welcome to nhk world lyon. leaders from asean have been meting in the cambodian capital of fom pen. sooep is under pressure to show it can remain united in the face of china's growing influence. patchari raksawong reports from phnom penh. patchari? asean leaders have ended their closely watched meeting with china on the south china sea issue. both sides have agreed on the need to take concrete action

towards establishing legally binding rules to resolve territorial disputes. however, they failed to make a concrete schedule for when that minor league happen. asean leaders met with chinese premier wen jiabao on monday evening. the south china sea is a contentious issue in part because the area is believed to hold rich natural resources. vietnam and the philippines have claimed other parts of the sea. they are strongly in favor of a legally binding code of conduct, or coc. but china seems reluctant. it apparently believes the coc will limit its maritime activities. before the talks, a chinese government spokesperson said asean should have more important issues to deal with. >> translator: first of all, asean nations should take appropriate measures in order to make progress in the region. they should focus on how they can boost their economic growth.

>> now, after the meeting, indones indonesia's foreign minister told reporters that asean and china agreed on the need to take concrete action towards establishing legally binding rules to resolve territorial disputes in the south china sea. however, it seems they failed to agree on when this might happen. and china appears to have a two-pronged strategy when it comes to dealing with asean. it has taken a firm stance against the claims of countries like the philippines and vietnam to islands in the south china sea. but elsewhere, china is using its economic and cultural influence to win friends, including here in cambodia. the cambodian economy relies on china. nearly half of overseas investment over the past five years has come from china. chinese-funded buildings and

roads are everywhere. at this market in central phnom penh from clothes to food, most of the goods on sale are imported from china. eight chinese language newspapers are published in cambodia, and it isn't only workers from china who read them. >> translator: chinese newspapers help me understand china well. as a student of chinese, i also find them useful through learning. >> more and more cambodians are learning chinese. about 50 chinese language schools operate in the country with instructors dispatched from china. >> translator: my mission is to teach chinese culture to people in cambodia. i contribute to deeper bilateral relations.

>> translator: if i can speak chinese, i can get the good job and my future will be bright. >> the philippines is one country in direct disagreement with china over the south china sea. contested islands include the shoal, the site of a tense standoff this year. but even in the philippines, chinese pressure appears increasingly hard to resist. nhk world's charmaine deogracias reports. >> reporter: this philippine resort rarely accepts chinese anymore. they stopped sending chinese tour groups here, citing safety concerns. philippine banana exports to china have been suspended after china tightened quarantine inspections. it says insects were found in the fruit.

the move stoked opposition to china in the philippines. at the u.n. general assembly, the philippine government sought support for its position. >> translator: we believe in mediation and other forms of third-party dispute settlement, including judicial settlement. >> reporter: the philippines started preparing to bring its case to the international tribunal for the law of the sea. but it failed to win international support. the plan risked further provoking china. the philippine government is not proceeding with it for now. strained relations have started to hurt the philippine economy, so the government is trying to mend fences with china. >> undergoing a transition where hopefully there will be less nationalistic pressures. >> reporter: china has also softened its position.

vice foreign minister in charge of asian affairs fu ying visited manila last month. she delivered to aquino a message from president hu jintao that said china values friendly bilateral relations. an expert says china's strained relations with japan over the senkaku islands in the east china sea is behind the apparent shift in its stance towards the philippines. >> there are two areas where it has to -- cannot deal with it simultaneously, then it has to resolve first the other. >> reporter: the policy shift opened the door to the return of chinese tourists to resorts in the philippines. chinese travel agencies resumed group tours in late october for the first time in five months. china's banana inspections were

eased, and exports are recovering. but near the disputed scarborough shoal, the situation remains largely unchanged. china continues to dispatch surveillance ships to the area even after the philippines withdrew its own vessels. a former senior official of the philippine foreign ministry warns that the current diplomatic approach could force the country to give up the shoal. >> we must regain access to the area. otherwise, the risk of it completely is there. >> we're joined now by nhk world's pin janda who is covering the meetings here in phnom penh.

