March 16-31, 2017

ASEAN

Cambodia

APHR Report: Stinging Criticism of Cambodian Crackdown on Opposition

A report “Death Knell for Democracy” released on March 20 by the ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) strongly criticized Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) under Prime Minister Hun Sen of having created a “climate of fear” with a continuous crackdown on the opposition and activists ahead of commune elections in June. APHR, a group of former and serving Southeast Asian lawmakers reported that democracy in Cambodia is being “systematically dismantled,” highlighting the recently passed amendments to the country’s law on political parties as the “culmination of an ongoing effort to undermine the capacity of the political opposition.” The APHR noted that at least 17 opposition parliamentarians, out of 66 in the National Assembly and Senate combined, have been direct victims of harassment and attacks— through intimidation, rights abuses, and bogus legal charges prosecuted in CPP-controlled kangaroo courts.

Since coming to power in 1985 with Vietnamese support following the brief but brutal reign of the genocidal Khmer Rouge, Cambodia’s Prime Minister, Hun Sen has ruled since then despite growing indications that Cambodians want him to give up his power.

Indonesia

Jokowi Accused of Promoting Secularism

Faced with worsening sectarian tension during the Jakarta gubernatorial election, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo issued a call on March 26 for religious leaders and politicians to not mix religion and party politics as it could lead to dangerous divisions within Indonesian society. Many observers regard the Jakarta election as the harbinger of things to come in the 2019 presidential election. However, Jokowi’s call received a skeptical response from some quarters. The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) deputy secretary-general Tengku Zulkarnain said that in making the statement, Jokowi was promoting liberal values of a type that should prevail only in western countries and that the organization would oppose any efforts to promote them. In 2005, the MUI issued an edict outlawing secularism, pluralism and liberalism, considering them to be western values that were not compatible with Indonesian society. Last year, the organization also issued an edict accusing Jakarta Governor Basuki Tjahaja “Ahok” Purnama of blasphemy. Ahok is currently standing trial for the alleged blasphemy.

The chairman of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), Sohibul Iman, said Jokowi’s statement ignored the Islamic character of the country and its history. Sohibul claimed that the country’s struggle for independence from colonial rule had been motivated by religion and it was religious values that lay at the nation’s foundation. Meanwhile, the deputy chairman of the country’s largest Islamic organization Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), Maksum Machfoedz, said he backed Jokowi’s call, insisting that it was dangerous to drag religion into what he called “transactional politics.” Muhammadiyah, the country’s second-largest Islamic organization too has been a champion of a moderate version of Islam in Indonesia.

Myanmar

India-Myanmar Defence Cooperation

India has signed a contract worth about 38 million US dollars with Myanmar to provide light torpedoes to their Navy. The torpedoes being provided by India are indigenously developed. The contract between both sides was signed during a function, which included the presentation of the annual DRDO excellence awards, where India’s Finance and Defence Minister Mr. Arun Jaitley hand over three indigenously developed products - USHUS-2 submarine sonar suite, directing gear and inertial navigation system for warships - to Navy chief Admiral Sunil Lanba. It also needs to be noted that earlier Myanmar Navy has also been provided with Indian built Sonar system.
Recently, the Indian government has also revised its defence exports policy and has earmarked 10 percent of production by Defence Public Sector Units for exports. The list of exports includes Surface to air missiles, ATGMs, battle Tanks, UAVs, Drones and a variety of other defence systems. Myanmar and some of the South East Asian countries are expected to provide good market for such exports. India has already provided rocket launchers, mortars, rifles, radars, night-vision devices, vehicles, bailey bridges, communication and Inmarsat sets as well as road construction equipment like dozers, tippers and soil compacters to the Myanmar armed forces.

UN to Send a Fact Finding Mission to Myanmar

The UN human Rights Council agreed on 24 March 2017 to send an international fact-finding mission to investigate human rights violations in Myanmar, with a particular focus on widespread allegations of killings, rape and torture by security forces in northern Arakan State. Burma ambassador U Htin Lynn, speaking before the decision was taken by consensus, rejected the move as “not acceptable.” Myanmar’s national commission had just interviewed alleged victims who fled to Bangladesh and would issue its findings by August, he said.

A UN report of February 2017, based on interviews with 220 Rohingyas among 75,000 who have fled to Bangladesh since October, observed that Burma’s security forces have committed mass killings and gang rapes of Rohingyas in a campaign that “very likely” amounts to crimes against humanity and possibly ethnic cleansing.

