News Timeline: East Asia 2005

 

January 9: Philippines

About 200 Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) separatists attack the Philippine army on the southern island of Mindanao. The fighting is the worst since a truce was concluded 17 months ago. The clashes come a month before planned peace talks between both sides in Malaysia.

January 14: Singapore/Malaysia

With the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea acting as the arbitrator, Malaysia and Singapore reach an agreement in a dispute over Singapore’s land reclamation project in the Johor Straits. Under the agreement, Singapore will continue its reclamation works, but it will cooperate with Malaysia to ensure navigational safety and environmental protection of the water passage. Singapore embarked on the project in order to accommodate its expanding population.

January 21: China/Grenada

China announces that it has reestablished diplomatic relations with Grenada during a meeting between the foreign ministers of both countries. Grenada was one of 27 countries, mainly from Africa and Latin America, which maintained relations with Taiwan. Taiwan accuses China of paying millions of dollars in aid to countries that switch their allegiances from Taipei to Beijing.

January 26: Indonesia

About 130 schools reopen in Indonesian Aceh province in an effort to bring normality to the region devastated in the Indian Ocean tsunami in December 2004. An estimated 1,700 elementary school teachers and 35 percent of school-age children are dead or missing in the region.

January 29: China

China and Taiwan resume direct commercial flights for the first time in 55 years amid the political tensions between the two sides. Direct flights will ease the travel of at least 300,000 Taiwanese who live and work on the mainland. Taiwan banned flights to China half a century ago for security reasons.

February 6: Thailand

Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s ruling Thai Rak Thai party wins 375 of the 500 parliamentary seats, forming the country’s first democratic, single-party government. The opposition voices concerns that Thailand might become a parliamentary dictatorship. The prime minister, however, says the election results reflect the wishes of the people, and under the single-party rule, the government will be directly accountable to the people.

March 4: French Polynesia

French Polynesia’s parliament elects as president Oscar Temaru, the leader of the pro-independence movement, ending two decades of rule by pro-French Gaston Flosse. Temaru promises that independence from France will happen only with the people’s support, but it is not his main priority. France annexed the South Pacific territory in 1880.

March 10: China/Hong Kong

After eight years in power, Hong Kong’s chief executive, Tung Chee-hwa, steps down as the head of the government for health reasons and denies that he was dismissed by the Chinese government. Tung Chee-hwa faced increasing criticism over the state of the economy, his support for a controversial anti-subversion bill, and support for China’s attempts to limit democratic reforms in Hong Kong.

April 11: China

China and India sign a border agreement, resolving a long dispute over their Himalayan border. According to the deal, China officially gives up its claims to the state of Sikkim. Both countries also set a target of increasing annual bilateral trade to $30 billion by 2010.

May 1: Japan

Japan restarts economic aid to Pakistan for the first time since 1998 when it suspended aid in protest against Pakistan’s first nuclear tests. Pakistani President Prevez Musharraf assures Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi that Pakistan will help prevent nuclear proliferation.

May 2: China

Lien Chan, head of the opposition Taiwan’s Kuomintang Party (KMT), makes a historic visit to China. This is the first meeting between a Taiwanese party and the Chinese Communist Party since 1949. Lien meets with Chinese President Hu Jintao and signs a statement to promote an end to mutual hostilities. While Lian is received in China with excitement, he faces protests by pro-independence activists in Taiwan.

May 7: Myanmar

Three almost simultaneous bombs explode in Myanmar’s capital, Rangoon, killing at least 19 people. No group takes responsibility for the attacks, though the ruling junta and the democratic opposition each suggest the other’s involvement. This is the worst bombing in the city in years.

May 23: Mongolia

Mongolia elects a new president, Nambaryn Enkhbayar, with 53.4 percent of the vote. Like his predecessor, Enkhbayar, a member of the Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party (MPRP), is from Mongolia’s former Communist Party. The MPRP and the Democratic Party form a coalition in the current government.

May 25: Brunei

The absolute ruler of Brunei, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, reorganizes his cabinet, introducing younger and more reformist ministers. The Education Minister of 20 years loses his job for emphasizing Islamic education over science and technology. This shake-up is the biggest reform in Brunei since its independence in 1984.

June 7: China/Taiwan

Taiwan’s National Assembly votes for several constitutional reforms, including its own dissolution. The new laws cut the size of the assembly by half and make constitutional changes subject to referendum. Supporters say this strengthens Taiwan’s democracy, but China is concerned that the question of independence could be put in front of Taiwan’s voters.

June 13: East Timor

Australian peacekeepers leave East Timor, ending a six-year peacekeeping mission there. Australia sent about 5,000 troops to the country in 1999, following the violence that ensued when East Timor voted for independence from Indonesia. A small number of Australian troops will remain to train the East Timorese army.

