Hong Kong Lawyers in Mass Silent Protest Over China's White Paper

 
Nearly 2,000 members of Hong Kong's legal profession, wearing black, marched silently on Friday to the territory's highest court in protest over a recent white paper by China asserting Beijing's power and declaring that Hong Kong judges should be "patriotic."

The white paper, issued on June 10 amid growing political tension surrounding the democratic process in the upcoming 2017 chief executive race, categorizes judges in Hong Kong as administrators who need to be "patriotic," as well as asserting Beijing's "comprehensive jurisdiction" over the former British colony.

The paper has been roundly criticized by the influential Hong Kong Bar Association, while a retired judge and two leading law deans came out in support of Friday's marchers.

Some 1,800 lawyers, legal scholars, and law students wearing black gathered outside the High Court in Admiralty at around 5.00 p.m. and marched to the Court of Final Appeal.

A University of Hong Kong law student surnamed Chan, who took part in the march, said he was marching in solidarity with the territory's widely trusted judicial system.

"I am afraid that Hong Kong's judicial independence is coming under political pressure, and I fear it will waver," Chan said.

"That's why I have come out in support of it," he said.

A few dozen pro-Beijing protesters also gathered at the start of the march, shouting "we support the white paper!"

Judicial independence threatened

Hong Kong Civic Party Chairman Audrey Eu, herself a lawyer by profession, said Beijing's white paper had sparked widespread fears that the ruling Chinese Communist Party would start micromanaging Hong Kong, despite having promised the territory "a high degree of autonomy" ahead of its1997 handover from Britain.
"There were some areas of this white paper that weren't in line with the Basic Law or the principle of 'one country, two systems,'" Eu said, referring to Hong Kong's miniconstitution.

"There is a big conflict with Hong Kong's judicial independence," Eu said.

"Judges have always enjoyed judicial independence here in Hong Kong, and they are not a part of the executive," she said. "Judges must swear an oath to uphold the Basic Law, not any government."

She said the turnout of lawyers in public protest was the largest seen since the handover.

"This has been a huge response," Eu said.

Beijing-based rights lawyer Teng Biao also took part in the march.

"Judicial independence is so important for the rule of law, and it should be defended at all times and in all places," Teng said.

"Hong Kong people have always cared about the human rights situation in mainland China ... so I feel a personal duty to march alongside Hong Kong people at this crucial juncture, to defend the rule of law," he said.

Media, computer attacks

Tensions are running high in Hong Kong following a series of attacks in Chinese state media on an unofficial referendum on the democratic process and a massive cyberattack on the poll's website.

More than 740,000 people have cast ballots since the mostly online PopVote poll opened last Friday, while organizers of the Occupy Central civil disobedience movement have vowed to blockade Hong Kong's business district if universal suffrage and public nomination of candidates are denied to the city's voters.

The poll has been repeatedly slammed as "illegal" by China's state-controlled media, and Beijing's hard-line response may have boosted the numbers taking part, political commentators say.

Hong Kong Justice Secretary Rimsky Yuen said the white paper "carries no intention to impose requirements other than those in the Basic Law on judges," local media reported.

However, Professor Johannes Chan, dean of law at the University of Hong Kong, said Beijing seems to have changed its previous approach.

"I do think that the white paper represents a change in approach towards Hong Kong and that the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary is threatened," Chan told the South China Morning Post before joining the march.

Junta action a ‘violation’

 

Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday had sharp words for neighbouring Thailand, criticising the junta-led country for abusing the rights of Cambodian workers in what he called the largest-ever repatriation effort seen by the Kingdom.Speaking at an event in the capital attended by the Thai ambassador, the premier said it was “a violation” to return more than 250,000 migrant workers this month without prior notification, and appealed to the junta to release 13 Cambodians arrested for allegedly using fake visas.“I would like to ask [coup leader] General Prayuth Chan-ocha to drop all charges against them,” he said, adding that the detained workers are innocent of any wrongdoing, but are themselves victims of a scam after they paid for legal visas only to receive fake documents instead. 

“The workers cannot read Thai, so they didn’t know if the visa was fake or not,” he added, ahead of a meeting today between high-ranking officials from the two governments on the Thai side of the border.The prime minister had, until yesterday, stayed quiet regarding the sudden, mass exodus of Cambodian workers from Thailand. He revealed, however, that he has been communicating with General Prayuth through letters, and was informed earlier this month that Thailand was enforcing migrant-worker policies to curb human trafficking, though there was “no intention to use force or to expel the migrants”.The premier also tried to lend a positive note to the situation, calling it an opportunity to turn “illegal status” into more secure “legal work overseas”.

