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The Week in Asia

• Southeast Asia — Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand Vietnam
• East Asia — China, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan
• South Asia — India, Pakistan

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Southeast Asia

Cambodia

U.N. calls Cambodia one of the world’s largest marijuana suppliers

Phnom Penh, Cambodia — Cambodia has become one of the world’s largest exporters of marijuana, and the illegal business appears to be one of the country’s biggest foreign exchange earners, the United Nations said in a newly-issued report. The U.N. report said that Cambodia is a hotbed of criminal activity in general.

Indonesia

Wahid to face impeachment

Jakarta, Indonesia — Indonesia’s National Assembly formally wrote to President Abdurrahman Wahid on June 8 and demanded he appear before an impeachment hearing in August and defend himself against accusations of corruption and incompetence.

Despite the letter from assembly chairman Amien Rais, Wahid called for more negotiations to end Indonesia’s political crisis and predicted that hostile lawmakers would drop demands that he be held accountable over the allegations, which he denies.

Malaysia

At least 600,000 foreign workers illegally in Malaysia, official says

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia — At least 600,000 foreigners are currently in Malaysia on expired travel papers, most of them poor workers from neighboring countries, an official said. Illegal immigration to Malaysia, one of Southeast Asia’s wealthiest countries, has surged since the 1997-98 Asian economic crisis, which rattled Malaysia but hurt its poorer neighbors more.

Myanmar

Leading Myanmar historian unhappy with anti-Thai textbook

Yangon, Myanmar — Than Tun, one of Asia’s leading historians, expressed unhappiness at a new Myanmar fourth-grade history textbook that portrays Thais as lazy and servile. Thai Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai said that the textbook would worsen Thai-Myanmar relations, which are already at their lowest point in years.

Philippines

Human torsos found where Muslim rebels say they beheaded U.S. hostage

Manila, Philippines —Two human torsos were found on a southern Philippine island June 12, where Muslim Abu Sayyaf rebels say they beheaded a U.S. hostage. However, neither body was that of an American, said Philippines National Security Adviser Roilo Golez. The rebels claimed on Tuesday they had beheaded Guillermo Sobrero, a Californian tourist, one of three Americans taken hostage in May at a southern beach resort.

Controversial Philippine congressman shot in Manila

Manila, Philippines — Controversial Philippine congressman Rodolfo Aguinaldo, who was involved in coup attempts against former president Corozon Aquino, was fatally shot by an unidentified gunman June 12. Aguinaldo was shot twice and died in the hospital two hours later, military spokesman Brigadier General Edilberto Adan, said.

Thailand

Survey: Two-thirds of sexually active Thai teens avoid condoms

Bangkok, Thailand — Two-thirds of sexually active Thai teen-agers do not use contraception despite the country’s high rate of HIV/AIDS infections, according to a new survey. Only 34.9 percent of 12- to 18-year-old school children questioned by the ABAC-KSC polling agency, which is based at Bangkok’s Assumption University, said they used a condom or other form of contraception when they had sex.

Vietnam

Drug problems prompt Vietnam’s midnight curfew on nightclubs

Hanoi, Vietnam — Alarmed by the growing use of the designer drug ecstasy, Vietnam has ordered police to enforce a midnight curfew on Hanoi’s nightclubs, state media reported Thursday. The regulation is aimed at curbing social evils such as drugs and prostitution, according to the media.

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East Asia

China

China urges work to ban space arms because of U.S. ‘danger’

Geneva, Switzerland — China proposed a treaty last week to ban weapons in outer space because of the imminent “danger” stemming from U.S. missile defense plans. Chinese Ambassador Hu Xiaodi made the proposal at the 66-nation Conference on Disarmament, the world’s only multinational forum for negotiating arms-control treaties.

The United States has said it was willing to discuss outer space issues, but that it is too soon to say if a new treaty is needed.

