4 June 2014
At the 13th IISS Asian Security Summit on 31 May, Vietnam’s Defense Minister, General Tanh, delivered a speech stating – according to Vietnam Breaking News – that in order to manage risks that may cause disputes, all countries should share the same perspective on international responsibilities. (more…)
Source: Vietnam Breaking News | Minister calls on nations to share responsibility
Source: TalkVietnam | Defence minister calls on countries to share responsibility for peace
23 April 2014
US President Obama is expected to announce an agreement with the Philippines, that would offer American ships and planes the most extensive access to bases in the region, since 1992, when the US relinquished its naval installation at Subic Bay. The agreement would be the centerpiece of Obama’s visit to Asia this week.
The New York Times reports that such an agreement could antagonise China, which is locked in a dispute with the Philippines over Scarborough Shoal, a fishing ground now occupied by Chinese vessels. Like the 2011 agreement to deploy Marines to Darwin, Australia, such a presence would theoretically give America more capacity to help its allies in territorial disputes with the Chinese.
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Source: The New York Times | Obama’s Strategic Shift to Asia Is Hobbled by Pressure at Home and Crises Abroad
5 August 2013
According to news reports, Czech authorities announced on 23 July that they had uncovered an international gang responsible for illegally smuggling white rhinoceros horn from South Africa to Asia, where rhino horn is used in traditional medicine.
According to Czech authorities, the crime syndicate had links to pseudo-hunting in South Africa whereby legislation allowing for non-commercial hunting trophies is exploited by proxy-hunters in order to legally repatriate trophy horns to the Czech Republic and illegally trade them further to unspecified Asian countries. The uncovering comes after concerns were raised earlier this year over the recruitment of sport hunters in the Czech Republic and Poland in order to obtain rhino horn in South Africa on behalf of Vietnamese operatives.
Source: AFP | Czech police crack rhinoceros horn smuggling ring
Source: CITES | Interpretation and implementation of the Convention | Species trade and conservation | Rhinoceroses | Report of the Secretariat | Sixteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties, Bangkok (Thailand), 3-14 March 2013 | CoP16 Doc. 54.2 (Rev. 1)
Source: Save the Rhino | Czech authorities uncover major rhino horn smuggling case