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Thailand abstains in UN vote against Russia over Ukraine war

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2022

Thailand abstained from voting as the UN General Assembly called on Russia to make reparations to Ukraine over the war there.

The General Assembly on Monday adopted the resolution after ambassadors met to resume their emergency special session devoted to the conflict.

The resolution, supported by 94 of the assembly’s 193 members, said Russia, which invaded its neighbour in February, “must bear the legal consequences of all of its internationally wrongful acts, including making reparation for injuries, including any damage, caused by such acts”.

Thailand was among 73 countries which abstained from voting, while 14 nations voted against the resolution.

The Asean countries which voted for the resolution were Myanmar, The Philippines and Singapore. Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia and Vietnam joined Thailand in abstaining.

In presenting the resolution, Ukrainian Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya insisted Russia must be held accountable for its violation of international law.

“Seventy-seven years ago, the Soviet Union demanded and received reparations, calling it a moral right of a country that had suffered war and occupation,” he said.

“Today, Russia, which claims to be the successor of the 20th century’s tyranny, is doing everything it can to avoid paying the price for its own war and occupation, trying to escape accountability for the crimes it is committing.”

Kyslytsya pointed out that Russia also supported the creation of the UN Compensation Commission, established in 1991 after Iraq’s invasion and occupation of Kuwait.

The commission completed its mandate in February, he reported, having paid out more than US$52 billion (1.84 trillion baht) in reparations to the victims.

The ambassador outlined the impact of the Russian war on his country, including bombings targeting residential buildings and infrastructure, the demolition of nearly half of the power grid and utilities, massive displacement and atrocities such as murder, rape, torture and forced deportations.

“This proposal is not about Russia alone. It will work for the benefit of all those who are being threatened now or might be threatened later by use of force,” he said.

Speaking before the vote, Russian Ambassador Vasily Nebenzya characterised the draft resolution as “a classic example of a narrow group of states acting not on the basis of international law but rather trying to consecrate something that is illegal”.

He said countries backing the resolution were attempting to position the General Assembly as a judicial body, which it is not.

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Zelenskiy urges G20 to adopt Ukraine’s plan to restore peace

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2022

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Tuesday urged world leaders to back a plan to end the war in his country, saying now was the time to push for peace after Russia’s defeat in the southern city of Kherson.

At the same time, he said Ukraine would not allow Russian forces to regroup after their withdrawal from Kherson, and said there would be more fighting until Ukraine reclaims control of all of its occupied territory.

Zelenskiy made his remarks in a speech to a Group of 20 (G20) summit in Indonesia, where Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was a key focus of discussion among leaders of the world’s major economies.

A day earlier he shook hands with soldiers and waved to civilians during a visit to Kherson, where he said Ukraine had gathered evidence of at least 400 war crimes committed by Russian troops including killings and abductions.

“I am convinced now is the time when the Russian destructive war must and can be stopped,” he said via video link to the summit on the island of Bali, according to a copy of his speech reviewed by Reuters.

Zelenskiy told the summit that now was the time to stop Russia’s war in his country under a plan he has proposed “justly and on the basis of the UN Charter and international law“.

He called for restoring “radiation safety” with regard to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, and proposed that “International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) missions are sent to all Ukrainian nuclear plants”.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who headed the Russian delegation to the summit, remained in the room while Zelenskiy was speaking, delegates said.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said that the G20 saw international condemnation of Russia’s war in Ukraine.

“With Russia’s Foreign minister sitting there we highlighted both the illegality and the barbaric nature of Russia’s war and also the devastating impact that it is having on people around the world through higher food and energy prices,” Sunak said.

Sunak arrived at the summit in Bali, Indonesia, on Monday (November 14) and is expected to meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

The British PM on Tuesday extended his support for Ukraine at the G20 summit while confirming a long-planned order for warships from British defence contractor BAE Systems.

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https://www.nationthailand.com/world/china/40022103

Biden-Xi meeting a step towards easing tensions despite differences

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2022

US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping held their first in-person bilateral meeting on Monday, where they both showed a desire to improve bilateral ties that have hit rock bottom in recent years.

While they continue to stand at odds on key issues, including Taiwan, experts assess that Monday’s meeting will positively improve bilateral ties and reduce tensions.

On the eve of the G20 Summit in Bali, Indonesia, Biden and Xi met for about three hours, according to officials.

In the first US-China meeting since January 2017, the two leaders agreed on the need to reduce tensions in their bilateral relations, and to work together to address transnational challenges.

