Category Archives: Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations)

Russia and China accused of blocking Asean statement due to dispute over South China Sea

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Russian foreign minister says final declaration not adopted because of attempts by US, Japan, South Korea, Australia and NZ ‘to turn it into a purely political statement’

Russia and China blocked a proposed consensus statement for the East Asia Summit drafted by south-east Asian countries, mainly over objections to language on the contested South China Sea, a US official said on Saturday.

A draft statement arrived at by consensus by the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations was put to the 18-nation East Asia Summit meeting in Laos on Thursday evening, the official said.

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Australia news live: West Gate Bridge climate protesters jailed; Greens propose plan for 360,000 homes

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Proposal to create a public property developer, with 70% of homes offered for rent, and rents capped at 25% of average household income. Follow the day’s news live

New analysis shows 2m hectares of Queensland forest destroyed in five years

More than 2m hectares (4.94m acres) of bushland in Queensland that included large swathes of possible koala habitat has been cleared over a five-year period, new analysis shows.

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Australia news live: Higgins and Reynolds in defamation mediation talks; first apparent lithium battery-related fire deaths in NSW

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Zoe Daniel says Asean has not done enough on crisis in Myanmar

The independent MP for Goldstein, Zoe Daniel, was just on ABC RN to discuss the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Myanmar. She argued that Asean hasn’t done enough on the issue, and needs to do more.

There’s also I think, a desire within Asean for economic cooperation and to try to take that route with the junta as a form of leverage … My concern though is that, I think, that we might be heading down the path of a form of normalisation with the junta and you’ve currently got a situation where about 30% of the country is in stable control of rebel ethnic groups, and the junta is really only holding the major cities.

Any form of normalisation with the junta that is pushed by Asean, and I think will be raised with the Australian government for support this week, could backfire because it could in effect allow the junta to enter some of those areas that are reasonably stable and are actually managing themselves.

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Australia to launch $2bn fund to ‘turbocharge’ trade with south-east Asia

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Anthony Albanese plans to boost clean energy and infrastructure exports, and increase visas for travellers from the region

Australia will set up a $2bn fund to “turbocharge” trade and investment in south-east Asia, with a focus on clean energy and infrastructure.

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, will announce the fund in Melbourne on Tuesday when he addresses a gathering of 100 chief executives from Australia and south-east Asia.

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Australia news live: NSW government to look ‘really closely’ at GPS rules for police-issued weapons after killing of Luke Davies and Jesse Baird

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‘Change needs to be made’ on NSW police policies and procedures, premier says. Follow the day’s news live

‘Context has changed’ since NSW lit up Opera House to support Israel, Minns says

ABC News Breakfast host Michael Rowland:

You ordered the lighting up of the Sydney Opera House sails in support of Israel after 1,200 Israelis were murdered by Hamas terrorists on October 7. Since then, 30,000 Palestinians have died. Will you consider lighting up the Sydney Opera House in support of Palestine?

This is an international conflict now and I don’t want to further exacerbate or pull apart Sydney’s already quite volatile mix. I would make the point that much of what will be said in New South Wales will [not] affect the peace situation in the Middle East, but a lot of what could be said can affect peace right here in this state. So we need to be careful with our commentary, we need to focus on not exacerbating community tensions or divisions, and that’s going to be the NSW government’s approach over the coming months.

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Question time chaos – as it happened

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Tasmanian hospitals experiencing significant demand, public asked to reconsider attending

Tasmanians are being urged to stay away from the state’s two main hospitals unless it’s an emergency as they face “significant demand”.

The hospitals are closely managing elective surgery activity to maintain access for emergency demand. This includes working with private hospitals to access contracted bed capacity and elective surgery.”

I think the Qantas board has to seriously consider some of the decisions that they have been making. I mean, not for nothing, you’re in front of the competition watchdog for what is alleged to be quite egregious behaviour.

You have also sought to, as I said, keep on your balance sheet half a billion dollars of your customers’ money rather than giving it back in the middle of a cost of living crisis. (The flight credits)

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Anthony Albanese signals to China that Australia is open for dialogue without ‘preconditions’

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Australian prime minister says it ‘would be positive’ if he and Xi Jinping met at Asean summit

Anthony Albanese has sent a clear public signal to the Chinese leadership that Australia is open for dialogue during international summits over the coming days, saying he is prepared to meet his counterpart without “preconditions” .

With the US president, Joe Biden, set to meet the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, at the G20 summit in Bali on Monday, Australia’s prime minister told reporters at the Asean-Australia summit in Cambodia on Saturday a conversation was “not locked in at this point” and he was awaiting “finalisation of any meeting”.

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Albanese meets Ukraine foreign minister, who says it will be a ‘joint success’ when Russia defeated

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Australian prime minister commits to 30 more Bushmasters as Dmytro Kuleba asks for help with energy needs

Ukraine’s foreign affairs minister, Dmytro Kuleba, has declared his country will prevail in the war with Russia, and he has told the Australian prime minister “when victory comes, it will be our joint success”.

Having landed in Phnom Penh on Friday night, Anthony Albanese opened his summit season program in Cambodia on Saturday with a meeting with Kuleba on the sidelines of the Asean-Australia summit.

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PM appoints new special envoy to south-east Asia – as it happened

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PM gives address at Asean summit in Cambodia underscoring Australia’s commitment to partners and to regional values

Infectious diseases specialist Dr Noor Bari says the situation unfolding with the Majestic Princess is serious for more reasons than many believe.

She says that despite cruise line companies upgrading their HEPA/UVC air intake systems, a critical number of cases on board can quickly overwhelm the limited facilities on board.

