Thai veteran politician Suriya takes over as acting prime minister for a day
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CNA
34 minutes ago
- CNA
Man charged with damaging PAP campaign posters in Hougang on Polling Day
SINGAPORE: A 57-year-old man was charged in court on Friday (Jul 4) with breaking flag poles and damaging People's Action Party (PAP) campaign posters on GE2025 Polling Day. Seng Guan Heng was handed five charges: Mischief, intentional harassment, causing annoyance while drunk and two counts of criminal force. According to charge sheets, the Singaporean broke the flag poles of two PAP flags and damaged five posters worth about S$205 (US$161) at an open carpark at Block 328, Hougang Avenue 5 at about 11.20pm on May 3. He then allegedly cursed at a group of PAP volunteers, using Hokkien vulgarities and pointed his middle finger at them. Seng is also accused of pushing two men on their chests, and shouting while drunk at the carpark. He appeared alone in court on Friday and said he would plead guilty. He told a Mandarin interpreter that he has to travel regularly for work, giving dates for travel to Vietnam and Indonesia. "Mr Seng, once you are charged in court, you cannot travel freely, and each time you travel you have to make an application to the court for permission, and that requires an increase in bail amount ... it is not a matter of you informing (the court)," said the judge. The case was adjourned to August for a further mention. In response to queries from CNA, PAP's candidate for Hougang SMC Marshall Lim said the matter is now before the courts, and "we should let the legal process take its course". "Politics can and should involve passionate debate and advocacy, but there is no place for violence in our discourse. Let us always remember that regardless of our political views, we are all fellow Singaporeans," said the lawyer. "Our differences should inspire meaningful dialogue and a search for common ground, reflecting our commitment to unity in diversity." He had obtained 37.85 per cent of the vote share in Hougang against Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong from the Workers' Party. If convicted of mischief, Seng can be jailed for up to two years, fined, or both. If convicted of intentional harassment, he could be jailed for up to six months, fined up to S$5,000, or both. If found guilty of using criminal force, he can be jailed for up to three months, fined up to S$1,500, or both.
CNA
5 hours ago
- CNA
Commentary: Trump's ‘Great Deal' with Vietnam is no trade agreement
SINGAPORE: Just days before his trade negotiation deadline, United States Donald Trump announced on Wednesday (Jul 2) a 'Great Deal of Cooperation' with Vietnam. Trade agreements typically aim to eliminate trade barriers and to set rules that support high-standard, seamless trade that creates certainty for businesses. This US-Vietnam 'deal' does not come close to that standard. At most, this provides a mechanism to allow for the extension of negotiations. Vietnamese media reported the joint statement as a trade agreement framework. At this point, there are few details beyond Mr Trump's post on Truth Social. Vietnam looks set to receive a reduced tariff rate of 20 per cent, down from the threat of 46 per cent, in exchange for giving the US 'total access' to its markets. Indeed, this 'deal' raises even more questions as to how far the US will go in requiring its trading partners (a word used loosely) to decouple themselves from China. TARIFFS ARE RELATIVE First things first. Did Vietnam negotiate a good deal by getting its tariffs reduced to 20 per cent? It's impossible to know. Because the relative tariff rate – compared to an economy's neighbours and key competitors – counts most. 'Without knowing the tariff rates for Cambodia, Indonesia, Thailand, and especially India, we cannot assess the impact,' Travis Mitchell, executive director of the AmCham in Ho Chi Minh City told me. Future business plans and investment remain basically frozen, he added. Furthermore, US tariffs on sectors deemed sensitive to national security are yet to come. If the US hits Vietnam with Section 232 tariffs on the wood and furniture sector, as well as the electronics, components and small household appliances sector, Vietnam's rate will effectively be back over 40 per cent. WHAT DOES DONALD TRUMP CONSIDER TRANS-SHIPMENTS? There's also a question of what Mr Trump considers 'trans-shipments', which he specified would attract a higher 40 per cent tariff rate. In a follow-up post on X, his Secretary of Commerce said trans-shipping meant 'if another country sells their content through products exported by Vietnam to us.' Neither man is clear with how they define 'trans-shipping' in their social media posts. Already, one cannot simply manufacture a product in China, send it to Vietnam, merely change the label and declare the certificate of origin to to be Vietnam, and export to the US. That is considered illegal. However, taking a good manufactured in one place, sending it to another country, transforming into a new product and then exporting constitutes trade. At least for now. 'Without seeing the details of the agreement, assessing the pros and cons of the deal is not possible. For example, companies don't know what the definition of trans-shipping refers to in the social media posts,' Adam Sitkoff, head of AmCham in Hanoi, told me. Has the US just made illegal trans-shipments permissible with a 40 per cent tariff? Or are trans-shipments still not allowed, but will any product exported from Vietnam to the US which contains any Chinese content be slapped with a 40 per cent tariff? And how will they define Chinese content? A good manufactured in China? Or what about a Chinese-owned factory in Vietnam which produces that good? 'I am concerned that most of Vietnam's exports will be assumed to be 'trans-shipped' unless they are wholly obtained such as being grown or harvested from Vietnam with zero foreign inputs,' said Deborah Elms, head of trade at the Heinrich Foundation. Vietnam cannot compete if that's the case. FORCING A DECOUPLING FROM CHINA This announcement marks a clear shift: The US pursues a strategic 'decoupling' (or 'de-risking', depending on the Trump administration official being quoted) from China – and demands its trading partners do the same. Mr Trump's trade adviser Peter Navarro has called Vietnam a 'colony of China', claiming that as much as a third of its exports to the US were, in fact, Chinese goods rebranded as Vietnamese. The US believes China poses a systemic challenge that cannot be addressed through bilateral restrictions. Other governments share concerns about China's unfair trade practices and the impact of its excess capacity being dumped in their markets, and are looking at decoupling on its own terms. The amount of goods flowing from China through Vietnam to India mirrors the US experience. Echoing US sentiments, Indian Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal dismissed an ASEAN-India trade pact as 'silly', remarking: 'I am opening up my market to my competitors, many of whom have now become the B-team of China.' For countries like Vietnam, which have thrived on Chinese-linked manufacturing, being caught in the middle will come at a great cost. If countries want meaningful access to the US market, they will be expected to disentangle themselves from China as well. We don't yet know exactly what the US requested or what Vietnam agreed to behind closed doors. But when those details emerge, governments and businesses should assume this deal sets the floor – not the ceiling – for what Washington and others will expect from trading partners hoping to avoid reciprocal tariffs. CLARITY NOWHERE IN SIGHT The announcement suggests Vietnam has agreed to some form of decoupling from China. As a result, Vietnam will take a direct economic hit given how much trade and investment it has with China, which supports its exports to the US. This will impact companies' bottom lines and investors' returns. Also, how will China retaliate? The Chinese government explicitly warned other countries against curbing trade with them in exchange for lower US tariffs and promised to retaliate against countries that do so. That clearly applies here. Businesses and investors need certainty. The real prize of foreign investment for the US and its trading partners will only come if the rules for trade are predictable and long-term. What we have right now from the US and Vietnam does not achieve that.
CNA
14 hours ago
- CNA
Thailand's new Cabinet sworn in
Thailand's new Cabinet has been sworn in, completing a reshuffle of portfolios. It was originally aimed at stemming a political crisis, which has seen Paetongtarn Shinawatra suspended from office, with two acting prime ministers stepping up just this week. CNA's Saksith Saiyasombut reports from Government House in Bangkok.
