ASEAN leaders meet in Laos summit to tackle Myanmar, South China Sea

ASEAN leaders meet in Laos summit to tackle Myanmar, South China Sea
ASEAN leaders hold hands during the opening ceremony of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations 44th Summit in Vientiane, Laos on Oct. 9, 2024. (AP)
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Updated 09 October 2024
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ASEAN leaders meet in Laos summit to tackle Myanmar, South China Sea

ASEAN leaders meet in Laos summit to tackle Myanmar, South China Sea
  • ASEAN summit will also be followed by meetings with global powers including China, the United States and Russia
  • ASEAN’s influence has historically been limited even among its own members, but the forum has often served as a platform for dialogues among superpowers

VIENTIANE, Laos: Southeast Asian leaders gathered in the capital of Laos on Wednesday for an annual regional forum that will focus on tackling the prolonged civil war in Myanmar and territorial tensions in the South China Sea, two key challenges that have long tested the bloc’s credibility.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit will also be followed by meetings with global powers including China, the United States and Russia, which are contending for influence in the region.
The timing of the meetings in Vientiane makes it likely that talks will also touch on the escalation of violence in the Middle East, although Southeast Asia has faced only indirect fallout.
ASEAN’s influence has historically been limited even among its own members, but the forum has often served as a platform for dialogues among superpowers looking to engage with the region.
The 10-member states of ASEAN – Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Myanmar, Cambodia, Brunei and Laos – will also hold talks with their dialogue partners from elsewhere in the region including Japan, South Korea, India and Australia on topics ranging from the economy to climate change and energy.
Lao Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone welcomed new leaders from Thailand and Singapore to the summit in his opening speech. He said Lao, one of the poorest countries in the bloc, aims to help members work together to manage geopolitical and economic challenges under its chairmanship.
“We help one another, and work together the ASEAN way,” he said. “We will discuss and strengthen cooperation between ASEAN members and other dialogue partners, along with upholding the unity and centrality of ASEAN.”
Thailand’s Paetongtarn Shinawatra, who took the premiership in August, is the bloc’s youngest leader at 38. Singapore’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong took over in May from Lee Hsien Loong, who stepped down after 20 years. Vietnam also has a new leader after President To Lam took office in August, but the country is being represented by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.
President Joko Widodo of Indonesia, ASEAN’s biggest member, is skipping the forum as his successor Prabowo Subianto prepares to take office later this month, sending Vice President Ma’ruf Amin in his stead. It will also be the first overseas trip for Japan’s new prime minister Shigeru Ishiba, who was confirmed just last week.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will fill in for President Joe Biden at the meetings, while China will be represented by Premier Li Qiang.
Frayed US-China relations, particularly over Beijing’s increasing assertiveness in the disputed South China Sea, will be a major agenda item for Blinken, said Dan Kritenbrink, the top US diplomat for Asia. He could not say if Blinken plans to hold separate meetings in Laos with Chinese officials.
“A number of (China)-related issues are likely to come up in the context of the ASEAN meetings, including the situation in the South China Sea and China’s continuing to take a number of escalatory and irresponsible steps designed to coerce and pressure many in the South China Sea claimants,” Kritenbrink said.
ASEAN members Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei, along with Taiwan have overlapping claims with China, which claims sovereignty over virtually all of the South China Sea and has become increasingly aggressive in attempts to enforce them. ASEAN members and China are negotiating a non-binding code of conduct to govern behavior in the sea, but progress has been slow.
Chinese and Philippine vessels have clashed repeatedly this year, and Vietnam charged last week that Chinese forces assaulted its fishermen in disputed areas in the South China Sea. China has also sent patrol vessels to areas that Indonesia and Malaysia claim as exclusive economic zones. The Philippines, a longtime US ally, has been critical of other ASEAN countries for not doing more to get China to back away.
Muhammad Faizal Abdul Rahman, research fellow at Singapore’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, said there’s little chance of clear outcomes as those not in direct conflict with China – the region’s top trade and investment partner – will likely prioritize ties with Beijing,
“It is the preference for conflict avoidance while getting geostrategic benefits where possible,” he said. “In reality, national interests matter more than regional interests.”
ASEAN’s credibility has also been severely tested by the crisis in Myanmar, where close to 6,000 people have been killed and over 3 million displaced since the army ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021.
Myanmar’s junta has agreed to an ASEAN peace plan that calls for ceasefire and mediation, but hasn’t followed through as it continues battling pro-democracy guerillas and ethnic rebels. It’s widely believed that considerably less than half the country’s territory is under the army’s control.
Thailand is expected to host an informal regional consultation on the Myanmar crisis in December, although it is unclear who will attend from Myanmar. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nikorndej Balangura said the meeting will be open to all ASEAN members at a ministerial level and possible to countries with a shared border with Myanmar.
“Thailand is ready to coordinate to create a concerted ASEAN effort that will lead to peace in Myanmar,” he told reporters.
Myanmar sent Foreign Ministry permanent secretary Aung Kyaw Moe to the summit, its first high-level representative at the summit in three years, after ASEAN barred it from sending political representatives in late 2021.
Allowing a senior diplomat from Myanmar to join the meetings “will be perceived as ASEAN is compromising, confirming the concern that ASEAN is experiencing fatigue in dealing with the crisis,” said Lina Alexandra, senior researcher at Indonesia’s Center for Strategic and International Studies. Chances for any significant breakthrough on the crisis remain slim, she said.


