Indian Defence Minister visits Australia, Singapore and Thailand; Naval hotline between China and Vietnam established; Indonesian government to grant China preferential treatment in handling horticultural import rules;
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    • Indian Defence Minister A K Antony is heading for a tour of Singapore, Thailand and Australia during a three-day tour starting June 3, 2013. The visit has come just days after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s tour of Japan and Thailand where strategic relations and expanding of military ties were high on the agenda. Thailand has come into focus after Singh’s visit and interest from Thailand for military cooperation and procurement of defence equipment.1

    According to reports, China and Vietnam have agreed to set up a Hotline between their navies amid escalating maritime tensions over the disputed South China Sea islands. The Defence Ministries of China and Vietnam have agreed to establish a naval hotline. The move came at time when the two countries experienced tensions over the disputed islands in South China Sea over which China has already started exercising its control with heavy deployment of its maritime vessels.2

    Reports noted that the Indonesian government is planning to grant China preferential treatment in coping with Indonesian horticultural import rules, in return for a reopening of the Chinese market for Indonesian products that have been barred from the East Asian country. The plan to give special import treatment to China emerged last week with the signing of a protocol on plant quarantine requirements for the export of snake fruit. The protocol was hailed by Suswono and China’s General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine Minister Zhi Suping during the latter’s visit.3

    In other developments, according to reports, Indian airlines can now operate flights to Myanmar as the country has granted traffic rights to India-based carriers paving the way for air connectivity between the nations. The fifth freedom rights allow airline carry revenue traffic between countries as a part of services connecting the airline’s own country. At present, there is no direct air connectivity between India and Myanmar. Indian private carrier SpiceJet has expressed interest to fly from Delhi to Dhaka, continuing on to Yangon.4

    Reports noted that the World Economic Forum on East Asia took place on June 6, in the Myanmar's administrative capital Naypyitaw. The leaders of Myanmar, Vietnam and Laos joined Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum, to open the Asian edition of the prestigious forum.5

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