Last week, the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training announced that it would provide workers and students with $4 passports, and also recently banned recruitment agencies from charging workers any commission fee. The new, yet-to-be-implemented, legalisation process will cost $49 and involve a two-and-a-half-month waiting period as all documents are procured. 

“It’s a good measure in theory, but it’s not going to work,” said political analyst Kem Ley. “It doesn’t take into account indirect costs or opportunity costs, like to travel [to one of two passport offices in the country] and housing costs while the workers wait, during which they will be losing income by not working.”Hun Sen said yesterday that he hopes to resolve such issues by opening a passport office in every province, though did not elaborate on how or when that could be accomplished.

The opposition denigrated the government’s efforts however, faulting the head of state for talking loudly but not talking more concrete steps to assist the workers, especially the 13 who could face trial in Thailand.“By just announcing his position, he’s not actually doing anything,” opposition lawmaker Son Chhay said yesterday. “As the leader of the country, the prime minister is responsible for getting [the jailed workers] home.” 

Chhay added that there are “many diplomatic channels available”, recalling that when Thailand has taken issue with Cambodia in the past, they closed the border.Hun Sen showed no interest in retaliating however, and both countries have maintained they are cooperating over the bilateral issue. Senior officials from both governments are set to meet today for a press conference on the Thai side of the Poipet-Aranyaprathet border, and the prime minister said he expects an envoy from Thailand to visit Phnom Penh on July 1.Addressing the workers yesterday, Hun Sen told them that they do not have to go abroad for jobs.“Although wages here are lower than what you earn in Thailand, if you compare to fees you spend to get illegally to Thailand, it is not so much less,” he said, adding that “working in our country is safer”. 

On Wednesday, the National Employment Agency put out a statement advertising 16,146 vacant jobs largely in the garment sector, aiming to prove the government could in fact employ the recently returned migrant workers.“There are probably enough jobs if you include all the availability in the agriculture and construction sectors,” said Hong Choeun, director general of the agency.

Choeun also refuted yesterday the workers’ claims that they make too little in Cambodia to afford to live.“Not all unskilled Cambodian workers go to Thailand, so they must earn enough,” he said. “Thailand was like a gold rush of people, because they heard they could make more money, but now the gold rush is over.”

Compromise of sorts on dam

 

In an unexpected decision yesterday, Lower Mekong countries opened a two-day meeting in Bangkok by jointly agreeing a controversial hydropower dam must undergo regional consultation but could continue construction.Laos’s delegation to the Mekong River Commission – the intergovernmental body responsible for facilitating cooperation along the river – announced that it would yield to neighbouring countries’ demands and submit its Don Sahong Hydropower Project to further evaluation by member countries. 

The Lao government representatives made it clear, however, that they were not willing to halt construction on the $300 million project located less than 2 kilometres north of Cambodia.

“This is a problem, because it means that the most influence the other countries can hope to have is to provide input on how it is built and what sort of mitigation measures are used,” said Ame Trandem, Southeast Asia program director at International Rivers. “But under international law, affected countries have the right to request more studies and have a say in the project before it moves forward.”Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam have all requested that the Don Sahong’s Malaysian developers Mega First Corporation Berhad postpone assembly until transboundary impact assessments could be conducted to determine what kind of effects the dam may have on the 60 million residents relying on the Mekong, as well as several volatile migratory fish species. But the developers have so far not complied.

“There are options to sustainably manage the water resource that will allow [the countries] to meet power demands while conserving the ecological integrity of the Mekong,” said Marc Goichot, hydropower specialist at World Wildlife Foundation. “We do not need to take inconsiderable risks with Lower Mekong mainstream dams.”The Don Sahong is the second of nine hydropower dams that Laos plans to use to boost its economy, which is currently the smallest of the ASEAN states.

Earlier this week, the Thai courts accepted a lawsuit against the first of Laos’s dams, the 1,285-megawatt Xayaburi dam, based in part on the lack of scientific study proving that it would not harm downstream villagers.

US interests in East and East China seas at stake

US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Russel.

