Bangkok — In a record year for internet shutdowns, countries in the Asia-Pacific region imposed the most restrictions, according to a new report. 

Myanmar is the worst-affected country worldwide, with 85 shutdowns last year, research by the digital rights group Access Now found. 

Its report, released Monday, Feb. 24, shows authorities worldwide imposed at least 296 shutdowns in 54 countries. Conflict — followed by protests, school or university exams and elections — was the biggest trigger, Access Now found. 

For the Asia-Pacific region, the report finds 202 shutdowns in 11 countries or territories. It is the highest number ever recorded by Access Now in a single year for the region.

The three countries with the worst record are all in Asia: 190 cases in Myanmar, India and Pakistan accounted for around 64% of all recorded shutdowns in 2024. India, often referred to as the biggest democracy in the world, had 84 recorded cases.    

VOA contacted Myanmar’s military administration, and the Washington embassies for India and Pakistan for comment. As of publication, VOA had not received a reply. 

Raman Jit Singh Chima, the Asia Pacific policy director at Access Now, warned of a rise of digital authoritarianism in Asia.

“Shutdowns destabilize societies, undermine digital progress, put entire communities at risk, and provide a cloak of impunity for human rights abuses,” he said in a statement. “Authorities from Myanmar to Pakistan are isolating people from the rest of the world with impunity, reflecting the rising digital authoritarianism in Asia.”

Access Now collects data on shutdowns, which include cables being cut, equipment confiscated, platforms being blocked, and orders to telecommunication companies. 

‘Rebirth’ of radio

Since seizing power in a coup in February 2021, the junta in Myanmar has regularly blocked access to the internet. The junta says the blocks are to maintain “stability” and prevent what it calls the spread of disinformation and fake news. 

At the same time, the junta has jailed dozens of journalists and revoked media licenses. 

Out of the 85 shutdowns imposed in Myanmar last year, 31 coincided with documented human rights abuses and at least 17 correlated with airstrikes on civilians, the Access Now report found.

The record puts the country among the worst for digital rights for the fourth consecutive year, the report found. 

Toe Zaw Latt, a veteran journalist from Myanmar, told VOA it was “no surprise” that the country tops the list.

“Myanmar has one of the worst censorship [records] on digital platforms,” he said. “[The military does this] so most of the people can’t access independent information or internet mainly, especially young people. They just want one version of truth, the army’s version of truth.”

Zaw Latt said the junta is trying to prevent “independent access of information on the internet.”  

A journalist for decades, Zaw Latt is also secretary of the Independent Press Council Myanmar. He said the internet blocks have seen a “rebirth” in radio. 

“Globally, radio is dying but it’s having a rebirth in Burma because it’s cheap and accessible,” he said, using the country’s former name. “Even some people go back, very primitive, back to print because of these internet shutdowns.”

Still, Zaw Latt said, it is not possible to completely cut off the internet, “because people will find a way.”

Alongside shutdowns the junta has passed laws to further control the information narrative.

On Jan. 1, a cybersecurity law was enacted in Myanmar, banning the use of Virtual Private Networks, or VPNs, that people use to access blocked or censored content. The law penalizes those who share information from banned websites. Experts say it’s another attempt from the junta to suppress public information.

Two other Asian countries — Malaysia and Thailand — also made the list for the Southeast Asia region for the first time.

Thailand was included after it shut electricity and internet connections on its border with Myanmar following an attempt to crack down on scam centers that have lured thousands into forced labor and scammed billions from internet users worldwide.

Overall, press freedom in East Asia continues to see a decline, according to Reporters without Borders. The global watchdog reports that 26 out of 31 countries in the Asia-Pacific region have seen a decline in press freedoms between 2023 and 2024.
…

Moscow — Myanmar and its close ally Russia signed a memorandum on investment cooperation in a special economic zone in Dawei, including construction of a port and an oil refinery, Russia’s Ministry of Economic Development said on Sunday.  

The document was signed by the head of the Russian ministry, Maxim Reshetnikov, and Myanmar’s minister for investment and foreign economic relations, Kan Zaw, during a visit of a Russian delegation to the Southeast Asian country.  

“The text of the memorandum contains the basic parameters of several large infrastructure and energy projects that are being implemented jointly with Russian companies in Myanmar,” the Russian ministry cited Reshetnikov as saying in a statement.  

