Kachin conflict set to intensify – The Irrawaddy
December 9th, 2011
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=22630
BANGKOK — The conflict in Kachin State is set to get worse after already displacing tens of thousands of civilians, many of whom rely on support from local aid groups desperately in need of international assistance, according to a leading advocacy group for refugees.
“Tensions between the government and KIO [Kachin Independence Organization] have reached boiling point,” said Lynn Yoshikawa of the US-based Refugees International (RI), who recently concluded a fact-finding trip to the war-torn state. (more…)
New turns in South China Sea debate – The Irrawaddy
September 28th, 2011
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=22155
BANGKOK – The ongoing wrangle between China and a number of smaller neighbours over jurisdiction on the disputed South China Sea took a new turn yesterday with Philippine President Benigno Aquino III meeting Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda in Tokyo.
Without mentioning China, PM Noda told reporters after the summit that both countries would increase “cooperation between coastguards and defense-related authorities”. According to a joint statement issued after the meeting, both countries “confirmed that freedom of navigation, unimpeded commerce, and compliance with established international law including the UNCLOS (the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea) and the peaceful settlement of disputes serve the interests of the two countries and the whole region”. (more…)
Thailand-Cambodia border fighting continues – RTÉ World Report
May 1st, 2011
http://www.rte.ie/news/av/2011/0501/worldreport.html#&autoplay=true
At the latest yellowshirt demonstration in Bangkok (Photo: Simon Roughneen)
Artillery fire across remote jungles and ancient temples continued on Friday, along the Thailand-Cambodia border, breaking a tentative ceasefire put in place the day before.
One Thai soldier was killed, bringing the death toll to sixteen since the crossfire started. As has been the case throughout, both sides blame each other for shooting first. (more…)
Thailand-Cambodia clash deflecting from domestic woes – The Irrawaddy
April 26th, 2011
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=21175
Claims that both governments are cynically stoking up border dispute to boost popularity by appealing to nationalist sentiment.
Since Friday morning, fighting along the Thai-Cambodia border has left 12 soldiers dead and forced the evacuation of thousands of civilians on both sides of the frontier. This comes two months after four days of fighting left 11 people dead at a separate location along the border.
The latest bout of shelling began at around 6 am on Friday along the border where Thailand’s Surin Province faces Oddar Meanchey in Cambodia. Both sides blame each other for shooting first. Thailand says that Cambodia plans a ground offensive to take control of two temples, while Cambodia claims that its adversary has used chemical weapons and sent fighter aircraft into Cambodia’s airspace. Both sides deny the respective allegations. (more…)
6 soldiers killed in Thailand-Cambodia border clash – Los Angeles Times
April 22nd, 2011
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-thailand-cambodia-20110423,0,2582448.story
Thailand and Cambodia blame each other for the latest in a series of conflicts involving a contested temple. Officers of the two militaries meet to calm the situation after the deaths of three soldiers from each side.
By Simon Roughneen, Los Angeles Times
Reporting from Bangkok, Thailand— Six soldiers were killed Friday, three from each side, in a dawn shootout between Thai and Cambodian troops along their nations’ tense border, officials from both sides said.The clash was the latest in a series of conflicts involving a contested temple and centuries of distrust. (more…)
India’s influence anxiety in Burma – The Irrawaddy
March 16th, 2011
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=20947&Submit=Submit
India is losing out to China in Burma, but New Delhi could still be downplaying military assistance to Burma amid rumours of a new bilateral arms deal
BANGKOK – In his 1973 The Anxiety of Influence: A Theory of Poetry, Harold Bloom explains how poetic creativity is inevitably constrained by precursors and predecessors, whom would-be writers – subconsciously at least – emulate after reading. The outcome is that artist anxiously tries – unsuccessfully for the most part, save for a few stellar exceptions – to overcome this influence and forge an original vision.
