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Biden widens web of US alliances faced with China, Russia, Trump
With a historic three-way summit with Japan and South Korea, President Joe Biden has further deepened the web of US partnerships in a determined signal to adversaries despite question marks on the political climate at home. Since Biden took office in 2021, NATO has expanded and mostly closed ranks over Russia's invasion of Ukraine -- and, in clear if unstated responses to an assertive China, the United States forged a new three-way defense pact with Australia and Britain and ramped up work through the four-way Quad involving Australia, India and Japan. The United States already has security alliances with Japan and South Korea, together the bases for some 84,500 troops, but will now also plan three-way, multi-year military exercises across all domains along with real-time information-sharing and a crisis hotline. Jon Alterman, a senior vice president at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said that alliances were "baked" into the mindset of Biden, who was a senator at the end of the Cold War. Partnerships can increase other countries' faith in the direction of the United States, Alterman added. "This administration believes deeply in the centrality -- not the importance, the centrality -- of partnerships," he said. "The challenge is, all of our partners remember the previous administration, they look at the polling numbers, and they have absolutely no confidence in where the US is going to be in two years' time, five years' time or 10 years' time," he said. Previous president Donald Trump loudly questioned the value of alliances, insisting that countries such as Germany and South Korea were not paying enough for the US troop presence and scoffing at NATO's commitments of mutual defense to all allies. Trump is again seeking the White House and recent opinion polls have also shown softening support for US military assistance to Ukraine, which has totaled $43 billion since Russia's attack. Asked about Trump at a news conference with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the Camp David presidential retreat, Biden said that his predecessor's "America First policy, walking away from the rest of the world, has made us weaker, not stronger." "America is strong with our allies and our alliances, and that's why we will endure," Biden said. Tougher task in Asia Whereas in Europe the United States has led a common defense for decades under NATO, in Asia -- seen by Biden as the critical region -- Washington has navigated individual alliances with Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Australia and Thailand. One reason for the hodgepodge has been historical animosity between Japan and South Korea, with the Camp David summit until recently unthinkable. Yoon has turned the page by resolving a dispute over Japan's wartime forced labor of Koreans. Yoon, Kishida and Biden said they shared the same vision of a "rules-based international order" -- a nod to China's muscle-flexing in Asia but also to Ukraine, of which Japan and South Korea have been prominent non-Western supporters. China denounced the Camp David initiative, with state media saying the United States was raising tensions by creating a "mini-NATO," although there was no three-way mutual defense promise. Shihoko Goto, acting director of the Asia program at the Wilson Center, doubted that the three countries were even aspiring to collective self-defense but said their new cooperation was part of an "interweaving" with existing alliance arrangements. "As a single thread it may be weak, but because it is going to be part of that fabric and making it into a multi-layered approach, it would actually be really strong," she said. Risks await Biden has also moved bilaterally with countries concerned about Russia and China. He has said he plans to travel shortly to boost ties with Vietnam, whose tensions with Beijing run deep. But one of his big bets, India, has stood firm on its historic refusal to join alliances and is also taking part this week in a summit with Russia and China of the BRICS bloc of emerging economies. Trump is not the only wild card for the future. In South Korea, Yoon is only allowed a single term, which ends in 2027. "If an ultra-leftist South Korean president and an ultra-right wing Japanese leader are elected in their next cycles, or even if Trump or someone like him wins in the US, then any one of them could derail all the meaningful, hard work the three countries are putting in right now," said Duyeon Kim, an adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security. The post Biden widens web of US alliances faced with China, Russia, Trump appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Missile barrage hits Ukraine, Russia repels attack
