Posts tagged ‘Cambodia’

« Older Entries  |  
31/12/2014

Chinese diplomacy 2014

China made or re-established relationships or alliances in 2014 with 167 nations (a few multiple relationships); in:

  • January: Cambodia; Ghana; Bulgaria; Peru; Mongolia; Gulf States; Belarus; France; Taiwan; India; France; Germany; Viet Nam = 13
  • February: Fiji; Greece; Afghanistan; South Korea; Sri Lanka; Hungary; USA; Pakistan; Senegal; Afghanistan; Iraq; Vietnam = 13
  • March: Saudi Arabia; UK; Poland; Cambodia; South Korea; Netherlands, France, Germany, Belgium and EU; Kazakhstan; USA = 12
  • April: Israel; Namibia; Timor L’este; Myanmar; Laos: Australia; Brazil; Germany; Hungary; Syrian opposition leader; Malaysia; Cuba; Britain; Ghana; South Africa; Denmark; Brunei = 17
  • May: Ethiopia, Nigeria, Angola, and Kenya; Taiwan; Iran; Turkmenistan; Bulgaria; Portugal; France; Myanmar; Kyrgyzstan; Russia; Kazakhstan; Switzerland; Azerbaijan; Turkey; Pakistan = 18
  • June: Congo; Ukraine; Angola; India; Egypt; Denmark, Finland, Ireland ; Portugal; Russia; Afghanistan; Somalia= 12
  • July: Sudan; France; Azerbaijan; Switzerland; South Korea; Germany; USA; Brazil; Argentina; Venezuela; Cuba; Bulgaria; Portugal; Indonesia; Myanmar; Laos; Canada = 17
  • August: Egypt; Mauritania; at AEAN Summit (Vietnam; Korea; Myanmar; Malaysia; Thai, India); Hungary; Burundi; Uzbekistan; Mongolia ; Vietnam; Zimbabwe; Egypt; Czech; Turkmenistan; Turkey; Antigua & Barbuda; Croatia; Madagascar; Djibouti; Singapore; Croatia = 18
  • September: Russia; Romania; Poland; Malaysia; Cuba; Tajikistan; France;  Mongolia; Pakistan; Maldives; Sri Lanka; Zimbabwe; France; India; Indonesia = 15
  • October: Italy, Jordan, Kenya; France; Zambia; Afghanistan = 6
  • November: Indonesia; Pakistan; Iraq; Cambodia, Bahrain; Jordan; Australia; Finland; New Zealand; Nepal; Fiji; Slovenia; Columbia = 14
  • December: Uzbekistan; Australia; Pakistan; Maldives; South Africa; Ireland; Tonga; Cuba; Kazakhstan; Serbia; Republic of Korea; Cambodia = 12

Posted in China alert, Diplomacy, Economics, GeoPolitics, Politics | 1 Comment »

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
16/05/2014

More than 1,000 Hongkongers cancel Vietnam trips in wake of rioting | South China Morning Post

More than 1,000 Hongkongers have cancelled their trips to Vietnam as the anti-Chinese riots show no sign of easing in the country.

vietnam-protest-noon-0516-net.jpg

The Hong Kong tourists had joined 45 tour groups that would have been departing between today and May 26.

Joseph Tung Yao-chung, executive director of Hong Kong’s Travel Industry Council, said today that tour operators believed risks might grow, although sightseeing spots on their itineraries were currently safe.

Chinese nationals cross from Vietnam into Cambodia at a checkpoint in Binh Duong province. Photo: Reuters

He said 14 tour groups with 350 Hongkongers are now in Vietnam and they are asked to report to the council of their situation every day. There has been no report of any trouble so far, said Tung, and the tour groups are expected to return to the city by next Tuesday.

Violence against Chinese companies in Vietnam turned deadly yesterday, with the Hong Kong government upgrading its travel alert from amber to red.

Xinhua reported that at least two Chinese had been killed in riots over the establishment of an oil rig in the disputed Paracel Islands two weeks ago.

