Category Archives: Asia Pacific

Pad kaphrao contest seeks true taste of Thailand’s national dish

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Tourism body tries to nail down best recipe for a dish popular at home but often overshadowed abroad

Pad kaphrao has a strong claim to be Thailand’s most loved dish. The meal – holy basil fried with minced meat – is a quick and easy staple. It is a regular among street vendors whose woks fill the air with a distinctive, fiery aroma, and on the menus of high-end restaurants and in the ready-made sections of convenience stores.

But abroad it is overshadowed by the likes of pad thai and green curry – and when it does feature on menus, the ingredients tend to differ from those used in Thailand.

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Australia tells big development banks to ‘lift their game’ in the Pacific

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There are concerns the World Bank and ADB are giving contracts to low-price bidders who then demand more when budgets blow out

The Australian government has told big development banks to “lift their game” in the Pacific amid concerns they are approving poor-quality, cut-price projects only for the budgets to blow out.

Largely funded by governments, development banks provide grants and low-cost loans to developing countries to help them build infrastructure and other projects.

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Detained Australian writer fears he may die of kidney condition in China jail

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Yang Hengjun has told supporters he is in pain from a cyst on his kidney that remains untreated

Detained Australian writer Yang Hengjun fears he could die in a Chinese prison from a worsening medical condition he says is not being properly treated.

He has told supporters he is in pain from a large cyst on his kidney. The Australian government is being urged to intervene and secure, through diplomatic means, his release to Australia on medical parole.

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Pacific Islands warn US over Chinese threat and urge Biden to increase aid

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GOP-led House committee convenes on Guam as officials say Beijing working to ‘fill perceived voids in America’s assistance’

Countering China and bolstering national security dominated the conversation in a Hilton hotel on Guam, 15 hours before and oceans away from the Milwaukee arena hosting the first Republican primary debate.

Nine members of the GOP-led House committee on natural resources convened on Guam for a rare field hearing – during the summer recess – on countering China’s influence in the region.

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Indonesia’s tropical Eternity Glaciers could vanish within years, experts say

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El Niño weather pattern could accelerate melting, leading to sea level rise

Two of the world’s few tropical glaciers, in Indonesia, are melting and their ice may vanish by 2026 or sooner as an El Niño weather pattern threatens to accelerate their demise, the country’s geophysics agency has said.

The agency, known as BMKG, has said the El Niño phenomenon could lead to the most severe dry season in Indonesia since 2019, increasing the risk of forest fires and threatening supplies of clean water.

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Fukushima: China accused of hypocrisy over its own release of wastewater from nuclear plants

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Plant in China releases water with higher amounts of tritium, scientist says, calling into question seafood ban imposed on Japan

As China bans all seafood from Japan after the discharge of 1m tonnes of radioactive water from the ruined Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean, Beijing has been accused of hypocrisy and of using the incident to whip up anti-Japanese sentiment.

Scientists have pointed out that China’s own nuclear power plants release wastewater with higher levels of tritium than that found in Fukushima’s discharge, and that the levels are all within boundaries not considered to be harmful to human health.

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Fiji prime minister warns against US and China attempts to ‘polarise’ Pacific

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Sitiveni Rabuka says island countries must be ‘zone of non-aligned territories’ and hopes big powers will avoid military conflict

The Pacific islands should be a “zone of peace”, Fiji’s prime minister, Sitiveni Rabuka, has said, adding that he hopes a rivalry between the US and China in the strategic region does not develop into a military conflict.

Rabuka was speaking after attending a summit meeting of several Pacific island leaders, where climate change and regional security dominated the agenda. The leaders of Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Fiji and New Caledonia’s ruling FLNKS party met in Vanuatu on Thursday.

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‘They won’t buy it’: fish traders anxious after Fukushima wastewater release

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The release of water from the Japanese nuclear plant has already caused the price of produce from surrounding coastal areas to drop

Awa-jinja is a place of pilgrimage for the more superstitious fishers of Shinchi-machi, a coastal town in Fukushima, who come here to lower their heads and ask the Shinto gods to look kindly on them as they prepare to steer their boats into the vast Pacific Ocean.

Today, though, the “safe waves” implicit in the shrine’s name are of little concern to the men and women coming to the end of the working day at the town’s fishing port.

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Brics to more than double with admission of six new countries

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Major expansion as economic bloc that includes Russia and China attempts to provide counterweight to the US and western allies

The Brics group of big emerging economies has announced the admission of six new members, in an attempt to reshape the global world order and provide a counterweight to the US and its allies.

From the beginning of next year, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Argentina, the UAE and Ethiopia will join the current five members – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – it was announced at a summit in Johannesburg on Thursday.

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China bans Japanese seafood after Fukushima wastewater release

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Water containing radioactive tritium being pumped into Pacific via tunnel from Tepco plant, amid protests from China, South Korea and fishing communities

Japan has begun discharging more than 1m tonnes of tainted water into the Pacific Ocean from the wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in a move that has prompted China to announce an immediate blanket ban on all seafood imports from Japan and sparked anger in nearby fishing communities.