now, pin, monday's sessions unveiled its new leadership headed by xi jinping. has there been any indication of a change of policy going forward? >> china's new officials are moved to be sworn in next month, so china is now in a transition period. as much as possible it wants to avoid trouble with its neighbor. there were signs of that during monday's meeting. for now, they seem to be sticking to the existing diplomatic policies of outgoing president hu jintao. but it gives the new generation time to strengthen its support base. >> now, as we saw in the previous reports, china's influence in southeast asia continues to spread. how will asean deal with china in the future? >> the host nation, cambodia, has taken out the sensitivity to china that contrasts with the

philippines and vietnam, which held e specific territorial dils pults. asean has a goal of creating a market of more than 500 million people among its ten members. that would make them a powerful player in the global economy. to get there, asean needs to remain united. another question is asean's relationship with the u.s. the obama administration has a policy of working to counter the rise of china. how asean nations take part in that policy shift may have an impact. cambodia isn't the only country to feel the impact of china's spreading influence. economic, political, and military. if asean wants to cooperate with its neighbor on the equal footing, member states need to remain united and work with the

united states. >> thank you very much, indeed, for that. speaking there to nhk world's phin chanda. u.s. president barack obama arrived here in cambodia on monday evening to attend the two-day east asia summit. on tuesday, he'll hold bilateral meetings with leaders including the prime minister of japan and the chinese premier as well. now, how will the united states respond to the growing presence of china here in southeast asia? well, we'll keep you updated as these delicate discussions continue. i'm patchari raksawong reporting from phnom penh. patchari, thanks. barack obama made history before he arrived in cambodia. he became the first sitting u.s. president to visit myanmar. obama praised the country's transition to democracy, but he called for more reforms. obama met with president thein sein. he referred to the nation for the first time in public as

myanmar. the name made official by the military. the u.s. government usually calls it burma. >> i shared with president thein sein our belief that the process of reform that he is taking is one that will move the country forward. >> local people lined the streets waving u.s. flags to welcome the american president. obama then met longtime democracy activist aung san suu kyi at her home. >> i'm proud to be the first american president to visit this spectacular country. we've seen some very encouraging progress. >> we are working to success for our people and for the friendship between our two countries. >> some human rights activists called the visit premature, but obama said they should take the opportunity to encourage what he called the better impulses in the country.

israeli leaders are being bombarded with international calls for a ceasefire even as their military forces bombard more targets in gaza. the fighting started nearly a week ago. the israelis are going after the islamist group hamas in retaliation for attacks on their towns and cities. they're considering a ground offensive. israeli military forces are using fighter jets and warships to pound gaza. leaders say they're trying to prevent hamas from firing rockets into israel. the consequences have been deadly. one air strike caused a residential building to collapse. 11 people died including women and children. the six-day offensive has killed more than 90 people. a survey by a leading newspaper says 84% of israeli respondents

back the military campaign but only 30% say they would support a ground operation. u.n. secretary general ban ki moon wants to avoid that outcome. he's repeated his call for an immediate ceasefire. egyptian leaders are mediating truce talks between israeli government representatives and hamas. israel's vice prime minister moshe yaalon says his country will halt its offensive if hamas stops firing rockets and missiles at its citizens in terrorist attacks engineered from the gaza strip seas. for more on this, i talked to our middle east correspondent. first off, there have been many casualties from the exchange of fire. do you think israel will actually launch a ground offensive in gaza as they did back in 2009? >> you have to keep in mind that there will be a general election in israel in january. the prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, is known for his

hard-line attitude toward the palestinians. his main support comes from the right. israel is shocked by the fact that some of their fellow citizens were killed by hamas rockets and that those rockets actually landed in tel aviv and on the outskirts of jerusalem, which are quite far netanyahu is more likely to send ground troops into gaza if hamas rocket attacks continue. but at the same time, if he decides to send in ground forces, he will come under severe international criticism. i don't think he wants to send in troops. i suspect he will make a decision on what to do after monitoring how international mediation efforts for a cease-fire pan out. >> is the mediation likely to succeed? >> the present situation doesn't warrant optimism. ma hamas is seeking revenge for the recent killing of its military leader. key player is egypt.

