DAP: The breaking news in Cambodia: “Cambodian, Thai border conflict to cloud ASEAN summit in Jakarta+” plus 9 more

JAKARTA, May 5 Kyodo - The Cambodian-Thai border conflict that  has resulted in bloody fighting between the two countries is expected to dwarf other regional issues this weekend when leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations meet in Jakarta, ASEAN sources said Thursday.

They said among heated topics such as the Korean Peninsula, the South China Sea and Myanmar's troubled democracy, this time the Cambodia-Thai border war looks to overshadow them all.

As in every meeting of the ASEAN leaders over the past several years, the Korean Peninsula, especially nuclear weapons there; areas in the South China Sea claimed by four ASEAN members and China and new interest in the area by the United States; and Myanmar's slow road to democracy will again be on leaders' international agenda.

The Middle East and terrorism will also be there, but the shooting war between two ASEAN members -- Thailand and Cambodia -- is expected to be the most pressing matter.

The leaders of the 10-member group are to meet Saturday and Sunday for the 18th ASEAN Summit with the main theme being ''ASEAN Community in a Global Community of Nations.'' But a shooting war between members is nothing short of an

embarrassment of that lofty theme.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has already told Foreign Minister Hor Namhong to get everything ready on the border issue for

the summit.

''If we could not sort it out now, at the foreign ministers'

level, the issue will have to be brought for the attention of the ASEAN leaders,'' he said, adding he will raise it in all

summit-related sessions.

The latest border clashes have been at Ta Moan and Ta Krabey temples, known in Thailand as Ta Meun and Ta Kwai, about 150

kilometers west of the long-disputed Preah Vihear Temple.

Preah Vihear has been at the center of the border conflict since 2008 when it was named a World Heritage site.

Sporadic fighting since 2008 near Preah Vihear has caused several casualties, but none of those skirmishes were as prolonged as

the 13 days of fighting from April 22 through May 3 near the two other temples that left at least 17 soldiers dead, more than 100

others wounded and displaced at least 70,000 civilians on both sides of the border.

Surin Pitsuwan, secretary general of ASEAN, told reporters in Jakarta that with help from global and regional powers there would be

a common effort to address the conflict this weekend.

''We have to be generous looking at the institution (of ASEAN) in making efforts, trying to help solve the problem between Thailand

and Cambodia. As I said, it is the first in many ways. Therefore, I think the fact that foreign ministers agree to come (for the summit)

and listen to issues of the two countries in conflict is already a first. It's already the step forward into the future,'' Pitsuwan said.

Marty Natalegawa, Indonesia's foreign minister, said Thursday he will meet with the foreign ministers of Cambodia and Thailand to wrap up terms of reference on the dispatch of unarmed Indonesian military observers to the disputed border.

He plans to meet with Hor Namhong on Friday morning and will follow with his Thai counterpart Kasit Piromya before a trilateral

meeting later Friday.

Cambodia and Thailand agreed in February to accept Indonesian observers in the disputed area to monitor a cease-fire, but they have yet been to be sent because terms of reference have not been settled.

Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva told reporters that Thailand is ready to sign the terms, but only if Cambodia withdraws

troops and other people from the disputed area.

Abhisit said Indonesia has pledged to discuss with Cambodia the condition and if Cambodia refuses to accept it, Thailand will not

sign the memorandum setting up the observer mission.

But, Koy Kuong, spokesman for Cambodia's Foreign Ministry, said Hun Sen has already affirmed it is ''impossible to kick'' Cambodian troops and people ''out of their own territory.'' What worries ASEAN most about the conflict is the mockery it

makes of ASEAN's proclaimed status as ''a region without the sounds of bullets.''

Surin admitted the border dispute is an embarrassment for ASEAN,  especially as it was initially forged to prevent open war in

Southeast Asia.

The ASEAN members beside Cambodia, Thailand and Indonesia are Singapore, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar.

==Kyodo

The Standing Committee of the International Conference of Asian Political Parties (ICAPP),the most representative body representing the ruling, opposition and independent parties, at its meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on May 5, 2011, expresses its serious concern on the situation that has risen on the border between Cambodia and Thailand, particularly the recent clashes, including large-scale artillery operations, the use of cluster ammunitions and ground assaults. The ICAPP Standing Committee endorses the statement of the United Nations Secretary General, His Excellency Ban Ki-moon, urging both countries to take "immediate measures for an effective and verifiable ceasefire". The ICAPP also urges the parties to establish a permanent ceasefire and resolve the situation peacefully through effective political dialogue.