Philippines to Protest Chinese Activities in Disputed Shoal

In a news conference on March 20 at the airport before flying to Myanmar, President Duterte said he could not prevent the Chinese from building anything in the Panatag/Scarborough Shoal, and that he “allowed” the Chinese to explore the Benham Rise in the eastern Philippine seaboard. Claiming that the Americans are also unable to stop China, Duterte reiterated that his militarily inferior country can't stop China from constructing an environmental monitoring station in Scarborough Shoal off the northwestern Philippines. Duterte, however, warned that he would invoke the International Tribunal ruling that invalidated China's territorial claims in the South China Sea if the Chinese were to "start to tinker with the entitlement," apparently meaning when Beijing starts to tap the offshore area's resources.

On March 22, Enrique Manalo, the Philippines’ new foreign secretary, said his country had sought clarification from China over the purported plans. A day before, Duterte’s justice minister warned that Manila would launch a formal protest against the proposal, which was announced by a regional Chinese official but has since been denied by Beijing. The 10 ASEAN member states are discussing the final version of the Code of Conduct (COC) for the South China Sea which they will take up with Beijing in May when China hosts the ASEAN plus Six summit. But while the ASEAN foreign ministers were meeting in Boracay, Philippines, on the COC, Beijing’s foreign ministry preempted them by announcing that “the final draft” of the COC has been completed on March 8.

Singapore

India Notifies Amended Tax Treaty with Singapore

The Government of India had notified the amended India-Singapore tax treaty on March 23, 2017. Under this new amended version of taxation the capital gains tax will be levied at the source of investment from April 1, 2017. India had amended the tax treaty with Singapore on December 30, 2016, under which for two years beginning April 1, 2017, capital gains tax will be imposed at 50 per cent of the prevailing domestic rate. Full rate will apply from April 1, 2019. In the statement issued by the Ministry of Finance, Government of India it is said that this taxation initiative which will help curb revenue loss, prevent double non-taxation and streamline the flow of investments. The India-Singapore DTAA provides for residence-based taxation of capital gains of shares in a company. The tax treaty amendment provides for source-based taxation of capital gains arising on sale of shares in a company with effect from April 1, 2017. The amended treaty also inserts Article 9(2) in the DTAA, which will facilitate relieving of economic double taxation in transfer pricing cases. Besides Singapore, India amended bilateral tax treaties with Mauritius and Cyprus in 2016. Under such mechanism, Short-term capital gain tax is levied at 15 per cent in India while long-term capital gain tax is zero.

Indo-Pacific

First Leaders’ Summit of the IORA

The Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) held its first Leaders’ Summit to commemorate the 20th Anniversary of the Association. The Summit was preceded by meetings of the Council of Ministers and the Committee of Senior Officials. India was represented at the summit by the Vice President, Shri Hamid Ansari while the Minister of State for External Affairs, Gen (Dr) VK Singh (Retd), participated in the Council of Ministers and the Secretary (ER) in MEA, Shri Amar Sinha, led the talks at the Committee of Senior Officials. Three documents were adopted during the Summit. The first was the IORA Concord that was signed by the Leaders and lays out the vision of IORA for the future, focusing in particular on cooperation among the 21 IORA member states on maritime safety and security. The two other documents adopted were the "Declaration on Preventing Violent Extremism and Countering Terrorism" and the "Action Plan of IORA for the next 5 years".

Addressing the IORA Summit, the Vice- President offered to set up an IORA Centre of Excellence (ICE) in one of the coastal cities in India. The Centre is proposed to be set up with the objective of pooling of resources available with all the member states so that these can be accessed online by each member including their academics and researchers. A network of IORA think tanks to synergise the efforts of all member states was also suggested. On the maritime front, India offered the institution of an Information Fusion Centre to coordinate Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) and also offered to extend to all member states cooperation in the fields of hydrography.

The Summit was also attended by the Chinese with the Assistant Foreign Minister Qian Hongshan leading their delegation. The Chinese side welcomed the IORA and its member states to actively participate in the “Belt and Road” construction and promote the advantage of complementarity so as to achieve common development. This is a continuation of the Chinese efforts to get a more active say in the affairs of the IOR. The smaller countries, to some extent, are already leaning towards the possibility of greater Chinese involvement in the IOR including its security. While the Chinese are a Dialogue Partner in the IORA, their penchant for utilizing economic leverage to achieve objectives could result in some further gains in the IORA which is currently the only institutional mechanism for regional issues in the IOR. India therefore, needs to take the lead in defining the future growth of the IORA and shoulder the responsibility of nurturing and driving this growth with an underpinning of collective and collaborative security, as outlined by the Prime Minister in his vision of Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR).

