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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40012852

MANILA, Philippines — Metro Manila and 38 other areas will be under Alert Level 1 from March 1 to March 15, Malacañang said Sunday.

“The Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) on Sunday, February 27, 2022, approved placing the National Capital Region under Alert Level 1 effective March 1, 2022 until March 15, 2022,” said Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles in a statement.

The other areas under the most relaxed COVID-19 alert level are:

Luzon

Abra, Apayao, Baguio City, Kalinga, Dagupan City, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, La Union, Pangasinan, Batanes, Cagayan, City of Santiago, Isabela, Quirino, Angeles City, Aurora, Bataan, Bulacan, Olongapo City, Pampanga, Tarlac, Cavite, Laguna, Marinduque, Puerto Princesa City, Romblon, Naga City, and Catanduanes

Visayas

Aklan, Bacolod City, Capiz, Guimaras, Siquijor, and Biliran

Mindanao

Zamboanga City, Cagayan de Oro City, Camiguin, and Davao City

The following areas meanwhile are under Alert Level 2 from March 1 to March 15, 2022:

Luzon

Benguet, Ifugao and Mountain Province, Nueva Vizcaya, Nueva Ecija, Zambales, Batangas, Lucena City, Quezon Province, Rizal, Occidental Mindoro, Oriental Mindoro, Palawan, Albay, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Masbate, Sorsogon

Visayas

Antique, Iloilo City, Iloilo Province, Negros Occidental, Bohol, Cebu Province, Cebu City, Lapu-Lapu City, Mandaue City, Negros Oriental, Eastern Samar, Leyte, Northern Samar, Ormoc City, Southern Leyte, Tacloban City, Western Samar

Mindanao

City of Isabela, Zamboanga del Sur, Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga Sibugay, Bukidnon, Iligan City, Lanao del Norte, Misamis Occidental, Misamis Oriental, Davao De Oro, Davao Del Sur, Davao Del Norte, Davao Oriental, Davao Occidental, General Santos City, North Cotabato, Sarangani, South Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat, Surigao del Norte, Surigao del Sur, Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, Butuan City and Dinagat Islands, Basilan, Maguindanao, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, Cotabato City, Lanao Del Sur

Under Alert Level 2, intrazonal and interzonal movement will be allowed, subject to reasonable restrictions that the local government units may impose.

Select establishments or activities are permitted to operate at a maximum of 50 percent indoor capacity for fully vaccinated individuals and 70 percent outdoor capacity.

Under Alert Level 1, intrazonal and interzonal travel will be allowed regardless of age and comorbidities.

All establishments, persons, or activities are permitted to operate, work, or be done at full on-site capacity, provided that health standards are observed.

In person or “face-to-face” classes for basic education will be subject to the approval of the Office of the President.

The Department of Health earlier said that Alert Level 1 could be considered as the “new normal.”

Published : February 28, 2022

By : Philippine Daily Inquirer

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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40012851

The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Eastern Theater Command has been closely following a US warship’s transit through the Taiwan Straits.

Senior Colonel Shi Yi, spokesperson for the PLA Eastern Theater Command, called the attempts made by the US to back up “Taiwan independence” forces hypocritical and futile. The remark was made on Saturday in response to the transit of the Taiwan Straits by US’s Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Ralph Johnson.

The theater command remains on high alert to resolutely safeguard national sovereignty, security and regional peace and stability, Shi said.

Published : February 28, 2022

By : China Daily

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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40012849

North Korea fired one ballistic missile toward the East Sea from Pyongyang on Sunday morning and resumed its show of force after a one-month pause.

“Our military detects one ballistic missile being fired toward the East Sea from the Sunan area in Pyongyang at around 7:52 a.m.,” the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a written statement.

Pyongyang reportedly launched the ballistic missile from a transporter erector launcher (TEL) at Sunan airfield toward a target on the east coast.  

The ballistic missiles traveled around 300 kilometers at an altitude of 620 km, but South Korean and US intelligence authorities are analyzing the specification.

The South Korean military braced for the possibility that Sunday’s missile was a two-stage and solid-fueled Pukguksong-2 or KN-15 medium-range ballistic missile, said a military official who wished to remain anonymous. Pyongyang fired Pukguk song-2 missiles in the February and May of 2017.

The launched missile traveled on a “typical ballistic missile trajectory,” another military official said.

