Today’s News 29 June 2021 (Tuesday)

A. NAVY NEWS/COVID NEWS/PHOTOS Title Writer Newspaper Page NIL NIL NIL NIL

B. NATIONAL HEADLINES Title Writer Newspaper Page 1 NCR seen to remain under restricted GCQ A Romero P Star 1 Lamakers buck DU30 bid to arm civillians vs Team Inquirer PDI A4 2 crime

C. NATIONAL SECURITY Title Writer Newspaper Page Angels of the sea to become voice of peace E Macarian P Star 2 3 in WPS 4 Rody wanted to visi Noys wake, but… D Porcalla P Star Senate reso eyes July 12 as Nat l West Dj Yap PDI 1 5 ‘ ’ Philippine Sea Victory Day’ 6 Risa pushes National WPS Day D Tribune A4

D. INDO-PACIFIC Title Writer Newspaper Page NIL NIL NIL NIL

E. AFP RELATED Title Writer Newspaper Page 7 Bad weather eyed in PAF helicopter crash M Punongbayan P Star 8 8 4 AFP officials get promotion M Punongbayan P Star 5

F. CPP-NPA-NDF-LCM Title Writer Newspaper Page 9 NPA leader killed in Bataan clash A Avendano Tempo 3 PRRD notion to arm anti-crime volunteers P Tonight 6 10 ‘not a policy yet’ 11 Eleazar: No PNP Guns P Tonight 11

G. MNLF/MILF/BIFF/ASG Title Writer Newspaper Page 12 BARMM stay congress decision D Tribune A6 Aquino remembered for leagacy of peace in R Rosauro PDI A3 13 Mindanao

H. EDITORIAL-OPINION-COMMENTARY-SPECIAL Title Writer Newspaper Page 14 Locsin on the PCA arbitral ruling R Arcilla M Times A4 15 Pnoy’s greatest and lasting legacy J Lina M Bulletin 5 16 PNoy and the WPS P Journal 4 17 An urgent call to action on WPS A Tugado P Journal 4

I. ONLINE NEWS Title Link NATIONAL NEWS IATF recommends NCR to remain under https://mb.com.ph/2021/06/28/iatf- GCQ with 'some restrictions' until July recommends-ncr-to-remain-under-gcq-with- 18 15; more areas under GCQ, MECQ some-restrictions-until-july-15-more-areas- under-gcq-mecq/ Duterte still opposed to face-to-face https://mb.com.ph/2021/06/29/duterte-still- 19 classes, apologizes to parents opposed-to-face-to-face-classes-apologizes- to-parents/ PRRD notion to arm anti-crime https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1145195 20 volunteers 'not a policy yet' PHL eyes raising $1 billion in global https://businessmirror.com.ph/2021/06/28/phl- 21 bonds offer eyes-raising-1-billion-in-global-bonds-offer/ Duterte meets with NGCP, seeks no- https://businessmirror.com.ph/2021/06/28/dute 22 brownout assurance rte-meets-with-ngcp-seeks-no-brownout- assurance/ Oil firms raise fuel pump prices for 5th https://businessmirror.com.ph/2021/06/28/oil- 23 week straight firms-raise-fuel-pump-prices-for-5th-week- straight/ Over 4K Pinoys still stranded in Sabah a https://mb.com.ph/2021/06/28/over-4k- 24 year after repatriation started — filipinos-still-stranded-in-sabah-a-year-since- Lorenzana repatriation-started-lorenzana/ National employment recovery plan gets https://mb.com.ph/2021/06/28/national- 25 green light from Duterte employment-recovery-plan-gets-green-light- from-duterte/ Afternoon, evening rain showers, https://mb.com.ph/2021/06/28/afternoon- 26 thunderstorms likely over Metro Manila, evening-rain-showers-thunderstorms-likely- some parts of PH — PAGASA over-metro-manila-some-parts-of-ph-pagasa/ Southwest monsoon affecting extreme https://tribune.net.ph/index.php/2021/06/29/so 27 Northern Luzon uthwest-monsoon-affecting-extreme-northern- luzon-2/ Phivolcs observes 'volcanic smog' or https://mb.com.ph/2021/06/28/phivolcs- 28 'vog' over Taal Volcano observes-volcanic-smog-or-vog-over-taal- volcano/ Imelda Marcos, 9 others named https://tribune.net.ph/index.php/2021/06/28/im 29 ‘laureates’ for promoting Phl-China elda-marcos-9-others-named-laureates-for- understanding promoting-phl-china-understanding/ Chinese seafarers could soon https://mb.com.ph/2021/06/28/increasing- 30 outnumber Filipinos – Locsin chinese-seafarers-will-soon-beat-filipinos-in- numbers-locsin/ https://tribune.net.ph/index.php/2021/06/28/mo 31 More ‘air crash debris’ found in Batanes re-air-crash-debris-found-in-batanes/ NAVY NEWS Resolution declaring July 12 as National https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/natio West Philippine Sea Victory Day filed at n/793191/resolution-declaring-july-12-as- 32 Senate national-west-philippine-sea-victory-day-filed- at-senate/story/ Hontiveros wants July 12 declared https://mb.com.ph/2021/06/28/hontiveros- 33 National West Philippine Sea Victory wants-july-12-declared-national-west- Day philippine-sea-victory-day/ PCG vows to intensify presence in Tawi- https://mb.com.ph/2021/06/28/pcg-vows-to- 34 Tawi waters intensify-presence-in-tawi-tawi-waters/ Angels of the Sea to become voice of https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2021/06/29 35 peace in West Philippine Sea /2108806/angels-sea-become-voice-peace- west-philippine-sea AFP NEWS Military to deliver COVID vaccines to far- https://mb.com.ph/2021/06/28/military-to- 36 flung areas — Duterte deliver-covid-vaccines-to-far-flung-areas- duterte/ Lorenzana orders military hospitals to https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1452560/lorenzan 37 assist LGUs in vaccination a-orders-military-hospitals-to-assist-lgus-in- vaccination-program Bad weather eyed in PAF helicopter https://www.philstar.com/nation/2021/06/29/21 38 crash 08750/bad-weather-eyed-paf-helicopter-crash 4 AFP officials get promotion https://www.philstar.com/nation/2021/06/29/21 39 08754/4-afp-officials-get-promotion Rebels accessing funds brought on gray https://businessmirror.com.ph/2021/06/28/rebe 40 list’ ls-accessing-funds-brought-on-gray-list/ Lagman, other petitioners file SC https://mb.com.ph/2021/06/28/lagman-other- 41 memoranda vs anti-terror law petitioners-file-sc-memoranda-vs-anti-terror- law/ Petitioners urge SC to void Anti- https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/natio Terrorism Act section on warrantless n/793254/petitioners-urge-sc-to-void-anti- 42 detentions terrorism-act-section-on-warrantless- detentions/story/ Gunless Society: Limit gun ownership to https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/natio 43 police, soldiers n/793227/gunless-society-limit-gun-ownership- to-police-soldiers/story/ INDO PACIFIC NEWS US Indonesia relations need a reboot https://www.eastasiaforum.org/2021/06/28/us- 44 – indonesia-relations-need-a-reboot/ US ban on Xinjiang solar products heaps https://www.scmp.com/economy/china- 45 pressure on supply chains economy/article/3139062/us-ban-chinas- xinjiang-solar-products-linked-alleged-forced U.S.-EU cooperation essential to stop https://the-japan- 46 China in race for advanced technology news.com/news/article/0007532119 China's Diplomacy in the New Era http://en.people.cn/n3/2021/0628/c90000- 47 website launched 9865941.html Police checks and patriotic flowers: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/c 48 Beijing leaves nothing to chance ahead entenary-chinese-communist-party-rehearsal- of Party centenary police-security-15106982 Marking centenary, China heralds https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/c 49 Communist Party's influence hina-communist-party-centenary-mao-xi- jinping-15109012 China’s Communists Face Daunting https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/202 Future as Party Marks 100 Years 1-06-28/china-communist-party-faces- 50 daunting-future-as-it-marks-100-year- anniversary?srnd=premium-asia How each generation of China’s https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/artic 51 Communist Party justifies its rule le/3139073/chinas-communist-party-turns-100- how-each-generation-justifies Primary School in China's Shandong https://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/books- 52 Calls on Parents to Search Out Foreign foreign-06282021081952.html Books The demise of China's 'model' village, https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/c 53 where cash and communism collide hina-village-huaxi-communist-party-capitalism- 15109040 Xi Jinping’s Complicated Quest for the https://thediplomat.com/2021/06/xi-jinpings- 54 State-Corporate Technology Complex complicated-quest-for-the-state-corporate- technology-complex/ China one step closer to shining Earth’s https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/arti 55 brightest light on the atomic world cle/3139070/china-one-step-closer-shining- worlds-brightest-light-atomic https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2021/06/28 56 Crossing the red line: Behind China’s takeover of Hong Kong /asia-pacific/hong-kong-red-line-china/ How the National Security Law https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Asia- 57 transformed Hong Kong in one year Insight/How-the-National-Security-Law- transformed-Hong-Kong-in-one-year Hong Kong police refuse permission for https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/ 58 rally to mark handover hong-kong-police-refuse-july-1-handover-rally- 15109282 Hong Kongers get creative to show https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/Hong-Kongers- 59 opposition to security law get-creative-to-show-opposition-to-security-law Hong Kong free media buckles under https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china- 60 China pressure 57633767 China, Russia agree to extend good- https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202106/1227 61 neighborliness treaty as Putin 260.shtml congratulates CPC on centenary Multibillion-dollar China, Tanzania https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/ 62 projects could be back on cards article/3139083/multibillion-dollar-china- tanzania-projects-could-be-back Chinese State Councilor and Foreign https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202106/1227 63 Minister Wang Yi to attend the G20 251.shtml Foreign Affairs Ministers' Meeting China avoids repeat of Alaska clash with https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/International- 64 US at G-20 relations/China-avoids-repeat-of-Alaska-clash- with-US-at-G-20 Japan Olympic Committee chief: Strict https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/sport/ 65 border controls needed to prevent strict-border-controls-needed-to-prevent-covid- COVID-19 spread 19-spread-japan-15108510 Olympics chief says ‘no way’ to prevent https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east- 66 Covid-19 cases among visiting teams asia/article/3139068/japans-olympics-chief- says-there-no-way-prevent-covid-19-cases Firm led by former Japan minister in joint https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2021/06/28 67 venture linked with Myanmar military /business/corporate-business/myanmar-firm/ http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=202 68 6 in 10 Koreans against Moon’s attendance at Tokyo Olympics 10628000735 As North Korea and U.S. vie for https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2021/06/28 69 leverage, nuclear talks likely a long way /asia-pacific/us-north-korea-talks-analysis/ off Kim’s ‘normal state’ vision still far off http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=202 70 10628000938 Heartbroken': North Koreans fearful over https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/north- Kim Jong Un's radical change koreans-worried-heartbroken-after-kim-jong- 71 uns-sudden-weight- loss/C6RR3JTWHFZY3OZ3LCV2E5JYI4/ Analysis: North Korea sees 'propaganda https://www.reuters.com/world/asia- 72 value' in slimmer Kim, analysts say pacific/north-korea-sees-propaganda-value- slimmer-kim-analysts-say-2021-06-28/ PM Muhyiddin unveils additional RM150 https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/ 73 billion stimulus package as Malaysia malaysia-covid-19-muhyiddin-yassin-stimulus- extends total lockdown aid-package-rm150b-15108646 Indonesia finance minister unveils plans https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/i 74 for major tax overhaul ndonesia-finance-minister-unveils-plans-for- major-tax-overhaul-15108676 In Indonesia, anti-vaccine messages https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health- 75 come with dose of anti-Chinese environment/article/3138932/indonesia-anti- sentiment vaccine-messages-come-dose-religion A Famous Buddhist Teacher Is Under https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/06/27/a- 76 Fire for Backing Myanmar’s Junta famous-buddhist-teacher-is-under-fire-for- backing-myanmars-junta/ Myanmar parallel government woos https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Myanmar- 77 Rohingya in bid for legitimacy Coup/Myanmar-parallel-government-woos- Rohingya-in-bid-for-legitimacy A closer US and Russia makes India https://www.scmp.com/week- hopeful. China, not so much asia/politics/article/3139031/closer-us-and- 78 russia-makes-india-hopeful-china-not-so-much

7 killed, dozens injured in blast in https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/ 79 Bangladesh capital 7-killed-dozens-injured-blast-dhaka- bangladesh-15105328 Belt and Road projects in limbo as https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Belt-and- 80 Bangladesh cuts budgets Road/Belt-and-Road-projects-in-limbo-as- Bangladesh-cuts-budgets Pakistan will shut border if Taliban take https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/ 81 over Afghanistan pakistan-border-security-taliban-take-over-afg- 15103998 How Pakistan Is Helping China Crack https://thediplomat.com/2021/06/how-pakistan- 82 Down on Uyghur Muslims is-helping-china-crack-down-on-uyghur- muslims/ Samoa election crisis: Parliament https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/samoa- 83 ordered to sit within a week election-crisis-parliament-ordered-to-sit-within- a-week/XKGJOJIYMVTL645ABQJNT7SQJQ/ Australia’s asymmetric advantages in https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/australias- 84 global trade asymmetric-advantages-in-global-trade/ Aging Population to Challenge https://www.voanews.com/economy- Australian Finances in Future Decades business/aging-population-challenge- 85 Warns Report australian-finances-future-decades-warns- report Russia, China extend friendship and https://www.reuters.com/world/china/russia- 86 cooperation treaty -Kremlin china-extend-friendship-cooperation-treaty- kremlin-2021-06-28/ A Confused Biden Team Risks Losing https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/06/27/southeast 87 Southeast Asia -asia-asean-china-us-biden-blinken-confusion- geopolitics/ How the United States Can Compete https://www.lawfareblog.com/how-united- 88 with Chinese Influence in Southeast Asia states-can-compete-chinese-influence- southeast-asia The Geopolitics of Empathy https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/06/27/the- 89 geopolitics-of-empathy/ Wolf War and Peace https://geopoliticalfutures.com/wolf-war-and- 90 peace/ A Measure Short of War: The Return of https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/world/2 91 Great-Power Subversion 021-06-22/measure-short-war 92 DEFENSE NEWS US-Philippines arms deal aims at South https://asiatimes.com/2021/06/us-philippines- 93 China Sea arms-deal-aims-at-south-china-sea/ U.N. peacekeeping missions prepare for https://www.reuters.com/world/un- 94 possible shutdown peacekeeping-missions-prepare-possible- shutdown-2021-06-28/ US funds Indonesian maritime training https://www.scmp.com/week- centre at edge of South China Sea asia/politics/article/3139087/us-funds- 95 indonesian-maritime-training-centre-edge- south-china A quiet battle is raging in Congress over https://www.businessinsider.com/congress-is- 96 how the US will respond to China's battling-over-us-response-to-china-growing- growing power power-2021-6 Moderate Democrats rebuke defense https://www.defensenews.com/congress/2021/ 97 budget cuts 06/28/moderate-democrats-rebuke-defense- budget-cuts/ Portable Nuclear Reactor Program https://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/artic 98 Sparks Controversy les/2021/6/28/portable-nuclear-reactor- program-sparks-controversy 'Defend Forward': What the CIA has https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/ 99 done since 1947 defend-forward-what-the-cia-has-done-since- 1947 US air strikes target Iran-backed militias https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/world 100 in Iraq, Syria /us-joe-biden-air-strike-iran-iraq-syria- pentagon-15106992 US will try using lasers to send data from https://americanmilitarynews.com/2021/06/us- 101 space to drones will-try-using-lasers-to-send-data-from-space- to-drones/ America Needs a New Strategic Posture https://nationalinterest.org/blog/reboot/america 102 in the Asia-Pacific -needs-new-strategic-posture-asia-pacific- 188461 US Navy Fleet and Marine Tracker: June https://news.usni.org/2021/06/28/usni-news- 103 28, 2021 fleet-and-marine-tracker-june-28-2021 U.S. Navy, Marines, Coast Guard http://www.navy.mil/Press-Office/News- 104 conduct joint operations Stories/Article/2673047/us-navy-marines- coast-guard-conduct-joint-operations/ U.S. 7th Fleet and III MEF Partnership in http://www.c7f.navy.mil/Media/News/Display/A 105 Indo-Pacific rticle/2672878/us-7th-fleet-and-iii-mef- partnership-in-indo-pacific USS Mustin to be replaced by USS https://www.stripes.com/branches/navy/2021- Ralph Johnson after a busy 15 years in 06-28/uss-mustin-uss-ralph-johnson-navy- 106 Japan destroyer-yokosuka-south-china-sea-taiwan- 1867355.html Here’s how the US Marine Corps is https://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/your- looking to revamp its schoolhouses marine-corps/2021/06/25/heres-how-the- 107 marine-corps-is-looking-to-revamp-its- schoolhouses/ As Allies Design Fighter Aircraft, The https://warontherocks.com/2021/06/as-allies- 108 United States Faces A Decision design-fighter-aircraft-the-united-states-faces- a-decision/ US remains dominant power in https://www.scmp.com/week- cyberspace but China is catching up, asia/politics/article/3138946/us-remains- 109 report says worlds-dominant-power-cyberspace-china- catching Why The World Should Fear China’s https://www.19fortyfive.com/2021/06/why-the- 110 Growing Military Strength world-should-fear-chinas-growing-military- strength/ China's Fake South China Sea Islands https://nationalinterest.org/blog/reboot/chinas- 111 Might Be More Trouble Than They're fake-south-china-sea-islands-might-be-more- Worth trouble-theyre-worth-188573 China's cyber power at least a decade https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/International- behind the US, study finds relations/US-China-tensions/China-s-cyber- 112 power-at-least-a-decade-behind-the-US-study- finds National security: what is Article 23 in https://www.scmp.com/news/hong- 113 Hong Kong and why is the issue back in kong/politics/article/3138956/national-security- the spotlight? what-article-23-hong-kong-and-why-issue China urges India to make a move to https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/ 114 ease border tensions article/3139050/china-urges-india-make-move- ease-border-tensions Taiwan Marine Corps stages amphibious https://focustaiwan.tw/politics/202106280018 115 landing drill Taiwan Coast Guard Takes Delivery Of https://www.navalnews.com/naval- 116 Second Catamaran Patrol Vessel news/2021/06/taiwan-coast-guard-takes- delivery-of-second-catamaran-patrol-vessel/ What Does Brunei’s New Defense White https://thediplomat.com/2021/06/what-does- 117 Paper Reveal About Its Future Security bruneis-new-defense-white-paper-reveal- Outlook? about-its-future-security-outlook/ Taiwan Sovereignty Key to Western https://news.usni.org/2021/06/28/taiwan- 118 Pacific Security, Says Japanese sovereignty-key-to-western-pacific-security- Defense Official says-japanese-defense-official Japan Defense Official Outlines Threat https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/202 119 From More Assertive China 1-06-28/japan-defense-official-outlines-threat- from-more-assertive-china?srnd=premium-asia Japan minister says necessary to 'wake https://www.reuters.com/world/asia- 120 up' to protect Taiwan pacific/japan-minister-says-necessary-wake- up-protect-taiwan-2021-06-28/ Japan prepares bid for Malaysian radar https://www.janes.com/defence-news/news- 121 programme detail/japan-prepares-bid-for-malaysian-radar- programme Okinawans living in presence of U.S. https://the-japan- 122 bases seek compromise news.com/news/article/0007499459 U.S. base reversion a slow but steady https://the-japan- 123 march in Okinawa news.com/news/article/0007499210 South Korea sends troops, destroyer to https://www.scmp.com/week- 124 US-Australia military exercise asia/politics/article/3139023/south-korea- sends-troops-destroyer-us-australia-military South Korean Navy's second https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2021/06/ 125 amphibious assault ship commissioned 28/national/defense/Navy-defense- ship/20210628181700257.html Moon taps new SoKor Air Force chief http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=202 126 amid sex crime probe 10628000951 S.Korea Okays Project to Build Iron https://www.defenseworld.net/news/29902/S_ 127 Dome-like interceptor System, Upgrade Korea_Okays_Project_to_Build_Iron_Dome_li F-35 Jets ke_interceptor_System__Upgrade_F_35_Jets Korea, Indonesia commit to KF-21 but https://www.janes.com/defence-news/news- 128 remain apart on funding detail/korea-indonesia-commit-to-kf-21-but- remain-apart-on-funding China Flyby Prompts Malaysia to https://www.voanews.com/east-asia- 129 Modernize Air Force pacific/voa-news-china/china-flyby-prompts- malaysia-modernize-air-force 130 New age rebels rock and roil Myanmar’s https://asiatimes.com/2021/06/new-age-rebels- junta rock-and-roil-myanmars-junta/ Civilian Militias Flourish as Myanmar’s https://thediplomat.com/2021/06/civilian- 131 Post-Coup Turmoil Deepens militias-flourish-as-myanmars-post-coup- turmoil-deepens/ Ten Killed as Militia Repels Surprise https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/atta 132 Attack by Junta Troops in Myanmar’s ck-06252021194548.html Sagaing Region India shifts 50,000 troops to China https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/de border in historic move fence/india-shifts-50000-troops-to-china- 133 border-in-historic- move/articleshow/83912466.cms Indian Agencies Investigate Possible https://www.defenseworld.net/news/29905/Indi 134 Drone-carried Explosives Attack on an_Agencies_Investigate_Possible_Drone_car Jammu Airport ried_Explosives_Attack_on_Jammu_Airport India chases away more drones in https://www.reuters.com/world/india/india- 135 Jammu a day after blast at air base chases-away-more-drones-jammu-day-after- blast-air-base-2021-06-28/ Jammu airbase drone attack: The threat https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/de of low cost warfare is real now fence/jammu-airbase-drone-attack-the-threat- 136 of-low-cost-warfare-is-real- now/articleshow/83909683.cms India Test Fires New ICBM Agni P https://www.defenseworld.net/news/29901/Indi 137 a_Test_Fires_New_ICBM_Agni_P The Nub of Theatrisation of Commands https://www.myind.net/Home/viewArticle/the- 138 nub-of-theatrisation-of-commands New Zealand Becomes First https://www.asiapacificdefensejournal.com/202 139 International Customer For New Remus 1/06/new-zealand-becomes-first- 300 Unmanned Underwater Vehicles international.html Russia's Military Display Shows It Still https://www.newsweek.com/russia-military- 140 Leads the Hypersonic Arms Race hypersonic-arms-race-display-1604804 The Belgorod - Russia's huge new https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/nuclear- nuclear sub firepower-russia-launches-largest-submarine- 141 built-in-30- years/AZEJLWYLAG6WHCJUB5C6EOP3R4/ How Russia Revolutionized Undersea https://nationalinterest.org/blog/reboot/how- 142 Warfare russia-revolutionized-undersea-warfare- 188709 Russia's Little Cyber Green Men Versus https://www.newsweek.com/russias-little- 143 the U.S. Digital Army cyber-green-men-versus-us-digital-army- 1604932 Almaz-Antey unveils latest naval air- https://www.janes.com/defence-news/news- 144 defence systems detail/almaz-antey-unveils-latest-naval-air- defence-systems Violence intensifies across Afghanistan's https://www.reuters.com/world/asia- central and northern provinces pacific/violence-intensifies-across- 145 afghanistans-central-northern-provinces-2021- 06-28/ Physics Gets A Vote: No Starcruisers https://warontherocks.com/2021/06/physics- 146 For Space Force gets-a-vote-no-starcruisers-for-space-force/ A Zero-Trust Approach to Cyber Security https://www.realcleardefense.com/articles/202 1/06/28/a_zero- 147 trust_approach_to_cyber_security_783249.ht ml Debunking the AI Arms Race Theory https://tnsr.org/2021/06/debunking-the-ai- 148 arms-race-theory/ Sharing Vaccines Is Good for National https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/2 149 Security 021/june/sharing-vaccines-good-national- security COVID NEWS U.S., Japan to donate 2 million Covid https://businessmirror.com.ph/2021/06/29/u-s- 150 vaccine doses to PHL in July japan-to-donate-2-million-covid-vaccine-doses- to-phl-in-july/ Canadian firm eyes vaccine https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1145251 151 manufacturing plant in PH 10 million vaccine inventory needed to https://cnnphilippines.com/news/2021/6/29/Gal 152 supply regional demands, vaccine czar vez-says-10-million-vaccine-inventory-needed- says to-supply-regional-demands.html Pfizer, Moderna vaccines provide lasting https://www.hindustantimes.com/world- 153 protection: Study news/pfizer-moderna-vaccines-provide-lasting- protection-study-101624899914092.html Delayed doses of AstraZeneca jab boost https://manilastandard.net/news/coronavirus- 154 immunity: study 2019/358332/delayed-doses-of-astrazeneca- jab-boost-immunity-study.html U.K. Study Offers New Evidence You https://www.forbes.com/sites/jemimamcevoy/2 155 Can ‘Mix And Match’ Coronavirus 021/06/28/uk-study-offers-new-evidence-you- Vaccines can-mix-and-match-coronavirus-vaccines/ Only foreign scientist in Wuhan lab says https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/arti 156 Covid-19 leak highly unlikely cle/3139077/only-foreign-scientist-wuhan-lab- says-covid-19-leak-highly Wuhan lab scientist says no virus was https://www.hindustantimes.com/world- made to infect people. Explains why news/wuhan-lab-scientist-says-no-virus-was- 157 made-to-infect-people-explains-why- 101624901328409.html Indonesia COVID-19 Surge Brings High https://www.voanews.com/episode/indonesia- 158 Rate of Cases Among Children covid-19-surge-brings-high-rate-cases-among- children-4731971 Jokowi says Sinovac COVID-19 https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/i 159 vaccination can begin for children aged ndonesia-joko-widodo-covid-19-sinovac- 12 to 17 immediately children-immediately-15109380 New Zealand considers mandatory https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/world 160 masks, QR code scanning amid COVID- /new-zealand-mandatory-masks-qr-code- 19 Delta variant concerns covid-19-delta-15108570 'Deep trouble': US health expert slams https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/covid-19- Australia's vaccination rollout coronavirus-us-health-expert-calls-australias- 161 vaccination-rollout-too-slow-as-delta-variant- hits/OFGRMFJG4Z7UV4C6LVJ565LX6E/ Australia's COVID-19 response team https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/world 162 holds urgent meeting amid outbreak /australia-covid-19-response-team-emergency- meeting-15107148 Mapping the Coronavirus Outbreak https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2020- 163 Across the World coronavirus-cases-world- map/?srnd=coronavirus Covid map: Where are cases the https://www.bbc.com/news/world-51235105 164 highest? Covid-19 Vaccine Tracker https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/covid- 165 vaccine-tracker-global- distribution/?srnd=premium-asia

