Philippines notifies US of intent to end major security pact
The Philippines notified the United States on Tuesday it would end a major security pact allowing American forces to train in the country, in the most serious threat under President Rodrigo Duterte to their 69-year treaty alliance.
Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said in a tweet that Manila’s notice of termination of the Visiting Forces Agreement was received by the deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Manila. The termination would take effect after 180 days unless both sides agree to keep it.
Locsin signed the notice on the order of Duterte, who has often criticized U.S. security policies while praising those of China and Russia despite the Philippine military’s close historic ties with its American counterpart.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said Tuesday in Brussels, Belgium, that he only received notice of Duterte’s order on Monday evening and had not yet fully digested the details.
Esper called it“unfortunate.”
“I do think it would be a move in the wrong direction,” he said.
Esper said that when he visited the Philippines last November he thought the relationship was on a strong footing.
The U.S. Embassy in Manila acknowledged receipt of Manila’s notice and said Washington “will carefully consider how best to move forward to advance our shared interests.”
“This is a serious step with significant implications for the U.S.-Philippines alliance,” the embassy said in a statement. “Our two countries enjoy a warm relationship, deeply rooted in history. We remain committed to the friendship between our two peoples.”
In a Senate hearing last week, Locsin warned that abrogating the 1998 security accord with Washington would undermine Philippine security and foster aggression in the disputed South China Sea. U.S. military presence in the strategic waterway has been seen as a crucial counterweight to China, which claims virtually the entire sea.
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Cross-border love story crashes South Korea tv ratings
South Korea’s biggest current television hit is a surreally unlikely tale of a billionaire heiress who accidentally paraglides into the North and falls in love with a chivalrous army officer serving Kim Jong Un.
“Crash Landing on You” is unashamedly fantastical in its plotlines, but has drawn praise for its portrayal of everyday life in the North, even down to accents and words.
The division of the peninsula is a regular theme in K-drama and K-movies, but it is unusual for so much of a show to be set in the North — in both Pyongyang and the countryside — and defectors have complimented its accuracy.
Portraits of North Korean founder Kim Il Sung and his son and successor Kim Jong Il — father of the current leader — appear on the walls of every home, with propaganda slogans in the streets of the set.
The crew included a writer and an actress from the North: “I felt like I was actually back in a North Korean village,” said Kim A-ra, who played a villager.
The 16-part series reaches its climax on cable network tvN this weekend.
“It changed the stereotypes on North Korea and candidly showed that it too is a place where people live,” said Yun Suk-jin, a professor at Chungnam National University.
It is also a manifestation of how tensions have eased on the peninsula, where fears of war in 2017 were replaced by a rapid diplomatic thaw and a series of summits, although the process is now stalled.
“The series wouldn’t even have been planned and produced under heightened tensions,” Yun added. “Even if it was, it would not have been well received.”
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U.S. business group sees China keeping purchase commitments despite coronavirus
The head of an American business lobbying group said on Thursday he was confident that China will still meet its “Phase 1” trade deal commitments to massively increase purchases of U.S. goods and services despite the coronavirus crisis.
Craig Allen, president of the U.S.-China Business Council (USCBC) said that the business slowdown in China could affect the timing of purchases, but both governments were committed to meeting the targets. The group represents U.S. companies doing business in and with China.
While China’s commitment to increase purchases of U.S. manufactured goods, farm products, energy and services by $200 billion by the end of 2021 was “aggressive,” he said U.S. industry was ready to meet the challenge.
“The coronavirus doesn’t change any of that, though it might affect the timeline,” Allen told a news conference in Washington.
The Chinese province at the center of the virus outbreak reported a much larger number of infections and deaths under a broader definition on Thursday, knocking back global stocks and raising new questions about the extent of the outbreak.
Under the trade deal, which officially takes effect on Saturday, China has pledged to increase U.S. goods purchases by $77 billion in 2020 and by $123 billion by 2021, compared to a baseline of U.S. imports from 2017, the year before the U.S.-China tariff war began.
A Chinese government researcher on Tuesday forecast that the coronavirus outbreak could cut China’s 2020 economic growth by a full percentage point, pressuring the cash flow of companies that would be buying U.S. goods.
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Will Japan’s economy buckle under the coronavirus outbreak?
Last week, the Chinese Lunar New Year period wrapped up with hopes that business would return to normal operations amid an outbreak of a novel strain of coronavirus (COVID-19) that has sickened nearly 60,000 in China. But in Japan manufacturers are struggling to secure parts and normalize production lines as Chinese factories delay reopening after the holidays.
As the epidemic drags on and inbound visitors vanish, Japanese department stores, as well as the aviation and tourism sectors, are feeling the pinch from a slump in sales.
The Lunar New Year is a peak travel period, with 1.4 million Chinese tourists travelling to Japan between February and March last year. Chinese nationals make up 30 percent of all Japan’s inbound tourists and over the years sightseeing spots, retail outlets, and restaurants have come to rely on the Chinese spending boom.
