Islamabad — Pakistan and Azerbaijan have signed agreements and memorandums of understanding (MOUs), chiefly about trade and energy, during a visit to Azerbaijan by Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

Sharif arrived Sunday in the Azerbaijani capital, Baku, for a two-day visit to hold talks with President Ilham Aliyev and other top officials.

In a post on social media, the Pakistani leader said he had an “excellent meeting” with Aliyev, saying the two worked on finalizing a portfolio of investments Azerbaijan plans to make in Pakistan.

Aliyev promised a $2 billion investment during a visit to Pakistan last July.

“This will be the first quantum jump in our trade and investment relations and will be a huge reflection of our fraternal ties,” a statement from the Pakistani prime minister’s office quoted Sharif as saying.

This is Sharif’s second visit to the Central Asian country since taking office in February of last year.

Aliyev is expected to sign final agreements for investment during a visit to Pakistan in April.

“We received concrete projects from Pakistan, and Azerbaijani representatives are evaluating them. Today we put ambitious and realistic targets to finalize all the discussions within one month and by the beginning of April, the documents will be prepared for signing,” the Pakistani statement quoted Aliyev as saying.

Agreements on pipeline, LNG delivery

During Sharif’s visit, Azerbaijan’s state-owned oil company, SOCAR, exchanged several MOUs with Pakistan’s oil trading and refining companies, including one to complete a pipeline in the South Asian country, Pakistan’s state-run news agency reported.

The Machike-Thallian-Tarujabba White Oil Pipeline Project is designed to transport oil within Pakistan.

Both sides also signed updated agreements and MOUs on the delivery of liquified natural gas, or LNG, from Azerbaijan to Pakistan.

Prior to the trip, Pakistan’s Economic Cooperation Committee approved a three-year extension of the LNG Framework Agreement between SOCAR and Pakistan LNG Limited Thursday.

Signed in 2023, the agreement allows Pakistan to procure one shipload of LNG per month when required, without any financial commitments, according to the statement from Pakistan’s Ministry of Finance.

Such an agreement allows Pakistan to purchase energy products as needed rather than using precious foreign exchange reserves to pay for unused cargo.

According to Sharif’s office, Aliyev also discussed joint defense production with Pakistan.

“Azerbaijan has already acquired defense equipment from Pakistan and we are satisfied with the quality of this equipment and we will continue to do it,” the Azerbaijani leader was quoted as saying.

Last September, the Pakistani military signed a deal to sell JF-17 Thunder block III fighter jets to the Central Asian country. The jets are jointly produced by Pakistan and China.

The visit, aimed at bringing more foreign investment to Pakistan, comes as the country prepares for a review of a three-year bailout program with the International Monetary Fund when the lender’s team visits in March.

Pakistan reached a $7 billion loan agreement with the Washington-based lender last September to avoid a balance-of-payment crisis.

In a push to further deepen ties with Central Asian countries, Sharif heads to Uzbekistan Tuesday.
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Beijing — China’s rising demand for food calls for increased efforts to boost grain production even after record-high output in recent years, China’s Central Rural Work Leading Group said on Monday.

“More than 1.4 billion of us want to eat, and we want to eat better and better,” Han Wenxiu, a director from China’s Central Rural Work Leading Group told a news conference.

More people eat meat, eggs and milk in greater volumes, which requires a large-scale increase in grain for feed, Han said.

China is the world’s largest agriculture producer and importer, bringing in more than 157 million metric tons of grain and soybeans last year, when it also reported record grain production of 706.5 million tons.

In its annual rural work policy blueprint released on Sunday, known as the No. 1 document, the State Council sharpened China’s focus on self-sufficiency and supply stability to counter potential disruptions to agricultural trade with the United States, the European Union and Canada.

Last year’s bumper harvest helped to stabilize prices and relieved consumers’ concerns, Han said.

But he cited “the current complex and severe domestic and international environment,” and said the need to buffer shocks from extreme weather conditions called for increased output.

“The central government’s policy is clear: grain production can only be strengthened, not relaxed. We must not say that grains have passed the test just because of a momentary downturn in prices,” he said.

China has further potential to develop and integrate biotechnology, strengthen equipment support and build a diversified food supply system to ensure food security, he said.

The agriculture ministry aims to increase grain production by 50 million tons by 2030, which would be a 7% increase over 2024’s grain harvest.
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GWADAR, Pakistan — With no passengers and no planes, Pakistan’s newest and most expensive airport is a bit of a mystery. Entirely financed by China to the tune of $240 million, it’s anyone’s guess when New Gwadar International Airport will open for business.

Located in the coastal city of Gwadar and completed in October 2024, the airport is a stark contrast to the impoverished, restive southwestern Balochistan province around it.

For the past decade, China has poured money into Balochistan and Gwadar as part of a multibillion dollar project that connects its western Xinjiang province with the Arabian Sea, called the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor or CPEC.

Authorities have hailed it as transformational but there’s scant evidence of change in Gwadar. The city isn’t connected to the national grid — electricity comes from neighboring Iran or solar panels — and there isn’t enough clean water.

An airport with a 400,000-passenger capacity isn’t a priority for the city’s 90,000 people.

“This airport is not for Pakistan or Gwadar,” said Azeem Khalid, an international relations expert who specializes in Pakistan-China ties. “It is for China, so they can have secure access for their citizens to Gwadar and Balochistan.”

Caught between insurgency and the military

CPEC has catalyzed a decadeslong insurgency in resource-rich and strategically located Balochistan. Separatists, aggrieved by what they say is state exploitation at the expense of locals, are fighting for independence — targeting both Pakistani troops and Chinese workers in the province and elsewhere.

Members of Pakistan’s ethnic Baloch minority say they face discrimination by the government and are denied opportunities available elsewhere in the country, charges the government denies.

Pakistan, keen to protect China’s investments, has stepped up its military footprint in Gwadar to combat dissent. The city is a jumble of checkpoints, barbed wire, troops, barricades, and watchtowers. Roads close at any given time, several days a week, to permit the safe passage of Chinese workers and Pakistani VIPs.

Intelligence officers monitor journalists visiting Gwadar. The city’s fish market is deemed too sensitive for coverage.

Many local residents are frazzled.

“Nobody used to ask where we are going, what we are doing, and what is your name,” said 76-year-old Gwadar native Khuda Bakhsh Hashim. “We used to enjoy all-night picnics in the mountains or rural areas.”

“We are asked to prove our identity, who we are, where we have come from,” he added. “We are residents. Those who ask should identify themselves as to who they are.”

Hashim recalled memories, warm like the winter sunshine, of when Gwadar was part of Oman, not Pakistan, and was a stop for passenger ships heading to Mumbai. People didn’t go to bed hungry and men found work easily, he said. There was always something to eat and no shortage of drinking water.

But Gwadar’s water has dried up because of drought and unchecked exploitation. So has the work.

The government says CPEC has created some 2,000 local jobs but it’s not clear whom they mean by “local” — Baloch residents or Pakistanis from elsewhere in the country. Authorities did not elaborate.

People in Gwadar see few benefits from China’s presence

Gwadar is humble but charming, the food excellent and the locals chatty and welcoming with strangers. It gets busy during public holidays, especially the beaches.

Still, there is a perception that it’s dangerous or difficult to visit — only one commercial route operates out of Gwadar’s domestic airport, three times a week to Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city, located at the other end of Pakistan’s Arabian Sea coastline.

There are no direct flights to Balochistan’s provincial capital of Quetta, hundreds of miles inland, or the national capital of Islamabad, even further north. A scenic coastal highway has few facilities.

Since the Baloch insurgency first erupted five decades ago, thousands have gone missing in the province — anyone who speaks up against exploitation or oppression can be detained, suspected of connections with armed groups, the locals say.

People are on edge; activists claim there are forced disappearances and torture, which the government denies.