J. OPINION/EDITORIAL/COMMENTARY Title Link 166 How to drag Duterte to ICC for EJK https://www.philstar.com/opinion/2021/06/29/2 probe? 108790/how-drag-duterte-icc-ejk-probe 167 Locsin on the PCA arbitral ruling https://www.manilatimes.net/2021/06/29/opinio n/columns/locsin-on-the-pca-arbitral- ruling/1804969 168 Asking for trouble https://manilastandard.net/opinion/editorial/358 313/asking-for-trouble.html 169 Probe cyberattacks https://opinion.inquirer.net/141587/probe- cyberattacks 170 Extrajudicial killings as official policy https://manilastandard.net/opinion/columns/ea gle-eyes-by-tony-la-vina/358311/extrajudicial- killings-as-official-policy.html 171 Time for LP to junk the Reds https://manilastandard.net/opinion/columns/for mation-by-gary-olivar/358308/time-for-lp-to- junk-the-reds.html 172 Offense and oppression https://www.philstar.com/opinion/2021/06/29/2 108788/offense-and-oppression 173 Grid’s gov’t property https://tribune.net.ph/index.php/2021/06/29/gri ds-govt-property/ 174 A critical juncture in the China-US https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article contest in Southeast Asia /3138782/critical-juncture-china-us-contest- southeast-asia 175 Why China cannot afford to take a https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article passive role in post-US Afghanistan /3138926/why-china-cannot-afford-take- passive-role-post-us-afghanistan 176 The most significant result of Biden-Putin http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=202 meeting 10627000090 177 Automation is a race US can’t afford to http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=202 lose 10627000073 178 China is not the cyber superpower that https://asia.nikkei.com/Opinion/China-is-not- many people think the-cyber-superpower-that-many-people-think 179 America’s knee-jerk reaction to China: https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article just shoot the bad guy /3138995/americas-knee-jerk-reaction-china- just-shoot-bad-guy

IATF recommends NCR to remain under GCQ with 'some restrictions' until July 15; more areas under GCQ, MECQ

Published June 28, 2021, 10:45 PM by Argyll Cyrus Geducos The government’s pandemic task force has recommended keeping the National Capital Region (NCR) under the general community quarantine (GCQ) with some restrictions until July 15, 2021.

Manila Bulletin File Photo Based on the presentation of Health Secretary Francisco Duque III during President Duterte’s pre-recorded public address on the evening of July 28, the provinces of Bulacan and Rizal are also under GCQ with some restrictions until July 15.

Cavite and Laguna will be under GCQ with heightened restrictions from July 1 to 15.

NCR, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal used to be collectively known as the NCR-plus since late March this year due to the spike in coronavirus (COVID-19) cases. The bubble area was effectively dissolved last month due to the decline of cases in Metro Manila. https://mb.com.ph/2021/06/28/iatf-recommends-ncr-to-remain-under-gcq-with-some-restrictions- until-july-15-more-areas-under-gcq-mecq/

Duterte still opposed to face-to-face classes, apologizes to parents

Published June 29, 2021, 12:24 AM by Genalyn Kabiling The threat of the Delta coronavirus variant is the “monkey wrench” that prevents the government from allowing the resumption of face-to-face classes in the country, according to President Duterte.

President Rodrigo Duterte (File photo/Malacañang) And given such virus threat, the President has asked for forgiveness from parents over the delay in the education of the students.

Duterte, in a televised address Monday, June 28, explained that he could not yet allow the students to physically return to school for their own health and safety. He asserted that he could not gamble with the lives of the students as the country continued to battle the coronavirus outbreak.

“Ako naman naghingi ng patawad sa inyong lahat sa mga nanay at tatay kasi ma-delay ang education ng mga bata. Patawarin ninyo ako dahil hindi ko kaya magbigay ng pahintulot na puwede na silang normal sa eskwelahan. Kasi kung magka-disgrasyahan, buhay ito (I ask for forgiveness from mothers and fathers because the education of the children will be delayed. Forgive me because I cannot allow the return of normal school. Because if any mishap happens, lives are at stake),” Duterte said.

“Delayed lang ang edukasyon ng bata (The education of the children is delayed) but it will normalize one of these days but I cannot gamble, I said, with the life of our children. Mahirap ‘yan kasi ako ang mananagot sa lahat (It’s difficult because I will be held responsible),” he added. https://mb.com.ph/2021/06/29/duterte-still-opposed-to-face-to-face-classes-apologizes-to-parents/

PRRD notion to arm anti-crime volunteers 'not a policy yet'

By Filane Mikee Cervantes June 28, 2021, 3:48 pm

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque (File photo)

MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte's proposal to arm civilian volunteers in fighting crime is "not a policy yet", Malacañang said on Monday.

In a Palace press briefing, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said while President Duterte is “open” to the idea of arming anti-crime volunteers, the proposal still needs to undergo the process of completed staff work.

"Well, as you said, he is open to the idea pero wala pa naman pong finality (but there is no finality yet)," Roque said. "So that is not a policy yet, I’m sure it will be subjected to full staff work."

Roque said he shares the view of Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Guillermo Eleazar that the proposal to arm volunteer groups is to ensure their own protection and to defend themselves against criminal elements.

"Siguro the best view expressed so far is the view of PNP Chief Eleazar which I share that kailangan intindihin naman natin na kapag ang mga volunteer groups ay mayroong banta sa buhay nila eh mayroon din silang karapatan na depensahan ang kanilang mga buhay (Maybe the best view expressed so far is the view of PNP Chief Eleazar which I share, and that is we need to understand that volunteer groups have the right to defend themselves in the face of danger)," Roque said.

Duterte floated the idea during the launch of the Global Coalition of Lingkod Bayan Advocacy Support Groups and Force Multipliers in Camp Crame on Friday.

In his message, Duterte recognized the efforts and support extended by the multi-sectoral groups to which he expressed his firm belief that through this coalition, the PNP can simply access, gather, mobilize and expand the pool of warm bodies and resources from different government agencies and sectoral organizations to complement the efforts of various law enforcement units in the fight against illegal drugs, insurgency, terrorism and in the implementation of health protocols.

“If you have this coalition, you have a list of people who are there who can arm themselves. I will order the police if you are qualified, get a gun, and help us enforce the laws,” Duterte said.

In response, lawyer Jacqueline Ann de Guia, CHR spokesperson, said "arming civilians without proper training, qualification, and clear lines of accountabilities may lead to lawlessness and proliferation of arms that may further negatively impact on human rights situation in the country."

Eleazar, however, assured that the President’s suggestion is to "encourage volunteerism and definitely not vigilantism".

Eleazar also said Duterte’s recommendation aims to protect the civilian volunteers against the criminal elements, including members of the New People’s Army (NPA) -- the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines that is listed as terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Philippines.

“Batid ng ating Pangulo at kami mismo sa PNP ang panganib na kakaharapin ng aming volunteers (The President, and even we in the PNP, know the dangers that our volunteers will be facing) for standing up against criminal elements that include members of the CPP-NPA-NDF and the suggestion made was aimed at ensuring their own protection -- but with an assurance that they will undergo the rules and procedures for civilians to possess and carry firearms,” Eleazar said in a statement on Saturday.

He said the rules and procedures include securing License to Own and Possess Firearms (LTOPF) which is a requirement before a civilian could buy a firearm, secure firearms license, and the Permit to Carry Firearms Outside Residence (PTCFOR).

If civilians are allowed to possess and carry firearms for as long as they comply with the rules and regulations of the law and are qualified to do so, Eleazar said there is no reason to prevent members of civilian volunteer groups to enjoy the same privilege.

“Walang dahilan para hindi sundin ang mga patakarang ito sa pagmamay-ari ng baril ng mga sibilyan (There is no reason for the civilians to follow these guidelines for owning guns) even with our efforts to enhance our relations with the community in fighting criminality, insurgency, and illegal drugs, among others,” Eleazar said.

Eleazar said Duterte’s call to arm civilian groups might be out of his strong desire to combat lawlessness in the society. (PNA) https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1145195

PHL eyes raising $1 billion in global bonds offer BYBERNADETTE D. NICOLAS JUNE 28, 2021

The Estrella-Pantaleon Bridge, also known as Rockwell Bridge connecting the cities of Makati and Mandaluyong, is now 92-percent complete and will be opened in July, Public Works Secretary Mark Villar has announced. The 506-meter bridge, which features a three- meter wide sidewalk, is among the P3.39-billion infrastructure projects in the country which are funded by China. THE Philippine government is eyeing to borrow at least $1 billion by offering benchmark-sized US dollar-denominated global bonds.

The Philippines is set to sell 10.5-year and 25-year dollar bonds in a bid to obtain more funds for the country’s budgetary support amid the prolonged pandemic.

This marks the third time that the government is tapping the offshore bond market this year after it sold euro-denominated bonds and Samurai bonds earlier this year.

With the tenors at benchmark-size, the Philippines is targeting to raise at least $500 million for each of the two tenors of dollar bonds.

The dollar bonds, which have a settlement date of July 6, 2021, are set to mature on January 6, 2032 and July 6, 2046.

The dual-tranche bond offering is expected to be rated Baa2 by Moody’s Investors Service, BBB+ by S&P Global Ratings and BBB by Fitch Ratings. https://businessmirror.com.ph/2021/06/28/phl-eyes-raising-1-billion-in-global-bonds-offer/

Duterte meets with NGCP, seeks no- brownout assurance BYSAMUEL MEDENILLA JUNE 28, 2021 1 MINUTE READ

PRESIDENT Duterte has ordered the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) to ensure no additional brownouts will happen this year, presidential spokesman Harry Roque said on Monday.

According to Roque, Duterte stressed the point during his meeting with NGCP officials last week.

However, he noted that the private firm in charge operating the country’s state-owned power grid had told the President it has no control over energy supply issues, which caused power outages last month.

The rotating brownouts were attributed by the Department of Energy (DOE) to the unauthorized maintenance work in some power plants in Luzon, which led to insufficient power supply in the area.

“They have the legal basis to purchase power but it is only to promote stability of the grid; it is not to provide further supply to the grid,” Roque said of NGCP’s explanation.

During the meeting, Roque said the President also raised NGCP’s expropriation of the Social Security System’s (SSS) six-hectare property in Pasay. https://businessmirror.com.ph/2021/06/28/duterte-meets-with-ngcp-seeks-no-brownout-assurance/

Oil firms raise fuel pump prices for 5th week straight BYLENIE LECTURA JUNE 28, 2021 1 MINUTE READ

In Photo: A gasoline attendant tends to customers at a petrol station in Makati City. For the fifth week in a row, petroleum prices will go up this week.

Gasoline prices will increase by P1 per liter, diesel by P0.65 per liter and kerosene by P0.70 per liter.

Seaoil, Caltex, PTT Philippines, Pilipinas Shell, Petron said Monday they will implement the price hike at 6 a.m. of Tuesday, January 29. Cleanfuel, meanwhile, will adjust its prices at 4:01 p.m.

Other oil firms are expected to adjust their prices.

The oil companies adjust their pump prices weekly to reflect movement of international oil prices.

This week’s price hike will result in year-to-date adjustments to stand at a total net increase of P11.75 per liter for gasoline, P9.90 per liter and P8.40 per liter for kerosene. https://businessmirror.com.ph/2021/06/28/oil-firms-raise-fuel-pump-prices-for-5th-week-straight/

Over 4K Pinoys still stranded in Sabah a year after repatriation started — Lorenzana

Published June 28, 2021, 10:51 PM by Martin Sadongdong A total of 4,683 overseas Filipinos in Sabah, Malaysia have yet to return home nearly one year after the national government began the repatriation process for the stranded individuals as a result of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana presents updates on the government’s repatriation of oberseas Filipinos during Pres. Duterte’s public address on June 28, 2021. (Screenshot courtesy of RTVM livestream)

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, who leads the government’s efforts in the repatriation of the affected Filipinos in Sabah, told President Duterte during his pre-recorded public address on Monday night, June 28, that some local government units (LGUs) are not ready to accept the repatriates due to rising cases in Mindanao.

“Hindi pa makabalik dahil ayaw muna ng mga tumatanggap like Zamboanga City, Jolo, and Tawi-Tawi dahil medyo tumataas ‘yung mga kaso nila doon (They cannot return just yet because Zamboanga City, Jolo, and Tawi-Tawi are not accepting them due to a surge in cases there),” Lorenzana said.

The government started repatriating overseas Filipinos who have been stranded in Sabah due to travel restrictions brought about by the pandemic on June 30, 2020.

As of May 22, 2021, Lorenzana said a total of 3,168 overseas Filipinos have already been assisted and sent back home by the national government.

Lorenzana said they were continuously coordinating with the concerned LGUs to allow the return of the overseas Filipinos.

Meanwhile, a total of 1,237,186 overseas Filipinos who were affected by the pandemic in other parts of the world have already been assisted and sent back home by the government.

These include 591,956 land-based overseas Filipino workers (OFWs); 413,929 sea-based OFWs; and 231,301 overseas Filipinos or individuals other than OFWs who were stranded abroad including tourists, students, and foreign nationals who have permanent residence in the Philippines, among others. https://mb.com.ph/2021/06/28/over-4k-filipinos-still-stranded-in-sabah-a-year-since-repatriation- started-lorenzana/

National employment recovery plan gets green light from Duterte

Published June 28, 2021, 6:34 PM by Betheena Unite The P1.14-trillion employment recovery plan that is expected to generate at least 220,000 jobs and assist over 1.4 million Filipinos struggling with unemployment and income losses has finally received the green light from Malacañang.

A barbershop worker in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic. (File photo courtesy of the DTI) The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) announced Monday, June 28, that President Duterte has signed Executive Order (EO) No. 140, officially adopting the National Employment Recovery Strategy (NERS) as the Philippine government’s master plan for the restoration of the country’s labor market.

The EO institutionalizes the 20-agency strong NERS Task Force (TF), directing it to implement the strategy from 2021 to 2022 in response to the adverse effects of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

Other items in the recovery agenda include the passage of legislations and policies that strengthen economic and employment recovery; the promotion of retooling and upskilling of workers; the implementation of youth employability programs; the provision of assistance to businesses in the form of loans, deferment of fees, upgrading of processes, among others; the provision of social protection to vulnerable groups; and the continuous monitoring and support to programs with high impact on employment.

The EO stated that the approval of the proposed wage subsidy program for private sector workers is “next in the pipeline.” It is a P24-billion safety net program that can help retain as many as one million workers. It will provide workers with a monthly subsidy of P8,000 for up to three months.

On 1 June, the House of Representatives approved Bayanihan 3 Bill or the “Bayanihan to Arise as One Act,” which has provisions for the proposed wage subsidy. However, the measure did not make it among the Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council’s (LEDAC) priority bills.

This setback would likely be resolved during the NERS Task Force’s next assembly, since EO 140 orders the TF to “conduct a joint evaluation of the policies and effectiveness of the NERS” every three months and submit periodic reports on the results of the joint evaluations and the implementation of NERS to the Office of the President (OP).

https://mb.com.ph/2021/06/28/national-employment-recovery-plan-gets-green-light-from-duterte/

Afternoon, evening rain showers, thunderstorms likely over Metro Manila, some parts of PH — PAGASA

Published June 28, 2021, 5:10 PM by Ellalyn De Vera-Ruiz

(PIXABAY) Sudden but short-lived rains and thunderstorms, occurring mostly in the afternoon or evening, may prevail over parts of the country in the next two to three days.

Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) senior weather specialist Chris Perez on Monday afternoon, June 28, said scattered rain showers and thunderstorms may affect the western section of Luzon due to the prevalence of the southwest monsoon or “habagat.”

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“Mapapansin natin na dakong hapon o gabi nagiging madalas ang pag-ulan sa panahon ngayong walang bagyo (We have observed that rains are more frequent in the afternoon or evening at a time when there is no tropical cyclone),” Perez said in the PAGASA’s live weather update.

“Samantalang ang southwest monsoon o habagat ay umiiral pa rin subalit sa dulong bahagi lang ng Luzon lamang ang naaapektuhan sa ngayon (Meanwhile, the southwest monsoon or habagat still exists but only the extreme portion of Luzon is affected so far),” he added.

The public is advised to stay vigilant against flash floods or landslides that may occur during severe thunderstorms.

Perez said that Visayas and Mindanao may experience warm and humid weather but there is also a chance of intermittent rain caused by localized thunderstorms, especially in the afternoon or evening.

He added that PAGASA is not expecting a low pressure area or tropical cyclone that may form or affect the country in the next two to three days. https://mb.com.ph/2021/06/28/afternoon-evening-rain-showers-thunderstorms-likely-over-metro- manila-some-parts-of-ph-pagasa/

Southwest monsoon affecting extreme Northern Luzon

Published 3 hours ago on June 29, 2021 07:53 AM

By TDT @tribunephl

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration on Tuesday said that the southwest monsoon is currently affecting extreme Northern Luzon.

According to Pagasa, Metro Manila and the rest of the country will have partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rainshowers or thunderstorms.

https://tribune.net.ph/index.php/2021/06/29/southwest-monsoon-affecting-extreme- northern-luzon-2/

Phivolcs observes 'volcanic smog' or 'vog' over Taal Volcano

Published June 28, 2021, 8:17 AM by Ellalyn De Vera-Ruiz

TAAL VOLCANO (FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)

Volcanic smog or “vog” has been observed over Taal Volcano’s caldera brought about by the high levels of sulfur dioxide gas emissions from the restive volcano in Batangas, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said on Monday, June 28.

“For the past two days, high levels of volcanic sulfur dioxide or SO2 gas emissions and steam-rich plumes that rose as much as three kilometers high have been observed from the Taal Main Crater,” Phivolcs said.

It noted that Taal Volcano’s sulfur dioxide emission averaged 4,771 tonnes daily on Sunday, June 27.

Phivolcs explained that vog is a type of air pollution caused by volcanoes, consisting of fine droplets containing volcanic gas, such as sulfur dioxide, which is acidic and can cause irritation of the eyes, throat, and respiratory tract in severities depending on the gas concentrations and durations of exposure

The atmospheric conditions, especially the near-absence of air movement, over the Taal Volcano “resulted in the formation of volcanic smog or vog that brought a pronounced haze over the Taal Caldera region,” it said.

“Should SO2 gas emission continue at the same rate (past week average of ~4,330 tonnes/day) or increase and atmospheric conditions promote the formation of vog, communities surrounding Taal Lake are advised to take necessary precautions,” it added.

People particularly sensitive to such ill effects are those with health conditions such as asthma, lung disease, and heart disease, the elderly, pregnant women, and children.

Phivolcs advised that those exposed to vog should stay indoors and “shut doors and windows to block out vog.” https://mb.com.ph/2021/06/28/phivolcs-observes-volcanic-smog-or-vog-over-taal-volcano/

Imelda Marcos, 9 others named ‘laureates’ for promoting Phl-China understanding

Former First Lady Imelda Marcos together with nine others were named as “laureates” for “fostering and promoting” understanding between the Philippines and China.

The award was given by the Association for Philippines-China Understanding (APCU) and the Chinese Embassy in the Philippines amid territorial disputes over the West Philippine Sea.

“As a novel award-giving body, APPCU pays special tribute to Filipinos who have made efforts through time in strengthening friendly ties and promoting mutual understanding between the Philippines and China using their respective advocacies and expertise in the various fields and disciplines,” APCU said.

The initiative was launched only this January.

Marcos, the wife of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, was recognized under the “Hall of Fame category” which acknowledges the prestige and stature of the individual, and the immense effort of work the individual has done over time as may be evidenced by the extent of reach, impact, and reception of the work(s) by communities and societies.”

