DAP: The breaking news in Cambodia: “ASEAN not rejects, objects profit: Secretary General” plus 9 more

JAKARTA, Nov. 1 (Xinhua) -- Secretary General of ASEAN Surin Pitsuwan said on Tuesday that the region does not reject and object profit as the bloc is making everything easy for investment.

In his closing remarks of a symposium titled 'Moving ASEAN Community Forward into 2015 and Beyond', Pitsuwan said that the region must transform and reform itself.   "We are making everything easy for investment. We don't reject and object profit. Every member states should remember in mind about it. But, we should transform and reform ourselves if we want to integrate us," Pisuwan said.

He added that the most challenging issues are standards, quality and measurement of quality.

He also said that each market has its own barriers of special interest that need to be protected.   "But, if we are not ready to open, it is difficult to create one market, to raise growth, income and standard," he said.

According to Pitsuwan, Australia, New Zealand, India and China could infuse a new dynamism in ASEAN.   "And, with it, we infuse in economies around us," he said.

KABUL, Nov. 1 (Xinhua) -- Likewise the previous months in the militancy-plagued Afghanistan, the unabated militancy did not spare the NATO-led multinational peace keeping force in the war- torn country as militants' activities left two soldiers dead in the first day of November bringing the fatalities of the alliance to 511 since January this year.

Two soldiers with the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) lost their lives as an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) went off in Afghanistan on Tuesday, the military alliance confirmed in a press release issued here in Afghan capital Kabul.

"Two International Security Assistance Force service members died following an improvised explosive device attack in eastern Afghanistan today," said the press release.

Nevertheless, it did not identify the nationalities of the victims and the exact place of the incident, saying it is ISAF policy to defer casualty identification procedures to the relevant national authorities.

Troops mostly from the U.S. have been stationed in the troubled eastern provinces along the border with Pakistan's tribal areas.

From January to October this year, according to iCasaulties, a website tracking the casualties of U.S.-led war on terror, 509 service members of NATO-led ISAF with 40 of them only in October had been killed in Afghanistan.

According to iCasualties, 382 out of the 509 service members, killed in the militancy-ridden Afghanistan since January 2011, were Americans.

The Improvised Explosive Device (IED) has been proved as the deadly weapon, used by militants and according to iCasualties, 217 IED attacks had caused 439 deaths to the NATO-forces till October this year.

Taliban militants fighting Afghan and NATO-led troops have been largely relying on suicide attacks and the lethal but homemade IED over the past couple of years.

JAKARTA, Nov. 1 (Xinhua) -- Secretary General of ASEAN Surin Pitsuwan said here on Tuesday that dialog partners are ready to support the region in achieving its connectivity in 2015 and beyond.

In his closing remarks of a symposium titled "Moving ASEAN Community Forward into 2015 and Beyond", Pitsuwan said that ASEAN has become the centerpiece of integration in East Asia.   "And, the U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton mentioned that ASEAN is the fulcrum of emerging architecture in the region. We have been given this role. And, we like this role. But we have to be pro-active," he said.

He said that ahead of the 6th East Asian Summit, that is part of the 19th ASEAN Summit in Bali on Nov. 14-19, major dialog partners are now very busy working to put steps and agendas.

"(They say) Yes, you have the centrality but we support you from behind," said Pitsuwan.   However, he said that ASEAN needs to improve its stability, security, comfort and confidence in the region as any conflict will result in concern of destruction in terms of transport, navigation, freedom on navigation, finished product transportation and others.

"That includes issues of Thailand and Cambodia border, North and South Koreas as well as South China Sea. ASEAN should be more proactive on what more we can do to give the world the essence of security and comfort, as we are more important than before," Pitsuwan said.

He said that other regions are getting more interested in ASEAN.

"Look at the investment, trade and transaction figures. (There are) more attention and interest of our region. In many ways, we would like to say that the participation is normal. But, can we manage the attention, pressure, and participation," he said.

He added that all experts from dialog partners, ASEAN member states, academicians from Harvard, Boston, Geneva and Japan are interested to see ASEAN grow more.   "You have to follow us in this journey until we reach the destination in one community, one vision, into prosperous, competitive and equitable growth," he said.