Two people were killed in separate overnight airstrikes on Ukraine, authorities said on Thursday. A missile struck port infrastructure in the southern Odesa region on the Black Sea coast killing one person, the regional governor said Thursday. Oleg Kiper said Russian forces “fired Kalibr missiles from a submarine in the Black Sea.” “A civilian guard born in 1979 died as a result of the hit. Equipment of one of the cargo terminals was damaged, a small security building and two cars were destroyed,” Kiper said on social media. The other fatality was in the town of Kivsharivka in the eastern Kharkiv region, governor Oleg Synegubov said. The attacks followed the downing of 36 cruise missiles by the Ukrainian Air Force. “On 26 July, 36 enemy cruise missiles were destroyed,” Lt. Gen. Mykola Oleshchuk said Wednesday on the air force’s official Telegram channel. Three Kalibr missiles were fired in the afternoon while 33 X-101 and X-555 missiles were fired in the early evening by eight Tu-95 bombers from the southeast heading towards western Ukraine, it said. The air force mentioned another strike by Russian MiG-31s which launched four hypersonic Kinjal missiles targeting the Khmelnytsky region in western Ukraine on Wednesday evening. In the Dnipro central region of Ukraine, the governor said Wednesday on Telegram that the debris of a downed Russian missile caused a fire which was brought under control without causing any casualties. Meanwhile, Russia’s FSB security service said Thursday that a cargo ship bound for the Russian port of Rostov-on-Don was turned back “from Russian territorial waters” after “traces of explosives” were found on the ship. The FSB said in a statement that the ship coming from Turkey had previously sailed to the Ukrainian port of Reni. Earlier, the Russian army said it turned back several hundred Ukrainian soldiers near the town of Orikhiv in the south, one of the areas where Kyiv has been carrying out its counteroffensive. Ukraine “conducted a massive attack by the forces of three battalions reinforced by tanks. All attacks of the Armed Force of Ukraine were repelled. Positions were held,” the ministry said. The Russian military also said it progressed in the direction of Lyman, in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, after reporting an advance of up to two kilometers on Tuesday. WITH AFP The post Missile barrage hits Ukraine, Russia repels attack appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Israel ends West Bank raid
Israel withdrew its troops from the occupied West Bank on Wednesday after dismantling militants’ explosive factories and operational situation rooms, and seizing large quantities of weapons in a refugee camp there. The two-day raid of Jenin killed a dozen Palestinians and one Israeli soldier, an Israel military spokesperson told Agence France-Presse. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the raid on Monday that saw hundreds of troops deployed, drone strikes and army bulldozers ripping up streets in Jenin. Israel’s army also said it had uncovered militant hideouts, arms depots and an underground shaft used to store explosives. Meanwhile, Israel launched air strikes on the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, in retaliation for five rockets fired from the blockaded Palestinian territory. A Palestinian security source said the attack hit a military site of the militant group Hamas in northern Gaza but caused no injuries. Israel has occupied the West Bank since the Six-Day War of 1967. Excluding annexed east Jerusalem, the territory is now home to around 490,000 Israelis in settlements considered illegal under international law. The Palestinians, who seek their own independent state, want Israel to withdraw from all land it seized in 1967 and to dismantle all Jewish settlements. WITH AFP The post Israel ends West Bank raid appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Give LPE a chance
Newly appointed Defense Secretary Gibo Teodoro made a deeply rooted statement about the peace talks between the Philippine government and communist rebels that have dragged on for several decades, with intermittent periods of very little progress and setbacks. Without mincing words, Teodoro said he had always been against entering into peace negotiations with the Communist Party of the Philippines and its armed wing, the New People’s Army. This is equally consistent with his position that communist rebels are welcome to return to the government fold given an existing program that offers “to help them, rehabilitate them and give them a new life.” Why is this so? For Teodoro, why engage in peace talks when there is Task Force Balik-Loob — a central coordinating body created by Administrative Order No. 10 dated 3 April 2018 that supervises the government’s reintegration