Aside from Marcos, the other hall of fame award was given to former special envoy of the Philippines to China and Philippine Silkroad International Chamber of Commerce Chairman Francis Chua. https://tribune.net.ph/index.php/2021/06/28/imelda-marcos-9-others-named-laureates-for-promoting- phl-china-understanding/

Chinese seafarers could soon outnumber Filipinos – Locsin

Published June 28, 2021, 4:53 PM by Roy Mabasa Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. on Monday warned that Chinese seafarers, whose deployment in international vessels has shown a significant increase last year, will soon beat Filipino seafarers in numbers. Locsin sounded the alarm bell in reaction to reports that over 120,000 Chinese seafarers served on international, non-China vessels last year.

“They will soon beat Filipino seafarers in numbers. Why we need to man up and fix what’s wrong with our maritime schools,” Locsin said in a tweet. https://mb.com.ph/2021/06/28/increasing-chinese-seafarers-will-soon-beat-filipinos-in-numbers- locsin/

More ‘air crash debris’ found in Batanes

Another suspected part of a crashed aircraft has been found in Batanes, this time in the town of Sabtang, police reported.

A resident found the part, which has markings believed to be Chinese or Taiwanese, washed up at the shore of Brgy. Sumnanga, according to a report from the Batanes provincial police.

He chanced upon the object on Thursday and immediately reported it to barangay officials, but the information only reached the local police the next day as the area was far and had no mobile phone signals.

The part’s discovery came just a day after another large panel, also believed to be part of a crashed airplane, was found in Ivana town.

Police of Sabtang have informed the PNP Aviation Security Group in Basco of the latest discovery, so it can conduct an investigation https://tribune.net.ph/index.php/2021/06/28/more-air-crash-debris-found-in-batanes/

Resolution declaring July 12 as National West Philippine Sea Victory Day filed at Senate By CONSUELO MARQUEZ, GMA News Published June 28, 2021 3:21pm Updated June 28, 2021 3:44pm

Senator Risa Hontiveros on Monday filed a resolution honoring the Philippines' victory at the 2016 landmark arbitral ruling that favored Manila's claims in the South China Sea, which also commemorates the efforts of late former President

SenateBenigno Resolution Simeon Aquino No. 762 III’s seeks administration. to declare July 12 as National West Philippine Sea Victory Day to recall the triumph of the Philippines in the ruling, which also invalidated China's massive claims in the South China Sea. commitment to put the Philippines first, we would not have been awarded a landmark“PNoy is the legal father decision of our in 2016 international victory at law, The which Hague. established If not for his our unwav crediberingility in the global arena," Hontiveros said in a statement. https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/793191/resolution-declaring-july-12-as-national- west-philippine-sea-victory-day-filed-at-senate/story/

Hontiveros wants July 12 declared National West Philippine Sea Victory Day

Published June 28, 2021, 12:24 PM by Mario Casayuran Senator Risa Hontiveros on Monday filed a resolution declaring July 12 as National West Philippine Sea Victory Day, in commemoration of the Philippines’ 2016 triumph at the Hague, and in honor of the efforts of former President Benigno Simeon Aquino III’s administration in securing this landmark legal victory.

“PNoy (President Aquino) is the father of our 2016 victory at The Hague. If not for his unwavering commitment to put the Philippines first, we would not have been awarded a landmark legal decision in international law, which established our credibility in the global arena. Nang dahil sa tagumpay natin sa The Hague, buo ang loob ng international community na kumampi sa Pilipinas sa bawat pagmamalabis ng Tsina (Because of the victory at the Hague, the international community sided with the Philippines over the abuses of China),’’ Hontiveros said upon filing Senate Resolution 762. The resolution states that after Chinese vessels began excluding Filipino fisherfolk from their traditional fishing grounds in Panatag Shoal and other parts of the WPS (West Philippine Sea), it was President Benigno Simeon Aquino III who led the Philippine government in initiating arbitration proceedings against the People’s Republic of China before the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague, Netherlands, to uphold the country’s sovereign rights in the WPS. “PNoy was a true patriot. Even when the Philippines was going against the Goliath that is China, he pursued the case merely on the principle that it was the right thing to do. He would often say ‘the Filipino is worth fighting for,’ and this particular fight is undisputed proof that he kept his word,” Hontiveros said. Hontiveros added that having a day to remember and celebrate this win is also a way to counter mis- and disinformation that deliberately diminishes our 2016 victory. https://mb.com.ph/2021/06/28/hontiveros-wants-july-12-declared-national-west-philippine-sea- victory-day/

PCG vows to intensify presence in Tawi-Tawi waters

Published June 28, 2021, 11:50 AM by Richa Noriega After the successful week-long anti-piracy and anti-terrorism drills, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) is set to deploy more personnel, equipment, and strengthened humanitarian activities for the residents in far-flung areas in Tawi-Tawi.

PCG Commandant Admiral George Ursabia Jr. and Mrs. Agnes Ursabia joined the personnel of the BRP Gabriela Silang (OPV-8301) at the Port of Zamboanga on Sunday, 27 June 2021, for the culmination of the week-long anti-terrorism and anti-piracy training in Mindanao. (Photo courtesy of the PCG) PCG Commandant Admiral George Ursabia Jr. said they will continuously extend its help and intensify maritime law enforcement in the region.

“We will intensify our presence here. Magdadagdag po kami ng mga tauhan at mga equipment as we go on. Kailangan po talaga na maramdaman at makita 24/7 ang presensya ng PCG na nagbabantay, hindi lamang sa Sibutu passage, kung hindi dito sa (We will add more personnel and equipment as we go on. The PCG will provide 24/7 presence in guarding the Sibutu Passage, and also in) southernmost part of the country,” Ursabia said in a statement on Monday, June 28.

Ursabia also recognized the efforts of the PCG personnel for upholding maritime security and safety particularly in the Sibutu Passage, where almost 13,000 international vessels are passing and a series of piracy and kidnapping incidents have transpired in the previous years.

“Kahit gaano kayo kalayo (No matter how far you are) your government will always make you feel that you are part of the Philippines. We will continuously extend our love and care to the Filipino people residing in this part of the country,” Ursabia said.

Ursabia visited Sibutu, Tawi-Tawi during the week-long anti-piracy and anti-terrorism training of the PCG under the Task Force Pagsasanay, a unit formed to intensify the capacity building of its personnel and assets to protect the country’s maritime waters.

“I always urge our men and women to serve with humility and compassion, knowing that we are here because God chose us to be His instruments to serve others, especially in this time of pandemic,” he added.

Aside from the maritime exercises, the PCG personnel have also delivered relief supplies and coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccines in far-flung areas of Tawi-Tawi to inoculate the residents. https://mb.com.ph/2021/06/28/pcg-vows-to-intensify-presence-in-tawi-tawi-waters/

Military to deliver COVID vaccines to far-flung areas — Duterte

Published June 28, 2021, 10:24 PM by Genalyn Kabiling The government is prepared to use all assets, including military aircraft, to bring the coronavirus vaccines to far-flung places in the country.

Coronavirus vaccines have been prepared for distribution at a vaccination site in Manila on May 18, 2021. (Ali Vicoy/Manila Bulletin)

President Duterte made the assurance about the government’s transport of the life-saving vaccines but asked concerned local government units to inform them in advance if they have the necessary cold storage facilities for the vaccines.

The government has so far administered more than 10 million doses of coronavirus vaccines, allowing the full vaccination of 2.5 million people in the country.

“We are using all assets of government be it the plane, boat o anong klaseng barko para maihatid lang sa far-flung places ang bakuna (to deliver the vaccines to far-flung places),” Duterte said in a televised address Monday, June 28.

“You must have the refrigeration or if you don’t have one, tell us in advance so that hindi kami magkamali magpadala tapos (so we won’t make a delivery mistake) you don’t have the equipment to keep the temperature desired for vaccines, masasayang lang (it will go to waste),” he said.

Duterte said having the proper cold storage facility was crucial to ensure the integrity of the vaccines. “The military establishment is ready for anything… the military assures us they will take care of the delivery for as long as you have the refrigeration or equipment necessary to preserve the efficacy of the medicine,” he added.

The country has already secured more than 17.4 million doses of coronavirus vaccines, that included the recent deliveries of 1 million Sinovac jabs and 249,600 Moderna shots. https://mb.com.ph/2021/06/28/military-to-deliver-covid-vaccines-to-far-flung-areas-duterte/

Lorenzana orders military hospitals to assist LGUs in vaccination

By: Neil Arwin Mercado - Reporter / @NAMercadoINQ INQUIRER.net / 11:44 PM June 28, 2021

MANILA, Philippines Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana has ordered military hospitals in the

— program. country to assist local government units (LGUs) in implementing the government’s vaccination

The military hospitals include the 20 of the Philippine Army, eight of the Philippine Air Force, nine of the Philippine Navy, and the 11 unified area command hospitals, Lorenzana said on Monday during the weekly Palace briefing on the COVID-19 situation in the Philippines.

over the country to a “In anticipation of the arrival of the huge volume of vaccines, I have alerted the military hospitals all ssist the LGUs in the vaccination program,” Lorenzana said Aside from this, Lorenzana said there are also 11 ships that can help in transporting the vaccines.

e

“They have a big refrigeration capacity if we are sending [vaccines] to our islands and we can us Lorenzana said. these ships. Another thing is our planes are also ready to transport from Manila to the provinces,”

99,600 doses of Moderna vaccine on June 29. The country is also expecting to receive over 13.3 Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr., the country’s vaccine manager, said the country would receive additional million doses of various vaccines in July.

According to government data, as of June 27, a total of 10,065,414 vaccine doses have been administered across the country, of which 7,538,128 were first doses that is, they had received their second dose. — Meanwhile, 2,527,286 individuals in the country have been fully vaccinated.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1452560/lorenzana-orders-military-hospitals-to-assist-lgus-in-vaccination- program

Bad weather eyed in PAF helicopter crash

Michael Punongbayan (The Philippine Star ) - June 29, 2021 - 12:00am MANILA, Philippines — The crash of a brand new Black Hawk helicopter of the Philippine Air Force (PAF) in Pampanga last week could have been caused by bad weather conditions, according to Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana.

“Still under investigation. Initial report, but unconfirmed is bad weather,” Lorenzana told The STAR yesterday when asked for an update about the June 23 helicopter crash that killed three pilots and three crewmembers.

Lorenzana said the incident is being investigated. He said only one body was recovered intact, although it was burned almost beyond recognition. The rest were body parts.

https://www.philstar.com/nation/2021/06/29/2108750/bad-weather-eyed-paf-helicopter-crash

4 AFP officials get promotion

Michael Punongbayan (The Philippine Star ) - June 29, 2021 - 12:00am MANILA, Philippines — Armed Forces of the Philippines chief Gen. Cirilito Sobejana donned new ranks to four newly promoted AFP officers at Camp Aguinaldo over the weekend.

Brig. Gen. Henry Doyaoen, chief of the Office of the Internal Auditor, was promoted to major general.

Also promoted were Brig. Gen. Augusto Gaite, chief of the AFP Real Estate Office; Brig Gen. Ferdinand Razalan, assistant deputy chief for reservist and retiree affairs, and Brig. Gen. Robert Velasco, commander of the Joint Task Force Malampaya.

“Your promotion not only exemplifies your personal achievements, but also signifies higher responsibility and expectation to uphold our mandate and perform excellently for the good of the country and the people,” Sobejana said.

He urged the newly promoted AFP officials to use their new ranks as inspiration in the performance of their duties. https://www.philstar.com/nation/2021/06/29/2108754/4-afp-officials-get-promotion

Lagman, other petitioners file SC memoranda vs anti-terror law

Published June 28, 2021, 3:21 PM by Ben Rosario Detention of a maximum period of 24 days already imposes punishment even to innocent individuals, violates his or her right to due process, right to bail, as well as other rights guaranteed under the Constitution.

These arguments were raised by Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman in convincing the Supreme Court to declare “unconstitutional” the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 (ATA) that has been profusely opposed by various groups and individuals in 37 court petitions.

Lagman said the 37 “kindred groups of petitioners” strongly questioning the ATA filed Monday, June 28, “six -clustered memoranda in support of their consolidated petitions.” Lagman, petitioner and counsel in Case No. G.R. 252579, has been placed in charge of preparing the memorandum for cluster 5 that presented arguments in support of a bid for the SC to void Section 29 of the ATA.

Section 29 provides for the detention of suspected terrorist for longer periods even without judicial warrant of arrest.

The veteran lawmaker also presented the written arguments on other challenged provisions of the ATA and sought the declaration of the whole law as a contradiction of rights guaranteed under the Constitution for every individual.

“The inordinately long detention period of a maximum of 24 days authorized under Section 29 violates the constitutional guarantees of the right to due process, right against unreasonable seizures or arrests, right to presumption of innocence, right to bail, right to speedy disposition of one’s case, right against torture, right to secure the writs of habeas corpus and amparo, where time is of the essence in the effective exercise of said rights,” said Lagman in the memorandum.

He pointed out that the subtitle alone that reads “Detention without Judicial Warrant of Arrest” already consists of an ”express admission that the written authorization of the Anti- Terrorism Council (ATC) for the arrest and detention of a terrorist suspect is a violation of Section 2 of Article III of the Bill of Rights which mandates that no person can be arrested without a warrant of arrest solely issued by a judge upon finding of probable cause.” https://mb.com.ph/2021/06/28/lagman-other-petitioners-file-sc-memoranda-vs-anti-terror-law/

Petitioners urge SC to void Anti-Terrorism Act section on warrantless detentions By MA. ANGELICA GARCIA, GMA News Published June 28, 2021 8:49pm According to Albay Representative Edcel Lagman, he and "37 kindred groups of petitioners" who questioned the constitutionality of the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 on Monday filed "six-clustered memoranda in support of their consolidated petitions" with the Supreme Court.

In a statement, Lagman said that among their petitions was for the high court to void Section 29 of the ATA which allows for detention without a judicial warrant of arrest.

"No less than its subtitle, which reads 'Detention without Judicial Warrant of Arrest,' is an express admission that the written authorization of the Anti- Terrorism Council (ATC) for the arrest and detention of a terrorist suspect is a violation of Section 2 of Article III of the Bill of Rights which mandates that no person can be arrested without a warrant of arrest solely issued by a judge upon finding of probable cause," he said.

Lagman said the ATC, which is a purely executive agency, "cannot be vested with the power to issue a warrant of arrest."

"Since detention is the logical consequence of an arrest or taking into custody of a suspect, the written authorization of the ATC includes the seizure of the suspect, which can only be ordered by a judge," he said. https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/793254/petitioners-urge-sc-to-void-anti-terrorism- act-section-on-warrantless-detentions/story/

NEWS Gunless Society: Limit gun ownership to police, soldiers

Published June 28, 2021 6:10pm The Gunless Society of Philippines on Monday urged the government to limit gun ownership yo guns to military and police personnel.

The group opposed President Rodrigo Duterte's suggestion to give guns to anti- crime volunteers in a bid to maintain peace and order in the country.

"Ang aming mungkahi diyan, higpitan ang pagmamay-ari ng baril kung pwede malimitahan sa tactical units sa military and other law enforcement agencies," Norman Cabrera, secretary general of the Gunless Society of the Philippines, told Balitanghali.

[Our appeal is to form strict regulations for gun ownership if we can, limit guns for tactical units of military and other law enforcement agencies.],"

Without strict policies on gun ownership, Cabrera said there would be more incidents of people using unlicensed guns in the country.

"Ang pamahalaan natin ngayon open system, as if guns are an ordinary commodity dahil sa ganyang polisiya lumalabas ang napakarami, mas marami pa sa mga lisensyadong baril na 'di nacocontrol at mga illegal firearms so to speak," he said. https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/793227/gunless-society-limit-gun-ownership-to- police-soldiers/story/

US–Indonesia relations need a reboot 28 June 2021

Authors: Alexander R Arifianto, RSIS and Yohanes Sulaiman, Jenderal Achmad Yani University

Since gaining independence in 1945, Indonesia has subscribed to the principle of a ‘free and active’ (bebas aktif) foreign policy, which emphasises neutrality and non-alignment. Despite this approach to great power rivalry, Indonesia has enjoyed good bilateral relations with the United States from the time Washington formally recognised Indonesia’s independence in 1949.

The US–Indonesia relationship weathered several periods of tension. The first was during the 1950s. Fearing that the Communist Party would take over Indonesia without any action from the Indonesian government, the United States decided to support the PRRI/Permesta rebellion of 1958.

The relationship deteriorated further after a major diplomatic spat between Indonesia and Malaya over the status of Sabah and Sarawak. The spat led to military confrontation between 1963 and 1966. It was only after Suharto deposed President Sukarno in the aftermath of the 30 September Movement that the US–Indonesia relationship improved, and the two nations developed security and economic cooperation.

Indonesia and the United States signed the US–Indonesia Comprehensive Partnership under the Obama administration in 2010. This agreement became an umbrella for joint partnerships in areas such as higher education and climate change — but went dormant when the Trump administration assumed office in 2017. On 31 May 2021, US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman visited Indonesia as the first high ranking official of the Biden administration to pay an official visit to the country. At the meeting, leaders discussed potential new initiatives to renewthe US–Indonesia partnership and address regional challenges. https://www.eastasiaforum.org/2021/06/28/us-indonesia-relations-need-a-reboot/

US ban on China’s Xinjiang solar products linked to alleged forced labour heaps pressure on supply chains

The Biden administration’s ban on products from a Chinese company in the

Xinjiang

Uygur autonomous region over alleged human rights abuses is expected to complicate solar supply chains and create new challenges for US companies trying to cut exposure to the region.

https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3139062/us-ban-chinas-xinjiang-solar- products-linked-alleged-forced

U.S.-EU cooperation essential to stop China in race for advanced technology

3:39 pm, June 28, 2021

EditorialThe United States and the European Union have embarked on high- level talks on the issue of advanced technology. It is vital to promote effective cooperation in order to prevent China from attaining economic hegemony.

U.S. President Joe Biden, European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had a summit meeting at which they decided to create a Trade and Technology Council.

The new council will be comprised of the secretary of state, commerce secretary and U.S. trade representative from the U.S. side, and two executive vice presidents — one in charge of competition and the other of trade — from the EU. Working groups will also be established.

With such a top-level lineup, it can be said that the United States and EU are aiming to restore bilateral relations that deteriorated during the previous U.S. administration of President Donald Trump.

The council will examine international rules and standards related to advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence and biotechnology. In light of the current global shortage of semiconductors, it will also discuss expanding the resiliency of supply chains and a mechanism to prevent technology outflow.

Behind the establishment of the council is Washington’s strong sense of caution it harbors toward Beijing.

China has achieved rapid growth under state-run capitalism, in which the Communist government controls all economic activity. It has invested heavily in state-owned enterprises and is forcibly absorbing other countries’ technology in a bid to take the lead in the battle for advanced technology. https://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0007532119

China's Diplomacy in the New Era website launched (Xinhua) 12:39, June 28, 2021

BEIJING, June 28 (Xinhua) -- A website dedicated to China's Diplomacy in the New Era was launched in both Chinese and English on Monday.

The website was jointly created by the China Internet Information Center (China.org.cn/China.com.cn) under the China International Publishing Group and the China Institute of International Studies (Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy Studies Center) with guidance from the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China. The website serves as an official platform to introduce and popularize Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy.

The website focuses on Xi Jinping's important foreign affair activities, remarks, statements and signed articles, as well as literature and studies on Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy since the 18th National Congress of the CPC. The website also makes Xi Jinping's wide-ranging diplomatic activities come to life through a dynamic online map. Aiming to demonstrate major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy, the website constantly provides the latest news and information about China's foreign affairs and diplomatic policies.

Other language versions are planned, and the website can now be reached at this address:http://www.chinadiplomacy.org.cn. http://en.people.cn/n3/2021/0628/c90000-9865941.html

Police checks and patriotic flowers: Beijing leaves nothing to chance ahead of Party centenary

Chinese paramilitary police walk past a display commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Communist Party of China outside of the newly-completed Museum of the Communist Party of China in Beijing, Friday, June 25, 2021. China's ruling Communist Party is marking the 100th anniversary of its founding on July 1. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

28 Jun 2021 09:23AM(Updated: 28 Jun 2021 09:33AM) BEIJING: Behind roadblocks and hundreds of police in the Chinese capital of Beijing on Friday (Jun 25), fireworks resembling the national flag bloomed over the city as part of a secretive and tightly choreographed rehearsal for the 100th anniversary of China's Communist Party.

Beijing has shut down traffic, decked streets in patriotic flower arrangements and national flags and ramped up surveillance and security this week in preparation for the centenary event on Jul 1. https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/centenary-chinese-communist-party-rehearsal-police- security-15106982

Marking centenary, China heralds Communist Party's influence

China has commemorated the 100th anniversary of the party with a flower display in the eastern city of Hangzhou AFP/STR

28 Jun 2021 05:34PM(Updated: 28 Jun 2021 07:07PM) BEIJING: China is marking the centenary of its ruling Communist Party this week by heralding what it says is its growing influence abroad, along with success in battling corruption at home.

Party officials on Monday (Jun 28) heaped praise on President Xi Jinping, who has established himself as China’s most powerful leader since Mao Zedong, and has eliminated any limits on his term in office. https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/china-communist-party-centenary-mao-xi-jinping- 15109012

China’s Communist Party turns 100: how each generation justifies its rule

As China marks a century since the founding of the Communist Party, this series looks at the past, present and future of the country’s political system. Here, Jun Mai looks at the foundations on which each generation of the party leadership has sought to build its legitimacy.

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3139073/chinas-communist-party-turns-100-how- each-generation-justifies

Primary School in China's Shandong Calls on Parents to Search Out Foreign Books

Teachers say the ruling party wants to control everything children are reading, even outside of school.

2021-06-28

Students draw an image commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party on the ground in Qingzhou, in China's eastern Shandong province, June 24, 2021

AFP Authorities in some parts of China are banning primary school students from reading "unauthorized" books in their spare time, according to social media posts and a local resident.

The Chengde primary school in Qingyun county in the eastern province of Shandong recently wrote to parents calling them to check that their children didn't possess any banned books.

"Please conduct a thorough search for religious books, reactionary books, homegrown reprints or photocopies of books published overseas, and for any books or audio and video content not officially printed and distributed by Xinhua Bookstore," the school said in a recent circular letter to parents, according to screenshots posted to social media.

The notice said grade teachers were to be responsible for the responses of class teachers to the order, while class captains were responsible for students' responses. https://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/books-foreign-06282021081952.html

The demise of China's 'model' village, where cash and communism collide

Eight years on from the death of Huaxi's village chief, its economic takeoff appears to have crash- landed AFP/NOEL CELIS

28 Jun 2021 07:06PM(Updated: 28 Jun 2021 07:12PM) HUAXI: It was a gilt-edged gift to Communist propaganda: A village led by a Party visionary who transformed farmers into millionaires while tacking close to China's collectivist ideals.

But Huaxi's success story has soured, sunk by a pernicious brew of nepotism and political patronage which experts say may hold wider lessons for the pitfalls of "capitalism with Chinese characteristics" in a country where power emanates from the Communist Party.

Advertisement Village chief Wu Renbao transformed Huaxi, a few hours from Shanghai, from a rural backwater into a wealthy collective, surfing China's economic reforms for over four decades as the impoverished nation remade itself into a superpower.

From textiles to steel and real estate, Wu established the "Huaxi Group", a village conglomerate of over one hundred companies.

Those minted great wealth and won the village leadership praise for a pioneering approach of returning profits back to residents of China's self-styled "richest village" via beefy dividends.

