Cabinet nod for beginning of talks with European Union for FTA
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2023
The Cabinet on Tuesday gave the green light for the start of negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA) between Thailand and the European Union (EU).
Commerce Minister Jurin Laksanawisit said he would inform his EU counterpart and discuss work on creating an FTA with the 27-member group.
“Negotiations on the Thailand-EU FTA will begin once we receive permission,” he said.
He said Thailand currently has 14 FTAs with 18 countries. If the negotiations succeed, Thailand would have 15 FTAs with 45 countries, he added.
If we can make one to two more FTAs, we will gain an advantage over Vietnam in foreign trade and investment promotion, he said, adding that Thailand had waited for 10 years to have an FTA with the EU.
“We will kick off negotiations [on Thailand-EU FTA] within the first quarter this year,” he said.
He added that the EU currently has FTAs with two Asean countries–Vietnam and Singapore.
“If negotiations succeed, Thailand will be the third Asean country,” he said.
EU is Thailand’s fourth-largest trade partner, behind China, the US and Japan. Trade with the EU accounts for 7% of Thailand’s global trade.
Trade between Thailand and the EU last year was valued at US$41.03 billion (1.38 trillion baht), up 2.87% year on year, of which Thailand’s exports to EU were worth $22.79 billion (843.37 billion baht).
Thailand exports many products to EU, such as computer, cars, air conditioners, rubber products, gems and jewellery and processed chicken meat. Thailand’s imports from the EU included machinery, chemicals and medicines.
Thai aviation flying high as demand for flight slots, led by Chinese airlines, soars
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2023
Thailand’s aviation sector is buzzing with activity in February as airlines have requested 6,318 flight slots at Thai airports, the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) said on Monday.
“The total number of flights in February this year now is 25,256,” CAAT director-general Suttipong Kongpool said.
He added that the number of flights in some weeks had increased to the level as before the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, thanks to the government’s move to lift travel restrictions in July last year.
Suttipong added that 19 Chinese airlines have requested permission to operate flights to Thailand after China ended its travel restrictions on January 8 this year.
China’s Kunming Airlines has requested to operate flights at many Thai airports, while 9 Air and Xiamen Airlines have sought permission to operate both scheduled and non-scheduled flights, he said.
He added that Chengdu Airlines had requested to operate only non-scheduled flights.
“Air China will operate flights on the Beijing-Chiang Mai route every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from February 14 to March 25,” he said.
“Meanwhile, China Southern Airlines will operate flights every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday from March 1 to 24.”
He said Hainan Airlines had requested permission to operate flights on the Beijing-Suvarnabhumi Airport route every day from February 15 to March 25.
“The airline also has requested to operate flights on the Beijing-Phuket route every Wednesday and Friday, and the Guangzhou-Phuket route every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday from February 24 to March 24,” he said.
Suttipong said the CAAT had allocated 1,910 flight slots to Chinese airlines, including 269 in January, 671 in February and 970 in March.
As many as 500 flight slots at Suvarnabhumi Airport have been allocated to Chinese airlines, followed by Don Mueang (684), Phuket (476), Chiang Mai (197), Samui (27) and U-Tapao (26), he added.
LogiMAT | Intelligent Warehouse Expo to come back this year during October 25-27 at Impact
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2023
The easing of the epidemic situation and the continued improvement of the economy, Expolink Global Network, the exhibition organizer, will make a big comeback of LogiMAT | Intelligent Warehouse, a trade show for the best technology and intelligent warehousing system, this year.
Phusit Sasitaranondha, Managing Director of Expolink Global Network Limited, said that after being successful of the LogiMAT | Intelligent Warehouse 2022, the company will organize ‘’ LogiMAT | Intelligent Warehouse’’ expo between October 25-27, 2023, at IMPACT Muang Thong Thani, Hall 5-6.
