ASEAN Affairs Forum

[cirr]

China to invest more than $1.6 billion in Malaysia steel, port

By Siva Sithraputhran and Stuart Grudgings

KUALA LUMPUR | Tue Feb 5, 2013 7:20am EST

KUALA LUMPUR Feb 5 (Reuters) - Chinese firms will invest more than $1.6 billion to build steel, aluminium and palm oil processing plants and expand a port in a new industrial zone on the Malaysian east coast, Malaysia announced on Tuesday.

The Chinese spending is part of total joint investments of 10.5 billion ringgit ($3.5 billion) expected by 2020 in the new Kuantan Industrial Park as Beijing moves to deepen its ties with the Southeast Asian nation.

China has rapidly moved to expand its diplomatic, cultural and economic influence in Southeast Asia in recent years, from funding mega-dams and casinos in the Mekong region to pushing its territorial claims in the South China Sea.

The signing comes a day after Malaysia was criticised by Human Rights Watch for what the group said was the deportation to China of six asylum seekers from the Uighur ethnic minority.

A dozens-strong Chinese delegation led by Jia Qinglin, a senior member of the Communist Party Politburo Standing Committee, was also to sign an agreement on Tuesday to set up the first major Chinese university campus on foreign soil in Malaysia.

Speaking at the ground-breaking ceremony, Prime Minister Najib Razak said Malaysia had been "ahead of the curve" in enhancing economic and diplomatic cooperation with China.

"Over the past decade, the world has come to terms with a model where China's need for resources has driven new patterns of trade and influence," he said at the ground-breaking ceremony for the industrial park in the eastern state of Pahang.

"Now it is beginning to recognise that Chinese innovation and domestic demand will prove just as potent a force in the global economy."

Chinese firm Guangxi Beibu International Port Group will partner with Malaysia's IJM Corporation Berhad in a 3 billion ringgit investment to deepen and expand Kuantan port.

Guangxi Beibu will also lead investments of 5 billion ringgit ($1.6 billion) to build the steel, aluminium and palm oil plants. Those investments would be 100 percent owned by Chinese firms, Ong Ka Ting, Najib's special envoy to China, told Reuters.

Joint investments in a "master" project to develop the industrial zone would amount to another 2.5 billion ringgit.

"The relationship with China is getting better and better," Ong said.


GROWING TRADE, INVESTMENT

China is Malaysia's largest export market, and accounts for a sixth of its imports. Najib said Malaysia expected more than 1 billion ringgit of Chinese foreign direct investment this year, with two-way trade expected to grow about 10 percent to $100 billion.

China's Xiamen university announced in January that it would open its first overseas campus in Malaysia. State news agency Bernama said it would initially take in 10,000 students, a third of them Chinese nationals.

Human Rights Watch condemned on Monday what it called Malaysia's "secret forced return" to China of six Uighurs with pending asylum claims. Rights groups have accused Beijing of detaining and intimidating ethnic Uighurs in the far western region of Xinjiang for speaking out on rights abuses following riots in the regional capital three years ago.

"They (China) are running these guys down, they are doing it in Southeast Asia with the support of governments like Malaysia. Are these quid pro quo arrangements?" said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at the group.

The prime minister's office did not respond to a request for comment on the allegations. Ong also declined to comment. (Reporting By Siva Sithraputhran and Stuart Grudgings; Writing by Stuart Grudgings; editing by Ron Popeski)

China to invest more than $1.6 billion in Malaysia steel, port | Reuters

270,000 Chinese in Thailand during festival

Xinhua, February 11, 2013

An estimated 270,000 tourists from China were speculated to celebrate Chinese New Year in Thailand, according to Tourism Authority of Thailand governor Surapon Svetasreni.

The Chinese tourists were known to have intended to come to Thailand to join in the celebrations of the Chinese New Year and stay for several days or until the coming weekend, said the TAT chief.

Most were expected to visit Bangkok, Phuket, Chiang Mai, Hat Yai, Nakorn Sawan and other provinces where a large number of people of Chinese origin reside or frequent. Activities involving the celebrations of the Chinese New Year, marked by dragon and lion dance processions, firework shows and paying homage to Chinese shrines, have been especially organized for the annual occasion.

That speculated number of the Chinese tourists coming to Thailand during the festive season will account for nearly 10 percent of all Chinese expected to visit the country throughout this year, according to Surapon.

No less than 10 billion baht ($333 million) in foreign currencies was expected to be circulated by the foreign visitors during the weeklong Chinese New Year season, which, in some of the tourist destinations, has been extended until the end of this week. Most were known to stay for a four- to six-days time and spend an average of 4,500 baht ($150) per day.