the country has a peace treaty with israel and is in position to exercise influence on hamas. last year's political revolution in egypt has created a new set of dynamics in the middle east. the former president hosni mubarak prioritized relations with the united states and israel. he regarded islamic forces as a threat. but current president mohamed morsi, who took office earlier this year, is more sympathetic to hamas and the palestinians. morsi formerly belonged to muslim brotherhood, and hamas is an offshoot of that organization. >> are negotiations happening behind the scenes as we speak? >> hamas leaders and the israeli envoy are set to be in cairo having indirect talks through egyptian negotiator. israel wants no determination in

its time with egypt. u.n. secretary-general ban ki-moon is scheduled to travel to cairo soon. and arab league secretary-general al arabi is set to go to gaza on tuesday. their mediation efforts are likely to have an impact on whether the fighting between israel and hamas continue. >> that was nhk cease senior commentator nobody hee is a degawa. south korea's largest opposition party and an independent politician are still working to pick a candidate for the country's presidential election next month. representatives of moon jae-in of the democratic united party and independent ahn cheol-soo on monday resumed talks to pick one of them to run against the ruling party candidate. the negotiations had been suspended since last week. details of the talks were not available. but at a press conference, both men showed strong motivation to be the candidate.

>> translator: i was chosen in a preliminary election within my party, and it would be impossible for me to make any concessionin concessions. >> translator: the two camps should achieve unity that would be welcomed by supporters of both candidates. >> with just a month until the election, the focus is whether the two sides can agree on a kand da si to pete bate the ruling party's park geun-hye. some students in south korea are caught in a bind. they can't land a well-paying job without earning a university degree. but without a job, they can't afford tuition. we'll be taking a closer look at south korea as voters there prepare for a presidential election next month. nhk world's kaho izumitani reports on the tough transition into the working world. >> reporter: the sun has only just come up, but students at this school in seoul have

already got their heads in their books. it's 7:40 in the morning. these are not high schoolers. many of them are college students and graduates seeking jobs in topnotch korean firms. they know employers want to see a line on their resume proving they're proficient in english. this woman is taking a year off from college to sharpen her skills. she studies english all day. next year she'll set out to find a job. >> translator: many people recognize you if you get into a big company. that's not the case if you join small firms.

>> reporter: but too many students compete for too few jobs, especially at top companies. more than half leave school without a job. >> reporter: many can't bear the cost. tuition is soaring. so, many students have to quit. but without a degree, a good job is out of the question. crowds of students have taken to the streets to demand that government leaders keep their promises and cut tuition in half. this woman will graduate this month. she's looking for a part-time job at a convenience store. the pay, $4.00 an hour. she took out two student loans, but she couldn't cover tuition.

she will graduate more than $8,000 in debt. >> translator: i need to pay back my tuition. i have no choice but to keep working part time. i guess i will have to give up searching for a full-time job. >> reporter: park's camped out at the apartment of a friend. but when she graduates, she'll have to go. park can't turn to her parents. her father doesn't have a steady job. she worries about how she'll support them when they get older when she can hardly support herself. >> translator: i know the reality. i will have to continue paying my debt by part-time jobs, and that will not end.

>> reporter: park says she feels her burden just keeps getting bigger, and she says it's hard to find a silver lining. kaho izumitani, nhk world, seoul. an nhk opinion poll suggests public support for the cabinet of prime minister yoshihiko noda has dropped to a new low. nhk conducted the survey over the weekend after noda dissolved the lower house to call a snap election in december. the cabinet's approval rate stood at 22%, down one point from a week earlier. the disapproval rate rose by two points to a new high of 61%. the support rate for the democratic party rose nearly five points to 17.4%. that's against 24.7% for the opposition's liberal democratic party. the recently formed japan restoration party scored just below 4%. more than 34% of respondents said they support no particular party. voters were also asked who they

