LABUAN BAJO, Indonesia: Southeast Asian nations have made “no significant progress” on implementing a peace plan aimed at ending bloodshed in Myanmar, Indonesian President Joko Widodo said Thursday, on the final day of a summit.
Escalating violence in junta-ruled Myanmar has dominated the three-day meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on the Indonesian island of Flores.
The regional bloc has spearheaded diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis, though it has yet to enact a five-point plan agreed upon with Myanmar two years ago.
Since the military ousted Aung San Suu Kyi’s government it has overseen a bloody crackdown on dissent, killing thousands of people and battling armed resistance to its rule.
As ASEAN leaders began their final day of talks in the fishing town of Labuan Bajo, Indonesian President Joko Widodo admitted they had made “no significant progress” on implementing the peace plan.
“We need the unity of ASEAN to chart our way forward,” Widodo said through a translator.
Divisions among ASEAN members at the summit appear to have hampered those efforts.
An internal report on the foreign ministers’ discussions said some countries wanted to invite the junta back to ASEAN meetings because “the time for isolation has served its purpose.”
“There was also an observation that ASEAN might be experiencing a ‘Myanmar fatigue’, which might distract ASEAN from larger goals of ASEAN Community-building,” said the document seen by AFP.
“Patience, flexibility and creativity are therefore required since there will be no quick fix to the crisis.”
Myanmar still belongs to the 10-member ASEAN bloc but has been barred from its summits due to the junta’s failure to implement the peace plan.
The junta has spurned international criticism and refused to engage with its opponents, which include ousted lawmakers, anti-coup “People’s Defense Forces” and armed ethnic minority groups.
An air strike on a village in a rebel stronghold last month that reportedly killed about 170 people sparked global condemnation and worsened the junta’s isolation.
Jakarta’s chairing of the bloc this year had raised hopes ASEAN could push for a peaceful solution, using its economic weight as well as its diplomatic experience.
Sunday’s armed attack on a convoy carrying diplomats and officials coordinating ASEAN humanitarian relief in Myanmar had increased pressure for tougher action.
ASEAN has long been decried by critics as a toothless talking shop, but its charter principles of consensus and non-interference have hamstrung its ability to stop the violence in Myanmar.
The latest draft of the end-of-summit statement seen by AFP has left the paragraph on Myanmar open, reflecting diplomatic difficulties over the issue.
A review of the charter was “long overdue,” said Lina Alexandra of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Jakarta.
“When you see your next-door neighbor’s house is burning, what will you do? Can you just stay silent, it’s not my problem?” she said.
Indonesia’s Joko Widodo: ASEAN made no real progress on Myanmar peace plan
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Indonesia’s Joko Widodo: ASEAN made no real progress on Myanmar peace plan
- Escalating violence in junta-ruled Myanmar has dominated the three-day ASEAN meeting
- Myanmar still belongs to the 10-member ASEAN bloc but has been barred from its summits
Nigerian gasoline tanker explosion kills at least 70 people, authorities say
- Authorities said the blast happened after individuals attempted to transfer gasoline from one tanker into another truck using a generator
ABUJA, Nigeria: At least 70 people have died in north-central Nigeria after a gasoline tanker exploded, the country’s emergency response agency said.
The blast happened in the early hours of Saturday near the Suleja area of Niger state after individuals attempted to transfer gasoline from one tanker into another truck using a generator.
The fuel transfer sparked the explosion, resulting in the deaths of those transferring the gasoline and bystanders, Hussaini Isah, of the National Emergency Management Agency, told the Associated Press.
Search and rescue operations were underway, Isah said.
With the absence of an efficient railway system to transport cargo, fatal truck accidents are common along most of the major roads in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country.
In September, an explosion killed at least 48 people in Niger state after gasoline tanker collided with another truck conveying cattle.
There were 1,531 gasoline tanker crashes in 2020 resulting in 535 fatalities and 1,142 injuries, according to Nigeria’s Federal Road Safety Corps.
Trump wants to visit China as president, WSJ reports
- Trump has expressed interest in traveling to China in his first 100 days in office, the report said
US President-elect Donald Trump has told advisers he wants to travel to China after he takes office, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday, quoting people familiar with the discussions.