“We are talking about projects to build a port, a coal-fired thermal power plant and an oil refinery.” 

He added that “oil refining is still the most complex element,” and there was no final decision on construction of a refinery. 

“As for the refinery — there is a desire of the Myanmar side to have a refinery. Our companies are still studying the economics of such a project, it is very complicated from the point of view of economic feasibility,” Interfax news agency cited Reshetnikov.  

According to the Russian ministry, the Dawei special economic zone is a 196 square-kilometer project in the Andaman Sea which is planned to house high-tech industrial zones and transport hubs, information technology zones and export processing zones.  

Russia has become Myanmar’s closest ally since the military coup that overthrew Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected civilian government in February 2021. 

Moscow and Naypyidaw have been discussing a deeper energy cooperation, including Russia’s participation in the construction of a gas pipeline to the Myanmar’s main city Yangon. Russia has also had plans for a nuclear research reactor in the country. 
…

HO CHI MINH CITY, VIETNAM — Analysts are pointing to management and funding issues for Vietnam’s planned north-south, high-speed rail initiative and express concerns over potential “debt traps” and growing Chinese influence as Beijing funds a railway connecting the two countries.

The comments come as Vietnam is expanding its infrastructure by building railways using Chinese and Vietnamese funding, projects that could help the country’s outlook in the long term. As part of the effort, Vietnam’s National Assembly on Feb. 19 gave near-unanimous approval to legislation allowing the country to use Chinese loans for a new $8.3 billion rail link from the port city of Haiphong to China.

Nguyen Hong Minh, then the transport minister, announced Vietnam’s plans to use the Chinese loans for the 391-kilometer passenger and freight line from Lao Cai on the Chinese border and passing through Hanoi.

“Vietnam’s current railway system is outdated, and the country needs a new system to support its economic development,” Minh, now the construction minister, said, adding that construction is expected to begin this year and be completed by 2030.

The National Assembly vote followed its November approval of construction of a high-speed railway connecting Hanoi to the country’s southern economic hub, Ho Chi Minh City. That project is Vietnam’s most ambitious infrastructure initiative to date and is projected to cost Vietnam $67 billion. Authorities said construction should begin in 2027 and be completed by 2035.

Ha Hoang Hop, chair of the Hanoi-based Think Tank Viet Know, told VOA on Feb. 17 that while both projects could modernize the country’s transport network and improve its economy, “public sentiment is cautious.”

“There have been several publicly funded railway and infrastructure projects in Vietnam that have led to public frustration due to delays, cost overruns and poor-quality outcomes,” Hop said.

“Public skepticism is also fueled by fears of debt traps associated with Chinese loans,” he said.

Hop cited fear the construction of the high-speed rail project could be dogged by the country’s “historical issues with project management and corruption.”

“There is indeed concern that the north-south, high-speed rail could face similar challenges given the scale and complexity of the project,” Hop said.

Mismanagement and corruption

Albert Tan, associate professor at the Asian Institute of Management in Manila, told VOA on Feb. 18 that while Vietnam’s railway modernization will improve the country’s supply chain efficiency, the major problem is corruption.

“The corruption level in Vietnam is so high that when you have that amount of money that the Chinese are pumping in, I’m sure there will always be leakages,” he said.

Tan said railway funds ending up in “someone’s pocket” have caused delays and cost overruns for Vietnam’s two city Metro lines. In 2021, the Chinese-funded Cat Linh-Ha Dong Metro line began running in Hanoi, five years behind its originally planned opening. The first line of the Ho Chi Minh City Metro, primarily funded by Japan, opened in December 2024, six years behind schedule. Costs ballooned for both Metro lines while under construction and delayed payments to contractors slowed the process.

“Somehow the money doesn’t go back to the contractor. Money goes somewhere to other stakeholders,” Tan said.

For the north-south, high-speed rail, Hop said the country is planning to rely on domestic funding with capital likely to come in the form of “government bonds, public investment and possibly some low-interest loans.”

“A $67 billion project will still be a significant challenge requiring careful financial management,” Hop said.

Chinese influence

Hanoi’s decision to pursue domestic funding for its high-speed rail shows the country’s drive to “maintain strategic autonomy,” Hop said. As it looks to Chinese loans for another rail project, though, “there remains a significant portion of the populace wary of increasing economic dependency on China,” he added.