In that effort, they said they would have senior officials maintain communication to deepen constructive efforts on a wide range of issues, including climate change, global macroeconomic stability, debt relief, health security, and global food security, the White House said.

According to a readout of the meeting, Biden told Xi that the US would continue to “compete vigorously” with China. At the same time, the US and China must manage the competition responsibly, and maintain open lines of communication so that the competition does not veer into conflict, Biden said.

Xi pointed out that the current bilateral relations the two countries have “is not in the fundamental interest of the two countries and peoples, and is not what the international community expects”.

So for the world and for the people, they should find the right way to get along with each other and “bring it back to the track of healthy and stable growth” for everyone’s benefit, Xi said.

The two leaders also agreed that their respective countries should work together to tackle transnational challenges, such as climate change,

“China-US relations should not be a zero-sum game where one side out-competes or thrives at the expense of the other,” Xi said.

“The successes of China and the United States are opportunities, not challenges, for each other. The world is big enough for the two countries to develop themselves and prosper together,” he added.

As the two leaders confirmed their desires to improve ties, they still were at odds over a series of pending issues, including the security situation of Taiwan.

While the US president reiterated the US upholds the one China policy, he objected to the “coercive” and “increasingly aggressive” actions of Beijing toward Taiwan. He said those hostile actions undermine peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and in the broader region and jeopardise global prosperity.

Biden also raised concerns over Beijing’s conduct harming human rights in Xinjiang, Tibet, and Hong Kong, and also pointed out China’s non-market economic practices harm workers and families in America and around the world.

Xi gave a “full account” of the origin of the Taiwan issue, and China’s principled position, according to China’s State Council.

Stressing that the Taiwan question is at the very core of China’s core interests, Xi said it is “the first red line” that must not be crossed in China-US relations.

Xi stressed that China also supports and is committed to peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, but that and the idea of Taiwan’s independence are as “irreconcilable as water and fire”.

The two leaders agreed that nuclear war should never be fought and can never be won. They also underscored their opposition to the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine.

But as the White House readout explained how Biden criticised North Korea’s military provocation and urged China to play a “constructive role” to deter Pyongyang‘s threats, China’s side did not mention it.

Experts viewed Monday’s meeting as an opportunity for the two sides to explore their desire for improvement in their bilateral relations.

“In several months, we may look back on the Biden-Xi meeting as the first signs of an inflexion point that began to decelerate the spiral towards conflict,” Jessica Chen Weiss, a China expert at Cornell University, said in an interview with the Financial Times.

“It’s encouraging that both sides agreed to empower senior officials to develop foundational principles for the relationship and working groups to make progress on specific issues,” Chen Weiss added.

Citing analysts’ opinions, China’s state-operated English news outlet Global Times said Monday’s bilateral summit plays positive for the relations between the two countries.

While tension remains between the two countries, Xi-Biden summit sent a “positive signal” to the world, that the world’s two biggest economies remain in communication and share the consensus of avoiding direct conflict, the Global Times said.

The Korea Herald

Asia News Network

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https://www.nationthailand.com/world/asia-pacific/40022093

The latest news on what’s happening in the region

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2022

Check out what’s hot in the region on November 15, as The Nation puts together headlines from members of Asia News Network (ANN). Click to read more:

ANN news highlights: Tue, Nov 15, 2022
Bringing Asia Closer

Diplomacy China-US

Xi, Biden hold candid, in-depth exchange of views on bilateral ties, major global issues – China Daily
 

Xi, Biden vow to avoid conflict and get China-US relations back on track – Straits Times
 

Opinion: Can the Island of the Gods pacify Xi and Biden? – Jakarta Post
 

Diplomacy Japan-Korea
Kishida, Yoon agree on early resolution of issue of wartime requisitioned workers – The Japan News
 

Myanmar Crisis I
Malaysia seeking UN’s help to set up humanitarian donor forum for Myanmar – The Star
 

Myanmar Crisis II
Editorial: ASEAN paralysis over Myanmar – Jakarta Post

Apec 

Global spotlight on Bangkok as Apec 2022 opens – The Nation
 

Kishida, Xi to hold talks in Bangkok – The Japan News
 

Asean Summit
A recap of bilateral meetings on sidelines of ASEAN Summit hosted by Cambodia | Phnom Penh Post
https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/recap-bilateral-meetings-sidelines-asean-summit-hosted-cambodia

Economy Asean
Interview: ASEAN a bright spot in gloomy global outlook, says IMF chief | Phnom Penh Post
 

Politics US
Opinion: US elections: Lessons for the Philippines | Inquirer Opinion
 