South Korea
South Korea after Park

With the Constitutional Court decision to uphold Park's impeachment, Park becomes a private citizen again, and no longer has immunity from criminal charges. Prosecutors will investigate Park on charges of bribery, and, if convicted, she faces the possibility of incarceration. The political analyst from South Korea feel that with the impeachment of Park a new era of justice and rule of law will begin in South Korea. The South Korean constitution mandates a presidential election to be held within 60 days of President’s impeachment.

From future perspective the current trend and undercurrents of South Korean politics suggest that the outlook is favourable for the liberals. The recent lead in latest polls by Liberal Stalwart Moon highlights this fact. South Korea's liberals have not held power since the election of Park's predecessor Lee Myung-bak in 2008. In recent years, liberals have been plagued by internal defeats in local elections. While running on platforms of standard liberal promises like increased welfare and corporate regulation, the main opposition parties all brand themselves as being for "democracy" and the "people", since "socialism" is an off-putting term to many South Koreans, due to its echoes of association with North Korea.

The US, South Korea and Japan began Military Drill

On March 14, 2017 the warships from the US, Japan and South Korea began their two day drills with an objective to better be able to respond to ballistic missiles. The US Navy called the two-day drills "a trilateral missile warning informational link exercise."The drills, among three Aegis-equipped ships that can intercept ballistic missiles in flight, come hard on the heels of last week’s North Korean missile launch into the Sea of Japan. The exercise will employ tactical data link systems to trade communications, intelligence and other data among the ships in the exercise. They also follow the deployment last week of the first parts of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile-defense system to South Korea.

Together, the deployments and the drills have raised temperatures in the region, prompting harsh language from Beijing and Pyongyang. China’s foreign ministry took all sides to task on March 14, 2017. “On the one hand, the DPRK insists on advancing its nuclear and missile programs in violation of UN Security Council resolutions; on the other hand, the US, the ROK and Japan are conducting large-scale military exercises,” a spokesman said. North Korea, for its part, also lashed out at the exercises, threatening “merciless, ultra-precision strikes” if its sovereignty is impinged. The missile defense exercises showcase not just tactical cooperation among Aegis-equipped ships — the more ships that work together, the better they should be able to track and shoot down incoming missiles.

The Japan South Korea cooperation is considered significant because, in the past South Korean relations with Japan were not warm and has been accused of not playing nice with Japan on variety of military and intelligence issues. Thus in view of North Korean assertive threats the partnership between both nations and the US is critical in establishing credible deterrence against North Korea.

US deployment of ‘Grey Eagles’ in South Korea

The U.S. on March 16, 2017 has announced that it will permanently deploy attack drones to South Korea to help counter the growing threats posed by North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs — including to U.S. military bases in Japan. These Attack drones are also known as ‘Grey Eagle’. It is a remotely controlled attack drone made by U.S.-based General Atomics. A derivative of the Predator drone, it can stay in the air for up to 25 hours straight and can operate in altitudes of up to 29,000 feet, according the company’s website. The craft can carry multiple payloads aloft, including up to four Hellfire missiles. The announcement came just over a week after the North test-fired what experts said were likely four extended-range (ER) Scud missiles, with North Korean state media issuing an overt claim that the drill was a rehearsal for striking U.S. military bases in Japan. U.S. Forces Korea did not provide a timeline for the permanent drone. The US Department of State justified the deployment of Grey Eagles along with the THAAD batteries as a defensive move in response to the “credible” threats to the security of the U.S. and its Asian allies.

The statement from US Department of State further justify about the deployment in accordance with the situation on the peninsula presents which demands for a timely and accurate ISR data. The Gray Eagle will contribute to that mission. Also, if the situation requires it, this system can provide a prompt strike capability. This is more significant because of North Korea’s recent development of solid-fuel ballistic missiles means which will be able to execute ballistic missile strikes in a matter of minutes. Thus, the Gray Eagle could strike missile the transporter erector launchers (TEL) and command centers if a missile attack were imminent. This move is considered as an attempt by the Trump administration to reassure nervous allies of the US and further reinforce the US commitment to extended deterrence.