The fair will reinforces every success by doubling the exhibition space to accommodate both Thai and international entrepreneurs in more than 100 brands in various industries and expected to attract more than 6,000 visitors to join its expo. Its sales from this year expo will double to one billion baht, up from 500 million baht in 2022.
He adds that LogiMAT | Intelligent Warehouse 2023 will return bigger than ever this year by doubling the exhibition space to cater more than 100 brands of both Thai and foreign entrepreneurs.
The trade show will come with activities such as the Orange Forum, which will discuss about important trends of intralogistics, and the Blue Forum, which will talk about intralogistics solutions that help and solve business problems in depth and specific to each industry.
The Product Demonstration zone will also be brought back to the show once again, giving visitors an opportunity to get an overview of warehouse management more easily. They will see steps and processes that help them understand how it works and understand the need for warehouse systems in any business, medium or large. The fair also features a seminar forum, warehouse management system demonstration and many other activities and attractions.
He expects the exhibitors from more than 10 countries including Germany, China, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, India, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam to attend its expo.
‘’Southeast Asia has a potential resource of workforce that is ready to work, ready to Thailand is also a destination as it is ASEAN’s transport and logistics hub and has enjoyed remarkable growth. Such factors made us choose Thailand to host this event which received a very good response in our first edition,’’ he said.
Mr Bernhard Mueller, Vice President of Landesmesse Stuttgart GmbH., also said that Southeast Asia is a region with outstanding and continuous growth of the logistics industry, especially among ASEAN countries. Not only the logistics industry but the intralogistics industry is also going in the same direction.
In addition to market leaders in the intralogistics industry such as the US, Germany and China, other ASEAN countries are increasingly playing an important role as manufacturers, buyers and distributors. More importantly, ASEAN is also a group of countries with rapidly growing GDP, resulting in these countries increasing investment in both the public and private sectors. They have more purchasing power and production, participating in changes in the supply chain system and the trend of intralogistics. As a result, the ASEAN market is one of the most important markets and one to keep an eye on in the global intralogistics industry.
Mr Amnat Prakobsook, Secretary to the President, Thai Intralogistics Association, said that with the potential of Local System Integrator (Local SI) that can drives Thai intralogistics because Thailand is full of SMEs, which is proportionately greater than large sized enterprises. It is the main target group that it will develop more knowledge and abilities.
‘’This event will help entrepreneurs access to update current industry trends that must have a good stock of products, whether medium or large industries such as food, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, automobiles, and others,” he said.
Airbnb offers ‘Phantom of the Opera’-themed stay at Palais Garnier in Paris
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2023
Airbnb is offering a night for two in the Palais Garnier opera house in Paris this summer, transforming a box in the theatre into a plush bedroom with sweeping views of the famous auditorium.
The “Phantom of the Opera“-themed stay – a nod to the novel by Gaston Leroux and Andrew Lloyd Webber‘s musical – comes as tourism bounces back in Europe after several years of pandemic disruptions, with visitors from the United States arriving in France in droves since last summer.
European capitals are also gearing up for the return of Chinese tourists, following the lifting of travel restrictions.
Before the pandemic, Airbnb had created other unusual overnight stays in the French capital, one of its key markets. These included a shark tank in the city’s aquarium, the skull-lined catacombs, the Moulin Rouge cabaret and the glass pyramid in the Louvre.
The idea is to encourage people “to travel and dream at the same time — and raise a lot of emotions around travel,” Emmanuel Marill, Airbnb director of Europe, the Middle East and Africa told Reuters.
The Palais Garnier stay includes a music recital, dinner in an ornate rehearsal room backstage and a behind-the-scenes tour of the elaborate 19th-century building, including its underground pool, the inspiration for the phantom’s lair in the book and musical.
The Palais Garnier stay will be listed on March 1 for 37 euros, also the number on the box, one of the theatre’s most prestigious, which will be decked out with antique furniture, especially for the night.