Cabinet to issue high-tech ID cards

Beijing, China — China’s Cabinet plans to issue new high-tech identification cards to its 1.26 billion people. The plastic cards embedded with a microchip to store personal information will replace existing plastic-coated paper cards that are easy to counterfeit, the official China Daily reported June 12. Issuing the new cards will take up to five years.

Japan

Families hold funerals for children killed in Japan school

Ikeda, Japan — Mourners surrounded Mayuko Isaka with her favorite things — candy, flowers and toys — at a funeral Sunday for the sunny 7-year-old. Mayuko’s funeral was one of five Sunday in this quiet suburb of Osaka, where eight children, first- and second-graders, were knifed to death by a mentally disturbed former janitor two days earlier.

Police said Mamoru Takuma, 37, walked into the Ikeda elementary school unimpeded Friday and went classroom to classroom slashing his victims until two teachers managed to restrain him 15 minutes later.

North Korea

Bush prepared to open security talks with Pyongyang

Washington — Secretary of State Colin Powell said June 14 the United States is ready to move ahead on an “open dialogue” with North Korea on a range of issues without preconditions. With South Korean Foreign Minister Han Seung-soo standing at his side after a luncheon meeting, Powell said he expects talks with North Korea will open in New York, but that no dates have been set.

South Korea

South Korea concerned about U.S. moves to curb steel imports

Seoul, South Korea — South Korea’s commerce minister plans to visit the United States later this month to express concern about Washington’s moves to restrict steel imports from abroad, including South Korea, officials said June 8. Earlier this month, President George W. Bush ordered an investigation under a U.S. trade regulation known as Section 201 to determine if U.S. producers were being seriously harmed by imported steel.

Singapore

Economists expect Singapore’s economic growth to slow

Singapore — Singapore’s economic growth is expected to slow to 3.5 percent this year from 9.9 percent in 2000, according to economists polled by the Monetary Authority of Singapore. The drop is expected due to the sharp downturn in global demand for electronics and to the slowing economy in the United States, the authority said Tuesday in a survey report posted on its Web site.

Taiwan

Taiwan’s president returns from historic visit to the Americas

Taipei, Taiwan — Taiwan’s leader returned from his groundbreaking two-week visit to the United States on June 5 and said that he had improved relations with America and underscored the island’s status as a sovereign state free of China’s control.

President Chen Shui-bian made history as the island’s first sitting president to visit New York, a trip which was once nearly impossible because of China’s intense efforts to isolate the island diplomatically.

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South Asia

India

Grenade explosion kills four, injures 52 in Kashmir

Srinagar, India — A suspected Islamic militant hurled a grenade at a congregation in a mosque in western Kashmir June 8, killing four people and injuring 52 others, police said.

None of the dozens of Islamic groups fighting to separate Kashmir from Hindu India took responsibility for the attack, but police blamed the insurgents whose decade-old fight with Indian security forces has claimed more than 30,000 lives.

India, Russia jointly test cruise missile

New Delhi, India — A jointly developed Indo-Russian “supersonic cruise missile” was successfully tested June 12 from a test range in the eastern India state of Orissa, the defense ministry said. With a 174-mile range and supersonic cruise capability, the missile is the first of its kind in the world. The missile uses propulsion technology from Russia and guidance know-how from India.

Pakistan

Pro-independence candidates barred from elections in Pakistani Kashmir

Muzafarrabad, Pakistan — Kashmir, a former princely state, is divided between Pakistan and India and has been the cause of two wars between them since British rule ended on the subcontinent in 1947. Both claim Kashmir in its entirety, but pro-independence politicians want a united, independent Kashmir — a demand unacceptable for both Pakistan and India.

On June 7 authorities in Pakistani Kashmir rejected nomination papers of pro-independence candidates for state assembly elections, saying that they refused to declare allegiance to Pakistan. The elections for the 40-member Parliament of Pakistani Kashmir, part of the disputed Himalayan region called Azad Kashmir, are scheduled for July 5.