Japan

Right-Wing School Scandal Now Engulfs Shinzo Abe

The school scandal that began in February after it emerged that a new primary school in Osaka had acquired public land at a fraction of its market value, now directly engulfs Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. On March 23, Yasunori Kagoike, Moritomo Gakuen’s principal reportedly testified in Parliament that Shinzo Abe’s wife Akie had made a ¥1 million ($8,800) donation on Abe's behalf in 2015. Akie Abe had made a speech at the kindergarten in the fall of 2015 praising the school's education policy. Moritomo Gakuen runs private kindergartens and nurseries in Osaka that have been criticized for their overly nationalistic education. Local news media began reporting about the school when it emerged that Shinzo Abe's wife Akie was to become honorary principal of a new school set to open this April. One of the signature rituals of Moritomo Gakuen is to have the pupils memorize the Imperial Rescript on Education, a Meiji-era document that called on people to "offer yourselves courageously to the State, should emergency arise, and maintain the prosperity of our Imperial Throne coeval with heaven and earth."

According to earlier Japanese local reports, the 8,770 sq. meter plot acquired for the school had cost only ¥134 million last June. Its appraisal value was ¥956 million and a neighboring plot of similar size went for ¥1.4 billion in 2010, suggesting it was sold for just 10 per cent of its actual worth. Controversy also arose when it turned out that defense minister Tomomi Inada despite initial refusal, had once acted as a lawyer for the school. Questions on who made the decision to discount the land and why remain unanswered, raising the possibility of a criminal investigation. The direct contradiction between Kagoike’s claim and Abe’s denial has led to demands for the Japanese First Lady to testify. Abe has said he will “quit as prime minister and as a Diet member” if it turns out he was involved in the land sale.

Japan-Russia 2+2 Meeting after Three Years

In a vice-ministerial consultation on March 18, Japan and Russia agreed to concretely begin working on joint economic projects in healthcare and fisheries on the disputed islands. But they reiterated that legal arrangements still needed to be worked out so as not to undermine their rival claims to sovereignty over the islands. In the 2+2 meeting held on March 20 in Japan, Japanese and Russian foreign ministers affirmed that Shinzo Abe will hold a summit with Putin in Russia in late April. They also agreed to deepen their discussions, including projects prioritization and examining the necessary legal foundation. With regard to grave visits by former islands’ residents, the ministers affirmed to proceed with coordination to establish additional entry/exit points, as well as to proceed with conducting practical reviews on the feasibility of visiting the four islands by aircraft. The ministers also agreed to accelerate work for implementing the “Japan Year in Russia” and “Russia Year in Japan” in 2018.

The Japanese and Russian defence ministers agreed to deepen Japan-Russia bilateral cooperation amid the severe regional security environment and continue joint drills between their nations' troops for maritime search and rescue operations. Japanese Defence Minister Tomomi Inada protested Russia's increasing military presence on disputed islands off Hokkaido, while her counterpart Sergei Shoigu criticized a missile defence system deployed in Japan that involves components owned by the United States. Russia has been modernizing its military on the Kuril Islands, which separate the Sea of Okhotsk from the Pacific Ocean and include the disputed islands. It has deployed state-of-the-art anti-ship missile systems on two of the disputed territories, while also planning to boost troop strength in the Kuril Islands. Experts say Russia's aim is to step up the defence of its nuclear submarines that patrol the Sea of Okhotsk and to prepare to counter serious threats from the United States.

US Diplomacy and Japan: Reinforcing the Alliance

US Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson during his visit to Asia from March 15-19, stated that his choice of Japan as his first country to visit in Asia showed the importance that the US attaches to its relationship with Japan. On the basis of the joint statement made during the Abe-Trump summit on February 10, Kishida and Tillerson recognized that the US will strengthen its presence in the region and Japan will shoulder a greater role and responsibility in ensuring the peace and stability of the region. They agreed to strengthen the multi-layered cooperation centered on the Japan-US Alliance with South Korea, ASEAN member countries such as the Philippines and Vietnam and like-minded countries such as India and Australia. They also shared the growing threats associated with North Korea's nuclear and missile development programs. Kishida and Tillerson stressed that US, Japan and South Korea will coordinate to strongly urge North Korea to exercise self-restraint by refraining from provocative actions and comply with the relevant United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions, and emphasized China's role in the same. They also reconfirmed that relocating Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Futenma to Henoko was the only solution to mitigate the military impact on Okinawa.

