06/03/2025

THURSDAY | MAR 6, 2025

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No concrete offer to resettle Uyghurs, says Thai minister

o Deportation lawful, fulfils rights obligations, says govt

crimes, had returned home to be reunited with their families after more than 10 years of separation. Besides the 40 Uyghurs deported last week, five are in a Thai prison due to a criminal case, according to local officials. Reuters could not immediately confirm the whereabouts of the other three people. Pisan Manawapat, a Thai ambassador to Canada and the US between 2013 and 2017 and a senator before he retired in 2024, said that at least three countries had approached Thailand with proposals to resettle the Uyghurs, but declined to name them. “We didn’t want to upset China. So we did not make the decision at the political level to go through with this,” Pisan said. Phumtham said Thailand made the decision to deport the group to China last week after reassurances from Beijing that Thai officials would be allow to monitor the Uyghurs’ well-being in the country following their return. The UN’s refugee agency said it was repeatedly denied access to the group by Thai authorities. A source said the agency’s lack of access to the Uyghurs meant they could not be processed as asylum seekers, stalling their potential resettlement and leaving them stuck in detention. – Reuters

“The United States has worked with Thailand for years to avoid this situation, including by consistently and repeatedly offering to resettle the Uyghurs in other countries, including the United States,” the US official said. Canada also offered asylum, said four sources, including diplomats and people with direct knowledge. Two of these sources said another offer came from Australia. These proposals, which the sources said were not taken forward by Thailand over fears of a fallout with China, have not been previously reported. All the sources declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter. Thailand and China’s foreign ministries did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A spokesperson for Canada’s Immigration Ministry said they would not comment on individual cases. The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade referred to a statement by Foreign Minister Penny Wong, who said on Friday the country “strongly disagrees” with Thailand’s decision. China’s embassy in Bangkok said in a statement on Friday that 40 Chinese illegal migrants, who had not committed any serious

Putin extols ‘elephant diplomacy’ with Myanmar MOSCOW: President Vladimir Putin hailed expanding ties with ally Myanmar at talks with its State Administration Council (SAC) Chairman Min Aung Hlaing on Tuesday and thanked him for gifting Moscow six elephants. Military analysts have dubbed the present, which coincided with Russia’s completing delivery of six fighter jets to Myanmar, as part of “elephant diplomacy”. “This year we celebrate the 25th anniversary of the signing of the declaration on the foundations of friendship between our countries,” Putin told Min Aung Hlaing at a meeting in the Kremlin. The two sides signed an agreement on construction of a small nuclear plant in Myanmar. Rosatom, Russia’s state nuclear power corporation, said the plant would have a capacity of 100 megawatts with the possibility of trebling that capacity. Putin also announced that a military unit from Myanmar would take part in the military parade in Moscow on May 9 marking the 80th anniversary of the World War II victory over Nazi Germany. He said Min Aung Hlaing would also attend. Like China, Russia backs Myanmar’s military and is developing cooperation, including between their air forces. “And of course, I cannot but thank you for your very warm gift: you brought us six elephants last year, and they have already been given to the Moscow Zoo,” Putin said. Min Aung Hlaing, 68, who rarely travels abroad, praised the quality of Russian military hardware his nation receives and said he supported Putin in the Ukraine war where he believed Moscow would soon be victorious. Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said he saw good prospects for expanding cooperation in areas including agriculture, nuclear energy, transport and infrastructure. “Despite the illegitimate sanctions against Russia and Myanmar, our trade and economic cooperation is developing successfully, and mutual trade is growing,” Mishustin said. Russian companies plan to invest in Myanmar’s special economic zone in Dawei, Mishustin said. The long-delayed Dawei project on the Andaman Sea is intended to be a major hub for industry, technology and transport. Russia and Myanmar have long been talking about building a small nuclear power plant in Myanmar. – Reuters Min Aung Hlaing attends a wreath-laying ceremony in Moscow on Tuesday. – AFPPIC

BANGKOK: Thailand defended its decision last week to deport 48 ethnic Uyghurs detained over the past decade, saying that it acted in accordance to laws and human rights obligations. Thai Deputy Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai said on Monday that no country made any concrete offer to resettle the 48 Uyghurs. “We waited for more than 10 years, and I have spoken to many major countries, but no one told me for certain,” he said. Phumtham was out of government from 2006 until mid-2023. Sources told Reuters that Canada, the United States and Australia had offered to resettle the Uyghurs but Bangkok took no action for fear of upsetting China. Human rights groups accuse China of widespread abuses of Uyghurs, an ethnic minority numbering about 10 million in its northwestern region of Xinjiang. Beijing denies any abuses. A State Department official said the United States had offered to resettle the 48 Uyghurs. Indonesia seeds clouds to stem rainfall after floods JAKARTA: Authorities here have started to seed clouds to stem heavy rainfall that caused flooding around Jakarta, officials said, after one person died and thousands were displaced. The deluge that began on Monday hit Jakarta, home to around 11 million people, as well as the neighbouring cities of Bogor, Bekasi and Tangerang. At least one person, who local media identified as a three-year-old girl, died after torrential rain made several rivers overflow, pushing waters up 3m and submerging more than 1,000 homes. Authorities estimated the bad weather could last until March 11 so took the pre emptive measure of cloud seeding, prompting rain away from flood-hit areas or drawing rain from smaller clouds to prevent heavier rainfall later. “Hopefully, with the weather modification, we can reduce it,” said weather agency head Dwikorita Karnawati. “We can’t prevent the rain ... that’s impossible ... but we can reduce the intensity.” Cloud seeding, the practice of using planes to fire salt or other chemicals into clouds to induce rain, will last until Saturday and focus on mountainous areas in West Java province where heavy rainfall can flow down to nearby cities including Jakarta.

Rescuers evacuating residents from a flooded area in Jakarta. – REUTERSPIC

“We can’t let the clouds get too big, so we will make it come down little by little,” said Dwikorita. Authorities said as of late Tuesday at least

2,200 residents had been displaced by the floods, as locals took to rooftops or used ropes to pull themselves to safety from the high waters. – AFP

Philippine fighter jet wreckage, bodies of crew found MANILA: Rescuers yesterday found the wreckage of a fighter jet and the bodies of two crewmen sent to combat rebels in a mountainous region of the country’s south. The FA-50 fighter jet had gone missing a day earlier while on a mission to provide air support for troops fighting guerillas in northern Mindanao. Lt-Gen Luis Rex Bergante, commander of Eastern Mindanao Command, said the two crewmen had been found inside the wreckage. “The bodies were found inside the aircraft. There was an attempt to eject and open a parachute,” he said. “The aircraft was a total wreck. The jet

Bergante said bringing the servicemen’s remains down the mountainside was now the top priority. In a statement, the air force said it had temporarily “grounded its FA-50 fleet” and would “ensure a thorough investigation into the accident”, the cause of which remains unknown. – AFP

smashed through trees on the mountain.” Lt-Col Francisco Garello of the 4th Infantry Division told AFP the wreckage of the missing jet was found on Mount Kalatungan. Located in Mindanao’s Bukidnon province, the 2,880m Kalatungan is the fifth tallest mountain in the Philippines.