Better Late than Never
Angkor gold returns, Australia's war imaginings, Zelenskyy's Bakhmut loss, UK intel is wrong, Vietnams cable woes, US hegemony explained, Myanmar trade boost, China-ASEAN FTA
UPDATE: The Long Mekong Daily missed its publication on Monday due to a complete overload of media appearances by its Editor over the weekend and yesterday. The swirling clouds of deception over Ukraine are consuming media space and time, but today we returns to the Mekong region and ASEAN and devote little space for Ukraine, the US or Australia.
Angkorian Gold returns to Cambodia from UK collection
Seventy-Seven (77) pieces of Angkorian jewellery have been returned to Cambodia from a collection in the United Kingdom. The handover of the jewellery collection took place in the UK recently in the presence of a Cambodian delegation led by H.E. Hun Many, Chairman of the National Assembly's 7th Commission on Education, Youth, Sports, Cults and Religious Affairs, Culture and Tourism, Cambodian Ambassador to UK, members of the UK's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) Southeast Asia Department, the Art and Antiques Unit of the Metroplitan Police and Art Council England.
The Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts on behalf of the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) reached an accord with the family of the late Douglas Latchford in September 2020 wherein all Cambodian artefacts in the possession of the Latchford family will be returned to Cambodia.
The collection, which arrived in Cambodia on Feb. 17, 2023, include gold and other precious metal pieces from the Pre-Angkorian and Angkorian period such as crowns, necklaces, bracelets, belts, earrings and amulets, a number of which have been featured in the book Khmer Gold: Gifts of the Gods, co-authored by Mrs. Emma C. Bunker and Mr. Douglas A.J. Latchford (2008). Many of the objects have never been seen by the public before.
“The RGC expresses its appreciation to the Government of the UK for its goodwill and cooperation in facilitating the return of these artefacts to the Royal Government and the people of Cambodia, which demonstrates the successful strategy of the RGC in close cooperation with other countries around the world,” the press release underlined.
H.E. Dr. Phoeurng Sackona, Minister of Culture and Fine Arts, commented on "the importance of peace and political stability through the Win-Win policy and the wise leadership of Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen that has given the opportunity for Cambodia to return the souls of Khmer ancestors and invaluable treasures which departed from their homeland for many years during the decades of war".
H.E. Dr. Phoeurng Sackona further noted that "the repatriation of these national treasures open a new era of understanding and scholarship about the Angkorian empire and its significance to the world.
The minister encouraged private individuals, museums as well as other institutions around the world that are in possession of Cambodian artefacts to cooperate with the RGC through the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts or through Cambodian Embassies to return Cambodian cultural heritage objects. “We considered such returns as a noble act, which not only demonstrates important contribution to a nation's culture, but also contributes to the reconciliation and healing of Cambodians who went through decades of civil war and suffered tremendously from the tragedy of the Khmer Rouge genocide,” she said.
Read more here.
Part I: Australia’s War with China
If Australia sleepwalks into a war with China, as many analysts fear is happening right now, then amid our strategic slumber we should at least ask one question: what would war with China mean for Australia? Put bluntly, the repercussions of Australia joining the US in any war with China over the status of Taiwan — or any other issue — may have catastrophic consequences.
Of all the uncertainty and conflict in the world at the moment, for Australians this surely is one of the most important discussions we must have. There are still hundreds of diplomats and politicians around the world — including in Canberra — working openly and behind the scenes to ensure tensions between China and the US never escalate into war.
Rising tensions or unforeseen circumstances that could lead to war, however, can sometimes overtake those working for peace. So to contribute to this discussion, I’ve sought analysis from four of Australia’s most experienced military strategists and asked them exactly what Australia’s involvement in a war with China could look like. The four have more than 100 years of high-level military and strategic experience between them.