In his papers presented at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on US-China relations on June 26, Daniel Russel noted that the United States has important interests at stake in the South China and East China seas.
The US diplomat stressed that in the Asia-Pacific region, Beijing’s neighbors are understandably alarmed by China’s increasingly coercive efforts to assert and enforce its claims in the South China and East China Seas. A pattern of unilateral Chinese actions in sensitive and disputed areas is raising tensions and damaging China’s international standing. China as a strong and rising power should hold itself to a high standard of behavior; to willfully disregard diplomatic and other peaceful ways of dealing with disagreements and disputes in favor of economic or physical coercion is destabilizing and dangerous.
Daniel Russel called on countries, including China to manage or settle claims through peaceful, diplomatic means, citing that the Philippines and Indonesia have just done so in connection with their exclusive economic zone (EEZ) boundary. Disputes can also be addressed through third-party dispute resolution processes. Where parties’ rights under treaties may be affected, some treaties provide for third-party dispute settlement, as is the case of the Law of the Sea Convention, an avenue pursued by the Philippines in an arbitration with China currently being considered by an Arbitral Tribunal constituted under that treaty.
The United States and the international community oppose the use or the threat of force to try to advance a claim, and view such actions as having no effect in strengthening the legitimacy of China’s claims.
These issues should be decided on the basis of the merits of China’s and other claimants’ legal claims and adherence to international law and norms, not the strength of their militaries and law enforcement ships or the size of their economies.
He added that US Secretary of State John Kerry will attend the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) in Myanmar in August and will have intensive discussions on a number of confidence building measures, crisis prevention solutions, setting up a hotline and dealing with unexpected incidents.
At the hearing, Professor of Politics and International Affairs from Princeton University Aaron L.Friedberg said that in the past five years China has used stronger, more strident language and more assertive, and at times, forceful actions to assert its claims to control the waters and air space off its eastern seaboard.
Professor of Politics and International Affairs from Princeton University Aaron L.Friedberg .
“Chinese spokesmen have sought to deny that any shift has taken place, or to explain those changes that have occurred as mere reactions to the behavior of others. With the passage of time such claims have become increasingly difficult to sustain. Examples of China’s growing assertiveness continue to multiply.
The most recent include Beijing’s unilateral declaration of an Air Defense Identification Zone that covers Japanese‐controlled islands in the East China Sea in November of last year, the deliberate near‐collision of a PLAN vessel with the US Navy cruiser Cowpens in December and, in the past two months, the deployment of oil rigs and a small armada of naval and maritime patrol vessels into waters claimed by Vietnam.” Friedberg said.
According to Mr Friedberg, over the last two decades China has sought opportunities to enhance their country’s influence and strengthen its position, while simultaneously attempting to erode and constrict those of the United States. Beijing’s recent behavior suggests an adjustment in tactics and timelines rather than a fundamental shift in strategy. China is pushing harder to achieve its long‐standing goals.
In addition to advancing its claims to control most of the water and resources off its coasts, it is using calibrated threats in an attempt to intimidate its neighbors, demonstrate the inadequacy of US security guarantees, and, if possible, to drive wedges between the United States and some of its regional friends and allies. China’s increased assertiveness reflects a mix of arrogance and insecurity. Following the onset of the global financial crisis, many Chinese analysts and policy makers concluded that the United States had entered into a period of unexpectedly rapid decline in its relative power and influence.
With their country’s fortunes seemingly on the rise, some argued that the time had come for China, if not to abandon “hiding and biding,” then at least to adopt a more forward‐leaning posture in its dealings with the rest of the world. Chinese planners appear to have concluded that, at least for the next several years, the US will continue to be strategically preoccupied and fiscally constrained. If it plays its cards right during this period, China can “create facts” and consolidate its position.
“China’s recent actions are deliberately dangerous. Its leaders are manipulating risk or they are knowingly creating hazardous situations in the hope that others will back down. Even if it is not intended to do so, such behavior could easily lead to confrontation and escalation. In the long run, China’s assertiveness could also turn out to be counterproductive and even self‐defeating. If its Asian nations respond by increasing their own capabilities and working more closely with one another and with the United States they may be able to block Beijing’s initiatives and balance its power. But such an outcome is not automatic or inevitable.
In the absence of an effective American response, China may yet be able to successfully pursue a divide and conquer strategy: intimidating some of its neighbors into acquiescence while isolating and demoralizing others. Indeed, this appears to be precisely what Beijing is now trying to do: reaching out to Washington and proclaiming its desire to form a “new type great power relationship” with the United States, while at the same time ratcheting up pressure on key targets, especially US allies Japan and the Philippines, as well as Vietnam”, said Professor Friedberg.

VN rejects China’s new “cow tongue” map

Spokesperson of the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry Le Hai Binh

The Chinese map seriously violates international law, affirmed the Spokesperson.
Xinhua News Agency publicized the illicit map on June 25, saying that the islands in the East Viet Nam Sea are shown clearer in the new map than in China’s traditional maps.
The Philippines also slammed China's publishing of the new vertical map which shows contested isles and reefs as part of its territory.Foreign Affairs spokesman Charles Jose called China's latest move asserting its contentious maritime claims as seen in the map as an "ambitious expansionism." The map uses the "nine-dash line" defining 80 percent of the waterway within its sovereignty.
With the illegal boundary line, China puts nearly all of the East Viet Nam Sea, including Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagoes, under its sovereignty.

