Major developments in east asia pacific, friday, november 15, 2019
- 1. SINGAPORE OCBC Centre, 65 Chulia Street (Enter from the Eastern Lobby), #46-00 Singapore 049513 T: +65 6670 6855 F: +65 6670 6701 Major Developments in East Asia Pacific, Friday, November 15, 2019 Location Map INDONESIA 1. 7.1-magnitude quake jolts Moluccas. A 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck near Moluccas Islands before midnight last night. The quake had its epicenter in the sea 139 km northwest of the City of Ternate with a depth of 35 km. A tsunami alert was announced but it was lifted about two hours later. More than 20 aftershocks have occurred. There was an electricity blackout after the quake. There have been no reports of damage or casualties in the area. 2. Cleric who radicalized Medan bomber hunted. Indonesias police and anti-terror units are on the hunt for a cleric following the November 13 suicide bombing in Medan. Authorities said the cleric influenced the lone wolf bomber who attacked the Medan police station. Police said they have identified the identity of the cleric. They said they had searched the clerics house in the Belawan area but he was nowhere to be found. Meanwhile, global think tank Terrorism Research and Analysis Consortium claimed that the 24-year-old Medan attacker pledged allegiance to the new Islamic State leader before committing the assault. The suicide bomber is thought to have carried out the attack by
- 2. SINGAPORE OCBC Centre, 65 Chulia Street (Enter from the Eastern Lobby), #46-00 Singapore 049513 T: +65 6670 6855 F: +65 6670 6701 himself but police are looking for any possible connections to Islamic State-linked Jamaah Ansharut Daulah. THAILAND 3. Prayut moves to patch up coalition rift. Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha will soon meet with leaders of the parties making up the ruling coalition. Prayut is seen as seeking to patch up recent rifts among the Palang Pracharat-led coalition leaders. The meeting will come ahead of a no-confidence debate in parliament against the government. The row stemmed from allegation that the main coalition party, Palang Pracharat, had back-stabbed Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob, the secretary- general of Bhumjaithai Party. Palang Pracharat executive and Digital Economy Minister Buddhipongse Punnakanta denied this. Bumjhatithai had alleged that some Palang Pracharat figures were behind a move by a media outlet to attack Saksayam over alleged irregularities. Buddhipongse also said that Palang Pracharat and its coalition partners are ready for the no-confidence debate expected in December. 4. 176 kg of crystal meth bound for Japan seized. Anti-narcotics officers have seized 176 kg of crystal methamphetamine stashed in a shipment bound for Japan. On November 12, officers at Suvarnabhumi airport found 36 kg of crystal meth hidden in exercise equipment among air cargo headed for Japan. The discovery enabled the officers to track the shipment back to the warehouse. During the raid on the warehouse, authorities found a further 140 kg of crystal meth inside the frames of 10 treadmills. One person was arrested after the raid. The police, however, believe more suspects were involved. Thailand is a major trafficking route for crystal meth manufactured in Myanmars Shan and Kachin states. MALAYSIA 5. PKR tense again over youth congress. Tensions flared anew in the ruling Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) amid continuing uncertainties in the Mahathir-Anwar transition deal. Fresh rifts are evolving between party people backing its president, Anwar Ibrahim, and those supporting his rival, Economic Affairs Minister Azmin Ali. The PKR Youth had withdrawn an invitation to Azmin to officiate its annual congress. Azmin claimed that there was a hidden hand behind that move. PKR Youth Chief Akmal Nasrullah Mohamad Nasir countered by saying Azmin is the real hidden hand destroying the party. He cited Azmins failure to attend any of the partys leadership council or political bureau meetings as a reason for withdrawing the invitation. If he thinks he can be so powerful to shun party meetings, he no longer possesses the characteristics of a PKR leader, Akmal said.
