MANILA: The Philippines’ outgoing foreign minister said on Thursday that talks over joint energy exploration between his country and China in the South China Sea had been terminated, citing constitutional constraints and issues of sovereignty.
The two countries have sparred for decades over maritime sovereignty and had since 2018 pledged to jointly explore oil and gas assets in the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ), despite China also laying claim to them.
“We got as far as it is constitutionally possible to go. One step forward from where we stood on the edge of the abyss is a drop into constitutional crisis,” Teodoro Locsin said in a speech.
“Three years on and we had not achieved our objective of developing oil and gas resources so critical for the Philippines — but not at the price of sovereignty; not even a particle of it.”
It was not clear when the decision was taken. China’s embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Philippines, which relies overwhelmingly on fuel imports, has struggled to find foreign partners to help exploit its offshore energy reserves due to China’s overlapping claims.
The two countries vowed to work together instead, helped by outgoing Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s pursuit of warmer ties with China.
But many experts doubted such an arrangement was possible due to political sensitivities and warned any deal to share energy resources could be seen as legitimising the other side’s claim, or giving away sovereign territory.
A 2016 international arbitration ruling made clear the Philippines had sovereign rights to exploit energy reserves inside its 200-mile EEZ, but China, which claims about 90 percent of the South China Sea as its territory, has refused to recognize that decision.
The two countries set up a special panel to work out how they can jointly explore those areas, without needing to address the touchy issue of sovereignty.
But Locsin said that could not be achieved without violating the Philippine constitution, or China’s government renouncing its claims. Duterte, he said, made the call to scrap the talks.
“The president had spoken ... oil and gas discussions are terminated completely. Nothing is pending; everything is over,” Locsin said.
Philippines abandons joint energy exploration talks with China
https://arab.news/2w9d5
Philippines abandons joint energy exploration talks with China
- The Philippines, which relies overwhelmingly on fuel imports, has struggled to find foreign partners to help exploit its offshore energy reserves due to China’s overlapping claims
Joe Biden cancels another $4.28 billion in US student loans
- Actions are a part of Biden’s effort to fulfill his 2020 campaign pledge to deliver debt relief to millions of Americans
The Biden administration on Friday canceled another $4.28 billion in student debt for nearly 55,000 public service workers, the US Department of Education said in a statement.
Friday’s action brings the total public service student loans forgiven to about $78 billion for nearly 1.1 million workers, the department said.
The White House said separately that this brings the total number of all individuals who have been approved for student debt relief under President Joe Biden to nearly 5 million people.
The actions are a part of Biden’s effort to fulfill his 2020 campaign pledge to deliver debt relief to millions of Americans before he leaves office in January.
US charges ‘Chinese agent’ over political influence
- Yaoning “Mike” Sun arrested near LA on charges he acted as agent for foreign government while getting involved in local politics
- Asked about the charges on Friday, Beijing’s foreign ministry said it was “not aware of the details in the case you mentioned”
LOS ANGELES, United States: China’s ruling Communist Party used an agent in California to influence state politics, US prosecutors said Thursday as they unveiled criminal charges against a Chinese national.
FBI agents arrested Yaoning “Mike” Sun, 64, at his home in Chino Hills, near Los Angeles, on charges that he acted as an agent for a foreign government while getting involved in local politics.
The complaint claims Sun served as the campaign manager and close confidante for an unnamed politician who was running for local elected office in 2022.
During the campaign, he is alleged to have conspired with Chen Jun — a Chinese national sentenced to prison last month for acting as an illegal agent of Beijing — regarding his efforts to get the politician elected.
The US Department of Justice said Chen discussed with Chinese government officials how they could influence local politicians, particularly on the issue of Taiwan.
China considers the self-ruled island of Taiwan part of its territory.
Beijing — which has said it would never rule out using force to bring Taiwan under its control — has been accused of using local influence campaigns, among other tactics, to sway global opinion on the issue.