June 16: China/Hong Kong

China confirms Donald Tsang as new Chief Executive of Hong Kong. Tsang, who is popular in Hong Kong, has been the territory’s interim leader since China forced the resignation of the unpopular previous executive, Tung Chee-hwa. In Hong Kong, an election committee of 800 local leaders and notables nominate an executive whom Beijing may confirm or reject.

June 22: North Korea/South Korea

For the first time in over a year, North Korea and South Korea hold ministerial talks. North Korea, facing a food crisis, requests more aid. South Korea wants to regularize dialog with the North to help reduce tensions on the peninsula.

June 22: Vietnam

Vietnam’s Prime Minister Phan Van Khai winds up a three-day official visit to the United States, the first by a Vietnamese communist leader. The Prime Minister met with President George W. Bush and with business leaders. Despite some misgivings over Vietnam’s human rights record, the Bush administration uses this trip to deepen its policy of engagement with Vietnam.

June 30: China

China’s top lawmaker, Sheng Huaren, warns that the country’s rapid economic growth and lack of adequate laws have contributed to water pollution, leaving more than 300 million people without clean drinking water. In March, a similar warning stated that more than 70 percent of China’s rivers and lakes were polluted.

July 13: Philippines

About 30,000 protesters march through the Philippines capital, Manila, demanding the resignation of President Gloria Arroyo, who is accused of rigging the 2004 elections. She also faces allegations that the members of her family profited from illegal gambling. Arroyo denies all accusations and says she will not step down.

July 17: China/Taiwan

The nationalist party in Taiwan, Kuomintang (KMT), elects as its new leader Ma Ying-jeou, who is also the mayor of Taipei. Ma won the election that was the KMT’s first since the party formed over a century ago. The KMT, which is Taiwan’s largest opposition party, favors better relations with China.

July 20: China

The United States Pentagon reports to Congress that China has built up a supply of up to 730 short-range missiles on the coast across from Taiwan. The Pentagon estimates that China’s military budget is near $90 billion, the largest budget in Asia and the third largest in the world after the U.S. and Russia.

July 26: Myanmar/Association of South East Asian Nations

At a meeting of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Laos, Myanmar agrees not to chair the ASEAN in 2006. ASEAN members want Myanmar to introduce democratic reform before chairing the organization, so as not to harm its reputation. This is a new assertiveness on the part of ASEAN members, who have previously maintained a policy of noninterference in other states’ domestic affairs.

August 15: Indonesia

The Indonesian government and separatist rebels in Aceh sign a peace deal in an effort to end decades of conflict. The Free Aceh Movement (GAM) agrees to disarm, and the government agrees to withdraw its non-essential military from the area. Indonesia also grants the rebels amnesty. At least 15,000 people have been killed in nearly 30 years of fighting between the two sides.

August 17: Japan

Defecting members of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party form the New People’s Party in opposition to Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi’s plan to reform the postal system. Koizumi recently dissolved the lower house of parliament after his reforms were rejected, calling for new elections in September. Proponents of the postal reforms say Japan Post with its great deposits needs to be privatized. The critics claim that this will lead to poorer postal service and great loss of jobs.

August 18: China

Russia and China engage in their first joint military exercises entitled Peace Mission 2005. The exercises involve amphibious and paratroop landing practice. The U.S. and Taiwan are monitoring the exercises, despite assurances from Russia and China that the exercises are not meant to intimidate. China views the island of Taiwan as a renegade province.

August 22: Cambodia

Cambodia’s main opposition Sam Rainsy Party concludes a six-month boycott of the parliament. Member of the Parliament Sam Rainsy initiated the boycott after he and his other colleagues were stripped of their immunity and accused of crimes such as defamation. Party members claim that they have ended the protest in order to speak out against corruption. Human rights activists have criticized the Cambodian government for attempting to suppress political dissent.

August 22: Myanmar

The Democratic Voice of Burma, a Burmese-language television station, starts broadcasts from Norway. Exiled Burmese citizens run what is Myanmar’s first independent news broadcast, free of state censorship and in active support of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Myanmar is ranked one of the world’s worst countries for media freedom.

September 1: China

China celebrates the fortieth anniversary of its regional government in Tibet. A top Chinese official, Jia Qinglin, leads a delegation to the region, while encouraging patriotism and battling secessionist efforts. Chinese troops entered Tibet in 1950, and formed a regional government there in 1965.

September 2: Vietnam

Vietnam grants amnesty to more than 10,000 prisoners to mark the country’s declaration of independence 60 years ago. In 1945, former leader Ho Chi Minh made the declaration on the day Japan surrendered in World War II. In a speech, President Tran Duc Luong highlights the challenges that Vietnam must overcome, including poverty, bureaucracy, and corruption.

September 6: Philippines

Congress in the Philippines votes against an impeachment bid of President Gloria Arroyo pushed by the opposition. Arroyo has been accused of corruption after phoning an election officer during the 2004 presidential election.