Hashim wants CPEC to succeed so that locals, especially young people, find jobs, hope and purpose. But that hasn’t happened.

“When someone has something to eat, then why would he choose to go on the wrong path,” he said. “It is not a good thing to upset people.”

Militant violence declined in Balochistan after a 2014 government counterinsurgency and plateaued toward the end of that decade, according to Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies.

Attacks picked up after 2021 and have climbed steadily since. Militant groups, especially the outlawed Baloch Liberation Army, were emboldened by the Pakistani Taliban ending a ceasefire with the government in November 2022.

An inauguration delayed

Security concerns delayed the inauguration of the international airport. There were fears the area’s mountains — and their proximity to the airport — could be the ideal launchpad for an attack.

Instead, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his Chinese counterpart Li Qiang hosted a virtual ceremony. The inaugural flight was off limits to the media and public.

Abdul Ghafoor Hoth, district president of the Balochistan Awami Party, said not a single resident of Gwadar was hired to work at the airport, “not even as a watchman.”

“Forget the other jobs. How many Baloch people are at this port that was built for CPEC,” he asked.

In December, Hoth organized daily protests over living conditions in Gwadar. The protests stopped 47 days later, once authorities pledged to meet the locals’ demands, including better access to electricity and water.

No progress has been made on implementing those demands since then.

Without local labor, goods or services, there can be no trickle-down benefit from CPEC, said international relations expert Khalid. As Chinese money came to Gwadar, so did a heavy-handed security apparatus that created barriers and deepened mistrust.

“The Pakistani government is not willing to give anything to the Baloch people, and the Baloch are not willing to take anything from the government,” said Khalid.
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Bangkok — In a record year for internet shutdowns, countries in the Asia-Pacific region imposed the most restrictions, according to a new report. 

Myanmar is the worst-affected country worldwide, with 85 shutdowns last year, research by the digital rights group Access Now found. 

Its report, released Monday, Feb. 24, shows authorities worldwide imposed at least 296 shutdowns in 54 countries. Conflict — followed by protests, school or university exams and elections — was the biggest trigger, Access Now found. 

For the Asia-Pacific region, the report finds 202 shutdowns in 11 countries or territories. It is the highest number ever recorded by Access Now in a single year for the region.

The three countries with the worst record are all in Asia: 190 cases in Myanmar, India and Pakistan accounted for around 64% of all recorded shutdowns in 2024. India, often referred to as the biggest democracy in the world, had 84 recorded cases.    

VOA contacted Myanmar’s military administration, and the Washington embassies for India and Pakistan for comment. As of publication, VOA had not received a reply. 

Raman Jit Singh Chima, the Asia Pacific policy director at Access Now, warned of a rise of digital authoritarianism in Asia.

“Shutdowns destabilize societies, undermine digital progress, put entire communities at risk, and provide a cloak of impunity for human rights abuses,” he said in a statement. “Authorities from Myanmar to Pakistan are isolating people from the rest of the world with impunity, reflecting the rising digital authoritarianism in Asia.”

Access Now collects data on shutdowns, which include cables being cut, equipment confiscated, platforms being blocked, and orders to telecommunication companies. 

‘Rebirth’ of radio

Since seizing power in a coup in February 2021, the junta in Myanmar has regularly blocked access to the internet. The junta says the blocks are to maintain “stability” and prevent what it calls the spread of disinformation and fake news. 

At the same time, the junta has jailed dozens of journalists and revoked media licenses. 

Out of the 85 shutdowns imposed in Myanmar last year, 31 coincided with documented human rights abuses and at least 17 correlated with airstrikes on civilians, the Access Now report found.

The record puts the country among the worst for digital rights for the fourth consecutive year, the report found. 

Toe Zaw Latt, a veteran journalist from Myanmar, told VOA it was “no surprise” that the country tops the list.

“Myanmar has one of the worst censorship [records] on digital platforms,” he said. “[The military does this] so most of the people can’t access independent information or internet mainly, especially young people. They just want one version of truth, the army’s version of truth.”

Zaw Latt said the junta is trying to prevent “independent access of information on the internet.”  

A journalist for decades, Zaw Latt is also secretary of the Independent Press Council Myanmar. He said the internet blocks have seen a “rebirth” in radio. 

“Globally, radio is dying but it’s having a rebirth in Burma because it’s cheap and accessible,” he said, using the country’s former name. “Even some people go back, very primitive, back to print because of these internet shutdowns.”

Still, Zaw Latt said, it is not possible to completely cut off the internet, “because people will find a way.”

Alongside shutdowns the junta has passed laws to further control the information narrative.

On Jan. 1, a cybersecurity law was enacted in Myanmar, banning the use of Virtual Private Networks, or VPNs, that people use to access blocked or censored content. The law penalizes those who share information from banned websites. Experts say it’s another attempt from the junta to suppress public information.

Two other Asian countries — Malaysia and Thailand — also made the list for the Southeast Asia region for the first time.

Thailand was included after it shut electricity and internet connections on its border with Myanmar following an attempt to crack down on scam centers that have lured thousands into forced labor and scammed billions from internet users worldwide.

Overall, press freedom in East Asia continues to see a decline, according to Reporters without Borders. The global watchdog reports that 26 out of 31 countries in the Asia-Pacific region have seen a decline in press freedoms between 2023 and 2024.
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Sydney — Australia’s online safety regulator fined messaging platform Telegram about $640,000 on Monday for its delay in answering questions about measures the app took to prevent the spread of child abuse and violent extremist material.

The eSafety Commission in March 2024 sought responses from social media platforms YouTube, X and Facebook to Telegram and Reddit, and blamed them for not doing enough to stop extremists from using live-streaming features, algorithms and recommendation systems to recruit users.

Telegram and Reddit were asked about the steps they were taking to combat child sexual abuse material on their services. They had to respond by May, but Telegram submitted its response in October.

“Timely transparency is not a voluntary requirement in Australia and this action reinforces the importance of all companies complying with Australian law,” eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said in a statement.

Telegram’s delay in providing information obstructed eSafety from implementing its online safety measures, Grant said.

Telegram said it had fully responded to all eSafety’s questions last year, with no outstanding issues.

“The unfair and disproportionate penalty concerns only the response time frame, and we intend to appeal,” the company said in an email.

Australia’s spy agency in December said one in five priority counterterrorism cases investigated involved youths.

The messaging platform has been under growing scrutiny around the world since its founder Pavel Durov was placed under formal investigation in France in August in connection with alleged use of the app for illegal activities.

Durov, who is out on bail, has denied the allegations.

Grant said Big Tech must be transparent and put in place measures to prevent their services from being misused as the threat posed by online extremist materials poses a growing risk.

“If we want accountability from the tech industry we need much greater transparency. These powers give us a look under the hood at just how these platforms are dealing, or not dealing, with a range of serious and egregious online harms which affect Australians,” Grant said.

If Telegram chooses to ignore the penalty notice, eSafety would seek a civil penalty in court, Grant said. 
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SUSONO — Woven City near Mount Fuji is where Japanese automaker Toyota plans to test everyday living with robotics, artificial intelligence and autonomous zero-emissions transportation.

Daisuke Toyoda, an executive in charge of the project from the automaker’s founding family, stressed it’s not “a smart city.”

“We’re making a test course for mobility so that’s a little bit different. We’re not a real estate developer,” he said Saturday during a tour of the facility, where the first phase of construction was completed.

The Associated Press was the first foreign media to get a preview of the $10 billion Woven City.

The first phase spans 47,000 square meters (506,000 square feet), roughly the size of about five baseball fields. When completed, it will be 294,000 square meters (3.1 million square feet).

Built on the grounds of a shuttered Toyota Motor Corp. auto plant, it’s meant to be a place where researchers and startups come together to share ideas, according to Toyoda.