The plant’s operator, Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco), pumped a small quantity of water from the plant on Thursday, two days after the plan was approved by Japan’s government.

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North Korea fails in second attempt to launch spy satellite as rocket crashes into sea

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Pyongyang’s aerospace administration says failure ‘is not a big issue’ and promises third attempt in October

North Korea’s second attempt to place a spy satellite in orbit has failed after the rocket booster experienced a problem during its third stage, state media reported, as space authorities vowed to try again in October.

The first attempt in May also ended in failure when the new Chollima-1 rocket crashed into the sea.

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Huawei accused of building secret microchip factories to beat US sanctions

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US-based semiconductor association claims Chinese tech firm has acquired at least two plants and is constructing three others

Huawei has been accused by a leading association of semiconductor manufacturers of building a collection of secret chip-making facilities across China to help the technology company bypass US sanctions, according to a report.

The Chinese tech firm moved into chip production last year and was receiving an estimated $30bn (£23.7bn) in state funding from the government, the Washington-based Semiconductor Industry Association was quoted as saying by Bloomberg, adding that Huawei had acquired at least two existing plants and was building three others.

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Chinese dissident and Xi Jinping critic flees China to South Korea by jetski

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Chinese dissident Kwon Pyong, 35, was arrested after becoming stuck in mudflats near Incheon

A Chinese dissident previously jailed for criticising Xi Jinping has fled to South Korea by jetski, towing barrels of fuel behind him to ensure he completed the long journey.

The man identified by Chinese activist groups as Kwon Pyong, 35, was arrested last Wednesday night after he got stuck in mud flats near Incheon.

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Wednesday briefing: Fukushima nuclear plant is set to flush tonnes of water into the sea – but is it safe?

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In today’s newsletter: Japan’s decision to release radioactive water from the tsunami-hit power plant has divided groups – is it entirely safe or staggeringly stupid?

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China officials hit by US sanctions over ‘forced assimilation’ of children in Tibet

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Antony Blinken criticises China’s state boarding schools that ‘seek to eliminate Tibet’s distinct linguistic, cultural and religious traditions’

The United States will impose visa sanctions on Chinese officials pursuing “forced assimilation” of children in Tibet, where UN experts say one million children have been separated from their families.

Secretary of state Antony Blinken said the US would restrict visas to Chinese officials behind the policy of state boarding schools, in the latest in a series of US moves on Beijing that comes despite a resumption of high-level dialogue.

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Fukushima: wastewater from ruined nuclear plant to be released from Thursday, Japan says

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Release plans approved by UN nuclear authority have caused outcry in China and concern for the reputation of Japan’s seafood

Japan is to begin releasing wastewater from the wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant from Thursday, in defiance of opposition from fishing communities, China and some scientists.

The prime minister, Fumio Kishida, said on Tuesday he had asked the plant’s operator, Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco), “to swiftly prepare for the water discharge” in accordance with plans approved by nuclear regulators, adding that the release would begin on Thursday, “weather and ocean conditions permitting”.

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Cambodia: son of long time ruler Hun Sen becomes PM in historic transfer of power

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Major powers will be watching to see if Hun Manet adopts his father’s authoritarian approach to governing

Cambodia’s newly elected parliament has endorsed military general Hun Manet as prime minister, completing a historic transfer of power in a fast-changing country led by his father for nearly four decades.

The western-educated Hun Manet, 45, had the backing of most of the National Assembly in proceedings screened live on television on Tuesday. He became eligible for the job after winning a seat in last month’s parliamentary elections, widely criticised as a sham.

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New Zealand Labour’s support sinks to worst level in six years, poll finds

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Prime minister Chris Hipkins says Labour now ‘underdogs’ as National gains ground ahead of 14 October election

New Zealand’s Labour party is polling at its worst levels in 6 years, with prime minister Chris Hipkins saying they are now “underdogs” in the upcoming election.

If the results of the poll were repeated at the election, the left block would lose its large electoral majority, while also reducing the diversity of New Zealand’s parliament and replacing the gender parity currently held with a male majority.

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Thaksin Shinawatra jailed on return to Thailand as his party regains power

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Ex-PM begins eight-year jail term but appointment of Srettha Thavisin as leader could shorten his sentence

Thailand’s populist former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra has arrived in Bangkok after more than 15 years in exile as his party returned to government in a controversial pact with its military rivals that keeps reformists out of power.

Thaksin – a hugely influential but also divisive politician – began an eight-year jail term on his return, though commentators have noted that his arrival in the country coincides with his party’s return to office and a backroom deal could allow him to escape a full sentence.

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Brics group looks to expand at summit despite divisions among key members

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Experts say India concerned about expansion and any overt anti-west turn as leaders fly into South Africa

Leaders from developing countries representing almost half the world’s population including China and Russia are meeting in South Africa for a key summit aimed at reinforcing their alliance as a counterweight to the west.

The Brics grouping summit in Johannesburg is being hosted by the South African president, Cyril Ramaphosa, and brings together the prime minister of India, Narendra Modi, as well the presidents of China, Xi Jinping, and Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

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