with the smugglers, when lion said sadly, what's your story. ready ready i mean, like numbers, women, especially and victims of vine incentives and take part and send us your story. we are chain always to understand this new culture. so you are not a visitor, not a guess. you want to become a citizen in phil migrants, your platform for reliable information. ah, this is did up the news asia coming up today in the shadow of the ukraine walk. taiwan assesses its defenses against the threads of a chinese invasion. but i, when he citizens are volunteering for weapons training and the government is pushing from military reforms. we look at typeface plans to repel any potential chinese attack and ask how likely beijing is to invade the island. and

high time for a change of thailand is done for its strict anti drugs laws. so what is behind the decision to legalize the growing and consumption of matter you are not ah, i british manager, welcome to d, w, news asia that you could join us. the warden ukraine has forced, i want to re focus on howard defends itself from a possible chinese envision in recent months. b jing has stepped up military guns into tie rod's air defense identifications on raising a lot levels on the island. taipei is now thinking of improving training for it's nearly 2000000. reserve force investing in specialized weapons and civil defense. and there's also a greater willingness among people to be prepared to take up weapons. should the

time come? ah, so yes, they are taiwanese civilians with a new purpose beyond their day jobs. they are regulars at a combat skills training academy. oh, the weaponry looks and feels authentic with the hardware in a country with strict gun ownership laws fires 6 millimeter rounds made of non lethal hard plastic as the war and ukraine has spurred debate about how taiwan should bolster its defences, including compulsory military service. people like so chun want to get out front. so chun is a tattoo artist by trade. he keeps a replica gun and a bullet proof vest in his office and figures should war come to taiwan as it has

in ukraine. people like him will be called up and handed real guns at some point and those her prepared people who aren't prepared and also those who are panicking . i think all those types will be there. i'm sure most people don't want to go to war. i also don't want to go to war, but in the unfortunate event it really happens. i'll be mentally prepared. housings and wear suit. chun is now that's where a travel guide chang woo wants to be. he's in an advanced beginner class, learning more about gripping a gun and moving with a weapon. say that it's only because of the ukraine more that i more urgently started feeling that threat from china. so i decided to gain some deeper knowledge about these defensive weapons. in the past before the war started, i was mostly interested in 1st aid, sissy, the brazilian. this has already been a trend in the last 2 years since chinese fighter jets started flying close to

taiwan. there's been an increase. and after the ukraine war started, the numbers of tripled or quadrupled. more and more people are coming to take part . the so called air soft guns are used for competition, sport, and taiwan. a simulation of real combat. the preference of course, is that these students use their new skills only in future simulations even games. but they're gaining confidence that they'll be ready. should the games to real and jeremy, not for more from taipei is wendy. so he lecture that cameras in your college of asia and the pacific. mr. so how high is the threat of a chinese invasion of taiwan with a war going on in your grain? at the moment, a thing the common assessment is that it's on a low side, at least for this year. and the readings are a couple. first and foremost, it's straightforward, it's less than funder ukraine conflict. we can see fund that even for great power

like russia. it's proven to be medically challenging and difficult to take down ukraine with ease. now, how one has the additional natural defense in terms of the power straight making any of asian a, necessarily. and phoebe as one which is much more complicated to maneuver in china, learning from that in china. i was thinking, i better make sure that i have everything prepared before i give it a try. so i think there is confidence at the moment that is for now. that will be stability and tell much great. what about taiwan preparations? what is taiwan strategy to counter a possible chinese invasion whenever it comes men of the chinese field, they are ready for one, if at all frowning taiwan strategy are, i guess both domestic and diplomatic domestic front is of course got help. those who held themselves right? so i think i was trying to pursue greater as the magic defense capability. so for

example, laughing, how wants defense building is moving away from buying big ticket items like warships, for example. and stat is trying to focus on smaller defense acids. things like drones, for example, or coastal defense me solve, reduced income in china warships, as well as things like c mines. for example. these are for the cheaper smaller items that i can buy from the cheap, but they are now less very factors for defense purposes. if i were to add another point onto that and they'll be a focus on civil defense, tell want if they ministry just announce a new civilian defense handbook. a couple months ago to try to harmonize standardized understanding of what to do during war time, emergency where to the average member of public go, for example, to get resources and how do sort of improve your capacity the joy to convert into

a fighting force at a moment's notice, shoot a moment close for it. right. and what is a tie? one's assessment of chinese military preparedness, particularly it's naval capability to cross the taiwan straits to attack at the moment, i think it's pretty clear that china does have conventional enable superiority over taiwan. what china still needs to developed before you can be confident of success in the crossjay conflict scenario is that china needs a stronger, and phoebe, as lending transport capacity. so it's easier for china to fly the airplanes over to tie one atlas launch in big warship towards time one to actually make a occupation happen. you would need to have a whole lot of transport like a move to soldiers onto the how want occupied. and that's the part i still need to work on for a few more years before that can be short of