Another 10 Chinese were said by Xinhua to be missing and more than 100 hospitalised.

via More than 1,000 Hongkongers cancel Vietnam trips in wake of rioting | South China Morning Post.

Related articles
Enhanced by Zemanta

Posted in China alert, GeoPolitics, Politics | Leave a Comment »

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
31/12/2013

# Who did China woo in 2013?

Answer: everybody!
Up to the beginning of the 20th century, China was very reclusive. It deemed itself self-sufficient, not needing anything from anyone else. China in the 21st century seems to have turned itself 180 degrees and is seeking to network and collaborate with everyone.
The list of over 100 countries below has been compiled from on-line articles in China Daily and Xinhua News. They are countries that either sent senior leaders to China or to which China sent senior leaders (often the Prime Minister or President) in 2013 to discuss and agree collaboration, or with whom China forged or renewed some significant treaty or alliance.

In other words, China is not leaving matters to chance but taking proactive action. Maybe the Chinese leaders have read and internalised Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_to_Win_Friends_and_Influence_People) or even Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Seven_Habits_of_Highly_Effective_People).

On the other hand, maybe China has heard of the saying: “Keep your friends close, but keep your enemies closer.” and since everyone can at some time be a friend or a foe, China wants to keep close with everyone.

By the way, if your country is not one of those listed, either I missed an article OR you better start worrying.

China is making or re-establishing relationships or alliances in 2013 with:

  • December: Pakistan; United Kingdom; Taiwan; USA; France; South Korea; Iran; Thailand; Kenya; Cambodia; Palestine; Bolivia; Malaysia, Saudi Arabia; Tanzania; Vietnam; Germany:, Russia.
  • November: France; Laos; Croatia; Micronesia, Samoa, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, the Cook Islands, Tonga, Niue and Fiji; Brazil; Argentina; Hungary; Indonesia; Romania; France
  • October: Indonesia; Malaysia; Brunei, Thailand, Vietnam; Taiwan; Bangladesh; Singapore; Russia; India; Israel; Mongolia; Turkey
  • September: Mexico; Belorussia; Turkmenistan; Kazakhstan; Uzbekistan; Kyrgyzstan; Tajikistan; Sri Lanka; Finland; Mongolia, Taiwan; Nigeria; Indonesia; Bangladesh; Ukraine; Venezuela; France; Romania; Russia; Vietnam; Afghanistan; Nigeria
  • August: Malaysia, Laos & Vietnam; Malaysia; Thailand; Kenya; Jamaica; Argentina: Sudan; Russia; Sudan; Serbia; Pakistan; Indonesia
  • July: Costa Rica; South Africa; South Korea; Turkmenistan; Venezuela; Kazakhstan; Seychelles; Cuba; North Korea
  • June: Trinidad & Tobago; Costa Rica; Mexico; Cuba; Russia; Vietnam; Myanmar; Brazil; Nepal; Surinam; Congo; South Korea; Sudan
  • May: Indonesia; Palestine, Israel; South Africa; Cambodia; Brunei; Senegal; India; Vietnam; Venezuela; Argentina; Russia; Ireland; Greece; India, Pakistan, Switzerland, Germany; Sri Lanka; Thailand, Ethiopia; Israel; Uruguay; Singapore; Fiji
  • April: Canada; Algeria; Brunei; Mexico; ; Zambia; Thailand; Cambodia; Taiwan; Peru; Australia; Finland; New Zealand; France; USA; Iceland; Nepal; South Sudan, Kyrgyzstan; Italy
  • March: Ivory Coast; Laos; Venezuela; USA; Tanzania; Russia; Zanzibar; UAE; South Africa, Republic of Congo;
  • February: Malaysia; South Africa; Taiwan; Brunei
  • January: Russia, France, Portugal, Indonesia, India, Macedonia; Thailand; Myanmar; Kyrgyzstan; South Korea; Cambodia; Brunei; Mongolia

See also – https://chindia-alert.org/2012/12/31/question-who-did-china-woo-in-2012/

Posted in China alert, Diplomacy, Economics, GeoPolitics, Politics | 2 Comments »

Tags: , , , , , , ,
20/12/2013

U.S. Electronics Maker Knowles Adapts to a Changed China – Businessweek

If you’ve ever used a smartphone, phone, tablet, laptop, or camera, chances are you’ve used a Knowles Electronics product—and it may have come from Knowles’s factory in Suzhou, China. Based in Itasca, Ill., Knowles makes the tiny receivers and microphones that go into many products of Apple (AAPL), Samsung (005930:KS), BlackBerry (BBRY), and Huawei (002502:CH), among others.