Beside the illicit oil rig Haiyang Shiyou 981 in Viet Nam’s exclusive economic zone, China is also escalating tension in the East Viet Nam Sea by moving a similar oil rig named Nanhai 9 to 17 degrees 14,1 minutes north latitude and 109 degrees 31 minutes east longitude.China also informed that its geophysical survey vessel Yang Shi You 719 is operating in the East Sea since June 23-August 28, 2014.
Both China’s new drilling platform and geophysical survey vessel are now operating in the overlapped areas outside of the mouth of the Tonkin Gulf that has not been delimited between Viet Nam and China, Mr. Binh said, adding that Viet Nam will closely follow the situation.
Mr. Binh re-affirmed Viet Nam’s sovereignty over the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos and demanded China immediately stop all the illegal actions, respect international law, strictly implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea and not repeat the same actions in the future.The international community has voiced grave concern over what China is doing in the East Viet Nam Sea. Recently, Singaporean PM Lee Hsien Loong called for resolution of territorial disputes through international law instead of using might.

However, China, a member of the United Nations Security Council, is taking more perverse and ambitious actions in order to assert its groundless sovereignty.It seems that China is pressing Viet Nam and the Philippines to defer to China’s ridiculous demand but State President Truong Tan Sang declared that NO ONE, NO COUNTRY can force Viet Nam to make concessions on territorial sovereignty.State President Sang recalled the words that King Le Thanh Tong once said to his royal court, which were recorded in Dai Viet Su Ky Toan Thu (The Complete Annals of Dai Viet): “How can we abandon even a single inch of our mountain, our river? You must firmly stand your ground, not letting them gradually encroach. If they do not listen, we can send our envoys to the north to clarify justice. If you dare to concede even a single inch of the land of our ancestors to the enemy, it will be a crime deserving of death.”

Bodies greeted by ceremony

Shrouded in flags, the bodies of two Cambodians deployed on a UN peacekeeping mission in the West African nation of Mali returned to the Kingdom last night to a crowd of nearly 100 civilians and men and women in the armed services.

An hour before the plane landed at Phnom Penh International Airport at 7:25pm, men and women dressed in fatigues waited alongside family members of Ny Nol, 32, and Meak Sereyvatana, 26, who died from suspected food poisoning on June 10.

“Both men are good friends to our armed forces . . . they were always friendly and took care of their friends and co-workers. We are very proud that they jointly served us [Cambodia] and Mali’s people under the United Nations,” said Sem Sovanny, director-general of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces’ National Centre for Peacekeeping Forces, Mine and Explosive Remnants of War Clearance.

The deaths mark the first loss of Cambodian soldiers in eight years of UN peacekeeping missions, Sovanny added.

A portrait of a UN peacekeeper who died in Mali sits in front of his coffin at Phnom Penh International Airport last night. Vireak Mai

While the official cause of death has yet to be confirmed, Sovanny maintained last night that both men died of food poisoning and that authorities were “waiting for the results of the UN investigation”.

Saffron robes dotted the crowd of solemn men and women as the two wooden caskets were escorted down a red carpet. Nol’s body was transported to Kampong Thom’s Baray district and the body of Sereyvatana will be taken to Phnom Penh’s Wat Than pagoda, family members said last night.

“We requested through the government that UN officials not perform an autopsy on my son’s body. We demanded the body remain whole, because if some piece becomes lost he will not be reborn again,” said Sereyvatana’s father Meak Timchenda, 42.

“This is Cambodian culture,” affirmed his wife, Chan Pichery, 46, who last saw her son three months ago.

Ny Taing In, 28, the younger brother of Nol, reiterated his family’s request that Nol’s body be returned “untouched”.

“My family did not ask for an autopsy, but we did ask the government to intervene and keep the body of my brother whole,” Taing In said.

Last week, a UN spokesman for the UN mission, known as MINUSMA, confirmed that Cambodian authorities had requested autopsies not be performed.

As the bodies of the two men were shouldered by their fellow countrymen, and the sound of drumming grew louder, a cousin of Nol quietly clasped her hands in the rain as the skies opened.

“We are very proud,” Un Chhun Ieng, 27, said.

Behind closed cell doors

Torture and ill-treatment are rife in Cambodia’s police stations and prisons, with women, children and the mentally ill among those targeted, and no signs of the abuse subsiding, a new report from rights group Licadho says.

Released today to mark the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, the report references allegations from more than 500 people of abuses ranging from beatings to threats of nail extraction and electric shocks since Licadho began compiling figures in 2008.

