Thursday, May 24, 2018

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

Rainy Season Offers Unique Travel Delights

Posted: 24 May 2018 08:49 AM PDT

YANGON — Do you enjoy traveling around Myanmar during the rainy season (or the "green season", as I prefer to call it)? So do I. It's a fabulous time to hit the road and offers a whole a new travel experience.

As you probably know, Myanmar has three distinct seasons: hot, rainy and cool. The "green season" lasts roughly from May until September. The term "rainy season" is something of a misnomer. On a typical day in certain tourist centers like Bagan, Inle Lake, Kalay, Mandalay and northern Shan State, the chance of rainfall during the season is usually only about 25 percent.

Most people avoid traveling during the rainy season, because they worry that they'll get soaked the minute they step outside, or believe it's dangerous; but my experience has been the exact opposite.

The main benefit of traveling at this time of year is that tourist numbers are down; you can enjoy the wonderful scenery without all the unwanted crowding and noise.

The weather is neither too hot nor too cold, and your surroundings are entirely green; you can walk around emerald paddy fields between tree-lined hills; the landscapes are simply breathtaking at this time of year.

Another advantage is that hotels are cheap at this time of year, and cheaper flights are often available. What's more, some fruits and vegetables are freshest during the green season.

So, here is my list of recommended green season travel destinations.

Bagan

This ancient city in Mandalay Region is the heart of Myanmar. The historic capital city during the era of the Bagan Kingdom, it is covered with over 10,000 Buddhist temples, pagodas and monasteries.

For most of the year, the weather in Bagan is sunny, hot and dusty. But in the green season, the dust is washed away. The area's wonderful scenery takes on a different aspect, and a fresh scent fills the air after the rain showers cease.

Nearly every hotel offers a special discount during the green season; check websites and Facebook pages and don't forget to book.

You can travel to Bagan from Yangon by bus, car or train. Numerous bus lines including Bagan Min Thar and Famous run every day. A round-trip ticket costs about USD30.

Pyin Oo Lwin's popular National Kantawgyi Garden (Photos: Zaw Zaw/ The Irrawaddy)

Pyin Oo Lwin

Pyin Oo Lwin is a hill city located near Mandalay. Also known as May Myoe, the weather in this city is perfect for growing flowers; the city is covered in beautiful blooms and trees.

Among the city's attractions are its colonial-era buildings and train station. The place is always cool and makes a perfect escape from the fearsome heat of Mandalay and lower Myanmar.

The town's botanical gardens located in National Kandawgyi Park are the biggest in Myanmar, and very popular. Pyin Oo Lwin also boasts many waterfalls including the BE Waterfalls, Dat Taw Chaint Waterfalls, and the Peik Chin Myaung Waterfalls and Cave.

Pyin Oo Lwin can be reached from Yangon by road or rail. There are many bus lines operating; by car the trip takes about eight hours.

Leg-rowing fishermen at work on Inle Lake (Photos: Zaw Zaw/ The Irrawaddy)

 

Inle

Inle Lake is located in the middle of Myanmar, about 650km from Yangon. Though the lake is surrounded by mountains, temperatures are high during the hot season, so the cool and green seasons are the best times to visit.

Inle Lake can be reached by private car, bus or train; choose the option that's best for you. If you go by bus, it'll cost you around USD18 for a round-trip ticket from Yangon. The journey is about 10 hours. The road is good but the route is winding.

I recommend these express bus lines: JJ, Elite, Shwe Mandalar and Lumbini Express. If you choose to fly, there are daily flights from Yangon to Heho. You can't fly directly to Inle Lake, so take a taxi from Heho airport to Nyaung Shwe. Some hotels provide a free ferry service for guests; check with your hotel first.

Kalaw

Kalaw is a hill town near Inle Lake. You'll pass through it when you go to Inle Lake. It is known for its cool weather and is also famous for its well preserved colonial buildings. Trekking in the Kalaw Hills is a popular pastime but you should take special care when doing this during the green season.

The local market is the heart of the town — and heaven for food explorers. You can find fresh, tasty and authentic Shan dishes served throughout the area.

