The United States is giving Vietnam’s coastguard a second cutter vessel, US Defence Secretary Mark Esper said Wednesday, vowing to maintain a routine military presence in the disputed South China Sea.The new security ship “represents another concrete symbol of our strengthening relationship”, Esper said at the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam after a tour through South Korea, Thailand and the Philippines.Washington intends to counter Beijing’s expanding influence in the region and the fiercely…
US to boost military alliance with Philippines as South China Sea tensions grow
United States Defence Secretary Mark Esper on Tuesday vowed more support for the Philippines in efforts to modernise the country’s military and improve maritime security as tensions build over the disputed South China Sea.Esper, who was in Manila for a one-day visit, said he and Philippine Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana discussed various ways to strengthen cooperation and further boost the two countries’ decades-old alliance.“The United States will continue to support and to help modernise…
Caned for gay sex: Malaysian men’s punishment condemned by rights group
Four men in Malaysia have been caned for having gay sex in violation of Islamic laws, in a move described by activists on Tuesday as “vicious punishments” that highlighted a crackdown on the nation’s LGBT community.Rights groups say there is a worsening climate for gay people in the Muslim-majority country, where authorities have maintained a colonial-era ban on sodomy and mete out harsh physical punishments for same-sex relations.The men, aged 26 to 37, received six strokes of the cane each on…
Why are Singapore and Hong Kong lagging in workforce talent retention?
Singapore and Hong Kong are lagging behind European countries in developing and attracting workforce talent as a result of their higher living costs and lower government spending on education, according to Swiss business school IMD.The annual IMD World Talent Ranking, released on Monday, ranked Switzerland in top position followed by Denmark, Sweden, Austria and Luxembourg.Singapore was the only Asian entry in the top 10, coming in at tenth position, while Hong Kong was ranked 15, ahead of…
Singapore detonates unexploded WWII bomb found in city centre
A 50-kilogram unexploded bomb from world war two was detonated by army personnel in Singapore on Monday in a large-scale planned operation that involved the evacuation of nearby condominiums and a hotel, and halted traffic.Though such bombs have been found in the city state from time to time, usually at construction sites, this time caused more disruption as the construction site is within a residential area.If Singapore is so wealthy, why do its citizen feel stuck?Nearby roads were closed off…
Killer Indian elephant nicknamed Osama bin Laden dies after week in captivity
A rogue elephant named after the late al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden has died in captivity after he was captured following a massive hunt in northeastern India, officials said on Sunday.The male animal – nicknamed “Laden” – was tracked for days by forestry officers and tranquillised on Monday after a deadly October rampage killed five villagers in Goalpara, in the northeastern state of Assam.It was renamed after the Hindu god Krishna and moved to Assam’s Orang National Park where officials…
Duterte’s stark warning to his VP about drug war ‘state secrets’
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte threatened to remove the vice-president from her “drugs tsar” post if she shared state secrets with foreign individuals and entities.The warning, which the president made in a television interview, came a few days after he offered Leni Robredo a lead role in his brutal war on drugs, which she later accepted to reassess a campaign she said was fraught with senseless killings.Robredo, a political rival of the popular Duterte, said on October 23 that…
Two suspected militants killed as Indonesian police probe Medan suicide bombing
Indonesia’s counterterrorism forces on Saturday shot and killed two suspected militants who may have had links to a suicide attack at a police station in the country’s third-largest city, police said.Three suspected militants refused to surrender and resisted arrest by shooting at police during the raid in North Sumatra province’s Hamparan Perak village, said North Sumatra police chief Agus Andrianto.He said two of the suspects were fatally shot, while an officer was taken to the hospital with…
Taiwan or communism? The Chinese who fled Indonesia and had to choose
Inside the premises of the Indonesia Overseas Chinese Association in New Taipei City, the Republic of China (ROC) flag and a portrait of its founding president Sun Yat-sen are hung against the wall.They are a reminder of the Chinese civil war, which ended in 1949 with the creation of the People’s Republic of China. The seat of government of the ROC, Taiwan’s official name, was relocated to Taipei after the nationalists lost to the communists.Around this time, anti-Chinese sentiment began…
Malaysia’s Barisan Nasional opposition tipped for comeback in racially charged Johor by-election
An opposition win may be on the cards for a closely watched by-election in Malaysia’s southernmost state, with analysts predicting a return to form for the recently ousted Barisan Nasional coalition as ethno-religious dog-whistling goes into overdrive a day before polling.The Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA), which was decimated in national polls last year when it managed to hold on to only one of 222 parliamentary seats, is tipped to clinch Tanjung Piai in Johor when voters head to the…