Asian Insider, Feb 1: Myanmar’s military coup; Calls for greater security in Indonesia's Natuna region

Hi all,

In today's bulletin: Myanmar's military says it will hold elections after one-year of emergency; Chinese and American airplane incursions near Taiwan; Indonesian lawmaker calls for security beef up as tensions escalate in waters near Natuna sea; India doubles health spending to deal with pandemic; and more.

Reading this on the web or know someone who might enjoy receiving Asian Insider? Our sign-up page is here.

Myanmar's military declared a state of emergency for one-year, appointed former general Myint Swe as the new acting president and arrested civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi as well as several others in the early hours of today morning, ending the country's democratic transition.

The military promised to hold elections after one year.

The move follows several allegations of irregularities in November elections, which were not suitably addressed, a statement issued by the new acting president said.

Ms Suu Kyi has called on the public not to accept the coup by the military and urged them to protest "wholeheartedly".

Phone lines and internet connections in the capital Naypyitaw, the main commercial centre of Yangon, were disrupted while state television went off air after members of the National League for Democracy were arrested.

Tensions in the region near Taiwan spiked this weekend after six Chinese fighter aircraft and one US reconnaissance aircraft entered the southwestern corner of Taiwan's air defence identification zone on Sunday, the island's defence ministry said.

It was the first time that the island has admitted US military activity in the area. But it did not share details of the US reconnaissance aircraft, as it does regularly for Chinese incursions.

The escalation follows China's sharp criticism last week of foreign forces supporting Taiwan's independence, adding that 'independence means war.'

Indonesian lawmaker Syarief Hasan, the deputy chairman of the People's Consultative Assembly, has drawn attention to the growing feud between US and China in waters of the South China Sea, that borders its North Natuna Sea, and called for a step up in security.

The feud should not be underestimated and could potentially trigger an "open war with fatal consequences", he said last week, urging Asean to step up diplomatic discussions.

His remarks come soon after China passed a controversial law that allows its coast guard to fire on foreign vessels to protect national sovereignty, security and maritime rights. Indonesia is a non-claimant state in the South China Sea but it has had a few disputes with China over the illegal passage of fishing vessels in the Natuna waters.

Meanwhile, Indonesian fishermen are also urging the government to step up patrols in the North Natuna Sea with foreign vessels becoming bolder in fishing in the area.

India's Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman proposed a doubling of healthcare spending and further opened up its insurance market to foreign investors, as she presented her annual budget that was received well by stock markets.

Ms Sitharaman proposed increasing healthcare spending to 2.2 trillion Indian rupees (S$39.95 billion) that will include setting up of health infrastructure and vaccinating the country's 1.3 billion people.

The foreign direct investment cap for the insurance sector was increased from 49 per cent to 74 per cent. And a sum of 200 billion rupees was set aside to recapitalise banks.

These and other measures could increase to an increase in projections for fiscal deficit but some analysts welcomed the focus on getting the economy back on track.

This year's Chinese New Year festivities will be different, with the pandemic dampening sentiments and forcing restrictions across Asia. In many places inter-district travel has been curtailed, market fairs have been cancelled or postponed and quarantine measures for incoming residents and travellers have been stepped up.

Zuckerberg failed to get Australian lawmakers to change new media rules: Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg called Australian lawmakers last week to discuss rules that would make Internet giants pay news outlets for content but failed to persuade them to change policy, two of the country's lawmakers said. Australia's new law would force Facebook and Google to negotiate payments to media companies whose content drives traffic to their websites. If the parties cannot agree on payments, a government-appointed arbitrator will set the fees for them.

Vietnam's economic blue print: Vietnam's ruling Communist Party today formally approved ambitions to raise growth beyond an annual 6 per cent in the pre-pandemic era to 6.5-7.0 per cent for the 2021-2025 period. It's economic development blueprint, confirmed at its five-yearly congress, said it would boost its growing role as a key manufacturing hub for global giants as well raise the country's profile beyond a low-cost labour destination to a centre for science and technology.

Thanathorn ordered to erase vaccine supply criticism: Opposition politician Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit was ordered by a Thai court to remove allegations on social media that the state's coronavirus vaccine policy is opaque and unfairly favours a company owned by the King. Thanathorn's party, the Progressive Movement, however, has denied that the videos were illegal and urged YouTube and Facebook to preserve freedom of expression.

Thanks for reading today's newsletter. We will be back tomorrow.

Shefali

Subscribe to The Straits Times to read our subscriber content.

Want more insights into fast-changing Asia from our network of correspondents? Get this article in your inbox by signing up here.