Thailand's Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn visited Yaovaraj China Town in Bangkok to join the Chinese New Year celebrations on Sunday while Lady Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra delivered an address on state TV and radio to express her best wishes for the Chinese on Saturday.

http://www.china.org.cn/business/2013-02/11/content_27939760.htm

 

[ChineseTiger1986]

Yeah, we modified it ourselves (maybe with Russian help, too), China also confirm its speed.


Translate to English

The Tiexue said: Vietnam now has his own production of this missile missile length 11.7 m; weighs 4.8 tons; diameter of 880 mm; wingspan of 2.6 m; peed of 2.5 mach; longest range of 550 km

Tiexue is not a reliable military site.

 

[nufix]

Tiexue is not a reliable military site.

Leave him be, let he believe what he wanted to believe. Ultra-chauvinist can never be defeated by facts because they provide their own facts. Can one website (without cross confirmation from another sources) simply debunk many information from various sites? Normal people usually say no, but chauvinists always say yes to whatever favor their logic.

 

[ChineseTiger1986]

Leave him be, let he believe what he wanted to believe. Ultra-chauvinist can never be defeated by facts because they provide their own facts. Can one website (without cross confirmation from another sources) simply debunk many information from various sites? Normal people usually say no, but chauvinists always say yes to whatever favor their logic.

China only wants to increase her economic influence in ASEAN, meanwhile this will increase the benefit for both party.

While Vietnam wanna make ASEAN her own party, so it obvious which country ASEAN can entrust more.

 

[nufix]

China sees new energy in its ties with RI

Veeramalla Anjaiah, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | World | Thu, February 07 2013, 12:15 PM

All together now: Chinese Ambassador to Indonesia Liu Jianchao (fourth left), along with his embassy staff, sings Indonesia’s famous “Bengawan Solo” song during a reception to celebrate the Spring Festival at his residence in Jakarta on Tuesday night. JP/Veeramalla Anjaiah


Indonesia’s total trade might have slowed due to the global financial crisis in 2012, but bilateral trade between China and Indonesia, based on Chinese statistics, never stopped growing. China’s overall strategic ties are also growing strongly and may take a new turn this year, a Chinese envoy says.

Last year, according to Chinese Ambassador to Indonesia Liu Jianchao, bilateral trade between the two Asian giants surged to a record US$66.21 billion, an impressive growth of 9.4 percent from $60 billion in 2011.

“Our trade has been growing for the last several years. According to our statistics, the trade was almost balanced. Now we are focusing on achieving our trade target of $80 billion by 2015,” Liu told The Jakarta Post during the Spring Festival reception at his residence in Jakarta on Tuesday night.

Recently, there was a change in Chinese leadership and new leader Xi Jinping will assume his post soon.

“We have new leadership in China and we will have new energy in our bilateral relations. We will have a high-level visit to Indonesia to strengthen our relations further this year,” Liu said.

Likewise, Liu said, China’s investments were also growing at a rapid pace.

“Our investments, excluding those in the non-oil sector, in Indonesia last year reached $600 million, a 90 percent increase from 2011. But sometimes, these investment figures can be misleading as the real figures do not reflect the official data,” Liu said.

Some Chinese investments, Liu continued, came through third countries such as Singapore. Though around 1,000 Chinese companies are currently operating in Indonesia, China is a relative newcomer in Indonesia.

“Unlike other investors like Japan, Singapore and other countries, we are relatively new to Indonesia. It will take some time to materialize our investment plans. We are committed to invest heavily in Indonesia,” Liu said.

Echoing a similar view, Indonesian Ambassador to China Imron Cotan said that Beijing was very serious about investing in Indonesia.

“We took Chinese investors to Indonesia on a road show recently. The results were very impressive. During the visit of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to China last year, Chinese investors pledged to invest $17 billion in projects related to infrastructure with the intention of supporting Indonesia’s Master Plan for the Acceleration and Expansion of Indonesia’s Economic Development [MP3EI],” Imron said recently.

Last year, China invested $77.22 billion in more than 140 countries, including Indonesia, and received foreign direct investment of $111.71 billion, mainly from Asian countries. The world’s most populous nation is currently sitting on a massive $3.24 trillion of foreign exchange reserves.

Last week, the Indonesian Chambers of Commerce and Industry announced that Indonesia would purchase 2,500 ships worth $5 billion from China to improve logistics and the distribution of goods across the archipelago. China will deliver the ships over five years starting from 2013.

