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‘Initial phase’ of Indonesia's 2024 elections will begin on Jun 14: President Joko Widodo...
Kusu News 20-May-2022
Assessing the Outcomes of the US-ASEAN Special Summit
The meeting fulfilled its purpose as a symbolic statement of American commitment, but came up short on the specifics.
17-May-2022 The Diplomat
Late last week, U.S. President Joe Biden hosted representatives from nine Southeast Asian nations as well as the secretary general of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) for a two-day special summit in Washington, D.C.
The meeting was an important watershed in the Biden administration’s attempts to engage Southeast Asia, a region that it views as central to countering China’s rising influence in Asia and beyond. Biden set this tone in remarks to his Southeast Asian counterparts on the afternoon of May 13, during which he described the U.S.-ASEAN partnership as “critical” and hailed the beginning of “a new era” in relations.
Biden told the ASEAN leaders that “a great deal of history of our world in the next 50 years is going to be written in the ASEAN countries, and our relationship with you is the future, in the coming years and decades.”
Is the US creating an Indo-Pacific version of NATO to deter China?
Amid the Ukraine crisis, China warns of a similar tragedy in Asia as it accuses the US of ‘bloc politics’ in the region. The documentary When Titans Clash examines Beijing’s claim and concerns — and the possibility of a future war.
15-May-2022 CNA
SINGAPORE: It was last June when a British destroyer entered Black Sea waters claimed by Russia since its 2014 annexation of Crimea. In response, Russian Coastguard fired shots into the distance.
Days later, the warship joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) naval exercise in the region involving 32 countries and co-led by the United States and Ukraine.
Some analysts point to events like this as examples of Russia’s fear of NATO and claims of provocation, and of why the military alliance was one of President Vladimir Putin’s justifications for war on Ukraine.
The Chinese government’s narrative also attributes responsibility for the Ukraine crisis to NATO and the US — while other governments and analysts deem the invasion of Ukraine illegal and say NATO expansionism is not a valid reason for invading a country.
Covid has hit China’s economy harder than expected
16-May-2022 CNN Business
China has reported disappointing economic data for the month of April, underscoring the extensive damage Covid lockdowns have wreaked on the country.
The world’s second largest economy reported shocking drops in retail sales and factory production, widely missing market expectations.
Retail sales plunged 11.1% in April from a year ago, according to China’s National Bureau of Statistics on Monday. That was well below the 6.1% drop forecast in a Reuters survey of economists, and also much lower than the 3.5% decrease seen in March.
Industrial production fell 2.9% last month from a year earlier, reversing a 5% gain in March.
This marks the worst contraction in industrial production since February 2020, when China’s economy came to a near standstill during the initial coronavirus outbreak.
Unemployment also surged to the second highest level on record
China Eastern plane crash likely intentional, US reports say
18-May-2022 BBC
Flight data indicates a China Eastern Airlines plane that crashed in March was intentionally put into a nose-dive, according to US media reports.
Investigators have so far not found any mechanical or technical faults with the jet, the reports say, citing a preliminary assessment by US officials.
The Boeing 737-800 was flying between the southern Chinese cities of Kunming and Guangzhou when it crashed.
All 132 passengers and crew on board the plane died in the crash.
"The plane did what it was told to do by someone in the cockpit," according to the Wall Street Journal, which first reported the story, citing a person familiar with US officials' preliminary assessment of the cause of the crash.
Data from one of the plane's "black box" flight recorders, which was recovered from the crash site, suggested that inputs to the controls pushed the plane into a near-vertical dive, the report said.
Analysis: Alarmed by Solomon Islands-China pact, NZ finds its voice on security
18-May-2022 Reuters
WELLINGTON, May 17 (Reuters) - New Zealand has long been seen as the moderate, even absent, voice on China in the "Five Eyes" western alliance, so much so that its commitment to the group was questioned just 12 months ago.
The recent signing of a security pact between China and nearby Solomon Islands appears to have changed that. read more
New Zealand's tone on both security and Beijing's growing presence in the South Pacific has toughened, a shift analysts say reflects concerns the agreement will give Beijing a strategic foothold and potentially a military presence in the Pacific that could destabilise Western influence.
Arrest of ‘Stubborn About Justice’ Cardinal Zen Divides Hong Kong’s Catholics
The priest, 90 years old, has been a spiritual leader of the city’s pro-democracy movement while the church hierarchy has aligned itself with the pro-Beijing government
16-May-2022 WSJ
HONG KONG—Using an umbrella as his cane, 90-year-old Cardinal Joseph Zen walked into a courtroom Wednesday to sit in on a pretrial hearing for activists facing national-security charges. A thorn in Beijing’s side for decades, the pro-democracy firebrand still commits his days to supporting fellow activists even as his body grows frail.
Soon after, police arrested Cardinal Zen and four others over allegations they had conspired to collude with foreign forces to endanger China’s national security.
Authorities have charged scores of prominent opposition figures during the past two years, but the arrest of a Catholic cardinal was especially jarring to many in the city. Human-rights groups say the move signals the clampdown is likely to intensify under the city’s incoming leader and former security chief, hard-liner John Lee.
