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Tuesday, January 5, 2016

The Irrawaddy Magazine

Proposed Vehicle Import Limits Dropped After Industry Outcry
Heritage Group Calls For Alterations to New Building in Downtown Rangoon
Arakan State Civilians Shelter at Monasteries Following Fighting
El Niño Could Deal Severe Heat and Drought, Meteorologist Warns
Concerns for Consumers after Disbanding of Anti-Smuggling Teams
Shan Ceasefire Signatory Seeks Answers After Burma Army Attack
Jade Equipment Probe Continues, Details Sparse
Suu Kyi Sounds Warning to Overzealous NLD MPs
Domestic Energy Firm Unearths Major Gas Find
Army Chief Defends Civil Conflict as a ‘Just War’
Suu Kyi Tipped to Meet Army Chief in Coming Weeks
2 Suspected Elephant Poachers Arrested in Irrawaddy, 3 Others at Large
Official Vows to Suspend Plans for Controversial Power Plant in Mon State
Japan’s Abe Seeks to Burnish Legacy ahead of Election
S. China Sea Tensions Surge as China Lands Plane on Artificial Island
Missed Clues and Lax Security in Run-Up to Indian Air Base Attack

Proposed Vehicle Import Limits Dropped After Industry Outcry

Posted: 05 Jan 2016 05:18 AM PST

Vehicles are seen travelling through the Shwegonedine junction in central Rangoon in 2010. (Photo: Reuters)

RANGOON — After fielding numerous complaints from industry stakeholders in recent weeks, the government has made a policy about-face, backing down on most of its plans to restrict Burma's vehicle imports beginning this year.

The Ministry of Commerce last month made a controversial announcement detailing plans to tighten controls on the imported automobiles market, stating on Dec. 15 that importers would only be allowed to bring in private passenger vehicles manufactured in 2006 or later. In addition, buses, trucks and other vehicles were to be manufactured only between 2014 and 2016 to gain import approval.

The announcement prompted backlash from local vehicle importers who said the proposed restrictions would harm their business prospects, prompting the government to reconsider the plan.

At a meeting with automobile dealers and Ministry of Commerce officials on Tuesday, the two sides reached an agreement that will see the proposed import ban on private cars manufactured before 2006 dropped, as well as the limits on other vehicles like buses. A ban on importing automobiles manufactured in 2015 or 2016 with right-side steering columns will be enforced, however.

Myat Tun Kyaw, director of the Ministry of Commerce, said Tuesday's discussion had proved fruitful.

"I heard after meeting with car dealers and officials, the dealers' proposal was successful," he said, declining to reveal more details about the agreement reached.

Soe Tun, chairman of the Myanmar Automobile Dealers Association, confirmed that Commerce Ministry officials had agreed to drop the most far-reaching aspects of the tightened car import policy at Tuesday's meeting in Naypyidaw.

"They will allow importers to import all model cars, except 2015 and 2016 models that are not left-hand [steering columns]," Soe Tun said.

"The Transportation Department will also issue licenses for cars imported during 2015 as well," he said, referring to an initial reluctance to give these vehicles the necessary permits, which prompted industry complaints last month.

The outcome of Tuesday's meeting will mean that, with the steering column exception, imports of personal or commercial vehicles will again be unrestricted in 2016, according to Soe Tun.

"Everything is back to the normal situation," he said.

Since Burma's quasi-civilian government came to power in 2011, car import policies have been changed some 10 times, causing ongoing adjustment issues for many imported car showrooms, individual import dealers and other related businesses.

South Korean, Japanese, American, German and Chinese car dealers have all opened showrooms in the commercial capital Rangoon in recent years, as the city's streets have become increasingly congested. Vehicle imports were long kept tightly restricted by Burma's former military regime.

The post Proposed Vehicle Import Limits Dropped After Industry Outcry appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Heritage Group Calls For Alterations to New Building in Downtown Rangoon

Posted: 05 Jan 2016 05:08 AM PST

A photo of the new building on the corner of Merchant Street and Pansodan Road, built by Shwe Than Lwin company, which a local heritage group has said is not suitable for the surrounding environs, with an inset image of the old Whiteaway and Laidlaw Co. building on the same corner, built in the late 19th century. (Photos: JPaing / The Irrawaddy, and courtesy of the Yangon Heritage Trust)

RANGOON — A heritage conservation group has proposed an alteration to the exterior design of a newly completed building in downtown Rangoon, as the structure detracts from the surrounding colonial-era architecture.

Located at the corner of Merchant Street and Pansodan Road, the more than six-storey building was redeveloped by Shwe Than Lwin company, a business conglomerate founded by Kyaw Win which owns Sky Net broadcasting service, among multiple other business interests.

The site was formerly occupied by Whiteaway and Laidlaw Co, the biggest department store in Rangoon, famous for its large portico supported by more than 20 columns and dating back to the late 19th century.

A photograph of the old Whiteaway and Laidlaw Co building on the corner of Merchant Street and Pansodan Road, built in the late 19th Century. (Courtesy: Yangon Heritage Trust)

After Burmese independence in 1948, the store was nationalized to be used as a government office and host to the "State Agriculture Marketing Board" until it was damaged in a blaze in the early 2000s and subsequently demolished. The site was then opened to private investors for development.

Thant Myint-U, the founder of Yangon Heritage Trust (YHT), told The Irrawaddy that the group had reached out to Kyaw Win in October to propose some alterations to the structure that would be more sympathetic to the surrounding area, where several century-old buildings remain.

"YHT have been very concerned with the building as it is right in the middle of the downtown conservation area," Thant Myint-U said.