Kalaw is best reached by bus. From Yangon, round-trip tickets cost around USD18 and the trip takes about eight hours.

So, what are you waiting for? Book yourself a discounted hotel room and start making plans to explore Myanmar at its greenest.

The post Rainy Season Offers Unique Travel Delights appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Police Confirm Arrest of 17 Chinese Sex Workers in Raid on Yangon Spa

Posted: 24 May 2018 05:48 AM PDT

YANGON – Police confirmed that 17 young Chinese sex workers had been arrested at a beauty parlour allegedly operating as a front for an illegal prostitution business in South Okkalapa Township's Waizayandar Street on Tuesday.

Yangon Region police spokesman Maj. Hla Wai declined to provide further details about the arrest, such as the name of the owner of the beauty salon or the nationalities of the suspects. According to state-run newspapers, police, acting on a tip-off, raided the Oriental Spa at around 4 p.m. on Tuesday, catching an alleged prostitute, identified as Ms. Li Teng, 22, providing sexual services to a client. The report stated that Li Teng is from San Jia, a village in southeast China's Guangdong province.

According to police, the spa was equipped with some 18 bathrooms and massage rooms. After searching every room, police found another young Chinese woman, Tao Lian, 18, who along with 15 other young Chinese women, was allegedly waiting for customers. The police confiscated sexual wellness products, at least 34 million kyats, about USD6,500 and 11,700 yuan from the beauty parlour's manager, Mr. Feng Anxin, and 10 staff members, some of whom are believed to be Myanmar nationals. The police report says the manager did not hold a valid visa or passport but officers are "still investigating" to identify the real owner of the business.

Beauty parlour staff and the manager are lined up by Yangon police to have their photograph taken. (Photo/Ye Zarni, Faecbook)

"We are still trying to identify the origins of the remaining suspects," Police Maj. Hla Wai said.

The police statement did not mention whether the Chinese women were working as prostitutes of their own volition or whether they were victims of human trafficking. It was also unclear whether the 17 women held valid passports. The statement noted that police had filed charges against the suspects under the 1949 Suppression of Prostitution Law's Articles 3 (a,b) and 5 (1).  The law was amended during the time of the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) government but both Articles 3 and 5 still stipulate between one- to five-year prison terms for the offence of prostitution.

Regional legislator U Moe Myint of South Okkalapa Constituency (2) told The Irrawaddy over the phone on Thursday that the beauty parlour had been operating in his township for about one year and the owner was believed to be Chinese. The lawmaker said he had limited information about the suspects and was still seeking details from the authorities.

The surprise arrest of the Chinese sex workers went viral on Facebook with netizens dubbing the situation as "Chinese take over the Myanmar ladies market." Myanmar's commercial cities Yangon and Mandalay were ranked by Care International 2015 survey as the having the largest numbers of female sex workers in the country.

The post Police Confirm Arrest of 17 Chinese Sex Workers in Raid on Yangon Spa appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Upper House Passes Bill Expanding Anti-Corruption Commission’s Powers

Posted: 24 May 2018 04:38 AM PDT

YANGON — The Upper House of Myanmar's Parliament has passed amendments to the Anti-Corruption Law granting the country's anti-graft agency more authority in combating bribery.

The amendments allow the Anti-Corruption Commission to investigate at its own initiative any civil servants who are seen to be unusually wealthy. Until now, it could only probe allegations of corruption in response to formal complaints filed with strong supporting evidence.

The Anti-Corruption Law was enacted in 2013 under the previous military-backed government. It was amended on three previous occasions — in 2014, 2016 and 2017 — but the changes were not significant.

The Anti-Corruption Commission, the country's major corruption-fighting body, was set up to enforce the law. A new commission with 11 members chaired by retired minister of information U Aung Kyi was formed on Nov. 23, 2017.

Under the law, the chairman of the commission has the status of a cabinet minister, while the other members are equal to deputy ministers.

Upper House lawmaker U Aung Thein, who is also a member of the chamber's Bill Committee, said the amendments were designed to enhance the commission's effectiveness in tackling the country's deep-rooted corruption problems, including abuse of the state budget by corrupt institutions and officials.

