.
On Tuesday, the ministers will convene for the annual ASEAN Regional Forum Retreat, where they are expected to discuss the sources of tensions in the Asia-Pacific region, the officials said.
ARF, the Asia-Pacific region's premier multilateral security forum, will discuss how to manage regional sea disputes and how to convince North Korea to return to the six-party talks on its nuclear program. North Korea will be attending the ARF.
Brunei, the chair of this year's series of meetings, is expected to issue an ARF chairman's statement at the end of the ARF meet.
The ministers of the East Asia Summit will also meet on Tuesday next week, the last day of the meetings.
ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
The ARF comprises the 10 ASEAN members plus Australia, Canada, the European Union, New Zealand, the United States, Russia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor, Pakistan, North Korea, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Mongolia, Bangladesh, Japan, China and India.-Philippines News Agency
With Philippines and Japan being close neighbors, Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera on Thursday expressed his government's willingness to cooperate in "defense of remote islands as well as the defense of territory or territorial sea."
Onodera made this statement during his courtesy call to Department of National Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin at the DND main building in Camp Emilio Aguinaldo, Quezon City Thursday.
The two-day visit, which started Thursday and will end Friday, is Onodera's first on the Philippines.
"We agreed that we will further cooperate in terms of defense of remote islands as well as the defense of territory, or territorial sea as well as protection of maritime interest and we also agreed that East China Sea and South China Sea, we both common are facing concerns and that the issues of those concerns should be solved based on the rules of law," Onodera said through his translators.
He added that as good neighbors, Japan and the Philippines, needs to further defense cooperation.
Onodera also said that during his talks with Gazmin, the Japanese Defense Minister expressed his country concerns over China's behavior in the South China Sea.
"I also said that Japan(ese) side is very concerned that this kind of situation in South China Sea (as it) could affect the situation in East China Sea," he added.
China's movement in the South China Sea has been aggressive for the past years and it is constantly feuding with other states with territories in said body of water.
This includes its claims over Panatag (Scarborough) and Ayungin Shoals which are well within the Philippines' exclusive economic zone.
While on the Japanese side, China has been aggressively claiming the Senkakus Islands which is under the jurisdiction of Japan.
"I heard Secretary Gazmin about various activities taken by the Philippine Armed Forces in this matter and I have told him that Japan, we will cooperate with the Philippine side in this matter and I also learned about the Philippine efforts for United Nations arbitration process (in the matter)," Onodera added.
"Japan is supporting this kind of efforts to resolve this problem," he stressed.
When queried for his side on the matter, Gazmin said that the Philippines is very happy with Japan's expression of support.
"We are very happy to note that the Japanese government is supportive of our peaceful resolution of the case through the arbitration and we have agreed to continue our exchanges of information, exchanges of technology to help each other come up with a, make the defense relations stronger," the DND chief added.
Despite this development, Onodera clarified that Japan is not aiming to keep in check as their stance is to keep their "territorial space, territorial air, and sea space well protected according to their activities."
"(But) this should done according to the rule of law and I would like to emphasize here that the current situation should not be changed with use of force but should be done through the rule of law and I think this the concept that is agreed upon in international communities these days," he concluded.-Philippines News Agency
The joint naval exercises between the Philippines and the United States have nothing to do with the Philippines’ territorial dispute with China in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea), but these have to do with US President Barack Obama’s “pivot strategy” in Asia, a US Navy official said.
At the opening of the Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (Carat) 2013 in this former American naval base on Thursday, US Navy Rear Adm. Thomas Carney said the exercises were “part of the rebalance that the US is looking to reinforce its relations, not only militarily but economically and politically with Asia.”
The exercises will run until July 2.
China said parties in the unresolved territorial disputes in the West Philippine Sea should instead promote peace in the region, stopping short of calling the naval exercises provocative.
“We have seen the report and hope that relevant parties could do more to maintain regional peace and stability rather than the opposite,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said, referring to the US-Philippine naval exercises.
Asked about a report on supposed plans to put up another American military base in the Philippines, Carney said the idea was “highly speculative.”
“That’s certainly an issue for the Philippine government [to respond to]. I wouldn’t want to comment on that,” he said.
Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin denied the report, saying the Philippines had no plans to build new air and naval bases but would allow the United States and other allies access to its existing military bases.
Carney said the Carat was part of the “longstanding relationship and commitment we have with the Philippines.”
Combined operations
Rear Adm. Edgardo Tamayo, Philippine Navy vice commander, said the exercises would increase the level of “interoperability” between the Philippine Navy and the US Navy “in the conduct of combined naval operations.”
In a statement, the Philippine Navy said it would use the BRP Gregorio del Pilar, a Navy aircraft (Islander), the Special Boat Team, the diving team of the Naval Special Operations Group (Navsog) and the construction team from the Naval Engineers and the Philippine Marine Corps to test their readiness and capability.
The Philippine Coast Guard, meanwhile, will send the BRP Edsa, a helicopter, a diving team, and a search and seizure team.
The US Navy will use the guided-missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald, USNS Safeguard and USNS Salvor.
The exercises will also include in-port and at-sea events, individual and unit training and engagement with the local community, among other activities.
Members of the US Marine Corps and other specialized personnel will also join the war games.
Impact on Panatag
Zambales Vice Gov. Ramon Lacbain II said that despite the statements of US and Philippine military officials, the Americans’ presence would have an impact on the Panatag Shoal dispute with China.
“This is a much-needed military exercise being undertaken by the Philippine and US military forces. I know that this exercise will definitely enhance the capability of our armed forces to protect our sovereignty, most especially on the part of Zambales where the disputed territory is located,” Lacbain said.
“We appreciate the show of support and the actual training being conducted by American forces for our Filipino soldiers,” he added.-Philippine Daily Inquirer
Myanmar has awarded lucrative mobile telecom licences to Norway's Telenor and the Qatari firm Ooredoo, a government committee in charge of bids has said.
The move opens up one of the world's last untapped mobile phone markets.
It is estimated that just 9% of Myanmar's 60 million people have mobile phones.
Eleven foreign companies were short-listed in their bid to supply telecommunications infrastructure in the country.
The winners overcame fierce competition from the likes of Singtel and Bharti Airtel, as well as a bid by the Digicel group involving one of Burma's richest men, Serge Pun, and the billionaire financier George Soros.
'Key role'
The successful firms will have to provide voice services across 75% of the country within five years and data services across half of it.
At the moment, few people in Myanmar can afford mobile phone handsets and call charges.
"We are looking forward to working with the government and people of Myanmar in developing the country's telecommunication industry, a sector that will play a key role in Myanmar's socioeconomic development," said Sigve Brekke, head of Telenor Asia.
Neither Telenor nor Ooredoo released figures on the value of their bids or how much money they will plough into establishing a mobile network across the country.
However, one bidder said it would cost more than £2bn to build an extensive mobile network in Burma, while Digicel said it was prepared to invest £6bn if it won.
Economic reforms
The government said it would finalise the 15-year licences by September and operators would need to launch services within nine months.
The process of opening up the mobile telecom sector is conditional on a telecommunications law that has yet to pass through Burma's parliament.
France's Telecom-Orange and Marubeni Corporation of Japan will be back-up options if either of the two successful firms fail to meet the selection criteria, the selection committee said.
Analysts said the licence-granting process was an indication of the progress of Burma's economic reform programme.
The country lags behind its neighbours in mobile coverage and wants to provide affordable services to help spur economic development.
Indonesia has agreed to bring forward the ASEAN trans-boundary haze pollution meeting from August to July.
The decision was made after talks between Indonesia's environment minister and his Malaysian counterpart in Jakarta.
Malaysia - supported by Singapore - had asked Jakarta to have the meeting earlier in Kuala Lumpur, after haze from forest fires in Sumatra blanketed the neighbours.
Brunei and Thailand, the two other ASEAN member states usually affected by the annual haze problem, will join the meeting - known officially as the Meeting of the Sub-Regional Ministerial Steering Committee on Transboundary Haze Pollution.
The five countries have met 14 times before to discuss collective action plans and strategies in tackling forest fires and haze.
Indonesia is also facing growing pressure to ratify the ASEAN Transboundary Haze Pollution Agreement established in 2002, following large-scale forest fires. It is the only ASEAN country that has yet to ratify the agreement.