A notorious drug gang is in the crosshairs of a French police investigation of prison attacks

A notorious drug gang is in the crosshairs of a French police investigation of prison attacks
Updated 2 sec ago
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A notorious drug gang is in the crosshairs of a French police investigation of prison attacks

A notorious drug gang is in the crosshairs of a French police investigation of prison attacks
Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said one of the suspected organizers of last month’s prison attacks claims to have ties with the DZ Mafia
The Paris prosecutor said 21 people detained for suspected involvement

PARIS: Anti-organized crime specialist investigators probing a wave of attacks on prisons and prison staff in France are looking at the possible involvement of a notorious drug cartel, the Paris prosecutor said Saturday.
The so-called DZ Mafia is suspected of being one of the main narco-trafficking networks working out of the southern French port city of Marseille, which has a long history as a hub for the drug trade and banditry associated with it.
Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said at a news conference Saturday that one of the suspected organizers of last month’s prison attacks claims to have ties with the DZ Mafia. She said police investigators will examine “the real or supposed influence of the DZ Mafia” in the violence.
Several prisons were targeted by gunfire and arson, including attacks on prison workers’ homes and on cars at a prison service school, in the Paris area and elsewhere, the prosecutor said.
The letters “DDPF” were graffitied on some targets, believed to stand for “défense des prisonniers français,” which translates as “defense of French prisoners.”
The Paris prosecutor said 21 people detained for suspected involvement in the violence have been handed preliminary charges for attempted murder and other alleged crimes.
French authorities in recent months have stepped up policing against drug trafficking, concerned about growing cocaine use in France and violence associated with the trafficking of that and other drugs.

Waltz ouster adds to tumult in Trump’s national security team but consolidates power in fewer hands

Waltz ouster adds to tumult in Trump’s national security team but consolidates power in fewer hands
Updated 41 min 9 sec ago
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Waltz ouster adds to tumult in Trump’s national security team but consolidates power in fewer hands

Waltz ouster adds to tumult in Trump’s national security team but consolidates power in fewer hands
  • The staff shake-up comes as the administration confronts foreign policy issues
  • The Pentagon, too, has been a source of tumult, with Hegseth directing firings of top military officers and now ousting his own top civilian advisers in response to leak allegations