The ICAPP Standing Committee welcomes the initiative of ASEAN, through its Chairman, Indonesia, for organizing a dialogue between Cambodia and Thailand. As peace-loving members of the international community, the ICAPP, voicing the sentiments of the Asian people, rejects as unacceptable the use of force and sincerely hopes that peace will prevail through dialogue and effective negotiation.

MANILA, May 6 (Xinhua) -- Philippine President Benigno S. Aquino III has issued two presidential directives for the implementation of the third tranche of wage increase under the Salary Standardization Law and the early disbursement of bonus and cash gifts to 1.4 million state workers.
Executive Secretary Paquito N. Ochoa Jr. announced on Friday that Aquino approved the release of the salary adjustment one month ahead of schedule under Executive Order No. 40, and the payment in advance of one-half of the year-end bonus and cash gift to civil servants under Memorandum Order No. 14.
The Chief Executive signed both orders on April 29, 2011.
"The president acknowledges the fact that the compensation of government employees is not at par with their counterparts in the private sector, so he recognizes the need to fast-track the improvement to the pay scale of those in the bureaucracy," Ochoa said.
He said the employees entitled to the third installment of the salary standardization will receive their pay adjustment beginning June 1, 2011.
The executive secretary said funding for the bonus equivalent to one-half of the one month basic salary and one-half of the 5, 000 pesos (116.50 U.S. dollars) cash gift had been made available by the Department of Budget to government agencies for distribution since May 1.
EO 40 specifically states that all employees in the Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches of government, constitutional commissions or offices, state universities and colleges, government-owned and -controlled corporations and financial institutions, and local government units (LGUs) whether regular, casual, contractual, appointive or elective on a full-time or part- time basis are covered by the salary increase.
Compensation adjustments also include military personnel of the Department of National Defense and uniformed personnel under the Department of the Interior and Local Government, Philippine Coast Guard, and National Mapping and Resources Information Authority.
The second installment was last implemented on June 24, 2010 for personnel in national government agencies and Jan. 1, 2011 for LGUs.

KATHMANDU, May 6 (Xinhua) -- Nepali government is planning to buy school textbooks from private printing presses after Janak Education Materials Center (JEMC) could not print the remaining textbooks due to lack of printing paper.
Janardan Nepal, spokesperson, Ministry of Education was quoted by Friday's The Himalayan Times daily as saying that making books available to students was the most important issue, rather than their quality. Therefore, they were thinking of buying books from the private press if JEMC failed to print them in a few days.
He said, "more than one million textbooks from Grade I to X are needed and JEMC cannot print them in a few days, in view of the need to make books available, it had become necessary to procure them from private printers."
He said they would also appeal to the public to reuse old textbooks until every child has access to new books.