efforts for members of the CPP-NPA-NDF, including their immediate family members. The task force is composed of representatives from the DND, DILG, OPAPRU, and other partner government agencies. I couldn’t agree with the Defense Secretary more. In a recent television interview, he said he was never convinced that the Philippine insurgency — the longest-running in Asia — was ideological. His explanation was clear. “This is all about taking power or whatever. The reason, even in other countries, the sole authority of the Communist Party in other countries is a dictatorship in itself. They call it the dictatorship of the proletariat.” We have in front of us a duplicity of the communist agenda — a pro-people advocacy on one hand, and the overthrow of the government on the other. The history of the peace negotiations between the Philippine government and the National Democratic Front, CPP’s political wing, is long and complex spanning several decades. When Corazon C. Aquino assumed the presidency after the People Power Revolution in 1986, peace talks were initiated and detained top communist leaders, including Jose Maria Sison and Bernabe Buscayno, were released. Since then, there have been several attempts at peace negotiations between the government and the Reds, facilitated by third-party mediators, including the Catholic Church, various civil society groups, and foreign governments. The most recent attempt at peace talks was in 2016 during the first year in office of then-President Rodrigo Duterte. It, however, broke down in 2017 after both sides accused the other of violating the ceasefire agreement. Duterte, exasperated by the insincerity, formally terminated the peace negotiations with the CPP-NPA in 2018 through Proclamation 360. Despite this, there have been sporadic calls for the resumption of the peace talks, particularly from civil society groups and the international community. More than 40 rounds of peace talks with the CPP-NPA-NDF since 1986 proved futile, marred by spoilers who used violence to attack the peace process. Or were these attempts aimed at forcing their way into negotiations, and alter a process so that their demands would be included in a settlement? Opinions vary, often dependent on political, social, and ideological perspectives. While some people argue that pursuing peace talks is the best way to end the decades-long armed insurgency, others are skeptical about the prospects as evidenced by the little willingness to negotiate in good faith, human rights violations, coupled with unreasonable and unrealistic demands. Peace is a priority for more than 110 million Filipinos who hope to see an end to the decades-long insurgency in the country. If top-level negotiated settlements fail, there is the Localized Peace Engagement or LPE — a viable alternative solution to the armed conflict. Introduced by the national government in 2017 after the breakdown of the peace negotiations with the Reds, let us give this community-based approach to peacebuilding a chance. After all, who wouldn’t want to address the underlying social, economic, and political grievances that fuel armed conflicts? The post Give LPE a chance appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Two climbers die on Everest, toll reaches seven
Two more climbers have died on Everest, expedition organisers said Thursday, bringing the number of deaths on the world's highest peak this spring climbing season to seven. The latest fatalities were a 58-year-old Indian woman who said before her expedition that she had a pacemaker, and a Nepali member of a team clearing trash from the mountain. Suzanne Leopoldina Jesus died at a hospital in the Nepal town of Lukla after the Indian mountaineer was airlifted from base camp due to illness. "We brought the Indian climber to Lukla from the base camp in a helicopter on Wednesday as she was sick and could not climb," Da Dendi Sherpa, managing director at Glacier Himalaya Treks and Expedition, told AFP. Jesus had raised funds for her climb with the slogan, "Everest expedition and back on a pacemaker, at the age of 58". The primary school teacher aimed to be Asia's first person on a pacemaker and the oldest Indian to climb Everest, the Himalayan Times reported. "We tried to send her to Kathmandu. But due to the bad weather conditions, the helicopter could not fly to Kathmandu. She was admitted to a local hospital in Lukla where she died this morning," Sherpa said. In the other death, a Nepali trash collector died on Tuesday while descending. He was part of an annual mountain clean-up campaign by Nepal's army. "Work is underway to bring his body back," Pasang Sherpa from expedition company Peak Promotion told AFP. Nepal has issued 478 permits for Everest to foreign climbers this season, which runs until early June. Since most will need