September 12: Japan

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi’s coalition government wins lower house elections, giving it a two-thirds majority in the new parliament. Koizumi dissolved the lower house and called elections after the upper house blocked his postal reforms. His new majority in the lower house enables Koizumi to override votes in the upper house and implement reforms.

September 13: Southeast Asia

Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, and Thailand initiate joint air patrols of the Malacca Strait. Piracy on the waterway is on the rise, with twenty-seven pirate attacks reported last year. The Malacca Strait carries half of the world’s oil and a quarter of its commerce, making it one of the world’s busiest sea lanes.

September 19: North Korea

In a breakthrough in the fourth round of six-party nuclear talks, North Korea agrees to give up its nuclear activities and rejoin the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). A day later, however, North Korea stipulates that it will not rejoin the NPT until it receives a civilian nuclear reactor, undermining the previous day’s agreement. Parties say they will try to resolve the issue before the next round of talks.

September 26: China/Hong Kong

Pro-democracy lawmakers from Hong Kong are allowed to participate in a legislative visit to Guangdong, China. A delegation of Hong Kong’s 60 legislators includes 25 pro-democracy advocates. Of those, 11 have been banned from the mainland for 16 years and are permitted entry as an exception. Chinese officials avoid discussions on democracy and the Tiananmen Square protests.

October 10: North Korea

North Korea celebrates the sixtieth anniversary of the ruling Workers Party. Leader Kim Jong Il presides over marches and other festivities in the capital, Pyongyang. Officials use the celebrations to emphasize their defiance of international pressure on North Korea to give up its nuclear weapon program.

October 14: Japan

Japan’s upper house of parliament approves the privatization of the country’s post office. The move will create the largest bank in the world, with more than $3 trillion in assets. Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi says the privatization will stimulate growth and open state sectors to greater competition. Critics of privatization fear the loss of services for residents in remote areas, as well as the loss of jobs.

October 19: China

China publishes its first ever white paper on democracy and reform, entitled “Building of Political Democracy in China,” which identifies a socialist political democracy, led by the ruling Workers Party, as the appropriate system for China. The document also admits that the country has many problems to address, including bureaucracy and corruption. Critics of the country argue that China’s recent economic development should coincide with greater political freedom and reform.

October 26: China

Senegal renews diplomatic relations with China, abandoning its ties with Taiwan. The country’s foreign ministry attributes the decision to a thorough assessment of the current global geopolitical situation. China does not recognize countries that maintain diplomatic relations with Taiwan.

October 28: China/North Korea

Chinese President Hu Jintao makes his first visit to North Korea since 2001 to discuss North Korea’s nuclear weapons program. North Korea agreed last month to give up nuclear weapons in exchange for aid and security guarantees. China is one of North Korea’s larger aid donors.

November 10: Indonesia

Azahari Husin, one of Asia’s most wanted men, dies in a police raid on a house in eastern Java, Indonesia. Husin is accused of being a master bomb maker for a radical Islamic group, Jemaah Islamiah (JI), and taking part in at least four major bombing attacks, including the one in Bali in 2002 that killed more than two hundred people. Azahari’s arrest is considered a major setback to JI.

November 22: Indonesia

The United States says it will restore military ties with Indonesia, six years after it imposed an arms embargo on the country in response to a massacre of more than two hundred pro-independence protesters in East Timor. Through increased relations, the U.S. rewards Indonesia’s reform efforts and its participation in the war on terror.

November 24: China

A huge plume of pollution in China’s Songhua River reaches the city of Harbin, leaving its 3.8 million residents unable to use the river’s water. The benzene contamination was caused by a plant explosion further upriver earlier in the month. It is expected that toxic water will reach Russia at the beginning of December, where authorities in the eastern region of Khabarovsk declare a state of emergency.

November 27: Myanmar

The ruling junta of Myanmar extends the house arrest of democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi for another year. Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy won 1990 elections in Myanmar, but the junta cancelled the results and remained in power. She has been under house arrest since May 2003.

December 14: East Asia Summit

Sixteen East Asian nations gather at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to establish a new regional forum, the East Asia Summit (EAS). The EAS will hold annual summits to cooperatively promote peace and economic growth among its members. The organization includes the countries of Southeast Asia, East Asia, India, Australia, and New Zealand.

December 15: China

Kazakhstan and China open a 620-mile long oil pipeline, which will provide China’s booming economy with oil from the Caspian Sea. The pipeline is the first one to surpass the Russian territory, which will give Kazakhstan significant leverage in negotiating future deals and marks Kazakhstan’s new phase as an oil exporter.

December 29: Indonesia

The last of 24,000 government soldiers sent to combat separatism in the Indonesian province of Aceh complete their withdrawal as part of a peace agreement with the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebels. The deal, reached soon after the December 2004 tsunami, calls for Acehnese to give up armed rebellion and for the Indonesian army to post only local soldiers in the province. In the last twenty-six years, more than 15,000 people have died in the Aceh conflict.