SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korea on Friday demanded Pyongyang swiftly release a North Korean defector it had arrested on charges of attempting to abduct children in the isolated state. In a carefully stage-managed press conference in Pyongyang, Ko Hyon-Chol, 53, who originally fled North Korea in 2013, “confessed” to attempting to kidnap two girl orphans and take them to the South. Seoul’s unification ministry expressed “deep regret” over the North for “illegally arresting” […]
Asia
China ‘may build nuclear plants’ in South China Sea
BEIJING, China (AFP) — China may build mobile nuclear power plants in the South China Sea, state media reported on Friday, days after an international tribunal dismissed Beijing’s vast claims in the strategically vital waters. “Marine nuclear power platform construction will be used to support China’s effective control in the South China Sea,” the website of the state-run Global Times cited the China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) as saying on a social media account. The […]
Nice attack overshadows Europe-Asia summit
by Ben Dooley ULAN BATOR, Mongolia (AFP) — Sympathy and condemnation for the Nice attack dominated the opening of an Asia Europe summit in Mongolia Friday, drawing attention away from Beijing’s rejection of a tribunal ruling dismissing its extensive South China Sea claims. The Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM), held every two years and which is celebrating its 20th anniversary, is supposed to be a venue for increasing cooperation across the Eurasian region and exploring ways to […]
Beijing faces S.China Sea rebuke at Europe-Asia summit
ULAN BATOR, Mongolia (AFP) — Beijing faces an international dressing down Friday at a gathering of leaders from across Asia and Europe after it vehemently rejected a UN-backed tribunal’s dismissal of its extensive South China Sea claims. The biennial Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM), which is celebrating its 20th anniversary, is supposed to be a venue for increasing cooperation across the Eurasian continent and exploring ways to strengthen the global system of agreements that govern everything from […]
Philippines urges China to ‘respect’ sea ruling
by Ayee Macaraig MANILa, Philippines (AFP) — The Philippines urged Beijing on Thursday to respect an international tribunal’s ruling that rejected Chinese claims to most of the South China Sea, escalating a row that has raised the prospect of conflict. China reacted furiously to the verdict by a UN-back tribunal on Tuesday, insisting it will ignore the decision while warning its rivals too much pressure on the issue could turn the resource-rich and strategically vital […]
Q+A on wider impacts of South China Sea ruling
An international ruling striking down China’s claims to most of the South China Sea was chiefly a victory for the Philippines, which launched the David v Goliath legal challenge. The verdict, by a UN-backed tribunal in The Hague on Tuesday, is meant to be legally binding on just those two countries. However it has wider ramifications for the region. Here are some key questions and answers on those impacts: Who are the other winners? The […]
Philippines and Japan coastguards hold joint drills in Manila Bay
MANILA, Philippines (Reuters) — Philippines and Japan coastguards took part in joint drills in Manila Bay on Wednesday (July 13) as part of the efforts to improve maritime security in the region. About 50 coastguard personnel from Japan and 15 from the Philippines held simulated rescue exercises aimed at combating piracy and armed robberies at sea. Philippine coastguard spokesperson Armand Balilo told journalists the exercise was not part of territorial disputes in the South China […]
China welcomes positive statements by Philippine President on South China Sea: Chinese official
CCTV — China welcomes the positive statements on the South China Sea issue made by Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and hopes that China and the Philippines can go back to negotiation table to settle the disputes, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin said in Beijing at a press conference Wednesday. Liu said that China and the Philippines are neighbors facing each other across the sea with over 1,000 years of friendship. Though the Philippines is […]
China warns against ‘cradle of war’ in sea
BEIJING, China (AFP) — China warned its rivals Wednesday against turning the South China Sea into a “cradle of war” and threatened an air defense zone there, after its claims to the strategically vital waters were declared invalid. The surprisingly strong and sweeping ruling by a UN-backed tribunal in The Hague provided powerful diplomatic ammunition to the Philippines, which filed the challenge, and other claimants in their decades-long disputes with China over the resource-rich waters. […]
S. Korea to announce US anti-missile system site
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korea will announce on Wednesday the site for an advanced US missile defense system, officials said, following strong objections from China and Russia accusing Washington of flexing military muscle in the region. The plan to deploy the powerful system, which fires projectiles to smash into enemy missiles, came last week after the United States placed North Korea’s “Supreme Leader” Kim Jong-Un on its sanctions blacklist for the first time. […]
Beijing claims ‘right’ to declare air defense zone in S. China Sea
BEIJING, China (AFP) — Beijing “has the right” to declare an air defence identification zone over the South China Sea, it said Wednesday as it stepped up denunciations of international tribunal that ruled against its expansive claims in the strategic waters. Whether Beijing set up such a zone — which would require civilian aircraft to identify themselves to military controllers — depended on “the level of threat we receive”, said vice foreign minister Liu Zhenmin. “Do […]
Taiwan sends warship to South China Sea after ruling
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AFP) — A Taiwanese warship set sail for the South China Sea on Wednesday “to defend Taiwan’s maritime territory”, a day after an international tribunal ruled China has no historic rights in the waterway and undermined Taipei’s claims to islands there. President Tsai Ing-wen rallied troops on the deck of the frigate, saying Taiwanese were determined to “defend their country’s rights”, before the warship headed for Taiwan-controlled Taiping island in the Spratly island […]
