W O R L D

Snubs, harsh words fly at Asia Security Summit
Singapore, June 1
When Japan’s Defence Minister greeted the Deputy Chief of Staff of China’s Army at a regional security forum this weekend, he was undiplomatically snubbed.

Deputy chief of staff of the Chinese Army, Lieutenant- General Wang Guanzhong, speaks during a plenary session at the 13th Asia Security Summit in Singapore on Sunday. Reuters

US soldier flies to freedom in swap deal
Bagram Air Base, June 1
The sole American prisoner of war held in Afghanistan was flown to a US military hospital in Germany on Sunday, after he was dramatically freed in a swap deal for five Taliban militants who were released from the Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba.

Jani Bergdahl, the mother of freed US soldier Bowe Bergdahl, speaks to the press while her husband Bob Bergdahl and US President Barack Obama look on at the White House. AFP

Snubs, harsh words fly at Asia Security Summit
Chinese General hits back at US, Japan on territorial issues

Singapore, June 1
When Japan’s Defence Minister greeted the Deputy Chief of Staff of China’s Army at a regional security forum this weekend, he was undiplomatically snubbed. Lieutenant General Wang Guanzhong said he was incensed by comments from Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe implicitly holding China responsible for territorial disputes in the East and South China Seas and later by US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel’s accusations that Beijing was destabilising the region.

“When Mr Abe spoke just now, there was veiled criticism targeted at China,” Wang told Japanese Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera, according to the semi-official China News Service. “These accusations are wrong and go against the standards of international relations.”

The exchange between the world’s three biggest economies at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, a security forum for government officials, military officers and defence experts, were among the most caustic in years at diplomatic gatherings, and could be a setback to efforts to bring ties back on track.

It was the first such major conference since tensions have surged in the South China Sea, one of Asia’s most intractable disputes and a possible flashpoint for conflict. Tellingly, despite around 100 bilateral and trilateral meetings taking place over the week, officials from China and Japan did not sit down together.

China’s Wang had rejected an offer of talks with Japan and said: “This will hinge on whether the Japanese side is willing to amend the erroneous policy towards China and improve relations between China and Japan. Japan should correct its mistakes as soon as possible to improve China-Japan ties.”

Wang later accused the United States of hegemonism, threats and intimidation. China claims almost the entire oil- and gas-rich South China Sea, and dismisses competing claims from Taiwan, Brunei, Vietnam, the Philippines and Malaysia. Japan has its own territorial row with China over islands in the East China Sea.

Riots broke out in Vietnam last month after China placed an oil rig in waters claimed by Hanoi, and the Philippines said Beijing could be building an airstrip on a disputed island. Tensions have been rising steadily in the East China Sea as well.

Despite the heated words, analysts do not believe relations have deteriorated beyond reach. “In the past, there was a sense we were sailing towards stability,” said Kishore Mahbubani, dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore. — Reuters

The Shangri-La Dialogue

• It is a security forum held annually by an independent think tank, the International Institute for Strategic Studies, which is attended by 28 Asia-Pacific states
• The summit serves to cultivate a sense of community among the most important policymakers in the defence and security community in the region
• The forum gets its name from the Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore where it has been held since 2002.

US soldier flies to freedom in swap deal
Five Taliban detainees released from Gitmo in Qatar-brokered talks

Bagram Air Base, June 1
The sole American prisoner of war held in Afghanistan was flown to a US military hospital in Germany on Sunday, after he was dramatically freed in a swap deal for five Taliban militants who were released from the Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba.

Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl had been held for nearly five years and his release, following years of on-and-off negotiations, suddenly became possible after harder-line factions of the Afghan Taliban shifted course and agreed to back it, according to US officials.

A US defence official said Bergdahl was able to walk and became emotional on his way to freedom, after being handed over to US special forces in eastern Afghanistan on Saturday. “Once he was on the helicopter, he wrote on a paper plate, ‘SF’? the official said, referring to the abbreviation for special forces. “The operators replied loudly: ‘Yes, we’ve been looking for you for a long time.’ And at this point, Sergeant Bergdahl broke down.”

