BEIJING: Myanmar junta leader Min Aung Hlaing will travel to China this week to attend regional summits, state media said on Monday, in the embattled top general’s first visit to the influential neighboring nation since he seized power in a 2021 coup.
Since the coup Myanmar has been in chaos, including areas along its border with China, as an armed resistance movement combined with established ethnic minority militias to wrest control of large territories from the military government.
Min Aung Hlaing will attend summits of the Greater Mekong Subregion and the Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Co-operation Strategy (ACMECS) and join a meeting with Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam on Nov.6 and 7 in Kunming, MRTV said.
“He will have meetings and discussions with authorities from China and will work on enhancing the bilateral relationship, economic and development in several sectors,” it said, referring to the junta chief.
The Myanmar military’s deterioration, in the face of rapid gains by anti-junta fighters since a surprise offensive last October, has alarmed China, which has sealed parts of the border and halted key imports to rebel-controlled areas, Reuters has reported.
China has strategic economic interests in Myanmar, including major oil and gas pipelines crossing the country and a planned deep-sea port in the Bay of Bengal.
Beijing also imports rare earths from its smaller neighbor for use in the automotive and wind energy sectors.
“Whether he is going there to receive more Chinese support or more Chinese pressure, it’s only bad for the people,” said David Mathieson, an independent analyst who tracks Myanmar.
“China has made clear they are supporting the SAC and their elections transition plan,” he said, referring to the junta’s State Administration Council, headed by Min Aung Hlaing.
The junta began a nationwide census last month to pave the way for an election next year, despite not having control over wide swathes of the country, and with dozens of political parties disbanded.
Beijing promised technical support and aid to the junta for the census and the proposed election, Myanmar state media said in August after Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met Min Aung Hlaing.
The meeting, in Myanmar’s capital Naypyidaw, was seen by some critics as Beijing’s endorsement of the junta and activists in the war-torn country have voiced frustration at China’s stance, calling it a barrier to their struggle for democracy.
Myanmar junta chief to make first China visit since seizing power
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Myanmar junta chief to make first China visit since seizing power
Typhoon Yinxing slams into northern Philippine region still reeling from back-to-back storms
- Typhoon Yinxing is the 13th to batter the disaster-prone Southeast Asian archipelago in 2024
- Tropical Storm Trami and Typhoon Kong-rey hit the northern Philippines in recent weeks
MANILA: A strong typhoon slammed into a northern Philippine province on Thursday as thousands were evacuated in a region still recovering from back-to-back storms that hit a few weeks ago.
Typhoon Yinxing is the 13th to batter the disaster-prone Southeast Asian archipelago in 2024.
“I really pity our people but all of them are tough,” Gov. Marilou Cayco of the province of Batanes said by telephone. Her province was ravaged by recent destructive storms and is expected to be affected by Yinxing’s fierce wind and rain.
Tens of thousands of villagers were returning to emergency shelters, and disaster-response teams were again put on alert in Cagayan and other northern provinces near the expected path of Yinxing. The typhoon blew into Santa Ana town in Cagayan province on Thursday afternoon.
The slow-moving typhoon, locally named Marce, was packing sustained winds of up to 175 kilometers (109 miles) per hour and gusts of up to 240 kph (149 mph) just before it made landfall in the coastal town of Santa Ana in Cagayan province, government forecasters said.
There were no immediate reports of casualties or major damage.
Aside from flash floods, authorities were concerned about the higher possibilities of landslides in northern mountainous region, which has been inundated by pounding rains from two previous storms.
The coast guard, army, air force and police were on high alert. Inter-island ferries and cargo services and domestic flights were suspended in northern provinces.
Tropical Storm Trami and Typhoon Kong-rey hit the northern Philippines in recent weeks, leaving at least 151 people dead and affecting nearly 9 million others. More than 14 billion pesos ($241 million) in rice, corn and other crops and infrastructure were damaged.
The death and destruction from the storms prompted President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to declare a day of national mourning on Monday when he visited the worst-hit province of Batangas, south of the capital, Manila. At least 61 people perished in the coastal province.
Trami dumped one to two months’ worth of rain in just 24 hours in some regions, including in Batangas.
“We want to avoid the loss of lives due to calamities,” Marcos said in Talisay town in Batangas, where he brought key Cabinet members to reassure storm victims of rapid government help. “Storms nowadays are more intense, extensive and powerful.”