Knowles, a subsidiary of manufacturing conglomerate Dover (DOV), is trying to figure out how to stay in China, which has changed beyond recognition since the company arrived in Suzhou in 1995. “When we came it was obvious that very low-cost labor was an important driver,” says Steven Lu, China managing director of Knowles, which also makes components for hearing aids. “Now wages for some positions have gone up five times and even more.” Rising land and raw materials prices and an appreciating yuan have further upended the business model.

Low-end producers of textiles, sneakers, and toys have been shutting their China operations and relocating to Vietnam, Cambodia, and India. That’s not an option for businesses that pack a lot of engineering knowhow into their products. “In the past 10 to 20 years, China has developed a very complete supply chain for us. The whole ecosystem is right here,” says Lu. “And all the major cell phones are now produced in China. Staying close to them is a major driving force” to stay put.

via U.S. Electronics Maker Knowles Adapts to a Changed China – Businessweek.

Posted in China alert, Economics, Labour, Manufacturing, Migrant workers, productivity, wage rises | 1 Comment »

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
25/04/2013

* Southeast Asia to reach out to China on sea disputes

Reuters: “Southeast Asian nations stepped up efforts on Thursday to engage China in talks to resolve maritime tensions, agreeing to meet to try to reach common ground on disputed areas of the South China Sea ahead of planned discussions in Beijing later this year.

A general view of the retreat during the ASEAN Summit at the Prime Minister's Office in Bandar Seri Begawan April 25, 2013. Leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) gathered in Brunei's capital for two days beginning Wednesday for their 22nd summit. REUTERS-Ahim Rani

Efforts by ASEAN to craft a code of conduct to manage South China Sea tensions all but collapsed last year at a summit chaired by Cambodia, a close economic ally of China, when the group failed to issue a closing statement for the first time.

Cambodia was accused of trying to keep the issue off the agenda despite a surge in tension over disputed areas and growing concern about China’s assertive stance in enforcing its claims over a vast, potentially energy-rich sea area.

Thursday’s initiative came as the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) tried to patch up differences that shook the group last year, but struggled to make progress on long-held plans to agree on a dispute-management mechanism.

Thailand, which has the role of ASEAN coordinator with China, called for the talks ahead of an ASEAN-China meeting expected in August to commemorate 10 years since they formed a “strategic partnership”.”

via Southeast Asia to reach out to China on sea disputes | Reuters.

Related articles

Posted in China alert, Diplomacy, Politics, Territorial dispute | Leave a Comment »

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
22/12/2012

* TATAY RIVER, Cambodia: China is top dam builder, going where others won’t

Miami Herald: “Up a sweeping jungle valley in a remote corner of Cambodia, Chinese engineers and workers are raising a 100-meter- (330-foot-) high dam over the protests of villagers and activists. Only Chinese companies are willing to tame the Tatay and other rivers of Koh Kong province, one of Southeast Asia’s last great wilderness areas.

It’s a scenario that is hardly unique. China’s giant state enterprises and banks have completed, are working on or are proposing some 300 dams from Algeria to Myanmar.

Poor countries contend the dams are crucial to bringing electricity to tens of millions who live without it and boosting living standards. Environmental activists and other opponents counter that China, the world’s No. 1 dam builder, is willing and able to go where most Western companies, the World Bank and others won’t tread any more because of environmental, social, political or financing concerns.

“China is the one financier able to provide money for projects that don’t meet international standards,” said Ian Baird, an assistant professor of geography at the University of Wisconsin who has worked in Southeast Asia for decades. “You go to China if you want to have them financed.”