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Speculation grows Anthony Albanese will meet Chinese leader during hectic summit season

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Prime minister to see Britain’s Rishi Sunak and leaders of Cambodia, Indonesia and Thailand and is likely to catch up with Joe Biden

Speculation is mounting that Anthony Albanese will meet either the Chinese premier, Li Keqiang, or the president, Xi Jinping, during the hectic November summit season, which kicks off in Cambodia this weekend.

Australia’s prime minister leaves on Friday for the East Asia and Australia-Asean summits in Phnom Penh before travelling to the G20 in Bali and completing his trip at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit in Bangkok towards the end of next week.

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As China threat rises, can Aukus alliance recover from rancorous birth?

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Questions mount about pact’s ultimate purpose and implications for other Asean countries

It was initially seen as an audacious enlistment by Joe Biden of Australia into the 21st-century struggle against China, elevating the country in the process to a significant regional military power and finally giving substance to Global Britain and its tilt to the Indo-Pacific.

But since then the “ruckus” about Aukus, as Boris Johnson described it, has not stopped. If this was the start of a new “anti-hegemonic coalition” to balance China’s rise, it has not quite blown up on the launchpad, but nor has it taken off as smoothly as intended.

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UK invites south-east Asian nations to G7 summit amid Aukus tensions

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The alliance between Britain, the US and Australia has divided the region and angered China

The UK has invited south-east Asian nations to attend a G7 foreign ministers meeting in Liverpool next month, in a move that risks highlighting concerns that the new alliance between Britain, the US and Australia will fuel a regional nuclear arms race.

States from the Association of South-East Asian Nations are divided on the new Aukus partnership but some, notably Indonesia and Malaysia, have sharply criticised it, and many in the 10-member bloc are reluctant to take sides in the unfolding superpower rivalry between the US and China.

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South-east Asian states to invite non-political figure in Myanmar to summit

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Exclusion of junta chief Min Aung Hlaing ‘necessary decision to uphold Asean’s credibility’

South-east Asian countries will invite a non-political representative from Myanmar to a regional summit this month, delivering an unprecedented snub to the military leader who led a coup against an elected civilian government in February.

The decision taken by foreign ministers from the Association of South-east Asian Nations (Asean), at an emergency meeting on Friday night, marks a rare bold step for the consensus-driven bloc, which has traditionally favoured a policy of engagement and non-interference.

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Myanmar junta leader declares himself PM as election timeline stalled

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Six months after seizing power, Min Aung Hlaing extends coup with promise of elections in 2023

Myanmar’s military leader has declared himself prime minister and said he will lead the country under the nation’s state of emergency until elections are held in two years’ time – vastly extending the timeline given when the military deposed Aung San Suu Kyi six months ago.

“We must create conditions to hold a free and fair multiparty general election,” Gen Min Aung Hlaing said on Sunday during a recorded televised address. “We have to make preparations. I pledge to hold the multiparty general election without fail.”

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‘Will the killings stop?’ Demands for Asean to ensure Myanmar honours pledge to end violence

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Asean says consensus with junta was ‘beyond expectations’, but there is no timeline or explicit commitment to stop violence

Human Rights Watch has told south-east Asian leaders not to “pat themselves on the back” for getting Myanmar’s military rulers to agree to end deadly violence, saying a consensus reached by Asean lacks specifics and makes no mention of freeing political prisoners.

Nearly 750 protesters have been killed since the military seized power in a 1 February coup. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations announced after a summit on Saturday that the head of Myanmar’s junta had agreed to stop the violence. The Malaysian prime minister, Muhyiddin Yassin, who attended the meeting, said the outcome was “beyond our expectation”.

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Myanmar military must stop violence against citizens, says Joko Widodo

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Indonesian president’s remarks come after crisis talks with junta chief and south-east Asian leaders

Myanmar’s military must restore democracy and stop the violence against citizens, the Indonesian president, Joko Widodo, said after crisis talks with junta chief Min Aung Hlaing and south-east Asian leaders on Saturday.

The strongly worded comments followed a meeting in Jakarta of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), which was the senior Myanmar general’s first foreign trip since security forces staged a coup that ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi in early February.

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Myanmar: police fire stun grenades at protesters in Yangon – video

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Clashes between police and protesters in Myanmar are continuing despite a crackdown by the authorities. Officers were filmed using stun grenades and water cannon on demonstrators in Yangon and Kale. Members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations are expected to hold a conference call with a Myanmar military official to ask them to resolve the demonstrations peacefully. The military overthrew Aung San Suu Kyi's elected government on 1 February. Since then, 21 people have been killed and more than 1,100 arrested



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Asean summit: US condemns Chinese ‘intimidation’ in the South China Sea

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National security adviser Robert O’Brien says Beijing has bullied smaller nations by militarising resource-rich waters

The US has condemned Chinese “intimidation” in the South China Sea, alleging it has bullied smaller south-east Asian nations by militarising the resource-rich waters and seeking to control the global trade route.

Speaking at an Asean-US summit in Bangkok, the US national security adviser, Robert O’Brien, said China’s sweeping exclusive claims in the South China Sea – already rejected by the court of arbitration – were illegitimate and a form of realist imperialism.

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World’s largest trade deal RCEP faces delay as India pushes back against China

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Sixteen-nation Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership will cover half the planet’s people

The world’s largest trade deal is unlikely to be signed this year, with a draft statement from south-east Asian leaders suggesting it will be delayed until 2020, despite China’s desire to bring it into operation as soon as possible as a counterweight to its debilitating tariff war with the US.

The 16-country Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership – known as the RCEP – would be the world’s largest when operational, spanning India to New Zealand, including 30% of global GDP and half of the world’s people.

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