The changes were approved amid reports of a high-profile corruption investigation into Planning and Finance Minister U Kyaw Win.

U Aung Kyi told reporters after the parliamentary session on Wednesday that the commission's investigation into the minister is almost complete.

The commission submitted the draft bill amending the Anti-Corruption Law to the Upper House on March 5.

The bill also proposed a reduction in the punishment for those found to have made a false complaint in order to defame a person to six months' imprisonment from five years. The move is seen as an incentive for the public to collaborate in fighting corruption.

However, the bill that was passed on Wednesday incorporated a change suggested by the Upper House Bill Committee reducing the maximum sentence for filing a false complaint to three years.

Other amendments to the law include expanding the commission's offices to more states and divisions.

The bill will be returned to the Lower House. From there, barring any objections, it will be sent to President U Win Myint to be signed into law.

The post Upper House Passes Bill Expanding Anti-Corruption Commission's Powers appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Govt Reveals 4 Mega Development Projects

Posted: 24 May 2018 04:17 AM PDT

YANGON — The Myanmar government has revealed four "mega development projects" with facilities ranging from information technology manufacturing to logistics to commercial and residential on more than 13,000 acres of land in the country's commercial capital Yangon and near Mandalay, the country's second-largest city.

The four Union-level projects, some of them now in the initial phase, are being developed by the Department of Urban and Housing Development (DUHD) under the Ministry of Construction with local and international investment. Three are on the outskirts of Yangon and the other is in Pyin Oo Lwin Township of Mandalay Region, according to a statement made by the ministry this week.

The largest of the four is New Mandalar Resort City in Mandalay Region in upper Myanmar. The three-phase project stretches over nearly 9,893 acres beside the Mandalay-Muse Highway in Pyin Oo Lwin. According to the master plan of the project, the New Mandalar Resort City will have facilities ranging from information technology related manufacturing to agricultural and logistical industrial zones, as well as residential and mix-used development zones.

The deputy director general of the Urban and Regional Development Division of the DUHD told The Irrawaddy that six master developers have been initially selected via expression of interest.

"But the master developer hasn't been finalized yet," Daw Aye Aye Myint said.

The other three projects in Yangon Region are the Korea Myanmar Industrial Complex and Eco Green City in Hlegu Township and the Smart District Project in Dagon Seikkan Township near the Bago River.

The Korea Myanmar Industrial Complex is located near Nyaung Hna Pin village, the venue where the previous military regime held the National Convention in 2007, with a series of discussions from 1993 to 2006 to draft the now controversial 2008 Constitution. The project area is around 555 acres and it is a joint venture between Korea Land and Housing Cooperation (60 percent) and the DUHD of the Ministry of Construction in Myanmar (40 percent). The US$110 million project includes small and medium enterprises, heavy industry and a vocational school among other things and is slated to be finished in 2023.

According to Daw Aye Aye Myint, the details of the project are to be submitted to the Myanmar Investment Commission for approval.

"Upon approval, the government has to take care of basic infrastructure. Currently, we haven't started any groundwork yet," she said.

Another project in the same township is Eco Green City, which was officially launched in December last year with the presence of the then Construction Minister U Win Khaing and Yangon Chief Minister U Phyo Min Thein as well as local partners from the Alliance Group of Companies. The 10-year project with an investment of nearly US$2 billion will cover 1,453 acres near the slated new Hanthawaddy International Airport. Its design includes housing, a logistics hub, mixed-use zones and more, according to the ministry's announcement.  The deputy director general told The Irrawaddy that around 200 acres of the total project area are supposed to be utilized for the government's low cost and affordable housing schemes.

With 1,100 acres of land to be developed in partnership with local Shwe Taung Company, Smart District or Ayarwun-Yadanar Smart District in Dagon Seikkan Township near Bago River in Yangon, is the third largest of the government's four mega projects. The US$185 million investment project, that is now currently working on building infrastructure in the area, will use more than 60 percent of the total project area for housing including low cost, private, and residential with commercial use.

The post Govt Reveals 4 Mega Development Projects appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Costly Renovation of ‘Irreparable’ School Building Stirs Outrage

Posted: 24 May 2018 02:55 AM PDT

SITTWE, Rakhine State — Locals in Rakhine State's Sittwe Township have voiced anger over the costly renovation of a school building after it was found to be structurally flawed.