The analysts are:
Professor Hugh White, a former Deputy Secretary for Strategy and Intelligence in the Department of Defence
Admiral Chris Barrie, Australia’s most senior military leader as Chief of the Defence Force from 1998 to 2002
Allan Behm, a former head of the International Policy and Strategy Divisions of the Defence Department
Professor Clinton Fernandes, a former intelligence officer in the Australian military.
All four analysts have held the highest security clearances that it’s possible to have. All have been involved in sensitive military operations. And all are watching with great interest as the drums of war beat in some quarters regarding a possible war with China.
They have different opinions on a range of issues, but one thing that is striking about the four is what they agree on. All agree, for example, that the United States — with or without Australia’s assistance — cannot win a war against China.
Read full article here.
Zelensky admits Bakhmut defeat
According to the Ukrainian leader, Russia’s potential control of Artyomovsk/“Bakhmut” would immediately enable it to launch a follow-up offensive against Kramatorsk and Slavyansk, but his side might still abandon it if casualties keep mounting. This military insight discredits the West’s perception managers who hitherto insisted that Russia was supposedly “wasting” its forces away by throwing them into a so-called “meat grinder” over a “completely unimportant” city purely for President Putin’s prestige.
Zelensky shocked his supporters on Sunday when admitting in an interview with Italy’s Corriere della Serra that his forces might actually abandon Artyomovsk/“Bakhmut” despite previously pledging to hold it no matter the cost. The reversal aligns with the trend over the past month of Western officials – American, NATO, and Polish – decisively shifting the “official narrative” about the UkrainianConflict after it became impossible to deny that Russia hasn’t been defeated like they predicted.
Those skeptics who doubt that Zelensky just made this damning admission, and thus discredited everything that his side’s perception managers had hitherto claimed about clinging to Artyomovsk/“Bakhmut” no matter what, should read the Google Translate version of his remarks themselves that were originally published in Italian by Corriere Della Serra:
“It is important for us to defend it, but not at any price and for everyone to die. We will fight until it is reasonable, the Russians then want to continue to Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, up to the borders of Donbass and up to Dnipro if they can. We are resisting and in the meantime we are preparing the next counterattack.”
As can be seen, not only did Zelensky finally jump on his Western patrons’ bandwagon by doing his part to decisively shift the “official narrative” about this conflict from one of Kiev’s supposedly “inevitable” victory to warning about its possible loss in this proxy war, but he also inadvertently explained why Russia has been fighting so hard to capture this city that his side earlier claimed isn’t important.
Read more here.
British intelligence is wrong?
Russia is likely going to claim that Donetsk’s Bakhmut has been captured to “align with the anniversary, regardless of the reality on the ground,” according to the British Ministry of Defence’s intelligence update. Meanwhile, the ministry says, tensions within the Russian leadership will likely increase unless Russia’s spring offensive succeeds.
The ministry tweeted:
“Russia continues to pursue several offensive axes in eastern Ukraine: Vuhledar, Kremina, and Bakhmut. Casualties reportedly remain high, particularly in Bakhmut and Vuhledar. Specifically, the ‘elite’ 155th and 40th Naval Infantry Brigades have sustained very high losses in Vuhledar and are likely combat ineffective.”
“Russian forces are likely under increasing political pressure as the anniversary of the invasion draws near. It is likely that Russia will claim that Bakhmut has been captured to align with the anniversary, regardless of the reality on the ground.”
“If Russia’s spring offensive fails to achieve anything then tensions within the Russian leadership will likely increase.”
Read more here.
Vietnam's last functional undersea cable now malfunctioning
A section of the SMW3 cable connecting Vietnam with Singapore has encountered issues, according to the provider. This means that all five undersea cables responsible for Vietnam’s international Internet connections are now malfunctioning. Four other cables have been down since November and are still not working.
Among the four cables, the AAG and the APG cables lost all data, while the IA and the AAE-1 are only partially functional.
Internet service providers, however, said the new issues with the SMW-3 would not affect Vietnam’s Internet connection too much as it’s an old cable anyway and is not heavily utilized. Providers had also prepared to purchase more data beforehand the problem arose, they added.