The missile’s flight path indicates that North Korea could have launched a MRBM on a lofted and high-angle trajectory.  
 

The South Korean military “maintains readiness posture in preparation for additional launches while tracking and monitoring related movements,” according to the JCS.

South Korea’s JCS chairman, Gen. Won In-choul, and the commander of ROK-US Combined Forces Command, Gen. Paul LaCamera, also held a video conference immediately after North Korea’s missile launch. Both commit to maintaining a firm defense posture. 

Sunday’s launch came at a sensitive time after a 28-day hiatus of weapons tests during the Beijing Winter Olympics that ended on Feb. 20.  

The South Korean presidential National Security Council “expressed deep concern and grave regret” over North Korea’s ballistic missile launch despite joint efforts by Seoul and Washington for a diplomatic solution.

A statement came after national security adviser Suh Hoon convened an emergency meeting between 09:00 and 10:10 a.m.

The NSC standing committee notably pointed to the inappropriateness of Pyongyang’s act which came amid the Ukraine war. 

“Launching a ballistic missile at a time when the world is striving to resolve the Ukraine war is never desirable for peace and stability in the world, region and on the Korean Peninsula,”  the Cheong Wa Dae said in the statement.

Expected step after one-month pause
But Sunday’s missile launch is an “expected action” and is in line with North Korea’s warning last month that it would continue to ramp up pressure on the Biden administration, said Cho Han-bum, a senior research fellow at the Korean Institute for National Unification.

Pyongyang fired off nine ballistic missiles and two land-attack cruise missiles in seven discrete launches in January alone. In its last, Pyongyang fired the Hwasong-12 intermediate-range ballistic missile, which is the longest-range missile launched in more than four years.

North Korea also expressed potential intent to abandon the self-imposed moratorium on testing nuclear weapons and intercontinental ballistic missiles. 

Cho expected that Pyongyang would raise the intensity of its show of force with the goal of eliciting a response from Washington and gaining the upper hand in future negotiations with the US. 

“The US has not yet responded to North Korea’s warning in January,” Cho told The Korea Herald. “North Korea will ratchet up pressure with the intent to urge the US to withdraw the hostile policy toward North Korea and engage in negotiation in favor of North Korea.”

Cho said the US response will be the key variable to determine whether Pyongyang crosses the red line, but he forecast that the Biden administration might take a harder stance amid the US-Russia standoff over Ukraine.

Amid Ukraine war
Professor Kwak Gil-sup of Kookmin University pointed out that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has virtually affected Pyongyang’s calculus, while the missile launch is mainly part of its five-year defense development plan announced at the eight party congress in January 2021.

Specifically, North Korea capitalized on the timing of the geopolitical crisis to test the Biden administration’s foreign policy bandwidth that is largely occupied by the Russia invasion of Ukraine.

Pyongyang also used it as an opportunity as a show of indirect support to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who faces mounting international isolation and faces off with US President Joe Biden. 

“North Korea’s move is to gain strategic advantage from the new Cold War era which brings the dynamics of the triangular coalition to the Korean peninsula and Northeast Asia,” Kwak said, referring to the trilateral cooperation among South Korea, Japan, and the US against the triangle of China, Russia, and North Korea.

“Sunday’s missile test was a step toward implementing its plan to become a powerful nuclear state. But at the same time, North Korea sought to send a stronger political and external message.”   

Pyongyang would also see the “utmost importance of developing self-defense capabilities” and reaffirming the legitimacy of its military buildup and weapons development at this juncture, Park Won-gon, professor of North Korea studies at Ewha Womans University, said.

“North Korea will continue launching missiles while labeling them as a routine act and maintaining its position that missile launches aim to enhance national defense capability and do not target specific countries.”

Park went on to say that the development of the war in Ukraine could influence North Korea’s behavior and calculation.

“North Korea would have a second thought on launching an ICBM (intercontinental ballistic missile) at a time while the US and international community hone in on Ukraine,” Park said. 

“Therefore, it seems to be an opportune time for Pyongyang to launch short and medium-range ballistic missiles … when the US has limited capabilities to respond to launches.”

Meanwhile, most experts shared the view that the upcoming South Korean presidential election is not the key consideration for the Kim Jong-un regime’s calculation. But Kwak and Park said Sunday’s missile launch could aim to “tame” presidential candidates in the run-up to the election.