Charging documents say after the local politician won office in late 2022, Chen instructed Sun to prepare a report on the election to be sent to Chinese government officials, who expressed their thanks for his work.
“The conduct alleged in this complaint is deeply concerning,” said United States Attorney Martin Estrada.
“We cannot permit hostile foreign powers to meddle in the governance of our country.”
Sun was charged with one count of acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison.
He also faces one count of conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States, which carries a maximum penalty of five years.
Asked about the charges on Friday, Beijing’s foreign ministry said it was “not aware of the details in the case you mentioned.”
But spokesman Lin Jian said “China never interferes in the internal affairs of other countries.”
“The international community sees clearly who is actually wantonly interfering in the internal affairs of other countries,” he said during a regular briefing.
Germany FM warns of new Syria violence ahead of Turkiye visit
- Her trip to Ankara comes almost two weeks after Islamist-led rebels overthrew Syrian president Bashar Assad
- She warned Syria must not become “the plaything of foreign powers or an experiment for radical forces”
BERLIN: German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock warned against the threat of “new violence” in Kurdish-held northern areas of Syria as she left for a visit to neighboring Turkiye on Friday.
Her trip to Ankara comes almost two weeks after Islamist-led rebels overthrew Syrian president Bashar Assad, sparking popular jubilation but also concern about new turmoil.
“Those who want peace in the region must not undermine the territorial integrity of Syria,” she said in a statement.
Syria’s future is “hanging by a thread,” said Baerbock, who was set to meet her Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan as well as members of the large Syrian refugee community on her one-day visit.
Before leaving Berlin, Baerbock said that people in the Kurdish-held northern Syrian border town of Kobani, also known as Ain Al-Arab, were “holding their breath again” in fear of “new violence.”
Turkiye has thousands of troops in northern Syria and also backs a proxy force there which has engaged in ongoing clashes with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a US-backed and Kurdish-led force.
Ankara sees the SDF as an extension of its domestic nemesis, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), and said on Thursday that it would continue to push for Kurdish fighters in northern Syria to disarm.
The SDF on Thursday accused Turkiye and allied fighters of not respecting a ceasefire around the northern town of Manbij and encouraged residents to “take up arms against the (Turkish) occupation.”
Also on Thursday, thousands of people in the northeastern Syrian city of Qamishli demonstrated in support of the SDF and chanted against “Turkiye’s attack” in the region.
Baerbock said that Syria’s reconstruction and the return of refugees “can only work if people have no more fear of persecution.”
“This should also be in the interest of the Turkish government, as more than three million Syrian refugees live in Turkiye.”
She warned that Syria must not become “the plaything of foreign powers or an experiment for radical forces.”
Germany has also urged Israel to abandon plans to step up settlement in the occupied and annexed Golan Heights at the southwestern edge of Syria.
Israel seized the demilitarised zone there after Assad fell and launched hundreds of strikes on Syria to destroy the former government’s military assets.
King Charles’ cancer treatment progressing well, will continue next year
- 2024 has been ‘brutal’ for family
- Princes Andrew and Harry absent from Christmas get-together
LONDON: King Charles’ cancer treatment is progressing well and will continue into next year, a Buckingham Palace source said, as the British royals prepare for their annual Christmas get-together after a “brutal” year for the family.
In February, the palace revealed the 76-year-old, who became king in 2022, had been diagnosed with an unspecified form of cancer detected in tests after a corrective procedure for an enlarged prostate.
While he was able to return to public duties two months later, the number of engagements has been limited on medical advice, something which the noted workaholic has found difficult.
“His treatment has been moving in a positive direction and as a managed condition the treatment cycle will continue into next year,” the palace source said on Friday.
The palace source said there had been no change in Charles’ health and the news that his treatment would continue in 2025 did not represent any significant update.