Tran Anh Quan, a Vietnamese social activist currently living in exile, told VOA on Feb. 18 he fears the Chinese-funded railway will leave Hanoi indebted to Beijing and could be a weak point if conflict were to break out between the countries.

“This is definitely a debt trap,” he said. “Expanding the railway to China would be very dangerous if China attacked Vietnam.”

Tan also shared concerns over the “one-way” flow of money. He said the Chinese loans are likely to be paid to Chinese firms that will “retain control over construction and maintenance, with little technology transfer to local engineers.”

Joshua Kurlantzick, senior fellow for Southeast Asia and South Asia at the Council on Foreign Relations, told VOA that Chinese influence in the region is already “massive.” He said Chinese funding for the Vietnamese railway is in line with Beijing’s goal to expand its influence in Southeast Asia.

The railway “fits right into China’s efforts to link the Mekong region, and to connect them to China,” he wrote in an email.

Kurlantzick said that in Vietnam’s delicate balancing act between Washington and Beijing, China is taking the upper hand as he sees U.S. influence waning with the withdrawal of funding to Vietnam through USAID and weakening public diplomacy more broadly.

“China is by far the dominant economic power in Southeast Asia already, increasingly the dominant security power, and now, with the U.S. giving up its soft power in the region, China will increasingly bolster its soft power in the region, too, making it even more dominant,” Kurlantzick said.

Minh Son To, a research assistant focused on Vietnamese and Chinese politics at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University, told VOA February 20 Hanoi has looked to Laos with concern after a China-funded high-speed rail threw the country into an “existential debt crisis.” Still, he said many are eager to see Vietnam develop.

“Any ‘China’ label is bound to evoke some concern, though I wouldn’t overstate that,” he told VOA. “Vietnamese know that they need development and infrastructure, regardless of where it comes from.”
…

WASHINGTON — U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent traded policy complaints with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng on Friday, with Bessent telling Beijing to do more to curb fentanyl trafficking and rebalance its economy, and He voicing concerns about President Donald Trump’s new tariffs, the two governments said.

The top economic officials from the world’s two largest economies agreed to keep up communications, the Treasury said in a readout of the introductory video call.

“Secretary Bessent expressed serious concerns about the PRC’s counternarcotics efforts, economic imbalances, and unfair policies, and stressed the Administration’s commitment to pursue trade and economic policies that protect the American economy, the American worker, and our national security,” the Treasury said, using the acronym for China’s official name, the People’s Republic of China.

Earlier, Chinese state media reported that He expressed concerns to Bessent over U.S. tariffs and trade restrictions on China during the call.

The two sides had an “in-depth” exchange of views on important issues in China-U.S. economic relations, and both agreed to keep communicating on matters of mutual concern, according to a readout released by Chinese state media.

He, the lead China-U.S. trade negotiator on the Chinese side, and Bessent recognized the importance of bilateral economic and trade relations, the readout said.

More tariffs

China and the United States are seeking to manage their relationship as they stand on the precipice of a renewed trade war.

Trump imposed 10% tariffs on all Chinese goods in early February, citing China’s failure to stanch fentanyl trafficking.

Beijing retaliated by imposing targeted tariffs of up to 15% on some U.S. imports, including energy and farm equipment, and put several companies, including Google, on notice for possible sanctions.

Trump has also planned further reciprocal tariffs for all countries that tax U.S. imports, a move that is likely to further escalate global trade tensions. During his election campaign, Trump threatened 60% tariffs on all Chinese imports.

Trump said earlier this week he expected Chinese President Xi Jinping to visit the U.S., without giving a timeline for such a trip.

Bessent said on Thursday he would tell his Chinese counterpart that China needed to rebalance its economy and rely more on domestic consumption for growth and less on investment and exports.

“They are suppressing the consumer in favor of the business community,” Bessent told Bloomberg Television.

Similar arguments

The U.S. had a $295.4 billion goods trade deficit with China in 2024, down from a peak of $418.2 billion in 2018, the year Trump began imposing new tariffs on some $370 billion of Chinese imports.

But last year’s deficit rose $16.3 billion from 2023 as Chinese exporters rushed to beat a new round of Trump tariffs.