Published : February 28, 2022

By : The Korea Herald

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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40012847

South Korea’s financial regulators have begun drafting contingency arrangements, such as ramping up market monitoring and readying market stabilization funds, to grapple with the impact of the Russia-Ukraine crisis, which has led the local stock market to shed 162 trillion won ($134 billion) over the last two months.

“At alert level 2, we’re keeping an eye on the stock market and prepared to deploy our resources, should it need our intervention,” a source with knowledge of the matter said, referring to the Financial Services Commission, which raised its level to second-highest of four stages in January.

Declining to identify specific steps the watchdog would take, the source at the FSC said, the regulator will be quick to respond to any market disruptions. So far, the Ukraine crisis appears to have affected the local market only a little.

“On the day Russia invaded Ukraine, the Kospi and the won together took a hit but the next day they recovered,” another FSC official said on request of anonymity. Emergency funds to stabilize the market have always been an option, he added.

In 2020, financial authorities put together what it called an emergency market fund amounting to 10 trillion won to ride out the coronavirus pandemic but it was never used. Preparing the fund at the moment was not on the table, he said.

The US sanctions on Russia’s major banks — VEB and PSB — are not expected to shake up the Korean financial market because the two have few transactions. Russia only accounts for 0.4 percent of Korea’s loans exposed to global businesses deemed risky.

Meanwhile, local banks are scrambling to assess the impact of the Ukraine conflict, with Hana Financial Group and Woori Financial Group, which operate Russian branches, leading the charge.

Hana assesses that it has 296 billion won tied to its Russian office that could potentially be affected by international sanctions while Woori sees the figure at 266 billion won.

“We’re already reviewing our contingencies, which all basically come down to minimizing the exposure to outside risks involving Russia,” an official at Woori Financial Group said.

Rival companies like KB Financial Group and Shinhan Financial Group said they too stepped up efforts to help their customers stay informed of the latest developments from the geopolitical unrest.

“For now what we can do is ask our customers to be cautious until the local stock market sees reduced volatility,” an official at Shinhan Financial Group said, referring to market fluctuations seen last week over the deepening conflict.

The benchmark Kospi recorded a single-day drop of 2.6 percent Thursday, the biggest dip since Jan. 27, on worries that the Ukraine crisis could leave a lasting impact on the market, which had already seen its earnings whipsawed on concerns over a more hawkish US Federal Reserve.

Published : February 28, 2022

By : The Korea Herald

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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40012846

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today convened a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) at which he declared that India would accord top priority to the safety and security of Indian nationals, including students, stranded in Ukraine.

India, he said, was concerned about the welfare of the stranded Indians and would leave no stone unturned to bring them back to their homeland.

This was the second meeting of the CCS since Russia invaded Ukraine.

According to Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla, the PM directed the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to ensure in coordination with other ministries that the Indians stranded in Ukraine or neighbouring countries were provided food and shelter.

Modi is scheduled to speak to Russian President Vladimir Putin again while External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will speak to his counterparts in Ukraine, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Hungary.

Shringla did not agree with a suggestion that India had delayed the exercise to evacuate its nationals from the war-torn country. He said the MEA has set up a control room on the Ukraine crisis. The situation was being monitored on a 24×7 basis.

Published : February 28, 2022

By : The Statesman

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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40012845

State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that China disapproves of using sanctions as a means to solve problems and rejects unilateral sanctions that are not based on international law.

Experience has shown that sanctions do not solve problems, but create new ones. They not only result in “lose-lose” or “all-lose” economic situations but also interfere with the process of a political settlement, Wang said on Saturday in a phone conversation with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock.

Wang also explained why China prevented the invoking of references to Chapter 7 of the United Nations Charter－which authorizes the use of force and sanctions－in a draft resolution on Ukraine, and vowed China would continue to play a constructive role in seeking and realizing peace.

China abstained from a vote on a draft resolution on Ukraine, proposed by the United States and other countries at the UN Security Council on Friday.

If the Security Council takes action, it should contribute to a political settlement of the current crisis rather than incite new confrontations, Wang said, adding that China supports all efforts that are conducive to de-escalation and a political settlement of the Ukraine issue.

He said China, being a permanent member of the UN Security Council, has always fulfilled its responsibilities of safeguarding international peace and security.