In the defense sector relations have also been growing. Just last month, Deputy Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin visited China to take part in bilateral defense consultations and to boost cooperation between the two countries.

According to Liu, China has been working to increase its people-to-people contacts with Indonesia.

“Last year, around 600,000 Chinese tourists visited Indonesia. Half of them visited Bali. This trend will continue in coming years,” Liu said.

Indonesia and China follow different methods of calculating exports and imports, making trade figures a sensitive issue in Indonesia.

According to Chinese sources, China’s exports to Indonesia in 2012 reached $34 billion, making Southeast Asia’s largest economy China’s 14th-largest export destination comprising 1.7 percent of China’s total exports that reached $2.04 trillion. Meanwhile, Indonesia’s exports to the world’s second-biggest economy might reached around $32 billion, a tiny portion of China’s record $1.81 trillion in imports.

Based on the latest data from the Central Statistics Agency, Indonesia’s trade with China surged to $46.43 billion — comprising $19.59 billion in exports and $26.84 billion in imports — during the first 10 months of 2012, up 4.26 percent from $44.53 billion during the same period in 2011.

Hope this kind of trend will keep on increasing fast.

 

[nufix]

China only wants to increase her economic influence in ASEAN, meanwhile this will increase the benefit for both party.

While Vietnam wanna make ASEAN her own party, so it obvious which country ASEAN can entrust more.

That's why Indonesia is strongly opposing such idea of building an unpromising alliance filled with countries screaming for war to countries Indonesia has no problem with. While we are trying to build our economy, this alliance wants to suck it up. Not even Thailand, Brunei, and Singapore want to join that.

 

[ChineseTiger1986]

That's why Indonesia is strongly opposing such idea of building an unpromising alliance filled with countries screaming for war to countries Indonesia has no problem with. While we are trying to build our economy, this alliance wants to suck it up.

Vietnam is supported by Russia in her role in ASEAN to contain both USA and China.

Since USA is still the police of the world, we can't deny her presence in ASEAN, but China sees ASEAN as one of her important national interests for pure economic reason. Maybe we can have more cooperation in military technology as well.

But in the past years, China has proven herself to be a credible economic partner of ASEAN, we made a lot of compromises in the SCS dispute and we are both against the troublemaking behaviors.

Thus, China's role in ASEAN is absolutely essential, this deluded Viet guy has just made himself a laughing stock as he believes that ASEAN should exclude the participation of China.

 

[nufix]

Vietnam is supported by Russia in her role in ASEAN to contain both USA and China.

Since USA is still the police of the world, we can't deny her presence in ASEAN, but China sees ASEAN as one of her important national interests for pure economic reason. Maybe we can have more cooperation in military technology as well.

But in the past years, China has proven herself to be a credible economic partner of ASEAN, we made a lot of compromises in the SCS dispute and we are both against the troublemaking behaviors.

Thus, China's role in ASEAN is absolutely essential, this deluded Viet guy has just made himself a laughing stock as he believes that ASEAN should exclude the participation of China.

Right, no body wants war, not even China I presume. Economic challenge is more important in order decline western influence towards Asian markets instead of mongering for war within Asian countries itself. War between ASEAN and China will only bring misfortune towards each other.

 

[ChineseTiger1986]

Right, no body wants war, not even China I presume. Economic challenge is more important in order decline western influence towards Asian markets instead of mongering for war within Asian countries itself. War between ASEAN and China will only bring misfortune towards each other.

It is only that "Nice Guy" really wants a war, and it is hard to imagine if his country is as strong as China.

 

[Viet]

No one from us wants war. I just wonder where you get the idea from?
Should I take comments from users such as HongWu and some others as the true voice of China?

 

[Reashot Xigwin]

No one from us wants war. I just wonder where you get the idea from?
Should I take comments from users such as HongWu and some others as the true voice of China?

the AMS (ASEAN Member States) should carefully and clearly redefine and reinterpret the scope and definitions of “sovereignty”, “non-interference”, and “territorial integrity” principles stipulated in the ASEAN Charter.

Source: http://www.defence.pk/forums/china-...human-developments-news-16.html#ixzz2KmHiZlLF

Not war, but the issue of sovereign right vs regional policy.

 

[Viet]

Thailand, EU to open FTA talk early next month

English.news.cn 2013-02-15 17:48:44 [Xinhua]
by Surasak Tumcharoen

Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra


BANGKOK, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- Thailand and the European Union will open formal talk on Free Trade Area agreements early next month.

Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra is scheduled to leave for the Belgian capital of Brussels, which locates the EU headquarters, on March 6 and 7 to lead a Thai delegation in the starting up of the negotiations on the FTA dealings which might probably take a two-year time, according to Thailand's Department of Trade Negotiations chief Piramon Charoenpao.

Bilateral trade between Thailand and the EU is expected to increase in volume and value due to FTA dealings, which seek to cut trade tariffs and promote investments, Piramon said.

The FTA agreements will do more favors for Thai exporters than the General System of Preferences currently provided for the Thai goods destined for the EU markets, she said.

The FTA talk is apparently following the United States' reported plan to also open an FTA talk with the EU in near future and a recent approval from the Thai legislative branch for the Yingluck government to proceed with the time-consuming talk.

"As a matter of fact, Singapore and Vietnam have already held FTA talks with the EU separately. We'll have to follow suit in prompt fashion for optimum interests of our country," said the Thai department chief.

Bilateral trade between Thailand and the EU has amounted to 30 billion euros with the Thai side enjoying a trade surplus totaling about 5.5 billion euros.

Thai products exported to the EU included foods, fruit, farm products, animal feeds and jewelry items while European goods for the Southeast Asian country included machinery, construction and medical equipment, clothing and drugs, among others.

Piramon added that plans to hold FTA talks between the ASEAN community and the EU had been indefinitely put off, because the Europeans preferred separate dealings with individual countries to the whole bloc.

 

[Viet]

Oil prices hit all-time high in Cambodia

English.news.cn 2013-02-15 13:53:42
Xinhua

Petrol station in Cambodia


PHNOM PENH, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- Oil prices in Cambodia hit the highest of all time on Friday, with a liter of premium gasoline going for 1.45 U.S. dollars at all petrol stations in the capital.

The price is the highest ever if compared with the peak price of 1.41 U.S. dollars a liter in 2008 and once again in last March.

Bin May Mialia, Commercial Manager for Thai-based PTT Oil Company in Phnom Penh, said Friday that the latest spike in oil price on international market resulted from continuing political troubles in the Middle East, economic recession in Europe and U.S. dollar currency depreciation.

"Just within the last two weeks, oil price in Cambodia has increased by 4.5 percent," he said. "Oil price hike in Cambodia is in line with the globally soaring oil prices. We don't have our own produced oil, so we totally import it from foreign countries."

Officials at the Ministry of Finance could not be reached for comments on Friday. But Finance Minister Keat Chhon said last year that the oil price increase affected everyone and businesses in the country and recommended people to tighten the purse strings and make maximum use of oil they purchased.

On Friday, a barrel (159 liters) of crude oil costs above 97 U. S. dollars in the international market, up from 95 U.S. dollars in January.

Cambodia has completely purchased petroleum from Vietnam, Singapore and Thailand. Last year, this Southeast Asian nation spent about 1.62 billion U.S. dollars on some 1.65 million tons of petroleum, according to a report of the Commerce Ministry.

In December last year, Cambodian Petrochemical Company and Sinomach China Perfect Machinery Industry Corp unveiled a 2.3 billion U.S. dollar project to build the first oil refinery in Cambodia and the construction is expected to be completed at the end of 2015.

 

[Reashot Xigwin]

Minister Says 1,400 Japanese Companies Eye Indonesia
Tuesday, 12 February, 2013 | 15:57 WIB

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: Industry Minister Mohammad S. Hidayat is claiming that no less than 1,400 Japanese companies have expressed their interest in investing in Indonesia. These companies are members of the Kansai Economic Federation (Kankairen), the second biggest industry association in Japan.

"They are looking for investment opportunities. We have described projects that are important at the moment," Hidayat said after receiving the Japanese delegation at his office on Monday, Feb. 11.

The visit was a follow-up to Japan's investment plan on the Metropolitan Priority Area (MPA) project and the plan to add 3,000 hectares of industrial areas for Japanese investors. From the meeting, Hidayat expects that there would be 10-15 Kankeiren investors that would actualize their project plans in Indonesia.

"We have established a strong relationship with Indonesia, and I hope this meeting will further increase our economic cooperation in the future," Kankeiren Chairman Shosuke Mori said.

Trade Minister Gita Wirjawan previously said that foreign direct investment in Indonesia would grow by 23-35 percent this year. In 2012, the value of FDI in Indonesia reached US$ 23 billion.

ANANDA TERESIA | RAHMA TW

Tempointeraktif.com - Minister Says 1,400 Japanese Companies Eye Indonesia


Indonesia to Boost Geothermal Focus
Tito Summa Siahaan | February 07, 2013

Indonesia Geothermal Potential

Amid growing calls for the government to prioritize domestic consumption of the country’s massive natural gas reserves, the Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Jero Wacik has announced that a relaxation over export restriction is possible should geothermal development gain pace.