Ambitious plans for futuristic cities have sputtered or are unfinished, including one proposed by Google’s parent company Alphabet in Toronto; “Neom” in Saudi Arabia; a project near San Francisco, spearheaded by a former Goldman Sachs trader, and Masdar City next to Abu Dhabi’s airport.

Woven City’s construction began in 2021. All the buildings are connected by underground passageways, where autonomous vehicles will scuttle around collecting garbage and making deliveries.

No one is living there yet. The first residents will total just 100 people.

Called “weavers,” they’re workers at Toyota and partner companies, including instant noodle maker Nissin and Daikin, which manufactures air-conditioners. Coffee maker UCC was serving hot drinks from an autonomous-drive bus, parked in a square surrounded by still-empty apartment complexes.

The city’s name honors Toyota’s beginnings as a maker of automatic textile looms. Sakichi Toyoda, Daisuke Toyoda’s great-great-grandfather, just wanted to make life easier for his mother, who toiled on a manual loom.

There was little talk of using electric vehicles, an area where Toyota has lagged. While Tesla and Byd emerged as big EV players, Toyota has been pushing hydrogen, the energy of choice in Woven City.

Toyota officials acknowledged it doesn’t expect to make money from Woven City, at least not for years.

Keisuke Konishi, auto analyst at Quick Corporate Valuation Research Center, believes Toyota wants to work on robotic rides to rival Google’s Waymo — even if it means building an entire complex.

“Toyota has the money to do all that,” he said.
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Moscow — Myanmar and its close ally Russia signed a memorandum on investment cooperation in a special economic zone in Dawei, including construction of a port and an oil refinery, Russia’s Ministry of Economic Development said on Sunday.  

The document was signed by the head of the Russian ministry, Maxim Reshetnikov, and Myanmar’s minister for investment and foreign economic relations, Kan Zaw, during a visit of a Russian delegation to the Southeast Asian country.  

“The text of the memorandum contains the basic parameters of several large infrastructure and energy projects that are being implemented jointly with Russian companies in Myanmar,” the Russian ministry cited Reshetnikov as saying in a statement.  

“We are talking about projects to build a port, a coal-fired thermal power plant and an oil refinery.” 

He added that “oil refining is still the most complex element,” and there was no final decision on construction of a refinery. 

“As for the refinery — there is a desire of the Myanmar side to have a refinery. Our companies are still studying the economics of such a project, it is very complicated from the point of view of economic feasibility,” Interfax news agency cited Reshetnikov.  

According to the Russian ministry, the Dawei special economic zone is a 196 square-kilometer project in the Andaman Sea which is planned to house high-tech industrial zones and transport hubs, information technology zones and export processing zones.  

Russia has become Myanmar’s closest ally since the military coup that overthrew Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected civilian government in February 2021. 

Moscow and Naypyidaw have been discussing a deeper energy cooperation, including Russia’s participation in the construction of a gas pipeline to the Myanmar’s main city Yangon. Russia has also had plans for a nuclear research reactor in the country. 
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MANILA, PHILIPPINES — A village in the densely populated Philippine capital region launched a battle against dengue Wednesday by offering a token bounty to residents for captured mosquitos — dead or alive.

The unusual strategy adopted by the Addition Hills village in Mandaluyong City reflects growing concern after the nearby city of Quezon declared an outbreak of the mosquito-borne illness over the weekend. Eight more areas reported an upsurge in cases of the potentially deadly viral infection.

At least 28,234 dengue cases have been recorded in the Philippines this year up to Feb. 1, a 40% increase compared to the same period last year, according to health department statistics. Quezon City declared a dengue outbreak Saturday after deaths this year reached 10 people, mostly children, out of 1,769 residents infected.

A urban village of more than 100,000 residents living in crowded neighborhoods and residential condominium towers, Addition Hills has done clean-ups, canal declogging and a hygiene campaign to combat dengue. But when cases spiked to 42 this year and two young students died, village leader Carlito Cernal decided to intensify the battle.

“There was an alarm,” Cernal told The Associated Press. “I found a way.”

Residents will get a reward of one Philippines peso (just over 1 cent) for every five mosquitos or mosquito larva they turn in, Cernal said.

Critics warned the strategy could backfire if desperate people start breeding mosquitoes for the reward. Cernal said that was unlikely because the campaign would be terminated as soon as the uptick in cases eases.

As the campaign began, about a dozen mosquito hunters showed up at the village office. Miguel Labag, a 64-year-old scavenger, handed a jug with 45 dark mosquito larvas squirming in some water and received a reward of nine pesos (15 cents).

“This is a big help,” Labag said, smiling. “I can buy coffee.”

Dengue is a mosquito-borne viral infection found in tropical countries worldwide. It can cause joint pain, nausea, vomiting and rashes, and in severe cases can cause breathing problems, hemorrhaging and organ failure. While there is no specific treatment for the illness, medical care to maintain a person’s fluid levels is seen as critical.

Officials in another village in Quezon City were considering releasing swarms of frogs to eat mosquitoes.

Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa said it’s crucial to clean up mosquito breeding sites, and for anyone who might be infected to seek immediate medical attention. Despite an increase in dengue infections, the Philippines has managed to maintain low mortality rates, he said.

Dengue cases surged unexpectedly ahead of the rainy season, which starts in June, likely because of intermittent downpours that have left stagnant pools of water where dengue-causing mosquitos can breed, Health Undersecretary Alberto Domingo said, adding that climate change was likely contributing to off-season downpours.
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An Afghan women’s radio station will resume broadcasts after the Taliban suspended its operations, citing “unauthorized provision” of content to an overseas TV channel and improperly using its license.

Radio Begum launched on International Women’s Day in March 2021, five months before the Taliban seized power amid the chaotic withdrawal of U.S. and NATO troops.

The station’s content is produced entirely by Afghan women. Its sister satellite channel, Begum TV, operates from France and broadcasts programs that cover the Afghan school curriculum from seventh to 12th grade. The Taliban have banned education for women and girls in the country beyond grade six.

In a statement issued Saturday night, the Taliban’s Information and Culture Ministry said Radio Begum had “repeatedly requested” to restart operations and that the suspension was lifted after the station made commitments to authorities.

The station pledged to conduct broadcasts “in accordance with the principles of journalism and the regulations of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, and to avoid any violations in the future,” it added.

The ministry did not elaborate what those principles and regulations were. Radio Begum was not immediately available for comment.

Since their takeover, the Taliban have excluded women from education, many kinds of work, and public spaces. Journalists, especially women, have lost their jobs as the Taliban tighten their grip on the media.

In the 2024 press freedom index from Reporters without Borders, Afghanistan ranks 178 out of 180 countries. The year before that it ranked 152.

The Information Ministry did not initially identify the TV channel it alleged Radio Begum had been working with. But the Saturday statement mentioned collaboration with “foreign sanctioned media outlets.”
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ISLAMABAD — Pakistan has warned that thousands of Afghan nationals awaiting relocation and resettlement in the United States will be deported to Afghanistan if their cases are rejected or not processed on time.

Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar issued the warning during a television interview aired Saturday, noting that the U.S. has promised to relocate the Afghan community in question from Pakistan “tentatively around September this year.” His office in Islamabad released the interview excerpts.

“If any refugee who was undertaken to be taken by another country after due process —no matter the timeline — if it doesn’t happen and the country refuses, then for us, that will be an illegal immigrant in Pakistan, and we might be forced to send such refugee back to [their] original country, which is Afghanistan,” Dar told Turkey’s TRT national broadcaster.

However, the chief Pakistani diplomat expressed Islamabad’s willingness to resolve the issue with Washington, stating that his government is “examining the situation and will negotiate [accordingly].”

Last month, U.S. President Donald Trump halted refugee applications and travel plans until further notice to ensure that refugee entry into the United States aligns with its national interests.