Bessent’s predecessor, former Treasury secretary Janet Yellen, met several times with He in recent years and lodged similar complaints about China’s state-led economic policies.

She argued during a trip to China last year that those policies were leading to excess production capacity that was threatening the viability of firms in the U.S. and other market economies, a warning that laid the groundwork for former President Joe Biden’s steep tariff hikes on electric vehicles, semiconductors and solar products.

He and other Chinese officials never accepted U.S. excess capacity assertions, arguing that China’s EV and other key industries are simply more competitive.
…

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA — South Korea’s ousted premier said on Thursday that he had opposed suspended President Yoon Suk Yeol’s declaration of martial law, testifying for the first time at his former boss’s impeachment trial about the events of a night that threw the country into turmoil.

Han Duck-soo was impeached by parliament as acting president and prime minister in December over alleged obstruction of the trial that could formally remove Yoon from office for his martial law decree.

He appeared before that trial for the first time on Thursday, telling Seoul’s Constitutional Court he had “expressed my opposition” to Yoon’s decision to suspend civilian rule on the night of Dec. 3.

Han said he and most of his fellow cabinet members “believed such a declaration would put South Korea in serious difficulty” and that he recalled them “being concerned and trying to dissuade it.”

The court said later on Thursday the final hearing will be held on the 25th.

The judges will then deliberate behind closed doors, with elections required within 60 days if Yoon is removed.

Yoon walked out of the court just five minutes after proceedings began on Thursday, according to a pool report.

His lawyer Yoon Kap-keun told reporters the ousted president felt it was “inappropriate” for him to sit in the same court room with Han “or for the president to watch the prime minister testify.”

“It is not good for the nation’s prestige,” his lawyer quoted Yoon as saying.

Yoon returned later to hear the testimony of former senior intelligence official Hong Jang-won, seen as a key figure in the decision to declare martial law.

Hong has claimed to be in possession of a memo containing a list of names of individuals Yoon ordered arrested during the night of the martial law declaration, including the leaders of the opposition and Yoon’s own ruling party.

“I will do my best to recount everything as I remember it,” Hong told reporters before the hearing.

Court footage showed Yoon shouting at Hong, accusing him of plotting his impeachment.

Given the opportunity to speak by one of the court’s eight judges, Yoon acknowledged that it was “unnecessary and wrong” to try to track the locations of politicians on the night of the decree but also said he was doing it simply to “monitor movements” and not to “arrest” them.

The head of South Korea’s National Police Agency, who is also on trial on insurrection charges related to the martial law decree, is another witness.

Courting controversy

The impeachment hearing was Yoon’s second of the day. He also appeared in court in the morning to answer charges of insurrection, becoming South Korea’s first sitting president to stand trial in a criminal case.

The 64-year-old former prosecutor has been behind bars since he was arrested last month on those charges, for which he could be sentenced to life in prison — or face the death penalty — if convicted.

Yoon attended that hearing but did not speak, an AFP journalist in the packed courtroom said.

Prosecutors have accused the suspended president of being the “ringleader of an insurrection.”

They argued on Thursday against releasing him, saying he could try to “influence or persuade those involved in the case.”

Yoon’s lawyer Kim Hong-il condemned the “illegal probe,” telling the court the “investigating body has no jurisdiction.”

“The declaration of martial law was not intended to paralyze the state,” Kim said.

Instead, he said, it was meant to “alert the public to the national crisis caused by the legislative dictatorship of the dominant opposition party, which had crippled the administration.”

Much of Yoon’s impeachment trial has centered on the question of whether he violated the constitution by declaring martial law, which is reserved for national emergencies or times of war.

The crisis has plunged South Korea into months of political turmoil with protests, two impeachments and a surge of online disinformation.

Yoon also sent a message rallying his supporters on Thursday, urging “the older and established generations to work together with the younger generation.”

“If that happens, I will be able to swiftly return to my duties and lead South Korea with the power of generational integration,” Yoon said, according to his lawyers. 
…

Impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol appeared in two Seoul courtrooms Thursday, first to hear criminal insurrection charges and then to face a Constitutional Court impeachment trial, both in connection with his short-lived, Dec. 3 imposition of martial law.

Yoon was taken by motorcade from the Seoul Detention Center, where he is being held, to the Central District Court for the preliminary hearing on the insurrection charges prosecutors filed last month.

