19/09/2025

FRIDAY | SEPT 19, 2025

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Thai police fire tear gas at Cambodian protesters

Takaichi joins Japan leadership race TOKYO: Japanese political hawk and strident China critic Sanae Takaichi (pic) yesterday said she will run in the ruling party’s leadership election, a campaign that could make her the country’s first woman prime minister. Seen among the

favourites in the race, Takaichi will be up against popular Agriculture Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, who is expected to formally declare today that he will stand. Both are aiming to

o Hun Manet calls for international support

BANGKOK: Thai police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at Cambodian civilians in a disputed border area on Wednesday, authorities in both countries said, the most significant escalation since they declared a ceasefire to end a five-day conflict in July. At least 23 Cambodians were injured in the incident, according to Cambodian authorities, while Thailand’s military said an unspecified number of Thai officials had also sustained injuries. The clash took place at a disputed frontier settlement, which Thailand says is part of its Ban Nong Ya Kaew village in Sa Kaeo province, but Cambodia says is part of Prey Chan village in Bantheay Meanchey province. Thai authorities erected barbed wire fences in the area last month and for weeks there have been protests by civilians from both sides of the border. Thailand and Cambodia have for more than a century contested sovereignty at various undemarcated points along their 817km land border, which was first mapped by France in 1907 when Cambodia was its colony. Tensions over disputed areas spiralled into a border conflict in July, when the fiercest fighting between the neighbours in decades killed at least 48 people and temporarily displaced hundreds of thousands. The fighting ended after both countries agreed a ceasefire brokered in Malaysia on July 28, and the border has largely remained calm since. On Wednesday, Cambodia Information Minister Neth Pheaktra accused Thai officials of encroaching across the border, and said they

The remarks come amid simmering tension between China and the United States and its allies and partners over flashpoints across East Asia, including Taiwan and the South China Sea, as well as broader economic rivalries under President Donald Trump. Formally opening the Beijing Xiangshan Forum on security, Dong Jun said the world was at a crossroads overshadowed by Cold War thinking, hegemony and protectionism, and had to choose dialogue over confrontation. “External military interference, seeking spheres of influence and coercing others to take sides will bring the international community into chaos,” Dong said. His remarks took veiled swipes at the United States and appeared more hawkish than his speech at last year’s forum, particularly on topics such as tension over the democratically governed island of Taiwan. “An obsession with absolute superiority in military strength and a‘might is right’approach will lead to a divided world defined by the rule of the jungle and disorder,” Dong said. A strong Chinese military would be a force for peace, he added. Dong’s remarks follow recent speeches by President Xi Jinping against “hegemonism and power politics” and this month’s large military parade in Beijing that showed off a host of new weapons. succeed moderate Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba as the head of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party in a party vote slated for Oct 4. “What we need now is politics that transforms people’s daily lives and anxieties about the future into hopes and dreams,” Takaichi said in a brief media address yesterday, announcing her candidacy. “And it is also strong politics that will overcome the crisis Japan faces,” she said. Takaichi, 64, is a hawkish leader who has advocated a conservative social agenda and robust national defence programmes. On the economic front, she has pushed big government spending and low interest rates that echo policies of her political mentor late former prime minister Shinzo Abe. She was also a regular visitor to the Yasukuni Shrine, which honours Japan’s war dead including war criminals. On China, she has been vocal on Beijing’s military build-up in the Asia-Pacific region. Takaichi has ran in past LDP leadership elections several times, and came in second last year to lose against Ishiba. Other than Takaichi, three men have already formally declared their candidacy in the upcoming party vote, including Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, a soft spoken political moderate known for his policy knowledge. News agency Jiji Press’s opinion polls showed that Koizumi was the public’s top candidate for the premiership, with Takaichi running a close second. – AFP

