17/03/2026

TUESDAY | MAR 17, 2026

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Philippines rejects claim over atoll

aggressive actions inside its EEZ. Those include water-cannoning and interference in resupply missions to Philippine-held features that Manila has often called “dangerous manoeuvres”. China has insisted its coast guard has acted professionally to defend what is its territory. The Philippines won a landmark case at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in 2016 that found China’s sweeping claim of sovereignty in the South China Sea had no basis under international law, a decision that Beijing rejects. – Reuters

Scarborough Shoal did not fall within Manila’s territory. Located 200km off the Philippines and inside its exclusive economic zone, the strategic shoal is close to major shipping lanes and is coveted for its fish stocks and a turquoise lagoon that provides safe haven for vessels during storms. “Sovereignty is not merely claimed, it is exercised,” Villanueva said. The Philippines and China have been locked in a series of maritime confrontations in recent years, with the Philippines accusing Beijing of

over disputes in the South China Sea. China’s embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Philippines and China both lay claim to the Scarborough Shoal, which is effectively under Beijing’s control through continuous deployment of its coast guard. Sovereignty over the atoll has never been formally established. Villanueva was responding to a weekend social media post by the embassy that said a former Philippine ambassador had told a German radio station that

State Administration Council Chairman Min Aung Hlaing is tipped to swap his military fatigues for the civilian sash of president to lead the new government when it takes power next month. The president will be picked by a vote across both houses of parliament. Military MPs wearing light-green service uniforms clamoured to collect their parliamentary passes but declined interview requests. Min Aung Hlaing was not seen on the parliamentary grounds. Some Myanmar experts believe Min Aung Hlaing may remain military chief to puppeteer the government behind the scenes. The military has ruled Myanmar for most of its post-independence history, before a decade-long democratic thaw saw civilian leader Suu Kyi take the reins. Analysts say the military staged its 2021 coup as it grew anxious about its waning influence compared to her movement. But the putsch sparked civil war as pro-democracy activists took up arms alongside ethnic minority factions which have long resisted central rule. The USDP, which won more than 80% of seats contested in the election, was founded by an ex general and is staffed by many retired high-ranking officers. Serving armed forces members take several key Cabinet positions and a quarter of parliament seats under the terms of a military-drafted constitution which gives them an entrenched position in the political establishment. – AFP subject to established international legal procedures and dispute settlement mechanisms, not through unilateral proclamations or social media posts,” Philippine Foreign Ministry spokesperson Rogelio Villanueva told a briefing. Villanueva said the Philippines had “indivisible, incontrovertible and longstanding sovereignty” over Scarborough Shoal and the islands Manila holds in the Spratly archipelago. The remarks are the latest in a war of words between Philippine officials and the Chinese embassy in Manila

MANILA: The Philippines said yesterday it rejected Beijing’s assertion of sovereignty over the entire South China Sea, disputing a claim by China’s embassy that a Filipino diplomat had once conceded the disputed Scarborough Shoal was not part of Philippine territory. “China must be reminded that maritime and territorial claims are o ‘Disputes subject to mechanisms’

Myanmar military allies fill parliament NAYPYIDAW: Myanmar’s parliament convened yesterday for the first time since a 2021 military coup, packed with pro-military lawmakers. military, intended to give its rule a veneer of legitimacy.

The majority of MPs hail from the pro-military Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) while most of the remainder belong to the armed forces, which are entitled to a quarter of unelected seats. MPs in the People’s Assembly begin proceedings yesterday by electing USDP lawmaker Nanda Kyaw Swar as lower house chairman. The last election in 2020 returned a resounding victory for Aung San Suu Kyi but the military claimed voter fraud and swept aside the results: detaining the Nobel Peace Prize laureate, disbanding her party and triggering civil war. After five years of military rule, the government held a phased vote in December and January, outlawing criticism of the poll and stacking the ballot with its civilian allies. As MPs took their seats in the chamber, some exiled parliamentarians from the 2020 vote held a parallel session, asserting that their self-declared “National Unity Government” (NUG) remains the country’s rightful leadership. “We have been witnessing an attempt to deceive the public with fraudulent representation through these fake elections,” said NUG acting president Duwa Lashi La in an online meeting of the shadow government. “The coup commission is seeking international legitimacy through any available means,” he said. The election did not take place in huge tracts of the country controlled by rebels, and analysts describe the new cohort of MPs as a proxy of the

Rescued Thai crew members at Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok yesterday. – REUTERSPIC

20 Thai sailors return home BANGKOK: Twenty Thai crew members of a cargo ship that was attacked in the Strait of Hormuz arrived in Thailand yesterday, with three of their colleagues still stranded on the vessel in the Gulf. escorted away by officials without speaking to media. The wife of one of the returned crew, who gave her name as Bass, told reporters she was still waiting to see her husband after the ordeal.

medical examinations and mental health assessments”. Its “highest priority” remained the “continued efforts to locate the three crew members who are still missing”, the company said. The company said last week that the three crew were “believed to be trapped in the engine room”, which was damaged in the attack. Thailand was seeking assistance for the three stranded crew from two other nations, Foreign Ministry deputy spokeswoman Maratee Andamo said at Suvarnabhumi airport. The Omani navy rescued the 20 sailors on Wednesday, the Thai navy said last week. – AFP in Indonesia, including Amnesty International, alleged the attack intended to kill Andrie, calling it intimidation of rights defenders. Jakarta police official Iman Imanuddin said yesterday an investigation was underway, with officers combing CCTV footage that showed Andrie had been followed by the perpetrators before the attack. A parliamentary commission called the attack a violation of Prabowo’s commitment to human rights, while Law Minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra said the incident “constitutes an attack on democracy itself”. – Reuters

“We are all afraid but they are employees, if they refuse to go (out to sea) they won’t get paid,” the 32-year old woman said. “I don’t know where they went or when they will return home. The company hasn’t told me anything,” she said. The vessel’s owner Precious Shipping said in a statement the company would provide “welfare support for the crew, including gripped Indonesia in August and September last year, which mushroomed after a motorcyclist was killed near a protest, prompting riots and widespread arrests. Andrie Yunus, a deputy coordinator with the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence, known as KontraS, suffered burns to 24% of his face and arms from acid thrown by two assailants on a motorcycle on March 12, police said. KontraS said Andrie was attacked after taping a podcast episode on the topic of the military’s expanded role. More than 170 civil society groups

The Thai-registered Mayuree Naree was hit by two projectiles on Wednesday while transiting through the Gulf waterway, after departing a port in the United Arab Emirates. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they had struck the Thai ship, as well as a Liberia-flagged vessel, in the strait because they had ignored “warnings”. The 20 sailors landed at Thailand’s main international airport early yesterday and were immediately

Acid attack probe underway JAKARTA: Indonesian police said yesterday they were investigating an acid attack on an activist known for his opposition to the military’s expanded role in civilian affairs, as the incident drew condemnation from local and international rights groups.

Concern over the erosion of democratic values has grown in Indonesia, where the military’s involvement in civilian areas and state-run businesses has increased significantly under the administration of President Prabowo Subianto, a retired general. The issue was a factor in unrest that

Myanmar MPs in parliament yesterday. – AFPPIC