Archive for ‘Myanmar’

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11/04/2019

Xi meets with Myanmar’s commander-in-chief of defense services

CHINA-BEIJING-XI JINPING-MYANMAR-MEETING (CN)

Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) meets with Myanmar’s Commander-in-Chief of Defense Services Min Aung Hlaing at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, April 10, 2019. (Xinhua/Li Gang)

BEIJING, April 10 (Xinhua) — Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Myanmar’s Commander-in-Chief of Defense Services Min Aung Hlaing at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing Wednesday.

Noting the long-standing “Paukphaw” (fraternal) friendship between China and Myanmar, Xi spoke of the sound development of bilateral relations at present, the expanding exchanges and cooperation in various fields and at various levels, and new progress in the Belt and Road cooperation.

China attaches great importance to China-Myanmar relations, Xi said, noting that no matter how the international situation changes, China is willing as always to strengthen strategic communication with Myanmar, deepen mutually beneficial cooperation, and constantly enrich the China-Myanmar comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership, so as to bring more tangible benefits to the two peoples and contribute joint efforts to regional stability and prosperity.

Xi said China-Myanmar military cooperation is an important part of the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between the two countries.

The armed forces of the two countries should deepen practical exchanges and cooperation, and work together to build a military-to-military relationship based on mutual trust and benefit and devoted to safeguarding the common security and development interests of the two countries, Xi said.

Xi said China supports Myanmar’s peace process and pays attention to the development of situation in northern Myanmar. He expressed the hope that Myanmar will work with China to further strengthen border management and jointly safeguard border security and stability.

Noting the long-standing traditional friendship between Myanmar and China and the sound development of bilateral and military-to-military ties, Min Aung Hlaing said Myanmar appreciates China’s long-term and valuable assistance to the national and military development of Myanmar and the support to its peace process.

He said Myanmar welcomes, supports and stands ready to actively participate in the Belt and Road cooperation, strengthen practical cooperation with China in various fields, and take practical measures to safeguard stability in the Myanmar-China border areas.

Li Zuocheng, member of China’s Central Military Commission (CMC) and chief of staff of the Joint Staff of the CMC, and other officials were present at the meeting.

Source: Xinhua

Posted in Belt and Road Cooperation, Central Military Commission (CMC), chief of staff, China alert, China-Myanmar relations, commander-in-chief, Great Hall of the People, Joint Staff of the CMC, Li Zuocheng, Min Aung Hlaing, Myanmar, President Xi, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »

15/02/2019

Fire alarms “faulty” at Delhi blaze hotel, prompting mass reinspections

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – A hotel that caught fire in the Indian capital on Tuesday, killing 17 people, passed safety checks 14 months ago, but an investigation has revealed breaches of regulations, such as faulty alarms, prompting a mass reinspection of other hotels.

Poorly enforced regulations lead to thousands of deaths in fires across India every year and officials in New Delhi say an overstretched fire service is hampering safety efforts.

The Hotel Arpit Palace passed a fire safety check in December 2017, but a copy of the initial police investigation seen by Reuters showed several breaches of fire regulations, including a lack of signs to guide guests to exits and fire alarms that did not work.

Delhi’s fire service, which is responsible for safety inspections as well as fighting fires, is now reviewing certificates issued to more than 1,500 hotels in one of India’s tourist hubs, a senior fire official told Reuters.

“Fire officers have to do a lot of work,” said Vipin Kental, Delhi’s chief fire officer. “We have to be inspectors and fight fires. We do not have the manpower.”

The city has around 1,700 firefighters, he said, which is less than an eighth of the number in New York, a city with less than half of Delhi’s population.

PREVENTABLE TRAGEDY

The fire is believed to have begun on the hotel’s first floor, spreading quickly through wood-panelled corridors, police say. Among the dead were members of a wedding party from Kerala and a two Buddhist pilgrims from Myanmar.

“From the outside, the building looked intact, but inside everything was completely charred,” a police officer told Reuters.

Two of the 17 died after jumping out of windows in desperation after failing to find emergency exits, added the officer, who declined to be named as he is not authorised to talk to the media.

“Fire preparedness is a matter of shockingly low priority in most parts of the country,” said an editorial in the Indian Express, one of the country’s leading newspapers.

A 2018 study by India’s home ministry that found the country had just 2,000 of more than 8,500 fire stations it needs.

More than 17,000 people died in fires in 2015, according to data from the ministry, the last year for which figures are available, one of the largest causes of accidental death in India.

Fire safety is an issue for shanty towns and some of the country’s most expensive real estate.

A day after the Arpit Palace disaster, more than 250 makeshift homes were destroyed in a slum in Paschim Puri, a poor area of New Delhi, though no one was killed.

In 2017, 14 people were killed during a birthday party at a high-end bar in India’s financial capital Mumbai.