Thai police and soldiers facing Cambodian civilians in a disputed border area in Sa Kaeo province on Wednesday. – AFPPIC/ ROYAL THAI ARMY

fired slingshots at Thai officials, causing injuries. The actions of the riot police were aimed at preventing the situation from escalating into civil disorder, it said. The US government said it was aware of the situation and urged the governments of Cambodia and Thailand to de-escalate tensions. A US State Department spokesman called on the two sides to quickly finalise the “terms of reference” to establish a longer-term observer mission comprised Asean member states on both sides of the border. – Reuters

used “tear gas, rubber bullets and noise-making devices against Cambodian civilians”. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet has sent out letters to world leaders, seeking support from the international community and Asean to stop what he described as Thailand’s “unilateral actions that risk escalating tensions and widening the conflict”, a Cambodia government statement said. The Thai army said in a statement that Thailand’s use of force was a response to provocation from some 200 Cambodian protesters, some of whom dismantled Thai defensive barriers, threw sticks and stones and

East Timor to scrap MP pensions, SUVs after protests

Avoid law of the jungle, urges China BEIJING: China’s defence minister trumpeted Beijing’s efforts to reshape global governance, warning yesterday against an increasingly divided world “defined by the rule of the jungle”, while saying his country’s strong military would be a force for peace.

DILI: East Timor’s parliament said it would scrap lifetime pensions for MPs, bowing to public pressure after dropping a plan to buy SUVs for lawmakers in one of southeast Asia’s poorest nations. Demonstrations against the multi-million dollar purchase drew thousands this week in the capital Dili, with demonstrators and police clashing two days in a row. Protesters’ demands initially focused on cancelling the US$4.2 million (RM17.6 million) plan to buy SUVs for members of parliament but later widened to include other issues including lifetime pensions for former MPs. Under a law passed in 2006, former MPs are entitled to pension equivalent to their salary. Parliament said in a statement on Wednesday it would take steps to annul the law. “If they don’t comply with the agreement, we will hold bigger protests,” said Cristovao Mato, 27, one of the representatives. Around 2,000 demonstrators gathered near the parliament building in Dili earlier in the day, according to an AFP journalist, with some expressing scepticism after parliament announced on Tuesday it had cancelled the plan to buy new cars for MPs. “Rumours are that the cars are already on the way,” said protester Trinito Gaio, 42. “So this is why all of these students and myself are here today – to make sure my tax money is not going in the ... wrong direction.” The controversy initially stemmed from a budget item, approved last year, to buy Toyota

Prado SUVs for each of the country’s 65 members of parliament. The tender was due to be completed in September, according to an official parliament document. The plan triggered widespread anger in a nation where more than 40% of the population lives in poverty, according to the World Bank. Facing mounting protests, parliament made a sharp U-turn on Tuesday. It unanimously adopted a resolution to “cancel (the) new vehicle procurement process listed in the 2025 budget”. A statement added that parliament’s general secretariat must now “adopt administrative and financial measures aimed at maintenance and efficient use” of vehicles already in the MPs’ use. The protests on Monday and Tuesday saw demonstrators hurl rocks at police, who responded with tear gas. The now-revoked plan triggered strong reactions because it was viewed by many as “a symbol of injustice”, said Universidade da Paz economic faculty dean Caetano C. Correia. “Many people viewed that public officials, particularly the legislators, are not living in the same condition as ordinary people,” he said. President Jose Ramos-Horta told reporters on Tuesday there would be “no tolerance” for violence during the demonstrations. The unrest occurred while Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao was travelling to London for meetings on land and maritime borders. He is expected to return on Monday. – AFP

Dong said a strong Chinese military would be a force for peace. – AFPPIC Echoing Dong’s “law of the jungle” warning, Singapore’s Defence Minister Chan Chun Sing said an erosion of shared values meant “We again risk falling into a similar vicious cycle” of economic upheaval and radical politics that led to World War II. While saying China was open to doing its part to uphold the international order, Dong added that the People’s Liberation Army would never allow any Taiwan “separatist” attempts to succeed. “The return of Taiwan to China is an integral part of the postwar international order,”he said, adding that it was ready “to thwart external military interference at all times”. – Reuters