Thailand-Cambodia truce breaks down: Fresh raids leave dead and displaced
Today's headlines: Turnout in Hong Kong's “patriots only” elections just 31.9%; Japan withdraws from plans to build a nuclear power plant in Vietnam; Twenty-five people die in a nightclub fire in Goa; The Gulf Centre for Human Rights denounces the forced disappearance of human rights activist Talib al-Saedi in Oman; Kyrgyzstan runs for a seat on the UN Security Council.
THAILAND-CAMBODIA
Thailand has launched air strikes against Cambodian military positions after a Thai soldier was killed, pushing the fragile US-brokered truce to the brink of collapse. Each side accuses the other of breaking the peace by attacking border bases and personnel over the weekend in the most violent wave of hostilities in months between the two Southeast Asian neighbours. ‘One Thai soldier was killed and four were wounded,’ Thai army spokesman Winthai Suvaree said in a statement, accusing Cambodian troops of opening fire again this morning in Ubon Ratchathani province. For its part, Cambodia blamed Thailand for violating the ceasefire, reviving the usual rhetoric of mutual accusations that has long characterised relations between the two countries.
HONG KONG
In Hong Kong, 31.9% of eligible voters turned out for yesterday's Legislative Council (LegCo) elections, with the option of voting for “only patriotic candidates”, i.e. those considered loyal to Beijing's directives. The administration's massive efforts to increase turnout resulted in an increase of just 1.7% compared to the similar election in 2021, a percentage still far below the last unrestricted vote in 2016, when 58.2% of voters went to the polls. In addition, the counting of votes showed an increase in blank and invalid ballots: there were 40,000, equal to 3.1% of the votes cast.
JAPAN-VIETNAM
Japan has withdrawn from the project to build the Vietnamese Ninh Thuan 2 nuclear power plant, judging the construction timeframe to be too tight. The decision risks complicating Vietnam's plans to avoid future energy shortages, in a context of growing electricity demand and frequent blackouts. Vietnam had asked Japan and Russia to resume two nuclear projects suspended in 2016 for safety and cost reasons. Russia is expected to take over Ninh Thuan 1, but no agreement has yet been signed for this plant either. The Japanese decision also comes at a time of diplomatic tensions between Tokyo and Hanoi, exacerbated by a Vietnamese plan to ban petrol motorcycles in central Hanoi, a measure that worries Honda.
INDIA
A fire in a nightclub in Goa caused 25 deaths on the night between 6 and 7 December. Four of the victims were tourists from Delhi, while the other 21 were members of the club's staff. Goa, a small coastal state, is a popular tourist destination, especially for foreigners, thanks to its beaches and hilly landscapes. According to government data, approximately 5.5 million tourists - including 271,000 foreigners - visited Goa in the first half of the year.
OMAN
The Gulf Centre for Human Rights has reported the enforced disappearance of Omani activist Talib al-Saedi, who was summoned by the Internal Security Service on 30 November and has since had no contact with his family or lawyers. Saedi had recently criticised the government for its lack of subsidies, which could have prevented the death of a family from carbon monoxide poisoning. He had already been arrested twice in the past for peaceful human rights activities and online comments. In Oman, repression and lèse-majesté laws continue to severely restrict freedom of expression, leading to the arrest of numerous activists and journalists.
RUSSIA
The Russian Ministry of Justice has added the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), one of the oldest humanitarian associations in the world, founded in Paris in 1922 to unite all those working for rights in Europe and beyond, to which the dissolved Russian association Memorial was closely linked. Members of Memorial will now be subject to further checks and persecution.
KYRGYZSTAN
The heads of state of the Central Asian countries have appealed to all UN members to support Kyrgyzstan's candidacy for the Security Council for 2027-2028, as reported by Uzbek representative Ulugbek Lapasov, following consultations held in Tashkent with the aim of “expressing Central Asia's position on strengthening its contribution to global peace and security” in a joint regional effort.
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