Thailand and Cambodia trade allegations of truce breaking
The nations agreed to a truce starting Tuesday after five days of clashes killed at least 43 people on both sides, as a long-standing dispute over contested border temples boiled over into fighting on their 800-kilometer boundary.
Khuon Sudary, president of the National Assembly of Cambodia, urged other countries to help ensure the ceasefire is upheld.
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Nikkei Asia
11 hours ago
- Nikkei Asia
Marcos in India, Hiroshima anniversary, Joshua Wong trial
Welcome to Your Week in Asia. In the wake of the conflict between Thailand and Cambodia over their disputed border, the two sides on Monday will work to resolve their differences at a special committee meeting. From the same day, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will be in India following an invitation from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with business engagements and meetings with the country's growing Filipino community on the agenda. Get the best of our coverage of Asia and much more by following us on X, where our handle is @NikkeiAsia. We are also now on Bluesky, with the handle @ MONDAY Thailand-Cambodia border committee meeting Thailand and Cambodia will hold a General Border Committee meeting in Malaysia to discuss the ongoing border dispute. The meeting, which will last until Thursday, is a follow-up to the cease-fire agreement reached last week between the two countries. The venue was changed from Phnom Penh at Thailand's request. Representatives from Malaysia, the U.S. and China will also attend as observers on the final day of the meeting. Marcos visits India Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. heads to India for his first state visit to the country in a bid to deepen diplomatic and economic ties. The five-day trip through Friday comes at the invitation of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Marcos' visit follows the first joint maritime exercises between the two countries, which kicked off on Sunday, in waters near the South China Sea, a maritime flashpoint in the region with China. Ong Beng Seng hearing Property tycoon Ong Beng Seng is expected to plead guilty for his role in providing kickbacks to former Singapore transport minister S. Iswaran, who was given a year's jail term over the corruption case. He finished serving the sentence in June. Earnings: Mitsubishi Corp., Rohm, JFE TUESDAY Japanese automaker earnings Mazda Motor will release its April-June earnings on Tuesday, followed by Honda on Wednesday and Toyota on Thursday. Investors will be assessing how automakers are coping with the 25% U.S. automotive tariff introduced in April. Earnings: SoftBank Corp. Data: Singapore retail sales WEDNESDAY Hiroshima atomic bombing anniversary Japan will mark 80 years since the atomic bombing of Hiroshima amid worries over nuclear war following U.S.-Israeli military strikes on Iran in June and Russian aggression against Ukraine since 2022. Last year, a group of atomic bombing survivors won the Nobel Peace Prize for their persistent campaign against nuclear weapons. Philippine Senate on Sara Duterte impeachment case Philippine senators are set to convene to decide whether to proceed with the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, a week after the country's top court dismissed a previous impeachment attempt. The political maneuvering highlights the volatile nature of domestic politics as the Marcos and Duterte families remain locked in a feud. RBI monetary policy meeting The Reserve Bank of India is widely expected to hold its key policy rate after the conclusion of a monetary policy committee meeting, pausing a dovish cycle that saw a 100 basis point reduction over the past few months. Though the focus remains on spurring growth, the central bank shifted back to a "neutral" stance in June from the more dovish "accommodative" position it had taken two months prior, indicating that it would be cautious and closely parse incoming data before the next shift in interest rates. Data: Vietnam inflation, trade and industrial output Earnings: Cathay Pacific THURSDAY Data: Philippines gross domestic product Earnings: DBS, UOB, Sony FRIDAY China robot show Beijing's flagship robot conference is due to feature 1,500 exhibits from about 200 companies. On the list are 50 makers of humanoid robots -- a key area of focus for China as it strives to develop high-tech industries. Joshua Wong trial Prominent Hong Kong democracy activist Joshua Wong once again faces trial, after he was charged in June for allegedly conspiring to collude with foreign forces. Wong, who was already sentenced last November to four years and eight months in prison for conspiracy to subvert state power, could see his prison time increase by anywhere from three years to a life sentence as a result of the new national security charge. Earnings: SGX Group, Tata Motors, State Bank of India, Eneos, Inpex, Idemitsu Kosan
Japan Times
13 hours ago
- Japan Times
Ishiba unlikely to make personal statement on WWII anniversary
