AsiaWatch - 30 Sep 2020
Southeast Asia takes first steps to reopen; South China Sea issues at the UN; Beijing rejects Ladakh UT
North Korea’s address at the UN General Assembly. Photo credit: Reuters
Good morning.
Southeast Asia takes its first steps toward reopening, with Thailand welcoming its first tourists from China and Vietnam’s economy posting signs of growth. In the UN, the South China Sea disputes take a back seat, giving way to pressing issues of economic recovery and the announcement of North Korea’s war deterrent. The tensions at the Chinese-Indian border continues to intensify, as Beijing rejects the Ladakh UT, triggering a sharp response from New Delhi.
(Note: Today’s edition features a bumper crop of insights and analysis from recent issues from the region, covering China’s Belt and Road Initiative, Sabah, and why the 21st Century is still Asia’s moment to shine.)
Today in Asia
(10 min read)
South China Sea issue takes back seat at UN
Despite rising tensions in the South China Sea, Southeast Asian leaders addressing the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly gave more weight to pandemic response and economic recovery.
B3,000 freebie for 10 million
The cabinet on Tuesday approved a scheme to make a co-payment of a maximum 3,000 baht per person for 10 million consumers over a three-month period. In addition to the co-payment plan, the cabinet on Tuesday gave the nod to a proposal to add another 1,500 baht to the monthly living allowance of 13.94 million state welfare cards holders.
Thailand to slowly restart tourism with flight from China
Thailand will receive its first foreign vacationers when a flight from China arrives next week, marking the gradual restart of a vital tourism sector battered by coronavirus travel curbs, a senior official said on Tuesday.
Vietnam’s growth climbs, resisting global downturn
With much of the world economy effectively shut down for long periods in the first and second quarter, gross domestic product expanded just 0.36% on-year in April-May, though that was better than most countries which suffered painful contractions.
Indonesia parliament passes President Joko Widodo's US$185 billion budget for 2021
Indonesia's parliament on Tuesday (Sep 29) approved President Joko Widodo's US$185 billion budget for 2021, which his finance minister described as both supportive for Southeast Asia's largest economy and also the start of a fiscal consolidation.
Hardening stance, China rejects Ladakh UT, raises 1959 claim line
Pushing its old claim line in Ladakh and hardening its position on the situation there, Beijing Tuesday said it does not recognise the Union Territory of Ladakh and is opposed to the construction of Indian infrastructure there. New Delhi reacted sharply, saying it has “never accepted the so-called unilaterally defined 1959 Line of Actual Control”, and that it is “untenable”.
Suga and Putin affirm goal of peace treaty based on 1956 declaration
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga reaffirmed his intent to reach a postwar peace treaty between Tokyo and Moscow based on a 1956 declaration as he held his first conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday.
'Gateway to Asia' Fukuoka enters race to become next financial hub
This southwestern Japan city, which has raised its profile as an Asian tourist destination in recent years, has kicked off an effort to compete with Tokyo as an alternative financial hub to Hong Kong.
China backs UN in post-pandemic global governance: FM
Although the COVID-19 pandemic highlights the dilemma of global governance, the United Nations is still the most complete system in the international order, and international law is the most perfect legal framework, China's State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said.
China charts five-year course through economic storms
It has been revealed that government advisers and policy experts have, in heated debates with senior officials in charge of the plan’s drafting, prodded Beijing to cut the annual growth target for the next five years to 5-6% to reflect the lingering economic malaise from Covid-19 and looming China-US decoupling.
Japan's top diplomat heads to Europe to court Indo-Pacific partners
Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi kicked off a tour that will take him to Europe and the Middle East, in which the "Free and Open Indo-Pacific strategy" will feature heavily.
S. Korean companies not scaling down business links with China
South Korean companies are not scaling down transactions with China even as some of them make global supply chain changes after the COVID-19 outbreak, a survey showed over the weekend.
Taiwan defence chief says no signs China is preparing for war
There are no signs that China is preparing for all-out war with Taiwan, such as massing troops along its eastern coast, Taiwan's defence chief said on Tuesday, after repeated Chinese drills near the island that China claims as its own.
HKSAR hands over military dock to PLA Garrison to better tackle terrorism, foreign interference
The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) handed over the Central Military Dock to the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Hong Kong Garrison on Tuesday, a move deemed by HKSAR Chief Executive Carrie Lam as a historic moment that fully demonstrates the HKSAR's relationship with the central authorities under "one country, two systems" and carries important constitutional significance.
Hong Kong opposition lawmakers forced to regroup after split poll
Poll results released showed that 47.1% of the pro-democracy group's self-identified supporters preferred that the lawmakers serve in the extended legislature term after the Hong Kong government evoked emergency powers to postpone this month's Legislative Council elections for a year because of the coronavirus pandemic.
North Korea tells UN it now has ‘effective war deterrent’
North Korea has a “reliable and effective war deterrent for self-defence” and was now focusing on developing its sanctions-hit economy, Kim Song, North Korea’s United Nations ambassador said on Tuesday.
Amnesty quitting India over government ‘witch hunt’
Amnesty International said Tuesday it was halting its operations in India, firing its staff and pausing campaign and research work because of an “incessant witch-hunt of human rights organizations by the government of India over unfounded and motivated allegations.’’
Modi and Rajapaksa Meet Virtually Amid Sustained Complications in India-Sri Lanka Ties
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Sri Lankan counterpart Mahinda Rajapaksa engaged in their first virtual summit where they discussed maritime co-operation, infrastructure projects, Sri Lanka’s debt repayment problems, among other issues.