The building was built in 1885 during the colonial period and used initially as a basic education high school. Then it served as a regional college, which was upgraded to Sittwe University in 1996.

After a new university campus was built in 2016, the university handed the building over to the Rakhine State Education Office, which is under the Basic Education Department of Education Ministry.

The state education office awarded a tender to Assition-1 Co in October 2016 to undertake major renovations of the building for it to be used as a school building of No.1 Basic Education High School Sittwe.

The company completed the renovations, which cost over 200 million kyats ($150,000) granted from Rakhine State education funds, in October 2017.

But later the owner of Assition-1 Co said that the building might collapse at any time as it has exceeded its service life, said U Sein Hla Tun, deputy director of the Rakhine State Education Office.

"We don't know if the building was checked before it was put out to tender for repair. Only the former [Rakhine] state education officer U Aung Kyaw Tun [who invited the tender] would know that," he said.

The office has asked the Basic Education Department to check if the building is safe to be used as a school facility, U Sein Hla Tun said.

Rakhine locals have expressed anger over the irresponsibility of the local state education office and the company, calling the repair work a waste of public funds.

"Over 200 million kyats was spent just to improve the look of the building. Why didn't they check the strength of the building first? After all the renovation work is done, they say the building is dangerous. It is a waste of public funds without responsibility and accountability," Ko Soe Naing, a civil society member of Sittwe and an alumnus of Sittwe University, told The Irrawaddy.

Some students were injured when parts of the building collapsed about 20 years ago. The alumni of Sittwe University, however, want to keep the building within the university precinct.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

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5 Policemen Charged for Releasing Timber Smugglers

Posted: 24 May 2018 01:53 AM PDT

YANGON — Five police officers including the police station head in Mandalay's Kyaukse Township were charged by a police court on Wednesday after they released two teak smugglers and reported a seizure of abandoned timber instead.

The police court of the Mandalay Region police force investigated the case after other policemen reported that those five police officers took a bribe from the timber smugglers and released them.

After three days of interrogation beginning on Monday, the court decided to charge the five under the police code of conduct.

The five are the former head of the Kyaukse Township police station police captain Myint Oo, the new head police captain Win Naing, police lieutenant Than Htike, police sub-lieutenant Ko Ko Lin and police lance corporal Chit San Ko.

Police major Win Zaw, the commander of the Kyaukse Township police force, declined to comment about the trial when asked by The Irrawaddy. He was not detained in spite of his alleged involvement in the case.

Police constables Tun Tun Win and Zeyar Maung arrested two smugglers and seized their timber on April 25 in Kyaukse. The two constables brought the smugglers to the police station, but police captain Myint Oo released them and registered the case as a seizure of abandoned timber.

The police constables with the assistance of the Kyaukse Township 88 Generation Peace and Open Society filed a complaint with the deputy home affairs minister on May 2 against the police officers.

The two police constables claimed that police captain Myint Oo scolded them in his office in the presence of newly transferred police captain Win Naing. Myint Oo was quoted as saying: "Who asked you to arrest them. The commander of the township police force [police major Win Zaw] is now asking me to release them."

Police lieutenant Than Htike and police lance corporal Chit San Ko then put the two smugglers into the car of Aung Soe Moe, a local of Pyi Pan village in Kyaukse, and let them go.

The commander of the Mandalay Region police force arrested the five on May 7 and verbally asked police major Win Zaw to resign, said a policeman of the Kyaukse police station on condition of anonymity.

Police also arrested Aung Soe Moe on May 9 and charged him under the Public Property Protection Act.

However, the two timber smugglers are still at large.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

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Joking with the Generals

Posted: 24 May 2018 01:47 AM PDT

As The Irrawaddy is celebrating its silver jubilee, we revisit some of our magazine stories published over 25 years. Jokes and humorous anecdotes have long served to hold a mirror up to the absurd side of Burma's stark social and political realities. Here is a cover story on Burmese humor from May 2001. 

Humor is one of the few things that make life in Burma bearable for most people, but even this salve for the soul can rub the ruling generals the wrong way.

