ASEAN IN FOCUS

China accuses US of ‘stirring up’ South China Sea tensions

BEIJING, Dec 4, 2023 (AFP) – China on Monday said the United States was responsible for “deliberate stirring up” of tensions in the South China Sea, after a US warship navigated through waters claimed by Beijing. “On December 4, littoral combat ship USS Gabrielle Giffords illegally entered the waters adjacent to Ren’ai Reef in the Nansha region of China without the approval of the Chinese government,” Southern Theatre Command spokesman Tian Junli said. The Second […]

Indonesia volcano death toll rises to 22 as search nears end

By Irwanda Saputra and Hendra Makmur AGAM, Indonesia, Dec 5, 2023 (AFP) – The death toll from a volcano eruption in Indonesia has risen to 22 after nine more bodies were discovered, a search and rescue agency official said Tuesday. Mount Marapi on the island of Sumatra spewed an ash tower 3,000 metres (9,800 feet) — taller than the volcano itself — into the sky on Sunday. Hundreds of rescuers have worked for days to […]

Magnitude 5.7 quake shakes Philippine capital

MANILA, Dec 5, 2023 (AFP) – A magnitude 5.7 earthquake shook the Philippine capital Manila on Tuesday, the US Geological Survey said, sending people rushing out of buildings and briefly halting train services in the city. The strong quake struck off the country’s main island of Luzon at 4:23 pm (0823 GMT) at a depth of 77 kilometres (48 miles), about 94 kilometres southwest of Manila, the USGS said. Videos shared on social media showed […]

Singapore teen jailed for 16 years for killing schoolmate

SINGAPORE (AFP) – A Singapore judge sentenced a teenager to 16 years in jail on Friday for killing a schoolmate with an axe in a crime that shocked the city-state in 2021. The killing at a state secondary school was a rare incident in a country that is known for its tough approach to law and order, which includes corporal and capital punishment, and has one of the world’s lowest crime rates. The accused, who […]

Magnitude 6.9 quake latest to rattle southern Philippines

By Ara Eugenio and Cecil Morella MANILA, Dec 3, 2023 (AFP) – A magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck off the coast of the southern Philippines early Monday, the United States Geological Survey said, the latest in a slew of strong quakes all concentrated in the same area. Monday’s quake hit just before 4:00 am local time, (2000 GMT Sunday), at a depth of 30 kilometres (18 miles), some 72 kilometres northeast of Hinatuan municipality on Mindanao […]

Philippines, France to pursue key defence pact

MANILA, Dec 3, 2023 (AFP) – Defence ministers for the Philippines and France vowed Saturday to pursue an agreement that would allow them to deploy troops to each other’s territories, the latest such deal sought by the archipelagic nation located in the strategic South China Sea. Speaking following a meeting in Manila, Philippine Defence Secretary Gilbert Teodoro and his French counterpart Sebastien Lecornu said they agreed to seek authorisation from their respective presidents and relevant […]

Philippines says more than 135 Chinese boats ‘swarming’ reef off its coast

By Allison JACKSON MANILA, Dec 3, 2023 (AFP) – The Philippines said Sunday more than 135 Chinese vessels were “swarming” a reef off its coast, describing the boats’ growing presence as “alarming”. The Chinese boats were “dispersed and scattered” within the boomerang-shaped Whitsun Reef, which the Philippines calls Julian Felipe Reef, around 320 kilometres (200 miles) west of Palawan Island, the coast guard said. Whitsun Reef is more than 1,000 kilometres from the nearest major […]

Hikers evacuated as Indonesia volcano spews ash tower

PADANG, Indonesia, Dec 3, 2023 (AFP) – A volcano in western Indonesia erupted Sunday, belching a column of ash around three kilometres into the sky and forcing the evacuation of dozens of hikers, officials said. Mount Marapi on the island of Sumatra, with a peak of 2,891 metres, is on the third-highest alert level of Indonesia’s four-step system and authorities imposed an exclusion zone around its crater. There were no immediate reports of damage or […]

Magnitude 6.6 aftershock causes panic in southern Philippines

By Ara Eugenio and Cecil Morella MANILA, Dec 3, 2023 (AFP) – A magnitude 6.6 earthquake hit the southern Philippines on Sunday, the US Geological Survey said, a day after an even more powerful quake in the same region killed two people and triggered a tsunami alert. The latest earthquake — one of several strong aftershocks felt in the region since late Saturday — hit at around 6:36 pm (1036 GMT) at a depth of […]

US, UK, Australia defense chiefs tout deep space radar, AI in joint deal

By Josh EDELSON MOUNTAIN VIEW, United States, Dec 2, 2023 (AFP) – The defense chiefs of the United States, Australia and Britain met in California on Friday, touting high-tech co-operation on deep space radar, AI and quantum computing systems aimed at bolstering their armed forces in the face of growing global threats, including from China. The three men huddled in Silicon Valley — the heart of the US tech sector — to build on the […]