The historian explained that the intersection of Merchant Street and Pansodan is probably the most important single heritage area in downtown Rangoon.

"Other than this one building, it's one of the last completely intact early 20th century streetscapes left in all of Asia," he said.

The proposed alterations were, "not a perfect solution, but I think a reasonable compromise," Thant Myint-U said, adding that he hoped to meet the developers this week.

Kyaw Win was not available for comment on Tuesday.

The Yangon Heritage Trust has proposed alterations to the exterior of a newly constructed building on the corner of Merchant Street and Pansodan Road [pictured], built by Shwe Than Lwin company in an area of colonial-era buildings in Rangoon. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy)

In 2013, the YHT also slammed the planned construction of a US$100 million high-rise office tower directly next to a century-old heritage building in the heart of the commercial capital.

After the objection, the government opted not to allow the project on the grounds that nothing should be built that might harm the surrounding heritage environment.

"We are not against modern buildings. But they have to be sympathetic to the surrounding area," said Moe Moe Lwin, the director and vice-chairman of YHT.

She said for the building that has now been completed, the only viable option was to undertake some exterior alterations.

"The current design is not quite suitable for the surrounds. If the owner agrees to make changes in design, it would be their contribution to the preservation of the downtown heritage center," she said.

The post Heritage Group Calls For Alterations to New Building in Downtown Rangoon appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Arakan State Civilians Shelter at Monasteries Following Fighting

Posted: 05 Jan 2016 04:39 AM PST

Arakan Army troops are pictured at Laiza, the headquarters of Kachin Independence Organization in Kachin State, in 2015. (Photo: Thaw Hein Htet / The Irrawaddy)

RANGOON — More than 100 villagers have reportedly fled to monasteries since fighting between the Arakan Army and government troops in Arakan State's Kyauktaw Township flared up on Dec. 27.

Tun Tha Sein, from Taungoo village in Arakan State, said the displaced civilians in Arakan State had taken shelter in monasteries in the villages of Kyiya Pyin and Zaytitaung, Mrauk-U Township, where local civil society organizations are providing them with food and blankets.

"Villagers said to me that they feared for their safety and left their houses after they heard a huge explosion near their village. As far as I know, more than 130 people are spread among monasteries in the two villages," Tun Tha Sein told The Irrawaddy.

He added that fighting had also erupted in areas between Mrauk-U and Kyauktaw townships, but that not all people from affected villages, including Thantatar and Ba Ei, were receiving aid.

Hla May, founder of the Kyauktaw Women's Network, said she did not believe that there were any war victims in Kyauktaw Township, but that she had heard that in addition to Mrauk-U Township, people had also fled to neighboring Paletwa Township in Chin State.

In late December, Maung Than Sein, a local of Thapyuchaung village, sustained a bullet wound to the arm and was taken to Sittwe Hospital for medical treatment. News of his injury was accompanied by allegations that he was acting as a porter for the Burma Army when he was shot.

Last month's fighting is only the latest in a series of clashes between the Burma and Arakan armies. Forces from both sides have exchanged fire with some regularity since fighting first erupted late last March.

At the same time, at least 20 people have been detained under Burma's controversial Unlawful Association Act for alleged links to the Arakan Army. Kyauktaw Township authority Khin Maung said 18 Arakan Army soldiers were arrested following the fighting last year.

Nyo Twan Awng, a colonel in the Arakan Army, claimed that at least 20 people have died and that more than 50 more have been injured by government troops in recent weeks. These claims, however, have not been verified by the government.

The post Arakan State Civilians Shelter at Monasteries Following Fighting appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

El Niño Could Deal Severe Heat and Drought, Meteorologist Warns

Posted: 05 Jan 2016 04:05 AM PST

The bank of the Irrawaddy River, pictured in 2014. (Photo: The Irrawaddy)

RANGOON — Severe heat and drought may strike Burma during the current El Niño weather pattern, a leading meteorologist has warned, predicting that the first six months of the current year could be the most extreme of the 12 to 18 month cycle.

Tun Lwin, Burma's foremost weather expert, said the forthcoming effects of the oscillation are likely to be worse than they were in the previous year, according to statements published in state media on Tuesday.

The heightened severity could be attributable to a rise in coal-fired power and deforestation, Tun Lwin told Burmese daily The Mirror, urging the government to revise regulations that allow those industries to grow rapidly.

When contacted by The Irrawaddy on Tuesday, Tun Lwin said the government needs to make environmental protection and disaster preparedness urgent priorities in the months to come.

"The government must prepare sufficient water supply in case of a drought, and healthcare for those who may suffer from the severe heat," he said.

"Relevant ministries must prepare on their own initiative for the sake of the public and the farmers."

Those living in central Burma should take extra precaution, he advised, as the central plain was already devastated by severe floods last year.

Tun Lwin served in Burma's Ministry of Meteorology and Hydrology for more than 30 years, including as its director general. Even after his retirement, he has remained Burma's most trusted weather forecaster.

In 2009, Tun Lwin founded the non-governmental organization Myanmar Climate Change Watch.

The post El Niño Could Deal Severe Heat and Drought, Meteorologist Warns appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Concerns for Consumers after Disbanding of Anti-Smuggling Teams

Posted: 05 Jan 2016 03:34 AM PST

Asia World port terminal in Rangoon, December 8, 2015. (Photo: Soe Zeya Tun / Reuters)

RANGOON — Observers have expressed concern over a potential uptick in illegal imports, including low-quality food and drugs, after Burma's commerce ministry announced the disbanding of anti-smuggling teams last week.

