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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40011162

MANILA, Philippines — The government has awarded a $374-million (P19 billion) contract to India to equip the Philippine Navy with the world’s fastest supersonic cruise missiles.

In a Facebook post on Friday, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said he signed on Dec. 31 the notice of award to BrahMos Aerospace Private Ltd., an Indian-Russian aerospace and defense joint venture.

The company’s name BrahMos is a portmanteau formed from the names of two rivers, the Brahmaputra in India and the Moskva in Russia.

The project, which was negotiated with the Indian government, includes the delivery of three batteries of BrahMos missiles, training for operators and maintainers, as well as the necessary integrated logistics support package.

The awarding of the contract came just days after the Department of Budget and Management issued two special allotment release orders amounting to P2.83 billion on Dec. 27, as initial downpayment covering 15 percent of the total contract price.

The Philippine Navy Shore-Based Anti-Ship Missile Acquisition Project was part of the second horizon (2018 to 2022) of the Revised Armed Forces of the Philippines Modernization Program.

The BrahMos missile carries a 300-kilogram semi-armor piercing warhead, which can penetrate and damage even the toughest ship hulls.

It has a maximum range of more than 400 kilometers and a velocity of Mach 2.8 (about thrice the speed of sound), which is currently the world’s fastest cruise missile. BrahMos is currently developing a much faster hypersonic missile, with a range of 600 km and speed of Mach 8.

According to Collin Koh, a research fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies of the Singapore Nanyang Technological University, the Philippines would be the third in Southeast Asia (SEA) to be equipped with supersonic antiship missile system.

Indonesia has the ship-based Russian Yakhont while Vietnam has the land-based variant of Bastion-P.

Koh said the sale of BrahMos missiles to the Philippines “heralds the eventual hurdling of initial policy difficulties in exporting the BrahMos,” especially to other SEA countries.

Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia have also taken interest in acquiring BrahMos missiles.

By: Dexter Cabalza

Published : January 17, 2022

By : Philippine Daily Inquirer

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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40011152

The Environment Ministry on January 14 showed the images of rare animal species caught by motion-sensor camera traps installed in natural protected areas in Pursat, Battambang and Koh Kong provinces.

Ministry spokesman Neth Pheaktra said 10 species at increased risk of local extinction were caught by the cameras installed to study the presence of wildlife in protected areas.

He said officials from the Cambodia Sustainable Landscape and Ecotourism Project under the environment ministry monitored the presence of the 10 species from late October to early January.

They include Asian elephant (Elephas maximus), gaur (Bos gaurus), sambar deer (Rusa unicolor), Indochinese serow (Capricornis sumatraensis maritimus), Sun bear (Helarctos malayanus), Asian black bear (Ursus thibetanus), dhole or Asian wild dog (Cuon alpinus), greater hog badger (Arctonyx collaris), northern pig-tailed Macaque (Macaca leonina), and yellow-throated marten (Martes flavigula).

Some bird species were also recorded in the protected areas of the three provinces.

“We thank our specialists, environment officials, rangers and community members in Pursat, Battambang, and Koh Kong for their efforts in doing research,” Pheaktra said.

According to Pheaktra, environmental expert officials have installed the cameras at 49 locations, 23 of which are in Pursat, 16 in Battambang and 10 in Koh Kong. The cameras are being used to capture the images of rare species for data collection and analysis purposes.

This is the second collection of images of rare species conducted under the Cambodia Sustainable Landscape and Ecotourism Project. The first was conducted from May 29 to June 4 last year in wildlife sanctuaries in Pursat, Kampong Chhnang, and Kampong Speu provinces.

During the study, several rare species such as Asian elephant, clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa), Sun bear, Gaur and deer were recorded.

According to Pheaktra, this project, which is financially supported by the World Bank, has been implemented since October 2019 and will run through 2025.

Published : January 16, 2022

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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40011151

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has stressed that the Asean chairman needs to engage with all parties concerned about the crisis in Myanmar.

He made the point after receiving a video call from his Cambodian counterpart, Mr Hun Sen, on Friday (Jan 14). Cambodia is the current Asean chair under the bloc’s rotating arrangement and Mr Hun Sen has just returned from a trip to Myanmar where he held talks with junta chief, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing.