The decision has stranded around 45,000 Afghans prepared to fly out of Afghanistan and at least 15,000 qualified refugees currently in Pakistan, according to #AfghanEvac, a coalition that assists Afghans with their relocation and resettlement in the U.S.

These individuals were part of Afghan families who fled their country following the Taliban insurgents’ retaking of power in 2021, primarily seeking refuge from potential retribution because of their affiliations with the U.S. and NATO forces during their nearly two-decade-long presence in Afghanistan.

While about 80,000 of these Afghans have since been relocated from Pakistan, officials in Islamabad assert that around 40,000 remain in a state of limbo including around 15,000 in Pakistan destined for the United States.

Since launching a crackdown on undocumented foreign migrants in September 2023, Pakistan has forcibly repatriated more than 825,000 undocumented Afghan refugees to their home country, according to the United Nations.

The government has recently intensified its crackdown, targeting both documented and undocumented Afghan refugees.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif ordered authorities last month to remove all Afghans from Islamabad and the adjoining city of Rawalpindi by Feb. 28 before arranging for deporting them to Afghanistan along with others subsequently. The targeted population encompasses over 2.5 million Afghans nationwide, comprising lawful refugees, documented economic migrants, and those without legal authorization to remain in Pakistan.

Sharif’s directive stipulates March 31 as the deadline for the United States and other countries to process the cases of Afghans awaiting resettlements, thereby preventing their deportation.  
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PINNAWALA, SRI LANKA — Sri Lanka’s main elephant orphanage marked its 50th anniversary Sunday with a feast of fruit for the 68 jumbos at the showpiece center, reputedly the world’s first care home for destitute pachyderms.

The Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage lavished pineapples, bananas, melons and cucumbers on its residents to celebrate the anniversary of their home, which is a major tourist attraction.

A few officials and tourists invited to the low-key celebration were served milk rice and traditional sweets while four generations of elephants born in captivity frolicked in the nearby Maha Oya river.

“The first birth at this orphanage was in 1984, and since then there have been a total of 76,” said chief curator Sanjaya Ratnayake, as the elephants returned from their daily river bath.

“This has been a successful breeding program, and today we have four generations of elephants here, with the youngest 18 months old and the oldest 70 years,” he told AFP.

The orphanage recorded its first twin birth in August 2021 — a rarity among Asian elephants — and both calves are doing well.

Two years before the orphanage was formally established as a government institution in February 1975, five orphaned elephants were cared for at a smaller facility in the southern resort town of Bentota.

“Since the orphanage was set up at Pinnawala in 1975, in a coconut grove, the animals have had more space to roam, with good weather and plenty of food available in the surrounding area,” Ratnayake said.

The home requires 14,500 kilos of coconut and palm tree leaves, along with other foliage, to satisfy the elephants’ voracious appetites.

It also buys tons of fruit and milk for the younger calves, who are adored by the foreign and local visitors to the orphanage, located about 90 kilometers (56 miles) east of the capital Colombo.

It is also a major revenue generator for the state, earning millions of dollars a year in entrance fees. Visitors can watch the elephants from a distance or get up close and help scrub them during bath times.

Tragic toll

The facility lacked running water and electricity at its inception but things improved as it gained international fame in subsequent years, said retired senior mahout K.G. Sumanabanda, 65.

“I was also fortunate to be present when we had the first birth in captivity,” Sumanabanda told AFP, visiting the home for the jubilee celebrations.

During his career spanning over three decades as a traditional elephant keeper, he trained more than 60 other mahouts and is still consulted by temples and individuals who own domesticated elephants.

Twenty years ago, Sri Lankan authorities opened another elephant home in the south of the island to care for orphaned, abandoned or injured elephants and later return them back to the wild.

While Pinnawala is seen by many as a success, Sri Lanka is also facing a major human-elephant conflict in areas bordering traditional wildlife sanctuaries.

Deputy Minister of Environment Anton Jayakody told AFP on Sunday that 450 elephants and 150 people were killed in clashes in 2023, continuing an alarming trend of fatalities in the human-elephant conflict. The previous year saw 433 elephants and 145 people killed.

Killing or harming elephants is a criminal offence in Sri Lanka, which has an estimated 7,000 wild elephants and where jumbos are considered a national treasure, partly due to their significance in Buddhist culture.

But the massacre continues as desperate farmers face the brunt of elephants raiding their crops and destroying livelihoods.

The minister was confident the new government could tackle the problem by preventing elephants from crossing into villages.

“We are planning to introduce multiple barriers — these may include electric fences, trenches, or other deterrents — to make it more difficult for wild elephants to stray into villages,” Jayakody told AFP.
…

A prominent religious blogger in Uzbekistan, Alisher Tursunov, has been placed on a wanted list. He is suspected of the illegal preparation, storage, importation or distribution of religious materials. He previously had been in the Muslim Office of Uzbekistan and taught at the Tashkent Islamic Institute. Activists express fear that political and religious repression is returning to the situation of the “Old Uzbekistan” era.

Click here for the full story in Uzbek.
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washington — North Korean troops that joined Moscow’s forces about four months ago in Russia’s border region of Kursk are estimated to have suffered considerable casualties in the war against Ukraine, which analysts attribute to their lack of front-line combat experience.

Numbers from different sources vary, but more than 3,000 North Korean soldiers are believed to have died or been injured while fighting Ukrainian forces.

The South Korean National Intelligence Service cited the figure in mid-January, breaking it down to at least 300 killed and another 2,700 wounded.

In an interview published Monday by South Korea’s Chosun Daily, Kyrylo Budanov, head of Ukraine’s military intelligence, said North Korean troops had suffered about 4,000 casualties.

That would be one-third of the 12,000 North Korean soldiers who the U.S. in December estimated had been deployed to the Kursk region.

A peace deal is being pushed by the Trump administration to end the war, which began with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.

Frontal assaults

“The North Korean military personnel fighting in the Kursk region are being used for frontal assaults without much military support such as artillery and armor and drones, against some of the very best Ukrainian forces,” said Bruce Bennett, senior defense researcher at the Rand Corporation.

“Many of the North Korean forces used by the Russians were trained to be special forces intended to penetrate into the enemy rear and operate there,” he said. “Their North Korean training was not for frontal assaults, and they appear to not have been trained in Russia very well for such tactics, especially given the evolution of warfare to involve drones and other factors.”

If the Russians are using North Korean special operations forces as light infantry units, then “they are wasting their soldiers’ lives” because they are not using the soldiers’ special operations training, said David Maxwell, vice president of the Center for Asia Pacific Strategy.

If the Ukrainian forces are “employing effective combined arms maneuver with integrated fire support, they will inflict tremendous damage against frontal assaults,” he said.

Another reason for high casualties among North Korean troops could be “communications problems if they are working under the command of Russian forces,” Maxwell said. “The language challenge hinders interoperability and the ability of the Russians to provide support” to the North Koreans.

Many of the North Korean troops deployed to Russia are reportedly from the regime’s elite special forces unit known as the 11th Corps of the Korean People’s Army, also known as the Storm Corps.

Headquartered in Tokchon, North Korea, the Storm Corps is trained to infiltrate and sabotage enemy operations and assassinate targets.

North Korea began sending troops to Russia in October. Former U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said at the time that if the forces entered the war, it would be “a very, very serious issue” affecting not only Europe but also the Indo-Pacific region.

The deployment of North Korean troops, in addition to the munitions the country had been sending to Russia since October 2023, represented an escalation of military ties between Pyongyang and Moscow and a dangerous expansion of Russia’s war, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said in October.

The same month, South Korean Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun described North Korean troops as “mere cannon fodder mercenaries” for Russia’s “illegal war of aggression.”

Russia has been using so-called meat-grinder tactics to fight Ukraine. The strategy involves mobilizing a large number of troops in a concentrated area of combat to bombard the enemy and break through its defenses. The attackers often suffer a high number of casualties.