a guide, more than 900 people in total will try to summit. On Wednesday, a Moldovan climber died at Camp Four en route to the top. Three Nepali climbers perished last month when a block of glacial ice fell and swept them into a crevasse as they were crossing the treacherous Khumbu icefall on a supply mission. A 69-year-old US mountaineer also died this month during an acclimatisation rotation at an altitude of around 6,400 metres (21,000 feet). On average, around five climbers die every spring climbing season on Everest. But in 2019, 11 people died, with four of the deaths blamed on overcrowding on the mountain. str/pm/stu/axn © Agence France-Presse Add to cart Print Download Share this document Copy the content The post Two climbers die on Everest, toll reaches seven appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Every breath a struggle, as air pollution harms health in Thailand
An elderly patient hooked up to a tangle of tubes lies struggling for breath in a Bangkok hospital as Thailand battles a "drastic increase" in respiratory problems caused by a spike in air pollution. His wife holds his hand and strokes his face, with a nurse in blue scrubs listening to his chest through a stethoscope. Every single breath is an exertion. About 2.4 million people in Thailand have needed treatment for medical problems linked to air pollution since the start of the year, including nearly 200,000 this week alone, according to health officials. Bangkok and the northern city of Chiang Mai were among the top 10 most polluted cities in the world on Friday, according to air quality monitoring firm IQAir. Piamlarp Sangsayunh, a respiratory disease specialist at the Central Chest Institute of Thailand in Nonthaburi, says she has seen a "drastic increase in patients since February". "The patients usually have respiratory problems like coughing and sore throats," she told AFP on Friday, adding that eye irritation is also common. Elderly people are among the most vulnerable to air pollution, which can exacerbate existing conditions, sometimes requiring them to be put on oxygen machines, she said. But she said those working outdoors -- such as Bangkok's vast army of street vendors and motorbike taxi drivers -- were the ones "on the front line" of the crisis. Toxic air Uraiwan Chantana, who sells fish balls on the street in Bangkok's central shopping district, said breathing in toxic air every day made her exhausted, but she could not shut her stall because she had no other way to earn money. "I feel a burning pain inside my nose and I regularly cough," she told AFP. "I feel out of breath when I climb stairs when I normally didn't." World Health Organisation representative to Thailand Jos Vandelaer said air pollution was not solely a health issue but also dented economic productivity. "If people are sick they can't go to work, and there will be a reduction in economic activity," he told AFP. The economic cost of air pollution in Thailand in 2019 was equal to $63.1 billion or 11 percent of the gross domestic product, according to Kasetsart University environmental economist Witsanu Attavanich. One of the biggest concerns is tiny particles known as PM2.5, smaller than the diameter of a hair, which can penetrate deep into the lungs and even reach the bloodstream. According to IQAir, in 2022 the average PM2.5 concentration in Thailand was 3.6 times the WHO's annual air quality guideline limits. "In the long term, there are more risks for respiratory infections... If people have asthma that can get worse, people can develop chronic lung diseases, even lung cancer," Vandelaer said. "What is less well known is that this PM2.5 can cause cardiovascular diseases... increase the risk of a stroke or heart attack." Air pollution was a factor in about 31,000 deaths in 2019 in Thailand according to WHO data. Smoke from forest fires, farmers burning crop stubble, as well as vehicle emissions and heavy industry-generated fumes, are among the main causes of toxic smog in the kingdom. The El Nino weather pattern is also exacerbating the haze problem in Southeast Asia, experts say. Thailand is home to more than 70 million people and its poor air quality is a growing issue ahead of the country's May 14 election, with the incumbent government accused of not doing enough. "We need to fix the problem at the roots, as a doctor I'm just on the receiving end dealing with the consequences," Piamlarp said. Vandelaer said more regulation was needed to address fires and polluters, adding that individuals should also think about how their transportation and lifestyle choices affected air quality. Bangkok motorcycle taxi driver Tip Panyangam, 59, said he often felt unwell from the smog despite wearing a double mask. "I want the people in power to reduce it because I am worried about my health," he told AFP. The post Every breath a struggle, as air pollution harms health in Thailand appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Israeli forces shoot 7 in West Bank raid