Mr Lee, who reaffirmed Singapore’s support for Cambodia’s Asean chairmanship and thanked Mr Hun Sen for the briefing on his recent trip, noted that “there had not been any significant progress” in the implementation of the Asean roadmap adopted in April on Myanmar. 

Until there was significant progress, Asean should stick to the decision by its leaders in October last year to only invite a “non-political representative” from Myanmar to its meetings, said PM Lee.

“Any discussion to revise the Asean Leaders’ decision had to be based on new facts,” Mr Lee was quoted as saying in a Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) statement released on Saturday.

Since seizing power on Feb 1 last year, the Myanmar military has had to contend with increasing opposition, which has morphed into armed resistance in various parts of the country. Reports say the military, called the Tatmadaw in the local language, has responded with an iron fist to opponents with tactics that have included aerial bombardments. 

Asean’s roadmap for Myanmar known as the “Five-Point Consensus” calls for an immediate cessation of violence, the provision of humanitarian aid, constructive dialogue among all parties concerned which an Asean special envoy would help facilitate. 

But the junta has dragged its feet on key points of the road map. It has promised to hold fresh elections by August next year but has jailed thousands of its critics and political opponents, including state counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi whose National League for Democracy party won the last election by a landslide in 2020, less than three months before the coup.

Mr Hun Sen spoke to Indonesian President Joko Widodo prior to his visit last week to Myanmar but it is not clear to what extent he consulted with other Asean leaders about the trip.

The Cambodian premier did not ask to see Ms Suu Kyi during his visit. After his meeting with Gen Min Aung Hlaing, Cambodia’s foreign ministry issued a joint press release stating that the junta would extend the expiry date of its earlier declared ceasefire with ethnic armed organisations from next month to the end of this year. The statement made no mention of the numerous “people’s defence forces” waging an insurgency against the Tatmadaw.

Tan Hui Yee

The Straits Times

Published : January 16, 2022

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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40011150

The government will likely allow foreign students to enter Japan in stages, after suspending such entries due to the spread of the omicron variant of the coronavirus overseas, government sources said Friday.

The first stage of the plan is to allow about 100 government-sponsored students to enter Japan from February.

After that, the government will carefully consider the timing of entries of such students, while monitoring infections at home and abroad, they said.

At present, the government has suspended new entries by foreign nationals in principle from all over the world, allowing entry only in exceptional cases where there are “special circumstances,” including cases of public interest.

Taking into consideration that international exchange at educational institutions through accepting foreign students serves the public interest, the government has concluded that allowing the entry of foreign students falls under the category of “special circumstances.”

In the first stage, priority will be given to government-sponsored foreign students who are in a tough situation, such as those who have already taken online classes at Japanese universities while in their home countries but cannot graduate or advance without taking in-person classes.

In particular, students in science departments will be given priority, as it is essential to carry out experiments face-to-face.

After entering Japan, foreign students will be allowed to attend their educational institutions after spending 10 days in hotels or other facilities prepared by the Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry.

According to the Immigration Services Agency of Japan, the number of foreigners who newly entered Japan under the status of student was 121,637 in 2019, but the number dropped sharply to 9,930 from January to October 2021.

In past years, privately financed students have accounted for about 90% of students from overseas. Regarding the government’s plans to increase the number of foreign students, the government is to prioritize government-sponsored students, and make a decision on privately financed students based on the virus situation and other factors.

The government allowed new entries of foreign students on Nov. 8 after infections had subsided, but suspended it again on Nov. 30 due to the spread of the omicron variant.

The Japan News

Published : January 16, 2022

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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40011123

Settling a contentious issue, local offices of the Department of Education (DepEd) have set academic health breaks due to the continuing increase in COVID-19 infections among school personnel and learners in many parts of the country.

But teacher groups assailed the unclear memorandum issued earlier by the DepEd central office, noting how regional and division offices had implemented class suspensions in varying durations.

In its memorandum issued on Friday, DepEd National Capital Region (NCR) suspended the conduct of classes in public schools for a week—from Jan. 15 to Jan. 22—“to ease the health burden caused by the surge of Covid-19 cases to the physical and mental well-being of the school personnel and learners.”

Classes in NCR are to resume on Jan. 24 to Jan. 29, but “on purely asynchronous distance learning modalities,” in which no online classes would be conducted but teachers would post online learning materials and activities that students need to accomplish.