Escalation of conflict

Ukrainian forces first reported encountering North Korean units on Nov. 5 in the Kursk region. Shortly afterward, Russia, reportedly using meat-grinder tactics, suffered a record number of casualties for the month.

Russia suffered more than 2,000 casualties on Nov. 28 alone, which helped raise the average daily Russian casualties for the month to a new high of 1,523, according to the Institute for the Study of War, citing an analysis from the United Kingdom Ministry of Defense.

Adding to the casualties are the lethal World War I-style combat tactics, such as heavy artillery bombardments and trench warfare, that have made a comeback in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.

Russians and North Koreans “are fighting in this horrible, almost World War I-style combat, where all sides, including the Ukrainians, are taking huge casualties” with “tons of artillery” and “missiles and rockets and tanks,” said Bruce Bechtol, a professor focusing on East Asia and international security at Angelo State University in Texas.

Since the start of the war, Russia is estimated to have incurred more than 860,000 casualties, the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces reported Friday. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said earlier this week that more than 46,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed and about 380,000 had been injured over that same period.

Bechtol, a former intelligence officer for the Defense Intelligence Agency, said North Korean and Russian casualties could have been “exaggerated,” and it might not be possible to assess exact figures, even after the war ends.

In October, neither Moscow nor Pyongyang denied the possibility of North Korean troop deployment to Russia, nor did either fully acknowledge that North Korean soldiers were fighting Ukrainian forces.

Jeff Seldin contributed to this report.
…

ISLAMABAD — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio suggested late Thursday there are ungoverned regions in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan that provide opportunities for extremist groups to operate.

The comments came in an interview with former CBS correspondent Catherine Herridge on X, where Rubio was asked if intelligence indicates that al-Qaida and Islamic State had set up safe havens in Afghanistan, posing a threat comparable to the one preceding the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

“I wouldn’t say it’s the pre-9/11 landscape, but I think anytime you have governing spaces that are contested that you don’t have a government that has full control of every part of their territory, it creates the opportunity for these groups,” Rubio said.

“The difference between today and 10 years ago is that we don’t have American elements on the ground to target and go after them,” the top U.S. diplomat noted.

Rubio added that in some cases, the Taliban has been cooperative when “told that ISIS or al-Qaida is operating in this part of your country” and to go after them. Not so much in other cases, he said.

“So, I would say that I wouldn’t compare it to pre-9/11, but it’s certainly far more uncertain — and it’s not just limited to Afghanistan,” Rubio said.

The Taliban did not immediately respond to Rubio’s remarks, but they have persistently claimed to be in control of the entire country and rejected that any foreign terrorist organizations are on Afghan soil.

Rubio’s comments came just days after the United Nations reported that al-Qaida operatives continued to find shelter across Afghanistan under the protection of the Taliban’s intelligence agency.

“The Taliban maintained a permissive environment allowing al-Qaida to consolidate, with the presence of safe houses and training camps scattered across Afghanistan,” read the report.

It also described an Afghan-based Islamic State affiliate, the Islamic State-Khorasan, or IS-K, as “the greatest extra-regional terrorist threat.”

The U.N. assessment highlighted that in addition to attacks on Taliban authorities and Afghan religious minorities, IS-K supporters conducted strikes as far away as Europe, and that the group “was actively seeking to recruit from among Central Asian states” bordering Afghanistan.

The Taliban militarily swept back to power in August 2021 when the then-Afghan government collapsed as all U.S.-led NATO allied troops withdrew from the country after a nearly two-decade-long presence.
…

SYDNEY — Airlines modified flight paths between Australia and New Zealand on Friday after China notified Australia that the People’s Liberation Army Navy would hold live-fire exercises off the New South Wales coast in international waters, a rare event.

Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told reporters on Friday afternoon that the time period for the Chinese navy exercises had expired, and it was unclear if live fire had been used by the Chinese navy.

“China issued, in accordance with practice, an alert that it would be conducting these activities, including the potential use of live fire. It’s outside of Australia’s exclusive economic zone,” he said, indicating it was at least 370 kilometers offshore.

“According to defense, there has been no imminent risk of danger to any Australian assets or New Zealand assets, and that’s why this notification occurs,” he added.

A People’s Liberation Army Navy frigate, cruiser and replenishment vessel last week entered Australia’s maritime approaches, and traveled down Australia’s east coast this week, monitored by the navies and air forces of Australia and New Zealand.

Airlines were contacted by Australia’s air traffic control agency on Friday warning them of reports of live fire where the Chinese navy task group was operating, the agency and Australian officials said.

“The Civil Aviation Authority and Airservices Australia are aware of reports of live firing in international waters,” air traffic control agency Airservices Australia said in a statement.

“As a precaution, we have advised airlines with flights planned in the area,” it added.

Qantas and its low-cost arm Jetstar were monitoring the airspace and temporarily adjusted some flights across the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand. Air New Zealand said it had modified flight paths as needed to avoid the area, with no impact to its operations, while Virgin Australia was following instructions from Airservices Australia.

Albanese said he had contacted New Zealand’s Prime Minister Christopher Luxon about the matter.

“The chief of the defense force has advised that it’s not clear whether there was any actual live fire used in this area, but it is consistent with international law,” Albanese said. Foreign Minister Penny Wong would raise the matter with her Chinese counterpart in South Africa, where they are attending the G20 foreign ministers meeting, he added.

Wong said the live fire was “an evolving situation.”

“We do have concerns about the transparency associated with this and the notice, and I certainly will be having a discussion with (China’s) Foreign Minister Wang about that,” she said in an ABC television interview Friday.
…

U.S. President Donald Trump has said, “The Gaza Strip would be turned over to the United States by Israel at the conclusion of fighting.” Beijing rebuffed those plans, saying it opposes forced displacement of Palestinians to neighboring countries. How will a Gaza takeover plan impact the U.S.-China competition in the Middle East?

Click here for the full story in Mandarin. 
…

Impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol appeared in two Seoul courtrooms Thursday, first to hear criminal insurrection charges and then to face a Constitutional Court impeachment trial, both in connection with his short-lived, Dec. 3 imposition of martial law.

Yoon was taken by motorcade from the Seoul Detention Center, where he is being held, to the Central District Court for the preliminary hearing on the insurrection charges prosecutors filed last month.

In that hearing, Yoon’s lawyers argued that his declaration of martial law was not intended to paralyze the state, but to “alert the public to the national crisis caused by the legislative dictatorship of the dominant opposition party, which had crippled the administration.”

The lawyers also asked for Yoon’s release from detention, although it was unclear when the court would rule on that request.

Yoon next traveled to the Constitutional Court for the tenth and final scheduled hearing in the trial over validity of his impeachment for declaring martial law.

In Yoon’s first appearance at that trial, the court heard testimony from Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who was also impeached by National Assembly lawmakers for his role in the early December declaration. Yoon briefly left the courtroom during Han’s testimony, with Yoon’s lawyers explaining they felt it was inappropriate for the two to be seen together.

Han told the court that while he shared Yoon’s views on the liberal opposition, he and the rest of the cabinet disagreed with the president’s declaration of martial law and even tried to dissuade him. To his knowledge, the prime minister added, none of the cabinet members supported the action.

The Constitutional Court is reviewing parliament’s Dec. 14 vote to impeach Yoon and will decide whether to permanently remove him from office or reinstate him.

The court is considering if Yoon violated the constitution while Yoon and his lawyers have argued that he never intended to fully impose martial law but had only meant the measures as a warning to break a political deadlock.

If Yoon is removed, a new presidential election must be held within 60 days. The court is expected to deliver its ruling in early or mid-March.

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse.
…

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA — The vast majority of human rights groups focused on North Korea face an existential crisis after receiving notices from the U.S. government that their grant funds have been frozen, according to several sources among the predominantly Seoul-based NGOs. 

