MANILA/BEIJING: The Philippines said on Monday it would keep a closer guard on reefs, shoals and islets in its exclusive economic zone in the South China Sea, alarmed by reports of new reclamation activities by China, which Beijing denied.
The Philippine Coast Guard said on Saturday it had deployed a ship to Sabina Shoal on the Spratly archipelago, where it accused China of building an artificial island, having documented what it said were piles of dead and crushed coral on the sandbars.
Jonathan Malaya, spokesperson of the National Security Council (NSC), said NSC chief Eduardo Ano had ordered a tighter guard at locations within Manila’s 200-nautical mile economic zone, as a long-standing diplomatic row with Beijing intensifies.
“No one will guard (these locations) except us. It is our responsibility under international law to guard (them) and ensure that the environment there would not be damaged and that there won’t be reclamation activities,” Malaya told a regular television program.
China claims almost all the South China Sea, including parts claimed by the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam, and has carried out extensive land reclamation on some islands, building military facilities, causing concern in Washington and the region.
China’s foreign ministry on Monday dismissed Manila’s latest accusation as “groundless and pure rumor.”
“Recently, the Philippine side has repeatedly spread rumors, deliberately smeared China and attempted to mislead the international community, which is futile,” spokesperson Wang Wenbin told a regular briefing.
He urged Manila to “return to the right track of properly settling maritime disputes through negotiation and consultation.”
Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson Jay Tarriela said its presence at the Escoda shoal had deterred China from doing small-scale reclamation, but that scientists would have to determine whether the piles of coral were natural or man-made.
He said the coast guard was committed to maintaining a presence at the shoal, just over 120 nautical miles from the Philippine province of Palawan.
The Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled in 2016 that Beijing’s claims in the South China Sea, a vital waterway, had no basis under international law, a decision that China rejects.
The Sabina Shoal, known locally as Escoda, is the rendezvous point for vessels resupplying Filipino troops stationed on a grounded warship at the Second Thomas Shoal, where Manila and China have had frequent run-ins.
Ano has called for Chinese diplomats to be expelled over the alleged leak of a phone conversation with a Filipino admiral about the maritime dispute.
On Monday, the Philippine foreign ministry said it would look into reports of “illegal and unlawful activities” by diplomatic officials, but did not name China.
Philippines to tighten guard at locations in South China Sea
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Philippines to tighten guard at locations in South China Sea
- Philippine Coast Guard deploys ship to Sabina Shoal on the Spratly archipelago, where it accused China of building an artificial island
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.”
Rwanda declares that Marburg virus outbreak is over
- The East African country confirmed its first cases of the disease in mid-September
- It reported 66 confirmed cases with 15 deaths and 51 recoveries
KIGALI: Rwanda has declared an end to the country’s Marburg virus outbreak following the recovery of the last patient 42 days ago, Health Minister Sabin Nsanzimana told a news conference on Friday.
The East African country confirmed its first cases of the disease, a viral hemorrhagic fever that can cause death, among some patients, in mid-September.
It reported 66 confirmed cases with 15 deaths and 51 recoveries, the health ministry said on Friday.
“It has been a long journey but today, here come to the end of Marburg outbreak in Rwanda. So, Marburg is over according to World Health Organization guidelines,” Health Minister Sabin Nsanzimana told a news conference.
“It took us for 42 days since the last patient tested negative and discharged... Last night at midnight exactly, was the end of the 42nd day therefore we declare Marburg over in Rwanda.”
ASEAN will want inclusive Myanmar election, Thai foreign minister says
- Thai minister: ‘If there is an election, ASEAN would want an inclusive process that included all stakeholders’
- Myanmar has been in turmoil since early 2021 when its military overthrew an elected civilian government
BANGKOK: Thailand has told Myanmar’s junta that ASEAN members would want all stakeholders included in an election the military government plans to hold next year, even as the regional bloc seeks a common position on the polls, Thai officials said on Friday.
“If there is an election, ASEAN would want an inclusive process that included all stakeholders,” Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa said in a group interview in Bangkok, after meetings with counterparts and senior diplomats of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) grouping.
Myanmar has been in turmoil since early 2021 when its military overthrew an elected civilian government, triggering pro-democracy protests that morphed into a widening armed rebellion that has taken over swathes of the country.
The military is fighting rebels on multiple fronts, struggling to govern and manage a crumbling economy that was seen as a promising frontier market before the generals ended a decade of tentative democracy.