By 2004, the average annual income of villagers had reportedly reached more than 122,000 yuan (US$19,000) - 40 times that of most farmers - as Huaxi's status as a winner in China's Party- driven march from poverty gleamed back in rows of villas, garish hotels, overseas degrees and generous social welfare schemes. https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/china-village-huaxi-communist-party-capitalism- 15109040

China one step closer to shining Earth’s brightest light on the atomic world

China has moved one step closer to generating the brightest X-ray on Earth with the installation of an electron gun at a hi-tech facility on the outskirts of the capital on Monday, according to state broadcaster CCTV. https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3139070/china-one-step-closer-shining-worlds- brightest-light-atomic

Crossing the red line: Behind China’s takeover of Hong Kong

• • Protesters demonstrate in Hong Kong on June 9, 2019. Hong Kong’s march toward an authoritarian future began with a single phrase in a dry policy paper in 2014 that many dismissed at the time as intimidating swagger: Beijing, the document declared, would wield "comprehensive jurisdiction” over the territory. | LAM YIK FEI/THE NEW YORK TIMES

• BY CHRIS BUCKLEY, VIVIAN WANG AND AUSTIN RAMZY • THE NEW YORK TIMES • SHARE • Jun 28, 2021 Hong Kong’s march toward an authoritarian future began with a single phrase in a dry policy paper. Beijing, the document declared, would wield “comprehensive jurisdiction” over the territory.

The paper, published in June 2014, signaled Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s determination to tame political defiance in the former British colony, which had kept its own laws and freedoms. But the words were dismissed by many as intimidating swagger that the city’s robust legal system and democratic opposition could face down.

Hong Kong now knows Xi’s ambitions with a stunned clarity. The paper marked the opening of a contest for control in the city, culminating in the sweeping national security law that few saw coming.

Since that law took force one year ago, Beijing has unleashed a stampede of actions to bring Hong Kong into political lock step with the Chinese Communist Party: arresting activists, seizing assets, firing government workers, detaining newspaper editors and rewriting school curricula.

While the clampdown seemed to arrive with startling speed, it was the culmination of yearslong efforts in Beijing. Interviews with insiders and advisers, as well as speeches, policy papers and state-funded studies, reveal Chinese officials’ growing alarm over protests in Hong Kong; their impatience with wavering among the city’s pro-Beijing ruling elite; and their growing conviction that Hong Kong had become a haven for Western-backed subversion.

In the years following the white paper’s release, Beijing laid the groundwork for a security counteroffensive. Officials attacked the assumption that Hong Kong’s autonomy was set in stone under the framework negotiated with Britain near the end of colonial

rule. They pushed back against demands for democratic rights, while influential advisers audaciously proposed that Beijing could impose a security law if Hong Kong legislators failed to act.

There were clues to indicate that positions in Beijing were hardening. It was only the final push, in the months before the security law came down, that was muffled in near- total secrecy.

Those signals, often conveyed with the Communist Party’s usual calculated opacity, failed to cut through the political tumult in Hong Kong. The city’s opposition had envisioned grinding, shifting political battles against Chinese government encroachment over decades, not a lightning war. Given the risk of a global backlash, and the territory’s vital financial role, many assumed that Xi would move cautiously. Even Beijing’s closest loyalists in Hong Kong underestimated how far he was ultimately willing to go.

China’s offensive has dramatically accelerated its absorption of Hong Kong, portending deeper changes that could end the city’s status as Asia’s cosmopolitan capital.

“The whole process developed or evolved gradually, until a couple years ago, then it sped up very quickly,” said Lau Siu-kai, a Hong Kong scholar who advises Beijing on policy. “The problem is that the national security law came about very suddenly and many people were caught by surprise, including the so called pro-Beijing people in Hong Kong.”

A firewall vanishes

Xi came to power in 2012 amid expectations in Hong Kong that he might be a pragmatic overseer, content to rely on the politicians and tycoons who had long served as Beijing’s surrogates.

His father had been a liberalizing leader in neighboring Guangdong province, and Xi at first cultivated a relatively mild image. He told Leung Chun-ying, then Hong Kong’s top official, that China’s approach to the territory “will not change.”

A little-noticed paper published in June 2014 signaled Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s determination to tame political defiance in the former British colony, which had kept its own laws and freedoms. | REUTERS But as he settled into power, Xi revealed an iron-fisted ideological agenda. In mainland China, he stifled dissent and denounced ideas like judicial independence and civil society — values that to many defined Hong Kong.

The 2014 policy paper signaled Xi’s rejection of the idea that laws and treaties insulated Hong Kong from Chinese state power. Many in Hong Kong had long worried that the city’s autonomy was brittle, but previous Chinese leaders had preferred to exercise influence indirectly and covertly.

The paper’s new phrase, “comprehensive jurisdiction,” suggested that Beijing no longer saw a legal “firewall” encasing Hong Kong, said Michael C. Davis, a former professor of law at the University of Hong Kong and author of “Making Hong Kong China.”

While the term ignited protest by lawyers in Hong Kong, many considered it an intimidating political statement without legal foundation, one that would goad the opposition rather than deter it.

“This avowed posture of ‘crushing a crab to death with a boulder’ is a foolish move,” Chan Kin-man, an academic at the forefront of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy campaign, said at the time. “It will only prompt an even bigger social reaction.”

Beijing soon made clear that it was serious about setting new rules for Hong Kong.

Xi’s predecessor, Hu Jintao, had raised the possibility of fulfilling China’s repeatedly delayed promise to let the public directly elect the chief executive, Hong Kong’s top official. In August 2014, the Chinese government revealed a narrow proposal to allow a direct vote starting in 2017, but only from among a handful of candidates approved by Beijing.

Tens of thousands of people responded by occupying major streets for 2½ months. Chinese leaders began to worry that Hong Kong had become an ideological abscess that would need lancing.

Chinese media and pro-Beijing politicians began calling the protests a “color revolution,” the party’s term for Western-sponsored insurrection. Chinese officials intensified calls for the territory to pass security legislation, a commitment demanded by the Basic Law, Beijing’s framework of rules that give Hong Kong its special status. The government began dismissing as a relic the joint declaration with Britain that laid out conditions for Hong Kong’s return to China in 1997. A Chinese diplomat in London said the declaration was “now void,” according to a British lawmaker. But Xi was not yet ready to make dramatic incursions into Hong Kong. His policy shifted between warnings and reassuring economic gestures, lulling some into thinking that the party’s political bite would not match its rhetorical bark.

Jimmy Shum, Kwok Ka-ki, Lam Cheuk-ting, Raymond Chan Chi-chuen and other pro- democracy activists are loaded onto a prison bus for transport to court in Hong Kong on March 4. | LAM YIK FEI/THE NEW YORK TIMES Xi’s hold over China’s own security apparatus was incomplete. Beijing also wanted to keep tensions with the United States in check and give Hong Kong time to repair its economy after the demonstrations, said Tian Feilong, an associate professor of law at Beihang University in Beijing who became a supporter of a tougher approach to protesters.

Given those considerations, he said, Chinese leaders “didn’t immediately set to work on solving the national security issue.”

‘Grab this hot potato’

Curtailing opposition in Hong Kong was more complicated than in other tense areas on China’s periphery, like Tibet and Xinjiang. Hong Kong had its own British-derived legal system, a popular and well-organized democratic opposition and far greater global economic exposure. Bringing out Chinese troops to quell protests could spook financial markets.

Pro-Beijing politicians in Hong Kong were reluctant to push for national security legislation. A previous attempt had failed in 2003 after a massive protest.

“Nobody was willing to grab this hot potato,” Tian said. “No one, including the Western countries, truly believed that Hong Kong locally had the ability to complete this legislation.”

After 2014, Xi’s calls for resurgent party power emboldened policy advisers to look for new ways to break the impasse over Hong Kong. Hawkish voices began advancing arguments that China could impose a security law on the city by constitutional fiat.

“Some people think that the central government can’t do anything,” Mo Jihong, a law professor at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, a state think tank, said at a 2016 meeting about security legislation for Hong Kong. “The central government has the power to deal with these matters.”

Some Chinese academics published studies arguing that the mainland’s own national security law could be extended to Hong Kong. Others proposed that China pass a law tailor-made for Hong Kong, bypassing political obstacles in the city.

It was widely thought in Hong Kong that Xi would not go that far. When China adopted its own security law in 2015, the top security official in Hong Kong, Lai Tung-kwok, said the responsibility to enact laws in the city against crimes like treason and subversion would be “fulfilled by local legislation.” The administration, he said, “has no plan to enact” such laws. Insiders shook their heads at the idea that Beijing could impose one.

“I had never imagined that you could use this approach,” Tam Yiu-Chung, the sole Hong Kong member of the top committee of China’s legislature, said in a recent interview. “I’d heard about it, but there were so many difficulties with it.”

A billboard touts the new national security law imposed by China, in Hong Kong, on June 29, 2020. | LAM YIK FEI/THE NEW YORK TIMES By July 2017, when Hong Kong’s elite gathered to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the territory’s return to Chinese sovereignty, Xi was ready to raise the stakes.

It was his first visit to Hong Kong as China’s top leader. Hours before tens of thousands kicked off an annual protest for greater democratic rights, Xi inserted a steely warning into his celebratory speech.

Threats to “national sovereignty and security,” or challenges to the central government’s authority in Hong Kong, “would cross a red line and will never be permitted,” Xi said.

In China’s top-down system, Xi’s words galvanized policymakers to look for new ways to defend that “red line.” One influential adviser, Chen Duanhong, a professor of law at Peking University, submitted several internal reports about Hong Kong to Communist Party headquarters, including one about adopting security legislation. Around that same time, he wrote publicly that in a dire crisis, Chinese leaders could “take all necessary measures” to defend sovereignty, casting aside the fetters of lesser laws.

“The will of the state must constantly respond to its environment of survival,” he wrote, “and then take decisive measures at crucial moments.”

A missed warning

For Beijing, the crucial moment appeared to arrive on the night of July 21, 2019. Hundreds of protesters besieged the Central Liaison Office, China’s primary arm in Hong Kong, and splattered black ink on the red-and-gold Chinese national emblem over the entrance.

The demonstrations had begun in June as a largely peaceful outcry against a bill that would have allowed extraditions to mainland China. Within weeks they had become a massive movement, venting years of pent-up discontent over Beijing’s encroachments. Some radical protesters began calling for independence.

For many Hong Kongers, resistance was necessary even if victory was unlikely. “We had thought it would be a slow strangling,” said Jackie Chen, a social worker who supported pro-democracy protests in 2019. “We were thinking about how to slow their strangling, stop it, and then turn for the better.”

To Beijing, the national emblem’s defacement confirmed that the protests had become an assault on its very claim to Hong Kong.

Official media, mute on the protests for weeks, erupted. People’s Daily, the Communist Party’s main paper, said the incident “brazenly challenged the central government’s authority” and “crossed a red line,” echoing Xi’s warning two years earlier.

“Enough is enough,” Regina Ip, a pro-Beijing legislator in Hong Kong, said in a recent interview, recalling the authorities’ reaction to the vandalism.

“And the slogan of Hong Kong independence,” she added. “That’s gone too far.”

A man sprays paint over the regional emblem of Hong Kong after anti-extradition bill protesters stormed the Legislative Council Complex, destroying pictures and daubing walls with graffiti in Hong Kong, on July 1, 2019. | REUTERS

The clearest sign of how Beijing would respond came in October 2019. State television showed hundreds of top officials at a closed-door meeting, raising their hands to endorse a move to tighten law and order across China. The plan, published days later, proposed a “legal system and enforcement mechanism for national security” in Hong Kong.

That warning was missed. While many Hong Kongers figured that Beijing would move to end the protests, most thought the steps would be familiar. Some expected fresh pressure on local lawmakers to enact security laws.

At the time, Ip, the lawmaker, doubted that Chief Executive Carrie Lam could make much progress on a security law. “It’s not something that can happen anytime soon,” she said in November 2019.

Notably absent was any talk of security legislation imposed directly by Beijing. The mainland scholars’ proposals had largely faded from view. Top loyalists and government advisers in Hong Kong were not briefed on the option, which might have risked inflaming the protests.

It had “not been discussed in the media,” said Albert Chen, a law professor at the University of Hong Kong who sits on a legal advisory committee to Beijing. “Not even mainland Chinese scholars talked about this possibility at that time.”

But China’s leaders had already reached beyond the offices that usually dealt with Hong Kong — their credibility wounded by the months of protest — and quietly recruited experts to prepare for the security intervention, said two people who were told about the deliberations by participants. Top Communist Party agencies steered the preparations, said both people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, citing the sensitivity of the matter.

Xi would formally extend China’s formidable security apparatus to Hong Kong, creating an agency there that answered directly to the party.

Not even the most draconian public proposals for security legislation had envisioned this step.

“Nobody in their wildest imagination would have thought there would be a central agency in Hong Kong,” said Fu Hualing, the dean of the University of Hong Kong law school.

‘Welcoming and support’

The announcement stunned the city. Before China’s annual legislative meeting, a spokesperson said at a late-night news conference on May 21 that lawmakers would review a plan to impose a national security law on Hong Kong.

The law was quickly passed on June 30, laying out four offenses — separatism, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign powers — with penalties up to life imprisonment. It demanded oversight of schools and media.

Jimmy Lai, 73, the founder of Apple Daily, an aggressively pro-democracy Hong Kong newspaper, takes an elevator to the daily’s newsroom last August. | LAM YIK FEI/THE NEW YORK TIMES And it created the new Chinese security agency in Hong Kong, virtually immune to legal challenges. It was empowered to investigate cases and bring defendants to trial on the mainland, where party-controlled courts rarely reject prosecutors’ charges. City officials initially said the security law would be applied with scrupulous precision; instead, it unleashed a rolling campaign that has left few corners of society untouched.

Hong Kong authorities have arrested more than 110 people in national security investigations over the past year, charging 64, including most of the city’s best-known pro-democracy activists.

The Chinese security agency itself has stayed largely out of view. Its most visible footprint has been its temporary headquarters at the 33-story Metropark Hotel Causeway Bay, overlooking Victoria Park, once the site of some of Hong Kong’s biggest protests.

But it has occasionally broken its silence, reminding residents that it looms behind the scenes.

It has pointedly praised the arrests of high-profile figures, including opposition politicians and top editors of Apple Daily, a brash pro-democracy tabloid ensnared by the law and forced to close last week. It has scrutinized museums for potentially subversive artwork, according to a local official. It has extolled the security law as a cure for Hong Kong’s political turbulence.

“I thank the Hong Kong people,” the agency’s chief, Zheng Yanxiong, said in a rare public speech on National Security Education Day, in April.

“They’ve gone through a very natural, reasonable process from unfamiliarity, guessing and wait-and-see about the Hong Kong National Security Law,” he said, “to acceptance, welcoming and support.”

A week later, the Hong Kong government announced that China’s security agency would build a permanent headquarters on the city’s waterfront, occupying a site about the size of two football fields.

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2021/06/28/asia-pacific/hong-kong-red-line-china/

How the National Security Law transformed Hong Kong in one year

Legislation forces people to migrate, steer clear of politics in 'South Shenzhen' KENJI KAWASE and MICHELLE CHAN, Nikkei staff writersJUNE 29, 2021 06:00 JST

HONG KONG -- The first time the Hong Kong government tried to put into law a security bill that would restrict civil liberties, the city's Civil Human Rights Front organized a protest that drew more than 500,000 residents, a stunning turnout that helped force authorities to scrap the plan.

https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Asia-Insight/How-the-National-Security-Law-transformed-Hong-Kong- in-one-year

Hong Kong police refuse permission for rally to mark handover

People walk past China national flags and Hong Kong flags for the celebration of 24th anniversary of Hong Kong handover to China at a shopping district in Hong Kong on Jun 27, 2021. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)

28 Jun 2021 06:01PM(Updated: 28 Jun 2021 06:14PM) HONG KONG: Hong Kong police on Monday (Jun 28) denied permission for a rally on Jul 1, the 24th anniversary of the former British colony's handover to Chinese rule, citing coronavirus restrictions, the organisers said.

Tens of thousands of residents have traditionally marched on Jul 1 to demand everything from greater democracy to a solution to one of the world's most expensive property markets.

Advertiseme https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/hong-kong-police-refuse-july-1-handover-rally-15109282

Hong Kongers get creative to show opposition to security law People need to 'be bold, be wise, but be careful,' Emily Lau Wai-hing says

A woman walks past a poster for the National Security Law in Hong Kong. © AFP/Jiji KENJI KAWASE and MICHELLE CHAN, Nikkei staff writersJune 29, 2021 06:01 JST

HONG KONG -- For the first 23 years after Britain handed Hong Kong back to China, residents of the territory remained free to express their views about the handover, the mainland and much more.

https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/Hong-Kongers-get-creative-to-show-opposition-to-security-law

Hong Kong pro-democracy media buckles under China pressure Published

The continued targeting of pro-democracy journalists and publications is sending a chilling message to Hong Kong's media, with experts warning of a devastating impact on press freedom in the city. The BBC's Andreas Illmer reports. On Sunday night, police announced that they had arrested a former senior journalist with the now-shut Apple Daily at the airport as he was trying to leave the city. Apple Daily closed down after officials arrested its senior leadership under the city's controversial national security law and froze its assets. Its owner, media mogul Jimmy Lai, was already in jail on a string of charges. News of the arrest came hours after Stand News - popular with pro-democracy supporters - said it would shelve commentary pieces over fears of a crackdown. Stand News is one of the last openly pro-democratic publications now left in the city. It was among a handful of relatively new online news portals that gained prominence during the 2019 pro-democracy protests. Hong Kong guarantees its residents press freedom under the terms of an agreement which saw Britain hand the city back to China. • How Apple Daily pushed Hong Kong's boundaries • 'Painful farewell' to Hong Kong pro-democracy paper

But industry stalwarts say that this is being blatantly violated under the national security law, enacted in June 2020 as a response to years of mounting pro-democracy protests. The controversial law criminalises secession, subversion and collusion with foreign forces and carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. "Press freedom is withering and mired in uncertainty," Chris Yeung, a veteran journalist and former chairman of the Hong Kong Journalists' Association, told the BBC. "The arrests worsened the feeling of fear prevalent among journalists since the enactment of the national security law," he added. "The closure of Apple Daily has worsened the chilling effect on the media." The law was initially used against activists and protest leaders, but in recent months authorities have been targeting media outlets, with Apple Daily the first casualty. The mix of tabloid gossip and pro-democracy voices had become the city's biggest voice of dissent until its closure earlier in June. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-57633767

China, Russia agree to extend good-neighborliness treaty as Putin congratulates CPC on centenary in phone call with Xi

Chinese President Xi Jinping held a video meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday three days ahead of the centennial of the Communist Party of China and upon the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the signing of Russia-China Treaty on Good- Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation.

China and Russia agree to extend the China-Russia Treaty of Good-neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation, said a joint statement released upon the Xi-Putin video meeting on Monday.

China-Russia cooperation injects positive momentum to the international community when the world is undergoing profound changes and humanity is encountering multiple crises in development. China-Russia cooperation sets an example for a new type of international relations, the Chinese President noted.

The treaty aligns with both countries' fundamental interests, echoes the themes of the times for peace and development, and is a vivid example of building a new type of international relations and community with a shared future for mankind, Xi said.

Putin congratulated the CPC on its centenary and said that Russia has valued exchanges with the CPC in history and hoped to enhance inter-party exchanges with the CPC. He also expressed hope that under the CPC leadership, China will make new achievements in social development and play more important role in international affairs. https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202106/1227260.shtml

Multibillion-dollar China, Tanzania projects could be back on cards

Tanzania is negotiating with Chinese investors to revive stalled multibillion-dollar projects, days after

President Samia Suluhu Hassan

talked by telephone to her Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping. https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3139083/multibillion-dollar-china-tanzania- projects-could-be-back

China avoids repeat of Alaska clash with US at G-20 Blinken and Wang skip one-on-one while Beijing courts Russia

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, second from left, sparred with top U.S. officials at a March meeting in Alaska. © Reuters

TSUYOSHI NAGASAWA and TSUKASA HADANO, Nikkei staff writersJune 29, 2021 02:49 JST

WASHINGTON/BEIJING -- The top U.S. diplomat and the Chinese foreign minister will not meet one on one alongside the Group of 20 meeting in Italy, a decision that marks a stark contrast to the Sino-Russia relationship that Beijing highlighted Monday.

https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/International-relations/China-avoids-repeat-of-Alaska-clash-with-US-at- G-20

Stricter COVID-19 screening considered for Tokyo Olympics arrivals

Tokyo is counting down to the pandemic-postponed 2020 Olympics. (Photo: AFP/Yuki IWAMURA)

27 Jun 2021 07:53PM(Updated: 27 Jun 2021 08:00PM) TOKYO: Olympic teams should be immediately isolated if they arrive in Japan with a person infected with coronavirus, a Games official said Sunday (Jun 27), after members of Uganda's squad tested positive.

Hidemasa Nakamura, a senior Tokyo 2020 Games official, said that it is "highly probable that people will come into close contact with an infected person if they travel on the same plane." https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/sport/covid-19-tokyo-olympics-stricter-screening-arrivals- 15103404

Japan’s Olympics chief says there is ‘no way’ to prevent Covid-19 cases among visiting teams

Japan’s Olympic chief on Monday said there was “no way” to ensure zero coronavirus cases among teams arriving for the Tokyo Games, as officials prepare to tighten screening procedures. https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3139068/japans-olympics-chief-says-there-no-way- prevent-covid-19-cases

6 in 10 Koreans against Moon’s attendance at Tokyo Olympics

By Lee Ji-yoon

Published : Jun 28, 2021 - 14:30 Updated : Jun 28, 2021 - 14:42

• ◀ Back to List • More article by this Writer

President Moon Jae-in (Cheong Wa Dae) A poll showed Monday that almost 6 in 10 Koreans were against the idea of President Moon Jae-in visiting Japan for the Tokyo Olympics next month.

Of the 500 people surveyed by Realmeter over the past week, 60.2 percent responded in opposition to the president’s visit to Japan, while 33.2 percent said they were in favor of the visit.

Among age groups, people in their 40s opposed the visit most strongly, with the rate reaching 71.5 percent. Unlike other polls, political inclination had a limited impact in people’s response, the pollster said. http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20210628000735

Kim’s ‘normal state’ vision still far off

By Ahn Sung-mi

Published : Jun 28, 2021 - 17:59 Updated : Jun 28, 2021 - 17:59

• ◀ Back to List • More article by this Writer

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un speaks at a plenary meeting of the ruling Workers` Party, in this photo disclosed by the Korea Central News Agency on June 16. (KCNA-Yonhap)

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is continuing his quest to tighten his grip on his country, and to create an image of it as a “normal state.” His new title as of 2021, president of the State Affairs of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, reflects this.

On June 29, 2016, Kim was named chairman of the newly established State Affairs Commission, the regime’s top branch of government and policymaking. The SAC replaced the National Defense Commission, the all-powerful organ during the tenure of his predecessor and father, Kim Jong-il. http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20210628000938

North Koreans worried, heartbroken after Kim Jong Un's sudden weight loss 28 Jun, 2021 08:48 AM3 minutes to read

NZ Herald North Koreans are reportedly heartbroken and worried over leader Kim Jong Un's apparent weight loss, according to local reports from Pyongyang.