Seven Palestinians were injured in an Israeli army operation in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry said Tuesday, hours after two Israeli men were injured by gunfire near a Jewish site in annexed east Jerusalem. The shooting comes amid a period of deadly attacks and military raids across the West Bank, along with killings in Israel. The Palestinian ministry reported six people with "minor injuries from live fire" had gone to Jenin governmental hospital, while another person shot had been admitted to a nearby hospital following the raid in the northern West Bank city. A statement from the Israeli military confirmed that an operation was underway in the Jenin refugee camp, without giving further details. Earlier Tuesday, Israeli authorities said a suspected Palestinian gunman had wounded two Israeli men in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood of east Jerusalem after firing at their car. "Police officers are at the scene conducting searches for the suspect who fled," the police said in a statement. Israeli security forces closed off streets in the neighbourhood, where an AFP journalist saw officers entering a Palestinian home, with a drone and helicopter as well as police dogs aiding the search. Officers enforcing the shutdown prevented cars and people from moving in the centre of the neighborhood, as heavily armed forces combed the area. Police announced they had found the perpetrator's gun near the scene of the attack, which took place near the tomb of Simeon the Just -- Shimon Hatzadik in Hebrew -- a site frequented by religious Jews. The weapon was identified as a Carlo makeshift submachine gun, which Palestinians manufacture in the West Bank. Hadassah Hospital said they received a 48-year-old gunshot victim lightly wounded, and Shaare Zedek medical centre said it was treating a man in his 50s in moderate condition. The search was punctuated by the 10:00 am (0700 GMT) two-minute siren marking Israel's Holocaust Remembrance Day, honouring more than six million Jews killed by the Nazis during World War II. Jerusalem mayor Moshe Lion, speaking at a city hall ceremony, said one of the Holocaust's main lessons was "to never be helpless in the face of those seeking to harm us". Later in the morning, most of the security forces had left Sheikh Jarrah, with roads reopened and traffic flowing as normal, the AFP journalist said. Sheikh Jarrah was the focal point of protests against the eviction of Palestinian residents by Israeli settler organisations in the build up to and during the May 2021 war between Israel and Gaza militants. It is also the site of a weekly Israeli demonstration against the occupation of the Palestinian territories. The attack took place a day after a Palestinian woman stabbed and moderately wounded an Israeli man at the Gush Etzion junction in the southern West Bank. The woman was shot by security forces and taken to hospital in moderate condition. The conflict has this year claimed the lives of at least 96 Palestinians, 19 Israelis, one Ukrainian and one Italian, according to an AFP count based on Israeli and Palestinian official sources. These figures include, on the Palestinian side, combatants and civilians, including minors, and on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, including minors, and three members of the Arab minority. The post Israeli forces shoot 7 in West Bank raid appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
New DCPO chief to focus on personnel morale, asset optimization
THE Davao City Police Office (DCPO) bid farewell to PCol. Alberto Lupaz and welcomed its new City Director, PCol. Richard Bad-ang, in a turn-over ceremony at the Camp Captain Domingo E. Leonor on March 22......»»
Xinhua Asia-Pacific news summary at 1600 GMT, March 25
JAKARTA -- One was killed and nine others, including children, went missing after a landslide struck a village in the Indonesian province of West Java on Sunday, a local official said Monday. The disaster took place in Cibenda village in West Bandung regency on Sunday after torrential rain reportedly poured over the area for around two hours. (Indonesia-Landslide) - - - - SYDNEY -- Local media repo.....»»
Xinhua world news summary at 1530 GMT, March 26
MANILA -- Three suspected rebels were killed in a clash with government forces in Batangas province, south of Manila, on Tuesday, the Philippine military said. The military said a 30-minute gunfight broke out around 6:30 a.m. local time after the troops ran into a group of New People's Army (NPA) rebels in Rosario town. (Philippines-Clash) - - - - BEIRUT -- Two people were killed and nine other civ.....»»