DepEd Calabarzon is implementing a longer break in public schools in the provinces of Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon—from Jan. 17 to Jan. 29. The suspension will cover all school activities, whether physical or online, that involve school-based personnel, learners and parents.

Other school division offices also announced class suspensions: Bulacan, Jan. 14 to Jan. 22; Bataan, Jan. 17 to Jan. 28; Nueva Ecija, Jan. 17 to Jan. 28; and Gapan City, Jan. 17 to Jan. 28.

Reliable assessment

In a memorandum released on Thursday, Education Undersecretary for Curriculum and Instruction Diosdado San Antonio allowed DepEd regional offices and school division offices to suspend classes in January “based on their reliable assessment of the health status of their teachers and learners and the [Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases] risk classification.”

The suspension period is not to exceed two weeks in order to avoid a prolonged disruption in the current school calendar.

Private schools “may exercise their own discretion relative to the suspension of classes and K to 12 learning activities when COVID-19 risks in their respective areas are high,” DepEd said.

Local officials have also called for health breaks and suspended classes in all levels, both in private and public schools, in their jurisdictions.

These include the cities of Manila (Jan. 14 to Jan. 21) and Marikina (Jan. 17 to Jan. 29) in Metro Manila; Malolos City, Bulacan (Jan.14 to Jan. 28); and the municipalities of Sto. Domingo (Jan. 14 to Jan. 27) and Pio Duran (Jan. 17 to Jan. 28) in Albay province.

Teachers Dignity Coalition (TDC) criticized the DepEd central office for passing the buck of suspending classes to regional and division offices, resulting in the varying durations of breaks.

“This is the result of the lack of a unified directive from the central office. That’s why many of our fellow school personnel in different regions, divisions and cities would just say #SanaAll (Let it be for all),” said TDC national chair Benjo Basas.

The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Philippines commended the local DepEd offices and local government units for their immediate action, but pointed out that the two-week health break could at most bring “temporary, albeit much-needed, relief.”

“Our ultimate goal is for our schools to finally be able to reopen safely so that we can effectively overturn the learning loss under distance learning,” ACT secretary general Raymond Basilio said. “For this to happen, we need a relative level of control of the spread of the pandemic, which obviously the government is sorely failing in.”

ACT earlier called on DepEd to implement a two-week health break for all areas under alert level 3. But Education Secretary Leonor Briones had said DepEd would wait for the assessment of the Department of Health on Jan. 15.

Published : January 15, 2022

By : Philippine Daily Inquirer

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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40011122

The world expects all members of the United Nations to fulfill their obligations and observe the truce resolution adopted for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said at a daily news conference on Friday.

Wang made the remark after a reporter sought his comments about the United States and its allies possibly continuing their military drills near China about the time the Games are open.

The resolution, adopted by the 76th session of the UN General Assembly, reflects the consensus of all UN members, Wang said.

The resolution, co-sponsored by 173 countries and adopted on Dec 2, asks all countries to observe the Olympic truce and stop hostile activities seven days before the Winter Olympic Games through to seven days after the end of the Winter Paralympic Games, according to Wang.

The Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics is a grand occasion of sports, the spokesman said, adding that all countries should observe the Olympic motto of “Faster, Higher, Stronger－Together” and bring hope for humanity to overcome difficulties together through a successful Winter Olympics.

China also welcomed UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to attend the opening of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, Wang said, after Guterres said on Thursday that he will attend.

Guterres said that the Olympics is “an extremely important event… that symbolizes the role of sports in bringing people together and in promoting peace”, according to a video clip published by China Global Television Network.

“It is in this strict context and without any political dimension that I intend to be present in the opening－with this message that Olympic Games must be an instrument for peace in the world,” Guterres said.

Countries and international organizations including the UN and the International Olympic Committee have expressed their support for the Beijing Winter Olympics and their opposition to politicizing sport, Wang said, adding that China is confident in working with all parties to implement the Olympic spirit of “Together” and host “a grand Olympic event that is streamlined, safe and splendid”.

Published : January 15, 2022

By : China Daily

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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40011121

A third COVID-19 vaccine dose will be offered to most people in Japan one month earlier than planned, following a government announcement that effectively brings forward the rollout for all eligible residents who want to receive a booster shot.

The schedule for some health care workers and elderly people had already been brought forward by one to two months.

Amid a rapid surge in omicron coronavirus cases, the government has decided to expedite the booster rollout for a wider range of people.