Recent videos and photos which show Kim's noticeably slimmer face has raised speculation about his health, which has made locals concerned.

Kim, whose heavy frame has drawn global interest since he became the country's leader almost a decade ago, looked noticeably trimmer in images released by state media on Saturday, according to South Korea's Yonhap news agency.

NK News, which analysed photos of Kim addressing a ruling party politburo meeting late last week – his first public appearance for a month – said he appeared to have lost a "significant amount of weight". https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/north-koreans-worried-heartbroken-after-kim-jong-uns-sudden- weight-loss/C6RR3JTWHFZY3OZ3LCV2E5JYI4/

Analysis: North Korea sees 'propaganda value' in slimmer Kim, analysts say Josh Smit 3 minute read

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SEOUL, June 28 (Reuters) - A rare mention in North Korean state media of leader Kim Jong Un's health could be intended to head off speculation and play up shared sacrifice amid food shortages, analysts said. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/north-korea-sees-propaganda-value-slimmer-kim-analysts- say-2021-06-28/

PM Muhyiddin unveils additional RM150 billion stimulus package as Malaysia extends total lockdown

FILE PHOTO: Malaysia?s Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin arrives for virtual APEC Economic Leaders Meeting 2020, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia November 20, 2020. REUTERS/Lim Huey Teng

By Amir Yusof 28 Jun 2021 05:36PM(Updated: 28 Jun 2021 07:20PM) KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin unveiled a new economic stimulus package worth RM150 billion (US$36.2 billion) on Monday (Jun 28), in an attempt to mitigate the impacts of a continued total lockdown.

Speaking during a televised national address, Mr Muhyiddin said the package – named people protection and economic recovery package (Pemulih) – aims to allow people to cope with the financial difficulties arising from COVID-19. https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/malaysia-covid-19-muhyiddin-yassin-stimulus-aid- package-rm150b-15108646

Indonesia finance minister unveils plans for major tax overhaul

FILE PHOTO: Indonesia's Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati attends the World Economic Forum on ASEAN at the Convention Center in Hanoi, Vietnam September 12, 2018. REUTERS/Kham

28 Jun 2021 02:25PM(Updated: 28 Jun 2021 03:21PM) JAKARTA: Indonesia's finance minister on Monday (Jun 28) laid out a government proposal for an overhaul of tax regulations, including introducing a programme to report undisclosed assets, bringing in a carbon tax and hiking the VAT rate.

Sri Mulyani Indrawati told a meeting with parliament's finance commission the measures were aimed at boosting government revenues that have dropped in Southeast Asia's biggest economy due to the coronavirus pandemic. https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/indonesia-finance-minister-unveils-plans-for-major-tax- overhaul-15108676

In Indonesia, anti-vaccine messages come with a dose of religion, anti-Chinese sentiment and conspiracy theories

Anti-vaccine messages in Indonesia are often spread by religious micro-influencers and sprinkled with conspiracy theories, anti-government narrative and anti-Chinese sentiment, a new report has found, posing a challenge for the Southeast Asian nation’s bid to speed up inoculations amid a surge in Covid-19 cases. https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3138932/indonesia-anti-vaccine- messages-come-dose-religion

A Famous Buddhist Teacher Is Under Fire for Backing Myanmar’s Junta Sitagu Sayadaw once protested for democracy but now preaches nationalism.

By Brenna Artinger and Michael Rowand

A policeman at the entrance to the archbishop's house greets the prominent Buddhist monk Sitagu Sayadaw in Yangon, Myanmar, on Nov. 28, 2017. GEMUNU AMARASINGHE/AP

JUNE 27, 2021, 8:31 PM

Dressed in their green army dress uniforms, Maj. Gen. Tun Tun Naung and his regional commanders took off their shoes and knelt before the bald Buddhist monk in his red- brown robe. Extending their arms and giving the monk dana (gifts and offerings), they listened to him and then praised his wisdom. It was Feb. 4, just three days after the latest military coup consolidated the military’s supreme power in Myanmar, and the junta was paying tribute to one of the most powerful religious figures in the country, Sitagu Sayadaw (also known as Ashin Nyanissara; ashin and sayadaw are both honorifics for Buddhist teachers).

https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/06/27/a-famous-buddhist-teacher-is-under-fire-for-backing-myanmars- junta/

Myanmar parallel government woos Rohingya in bid for legitimacy NUG embraces Muslim minority to win foreign support but may backfire at home

The NUG gained a sliver of hope for a possible path back to power by taking a groundbreaking position toward the Rohingya. (Source photos by Getty Images and Kachinwaves/AFP/Jiji) MARWAAN MACAN-MARKAR, Asia regional correspondentJune 28, 2021 13:59 JST

BANGKOK -- In its quest for international recognition as the legitimate representative of Myanmar, the country's anti-coup shadow government is making a calculated gamble amid a grim political landscape since the February military coup. https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Myanmar-Coup/Myanmar-parallel-government-woos-Rohingya-in- bid-for-legitimacy

A closer US and Russia makes India hopeful. China, not so much

The relatively positive note on which the recent summit between the US and Russian presidents ended has raised hopes in India that warming ties between the former Cold War adversaries could play into New Delhi’s hands. https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3139031/closer-us-and-russia-makes-india-hopeful- china-not-so-much

7 killed, dozens injured in blast in Bangladesh capital

Rescuers stand amid the debris after a blast at a market in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Sunday, June 27, 2021. (AP Photo)

28 Jun 2021 11:33AM(Updated: 28 Jun 2021 11:34AM) DHAKA: At least seven people were killed and more than 50 injured in an explosion in the Bangladesh capital late on Sunday (Jun 27), police said.

The cause of the blast, which occurred on the ground floor of a three-storey building on a busy street in Dhaka's Moghbazar area, was not immediately clear. https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/7-killed-dozens-injured-blast-dhaka-bangladesh- 15105328

Belt and Road projects in limbo as Bangladesh cuts budgets China withdraws infrastructure funding after Dhaka trims proposed costs

The Karnaphuli underwater tunnel project in Chittagong, Bangladesh, has been funded by China, which recently said it would not fund at least two rail projects in the country. SYFUL ISLAM, Contributing writerJune 28, 2021 13:29 JST

DHAKA -- China has withdrawn funding for Belt and Road infrastructure projects in Bangladesh after the recipient country re-evaluated the programs and downwardly revised their costs.

https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Belt-and-Road/Belt-and-Road-projects-in-limbo-as-Bangladesh-cuts- budgets

Pakistan will shut border if Taliban take over Afghanistan

FILE PHOTO: Armed men attend a gathering to announce their support for Afghan security forces and that they are ready to fight against the Taliban, on the outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan June 23, 2021. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo

28 Jun 2021 10:18AM MULTAN, Pakistan: Pakistan’s foreign minister said on Sunday (Jun 27) that violence and lawlessness could reign in Afghanistan after the US' withdrawal, and that Pakistan would shut its border to the country if the Taliban takes control of it.

Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that Pakistan has already taken in 3.5 million Afghan refugees over the years but would not accept any more. He was speaking in a weekly media briefing held in the central city of Multan. https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/pakistan-border-security-taliban-take-over-afg- 15103998

Samoa election crisis: Parliament ordered to sit within a week 28 Jun, 2021 10:49 AM3 minutes to read

Samoa's caretaker Prime Minister Tuila'epa Sa'ilele Malielegaoi, left, and Fast party leader Fiame Naomi Mata'afa. Photo / Tipi Autagavaia, RNZ Pacific

RNZ

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/samoa-election-crisis-parliament-ordered-to-sit-within-a- week/XKGJOJIYMVTL645ABQJNT7SQJQ/

Australia’s asymmetric advantages in global trade

28 Jun 2021|David Uren

Austral period in the global economy, with supercharged commodity markets siphoning some of ia’s phenomenal resource endowment has once again seen it through a difficult

Itthe was stimulus the same spending during by the the global world’s financial major crisis economie 12 yearss into ago, Australian when Australia pockets. was almost the only advanced nation to escape a recession, thanks mainly to the demand from China for Australian minerals generated by its massive budget stimulus spending.

There was a time when the global smart money considered Australia a hopeless case, dependent on digging up rocks when the future belonged to nations with their own microchip fabrication plants. During the technology boom of the late 1990s, Treasurer Peter Costello had to resist pressure to subsidise the building of one.

The key economic measure is the terms of trade, which is an index that compares the prices of exports with the prices of imports. Ever since the end of the Korean War, it had held pretty constant rising by 15% or 20% during booms and falling by about the same amount in slumps, but always returning to a long-term average level. — In the late 1990s, it was believed that Australia faced a long-term and irreversible slide in its terms of trade as the world shifted from a material economy of things to a digital economy of information.

But for the past 16 years since around 2005 the world has been paying ever higher have been getting cheaper.— During that period,— the terms of trade have been 60% above theirprices long-term for Australia’s average, resources, and right while now the they manufact are abouredut double goods that Australia average. buys Every from shipload abroad of exports is buying about twice as many shiploads of imports as it did before 2005.

Few Australians understand the transformation of the economy that has flowed from the

-eminent supplier of mineral minerals boom. Australia’s earnings from resources and energy are now only slightly below Saudi Arabia’s earnings from oil. Australia has become the pre resources to the world. It is the largest exporter of iron ore, liquefied natural gas, coal, bauxite (and alumina) and mined gold. It is the third biggest exporter of copper.

The increases in the volume of shipments have been extraordinary. Since 2004, iron ore exports have gone from 200 million tonnes to 900 million tonnes, coal exports from 220 million tonnes to 400 million tonnes, and LNG from 8 million tonnes to 80 million tonnes.

imate change, while increasinglyAustralia’s coal questioned. industry isHowever, challenged industrialisation, by concerted global and hence action resource on cl use, has a long wayLNG’s to status go in aas world an ‘intermediate where nearly step’ half along the populati the pathon to still greenhouse lives on less neutrality than US$6 is a day.

Australia may have a small population (ranking 55th, just below North Korea and above Taiwan), but its resources give it a disproportionate value, particularly to the major economies of Asia.

Australia has other strengths. It possesses one of the largest agricultural estates, with 62 million hectares of planted pasture, cropping and horticulture and another 290 million hectares of scrub pasture. France, by way of comparison, has 18 million hectares of arable land. About three-quarte

rs of Australia’s agricultural production is exported. scale, deploying the latest technologies and benefiting from the strong educated workforce andBoth institutional Australia’s farmers infrastructure and its thatminers is lacking operate in withso many some otherwise of the world’s resource best richeconomies nations. of

Perhaps most importantly, both its mineral and agricultural commodity exports are between buyers and sellers, ensuring a balance of supply and demand. With allowance for qualitysupported variations by the institution and shipping of free costs, global all supplier marketss of, with a commodity prices struck are atpaid arm’s the lengthsame, which is the price needed to ensure demand is met. https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/australias-asymmetric-advantages-in-global-trade/

Aging Population to Challenge Australian Finances in Future Decades Warns Report By Phil Mercer June 28, 2021 06:00 AM

An elderly man wearing war medals walks past the cenotaph adorned with wreaths during a Remembrance Day Service in Sydney on Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2020.

SYDNEY - Australia is facing a smaller and older population as a result of coronavirus, according to a landmark government study that is published every five years.

The Fifth Intergenerational Report is forecasting slower population growth in Australia due to falling levels of immigration and a sharp decline in the fertility rate.

The reports are published every five years. They forecast the outlooks for the economy and the budget over the next four decades.

Modeling has suggested that the economic legacy of the COVID-19 pandemic is going to be felt for many years to come. It has highlighted the ballooning costs of health care as the population ages. https://www.voanews.com/economy-business/aging-population-challenge-australian-finances- future-decades-warns-report

Russia, China extend friendship and cooperation treaty -Kremlin Reuters

• • • •

2 minute read

1/2

People stand under a giant screen broadcasting news footage of Chinese President Xi Jinping attending a video conference call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, in Beijing, China June 28, 2021. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang

MOSCOW, June 28 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Monday announced the extension of a 20- year-old friendship and cooperation treaty between their countries, both of which have strained ties with the West. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/russia-china-extend-friendship-cooperation-treaty-kremlin- 2021-06-28/

A Confused Biden Team Risks Losing Southeast Asia If the region continues to drift toward China, Washington has only itself to blame.

By James Crabtree, a columnist at Foreign Policy and the executive director of the International Institute for Strategic Studies- Asia.

disputed South China Sea in Manila on Feb. 10, 2018. TED ALJIBE/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES Filipinos protest against Beijing’s claims in the JUNE 27, 2021, 7:00 PM

May 25 was hardly a bravura day for U.S. diplomacy in Southeast Asia. Foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) gathered for their first virtual meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Having waited the best part of an hour, they learned a technical snafu would stop Blinken from participating in the call, which he had been due to join from his airplane as he flew off to the Middle East. A few weeks later, the same group of ASEAN ministers flew off to enjoy red carpet treatment and a productive, snafu-free, in-person meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. The contrast between the two episodes was not hard to spot. https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/06/27/southeast-asia-asean-china-us-biden-blinken-confusion- geopolitics/

How the United States Can Compete with Chinese Influence in Southeast Asia

By Collin Meisel, Jonathan D. Moyer, Austin S. Matthews, David K. Bohl, Mathew J. Burrows

Sunday, June 27, 2021, 10:01 AM

Then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stands with foreign ministers from member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations at a summit in Bangkok, Thailand, on Aug. 2, 2019. Photo credit: State Department Photo by Ron Przysucha via Flickr

Editor’s Note: China is rising and U.S. influence is declining. Going beyond that vague description is difficult, however, because influence is so hard to measure. Collin Meisel, Jonathan Moyer, Austin Matthews and David Bohl of the University of Denver and Mathew Burrows of the Atlantic Council try to meet this challenge and, in so doing, map how U.S. and Chinese influence has changed over time. Their approach suggests ways the United States can arrest this decline.

Is China winning the competition for global influence? Answering such a question is difficult, and articles and in-depth studies often focus on a particular country or issue area rather than broader trends.

In a recent report authored by the Atlantic Council’s Foresight, Strategy, and Risks Initiative and the University of Denver’s Frederick S. Pardee Center for International Futures, we analyzed China-U.S. competition using the Formal Bilateral Influence Capacity (FBIC) Index, a quantitative measure of multidimensional influence between pairs of states from 1960 through 2020. As detailed in the report, the FBIC Index attempts to capture the size of interactions, as well as the reliance that one country has on others across economic, political, and security dimensions, in order to gauge the ability of a state to influence other countries in the international system. https://www.lawfareblog.com/how-united-states-can-compete-chinese-influence-southeast-asia

The Geopolitics of Empathy How our understanding—or misunderstanding—of other countries’ perspectives shapes global order.

By Stephen M. Walt, the Robert and Renée Belfer professor of international relations at Harvard University and a columnist for Foreign Policy.

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Then-presidential candidate Joe Biden hugs an attendee during an event in Ames, Iowa, on Jan. 21, 2020. AL DRAGO/GETTY IMAGES

JUNE 27, 2021, 7:00 AM

States compete and contend for many reasons, and sometimes those reasons are abundantly clear to the protagonists. But in other cases, the root causes of the disagreement are not well understood, and the level of animosity is greater than it should be. In this latter case, states know they disagree, but they are either confused or mistaken about the underlying source(s) of the problem. In these circumstances, remedying the problem will be much more difficult, and escalatory spirals are more likely. https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/06/27/the-geopolitics-of-empathy/

A Measure Short of War The Return of Great-Power Subversion By Jill Kastner and William C. Wohlforth July/August 2021

Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Moscow, Russia, February 2020 Alexander Nemenov / Pool / TPX Images of the Day / Reuters

In the run-up to the 2016 U.S. presidential election, a foreign power managed to exert what seemed like unprecedented influence over the sacred rites of American democracy. On social media, a legion of paid Russian trolls sowed discord, spreading pernicious falsehoods about the Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton, and seeking to boost turnout for the Republican candidate, Donald Trump. Powerful Russians close to the Kremlin sought out contact with Trump and his courtiers, dangling the promise of damaging information about Clinton. State-sponsored hackers stole and leaked her campaign aides’ private emails. They went on to target election systems in all 50 states and even managed to infiltrate voter databases.

The meddling set alarm bells ringing. “We have been attacked; we are at war,” the actor Morgan Freeman solemnly announced in a video in 2017 released by a group calling itself the Committee to Investigate Russia, which was backed by old U.S. intelligence hands such as James Clapper, the former director of national intelligence, and Michael Morell, the former acting director of the CIA. A New York Times headline announced that “Russian cyberpower” had “invaded” the United States. Foreign policy experts predicted a coming wave of digital subversion, led by authoritarian states targeting https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/world/2021-06-22/measure-short-war

US-Philippines arms deal aims at South China Sea Proposed $2.43 billion weapons sale would bolster Manila's 'minimum deterrence' vis-a-vis an ever-more assertive China

By RICHARD JAVAD HEYDARIANJUNE 28, 2021 Print Philippine and US Marines during a surface-to-air missile simulation as part of exercise KAMANDAG on Octoer 10, 2019. Photo: Lance Cpl. Brienna Tuck / US Marine Corps

MANILA – In a move with likely long-term strategic implications, the US State Department cleared a multi-billion-dollar arms package to the Philippines on June 24, which includes up to 12 state-of-the-art multirole fighter jets.

According to the proposed deal, the Pentagon is set to provide up to 10 F-16C Block 70/72 aircraft and two F-16D Block 70/72 aircraft manufactured by Lockheed Martin Co as well as long-term training and assistance with maintenance of the aircraft. https://asiatimes.com/2021/06/us-philippines-arms-deal-aims-at-south-china-sea/

U.N. peacekeeping missions prepare for possible shutdown Reuters 2 minute read

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A UN peacekeepers (UNIFIL) vehicle is seen next to piled up debris at Beirut's port, Lebanon October 23, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir

NEW YORK, June 28 (Reuters) - United Nations peacekeeping missions globally are preparing for a possible shutdown on Thursday if the 193-member U.N. General Assembly is unable to agree a new $6 billion budget for the year to June 30, 2022, officials and diplomats said on Monday.

https://www.reuters.com/world/un-peacekeeping-missions-prepare-possible-shutdown-2021-06- 28/

US funds Indonesian maritime training centre at edge of South China Sea to counter ‘domestic and transnational crime’

Indonesia and the United States have started the construction of a new US$3.5 million maritime training centre at the strategic meeting point of the South China Sea and Malacca Strait, reaffirming Washington’s status as Indonesia’s top defence partner amid its ongoing battle with

China for influence in Southeast Asia. https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3139087/us-funds-indonesian-maritime- training-centre-edge-south-china

Moderate Democrats rebuke defense budget cuts

By: Joe Gould 21 hours ago

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Rep. Mikie Sherrill, D-N.J., center, is among a group opposing calls to fund any less than the requested $753 billion national defense budget for fiscal 2022. (Win McNamee/Getty Images) WASHINGTON ― In the upcoming budget debate, a group of moderate Democrats are trying to set a floor for 2022 defense spending before progressive Democrats try to push it lower. Leaders of the House’s Blue Dog Coalition say they oppose calls to fund any less than the requested $753 billion national defense budget for fiscal 2022 — which included $715 billion for the Pentagon. The stance adds fuel to an already complicated budget debate, where Democrats are split and key Republicans are pushing for a boost. “We believe this is a strong and sensible funding request, and we oppose calls to authorize or appropriate funding below this level,” the six lawmakers said in a June 24 letter to leaders of the House Armed Services Committee and House Appropriations Committee. The letter’s signatories are Reps. Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey; Tom O’Halleran of Arizona; Stephanie Murphy of Florida; Ed Case of Hawaii; Abigail Spanberger of Virginia; and Kurt Schrader of Oregon. https://www.defensenews.com/congress/2021/06/28/moderate-democrats-rebuke-defense- budget-cuts/

Portable Nuclear Reactor Program Sparks Controversy

6/28/2021 By Mandy Mayfield The Defense Department is working to quickly procure a small, transportable nuclear reactor that could help bring energy to remote and austere environments.

However, the program has drawn criticism from nuclear nonproliferation experts for potentially causing disasters on battlefields.

The Pentagon’s Strategic Capabilities Office selected two teams in March to continue their work developing transportable nuclear microreactor prototypes as part of “Project Pele.” The effort was originally formulated in the fall of 2018 in response to language in the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act about the need to find a solution to a perennial problem: providing power to U.S. troops, said Jeff Waksman, program manager for the effort.

The office awarded BWXT Advanced Technologies, a Virginia-based nuclear components company, and X-energy, a Maryland-based nuclear reactor and fuel engineering company, $27.9 million and $28.7 million for the project, respectively.

Prior to the award, both companies received contracts ranging from approximately $13 million to $15 million in 2020 for work on preliminary engineering designs of the microreactors.

Nuclear power is “orders of magnitude more energy dense than any other known technology,” Waksman told National Defense. “That allows the possibility to provide resilient power for years and years, without needing to refuel. … Refueling can be a real burden in remote areas.”

The Strategic Capabilities Office sees three main applications for the initial capability, Waksman noted.

“When we talk about the low hanging fruit for early applications for this, [the first] is remote locations — think the Arctic where there is a need for large amounts of power — but it’s hard to get power there now,” he said.

Another is what is referred to as the “strategic support area,’” which provides power for equipment that is mission essential, such as radar systems, he said.

The third key application for a portable reactor is its ability to aid in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, Waksman said.

Over the past few years there have been a number of incidents throughout the United States including hurricanes and cold snaps that have caused massive power outages over large areas. https://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/articles/2021/6/28/portable-nuclear-reactor-program- sparks-controversy

'Defend Forward': What the CIA has done since 1947 by Marc Polymeropoulos

| June 28, 2021 05:28 AM

In the classical military and intelligence context, the "Defend Forward" principle is the simple understanding that protecting America means that we must take our national security mission abroad.

We must secure alliances, engage our enemies on their turf, and yes, sometimes base U.S. personnel at the tip of the spear in harm's way. Withdrawing within our borders, pretending our vast oceans protect us from our adversaries, is a recipe for disaster. The world is messier and more complicated than ever. "Turtling up" won’t cut it. We must go forward, lead from the front, preferably with small yet agile groups, so that our enemies remain engaged with us overseas, disrupted against coming to America and harming us in our homes. We are safer sleeping in our beds at night if we project force abroad.

I served for 26 years in the Central Intelligence Agency, a forward-facing organization. In the Directorate of Operations, there are no deployments. We don’t "come home." We operations officers serve abroad, spotting, assessing, developing, recruiting, and then handling agents. These agents are spies recruited to provide critical information that helps guide U.S. foreign policy and disrupt adversary action. Sometimes, we carry out covert action, activities that are not attributable to the U.S. government but ultimately designed to promote U.S. interests. But make no mistake. Home is abroad for the CIA clandestine service. https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/defend-forward-what-the-cia-has-done-since- 1947

US air strikes target Iran-backed militias in Iraq, Syria

The Pentagon said that it had conducted airstrikes targeting 'two locations in Syria and one location in Iraq' AFP/STAFF

28 Jun 2021 07:47AM(Updated: 28 Jun 2021 09:07AM) WASHINGTON: The US said on Sunday (Jun 27) it carried out another round of air strikes against Iran-backed militia in Iraq and Syria, this time in response to drone attacks by the militia against US personnel and facilities in Iraq.

