05/06/2025

THURSDAY | JUNE 5, 2025

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Lee vows to revive democracy in South Korea

Thailand keen to resolve Cambodia border issue BANGKOK: Thailand reaffirmed its commitment to resolving its border issues with Cambodia through peaceful means, in accordance with international law, relevant treaties and agreements. It said yesterday this includes through the Joint Boundary Commission (JBC) and General Border Committee. “This commitment is grounded in international law, relevant treaties and agreements such as the Memorandum of Understanding on the Survey and Demarcation of Land Boundary, as well as supporting evidence, including satellite imagery,” it said. The official position was issued following a clash in Thailand’s northeastern Ubon Ratchathani province and Cambodia’s Preah Vihear province, where one Cambodian soldier was killed, and Cambodia’s announcement that it plans to bring the border dispute before the International Court of Justice). In response to reports that Cambodia may consider resorting to judicial mechanisms or third-party mediation, Thailand said it remains committed to resolving bilateral issues through peaceful means. It said that, in response to Thailand’s request, Cambodia has agreed to host a JBC meeting on June 14. “All relevant agencies have exerted their utmost efforts, in line with the appropriate processes, to safeguard Thailand’s sovereignty and legal rights,” the Thai government said. It also affirmed that the overall situation along the Thai-Cambodian border remains calm. The government expressed confidence that Thailand and Cambodia could resolve their issues based on principles of good neighbourliness, the safety and well-being of border communities, and the shared values of the Asean family. – Bernama BANGKOK: Thailand plans to acquire four Gripen JAS 39 fighter jets built by Sweden’s SAAB in the first procurement phase of its plan to replace its ageing fleet. Thailand has 11 JAS 39 Gripen jets and dozens of American F-16 and F-5 aircraft, some of which have been in operation since the late 1980s. Last year, the air force announced plans to acquire more Swedish jets as part of its long term plan to buy 12 new fighter aircraft. The budget for the first phase is US$595.97 million (RM2.5 billion) and a contract for the four additional jets would be signed in August, its air force said. – Reuters PHILIPPINES TO GET 12 KOREAN FIGHTER CRAFT MANILA: The Philippines has signed a contract for 12 more FA-50 fighter jets, its South Korean manufacturer said yesterday. Korea Aerospace Industries valued the deal with the Department of National Defence at US$700 million (RM2.9 billion), with delivery of the jets to be completed by 2030. The Philippines, which has yet to confirm the pact, previously bought a dozen of the light warplanes in 2014. The firm said the fighter jets would feature enhanced capabilities including “aerial refuelling for extended range, (Active Electronically Scanned Array) radar, and air-to-air and air-to ground weapons systems”. – AFP THAILAND OPTS FOR SWEDISH GRIPEN JETS

BR I E F S

o Liberal leader meets military head

children but received fewer benefits after the birth of her youngest, due to the two-child policy. “It’s good that at last the authorities removed this ban,” she said, but added that “raising more than two kids nowadays is too hard and costly”. “Only brave couples and those better-off would do so. I think the authorities will even have to give bonuses to encourage people to have more than two children.” China ended its own strict “one child policy”, imposed in the 1980s due to fears of overpopulation, in 2016 and in 2021 permitted couples to have three children. But as in many countries, the soaring cost of living has proved a drag on birth rates and the moves have failed to reverse China’s demographic decline. – AFP won 49.42% of the nearly 35 million votes cast while conservative rival Kim Moon-soo took 41.15% in the polls, the highest turnout for a presidential election since 1997, official data showed. Lee has said he would address urgent economic challenges facing the country on the first day in office with a focus on the cost-of-living concerns affecting middle and low income families and the struggles of small business owners. “With democracy alive, I hope the president will revive the economy, and have consideration for underprivileged citizens and small business owners,” said Kim Eun-kyung, 58, a Seoul resident. The new president also faces a deadline set by the White House on negotiating import duties that Washington has blamed for a large trade imbalance between the countries. In a bid to fill a long-running power vacuum, Lee nominated Kim Min-seok, a four-time lawmaker, as his prime minister on Tuesday. Kim made waves when he predicted in August last year that Yoon may declare martial law, roughly three months before Yoon’s short-lived decree to impose martial law. The government under a caretaker acting president had made little progress in trying to assuage crushing tariffs announced by President Donald Trump that would hit some of the country’s major industries. “President Lee will find himself with little to no time to spare before tackling the most important task of his early presidency: reaching a deal with Trump,” the Washington based Center for Strategic and International Studies said. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio congratulated Lee on his election win and said the countries “share an ironclad commitment” to their alliance grounded on shared values and deep economic ties. – Reuters