It will be offered on a first-come-first-serve basis to an applicant registered on the company’s online rental platform.
“It’s a bit of a fantasy. I think it will be a bit unreal,” said Veronique Dubrulle Leroux, the great-granddaughter of “Phantom of the Opera” author Leroux, who will host the visitors.
As part of the project, Airbnb will also fund the renovation of the theatre’s 19th Century boxes and help the Opera de Paris to update its online streaming platform.
Roses may fade as more intimate and public gifts proliferate on Valentine’s Day
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2023
Jarupong Krisanaraj
Roses are facing competition on Valentine’s Day as social media platforms and applications create personalised and often more intimate ways to say “I love you” – publicly.
Online greetings are often dismissed as trite, but social media companies and apps are increasingly offering their users ways to make declarations of love more intimate and personal, and adding what may be the most motivating factor – an audience.
Line lets users create their own stickers and TikTok, of course, allows its users to create video clips to profess their adoration for another person directly and publicly.
For those seeking more privacy, video calls are surging on Valentine’s Day, social media monitoring services say.
Academics have taken note of the trend.
Couples who share their passion on Facebook have stronger relationships than those who do not, according to a study by Virginia state-based Christopher Newport University.
This study also found that when couples switched their Facebook status from “single” to “in a relationship” it brought them closer together.
Perhaps the discomfort of saying “I love you” in person is one factor driving the surge in online confessions of love, social media analysts say.
They add, however, that the ability to personalise such statements with photos, video clips, and other attractive elements contributes to the rise of digital Valentine’s Day gifts.
Digital platform owners confused by new cyber decree
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2023
Chanapat Komlongharn
Business owners are confused about the Royal Decree on Operation of Digital Platform Services Which Require Notification, as its obligations are unclear, say legal experts.
Digital platform providers are obliged to submit information, including details about their owners and services, revenues, users’ data, most common complaint issues, and the coordinator in Thailand (only for oversea platforms) to the Electronic Transactions Development Agency (ETDA), according to the Royal Decree.
The new cyber law was published in the Government Gazette on December 22, last year, and set to be effective in August this year.
Existing digital platform providers are required to notify ETDA within 90 days of the decree becoming effective, while new digital platform operators must send that information before launching operations. Penalties for non-compliance include business suspension and criminal action.
The royal decree defines a “digital platform” as an electronic intermediary platform that manages information to create connections between “merchants”, “consumers”, and “users” via a computer network in order to “create electronic transactions”.
“Food delivery platforms are generally described as digital platforms since they incorporate all three players – merchants (a platform), customers (restaurants), and users (buyers) – with the intention of generating electronic transactions (buying food),” she said.
However, some people question whether social media should be included in the category of digital platforms. While social media platforms possess all three elements, their intentions are still debatable, with some claiming they are for communication while others believe they are for creating electronic transactions, she said.
“Evidently, a webboard such as Pantip is made for information exchange, not for selling or buying things. However, there are actually many people buying and selling goods there,” he pointed out.
The decree also requires digital platform owners to inform users of important information before or at the time of service, including conditions for provision or suspension, criteria used to recommend or advertise goods or services, and feedback from other users.
This requirement of the new law could cause problems for digital platform providers as it may reveal their business secrets, said Pawee Jenweeranon, a law lecturer at Thammasat University.
He added that the law must find a balance between the protection of platform users and corporate secrecy.
China harasses Philippine Coast Guard vessel with laser
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2023
The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) has accused a Chinese coast guard ship of directing a “military-grade” laser at one of its vessels, putting the Filipino crew in danger.
The PCG vessel was supporting a rotation and resupply mission of the Philippine Navy in Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal in the West Philippine Sea on Feb. 6.
The China Coast Guard (CCG) ship with bow No. 5205 illuminated a green light twice toward the BRP Malapascua, causing temporary blindness to crew members on duty at the bridge or main command centre at past 6 p.m. as the ship reached 19.5 kilometres (10 nautical miles) from the shoal, the PCG said.