When Lt-Gen Tin Oo and several other members of Burma's ruling junta died in a helicopter crash in southern Burma earlier this year, the state-controlled press attributed the accident to bad weather and poor visibility.

According to Burmese on the street, however, the real reason was something quite different: Shortly after take off, Tin Oo, who was wearing a jacket, complained that he felt cold.

“Why is it so cold?” the junta's Secretary Two demanded to know. “My dear general, I think it is because of the fan,” answered the pilot facetiously, pointing overhead to the chopper's spinning propeller.

Tin Oo immediately ordered the pilot to switch off the “fan”, as he could feel a fever coming on. “My dear general, that is impossible,” the pilot protested, horrified that his little joke had backfired. But the general was not accustomed to taking no for an answer.

“That's an order!” he bellowed.

The pilot, fearing a fate worse than death, followed the general's order. He turned off the “fan," otherwise known as rotor blades. And so the general and the other passengers perished—victims of that fatal combination of arrogance and stupidity that has been a mainstay of military rule in Burma over the past four decades.

Welcome to world of Burmese humor. Jokes and humorous anecdotes have long served to hold a mirror up to the absurd side of Burma's stark social and political realities. They also provide a clue to the indomitable spirit of the Burmese people, so unlike the drab humorlessness of their self-imposed leaders. Without their often dark sense of humor, Burmese would likely never have survived the harsh economic conditions and political repression that have gripped the country for longer than most care to recall.

Opposition leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi made a remark to a foreigner during an interview in 1996 that she didn't think she and her executive party members had ever had a single meeting where there hadn't been at least some laughs. “Obviously, its' not a happy situation we're in, but the seriousness of the situation is something we can all joke about,” said Suu Kyi.

“In fact, lots of Burmese people joke about it; there are jokes about forced labor, about prison. This is very much part of our Burmese culture.” True. Political prisoners often joke about prison life as they recall their experiences. Humor is applied as painkiller to relieve the tension and stress.

During the Ne Win era from 1962 to 1988, there were many jokes and amusing tales. One popular story went like this: Two former soldiers of Gen Ne Win come to see him to ask for his assistance. The first asks Ne Win for a Mazda automobile, so that he can make a living as a taxi driver. But the second asks only for a statue of Ne Win.

After six months, the first person, who is by now making a decent living as a taxi driver, comes back to see Ne Win to show his gratitude. The second man, however, does not show up. On the next full-moon day, however, Ne Win chanced to meet the man during a visit to the Shwedagon Pagoda, where he noticed that a large crowd had gathered.

The curious dictator went over to investigate the scene, and was surprised to see his life-size likeness and the man who had requested it from him. The man was so busy collecting money from people milling around the statue that he didn't notice his approaching benefactor. Indeed, he seemed to be making money hand over fist.
At last the old despot discovered the man's secret. Beside the statue was a sign that read: “Spitting—10 kyat; Kicking—20 kyat; Choking—50 kyat."

When the country plunged into an economic crisis in the 1980s, a popular joke spread to teashops in Rangoon and elsewhere. The joke went like this: Ne Win and his two top officials, the president and secretary general of his Burmese Socialist Program Party, were in a plane. There they began a conversation. Ne Win's deputies said the people would be happy if they dropped banknotes from the plane. But then they got into a loud argument about how much money they should spend and what sort of banknotes should be dropped. Upon hearing the heated argument, the annoyed pilot, tired of turning circles in the sky, interrupted the conversation with this suggestion: “Why don't you three jump out of the plane? Then the whole country will be very happy.”

Under the current military regime, there are many more examples of such black humor in circulation. The generals' speeches, usually replete with threats against “destructive elements” and “foreign stooges”, invite parody, and Burmese people delight in mocking their leaders' child-like obsession with political bogeymen.

Indeed, humor seems to be one of the things the regime fears most in the world. Political jokes are banned and comedians who dare to make jokes about the generals are put behind bars.

For the past 13 years, however, the state-run press has been filled with cartoons and commentaries that would seem to suggest that even the country's illustrious leaders know how to enjoy a good laugh now and then. But since most of the crude witticisms that have made their way into the official media have consisted of attacks on the country's democratically elected leaders, most citizens decline to share a chuckle with the generals.

