South East Asia Briefs
MANILA: Asean has sought permanent observer status in the UN, the Philippine Ambassador to the UN, Lauro Baja, said. Mr Baja said that with observer status, Asean would have a seat in all UN meetings that the grouping was interested in and would gain added visibility and importance. Asean is the worlds only regional grouping that does not have observer status in the UN.
Drug ring busted
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian police broke up the largest marijuana smuggling syndicate in the northern region with the arrests of eight suspects and seizure of drugs valued at more than 370,000 ringgit ($159,000). The drugs were believed to have come from Thailand.
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World Briefs: Asia/Pacific
Nearly two dozen Japanese ruling party lawmakers worshipped at a Tokyo war shrine Friday, defying protests by China and South Korea.
The 21 lawmakers from Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumis Liberal Democratic Party are all first-year members elected in the partys landslide election victory last September, a parliamentary official said.
Koizumi has visited Yasukuni five times since taking office in 2001. The shrine honors 2.5 million war dead, including several executed World War II war criminals.
Xiang-Xiang, a 4-year-old giant panda weighing in at about 180 pounds, hesitated for a few seconds on the
Japans East Asia FTA proposal put on hold
JAPANS proposal for an East Asia Free Trade Area (EAFTA) will have to take a back seat for now.
The Association of South-East Asian Nations (Asean) priority at the moment is to conclude individual FTAs with each of its dialogue partners - China, Japan and South Korea.
These individual FTAs will be the benchmark and basis on which Asean will move towards wider regional integration at a later stage, International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Rafidah Aziz said.
She was speaking to reporters after chairing the Ninth Asean Economic Ministers Plus 3 (China, Japan and
South Korea Expands Role in East Asia
President Roh Moo-hyun returned home Friday after wrapping up a Southeast Asian tour in which he tried to strengthen South Korea’s economic ties with nations in the region and expand the nation’s role in building an East Asian community.
While seeking ways of improving the country’s relations with Malaysia and the Philippines, Roh tried to play a leading role in the ASEAN+3 Summit and the first East Asian Summit (EAS) in Kuala Lumpur. ASEAN stands for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
``The tour has largely contributed to the promotion of the nation’s interests and
Malaysia is TRWs most important mart in S-E Asia
US-BASED TRW Automotive, one of the worlds 10 largest automotive suppliers with US$13 billion (US$1 = RM3.64) revenue annually, says Malaysia is its most important market in South-East Asia.
TRW sales and business development director Gordon Bennet said Malaysia generates about half of its revenue in the region.
Our revenue in Asia Pacific is US$700 million (RM2.5 billion) and South-East Asia makes up about 10-12 per cent of this, he said in an interview in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.
Showing its commitment here, Bennet said, TRW has made Malaysia its IT development centre for South-East Asia,
Sino-Indian war over East Asia
East Asia isn’t big enough for the two of us. That is China’s message to India in the run-up to the East Asia Summit in Kuala Lumpur (December 6-14). The summit is expected to announce the core group for a future East Asian community. Beijing is pushing for a group that excludes India.
At the heart of the diplomatic battle is a summit declaration that, say diplomats, will say who will be “responsible for creating an East Asian community”. The “who” will be determined by which countries issue the declaration.
China wants the all-important line to be part
