“As a courtesy and as a brother, [Myanmar International Cooperation] Minister Kyaw Tin always updates us on moves being done now,” Cayetano told the press prior to attending meetings with Asean partners on Friday.

“[He also updated] on what they are ready to do on the independent commission that they formed,” he said, referring to the reputedly independent body of inquiry freshly announced on Monday by the Myanmar government.

Cayetano added that dealing with humanitarian issues can trigger a desire to help those who are suffering, but “sometimes problems are too complex”.

Malaysian Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah, meanwhile, noted that some “forward-moving” developments will emerge from the meetings.

“We are pleased to see the Myanmar government is engaging with [the findings of ] Kofi Annan’s advisory commission on Rakhine state,” Saifuddin said. “Malaysia is always firm on Rakhine state issues and we need to find solutions.”

Malaysia is one of a very few prominent voices within Asean to speak up for the Rohingya minority in ongoing government purges, including the latest in which the Myanmar military’s actions caused over 700,000 mainly Muslims to flee from their homes in northern Rakhine state.

The issue was discussed behind closed doors on Thursday during the Asean Foreign Ministers’ meeting before a joint communique was finalised later on the same day.

The detailed discussion of the Rohingya issue can be considered exceptional, considering that the majority of Asean countries often regard the conflict as a “domestic matter” for Myanmar.

“We underlined the importance of the expeditious commencement of the voluntary return of displaced persons to Myanmar in a safe, secure and dignified way without undue delay, and stressed the need to find a comprehensive and durable solution to address the root causes of the conflict and to create a conducive environment so that the affected communities can rebuild their lives,” it says.

However, the earlier version of the joint statement draft as seen by The Nation merely “urged” Myanmar to continue implementing recommendations of the final report of Annan’s advisory board.

In the final version, meanwhile, Asean ministers “welcomed the progress made by the government of Myanmar in implementing the recommendations of the final report. … And encouraged Myanmar to continue to implement the remaining recommendations.”

Michael Nguyen is the second US citizen arrested in Vietnam in recent weeks for allegedly brushing up against politics in a country where activism of any sort is quickly stamped out.

The 54-year-old father of four daughters went missing last month on a visit to Vietnam, prompting a panicked search by his wife in California.

US Consulate officials in Saigon confirmed to the family this week he was detained on July 7 under Article 109 of the criminal code — “overthrowing the people’s administration” — and is being held in a Ho Chi Minh City prison with no formal charges.

“Michael is under investigation for Article 109,” Nguyen’s brother-in-law Mark Roberts told reporters in California Thursday, according to a transcript of the briefing provided to AFP.

California congresswoman Mimi Walters confirmed in a statement that Nguyen has been detained and she is trying to secure his release.

The maximum sentence under Article 109 is death.

Vietnam’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman told reporters Thursday she would ask “relevant authorities” about the case, while the US Embassy spokesman Pope Thrower said “we are aware of media reports that a US citizen is being detained in Vietnam”, declining to elaborate.

Nguyen’s friend Le My Hanh told AFP he went missing while travelling in southern Vietnam with three activists, but his brother-in-law said he was not involved in politics.

“We’re asking the government of Vietnam to please release him,” Roberts told AFP, adding the family is “devastated” over his arrest.

Nguyen settled in the US after the end of the Vietnam War in 1975, which prompted thousands of refugees to flee the Communist government that took over after the long, bitter conflict.

He is the second American citizen detained in Vietnam this year after Yale graduate Will Nguyen was arrested for joining protests in Ho Chi Minh City in June.

He was deported last month after being convicted for causing public disorder in a case raised by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

Vietnam’s communist government routinely jails lawyers, activists and journalists it deems critical, but a conservative leadership in charge since 2016 is accused of intensifying the crackdown.

Scores are behind bars and the campaign has sent a chill throughout the activist community, forcing several into hiding or to self-censor online.

During the 30-minute meeting at Perdana Putra here, Pompeo also took the opportunity to congratulate Dr Mahathir for his stunning May general election victory.

Pompeo, who arrived at 9am, was accompanied by United States Ambassador to Malaysia Kamala Shirin Lakhdhir.