- 3. SINGAPORE OCBC Centre, 65 Chulia Street (Enter from the Eastern Lobby), #46-00 Singapore 049513 T: +65 6670 6855 F: +65 6670 6701 MYANMAR 6. Two economic ministries to be combined. The Myanmar government has announced plans to combine the Ministry of Industry and Ministry of Planning and Finance into a single ministry. The merger is proposed by President U Win Myint. A Union-level representative from the government will explain the plan to the parliament in order to seek its approval. The planned merger was in line with the governments aim to streamline the bureaucracy and cut costs. PHILIPPINES 7. Military chief orders manhunt for Islamic State foreign militants. Armed Forces Chief of Staff Gen. Noel Clement ordered an intensified manhunt for five foreign members of the Islamic State believed hiding with local Abu Sayyaf militants in Sulu province. The order came a week after security forces killed three militants, including two Egyptian suicide bombers, in Indanan town, Sulu. The marching order to the soldiers is to capture all the foreign terrorists, Clement said in Zamboanga City. Clement was in the city to assess the regional security in the southern Philippines. 8. More than 300 Chinese deported, 36 Japanese detained over alleged online scam. Philippine authorities deported 312 Chinese nationals suspected of being involved in an online scam syndicate that targets people in China. The Chinese were among 512 foreigners arrested on November 9 in raids in Pasay City, south of Manila. The others were from Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Taiwan and Vietnam. Police in Manila have also detained 36 Japanese men over an alleged phone scam targeting people in Japan. The group is believed to have operated from several locations in the Philippines, immigration sources said. CAMBODIA 9. Hun Senfrees more than 70 opposition activists. Prime Minister Hun Sen has ordered the release on bail of more than 70 opposition activists detained in recent weeks. The activists were accused of helping Hun Sens arch-rival, Sam Rainsy, plot a coup. Hun Sen said the release is for the sake of national unity, adding that they had been cheated by Rainsy. The announcement came days after Cambodia eased restrictions on another opposition leader, Kem Sokha. Sokha has been detained since 2017 for conspiring with a foreign power to overthrow the Hun Sen government. Sokha is now free to travel within Cambodia but cannot engage in politics. Rainsy is now in Jakarta, flying there from Kuala Lumpur. He was supposed to come back to Cambodia last November 9, but he was blocked from boarding in Paris.
- 4. SINGAPORE OCBC Centre, 65 Chulia Street (Enter from the Eastern Lobby), #46-00 Singapore 049513 T: +65 6670 6855 F: +65 6670 6701 10. Sam Rainsy in Jakarta, planning next moves. Exiled opposition leader Sam Rainsy arrived in Jakarta, Indonesia yesterday. He said he was set to meet some of the countrys lawmakers and civil society groups. He is planning how to return to Cambodia at the earliest possible time. He wants to continue his mission to lead a movement to bring down the Hun Sen government. CHINA 11. China says holding in-depth talks with US on first phase of trade deal. The Chinese commerce ministry said China and the United States are holding in-depth discussions for a first trade agreement. Ministry Spokesman Gao Feng said cancelling tariffs is an important condition to reaching a deal. China has emphasized many times that the trade war began with additional tariffs and should end with the cancellation of additional tariffs, said Gao. If both sides reach a phase one deal, the degree of tariff cancellation should fully reflect the importance of the phase one deal; and its importance should be appraised by both sides together, Gao added. 12. Hong Kong protesters threaten one country, two systems principleXi. Chinese President Xi Jinping said yesterday that protests in Hong Kong threaten the one country, two systems principle governing the semi-autonomous city. Xi repeated Chinas unwavering support for the Hong Kong government and police. Speaking at a summit in Brasilia, Brazil, Xi said stopping violence and controlling chaos while restoring order is currently Hong Kongs most urgent task. 13. Reports of curfew denied; Hong Kong in partial shutdown as protests continue. The government of Hong Kong issued a statement yesterday denying widespread media reports that it was planning to implement curfew. The government said the rumors are totally unfounded. Meanwhile, police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters yesterday, on the fourth straight day of their strike. Protests continued across the territory amid transportation shutdowns. Large numbers of protesters gathered in the Central business district. Students also re-established barricades at university campuses. NORTH KOREA 14. US offer of December talks rejected. North Korea said it had thumbed down a proposed denuclearization talk with the United States next month. Kim Myong Gil, the Norths negotiator, said the North rejected the offer. We are uninterested in more talks aimed at appeasing us ahead of a year-end deadline we set for the US to show more flexibility in negotiations. Kim had met with his US counterpart, Stephen Biegun, in Stockholm last month. However, the two sides came out empty handed, with Kim saying the US had not offered any new approach.
- 5. SINGAPORE OCBC Centre, 65 Chulia Street (Enter from the Eastern Lobby), #46-00 Singapore 049513 T: +65 6670 6855 F: +65 6670 6701 AUSTRALIA 15. Lack of rains to prolong bushfire threat in Australia. The official weather forecasts for Australia yesterday were predicting no substantial rains for at least three months. The weather forecasts are bad news for firefighters still battling more than 100 bushfires across the east coast as of yesterday. Firefighters said the blazes will burn for more weeks without significant rain. The Bureau of Meteorology said there is just 25% chance that Australias east coast will receive average rainfall between December 1 and February 28. There is more than 80% chance that temperatures will exceed average levels over the next three months.