On Dec. 30, the ministry announced that the government's mobile task force teams, which aimed to clamp down on the country's thriving illegal border trade, would be abolished.

Since late 2012, the cross-departmental teams, including representatives of the commerce ministry, customs and police, worked to intercept illegal overland trade, primarily in Shan State's Muse on the border with China and in Myawaddy, Karen State, on the Thai-Burma border.

Min Ko Oo, secretary of the Myanmar Pulses, Beans and Sesame Seeds Merchants Association (MPBSSMA), said he was concerned that government efforts to enforce controls on illegal overland imports entering the local market may be weakened.

"For example, frozen meats and foods—most of it is coming from China. The government needs to monitor these foods for local consumers," he said. "Fake drugs, low-quality foods and other consumer products should be checked seriously."

"The government should take care of this issue beyond the mobile team," he added.

Over the past three years, the over 600-member task force seized more than 50 billion kyats (US$38.2 million) worth of smuggled goods in border areas, according to the commerce ministry, including jade, timber, foods and electronics.

Economist Aung Ko Ko said that the commencement of the ASEAN Economic Community and the attendant lowering or abolishment of trade barriers may have influenced the government's decision.

"When the mobile teams were stopped, they should have formed another controlling team [to safeguard] consumers' rights. It will harm people if there is no action," he said.

"A lot of low quality food and drugs are coming onto the local market. The government should not only take action after products have entered. There should be proper action to stop [illegal products] coming in."

Former members of the mobile anti-smuggling units are now back in their previous roles, Soe Win, deputy director general of the commerce ministry, told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday.

"The customs department will keep working on their processes and other members are back in their workplaces," he said. "There is nothing special to explain why these teams stopped working. They stopped because of a government order."

The illegal trade in cheap food, medicine and other products has particularly flourished in Sino-Burma border areas.

"Traders can carry these products through border points… this is a national health issue," Aung Ko Ko said.

The post Concerns for Consumers after Disbanding of Anti-Smuggling Teams appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Shan Ceasefire Signatory Seeks Answers After Burma Army Attack

Posted: 05 Jan 2016 03:10 AM PST

Shan commandos on parade at Shan State National Day on Feb. 7, 2014, in Loi Tai Leng, the headquarters of the Restoration Council of Shan State/Shan State Army. (Photo: Kyaw Kha /The Irrawaddy)

RANGOON — A spokesman for the Shan State Army-South (SSA-S) has said there may be "something wrong" with the nationwide ceasefire agreement inked in October if his group, one of the pact's signatories, does not receive an explanation after coming under attack by the Burma Army on New Year's Eve.

Col. Sai Hla, who represents the SSA-S as well as speaking on behalf its political wing, the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS), said his group had sent letters to President's Office Minister Aung Min and the commander of the Burma Army's Eastern Command, informing them of the attack in Shan State's Mongping Township on Thursday.

The letters sought an explanation for the Burma Army assault, in which one SSA-S soldier was killed and another wounded.

"They knew our ground forces are active in the area. Fighting has even broken out in the past there. After we signed the NCA [nationwide ceasefire agreement], we set up our base there as we intended to allow all our troops to be stationed together. But the Burma Army came to attack our base as they know we are based there," Sai Hla told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday.

A meeting at the Eastern Command's headquarters in Taunggyi is scheduled for Jan. 9-10, according to Sai Hla, who said leaders from both the SSA-S and Burma Army were expected to discuss last week's altercation.

"They may tell us [the reason for the attack] at the meeting at Eastern Command. If not, there is something wrong with the NCA, wherein we signed it already, but they still came to attack us," the SSA-S spokesman said.

Along with the government and Burma Army, the SSA-S is one of eight non-state armed groups that signed the so-called nationwide ceasefire agreement on Oct. 15 in Naypyidaw. The group is active primarily in eastern and southern Shan State.

The clash on Dec. 31 is the first time that fighting has broken out between government troops and one of the ceasefire signatories. About a dozen other ethnic armed groups, including some of the nation's largest, have abstained from signing or have otherwise been denied the chance to join the peace accord.

Non-signatories including the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and Kachin Independence Army (KIA), as well as the fellow Shan rebel group known as the Shan State Army-North (SSA-N), have clashed with government troops multiple times since the ceasefire signing.

The post Shan Ceasefire Signatory Seeks Answers After Burma Army Attack appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Jade Equipment Probe Continues, Details Sparse

Posted: 05 Jan 2016 03:02 AM PST

Miners search for jade stones at a mine dump at a Hpakant jade mine in Kachin State, Nov. 25, 2015. (Photo: Reuters)

Two weeks after the government launched an investigation into illegal vehicle imports related to the jade trade in northern Burma's Kachin State, authorities have yet to disclose any firm details about their findings.

Last week the government-led investigation team, spearheaded by Minister for Environmental Conservation and Forestry Win Tun, launched a probe into the involvement of several Kachin State government officials including the state's chief minister and two members of his cabinet.

Rumors abounded in local media that Kachin State Chief Minister Lajon Ngan Hsai had been sacked after his interrogation by the investigation team, though Zaw Htay, director of the President's Office, has yet to provide further insight into the matter.

"The case is still under investigation, and we can't yet say anything for certain," Zaw Htay told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday.

Naung Tain, assistant to the chief minister, denied that Lajon Ngan Hsai had been fired, stating that he was still at work in his office in the state capital of Myitkyina. The staffer declined to comment further on the ongoing investigation.

State media reported in December that the Ministry of Commerce had seized some 700 illegally imported trucks in Kachin State and had suspended use of the Kan Pai Tee border checkpoint where trucks had supposedly entered the country.

