Tag: Australia

As anniversary approaches, MH370 flight mystery stirs ‘unimaginable pain’ – dpa international

dpa

KUALA LUMPUR — Six years on, the unsolved disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 stands as one of aviation’s murkiest and most grimly compelling tragedies. Danica Weeks, whose New Zealand husband was among 239 people onboard, told dpa: “The not knowing of where or what happened to our loved ones causes us unimaginable pain.” At 1:19 am on March 8, 2014, as MH370 was en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, a voice from the cockpit replied to air traffic control with “Goodnight. Malaysian three seven zero.” Those were the last words ever heard from the soon-to-vanish aircraft.  Amid apparent miscommunication between Malaysian and Vietnamese air traffic control, as the flight was to cross into Vietnamese airspace over the South China Sea, MH370 turned west, veering off-course across peninsular Malaysia. It went north over the Strait of Malacca, one of the world’s busiest maritime trade conduits, before heading out over the Andaman Sea and beyond the reach of radar around an hour later.

Former Australian and Malaysian prime ministers at odds over MH370 air tragedy – dpa international

Former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak arriving at Kuala Lumpur High Court on February 10 2020 for one of his ongoing corruption trials (Simon Roughneen)

KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia’s former prime minister Najib Razak said on Wednesday that there is “no proof” that the pilot of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 was responsible for the unexplained disappearance of the aircraft in 2014. Najib was reacting to comments by former Australian premier Tony Abbott, who said in a TV documentary about MH370 that “my understanding – my very clear understanding – from the very top levels of the Malaysian government is that from very, very early on here, they thought it was a murder-suicide by the pilot.” Abbott, who was Australia’s prime minister at the time of the flight’s disappearance, did not name any officials in the recording, which will air on Australian TV on Wednesday evening. In comments on his personal Facebook and carried in local media, Najib said that it was unfair to blame the pilot “unless and until a black box and cockpit voice recorder were obtained.”

Drawing a line: In dealings with neighbours, Australia tries to move on – Southeast Asia Globe

Indonesians protesting in Jakarta in Feb. 2015 against Australian government efforts to prevent the execution of 2 Australian citizens on drug trafficking charges (Simon Roughneen)

PHNOM PENH — Visiting Dili in late August to mark the 20th anniversary of East Timor’s blood-soaked vote for independence from Indonesia, Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison declared the opening of a “new chapter” in bilateral relations.  “In a region where some boundary disputes remain unresolved,” Morrison said, in a seeming reference to the disputed South China Sea farther north, “Australia and Timor-Leste have set an example by sitting down, as neighbours, partners, and friends, to finalise a new maritime boundary.” Though Morrison followed up by announcing plans to help upgrade East Timor’s internet connectivity and its navy, his Timorese counterpart Taur Matan Ruak was less gushing. “Today will mark a new beginning, a new phase for both countries,” he said. The implication, of course, was that the previous two decades of the relationship had been less than amicable.  While Australia stood by the hundreds of thousands of East Timorese who defiantly voted for independence in the face of scorched-earth Indonesian-backed intimidation, sending 5,000 soldiers to the country shortly after the vote, it later stood accused of strong-arming its tiny and impoverished neighbour out of billions of dollars of vital oil and gas revenues – in part by refusing to delineate a maritime boundary in the Timor Sea until 2018. 

Why social media may not sway Asia elections – Nikkei Asian Review

SINGAPORE — Candidates running in a slew of elections across Asia this year are taking to Twitter and other social media platforms to share slogans, pitch policies, rankle rivals and rouse crowds ahead of campaign rallies. For the last decade or so, elections have typically been depicted as social media-driven contests where the hashtag outranks the hustings when it comes to canvassing votes, particularly from smartphone-dependent millennials. While social media environments differ depending on the country, the importance of Twitter and Facebook might be overstated. Although some Asian candidates boast a huge social media presence, many of their followers appear to be fake or dormant, and the proportion of those who engage with posts is relatively low. Thailand, Indonesia, India are all holding general or presidential elections in the first half of this year, Australia is likely to vote in May, around the time the Philippines holds midterm polls. The three Southeast Asian countries are among the world’s five most internet-addicted, according to We Are Social’s 2019 global survey. Using the online Twitter analysis tool Sparktoro, which works by taking a representative sample of followers — along the lines of an opinion survey — it appears Indonesian President Joko Widodo has over 5.1 million fake followers. That equates to more than 47% of his total follower base.

Australia seeks new ASEAN ties as US-China rivalry grows – Nikkei Asian Review

JAKARTA — While there is no clear threat from the U.S. to loosen its long-standing ties with Australia, some observers say the country may one day face a choice between its main security ally and its biggest trade partner. Graham Allison, author of Destined for War: Can America and China Escape Thucydides’s Trap?, said that China’s rise is forcing Asian countries with close ties to the U.S. to reconsider. “Largesse, economic imperialism — call it what you will: The fact is that China’s economic network is spreading across the globe, altering the international balance of power in a way that causes even longtime U.S. allies in Asia to tilt from the U.S. toward China,” Allison said.