Also present were Defence Minister Mohamad Sabu and Deputy Foreign Minister Datuk Marzuki Yahya.

Pompeo arrived in Malaysia on Thursday to kick off his five-day tour to three South-East Asian countries.

He is heading to Singapore immediately after meeting Dr Mahathir for the Asean Foreign Ministers’ Meeting.

“The visit provides a great opportunity for both Malaysia and the United States of America to discuss a wide range of bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual interest,” said a Wisma Putra statement.

The United States established diplomatic ties with Malaysia in 1957 following the then Malaya’s independence from the United Kingdom.

Washington and Kuala Lumpur elevated bilateral relations to a Comprehensive Partnership in April 2014.

Beijing’s suggestions are part of efforts to expand its influence in the South China Sea, which it claims almost entirely, and push back at Washington, which has backed countries with overlapping claims to the waterway.

A code of conduct between Beijing and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) to govern behavior in the strategic sea has been years in the making.

Bargaining positions

The draft document, seen by Agence France-Presse (AFP), outlines different countries’ bargaining positions as they work toward an agreement, and analysts said it represented some initial progress.

In the text, Vietnam offers the strongest opposition to Beijing’s activities calling for countries to stop building artificial islands and establishing military installations.

But there was little sign of serious resistance from other countries, signaling how opposition to China’s aggressive expansion in the resource-rich waters has ebbed in recent years in Southeast Asia.

Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam have rival claims to China’s in the South China Sea.

Tensions have escalated in recent years due to Beijing building artificial islands that can host military bases.

The United States—traditionally the dominant military power in the area—has more frequently carried out patrols aimed at ensuring freedom of navigation.

Long-running tensions

In the draft text, Beijing suggests that China and the 10 Asean states should carry out joint military exercises regularly.

But the drills should not involve countries outside the region “unless the parties concerned are notified beforehand and express no objection.”

The suggestion to exclude outside countries “is obviously targeted at the US, which has been dominating the waters of the Western Pacific and the South China Sea in particular,” Hoang Thi Ha, from the Asean Studies Center, ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore, told AFP.

By proposing joint military exercises, China is trying to send a “subtle message to the world that Asean and China could work together and things are progressing well, hence there is no need for external involvement in the South China Sea issue,” Ha said.

Beijing also suggested that China and Asean could carry out joint oil and gas exploration in the waters but again proposed that companies from countries outside the region be excluded from such activities, the document showed.

Negotiating text

At a meeting of foreign ministers in Singapore on Thursday, China and Asean announced they had agreed on the negotiating text for the code of conduct.

Vietnam has offered some of the stiffest resistance to China in the sea in recent times, regularly complaining about Beijing’s activities on contested islands and in disputed waters.

Tensions reached fever pitch in 2014 when Beijing moved an oil rig into waters claimed by Hanoi.

But opposition has weakened in other parts of Southeast Asia, with analysts saying that countries are keen to attract Chinese investment and are worried about US commitment to the region under President Donald Trump.

The Philippines, under then President Benigno Aquino III, had been a leading voice against China’s expansion in the sea and used Asean events to pressure Beijing, but President Duterte has reversed that policy.

The meeting was attended by 20 participants from the Ministry of Health along with six representatives from the Ministry of Public Health of Thailand, along with Thai Ambassador Mr Kiattikhun Chartprasert.

The meeting was chaired by the Director General of the Food and Drug Department of the Ministry of Health, Dr Somthavy Changvisommid, and Secretary General of the Thai Food and Drug Administration, Ministry of Public Health, Dr Wanchai Sattayawuthipong.

Dr Somthavy told the meeting that Laos imported more than 70 percent of its food and drugs from Thailand, so cooperation was very important for their control to ensure quality and safety for consumers.

According to the Food and Drug Department, the meeting aimed to review the results of initiatives arising from the second meeting, especially food and drug inspections and management. It also continued discussions about future cooperation plans in food and drug management and medical products.

This includes improving coordination between both countries in food and drug safety and other relevant issues as part of the sector’s Lao-Thai cooperation plan for 2018-2020.

