17/02/2026

TUESDAY | FEB 17, 2026

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Myanmar expels Timor envoy

Japan protests China comments

TOKYO: Japan said it had lodged a “stern demarche” to China through diplomatic channels after Beijing’s top diplomat Wang Yi accused “far-right forces” in Japan of seeking to revive militarism. Speaking at the Munich Security Conference in Germany, Wang weighed in on Beijing’s relationship with Tokyo, which has been under heavy strain since Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi made comments about Taiwan in November. Wang said that “Japanese people should no longer allow themselves to be manipulated or deceived by those far-right forces, or by those who seek to revive militarism”. “All peace-loving countries should send a clear warning to Japan: if it chooses to walk back on this path, it will only be heading toward self-destruction.” Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs dismissed the claims in a post on X Sunday as “factually incorrect and ungrounded”. “Japan’s efforts to strengthen its defence capabilities are in response to an increasingly severe security environment and are not directed against any specific third country,” the statement said. It said there were “countries in the international community that have been rapidly increasing their military capabilities in a non-transparent manner” but added that “Japan opposes such moves and distances itself from them”. Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi made his stance clear at another session of the conference, followed by a stern demarche against the Chinese side through diplomatic channels, the statement said. Just weeks into her term, Takaichi said Japan would intervene militarily in any attack on Taiwan. Takaichi was seen as a China hawk before becoming Japan’s first woman prime minister in October. She said last week that under her leadership Japan, which hosts some 60,000 US military personnel, would bolster its defences and “steadfastly protect” its territory. – AFP Maintain harmony, Singaporeans told SINGAPORE: Prime Minister Lawrence Wong called on all Singaporeans to continue upholding the values of harmony during the upcoming festive celebrations. Speaking in his Chinese New Year video message, Wong said this year’s celebration is especially meaningful to the nation, as Muslims also begin observing the blessed month of Ramadan. “The coming together of these occasions reminds us of the beauty of multicultural Singapore. “This harmony did not happen by chance, it was built over generations through mutual respect, trust, and understanding,” he said in a video posted on his official Facebook page yesterday. Chinese New Year this year falls on Feb 17, while Muslims will start fasting on Feb 19. According to Wong, the government is also working to provide families with greater assurance through initiatives outlined in Budget 2026, which is a key priority and a foundation of society. “In this year’s budget, we have taken further steps, from CDC (Community Development Council) vouchers for every household to receive additional credits for every child and more retirement support for seniors. “When we care for our families, we strengthen the bonds that hold our society together, we should also extend this care to our communities.” – Bernama

country’s appointment of a prosecutor to look into it resulted in “setting an unprecedented practice, negative interpretation and escalation of (public) resentments”. The government statement accused East Timor of violating Asean charter articles that “underscore the importance of upholding respect for sovereignty and non-interference”. It said East Timor’s charge d’affaires had been summoned on Friday and was given a week to leave Myanmar. Myanmar previously expelled East Timor’s top diplomat in August 2023, over a meeting his government held with a banned shadow administration founded in the aftermath of the coup. East Timor’s embassy in Myanmar did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The diplomatic spat comes as the Myanmar military faces international scrutiny for its role in an alleged genocide against the Rohingya in a case being heard at the International Court of Justice. Myanmar has denied the charge. – Reuters/AFP

In January, CHRO officials also met East Timor President Jose Ramos-Horta, who last year led the tiny Catholic nation’s accession into Asean, of which Myanmar is also a member. CHRO filed the complaint in East Timor because it was seeking an Asean member with an independent judiciary as well as a country that would be sympathetic to the suffering of Chin State’s majority Christian population, the group’s Executive Director Salai Za Uk said. “Such unconstructive engagement by a head of state of one Asean member state with an unlawful organisation opposing another Asean member state is totally unacceptable,” the Global New Light of Myanmar quoted the Foreign Ministry as saying. A spokesman for the Myanmar government did not respond to calls seeking comment. Early this month, CHRO said East Timor’s judicial authorities had opened legal proceedings against the Myanmar government, including its chief Min Aung Hlaing, following the complaint filed by the rights group. Myanmar’s Foreign Ministry said East Timor’s acceptance of the case and the

o Row escalates over criminal complaint

YANGON: Myanmar has ordered the head of East Timor’s diplomatic mission to leave the country within seven days, state media quoted the Foreign Ministry as saying yesterday, in an escalating row over a criminal complaint filed by a rights group against Myanmar’s armed forces. Myanmar has been in turmoil since 2021, when the military ousted the elected government led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, sparking a wave of protests that have morphed into civil war. Myanmar’s Chin state Human Rights Organisation (CHRO) last month filed a complaint with the Justice Department of East Timor, also known as Timor-Leste, alleging that the Myanmar military had carried out war crimes and crimes against humanity since the 2021 coup.

COLOSSAL CHASM ... A large sinkhole that formed on a farm in Pondok Balik village, Central Aceh Regency, Indonesia. – REUTERSPIC

ByteDance pledges to prevent unauthorised IP use HONG KONG: ByteDance will take steps to prevent the unauthorised use of intellectual property on its AI video generator Seedance 2.0, the technology firm said yesterday, following threats of legal action from US studios, including Disney. Disney characters to train and power Seedance 2.0 without permission, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters late on Sunday. Disney said ByteDance had pre-packaged Seedance with a pirated library of copyrighted characters from franchises including Star Wars and Marvel, portraying them as if they were public-domain clip art, the person said. It did not elaborate on the measures it was taking. Online news outlet Axios was the first to report on Disney’s move. Paramount Skydance has also sent a cease-and-desist letter to ByteDance, accusing the firm of engaging in “blatant infringement” of its intellectual property, Variety reported.

Videos generated by Seedance 2.0, which was released last week, have gone viral in China including one of Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt in a fight. The AI model has been compared to DeepSeek and has been praised for its ability to produce cinematic storylines with just a few prompts. Disney sent a cease-and-desist letter to ByteDance accusing the Chinese firm of using

Disney has taken similar actions against Character.AI, demanding that the startup immediately stop the unauthorised use of its copyrighted characters. In December, Disney signed a licensing deal with OpenAI, letting the startup use characters from Star Wars, Pixar and Marvel franchises in its Sora video generator. – Reuters

The letter alleged Seedance was reproducing, distributing and creating derivative works featuring Spider-Man, Darth Vader and other characters, the person said. “We are taking steps to strengthen safeguards as we work to prevent the unauthorised use of intellectual property and likeness by users,” ByteDance said.