Malaysia's Minister for Environment and Natural Resources, G Palanivel, said: "The haze treaty also has to be ratified. I spoke to the prime minister and he has given me a letter to be handed over to the Indonesian president.
"And I have handed over the letter to my counterpart, the environment minister, and he will be handing it over to the Indonesian president."
While the treaty will take time to be ratified by the Indonesian parliament, the immediate task is to put out the forest fires.
Both Malaysia and Singapore have offered to assist.
Mr Palanivel said: "We have ready assistance, including cloud seeding, our water-bombers, our fire fighters. So if Indonesia and Malaysia can cooperate, then we can control the haze situation quite rapidly."
Indonesia has said it can still manage the fire-fighting operations on its own as it can mobilise the private sector, if the need arises.
The head of Indonesia's Task Force, Agung Laksono, said operations in Riau would take up to a month. Mr Agung Laksono, who is also the Coordinating Minister for Welfare, was speaking to the media after chairing a coordinating meeting of the Task Force in Jakarta.
Jakarta has already deployed some 3,000 officers to Riau to fight the fires.
It is also verifying names of companies which allegedly torched their plantations to clear the land.
Earlier, the Environment Ministry had publicized names of companies, including those linked to Malaysia and Singapore. The companies, however, have denied the allegations.
Mr Palanivel said: "There are four Malaysian companies. They said they are zero-burning. They don't burn - zero burning. Sime Darby is one of them. KLK is another. Then we have two other companies - they all have denied it."
Indonesia's Environment Minister Balthasar Kambuaya said: "The number of companies still needs to be verified. There are numerous on the ground where the fire is taking place."
He added that the forestry ministry and the agriculture ministry have their own data. "And we have ours. At the moment, we are trying to verify the numbers, who they are, and are responsible before we eventually expose them," the environment minister said. -Channel News Asia
The South China Sea issue will no doubt be on the table later this week when ministers from Southeast Asia and their allies meet in Brunei Darussalam, despite objections from Beijing.
US Secretary of State John Kerry is expected to join the annual gathering, more proof that Washington is indeed pivoting its attention to the region, with a wary eye on China.
Kerry is likely to push for joint commitment to the principle of freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, a vital trade route for China, the US, India, Japan and Southeast Asia.
“The South China Sea dispute is no longer a conflict between China and Asean [Association of Southeast Asian Nations],” said Ralf Emmers, associate professor at Singapore’s Rajaratnam School of International Studies.
“Because of the sea links across the South China Sea, there is now increased interest from other great powers, especially the US,” he told a recent seminar in Bangkok.
Asean has been trying to manage territorial disputes in the South China Sea for the past two decades, with decreasing success of late.
On May 9, for instance, Philippine Coast Guard personnel shot dead a Taiwanese fisherman in disputed waters.
“The tragic incident was not the first of its kind in the South China Sea nor, sadly, is it likely to be the last,” said Ian Storey, a senior fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore.
Tensions have arguably been on the rise in the area since 2009, when the Philippines enacted legislation claiming sovereignty over the disputed Huangyan Island, irking China.
In March of the same year, there was a standoff at sea between a US submarine doing surveillance in the area and five Chinese ships.
In June 2011 Vietnamese vessels chased Chinese fishing boats out of a disputed area.
In April last year China and the Philippines had another standoff when Chinese ships occupied a shoal claimed by Manila.
In January 22 this year the Philippines submitted the Sino-Manila South China Sea dispute for arbitration under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
China declared the Philippine submission was “factually flawed,” “contained false accusations” and violated the 2002 Asean-China Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC), but Manila remained committed to the arbitration process.
Among the 10 members of Asean, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam have territorial disputes with China in the area.
“So long as the actions of the principal actors continue to be motivated by nationalist rhetoric, an unwillingness to compromise sovereignty claims and competition over access to maritime resources, there is little prospect that this trend will be reversed any time soon,” Storey said.
The disputed area claims oil reserves of up to 30 billion tons and 20 trillion cubic metres of gas reserves, according to China’s Ministry of Land and Resources.
China has always insisted that the South China Sea disputes need to be handled bilaterally, and has so far refused to start negotiations with Asean on a Code of Conduct in the disputed zone, arguing that even the DOC signed in 2002 has yet to be respected.