“The PCG condemns any actions that harm and jeopardize the safety of everyone regardless of nationality,” PCG commandant Adm. Artemio Abu said.
The Chinese ship crossed the bow of the PCG ship at a distance of 7.4 km (4 nautical miles), as if to warn BRP Malapascua to stop or alter course.
This was followed by “dangerous manoeuvres,” with CCG 5205 at a close distance of about 150 yards from the starboard quarter of the Philippine vessel before the Chinese ship shone its laser.
Radio challenges were exchanged throughout, with the Chinese coast guard warning the Philippine ship that it was “in the jurisdiction of the People’s Republic of China.”
Ayungin Shoal, a submerged reef 194 km off Palawan province, is within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone where the Philippine Navy maintains its presence through the decrepit BRP Sierra Madre.
China, however, claims almost all of the South China Sea, including the West Philippine Sea.
The Regional Coordinating Center in Palawan ordered the BRP Malapascua to alter its course and support the BRP Teresa Magbanua for the PCG’s own resupply mission to its substations in the Kalayaan Island Group.
‘Shadowed and harassed’
Commodore Jay Tarriela, PCG adviser of the commandant for maritime security, told the Inquirer that the temporary blindness of the crew on duty lasted for about 10 to 15 seconds, “but we don’t know if it would cause long-term medical effects.”
It was not the first time that China directed a laser beam at a Philippine ship, he said.
In June last year, the PCG tugboat BRP Habagat, while 10 nautical miles north of the Philippine-occupied Panata (Lankiam Cay) Island, was “shadowed and harassed” by a People’s Liberation Army Navy vessel.
The Chinese navy ship directed its searchlight at BRP Habagat for 20 minutes and flashed “blue-coloured lights with blinkers” at the tugboat’s bridge, which also resulted in momentary blindness and skin itchiness among the crew on duty, Tarriela said.
The reported incidents, disclosed to the public for the first time, follow a pattern of Chinese forces harassing other countries with lasers.
Last year, the Australian government said a Chinese warship aimed its laser at a Royal Australian Air Force jet 105 km from Australia’s northern coast. But China denied this.
Blockade
Beijing has been trying for years to prevent the Philippine Navy’s resupply missions in Ayungin Shoal and has displayed new tactics over the past few months.
Except for the small wooden boats chartered by the Navy, the CCG has been preventing Philippine military and law enforcement vessels from entering the shoal.
Back in August, the same Chinese coast guard ship that struck a laser at the Philippine ship last week, removed the cover of its 70 mm naval gun after BRP Teresa Magbanua— which was providing escort to a Philippine Navy resupply mission in Ayungin Shoal at the time—crossed the blockade created by Chinese vessels.
“We see it as an act of provocation,” Tarriela said.
The PCG ship was approaching 24 km (13 nautical miles) from the BRP Sierra Madre when the Chinese coast guard ship, accompanied by two maritime militia vessels, started blocking its path to prevent it from coming close to the Navy troops.
Tarriela said it became evident that the Chinese militia, which was ostensibly engaged in fishing, was also clearly taking orders from the CCG. The militia vessels even deployed their utility boats to support the blockade and shadowing by the Chinese coast guard, he said.
Sustain our presence
Despite the “dangerous manoeuvres and aggressive actions at sea” by the CCG, Abu said the PCG “will always be in the West Philippine Sea to sustain our presence and assert our sovereign rights.”
The government has been protesting the harassment, but with very little reaction from China.
Since 2016, the Philippines filed 461 diplomatic protests against China over the latter’s aggression in the West Philippine Sea, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs.
As of Jan. 26, it said there were 262 diplomatic protests lodged from 2016 to 2021, 195 in 2022, and four so far in 2023.