Steven Mnuchin, US Treasury Secretary and Taro Aso, Japanese Finance Minister, held talks on March 18 along G-20 Finance Ministers Meeting in Germany. While reiterating the contribution of globalization in global economic growth and the need to resist calls for protectionism, the two finance chiefs also agreed to cooperate in addressing North Korea's missile and nuclear threats through such measures as economic sanctions.US and Japan will begin an economic dialogue in April, a framework under which they will discuss a range of issues concerning the economy, currency issues, a bilateral trade agreement, taxation and energy. Aso will head the Japanese delegation in the economic dialogue while the US side will be led by Vice President Mike Pence.

China & Taiwan

Saudi Arabian King Visit to Beijing

King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia visited China from 15-18 March 2017. This is his maiden visit after becoming king and an important leg in his month long Asia tour. During the visit, deals worth USD 65 billion were signed in economic and trade deals, spanning sectors from energy to space. More than 20 agreements were signed on oil investments and in renewable energy. The two sides signed agreements on trade, economy, energy, capacity, culture, education and technology. The deals included a memorandum of understanding between giant state oil firm Saudi Aramco and China North Industries Group Corporation to look into the building refining and chemical plants in China. Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC) and Sinopec, which already jointly run a chemical complex in Tinajin, also agreed to develop petrochemical projects in both China and Saudi Arabia.

During the visit Xi Jinping reiterated his support to Saudi Arabia’s development path and “Saudi Vison 2030”. On the visit he said, “The visit will push forward and continue to improve the quality of our relations and bear new fruit.”
Saudi Arabia seeks to boost its trade to China after losing market share to Russia last year. Notably, the foundation for China-Saudi cooperation is energy wherein Saudi Arabia is the world’s largest oil exporter and China is the world’s largest oil importer.

The US Secretary of State Meets Chinese President

On 19 March 2017, the Secretary of State Rex Tillerson met Chinese President Xi Jinping. This was his first visit to China since taking office. Friendly words were exchanged in a dramatic climb-down from President Trump’s China-bashing rhetoric. Earlier, President Donald Trump had criticised China’s policy on North Korea. Rex Tillerson himself criticised China while visiting Japan and South Korea.

During the visit, unexpectedly, Rex Tillerson reiterated the formulation of new model for major power relation that includes “no conflict”, “no confrontation”, “mutual respect” and “win-win cooperation”. This was originally proposed by Xi Jinping in June 2013, the then President Barack Obama had accepted the idea of a new type of relations but his administration did not endorse it. This appears to be a positive sign in US-China relations. Xi Jinping said, China and the US could become “good cooperative partners”, and that “cooperation is the only choice for both countries.”

The overarching goal of the visit was to prepare for the meeting to be held on 6-7 April 2017, between the two Presidents in Mar-a-Lago, in Palm Beach, Florida. The upcoming meeting is important as it will confirm the direction of future Sino-US relations.

Israeli PM Visit to Beijing

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Beijing on from 19 to 22 March 2017. He was accompanied by a huge business delegation and five Israeli ministers. During the visit both the leaders announced, “an innovative comprehensive partnership” between both countries. Adding this innovation cooperation has facilitated the sustained growth of overall relations.

China is Israel's largest trading partner in Asia and third-largest in the world, with trade volumes reaching over 11 billion U.S. dollars. Netanyahu said, "I hope to have Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) completed this year so Israeli companies can come here." Reportedly, the two sides are expected to sign FTAs in July.

On regional security, President Xi reiterated that the Israel-Palestine issue has a long-term and profound impact on the situation in the Middle East, he added that China appreciates Israel's adoption of the two-state solution. Additionally, he said, “A peaceful, stable and developing Middle East meets the common interests of all parties including China and Israel”.

In the joint statement, the two countries agreed on, closer exchanges among young technological personnel, and cooperation in joint labs, a global technology transfer center, innovation parks and an innovative cooperation center. During an online chat with Xinhua ‘netizens’, Netanyahu said, “I think it explains the fit, I would almost say the marriage between Israeli technology and Chinese marketing and industrial capacity.” He added, “The marriage of the Chinese economic capacities and Israel’s innovation capacities is something that provides benefit to both our people, and in my opinion, to the world.”

Li Keqiang’s Visit to Australia and New Zealand

Premier Li Keqiang made his maiden visit to Australia and New Zealand from 22-16 March 2017. It was his first visit to both these Oceanic countries and the first visit by a Chinese Premier in 11 years.