In that hearing, Yoon’s lawyers argued that his declaration of martial law was not intended to paralyze the state, but to “alert the public to the national crisis caused by the legislative dictatorship of the dominant opposition party, which had crippled the administration.”

The lawyers also asked for Yoon’s release from detention, although it was unclear when the court would rule on that request.

Yoon next traveled to the Constitutional Court for the tenth and final scheduled hearing in the trial over validity of his impeachment for declaring martial law.

In Yoon’s first appearance at that trial, the court heard testimony from Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who was also impeached by National Assembly lawmakers for his role in the early December declaration. Yoon briefly left the courtroom during Han’s testimony, with Yoon’s lawyers explaining they felt it was inappropriate for the two to be seen together.

Han told the court that while he shared Yoon’s views on the liberal opposition, he and the rest of the cabinet disagreed with the president’s declaration of martial law and even tried to dissuade him. To his knowledge, the prime minister added, none of the cabinet members supported the action.

The Constitutional Court is reviewing parliament’s Dec. 14 vote to impeach Yoon and will decide whether to permanently remove him from office or reinstate him.

The court is considering if Yoon violated the constitution while Yoon and his lawyers have argued that he never intended to fully impose martial law but had only meant the measures as a warning to break a political deadlock.

If Yoon is removed, a new presidential election must be held within 60 days. The court is expected to deliver its ruling in early or mid-March.

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse.
…

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA — North Korean state media on Thursday criticized the United States for a nuclear submarine deal with Australia under the AUKUS partnership signed in 2021, calling it a “threat to regional peace.”

A commentary carried by KCNA said Washington should be wary of consequences for what it said were nuclear alliances, naming AUKUS and the trilateral cooperation with South Korea and Japan.

Australia just made its first $500 million payment to the U.S. under the AUKUS nuclear submarine deal.

Under AUKUS, Australia will pay the United States $3 billion to boost the capacity of the U.S. submarine industry, and Washington will sell several Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarines to Australia in the early 2030s.

The KCNA commentary also argued the U.S. sees North Korea as an obstacle to its establishment of hegemony in the region and said nuclear states will not sit idly by, referring to itself.

North Korea has been criticizing the trilateral military cooperation between South Korea, Japan and the U.S. and has called the relationship “the Asian version of NATO.”

South Korea’s defense ministry on Thursday said that a joint air drill was held with the U.S. with at least one B-1B strategic bomber taking part.

The drill was to show extended deterrent capabilities by the United States in response to threats from North Korea’s nuclear and missile program, the ministry said in a statement.
…

TAIPEI, TAIWAN — Philippine defense officials say they will hold a large, 10-day military training exercise next month, aiming to strengthen the country’s ability to respond to any crisis caused by an “external threat.”

Although Manila did not name China explicitly when it announced the drills — the biggest in recent years — they come as Beijing has increased the frequency of its maritime patrols and coast guard maneuvers around several disputed reefs that lie within the Philippines’ Exclusive Economic Zone, or EEZ.

Several of those patrols have resulted in clashes and the use of aggressive maneuvers and accusations of vessel ramming. China, which claims almost all of the South China Sea as its own despite an international ruling to the contrary, insists that its actions have been in accordance with the law.

The Combined Arms Training Exercise, or Catex, will take place March 3-12, involving approximately 6,000 soldiers and live-fire drills involving some of the Philippines’ most advanced artillery weapons.

Expanded drills

In the announcement on Monday, defense officials said that unlike past exercises, this year’s Catex will be conducted across the archipelago, including the northern island of Luzon, the island of Visayas in Central Philippines, and the southern island of Mindanao.

The expanded drills will “strengthen our command-and-control capabilities, further enhancing our preparedness to respond to any challenge that may threaten our national security,” Philippine Army Chief Lieutenant General Roy Galido told media during a news conference on Monday.

Typhon missile system

While the Philippine military is expected to test the Autonomous Truck-Mounted Howitzer Systems, its largest artillery weapon, during the live-fire drills, Galido said the U.S.-made Typhon missile system, which has prompted concerns from China, won’t be part of the large-scale exercise.

The Philippine military is still “appreciating the system and being able to understand how to utilize it in our defense concept,” he told Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post in an interview on Monday.