On the issue of European security, the legitimate concerns of all countries should be taken seriously, Wang said, adding that following five consecutive rounds of NATO’s eastward expansion, Russia’s legitimate security concerns should be solved in a proper way.

Given that the Cold War has been over for a long time, Wang said it is necessary for NATO to reconsider its position and responsibilities. China believes the Cold War mentality based on bloc confrontation should be completely abandoned.

China supports NATO, the European Union and Russia resuming dialogue and seeking to build a balanced, effective and sustainable European security mechanism so as to achieve lasting peace and stability on the continent, he said.

The phone call over the weekend is China’s latest move in a series of intensive diplomatic interactions to facilitate peace talks in its own way, and help defuse the Ukraine situation.

On Friday, President Xi Jinping spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the phone. Wang also held phone talks on the same day with senior diplomats from the United Kingdom, the EU and France, expounding China’s basic position on the Ukraine issue.

Published : February 28, 2022

By : China Daily

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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40012821

Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính has signed official dispatch 201/CD-TTg dated February 26, 2022, on the protection of Vietnamese citizens and legal entities in Ukraine.

The dispatch, sent to ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies and agencies under the Government, and Chairpersons of People’s Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities, says since February 24, the armed conflict in Ukraine has spread in a fast and complicated manner, directly threatening the safety and assets of people and businesses, including that of around 7,000 Vietnamese living in Ukraine, mainly in Kharkiv, Odesa and Kyiv.

In such a situation, one of the top concerns of the Party, State, Government and Prime Minister is to ensure the highest security and safety of lives, assets and legitimate interests of Vietnamese citizens and legal entities in Ukraine and related areas, the document says.

In the dispatch, the PM assigns tasks to ministries and People’s Committees. Accordingly, the Foreign Ministry is required to build plans to ensure security and safety and evacuate citizens and members of representative missions when necessary, while providing support for them in terms of accommodation, food and other necessities.

The ministry is also tasked with instructing Vietnamese representative missions in Ukraine and adjacent countries to make lists of Vietnamese citizens in conflict areas and take measures to quickly take them out of dangerous areas and take shelter in neighbouring countries when necessary. The ministry should also have plans ready to bring those people back to Việt Nam in case they want to.

Anyone needing support can contact the citizen’s protection hotlines of the Vietnamese Embassy in Ukraine ( 380 (63) 8638999); the Vietnamese Embassy in Russia ( 79916821617); or the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry ( 84 965411118, 84 981848484; Email baohocongdan@gmail.com).

The Foreign Ministry should also ask regional countries and international and humanitarian organisations to provide help to Vietnamese citizens when necessary.

The Transport Ministry is assigned to instruct Vietnamese airlines to put in place plans to transport Vietnamese citizens and their families to Việt Nam.

The Ministry of Education and Training, the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, and related ministries and sectors are required to take stock of Vietnamese people working and studying in Ukraine and inform the Foreign Ministry to serve the provision of assistance and evacuation to them.

The Ministry of Public Security should create favourable conditions in the granting of immigration documents to Vietnamese citizens, people of Vietnamese origin and their family members.

The Ministries of Planning and Investment; Industry and Trade; Finance; Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, the State Bank of Vietnam and relevant agencies are required to closely follow the situation in Ukraine and work with relevant partners to seek suitable measures to ensure Việt Nam’s national interest and the legitimate interests of Vietnamese citizens and businesses.

The Finance Ministry should coordinate with the Foreign Ministry and other ministries and agencies to allocate funding for the implementation of citizen protection measures.

The Ministry of Information and Communication and the media are assigned to provide timely and objective information on the situation in Ukraine.

Chairpersons of provinces and centrally-run cities should coordinate with ministries and agencies in protecting citizens and interests related to their localities.

The PM urged the Vietnamese community, Vietnamese businesses and Vietnamese associations in Ukraine and adjacent countries to uphold the tradition of solidarity, self-reliance and mutual help, thus helping each other to overcome difficulties and mitigate losses.

Vietnam News

Published : February 27, 2022

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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40012819

The United States and NATO have laid bare their irresponsibility by adding fuel to the fire and intensifying tensions leading to military conflicts.

Russia will now face the harshest of sanctions imposed by the US and its allies. On Saturday the US, the UK, EU, and Canada announced to limit Russian banks’ access to the Society of Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication system.