People other than health care workers and senior citizens will start receiving booster shots in March, as the initially planned eight-month interval between the second and third dose has been shortened to at least seven months.

“Bringing forward the booster vaccination schedule is important, considering the omicron infection situation around the world,” Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters on Thursday after a meeting with Health, Labor and Welfare Minister Shigeyuki Goto and Noriko Horiuchi, the minister in charge of vaccinations.

Kishida said he aims to further expedite the booster campaign in a TV program Thursday. “I’d like to work with local governments so that the interval period can be as short as six months,” he said.

About 65 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines will be distributed to local governments and other entities by the end of March, the health ministry announced. Previously, the ministry said about 48 million doses would be delivered by that date, but through negotiations with pharmaceutical firms, more doses will be procured ahead of schedule.

About 20 million doses are expected to be distributed in April. The 85 million doses planned to be delivered through April will be enough for 85% of people who are eligible for booster shots.

The booster vaccination rate for the entire population stands at just 0.8%, with the rollout currently limited to health care workers and residents of elderly care homes.

The government hopes that moving up the schedule for all eligible residents will reduce the number of patients who develop severe symptoms and ensure health care services can be maintained.

The Tokyo metropolitan government announced Thursday it would ask the central government to apply quasi-emergency priority measures for the capital if the occupancy rate of hospital beds for COVID-19 patients reaches 20% — the rate was 15% as of Thursday. It will ask the central government to declare a state of emergency if the rate reaches 50%.

Published : January 15, 2022

By : The Japan News

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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40011120

North Korea test-fired what appeared to be two ballistic missiles from an inland area toward the East Sea on Friday in its third weapons launch this month, just hours after it warned of “stronger and certain reaction” toward Washington for imposing new sanctions against the regime’s recent back-to-back missile tests.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff said North Korea fired two projectiles, believed to be short-range ballistic missiles, from a site in North Pyongan Province toward its east coast on Friday afternoon.

The missiles, which were detected at 2:41 p.m. and 2:52 p.m., reached an altitude of 36 kilometers and flew over 430 kilometers.

Japan’s Prime Minister’s Office said the North Korean launch was possibly a ballistic missile. 

South Korea’s presidential National Security Council held an emergency meeting shortly after the launch, expressing “strong regret” over the North’s repeated test-firing of missiles.

Earlier on Friday, Pyongyang hit back at the US for “intentionally escalating” the situation through fresh sanctions, when the North was practicing its “right to self-defense” through developing new weapons. 

A spokesperson for the country’s Foreign Ministry, in a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency, said that Pyongyang’s launches of new weapons were its “legitimate right” and part of its efforts to modernize its national defense capability. 

The North fired what it claims to be hypersonic missiles on Jan. 5 and Tuesday, after a gap of more than two months of weapons tests in September and October. While analysts play down Pyongyang’s capability of mastering the technology in this area, the series of test-launches raise security concerns as hypersonic weapons can achieve more than five times the speed of sound and are difficult for existing missile defense systems to intercept. 

“The US accusation of the DPRK’s legitimate exercise of the right to self-defense is an evident provocation and a gangster-like logic,” the statement said, referring to the country’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. “If the US adopts such a confrontational stance, the DPRK will be forced to take stronger and certain reaction to it.”

On Wednesday, the Joe Biden administration slapped its first sanctions over North Korea’s weapons program, following a series of weapons tests since last September. It imposed sanctions on five North Koreans living overseas –- one in Russia, and four in China -– over their roles in procuring goods for the country’s weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs. 

Washington is also pushing for stronger UN sanctions on North Korea, as part of a wider effort to put pressure on Pyongyang. But it is unclear whether China and Russia –- permanent members of the UN Security Council –- will support the US initiative. 

Pyongyang said Washington’s sanctions show that while the US appears to be “trumpeting about diplomacy and dialogue,” it is “still engrossed in its policy of isolating and stifling” North Korea. 

“The US is intentionally escalating the situation even with the activation of independent sanctions, not content with referring the DPRK’s just activity to the UN Security Council.” 

Following the sanctions announcement, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a Thursday interview with MSNBC that the North’s latest tests are “profoundly destabilizing.”