SEOUL, May 6 (Xinhua) -- South Korea started bracing for the Chinese yuan's internationalization. The country's central bank said it applied for the status of qualified foreign institutional investors (QFII) earlier this year to invest its foreign reserves into the yuan-denominated assets.
"The central bank applied to China for QFII status to be able to invest its foreign exchange reserves in the yuan-denominated assets. The move aims to prepare for the Chinese currency's internationalization over the long haul amid China's growing influence in the global markets," a senior official at the Bank of Korea (BOK) told Xinhua Wednesday.  YUAN GOING GLOBAL
Given the Chinese currency's steady globalization, South Korea has no choice but to consider putting its foreign reserves into yuan assets, analysts at home and abroad said.
"The yuan is going through a process of internationalization. It's just a matter of how quickly it takes place. It makes sense to get in and attempt to establish investment links with China as the process evolves. There are likely to be lots of opportunities for strong investment returns, so it makes sense to establish a foothold in China before all the best opportunities disappear," Jonathan Cavenagh, a Singapore-based currency strategist at Westpac Banking, told Xinhua.
China has steadily promoted the internationalization of its currency. The world's second-largest economy expanded the settlement of trading bills in renminbi, allowed western companies ' yuan-denominated bond issuance and eased various regulations on yuan uses.
Back in August 2010, the fast-food giant McDonald's issued a 200 million yuan (29 million U.S. dollars) worth of reminbi- denominated bond in Hong Kong. It became the first non-financial foreign firm which issued bonds in yuan.
By the end of last year, the number of Chinese exporters that can use yuan in trading their goods was increased from a few hundred to more than 67,000, with the total cross-border renminbi trade settlements reaching 509.3 billion yuan.
The Bank of China (BOC) allowed their customers to trade the yuan in the U.S. starting January this year, and currency swaps between the People's Bank of China (PBOC) and foreign central banks amounted to 803.5 billion yuan from December 2008 to the end of last year.
Dai Xianglong, chairman of China's National Council for Social Security Funds, said in January when speaking at annual economic forum in Beijing that yuna's internationalization should be steadily promoted, adding that the globalization of the yuan will take 15 to 20 years.  DIVERSIFICATION MOVE
South Korea's push for yuan assets came amid the country's foreign reserves surpassed the 300 billion dollar mark for the first time in April. The nation's foreign reserves reached a record 307.2 billion dollars as of the end of last month.
The reserves tumbled to 200.5 billion in November 2008 amid the global financial crisis, but it has steadily risen since then due to brisk exports and increasing conversion value of non-dollar assets.
"The central bank invested its foreign reserves mainly into the dollar-denominated assets when the size of the reserves was tiny, but now the reserves exceeded the 300 billion dollar level, so it makes sense to consider investments into profitable assets, including the yuan," the senior official at the BOK said by phone.
The official noted the BOK's diversification move is not connected with dollar weakness, but market watchers said weaker dollar trend is also believed to urge the central bank to diversify its foreign reserves.
"The diversification is the BOK's basic strategy in managing its foreign reserves owing to the manifest dollar weakness. The central bank is also considering growing influence of China in the global markets, and the yuan has potential to appreciate further against the greenback down the road," Sam Hong, senior vice president in charge of currency strategy at Shinhan Bank in Seoul, told Xinhua.
"Given the heightened status of the yuan and rising foreign reserves in South Korea, the BOK will inevitably join the Asia- wide diversification trend. At the early stage, the central bank is likely to focus on the euro assets, but its interests will widen to yuan assets which have strong economic fundamentals," Jeon Seung-ji, a currency analyst at Samsung Futures in Seoul, told Xinhua.
"Central banks around the globe have already diversified their reserves. They are not dumping the U.S. dollars, but putting new reserves into different currencies. Over time it seems only natural that the yuan will also become part of that diversification process considering it is likely prominence in trade and capital flows," Cavenagh, a currency strategist at Westpac Banking, said.

JAKARTA, May 5 (Xinhua) -- The Association of Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN) becomes increasingly important for the European Union (EU) due to its potentials, an Indonesian minister said here on Thursday.
Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa told reporters on the sideline of the 1st ASEAN- EU Business Summit that the event is to show ASEAN in a thoroughly picture.
"This is the first summit of ASEAN-EU. It shows that EU increasingly recognizes and understands that ASEAN countries are becoming very potentials as partners in business, investment, economy and others. That's what we want to show, ASEAN in a whole picture, not only in politics, security and socio-culture, but also in economy," said Natalegawa.
Natalegawa said the summit is in accordance with Indonesia's goals in its chairmanship of ASEAN this year.
"We have three main priorities. First, under Indonesia's chairmanship this year, there will be a significant progress to achieve the ASEAN Community by 2015," he said.
Secondly, he said, ASEAN wants to contribute to ensure that the regional condition stays peaceful and stable.
"And the third one is that in line with ASEAN theme that we want to increase our role in global level," he said.  
ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

AUCKLAND, New Zealand, May 5 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand police have arrested three people and seized more than 65 kg of drug precursors in Auckland in one of their largest anti-drug operations this year.
The arrests and the seizure of 67.6 kg of pseudoephedrine-based ContacNT capsules came after a month-long operation code-named " Adrift", New Zealand Police said in a statement on Thursday.
Detective Senior Sergeant Bruce Howard said the combined Auckland Police drug squad and New Zealand Customs operation was made this week.
It was the largest amount of drug precursors seized this year that could be used for the manufacturing of methamphetamine, the statement said. In April, 2010, 110 kg was seized.
"We believe the quantity seized this week was sufficient to manufacture between 13 and 20 kilograms of methamphetamine with a street value of between 13 million and 20 million NZ dollars (10. 28 million to 15.82 million U.S. dollars)," said Howard.
Search warrants were executed at several addresses in Auckland, leading to the arrest of three Chinese nationals, one of whom was a resident in New Zealand. The other two were in New Zealand on student visas.
Howard said the operation illustrated the commitment of law enforcement and other agencies in tackling methamphetamine, particularly its supply networks.
A New Zealand Police spokesman told Xinhua that ContacNT was a readily available common cold remedy in China, but its sale was restricted in New Zealand because it was used to manufacture methamphetamine.
He said police could give no further information as the case was before the courts.
The seizure was the result of great investigative work by New Zealand Police and Customs, Minister of Police Judith Collins and Minister of Customs Maurice Williamson said in a statement Thursday.
"Police and Customs are serious about cutting the supply of methamphetamine and bringing those responsible for this vile business to account. I would like to congratulate all staff involved in this highly successful operation," said Collins.