In a statement, the US military said it targeted operational and weapons storage facilities at two locations in Syria and one location in Iraq.

Advertisement The strikes killed at least five Iran-backed militia fighters, a war monitor reported.

"At least 5 Iran-backed Iraqi militia fighters were killed and several others were wounded in an attack by US warplanes," said the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The strikes came at the direction of President Joe Biden, the second time he has ordered retaliatory strikes against Iran-backed militia since taking office five months ago. Biden last ordered limited strikes in Syria in February, that time in response to rocket attacks in Iraq.

"As demonstrated by this evening's strikes, President Biden has been clear that he will act to protect US personnel," the Pentagon said in a statement. https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/world/us-joe-biden-air-strike-iran-iraq-syria-pentagon- 15106992

US will try using lasers to send data from space to drones Reaper drones (Tangopaso/WikiCommons)

JUNE 27, 2021 PATICK TUCKER - DEFENSE ONE

Early next year, the U.S. military’s Space Development Agency will test whether low-earth orbit satellites can communicate with an MQ-9 Reaper drone via optical links, or lasers. If the experiment is successful, it will pave the way for a new, less hackable means of communication between drones, jets, and other weapons and commanders and operators from afar. https://americanmilitarynews.com/2021/06/us-will-try-using-lasers-to-send-data-from-space-to- drones/

USNI News Fleet and Marine Tracker: June 28, 2021

June 28, 2021 10:54 AM

•

USNI News Illustration

These are the approximate positions of the U.S. Navy’s deployed carrier strike groups and amphibious ready groups throughout the world as of June 28, 2021, based on Navy and public data. In cases where a CSG or ARG is conducting disaggregated operations, the chart reflects the location of the capital ship. https://news.usni.org/2021/06/28/usni-news-fleet-and-marine-tracker-june-28-2021

U.S. 7th Fleet and III MEF Partnership in Indo-Pacific By Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Aron Montano, Commander, U.S. 7th Fleet Public Affairs YOKOSUKA, Japan –

YOKOSUKA, Japan (June 18, 2021) – For decades, the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps have worked to integrate, operate, and synchronize their efforts in the Indo-Pacific region. U.S. 7th Fleet and III Marine Expeditionary Force (III MEF) have joined forces in execution of numerous operations, focused on enhancing the capabilities of the Blue/Green Team.

“The relationship with the Marine Corps has been our number one priority over the last two years,” said Commander, U.S. 7th Fleet, Vice Adm. Bill Merz. “Lt. Gen. Clardy and I have achieved the needed level of integration to force-multiply our effectiveness going forward. It feels very good to once again be an operational ‘Naval’ team.”

7th Fleet Staff has met with III MEF leadership aboard the 7th Fleet flagship, USS Blue Ridge (LCC 19), and at Camp Courtney, Okinawa, on four occasions since 2020 – with more forums slated for the future – to discuss interoperability and cohesiveness between the Navy and Marine Corps. USS Blue Ridge (LCC 19) has also hosted Marines from III MEF to participate in staff functions, such as the liaison exchange program, judge advocate meetings, and dynamic training evolutions.

“This has been exciting to watch over the last two years,” said Col. John Lehane, Fleet Marine officer for the 7th Fleet Staff. “I can’t think of a more important team than the Navy and Marine Corps; naval forces that are uniquely capable of operating from highly-mobile expeditionary bases and at sea, and are capable of projecting power in a manner that is absolutely unique within the joint force. The 7th Fleet and III MEF operate across all the joint domains by our very nature, and can rapidly bring to bear and sustain credible combat power throughout those domains.”

In 2021, 7th Fleet and III MEF forces operated together in III MEF Exercise 21, Noble Fury 21, 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit and Makin Island Amphibious Readiness Group flight-training operations, combat rudder raiding craft embarkation aboard USS Ohio (SSGN 726), Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations during Poseidon’s Watchtower 21, and more.

“The objective and benefit of III MEF’s ongoing efforts to more effectively integrate with 7th Fleet is the creation of more options for INDOPACOM and dilemmas for potential adversaries,” said Lt. Gen. H. Stacy

Clardy, III MEF commanding general. “Integrated operating concepts, capabilities, doctrine, personnel assignments, education and training will ensure the III MEF/7th Fleet team is prepared to respond or fight anywhere in the region—whether contested or not. ” https://www.c7f.navy.mil/Media/News/Display/Article/2672878/us-7th-fleet-and-iii-mef- partnership-in-indo-pacific/

Here’s how the Marine Corps is looking to revamp its schoolhouses Philip Athey 3 days ago

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A cyber-network specialist with Headquarters Company, Combat Logistics Regiment 25, works on a computer during a command post exercise at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. (Marine Corps) The Marine Corps is looking to modernize as it transitions from nearly 20 years of fighting insurgents in the Middle East to taking on near-peer militaries, like China and Russia.

Part of the process has seen the Corps get rid of assets like tanks to reinvest in weapon systems like anti-ship missiles on the MQ-9 Reaper drone.

However, some of the most revolutionary changes the Corps is implementing will soon be seen in the schoolhouse and not the battlefield.

https://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/your-marine-corps/2021/06/25/heres-how-the-marine- corps-is-looking-to-revamp-its-schoolhouses/

AS ALLIES DESIGN FIGHTER AIRCRAFT, THE UNITED STATES FACES A DECISION

BRIAN BURTON

JUNE 28, 2021

COMMENTARY

The United States has a long history of urging its closest allies to spend more on defense, and over the past few years Europe and Japanhave started to respond. But there’s a catch: Rather than content themselves with procuring capabilities that complement U.S. forces, they are about to drop some very expensive investments into the development of their own next-generation fighter aircraft.

In its recently released Defence Command Paper, the U.K. Ministry of Defense committed to invest 2 billion pounds (approximately $2.8 billion) over the next four years into the concept phase of its Future Combat Air System with Sweden and Italy, which includes the Tempest “sixth-generation” fighter program first unveiled in 2018. In 2017, France and Germany (joined by Spain in 2020) launched their own Future Combat Air System program, which includes a common next-generation manned fighter to be fielded by 2040. This European program is projected to cost over 100 billion euros ($119 billion). Japan announced last year that it plans to spend 5 trillion yen ($45 billion) to develop and field its “F-X” future fighter by 2035. In April 2021, South Korea unveiled the prototype of its own KF-21 fighter, developed for approximately $8 billion by leveraging existing engines and other subsystems. But transitioning from prototype to a production-ready jet will require significant additional investment. https://warontherocks.com/2021/06/as-allies-design-fighter-aircraft-the-united-states-faces-a- decision/

US remains the world’s dominant power in cyberspace but China is catching up, report says

The United States remains the world’s pre-eminent cyber power and is likely to retain that position ahead of China at least until 2030 with the help of similarly advanced Western allies, according to a new report by the International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS). https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3138946/us-remains-worlds-dominant-power- cyberspace-china-catching

Explainer | National security: what is Article 23 in Hong Kong and why is the issue back in the spotlight?

Shelved for 18 years, Article 23 of Hong Kong’s mini-constitution to safeguard national security returned to make headlines as newly minted ministers talked about it last week. https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3138956/national-security-what-article- 23-hong-kong-and-why-issue

Taiwan Marine Corps stages amphibious landing drill

06/28/2021 06:09 PM Listen

Photo from the Navy's Command's Facebook page Taipei, June 28 (CNA) Members of Taiwan's Marine Corps recently conducted an amphibious landing exercise in the south of the country, as part of their routine combat readiness training, the Navy Command said Monday.

During the exercise, a Chung Ho-class tank landing ship transported the Marines and their AAV7 amphibious assault vehicles to a beach in southern Taiwan, which they secured before launching a counterattack against enemy forces, the Navy said on its Facebook page.

The Chung Ho-class vessel is part of the Navy's 151st Amphibious Fleet and is currently based in Kaohsiung's Zuoying District. https://focustaiwan.tw/politics/202106280018

Japan prepares bid for Malaysian radar programme by Jon Grevatt

Japan is preparing a bid to supply Malaysia its J/FPS-3 air-defence radar to meet a long-range surveillance requirement within the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF).

However, the bid is likely to be channelled through the radar's manufacturer, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (Melco), rather than an intergovernment agreement between the two countries.

The Ministry of Defense (MoD) in Tokyo told Janes that the “MoD understands that the government cannot be a bidder” for the RMAF contract. A spokesperson from Melco told Janes that the company would “refrain from making any comment” on the bid. https://www.janes.com/defence-news/news-detail/japan-prepares-bid-for-malaysian-radar- programme

South Korea sends troops, destroyer to US- Australia military exercise for first time

South Korea

on Monday confirmed it will for the first time take part in a major US-Australian joint military exercise next month that is widely seen as being aimed at countering an increasingly assertive

China

. https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3139023/south-korea-sends-troops-destroyer- us-australia-military

Korea's second amphibious assault ship commissioned

The Navy's newest amphibious assault ship, the landing platform helicopter ship Marado. [NEWS1] The Navy on Monday held a commissioning ceremony in the southern port of Jinhae, South Gyeongsang for Korea's second 14,500-ton amphibious assault ship, which will enter service in October, the military said Monday.

Navy Chief of Staff Admiral Boo Suk-jong presided over the ceremony for the Marado, a landing platform helicopter ship, ahead of its planned deployment.

Named after the country's southernmost island, the Marado is South Korea's second large- scale landing platform helicopter ship following the Dokdo, which was deployed in 2007. Both were built by Hanjin Heavy Industries.

The ship’s name follows the Navy’s decision to name its transport ships after the Korea’s eastern, southern, and western-most islands to symbolize the force’s commitment to the country’s maritime defense.

With the building of the Marado, the Navy is one step closer to its goal of building a light aircraft carrier to enter service by the early 2030’s.

The 199-meter-long Marado can sail at a maximum speed of 23 knots (42.5 kilometers or 26.4 miles per hour). It is designed to be manned by 300 crewmembers and hold a maximum of

1,000 troops aboard. In addition to helicopters, the ship can also transport infantry vehicles and up to two hovercraft vessels. https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2021/06/28/national/defense/Navy-defense- ship/20210628181700257.html

Moon taps new Air Force chief amid sex crime probe

By Choi Si-young

Published : Jun 28, 2021 - 18:15 Updated : Jun 29, 2021 - 02:07

The Ministry of National Defense said Monday a three-star Air Force general overseeing strategy planning at the Joint Chiefs of Staff was tapped to head the Air Force, which has recently been rocked by sexual abuse allegations in which the victim died by suicide, prompting the previous chief to step down on June 4.

Lt. Gen. Park In-ho will assume the command on Tuesday, when President Moon will make his appointment official after a Cabinet meeting.

Park, an expert on military policy, was the first Air Force officer to lead policy planning and coordinate policy on North Korea at the ministry. Army generals had dominated those posts. http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20210628000951

Korea, Indonesia commit to KF-21 but remain apart on funding by Jon Grevatt

South Korea and Indonesia have committed to co-operation on the KF-21 fighter aircraft, but remain apart on an agreement on Jakarta's financial obligations in the project.

South Korea Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong and his Indonesian counterpart Retno Marsudi agreed during talks in Jakarta on 25 June to progress their countries' development of the aircraft, which was unveiled in April by prime contractor Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI).

A statement by the South Korea foreign ministry said, “The ministers agreed to closely co- operate to make sure that mutually beneficial, substantive co-operation projects like the KF- 21/IF-X project will proceed smoothly.”

https://www.janes.com/defence-news/news-detail/korea-indonesia-commit-to-kf-21-but-remain- apart-on-funding

Indian Agencies Investigate Possible Drone-carried Explosives Attack on Jammu Airport The two blasts which targeted an Indian high security airport located around 14 km from the border with Pakistan in the early hours of Sunday likely used drones to carry explosives. It is believed to be the first use of drones in a terror attack on an Indian military facility. The blasts, that left two Indian Air Force (IAF) personnel injured, took place at the Air Force base in Jammu Airport. One of the blasts caused damage to the roof of a building in the technical section while another bomb exploded in an open area, Indian media reported. "Drones with payload were used in both the blasts at Jammu airfield. Another crude bomb was found by the Jammu police. This IED was received by a Lashkar e Taiba operative and was to be planted at some crowded place," Jammu and Kashmir police chief Dilbag Singh told NDTV. Teams from the IAF, the National Bomb Data Centre, forensic experts and the Jammu and Kashmir police are also investigating the attack. The Jammu airport is a dual use facility under IAF control, also used to operate passenger flights. https://www.defenseworld.net/news/29905/Indian_Agencies_Investigate_Possible_Drone_carrie d_Explosives_Attack_on_Jammu_Airport#.YNrHM-gzbIU

The Nub of Theatrisation of Commands

• In article • 09:56 AM, Jun 28, 2021 • LT GEN P R SHANKAR (Retd)

A high-level committee of the Vice Chiefs of the three Services, the Chief of Integrated Defence Staff, and representatives of other Ministries are to undertake wider consultations to implement Theatrisation. It is well known that while the Army and Navy are fully onboard with the concept of Theatrisation, the IAF still has certain reservations. These reservations were always there and have only resurfaced. The public impression being generated is that there is no solution except ‘shoving it down the throat’ and to implement it by a date in the near future. Such a thought is detrimental to national security and should not even be contemplated. The need is for a unified warfare strategy, jointness in operations and integration of assets and forces.

To achieve that, every component needs to be on the same page. We should be clear that that the outcomes of Theatrisation must be better than now. Otherwise, we will be better off as we are. Hence the nation needs to be cognisant of the concerns of the IAF. There is a need to examine the main concerns of Theatrisation and to address them professionally.

The main concern of the IAF is well intentioned and partly genuine. The basic tenet of air power is to use it in a concentrated manner. It should not be frittered in penny packets. This is especially valid since the IAF is at a depleted strength and force multipliers like AWACs, AEW&C aircraft and flight refuellers need accretions or are due for major refits. It has been suggested that the answer lies in augmenting IAFs strength first. In the interim, the ORBAT needs reorganising such that the limited force can be brought to bear on targets effectively.

Augmenting the IAF strength is a long-term issue and Theatrisation cannot wait for that. The answer lies in reorganising the ORBAT and adopting a flexible but joint approach in deployment and employment of Air Power. As much as the flexibility is required in the

IAF, there is a greater flexibility required in the Army. In fact, if there are structural flaws in the Army need correction lest they are carried into a higher system.

Any long-range firepower either based on direct propulsion (guns, rockets and missiles) or indirect propulsion (aircraft – manned and unmanned) is always at a premium. Also, as the range of action and effect increases the requirement of centralised control also increases. The longer the range, the lesser such assets are available due to sheer limitation of numbers. High costs and complexity of operations are also contributory factors. Hence, they have to be deployed, employed and controlled centrally (initially at least). https://www.myind.net/Home/viewArticle/the-nub-of-theatrisation-of-commands

Almaz-Antey unveils latest naval air-defence systems by Dmitry Fediushko

Russia's state-owned Almaz-Antey Concern unveiled its latest range of shipborne air-defence systems at the International Maritime Defence Show 2021 (IMDS 2021), held in Saint Petersburg, Russia, on 23–27 June.

Resurs (Resource) is a new surface ship-borne naval air-defence system intended to engage both manned air platforms and unmanned aircraft systems (UASs), including extremely low-flying UASs, at short ranges. The system, which is capable of simultaneously engaging up to five aerial targets, comprises new effectors, a command module, and below-deck firing station and support systems.

Resurs accommodates two types of containerised vertically-launched missiles: the 9M96E for medium ranges and the 9M100E for shorter ranges. The system's modular launcher can accommodate up to eight firing cells, with a total of eight ready-to-fire 9M96E or 32 9M100E missiles. The 9M96E weighs 502 kg, is 4.78 m long, and is designed to engage aerial targets at distances between 1.5 km and 28 km, at altitudes up from 5 m to 20,000 m. Supplied in a container of four ready-use missiles, the 9M100E weighs 200 kg, is 3.66 m long, and can address airborne target sets at ranges between 1 km and 10 km, at altitudes from 5 m up to 4,000 m. The four-cell container weighs 850 kg and is 3.68 m long. https://www.janes.com/defence-news/news-detail/almaz-antey-unveils-latest-naval-air-defence- systems

PHYSICS GETS A VOTE: NO STARCRUISERS FOR SPACE FORCE

REBECCA REESMAN AND JAMES WILSON JUNE 28, 2021

COMMENTARY

Wars in space will never be like Star Wars. “Starfighters” will not engage in dogfights with unlimited maneuverability and range. An actual conflict in space would be slow and deliberate, requiring prepositioning of weapons and meticulous planning.

Even defense analysts working on the matter understate the physical constraints on warfare in space. In a recent War on the Rocks article, Jeff Becker claims that the era of “starcruisers” — spacecraft whose maneuvering is not principally dictated by orbital mechanics — is closer than people think. While Becker examines some meaningful technological developments, his analysis — like other work on the topic — does not recognize the challenges and physics that would be involved in fighting a conflict in space.

Policymakers and defense planners need to have a realistic understanding of what is physically possible and practical. As we explain in a recent research paper and accompanying video, in any space war physical limitations will constrain both the movement of assets and overall strategy. Space is big and satellites maneuver slowly while following predictable trajectories. Major limitations such as these mean that starcruisers like the Millennium Falcon or Galactica will never exist. https://warontherocks.com/2021/06/physics-gets-a-vote-no-starcruisers-for-space-force/

Sharing Vaccines Is Good for National Security

By Lieutenant Commander Tyler McKnight, U.S. Navy

June 2021

The United States has done an admirable job in its COVID vaccine rollout. With 300 million-plus doses administered and counting, the goal of domestic herd immunity is increasingly an issue of vaccine hesitancy rather than availability. Focusing first on the home front was the right thing to do for both the Trump and Biden administrations. It can be challenging to help your neighbor when you do not have your own house in order. But building on this success, the United States now needs to pivot and focus its energies and resources on the rest of the world. The recent White House pledge to ship 80 million doses overseas by the end of June was a good start (though the rollout has been sluggish). Either sold at a fair-market price or plastic-wrapped with USAID emblems, the United States can gain a lot by having vaccine shipments flowing around the world. The United States is in the midst of a generational opportunity to improve its long-term standing and reputation. But without more speed, the chance to engender affinity could turn to bitterness. https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/2021/june/sharing-vaccines-good-national-security

U.S., Japan to donate 2 million Covid vaccine doses to PHL in July bySamuel Medenilla June 29, 2021 1 minute read Vaccine czar Secretary Carlito Galvez Around 2 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines will be donated by the United States and Japan to the government next month.

Chief implementer of the government’s national policy on Covid-19 Carlito G. Galvez Jr. on Monday said 800,000 to 1 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson’s vaccines will from from the US. The other 1.1 million doses will be donated by the Japanese government.

“The papers [for donation] for the tripartite agreement with Japan are already here and Secretary [Francisco] Duque and I will sign them,” Galvez said during the public address of President Rodrigo R. Duterte last Monday.

Galvez expects a total of 13.3 million Covid-19 vaccines doses to arrive next month and another 13.6 million by Aug. 2021.

As of June 27, 2021, the government had administered 10 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines–7.53 million first doses and 2.53 million second doses.

The government is aiming to vaccinate between 50 million to 70 million this year.

https://businessmirror.com.ph/2021/06/29/u-s-japan-to-donate-2-million-covid-vaccine-doses-to-phl- in-july/

Canadian firm eyes vaccine manufacturing plant in PH

By Filane Mikee Cervantes June 28, 2021, 7:55 pm

MANILA – Negotiations are already in progress between the Philippine government and a Canadian biopharmaceutical company to set up a vaccine manufacturing plant in the country, Philippine Ambassador to Canada Rodolfo Robles disclosed Monday.

In an online Palace briefing, Robles said the negotiations with Medicago would proceed "more rapidly" and formally after getting the non-disclosure agreement approved by the Philippine government through the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).

"I offered our pharmaceutical ecozone in Bulacan I think, and I gave them all the perks of having a manufacturing (plant) in the Philippines like trade free taxes, free capital importations, and the like," he said.

Robles said the Philippines has also expressed interest in getting some of the excess coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccines of around 100 million doses from Canada.

He said Canada has 180 million Covid-19 vaccine doses with a population of only about 40 million.

"I had the Philippines listed among those who are interested to get the excess of Canada," he added.

Robles said Canada is expected to have its population fully vaccinated by the middle of the fourth quarter this year.

"So before the end of the year, we will know already how many excess Canada will have. And I am really watching with an eagle eye on the prospect of getting some excess directly from Canada," he said. (PNA) https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1145251

Pfizer, Moderna vaccines provide lasting protection: Study

Booster doses of these vaccines would probably not be needed as had been previously felt necessary, unless the virus evolves way beyond its current variants.

By Yashwant Raj I Edited by Amit Chanda

PUBLISHED ON JUN 28, 2021 10:35 PM IST

Pfizer- - protection for years from Covid-19, says a new study in Nature publication on Monday. BioNTech and Moderna’s mRNA based vaccines provide “persistent” and lasting -CoV-2 mRNA-based vaccination of humans induces a persistent GC (germinal centre) B cell response, enabling the generation of robust humoral “Our studies demonstrate that SARS lymph nodes, where immune cells are educated to detect and fight the virus. immunity,” the authors said in an abstract of their study, referring to memory cells found in Booster doses of these vaccines would probably not be needed as had been previously felt necessary, unless the virus evolves way beyond its current variants.

Ali Ellebedy, an immunologist at Washington University in St. Louis who led the study, told The New York Times they did not look at the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, but he added he expected it to be less effective than the mRNA-based versions. Also not included, it appeared, was AstraZeneca, which retails in India as Covishield. But the good news for India, which is battling a devastating second wave of Covid-19 driven in part by the new Delta variant of SARS-CoV2, is that it is engaged in talks at the highest levels to find a way to authorise Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines.

Earlier research had indicated that only those who had survived Covid-19 infection and had been fully vaccinated acquired a persistent and lasting protection from the virus.

After an infection, a specialised structure called a germinal centre forms in the lung, which serves as a school for memory B cells to recognise the virus. In vaccinated people, these germinal centres are formed in lymph nodes in the armpits.

- this is showing that the B cells are doing

“Everyone always focuses on the virus evolving the same thing,” Marion Pepper, an immunologist at the University of Washington in Seattle, told the New York Times. “And it’s going to be protective against ongoing evolution https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/pfizer-moderna-of the virus, which is really encouraging.” vaccines-provide-lasting-protection- study-101624899914092.html

Delayed doses of AstraZeneca jab boost immunity: study posted June 29, 2021 at 06:00 am by AFP Delayed second and third doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine boost immunity against COVID - 19, a study by Oxford University, which developed the jab with the British-Swedish firm, said on Monday.

In this file photo taken on January 4, 2021 a box of AstraZeneca/Oxford Covid-19 vaccine vials are pictured at the Pontcae Medical Practice in Merthyr Tydfil in south Wales. Delayed second and third doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine boost immunity against Covid-19, a study by Oxford University, which developed the jab with the British-Swedish firm, said on Monday, June 28. Giving a third dose of the jab more than six months after the second dose also leads to a "substantial increase" in antibodies and induces a "strong boost" to subjects' immune response, said the pre-print study, meaning that it has yet to be peer-reviewed. AFP

An interval of up to 45 weeks between the first and second dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine led to an enhanced immune response, rather than compromising immunity, the study said.

