Beijing and Philippines trade blame in latest collision of ships
China accused a Philippines coast guard ship of deliberately colliding with a Chinese vessel on Saturday in the latest flareup of tensions over disputed waters and maritime features in the South China Sea.
In a statement posted on social media, Chinese coastguard spokesperson Liu Dejun said that the Philippine ship, with hull number 9701, collided with the Chinese ship, 5205, just after 12.06pm (04.06GMT) Saturday.
As the Philippine ship maneuvered, it “deliberately collided” with the Chinese coastguard ship “in an unprofessional and dangerous manner, resulting in a collision”, Mr Liu said, adding the standard claim that the Chinese ship was operating within regulations, without giving any details.
China is rapidly expanding its military and has become increasingly assertive in pursuing its claim to virtually the entire South China Sea which is crucial to international trade. The tensions have led to more frequent confrontations, primarily with the Philippines, whose security the US is treaty-bound to ensure. The longtime territorial disputes also involve other claimants including Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei.
China has rejected a ruling by a UN-backed arbitration panel that negated almost all of Beijing‘s historically-based claims in the South China Sea.
On Tuesday, the head of US Indo-Pacific Command said the US military is open to consultations about escorting Philippine ships in the disputed waters amid the spike in hostilities. Adm. Samuel Paparo’s remarks provided a glimpse of the mindset of one of the highest American military commanders outside the US mainland on a prospective operation that would risk putting US Navy ships in direct collisions with those of China.
Chinese coast guard, navy and suspected militia ships regularly clash with Philippine vessels during attempts to resupply Filipino sailors stationed in parts of the South China Sea claimed by both countries. As these clashes grow increasingly hostile, resulting in injuries to Filipino sailors and damage to their ships, the Philippine government has faced questions about invoking the treaty alliance with Washington.
The latest incident came days after Chinese and Philippine coastguard ships collided near Sabina Shoal, a disputed atoll. At least two vessels were reported to be damaged in Monday’s collision but there were no reports of injuries.
Sabina Shoal lies about 140km (85miles) west of the Philippine province of Palawan, in the internationally recognized exclusive economic zone of the Philippines.
The atoll is near Second Thomas Shoal, another flashpoint where China has hampered the resupply of Philippine forces. Both countries reached an agreement last month to prevent further confrontations at the shoal.
Also Saturday, Japan lodged a formal protest via China’s embassy against what it called an incursion by a Chinese survey ship into its territorial waters, the latest incident fueling unease among Japanese defense officials, already concerned about the growing military cooperation between the Chinese and Russian air forces.
On Monday, Tokyo also protested a Chinese military aircraft briefly entering Japan’s southwestern airspace. Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on Tuesday his country had “no intention” to violate any country’s airspace.
Search called off for woman who disappeared into pit in Kuala Lumpur
The search and rescue operation for an Indian tourist who vanished into a sinkhole a week ago has been officially called off.
“After nine days of search and rescue and consideration from the cabinet as well as experts including the police, the search team, Kuala Lumpur City Hall, geologists and more, we’ve decided to halt the search efforts today,” Zaliha Mustafa, a minister in the prime minister’s department (federal territories) told reporters at the location of the sinkhole.
“There are various factors for halting the operation, which include the safety and health of the rescue personnel.
“The family of the victim has been informed, and we are in constant contact with them and the Indian High Commission,” she added.
Vijaya Lakshmi Gali, 48, fell into the 8m-deep sinkhole at 8.22am on 23 August while walking to a nearby temple in Kuala Lumpur’s Masjid India district. The search had been on for a week and the rescuers had found nothing.
Dr Mustafa said that the next steps to be taken were to be determined by the Malaysian police and that efforts to locate Ms Gali would continue under different agencies, reported Malay Mail.
“The Kuala Lumpur City Council will also map the utilities and conduct a soil structure study throughout Kuala Lumpur and proceed with the rebuilding and recovery of Jalan Masjid India,” she added.
The operation was concentrated around two manholes in the Jalan Masjid India neighbourhood and was extremely challenging due to heavy rains and debris in the sinkhole.
The search team had been using high-pressure jets of water to cut through debris to find the victim.
While the Kuala Lumpur City Hall had placed over 100 sandbags around the exposed sewer lines to protect them from the disruptive flow of rainwater, the existing issues were dangerous enough already for the divers.
“In that hole, there is a sewage drain and other drains; it’s really deep,” fire operation officer Alimaddia Bukri was quoted as saying by The Straits Times. He added that the rescuers had been diving deep into the sewer amid strong currents and zero visibility.
“It is pitch black in that pipe,” a diver told The Straits Times.
“You don’t want to know what’s in there. It’s full of human waste and other garbage. We decontaminate immediately after each dive.”
Ms Gali and her family were due to return to India last week, but their visas have been extended by the Malaysian government and they were also provided with counselling. The family members “do not expect anything and would only want to ‘see her face’”.
Kuala Lumpur’s mayor reassured the public of the city’s safety, stating that daily routines should continue unless evidence suggests otherwise. A task force has been established to assess the safety of structures around the sinkhole area.
“In my view, Kuala Lumpur remains safe,” the mayor said last week. Maimunah Mohd Sharif was speaking in defence of the city’s safety after a 2015 social media post went viral calling it “the most unsafe place” in Malaysia with a possibility of a “giant sinkhole” opening at any time.
“We will only consider it unsafe if there are studies that provide evidence to the contrary, especially given the alarming media reports.”
Ukraine calls for Putin’s arrest when he visits Mongolia next week
Ukraine urged Mongolia to arrest Russian president Vladimir Putin for alleged war crimes when he visited the country on 3 September.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant in March last year accusing Mr Putin of the war crime of unlawfully deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine to Russia during its invasion of Ukraine. The Kremlin responded saying it was “not worried”.
“The Ukrainian side hopes that the government of Mongolia is aware of the fact that Vladimir Putin is a war criminal,” the Ukrainian foreign ministry said on Telegram.
“We call on the Mongolian authorities to comply with the mandatory international arrest warrant and transfer Putin to the International Criminal Court in the Hague.”
The ICC confirmed to the BBC that Mongolian officials “have the obligation to cooperate in accordance with the Chapter IX of the Rome Statute” to arrest Mr Putin, but it did not necessarily mean an arrest had to take place.
All 124 member states of the ICC, including Mongolia, are obliged to arrest Mr Putin and transfer him to The Hague for trial if he sets foot on their territory.
Russia dismissed the accusations and Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov at the time said Russia does not recognise the ICC and considers its decisions “legally void”.
Mr Peskov responded to Ukraine’s request, saying: “No, no worries about this. We have a great dialogue with our friends from Mongolia.”
Asked to clarify if the ICC warrant was discussed, he said: “Obviously the visit, all of the aspects of the visit have been thoroughly discussed.”
Human rights groups have estimated that more than 19,000 children were deported and placed with Russian families.
Last year, Mr Putin cancelled a visit to a two-day summit to South Africa, an ICC member, allowing the hosts to avoid a decision whether or not to arrest the Russian leader.
Court documents at the time showed South Africa’s president Cyril Ramaphosa had sought permission from the ICC not to follow through with the arrest, saying it would amount to a “declaration of war”.
“South Africa has obvious problems with executing a request to arrest and surrender President Putin,” he said in an affidavit. “Russia has made it clear that arresting its sitting president would be a declaration of war. It would be inconsistent with our constitution to risk engaging in war with Russia.”