Meanwhile, it appears that the generals have caught wind of rumors that a fan had something to do with the death of Tin Oo, and are taking the matter very seriously. It has even been reported that many are at death's door with pneumonia: It seems that the generals are all unaccountably terrified of turning off their electrical fans, even when they're feeling quite chilly. Sorry—just kidding.

The post Joking with the Generals appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Mobile Payment Firms Struggle to Dethrone Cash in Southeast Asia

Posted: 23 May 2018 10:43 PM PDT

SINGAPORE/HANOI — Bui Mai Phuong is an avid online shopper, ordering anything from clothing to personal care products from her smartphone. But she prefers to pay with cash.

She is among hundreds of millions of people whom firms such as Softbank Group-backed Grab and China’s Tencent want to win over as they try to tap into Southeast Asia’s burgeoning internet sector.

More than 70 percent of the region’s 600 million-plus people do not use banks – higher than the global average of about 30 percent – and e-commerce is projected to hit $88 billion by 2025.

But convincing consumers like Phuong, who lives in Hanoi, could be tricky.

“I have never tried using mobile payments because I don’t know how to use it and it seems a bit complicated to use,” said Phuong, 36, a manager at a construction material supplier in Vietnam.

Mobile payments are ubiquitous in China; a consumer can spend a day without using cash at all in Beijing or Shanghai, and even some beggars accept mobile payments. But cash remains king in Southeast Asia.

Hard currency, paid on delivery, accounted for 44 percent of total e-commerce transactions last year and is likely to remain the most popular payment option for at least the next three years, according to data by research firm IDC.

“The biggest challenge for users and merchants to adopt cashless is the fact that cash remains ubiquitous, easy to use and inexpensive,” said ride-hailing firm Grab, which has ventured into e-wallets.

And the mobile payment marketplace in Southeast Asia remains wide open, with no dominant players.

Indonesia’s ride-hailing firm Go-Jek’s Go-Pay, Singapore-based Grab’s GrabPay, Japan’s messaging app Line’s Line Pay, Momo e-wallet owner M_Service in Vietnam and Voyager Innovations, which operates Paymaya in the Philippines, have all entered the fray. The gaming company Razer Inc has also indicated it is eager to play a role.

Cash on delivery costs e-commerce businesses more than other payment methods, said Alibaba Group Holding-backed e-retailer Lazada Group.

For example, sometimes a customer does not have enough cash on hand, or is not home to pay for the delivery. In those cases, the product must be sent back to the seller, adding logistical costs, Lazada said.

Mobile payments address some of those problems. They can also benefit buyers by keeping payment in escrow and releasing it only on delivery.

But it can be difficult to persuade users to switch from cash when they earn about $200 on average a month in economies like Vietnam and Indonesia, according to economic data provider CEIC.

“To break habits of using cash, Grab is creating more daily use cases for cashless payment – commuting, food delivery, paying at food and retail stalls – to drive more usage of the GrabPay e-wallet,” Grab said in an email.

Mobile payment companies bet they can transform their platforms into financial supermarkets, offering everything from loans to insurance on top of payment options.

Slow Going

At the moment, usage is spotty. E-wallets will account for 16 percent of total e-commerce transactions in Southeast Asia by 2021, up from last year’s 9 percent, according to IDC.

In countries like Vietnam, where the informal economy has long been a key part of the social fabric, many consumers do not bother to get a bank account.

Some want to stay under the taxman’s radar or, like Quang Thi Si, simply do not see the need for a bank.

Si, a 48-year-old scrap collector near Ho Chi Minh City, said her business is all cash.

“Sometimes I need to send money to my relatives at home, and I often send in cash through my friends,” she said. “I don’t think I will have a bank account in the future because I don’t think I need it.”

But Si does have a smartphone. More than 90 percent of Southeast Asia’s internet access comes through mobile devices, according to a Google-Temasek study.

Even so, in countries like the Philippines, which is known for having some of the slowest internet speeds in Asia-Pacific, connectivity is a major hurdle for digital payments to clear.

