Audio Overview of East Asia Pacific Issues, Monday, 11 February 2019

APAC Assistance Operations Assistant Bhargav Reddy discusses Main Issues in East Asia Pacific

 

Main Issues in East Asia Pacific

Papua New Guinea

  • Police in the town of Goroka, Eastern Highlands province are on alert after the National Court decided to conduct a by-election following a petition by the runner-up in the 2017 polls. Bire Kimisopa had challenged the election victory of Henry Ame.
  • The recount of the election ballots for the Simbu Provincial seat has also been moved to Goroka and additional police units are expected to be flown in from Port Moresby for the election.
  • Clients are advised to employ extreme caution in the area as election-related violence is expected.

THAILAND

  • Election Commission will meet today with increasing demands for the Thai Raksa Chart party to be dissolved. King Maha Vajiralongkorn, publicly opposed the Thai Raksa Chart party’s move to nominate Princess Ubolratana Rajakanya as its prime ministerial candidate.
  • Disbanding the Thai Raksa Chart party could anger former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra supporters making the general elections more chaotic. To prevent getting banned from elections, the Thai Raksa Chart party reportedly seeking a royal pardon by asking some of its leaders to resign.
  • Clients are advised to monitor political development before the elections.

TAIWAN

  • China Airlines pilot strike has entered the third day today leading to further cancellations of flights. The Pilots Union Taoyuan represents 900 of 1,300 pilots of China Airlines. Of these pilots, over 400 have joined in the strike so far.
  • Talks mediated by the Ministry of Transportation and the Taoyuan City Government broke down without any consensus being reached on any of the demands by the striking pilots. The negotiators have failed to set a time for the next round of talks.
  • Clients are advised to note the travel delays expected and consider other carriers until the China Airlines strike is called off.

SINGAPORE

  • Singapore has called on Malaysia to withdraw its vessels from Singapore’s territorial waters off Tuas, West Singapore following a collision between Greek carrier Pireas and Malaysia government vessel Polaris.
  • The Foreign Affairs Ministry of Singapore said, “The persistent presence of its vessels clearly poses a threat to the safety of navigation in the area.” The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore is currently investigating the incident.
  • Clients can expect delays in shipments between Malaysia to Singapore and possibly stricter rules in the movement of vessels in Singapore water causing delays.

 

Main Issues in South Asia

INDIA

  • Agitation by the Gujjar community for reservation turned violent yesterday in several towns of the northern state of Rajasthan. Violence was reported in Dholpur, Karauli and Bharatpur districts.
  • Twenty-six trains have been diverted and 12 have been cancelled due to the violence. Police have imposed a curfew in Karauli.
  • Clients are advised to avoid Karauli and Bharatpur districts and employ caution in other regions of Rajasthan.

BANGLADESH

  • Bangladesh has been ranked as the country with the highest number of mobile malware infections with 35% of users affected.
  • In the overall cybersecurity rankings, Bangladesh has been ranked as the 6th least cyber-secure country in the world. About 19% of computers were found infected with malware.
  • Clients are advised to be aware of the malware attacks and deploy appropriate cybersecurity measures on electronic devices.
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