Jero said that throughout his meetings with foreign oil and gas firms he always encouraged them to invest in geothermal development in the country. “I told them that we have a massive potential for other energy sources, and if these can be developed then our gas consumption would be reduced,” Jero said on Wednesday.

However, Jero added that such relaxation would only be provided for countries and companies with proven track records in geothermal development. He said that the government was still trying to increase domestic allocation in natural gas.

Among foreign oil companies harnessing geothermal power is Chevron Pacific Indonesia, which produces 636 megawatts in electricity from geothermal fields in West Java.

Susilo Siswoutomo, the deputy energy and mineral resources minister, said that geothermal energy can only be exploited for electricity, indicating that domestic gas consumption would remain in line with the country’s industrial needs.

“Indonesia has a potential of 29,000 megawatts in geothermal energy, imagine if all of this potential can be utilized,” he added.

To put everything into perspective, he went on, four megawatts of electricity were equal to one million metric standard cubic feet (mmscfd).

Indonesia produced 8,142 mmscfd in natural gas last year of which close to 50 percent was consumed domestically. Sitting atop two volcanic chains, Indonesia has the largest geothermal reserves in the world, with only 4 percent exploited.

To encourage geothermal development, the government introduced new regulation which provides better pricing.

http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/business/indonesia-to-boost-geothermal-focus/570025

 

[Malaya]

Asean rights body must show it is relevant


The Asean Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR), whose second set of commissioners were recently sworn in, should address the disappearance of Laotian social activist Sombath Somphone to show it is a relevant organisation with the teeth to promote and protect the basic rights of people in this region.

Magsaysay Award-winner Sombath went missing on December 15 while driving back home from his office in Vientiane. Closed-circuit TV footage shows him being stopped by police at a checkpoint before being led away by a group of unknown men in a pickup truck.

A week after the disappearance, Laotian authorities issued a statement that failed to explain the situation or to commit themselves to any action, and which only showed their intention to distance themselves from the case.

In mid-January, Laotian Ambassador to Geneva Yong Chanthalangsay told the United Nations Human Rights Council there was no new information, and repeated speculation that a personal or business conflict may have been behind Sombath's abduction.

That's the only action the authorities in Vientiane have taken so far. They have shown no further intention to investigate the case. The incident appears to be in danger of fading from public attention.

Authorities around the world, including officials from the United States, the European Union and the United Nations, have expressed concern over Sombath's disappearance and have appealed to the government in Vientiane to pursue a transparent investigation and to do everything in its power to ensure his safe return.

Lawmakers from some Asean countries visited Vientiane last month but returned without a clear answer about his fate.

Civic groups, mostly in Thailand, along with international human-rights defenders and overseas Laotians, have held a series of events to call attention to the disappearance.

Singapore's Foreign Ministry has provided consular assistance to Sombath's wife, Ng Shui Meng, who is a Singaporean citizen. But many other Asean members, including close neighbour Thailand, have remained silent.

Perhaps it's the nature of governments in Southeast Asia to ignore this type of incident. Forced disappearances happen from time to time in this region, as if it was a part of life. In countries like Indonesia, Laos, the Philippines and Thailand, state agencies have at times been involved in the disappearances of people they consider "disturbing persons" or "troublemakers".

Authoritarian habits are deeply rooted in many countries in Southeast Asia, where officials, notably in security-related agencies, tend to see citizens who voice alternative views as enemies. Many unlawful actions have happened under the nose of irresponsible governments.

According to Asean's human rights declaration unveiled last year, "Every person has the right to personal liberty and security. No person shall be subject to arbitrary arrest, search, detention, abduction or any other form of deprivation of liberty."

The Asean human rights declaration was supposed to be enforced by the AICHR, whose second set of commissioners took office last month and will serve until 2015.

The first meeting of the AICHR's new term finished on February 2 in Brunei with no solution to any cases of human-rights violations. The meeting gave priority mostly to bureaucratic tasks, such as publication of the recently announced Asean human rights declaration and translation of into the respective national languages.

Like many other Asean mechanisms, the AICHR concentrated on paperwork and diplomatic jargon, rather than the fate and wellbeing of ordinary people in member countries. None of the AICHR representatives, who include a member from Laos, voiced concern over Sombath's case. They pretended as if nothing had happened.

What's the point of having an Asean human rights commission if such human rights violations are ignored?

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Asean-rights-body-must-show-it-is-relevant-30199931.html