Berlin chooses change in rerun election with clear lead for conservatives
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2023
Germany’s conservative CDU party was on the way to a clear victory in a repeat election in the city-state of Berlin, in a blow to Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats who have governed the city-state for 22 years.
An exit poll by the broadcaster ZDF on Sunday put the Christian Democrats (CDU) on 27.8% of the vote, 9.8 percentage points more than in the 2021 election, in which a court ruled invalid due to irregularities.
The Social Democrats, who have been ruling the German capital in a coalition with the environmentalist Greens and hard-left Die Linke, scored 18%. The Greens and Die Linke were on 18% and 13% of the vote respectively.
“Berlin chose change”, CDU top candidate Kai Wegner said of the results, adding that there was a clear mandate for his party to form a state government.
The vote could turf left-wing mayor Franziska Giffey out of office well before the end of her term and complicate life for the Federal Chancellor, her party ally, by depriving his coalition of more votes in the upper house of parliament.
Giffey acknowledged the election defeat but said the CDU would still need a stable majority to govern the German capital.
“We must see it very clear that this result shows first that Berliners are not satisfied with what’s there. They wish things will be different,” Giffey said.
The repeat vote, ordered after the September 2021 election was marred by irregularities including long queues and voters receiving incorrect ballot cards, is one more item on the charge sheet for those who see the capital as a sclerotic mess that belies Germany’s reputation for efficiency.
The CDU will be hoping this message and the victory in Berlin put wind in their sails ahead of October’s vote in Hesse, home to Germany’s financial capital Frankfurt, where a conservative premier risks losing office to another Scholz ally.
Samui to host Valentine’s marriages above heart-shaped Chaweng beach
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2023
A Samui restaurant will host the first-ever outdoor marriage registration event at the mountain viewpoint overlooking Chaweng Beach on Valentine’s Day.
A foreign tourist who chose this romantic spot to propose to his girlfriend gave him the idea, said Tinn Chakhra-nuwatthanaphong, manager of Koh Samui’s Heart Shape Mountain Sea View restaurant.
“Located on a mountain top overlooking Chaweng Beach, the restaurant offers a unique perspective of the heart-shaped beach,” he said. “The view attracted an Austrian couple who saw the photos on social media and decided to visit Samut for a holiday last month.”
Tinn said the boyfriend’s idea to pop the question at this very spot inspired him to host a special event on Valentine’s Day.
On Tuesday, Samui’s district chief will be invited to sign marriage certificates for couples participating in the event at the restaurant, which has been decorated with a Valentine’s theme. Newlyweds will be able to take selfies at various love-themed corners featuring heart-shaped couches and velvet red flowers as a backdrop.
There will also be a baby elephant show for tourists to feed the cute creature while admiring the heart-shaped beach from above, Tinn added.
“We hope the host the event every year on Valentine’s Day and make this spot a new landmark on Samui that attracts both Thai and foreign tourists all year long,” he said.
School evacuated as blaze rages at Chonburi oily water treatment plant
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2023
Massive fires erupted at an oily water treatment plant in Chonburi Monday, resulting in toxic black smoke that prompted the evacuation of 300 students from a nearby school.
The fires broke out at two treatment ponds at the Payon Marine Services Co Ltd plant in Tambon Bueng, Si Racha district at 10am Monday.
At press time, firefighters had managed to put out the fire at one treatment pond but were still battling the other blaze.
Black smoke from the fires could be seen high above the treatment plant and the toxic-smelling odour could be detected 2 kilometres away.
Rescuers from the local Peaw Yeang Tai Si Racha foundation helped evacuate residents and 299 students from the nearby Ban Wang Khor School.
The students gathered in the school’s main hall before being picked up by their parents.
Teacher Porntip Pongklud, 58, said she saw smoke from the fires billowing to the school. She first thought it came from bonfires but then heard the sound of explosions.
The Payon Marine Services website says the company offers a one-stop service for disposal of waste, sludge and oily water complete with transportation by barge and truck to the treatment plant.
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