The National Endowment for Democracy, or NED, established by Congress to strengthen democratic institutions globally, and the State Department’s Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor Bureau, which provide most of the groups’ funding, sent the notices over the last several weeks, according to documents reviewed by VOA.

The freeze threatens to devastate an already fragile collection of North Korea human rights groups, potentially wiping out vital sources of advocacy and research on one of the world’s most closed and repressive states, which has a population of 25 million.

Hanna Song, executive director of the Database Center for North Korean Human Rights, told VOA her organization, like many others in Seoul, is now in “survival mode” because of the funding freeze.

“I just really don’t know how many will be able to survive,” said Song, whose organization works directly with North Koreans who have fled the North and has long been a key repository of data on Pyongyang’s abuses.

Trump policy shift

The funding freeze is part of U.S. President Donald Trump’s broader push to reshape the federal bureaucracy and realign taxpayer spending with his “America First” agenda, in coordination with billionaire businessman Elon Musk.

The NED has been repeatedly attacked by Musk, who has called it a “scam” and an “evil organization [that] needs to be dissolved.”

In a message sent last week to several North Korea-focused human rights organizations, the NED said it has “unfortunately been unable to access our previously approved funds” and “may not be able to provide additional payments to your organization.”

“Once you run out of money, consider your NED grant agreement suspended,” the message added.

Meanwhile, a January 24 notice from the State Department bureau ordered organizations receiving grants to immediately stop all work, even if already funded. 

The bureau has reportedly fired dozens of contractors and is also subject to a Trump executive order suspending foreign aid for 90 days. Although aid could theoretically resume, the pause has already had devastating consequences for many North Korea advocacy groups.

Survival mode

Song’s Seoul-based center, whose mission includes providing psychosocial support to North Korean defectors, has had to postpone counseling sessions while they look for new funding, Song said.

“It’s just absolutely destroying groups working on North Korea,” said Sokeel Park, South Korea country director at Liberty in North Korea, which helps North Korean defectors escape and resettle. “It’s by far the biggest crisis facing NGOs working on this issue since the start of the movement in the 1990s,” he said in an interview.

Although the group does not receive direct U.S. government funding, Park said other organizations have been forced to reduce salaries, furlough staff, or halt projects midstream.

The freeze threatens a broad range of activities, including support for North Koreans who have fled, efforts to transmit information into and out of the country, and raising global awareness of its abuses.

The crisis comes at a time when gaining insight into North Korea is more challenging than ever. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, strict border controls have made escapes rare and slowed the flow of information, leaving the outside world with extremely little insight into the reclusive country.

This isolation has coincided with a decline in global attention to North Korea more generally, which has made it harder for organizations to diversify their funding sources, activists say.

Seoul’s inconsistency

While South Korea, a wealthy democracy bordering the North, might seem like a natural alternative source of funds, it has failed to consistently support North Korea-focused NGOs, mainly because the issue is politically sensitive in Seoul. 

Conservative governments, which take a harder line on the North, often condemn its human rights abuses and provide more backing for civil society groups. In contrast, left-leaning governments tend to focus on improving ties with Pyongyang, favoring humanitarian aid directly to the North Korean government in the hope that better relations will eventually lead to improved human rights.

South Korea’s inconsistency on the issue is unfortunate, Lee Jung-hoon, former South Korean ambassador for North Korean human rights under conservative President Park Geun-hye told VOA.

“In fact, we should be the ones providing funding to American NGOs working on North Korea… we should be at the forefront of this,” Lee, now a dean and professor of international relations at Seoul’s Yonsei University, said.

After taking office in 2022, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol pledged to improve North Korea’s “horrendous” human rights situation. However, in December, Yoon unexpectedly declared martial law to combat what he called “anti-state forces,” leading to his impeachment and possible removal from office.

With Yoon’s future uncertain, the left-leaning Democratic Party is seen as the favorite to reclaim the presidency. Such political volatility has made many NGOs hesitant to accept South Korean government funding, fearing it could be easily withdrawn.

As a result, many organizations have felt compelled to rely on U.S. government funding – primarily from NED and the State Department. With that money now frozen, many groups are scrambling to fill the gaps by seeking support from European governments and major private donors, Park said.

North Korea-focused groups, though, are competing with countless global causes for limited funds.

Song said no one wants to be in a position where they’re saying North Korea is a more important issue events in Myanmar or Syria, “But it’s gotten to the point where it’s just survival mode.”
…

Islamabad — Afghanistan’s radical Taliban leaders on Thursday rejected the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC) over their country, declaring as ‘unlawful’ the decision in 2003 by their predecessors to join the Hague-based court’s founding treaty.

The decision follows the ICC chief prosecutor’s announcement last month, seeking arrest warrants for the reclusive Taliban supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, and a close associate, accusing them both of being “criminally responsible for persecuting Afghan girls and women.”

The Taliban militarily regained power in August 2021, succeeding the internationally recognized government in Kabul, which collapsed alongside the withdrawal of U.S.-led NATO troops after nearly two decades in Afghanistan. 

The Taliban, now governing as the Islamic Emirate, have imposed their strict interpretation of Islamic law, known as Sharia, placing sweeping restrictions on freedom of speech and women’s access to education and public roles in society.

No country has recognized the Taliban as a legitimate government primarily over their harsh treatment of Afghan women and girls.

“As an entity that upholds the religious and national values of the Afghan people within the framework of Islamic Sharia, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan does not recognize any obligation to the Rome Statute or the institution referred to as the ‘International Criminal Court,’” the Taliban stated in an English-language declaration. 

It accused the ICC of political bias and failing to take any “substantive measures against the war crimes perpetrated in Afghanistan by occupying forces and their allies.”

“Given that many of the world’s major powers are not signatories to this ‘court,’ it is unwarranted for a nation such as Afghanistan, which has historically endured foreign occupation and colonial subjugation, to be bound by its jurisdiction,” the Taliban asserted. 

In October 2001, Western forces led by the U.S. invaded Afghanistan, overthrowing the then-Taliban government for sheltering al-Qaida leaders held responsible for the terrorist attacks in the United States that occurred in September of that year. 

In February 2003, the Washington-backed successive government in Kabul formally deposited its instrument of accession to the Rome Statute, which founded the ICC, thereby granting the court jurisdiction over crimes committed within its territory or by Afghan nationals.

“In light of the aforementioned considerations, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan formally asserts that it does not recognize any legal obligation under the Rome Statute and deems the previous administration’s accession to this statute to be devoid of legal validity,” said Thursday’s Taliban statement.  

Karim Khan, the ICC prosecutor, stated in his January 23 announcement that his decision to seek arrest warrants for Akhundzada and Taliban chief justice, Abdul Hakim Haqqani, was based on a thorough investigation and evidence collected into their alleged crimes against humanity.

The ICC is mandated to rule on the world’s worst offenses, such as war crimes and crimes against humanity. The court has no police force and relies on 125 member states to execute its arrest warrants.

Akhundzada seldom leaves his office in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar and rules the country through religious decrees. He has banned girls’ education beyond the sixth grade and prohibited women from most public as well as private sector employment, among other restrictions on their rights. 

In a speech he delivered in Kandahar last week, the Taliban chief again dismissed criticism of his governance, asserting that it was rooted in divine commands. A government spokesperson quoted Akhundzada as stating that “every decree he issues is based on consultation with scholars and derived from the Quran and Hadith [sayings of Islam’s prophet] and represents commands of Allah.”
…

TOKYO — Vietnam approved plans on Wednesday for a multibillion-dollar railway with China, boosting links between the two communist countries.

Around the region, China has been financing railways under its Belt and Road Initiative, which funds infrastructure projects globally but has come under fire with a number of plans stalled or mired in controversy.

Here are some of the key installments in Asia’s China-backed railway network:

Indonesia: Southeast Asia first

Indonesia launched Southeast Asia’s first high-speed railway in October 2023, after years of delays.