The consequence, critics say, is a rollback to an era of ill-conceived, destructive mega-dams that many thought had passed. The most recent trend is to dam entire rivers with a cascade of barriers, as China’s state-owned Sinohydro has proposed on Colombia’s Magdalene River and the Nam Ou in Laos, where contracts for seven dams have been signed.

Viewed by some in the developing world as essential icons of progress, dams in countries as far apart as Ecuador, Myanmar and Zambia have spearheaded or reinforced China’s rising economic might around the world. They are tied to or put up in tandem with other infrastructure projects and businesses, and power generation equipment ranks as China’s second-largest export earner after electrical machinery and equipment.

In energy-starved Cambodia, trade with China has risen to 19 percent of GDP from 10 percent five years ago, according to an Associated Press analysis of International Monetary Fund data.

The year-old $280 million Kamchay Dam in Cambodia’s Kampot province was the largest ever foreign investment when approved as well as a political flag-carrier for Beijing. It has been hailed by both governments as a “symbol of close Chinese-Cambodian ties.”

Cambodia’s electricity demand grew more than 16 percent a year from 2002 to 2011, with shortfalls largely met through costly oil imports, said Bun Narith, a deputy director general in the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy. Only 14 percent of rural homes have electricity, one of the lowest levels in Southeast Asia.

“We have no choice,” Bun Narith said. “Hydropower is the priority, and the Chinese have the initiative and capability, both financial and technical.”

The 20 hydro dams built, being constructed or under study in Cambodia, the bulk of them by the Chinese, would lift Cambodia out of literal darkness and make it energy self-sufficient, he said. “We should have a win-win policy, a balance between environment and energy. After all, electricity is also a basic human need.””

via TATAY RIVER, Cambodia: China is top dam builder, going where others won’t – World Wires – MiamiHerald.com.

 

Related articles

Posted in China alert, Construction, Economics, Electricity, exports, GeoPolitics | 1 Comment »

Tags: , , , , , , ,
24/11/2012

* The end of the “ASEAN way”

Extracted from Al Jazeera Blogs: “The long-time journalists in this region have joked that it didn’t really matter if they missed out on covering ASEAN summits as nothing ever really happened at them anyway.: ”

The ten-member regional organisation composed of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, The Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, and Vietnam was seen as a bit of a toothless mouse … ineffective, irrelevant, and a trifle useless.

All pomp and ceremony at the best of times – with very little substance. It’s been termed a “loose grouping” with nothing legally binding it together.

The one pronouncement from ASEAN with any kind of general recall was its members’ agreement of “non-interference” in each other’s affairs – which meant that for the most part, there were no condemnations of, or sanctions against, or even reactions to alleged human rights violations amongst them from anyone in the group.

It was the “ASEAN way” to be non-confrontational, put on a united front… and pretty much sweep things under the carpet. Which is likely why most thought the group a “lame” body.

Everything hinged on members’ consensus… and for many years, the only underlying consensus appeared to be making sure everyone played nice, and kept the house clean and presentable at all times. There was to be no “rocking the boat”, as it were.

But if one thing is clear after this series of recently concluded summits in Phnom Penh (ASEAN + Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, Russia, South Korea, and the US) it’s that ASEAN is changing.

…

But it’s precisely because Cambodia, a nation with deep ties to China, tried to “stifle” that issue that things didn’t quite go as it had planned.

The Philippines, one of the countries embroiled in an increasingly tense dispute with China over overlapping maritime claims, spoke out in public contradiction of Cambodia’s statement that ASEAN members had “agreed” to not “internationalise” the territorial disputes.

“There was no consensus,” Philippine President Benigno Aquino said after the Cambodian leader finished his declaration. And that was only the beginning.

Possibly emboldened by the presence of Obama, (and the seven other non-ASEAN leaders), Aquino took the opportunity to basically “internationalise” the matter by speaking about the need for a “multi-lateral” resolution.

One that involves all those with a stake in the disputed areas’ maintaining its freedom of navigation and over-flight, including the US. A position several other countries agreed with.