Giving a third dose of the jab more than six months after the second dose also leads to a "substantial increase" in antibodies and induces a "strong boost" to subjects' immune response, said the pre-print study, meaning that it has yet to be peer-reviewed.

"This should come as reassuring news to countries with lower supplies of the vaccine, who may be concerned about delays in providing second doses to their populations," said lead investigator of the Oxford trial Andrew Pollard.

"There is an excellent response to a second dose, even after a 10-month delay from the first."

The researchers said the results for a delayed AstraZeneca third dose were positive, particularly as nations with advanced vaccination programmes consider whether third booster shots will be required to prolong immunity.

"It is not known if booster jabs will be needed due to waning immunity or to augment immunity against variants of concern," said the study's lead senior author, Teresa Lambe.

She explained the research showed the AstraZeneca jab "is well tolerated and significantly boosts the antibody response."

Lambe added results were encouraging "if we find that a third dose is needed".

The development of the jab, which is being administered in 160 countries, has been hailed as a milestone in efforts against the pandemic because of its relatively low cost and ease of transportation.

However, confidence in the jab, as with the vaccine developed by the US firm Johnson & Johnson, has been hampered by concerns over links to very rare but serious blood clots in a handful of cases.

A number of nations have suspended the use of the vaccine as a result or restricted its use by younger groups who are less at risk from Covid.

The Oxford study indicated that side effects from the vaccine in general were "well tolerated" with "lower incidents of side effects after second and third doses than after first doses".

A separate Oxford-led study released on Monday found that alternating doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine with that developed by Pfizer/BioNTech also boosted immune response.

It found subjects responded differently depending on the order in which the shots were given, but vaccination schedules involving both the AstraZeneca and Pfizer/BioNT ech jabs could potentially be used to give more flexibility in tacking the virus.

Matthew Snape, the chief investigator for the trial, said when the mixed vaccines were given at a four-week interval they induced "an immune response that is above the threshold set by the standard schedule of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine".

https://manilastandard.net/news/coronavirus-2019/358332/delayed-doses-of-astrazeneca-jab-boost- immunity-study.html

U.K. Study Offers New Evidence You Can ‘Mix And Match’ Coronavirus Vaccines Jemima McEvoy

Forbes Staff

TOPLINE

An Oxford University-led study published Monday found mixing and matching doses of two different Covid-19 vaccines still generates good protection against the virus, marking the latest evidence in support of a more flexible vaccine rollout that some countries have already started to adopt.

PORTLAND, OR - DECEMBER 16 : Healthcare workers get the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccination at the ... [+] GETTY IMAGES

KEY FACTS

The Com-Cov vaccine trial looked at how immune responses differed in the 850 volunteers aged 50 and older when they were given either two doses of the Pfizer- BioNTech vaccine (an mRNA vaccine), two doses of AstraZeneca (a vector vaccine), or one dose of each. All the different combinations generated strong immunity, the researchers concluded, as both “mixed” schedules induced “high concentrations of antibodies” when administered four weeks apart. “This means that all possible vaccination schedules involving the Oxford-AstraZeneca and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines could potentially be used against Covid-19,” the study said. But while all combinations offered strong protection against the virus, the researchers noted different combinations of the two types of vaccines induced differing levels of immunity. Two doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine (which has tested less effective than other vaccines and is recommended to be given eight to 12 weeks apart) proved the least effective combination, while two doses of Pfizer spurred the highest antibody response. However, a shot of AstraZeneca followed by Pfizer generated the highest T cell response (immune cells that can target and destroy virus-infected cells) and induced more antibodies than getting the jabs the other way around. https://www.forbes.com/sites/jemimamcevoy/2021/06/28/uk-study-offers-new-evidence-you-can-mix- and-match-coronavirus-vaccines/?sh=1e610f7d1082

Only foreign scientist in Wuhan lab says Covid-19 leak highly unlikely

• Australian virologist worked at institute in late 2019, saw nothing unusual • Says full investigation needed to nail down coronavirus origins once and for all

Bloomberg

-4 lab was the first in mainland China equipped to handle the deadliest pathogens. Photo: TNS The Wuhan Institute of Virology’s BSL Danielle Anderson was working in what has become the world’s most notorious laboratory just weeks before the first known cases of Covid-19 emerged in China. Now the Australian virologist has shared her story for the first time.

An expert in bat-borne viruses, Anderson is the only foreign scientist to have undertaken research at the Wuhan Institute of Vir BSL-4 (Biosafety Level 4) lab, the first in

ology’s becomemainland a Chinaflashpoint equipped in the tosearch handle for the what planet’s caused deadl the iestworst pathogens. pandemic Her in amost century. recent stint ended in November 2019, giving Anderson an insider’s perspective on a place that has Lab leak or nature? Debate heats up on the origins of Covid-19 virus

The emergence of the coronavirus in the same city where scientists, clad head-to-toe in protective gear, study that exact family of viruses has stoked speculation that it might have leaked from the lab, possibly via an infected employee or a contaminated object.

lack of transparency has fuelled those suspicions, turning the quest to uncover the origins of the virus, critical for preventing future pandemics, into a geopolitical minefield. China’s The work of the lab and the director of its emerging infectious diseases section – Shi Zhengli, a long-time colleague of Anderson’s dubbed “bat woman” for her work hunting viruses in caves – is now shrouded in controversy. The US has questioned the safety and has alleged its scientists were engaged in viruses can be modified to become deadlier or more transmissible.lab’s contentious “gain of function” research, where they study how https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3139077/only-foreign-scientist-wuhan-lab-says- covid-19-leak-highly

Wuhan lab scientist says no virus was made to infect people. Explains why

An expert in bat-borne viruses, Anderson is the only foreign scientist to have undertaken research -4 lab, the first in mainland China equipped to handle the at the Wuhan Institute of Virology’s BSL Bloomberg | planet’s deadliest pathogens. PUBLISHED ON JUN 28, 2021 11:11 PM IST

Danielle Anderson was workin just weeks before the first known cases of Covid-19 emerged in central China. Yet, the Australian virologist still wondersg in whatwhat shehas missed.become the world’s most notorious laboratory

An expert in bat-borne viruses, Anderson is the only foreign scientist to have undertaken -4 lab, the first in mainland China research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology’s BSL flashpointequipped to in handlethe search the planet’sfor what deadliest caused the pathogens worst pandemic. Her most in recenta century. stint ended in November 2019, giving Anderson an insider’s perspective on a place that’s become a The emergence of the coronavirus in the same city where institute scientists, clad head-to- toe in protective gear, study that exact family of viruses has stoked speculation that it might lack of transparency since the earliest days of the outbreak fueled those suspicions, which have leaked from the lab, possibly via turnedan infected the quest staffer to or uncover a contaminated the origins object. of the China’s virus, critical for preventing future pandemics, into a geopolitical minefield. have been seized on by the US. That’s https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/wuhan-lab-scientist-says-no-virus-was-made-to-infect- people-explains-why-101624901328409.html

Mapping the Coronavirus Outbreak Across the World Updated: January 26, 2021, 3:15 PM EST Tracking Covid-19

• Vaccine Tracker • Global Cases • U.S. Cases • U.S. Regions

Testing data as of April 23 2020, 5:20 AM EDT

Sources: OECD for number of hospital beds (2016 for the U.S., 2017 for other countries), government agencies and the COVID Tracking Project via Our World in Data for testing data (various recent dates) (reported in the past 45 days) and the U.S. Census Bureau for population figures (2019).

The world is bracing for a new wave of Covid-19 infections, as the coronavirus pandemic has infected more than people and killed more than globally since late January 2020. Efforts many countries took to stamp out the pneumonia-like illness led to entire nations enforcing lockdowns, widespread halts of international travel, mass layoffs and battered financial markets. Recent attempts to revive social life and financial activities have resulted in another surge in cases and hospitalizations, though new drugs and improved care may help more people who get seriously ill survive.

Getting to a Flatter Curve  The first days with more than 100 confirmed cases

• Asia • Other

Show deaths  Note: JHU CSSE reporting began on January 22, 2020, when mainland China had already surpassed 500 cases.

Source: Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering

… Confirmed cases worldwide

… Deaths worldwide

Jurisdictions with cases confirmed as of

• 1–99

• 100–999 • 1,000–9,999 • 10,000–99,999 • 100,000–999,999 • 1,000,000–9,999,999 • 10 million or more

Note: Totals for Denmark, France, the Netherlands, the U.K., and the U.S. include overseas territories and other dependencies. Cases and deaths for cruise ships have been separated in accordance with JHU CSSE data.

More Coverage From Bloomberg

• Sign up for our daily coronavirus newsletter • Stories about the coronavirus outbreak from Bloomberg News • Virus Update from Bloomberg News • The Future of Travel in the Covid Era • How Covid Is Shifting Human Behavior Around the World • The Covid Resilience Ranking

The epicenter of the pandemic has continued to shift throughout the year, from China, then Europe, then the U.S., and now to developing countries like Brazil. Cases globally surpassed 10 million in late June, but ever since infections have been multiplying faster. The U.S. and India have the most infections, accounting for more than a third of all cases combined.

Global Cases Added Per Day Note: On February 14, 2020, Hubei officials changed their diagnostic criteria, resulting in a spike in reported cases.

Countries took drastic measures to mitigate the spread of Covid-19 on their homefront—with varying degrees of success. More than 140 governments placed blanket bans on incoming travelers, closed schools and restricted gatherings and public events, according to data compiled by Oxford University’s Blavatnik School of Government and Bloomberg reporting.

As countries loosen lockdowns in an effort to reboot their economies, many have seen a resurgence of infections. The number of new daily cases in the U.S. rose to record highs after some states relaxed social distancing requirements. Even places that successfully contained infections earlier in the year, like China and South Korea, have seen cases bubble back up. Theories that warmer weather in the Northern Hemisphere would bring relief appear to be unfounded.

How the Outbreak Spread Country by Country  Seven-day rolling average of new deaths and cases

• Asia

• Other

Show cases  Note: Shown are the 15 places with the highest totals of confirmed cases, as of . Negative values resulting from governments revising their totals have been excluded from rolling average calculations.

The “worst is yet to come” given a lack of global solidarity, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, head of the World Health Organization, said at a briefing in Geneva on June 29.

In May, the WHO emphasized the need for a plan that includes testing for the virus and its antibodies, effective contact tracing and isolation, and community education. Antibody tests on the market that could potentially indicate a person’s immunity have been unreliable so far. Researchers and drugmakers are racing to develop treatments that could hold the key to recovery.

Gilead Sciences Inc.’s antiviral remdesivir is one of the first widely used drugs for Covid-19. It received an emergency use authorization from U.S. regulators in May, after a trial found it sped recovery by about four days in hospitalized patients. It was also part of U.S. President Donald Trump’s treatment after he tested positive for the coronavirus in early October, along with Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s antibody cocktail and the generic drug dexamethasone.

Vaccines are also in development, though the study of one leading candidate from the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca Plc is on hold in the U.S. while regulators investigate a potential safety issue.

https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2020-coronavirus-cases-world-map/?srnd=coronavirus

Covid map: Coronavirus cases, deaths, vaccinations by country

By The Visual and Data Journalism Team BBC News Published Covid-19 is continuing to spread around the world, with more than 180 million confirmed cases and 3.9 million deaths across nearly 200 countries. The US, India and Brazil have seen the highest number of confirmed cases, followed by France, Turkey, Russia and the UK. Very few places have been left untouched. mapped Confirmed cases around the world

Show 181,102,393 cases 3,923,132 deaths

Please upgrade your browser to see the full interactive

Source: Johns Hopkins University, national public health agencies Figures last updated 28 June 2021, 09:49 BST In the table below, countries can be reordered by deaths, death rate and total cases. In the coloured bars on the right-hand side, countries in which cases have risen to more than 10,000 per day are those with black bars on the relevant date.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-51235105

More Than 2.97 Billion Shots Given: Covid-19 Tracker In the U.S., 324 million doses have been administered Updated: June 29, 2021, 4:12 AM GMT+8 Vaccine Tracker • Global • U.S. • U.S. Vaccine Demographics • FAQ • Covid-19 Tracker

The biggest vaccination campaign in history is underway. More than 2.97 billion doses have been administered across 180 countries, according to data collected by Bloomberg. The latest rate was roughly 45.6 million doses a day.

In the U.S., 324 million doses have been given so far. In the last week, an average of 875,452 doses per day were administered.

World Map of Vaccinations More than 2.97 billion doses have been administered enough to fully vaccinate 19.4% of the global population —

• no data01102030% of population covered

Note: doses required for full vaccination. Data gathered from government agencies, public statements, Bloomberg“Population interviews covered” and the divides World the Health doses Organizationadministered and for Johnseach vaccine Hopkins type University. by the number of

Enough doses have now been administered to fully vaccinate 19.4% of the global population but the distribution has been lopsided. Countries and regions with the highest incomes are getting vaccinated more than 30 times faster than those with the lowest. — https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/covid-vaccine-tracker-global-distribution/?srnd=premium-asia

How to drag Duterte to ICC for EJK probe? POSTSCRIPT - Federico D. Pascual Jr. (The Philippine Star) - June 29, 2021 - 12:00am How can anybody drag an unwilling President Duterte to the International Criminal Court of thousands of Filipinos suspected of drug trafficking or abuse? to face investigation for “crimes against humanity” involving the alleged torture or murder On June 14, before ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda ended her term, she announced her -trial chamber to open a formal investigation into the situation in the Philippines. having requested the Court’s pre a reasonable basis to believe that the crimes against humanity of murder, torture and the inflictionBensouda of was serious quoted physical as saying: injury “The and Office mental is satisfharmied and that other information inhumane available acts were provides

committedAs the ICC does on the not territory have its ofown the police Philippines.” force or enforcers, it relies on member-states for support, particularly in arresting suspects and transferring them to the ICC detention center in The Hague, in freezing their assets and enforcing sentences upon their conviction.

The Court has handled 30 cases. Its judges have issued 35 arrest warrants, handed down 10 convictions and four acquittals. Seventeen persons have been locked up in the ICC detention center. Thirteen suspects remain at large, while charges have been dropped against three accused who had died.

Duterte has been reciting on local media lately his by now familiar defense line that goes pointing out also that: “Do not destroy my country, the youth or I will kill you!” He and his apologists have been Statute that established the ICC was invalid because it was not published in the National Gazette or a newspaper of general circulation as• The all laws Philippines’ should be.ratification of the Rome

tice of withdrawing as a signatory of the Rome Statute of the ICC. • Assuming Philippine ICC membership was valid, it ended on March 17, 2019, with the country’s no criminal systems. It should prosecute cases only when states do not, or are unwilling or unable• Under to the do principle so themselves. of complementarity, Duterte says Philippine the ICC is courtsto complement, are functioning not to normally.replace, national

* * *

Bensouda, a 60-year-old Gambian lawyer and international criminal law prosecutor, said in her recommendation (slightly edited for brevity):

Philippines has been under preliminary examination since Feb. 8, 2018. My Office has been analyzing a large amount of publicly available information and information“The situation provided in the under Article 15 of the Statute.

t there is a reasonable basis to believe that the crime against humanity of murder has been committed on the territory of the “On the basis of that work, I have determined tha

Philippines between July 1, 2016 and March 16, 2019, in the context of the Philippines’ ‘war on drugs’ campaign. addressing the production, distribution and consumption of psychoactive substances “Thewithin Office the law does and not due take process. a position In this on anycase, governme it is actingnt’s strictly internal in accordance policies and with initiatives its specific and clearly defined mandate and obligations under the Statute. members of the Philippine National Police, and others acting in concert with them, have unlawfully“Following killeda thorough between preliminary several thousand examination, and tensthe a ofvailable thousands information of civilians indicates during that that time.

ju“My Office has also reviewed information related to allegations of torture and other inhumane acts, and related events as early as Nov. 1, 2011, the beginning of the Court’s risdiction in the Philippines, all of which* we * beli *eve require investigation.”

More information came June 4 in an online forum wherein former ICC Judge Raul withdrawing from the Rome Statute. Pangalangan said that Duterte has not escaped the Court’s jurisdiction with the Philippines’ The former dean of the UP College of Law who was president of the ICC Trial Division in withdrawal from the ICC in March 2019. 2019 said Duterte still has to account for criminal acts committed before the country’s - withdrawal. It retains jurisdiction over all crimes committed in its territory while it was a He said, “Article 127 says that the Court retains jurisdiction even after a member state’s

Themember same of Article, the Rome he said, Statute.” was applied in the case of Burundi, the first nation that left the ICC in 2017 after the violent crackdown by state forces against critics of then-President Pierre Nkurunziza. Burundi was among the first cases Pangalangan handled as a member of the ICC pre-trial chamber. was still a member of the Rome Statute (until March 2019), she was squarely invoking the “When (Bensouda) asserted her jurisdiction over crimes committed while the Philippines application of Article 127,” Pangalangan said.

The cooperation of state-parties is needed in enforcing the orders and decisions of the ICC.

But the Philippine government’s instant reaction is not needed at this point since the ICC Onhas the yet questionto grant Bensouda’sof subpoenas request, and arrests, he said. who will deliver Duterte to the ICC to face investigation and trial, if it comes to that?

It is unlikely that the government, with Duterte sitting as president, will deliver him to the ICC. But turning him over for investigation or trial could be facilitated if/when he is no longer the president either because his term has ended or is fully served or he has been ousted. – The possibility of such a status of vulnerability could be reason enough for Duterte to resort to extreme measures to stay on or to ensure that his successor is someone who would protect him, prevent his delivery to the ICC and be subjected to its processes.

On the other hand, for the same reasons, the opposition or a coalition of anti-Duterte forces is likely to work harder together to defeat national election candidates perceived to be committed to protecting him after he leaves office.

https://www.philstar.com/opinion/2021/06/29/2108790/how-drag-duterte-icc-ejk-probe

Locsin on the PCA arbitral ruling Read Next

IATF recommends GCQ for NCR Plus until July 15

By Reynaldo Arcilla

June 29, 2021

3150 EARLY last month, President Rodrigo "Digong" Duterte said the ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) on the South China Sea/West Philippine Sea (SCS/WPS) territorial dispute is "just a piece of paper" he "will throw away."

"Iyang papel sa totoong buhay between nations, iyang papel wala 'yan. Kung sino 'yong tigas, United States, Britain 'yan, pagka ginusto nilang ganyan gawin. Tayo nanalo. Ngayon pagdating ko ang barko nandiyan sa West Philippine Sea, China boat, ship, tayo wala na (In real life and between nations, that piece of paper is nothing. Whichever is tough, whether the United States or Great Bretain, will do whatever is wills. We won. Now, when a China boat or ship arrives at the West Philippine Sea, we're done)," Digong said in a recorded televised speech.

"Sabihin ko sa iyo, ibigay mo sa'kin, sabihin ko sa'yo p***ng ina, papel lang 'yan. Itatapon ko 'yan sa wastebasket (I'm telling you, give it to me, telling you [expletive] that's just a piece of paper. I'll throw it on the wastebasket)," he added.

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana agreed with Digong that the ruling was a worthless "piece of paper" that can be tossed into the trash bin.

"What Presidente Duterte said last night regarding the PCA ruling is correct," Lorenzana said.

"However, even without the PCA ruling, we will continue to defend what is rightfully ours... To those who are saying the President and I are not aligned, let me clarify my pronouncements echo the stand of our President and commander in chief," he further said.

* * *

Now here comes Digong's Amboy and Yellowtard of a foreign secretary, Teodoro "Tweeterboy" Locsin Jr. who, in his usual pompous wont, said the Philippines "firmly" rejects any attempt to undermine the PCA award.

"The Award is final. We firmly reject attempts to undermine it...," he said.

(Like Digong calling it "just a piece of paper" and will "throw it to the wastebasket"?)

If that is not in direct contravention of what his president and commander in chief has said, we don't know what is!

Locsin said the arbitral award "benefits the world across the board," a "gift" of the Philippines to other countries.

We have no idea which world he was referring to, but the only countries we have heard expressed positive comments on the award are the United States and certain Western European countries and others in its corral like Japan, Canada, Australia and New Zealand and, lest we forget, the European Union.

However, as far as we know, no other countries have so far acknowledged the award in that vein, not from any other country in Asean, or from South or Central Asia, or from Africa or from South America. Certainly not from Eastern Europe led by Russia.

* * *

One other thing that should be mentioned, Locsin has once again defied Digong's directive that except for Palace spokesman Harry Roque Jr., no other Cabinet member should speak on the SCS/WPS issue. Has that directive been withdrawn?

Will Locsin get his comeuppance from Digong this time? Hmm... that's probably a no- brainer. Tweeterboy is still ensconced in his swivel chair at the DFA.

But the most important question of all - who are we now to believe in the government's stand on the SCS/WPS dispute, the President or Locsin?

* * *

In our view, no amount of suasion, moral or otherwise, will convince any country with or without a similar problem such as we have over the SCS/WPS, will openly support the PCA ruling for two reasons:

1. China, the second, soon to be number one, biggest economy in the world and;

2. The PCA ignored that in arbitration, both parties must agree to and participate in it. China did not. It is a conditio sine qua non for the ruling to be valid.

These are the reasons why we have been saying in this space, which Locsin later echoed, bringing up the ruling to the United Nations will not prosper.

* * *

Locsin eulogized the late President Benigno Aquino 3rd who he called "brave" and "indifferent to power and its trappings."

"I beg his sisters to allow me the honor to share their grief. He wasn't fond of me but I could not bring myself not to admire him," he said.

Locsin then went on to pay tribute to Aquino's "most notable foreign policy achievement" - the ruling rendered by the PCA on the SCS/WPS territorial dispute.

Duh? That must be music to the ears of one of his predecessors, Albert "Super Amboy" del Rosario.

https://www.manilatimes.net/2021/06/29/opinion/columns/locsin-on-the-pca-arbitral-ruling/1804969

Asking for trouble posted June 29, 2021 at 12:25 am

Arming civilian anti-crime volunteers as President Duterte suggests will result in more, not fewer crimes. This stark warning comes, not from a human rights activist, but from Senator Panfilo Lacson, who was chief of the national police from 1999 to 2001.

the proper training and mindset, Lacson says, adding that stricter gun control measures by the police Armingwould be civilians a better to solution fight criminality to criminality. could backfire, especially if they don’t have

To bolster his case, Lacson cited recent abuses by off-duty policemen who were involved in fatal shootings including Master Sergeant Hensie Zinampan who shot a 52-year-old son figured in a— fist fight with him. A murder charge has been filed against Zinampan. woman in the back of the head in Fairview, Quezon City in May, a month after the victim’s Another case, which Lacson did not mention, was a shooting incident at the Manila Police Department (MPD) headquarters on June 25, in which a drunk cop broke into his office at night to get a rifle, then shot and killed a colleague and wounded another before being shot dead himself by responding policemen.

“If our law enforcers who are supposed to be trained are prone to lapses, how much more in the case of untrained civilians?” Lacson asked. idea.