India races to build border roads, bridges to match China
The construction site near the hamlet of Chilling in the Ladakh region is about 250 kilometres (150 miles) west of the area where Indian and Chinese troops are locked in the most serious confrontation in nearly 50 years.
COVID-19 Quick Look
Photo credit: AFP
As global deaths from the pandemic exceed 1 million, COVID-19 threatens to drag 38 million people in Asia beneath the poverty line. Korea reported that 9 out of 10 patients who contracted COVID-19 have lingering side effects. The Philippines pilots a rapid antigen test as cases decline. India reported its lowest daily case count since Aug 3. In China, some 108 volunteers get a second low-level dose of a vaccine while some Chinese companies offer faster testing kits.
Opinion
We share what experts and insiders are saying about key issues in Asia.
Southeast Asian Economies Face Generational Downturn from COVID-19
The World Bank observes that the the pandemic has unleashed a “triple shock” on the economies of East Asia and the Pacific: the impact of the pandemic itself, the economic impact of containment measures and the regional impacts of the broader global recession.
This is the Asian Century: Seven reasons to be optimistic about it
China's fast growth has propelled it to become the world's second-largest economy -- and the U.S. has finally woken up to discover an emerging superpower seeking to displace it. A buoyant middle class has emerged in China, and across a rapidly developing Southeast Asia. By 2050, the Asian Development Bank estimates, 3 billion Asians could have living standards similar to those of Europe, and Asia could account for over half of global output. But there are surprises too -- not least of which is this year's global pandemic, which began in China and has come to paralyze the global economy.
Trump vs. Biden: Five things Asia should watch for in first debate
U.S. presidential debates often tend to revolve around domestic political issues. But Asia and Asians are expected to play a significant role this time, especially as COVID-19, the effects of Trump's immigration policy on the economy, and foreign interference in the election come up.
Commentary: Forces of climate action are reshaping finance in Singapore and around the world
There is growing worldwide momentum from financial regulators and institutions to promote sustainable finance, fulfil environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals and hedge against rising environmental risks.
Commentary: Asia sure does eat a lot of meat
While the pandemic contributes to reconfiguring and challenging the meat complex at a moment of vulnerability, it also seems to be strengthen existing trends towards stricter hygiene control, supermarketisation and increased industrialisation of meat production.
Malaysia's spat with Philippines over Sabah: Five things to know
A 60-year-old dispute over the sovereignty of Sabah, Malaysia's second-largest state, has recently reignited, creating tensions between Kuala Lumpur and Manila and adding a further complication to the many sovereignty issues in the South China Sea.
The Philippines derives its claim to Sabah from the Sultanate of Sulu, which once ruled the southernmost region of the Philippines. The sultanate asserts that the territory of North Borneo was a gift from the Sultan of Brunei, as a reward for Sulu's aid in a war in the 1600s. Kuala Lumpur insists the British North Borneo Co.'s payments were installments to purchase the territory from Sulu.
Only P2B for drug war? Lacson wonders if Duterte losing interest
“The P2.053-billion proposed budget under the NEP (national expenditure program) tagged for the Philippine Anti-Illegal Drugs Strategy is a ridiculously insignificant amount considering that it involves a multiagency approach [to] fighting the drug menace, which the President no less has always emphasized as a continuing top priority program of his administration,” Lacson said in a text message to the Inquirer.
China-US decoupling not in the works
The Trump administration will be frustrated to find that interdependence between the US market and Chinese manufacturing can't be easily divided, no matter it is tariff hike, call for US businesses to decouple from China, or the coronavirus outbreak, which battered both economies badly.
COVID-19: The Nail in the Coffin of China’s Belt and Road Initiative?
Many BRI projects have previously been criticized for a lack of transparency and unfair loan conditions; the pandemic has worked to deepen many of these worries. COVID-19 also provides an opportunity for China to fill these gaps through its Health Silk Road and Digital Silk Road.
China-India Tensions Put New Delhi at the Margins of the SCO
Signs have also emerged that China is aligning with its all-weather ally Pakistan to drive India out of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), a turn of events that would shift the balance of power in Eurasia as New Delhi prepares to host the SCO summit in November.
DPP 'self-deceiving' in seeking secessionist presence of Taiwan in intl organizations
The separatist Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities on the island of Taiwan protested against an international organization that listed the island in "China," and urged a separate category of Chinese Taipei, but analysts noted such self-deception will not change the fact that it is an inalienable part of Chinese territory.
COVID-19 infects Indian troops, may sway border situation
The mass contagion within the army will have a potential to sway the situation on the China-India border, as it will greatly undermine the determination and morale of Indian troops, Hu Zhiyong, a research fellow at the Institute of International Relations of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times.
Tea Time
The humble tea leaf is one of Asia’s best known exports, best shared in the company of those who love it. With Tea Time, we take a break from politics to share the stories that give a glimpse into the lives of peoples of Asia.
Plant-based “meat” is taking the world by storm recently. Its counterparts in Asia have been a fixture in regional cuisine for generations, replacing meat with mushroom or gluten-based alternatives in traditional dishes. While it can’t boast the same level of nutrition as modern variants, its popularity is a testament to its tastiness. Religion is a major factor as to why people opt for vegetarian meat replacements, so many of these dishes have been adapted to closely resemble meat-based fare. My family’s guilty pleasure is vegetarian bee hoon, and if you see what goes into it, you’ll realise why this breakfast item is far from being a healthy option for breakfast!