25/03/2025

TUESDAY | MAR 25, 2025

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US, Philippines launch joint army drills MANILA: Soldiers from the

Papua attack leaves one dead JAKARTA: An attack in Indonesia’s Papua region left one dead and six injured, the military said in a statement. The assault took place on Friday in Anggruk, Yahukimo regency, where gunmen also set fire to education facilities. “Troops were deployed to evacuate victims and secure the area,” said military spokesperson Brigadier General Kristomei Sianturi. Authorities blamed a Free Papua Movement faction led by Elkius Kobak for the arson, accusing them of demanding money from teachers. Security forces later evacuated 42 teachers and healthcare workers to Jayapura. Last week, more than 90 West Papuan tribes, political organisations and religious groups called for a boycott of products implicated in “ecocide” of the region. They called on people to boycott firms with products linked to palm oil sourced from Papua, a driver of deforestation, dubbing it ecological suicide or “ecocide”. “The boycott has identified several brands,” the United Liberation Movement for West Papua said. “All contain palm oil and are made by parent companies that source oil directly from West Papua.” – Bernama/AFP Baloch activist on trial for terrorism QUETTA: Pakistan on Sunday charged a Baloch rights activist with terrorism, sedition and murder after she led a demonstration which ended in the death of three protesters. Mahrang Baloch and other activists took part in a sit-in on Friday outside the University of Balochistan here to demand the release of members of their support group. Police launched a pre-dawn raid on Saturday, arresting Baloch and other activists, during which at least three protesters died. Baloch and other protesters have been charged with terrorism, sedition and murder, according to the police charge sheet seen by AFP. Hamza Shafqaat, a senior administrative official in Quetta, said that Baloch and other activists were held under public order laws. Her lawyer, Imran Baloch, confirmed she was detained in a jail in Quetta. Baloch was barred from travelling to the United States last year to attend a TIME magazine awards gala of “rising leaders”. Protests among the Baloch are often led by women. – AFP

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth is expected to travel to Manila this week to meet Philippine leaders and forces, the Pentagon announced last week. The exercises will focus on enhancing combined operations between their army, large-scale manoeuvres, live-fire exercises and territorial defence, the Philippine Army said in a statement. The Salaknib exercises began in 2016 and are annual engagements between the two treaty allies, part of the broader Balikatan (shoulder

to-shoulder) training drills. Security engagements between the two nations have soared under Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, who has pivoted closer to the United States. Marcos has prioritised upholding the Philippines’ sovereign rights in the South China Sea and has locked horns repeatedly with China over its actions in the disputed waterway, including the constant presence of Beijing’s coast guard near disputed features in Manila’s maritime zone. Hegseth is the first Cabinet

official to visit Manila since President Donald Trump took office in January. Lloyd Austin, who was defence secretary under president Joe Biden, had said America’s alliance with the Philippines would transcend changes in administrations. The Philippines secured an exemption from the 90-day funding freeze that Trump ordered in January so it could receive US$336 million (RM1.5 billion) for the modernisation of its security forces. – Reuters

Philippine and the US armies began three weeks of joint military exercises yesterday, with drills focused on territorial defence and commanding large-scale deployments of forces, the Philippine Army said. Around 5,000 soldiers from the Philippine Army and the US Army Pacific will take part in battlefield scenarios and exchange of expertise in the first phase of this year’s Exercise Salaknib . A second phase is scheduled for later this year.