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump’s removal of national security adviser Mike Waltz brings further disruption to a national security team that has already endured scrutiny over using the Signal messaging app to discuss sensitive military operations as well as mounting questions over the leadership of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and the firing of the four-star general who led the National Security Agency.
The staff shake-up comes as the administration confronts foreign policy issues that include Iran’s rapidly advancing nuclear ambitions, a trade fight with China and conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine that have defied easy resolutions despite Trump’s initial confidence that he could settle both wars quickly.
But Waltz’s departure also presents an opportunity for Trump to consolidate foreign policy in just a few hands, with the Republican president asserting even more power over decision-making and relying on a select group of people who have entirely embraced his “America First” agenda.
Those influential voices include special envoy Steve Witkoff and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who on Thursday was named to replace Waltz on an acting basis while Waltz was nominated as the US ambassador to the United Nations.
“I would think he has just about what he wants” in terms of consolidated power, said William Banks, founding director of what is now called the Syracuse University Institute for Security Policy and Law. “There aren’t many outliers.”
Gaining Trump’s confidence or losing it
Rubio may once have seemed an unlikely choice for such prominent positions given that the onetime Trump rival and hawkish conservative was derided by Trump as “Little Marco” during the 2016 presidential campaign.
But since then, the former Florida senator has proved adept at aligning himself with Trump’s foreign policy positions, presiding over a massive overhaul of the State Department while steering clear of some of the pitfalls that other national security leaders have encountered.
Waltz, for instance, faced intense criticism in March after revelations that he added journalist Jeffrey Goldberg to a private text chain on an encrypted messaging app that was used to discuss planning for an airstrike against Houthi militants in Yemen.
He also was considered to be part of a neoconservative wing of the Republican Party that had supported the war in Iraq and other US military interventions abroad, including in Syria and Libya, that have now found disfavor in today’s GOP. The former Florida congressman has advocated for further diplomatically isolating Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom Trump has viewed at moments with admiration.
The Pentagon, too, has been a source of tumult, with Hegseth directing firings of top military officers and now ousting his own top civilian advisers in response to leak allegations. There are now multiple vacancies in key positions at a critical time for the military. Other missteps have included a broad edict for the military services to erase images celebrating diversity, leading to the brief removal of online content of prominent figures such as Jackie Robinson and causing a public outcry.
Reports of Elon Musk being offering a classified Pentagon briefing on China and Hegseth posting airstrike plans in two Signal chats with dozens of people have spurred calls for the defense secretary’s firing. But Trump has stood by him.
Trump’s national security team could be “charitably” described as “a work in progress,” said Daniel Fried, a former US ambassador to Poland and a National Security Council official under both the Clinton and George W. Bush administrations, citing what he said were concerns about coordination and portfolios.
“I’m not saying that the Trump foreign policy team is doomed. But the lack of coordination, the lack of consistency, the sense of chaotic decision-making isn’t just a media myth,” Fried said.
Trump’s approach to foreign policy
The national security adviser post, established in 1953, matters to the functioning of a cohesive government. That official is intended to serve as a hub in coordinating information, soliciting advice among agencies and developing policy recommendations for the president.
But the argument for balance in policymaking is unlikely to resonate with Trump. Over the course of his career, he has claimed expert knowledge on everything from Islamic militants to taxes and technology.
Heather Conley, a former deputy assistant secretary of state during the George W. Bush administration, said Trump often gives greater weight to advice and recommendations from television and social media than his senior advisers.
“There is very little role for policy coordination because the president is clearly setting the policy on a daily, hourly basis,” Conley said.
The NSC didn’t immediately respond to messages seeking comment.
Even as Trump has elevated Rubio, there are signs that Trump also has welcomed the input of a far-less conventional source: far-right activist Laura Loomer.
Last month, she appeared to take credit for Trump’s firing of Air Force Gen. Tim Haugh as head of the NSA and the Pentagon’s Cyber Command after a 33-year career in intelligence and cyber operations. Loomer said she had raised questions to Trump about Haugh’s ties to retired Gen. Mark Milley, who was chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Trump’s first term but later became a critic, and she questioned Haugh’s loyalty.
On Friday, Loomer said she recommended to Trump in a private meeting last month that he remove Waltz from his job.
Changes from the first Trump administration
The Waltz ouster notwithstanding, Trump has tried to project a more ordered administration than during his first term. Those four years were marked by big personnel changes among his national security leadership and bitter disagreements with officials he felt were trying to rein him in or box in his choices.
He replaced three national security advisers, and fired an FBI director and secretary of state. He clashed with one defense secretary who resigned after differing with Trump over the abrupt withdrawal of US troops from Syria and dismissed another who broke with him over using the military during racial justice protests in 2020.
The removal of a national security adviser with views not in perfect alignment with his own may help free Trump from some of the constraints he felt from government agencies in his first term.
Yet at a moment when Trump is trying to find endgames to the wars in Ukraine and Gaza while trying to negotiate an Iran nuclear deal and waging a global tariff war, leaning on Rubio to serve in both roles may be suboptimal.
Appearing Thursday night on Fox News Channel’s “Hannity,” Rubio centered his comments on the foreign policy news of the day — including the US role in trying to broker peace between Russia and Ukraine — rather than on a leadership transition that now has him juggling two major positions.
“The fact that Rubio has multiple titles may mean that his stock is rising, but not necessarily,” Fried said. “And that’s part of the problem. If it’s not clear who is in charge and it’s not clear where you go to get answers, that’s not a recipe for leverage. It’s a recipe for uncertainty and paralysis.”