China would not accept a Code of Conduct or the DOC as the definitive solution “no matter what they contain,” said Su Xiao-hui, deputy director of International and Strategic Studies at the Chinese Institute of International Studies.
“We believe the US plays a negative role in the South China Sea,” Su told a Bangkok seminar. “We have noticed the internationalization of the South China Sea issue ... we would like to stop this trend and to talk directly to the separate claimants.”
Given Beijing’s firm stance, no one expects a breakthrough on the South China Sea issue at the Brunei foreign ministers’ meeting.
More worrisome for Asean would be the possibility that the US and China might use the Brunei meeting for regional saber rattling.
“What the Asean countries want to avoid by all means is to have to choose between China and the US,” Emmers said. “That is their ultimate nightmare.”
“The more competition you see flaring up in the South China Sea, the more the Asean countries may be forced to choose between China and the US, and ultimately that would reduce Asean’s unity, centrality and neutrality.”-Business Mirror
Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang will arrive in Jakarta on Thursday for a two-day state visit to further cement strategic partnership between the two countries, a Vietnamese envoy has said.
“It will be our President’s first visit to Indonesia. It will be a historic visit and the main purpose of the visit will be to upgrade existing relations,” Vietnamese Ambassador to Indonesia Nguyen Xuan Thuy said at a press conference in Jakarta on Monday.
During his two-day trip, President Sang, who assumed his post in July 2011, will hold discussions with Yudhoyono on Thursday on a wide range of issues that will cover the entire gamut of bilateral ties as well as regional and global issues.
“During the visit, the leaders of both countries will witness the signing of several important bilateral agreements to further strengthen ties,” Ambassador Thuy said.
Among the agreements that are set to be signed, Thuy said, included the agreement on mutual assistance in law enforcement, a repatriation agreement, a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in finance, fisheries, agriculture and energy sectors.
Representatives from Vietnam’s top 20 companies, Thuy said, would be accompanying President Sang.
“Our president will have a direct meeting with 10 Indonesian CEOs on Friday,” Thuy said.
Both countries, which signed a Friendly and Comprehensive Partnership Agreement in 2003 and a Strategic Partnership Action Plan 2012-2015 in 2011, have set a bilateral trade target of US$5 billion by 2015.-The Jakarta Post
The Philippine Navy’s flagship, the BRP Gregorio del Pilar, is back in the waters near Panatag Shoal (Scarborough Shoal), this time not for a face-off with Chinese warships over disputed territory in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) but for five days of joint maneuvers with the United States Navy.
The Philippines’ first warship will be participating in war games with a fleet of American naval vessels led by the guided-missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald.
Panatag Shoal is a reef in the Philippine Sea claimed by both the Philippines and China and was the site of a maritime standoff between the two countries that lasted more than two months last year.
Far from Panatag
But the war games will take place 108 kilometers away from the disputed shoal, Lt. Cmdr. Gregory Fabic, spokesman for the Philippine Navy, said last week.
With the joint maneuvers playing out that far from the shoal, reportedly still guarded by three Chinese coastal patrol vessels, the Philippines and the United States do not expect China to view the exercises as “intimidation,” Fabic said.
The war games, called Exercise Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (Carat) 2013, begin Thursday and will run up to July 2.
Fabic said holding Carat near Panatag Shoal and other areas off northern Luzon had been planned long before the standoff with China at the reef last year.
The Naval Forces Northern Luzon is the primary Philippine Navy unit responsible for the exercise.
“The Carat 2013 major objectives are to enhance the current Philippine Navy and US capabilities in naval operations … such as communication, naval gunnery, at-sea operations, maritime interdiction and humanitarian assistance and disaster response operations and increase the level of interoperability between the Philippine Navy and the US Navy in the conduct of combined naval operations,” a statement from the Naval Forces Northern Luzon said Wednesday.
It said the exercises would include in-port and at-sea events, individual and unit training, and engagement with the local community, among other activities.
Aside from BRP Gregorio del Pilar (PF-15), a PN Aircraft (Islander), Special Boat Team, Diving Team of Naval Special Operations Group (NAVSOG), Construction Team from the Naval Engineers and Philippine Marine Corps company will participate in the military exercises “to test their readiness and capability,” the Navy said.