The $7 billion China-backed project links the capital Jakarta to the city of Bandung in 45 minutes — slashing the journey by about two hours.

Built by a joint venture of four Indonesian state companies and Beijing’s China Railway International Co, it was initially set to cost less than $5 billion and be completed by 2019. But construction challenges and the pandemic led to delays and surging expenses.

Indonesia’s then-president Joko Widodo nevertheless hailed its opening as a symbol of modernization.

Laos: On the move

Laos unveiled its $6 billion Chinese-built railroad in 2021, bringing hopes of an economic boost despite backlash after thousands of farmers had to be evicted to make way for construction.

The 414-kilometer route connects the Chinese city of Kunming to Laotian capital Vientiane, with plans for the high-speed line to ultimately reach Singapore.

Infrastructure-poor Laos, a reclusive communist country of about 7.4 million people, previously had only four kilometers of railway tracks.

It was hoped that the railway would boost the Southeast Asian country’s ailing tourism industry, which struggled to rebound from the pandemic.

But experts also raised concerns over whether cash-strapped Laos — where public debt made up 116% of GDP in 2023 — would ever be able to pay back Beijing.

Thailand: Full steam ahead

After long delays, Thailand is pressing ahead with a Chinese-backed high-speed line set to partially open in 2028.

The $5.4 billion project aims to expand the connection to Kunming, running to Bangkok via Laos by 2032.

Thailand already has nearly 5,000 kilometers of railway but the sluggish, run-down network has long driven people to favor road travel — despite extremely high accident rates.

When the new railroad is fully complete, Chinese-made trains will run from Bangkok to Nong Khai, on the border with Laos, at up to 250 kph.

Unlike Laos, Thailand signed a deal to cover project expenditures itself and has pitched it as a way to boost the economy through trade with China.

China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan: Bridge to Europe

Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov inaugurated construction in December of a railway linking China, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, with hopes it will serve as a supply route to Europe.

“This route will ensure supply of goods from China to Kyrgyzstan and then onto Central Asia” and nearby countries “including Turkey” and “even to the European Union,” he said.

The project, which Kyrgyz authorities estimate could cost up to $8 billion, includes construction through mountains and in areas of permafrost, where the ground never fully thaws.

Vietnam: Link to manufacturing hubs

Vietnam this week approved an $8 billion railroad running from its largest northern port city to China.

The line will operate through some of Vietnam’s key manufacturing hubs, home to Samsung, Foxconn and Pegatron factories, many of which rely on components from China.

Another yet-to-be-approved line to China would connect Hanoi to Lang Son province, traveling through more areas packed with manufacturing facilities.

Malaysia: Back on track

Malaysia has revived construction of a nearly $17 billion railroad to carry passengers and freight between shipping ports on its east and west coasts.

The China-backed, 665-kilometer project was originally launched in 2011 under ex-leader Najib Razak but shelved due to a dispute about payments.

After blowing past several deadlines and budgets, it now looks set to be operational by 2027.

Pakistan, Myanmar, Philippines: Stalled

In Pakistan, a railway linking southwestern Gwadar Port with China’s northwestern Xinjiang province has long been on the cards but has yet to materialize.

If the project moves ahead, a 2023 Chinese study estimated an eyewatering price tag of $58 billion.

In coup-hit Myanmar, talks on building a railway from Mandalay to China’s Yunnan province appear to have stalled.

And in the Philippines, plans for China to fund three railways flopped after Manila backed out of talks in 2023 as the South China Sea dispute heated up. 
…

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has praised the recent U.S.-Russia talks aimed at ending the war in Ukraine.

“This is a good initiative; it is also beneficial for Kazakhstan,” he said. “We will try to support it as much as possible.”

Tokayev’s comments are the first official response from Central Asia to the talks, which sparked serious international debate. Central Asia has been officially neutral in the Ukrainian war and has been largely silent on the three-year-old conflict. 

Click here for the full story in the Uzbek. 
…

WASHINGTON — The Vietnam National Assembly on Wednesday gave a near-unanimous approval to a railway bill that allows the country to utilize Chinese loans for the construction of a new $8.3 billion link aimed at improving transport connections between the two neighboring countries.

The country’s rubber-stamp parliament gave the go-ahead to the project, with 455 of the 459 members voting for the project.

The approval marks a significant step forward in Vietnam’s infrastructure modernization efforts, as the country seeks to boost connectivity and economic growth, local media reported.

The 427-kilometer railway project will run from the Vietnam-China border gate at Lao Cai-Hekou, through the capital of Hanoi and port city of Haiphong, to Ha Long City, the official Vietnam News Agency reported.

It is one of two railway lines to China that Vietnam plans as part of its “Two Corridors, One Belt” initiative, which connects to Beijing’s Belt and Road global infrastructure program.

Phase 1 of the project will build a single-track standard gauge rail with a designed speed of 160 kph. Phase 2 will upgrade it to a double-track line able to support a speed of 200 kph.

The government has proposed paying for the project with money from the state budget, domestic capital sources and loans, including from the Chinese government.

The Vietnam News Agency reported that the railway will be financed through a concessional loan provided by the Chinese government. Funding will also be sourced from the Export-Import Bank of China (China Eximbank), the news agency said.

Neither Vietnam nor China disclosed the amount of the loan.

“Investing in a new railway line ensures meeting transportation needs, restructuring the transportation market shares, reducing logistics costs and ensuring sustainable development,” Le Quang Tung, general secretary of Vietnam’s 15th legislature, told Vietnam Television (VTV).

Minister of Construction Nguyen Hong Minh, formerly the transport minister, highlighted the necessity of the project during a parliamentary session last week. He emphasized that Vietnam’s current railway system is outdated and insufficient for the nation’s needs.

The government hopes the new railway will stimulate economic development by improving transportation efficiency between major cities and regions.

Tran Thanh Canh, a poet and resident in Hanoi, told VOA by phone that he welcomed the Vietnamese National Assembly’s approval of the railway project.

“This project should have been done a long time ago, to connect the western part of China via the shortest route to the sea at Hai Phong port. It brings many economic benefits to both Vietnam and China,” he said. “This is a very necessary project and suitable for the economic development of both countries.”

The plan to build these major railway lines is part of Beijing’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative and was agreed upon during meetings between Vietnamese General Secretary To Lam and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing in late August 2024, as well as between Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Chinese Prime Minister Li Cuong in Hanoi in mid-October 2024.

“The project comes with both advantages and disadvantages for Vietnam as the borrower, but the disadvantages are predominant,” Nguyen Minh Le, a longtime expert in China-Vietnam relations in California, told VOA by phone.

Nguyen said Xi has recently narrowed down the scope of the BRI and just focused on neighboring countries like Vietnam.

“Vietnam has actively become engaged in China’s BRI projects and receiving funding. It should stay cautious about sovereignty and autonomy because of Chinese debt-trap diplomacy,” Nguyen added.

The new rail line will run through some of Vietnam’s key manufacturing hubs, home to Samsung, Foxconn, Pegatron and other global giants, many of whom rely on a regular flow of components from China, Agence France-Presse reported.

“Railway infrastructure projects are hugely expensive, incur numerous land rights and environmental issues and nearly always run over budget and deadline. Even if these projects are approved, it will be many years before passengers jump on board,” Gary Bowerman, director of Check-in Asia, a travel and hospitality research company, told VOA by email.

China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun on Wednesday said that since last year, China and Vietnam have exchanged views on multiple occasions on enhancing railway connectivity between the two countries.

“The two sides agreed to accelerate the feasibility study of the Lao Cai-Hanoi-Hai Phong standard-gauge railway, speed up the plan compilation of the Dong Dang-Hanoi standard-gauge railway and the Mong Cai-Ha Long-Hai Phong standard-gauge railway, and advance the work of building a standard-gauge railway connection point between Hekou and Lao Cai,” Guo said during a news conference in Beijing.