It’s a figure the rights group says does not begin to touch on the true scale of the problem.

The abuse comes at the hands of “police and other security forces at the point of arrest and during transit to police stations. Once in prison, inmates are not only subject to abuse by guards but also by other inmates, often under the direct order or with the acquiescence of prison authorities,” the report states.

In the first four months of this year alone, Licadho says it heard 49 allegations of torture and ill-treatment.

“In 2014, detainees were slapped, kicked in the ribs and chest, and beaten on the head and torso with sticks and electro-shock batons. Police officers stamped on detainees’ hands and, in one case, covered a man’s head with a plastic bag whilst he was lying on the floor, stamped on his body and kicked him repeatedly in the ribs,” the report says.

As in previous years, one of the main purposes of abuse was the forced extraction of confessions or money, it adds.

“This alarming testimony leaves us in no doubt that Cambodian authorities are failing in their responsibilities to prevent and punish acts of torture and ill-treatment,” said Licadho director Naly Pilorge.

But Chet Vanny, deputy police chief for Battambang province, said he did not believe that police in Cambodia ever coerced confessions from suspects.

“If a suspect doesn’t confess and we have evidence, we show it to him and just ask repeatedly if he now confesses. It’s not coercion. As you know, this is a modern society and there is no such thing as torture or violence happening during the questioning of suspects,” he said.

In the report, Licadho says it is “not aware of any successful prosecutions of law enforcement officials for torture related crimes in recent years”, adding that the number of administrative complaints and investigations within prisons is also low.

Kuy Bunsorn, director general of the prison department at the Ministry of Interior, said that this was because torture and ill-treatment were simply not an issue.

“I’m not really interested in their report. Our government has worked hard to improve prison conditions to follow national and international laws,” he said.

National Police spokesman Kirt Chantharith could not be reached yesterday.

But, according to Licadho, while “there has clearly been significant progress towards reducing levels of torture in Cambodia in the decades since Khmer Rouge rule, such progress appears to have stalled completely in recent years”.

The report notes that Cambodia has failed to establish an independent National Preventative Mechanism to monitor and prevent torture and ill-treatment in places of detention as required under the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT), which it ratified seven years ago.

And while “levels of torture and ill-treatment in Cambodia remain high … avenues for complaint are limited and … those responsible for abuse are rarely punished”, the report says.

One of the most high-profile instances of alleged abuse this year came from the 23 union leaders, workers and activists who were violently arrested during deadly clashes at a garment strike in early January.

One of the 23, 31-year-old Yong Sam Orn, told the Post yesterday of abuse and humiliation when he was taken to Kampong Cham province’s remote Correctional Center3 (CC3) prison following his arrest.

“When we arrived at CC3, our clothes were stripped. We were naked and [forced to put] our hands behind our heads. [The police] walked with batons behind us into the rooms and we were forced to look at the ground. We looked like animals. They threatened us when we were walking, saying that if we dared to look up, we would be beaten,” he said.

“It is such an inhumane act … prisoners are also humans.”

Two missile ships launched in Saigon, U.S. naval ship anchors in Nha Trang for maintenance

A rocket-class versatile ship built by Ba Son Corporation.

The vessels, named M3 and M4, were built by Ba Son Corporation, a subsidiary of the General Department of DefenseIndustry.

The same day, Ba Son Corporation also completed the assembly of another rocket-class versatile vessel named M5.

In early 2013, the first two ships of this generation – M1 and M2 - were launched and handed over to the Navy by this corporation.

According to Ba Son Corporation, these are the most modern ships built at home for the Navy.

 

The USNS Cesar Chavez.

In another news, on Tuesday, the cargo ship USNS Cesar Chavez (T-AKE 14) of the U.S. Navy anchored in the Nha Trang Bay of the central province of Khanh Hoa, reported the border guard station at the Nha Trang Port.

The USNS Cesar Chavez, with 114 crew members, will stay in Nha Trang Bay in 15 days for maintenance by the Cam Ranh Shipyard.

This is a heavy cargo ship of the U.S. Navy that was launched in May 2012, with a tonnage of 41,000 tons, a length of 210 m, a width of 32.2 m, a speed of 20 nautical miles per hour. It can carry two helicopters.

Sri Lanka scholars supportive of Vietnam in East Sea issue

The Chinese rig’s illegal presence in Vietnam’s waters from early May has stoked public outrage at home and abroad,Vietnamese Ambassador Ton Sinh Thanh told participants, adding that it poses a threat to peace, stability, maritime security and safety in the East Sea.

He condemned the act as a serious violation of international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea.