“I think some of this is North Korea trying to get attention. It‘s done that in the past. It’ll probably continue to do that,” Blinken said. “But we are very focused with allies and partners in making sure that they and we are properly defended and that there are repercussions, consequences for these actions by North Korea.”

By Ahn Sung-mi

Published : January 15, 2022

By : The Korea Herald

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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40011119

HÀ NỘI — Vietnamese Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính had a phone call with the premier of the State Council of the Peoples Republic of China Li Keqiang on Thursday to discuss measures to boost relations and handle products stranded at border gates.

The talk was held for the 72th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between Việt Nam and China (January 18).

The two sides reviewed achievements of Việt Nam-China relations over the past year and discussed measures to strengthen friendship and enhance political trust as well as expand cooperation between the two countries.

PM Chính congratulated the Party, State and people of China for its achievements in pandemic prevention and control and socio-economic development.

He stressed that the development of the Việt Nam-China comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership was always the top priority in the foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, multilateralisation and diversification of Việt Nam; and the effective and sound development of bilateral relations had an important meaning in the stability and development of each country.

After 35 years of Đổi mới (Renewal), under the leadership of different generations of leaders of Việt Nam and under the current direction of Party General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng, Việt Nam continues to build, supplement and complete theories about socialism and the path to socialism, PM Chính said.

Chinese Premier Li agreed the Vietnamese PM and congratulated him on achievements that the Party, State and people of Việt Nam gained in COVID-19 pandemic prevention and control and socio-economic recovery and development.

He noted that the Party, State and people of China attached great importance to the relations with Việt Nam and wished to strengthen the traditional friendship and continuously develop the China-Việt Nam comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership.

The two leaders agreed that the Việt Nam-China relations continued to develop and gained positive results in 2021. Exchanges of high-ranking delegations were maintained, including two phone calls between the two Party leaders. Two-way trade turnover is estimated to reach a record high of over US$160 billion in 2021, despite COVID-19.

Cooperation in pandemic prevention and control was a spotlight in relations between the two countries, particularly cooperation on vaccines. ASEAN-China cooperation also posted positive results.

The two sides have worked to deal with agricultural products being stranded at border gates. PM Chính said the two sides needed to coordinate closely and apply effective and drastic measures to continue handling the issue to ensure smooth trading activities to help maintain supply and production chains between the two countries and the region.

Chính proposed China continues expanding the import of goods and speed up opening of the market agricultural produce from Việt Nam.

Việt Nam implementing the motto “safety for exports and exports must ensure safety,” the Government leader said.

Chinese Premier Li said he attached importance to the proposals of Việt Nam about cooperation in economy, trade and investment, considering this an important field of cooperation.

Li directed ministries and localities of China to coordinate to deal with the congestion immediately after PM Chính sent a letter to him and met the Chinese Ambassador to Việt Nam.

The situation at the border gates has been handled and trading activities via border gates have been improved, he said.

He proposed the two sides to set up a joint task force to continue dealing with this issue, creating favourable conditions for Vietnamese agricultural produce to enter China and to help maintain smooth trading between both sides.

Chính suggested the two sides continue implementing three legal documents about the land border between Việt Nam and China; uphold negotiation mechanisms to maintain peace and stability in the East Sea (internationally known as South China Sea); respect legitimate and legal interests of each other in line with international laws and properly handle sea-related issues in line with the leaders of the two countries and the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea; and promote negotiations to build and complete the Code of Conduct (COC) in the East Sea.

The two leaders agreed to continue to maintain channels of exchanges about land border and sea-related issues. —VNS

Published : January 15, 2022

By : Vietnam News

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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40011107

Some 97.8% of the adult population in the country, or 22,893,234 individuals, have completed their Covid-19 vaccination.

KUALA LUMPUR: Based on the Health Ministry’s CovidNow portal, 99% or 23,175,181 individuals of the adult population have received at least one dose of the vaccine.

As for the adolescent population involving those aged between 12 and 17, 90.8% or 2,858,992 individuals have received at least one dose of the vaccine while 88% or 2,770,412 individuals from the group have completed the vaccination, Bernama reported.

Meanwhile, 255,384 doses of the vaccine were dispensed on Wednesday, involving 3,170 second dose, 2,016 first dose and 250,198 booster dose, bringing the cumulative number of vaccine doses administered under the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme to 60,035,273 doses, including 8,539,533 booster doses.

The Star

Published : January 14, 2022