Thailand – European Affairs Magazine

Thailand-Japan: together against terrorism

23 Novembre 2015 Asia @en di

Monday, November 16, as part of the bilateral talks at the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum of Manila, the Thai Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai and his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida have reached a preliminary agreement for cooperation in the fight against international terrorism. The agreement comes in response to the attacks that have bloodied Paris on the night of Friday and to the attack suffered by the Thai capital in August, which killed 20 people.

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” The international community – said Kishida – should be united to resolutely condemn the terrorist acts”. The two ministers then promised closer cooperation between their countries in the fight against the terrorist threat.

4500 Japanese companies operates in Thailand and over 60,000 Japanese citizens live and work in the country. Foreign Minister Kishida has therefore asked the Thai government to do everything is possible to ensure the safety of its citizens and to protect Nipponese investments. At the same time, he confirmed the support of his government for the development of new infrastructure in the country of Southeast Asia, starting from the rail network.

The meeting also focused on the South China Sea issue and tensions involving the powers of the area, for the control of maritime communications. Keshida hopes that ASEAN, the Association of South-East Asian Nations, launches a joint appeal at the next summit in Kuala Lumpur to demand greater regional stability and respect for the rule of law.

Japan, in fact, is directly interested in the dispute. Although Tokio has not territorial claims, It considers crucial for japanase economy to ensure free navigation on the South China Sea waters and is putting pressure on the Southeast Asia countries to create a joint front that could limit Chinese expansionism. A difficult goal to achieve since Beijing is acting in parallel, on the diplomatic front, to strengthen its positions and weaken the ASEAN countries claims.

Even the Asian stocks initially suffered the effects of the Paris attacks, with substantial losses on Monday, when the markets opened. Fear was short-lived, on the financial markets, and already on Tuesday the main lists of the continent were back in positive territory, with gains over 1%, after the European and US stock markets recorded a first bounce.

Luca Marchesini

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Southern Asian countries will help Rohingya

Southern Asian countries will donate a fund for the several Rohingya arrived in Indonesia, Malesia and Thailand in the recent months. So they receive Un’s requests. More than 4600 boats have tried to reach these countries since May: at least double than 2014.

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ALast May, Indonesia and Malesia announced to give a temporary asylum to about 7000 migrants who arrived to their coasts. But the emergency has not stopped yet. And this is an humanitarian emergency which concerns thousand of women and children.

As reported by United Nations, the elements about this geopolitical context are awful, even if the International Press is focusing only about immigration in Mediterranean Sea: “Such perilous journeys, whether by land, sea, or air, have become a global phenomenon”, said António Guterres, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, Peter Sutherland and William Lacy Swing, Un Higher Commissioner for Refugee said.

Again: “88,000 migrants had tried to migrate by boat in Southeast Asia since 2014. “Nearly 1,000 are believed to have perished at sea due to the precarious conditions of the voyage, and an equal number because of mistreatment and privation at the hands of traffickers and abusive smugglers”, they underlined.

Rohingya are detached in two parts. Majority, the Muslim faction, who is persecuted by the Buddist Myanmar. The other part are Bangladeshi who run away from poverty. Now more of them live in refugee camps in Indonesia, Malesia and Thailand, after a long journey from Rakhine (North Myanmar) to the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea.

Through a creation of a humanitarian fund, United Nations hope to decrease all crime against Rohingyas: “Women are raped. Children are separated from their families and abused. Men are beaten and thrown overboard, We are deeply concerned at reports that boats full of vulnerable women, men and children are unable to land and are stranded at sea without access to urgently needed food, water, and medical assistance”, Un statement reported.
Giacomo Pratali

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