US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel said he hoped the successful prisoner exchange deal might lead to breakthroughs in reconciliation with the militants. “We had been ... working to find ways to open up some possibilities with the Taliban to try to get Sergeant Bergdahl back. This didn’t just start,” Hagel told reporters traveling with him on a routine visit to Afghanistan.

Addressing a larger gathering of troops in a hangar at the base, Hagel said, “This is a happy day for our country, because we got one of our own back.” Bergdahl, 28, was handed over about 6 pm local time on Saturday, a senior official said. The US forces, who had flown in by helicopter, were on the ground very briefly, said the officials, who would not specify the precise location.

President Barack Obama hailed the release in a brief appearance with Bergdahl’s parents, Bob and Jani, in the White House Rose Garden, saying that “while Bowe was gone, he was never forgotten”. Bergdahl had already left Afghanistan when Hagel touched down at Bagram on Sunday, and a US defence official later said the newly released POW had arrived at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany.

Another defence official said it was expected that after treatment in Germany he would be transferred to another military medical facility in San Antonio, Texas.

Bergdahl, who is from Idaho, was the only known missing US soldier in the Afghan war that was launched soon after the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States to force the Taliban, accused of sheltering Al-Qaida militants, from power. — Reuters

A peace breakthrough

• US Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl had been held by Taliban for nearly five years He was captured in eastern Afghanistan on June 30, 2009
• It became possible after harder-line factions of the Afghan Taliban agreed to back the deal
• Freed soldier arrived at the US military hospital in Germany
• Qatar acted as intermediary in the negotiations

Protesters march ahead of Tiananmen anniversary

Hong Kong, June 1
Pro-democracy protesters marched in Hong Kong today to call for greater political freedoms in China and an end to one-party rule, ahead of the 25th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown.

Organisers said 3,000 people took to the streets in sweltering heat for the annual protest, calling on Beijing to release imprisoned political dissidents and formally acknowledge the bloody crackdown of 1989.

The Hong Kong police put the number of protesters lower at 1,900.

It comes ahead of a mass candle-lit vigil planned for Wednesday to mark the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests in which hundreds of people, by some estimates more than 1,000, died.

Marchers shouted slogans such as “Democracy Now”, “End One-Party Rule” and “Release Gao Yu”, referring to a Chinese journalist recently detained for allegedly leaking state secrets.

China still forbids public discussion of the events of June 3-4 1989 when the military brutally suppressed pro-democracy protesters, mainly students, in central Beijing.

Hong Kong is the only city in China to mark the anniversary openly. “As for many years, it is a continuous struggle hoping to find justice and have a democratic China. This is the case even after 25 years,” Richard Tsoi Yiu-cheong, a protest organiser, said. — AFP

Despite junta ban, protests continue

Bangkok, June 1
Thailand’s ruling junta deployed thousands of security forces on the streets of Bangkok today to thwart another round of small-scale protests denouncing last month’s military coup. Hundreds of demonstrators came out and several were detained, but there was no violence.

Fears over possible unrest, however, prompted a major downtown shopping mall to close and authorities temporarily shut down several subway and elevated train stations near where protests could have materialised.

Thailand has been calm since the army overthrew the nation’s elected government on May 22, saying it had to restore order after seven months of demonstrations that had triggered sporadic violence and left the country’s political rivals in a stalemate.

But the junta that took power has launched a major campaign to suppress dissent, summoning politicians, journalists and academics the majority of them perceived as being critical of the new regime.

Since the coup, small groups of pro-democracy protesters have come out nearly every day, marching through Bangkok and sometimes scuffling with soldiers. No injuries have been reported so far. The junta has issued stern warnings calling on the demonstrators to stop because it sees their actions as destabilising, but it has not employed force to stop them. — AP