Hpakant locals, spurred by an increase in the number of dump trucks in the area, protested what they described as intensified government-backed jade mining efforts before President Thein Sein leaves office in a few months.

The investigation follows a devastating November landslide that shook Hpakant and claimed the lives of at least 114 prospectors searching for jade residue at a mine site. A smaller landslide left dozens of others believed to be dead on Dec. 25 at a nearby mining site.

A toxic triumvirate of deadly landslides, environmentally damaging extraction and the illegal import of machinery has sparked public outrage and calls to ramp-up safety measures.

The post Jade Equipment Probe Continues, Details Sparse appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Suu Kyi Sounds Warning to Overzealous NLD MPs

Posted: 05 Jan 2016 02:03 AM PST

Aung San Suu Kyi speaks during an event to mark Independence Day in Rangoon on Monday. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy)

RANGOON — National League for Democracy (NLD) leader Aung San Suu Kyi warned newly elected lawmakers on Monday she would "take action" against those who request ministerial positions in the incoming government.

"I don't very much like those who want to be ministers. The ministerial posts are to be taken only when assigned. I will take action against those who request ministerial posts by letter in the future according to [party] rules and regulations," Suu Kyi said in a speech to mark the country's 68th Independence Day at the NLD's headquarters in Rangoon.

It was not the first time the 70-year-old NLD chairwoman has publically admonished MP-elects for making overtures to the party's leadership over prospective positions in the executive.

In a meeting with trishaw drivers in Rangoon last month, Suu Kyi compared the drivers' support for the party, which she said came without the expectation of anything in return, to those who coveted sought-after positions in government.

"Ministerial posts will be given to capable persons, those who can serve the interests of the country," Suu Kyi said on Monday. "I want you to understand that I will not appoint you to a minister's post just because you are a NLD member."

The NLD secured majorities in both houses of Parliament in the Nov. 8 general election, enabling the party to select Burma's next president. However, the military retains a strong political foothold, with a quarter of parliamentary seats and the power to put forward ministers for the home affairs, defense and border affairs portfolios.

A cross-party committee, comprised of members of President Thein Sein's outgoing administration and senior NLD figures, has been formed to oversee the transition.

The post Suu Kyi Sounds Warning to Overzealous NLD MPs appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Domestic Energy Firm Unearths Major Gas Find

Posted: 05 Jan 2016 01:35 AM PST

Boys play soccer on a beach as ships involved in the construction of the Yadana – Yangon underwater gas pipeline project are moored in the background, outside Pyar Pon Township May 3, 2010. (Photo: Reuters)

RANGOON — A joint venture that includes local oil and gas extraction company MPRL E&P, led by business tycoon Michael Moe Myint, has discovered a new gas field in late November, the firm revealed in an announcement on Monday.

Located at the Shwe Yee Htun-1 exploration well in offshore block A-6, the field is believed to reach a depth of 17,408 feet, including some 6,670 feet of water. The announcement also said that a gas column of 129 meters was found, consisting of an estimated 15 meters of net gas pay.

Additional data is still being evaluated.

Moe Myint said that he is "pleased and proud that MPRL, as a company with limited resources in a difficult environment, succeeded in unraveling a new petroleum area in a frontier basin."

"Our efforts are of interest to international oil companies. We've finally been able to contribute to a project that could be a world-class discovery," Moe Myint said in the company's statement.

The latest find is part of the company's exploration of block A-6, an endeavor initially put in motion in 2007. MPRL carried out 2-D and 3-D surveys of the site in 2009 and 2010.

MPRL holds a 20-percent interest in block A-6. Woodside Petroleum, an Australian gas exploration and production company, and Total, another firm, each hold a 40-percent interest.

"MPRL is looking forward to evaluating this discovery with the help of Woodside and Total, with the aim of proving commerciality for all stakeholders," Moe Myint said.

The post Domestic Energy Firm Unearths Major Gas Find appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Army Chief Defends Civil Conflict as a ‘Just War’

Posted: 05 Jan 2016 01:09 AM PST

Commander-in-Chief Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing speaking in Naypyidaw on Jan.4, 2015. (Photo: Office of the Commander-in-Chief / Facebook)

RANGOON & CHIANG MAI, Thailand — The commander-in-chief of the Burma Army on Monday defended the nation's ongoing civil conflict as a "just war" geared toward stability of the nation, remarks made on the same day the incoming leadership vowed to make peace its top priority.

Speaking at a ceremony honoring soldiers for their service on Burma's Independence Day, Jan. 4, Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing said the country's ongoing civil war was for the benefit of the nation's citizens.

"All military personnel, including the commander-in-chief of the Defense Services, solemnly pledge that any war we are engaged in is for the justice and well-being of the State, the people and the Tatmadaw," Min Aung Hlaing said in the capital Naypyidaw, referring to the armed forces by their Burmese name.

The commander's remarks were published on an official Facebook page of the office of the army chief on Monday, shortly after the ceremony.

"By looking at the past events thoroughly and optimistically, one can see that the Tatmadaw is not just engaging in those military operations because it is willing to wage war," his comments continued, adding that those who most deeply despise conflict are the servicemen who are willing to sacrifice their lives for their country.

Burma is home to one of the world's longest-running civil wars, which began shortly after the country gained independence in 1948. A multilateral peace process between the government and several mostly ethnic armed groups began in 2011, following the onset of a political reform agenda geared toward transitioning from military to civilian rule.

The protracted peace process resulted in the signing of a "nationwide ceasefire agreement last October, though the pact was signed by less than half of the country's non-state armed groups. A political dialogue is set to begin in mid-January to seek solutions to the conflict, which is expected to be attended by about 700 delegates.