would prefer as prime minister between the incumbent yoshihiko noda and ldp leader shinzo abe. 20% chose noda against 27% for abe. 48% said neither would do. chinese authorities are investigating an incident that highlights the social tension bubbling below the surface in that country. hundreds of people in the southern city of fuan clashed with police over a traffic accident saturday, two days after china's new leadership took power. local media say a man without a license drove a car into several vehicles and motorcycles. no one died, but five people were reported injured. bystanders and drivers who were involved in the accident fought with police. they overturned three police vehicles. authorities brought the situation under control by the end of the day. the associated press quoted one resident who said people became upset because police and paramedics took nearly an hour to arrive to help the injured.

however, media in hong kong report anger over police corruption triggered the riot. the city of fuan is in fujian province. new chinese leader xi jinping worked as a communist party representative in that province from 1985 to 2002. northern japan is looking more like winter. our meteorologist robert speta has the details. robert? >> well, yes, gene, we are seeing a big blast of cold air coming in out of eastern china, also eastern russia here. you see all that cloud cover coming in. well, that's actually producing some snowfall on top of what you already saw over the weekend in portions of northern honshu, even off towards hokkaido. it's not just the snowfall here. some severe weather is erupting along the cold front. you could be seeing strong to thunderstorms here, even a tornado or two cannot be completely ruled out with this storm system as it continues to push overhead. the good news, it is pushing off to the east and much of western japan, even on the east coast

around tokyo, you're going to be seeing drier weather in place mainly due to a high pressure continuing to ridge in fro the west, actually across much of china you're already seeing fair weather in place here. that cold air from the north is creating dense and heavy fog. do slow down on the roads if you're out there driving about. but some afternoon thunderstorms still going to be popping up here and also down towards the philippines and the indochina peninsula. for the tropics, temperatures into the 30s across much of the area. beijing, you're barely getting up to the double digits at 10 degrees, but look at ulan bator. talk about that cold weather. minus 5 here for your high. the low is getting even lower than that, down into the teens below zero so, very chilly, indeed, across much of this area. but talking tact c weather, let's take a look at the pacific northwest. actually expecting some snowfall in washington off towards british columbia due to this potent and intense storm system that's rushing onshore. you see all these lines very close together here. that's indicating some 90 to

100-kilometer-per-hour wind gusts coming ashore, not just the heavy rainfall, about 50 to 100 milliliters in the next 24 hours. these areas in red, that's where you could be seeing some flashflooding risk. and messy weather farther inland, heavy snowfall. it's a big travel week in the united states, thanksgiving week, thanksgiving coming up on thursday, so anybody traveling in and out of this area, not just drive, airports, very well could be delayed or canceled due to the storm system. it is going to be just lingering there. good news is farther to the east, much of the central u.s., you are seeing some drier and fairer weather. we are watching this potent storm system spin just off the east coast. this is not expected to make a landfall, but still coastal flooding is high at risk. those winds fwloeing that water onshore. rip currents and also rough surf are very dangerous. do not venture intothere. washington, d.c., a high of 12. miami getting up into the higher

20s. to the midwest, though, 14 for the high there in chicago. let's take a look over towards europe. into the uk, also watching a storm system. that's already bringing some heavy rain showers for you, gusty winds, 80-kilometer-per-hour winds seen here into the western portions of the uk, even towards ireland. there is that threat of some flash flooding due to the storm system. also this one off towards the northeast already brought some rain showers for you, but really these storms are going to remain here towards the northwestern portions of europe. don't expect it to venture out to germany, even over towards france, and that's mainly because of this high pressure sitting here. that is just blocking that, keeping all that wet and unsettled weather off towards the north, but also some severe weather towards the south is being seen. threat of tornadoes here, gusty winds, strong and severe thunderstorms could be popping up across the southern portions of itly, over towards the balkans. temperatures are going to remain on the cool side here. single digits in the east. london and paris both getting up to 12 and 11. now let's take a look at your extended forecast.

we'll be back with more

updates in 30 minutes. i'm gene otani in tokyo.