‘Late to the Party'

Such challenges are likely to pose a setback to Ant Financial and Tencent, which are looking outside China for growth.

Ant, which has 600 million customers and aims to reach 2 billion worldwide in the next decade, has stepped up investments in the region, including a stake in Thai financial technology firm Ascend Money.

But its services are largely limited to Chinese tourists.

“Most of our customers are from China and they are usually very happy to know that we accept AliPay and WeChat Pay. This makes them more willing to spend money too,” said Daphne Tan, a staff member at a shop selling durian-flavored coffee and snacks in Singapore’s Chinatown.

Tencent plans to make its first foray outside China with an e-payment license in Malaysia for local transactions.

The Chinese players are “kind of late to the party,” said Michael Yeo, research manager for IDC.

“By the time they come in with a local version, if they do, the local players will have a significant advantage,” said Yeo.

Razer, which said last month it would buy the remaining stake in payments processor MOL Global that it did not already own, also signed a deal with Singtel to link its e-payments network with that of the telco.

Other recent deals in the sector include Go-Jek’s acquisition of three financial technology businesses, while Grab’s purchase of a handful of companies as well.

“It’s a highly fragmented market. Later on, there will be acquisitions, there will be shutdowns, there will be mergers,” IDC’s Yeo said. “The market will consolidate.”

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Concrete and Coral: Beijing’s South China Sea Building Boom Fuels Concerns

Posted: 23 May 2018 10:17 PM PDT

HONG KONG/SINGAPORE — At first glance from above it looks like any clean and neatly planned small town, complete with sports grounds, neat roads and large civic buildings.

But the town is on Subi reef in the Spratlys archipelago of the hotly contested South China Sea and, regional security experts believe, could soon be home to China’s first troops based in the maritime heart of Southeast Asia.

Private sector data analysis reviewed by Reuters shows Subi, some 1,200 km (750 miles) from China’s coast, is now home to nearly 400 individual buildings – far more than other Chinese islands.

Subi could be the future location of hundreds of People’s Liberation Army marines, as well as a possible administrative hub as China cements its claim with a civilian presence, security analysts and diplomatic sources say.

The data from Earthrise Media, a non-profit group supporting independent media with imagery research, was based on surveys of high-resolution images obtained by DigitalGlobe satellites, dating back to when China started dredging reefs in early 2014.

The images show neat rows of basketball courts, parade grounds and a wide variety of buildings, some flanked by radar equipment.

Earthrise founder Dan Hammer said his team’s count included only free-standing, permanent and recognizable structures.

“When I look at these pictures I see a standard PLA base on the mainland – it is incredible, right down to the basketball courts,” Singapore-based security analyst Collin Koh said after reviewing the data and images.

“Any deployment of troops will be a huge step, however – and then they will need to secure and sustain them, so the military presence will have to only grow from where it is now.”

Senior Western diplomats describe the placement of troops or jet fighters on the islands as a looming test of international efforts to curb China’s determination to dominate the vital trade waterway.

Subi is the largest of China’s seven man-made outposts in the Spratlys. The so-called “Big Three” of Subi, Mischief and Fiery Cross reefs all share similar infrastructure – including emplacements for missiles, 3km runways, extensive storage facilities and a range of installations that can track satellites, foreign military activity and communications.

Mischief and Fiery Cross each house almost 190 individual buildings and structures, according to the Earthrise analysis. The previously unpublished data details the building count on more than 60 South China Sea features, including those occupied by Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and the Philippines.

While the data shows well-developed infrastructure on some on islands such as Vietnam’s Spratly Island, the Philippines’ Thitu Island and Taiwan’s Itu Aba, the scale and development by Beijing dwarfs its rivals.

The number of buildings on Subi makes it similar in size to Woody Island in the Paracels, a Beijing-controlled group much closer to China also claimed by Vietnam.

Woody is the base and surveillance post that foreign military attaches say is the headquarters of the military division across the South China Sea, reporting to the PLA’s southern theatre command.

Koh and other analysts said the facilities on Subi, Mischief and Fiery Cross could each hold a regiment – between 1,500 to 2,400 troops.

