11/06/2026

THURSDAY | JUNE 11, 2026

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Four officers jailed over acid attack

Reuters earlier obtained satellite images confirming the platform’s presence, although an image taken on June 1 showed it was no longer at the mouth of the shoal. The Philippine Coast Guard said it was last observed in the middle of the lagoon. Philippine officials refused to speculate on the platform’s purpose or whether they view its presence as an escalation by China, which last year announced the creation of a national nature reserve at the shoal. Jay Batongbacal, a professor at the University of the Philippines and a maritime law expert, said the photos were reminiscent of Mischief Reef, one of seven artificial islands that China has built in the South China Sea. “They started with the base, then small huts that kept getting upgraded,” Batongbacal said, adding that he saw the structure as part of China’s “actions to incrementally change the facts on the ground”. Asean is negotiating with China on a Code of Conduct for the South China Sea but an agreement remains elusive. – Reuters members of Indonesia’s military intelligence unit with ranks of captain, first lieutenant, and second sergeant, another judge, Zainal, said. The first defendant was given the heaviest sentence because he was the one who executed the attack and “provoked” the others to join in, Zainal said. The second defendant was the one who came with the idea to use acid, while the third and fourth defendant “acted passively” by “participating” in the attack, he said. Prosecutors had previously demanded that all the defendants be sentenced to two and a half years. The chief of the military’s intelligence unit resigned in March in what a military spokesperson described as a form of responsibility for the attack. Another judge said the defendants prepared the attack because they were “offended and outraged” by Andrie, who interrupted a closed-door parliamentary meeting in a hotel attended by military officials. The meeting last year concerned revisions to military law that would allow more soldiers to be appointed to civilian posts. They were also outraged because

JAKARTA: An Indonesian military court yesterday sentenced four military officers to jail terms of up to three years for their involvement in an acid attack on an activist known for campaigning against the growing role of the military. One defendant was sentenced to three years in jail, a second to two and a half years, the third to two years and the fourth to one and a half years, judge Fredy Ferdian said, adding the first and second defendants were also dishonourably discharged from the military. He said the attack was not influenced by any “chain of command”. The four officers were found guilty on charges of serious premeditated assault after attacking Andrie Yunus, a deputy coordinator with the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence, a rights group also known as KontraS. Responding to the ruling, the defendants’ lawyers said they would consider an appeal. The four soldiers were all o Judge says no chain of command influence

(From left) Sami Lakka, Nandala Dwi Prasetya, Budhi Hariyanto Widhi Cahyono and Edi Sudarko were found guilty by a military court yesterday. – REUTERSPIC

defendants’ own initiative and spontaneity,” he said. The assault inflicted burns on 20% of Andrie’s body and left his right eye heavily damaged.

Amnesty International Indonesia said the verdict brings no justice to Andrie and “fails to duly consider the involvement of other actors or the chain of command”. – Reuters

Quake death toll rises to 46 GENERAL SANTOS: Rescuers in the southern Philippines pulled a body from the rubble of a collapsed supermarket yesterday, as the death toll from a major earthquake climbed to 46. The 7.8-magnitude tremor just off the coast of Mindanao on Monday brought down buildings, triggered landslides and set off tsunami warnings across a swathe of the southern island. Joey Deluvio, 39, was one of two employees at a supermarket in General Santos City that has been the focus of recovery efforts despite the constant threat of aftershocks. Life-detecting equipment had traced a “weak pulse” earlier in the operation, local rescuer Michelle Chua told AFP yesterday, but “when they got to the body ... there were no signs of life”. Deluvio’s body was found pinned between two beams. The national disaster agency raised the death toll to 45 yesterday, while the number of people missing jumped dramatically from four to 17. However, the figure for fatalities did not include Deluvio, the civil defence office confirmed. Most of the additional dead were from Davao Occidental province, and Andrie had accused the military of being the mastermind behind nationwide protests in August last year, the judge said. “The attack stemmed from the

Remove floating platform, China urged MANILA: The Philippines said it is urging Beijing to remove a floating structure placed at Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea, adding that it will not allow the atoll to be turned into a man-made island. shoal and said China’s activities there, including research, are legitimate. Photos also showed the presence of buoys and a different antenna.

Manila on Tuesday lodged a diplomatic protest with China over the presence of a “movable platform”, which the Philippine Coast Guard said was likely deployed by Chinese research vessels. “From the lens of defence and security, we are doing what we can to perform our mandate, and that includes preventing Bajo de Masinloc from being developed into another man-made island,” Philippine Navy spokesperson Roy Trinidad told a press briefing. Security officials shared photos of the floating structure, showing a square platform with several people on board and an antenna. The structure appeared to have been built from wooden planks forming a central deck, surrounded by cylindrical flotation devices. China has neither confirmed nor denied it is responsible for the structure. Its Foreign Ministry on Tuesday reiterated that Beijing had “indisputable sovereignty” over the

Filipinos living on the mountainside evacuating yesterday after a landslide following the quake in Barangay Kapatan, Glan, Sarangani province. – REUTERSPIC

He advised coastal communities to immediately evacuate to higher ground when a strong tremor strikes. “People living in coastal communities should know the natural signs of impending local tsunamis,” he said. Bacolcol mentioned three signs of an upcoming tsunami – strong shaking, a sudden drop or rise in sea level and a roaring sound coming from the sea. “If any of these signs are observed, then they should evacuate immediately to a higher place.” – AFP/Bernama

most had been killed in landslides or collapsing buildings, civil defence official Rafaelito Alejandro said. All areas along the six active trenches in the Philippines could experience an earthquake of up to 8.2 in magnitude, the head of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said on Tuesday. These trenches are the Philippine Trench (located from East Luzon to Southeast Mindanao); East Luzon Trough; Manila Trench; Negros Trench; Sulu Trench; and Cotabato Trench, Phivolcs Director Teresito Bacolcol said.

Philippines foreign minister to meet Myanmar ethnic groups MANILA: Philippine Foreign Minister Ma Theresa Lazaro said yesterday she intends to meet ethnic groups from Myanmar in the coming days to learn about the situation and seek solutions. “I intend to meet certain groups and find out how we can help,”she said at a forum in Tokyo. The Philippines is this year’s Asean chair and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr has appointed Lazaro as his special envoy to Myanmar. Lazaro did not specify whom she will meet and where. “We’ll see how it works,”Lazaro said. Myanmar has been ravaged by conflict since 2021 when protests against a coup were suppressed by the

Myanmar since a civilian government took over in April. Myanmar President Min Aung Hlaing has said his new government will strive to normalise relations with Asean. – Reuters

military, unleashing civil war involving a loose alliance of rebel groups. Myanmar’s leadership has since been barred from attending top Asean meetings but the bloc has been seeking ways to re-engage with