22/08/2026

SATURDAY | AUG 22, 2026

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Indonesia, China ministers meet

Myanmar targets land for port project YANGON: Myanmar’s military has deployed hundreds of troops to forcibly clear areas marked for a special economic zone in the country’s south, according to resistance fighters and a local activist with direct knowledge. The offensive around the Dawei Special Economic Zone (SEZ) – that includes a planned deep-sea port and power plant on the Andaman Sea – coincides with a diplomatic charm offensive: President Min Aung Hlaing pitched Dawei as a potential gateway to South and West Asia during a visit to Thailand this month and discussed the project again this week in talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Since July, the military has pumped hundreds of soldiers into the southern Tanintharyi Region, bordering Thailand, where Dawei is located, sparking battles with local resistance groups. “The military is advancing its columns and conducting area-clearance operations,” said Saw Dah Ko of the Tanintharyi Region People’s Defence Force. A second resistance fighter from the Dawei District No.1 battalion operating under the shadow National Unity Government said: “They want to run this Dawei SEZ, so they want to clear the area here.” Reuters could not independently verify the accounts, and the Myanmar government and Russia’s embassy in Myanmar did not respond to requests for comment. The intensification followed a late-June visit to southern Myanmar by armed forces deputy chief Kyaw Swar Lin, who urged soldiers to protect “strategic projects” such as Dawei. “Since then, a column of 700 soldiers has been advancing into surrounding areas,” conflict monitor ACLED said in an August report. The offensive has been reinforced by air and naval attacks, overwhelming loosely organised local resistance groups, according to Saw Dah Ko and a local activist. “They enter the region, and once reinforced by the navy, they launch offensives into the villages situated within the deep sea port project area,” said Min Lwin Oo of the Democracy Movement Strike Committee, referring to the military. The Dawei push reflects a broader strategy by the military to reclaim strategic territory. Originally launched in 2008 as a joint venture with Thailand, the project aimed to facilitate trade between Southeast Asian countries and West and East Asia. But work on the Dawei SEZ stalled in 2013 due to local opposition and funding shortages. – Reuters Boats seized in illegal fishing crackdown SYDNEY: Pacific island authorities have seized a number of Chinese and Indonesian boats for illegal fishing this month. Four vessels were taken to port by authorities in Kiribati, Palau and Papua New Guinea for illegal fishing or breaches of fishing licences, the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) said in a statement. They included Chinese and Indonesian vessels. A surveillance crackdown by 11 island nations this month saw more than 100 vessels boarded across 28 million sq km of ocean between Aug 3 and 14. Half of the world’s tuna is caught in the region, but only 15% of this catch is processed or handled by Pacific Island countries, fisheries officials said. The fish generates US$500 million (RM2.02 billion) in access fees and US$1.2 billion in export earnings for the Pacific islands annually while also supporting the livelihoods of a third of Pacific households, FFA said. Most tuna is shipped to Asian markets by the long-distance fleets that ply the exclusive economic zones of small island states. – AFP

JAKARTA: China’s defence and foreign ministers met their Indonesian counterparts yesterday, with security, politics and economic issues set to dominate talks, as Jakarta tries to balance ties with Beijing and Washington amid trade battles and tensions in the South China Sea. Foreign Minister Wang Yi, visiting Jakarta for the first time in two years, met Indonesian counterpart Sugiono. In introductory remarks, Wang said amid complex global challenges, it was timely they were meeting under the new dialogue mechanism and both countries should “seize the moment”. “Unilateralism and hegemonic acts bring serious impact on global cooperation and stability. China actively aims to build China-Indonesia cooperation at a high level,” he said. The foreign ministers were expected to focus on economic issues as well as political relations, Jakarta said, while China’s Foreign Ministry this week said political and security issues, defence cooperation, and international and regional issues would be discussed. Chinese Defence Minister Dong Jun was greeted by a military honour guard as he arrived at Indonesia’s Defence Ministry yesterday, where he said the militaries of both countries had scope to work together to boost their ability to protect their national interests and thwart

o Talks cover security, politics and trade

of Taiwan. Indonesia’s navy said a vessel conducted routine exercises, not only with China, but also with Japan and the United States. Defence analyst Curie Maharani said while Indonesia saw the exercise as routine, the location enabled China to signal a different political message. “Indonesia learned a valuable lesson about how great powers use defence diplomacy more as an instrument of influence projection” she said. Indonesia also has its own disagreements with China over developments in the South China Sea. President Prabowo Subianto has repeatedly said he maintains Indonesia’s “free and active” foreign policy of non alignment, vowing to befriend all countries. China is a major investor in Indonesia, contributing US$3.9 billion (RM15.8 billion) of foreign direct investment in the first half this year. – Reuters

external threats. “The prospects for cooperation between the two militaries are broad, and such cooperation is becoming higher in quality and more effective,” Dong said. Indonesian Defence Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin said there would be increased defence activities between their militaries, including joint exercises and officer exchanges, plus partnerships in the defence industry. “This is a progressive step taken in the era of building Indonesia’s defence power,” Sjafrie said. Last week, Taiwan was angered by a rare joint military exercise between the Chinese and Indonesian navies that took place east

Sugiono and Wang head for a meeting at the Foreign Ministry. – REUTERSPIC

Cambodia opens new Senate building

PHNOM PENH: Cambodian leaders inaugurated a new Senate building yesterday funded by the country’s top business people, including a tycoon sanctioned by the United States for alleged involvement in scam centres. King Norodom Sihamoni cut the ribbon on the “Solidarity Palace”, flanked by senior officials, including Prime Minister Hun Manet and Senate President Hun Sen. “I am very pleased to preside over the inauguration of the finest Solidarity Palace,” Sihamoni said, hailing it as an “achievement” for the nation. Initiated by Hun Sen, the four-and-half storey building has a helipad on the roof and will mainly be used to host overseas visitors, according to Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn. He said the building, which stands alongside other Senate buildings and also houses offices and a reception room, was designed, built and funded by Cambodians.

Another listed donor to the new building is businessman Hun To, a cousin of Hun Manet. Hun To said in May he had owned a 30% stake but did not manage operations in a now shuttered digital payments platform linked to cyberscams and money laundering and sanctioned by the United States. He had “never received any profits, dividends or assets” from the Huione Pay platform, Hun To said. The US government last year accused the Huione Group, which owned the payments platform and several other companies, of laundering funds for transnational criminal groups perpetrating internet scams from Southeast Asia. Huione’s former chairman, Li Xiong, was extradited in April to China, where authorities accused him of a key role in a major transnational gambling and fraud syndicate. The National Bank of Cambodia has revoked the business licences of the Huione platform. – AFP

Officials refused to disclose the cost but a sign inside the building lists 11 donors, with senator and businessman Ly Yong Phat at the top. Ly (pic) , who attended yesterday’s ceremony, was sanctioned in 2024 by US authorities, who accused his firm of “serious human rights abuses” related to the treatment of people trafficked to work in online scam centres.

He has denied reports linking him to cybercrime and money laundering networks, calling the accusations “fake and damaging to his reputation”. Cambodia has emerged as a hub for the transnational scam industry, where scammers – some willing, others trafficked – extract billions of dollars each year from victims through fake romantic relationships and cryptocurrency investment fraud schemes. Cambodian authorities say they are cracking down on the crimes.