While urging China to pull its rig out of the area, Vietnam has exercised its utmost restraint and sought to talk with China on over 30 occasions. Meanwhile, the neighbour, apart from turning down the offer, has deployed a large number of military ships to the rig site to intimidate, encircle and even brazenly ram into Vietnamese fisheries surveillance and fishing boats, he pointed out.

Chairman of the Communist Party of Sri Lanka Raja Collure voiced his support to Vietnam’s peaceful means in the process, saying that parties concerned should sit together for talks to peacefully address the issue.

Lawyer M.A. Razwi, in his speech, traced back Vietnam’s long history of managing and exercising its sovereignty over Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago, citing the building of a lighthouse there in 1889 under the instruction of Governor General of French Indochina Paul Doumer.

He also denounced China’s use of force to occupy Hoang Sa archipelago in 1974 as illegal.

Thiyagarajah, a student from Bishop college, suggested holding more public activities, including workshops of this kind to expose the true nature of the issue to the world community and rally their support to Vietnam.

Ambassador Thanh also answered relevant queries at the event, making it clear that China has claimed a nine-dash line to turn the non-disputed waters into disputed waters.

He dismissed China’s argument that Vietnam has recently quested for sovereignty over Hoang Sa and Truong Sa (Spratly), saying that the country has sufficient historical evidence proving its peaceful and continuous management over the two archipelagos.

In 1954-1975, Hoang Sa and Truong Sa were under the control of the southern administration. Since Vietnam’s reunification in 1975, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam has inherited the sovereignty over the two archipelagos, he said.

At the beginning of May, China illegally dispatched its oil rig and a large fleet of armed vessels, military ships and aircraft to Vietnam’s waters and positioned the rig at 15 degrees 29 minutes 58 seconds north latitude and 111 degrees 12 minutes 06 seconds east longitude, 80 miles deep into Vietnam’s continental shelf and exclusive economic zone.

Despite Vietnam’s protest, China expanded its scale of operation and moved the rig to 15 degrees 33 minutes 36 seconds north latitude and 111 degrees 34 minutes 11 seconds east longitude, 60 nautical miles deep inside Vietnam’s continental shelf and exclusive economic zone.

On June 24, China sent 102 – 108 vessels, including six military ships, to protect its rig and harass Vietnamese ships.

Braving China’s aggressive acts, Vietnamese ships still stayed there to perform their law enforcement duties.

Russian lawmakers revoke Putin's power to use military in Ukraine

Russia's upper house of parliament voted Wednesday to revoke the right of President Vladimir Putin to use troops in Ukraine as efforts continue to calm a separatist uprising in Ukraine's east.The Federation Council had approved Putin's request for a resolution allowing the use of force on March 1.But Tuesday, Putin sent a letter to the speaker of the upper house seeking to cancel the resolution. One lawmaker voted against revoking the powers Wednesday, with 153 in favor.Putin's request was made in light of ongoing talks on how to settle the crisis in Ukraine's eastern regions, said presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov.Russia and Ukraine have been engaged in a tense standoff since March when Russia annexed the previously Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea and massed troops along other parts of its border with Ukraine.


Ukraine's new President, Petro Poroshenko, declared a cease-fire last week in Kiev's fight against pro-Russia separatists in an effort to calm the situation.The violence continued Tuesday when Ukrainian authorities said pro-Russia militants shot down a military helicopter in eastern Ukraine, killing nine.
However, peace talks involving representatives from all sides were under way Wednesday in the Ukrainian city of Donetsk, Ukraine's official Ukrinform news agency said.Those participating included Ukrainian government officials, pro-Russia separatists from the restive eastern Luhansk and Donetsk regions, Russian officials and members of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
On Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said the United States and Europe plan on additional sanctions against Russia, depending on what choices it makes ahead.Asked if the parliament vote to revoke Putin's power to use force in Ukraine was sufficient action to delay sanctions, Kerry said that he needed to see more.

The parliamentary action is a positive step, Kerry said, but it could be easily reversed.
The greatest difference will be made when Putin publicly calls for separatists in Ukraine to lay down their arms, Kerry said.NATO chief: Peace plan a step forwardNATO foreign ministers on Wednesday endorsed a package of support strengthening the ability of Ukraine, which is not a member of the alliance, to defend itself.Agreed to after talks in Belgium with Ukraine's new foreign minister, Pavlo Klimkin, the package includes "the creation of new trust funds to support defense capacity building in critical areas such as logistics, command and control, cyber defense and to help retired military personnel to adapt to civilian life," according to NATO."Ukraine has a clear vision for rebuilding its defense and security sector and a clear strategy for resolving the crisis," NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said.