China’s precise intentions remain unclear and Chinese experts say much will depend on whether Beijing feels threatened by regional security trends, particularly US activity such as its so-called “freedom of navigation patrols."

China’s defense ministry did not respond to Reuters questions about the build-up on Subi or what the facilities could be used for.

Beijing has consistently said the facilities on its reclaimed islands are for civilian use and necessary self-defense purposes. China blames Washington for militarizing the region with their freedom of navigation patrols.

Ding Duo, a researcher at the Chinese government-backed National Institute for South China Sea Studies, said Beijing needs a military presence in the Spratlys to protect its civilian infrastructure.

“As for how big that presence is depends on the threat assessment China has going forward for the Nansha Islands,” he said, using the Chinese name for the Spratlys.

“The Nansha region faces severe military pressure, especially since Trump took office and increased freedom of navigation patrols. So China has raised its threat assessment.”

Looming Test

The White House said this month it had raised concerns with China about its latest militarization after CNBC reported anti-ship cruise missiles and surface-to-air missile systems had been installed on Subi, Mischief and Fiery Cross.

This weekend, China revealed bombers had conducted take-off and landing training on some of its islands and reefs in preparation for what it called "the battle for the South China Sea."

Some US analysts noted PLA photographs appeared to show a bomber landing on Woody Island in the Paracels, and the Chinese military has yet to confirm planes actually landed on its Spratlys holdings.

On Wednesday, the Pentagon withdrew an invitation for China to join a major naval drill because of Beijing’s continued militarization of its islands in the South China Sea.

Admiral Philip Davidson, the nominee to be the next commander of all US forces in the Pacific, said last month the bases were now complete and lacked only deployed forces.

“Any forces deployed to the islands would easily overwhelm the military forces of any other South China Sea-claimants,” Davidson told a congressional panel.

So far, repeated US naval patrols close to Chinese features and growing international naval deployments through the region have had little obvious impact on Beijing’s plans.

“There is a real sense among Western nations that a new strategy is needed, but there is little sign anything meaningful coalescing,” said one senior Western diplomat familiar with discussions across several countries. “The deployment of jet fighters – even temporarily – will sorely test that lack of a cohesive response.”

Already large Chinese amphibious landing vessels and other ships have used the full-scale naval wharves at Fiery Cross, Subi and Mischief – pointing to what foreign naval officers describe as virtually a permanent presence throughout hotly contested waters.

Chinese forces are using their island holdings to police of what Chinese naval officers tell other navies is a “military alert zone” – an ambiguous term that both Asian and Western military officials say holds no basis in international law.

People briefed on recent Western intelligence reports describe an intensifying pattern of radio challenges to foreign military ships and aircraft delivered from Chinese naval ships and monitoring stations on Fiery Cross.

Australian officials recently publicized a “robust but polite” Chinese challenge to three of its naval ships plying the South China Sea en route to Vietnam.

Sources say such exchanges between Chinese and foreign militaries are far more frequent than is widely known.

“They have become the rule rather than the exception across significant areas of the South China Sea,” one person familiar with recent Western security reports told Reuters.

Ships and aircraft from India, France, Japan, New Zealand and rival claimants Vietnam, Malaysia and the Philippines have also been similarly warned, according to regional military officials and analysts.

With the claimed “military alert zone” having no basis in international law or military practice, foreign naval officials routinely stress they are in international waters and continue on their way.

Zhang Baohui, a Chinese security expert at Hong Kong’s Lingnan University, said Beijing was likely to be cautious about any offensive moves, such as the stationing of combat aircraft.

“Now the islands are complete, I think we will see a degree of caution in Beijing’s next moves,” he said. “Sustaining that presence so far from the Chinese coast is a massive undertaking, and I think the deployment of troops and jet fighters would really cross a threshold for China’s neighbors.”

US military officials insist they are leaving little to chance, warning the bases are already helping China project military power into areas once dominated by its neighbors.

“In short, China is now capable of controlling the South China Sea in scenarios short of war with the United States,” Davidson said in his testimony last month.

The post Concrete and Coral: Beijing’s South China Sea Building Boom Fuels Concerns appeared first on The Irrawaddy.
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