In 2013, Typhoon Haiyan, one of the strongest recorded tropical cyclones, left more than 7,300 people dead or missing, flattened entire villages and caused ships to run aground and smash into houses in the central Philippines.
Philippines confident in US alliance under Trump amid China tensions, envoy says
- US-Philippine security engagements have deepened under President Joe Biden and Philippine counterpart Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
- Both leaders keen to counter what they see as China’s aggressive actions in the South China Sea and near Taiwan
MANILA: The Philippines expects US policy in the Indo-Pacific and support for its treaty ally amid South China Sea tensions to remain steady under Donald Trump, driven by bipartisan resolve in Washington, its ambassador to the US said on Thursday.
Both Democrats and Republicans prioritize countering China’s influence, including in the South China Sea, Jose Manuel Romualdez said, suggesting that military cooperation, economic ties and security commitments with the Philippines will continue.
“It is in their interest that the Indo-Pacific region remains free, peaceful and stable, especially given the economic part of it, with trillions of dollars passing through the South China Sea,” Romualdez said in an interview.
US-Philippine security engagements have deepened under President Joe Biden and Philippine counterpart Ferdinand Marcos Jr, with both leaders keen to counter what they see as China’s aggressive actions in the South China Sea and near Taiwan.
Marcos said in a congratulatory message after Trump’s victory: “I am hopeful that this unshakeable alliance, tested in war and peace, will be a force of good that will blaze a path of prosperity and amity, in the region, and in both sides of the Pacific.”
Under Marcos, the Philippines has increased the number of its bases accessible to US forces to nine from five, some facing the South China Sea, where China has built artificial islands equipped with runways and missile systems.
The US has proposed $128 million for infrastructure improvements at those bases, in addition to a $500 million pledge for the Philippine military and coast guard.
Romualdez expressed confidence that these commitments, including joint US-Philippine maritime exercises that began last year, would continue under Trump.
“We have very strong bipartisan support in the US Congress where the money comes from. Every single one of our friends in the Republican side has signified their concern and strong support for whatever we’re doing right now in relation to the challenges we face with China today,” Romualdez said.
He suggested potential changes under Trump would be “minimal” and could even be favorable.
During Trump’s previous term, the US dispelled any doubts about its defense commitments when then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo assured Manila in 2019 that Washington would defend its ally if attacked in the South China Sea, reinforcing the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty.
Beijing claims much of the South China Sea, where about $3 trillion in ship-borne trade passes annually, with the area becoming a flashpoint for Chinese and US tensions around naval operations. There have been recent clashes over territorial claims between China and the Philippines, Vietnam and Indonesia.
Romualdez emphasized Manila’s intent to manage disputes peacefully, and “will continue to dialogue with China as long as it’s not detrimental to our interests.”
“We’re not at war,” Romualdez said, adding there are many areas where Philippines and China can work with.
Mozambique deploys soldiers ahead of planned protests
- The southern African nation has been rocked by violence since an October 9 vote
- Main opposition candidate Venancio Mondlane says results were false and that he won
MAPUTO: Soldiers and police were patrolling Mozambique’s capital Maputo early Thursday ahead of a planned protest against election results seen by the opposition as fraudulent, AFP reporters said.
The southern African nation has been rocked by violence since an October 9 vote won by the Frelimo party, which has been in power for almost 50 years.
The city of more than one more million people was a ghost town on Thursday morning, with shops, banks, schools and universities closed.
A group of a dozen demonstrators, many wearing flip flops and one man wrapped in a Mozambican flag, gathered around 0700 GMT on one of the main streets before being told by a soldier to go home.
Frelimo’s Daniel Chapo won the presidential election with 71 percent of the vote, according to the electoral commission, while the main opposition candidate Venancio Mondlane came in second with 20 percent.
Mondlane, backed by the small Podemos party, who said results were false and that he won, called for a mass protest on Thursday.
Using social media, he has rallied supporters out onto the streets since the election in demonstrations that have turned violent in police crackdowns.
In an interview with AFP, the opposition leader, whose whereabouts are unknown, said he would not be present at the march due to concerns over his safety.
At least 18 protesters have been killed in post-electoral violence, according to Human Rights Watch. Local NGO the Center for Democracy and Human Rights (CDD) said the death toll was 24.
