A 7.1 magnitude earthquake struck near the Moluccas Islands in Indonesia, triggering a tsunami alert that was later lifted. In other Indonesia news, police are searching for a cleric who they say radicalized the suicide bomber in the recent Medan attack. Meanwhile in Thailand, Prime Minister Prayut will meet with coalition party leaders to patch up recent rifts amid an upcoming no-confidence debate. Police in the Philippines detained over 300 people from China and other countries suspected of involvement in online scams.

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Major Developments in East Asia Pacific,
Friday, November 15, 2019
Location Map
INDONESIA
1. 7.1-magnitude quake jolts Moluccas. A 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck near Moluccas Islands
before midnight last night. The quake had its epicenter in the sea 139 km northwest of the City of
Ternate with a depth of 35 km. A tsunami alert was announced but it was lifted about two hours later.
More than 20 aftershocks have occurred. There was an electricity blackout after the quake. There have
been no reports of damage or casualties in the area.
2. Cleric who radicalized Medan bomber hunted. Indonesia’s police and anti-terror units are on the
hunt for a cleric following the November 13 suicide bombing in Medan. Authorities said the cleric
influenced the “lone wolf” bomber who attacked the Medan police station. Police said they have
identified the identity of the cleric. They said they had searched the cleric’s house in the Belawan area
but he was nowhere to be found. Meanwhile, global think tank Terrorism Research and Analysis
Consortium claimed that the 24-year-old Medan attacker pledged allegiance to the new Islamic State
leader before committing the assault. The suicide bomber is thought to have carried out the attack by

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himself but police are looking for any possible connections to Islamic State-linked Jamaah Ansharut
Daulah.
THAILAND
3. Prayut moves to patch up coalition rift. Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha will soon meet with
leaders of the parties making up the ruling coalition. Prayut is seen as seeking to patch up recent rifts
among the Palang Pracharat-led coalition leaders. The meeting will come ahead of a no-confidence
debate in parliament against the government. The row stemmed from allegation that the main coalition
party, Palang Pracharat, had “back-stabbed” Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob, the secretary-
general of Bhumjaithai Party. Palang Pracharat executive and Digital Economy Minister
Buddhipongse Punnakanta denied this. Bumjhatithai had alleged that some Palang Pracharat figures
were behind a move by a media outlet to attack Saksayam over alleged irregularities. Buddhipongse
also said that Palang Pracharat and its coalition partners are ready for the no-confidence debate
expected in December.
4. 176 kg of crystal meth bound for Japan seized. Anti-narcotics officers have seized 176 kg of
crystal methamphetamine stashed in a shipment bound for Japan. On November 12, officers at
Suvarnabhumi airport found 36 kg of crystal meth hidden in exercise equipment among air cargo
headed for Japan. The discovery enabled the officers to track the shipment back to the warehouse.
During the raid on the warehouse, authorities found a further 140 kg of crystal meth inside the frames
of 10 treadmills. One person was arrested after the raid. The police, however, believe more suspects
were involved. Thailand is a major trafficking route for crystal meth manufactured in Myanmar’s Shan
and Kachin states.
MALAYSIA
5. PKR tense again over youth congress. Tensions flared anew in the ruling Parti Keadilan Rakyat
(PKR) amid continuing uncertainties in the Mahathir-Anwar transition deal. Fresh rifts are evolving
between party people backing its president, Anwar Ibrahim, and those supporting his rival, Economic
Affairs Minister Azmin Ali. The PKR Youth had withdrawn an invitation to Azmin to officiate its
annual congress. Azmin claimed that there was a “hidden hand” behind that move. PKR Youth Chief
Akmal Nasrullah Mohamad Nasir countered by saying Azmin is the real “hidden hand” destroying the
party. He cited Azmin’s failure to attend any of the party’s leadership council or political bureau
meetings as a reason for withdrawing the invitation. “If he thinks he can be so powerful to shun party
meetings, he no longer possesses the characteristics of a PKR leader,” Akmal said.