"This incident would not impact the quality of Internet connection, as it’s an old cable that’s expected to be decommissioned soon," a representative of VNPT said. "We don’t use the data running on this cable for fixed broadband Internet services."
Read more here.
U.S. Hegemony and Its Perils
Since becoming the world's most powerful country after the two world wars and the Cold War, the United States has acted more boldly to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries, pursue, maintain and abuse hegemony, advance subversion and infiltration, and willfully wage wars, bringing harm to the international community.
The United States has developed a hegemonic playbook to stage "color revolutions," instigate regional disputes and even directly launch wars under the guise of promoting democracy, freedom and human rights. Clinging to the Cold War mentality, the United States has ramped up bloc politics and stoked conflict and confrontation. It has overstretched the concept of national security, abused export controls and forced unilateral sanctions upon others. It has taken a selective approach to international law and rules, utilizing or discarding them as it sees fit, and has sought to impose rules that serve its own interests in the name of upholding a "rules-based international order."
This report, by presenting the relevant facts, seeks to expose the U.S. abuse of hegemony in the political, military, economic, financial, technological and cultural fields and to draw greater international attention to the perils of the U.S. practices to world peace and stability and the well-being of all peoples.
Read the full analysis here.
Myanmar Trade Boost
China's Yunnan provincial department of commerce and the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI) have met to promote economic and trade cooperation. Speaking at the meeting, UMFCCI President U Aye Win said that it is a timely meeting to promote the economic and trade cooperation between Myanmar and China's Yunnan province, adding it will assist Myanmar's economic development and private business sector development.
Myanmar, in the post-COVID-19 period right now, was making efforts to increase its export, which declined during the pandemic period, and China is an important market for Myanmar, the UMFCCI president said. China is the largest trading partner of Myanmar, he said, adding that he hopes the meeting will open up cooperation opportunities for the two countries.
Tan Shufu, economic and commercial counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Myanmar, said that he always supports the trading between China's Yunnan province and Myanmar, adding that the economy is recovering in the post-COVID-19 era.
At the meeting, Li Chenyang, director-general of China's Yunnan provincial department of commerce, said that he has brought Yunnan province's business delegation to Myanmar to cooperate in trade promotion.
On Tuesday, the Chinese delegation led by Li also met with Myanmar's Union Minister for Commerce U Aung Naing Oo in Nay Pyi Taw, and discussed matters relating to border gates reopening and policies, smooth flow of goods, financial cooperation and agricultural cooperation between the two countries.
Read more here.
China-ASEAN FTA Boosts Regional Economy
China's economic recovery is expected to have a positive impact on the development of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and the upgrade of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (FTA) could bring further benefits to the region, a senior Thai official said.
Auramon Supthaweethum, Director-General of the Department of Trade Negotiations under Thailand's Ministry of Commerce, said China is a significant trading partner for both Thailand and the ASEAN. Thailand is placing great importance on the negotiations for the upgrade of the China-ASEAN FTA, which is expected to bring benefits to Thailand and ASEAN countries, said Auramon.
China has been Thailand's most important trading partner for over a decade and is ASEAN's most significant trading partner as well, said the official.
China's Belt and Road Initiative has created an ASEAN network of infrastructure projects, including the China-Laos-Thailand railway to access low-cost raw materials and expand business opportunities for Thai businesses in service and tourism sectors, Auramon said.
Thailand prioritizes cooperation with China in e-commerce, she said, adding that thailand also intends to expand its investment cooperation with China, with a focus on the Eastern Economic Corridor.
The first round of consultations on Version 3.0 China-ASEAN FTA negotiations started on Feb. 7.
In November 2022, China and the ASEAN jointly announced the official launch of the negotiations. The two sides agreed that the negotiations will cover fields including trade in goods, investment, digital and green economy, so as to build a more inclusive, modern, comprehensive and mutually beneficial China-ASEAN FTA.