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has decided not to make a personal statement on the 80th anniversary of Japan's surrender in World War II on Aug. 15, sources have said. Ishiba had also considered making such a statement on Sept. 2, the date when Japan formally signed the surrender document in 1945, but no such announcement is likely to be made that day either, senior government officials and lawmakers in Ishiba's ruling Liberal Democratic Party said Saturday. Ishiba is still looking for an appropriate time to make a statement, which would be based on the results of a review of the war. But some believe that it would be difficult to do so any time soon. A personal statement by Ishiba, who is viewed as relatively dovish, could intensify the calls for his resignation that have emerged inside the LDP — especially among the party's more hawkish wing — following its rout in the July 20 Upper House election. Japan has issued a prime minister's statement to mark each of the 50th, 60th and 70th anniversaries of the country's surrender in the war. But this tradition of marking key anniversaries could be broken by Ishiba. The prime minister has already given up on the idea of releasing a prime minister's statement on the war that requires Cabinet approval. He is instead considering working on a document to present his view, based on the results of experts' examination of the circumstances that led Japan to enter the war. But preparations for such a document did not progress because he was busy with the Upper House election and the Japan-U.S. tariff negotiations. A source close to the prime minister said Ishiba would not be able to announce his views by Sept. 2. In a statement issued 10 years ago, then-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said that the deep remorse and heartfelt apology expressed by past Cabinets "will remain unshakable." However, Abe also said: "We must not let our children, grandchildren, and even further generations to come, who have nothing to do with that war, be predestined to apologize." Supporting this view, many LDP lawmakers who belonged to the now-defunct faction that had been led by Abe think that no further war statements are necessary. Ishiba appears to believe that releasing a personal statement would further fuel the moves to oust him that are already simmering within the party. "It's better not to release anything," a source close to the prime minister said. Ishiba has not entirely scrapped the idea of compiling a paper to show his view. Sources said that he is looking for the appropriate time, while monitoring the situation inside the party. But he may be forced to abandon the idea if LDP turmoil continues. With the LDP having suffered three consecutive election setbacks, following last October's Lower House election and the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election last month, long-standing dissatisfaction with Ishiba's leadership has boiled over among his rivals. A number of LDP members are calling on him to resign, but Ishiba has vowed to stay on in order to deal with pressing issues, including the matter of U.S. tariffs on Japanese goods, and in the belief that stepping down would lead to more political uncertainty. The LDP is planning to hold a joint plenary meeting of all its parliamentary members on Friday, during which Ishiba will likely face pressure to quit. An LDP panel is also formally assessing the results of the Upper House election and will release its report this month. Depending on the content of the report, calls for Ishiba to take responsibility may further intensify.
Japan Times
a day ago
- Japan Times
Japan to ramp up measures against foreign election interference
Japan plans to enhance its surveillance and regulatory measures to prevent foreign interference in elections. The Cabinet Secretariat's National Cybersecurity Office will play a key role in identifying problems that must be addressed to create a system for dealing with threats in an integrated manner. In last month's Upper House election, foreign actors were suspected to be behind the spread of disinformation on social media. Election interference "poses a risk to democracy, but there's no specific body to handle it," cybersecurity minister Masaaki Taira told a news conference Friday, stressing the need to create a body to oversee measures. Election interference often involves information manipulation and propaganda aimed at influencing public opinion and policy decisions. By spreading disinformation and extremist discourse on the internet during elections, foreign actors seek to destabilize political systems through social divisions while supporting the campaigns of specific candidates and parties. Professor Takamichi Saito of Meiji University's Cybersecurity Laboratory said that election interference is "part of military strategy." Russia and China are suspected of meddling in Britain's 2016 referendum on whether to leave the European Union, in U.S. presidential elections since the same year and in the 2024 Taiwanese presidential election. In last month's Upper House election, some information was spread in an unnatural manner on social media, likely by automated bots. Some accounts on X linked to websites likely associated with Russia were frozen. Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Kazuhiko Aoki told a news conference during the election campaign period that Japan "has become a target of influence operations" by foreign actors. Currently, the Cabinet Secretariat and the Foreign and Defense ministries are tasked with gathering and analyzing information, while the communications ministry is tasked with asking social media platform operators to address inappropriate posts. A cross-agency effort is becoming necessary as the threat of election interference grows. Key issues to be considered by the government include establishing measures to block content, such as the removal of problematic posts and bot accounts. The government faces a difficult challenge in determining how to conduct fact checks and regulate radical statements, including those labeling foreign nationals as enemies. A legal framework on the matter must be consistent with constitutionally protected freedom of speech, so designing such a system is expected to be a complicated procedure. "There are a wide range of issues to consider, such as how much obligation to impose on social media platform operators," a government source said. The National Cybersecurity Office was established last month to oversee active cyberdefense policy. The office will play a central role in investigating suspected interference in the Upper House race and measures other countries take against such interference.
