Asia Weekly News Update (Sep 19, 2022)

East Asia

China

• President Xi Jinping, visited Kazakhstan for a state visit, the 1st time he has gone abroad since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in Wuhan. Xi has taken up a stringent “Zero-Covid policy”, which is still imposing heavy restrictions nationwide to date (Sep 14)
• US President Joe Biden signed an executive order to increase scrutiny on investment in high-tech industries amid the recent tech row with China. Washington has banned government-subsidised companies from building “advanced tech” facilities for a decade through the Chips and Science Act (CSA) last week (Sep 15)
• China to impose sanctions on Boeing Defense & Raytheon CEOs as the 2 are contractors of Washington’s recent arms sales to Taiwan. No details were given by Beijing, as both Boeing & Raytheon are not currently operating in China (Sep 16)
• A 42-floor skyscraper caught fire in Changsha in central China, yet, authorities claimed there were no casualties. Major fires often occur in the country due to lax enforcement of building codes and unauthorised construction (Sep 16)

Japan

• Wholesale inflation hits 9% in August, as price rises broaden to affect retailers due to increased utility prices from the ongoing energy crisis and electronic devices from the lack of semiconductors due to the pandemic (Sep 13)
• A record-high of 17.3% of men and 14.6% of women aged 18–34 said they had no intention of getting married since 1982. Women expressed their aspirations of an autonomous career, while men stated their concerns about lack of work-life-balance, as Japan is notorious for its long working hours (Sep 14)

Taiwan

• A 7.2-magnitude earthquake hit Hualien in eastern Taiwan, followed by Tsunami precautions from Japan and the US. The entire island and adjacent coastal regions of China felt the earthquake. Roads and buildings were destroyed as the area suffered from power outages and suspended transport networks (Sep 18)

Central Asia

Kazakhstan

• President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev passed new legislation to limit presidential terms to one 7-year term and reinstated the capital’s name from Nur-Sultan to Astana. Tokayev carried out reforms attempting to remove his predecessor, Nursultan Nazarbayev’s significant political influence (Sep 17)

Kyrgyzstan & Tajikistan

• Over 24 were killed in the latest border conflicts amid unclear territorial lines. Fighting escalated from guards’ shootouts to artillery strikes, intensifying battles with the prospects of becoming more deadly. A temporary yet fragile ceasefire is agreed upon by the 2 leaders (Sep 14)

South Asia

Indonesia

• Indonesia recorded a US$5.76 billion trade surplus in August, the biggest since April, as trade reached record highs. Exports rose 30.15% to US$27.91 billion and imports rose 32.81% to US$22.15 billion on a yearly basis. Increased exports of palm oil and steel offset price decrease recently (Sep 15)

Myanmar

• A light infantry battalion defected to the Karen National Union (KNU) insurgency after rejecting orders to continue fighting in Myawaddy. Clashes between the Tatmadaw (army) and local militias have remained fierce since the February coup in 2021 (Sep 12)
• Burmese shelling killed several Rohingya in Bangladeshi refugee camps. Over a million Rohingyas have fled and sought refuge in Bangladesh after the genocide and crackdown by the Burmese military in 2017 (Sep 17)

Singapore

• Exports grew 11.4% year-on-year in August, a huge increase compared to 7% in July. The growth was driven by non-electronics exports, including food preps and pharmaceuticals, further bolstering recovery from the pandemic following the influx of foreign investment as major companies relocated from Hong Kong amid the stringent “Zero-Covid policy” that has restricted the movement of personnel and goods (Sep 16)

Sri Lanka

• Lazard, a financial advisory group, was hired by the government to restructure debt with India, China and Japan. The 3 countries hold around US$13 billion of Colombo’s debt as the biggest lenders as the new IMF loan of US$2.9 billion requires debt relief from the 3 Asian creditors (Sep 13)
• The economy contracted by 8.4% in the 2nd quarter amid the ongoing economic crisis caused by the lack of fuel and fertilisers. Colombo’s lack of foreign reserves has made it difficult to import goods and essentials, as protests broke out and led to the removal of PM Gotabaya Rajapaksa in July (Sep 15)

Thailand

• Jatuporn “New” Saeoueng, an activist, was jailed for 2 years for insulting the monarchy after dressing as Queen Suthida during a protest. The Thai monarchy still holds absolute power to date, and has a poor track record of repressing and persecuting those who are against the royal family (Sep 13)

Pacific

New Zealand

• PM Jacinda Ardern announced plans to ease pandemic measures. Mask mandates in public places and vaccine mandates would be scrapped, only keeping 7-day self-isolation for those infected. New Zealand has kept infections on the low with stringent measures throughout the pandemic (Sep 13)
• The country is experiencing a record level of sea rise, as the sea level around Wellington rises by 2.84 mm per annum. Climate change exacerbates the crisis as more ice caps would melt from increased temperature, placing New Zealand under threat of land submerged (Sep 16)