Vietnam’s Ministry of Transport has indicated that more details on the bidding process and project timeline will be released in the coming months.

The project is expected to take approximately six years to complete following its approval and the finalization of the loan agreement, according to the Vietnam Railway Authority.

Some information for this report came from Agence France-Presse. 
…

GENEVA — The World Trade Organization said on Wednesday that discussions on trade tensions were “constructive,” after China accused the United States of imposing “tariff shocks” that could upend the global trading system.

China condemned tariffs launched or threatened by U.S. President Donald Trump at a WTO meeting on Tuesday. Washington dismissed China’s comments as hypocritical.

Trump has announced sweeping 10% tariffs on all Chinese imports, prompting Beijing to respond with retaliatory tariffs and to file a WTO dispute against Washington in what could be an early test of Trump’s stance towards the institution.

The majority of the six countries that participated in the talks on trade turbulence, put on the agenda by China, raised concern about mounting tensions, but also called for restraint, said WTO spokesperson Ismaila Dieng in a press conference in Geneva on Wednesday.

The United States, Nicaragua, Namibia, Malaysia, Trinidad and Tobago, and Russia took part in the discussions, which were part of broader talks on trade.

The large majority “stressed the importance of upholding WTO principles and values and called for action to preserve the stability and effectiveness of the global trading system,” Dieng added.

Two trade sources at the meeting told Reuters that some countries expressed deep concern about the ramifications of tariffs, while others criticized China for alleged market distortions.

It is the first time that mounting trade frictions were formally addressed on the agenda of the watchdog’s top decision-making body, the General Council.

‘Tariff shocks’

“These ‘tariff shocks’ heighten economic uncertainty, disrupt global trade, and risk domestic inflation, market distortion, or even global recession,” China’s ambassador to the WTO, Li Chenggang, said at a closed-door meeting of the global trade body on Tuesday, according to a statement sent to Reuters.

“Worse, the U.S. unilateralism threatens to upend the rules-based multilateral trading system.”

U.S. envoy David Bisbee called China’s economy a “predatory non-market economic system” in response and accused it of violating and evading WTO rules.

Negotiating tactic

Some delegates said they saw China’s intervention as an attempt to show itself supporting WTO rules — a posture that can help China win allies in ongoing global trade negotiations.

Disputes between the two top economies at the WTO long pre-date Trump’s arrival. Beijing has accused Washington of breaking rules while Washington says Beijing does not deserve its “developing country” status at the WTO.

The Trump administration has announced plans to withdraw or disengage from other global organizations, but the WTO has not yet been a major focus for the White House.

However, incoming U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer has called the WTO “deeply flawed.”
…

TAIPEI, TAIWAN — Philippine defense officials say they will hold a large, 10-day military training exercise next month, aiming to strengthen the country’s ability to respond to any crisis caused by an “external threat.”

Although Manila did not name China explicitly when it announced the drills — the biggest in recent years — they come as Beijing has increased the frequency of its maritime patrols and coast guard maneuvers around several disputed reefs that lie within the Philippines’ Exclusive Economic Zone, or EEZ.

Several of those patrols have resulted in clashes and the use of aggressive maneuvers and accusations of vessel ramming. China, which claims almost all of the South China Sea as its own despite an international ruling to the contrary, insists that its actions have been in accordance with the law.

The Combined Arms Training Exercise, or Catex, will take place March 3-12, involving approximately 6,000 soldiers and live-fire drills involving some of the Philippines’ most advanced artillery weapons.

Expanded drills

In the announcement on Monday, defense officials said that unlike past exercises, this year’s Catex will be conducted across the archipelago, including the northern island of Luzon, the island of Visayas in Central Philippines, and the southern island of Mindanao.

The expanded drills will “strengthen our command-and-control capabilities, further enhancing our preparedness to respond to any challenge that may threaten our national security,” Philippine Army Chief Lieutenant General Roy Galido told media during a news conference on Monday.

Typhon missile system

While the Philippine military is expected to test the Autonomous Truck-Mounted Howitzer Systems, its largest artillery weapon, during the live-fire drills, Galido said the U.S.-made Typhon missile system, which has prompted concerns from China, won’t be part of the large-scale exercise.

The Philippine military is still “appreciating the system and being able to understand how to utilize it in our defense concept,” he told Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post in an interview on Monday.

The deployment of the Typhon missile system to the northern Philippines has prompted concerns from China. During a press conference Friday, Chinese Defense Ministry spokesperson Zhang Xiaogang urged Manila to “remove the [Typhon] system as soon as possible.”

Analysts say the Philippines should focus on building up anti-ship missile capabilities and procuring more unmanned aerial vehicles rather than buying expensive items like submarines, which the Philippines is reportedly considering purchasing from India.

“The anti-ship missiles can survive in a modern war with China, and it can really force the Chinese military planners to rethink their strategies,” Zachary Abuza, an expert on Southeast Asian affairs at the National War College in Washington, told VOA by phone.

Other experts say the military drills and the ongoing efforts to acquire missile or air defense systems are part of the Philippines’ attempt to strengthen its sea capabilities and deterrence against China.

“Given the Philippines’ limited materiel capabilities, these efforts are part of a long-term endeavor that will need continuity to ensure the Philippines will be able to muster the capabilities to pursue the objective of countering China’s maritime aggression,” Don McLain Gill, a lecturer in international studies at De La Salle University in the Philippines, told VOA in a recorded voice message.

‘Aggressive’ China action

The announcement of the drills comes amid another uptick in tensions between China and the Philippines after a Chinese navy helicopter allegedly flew within 10 feet of a Philippine patrol plane near the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea on Tuesday.

The Philippine coast guard characterized the Chinese aircraft’s actions as “aggressive and escalatory” and said they remained “committed to asserting our sovereignty, sovereign rights and maritime jurisdiction” in the South China Sea.

Meanwhile, Southern Theater Command of the People’s Liberation Army — China’s military — accused the Philippine aircraft of “illegally” intruding on the airspace above Scarborough Shoal, which China views as its territory, and said its troops “are resolute in defending national sovereignty and security as well as peace and stability in the South China Sea.”

Weakest link?

Experts say the latest incident reflects Beijing’s attempt to test the Philippines’ defense capabilities and the United States’ commitment to supporting Manila, which has a mutual defense treaty with Washington.

“China sees the Philippines as the weakest link in the U.S. security architecture in the Indo-Pacific region, so they are testing how effective Manila can push back against its assertive behaviors,” Stephen Nagy, a professor of politics and international studies at International Christian University in Japan, told VOA by phone.

He said while it’s important for the Philippines to strengthen defense cooperation with like-minded democracies, including conducting joint patrols and military exercises, Manila should also carefully calibrate its responses to Chinese aggression.

The Philippines’ response should “reciprocate the pressure that the Chinese are putting on them because the Chinese strategic mindset is based on the idea of active defense, which means when they pressure their opponents to escalate the conflict, that gives them the right to escalate their behaviors,” Nagy said.

New legal challenge possible

In addition to strengthening defense capabilities, the Reuters news agency reported last month that the Philippines may soon initiate a second legal challenge against China over the South China Sea by suing Beijing for allegedly damaging the marine environment.

Despite the report, Philippine Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo said in response to a question from VOA during a public event held by the London-based think tank Chatham House on Tuesday that Manila has no plan to launch a legal challenge against China right now.

Joshua Espena, a lecturer of international relations at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines, told VOA that since the Philippines is gearing up for the parliamentary election in May, Manila is unlikely to initiate a new legal challenge against China at this point. “The 2016 South China Sea Arbitration ruling gives the Philippines sufficient ground to do what the government needs to do,” he said.

As the U.S. focuses on facilitating a peace deal to end Russia’s war in Ukraine, Nagy said, China will likely maintain its pressure campaign against the Philippines in the coming months.
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