A number of ethnic minorities will not be represented in the dialogue, however, as they are still at war with the central government. Among them are some of the most powerful non-state actors, including the Kachin and Shan armed groups from the country's north and northeast.

Addressing the ongoing clashes, the commander-in-chief said that some ongoing conflict was to be expected and reiterated that the current clashes were in the interest of the population at large.

"Our fellows, including myself, can vow that we are fighting a just war for our citizens and the Tatmadaw," he said.

"It is the duty of every citizen to safeguard our country's ground, airspace and territorial waters and [protect] the life and property of our people."

Commending the military for its role in bringing about Burma's recent transition to a more democratic form of governance, Min Aung Hlaing said the armed forces have historically played a unique and central role in modern politics and national identity.

"The Tatmadaw also took the lead in marching toward the multi-party democratic system that the citizens have aspired to," Min Aung Hlaing said.

Also on Monday, Aung San Suu Kyi, whose party won a landslide victory in a November election and is set to take power early this year, told her supporters that her administration will make peace-building its top priority.

"The first responsibility of the next government is to build peace. We will organize an effective peace conference to improve the recent ceasefire agreement and we will urge widespread participation," Suu Kyi said at the headquarters of her party, the National League for Democracy.

The post Army Chief Defends Civil Conflict as a 'Just War' appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Suu Kyi Tipped to Meet Army Chief in Coming Weeks

Posted: 05 Jan 2016 12:06 AM PST

Aung San Suu Kyi and Burma Army chief Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing shake hands for the waiting media in Naypyidaw, Dec. 2, 2015. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy)

National League for Democracy (NLD) chairwoman Aung San Suu Kyi is tipped to meet Burma Army chief Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing in the coming weeks, sources close to the government and opposition suggest, the pair's second dialogue since the Nov. 8 general election.

The peace process will reportedly be high on the agenda, with political dialogue, set to be attended by some 700 delegates, to begin on Jan. 12.

"The peace process is the first thing the new government will work on. We will try for the all-inclusive ceasefire agreement," Suu Kyi said in a speech to mark Independence Day in Rangoon on Monday, as quoted by Reuters. "We can do nothing without peace in our country."

The 70-year-old NLD leader held separate dialogues with President Thein Sein and Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing in Naypyidaw on Dec. 2, with all parties pledging to cooperate to ensure a smooth transition.

While the content of either discussion was not revealed, observers saw the twin meetings, which had been requested by Suu Kyi shortly after the NLD's resounding election victory, as a positive sign.

Min Aung Hlaing, 10 years Suu Kyi's junior, greeted the opposition leader warmly in front of the cameras. But their one-hour confab, the pair's first bilateral sit-down since the commander-in-chief took up the post in 2011, was not thought to have touched on sensitive topics

To the surprise of many, Suu Kyi also met with retired senior general and head of the previous military junta Than Shwe at his residence in Naypyidaw on Dec. 4. Again, few concrete details of the discussion—which sources suggest lasted two hours—have emerged.

Than Shwe's grandson, who also met with the NLD leader in November, quoted the former junta chief as referring to Suu Kyi as the country's "future leader" whom he would support "with all my effort."

Suu Kyi was reportedly diplomatic and pledged a consultative approach under an NLD-led government, informed sources said—an approach that was deemed to have worked well. But it was not known whether the unlikely interlocutors discussed the military-drafted 2008 Constitution and, more specifically, Article 59(f) which effectively bars Suu Kyi from assuming the presidency.

According to the clause, the president "shall he himself, one of the parents, the spouse, one of the legitimate children or their spouses not owe allegiance to a foreign power, not be subject of a foreign power or citizen of a foreign country." Suu Kyi's two children are British nationals, as was her late husband.

In December, Thura Aung Ko, a senior lawmaker with the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) told the BBC's Burmese service that Article 59(f) could be suspended with the support of a majority of lawmakers, allowing Suu Kyi to formally assume the country's top post.

While some observers have played down that prospect, Suu Kyi herself has repeatedly said that regardless of her formal position in government, as the head of Burma's ascendant political party, she will lead the country.

Well-placed sources told The Irrawaddy that Suu Kyi was likely to raise the issue of amending the Constitution during her second meeting with Min Aung Hlaing.

With the army in control of a quarter of parliamentary seats and an effective veto over charter change, the support of military lawmakers is crucial. Further dialogue between Suu Kyi and the army chief could therefore be integral to defining the political landscape in 2016 and beyond.

The post Suu Kyi Tipped to Meet Army Chief in Coming Weeks appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

2 Suspected Elephant Poachers Arrested in Irrawaddy, 3 Others at Large

Posted: 04 Jan 2016 10:10 PM PST

A wild elephant killed by poachers in the Chaungtha Forest Reserve in Irrawaddy Division. (Photo: Ministry of Information)

PATHEIN, Irrawaddy Division — Police in Irrawaddy Division have arrested two suspected members of an elephant poaching ring and are still searching for three others, including the gang's leader.

"They are [part of] a five-member gang; we have arrested two, three others are on the loose with a percussion lock firearm and we are combing the forest for them," police officer Win Htut of Tha Let Kwar Police Station in the divisional capital, Pathein, told The Irrawaddy on Monday.

On Jan. 1, police detained Maung Poe and Maung Chauk after they were sighted in the Chaungtha Forest Reserve. Their arrests led to the seizure of one Dayun motorbike, 66 pieces of elephant trunks and tails, dried elephant hide and a 13-inch butcher's knife from suspect Maung Poe.