In several upscale neighbourhoods in Delhi, police shut hundreds of shops and restaurants last year for trading on floors meant for residential use, though many continue to operate illegally, residents say.

By the boarded-up Arpit Palace in the Karol Bagh area of New Delhi, wires from adjacent hotels still trail across the street, though staff there told Reuters they were complying with fire regulations.

Adding to the safety problems, poorly paid staff in the hotel and restaurant industries are often unable to help guests when fires break out, Kental said.

“They are not trained. They don’t know what to do in the event of a fire,” he said.

Source: Reuters

Posted in blaze, breaches, Buddhist pilgrims, capital, certificates, chief fire officer, Delhi, faulty, financial capital, fire alarm, Fire safety, fire service, fire stations, firefighters, Home Ministry, Hotel, Hotel Arpit Palace, India alert, Indian Express, Karol Bagh, Kerala, makeshift homes, mumbai, Myanmar, New Delhi, Paschim Puri, Population, regulations, reinspections, safety inspections, slum, tourist hubs, Uncategorized, Vipin Kental | Leave a Comment »

29/01/2019

Myanmar’s stalled China-backed Myitsone dam project strained bilateral ties — now it could be scaled back or moved

  • The chairman of Myanmar’s investment commission cited several problems, including an earthquake fault line and a catchment area ‘twice the size of Singapore’
PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 29 January, 2019, 4:51pm
UPDATED : Tuesday, 29 January, 2019, 5:13pm

COMMENTS:  

A top Myanmar investment official on Tuesday suggested alternatives such as scaling back or relocating a stalled Chinese-backed dam project that has strained ties between the neighbours.

Myanmar angered China in 2011 when its former quasi-civilian government suspended the US$3.6 billion Myitsone hydropower dam in the country’s north amid environmental concerns.

Asked about the dam at an investment conference, Thaung Tun, chairman of Myanmar’s investment commission, listed several problems, from an earthquake fault line running under the project site to a large catchment area affecting residents.

“Catchment area would be twice the size of Singapore. This would mean that a lot of villages will have been displaced from their accessible land. That is the issue,” Thaung Tun told reporters at the conference in the capital Naypyidaw.

Thaung Tun listed several alternatives, including scaling back the dam, moving it to a different location, or offering the operator an alternative project. He did not say if the government had a preferred option.

A lot of villages will have been displaced from their accessible land. That is the issue
THANG TUN

Spearheading these efforts is a commission launched by Aung San Suu Kyi’s government, which came to power in 2016, to review the dam. Myanmar also began informal talks with Beijing and dam operator Yunnan International Power Investment, a unit of State Power Investment Corp.

China’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Beijing has previously said it would “maintain communication” with Myanmar over the project.

Finding a solution is critical for Suu Kyi, who has benefited from Beijing’s support at the United Nations following a 2017 army crackdown that drove 730,000 Rohingya Muslims out of Myanmar.

Myanmar also needs Beijing’s help in peace talks with several ethnic armed groups operating along northern and eastern borders with China.

Thaung Tun said original plans for the dam were not “thought out” and failed to consider the impact on the community and the environment.

The dam in the northern state of Kachin is very unpopular. Suu Kyi’s ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) lost a seat in Kachin by-elections last year and party officials have voiced concern about their popularity in ethnic minority areas ahead of the 2020 general election.

What does China’s “Belt and Road” have to do with Myanmar’s meth problem?

China’s Yunnan province, the planned destination for about 90 per cent of the dam’s electricity, now has a power surplus, Thaung Tun said.

“There’s no need for this dam now,” he said.

On Monday, Nobel laureate Suu Kyi opened the first government-led investment conference by calling on global investors to put their money in Myanmar, seeking to offset the negative impact of the Rohingya crisis and slow pace of economic reforms.

Source: SCMP

Posted in China alert, Myanmar, Myitsone dam project, scaled back, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »

08/12/2018

China vows to continue support for Myanmar’s peace process in Rakhine

YANGON, Dec. 7 (Xinhua) — China will continue its support for Myanmar government’s process of restoring peace and stability as well as promoting development in western Rakhine state, Chinese Ambassador Hong Liang said on Friday.

Hong made the remarks at a donation ceremony to Myanmar’s Union Enterprise for Humanitarian Assistance, Resettlement and Development (UEHRD).

China encourages the Myanmar government’s efforts on the repatriation process of displaced persons, he said.

Myanmar Minister of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement Dr Win Myat Aye thanked the Chinese Embassy for the prompt donation, saying that it will help build houses for the returnees and will also take the lead to bring about more donation from others.

Myanmar formed the UEHRD in Oct. last year for the effective performance of a long-term project of freedom from conflict in Rakhine state.

It also established nine private sector task forces to join the mechanism of UEHRD.

Posted in China alert, Myanmar, peace, Rakhine, support, Uncategorized, vows | Leave a Comment »

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