Philippines, Japan move for stronger security ties in face of rising China threat

Philippines, Japan move for stronger security ties in face of rising China threat
Japanese legislator Yoshiaki Wada (R) speaks while fellow legislator Itsunori Onodera listens during a press conference at a hotel in Manila on June 28, 2024. (AFP)
Short Url
Updated 29 June 2024
Follow

Philippines, Japan move for stronger security ties in face of rising China threat

Philippines, Japan move for stronger security ties in face of rising China threat
  • High-level defense talks follow escalating confrontations between Chinese and Philippine ships in South China Sea
  • Tokyo and Beijing are also at loggerheads over Japan-controlled disputed islands in the East China Sea

MANILA: Japan and the Philippines will hold high-level defense talks next month, Manila said Friday, as the two countries seek to boost ties in the face of an increasingly confrontational China.
Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara and Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa will discuss “bilateral and defense and security issues affecting the region” at the July 8 meeting in Manila, a Philippine foreign affairs department statement said.
The talks follow escalating confrontations at sea between Chinese and Philippine ships as Beijing steps up efforts to push its claims to nearly all of the South China Sea.
Tokyo and Beijing are also at loggerheads over Japan-controlled disputed islands in the East China Sea.
Japan, which occupied the Philippines during World War II, is negotiating a Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA) with Manila that would allow the countries to deploy troops on each other’s territory.
Ex-defense minister Itsunori Onodera, now a ruling-party member of the Japanese parliament, said Friday he hoped negotiations on the defense pact would “make rapid progress” at next month’s meeting.
“We recognize the need to further deepen security and defense cooperation between our two countries,” Onodera told a press conference on the last day of a five-day visit to Manila.
Onodera said he had met with National Security Adviser Eduardo Ano, Defense Minister Gilberto Teodoro and Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo to reiterate Japan’s commitment to a strategic defense partnership with the Philippines.
“Japan is committed, ready to provide necessary assets to Philippines to protect Philippine security,” said Yoshiaki Wada, another member of Onodera’s parliamentary delegation.
Tokyo has been building the newest and largest ships of the Philippine Coast Guard, a key element of Manila’s efforts to assert its sovereignty in the South China Sea.
Onodera said Japan was “very concerned” by China’s behavior during the latest confrontation between Manila and Beijing off the Second Thomas Shoal.
A Filipino sailor lost a thumb on June 17 when Chinese coast guard members wielding knives, sticks and an axe foiled a Philippine Navy attempt to resupply a garrison on a derelict warship deliberately grounded on the shoal to assert Manila’s claim there.
“We oppose any attempt to unilaterally change the status quo by force, or any action that will escalate tension,” Onodera said.
Tokyo’s Maritime Self-Defense Force held joint naval and air drills with the United States, Australia and the Philippines in the South China Sea in April.
The drills aimed to demonstrate what the participants said was their “collective commitment to strengthen regional and international cooperation in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific.”
 


Ukraine’s Zelensky says Russian artillery fire has not subsided

Ukraine’s Zelensky says Russian artillery fire has not subsided
Updated 2 sec ago
Follow

Ukraine’s Zelensky says Russian artillery fire has not subsided

Ukraine’s Zelensky says Russian artillery fire has not subsided
“Therefore, there is no trust in words coming from Moscow,” Zelensky said

KYIV: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday that, according to his top commander, Russian artillery fire had not subsided despite the Kremlin’s proclamation of an Easter ceasefire.
“As of now, according to the Commander-in-Chief reports, Russian assault operations continue on several frontline sectors, and Russian artillery fire has not subsided,” Zelensky wrote on the social media platform X.
“Therefore, there is no trust in words coming from Moscow.”
He recalled that Russia had last month rejected a US-proposed full 30-day ceasefire and said that if Moscow agreed to “truly engage in a format of full and unconditional silence, Ukraine will act accordingly — mirroring Russia’s actions.”
“If a complete ceasefire truly takes hold, Ukraine proposes extending it beyond the Easter day of April 20,” Zelensky wrote.

Russia says Ukraine struck its energy infrastructure 10 times in last 24 hours

Russia says Ukraine struck its energy infrastructure 10 times in last 24 hours
Updated 19 April 2025
Follow

Russia says Ukraine struck its energy infrastructure 10 times in last 24 hours

Russia says Ukraine struck its energy infrastructure 10 times in last 24 hours
  • Both sides have repeatedly accused the other of violating a US-brokered 30-day moratorium

MOSCOW: Russia’s Defense Ministry accused Ukraine on Saturday of attacking Russian energy facilities 10 times over the past 24 hours.
The US brokered a 30-day moratorium in March between Ukraine and Russia against strikes on each other’s energy infrastructure. Both sides have repeatedly accused the other of violating it.
On Friday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, when asked if the energy moratorium was over, said it had already been a month but that no orders from the president had been received to change Russia’s position.