JAKARTA, May 5 (Xinhua) -- The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and European Union (EU) would cooperate to address trade barriers that have hampered trade of the two sides, Indonesia's deputy trade minister said here on Thursday.
The EU's environmentally-friendly standard for imported products to the territory is one of the barriers which is different from the level of standard in ASEAN's member countries.
Deputy Trade Minister of Indonesia Mahendra Siregar told a press conference on the sideline of EU-ASEAN Business Summit during the 18th ASEAN Summit in Jakarta that the two sides planned to change the approach to settle the difference in the future.
"In the past the approach was that if the exporters can meet the EU standard they may enter the EU market, if they can not meet (the standard), they can not enter the market. But now we change the approach, EU and us (ASEAN) want this difference can be settled through a cooperation that would bridge the difference. So it would bring benefit for both sides," the deputy minister said.
EU's standard of environmentally-friendly products of palm oil is one of the rules that has hampered Indonesia's palm oil exports to EU so far despite Indonesia, the largest palm oil producers, has its own environmental standard.
"We want to settle the difference of the perspective in a constructive way, such as through cooperation that can make a standard based on similar calculation. So we do not consider it ( EU's standard) discriminative," said Mahendra.
ASEAN and EU trade volume reached 171.3 billion U.S. dollars with 93.0 billion U.S. dollars of ASEAN's exports to EU in 2009, according to data from ASEAN secretariat.

KUALA LUMPUR, May 5 (Xinhua)  Rising inflation and capital inflow will slow economic growth in Asian countries, an United Nations official said here Thursday.
Food prices hikes, and higher energy prices, will push 19 million people into poverty while keeping 42 million additional people in poverty in Asia, the UN resident coordinator for Malaysia, Kamal Malhotra said at the launch of the UN Economic and Social survey of Asia and the Pacific 2011 (UNESCAP).
In Malaysia, though the impact of rising food and fuel prices is minimal due to a series of subsidy cuts, Malhotra said the crisis would severely affect those in the poorest income group.
To avert the crisis, he advises Asian countries to boost productivity and divert exports for domestic consumption.
The UN predicted inflation in Asia Pacific to come in highest in Vietnam this year, with a year-on-year rate of 11 percent, 3 percent for Malaysia and 4.8 percent for South East Asia as a whole.
Countries in the region are also seeing some of the world's steepest increases in property prices, driven by foreign investors who are seeking higher returns.
These short term investments, Maholtra said, are asserting currency appreciation pressure to the volatile and deficit-ridden Asian markets, like India.
He urges Asian countries to take measures to control foreign exchange derivatives, so as to avert overwhelming capital inflow.
The UNESCAP survey involved 56 countries, including 6 associated nations.

CANBERRA, May 5 (Xinhua) -- A cut to science funding in next week's federal budget would destroy confidence in the sector, the Australian Academy of Science warned on Thursday.
In April, news reports suggested that the federal government was planning to cut 439  million U.S. dollars from medical research.
According to the academy president Suzanne Cory, if investment in science and innovation is not maintained, experienced scientists will head overseas.
"You can't turn science on and off like a tap. You basically lose the people," Professor Cory told Australia Associated Press on Thursday.
Professor Cory said that investment in research and development is an investment in the future to maintain Australians' standard of living, instead of an expenditure.
In March, the academy called on the federal government to support school science education after the government announced that it would not continue funding two school science programs.
"We're very much hoping the government will change its mind about continuing that funding when they understand clearly what's at stake here," Professor Cory said.
"We hope to hear on budget night that Australia's outstanding scientific talent is properly supported to discover and contribute internationally."
Spending cuts are expected when Treasurer Wayne Swan delivers his fourth budget as treasurer on May 10, in a bid to return the budget to surplus by 2012/13.