But his busy pre-Christmas schedule, which concludes on Friday with a visit to the northeast London district of Walthamstow that staged a large counter-protest in August in response to nationwide rioting, was an indication of his determination to stay busy.
In October, Charles and his wife Camilla made a brief stopover in India where they stayed at a holistic health center following his first major trip since being diagnosed with cancer to Australia and Samoa.
Overall the last year has been difficult for the royals.
The disclosure in March that the king’s daughter-in-law Kate, the wife of heir Prince William, was undergoing preventative chemotherapy for cancer was another shock.
While her treatment has now ended, her return to official engagements has been limited and she said her path to full recovery would be long. William said it had been the hardest 12 months of his life and “brutal” for the family.
But it has not just been health issues that have put the Windsors in the spotlight. The king’s younger brother Prince Andrew was embroiled in another scandal this month after a close business associate of his was banned from Britain over government suspicions he was a Chinese agent.
The royal finances have also come under media scrutiny while Charles was heckled by an Indigenous senator at Australia’s Parliament House during his tour there, a reflection of ongoing questions about Britain’s colonial past.
Meanwhile, the king’s younger son Prince Harry remains estranged from the family and more royal secrets are likely to be aired when he gives days of evidence in the witness box in his lawsuit against Rupert Murdoch’s British newspaper group.
Both Harry and Andrew will be absent when the royals gather for their traditional festive gathering at the king’s Sandringham home in eastern England, a very visual demonstration of those problems.
KSrelief to build homes for thousands of Bangladeshi flood survivors
- Homes for 3,000 people will be built in 9 worst-affected districts
- Construction to start next week and finish within 3 months
DHAKA: The King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center is helping build housing for thousands of Bangladeshis rendered homeless by this year’s devastating floods.
Bangladesh — one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change — faced a series of consecutive climate-related disasters this year.
Following the landfall of Cyclone Remal in May, communities in northeastern and southeastern Bangladesh were hit by flash floods and riverine flooding, affecting an estimated 18 million people. Many lost their homes or had them severely damaged.
The KSrelief-funded project launched earlier this week will help build 630 homes in nine worst-affected districts.
“The scale of the destruction highlighted the urgent need for sustainable relief projects,” Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Ambassador Abdulaziz Fahad Al-Ibrahim told reporters in Dhaka.
“(This) program is part of the ongoing humanitarian efforts made by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to support those affected by natural disasters around the world.”
The homes will be built by KSrelief’s local partner, the Sunbulah Welfare Association, which designed them to resist extreme weather.
“The floor of the houses will be made with concrete, while the walls and roof will be built with tin, which will be strong enough to withstand future flooding and cyclones,” Dr. Mohammad Shakir Hossain, Sunbulah’s founder and chairman, told Arab News.
The construction of one such home is estimated to cost around $1,400.
“We will complete the construction within the next three months. The first phase of construction works will begin next week,” Hossain said.
“More than 3,000 people will receive shelter … It will help a lot of people in the flood- and cyclone-hit areas. Many people in the villages can’t build a house like this. For them, a good shelter is a dream.”
One region where the houses will be built is the southwestern district of Pirojpur.
Imam Hossain, 30, a day laborer whose house was destroyed by Cyclone Remal in May, will be among the program’s beneficiaries.
“This house from KSrelief is a huge blessing for me, as my wife is expecting our first child,” he said. “It was quite impossible for me to afford to build a house on my own.”
In the northern district of Nougaon, many families affected by devastating flooding in June have been living in makeshift shelters ever since.
“It was a sudden flood, and the water levels reached up to 4 feet … Our old house was washed away by floodwaters in front of our eyes. We couldn’t do anything to save it. In the blink of an eye, we became homeless,” said Swadhin Hossain, a student who, along with his parents, grandmother and younger sister, will soon receive a new home.
“We are very happy (that) the authorities selected our family. It was impossible for me and my father to build a new house. I am grateful to KSrelief for standing with my family in this time of need.”