The ministers from the 28 NATO members -- some of whom are former Soviet states whose nerves have been frayed by Russia's actions against Ukraine -- also agreed to maintain the suspension of practical civilian and military cooperation with Russia."There will be no business as usual with Russia until Russia comes back into line with its international obligations," Rasmussen said.Coordinated sanctionsKerry met with Klimkin ahead of Wednesday's talks.Kerry also met Tuesday evening with EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton and representatives of other world powers, a senior State Department official said.Kerry discussed their joint support for Poroshenko's peace plan and the importance of preparing additional coordinated sanctions if Putin does not take further steps, the official said.

The United States and European Union have already imposed targeted economic sanctions against certain Russians and companies over Russia's activities in Ukraine.The resolution authorizing Russia to use force in Ukraine was passed three weeks before Russia completed its annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region, which other world powers condemned.Read: Ukrainian helicopter shot down days after cease-fire, official says
Read: Ukrainian border guards hurt in separatist attack on 1st day of cease-fire

Cambodia, Thai Officials Set up Hotline on Migrant Issue

Cambodia and Thailand on Tuesday sought to downplay reports of a crackdown on illegal Cambodian workers by Bangkok’s new military junta as the two governments agreed to establish a hotline to communicate on labor issues afflicting the two neighboring countries.

Eat Sophea, Cambodia’s ambassador to Thailand, was summoned to the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs to discuss the issue as the number of illegal Cambodian workers returning across the border since June 1 hit 200,000 on Tuesday, according to Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Kuy Koung.

The Cambodian workers—who prop up Thailand’s industries, but are mostly living in the country without proper documentation—have fled or have been forcibly repatriated by the Thai junta, which threatened illegal workers with arrest and deportation last week after taking power in a May 22 coup.

Kuy Koung said that the Thai junta had agreed to “establish a hotline for communication” on labor issues, and assured Cambodia that it “doesn’t have plans to deport all Cambodian laborers.”

“They simply want illegal immigrants to become legal immigrants in order to avoid labor exploitation,” he said.

The Thai side also urged those workers who have been deported since June 1 to return with legal paperwork, Kuy Koung said, adding that Cambodia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs is working to ensure that illegal workers in Thailand become registered.

“So far we have about 50,000 workers already registered,” around 20,000 of whom have returned to Thailand, he said.

Speaking after talks with foreign ministry permanent secretary Sihasak Phuangketkeow in Bangkok, Eat Sophea dismissed reports of the shooting and abuse of Cambodian migrants by Thai authorities, which some have said triggered the mass exodus.

“The reports about shootings, the reports about other abuses are rumors and are not true, it's been taken out of context,” Agence France-Presse reported the ambassador as saying.

“We agreed to work together in order to clarify any issues.”

Border overwhelmed

Meanwhile, Cambodia’s Minister of Interior Sar Kheng on Tuesday urged authorities across the country to do whatever was in their power to facilitate the return of migrants to their home provinces.

“In order to help the returnees, the government would like authorities at the provincial level to welcome them at the border checkpoints and to provide them with transportation so they may return home,” Sar Kheng said in a statement.

“Please provide them with food [and] medication and make sure they return safely.”

Sar Kheng also called on local authorities to ensure that potential migrants are better informed about the situation they face working across the border in Thailand.

“[Authorities] must also disseminate information to prevent Cambodians from crossing the border to Thailand illegally and explain the consequences that might arise from doing so,” he said.

According to the World Bank, some 20 percent of Cambodia’s nearly 15 million population live in poverty, earning below U.S. $2.00 per day, and many have been tempted to find work in Thailand, where they can earn significantly more than they would at home.

Reuters news agency quoted Sar Kheng as slamming the Thai army for never consulting Cambodia about sending workers home.

“The army has rushed to deport workers who are considered illegal without prior notice or discussion with Cambodia or at least making contact with provinces along the borders,” he told a university graduation ceremony in the capital Phnom Penh.

“I think the current Thai army leadership must be held responsible for all the problems that have occurred, including the loss of life.”

Thai police say six Cambodian workers and a Thai driver were killed last weekend when a pick-up truck overturned on its way to the border. Thirteen people were injured.

Last week, the Cambodian Human Rights Action Committee (CHRAC), an umbrella group of 21 nongovernmental organizations, claimed that investigators from the Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC)—a CHRAC member—had received “credible witness accounts” that up to nine Cambodian migrants had been killed during the deportations, and that “beatings have occurred at the hands of the Thai armed forces.”

Cambodian Government ‘Flouting International Rules Against Torture’

Cambodians continue to suffer torture and other forms of ill-treatment in police stations and prisons despite the country’s commitment to international treaties banning such practices, according to a report ahead of theInternational Day in Support of Victims of Torture on Thursday.