Kremlin calls Ukrainian response to Putin’s ceasefire offer ambiguous, calls for clarity

Kremlin calls Ukrainian response to Putin’s ceasefire offer ambiguous, calls for clarity
Updated 03 May 2025
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Kremlin calls Ukrainian response to Putin’s ceasefire offer ambiguous, calls for clarity

Kremlin calls Ukrainian response to Putin’s ceasefire offer ambiguous, calls for clarity
  • Zelensky also said that Ukraine, given the continued war with Russia, could not guarantee the safety of any foreign dignitaries who came to Moscow for the May 9 parade
  • Russia’s Foreign Ministry said his comments amounted to a threat

MOSCOW: The Kremlin said on Saturday it wanted a definitive response from Ukraine to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s offer of a three-day ceasefire next week, criticizing the reaction so far as ambiguous and historically wrong.
Putin on Monday declared a three-day ceasefire to mark the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Soviet Union and its allies over Nazi Germany in World War Two.
The Kremlin said the 72-hour ceasefire would run on May 8, May 9 — when Putin will host international leaders on Moscow’s Red Square, including Chinese President Xi Jinping — and May 10.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky appeared to rule out such a brief ceasefire earlier on Saturday, saying he was only ready to sign up to a ceasefire that would last at least 30 days, an idea Putin has said needs a lot of work before it could become a reality.
Zelensky also said that Ukraine, given the continued war with Russia, could not guarantee the safety of any foreign dignitaries who came to Moscow for the May 9 parade.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry said his comments amounted to a threat, while Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, said nobody could guarantee that the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv would survive to see May 10 if Ukraine attacked Moscow during the May 9 celebrations.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov convened a special conference call after Zelensky’s comments.
He told reporters that Putin’s three-day offer had been a test to assess Kyiv’s readiness to search for a peaceful settlement to end the war.
“The reaction of the Ukrainian authorities to Russia’s initiative to introduce a ceasefire is a test of Ukraine’s readiness for peace. And we will, of course, await not ambiguous but definitive statements and, most importantly, actions aimed at de-escalating the conflict over the public holidays,” Peskov said.
He accused the Ukrainian authorities of espousing “neo-Nazism,” an allegation Kyiv has repeatedly rejected as false, and of not considering the victory over Nazi Germany to be important enough to mark properly.
Peskov also commented on media reports that Ukrainian soldiers will take part in World War Two commemorations in Britain, calling the move “sacrilege.”


Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese wins a second three-year term

Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese wins a second three-year term
Updated 03 May 2025
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Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese wins a second three-year term

Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese wins a second three-year term
  • Opposition leader Peter Dutton conceded defeat in Saturday’s election
  • The Australian Electoral Commission’s projections gave Albanese’s ruling center-left Labour Party 70 seats

MELBOURNE: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has become the first Australian prime minister to win a second consecutive three-year term in 21 years.
Opposition leader Peter Dutton conceded defeat in Saturday’s election, saying, “We didn’t do well enough during this campaign, that much is obvious tonight, and I accept full responsibility for that.”
“Earlier on, I called the prime minister to congratulate him on his success tonight. It’s a historic occasion for the Labour Party and we recognize that,” he added.
The Australian Electoral Commission’s projections gave Albanese’s ruling center-left Labour Party 70 seats and the conservative opposition coalition 24 seats in the 150-seat House of Representatives, the lower chamber where parties need a majority to form governments. Unaligned minor parties and independent candidates appeared likely to win 13 seats.
Australian Broadcasting Corp. respected election analyst Antony Green predicted Labor would win 76 seats, the coalition 36 and unaligned lawmakers 13. Green said Labor would form a majority or minority government and that the coalition had no hope of forming even a minority government.
Energy policy and inflation have been major issues in the campaign, with both sides agreeing the country faces a cost of living crisis.
Opposition leader branded ‘DOGE-y Dutton’
Dutton’s conservative Liberal Party blames government waste for fueling inflation and increasing interest rates, and has pledged to ax more than one in five public service jobs to reduce government spending.
While both say the country should reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, Dutton argues that relying on more nuclear power instead of renewable energy sources such as solar and wind turbines would deliver less expensive electricity.
The ruling center-left Labour Party has branded the opposition leader “DOGE-y Dutton” and accused his party of mimicking US President Donald Trump and his Department of Government Efficiency.
Labor argues Dutton’s administration would slash services to pay for its nuclear ambitions.
“We’ve seen the attempt to run American-style politics here of division and pitting Australians against each other and I think that’s not the Australian way,” Albanese said.
Albanese also noted that his government had improved relations with China, which removed a series of official and unofficial trade barriers that had cost Australian exporters 20 billion Australian dollars ($13 billion) a year since Labor came to power in 2022.
A cost of living crisis as the country faces generational change
The election is taking place against a backdrop of what both sides of politics describe as a cost of living crisis.
Foodbank Australia, the nation’s largest food relief charity, reported 3.4 million households in the country of 27 million people experienced food insecurity last year.
That meant Australians were skipping meals, eating less or worrying about running out of food before they could afford to buy more.
The central bank reduced its benchmark cash interest rate by a quarter percentage point in February to 4.1 percent in an indication that the worst of the financial hardship had passed. The rate is widely expected to be cut again at the bank’s next board meeting on May 20, this time to encourage investment amid the international economic uncertainty generated by Trump’s tariff policies.
Both campaigns have focused on Australia’s changing demographics. The election is the first in Australia in which Baby Boomers, born between born between the end of World War II and 1964, are outnumbered by younger voters.
Both campaigns promised policies to help first-home buyers buy into a property market that is too expensive for many.
The election could produce a minority government
Going into the election, Labor held a narrow majority of 78 seats in a 151-seat House of Representatives. There will be 150 seats in the next parliament due to redistributions.
A loss of more than two seats could force Labor to attempt to form a minority government with the support of unaligned lawmakers.
There was a minority government after the 2010 election, and the last one before that was during World War II.
The last time neither party won a majority, it took 17 days after the polls closed before key independent lawmakers announced they would support a Labor administration.