But the senator isn’t the only one who thinks arming civilian volunteers is a bad may lead to lawlessness and proliferation of arms that may further negatively impact the “Arming civilians without proper training, qualification, and clear lines sionof accountability on Human Rights said. -defense: the impact of human rights situation in the country,” a spokesperson for the Commis governmentIn policy 2012, to a arm study civilian entitled volunteer “Arming militia civilianss led for to self a sharp proliferation of firearms firearmsin the southernmost proliferation provinces, on the conflict researchers dynamics found. in Southern Thailand” found that a in the arming of civilians potentially escalates the conflict dynamics and contributes to “Theethno- research findings brought to light the way in which firearms proliferation and the rise

In the Unitedreligious States polarization where gun as wellviolence as to and communal mass sh violeootingsnce,” are the rife, study the dataconcluded. is there for anyone who wishes to see it.

https://manilastandard.net/opinion/editorial/358313/asking-for-trouble.html

Probe cyberattacks

Philippine Daily Inquirer / 04:07 AM June 29, 2021

A Swedish digital forensic group called Qurium Media Foundation (QMF) reported last week that a series of cyberattacks against alternative news organizations bulatlat.com and altermidya.org and the human rights group Karapatan were traced to computer networks of the DOST and the Philippine Army. The detailed denial of service (DDoS) against the three organizations, which have been among report of the QMF showed “brief but frequent’’ attacks in the form of distributed those Red-tagged -insurgency task force.\

The DDoS attack involvesby the Duterte flooding administration’s the website with anti superfluous requests to overload the host, rendering it inaccessible. At least five attacks were mounted on May 17, 18, and 20 and two more on June 6, according to the group.

The cyberattacks happened as the three groups were reporting about the request of outgoing International Criminal Court prosecutor Fatou Bensouda to investigate President Duterte for crimes against humanity over the drug war killings, as well in Mindanao, and the continuing low mass testing for COVID-19. as the designation of “terrorist” organizations, the arrest of elderly peasant leaders The morning after the May 17 attack, one machine that identified its internet protocol indication that the perpetrators checked whether the cyberattacks were (IP) address as from the DOST conducted a “vulnerability scan,’’ an successful. The IP address belonged to the Philippine Research, Education and Government Information Network (Preginet), a unit under the Advanced Science and Technology Institute (Asti) of the DOST, according to Qurium. Another unit in the official domain and website of the Philippine Army. the same IP address was registered to “[email protected],” which is under Such cyberattacks are illegal under Philippine law. These incidents emanating from government-

owned networks, if true, either show that the “perpetrators’’ were so confident about getting away with their illegal actions that they didn’t

mind having their IP addresses out in the open and traceable to their offices, which have no business undermining the operations of private entities; or they were too inept to have known that their addresses could in fact be traced.

In a statement, the DOST said its reported involvement in the cyberattacks was

“unfounded and patently false.’’

https://opinion.inquirer.net/141587/probe-cyberattacks#ixzz6zAFWIXPe

Extrajudicial killings as official policy posted June 29, 2021 at 12:15 am by Tony La Viña "Here is the unassailable conclusion."

In the Request for Judicial Investigation filed before the International Criminal Court on the campaign (WoD), Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda gives an exhaustive narration of the factual andsituation jurisdictional in the Philippines bases to justifyin the thecontext grant of of the su Dutertech Request. Administration’s war on drugs

By way of historical background, the Request lays down in chronological order a narration

Davao City up to the early years of his presidency, starting July 2016 up to March 2019. Thisof the factual significant narration events serves of Rodrigo to reveal Duterte’s a pattern war o fon extrajudicial drugs from and the extralegaltime he was killings mayor of perpetrated by state and non-state actors in furtherance of a State policy to kill suspected drug users and sellers and to instigate members of the public to carry out such killings.

As stated in the Request, as early as February 2016 and throughout the WoD, the Philippine c Drug Enforcement Agency (“PDEA”) repeatedly reported that a high proportion of the suchountry’s locations barangays and indicatedwere “drug that affected” the WoD – meaning should continue that a drug until user, all barangays dealer (or could“pusher”), be consideredmanufacturer, cleared. marijuana Most usedcultivator, drugs or in otherthe Philippin drug personalityes are believed had been to be “proven” to exist in – (marijuana). methamphetamine hydrochloride (commonly known as “shabu”) and cannabis During 1988-1998, 2001-2010, and 2013-2016, the current President of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, served as Mayor of Davao City on an anti-drugs and anti-crime platform, which he sought to combat crime. On multiple occasions, Duterte publicly supported and encouragedearning him the killingnicknames of petty “The criminals Punisher” and and drug “Duterte dealers Harry” in Davao for theCity. violent During manner his tenure in as Mayor, Davao City police officers and the so- vigilante group comprising both civilian and police members linked to the local administration, allegedly carried out at least 1,00called0 killings. “Davao According Death Squad” to Bensouda, (“DDS”), those a killings share a number of common features with killings during the later national WoD campaign, including the victim profile, advance warning to the victim, perpetrator profile, the means used, and the locations of incidents.

The Request then divides the WoD campaign into six operational phases covering the period between July 2016 and March 2019, excerpts of which are quoted below:

Phase 1 (1 July 2016 mid-October 2016) saw the implementation of Project Double Barrel

– in the first three months following Duterte’s inauguration. It included law enforcement

called this activities under both Operation Tokhang and Operation HVT. Amnesty International (“AI”) Phase 2 (26period October “Duterte’s 2016 100 days of carnage”.

– 29 January 2017), the implementation of “Project Double Barrel Alpha” expanded the scope of Double Barrel, focusing on the “neutralization of high value targets” and extending Operation Tokhang to “schools, business establishments, subdivisionshttps://manilastandard.net/opinion/columns/eagle-eyes- and condominium,” in addition to visits toby drug-tony- suspects’la-vina/358311/extrajudicial- residences. killings-as-official-policy.html

Time for LP to junk the Reds posted June 29, 2021 at 12:10 am by Gary Olivar "Stop the on-and-off flirtation."

former colleague in Congress, now-Sen Last Saturday was the inurnment of former President Benigno “PNoy” Aquino III. His reconciliation. Even our acerbic Presidentator declared Imee Marcos, a 10-day eulogized period himof national as a “kind mourning. and Anygentle funeral, soul” whomespecially she willa presidential “deeply miss,” one, settingshould a lwayscommendably be an occasion Catholic for tone setting of aside differences and coming together.

* * *

ying I was a bit puzzled, though, by the Inquirer headline that proclaimed “Mission presidency.accomplished!” To borrow in PNoy’s words honor. from I hope his Palace they meant predece thatssor, he simply he simply did contributedhis part in carr his own the baton in what his Finance Secretary-building; Purisima for example: described as the “relay race” of the

“stoneA high forof 7.8% the edifice” quarterly of nation GDP growth on his watch (almost as good as PGMA, whose quarterly numbers exceeded 8%--twice)

-VAT reform in 2005,

Fiscal stability with his sin tax reform (preceded by PGMA’s e succeededConsequently, by PRRD’s investment-grade TRAIN and ratingsCREATE in laws) 2011 (much of which the upgrade reports

credited to PGMA’s fiscal reforms, then were reaffirmed years later even in the depths of PRRD’sAfter initial severe hesitation lockdown) in 2011- infrastructu 12, infrastructure buildout (continuing PGMA’s re spree, followed by PRRD’s Build Build Build) soul, true, but also a wholly ordinary man, with no executive experience, whose years in CongressWhatever with it was, Imee PNoy’s saw his“mission” name onstarted not a onlysingle when new h law.e became And that president. mission He also was a decent evaporated when he stepped down and was rarely heard from again.

https://manilastandard.net/opinion/columns/formation-by-gary-olivar/358308/time-for-lp-to- junk-the-reds.html

A critical juncture in the China-US contest in Southeast Asia

• Celebrations for the Fourth of July in the US and the

clash of narratives among the competing powers seekingChinese greaterCommunist regional Party’s engagement centenary will intensify the • In high-level diplomacy, Covid-19 vaccine supply, infrastructure and trade, China has made much headway

Lucio Blanco Pitlo III July will be an important milestone for the two great powers jockeying for position in Southeast Asia. For the United States, the Fourth of July is an occasion to celebrate its triumph over the pandemic, the revival of its alliances and its recommitment to global leadership. For China, July 1 marks the centenary of a ruling party that presides over one of the most spectacular economic miracles in history.

Washington will renew confidence in its democratic values. Beijing will fete the achievements of its governance and economic model. For Southeast Asia, this clash of narratives epitomises the widening gulf between two key partners, and demands more astute hedging.

US healing, reopening and re-engagement with the world give shape to President Joe Biden America is back credible, lovable and respectable image of China ’s Asia,proclamation a brewing that flashpoint “ for great ”.power Meanwhile, competiti Presidenton, offers Xi Jinping’sfertile ground directive on which to cre toate a assess“ how the two contending pitches resonate. ” signals a new diplomatic tack. Southeast

https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3138782/critical-juncture-china-us-contest- southeast-asia

Why China cannot afford to take a passive role in post-US Afghanistan

• There appears to be little evidence supporting Taliban assurances that trouble will not spill over onto Chinese soil • China has spent many years hedging on Afghanistan but it needs to take steps to support the government in Kabul and visibly deploy more resources

Raffaello Pantucci China appears remarkably sanguine about the growing trouble in Afghanistan. The assumption that a government led or dominated by the Taliban will be a reliable partner is something Beijing has regretted in the past, and could end up ruing again.

There is some consistency in China’s relations with Afghanistan. Beijing has been unwilling to commit to much, yet has sought to do a lot. Its economic projects have never quite got off the ground, while political mediation efforts have at best added to the noise.

There is no denying the effort, but it would be better if China actually followed through on all its promises with action. Instead, Beijing seems willing to let fate take its course and watch the Taliban come to power.

https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3138926/why-china-cannot-afford-take-passive-role- post-us-afghanistan

The most significant result of Biden-Putin meeting

By Korea Herald

Published : Jun 28, 2021 - 05:30 Updated : Jun 28, 2021 - 05:30 In the 75 years that the United States and Russia have dominated global power politics, their underlying goal has remained remarkably constant: maintaining enough stability and predictability to prevent their differences from sparking a nuclear war.

It was the mutual renewal of that concept that, if maintained, will be the most significant long-term result of the recent summit meeting between President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin, especially after the unpredictable tenure of Donald Trump.

le that a nuclear war cannot be won and must never

“Today, we reaffirm the princip be fought,” the two leaders declared, vowing to join in “an integrated bilateral Strategic Stability dialogue” that will lay the basis for “future arms control and risk Inreduction their lengthy measures.” post-summit news conferences, both Putin and Biden stressed the degree to which they approach the relationship in a pragmatic, businesslike, non- ideological manner. But Biden cautioned that much depends on Russian deeds in the coming months.

For more than three decades, since the implosion of the old Soviet Union and arms control have exemplified their relationship despite frequent headline-making clashes.Russia’s inheritance of its nuclear arsenal, restraint in action and agreements on

Like his Soviet predecessors, Putin has often made mischief around the world and flouted norms of civilized society at home. He continues to do so. But a case can be made that his bark has often been worse than his bite, a recognition his country would be a big loser if he precipitated the ultimate conflict.

That, too, is nothing new. Even on their most hostile days during the four decades of

Cold War, Soviet leaders and their American counterparts seemed to acknowledge by their actions there was a line beyond which neither wanted to go.

movements in their Eastern European satellites during the 1950s and 1960s and erectedWhen the the Soviet infamous Union’s Berlin leaders Wall, cracked American down president on burgeonins were gsharply democratic critical in word but restrained in action.

brazen attempt to introduce offensive nuclear missiles into Cuba, the Soviets backed offWhen and President withdrew John the missiles.F. Kennedy stood up to Soviet President Nikita Khrushchev’s

And when the Eastern European countr in the late 1980s, the restraint of the last Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, and the acquiescence of President George Bush facilitatedies broke away a remarkably from Moscow’s peaceful domination transition.

In the ensuing years, American presidents of both parties have sometimes shown considerable naivete about the possibility of potentially positive changes in post- Soviet Russia that belied the reality of the quashing of democracy by the former KGB agent who was running the country.

It was President George W. Bush, who said after his initial meeting with Putin that

President Biden dismissed after a subsequent meeting with the Russian president. Presidenthe looked Barackhim “in Obam the eye” and got “a sense of his soul- ,” a characterization that Vice happened. a saw the prospect of a “re set” in relations that never And Trump mistakenly thought relations would improve if he was publicly his 2016 interference in US elections deferential to Putin and accepted the Russian president’s denial of responsibility for The atmosphere and the statements last week were different. Both Biden and Putin described their talks as business-like sessions between two experienced leaders who understand from where the other was coming.

need to look into the eyes and see the soul, and

“It doesn’t necessarily mean that we to pledge eternal love,” Putin said in response to a question about the past use of those terms. “We defend the national interests of our countries. And these relationships are always based on pragmatism.”

relationship between two powerful and proud countries, a relationship that has to Biden said that he and Putin “share a unique responsibility to manage the our mutual i be stable and predictable.” And he said, “we should be able to cooperate where it’s in nterest.”

“Let’s get something straight,” he added. “We know each other well; we’re not old Bidenfriends. said It’s he just hopes pure Putinbusiness.” will show his recognition of that over the next six months by exercising restraint and cooperating on issues like their mutual cyber-security

concerns. But he conceded, “I’m not confident he’ll change his behavior.” this sort of one-on-one meeting since President Ronald Reagan met Gorbachev in 1985Last week’s in the samemeeting Swiss was city, the not18th counting time the other leaders briefe of rthe interactions two countries during have larger held conferences of world leaders.

Those four decades have seen dramatic changes in the world: the rise of China as the power, the enormous growth in other Asian countries like Korea and India, the increased economic strength of Europe; the world’s second most powerful economic

United Kingdon’s economic break with the European Union. trailing Canada and Brazil as well as most major European counties, Japan and India. As an economic power, Russia ranks behind the world’s top 10 counties, even But it still has that nuclear arsenal, even though that status is no longer unique, and Putin made clear he recognizes Russia shares with the United States the responsibi that has not changed. lity for maintaining “strategic stability” in the world. That’s something http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20210627000090

Supreme Court Cheerleads for First Amendment by Alan M. Dershowitz June 28, 2021 at 5:00 am

▪ [The decision] sends a powerful message that the Supreme Court is still in the business of protecting offensive speech, even as big tech, universities and many progressives have tried to justify pervasive censorship of speech with which they disagree. ▪ [T]he most dangerous form of contemporary censorship comes not from the government, but rather from private parties who themselves have the First Amendment right to censor speech with which they disagree. In other words, what we are experiencing is an attack not on the First Amendment itself, but rather on the culture of free speech that the First Amendment is designed to protect. ▪ Today many such institutions punish students and applicants for social media statements they may have posted when they were the same youthful age as the cheerleader. Nor is the punishment always based on neutral or objective standards. It tends to be imposed far more on conservative students who have violated political correctness norms of the left. It is rarely, if ever, imposed on left-wing students, especially students of color, who make statements that are deeply offensive to conservatives and/or white heterosexual men. The constitutional reach of the First Amendment permits such selective punishment by private institutions, but the culture of freedom of expression does not.

In an 8-1 decision, the United States Supreme Court reminded a nation that seems to have forgotten freedom of speech about the importance of the First Amendment.

Justice Stephen Breyer wrote a thoughtful decision denying public schools the power to discipline high school students for talking the way high school students tend to talk among themselves outside of school. A 14-year-old cheerleader had made the mistake of sending a rant to a few friends, one of whose mothers was a coach.

This was not a broad decision that gave students the right to say or do anything outside of school. It was limited to cases in which students are disciplined for making statements that would generally be protected by the First Amendment and did not significantly affect the educational mission of the school. It would not apply, for example, to bullying or other harmful speech that would impact other students.

The significance of this decision goes well beyond the cheerleader and her juvenile gestures and words. It sends a powerful message that the Supreme Court is still in

the business of protecting offensive speech, even as big tech, universities and many progressives have tried to justify pervasive censorship of speech with which they disagree. "Free speech for me, but not for thee" has become a common mantra of the hard left, and of those institutions that kowtow to the most radical elements of our society.

In a recent book, entitled, The Case Against the New Censorship: Protecting Free Speech from Big Tech, Progressives and Universities, I argued that the most dangerous form of contemporary censorship comes not from the government, but rather from private parties who themselves have the First Amendment right to censor speech with which they disagree. In other words, what we are experiencing is an attack not on the First Amendment itself, but rather on the culture of free speech that the First Amendment is designed to protect.

Although the cheerleader case involved a public school, its implications go beyond government. Many private universities, for example — such as Harvard, where I taught for 50 years — loudly proclaimed that although they are not technically bound by the First Amendment, they follow it to the letter. It will be interesting to see whether these private schools will now stop disciplining and denying admission to students and applicants based on statements they made on social media. Today many such institutions punish students and applicants for social media statements they may have posted when they were the same youthful age as the cheerleader. Nor is the punishment always based on neutral or objective standards. It tends to be imposed far more on conservative students who have violated political correctness norms of the left. It is rarely, if ever, imposed on left-wing students, especially students of color, who make statements that are deeply offensive to conservatives and/or white heterosexual men. The constitutional reach of the First Amendment permits such selective punishment by private institutions, but the culture of freedom of expression does not.

Justice Louis Brandeis correctly pointed out a century ago: "The Government is the potent, the omnipresent teacher...", to which may be added, "and the Supreme Court is the dean." When the government suppresses speech, the lesson is learned and often emulated by other institutions. This is especially true of our public schools, which, as Justice Stephen Breyer pointed out, are the nurseries of our Constitution.

Surprisingly, Justice Clarence Thomas was the sole dissenter. He usually can be counted on to defend freedom of speech and other core constitutional values, especially against partisan and selective attacks from the left. But Thomas is an originalist who interprets the Constitution in accordance with what the Framers intended, and he concluded — erroneously in my view — that the Framers placed a higher value on school discipline than on freedom of speech for students. The important point, however, is that eight justices — three liberals and five conservatives — sided with the First Amendment over the claims of school authorities.

Let us see, then, how these new censors respond to that new decision.

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/17505/supreme-court-first-amendment

Automation is a race U afford to lose

By Bloomberg S can’t Published : Jun 28, 2021 - 05:30 Updated : Jun 28, 2021 - 05:30 The US has traditionally been a nation of optimists about technology. But just when the world seems poised for a technologically-driven productivity boom, Americans have acquired a dour outlook about the march of progress. Growing fears that not everyone will share in the benefits is leading to resistance that threatens to hold the nation back. Recapturing the bold attitudes of yesteryear will require more than rhetoric --

it’ll require sweeping policy changes. adulation of technology. After all, innovative mRNA vaccines are in the process of savingYou’d think the nation now would from thebe thegreatest time for pandemic Americans in a cento cometury andtogether freeing in peopleshared to resume normal lives. In the future, the same techniques may be used to defeat cancer. Meanwhile, an explosion of innovation in solar power and batteries is promising to drastically reduce the costs of averting climate change; 10 years down new productivity boom. And remote work technologies are allowing many people to livethe line,far more it’ll be flexible furnishing lives. the Other country emerging with technologenergy so iescheap like thatlab-grown it could meat, spark a artificial intelligence, CRISPR and synthetic biology hold out promises of even greater wonders in the near future.

Many Americans are still techno-optimists in some ways. Technology is the factor cited most as having improved life over the last half century. But in recent years, it seems like this optimism has been gradually eroded, replaced in part by skepticism and fear.

Instead of the nation celebrating the conquest of COVID-19, Americans turned the vaccine into a culture war and many people refused to get inoculated. Amazon and Google are still generally liked, but their approval rating has taken a huge dive despite the fact that they helped most Americans make it through the pandemic. The pessimism is even evident in the art world: Few artists bother to spin positive futuristic visions the way they did in the 1950s.

But the technology Americans fear above all others is AI. Most perceive automation not as a way to increase efficiency or create higher-paying jobs, but rather as accelerating inequality. Prominent politicians like former New York City Mayor Bill DeBlasio have called for taxes on robots, and even Microsoft founder Bill Gates joined in.

This techno-pessimism is actively threatening the American economy. The country has rapidly been losing market share in high-tech manufactured exports.

Other rich count populacesTo keep up, are the also US afraidcan’t rely of job on displacement,a cheap labor advantag a numbere; have it will installed have to far automate. more manufacturing robotsries’ business than the andUS has.political elites understand this. Even though their

some of its ports are

ChinaLongshore hasn’t labor caught unions, up in fearful robots foryet, their but it’sjobs, trying resist. Meanwhile, the new technology. fully automated, allowing them to rapidly outpace America’s antiquated ports. re unionsAutomation have isopposed a race the the USuse can’t of modular afford to housing lose. But construction it’s not the only-- a technology race whe that we’repromises running to help behind. bring In down San Francisco,ruinously highepicenter construction of the nation’s costs. housing crisis,

Fear of vaccines, fear of automation, fear of modern housing construction -- these and create shortages of crucial goods. If the US is going to take advantage of the incipientfears are technologyholding back boom progress, of the threatening 2020s, it will to haveerode to t heshed country’s this fear competitiveness and recapture the techno-optimist attitude of the mid-20th century.

But how to do that? Americans need at least two big things to feel confident about

technology’sThe first is security. ability toWith improve national their health lives. insurance and job-finding assistance, Americans would be far less worried about switching jobs. That would let them view automation as an opportunity rather than a threat.

Second, Americans need wealth to be more broadly distributed across the populace. The explosion of information technology since the 1980s coincided with a vast

increase in economic inequality. The technology probably wasn’t the cause of much

ation. Also, technologyof the disparities, brings. but So peopleto make can’t average help Americansmistaking cembraceorrelation the for future, caus we need to giveinequality them ameans greater many stake people in that don’t future. feel like they’ll be able to share in the benefits

Spinning beautiful futuristic visions and crowing publicly about the very real accomplishments of scientists and engineers is all well and good. We should do more of that. But without social systems that spread around the prosperity that battle to get regular people to love technology. technology creates, we’ll continue to fight an uphill http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20210627000073

China is not the cyber superpower that many people think

Critical weaknesses put Beijing well behind the US Greg Austin

June 29, 2021 05:00 JST

Chinese soldiers browse online news: China's strategy is lagging, and its cyber defenses are weak. © Imaginechina/AP

Greg Austin is senior fellow for cyber, space and future conflict at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. He is based in Singapore. To continue reading, subscribe today https://asia.nikkei.com/Opinion/China-is-not-the-cyber-superpower-that-many-people-think

America’s knee-jerk reaction to China: just shoot the bad guy • Viewed calmly, the new world order is simple: China is back, deal with it. But, to a Washington in cold war mode, Beijing can do nothing right • Since 2004, about 1,800 US newspapers crucial to American democracy have closed. Yet US politicians prefer to fixate on the fate of one Hong Kong daily

Tom Plate Given the relentless Western media verdict of “China’s increasing assertiveness”, it might seem surprising that, across Asia, doubts about America’s own continental conduct proceed apace. Yet this goes little reported back in the US.

Nonetheless, within some government and policy circles in Indonesia, Japan and Singapore – to mention just a few of which I am specifically aware – the Cambridge-New York-Washington crowd is seen to have lost its cool equipoise. The brains trust of the West is trending neurotic.

The psychic disturbance is China. By pushing China’s expanding capabilities and aims onto the perceptual horizon of a second cold war, the United States is pumping up a mere mountain into a monster mountain range. It can’t see China straight any more.

https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3138995/americas-knee-jerk-reaction-china-just- shoot-bad-guy