The report, released Wednesday by local rights group Licadho, called on Prime Minister Hun Sen’s government to pass legislation outlawing acts of torture and ill-treatment which are aimed mostly at extracting confessions from suspects.  

Licadho said it had found “no palpable change in the type, frequency and severity of abuse reported in recent years” in police and prison custody, adding that inmates continue to describe being beaten until bloodied or unconscious with objects including guns, sticks, iron rods, stun batons and electric cables.

Victims of abuse regularly include females, juveniles and those experiencing mental health problems, the rights group said in the report, entitled “Torture & Ill-Treatment, Testimony from Inside Cambodia's Police Stations and Prisons.” 

“Torture is practiced in Cambodia, but there is no measure to prevent this practice,” Licadho senior investigator Am Sam Ath told RFA’s Khmer Service, adding that authorities often employ abuse to extract confessions or money from prisoners and suspects.

“We have observed that judges rarely asked suspects whether they were subjected to torture, even though they physically display bruises, swollen faces and broken arms,” he said.

Am Sam Ath urged the government to establish laws explicitly preventing torture, as well as an independent national framework and civil department to resolve complaints against abuse by police in Cambodia’s justice system.

Licadho said that in addition to regular beatings, it also received reports of other abuses including inmates being dragged on the ground by their hair, being forced to stand on one leg for prolonged periods, guards standing and stamping on bodies and faces, and objects being forced into mouths.

The group said it recorded testimonies of cigarette burns, forced prolonged kneeling—including in direct sunlight, choking, and the use of electro-shock weaponry for torture.

“This alarming testimony leaves us in no doubt that Cambodian authorities are failing in their responsibilities to prevent and punish acts of torture and ill-treatment,” said Naly Pilorge, Licadho director.

“Authorities appear to be incapable of fulfilling their obligations to end torture in Cambodia. Not only that, they also seem unwilling to take practical steps to address the ongoing abuse.”

Cambodia ratified the Optional Protocol to the U.N. Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment in 2007, which requires the government to establish an independent National Preventative Mechanism to monitor and prevent torture in places of detention within one year of ratification.

Licadho said that Cambodia has failed to establish the mechanism, and only set up an inter-ministerial committee made up of various government officials in 2009, which the rights group called “neither independent nor effective.”

Additional abuses

Licadho said it also regularly documents abuse by authorities at the point of arrest and in transit, as well as by other inmates once a detainee is placed in confinement, often at the direction of officials.

According to the report, conditions in some places of detention, including the denial of medical care, may amount to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment—particularly with regard to the handling of people experiencing mentalhealth problems.

“Cambodian authorities should be ashamed that this type of abuse continues unabated, that protection measures are so weak, and recourse to justice so limited,” said Nget Sokun, Licadho’s prison supervisor.

“Sadly, Licadho believes that the real rate of torture and ill-treatment is much higher than documented because so much abuse remains hidden.”

The rights group said that while it is impossible to know the true extent of torture and ill-treatment of detainees in Cambodia, it is clear that they continue to be subjected to abuse in custody, have little recourse, and that those responsible are rarely brought to justice.

“For as long as the Cambodian courts continue to accept confessions obtained under duress, whilst men,women and children continue to be beaten, threatened and maimed in the custody of the state and whilst those who order, facilitate or commit torture do so with impunity, Cambodia’s true commitment to the absolute prohibition of torture and ill-treatment will remain in serious doubt,” Naly Pilorge said.

In its report, Licadho included a dozen recommendations to the Cambodian authorities, including the preparation of specific anti-torture legislation and the establishment of a truly independent National Preventative Mechanism.

It also called for a civilian oversight body to effectively deal with complaints against the police and other law enforcement personnel.

Government reaction

Council of Ministers Secretary of State and spokesman Phay Siphan dismissed Licadho’s report, saying treatment in police stations and prisons was within the law.

“I can’t accept Licadho’s report, because in most of the cases we have complied with the law,” he said.

Last week, Cambodia’s Interior Minister Sar Kheng told U.N. human rights envoy Surya Subedi, who on Tuesday wrapped up a 10-day fact finding mission to the country, that Cambodian authorities “would not tolerate” the practice of torture in detention.

In December, representatives of the U.N. Subcommittee on the Prevention of Torture visited Cambodia for five days, making unannounced visits to places of detention, including prisons, police stations and drug rehabilitation centers.

At the end of the visit, the delegation said that Cambodia had fallen behind in obligations it made to monitor the treatment of prisoners.

It urged Phnom Penh to set up an independent national body to monitor detention centers.