A police officer was also killed in a protest at the weekend, Defense Minister Cristovao Chume told reporters Tuesday, warning the army could intervene “to protect the interests of the state.”
“There is an intention to change the democratically established power,” he said, amid fears that outgoing President Filipe Nyusi could declare a state of emergency.
Nyusi is expected to step down early next year at the end of his two-term limit.
The authorities have restricted access to Internet across the country in what seemed like an effort to “suppress peaceful protests and public criticism of the government,” according to Human Rights Watch (HRW).
“The shutdown inhibits people’s ability to receive and use life-saving information, to assemble peacefully, and to express their political opinions in a time of crisis,” said Allan Ngari, Africa advocacy director at HRW.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said on Wednesday that he was “deeply alarmed by reports of violence across the country.”
“The police must refrain from using unnecessary or disproportionate force and ensure that they manage protests in line with Mozambique’s international human rights obligations,” he said.
The Southern African Development Community has called for an extraordinary summit between November 16 and 20 in part to discuss developments in Mozambique.
Trial operation to remove radioactive debris from Fukushima nuclear plant successful
- Extracting the estimated 880 tonnes of highly radioactive fuel and debris from Fukushima remains the most challenging part of the decades-long decommissioning process
TOKYO: A difficult operation to remove a small piece of radioactive debris from Japan’s stricken Fukushima nuclear plant using a robotic device was completed successfully, the plant operator said Thursday, after technical issues halted earlier attempts.
Extracting the estimated 880 tonnes of highly radioactive fuel and debris from Fukushima remains the most challenging part of the decades-long decommissioning process.
But radioactivity levels inside the former power station, which went into meltdown in 2011 after being hit by a catastrophic tsunami, are too high for humans to enter.
So engineers used a specially developed extendible robotic device to remove a sample with a diameter of five millimeters (0.2 inches), aiming to study it for clues about conditions inside the stricken reactors.
The trial debris removal began in September, after an initial attempt in August was suspended at an early stage over a problem with the equipment’s installation.
Another technical snag related to cameras on the apparatus caused a pause of over a month before the procedure resumed in late October.
On Thursday, plant operator TEPCO said it had “completed the trial removal of fuel debris,” declaring the operation a success after several complex steps.
Over the weekend, the robot managed to remove a piece of debris from a containment vessel surrounding a damaged reactor for the first time.
Technicians then tested the radiation level of the sample on Tuesday and put it in a special container.
It will be sent to research institutes in Ibaraki north of Tokyo for analysis, a TEPCO spokeswoman said, adding that the company is still studying when it will be able to start the full-fledged removal of the radioactive debris.
Three of Fukushima’s six reactors were operating when the tsunami hit on March 11, 2011, triggering the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl.
Japan last year began releasing into the Pacific Ocean some of the 540 Olympic swimming pools’ worth of treated reactor cooling water amassed since the disaster.
The step sparked a diplomatic row with China and Russia, both of which banned seafood imports, although Japan insists the discharge is safe, a view backed by the UN atomic agency.
Beijing, however, said in September it would “gradually resume” importing seafood from Japan after imposing the blanket ban.
EU leaders call on Georgia to probe vote ‘irregularities’
- They added they would not be able to support the ex-Soviet republic’s ambitions to join the European Union
BUDAPEST: The leaders of France, Germany and Poland called on Georgia Thursday to quickly probe “numerous irregularities” during a recent parliamentary poll won by the Russia-leaning ruling party but contested by the pro-Western opposition.
In a joint statement, the EU countries’ leaders said they were “deeply concerned by the numerous irregularities and voter intimidation” reported during the vote.
They added they would not be able to support the ex-Soviet republic’s ambitions to join the European Union unless it showed it was serious about carrying out necessary reforms.
“If Georgia does not change course by demonstrating concrete efforts in terms of reform... we will not be able to support the opening of accession negotiations with this country to the European Union,” French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said in a joint statement.
The pro-Western opposition in Georgia, a small country tucked in the Caucasus, has refused to recognize the ruling Georgian Dream party’s win in the October 26 election or to enter the newly elected parliament, which it calls “illegitimate.”
The European Union and the United States blasted “irregularities” in the vote, while Georgian Dream’s opponents have accused it of putting the Caucasus country on a pro-Kremlin track.