The second meeting agreed to continue the dialogue on cooperation in food safety, especially in the area of import-export control, testing capacity, capacity building and information exchange, and assigning contact persons in the Thai Food and Drug Administration and the Food and Drug Department in Laos. This cooperation is expected to ensure the quality and safety of food products and the efficacy of drugs as well as guarantee fair trade for consumers.

Future plans for food safety cooperation include developing harmonisation mechanisms for food import-export control information exchange and notification, along with identifying capacity building activities for 2018-2020.

Foreign Ministry’s Indonesian citizen protection director Lalu Muhammad Iqbal said Indonesian representative offices in Shanghai and Beijing were handling the case.

“The police of Henan province have been investigating the case. According to the Henan Police, international marriage has long been popular, [especially] with Vietnamese, Myanmar and Laos nationals,” he said, adding that the police had yet to conclude whether it was a case of human trafficking.

The Chinese Embassy in Jakarta had not responded to The Jakarta Post’s queries at the time of writing.

Former Purwakarta regent Dedi Mulyadi recently revealed that a Purwakartan had alerted him of her situation via WhatsApp messenger, saying she had been abused and locked up in China.

“According to them [the women], they were ‘bought’ for Rp 400 million, but they did not receive the money. The women only found out about the money because the husbands raised it while abusing them,” Dedi said as quoted by kompas.com.

According to Dedi, the women told their parents that they had found jobs as sales women in Jakarta when they left their respective hometowns.

West Java Police Insp. Gen. Agung Budi Maryoto said at least 12 girls, mostly from West Java, Central Java and Banten, had allegedly fallen victim to human trafficking, with contract marriage as the modus operandi, kompas.com reported. They were also reportedly forced to work in the agriculture sector.

Umran Kadir, 40, said a “friend of a mutual friend” had started a similar petition.

“Two days ago I was contacted by an activist from Southern Thailand, as the people there are pushing their leaders to ban child marriages too,” he said.

Umran said the man had asked his permission to use the same illustration he used for his petition.

On his Facebook, Ekraj said, “In response to the child marriage case of the 11-year-old Thai girl and 41-year-old Malaysian man, Thai and Malaysian civil society have coordinated efforts to rescue the girl and explore the long-term prevention of sexual exploitation of children by eradicating child marriages.

“There is a long way to go to bring the man to justice and ensure our long-term collective aspirations are fulfilled. We need your support to achieve sustainable protection of our children and women. Thank you!”

The petition said that members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), such as Algeria, Oman, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Egypt, Kenya, Morocco, and Turkey have set the minimum age of marriage at 18 years of age.

However, in Thailand, child marriages are permitted under the Civil and Commercial Code.

With an exception under the Civil Procedure Code, a man who has sexually assaulted an underage girl regardless of consent, which is a criminal offence under the Penal Code, can marry her with the permission of the court and by fulfilling the requirements of the law, it said.

The Islamic Law on Family and Legislation, and the Act on Application of Islamic Law in the Provinces of Pattani, Narathiwat, Yala and Satun, do not prescribe the minimum age of marriage but leave it to the discretion of the court, it said.

This has created a legal loophole for child marriages to be legitimised based on local norms and customary practices in several cases, all of which are in violation of the Child Protection Act, it said.

The loophole resulted in the case of a 41-year-old man from Kelantan marrying an 11-year-old girl from Narathiwat, Thailand.

In his petition, Ekraj also said that child marriages in the southern provinces of Thailand continue to be misused to deal with premarital pregnancy and rape, and to escape poverty.

“To protect the 11-year-old girl and to prevent exploitation, sexual abuses, and for the long-term prevention of exploitation of all children, the undersigned individuals and organisations of the open letter urge the provincial governor of Narathiwat province, as the chairman of the Provincial Child Protection Committee responsible for the Child Protection Act to lodge a police report as a necessary prerequisite for the relevant authorities to investigate the case,” the petition reads.

It also said that the Thai government must seek the cooperation of the Malaysian Government to improve on the law and ensure their compatibility to prevent the misuse of legal loopholes between the two countries.

Meanwhile, Umran’s petition on change.org has received more than 22,000 signatures (at press time) since he initiated it on July 11 (July 12 Malaysian time).

He also wrote an open letter to the Deputy Prime Minister on Thursday morning urging her to take a bold step towards ending child marriages.