Removal from the SWIFT system is a very severe blow for any country, something akin to what some have called a “financial atomic strike”. There have been precedents. In the past, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and Iran were removed from SWIFT, following which their economies suffered unprecedented serious consequences.

US President Joe Biden had said on Thursday that US-Russia relations have suffered a “complete rupture”, which is unprecedented. But the latest move taken by the US and its allies will not only deal a big blow to Russia’s economy but also send shock waves across the SWIFT and the whole financial market.

The SWIFT association is based in Brussels, and its activities are subject to relevant Belgian laws. The National Bank of Belgium plays a leading role in supervising SWIFT’s daily activities. Also, as Belgium is a member of the European Union, the association must comply with relevant EU laws. So, generally speaking, the EU has a huge say in this organization. At the EU’s emergency summit on Thursday, 27 members had varying positions on whether or not to remove Russia from the system. That means, the EU members have quite different interests and economic exchanges with Russia.

Also, SWIFT’s activities are overseen by a board of 25 directors, one of them from Russia. So various countries involved have quite different interests.

Besides, the consequences of removing Russia can be too serious. It will lead to the obstruction of all financial and economic activities related to Russia. Given that the European Union is Russia’s largest trading partner if Russia is hit, the EU, too, will be hurt.

Moreover, in 2015, Russia had set up a System for the Transfer of Financial Messages, which can replace the SWIFT system to a certain extent.

Unless all parties concerned make efforts to restore peace, they will all end up paying heavily. And this extends to the SWIFT system as well.

Xu Wenhong

China Daily

Published : February 27, 2022

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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40012814

The phone call between Modi and Ukraine President Zelenskyy took place a day after India abstained from voting at the United Nations on a resolution to condemn the Russian invasion.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today spoke to Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and expressed India’s willingness to contribute in any way towards peace efforts in the wake of Russia’s military offensive in Ukraine.

President Zelenskyy briefed the PM in detail about the ongoing conflict situation in Ukraine. Modi expressed his deep anguish about the loss of life and property due to the ongoing conflict. He reiterated his call for an immediate cessation of violence and a return to dialogue, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.

The PM also conveyed India’s deep concern for the safety and security of Indian citizens, including students, present in Ukraine. He sought facilitation by the Ukrainian authorities to expeditiously and safely evacuate Indian citizens.

The Ukrainian leader also took to Twitter to say; “Spoke with Prime Minister @narendramodi. Informed of the course of repulsing aggression. More than 100,000 invaders are on our land. They insidiously fire on residential buildings. Urged to give us political support in Security Council. Stop the aggressor together!”

The phone call between them took place a day after India abstained from voting at the United Nations on a resolution to condemn the Russian invasion.

The Statesman

Published : February 27, 2022

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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40012813

North Korea fired an apparent ballistic missile toward the East Sea on Sunday, South Korea’s military said, in the recalcitrant regime’s eighth show of force this year.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected the launch from in and around the Sunan area in Pyongyang at 7:52 a.m. It did not elaborate.

The latest launch, the first in just under a month, came in the midst of the armed conflict in Ukraine following Russia’s invasion of the country last week.
 

“Currently, our military is keeping close tabs on the possibility of additional launches and maintaining a readiness posture,” the JCS said in a text message sent to reporters.

The North conducted seven rounds of missile tests last month alone, including an intermediate-range ballistic missile launch on Jan. 30.

Following the latest test-firing, the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae convened a standing committee session of its National Security Council presided over by National Security Office chief Suh Hoon.

Speculation has lingered that the North could engage in more provocative actions down the road as it issued a veiled threat last month to lift its yearslong self-imposed moratorium on nuclear and long-range missile tests.

Pyongyang appeared to have refrained from additional missile tests during the recently concluded Winter Olympics in Beijing, its traditional ally and key economic supporter.

Park Won-gon, professor of North Korea studies at Ewha Womans University, said that the latest missile launch signals it could continue to routinize military provocations as “self-defense” measures in line with its defense development plan marked by weapons modernization schemes.

“The missile test is an expected step. It is a resumption of launches the North had refrained from during the Beijing Olympics,” Park said.

“Should South Korea and the international community take issue with the launch, it might strongly protest it, calling the protest an application of ‘double standards,'” he added.

The Kim Jong-un regime is seeking to strengthen internal solidarity amid a deadlock in nuclear talks with Washington and economic woes aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Korea Herald

Published : February 27, 2022