Chronologies
US - Southeast Asia
Chronology from Oct 2002 to Dec 2002
: Philippines President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo announces her decision not to contest the 2004 presidential election.
: The Cambodian government announces a delegation will be sent to New York in January 2003 to restart negotiations to establish an international tribunal to investigate the Khmer Rouge regime’s crimes against humanity during the late 1970s.
: A bomb explodes in Cotabato, Philippines outside the home of the mayor of a small town, killing him and 12 other people.
: Myanmar’s Supreme Court upholds the Sept. 2002 death sentences against relatives of the late former dictator Ne Win (his son-in-law, Aye Zaw Win, and three grandsons: Aye Ne Win, Kyaw Ne Win and Zwe Ne Win ) for treason and attempting to overthrow the government.
: A Cambodian court convicts and sentences former Khmer Rouge commander Sam Bith to life in prison for the July 1994 abduction and murder of three tourists.
: The Canadian government announces it will reopen on Dec. 30 its embassy in the Philippines that has been closed since November.
: Burma’s military ruler, Gen. Than Shwe, visits Bangladeshi Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The two agree to consider establishing direct road links.
: Retired U.S. Pacific Command Chief Admiral Dennis Blair suggests that ASEAN and ASEAN Regional Forum should “move from summits to secretariats, from talk to permanent and competent staffs,” at an Asia-Pacific security conference in Singapore.
: Ne Win, the former military dictator of Burma, dies while under house arrest in Rangoon at the age of 91.
: PM Mahathir and Indonesian military chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto separately warn that any preemptive strike by Australian forces against terrorists on their soil would be perceived as an act of war.
: East Timor declares a state of emergency after a massive student riot in which approximately five people were killed and the prime minister’s house was destroyed in a fire.
: Japan, the U.S., EU, and the World Bank host Aceh reconstruction conference in Tokyo.
: Australian PM John Howard states in interview that Australia would be prepared to launch a preemptive strike on another country as a measure of last resort to fight terrorism.
: Indonesia’s human rights court acquits four former security officers (including Lt. Col. Endar Priyanto, former army commander for the East Timor capital Dili) of crimes against humanity in East Timor.
: Canada, Australia, and the European Union (EU) close diplomatic missions in the Philippines indefinitely after receiving information about imminent attacks.
: Bishop Carlos Ximenes Belo of East Timor, a Nobel peace laureate, announces his resignation.
: Former pro-Jakarta militia leader Eurico Guterres is found guilty of crimes against humanity during a 1999 massacre in East Timor and is sentenced to 10 years in prison for an attack on the home of a pro-independence campaigner in which 12 people were killed.
: Malaysian authorities arrest four suspected members of Islamic militant group Jemaah Islamiyah.
: President Bush pledges to work with the U.S. Congress for an additional $10 million in Foreign Military Financing (FMF) of U.S. Department of Defense goods and services to the Philippines.
: The U.S. and the Philippine sign the Mutual Logistics Support Agreement, a five-year military logistics agreement in Manila.
: U.S. Trade Representative Robert B. Zoellick announces the U.S. and Singapore have nearly completed negotiations for a free trade agreement.
: Philippines officials arrest suspected member of Abu Sayyaf whom they believe responsible for bombings in Zamboanga City in the southern Philippines.
: UN envoy to Burma Razali Ismail meets Burma’s top leader Gen. Than Shwe and NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi during a five-day visit.
: The government of the Malaysian state of Kedah announces it will install video cameras and recording devices in mosques to deter political sermons.
: ASEAN-China meeting in Cambodia; China signs a nonbinding South China Sea Code of Conduct. Thailand’s Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai signs agreement calling for joint combat against terrorism and other transnational crimes between Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Cambodia.
: Senior military leaders from 22 countries meet in Singapore to discuss regional cooperation on issues such as terrorism and drug trafficking.
: APEC Leaders’ Statement on Fighting Terrorism and Promoting Growth is issued. President Bush issues request to Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi that Malaysia host a regional counterterrorism training center.
: Bomb on bus kills three people in Manila, Philippines.
: Terrorist bombing in Kuta Beach, Bali, kills 184, injures 132.
: Six hundred U.S. soldiers participate in the U.S.-Philippines joint military exercise “Talon-Vision 2” in Luzon, Philippines.
: Burmese military junta releases 31 prisoners, including seven members of the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD), one month before the United Nations human rights envoy visits.
: Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad initiates bankruptcy proceedings against former deputy PM Anwar Ibrahim, who is currently serving a 15-year sentence for abuse of power and sex offenses.
: A bomb explodes in a crowded bus station in the southern Philippines, killing at least eight people and wounding 19 others in Kidapawan City, in North Cotabato province, Philippines.
: Australia’s Foreign Minister (FM) Alexander Downer visits Burma and meets with the ruling military junta and later with pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
: Soldiers from Australia’s elite Special Air Service are accused of having carried out illegal executions during UN operations in East Timor.