It added that the Philippine Coast Guard would have one of its flagships, the BRP Edsa, joining the war games, as well as a helicopter, its diving team, and a visit, board, search and seizure team.
Aside from the USS Fitzgerald, the US Navy will have its salvage ships, the USNS Safeguard and USNS Salvor in the waters off Zambales.
Members of the US Marine Corps and other specialized personnel will also participate in the war games.
The USS Fitzgerald was sent to the Korean Peninsula last April amid tensions between South and North Korea. It also participated in the joint military exercises between the United States and South Korea, rankling the North.
In arbitration
Technically, the Philippines and China remain in a standoff at Panatag Shoal.
Philippine ships withdrew from the shoal in mid-June last year at the height of a storm to ease tensions in the area.
But despite an agreement to withdraw, the Chinese ships never left and even cordoned off the mouth of the shoal’s lagoon to prevent the entry of fishing boats from other countries.
With nothing to match China’s military might, the Philippines took the dispute to the United Nations in January for arbitration.
The Philippines and China also have rival claims in the Spratly archipelago, a scattering of islets, reefs and atolls in the middle of the West Philippine Sea believed to be sitting atop vast deposits of oil and gas.
Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam and Taiwan also claim parts of the Spratlys in rivalry with China, which claims nearly all of the sea as its territory.
Japan’s defense chief
China is also locked in a territorial dispute with Japan over a group of islands in the East China Sea known to the Japanese as the Senkakus but which the Chinese call Diaoyus.
Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin is meeting Thursday with Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera, who is visiting the Philippines for two days.
Whether the meeting between Gazmin and Onodera has to do with their countries’ territorial dispute with China is unclear, as there was no word about it in the advisory issued by the Department of National Defense on Wednesday.
A recent news report from Japan Times (www.japantimes.co.jp/news) said that Onodera “plans to discuss with Philippine Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin the current tensions in the region and to work out a coordinated response toward China.”
But even this was unofficial, as the Japanese report quoted an unnamed government source.
From Manila, Onodera will fly to Hawaii supposedly to discuss with US officials its territorial row with China.
Wednesday’s advisory said that Onodera will arrive at the defense department at 10 a.m. and will be given arrival honors.
Limited press con
Onodera will meet with journalists after his call and lunch with Gazmin.
The advisory said Onodera would entertain “a maximum of two questions each from the Japanese media (including members of the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines) and Filipino defense reporters.-Philippine Daily Inquirer
Indonesia's president has apologized for the raging forest fires that have blanketed its neighbors Singapore and Malaysia with thick smog in Southeast Asia's worst air pollution crisis in 16 years.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said Indonesia was doing everything it could to contain the fires on the island of Sumatra, including the deployment of military aircraft to waterbomb the blazes, and has earmarked around 200 billion rupiah ($20 million) to handle the disaster.
The week-long environmental crisis, which has seen air pollution in Singapore and Malaysia reach hazardous levels, is damaging tourism and businesses in both countries and could result in a bigger economic impact than the 1997 haze crisis which cost an estimated $9 billion.
"As the president, I apologise and seek the understanding of our friends in Singapore and Malaysia," said President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in a news conference late Monday.
After a week of thick smog, air quality in Singapore's financial centre has significantly improved with the pollution index remaining under "unhealthy" levels since the weekend. It hit a record of 401 on Friday afternoon, a level considered potentially life-threatening for the ill and the elderly.
Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday was still shrouded in haze, while Singapore's skies were pretty clear with the pollution index reading in the low 40s.
Indonesian police on Monday arrested two farmers for illegally starting fires to clear land in Sumatra, the first detentions linked to the slash-and-burn blazes, but police said the farmers were not linked to any of the eight companies the government suspects are responsible for the fires.
The parent companies of those firms included Malaysia-listed Sime Darby, which has denied wrongdoing.
"We arrested two farmers in Riau who were clearing their land by burning. They were not working for anyone but just clearing their own land," said Agus Rianto, deputy spokesman for the national police.
Under Indonesian law, any company or person involved in an illegal forest fire faces up to 10 years in prison and fines of up to 5 billion rupiah ($503,800).-GMA News