spur innovation and growth in business and pledged to reopen dialogue with North Korea while maintaining a strong security alliance with the United States. “It is better to win without fighting than to win in a fight, and peace with no need to fight is the best security,” he said, referring to his country’s often violent ties with rival North Korea. Lee was officially confirmed earlier as president by the National Election Commission and immediately assumed the powers of the presidency and commander in chief, speaking with the top military leader to receive a report on defence posture. With all the ballots counted, Lee

Suk Yeol just three years into his troubled presidency. He faces what could be the most daunting set of challenges for a South Korean leader in nearly three decades, ranging from healing a country deeply scarred by the martial law attempt to tackling unpredictable protectionist moves by the United States. “A Lee Jae-myung government will be a pragmatic pro-market government,” he said after taking the oath of office at parliament, a location where six months ago he jumped over the perimeter wall to enter the chamber and avoid martial law troops barricading it to vote down the decree. He promised deregulation to

SEOUL: South Korea’s new liberal President Lee Jae-myung pledged yesterday to raise the country from what he described as the near destruction caused by a martial law attempt and revive a struggling economy facing global protectionism. Lee’s decisive victory in Tuesday’s snap election stands to usher in a sea change in Asia’s fourth-largest economy, after backlash against a botched attempt at military rule brought down Yoon

Lee and his wife Kim Hye-kyung greet cheering crowds after the inauguration at the National Assembly. – REUTERSPIC

Vietnam scraps two-child limit HANOI: Vietnam has scrapped its policy of limiting families to two children, state media said yesterday, as the country battles to reverse a declining birth rate. as Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City as the cost of living rises.

She urged society to shift its mindset from focusing solely on family planning to a broader perspective of population and development. Vietnam is also grappling with sex imbalances due to a historic preference for boys. On Tuesday the Health Ministry proposed tripling the current fine to US$3,800 (RM16,166) “to curb foetal gender selection”, according to state media. It is forbidden to inform parents of the sex of their baby before birth in Vietnam, as well as to perform an abortion for sex-selection reasons, with penalties imposed on errant clinics. The sex ratio at birth, though improved, remains skewed at 112 boys for every 100 girls. Hoang Thi Oanh, 45, has three

Tran Minh Huong, a 22-year-old office worker, said the government regulation mattered little to her as she had no plans to have children. “Even though I am an Asian, with social norms that say women need to get married and have kids, it’s too costly to raise a child,” she said. Deputy Health Minister Nguyen Thi Lien Huong, speaking at a conference earlier this year, warned it was increasingly difficult to encourage families to have more children, despite policy adjustments and public campaigns. She emphasised that the declining birth rate poses challenges to long-term socio economic development, including an ageing population and workforce shortages.

The country banned couples from having more than two children in 1988, but a family’s size is now a decision for each individual couple, Vietnam News Agency said. The country has experienced historically low birth rates in the last three years. The total fertility rate dropped to 1.91 children per woman last year, below replacement level, the Health Ministry said this year. Birth rates have fallen from 2.11 children per woman in 2021, to 2.01 in 2022 and 1.96 in 2023. This trend is most pronounced in urbanised, economically developed regions, especially in big cities such