The deployment of the Typhon missile system to the northern Philippines has prompted concerns from China. During a press conference Friday, Chinese Defense Ministry spokesperson Zhang Xiaogang urged Manila to “remove the [Typhon] system as soon as possible.”

Analysts say the Philippines should focus on building up anti-ship missile capabilities and procuring more unmanned aerial vehicles rather than buying expensive items like submarines, which the Philippines is reportedly considering purchasing from India.

“The anti-ship missiles can survive in a modern war with China, and it can really force the Chinese military planners to rethink their strategies,” Zachary Abuza, an expert on Southeast Asian affairs at the National War College in Washington, told VOA by phone.

Other experts say the military drills and the ongoing efforts to acquire missile or air defense systems are part of the Philippines’ attempt to strengthen its sea capabilities and deterrence against China.

“Given the Philippines’ limited materiel capabilities, these efforts are part of a long-term endeavor that will need continuity to ensure the Philippines will be able to muster the capabilities to pursue the objective of countering China’s maritime aggression,” Don McLain Gill, a lecturer in international studies at De La Salle University in the Philippines, told VOA in a recorded voice message.

‘Aggressive’ China action

The announcement of the drills comes amid another uptick in tensions between China and the Philippines after a Chinese navy helicopter allegedly flew within 10 feet of a Philippine patrol plane near the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea on Tuesday.

The Philippine coast guard characterized the Chinese aircraft’s actions as “aggressive and escalatory” and said they remained “committed to asserting our sovereignty, sovereign rights and maritime jurisdiction” in the South China Sea.

Meanwhile, Southern Theater Command of the People’s Liberation Army — China’s military — accused the Philippine aircraft of “illegally” intruding on the airspace above Scarborough Shoal, which China views as its territory, and said its troops “are resolute in defending national sovereignty and security as well as peace and stability in the South China Sea.”

Weakest link?

Experts say the latest incident reflects Beijing’s attempt to test the Philippines’ defense capabilities and the United States’ commitment to supporting Manila, which has a mutual defense treaty with Washington.

“China sees the Philippines as the weakest link in the U.S. security architecture in the Indo-Pacific region, so they are testing how effective Manila can push back against its assertive behaviors,” Stephen Nagy, a professor of politics and international studies at International Christian University in Japan, told VOA by phone.

He said while it’s important for the Philippines to strengthen defense cooperation with like-minded democracies, including conducting joint patrols and military exercises, Manila should also carefully calibrate its responses to Chinese aggression.

The Philippines’ response should “reciprocate the pressure that the Chinese are putting on them because the Chinese strategic mindset is based on the idea of active defense, which means when they pressure their opponents to escalate the conflict, that gives them the right to escalate their behaviors,” Nagy said.

New legal challenge possible

In addition to strengthening defense capabilities, the Reuters news agency reported last month that the Philippines may soon initiate a second legal challenge against China over the South China Sea by suing Beijing for allegedly damaging the marine environment.

Despite the report, Philippine Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo said in response to a question from VOA during a public event held by the London-based think tank Chatham House on Tuesday that Manila has no plan to launch a legal challenge against China right now.

Joshua Espena, a lecturer of international relations at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines, told VOA that since the Philippines is gearing up for the parliamentary election in May, Manila is unlikely to initiate a new legal challenge against China at this point. “The 2016 South China Sea Arbitration ruling gives the Philippines sufficient ground to do what the government needs to do,” he said.

As the U.S. focuses on facilitating a peace deal to end Russia’s war in Ukraine, Nagy said, China will likely maintain its pressure campaign against the Philippines in the coming months.
…

New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters said on Wednesday his country must “reset” its relationship with the Cook Islands government after its Pacific neighbor signed agreements with China without consultation.

In a speech to the Pacific Island Political Science Association in Wellington, Peters said Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown’s opaque dealings with Beijing was the latest attempt to test constitutional ties with New Zealand.

“While the connection between the people of the Cook Islands and New Zealand remains resolutely strong, we currently face challenges in the government-to-government relationship,” he said.

“We are going to need to reset the government-to-government relationship.”

The Cook Islands is a self-governing nation and maintains free association with Wellington, sharing a head of state and citizenship rights. It is permitted an independent foreign policy, but the two countries are required to consult on security, defense and foreign policy issues.

Brown’s visit to Beijing this month resulted in a strategic partnership with China spanning education, the economy, infrastructure, fisheries, disaster management and seabed mining.