"As we interrogated Maung Poe, another one got away by motorbike," said officer Win Htut. "We combed the forest and found a suspicious man wandering around near the ranger's office in the forest at around 8:30pm. We interrogated him and found that he was also part of the gang."

Police searched the area after the arrests and discovered a skinned elephant in a nearby creek, as well as a structure erected to cure the animal's hide. The 32-year-old male elephant was eight feet, six inches tall, 12 feet long with a girth of 14 feet.

Additional elephant tails, poison and a syringe were also seized from the second suspect, Maung Chauk, upon his arrest.

All five suspects are residents of Ngape Township, Magwe Division, and the two men currently in custody will face charges under Burma's Forest Law, police said.

The post 2 Suspected Elephant Poachers Arrested in Irrawaddy, 3 Others at Large appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Official Vows to Suspend Plans for Controversial Power Plant in Mon State

Posted: 04 Jan 2016 09:54 PM PST

Locals protest the planned construction of a 1280-megawatt coal-fired power plant at Inn Din village in Ye Township, Mon State, on May 5, 2015. (Photo: Tin Htet Paing / The Irrawaddy)

RANGOON — Ministry of Electric Power Deputy Minister Aung Than Oo told lawmakers last week that all works related to a planned coal-fired power plant in Mon State's Inn Din Village would be suspended until the consent of locals could be obtained.

The Toyo-Thai company has been seeking to develop a 1280 MW coal plant in the village in Ye Township, expected to cost upwards of US$2.8 billion. A 30-year construction and operating agreement was signed between Toyo-Thai and the Ministry of Electric Power in April 2015.

The deputy minister was responding to a question from ethnic Mon MP Mi Myint Than in the Parliament on Dec. 30 on whether the plant, which has been subject to sustained local opposition, would proceed.

The lawmaker also asked the official about plans to expand the national power grid to include Ye Township, where local residents are forced to access electricity from private generators at a cost of between 500-1,000 kyat (US$0.38-$0.76) per unit.

Under the government's ambitious National Electrification Plan, developed with assistance from the World Bank, the government has targeted ensuring nationwide access to electricity by 2030. Currently, only around 30 percent of the population nationwide has access to the electricity grid.

In Burma's 2014 census, only 32.4 percent of respondents cited electricity as their main source of energy for lighting. Almost 70 percent of respondents said firewood was their primary source of energy for cooking, well ahead of electricity, at 16.4 percent.

Aung Than Oo said the ministry had begun the tender process for development of power supply between Mon State's Moulmein and Ye townships and Dawei in Tenasserim Division, with environmental and social impact assessments planned for the 2016-17 fiscal year.

On the proposed power plant in Inn Din, the deputy minister said all preparatory work on the project, including impact assessments, would be suspended amid ongoing local opposition. He referred to past consultations on the project, including a study tour of coal-fired power plants in Thailand and Japan sponsored by Toyo-Thai last year.

The latter trip was criticized by local residents for lacking transparency, with many viewing the trip as an attempt to win the support of participants.

According to a National Electricity Master Plan drafted by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and a Japanese consultancy, the suggested mix for the 23,594 MW of generating capacity that Burma is forecast to require in 2030-31 is 38 percent from hydropower, 33 percent from coal, 20 percent from natural gas and 9 percent from renewable energy sources.

The deputy minister talked up the benefits of coal on Wednesday, putting the cost of coal-produced electricity at around 100 kyat per unit.

"Hydropower takes longer in construction time, is costly, and care needs to be taken so as not to harm the environment," Aung Than Oo said. "Domestic investors are invited to produce electricity from small and medium hydro-power which, however, would not fulfill increasing demand."

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Japan’s Abe Seeks to Burnish Legacy ahead of Election

Posted: 04 Jan 2016 09:18 PM PST

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe addresses reporters on the first official business day of the New Year during a news conference at his official residence in Tokyo, Japan, January 4, 2016. (Photo: Toru Hanai / Reuters)

TOKYO — Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, stymied by a still sputtering economy, is seeking to burnish his legacy and shore up support ahead of an election in the summer.

"Challenges, challenges and still more challenges," Abe said in summing up the coming year in a nationally televised news conference Monday.

Abe said he expects to make progress on sweeping reforms he has promised, likening himself to the 18^th-century "Abarenbo Shogun," or "Rogue General" Tokugawa Yoshimune, a national leader renowned for his efforts to reduce waste, clean up corruption and instill samurai values of discipline and leadership.

Until July, Abe's focus is bound to be on ensuring victory in the election for the Upper House of parliament in July, said Michael Cucek, an expert on Japanese politics who teaches at Tokyo's Waseda University.

Abe's position is strong, with backing by the coalition partner Komeito, and the opposition has failed to regain much traction after a resounding loss of power to Abe's conservative Liberal Democrats in December 2012.

But local political superstition holds that every nine years a setback in Upper House elections forces the prime minister to step down. "Observers will be watching closely to see whether he is able to break the jinx," the Jiji news agency said in a commentary Monday.

Given the slow pace of the economic recovery so far, with inflation still nowhere near the government's 2 percent goal and wages and spending still in the doldrums, Abe has been highlighting more obvious progress on the diplomatic front.

Three years of relentless overseas travel have helped restore some of the stature Japan ceded during the past two decades of economic malaise, winning Abe widespread respect at home.

In an address to parliament's opening session on Monday, Abe pointed to concrete results from those travels, including the recent sale of Japanese high-speed train technology to India.

Last week, the government reached an agreement with neighboring South Korea on the issue of women forced into sexual slavery for Japanese troops during World War II. Abe also said on Monday that he hoped for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on a territorial dispute that, 70 years after the war's end, is still preventing Tokyo and Moscow from signing a peace treaty.