Trump has expressed interest in traveling to China in his first 100 days in office, the report said, citing one of the people.
Trump’s inauguration is Monday, and Chinese state news agencies said on Friday that Chinese Vice President Han Zheng will attend as Beijing stands ready to strengthen cooperation.
Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, through their representatives, have discussed meeting in person, with one option involving the incoming American president inviting the Chinese leader to the US, the WSJ added.
The Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
German ambassador warns of Trump plan to redefine constitutional order, document shows
- Ambassadors are not replaced automatically with the formation of a new government, unless a change is deemed necessary for diplomatic or other reasons
BERLIN: Germany’s ambassador to the United States has warned that the incoming Trump administration will rob US law enforcement and the media of their independence and hand big tech companies “co-governing power,” according to a confidential document seen by Reuters.
The briefing document, dated Jan. 14 and signed by Ambassador Andreas Michaelis, describes Donald Trump’s agenda for his second White House term as one of “maximum disruption” that will bring about “a redefinition of the constitutional order — maximum concentration of power with the president at the expense of Congress and the federal states.”
“Basic democratic principles and checks and balances will be largely undermined, the legislature, law enforcement and media will be robbed of their independence and misused as a political arm, Big Tech will be given co-governing power,” it says.
Trump’s transition team had no immediate comment on the ambassador’s assessment.
The German foreign ministry said US voters chose Trump in a democratic election, and it would “work closely with the new US administration in the interests of Germany and Europe.”
The outgoing government of Chancellor Olaf Scholz has largely refrained from direct public criticism of Trump since the election, but the ambassador’s confidential assessment offers a blunt view from a senior German official.
Ambassadors are not replaced automatically with the formation of a new government, unless a change is deemed necessary for diplomatic or other reasons.
The document cites the judiciary, and especially the US Supreme Court, as central to Trump’s attempts to further his agenda, but says that despite the court’s recent decision to expand presidential powers, “even the biggest critics assume that it will prevent the worst from happening.”
Michaelis sees control of the Justice Department and FBI as key to Trump reaching his political and personal goals, including mass deportations, retribution against perceived enemies and legal impunity.
He says Trump has broad legal options to force his agenda on the states, saying “even military deployment within the country for police activities would be possible in the event of declared ‘insurrection’ and ‘invasion’.”
The 1878 Posse Comitatus Act bars the federal military from participating in domestic law enforcement, with some exceptions.
Michaelis also foresees a “redefinition of the First Amendment,” saying Trump and billionaire X owner Elon Musk are already taking actions against critics and non-cooperating media companies.
“One is using lawsuits, threatening criminal prosecution and license revocation, the other is having algorithms manipulated and accounts blocked,” he says in the document.
Musk’s repeated endorsement of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) ahead of the Feb. 23 national election has drawn ire in Berlin, but the government has stopped short of unanimously leaving his platform.
Berlin endured a particularly difficult relationship with the United States during the first Trump administration, facing costly tariffs and criticism over its failure to meet the NATO target on defense expenditure.
Trump rethinking next week’s planned immigration raids, report says
- “President Trump has been clear from day one ... he’s going to secure the border and he’s going to have the deportation operation,” Homan told Fox News ahead of Trump’s inauguration on Monday
WASHINGTON: President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming administration is reconsidering plans for immigration raids in Chicago next week after details were leaked, Trump’s “border czar” Tom Homan told the Washington Post in an interview on Saturday.
The new administration “hasn’t made a decision yet,” said Homan, the former acting director of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to the report. “We’re looking at this leak and will make decision based on this leak,” he added.
ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Officials and rights advocates had said Trump’s administration would launch sweeps in multiple US cities almost as soon as he takes office on Monday, with Chicago considered a likely first location.
Dulce Ortiz, president of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, told Reuters that as many as 200 ICE agents were expected to start raids in the Chicago area on Monday at 5 a.m., aiming to catch people heading into work or starting their day.
The enforcement had been expected to continue for several days, she said. An ICE spokesperson referred questions to the Trump transition team, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Reuters reported Friday that agents would also conduct raids in New York and Miami. The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that ICE would stage a week-long operation in Chicago with potentially hundreds of agents.