And just like that, the subject that wasn’t supposed to be discussed hijacked the discussions. Much of this happened behind closed doors, but there was no way it was going to remain there… whether ASEAN liked it or not.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen delivered his usual stage-managed, loquacious statement in an attempt to conclude the summits on a “positive” and “graceful” note… but he refused to answer questions (of which there were many!) ostensibly because he was tired and feeling “emotional” about the passing of Cambodia’s former king last month.

But never mind Hun Sen’s neat summary. The media rush, (referred to by one journalist as similar to a dangerous bar-room brawl), to get to the Chinese and Philippine delegates as they exited and looked to make side-line statements taking pot-shots at each other (without directly pointing fingers of course), said more about the region’s state of affairs than can be tidied up and swept under the carpet.

This time around, ASEAN may have found itself with little other choice than to do something more substantial.

via The end of the “ASEAN way” – Al Jazeera Blogs.

Related articles

Posted in China alert, GeoPolitics, Politics, Territorial dispute | Leave a Comment »

Tags: , , , , , , ,
18/11/2012

* Southeast Asia calls for talks with China on sea dispute

S E Asia may be joining hands to call China to the discussion table; but China really dislikes being pressured and much prefers one-to-one dialogue and bi-lateral agreements.

Reuters: “Southeast Asian nations displayed a rare show of unity on Sunday against China’s sweeping maritime claims, calling for the first formal talks with Beijing over a sea dispute that has raised tensions and exposed deep divisions in the region.

(L - R)Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Thailand Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, Vietnam Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, Cambodia Prime Minister Hun Sen and the Sultan of Brunei Hassanal Bolkiah hold hands during the opening ceremony of the 21st ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) and East Asia summits in Phnom Penh November 18, 2012. REUTERS-Samrang Pring

As Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao arrived in Cambodia for meetings with Southeast Asian leaders, the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) appeared determined to avoid a repeat of an embarrassing breakdown of talks in July over competing claims in the mineral-rich South China Sea, its biggest security challenge.

Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen will tell Wen that ASEAN wants to begin talks on a binding Code of Conduct, aimed at reducing the chance of naval flashpoints, as soon as possible, ASEAN Secretary General Surin Pitsuwan told reporters.

“Prime Minister Hun Sen himself will be discussing with the PM of China tonight and delivering this consensus on the ASEAN side,” Surin said.

“They would like to see the commencement of the discussion as soon as possible because this is an issue of interest, concern and worry of the international community.”

China’s assertive claims in the South China Sea have sown deep divisions within the bloc at a time when military spending in the region is surging and the United States refocuses attention on Asia – a “pivot” that President Barack Obama will reinforce on his visit to the summit on Monday in Cambodia’s capital, Phnom Penh.

Chinese ally Cambodia has used its powers as ASEAN chair this year to restrict discussion of the issue, in line with Beijing’s view that the disputes should be discussed on a bilateral basis. China has said it is willing to discuss the Code of Conduct when the “time is right.”

Diplomats said the Philippines, a close U.S. ally, had invited fellow Southeast Asian claimant states Vietnam, Brunei, and Malaysia to separate talks in Manila to be held later this year or early next year.

“We are trying to make that happen, hopefully in Manila,” Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario told reporters.

The other members of ASEAN include Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Singapore and Indonesia, none of which have claims on the South China Sea.

One Philippine diplomat said the meeting was aimed at resolving issues among the claimant states, such as overlapping economic zones. He voiced frustration with China for delaying the start of talks with ASEAN over the Code of Conduct.

“ASEAN has done its part,” the diplomat said. “Now it is up to China to also come up with its own because when we formally sit down we will present our position to them. In fact we have already written it.””

via Southeast Asia calls for talks with China on sea dispute | Reuters.

See also: 

 

Posted in China alert, Diplomacy, GeoPolitics, Instability, Neighbour conflict, Politics, Territorial dispute | 4 Comments »

Tags: , , , , , ,
20/07/2012

* ASEAN to claim common ground on South China Sea, but no communiqué

Reuters: “Southeast Asian states have reached a “common position” on the disputed South China Sea, but will not resurrect a joint communiqué aborted after unprecedented discord over the issue at a summit last week, Indonesia’s Foreign Minister said on Friday.