It set off alarm bells in New Zealand due to concerns with China’s growing presence in the region and the potential threats to the country’s national security.

While the Cook Islands government has released details of the strategic partnership, Peters said New Zealand had not seen a number of memoranda of understanding also signed with China.

“New Zealand and the Cook Islands people remain, as of this evening, in the dark over all but one the agreements signed by China and the Cooks last week,” Peters said.

Brown’s deal with China follows an attempt by the Cooks to create its own passports and citizenship, a proposal New Zealand said would require the islands to become fully independent to do.

Separately, Peters also addressed tensions with Kiribati after its government canceled a planned visit by New Zealand officials at short notice.

Kiribati has also signed a series of bilateral deals with China in recent years.

Peters said Wellington had committed more than $57 million in aid to the Pacific island nation over the past three years and needed to reassess how funds were being used.

 
…

As pro-democracy publisher Jimmy Lai spoke in his defense at a Hong Kong court Tuesday, his son Sebastien Lai was in Geneva calling for the United States and other world leaders to help secure this father’s release. 

Speaking on Tuesday at the latest hearing in his national security trial, Lai, 77, denied any intention to incite violence among protesters.

He defended an opinion piece published in 2019 in the now-shuttered Apple Daily newspaper that he founded in which he suggested that pro-democracy protesters establish a leadership structure to weed out those who wished to engage in violence during protests that year.  

“By saying they should choose a leadership group, [it means that] they should put down some principle or bottom line for the valiant acts which, basically, is for them to stop the violence,” Lai said in court.

The British national has been standing trial for more than a year on charges of collusion with foreign forces and sedition under Hong Kong’s national security law.  Lai rejects the charges, which foreign governments and press freedom groups have said are politically motivated. 

Hong Kong authorities deny that the trial is unfair and have previously told VOA that the government respects press freedom and the rule of law.

Lai has been in solitary confinement since late 2020. Sebastien Lai raised concerns about his father’s health as he advocated for him in Geneva.  

“I ask that you join my call to free Jimmy Lai and champion him for all he’s given in the hope of freedom,” the younger Lai said Monday at the annual Human Rights and Democracy summit in Geneva.  

When Beijing’s national security law was enacted in Hong Kong in 2020, Sebastien Lai said his father knew he would be a target.

“But he refused to leave,” he said. “Six decades after landing on the shore of this island in pursuit of freedom, he decided to stay and stand with his fellow protesters.” 

Jimmy Lai was born in Guangzhou, China, and fled to Hong Kong when he was 12. He worked in a garment sweatshop before eventually founding the successful clothing brand Giordano. He later moved into media, founding Apple Daily in 1995.

Both the United States and Britain have criticized Hong Kong’s case against him. During his presidential campaign, Donald Trump in October said he would “100%” get Lai released, without specifying details.

Sebestien Lai said Trump’s comment gave the family “a lot of hope.”

But he cautioned that time is running out for his father, who has diabetes. The publisher’s international legal team says he isn’t receiving adequate medical care, which authorities deny.

“His body is breaking down,” Sebastien Lai told Reuters ahead of the summit. “Time is running out for my father.”  

Lai’s international legal team urged global leaders to stand up for press freedom at the U.N. Human Rights Council next week. 

“How the world responds will send a vital message to authoritarians across the world,” Caoilfhionn Gallagher, head of Lai’s international legal team, told Reuters.  

Gallagher and her team at the London law firm Doughty Street Chambers have faced significant harassment for their role defending Lai.

On social media and in email, Gallagher has faced threats of death, rape and dismemberment, The Guardian reported. She has also been targeted with hundreds of attempts to hack her bank account.  

The Bar Council, the representative body for barristers in England and Wales, expressed concern about the harassment.  

Some information in this report came from Reuters.  
…

Manila, Philippines — The Philippines has detected foreign attempts to access intelligence data, but its cyber minister said on Tuesday no breaches have been recorded so far.

Attempts to steal data are wide-ranging, said minister for information and communications Ivan Uy. Advanced Persistent Threats or APTs have repeatedly attempted but failed to infiltrate government systems, suggesting the country’s cyber-defenses have held firm.

APTs are a general term for cyber actors or groups, often state-backed, that engage in malicious cyber activities.