Trump said in an NBC News interview on Saturday that launching the mass deportations he promised in his election campaign would be a top priority. But he declined to identify the cities targeted or when deportations would start.
“It will begin very quickly,” said Trump. “We have to get the criminals out of our country.”
Homan himself had appeared to confirm the raids earlier on Saturday, telling Fox News that “targeted enforcement operations” would quickly pursue some of what he said were 700,000 migrants who are in the US illegally and under deportation orders. He indicated the efforts would occur in several cities.
“President Trump has been clear from day one ... he’s going to secure the border and he’s going to have the deportation operation,” Homan told Fox News ahead of Trump’s inauguration on Monday.
Homan said the agency had carefully planned the operation and identified specific individuals for enforcement.
“Every target for this operation is well-planned, and the whole team will be out there for officers’ safety reasons,” he said.
Asked how the detention operations would be received in so-called sanctuary cities, which have pledged not to use city resources for federal immigration raids, Homan said sanctuary city policies were “unfortunate.”
In the case of targeted individuals who are already in local jails, he said the cities’ stance creates a threat to public safety. Cities would “release that public safety threat back into the community....and force (ICE) officers into communities,” Homan said.
He urged public officials of those cities to assist in the deportation raids, but added, “We’re going to do this, with or without their help. They are not going to stop us.”
Malaysia takes on ASEAN mantle but tempers expectations on Myanmar, South China Sea
- Malaysia hosts first ministerial meeting as ASEAN chair
- Says hopes should be managed on Myanmar, maritime code
LANGKAWI, Malaysia: Southeast Asian foreign ministers hold a closed-doors retreat in Malaysia on Sunday, as the country hosts its first meeting as chair of the regional bloc ASEAN amid an intensifying civil war in Myanmar and confrontations in the South China Sea.
Malaysia takes its turn as rotating chair of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations as the bloc contends with Beijing’s assertiveness in the South China Sea and a faltering ASEAN peace process for Myanmar, where the ruling military plans to hold an election this year.
Malaysia is committed to addressing regional issues, but expectations on Myanmar and the advancing of talks on an ASEAN-China code of conduct for the South China Sea should be measured, a top official said.
“To say that we will have a solution immediately is going to be very ambitious,” Malaysian foreign ministry secretary general Amran Mohamed Zin told a media briefing ahead of the retreat on Langkawi island.
Myanmar has been in turmoil since early 2021 when its military overthrew an elected civilian government, triggering pro-democracy protests that morphed into a widening armed rebellion that has taken over swathes of the country.
Despite being battered on multiple frontlines, its economy in tatters and dozens of political parties banned, the junta is pushing to hold an election this year, which critics have widely derided as a sham to keep the military in power through proxies.
ASEAN has so far failed to implement a “Five-Point Consensus” peace plan unveiled months after the coup, which prescribes dialogue and an end to hostilities, and it has yet to discuss a common position on the election.
“Everybody wants to help Myanmar ... engagements have happened and will continue under Malaysia’s chairmanship,” Amran said.
’Tentative progress’
Each ASEAN member state has a role to play in ensuring the South China Sea is a “sea of peace and trade,” Amran said, adding tentative progress has been made toward creating a code of conduct with China, which claims sovereignty over most of the strategic waterway.
The South China Sea, a conduit for about $3 trillion of annual ship-borne trade, has been the site of heated standoffs in the past two years between ASEAN member the Philippines and China, a major source of the region’s trade and investment.
Vietnam and Malaysia have also made protests over the conduct of Chinese vessels in their exclusive economic zones, which Beijing says are operating lawfully in its territory.
The Philippine foreign minister on Saturday told Reuters it was time to start negotiating thorny “milestone issues” for the protracted code, including its scope and whether it can be legally binding.
Adib Zalkapli, managing director at geopolitical research firm Viewfinder Global Affairs, said there was political will in Malaysia to push for a political resolution for Myanmar, but concrete progress on rules for the South China Sea was unlikely under Malaysia’s chairmanship.
“It remains an issue that the claimant states have to manage and contain, to ensure it does not unnecessarily escalate,” Abib said.