Abe said he hoped Japan's hosting in May of the summit of the Group of Seven industrial nations in Ise, scenic islands in central Japan, would prove a turning point for the global economy.

Abe acknowledged that his efforts to get the economy fully into recovery mode were only "halfway there."

The good news: Share prices are up nearly 77 percent from early 2013, with a 9.1 percent gain for 2015. At about 120 yen per US dollar, the currency remains favorably weak for exporters, the jobless rate is near 3 percent and corporate profits have been surging to new highs.

But Japan narrowly avoided a recession in 2015 and the latest vital signs were weak: Factory output fell in November, as did household spending and incomes. The year started on a sour note, as the Nikkei dropped nearly 3 percent in its 2016 opening session.

The prime minister's evolving pre-election strategy spans both short-term populist priorities and broader, longer-term aims meant to counter angst over Japan's aging and shrinking population.

On top of his earlier "Abenomics" policies of lavish monetary easing and reforms meant to improve productivity and competitiveness, Abe has promised a rise in the minimum wage and one-time stipends of 30,000 yen (about US$250) each for low-income pensioners and the disabled—constituencies that barely have benefited from the Abenomics-related run-up in stock prices.

The Liberal Democrats and Komeito recently agreed to exempt most food items from a planned sales tax hike in 2017—a concession bound to win favor with pensioners and young families that are just scraping by.

More ambitiously, Abe has pledged to help the economy expand to 600 trillion yen ($5 trillion) by 2020, an increase of about 14 percent from 2014. He also wants to raise Japan's birth rate to 1.8 children per woman from the current level of about 1.4, and to ensure workers will not have to leave their jobs to care for their parents—a growing concern in a country where more than a third of the population is over the age of 65.

Many in Tokyo's political world are speculating that Abe is worried enough about the economy to postpone, once again, next year's hike in the sales tax to 10 percent from the current 8 percent. He earlier delayed it by a year and a half, to April 2017.

Another postponement would be a gamble: Japan's gross national debt is highest relative to its GDP among major industrial nations, at more than twice the size of the economy. But with tax revenues projected to hit a 25-year peak in 2015, he may be betting that option would be less risky than a repeat of the battering the economy took after the last sales tax hike, in April 2014.

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S. China Sea Tensions Surge as China Lands Plane on Artificial Island

Posted: 04 Jan 2016 09:11 PM PST

Chinese Defense Minister Chang Wanquan (4th R) claps next to his counterparts from Asean during the China-Asean Defense Ministers' Informal Meeting in Beijing, China, October 16, 2015. (Photo: Reuters)

HONG KONG / BEIJING — China's first landing of a plane on one of its new island runways in the South China Sea shows Beijing's facilities in the disputed region are being completed on schedule and military flights will inevitably follow, foreign officials and analysts said.

China's increasing military presence in the disputed sea could effectively lead to a Beijing-controlled air defense zone, they said, ratcheting up tensions with other claimants and with the United States in one of the world's most volatile areas.

Chinese foreign ministry officials confirmed on Saturday that a test flight by a civilian plane landed on an artificial island built in the Spratlys, the first time Beijing has used a runway in the area.

Vietnam launched a formal diplomatic protest while Philippines Foreign Ministry spokesman Charles Jose said Manila was planning to do the same. Both have claims to the area that overlap with China.

"That's the fear, that China will be able take control of the South China Sea and it will affect the freedom of navigation and freedom of overflight," Jose told reporters.

In Washington, State Department spokesman John Kirby said China's landing of the plane "raises tensions and threatens regional stability."

Senator John McCain, the chairman of the influential US Senate Armed Services Committee, criticized the Obama administration for delaying further "freedom of navigation" patrols within 12 nautical miles of the islands built by China.

China has been building runways on the artificial islands for more than a year, and the plane's landing was not a surprise.

The runway at the Fiery Cross Reef is 3,000 meters (10,000 feet) long and is one of three China was constructing on artificial islands built up from seven reefs and atolls in the Spratlys archipelago.

The runways would be long enough to handle long-range bombers and transport craft as well as China's best jet fighters, giving them a presence deep into the maritime heart of Southeast Asia that they have lacked until now.

Chinese officials have repeatedly stressed that the new islands would be mostly for civilian use, such as coast guard activity and fishing research.

Foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at the weekend that the test flight was intended to check whether the runway met civilian aviation standards and fell "completely within China's sovereignty."

However, military landings on the islands were now "inevitable," said Leszek Buszynski, a visiting fellow at the Australian National University's Strategic and Defense Studies Center.

An air defense zone, while unlikely soon, was feasible and possible in future once China has built up its air strength, he said.

"The next step will be, once they've tested it with several flights, they will bring down some of their fighter air power—SU-27s and SU-33s—and they will station them there permanently. That's what they're likely to do."

De Facto Defense Zone

Ian Storey, a South China Sea expert at Singapore's ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute, said he expected tensions to worsen as China used its new facilities to project power deeper into the South China Sea.

Even if China stopped short of formally declaring an Air Defense Identification Zone, known as an ADIZ, Beijing's need to protect its new airstrips and other facilities could see it effectively operating one.

Work is well underway to complete a range of port, storage and personnel facilities on the new islands, US and regional officials have said.

Fiery Cross is also expected to house advanced early warning radars and military communications facilities, they said.

"As these facilities become operational, Chinese warnings to both military and civilian aircraft will become routine," Storey said.

"These events are a precursor to an ADIZ, or an undeclared but de facto ADIZ, and one has to expect tensions to rise."