Save for the licence sometimes deployed to spin the self-interest involved, there is little that is poetic about the commercial and strategic bidding war taking place in Burma, as neighbouring countries vie for influence in the one-time “breadbasket of southeast Asia”, these days more the region’s mine for oil, gas, gemstones, hydropower and timber.
Eager to acquire some of these resources to bolster its growing economy, India is consciously anxious about the influence wielded by China in Burma, according to newly-released U.S diplomatic cables. (more…)
Toys for the boys or a real arms race? – The Irrawaddy
March 7th, 2011
China’s 12.7 percent hike in military spending for 2011 could add impetus to a preexisting arms-buying spree in Southeast Asia, where other factors are also fueling a dramatic increase in defense spending.
http://www.irrawaddy.org/highlight.php?art_id=20885
BANGKOK — China’s announcement of a 12.7 percent hike in military spending for 2011 could add impetus to a preexisting arms-buying spree in Southeast Asia, after a year in which Beijing’s growing assertiveness over disputes such as the South China Sea alarmed a number of countries in the region.
Overall, military or defense spending has increased by 50 percent in Southeast Asia since 2000, according to data compiled by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). (more…)
Tensions remain between Thailand and Cambodia – RTÉ World Report
February 20th, 2011
A thousand year old temple on the Thailand-Cambodia border is in the firing line as soldiers from both countries square-off over a tiny, disputed patch of land around the building.
http://www.rte.ie/news/av/2011/0220/worldreport.html#&autoplay=true – audiostream
Yellowshirts vent their spleen at Cambodia's PM Hun Sen, while camped out in Bangkok (Photo: Simon Roughneen)
Preah Vihear was built as a Hindu temple by Khmer rulers between the 9th and 11th centuries, and according to a 1962 ruling by the International Court of Justice, belongs to Cambodia. However a 1.8 square mile area of land around the compound is contested, and the latest flare-up, which cost the lives of at least five soldiers, was the latest skirmish since UNESCO deemed the temple a World Heritage site in 2008. (more…)
Cambodia seeks U.N. help to halt battle with Thailand at ancient temple – Los Angeles Times
February 7th, 2011
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has asked for a U.N. ‘buffer zone’ at the disputed 11th century temple where fighting is in its fourth day and at least five people have died. Thai officials deny ‘bullying an inferior neighbor.’ Both sides say the other shot first.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-thailand-cambodia-20110208,0,2254769.story
By Simon Roughneen, Special to the Los Angeles Times
Reporting from Bangkok, Thailand — Cambodia asked U.N. peacekeepers on Monday to intervene and help end fighting along the Thai-Cambodia border following a fourth day of gunfire that had killed at least five people near a disputed 11th century temple.
The wrangling over the 2-square-mile complex, a World Heritage site, has fueled fears of a protracted border conflict between the wary neighbors.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen requested a U.N. “buffer zone,” adding that the conflict threatened regional stability as United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on both sides to exercise maximum restraint.
But Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva of Thailand, the regional powerhouse, resisted U.N. intervention or a mediation offer by the 10-member Assn. of Southeast Asian Nations, calling instead for direct negotiations. (more…)
Independence – and challenges – loom for southern Sudan – Irish Examiner
January 10th, 2011
http://examiner.ie/world/independence-for-south-sudan-to-present-challenges-141639.html
JUBA , Sudan. The dateline here and now says ‘Sudan’, but later this year it will likely read ‘South Sudan’ or ‘Nile Republic’. Biblical references such as ’Cushitia’ or ‘Azania’ are also being touted as names for the what will be world’s newest country. Four million voters in southern Sudan are likely to vote to leave Africa’s largest state in a referendum that started early on Sunday.
John Kerry and Salva Kiir meet with clergy before Mass in Juba on Jan 9. (Photo: Simon Roughneen)
Just before 8am, I spoke to Charles Juma-Seyis at the end of a 500 yard long queue at Konyo-Konyo polling station in central Juba, the usually low-key and ramshackle would-be capital. “I don’t mind waiting to vote, we have been waiting more than fifty years for this day”, he said. (more…)