Xinhua Asia-Pacific news summary at 1600 GMT, March 25
JAKARTA -- One was killed and nine others, including children, went missing after a landslide struck a village in the Indonesian province of West Java on Sunday, a local official said Monday. The disaster took place in Cibenda village in West Bandung regency on Sunday after torrential rain reportedly poured over the area for around two hours. (Indonesia-Landslide) - - - - SYDNEY -- Local media repo.....»»
Southeast Asian Police, Prosecutors Join Forces to Fight Scamdemic
Bangkok - Police and prosecutors across Southeast Asia are forging new ways of working together to thwart and pursue the sprawling criminal networks behind the online scam centers that have quickly taken root in the region, experts involved in the effort have told VOA.In a few short years, scamming hubs bilking billions of dollars out of victims across the globe have set up shop in Cambodia, Laos, the Philippine.....»»
Southeast Asian Police, Prosecutors Join Forces to Fight Scamdemic
Bangkok - Police and prosecutors across Southeast Asia are forging new ways of working together to thwart and pursue the sprawling criminal networks behind the online scam centers that have quickly taken root in the region, experts involved in the effort have told VOA.In a few short years, scamming hubs bilking billions of dollars out of victims across the globe have set up shop in Cambodia, Laos, the Philippine.....»»
Elijah Woods on first-ever Asia tour, ‘loving’ Filipino fans
Canadian singer-songwriter and producer Elijah Woods (stylized as elijah woods) is bringing to Asia his ilu 24/7, 365 tour. The series of shows will commence on May 13 in Singapore and travel through Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Manila, Tokyo and Taipei......»»
Asia-Pacific women fight foreign exploitation
"We have a lot of platforms where we can show our defiance and our strength. The moment women chose to take the path of armed struggle, they already defied the macho-feudal imperialist system that says that only men can topple the system or become part of the revolutionary army." The post Asia-Pacific women fight foreign exploitation appeared first on Bulatlat......»»
3 suspected rebels killed in central Philippine clash
MANILA, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- Government forces clashed with suspected rebels in Iloilo province in the central Philippines before dawn on Wednesday, killing three insurgents, the military said. The military reported that a 20-minute gunfight between troops and around 20 New People's Army (NPA) rebels broke out around 3:20 a.m. local time after troops overran a rebel camp in a village in San Joaquin town. T.....»»
3 suspected rebels killed in central Philippine clash
MANILA, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- Government forces clashed with suspected rebels in Iloilo province in the central Philippines before dawn on Wednesday, killing three insurgents, the military said. The military reported that a 20-minute gunfight between troops and around 20 New People's Army (NPA) rebels broke out around 3:20 a.m. local time after troops overran a rebel camp in a village in San Joaquin town. T.....»»
NEWS BRIEFS | 8 February 2024
House Speaker Romualdez visits Army’s 4ID HQ in Cagayan de Oro House Speaker Martin Romualdez visited the headquarters of the Army’s 4th Infantry Division in Camp Evangelista, barangay Patag here on Tuesday. Major Francisco Garello, 4ID spokesperson, said Romualdez came here as part of a two-day Armed Forces of the Philippines and House of Representatives […].....»»
Xinhua Asia-Pacific news summary at 1600 GMT, Feb. 10
ISLAMABAD -- Pakistani security forces have killed a high-value terrorist during an intelligence-based operation in the country's southwest Balochistan province, the military said in a statement. The operation was conducted in the Qila Saifullah district of the province on the reported presence of terrorists in the area, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the Pakistani army's media wing, said in a state.....»»
Israel: Rafah Evacuation Plans Catastrophic, Unlawful
(Jerusalem) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered the Israeli army and other officials to submit to the cabinet a plan to evacuate Rafah, Gaza's southernmost governorate. Netanyahu said this action is necessary to attack Hamas battalions in the area.Wi.....»»