22/06/2025

WORLD 7 ON SUNDAY JUNE 22, 2025

Prabowo reaffirms non-aligned stance

Suga discharged from military service SEOUL: K-pop group BTS member Suga was discharged from the South Korean military yesterday, the seventh and final member to complete the country’s mandatory national service amid expectations of the band’s comeback from a hiatus. Suga finished his military tenure as a social service agent yesterday with little fanfare as fans looked forward to his reunion with the rest of the band, a K-pop sensation since it started up in 2013. “We confirm that Suga effectively completed his alternative service on June 18 by using his remaining leave. His official discharge date is June 21,” BTS’ label, Big Hit Music, said in a statement. Unlike with his BTS bandmates, there was no public event planned to mark Suga’s release because of overcrowding concerns. The seven members of the group put their global music careers on hold in 2022 to begin their military service, starting with Jin in December that year. South Korea’s mandatory national service can be for terms of up to 18 months. Shortly after his official discharge, Suga posted a message on fan community platform Weverse, saying he was “sorry for the disappointment and concern caused by what happened last year”, and also apologising to his bandmates. Last year, Suga was fined 15 million won (RM48,913) by a court for drunk driving while on an electric scooter. The group is expected to hold its largest ever world tour next year, an NH Securities entertainment analyst said in a report. Entertainment group HYBE, which manages BTS, is closely monitored by securities companies. Details of a reunion have not been released. – Reuters Clash over control of Myanmar jade hub YANGON: Myanmar’s military and rebels battled over the country’s jade mining hub on Friday, a combatant and a local said, displacing desperate civilians as they vied for supplies of the precious stone. Myanmar has been consumed by a many-sided civil war since a 2021 coup toppled the democratic government, with the myriad of fighting factions plundering the nation’s vast natural resources to fill their coffers. Jade is considered auspicious in Chinese culture and high-quality stones can fetch astronomical sums in the neighbouring country. Fighting has raged during a Myanmar military offensive around villages and mining sites in the Hpakant township of northern Kachin state, according to Naw Bu, spokesman of the Kachin Independence Army battling the military in the area. “They came to the jade mining areas of some companies and they burned down trucks and destroyed other things. They intended to stop our income from jade mining,“ he said. Battles in the area began around three weeks ago but continued in the early hours of Friday, Naw Bu said. A local resident who asked to remain anonymous said about 15 civilians had been killed since May 28 and “some residents didn’t dare to stay in the combat zone and have been displaced”. As Myanmar’s civil war enters its fifth year, more than 3.5 million people in the Southeast Asian country of around 50 million are displaced, according to UN figures. – AFP

JAKARTA: President Prabowo Subianto reaffirmed Indonesia’s non-aligned foreign policy and praised its swift entry into the BRICS bloc, while setting out an ambitious economic strategy aimed at food security and inclusive growth. Speaking on Friday at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum, he thanked Russia, China, South Africa and Brazil for supporting Indonesia’s admission into BRICS and the New Development Bank. “We were among the fastest to be accepted into BRICS,” he said. Indonesia officially joined BRICS on Jan 6. Prabowo voiced strong support for a shift towards a multipolar global order, saying “the era of unipolar dominance has passed”, and praised Russia and China for “consistently defending the Indonesian president hails BRICS entry

Since taking office last October, he said rice and corn production has grown by 50%, rice stocks reached a record 4.4 million tonnes, and the economy should grow almost 7% by the end of the year. Key reforms include deregulation, anti-corruption measures and the creation of Danantara, a sovereign wealth fund to attract investment and safeguard national assets. Prabowo’s appearance at the forum came a day after he and President Vladimir Putin witnessed the signing of cooperation agreements. At a joint press conference, the two leaders said the agreements reflect a shared commitment. “We respect the sovereignty of all nations, seek peaceful solutions to all problems and prefer collaboration over conflict,” Prabowo added. Putin said both countries hold “similar” views on issues. “We defend sovereignty and support peaceful development.”– Bernama

oppressed and fighting for justice”. He also dismissed speculation over his absence from the G7 summit in Canada, saying he had already committed to the Russian forum. “It’s not a political message. Indonesia remains non-aligned.” Prabowo expressed concern over rising global tensions and called for peaceful resolutions. On domestic policy, he said Indonesia is on course for strong growth and food self-sufficiency, citing a “middle way” approach that blends market-led innovation with government intervention. He criticised decades of neoliberal policies, saying they failed to deliver equitable development, and he now aims at achieving “the greatest good for the many”. “Over the past 30 years, Indonesian elite followed the free-market ideology, but we failed to create a level playing field. Wealth remained in the hands of less than 1%,” Prabowo said.

A fire-fighting drill held off Kagoshima in Japan on Friday wrapped up the joint exercises. – AFPPIC

Joint coast guard drills showcase unity ON BOARD THE ASANAGI : Helicopters buzzed in the shadow of a smouldering volcano and boats rescued dummies from the sea this week in a show of maritime cooperation by Japan, the United States and the Philippines. They included the BRP Teresa Magbanua , which was provided to the Philippines by Japan through a loan agreement. The 2,265-tonne vessel is normally used to monitor Chinese boats.

in the exercises by the cutter Stratton , which can carry up to 170 personnel, and Japan by the 6,000-tonne Asanagi . Friday’s drills began with a simulation of a person falling overboard. Once the dummy, wearing a bright red lifejacket, was in the water, a US drone was launched from the Stratton , circling high above as it scanned the area. A rescue boat then emerged from the Teresa Magbanua , zipping across the water before coast guard personnel fished the dummy out of the water. Other scenarios enacted included a Japanese helicopter racing from shore to pull a human subject from the sea. The exercises concluded with a simulated collision and fire, with all three coast guards blasting the stricken vessel with water cannons. – AFP

China and the Philippines have engaged in months of confrontations in the contested waters, which Beijing claims almost entirely, despite an international ruling that the assertion has no legal basis. Chinese and Japanese patrol vessels in the East China Sea also routinely face off around disputed islands. On Friday, Manila accused China of using a water cannon on two of its fisheries department boats as they attempted to resupply fishermen near the Scarborough Shoal. The US Coast Guard was represented

Tensions between China and other claimants to parts of the East and South China Seas have pushed Japan to deepen ties with the Philippines and the United States. This week marked the second time the countries’ coast guards have held training drills together, and the first in Japan. They took place over five days off the coast of Kagoshima, where Sakurajima volcano dominates the skyline. Dozens of personnel took part, with Friday’s final exercises featuring one vessel from each of the three countries.