PHNOM PENH, Nov. 1 (Xinhua) -- Military-hosted Vietnam trade fair 2011 opened Tuesday in Cambodia with aims to enhance and strengthen solidarity, traditional friendship between two peoples of Vietnam and Cambodia.

At the opening of the Vietnam Trade Fair 2011, Col. Pham Viet Thich, deputy director of department of economics in the department of defense said,"it is the 4th Vietnam's department of defense that has hosted and coordinated this trade fair in Cambodia since 2007."

He said the five-day fair with over 300 booths and thousands of products and services displayed--aimed to "create favorable conditions for businesses to strengthen the trade promotion, investment and business cooperation and at the same time enhance  and strengthen solidarity, traditional friendship between two peoples of Vietnam and Cambodia."

The fair is also accompanied by the display of Vietnam's military uniforms such as clothes, shoes and belts. Other products include construction materials, foods, cosmetics, household stuffs, cloths and medicines.

In a separate statement released at the opening of the Vietnam Trade Fair, it said the organizers appreciate loves and trust of the people of Cambodia in using goods produced in Vietnam due to their cheaper price.

According to statistics provided by Cambodia's Ministry of Commerce, two-way trading between the two countries amounted 2,074 million U.S. dollars for the first nine months of 2011.

Of the above figure, imports from Vietnam amounted 1,731 million U.S. dollars and the exports to Vietnam amounted at 343 million U.S. dollars.

PHNOM PENH, Nov. 1 (Xinhua) -- Bilateral trades between Cambodia and Vietnam had increased by 59 percent in the first nine months of this year versus the same period last year, while Vietnam's investment to Cambodia rose by 116 percent.

From January to September this year, the two-way trades between the two countries mounted to 2.07 billion U.S. dollars, 59 percent up from 1.3 billion dollars at the same period last year, Keo Soknay, a secretary of state at the Ministry of Commerce,  said on Tuesday at the opening of the Vietnam-Cambodia International Trade Fair 2011 at Diamond Island Exhibition Center.

During the period, he said Cambodia exported goods to Vietnam worth 343 million U.S. dollars, up 79 percent, while Vietnam exported items to Cambodia worth 1.73 billion U.S. dollars, up 57 percent.

Cambodia's products to Vietnam are unprocessed agricultural products such as rice, corn, cassava, rubbers. In return, Vietnam exported petroleum, construction materials, IT equipment, agricultural machinery, fertilizers, and consumer products to Cambodia.

At the meantime, Vietnam's total investment in Cambodia during the first nine months of this year was 246 million U.S. dollars, up 116 percent from 114 million U.S. dollars. It brings Vietnam as the fourth largest investor in the country, according to the reports of the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC).

Vietnam's investments in Cambodia are in various sectors ranging from agriculture, agro-industry, mineral resources, oil and gas exploration, construction, telecommunication, aviation, banking and finance, health and tourism.

"Bilateral trade and investment between Cambodia and Vietnam have substantially increased from year to year thanks to excellent performance of the trade and investment cooperation between the two neighbors," Keo Soknay said.

BANGKOK, Nov. 1 (Xinhua) -- Inflation rate in October increased by 4.19 percent due to prolonged and widespread floods, the Bank of Thailand governor Prasarn Trairatvorakul said Tuesday.

The main factor was price hike in fresh foods as the deluge has damaged large parts of agricultural areas, according to the governor.

"If floods continue for a few months, projection of inflation rate in the next twelve months will remain the same. BOT has envisaged this year's inflation at 3.8 percent," Prasarn said.

He also insisted that the central bank will not increase the policy rate as floods will not affect domestic economy in the long term.

About 11 million rai (18,000 square kilometers) of agricultural areas have been ravaged by the inundation which has lashed the country since late of July.

The initial forecast of the economic damage by the Bank in the mid of October was about 3.3 billion U.S. dollars with the likely increase.