Thailand this week hosted two separate regional meetings on the crisis in Myanmar, the first involving the junta and its neighbors, including China, Bangladesh and India, followed by one with ASEAN members.
Myanmar’s foreign minister on Thursday briefed attendees on the outline of the junta’s political roadmap and progress toward holding an election, which critics have dismissed as a sham, largely due to the absence and sidelining of opposition groups.
“The neighboring countries said we support Myanmar in finding solutions but the election must be inclusive for various stakeholders in the country,” Maris said, stressing that Myanmar’s neighbors would advise, but not interfere.
Their effort, he said, would also support ASEAN’s Myanmar peace plan, the “Five Point Consensus,” its strategy to diffuse the conflict that has made scant progress.
The proposed Myanmar elections were also part of discussions among ASEAN members at Friday’s meeting, which the junta was not part of, said Thai foreign ministry official Bolbongse Vangphaen.
The bloc is still awaiting details of the polls from the Myanmar side, he said, adding that ASEAN would also need to find a common position on the proposed ballot, which has the backing of regional heavyweights such as China.
China’s vice foreign minister said during Thursday’s meeting in Bangkok that all parties should support Myanmar in advancing its peace and reconciliation process, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Friday.
Sun Weidong said all parties in Myanmar should resolve differences through dialogue and consultation.
China warns Germany against ‘manipulation and smearing’ in spying cases
- German media reported that a Chinese man was detained by security guards before he was arrested by police after taking photographs at the Kiel-Wik naval base on Dec. 9
BEIJING: Beijing on Friday warned Berlin against “manipulation and smearing” China in spying cases, after German police opened an espionage probe into a Chinese national.
“We hope that the German side will... stop using so-called espionage cases to engage in manipulation and smearing, and earnestly safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese citizens in Germany,” foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said.
German media reported that a Chinese man was detained by security guards before he was arrested by police after taking photographs at the Kiel-Wik naval base on December 9.
The northern port is home to German naval installations and shipyards of the defense giant Thyssenkrupp, which builds submarines there.
Beijing on Friday said it was “not aware” of the specific case.
But Lin said China “has always required its citizens overseas to comply with local laws and regulations.”
Germany in early October said it had arrested a Chinese woman accused of spying on the country’s defense industry while working in a logistics company, including at Leipzig airport in eastern Germany.
Named only as Yaqi X., she allegedly reported to another suspected Beijing agent now under arrest, Jian G., who was working in the office of a German far-right member of the European Parliament, Maximilian Krah.
News magazine Der Spiegel, citing unnamed security sources, said that 38-year-old Yaqi X. had especially targeted the arms giant Rheinmetall, which is involved in making Leopard tanks and uses Leipzig airport for cargo flights.
Malaysia to resume search for wreckage of missing MH370 flight
- Flight MH370 vanished en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014
- Malaysia engaged Ocean Infinity in 2018 to search in the southern Indian Ocean
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia has agreed in principle to resume the search for the wreckage of missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, its transport minister said on Friday, more than 10 years after it disappeared in one of the world’s greatest aviation mysteries.
Flight MH370, a Boeing 777 carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew, vanished en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014.
Transport Minister Anthony Loke said the proposal to search a new area in the southern Indian Ocean came from exploration firm Ocean Infinity, which had also conducted the last search for the plane that ended in 2018.
The firm will receive $70 million if wreckage found is substantive, Loke told a press conference.
“Our responsibility and obligation and commitment is to the next of kin,” he said.
“We hope this time will be positive, that the wreckage will be found and give closure to the families.”
Malaysian investigators initially did not rule out the possibility that the aircraft had been deliberately taken off course.
Debris, some confirmed and some believed to be from the aircraft, has washed up along the coast of Africa and on islands in the Indian Ocean.
More than 150 Chinese passengers were on the flight, with relatives demanding compensation from Malaysia Airlines, Boeing, aircraft engine maker Rolls-Royce and the Allianz insurance group among others.
Malaysia engaged Ocean Infinity in 2018 to search in the southern Indian Ocean, offering to pay up to $70 million if it found the plane, but it failed on two attempts.
That followed an underwater search by Malaysia, Australia and China in a 120,000-square-kilometer area of the southern Indian Ocean, based on data of automatic connections between an Inmarsat satellite and the plane.