More than 100 inmates make deadly prison break in Chad

More than 100 inmates make deadly prison break in Chad
Updated 19 April 2025
Follow

More than 100 inmates make deadly prison break in Chad

More than 100 inmates make deadly prison break in Chad
  • The break-out occurred late Friday when an uprising happened
  • A local Mongo official said prisoners broke into a manager’s office to steal guns

MONGO, Chad: More than 100 inmates escaped a Chad prison during a shoot-out that left three people dead, and wounded a state governor visiting the facility, officials told AFP on Saturday.
The break-out occurred late Friday when an uprising happened in the high-security penitentiary five kilometers (three miles) from the town of Mongo, in the center of the country.
“There are around 100 who escaped, three dead and three wounded,” Hassan Souleymane Adam, secretary general of the Guera province in which Mongo is located, said.
A local Mongo official, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, said prisoners broke into a manager’s office to steal guns.
“A shootout with guards ensued, at the same time the governor arrived. He was wounded,” he said.
The Mongo official confirmed there were three dead, and put the total number of escaped prisoners at 132.
He said the prisoners revolted after complaining about a lack of food.
Chad’s Justice Minister Youssouf Tom told AFP by telephone that he was about to fly to region and would be able to give “precise information once I am at Mongo in the coming hours.”


Russian President Vladimir Putin announces an Easter ceasefire in Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin announces an Easter ceasefire in Ukraine
Updated 19 April 2025
Follow

Russian President Vladimir Putin announces an Easter ceasefire in Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin announces an Easter ceasefire in Ukraine
  • Ceasefire will last from 6 p.m. Moscow time on Saturday to midnight following Easter Sunday

MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday announced an Easter truce in the conflict in Ukraine starting this evening and lasting till midnight on Sunday.
The short-term ceasefire proposal from Russia comes as President Donald Trump has been pressing both Moscow and Kyiv to agree a truce, but has failed to extract any major concessions from the Kremlin.
“Today from 1800 (1500 GMT) to midnight Sunday (2100 GMT Sunday), the Russian side announces an Easter truce,” Putin said in televised comments, while meeting Russian chief of staff Valery Gerasimov.
Easter, a major holiday for Christians, is celebrated on Sunday.
“I order for this period to stop all military action,” Putin said, calling the truce “based on humanitarian reasons.”
“We are going on the basis that the Ukrainian side will follow our example, while our troops must be ready to resist possible breaches of the truce and provocations by the enemy, any aggressive actions,” Putin said.
He said that Gerasimov had told him Ukraine “more than 100 times... breached an agreement on not striking energy infrastructure.”
Russia on Friday abandoned a moratorium on striking Ukrainian energy targets after each side accused the other of breaking a supposed deal without any formal agreement put in place.
The latest truce proposal will show “how sincere is the Kyiv’s regime’s readiness, its desire and ability to observe agreements and participate in a process of peace talks,” Putin said.
Previous attempts at holding ceasefires for Easter in April 2022 and Orthodox Christmas in January 2023 were not implemented after both sides failed to agree on them.


Cambodia welcomes Japanese navy ships to naval base that US suspects is for China’s special use

Cambodia welcomes Japanese navy ships to naval base that US suspects is for China’s special use
Updated 19 April 2025
Follow

Cambodia welcomes Japanese navy ships to naval base that US suspects is for China’s special use

Cambodia welcomes Japanese navy ships to naval base that US suspects is for China’s special use
  • Tokyo has developed increasingly close ties with Cambodia in recent years
  • China and Cambodia have close political, military, and economic ties

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia: Two Japanese naval ships docked Saturday at Cambodia’s Ream Naval Base, whose recently completed Chinese-funded upgrade has heightened US concerns that it will be used as a strategic outpost for China’s navy in the Gulf of Thailand.
The visit by the two minesweepers, the 141-meter (463-foot) -long Bungo and the 67-meter (219-foot) -long Etajima, part of the Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force, marks the first foreign navy visit since the base’s expansion project was completed earlier this month.
Tokyo has developed increasingly close ties with Cambodia in recent years, seeking to offset China’s influence in the region, and Cambodia invited it to make the renovated port’s first port call, widely seen as an attempt to allay Washington’s concerns.
Both Japanese ships, making a four-day port call with a total of 170 sailors, docked at the base’s new pier, where Cambodian officials, including Rear Adm. Mean Savoeun, deputy commander of the base, held a welcome ceremony.
Concerns about China’s activities at the Ream base emerged in 2019 following a Wall Street Journal report alleging a draft agreement that would grant China 30-year use of the base for military personnel, weapon storage, and warship berthing. The US government has publicly and repeatedly aired its concerns.
China and Cambodia have close political, military, and economic ties. They commenced the port project in 2022, which included the demolition of previous naval structures built by the US at the base.
Cambodia has stated that warships from all friendly countries are welcome to dock at the new pier, provided they meet certain conditions. When Japanese Defense Minister Gen. Nakatani announced the planned visit on Tuesday, he said Japan’s port call symbolizes friendship with Cambodia and is key to regional stability and peace.
He stated that the visit would help ensure Cambodia has an open and transparent naval port, while noting the concerns over China’s growing efforts to secure overseas outposts for military expansion.
The port call came just one day after Chinese President Xi Jinping concluded a two-day state visit to Cambodia aimed at further strengthening China’s strong ties with its closest ally in Southeast Asia.
A statement on Saturday from Japan’s embassy in Cambodia stated that the two vessels are on a mission that began in January to visit 11 countries across Africa, the Middle East, South and Southeast Asia. The port call in Cambodia is considered a “historically significant event for Japan-Cambodia relations,” it said.
The embassy emphasized that the journey of the Japanese vessels “underlines the importance of freedom of navigation, free and open international order based on international law, and its development.”
In December last year, a US Navy warship called at the nearby civilian port of Sihanoukville on a five-day visit. The visit by the USS Savannah, carrying a crew of 103, was the first in eight years by a US military vessel to Cambodia.