06/06/2025

FRIDAY | JUNE 6, 2025

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China offers bounty on Taiwan-linked hackers

“Young people were not born when it was last held here 32 years ago, so I would like them to find out that it is a great event.” The Asian Games feature an eclectic mix of events, with bridge, kabaddi and dragon boat racing rubbing shoulders with traditional Olympic sports, such as athletics, swimming, gymnastics and football. The Aichi-Nagoya Games has added mixed martial arts to the programme, and Yagi expressed hope that its debut would showcase Asia’s diverse martial arts traditions and attract new fans. “We want to appeal to the needs of young people, so including new events is essential.” – AFP PHILIPPINES, U.S. HOLD MARITIME DRILLS MANILA: The Philippines and US militaries have sailed together in the South China Sea for a seventh time to boost inter-operability, Manila’s Armed Forces said yesterday. The exercises included joint operations near shorelines and fire support. The joint sail showcased Philippine vessel Miguel Malvar , an 118m guided missile frigate commissioned last month. Military engagements between the treaty allies have soared under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who has pivoted closer to Washington in response to China’s growing presence in the South China Sea. – Reuters MARINE HEATWAVES IN SOUTHWEST PACIFIC SINGAPORE: Unprecedented heatwaves in the Southwest Pacific affected more than 10% of the global ocean surface in 2024, damaging coral reefs and putting the region’s last remaining tropical glacier at risk of extinction, the United Nation’s weather body said yesterday. Average 2024 temperatures in the region, which covers southeast Asian island states such as Indonesia and the Philippines, were nearly 0.5°C higher than the 1991-2020 mean, the World Meteorological Organisation said in an annual report. Sea levels continue to rise more quickly than the global average, an urgent problem in a region where more than half the population live within 500m of the coast, the report added. – Reuters N. ZEALAND FLOATS NEW PRIVACY LAWS WELLINGTON: New Zealand’s prime minister floated new privacy laws yesterday after his own press secretary was allegedly caught taping sex workers without consent. Senior aide Michael Forbes has since resigned. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said it was unclear whether Forbes had broken the law and new privacy laws could be drafted to clear up the legal grey area. The scandal came to light after a sex worker noticed Forbes’s phone was recording audio while he took a shower, according to an investigation published on Wednesday by New Zealand news outlet Stuff. Forbes’s phone was also found to contain photos of women in compromising positions at the gym, Stuff reported. – AFP

BR I E F S

Strategy”, calling it Taiwan’s attempt to gain independence through relying on the United States. “The US intelligence department has long provided personnel training and technical equipment support for Taiwan’s ‘information, communication and digital army’, and many police stations have sent ‘hunting’ teams to Taiwan to launch cyber-attacks on China,” according to a social media post by an account linked to Chinese state television. Last week, authorities in Guangzhou, the capital of southern Guangdong province, attributed a cyber-attack on an unnamed technology company to the Taiwan government, saying Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party supported the “overseas hacker organisation” responsible. In response, Taiwan said Beijing was peddling false information and it was China that was carrying out hacking against the island. – Reuters

European Union, the United States and the Czech Republic condemning the Chinese communists’ hacking organisations for carrying out cyber-attacks prove that the Chinese communists are not only a regional troublemaker, but a common threat to the global internet.“ A senior Taiwan security official told Reuters that the Chinese allegations were invented, saying Beijing was trying to shift the focus from Czech and European scrutiny over alleged Chinese hacking activities there. “They fabricated a false narrative to shift the focus. It is a very typical behaviour by the Chinese Communist Party,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of the matter. China said Taiwan has long-standing cooperation with the US National Security Agency, the CIA and other intelligence agencies as part of the US “Asia-Pacific

premeditating attacks on key sectors, such as military, aerospace, government departments, energy and transportation, maritime affairs and science and technology research firms in China, as well as in special administration regions Hong Kong and Macau, Xinhua said. Xinhua, citing a cybersecurity report, said the Taiwan “information, communication and digital army” had cooperated with US anti-Chinese forces to conduct public opinion and cognitive warfare against China, secretly instigate revolution and attempt to disrupt public order in China. Taiwan’s Defence Ministry said in a statement it was not carrying out any “corporate cyber-attacks”, and China’s offers of a bounty highlighted “the rude and unreasonable attitude of the Chinese communists in intimidating and coercing the Taiwanese people”. “Recent statements by the

Fake news could raise tensions: Thailand BANGKOK: Thailand has warned against the spread of fake news that could inflame tensions over its border dispute with Cambodia as Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra urged coordinated efforts to address the issue and prevent public agitation. Government spokesperson Jirayu Huangsap said Paetongtarn has instructed all ministries, including security agencies and the Digital Economy and Society Ministry, to closely monitor and curb the dissemination of false information that could incite unrest or escalate the situation. “Paetongtarn has also urged cooperation from all media outlets, including social media platforms and other sectors, to avoid inciting or escalating conflicts, as such actions would be detrimental to the Thai people and the nation.“ On May 28, Thai and Cambodian troops were involved in a gunfight in Thailand’s north-eastern Ubon Ratchathani province and Cambodia’s northern Preah Vihear province, where one Cambodian soldier was reportedly killed. Cambodia announced its plan to bring the border dispute before the International Court of Justice. Jirayu said the Foreign Ministry has been appointed as the central body for providing official clarifications. “The Thai government is confident that the negotiations scheduled for June 14 under the Joint Boundary Commission would help de-escalate the situation,“ said Jirayu. – Bernama BEIJING: Authorities in southern China have offered an undisclosed bounty for more than 20 individuals allegedly linked to Taiwan and suspected of carrying out cyber attacks, state news agency Xinhua reported yesterday. Taipei has strongly denied the accusations. The public security bureau in the Chinese city of Guangzhou said the hackers were connected to the Taiwan government and published their pictures, names and Taiwan identity card numbers. Chinese authorities accused Taiwan of organising, planning and o Taipei says Beijing trying to shift focus from Czech and European scrutiny

DIPLOMATIC DINNER ... Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos and Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong speaking before their official meal at the Malacanang Presidential Palace in Manila on Wednesday. – AFPPIC

‘Floating village’ to house Asian Games athletes in Japan TOKYO: Athletes at next year’s Asian Games in Japan will stay on a “floating village” cruise ship and in converted shipping containers, an organising official told AFP, defending the cost-cutting move. accommodating about half of the 15,000 athletes and officials expected at the Games. The rest would stay in other accommodations, including in Tokyo, where the swimming competition will take place. “I do not think it will be a problem at all with regards to being able to interact with other athletes.”

The 2023 Games in China’s Hangzhou had about 12,000 athletes, making it the biggest Asian Games in history, with more competitors than the Olympics. Yagi admitted that there “still is not enough awareness” that the Aichi-Nagoya Games are happening, and said more needs to be done to spread the word. “I do not think there is anyone in Japan who has not heard of the Olympics or Paralympics but my personal feeling is that maybe only half the population knows about the Asian Games,“ he said.

The plan would see 4,600 athletes and officials housed on the ship for the duration of the Games, which are being held in Nagoya and the wider Aichi area from Sept 19 to Oct 4. Organisers will lease a luxury cruise liner that will be docked at Nagoya’s port. A further 2,400 people would stay in temporary shelters made from shipping containers a short bus ride away, with the two locations

Local organisers were keen to avoid the cost of building a traditional athletes’ village but Asian Olympic chiefs warned that any alternative must make sure that athletes could meet and mingle. Aichi-Nagoya Games organising committee vice-secretary general Kazuhiro Yagi told AFP that they had listened to athletes’ opinions and wanted to “provide a service that satisfies them”.