Thai PM grilled in parliament

BANGKOK: Thailand’s opposition yesterday grilled Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra on the first day of a parliamentary no confidence motion, accusing her of being unqualified and of allowing her powerful father to wield influence over her administration. o Paetongtarn expected to survive no-confidence vote

Duterte’s alleged crimes were “part of a widespread and systematic attack directed against the civilian population in the Philippines”. “Potentially tens of thousands of killings were perpetrated,” the prosecutor alleged of the campaign that targeted mostly poor men, often without proof they were linked to drugs. Victims’ families have welcomed the ICC proceedings as a chance for justice, while Duterte supporters believe he was sent to The Hague amid a spectacular fall-out with the ruling Marcos family. – AFP government is not under anyone’s influence, while Thaksin, 75, has said he is retired and only offers advice. Thaksin has loomed large over Thai politics for the past 24 years. He returned home in 2023 and spent six months in detention in hospital under a government led by the Pheu Thai Party he founded, before being released on parole. He has spoken openly and frequently about policies that include legalising gambling and adopting cryptocurrency and championed a US$14 billion (RM62 billion) handout scheme to stimulate the economy, all of which the Pheu Thai-led government has pursued. Prawit Wongsuwon, a lawmaker and influential former general who was involved in a 2014 coup against another Shinawatra-led government, accused Paetongtarn of failures over the economy and national security and of concealing wealth and running the country to benefit her wealthy family. She offered only a brief rebuttal during the early proceedings. The government’s economic measures so far have yet to spur significant growth in Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy, with last year’s 2.5% expansion far adrift of regional peers. The anchors to growth including structural issues and household debt of US$486 billion, or 89.0% of gross domestic product, are among the highest ratios in Asia. Political scientist Yuttaporn Issarachai said the censure motion was unlikely to weaken the government. – Reuters

The opposition People’s Party said Paetongtarn was taking direction from her father, political heavyweight Thaksin Shinawatra, a former premier who is banned from holding office over a conviction for conflicts of interest and abuse of power that kept him in self-exile for 15 years. “We have a leader outside of the system ... directing government policies without any accountability,” People’s Party leader Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut told parliament. “Thailand is at a double loss: one person works without

accountability, another who holds state power lacks qualifications.” Despite lukewarm ratings in opinion polls, Paetongtarn enters the two-day debate in a firm position, with no signs of turmoil in a ruling coalition that commands a parliamentary majority, making it unlikely the motion will prosper when it goes to a vote tomorrow. Paetongtarn, 38, the fourth member of the Shinawatra family to hold the top post, did not respond to Natthaphong’s allegations. She previously insisted her

Paetongtarn gestures during the no-confidence debate in parliament yesterday. – REUTERSPIC

Duterte confident about strong legal argument THE HAGUE: Former Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte believes he has no case to answer at the International Criminal Court (ICC), his daughter said on Sunday, and is confident he has a strong legal argument. begin with,” Sara Duterte told reporters. The 79-year-old former president faces a charge of crimes against humanity tied to his “war on drugs” in which thousands were killed. him on Saturday, said: “He feels better now and thankfully the doctors and the nurses are taking good care of him.” She had previously revealed that her father’s main complaint was the Dutch food served in the centre.

thousand gathered in spring sunshine on the Malieveld in The Hague. Supporters shouted “bring him home”, with pro-Duterte demonstrators believing the former president was “kidnapped”. His lawyer Salvador Medialdea told the court on March 14 his client had been “abducted from his country”. “He was summarily transported to The Hague. To lawyers it’s extrajudicial rendition. For less legal minds, it’s pure and simple kidnapping,” said Medialdea. In the ICC chief prosecutor’s application for his arrest, he said

He is at a detention centre in The Hague, awaiting a confirmation of charges hearing on Sept 23, where he will have the opportunity to contest the accusations against him. Duterte was bundled into a plane in Manila and brought to the Hague via Dubai, appearing barely awake at his initial hearing two days later. But his daughter, who said she saw

Philippines Vice-President Sara Duterte told reporters her father was now in better health after appearing fatigued and dazed at his first hearing at the ICC. “He’s very confident about the legal arguments. “He’s very confident that what they did was wrong and there is no case to

“He’s getting rice. That’s what we asked for and it’s cooked perfectly. Correct according to Filipino taste,” said Sara Duterte. He was asking for his personal clothes and a supply of diet cola, she said. Sara Duterte had earlier on Sunday addressed a crowd of several