‘Unremitting violence’ against Myanmar civilians must end, says UN rights chief

‘Unremitting violence’ against Myanmar civilians must end, says UN rights chief
Updated 03 May 2025
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‘Unremitting violence’ against Myanmar civilians must end, says UN rights chief

‘Unremitting violence’ against Myanmar civilians must end, says UN rights chief
  • More than 200 civilians were killed in airstrikes last month after March’s devastating earthquake killed at least 3,800
  • Warring factions in civil war launched ‘relentless attacks’ despite month-long ceasefire

NEW YORK CITY: Civilians in war-torn Myanmar are facing “unremitting violence” despite a month-long ceasefire that was reached in the wake of March’s devastating earthquake, the UN’s human rights chief has said.

It comes after the country’s military regime launched at least 243 attacks since the March 28 earthquake.

More than 200 civilians were reportedly killed in the strikes.

“Amid so many crises around the world, the unbearable suffering of the people in Myanmar cannot be forgotten,” Volker Turk said on Friday.

“The vast majority of attacks happened after April 2 when the Myanmar military and the National Unity Government announced unilateral ceasefires,” he added.

The earthquake in March killed more than 3,800 people and decimated infrastructure across the country.

More than 55,000 homes were damaged and destroyed across several regions of Myanmar.

The disaster compounded an already dire humanitarian situation in the Southeast Asian country, with more than one-third of the population of almost 20 million people requiring assistance even before the earthquake.

The country’s military regime and the opposition National Unity Government announced a temporary ceasefire after the disaster.

It was extended in mid-April and expired on April 30.

Civil society sources recorded repeat violations of the ceasefire by the military, including numerous attacks on civilian rescuers shortly after the earthquake.

Myanmar’s civil war, which began in 2021, has killed almost 80,000 people.

“Families already displaced by years of conflict now face early torrential rains, extreme heat and rising risk of disease” in the wake of the earthquake, the UN said.

According to a World Health Organization report published on Friday, more than 450,000 people in Myanmar require critical health services, but only about 33,600 have been reached.

Turk warned that the “relentless attacks” carried out by warring parties in the country are “affecting a population already heavily beleaguered and exhausted by years of conflict.”

The fighting is also disrupting efforts to deliver essential aid to people across Myanmar, he added.

“International law is clear that humanitarian aid must be able to reach those in need without impediment,” Turk said.

“This is the time to put people first, to prioritize their human rights and humanitarian needs, and to achieve a peaceful resolution to this crisis.”

UN officials in Myanmar have also sounded the alarm on the deteriorating situation in the country.

Marcoluigi Corsi, humanitarian and resident coordinator ad interim for Myanmar, spoke to the press in New York City via video link from Yangon on Thursday.

One month on from the earthquake, “the suffering is immense and the stakes are very high,” he said.

Corsi called on the international community to urgently deliver their pledged aid amounts, and that “without timely action, the crisis would get worse.”

Early last month, the UN and its humanitarian partners launched a $275 million appeal as an addition to a major humanitarian strategy to reach about 1.1 million people in need across Myanmar.

Yet the appeal has only received $34 million in pledges, Corsi said, adding: “Lives depend on our collective commitment to delivering the support that is desperately needed … the time to act is now.”