BEIJING, Nov. 1 (Xinhua) -- China's steelmakers have been more cautious in importing iron ore following recent price declines, as the world's top buyer continued to build up inventories in the week ending Oct. 31, according to the Xinhua-China Iron Ore Price Index released on Tuesday.

Stockpiles at 25 major ports in China added 0.78 percent week-on-week to 93.75 million metric tonnes amid weak demand in China, which is the world's largest iron ore consumer.

The price index for 63.5-percent-grade iron ore imports slumped 13.5 percent, or 20 points, to 128 points in the week, while the index for 58-percent-grade imports lost 7.3 percent, or 8 points, to 101.

Chinese steel manufacturers and iron ore traders are reluctant to return to the market due to the sharp declines in spot iron ore prices, Xinhua analysts said in the latest iron ore report.

In China, imported iron ore prices dropped nearly 30 percent in October to the lowest level this year amid weaker demand from sectors of property development and infrastructure facilities construction.

Iron ore dealers, who believe it's now an oversupplied market, are unwilling to buy iron ore, and stockpiles of expensive ore remain stubbornly high as the global commodity market has tumbled and steel output has fallen in China leading to the excess at ports, according to Xinhua analysts.

On the supplier's front, mining giants BHP of Australia and Vale of Brazil recently said they were open to talks with Chinese steel companies to negotiate a possible cut in contract prices for the fourth quarter.

MANILA, Nov. 1 (Xinhua) -- Two suspected New People's Army (NPA) rebels died following a firefight with police operatives in Bacolor town in the northern province of Pampanga early Tuesday, police said.

Citing sketchy reports from the Central Luzon regional police office, Philippine National Police (PNP) spokesman Chief Supt. Agrimero Cruz said the incident occurred around 3:50 a.m. along Mc Arthur highway in Cabalantian village.

Cruz said personnel of the Bacolor police, and public safety forces of the provincial and regional police were on a security mission when a fighting erupted with the militants who were aboard a motorcycle.

Cruz said the policemen seized from the possession of the suspects two pistols with magazines and ammunition, and their motorcycle without plate number.

The NPA, armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines, has been waging a guerrilla campaign in the countryside for more than four decades. The Philippine military estimates more than 4, 000 NPA guerrilla fighters are scattered in over 60 provinces throughout the Southeast Asian country.

KABUL, Nov. 1 (Xinhua) -- Two soldiers with the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) lost their lives as an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) went off in Afghanistan on Tuesday, the military alliance confirmed in a press release issued here.

"Two International Security Assistance Force service members died following an improvised explosive device attack in eastern Afghanistan today," the press release added.

Nevertheless, it did not identify the nationalities of the victims and the exact place of the incident, saying it is ISAF policy to defer casualty identification procedures to the relevant national authorities.

Troops mostly from the U.S. have been stationed in the eastern provinces.

More than 500 NATO-led soldiers with majority of them Americans have been killed so far this year in Afghanistan.

PHNOM PENH, Nov. 1 (Xinhua) -- The United States announced to provide another 20.3 million U.S. dollars to Cambodia to  support Cambodian priorities in economic growth, food security, and global climate change, according to a press release from the  U.S. Embassy in Phnom Penh on Tuesday.

This is the second provision just within a week after the U.S. provided 35.42 million U.S. dollars to Cambodia last week for  health and education development.

The statement said Deputy Prime Minister Sok An, minister of the council of ministers, and Flynn Fuller, mission director  of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), will sign the grant agreement on Nov. 2 under the witness of the U.S.  Charg d'Affaires Jeff Daigle.

This bilateral agreement provides funds to support USAID's Helping Address Rural Vulnerabilities and Ecosystem Stability  ( HARVEST) Program that will support the Government of Cambodia's national development strategy by enhancing agricultural  production, developing post-harvest management capacity, increasing access to food, and preparing the country to adapt to  climate change, it said.

HARVEST will also strengthen the ability of civil society, the private sector, and the government to address food security and  climate change challenges in Cambodia.

The funds will be also used to support USAID's ongoing economic growth program for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises,  which will continue support for alleviating poverty in rural areas by increasing the productivity of family businesses.