a success nation. right. so i would just like to bring in another topic involving china now and chinese naval capability. one that is raising concerns, especially in the u. s. i live this week, china and can bodya officially began work on the expansion of naval base facing the gulf of thailand and adjacent to the south, tennessee of the us fears that this could provide aging the strategically important when a treat outpost in the region both and beijing have been careful to say it will not to present a threat. let's quickly listen to what the chinese ambassador had to say. don't go you handled this project as a result of mutual respect and equal consultation in line with the laws of both countries and relevant international laws and practices. it is not targeted at any 3rd party and will assist even closer cooperation between the 2 militaries, better fulfillment of international obligations and the provision of international public goods. mr. so you probably have of the chinese ambassador said, but,

but he's essentially saying it appears that no one has anything to worry about is that machines that will go down well in the region thing with growth in chinese military power, there will naturally be a increase in concern in asia pacific brawley about what china in can do with the increasing capability. and certainly historically, china was always talk about how you have no intention to viewed military base abroad. we knew that the devote their 1st white in your booty in africa and nowadays expanding to southeast asia, much closer to home, the china for, for that matter necessarily, i think the regional state will be concerned about if you don't intend to do anything about it, why would you spend resources on acquiring the 1st place? so on that basis of income asian countries are watching very closely at the moment . and it's just

a matter of particular concern given that china's militarization of the the island in tennessee i think so, and i think that's a major concern to us. the southeast asian countries i'm paying attention to being that naturally connects to freedom of navigation in southeast asia. as maritime fishery and others, maritime territory claims the whole concern stuff is asian countries a lot. so that's a factor that up in the regions, paying close attention to any remains to be seen, what china intend to do with that new axis, right? we'll leave it there. for the time being, but always a pleasure talking to you about the song from the in your college of asia and the pacific. thank you so much for joining us today. thanks for having me. ah, thailand has become the 1st asian country to legalize growing and consumption of

mattie wanna smoking it remains band though, grow as will have to register with the government and when offered in food or drink its strength will have to be limited. the aim is to give a boost to the agriculture sector and no one has a problem with that. i. there's plenty of public interest and a triumphant 1st customer with options resembling a fast food menu, closely scrutinizing the product. wow. oh, and buying some apparel as well. to mark the occasion. geneva monsanto. i got here last night after work i showered and took the bus. i knew the shop was still closed, so i waited with some beers and watched the staff getting ready. i wanted to

witness the beginning of change will be the hot. i'm glad. now i got it got limp on, but too much change is not what authorities want. it wasn't. the cannabis on sale is low potency, and people are being warned against smoking in public and creating a stink violations can bring fines and even jail and beyond the head shops, getting lit is not something everyone approves of ah young lives at wow. i think i made my mom and i feel like tie people are not fully ready for the legalization because people do not properly understand the use of cannabis when they can be. that's why they need to be educated on how to use kind of it. and also the limitations because as we all know, it could cause more harm than benefit. there are also concerns about unwonted drug tourism that bangkok could become an asian amsterdam, others are less worried. i just think that he's got

a lot more to offer than just made out despite cannabis. mother is a beautiful, beautiful part of the world and thought, i think kenneth candidates may legalize, would make me come any more. so for better or worse, thailand's cannabis experiment is open for business. and as high hopes as well, that's it for today, there's more from the region on our website delivery dot com forward slash asia as ever you can follow us on facebook and twitter, you tomorrow. the by ah, we'll go to the dark side where intelligence agencies are pulling the strings. there was a before 911 and an after 911. he says after $911.00, the clubs came off. were organized crime rules.

were conglomerates make their own laws? works through us. they it doesn't matter. the only criteria is worked. we'll hook people. we shed light on the opaque world who's behind the benefits. and why are they a threat to a soul o peak worlds this week on d, w? ah, a blockade keeps ukrainian exports locked in while western sanctions keep supplies out of russia. we examine the impact also on the show, india is fresh from raising interest rates as fall out from russia's warm makes

prices skyrocket. there too. will india stay neutral towards moscow? i made its own economic pain and the global energy supply crunch has the republic of congo saying it can step into how this is dw business. i'm janelle de milan on welcome. ukrainian president vladimir lansky has warned that blockaded ukraine. grain stalks can triple by autumn, leading to starvation for millions across the globe. he estimates that number could grow up to 75000000 tons from the current 20 to 20 eyes. 1000000 that are blocked. his warning comes after russia said it would allow ukrainian green exports to leave a via the black sea on wednesday as rude to out for ukraine in grain remain blocked. supply route to russia have also been complicated by western sanctions. here's a look at how that's affecting life inside the con.