Jobs SE Asia
Sea e-commerce arm Shopee cuts jobs in third round of layoffs this year, including in Singapore – Straits Times
 

Business Saudi-Korea
Saudi crown prince to meet with biz moguls in Seoul – Korea Herald

Business Japan
Keidanren faces crucial challenges 20 years after founding – The Japan News
 

PPP Vietnam
Airport infrastructure investment needs private involvement: insiders – Vietnam News
 

Business China
Nation moves to level playing field for foreign investors – China Daily
 

Startup India
54 companies back by Venture Catalysts surpass $50 million valuation – The Statesman

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https://www.nationthailand.com/world/asean/40022095

‘End the war’, Jokowi urges G20 leaders as Bali summit opens

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2022

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo on Tuesday urged G20 leaders to “end the war” as he opened a summit dominated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with Washington and allies heaping pressure on Moscow.

“Being responsible means creating not zero-sum situations, being responsible here also means that we must end the war,” Jokowi said.

The United States and its allies are looking to blame painfully high global food and fuel prices squarely on President Vladimir Putin during the gathering.

Eyeing a joint G20 declaration that would condemn the eight-month-old invasion and threats to use nuclear weapons, US and European officials have painted the summit as evidence of Russia’s deepening isolation.

“I think you’re going to see most members of the G20 make clear that they condemn Russia’s war in Ukraine,” a senior US official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

“Russia’s war of aggression is being condemned in the strongest possible terms,” the official said, adding that many “see Russia’s war in Ukraine as the root source of immense economic and humanitarian suffering in the world.”

It remains to be seen whether Russia’s G20 allies China, India and South Africa will sign up to language that would condemn Putin’s war so explicitly.

Such a condemnation at the G20 would be a heavy diplomatic defeat for Moscow, which has been keen to paint opposition to the conflict as Western-dominated.

There was a hint of growing Chinese unease with Russia’s war, though, when presidents Xi Jinping and Joe Biden met late Monday.

Both men voiced opposition to the “use or threat of use“ of nuclear weapons in Ukraine, the White House said.

European Council president Charles Michel signalled that while a draft agreement had been agreed to in principle, there was still work to be done.
“I am absolutely convinced that we should try to use the meeting today and tomorrow to convince all of the parties to put more pressure on Russia,” he told the media as the summit opened.

Inflation woes

G20 leaders are gathered in Bali as soaring inflation drives millions more into poverty and tips several nations toward recession.

US allies hope to find common ground with G20 nations who, while cautious about denouncing Russia, are deeply concerned about rising prices.

G20 members Argentina and Turkey are among countries worst hit by food inflation, while India and South Africa have avoided criticising Moscow.

Putin is skipping the summit after a string of embarrassing battlefield defeats in a war that his supporters had believed would be over in days.
Rubbing salt in the wound, Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky – fresh from a visit to liberated Kherson – addressed G20 leaders in a video message.

Russia is represented by Sergei Lavrov, despite the veteran foreign minister making two Bali hospital trips in as many days for an undisclosed ailment.

Moscow denied the top diplomat had been hospitalised.
Lavrov is not seen as part of Putin’s inner circle – meaning the chance of a diplomatic breakthrough to end the war is vanishingly small.

With Zelensky and Putin absent “there is little chance of any real peace diplomacy in Bali”, said Richard Gowan of the International Crisis Group.

Still, French President Emmanuel Macron has kept an olive branch extended. He will call Putin after the G20 summit, according to a senior French official.

Grain corridor

The deal allowing Ukraine to export grain through the Black Sea is likely to be another focus of conversation.

It expires on November 19, and Russia has already threatened to rip it up.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Monday he was “hopeful” the deal would be extended, calling it crucial for food security.

Ukraine is one of the world’s top grain producers, and the Russian invasion had blocked 20 million tonnes of grain in its ports before the UN and Turkey brokered the deal in July.

“We need urgent action to prevent famine and hunger in a growing number of places around the world,” Guterres said.
The summit build-up has focused on Xi, who is making only his second overseas trip since the pandemic.

He is meeting with Macron and Australia’s Anthony Albanese on Tuesday, a day after a first presidential sit-down with Biden.

The pair cooled Cold War rhetoric in a three-hour summit as they tried to take some of the heat out of their simmering superpower rivalry.

“The world expects that China and the United States will properly handle the relationship,” Xi told Biden.

Former US diplomat Danny Russel described the meeting as broadly positive.

“We should beware of prematurely declaring the strategic rivalry over. However, we saw a deliberate effort to stabilise a dangerously overheated relationship.”

The Jakarta Post
Asia News Network