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MYANMAR
6. Two economic ministries to be combined. The Myanmar government has announced plans to
combine the Ministry of Industry and Ministry of Planning and Finance into a single ministry. The
merger is proposed by President U Win Myint. A Union-level representative from the government will
explain the plan to the parliament in order to seek its approval. The planned merger was in line with
the government’s aim to streamline the bureaucracy and cut costs.
PHILIPPINES
7. Military chief orders manhunt for Islamic State foreign militants. Armed Forces Chief of Staff
Gen. Noel Clement ordered an intensified manhunt for five foreign members of the Islamic State
believed hiding with local Abu Sayyaf militants in Sulu province. The order came a week after security
forces killed three militants, including two Egyptian suicide bombers, in Indanan town, Sulu. The
marching order to the soldiers is to capture all the foreign terrorists, Clement said in Zamboanga City.
Clement was in the city to assess the regional security in the southern Philippines.
8. More than 300 Chinese deported, 36 Japanese detained over alleged online scam. Philippine
authorities deported 312 Chinese nationals suspected of being involved in an online scam syndicate
that targets people in China. The Chinese were among 512 foreigners arrested on November 9 in raids
in Pasay City, south of Manila. The others were from Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Taiwan and
Vietnam. Police in Manila have also detained 36 Japanese men over an alleged phone scam targeting
people in Japan. The group is believed to have operated from several locations in the Philippines,
immigration sources said.
CAMBODIA
9. Hun Senfrees more than 70 opposition activists. Prime Minister Hun Sen has ordered the release
on bail of more than 70 opposition activists detained in recent weeks. The activists were accused of
helping Hun Sen’s arch-rival, Sam Rainsy, plot a coup. Hun Sen said the release is “for the sake of
national unity,” adding that they had been cheated by Rainsy. The announcement came days after
Cambodia eased restrictions on another opposition leader, Kem Sokha. Sokha has been detained since
2017 for conspiring with a foreign power to overthrow the Hun Sen government. Sokha is now free to
travel within Cambodia but cannot engage in politics. Rainsy is now in Jakarta, flying there from Kuala
Lumpur. He was supposed to come back to Cambodia last November 9, but he was blocked from
boarding in Paris.

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10. Sam Rainsy in Jakarta, planning next moves. Exiled opposition leader Sam Rainsy arrived in
Jakarta, Indonesia yesterday. He said he was set to meet some of the country’s lawmakers and civil
society groups. He is planning how to return to Cambodia at the earliest possible time. He wants to
continue his mission to lead a movement to bring down the Hun Sen government.
CHINA
11. China says holding ‘in-depth’ talks with US on first phase of trade deal. The Chinese
commerce ministry said China and the United States are holding “in-depth” discussions for a first trade
agreement. Ministry Spokesman Gao Feng said cancelling tariffs is an important condition to reaching
a deal. “China has emphasized many times that the trade war began with additional tariffs and should
end with the cancellation of additional tariffs,” said Gao. “If both sides reach a ‘phase one’ deal, the
degree of tariff cancellation should fully reflect the importance of the phase one deal; and its
importance should be appraised by both sides together,” Gao added.
12. Hong Kong protesters threaten ‘one country, two systems’ principle—Xi. Chinese President
Xi Jinping said yesterday that protests in Hong Kong threaten the “one country, two systems” principle
governing the semi-autonomous city. Xi repeated China’s unwavering support for the Hong Kong
government and police. Speaking at a summit in Brasilia, Brazil, Xi said “stopping violence and
controlling chaos while restoring order is currently Hong Kong’s most urgent task.”
13. Reports of curfew denied; Hong Kong in partial shutdown as protests continue. The
government of Hong Kong issued a statement yesterday denying widespread media reports that it was
planning to implement curfew. The government said the “rumors are totally unfounded.” Meanwhile,
police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters yesterday, on the fourth straight day of their strike.
Protests continued across the territory amid transportation shutdowns. Large numbers of protesters
gathered in the Central business district. Students also re-established barricades at university
campuses.
NORTH KOREA
14. US offer of December talks rejected. North Korea said it had thumbed down a proposed
denuclearization talk with the United States next month. Kim Myong Gil, the North’s negotiator, said
the North rejected the offer. We are uninterested in more talks aimed at “appeasing us” ahead of a
year-end deadline we set for the US to show more flexibility in negotiations. Kim had met with his US
counterpart, Stephen Biegun, in Stockholm last month. However, the two sides came out empty
handed, with Kim saying the US had not offered any new approach.

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AUSTRALIA
15. Lack of rains to prolong bushfire threat in Australia. The official weather forecasts for
Australia yesterday were predicting no substantial rains for at least three months. The weather forecasts
are bad news for firefighters still battling more than 100 bushfires across the east coast as of yesterday.
Firefighters said the blazes will burn for more weeks without significant rain. The Bureau of
Meteorology said there is just 25% chance that Australia’s east coast will receive average rainfall
between December 1 and February 28. There is more than 80% chance that temperatures will exceed
average levels over the next three months.