Top Asian News 3:07 a.m. GMT

Why Indonesia’s new military law is alarming pro-democracy activists and rights groups

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia’s Parliament unanimously voted to pass a controversial revision of its military law on Thursday that will allow military officers to serve in more government posts without resigning from the armed forces, despite growing opposition from pro-democracy and rights groups who see it as a threat to the country’s young democracy. In a plenary session, all eight political parties represented in Parliament backed the bill. The House of Representatives is largely controlled by parties supporting President Prabowo Subianto, a former army general with ties to the country’s dictatorial past. Currently, active military officers can only serve in ministries or state institutions related to security, defense or intelligence under a landmark 2004 law that reduced the military’s role in civil affairs.

North Korea says it tested new missiles as it threatens strong steps against US-South Korea drills

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea said Friday it test-launched new anti-aircraft missiles, as its military threatened unspecified grave steps against the U.S. and South Korea over their joint military drills that it views as an invasion rehearsal. The official Korean Central News Agency said that leader Kim Jong Un oversaw the tests Thursday and called the missiles involved “another major defense weapons system” for North Korea. The missile launches, North Korea’s sixth weapons testing activity this year, occurred on the same day that the U.S. and South Korean militaries concluded their annual Freedom Shield command post exercise. The 11-day training was the allies’ first major joint military exercises since the inauguration of President Donald Trump in January, and the two countries held diverse field training exercises alongside the Freedom Shield drills.

A Texas robotics company gets approval to search for MH370 in a new part of the Indian Ocean

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysia’s government has given final approval for a Texas-based marine robotics company to renew the search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, which is believed to have crashed in the southern Indian Ocean more than a decade ago. Cabinet ministers agreed to terms and conditions for a “no-find, no-fee” contract with Texas-based Ocean Infinity to resume the seabed search operation at a new 15,000-square-kilometer (5,800-square-mile) site in the ocean, Transport Minister Anthony Loke said in a statement Wednesday. Ocean Infinity will be paid $70 million only if wreckage is discovered. The Boeing 777 plane vanished from radar shortly after taking off on March 8, 2014, carrying 239 people, mostly Chinese nationals, on a flight from Malaysia’s capital, Kuala Lumpur, to Beijing.

China calls for protections for students in US after congressional panel demands data from colleges

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Beijing on Thursday demanded protections for Chinese students in the U.S. after a congressional panel asked six American universities to hand over a large amount of detailed information on their Chinese students, citing national security concerns. A letter sent to the universities, including Stanford and Carnegie Mellon, alleged that the Chinese government was embedding researchers in top American institutions to gain direct access to sensitive technologies. In response, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Chinese students account for about one-quarter of all international students in the U.S. and that their activities have promoted “the economic prosperity and technological development of the U.S.” “This is in the interest of both parties,” Mao told reporters at a daily briefing.

Taiwan’s president says the defense budget will exceed 3% of GDP in military overhaul

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwanese President William Lai Ching-te said Thursday that the island’s defense budget will exceed 3% of its economic output as it overhauls its military in the face of the rising threat from China. Along with the latest equipment — much of it from the United States, the military is seeking funds to retain more service people with higher pay and to lengthen compulsory national service from four months to one year. In a speech Thursday to the American Chamber of Commerce, Lai said his administration is determined to “ensure that our defense budget exceeds 3% of the GDP.

Indonesia’s Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki volcano erupts, prompting alert level to be raised

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — The Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki volcano in south-central Indonesia erupted three times into Friday, sending an ash column 8,000 meters (26,200 feet) high and prompting authorities to expand the danger zone around the volcano. Information on evacuations was not immediately available. The volcano on the remote island of Flores in East Nusa Tenggara province has had hundreds of earthquakes and visible volcanic activity has significantly increased in the last seven days. Authorities raised the eruption alert to the highest level and expanded the danger zone from 7 kilometers (4.5 miles) to 8 kilometers (5 miles) from the crater.

Muslims with tattoo regrets flock to a free removal service during Ramadan

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Teguh Islean Septura groans in pain as each staccato rat-a-tat-tat of the laser fires an intense beam at the elaborate tattoos on his arm. But the former musician’s determination to “repent” in the holy month of Ramadan is enough to keep him going. The 30-year-old guitarist got his back, arms and legs tattooed to “look cool” when he was performing in a band. But these days Septura has a newfound zeal for Islam, including the conviction that Muslims should not alter the body that God gave them. “As humans, sometimes we make mistakes. Now I want to improve myself by moving closer to God,” Seputra said, as a health worker aimed the white laser wand at Septura’s skin, blasting the red, green and black pigments with its penetrating light.

Man gets prison in US for helping pressure Chinese expat to return home

NEW YORK (AP) — A real estate businessman who aided a Chinese effort to pressure an expatriate to return home has been sentenced to over a year in a U.S. prison. U.S. prosecutors say Quanzhong An’s activities were part of the Chinese government’s “Operation Fox Hunt,” which Beijing says is about pursuing people who have fled justice. Washington sees it as transnational repression, a term for governments working to silence dissenters beyond their borders. “Quanzhong An acted at the direction of the (Chinese) government to harass and intimidate individuals living on U.S. soil as part of a pernicious scheme to force their repatriation,” Brooklyn-based U.S.

30 years after deadly Tokyo subway gassing, survivors and victims’ families still seeking closure

TOKYO (AP) — Thirty years on from the fatal sarin nerve gas attack in Tokyo’s subway network, survivors and families who lost loved ones are still seeking justice. Thirteen people were killed and thousands were sickened when cult members released sarin nerve gas in the capital’s subway trains on March 20, 1995. The attack remains one of the most shocking atrocities in Japan, a country known for its low crime rates. The cult, Aum Shinrikyo or Supreme Truth, has since disbanded. Its founder, Shoko Asahara, and 12 of his disciples were executed in 2018. But 1,600 former members still operate under renamed groups and have ignored an order to pay damages to survivors and bereaved families.

Australian prosecutors drop assault charge against Papua New Guinea minister

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Australian prosecutors on Thursday dropped a charge against a Papua New Guinea government minister accused of assaulting a woman in Sydney. Petroleum Minister Jimmy Maladina had pleaded not guilty to the charge of assault occasioning actual bodily harm. The charge carries a potential maximum of five years in prison. Prosecutors withdrew the charge in a Sydney court, where the 58-year-old had appeared to deny the allegation that he attacked a 31-year-old woman on July 6 last year at an address near Bondi Beach in the city’s expensive eastern suburbs, court records show. Maladina was seen smiling with his lawyer, Margaret Cunneen, after a magistrate dismissed the charge.