Ahead of historic meeting with Southeast Asian leaders, Australia cuts boundary deal with East Timor – RTÉ World Report

JAKARTA — East Timor is a tiny country, with a land area around the same as the North of Ireland and a population of 1.3 million people. Its existing oil and gas reserves will be depleted in less than a decade, and with little sign of growth in other parts of the economy, it badly needs this deal with Australia How much money it ends up getting will depend on fluctuating oil and gas prices and on what subsequent deal is worked out to extract and process the underwater oil and gas. The companies with rights to drill in the field have floated, pun intended, the idea of a floating platform in the Timor Sea to process the gas there. But Australia wants to pipe to Darwin and use existing facilities, which would mean an 80% revenue cut for East Timor. The Timorese want pipe to East Timor and process there, giving a Dili 70% revenue cut but potentially allowing the Timorese to develop spin-off industries that could modernise its economy.

Australia and East Timor sign historic maritime boundary deal, despite tensions over gas field – The Daily Telegraph

Xanana Gusmao speaks to supporters after winning 2012 election in East Timor (Photo: Simon Roughneen)

JAKARTA — Australia and East Timor on Wednesday signed what Canberra’s foreign minister Julie Bishop called “a milestone” agreement on a maritime boundary between the two countries. The treaty ends a long a bitter dispute between the neighbouring countries and paves the way for exploitation of billions of dollars in gas and oil under the Timor Sea – with at least 70 percent of the revenue to go to impoverished East Timor. The agreement was also historic because it marked the first successful conclusion of “conciliation” negotiations to settle maritime differences under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.  How much money the country, a half-island nation of 1.3 million people who are among the poorest in the world, ends up getting depends partly on what deal is worked out to drill and pipe the underwater gas.

Search for missing Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 ends after nearly 3 years – Los Angeles Times

JAKARTA — Nearly three years after Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 disappeared over the Indian Ocean, Australia, China and Malaysia on Tuesday called off the underwater search, saying “no new information has been discovered” to solve what has become one of aviation’s greatest mysteries. A review of the plane’s likely trajectory as well as new information about ocean currents led experts to conclude that the aircraft might have crashed into the Indian Ocean north of the search zone, and that crews should have been hunting in a 15,000-square-mile zone to the north. The Australian government rejected that recommendation, saying the findings were not precise enough to warrant moving the search. Australia, China and Malaysia, which have funded the search, said last year that the operation would be called off once all of the 46,000-mile zone had been investigated. “It is obvious that the search should be to the north,” Ghislain Wattrelos, a 52-year-old Frenchman whose wife and two children were aboard the aircraft, said in an interview.

Opposition concedes defeat in Australian poll – Nikkei Asian Review

MELBOURNE/SYDNEY — Malcolm Turnbull is set to continue as Australia’s prime minister after opposition leader Bill Shorten on Sunday conceded defeat in the national election — eight days after voters went to the polls. Shorten’s announcement came as Turnbull’s conservative Liberal-National party coalition inched closer to the minimum seats required — 76 out of 150 — to govern in its own right. However, the coalition may still need the support of independents and minor party members if votes yet to be counted contribute to it falling short of that majority. “I respect that Mr Turnbull has won government — be it a minority government or a majority of one or two seats,” Shorten said on Sunday. That was still the question as Turnbull declared victory about an hour later. With votes still to be counted, it remained unclear whether the coalition would secure a majority. With around 80% of the votes counted on Sunday, the Australian Electoral Commission had the coalition ahead in 76 seats. Turnbull had used the days prior to shore up support from crossbenchers. Three out of the five elected had agreed to back the coalition when it came to supply and confidence matters, a move that effectively ended talk of Shorten leading a minority government or Australians being forced back to the polls. “It looks like he [Turnbull] will cross the 76 seat threshold and, even if not, he has support from a couple of independents,” said John Warhurst, emeritus professor of politics at Australian National University.

Australia waits on election outcome – Nikkei Asian Review

SYDNEY and MELBOURNE — Australians may not know for a few days the results of their July 2 national election, following one of the tightest polls in the country’s history. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull expressed confidence early on Sunday morning — hours after voting ended — that he would be returned as leader after a closely fought campaign that saw a swing away from his Liberal Party-led coalition toward the opposition Labor Party. But analysts warned of the prospect of a hung parliament, in which no single party or alliance would hold an absolute majority. It was unclear by the time vote-counting was halted early on Sunday morning whether the ruling Liberal-National coalition could win the minimum 76 lower house seats it requires to form a ruling majority. Even so, Turnbull told a gathering of his party faithful in Sydney that he had “every confidence that we will be able to form a coalition majority government,” and said that despite gains for the opposition Labor Party, the opposition “has no capacity in the parliament” to lead the next administration. Turnbull’s speech came soon after rival Bill Shorten, the Labor leader, told his party in Melbourne that final results may not be known “for some days to come.” Even if Labor could not regain control of government, which it last held in 2013 before being trounced by the Liberal-National party coalition “there is one thing for sure: the Labor Party is back,” he added.