China sparked condemnation from the United States and Japan in late 2013 when it declared an ADIZ over the East China Sea, covering uninhabited islands disputed with Tokyo.

Hua, the Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman, said on Monday that there were no immediate plans for an ADIZ in the South China Sea.

"The decision will be based on our judgment of the situation and our needs," she said, adding that Beijing respected other nations' rights to international freedoms of navigation and overflight.

However, regional military officials say they are logging increased warnings to aircraft from Chinese radio operators, including some from ground stations on Fiery Cross reef.

China claims most of the South China Sea, through which more than US$5 trillion of world trade ships every year. Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines and Taiwan have rival claims.

The United States has no claim in the South China Sea, but has been highly critical of China's assertiveness and says it will protect freedom of navigation.

In Washington, McCain said that the lack of US action after a navy patrol near the islands in October was allowing China to continue to "pursue its territorial ambitions" in the region.

US officials remain committed to carrying out further "freedom of navigation" patrols near the disputed islands, but are still debating the timing of another patrol, said one US defense official, who was not authorized to speak publicly.

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Missed Clues and Lax Security in Run-Up to Indian Air Base Attack

Posted: 04 Jan 2016 09:04 PM PST

Indian army soldiers sit in a truck as they head towards the Indian Air Force base at Pathankot in Punjab, India, January 3, 2016. (Photo: Reuters)

NEW DELHI — The hijacking of an Indian police officer's car by gunmen disguised in uniform should have set off alarm bells and helped prevent a deadly weekend attack on a military air base, officials and security experts said.

His colleagues' slowness to react was one of several security lapses in the buildup to the pre-dawn raid, blamed by India on Pakistani militants and a blow to the recent improvement in ties between the nuclear-armed neighbors.

Three days on from an assault that killed seven military personnel and wounded 22, five attackers have also been eliminated, but an operation was still under way to secure the sprawling compound in northwestern Punjab state that lies 25 kilometers (16 miles) from the border with Pakistan.

Police Superintendent Salwinder Singh's call to a colleague in the early hours of Friday morning, after his car was hijacked, was at first treated as a case of armed robbery, the officer who answered the phone said.

"The truth is that we did not take Singh's complaint seriously, because his record has not been clean," a second senior officer in the Punjab police told Reuters, on condition of anonymity.

The police sources said Singh had just been transferred after a woman constable filed a sexual harassment case against him. Singh, who was interrogated on Monday for six hours by federal investigators, could not be reached for comment.

Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi has said the location of the attackers was only pinpointed as Pathankot on Friday afternoon.

That was at least 12 hours after the seizure of Singh's unmarked vehicle, in which he was traveling with two other men following a visit to a shrine near the border with Pakistan.

"Too much time was wasted," said A.S. Dulat, a former head of the Research & Analysis Wing, India's main foreign intelligence agency. "How did they infiltrate to where they did? How were they allowed to roam around for 24 hours?"

Civilian and military officials say a security alert was circulated quickly enough to prevent the assailants from damaging fighter jets and helicopters at the base.

Nevertheless, a lack of inter-agency cooperation may have hobbled the security response, with another local police chief calling the air base a "fortress" that senior colleagues cannot enter without a written request.

"It always operated like a self-sufficient township but had no interaction with the city police or local administration," Manoj Kumar, Pathankot's deputy superintendent of police, told Reuters.

Dumped by the Roadside

Singh's cook, Madan Gopal, said he was dumped by the roadside with his employer after a long drive during which their eyes were taped shut. The gunmen took fellow passenger Rajesh Verma, a jeweler, with them.

"We both walked for an hour to reach a nearby police outpost," Gopal, 61, told Reuters. "Singh got in touch with his superiors but they told him to go home and come to the office the next day."

Verma survived and testified to police that the attackers had used his phone, possibly to call their handlers, according to the Indian Express.

One local report said the assailants dumped Singh's car 500 meters from the base. How they got into the compound is still unclear. Once inside, they burst into a guards' mess and fired indiscriminately.

One guard tackled and killed an attacker, only to die from another gunman's bullet, said Air Commodore J.S. Dhamoon, commander of the base.

Three more suspected militants were killed later on Saturday after running through the compound, firing into windows.

The guard who died was a member of India's Defense Security Corps (DSC), a unit made up of veterans who guard military facilities. Five of the seven military personnel to die served in the DSC, some of them in their fifties.

Some observers said the DSC should not guard high-value military assets.

"They were not up to speed," said Nitin Gokhale, a security analyst who edits a defense portal.

Yet the greater weakness at the base, with a 24-kilometer (15-mile) perimeter and a 3-meter (10-foot) wall topped by barbed wire, may have been a lack of adequate surveillance.

"You can have a wall, but a wall can be scaled and, probably, a surveillance system such as CCTV was lacking," said Govind Sisodia, a former senior commander of India's National Security Guard counter-terrorism unit.

There have been conflicting reports of how many attackers were involved in the raid, since claimed by the United Jihad Council, an alliance of more than a dozen pro-Pakistan militant groups based in Pakistan-run Kashmir.

India and Pakistan have fought two wars since independence in 1947 over Kashmir, both claiming the region in full but ruling it in part. Tight security along the frontier there has pushed militant attacks south to Punjab.

Analysts and officials said the attackers may have worked in groups, with the carjackers acting together and two others believed to have entered the air base separately, possibly before the main attack. One remains unaccounted for.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh tweeted his congratulations on Saturday evening to India's security forces on "successfully neutralizing all the five terrorists in 'Pathankot Operation'".

At the time, the official body count was four.

Singh's tweet was later deleted.

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