PHOTO: Thai PBS

Time to say goodbye. The leaders, minders, security details, media and staff all head back to the ten ASEAN nations following a non-controversial Bangkok Summit held over the weekend, as well as regional plenaries held last Thursday and Friday.

The expensive crockery is being put away, the hundreds of flags neatly folded, the chairs stacked and stored, and right hands having a rest after four days of hand-shaking and regional back-slapping.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha thanked all leaders for adopting the “ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific” plan which will reinforce ASEAN’s role in the region.

He also thanked Indonesian President Joko Widodo for playing an important role in driving the concept which, he said, will complement existing frameworks of cooperation at the regional and sub-regional levels and generate tangible and concrete deliverables for the benefit of the people of the region.

The Summit, he added, reinforced the importance of strengthening the regional economy and support for the conclusion of the RCEP negotiations this year – the world’s largest trade bloc – which will help ASEAN manage change and uncertainty in the region, especially regarding trade tensions between the US and China.

The Thai PM also noted the Summit’s adoption of the “Bangkok Declaration on Combatting Marine Debris in the ASEAN region”, adding that the declaration demonstrates the bloc’s commitment to reducing marine debris in a serious and sustainable manner.

Also, the Summit agreed to the launch of the Satellite Warehouse, under the Disaster Emergency Logistics System for ASEAN and the ASEAN Centre of Military Medicine, both centres are located in Thailand.

The PM added that the Summit supported ASEAN’s bid to host the World Cup in 2034 and called on all football associations in the region and the people of ASEAN to support this dream and to make it a reality.

ASEAN leaders also attached importance to ASEAN awareness-raising and the promotion of ASEAN identity among the people of the region.

SOURCE: Thai PBS

BTS, Blackpink, ASEAN, K-Pop

by The Star Online – Asia News Network

TV drama, pop music, culture, food. The ‘Korean Wave’ is on its way.

The Korean Wave was the hot topic at the ASEAN-Korea Media Forum held in Seoul recently, with experts saying that it has, in fact, enhanced cultural exchanges between the republic and the entire region.

Korean bands Blackpink and BTS are currently the two most popular bands in Thailand.

Under the theme “Korean Wave in ASEAN: Successful Past and Sustainable Future”, speakers from media organisations, government and academia spoke about ways the phenomenon could be further spread through partnerships in the region.

The Korean Wave, or Hallyu, refers to the global popularity of South Korea’s cultural economy exporting pop culture, enter-tainment, music, TV dramas and movies.

Current K-Pop female pop-heavyweights, ‘BlackPink’

A long-time journalist and Korean drama fan, June H.L. Wong, says that regional media didn’t jump on board the first wave of dramas and earlier K-pop in the early 2000s.

“It wasn’t until the mid-2000s that the media started covering K-entertainment as awareness, access and opportunity improved,” said Wong, in her paper.

Wong says that by 2011, ASEAN media had regular coverage on K-pop culture and today, its stories are an accepted part of ASEAN news content. Noting that for the millennials, the new mainstream media was social, Wong added that K-idols and their fan clubs have become the supreme masters of these tools to keep in touch and up to date.

“More Korean pop songs now include English lyrics and more pop bands have English-speaking members, like BTS’ Kim Nam-joon (RM),” she added.

Matching ‘The Beatles’ for the most number of #1 Albums on the US charts in one year – ‘BTS’

The Korean Wave is expected to play an important role in stimulating greater partnership, coupled with President Moon Jae-in’s New Southern Policy to prosper together with ASEAN, said Kwon Chung-won, CEO and publisher of The Korea Herald.

Jang Won-ho, a professor at the University of Seoul said the empathy being cultivated among members of the BTS fan club, while idolising Hallyu content, has lead to the creation of a cultural community beyond national borders.

“It should be the future of Hallyu,” said Jang.

He also noted the influence of BTS, saying that since the band saw themselves as a role model, the band has been working with bodies like UNICEF to raise funds for the “Love Myself” campaign.

Watch BTS’ ‘RM’ speak at the UN about their ‘Love Yourself’ campaign…

SOURCE: the star.com.my

Burmese authorities have ordered telecommunications companies in Myanmar to shut down internet services in the conflict-torn Rhakine State in western Myanmar. Government soldiers (Tatmadaw) are in a long term civil struggle with ‘ethnic rebels’.

Telenor Group announced that the Ministry of Transport and Communications commanded all communication companies to “temporarily” suspend internet services in nine townships in Rakhine and neighbouring Chin states. They cited “disturbances of peace and use of internet activities to coordinate illegal activities.”

But at a military media conference yesterday Brigadier General Zaw Min Tun said they had no information about the shutdown.

“We didn’t do it. We don’t know about that.”

Meanwhile Telenor Myanmar has been asking for further clarification on the reasons for the shutdown pointing out that freedom of expression through access to telecom services should be maintained for humanitarian purposes.

Telenor Myanmar is a telecommunications company in Myanmar. It is a subsidiary of the Norwegian TelenorGroup.

A spokesman for the transport and communications ministry is declining to comment at this stage, referring questions to another spokesman.

The Rakhine State came to global attention again after 730,000+ Rohingya Muslims fled north into Bangladesh after a brutal military crackdown, allegedly government endorsed,  in response to militant attacks from ethnic rebels in 2017.

UN and NGO efforts to repatriate the Rohingya back into the Rhakine State have stalled with almost none of the refugees taking the Myanmar government’s assurances of ‘peace’ seriously. Meanwhile there has been a recent surge of boat-people and refugees crossing into Thailand or taking the perilous journey south on the Andaman Sea to Malaysia. They are subject to human traffickers and violence.

As of the end May 2019, there are some 173,730 refugees and asylum-seekers registered with UNHCR in Malaysia. Over 150,000 are from Myanmar, comprising some 93,190 Rohingyas, 24,490 Chins, 9,730 Myanmar Muslims, 3,990 Rakhines & Arakanese, and other ethnicities from Myanmar.

SOURCE: UNHCR