VIF Information Alerts - 16th May 2018

Japan's new ocean policy shifts emphasis to defense and security
Published: Nikkei Asian Review
15 May 2018

The Japanese government finalized its basic plan on ocean policy for fiscal 2018 through 2022 at a cabinet meeting Tuesday. Unlike previous plans, which prioritized resource development, the new plan particularly emphasizes security, including regional security and remote island defense. The direction responds to the growing threats of missile and nuclear weapons activities by North Korea, as well as China's aggressive maritime expansion.Click here to read... [2]

China’s south-east Asia push threatened by new Malaysia regime
Published: The Financial Times
15 May 2018

Beijing pledged tens of billions of dollars in loans and investments to support Malaysia’s economy and Mr Najib promised to roll out Chinese rail and port developments, as other Belt and Road projects stalled across south-east Asia.
However, the Malaysian people got in the way, last week voting out the ruling party headed by Mr Najib for the first time in 60 years, in part because of accusations that their graft-tainted leader was selling out the country.Click here to read... [3]

Beijing's Asia Pacific largesse comes with strategic ambition
Published: Financial Review
15 May 2018

An independent report prepared for the US State Department has sounded a warning bell over the rapid increase in Chinese influence in the south-east Asia and in the Pacific: among islands and nations that have been in the sphere of influence of Australia, Britain, the United States' or France. Before our eyes, the geopolitical shift in our region is fundamentally changed. In signs of a failure of diplomacy by Australia and New Zealand, China has made steady strategic inroads into this Pacific.Click here to read... [4]

Two Chinese among 19 killed in fighting in Myanmar, foreign ministry says
Published: South China Morning Post
15 May 2018

Two Chinese nationals were among the 19 people killed in northern Myanmar on Saturday when ethnic rebels attacked security force posts and a casino in an area bordering China, Beijing said.

Several rockets and stray bullets fell on Chinese territory, foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang told a regular press briefing on Monday, adding that more than 300 refugees had fled to China after the deadliest flare-up in the area in recent years.Click here to read... [5]

Pakistan alarmed as India could move ICJ over Sharif statement
Published: The Nation
15 May 2018

Pakistan is alarmed after India threatened to take former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s controversial statement on the 2008 Mumbai attacks to the International Court of Justice. Senior officials at the foreign ministry told The Nation that India was planning to ‘play’ with the statement in the ICJ - although there were little chances such a plea would be accepted. One official said: “They (India) have indicated they might do that (move the ICJ on Sharif’s statement). We are alarmed but hopeful that this would not be taken seriously by the ICJ.”Click here to read... [6]

Afghanistan, Pakistan finalise joint peace plan
Published: Business Standard
15 May 2018

Afghanistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) announced on Tuesday that officials from Pakistan and Afghanistan finalised a joint action plan on peace, aimed at ensuring peace and stability between the two countries. The plan, known as the Afghanistan-Pakistan Action Plan for Peace and Solidarity (APAPPS), was agreed following Pakistan Prime Minister's Shahid Khaqan Abbasi's visited to Afghanistan last month.Click here to read... [7]

India Sends Naval Vessel to petrol Joint Exclusive Economic Zone Surveillance of Maldives
Published: Business World
15 May 2018

Maldives has been creating ripples in the backyard of Indian Ocean and the current is all felt and jolts the status in quo of the long drawn heritage of India’s foreign and trade policies in the region. After a month of the crisis in Maldives, India has moved forward, hinting the ease of anxiety in the waters of Indian Ocean. Indian Naval (IN) ship Sumedha, a Naval Offshore Patrol Vessel (NOPV), has been deployed to undertake joint EEZ surveillance of Maldives from 09 to 17 May 18, as part of Indian Navy’s ‘Mission Based Deployments’.Click here to read... [8]