Marty Natalegawa sought to put a positive gloss on two days of shuttle diplomacy that failed to rally members of the Association of Southeast Asian nations (ASEAN) behind a belated, face-saving communiqué.

They had failed to agree the customary end-of-summit joint statement last Friday for the first time in the bloc’s 45-year history. The divisions follow a rise in incidents of naval brinkmanship involving Chinese vessels in the oil-rich waters that has sparked fears of a military clash.

Natalegawa told Reuters the 10 members had agreed on the components of an ASEAN “instrument” that would be issued by chair Cambodia later on Friday and would detail what was agreed upon during last week’s ASEAN Regional Forum in Phnom Penh, including the maritime dispute.

“We are trying so that other decisions made by the foreign ministers will be formulated in a different instrument for follow up,” Natalegawa told Reuters.

“The non-existence of a joint communiqué is behind us,” he said, adding that the customary communiqué was aborted last week because one of the four paragraphs relating to the South China Sea in the 132-paragraph draft could not be agreed on.

Disputes over how to address the increasingly assertive role of China – an ally of several ASEAN states – in the strategic waters of the South China Sea has placed the issue squarely as Southeast Asia’s biggest potential military flashpoint.

China has territorial claims over a huge area covering waters that Vietnam and the Philippines say they also have sovereignty over. All three countries are eager to tap possibly huge offshore oil reserves.

The failure to issue the communiqué and the bitter rows behind closed doors over what words to use and what to exclude have been a huge embarrassment for a 10-member bloc planning to form an EU-style economic community by 2015.

The row illustrated how Southeast Asian nations have been polarized by China’s rapidly expanding influence in the region and the economic dependence on Beijing that some of ASEAN’s poorer states now have, among the Cambodia, this year’s chair.”

via ASEAN to claim common ground on South China Sea, but no communiqué | Reuters.

Related articles

Posted in China alert, GeoPolitics, Politics, Territorial dispute | Leave a Comment »

Tags: , , , , , , ,
13/07/2012

* SE Asia meeting in disarray over sea dispute with China

Reuters: “Southeast Asian nations have failed to reach agreement on a maritime dispute involving China, ending a foreign ministers’ summit in disarray after Beijing appeared to split the 10 countries over the contentious issue.

The Philippines said in a statement on Friday that it “deplores” the failure of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit to address the worsening row, and criticized Cambodia in unusually strong language for its handling of the issue.

China has been accused of using its heavy influence over summit chair Cambodia and several other ASEAN members to block regional-level discussions on the issue and attempts to agree a binding maritime Code of Conduct.

The Philippines said it took “strong exception” to Cambodia’s statement that the non-issuance of a communiqué was due to “bilateral conflict between some ASEAN member states and a neighboring country”.

It said it had only requested that the communiqué mention the recent standoff between Chinese and Philippine ships at the Scarborough Shoal, a horseshoe-shaped reef in waters that both countries claim.

“The Chair has consistently opposed any mention of the Scarborough Shoal at all in the Joint Communiqué and today announced that a Joint Communiqué ‘cannot be issued’,” the Philippine statement said.

The failure to issue a joint statement marks a sharp deterioration in efforts to cool tensions following recent incidents of naval brinkmanship over the oil-rich waters.

China, whose trade and investment ties with Cambodia have surged in recent years, has warned that “external forces” should not get involved in the dispute. Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also lay claim to parts of the South China Sea.”

via SE Asia meeting in disarray over sea dispute with China | Reuters.

Despite good intentions, territorial imperatives overcame desire for resolution.

See also: China’s external tensions

Posted in China alert, History, Politics, Territorial dispute | Leave a Comment »

Tags: , , , , , , ,
« Older Entries  |  
CCChang

Law of Unintended Consequences

continuously updated blog about China & India

ChiaHou's Book Reviews

continuously updated blog about China & India

What's wrong with the world; and its economy

continuously updated blog about China & India