But the coronavirus outbreak has seen China ban overseas group tours for its citizens and Japan expand its travel ban on foreign nationals who have recently been to Zhenjiang and Hubei province. Japan’s Tourism Association estimates that 400,000 visa applications have been cancelled as a result of the prolonged suspension of flights between mainland China and Japan.
Meanwhile, the quarantined Diamond Princess cruise ship docked in Yokohama has reported 218 cases of coronavirus and numbers don’t appear to be slowing down.
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Indonesia aims for state firm to handle upstream oil and gas business
Indonesia plans to set up or designate a state firm to carry out upstream oil and gas activities, to try to curb red tape and regulations that are blamed for hindering investment in Southeast Asia’s biggest economy.
The government of President Joko Widodo is seeking to boost economic growth and create jobs in sectors such as energy, where investors often cite regulatory uncertainty, bureaucratic hurdles and strict labor rules as deterrents to development.
The plan was included in a new omnibus bill submitted to parliament and made public late on Wednesday. It would require private companies in the sector to conduct business with a “special state firm” through a production sharing contract (PSC).
It also drops a requirement for an upstream oil and gas regulator, a task now performed by regulator SKK Migas.
The upstream sector of oil and gas consists of activities such as the exploration and drilling of new wells.
The responsibilities of SKK Migas under existing PSCs with private companies will be switched to the new state company once it is formed, according to the bill.
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Vietnam-EU trade: EVFTA ratified by eu lawmakers
The European Parliament (EP) on February 12 ratified the European Union Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA). The next step before the agreements can come into force is the ratification of the agreement by the National Assembly of Vietnam which is expected in May 2020.
The EVFTA was signed on June 30 in Hanoi paving the way for increased trade with the EU and Vietnam.
The EVFTA is an ambitious pact providing almost 99 percent of elimination of custom duties between the EU and Vietnam. As per the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the FTA is expected to help increase Vietnam’s GDP by 4.6 percent and its exports to the EU by 42.7 percent by 2025. While the European Commission has forecast the EU’s GDP to increase by US$29.5 billion by 2035.
65 percent of duties on EU exports to Vietnam will be eliminated while the remaining will be gradually phased out over a period of 10 years. 71 percent of duties will be eliminated on Vietnam exports to the EU, with the remaining being eliminated over a period of seven years.
The EVFTA is considered a new generation bilateral agreement– it contains important provisions for intellectual property (IP) rights, investment liberalization, and sustainable development. This includes a commitment to implement the International Labor Organization (ILO) standards and the UN Convention on Climate Change.
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Thailand risks slipping to 3rd place in rice exports
Thailand risks losing its place as the world’s second biggest rice exporter this year thanks to weaker competitiveness and a lack of rice varieties to cater to changing market demand.
Charoen Laothamatas, president of the Thai Rice Exporters Association, said amid stiff competition, relatively higher production costs than rivals such as Vietnam, volatile foreign exchange and widespread drought, Thailand risks falling to third this year, with Vietnam taking second place.
“Thailand has shipped the same rice varieties for 30 years and lacks rice variety development to deal with changing market demands and consumer behaviour,” said Mr Charoen. “This year, the association has set a rice export target of 7.5 million tonnes, the same target as the Commerce Ministry, worth US$4.2 billion.”
The target is the lowest in seven years since 2013 when Thailand exported 6.6 million tonnes of rice.
Thailand shipped 7.58 million tonnes in 2019, fetching 131 billion baht, down 32percent and 25percent, respectively.
The biggest export market was Benin, which imported 1.07 million tonnes of Thai rice, followed by South Africa at 725,461 tonnes, the US at 559,957 tonnes, and China at 471,339 tonnes.
He said China is expected to speed up draining its huge stocks of 120 million tonnes of rice. China last year exported nearly 3 million tonnes.
Chookiat Ophaswongse, honorary president of the association, said key risk factors for Thailand
’s rice export outlook include the strong baht, widespread drought, China’s huge stocks and continued rice varieties development in Vietnam, especially fragrant rice and soft-textured white rice.
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Singapore F&B industry group seeks rental rebates to ride out covid-19 storm
THE Restaurant Association of Singapore (RAS) has asked major landlords for support to tide its members over this difficult period when they have seen as much as 80 percent drop in sales amid the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak.
The food and beverage (F&B) association told media on Thursday it had sent written requests early this week to 24 landlords, seeking rental rebates to help them cope with the sharp decline in business.
Jewel Changi was the first to respond, offering a 50 percent rental rebate for February and March, after which Jewel Changi will review the situation.
RAS hopes that other landlords may follow suit, given that rental coupled with labour costs make up about 55 percent of operating costs. Without immediate help, closures of outlets will be imminent, it said.
In the meantime, some RAS members have either put staff on unpaid leave or stopped calling their part-timers in for work.
RAS has also held dialogues with the government in hopes of assistance to alleviate their labour costs.
The F&B association has more than 450 members, representing close to 700 brands that operate over 3,600 outlets, according to the RAS website. Its members include restaurants, caterers, fast food outlets and food courts.