Indonesia’s Mount Sinabung erupted on Saturday (June 13), sending ashes to to the sky as more than 2,700 people are evacuated. Saturday’s eruption was the latest round, since the volcano was placed at its highest alert level earlier in June. Columns of ash spewing as high as three kilometres was seen from a nearby town. Lava spread around one kilometres to the south and east, local media reported. No casualties were reported as most of […]
ASEAN IN FOCUS
ASEAN-China meeting reaffirm commitment to strategic partnership and regional peace
JUNE 9 (Eagle News) — The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China recently reaffirmed the commitment to strategic partnership during the 21st ASEAN-China Senior Officials’ Consultation meeting held in Beijing, China, where both sides candidly discussed matters on regional peace and stability, among other things. Senior Officials of ASEAN and the People’s Republic of China met from June 3 to 4 in Beijing where the two sides reaffirmed the importance of ASEAN-China Strategic […]
Magnitude 6 quake leaves more than 130 stranded on Malaysian mountain
More than 130 people are trapped on Malaysia’s Mount Kinabalu following a 6.0-magnitude earthquake that rocked parts of the Malaysian state of Sabah on Friday (June 5). Foreign and domestic hikers flock to Sabah to climb the 4,095-metre (13,435 feet) mountain, where at least 137 people were trapped, the state’s fire and rescue department told Reuters. So far 52 climbers had made it down safely, the public relations officer for Sabah Fire and Rescue department, […]
Thai PM vows no letup in human trafficking crackdown
JUNE 5 (Reuters) — Thailand’s prime minister said on Friday (June 5) his government was seriously committed to tackling the illicit trade in people and vowed no letup in its crackdown, announcing June 5 as a “national anti-human trafficking day”. The United States last year downgraded Thailand to its “Tier 3” list of worst offenders – alongside the likes of Iran and North Korea – in its annual ranking of countries by their counter-trafficking efforts. […]
Manila, Tokyo to start talks on letting Japan use Philippine military bases
JUNE 5 (Reuters) — The Philippines and Japan are to start talks on allowing Japanese military aircraft and naval vessels to use bases in the Philippines for refueling and picking up supplies, enabling them to extend their patrol range deep into the South China Sea, Philippine President Benigno Aquino said on Friday (June 5). The agreement would be a Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), which would clear the way for the Japanese military to use Philippines’ […]
Aquino thanks Japan’s business leaders for investing in the Phl; pushes for further economic cooperation
JUNE 4 (Reuters) — Philippine President Benigno Aquino met with business leaders in Tokyo on Thursday (June 4) to further show the Southeast Asian country’s commitment to an amicable relationship with Japan not only by security ties but also through economic cooperation. In the early morning of the second day of his four-day visit to Japan, Aquino addressed a room full of businessmen and women and talked about the Philippines’ appreciation of Japan’s past and […]
President Aquino, Emperor Akihito talk of “deep and abiding friendship” between Phl and Japan
JUNE 4 (Eagle News) — President Benigno S. Aquino III and Emperor Akihito paid tribute to the “deep and abiding friendship” between the Philippines and Japan and of the strategic partnership between their people during a state banquet hosted by the latter and his wife, Empress Michiko, in honor of the visiting Philippine leader at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, Japan. In his remarks during the state banquet on Wednesday evening (June 3), President Aquino […]
Aquino: Phl-Japan partnership to counterbalance maritime disputes in South China Sea
JUNE 4 (Eagle News) — President Aquino told members of Japan’s National Diet that a strong Philippine-Japanese partnership would be a vital counterbalance against regional instability created by conflicting claims in the South China Sea. In his speech delivered before Japan’s National Diet, which is the country’s bicameral legislature, Aquino said the current economic and people-to-people engagement between the Philippines and Japan is a shining example of what can be achieved when peace and stability […]
U.S. urges Myanmar to improve Rohingya living standards
Living conditions for Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar should be improved to discourage them from making risky sea journeys at the hands of human traffickers, the U.S. Deputy Secretary of State said on Friday (May 22). Antony Blinken made the comments after holding talks with the government in the capital Naypyidaw, to discuss the migrant crisis that has left thousands of people stranded on overcrowded boats in the Bay of Bengal. Myanmar’s military chief said […]
Myanmar says finds more than 200 Bangladeshis in boat offshore
Myanmar’s navy has brought ashore 200 Bangladeshis found in a boat off its coast, after its military chief said some of the thousands of migrants that have landed in Malaysia and Indonesia this month are pretending to be Rohingya Muslims to get UN aid. In response, a senior U.S. official said on Friday (May 22) that the majority of the more than 3,000 migrants that have come ashore are Rohingya fleeing desperate conditions in Rakhine […]
UN Sec-Gen Ban Ki-Moon visits Vietnam, makes remarks on South China Sea dispute
MAY 22 (Reuters) — United Nation General Secretary Ban Ki-Moon met with Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang in Hanoi Friday (May 22) as part of his two-day visit to the South East Asia nation. The General Secretary discussed with Vietnamese leaders on UN-Vietnam cooperation, UN peacekeeping operations and other issues, including regional security and human rights. Vietnam became a UN member in 1977 and is a current member of the UN Human Rights Council for […]
7th ASEAN Working Group on Environmental Education convenes in Manila
MANILA (Eagle News Service) – To promote ASEAN cooperation in the field of the environment, different working groups consisting of representatives from ASEAN member states convene annually to discuss the steps made by each country for a cleaner and greener region. The ASEAN had developed and implemented the ASEAN Environmental Education Action Plan, which helps the citizens through formal and non-formal education to participate and become active players in the development of ecologically sustainable societies. Brunei Darussalam […]