“These have been present for quite some time, and threats come from many actors, but a big majority of them are foreign,” Uy told Reuters.

Some of these threats, which Uy referred to as “sleepers,” had been embedded in systems before being exposed by government’s cyber security efforts.

“Why are these things operating in those systems, without even anybody calling it out?,” he said.

So far, the government has not seen any cyberattacks targeting critical infrastructure, he said.

“Hopefully it’s because our cyber defenses and cyber security are strong enough,” he said.

Uy acknowledged the difficulty of attributing cyber intrusions to specific attackers, as they sometimes leave misleading digital traces.

However, the government is working through diplomatic channels and sharing intelligence with the military, including with other countries, to validate threats and strengthen defenses, he said.

Last year, the Philippine said it thwarted attempts by hackers operating in China to break into websites and e-mail systems of the Philippine president and government agencies, including one promoting maritime security.

Uy described the escalating cyber threats as part of a global arms race, where nations and criminal organizations exploit digital vulnerabilities for financial or strategic gain.

“World War III is happening and it is cyber,” Uy said. “These weapons are non-kinetic. They are cyber, digital, virtual, but it’s happening. The attacks and defenses are happening as we speak, without any physical manifestation.”

Beyond cyberattacks, Uy has also flagged a surge in deepfakes and what he referred to as “fake news media outlets” aiming to manipulate public opinion ahead of the Philippines’ mid-term elections in May, and the ministry has deployed tools to combat them.

“Misinformation and disinformation are riskier with respect to democracies like ours, because we rely on elections, and elections are based on personal opinion,” Uy said.
…

WASHINGTON/TAIPEI — Taiwan is exploring buying arms worth billions of dollars from the United States, sources briefed on the matter said, hoping to win support from the new Trump administration as China continues to apply military pressure on the island. 

Three sources familiar with the situation, speaking to Reuters on the condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of the situation, told Reuters that Taiwan is in talks with Washington. 

The package is meant to demonstrate to the United States that Taiwan is committed to its defense, one of the sources said. 

A second source said the package would include coastal defense cruise missiles and HIMARS rockets. 

“I would be very surprised if it was less than $8 billion. Somewhere between $7 billion to $10 billion,” the source added. 

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. However, U.S. national security adviser Mike Waltz has said he wants to speed delivery of weapons to Taiwan. 

Taiwan’s defense ministry declined to comment on specific purchases but said it is focused on building its defenses. 

“Any weaponry and equipment that can achieve those goals for building the military are listed as targets for tender,” it said. 

China claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory and has never renounced the use of force to bring the island under its control. Taiwan strongly objects to China’s sovereignty claims and says only the island’s people can decide their future. 

Trump-Taiwan relations 

U.S. President Donald Trump unnerved chip powerhouse Taiwan on the election campaign trail by saying the island stole American semiconductor business. This month, he threatened tariffs on chip imports. 

But his administration maintained diplomatic support for the Chinese-claimed island. 

Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba issued a joint statement on Feb. 7 opposing any attempt to change the current situation in the Taiwan Strait through force or coercion. The U.S. State Department also removed language on its website that it does not support Taiwan independence, a move praised by the island’s government. China has urged the U.S. to “correct its mistakes.” 

Taiwan plans to propose a special defense budget that prioritizes precision ammunition, air-defense upgrades, command and control systems, equipment for the reserve forces and anti-drone technology, a third source familiar with the matter said. 

During his 2017-2021 term, Trump established regular arms sales to Taiwan, including multibillion-dollar deals for F-16 fighter jets. The Biden administration continued these sales, though often with smaller price tags. 

Taiwanese officials see encouraging signs from Trump’s administration even as tariff threats weigh on that optimism. 

Taiwan does not believe Trump is looking to make a “grand bargain” with Chinese President Xi Jinping to sell out Taiwan’s interests, one of the sources said. Trump is more concerned with putting tariffs on semiconductors, the source said. 

In another sign of U.S. commitment to Taiwan, the top U.S. diplomat in Taiwan, Raymond Greene, will retain his post, three sources told Reuters, even as other U.S. diplomatic postings undergo major reshuffles. 

A spokesperson for the U.S. State Department said Greene remains director of the American Institute in Taiwan, the unofficial U.S. Embassy in Taipei.
…