During his visit to Australia, the two side reaffirmed their commitment to free trade and to deepen cooperation in such sectors as education, tourism, agriculture, innovation, anti-corruption and defence. Promotion of trade was the prime agenda of the visit. Premier Li said, “I come here first for pushing free trade”. The two side agreed to continue to implement the China-Australia FTA and work hard to usher in a new era of FTA-driven boom.

In the agriculture sector, the two sides signed the Plan of Action (2017-2019) on Implementing Agricultural Cooperation Projects between the Ministry of Agriculture of China and the Australian Department of Agriculture and Water Resources. On Science and Technology cooperation, the two countries agreed to continue the collaboration in of advanced manufacturing, medical technology and pharmaceuticals and resources and energy, with a budget of up to USD 6 million from each side. It was decided to establish China- Australia Ministerial Dialogue on Energy, the two countries agreed to establish the China-Australia Innovation Dialogue and the China-Australia High-level Security Dialogue. Additionally, it was decided to enhance synergy between China’s Belt and Road Initiative and Vision for Developing North Australia, and between their innovation strategies.

Trade and economic globalisation was high on the agenda of the Premier’s Li visit to New Zealand. It was decided to jointly establish an upgraded free trade area (FTA) with more open trade and investment, to promote bilateral trade cooperation and economic globalisation. The talk will start in late April this year. Under the FTA, a wide range pf products, typically health-related products are included. China and New Zealand signed a series of cooperation, including an action plan for cooperation on climate change, granting new access for New Zealand Chilled beef and meat to go on the Chinese market and deepening cooperation on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

Agreements were also signed in the field of economy and trade, culture, science and technology, education, customs service and tourism. Premier Li said, “Both countries to speed up negotiations on Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership and play and active role on economic growth of the Asia-Pacific region and the rest of the world as well as in regional peace, stability and prosperity.” The two countries will strengthen cooperation in; joint research, information sharing, new types of businesses and cross-border e-commerce.

Taiwan Receives Two Frigates from the US

Taiwan received two decommissioned Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigates, Gary and Taylor, from the US. The USS Taylor and the USS Gary were in service between 1984 and 2015. The costs of the frigates were NTD 5.5 billion (USD 177.21 million). It is relatively cheaper than the indigenously made Cheng Kung-class frigates. The navy has already dispatched a team of officers to the US to receive training in how to operate the frigates. The two frigates have been renamed as Mingchuan and Fengjia. President Tsai Ing-wen said, “The two frigates have been retrofitted to extend their service lives by about 30 years, making them a highly cost-effective option for the navy”. The frigates are being inducted to replace some of the six Knox-class frigates that serve in the anti-submarine role.
Reportedly, the US may approve a sale of advanced weapons to Taiwan in the first half of this year. This is part of US arms sales to Taiwan guided by Taiwan Relations Act and based on an assessment of Taiwan’s defence need.

Taiwan Launches Submarine Programme

President Tsai Ing-wen announced the start of the submarine program at a Taiwan Navy base in Kaohsiung. The submarines will be jointly built by the CSBC shipbuilding corporation, the Taiwanese government and navy, and the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology. Taiwan wants a submarine in the 1,200 to 3,000 ton class, which is a reasonable size considering the main mission of the submarine fleet is to defend the island. The company plans to deliver the first diesel-electric model in 2024, with deployment expected a year or two later. Tsai said, “Underwater combat readiness is the part of Taiwan’s defence that needs the most support.”

At present, Taiwan’s navy has four submarines and it needs more advanced ones to improve its ability to defend itself against the Chinese forces. China has at least 53 diesel-powered attack submarines, many based at Hainan Island at Yulin Naval Base, south-west of Taiwan.

Hong Kong Gets First Female Chief Executive

The 5th Chief Executive election in Hong Kong was held on 26 March 2017. Ms Carrie Lam (former chief secretary) won the election by 777 votes. Other contenders of the election; John Tsang (former finance chief) and Woo Kwok-hing (retired judge) got 365 and 21 votes respectively. According to the opinion polls, John Tsang had a lot of public support. The support was essentially high due to growing discontent among the people of Hong Kong over China’s “One Country, Two Systems”.

Notably, Carrie Lam was elected by a committee dominated by political and business leaders aligned with China. Reportedly, China had lobbied for her. This year’s election is important as it was the first major political election after the 2014 ‘Umbrella revolution’ and there was growing anti-China sentiment in Hong Kong especially among the youth.