13/07/2026

MONDAY | JULY 13, 2026

READ OUR

HERE

7

Malaysian Paper

/thesun

14 nations reaffirm ruling on maritime claims TOKYO: China’s expansive maritime claims in the South China Sea have no legal basis, Japan, the Philippines, the United States and 11 other countries said in a joint statement yesterday to mark the 10th anniversary of a landmark international tribunal ruling. The Philippines won the 2016 case at the Permanent Court of Arbitration that found China’s sweeping claim of sovereignty in the South China Sea had no basis under international law, a decision Beijing rejects. “We reaffirm that the award rendered 10 years ago by the Arbitral Tribunal is a significant milestone and is final, legally binding and definitive between China and the Philippines,” the joint statement said. The Philippines and China have been involved in a series of maritime confrontations in recent years, with Manila accusing Beijing of “dangerous manoeuvres” inside its exclusive economic zone, including the use of water cannons to interfere with resupply missions to Philippine-held features. Apart from Japan, the Philippines and the United States, parties to the joint statement include Australia, Britain, Canada, Estonia, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, New Zealand, Romania and Slovenia. Asean chair Philippines said concluding an effective and substantive South China Sea Code of Conduct has become increasingly urgent. Foreign Affairs Secretary Maria Theresa P. Lazaro said the Philippines remain concerned about coercive actions at sea, including dangerous manoeuvres, harassment of fisherfolk, the use of fire-control radar and other actions that increase the risk of escalation and threaten lives and regional stability. “The code of conduct is seen as an important mechanism to manage tensions, build confidence and ensure that the South China Sea remains an area of peace, stability and prosperity,” she told Bernama in a written interview. On the biggest obstacles to reaching an agreement, Lazaro said the key challenge was ensuring that the code of conduct was truly “effective and substantive”. “At the same time, the Philippines believes diplomacy and constructive engagement must continue, including through Asean-led mechanisms, practical cooperation and candid dialogue, as these remain essential to achieving meaningful progress towards the code of conduct’s conclusion within the year,” Lazaro said. Asean aims to conclude a substantive and effective code of conduct by the end of the year, incorporating legally binding mechanisms to enhance confidence-building and facilitate the peaceful management of disputes. Since early this year, Asean and China have stepped up efforts to finalise the long-delayed code of conduct, including through monthly face-to-face technical meetings, as both sides push to meet the 2026 target after years of slow progress. – Reuters/Bernama

A woman walks past a vehicle knocked over by winds in Wenling,

Zhejiang province. – AFPPIC

Bavi batters eastern China

o Forecasters warn of prolonged rainfall

WENZHOU: Typhoon Bavi , the most powerful storm to strike mainland China this year, brought heavy rainfall to the eastern coast yesterday and lashed densely populated cities with violent winds, testing the country’s ability to cope with extreme weather. Bavi had weakened by yesterday morning to a tropical storm as it pushed inland, but forecasters warned that the France-sized storm system could unleash prolonged and widespread rainfall across eastern and northern China in the coming days. Nearly two million people were evacuated ahead of Bavi’s arrival, mostly in Zhejiang province, an economic and technological powerhouse in the world’s second-largest economy. Bavi struck Zhejiang’s coastal city of Yuhuan at about 11.20pm (same time in Malaysia) on Saturday before making a second landfall in Yueqing, part of the city of Wenzhou, at about midnight. “When it made landfall last night, the winds were very strong. We could hear roof tiles and tree branches falling. “Of course, we were scared, but we live by the sea, so we’re used to it,” said Yueqing resident Li Liangxing. Gesturing toward a flooded canal beside his residential compound, Li said he had never seen the water rise so high. “There used to be a walkway there, but now it’s underwater,” he said. More than 1,300 trees fell across Yueqing, with more than 700 of them uprooted entirely, state broadcaster CCTV reported. The deepest flooding reached roughly half

A resident sits beside a collapsed wall in Dongsha village, Taizhou, Zhejiang province. – REUTERSPIC

yesterday, along with 62 domestic trips. The disruption also extended to China’s transport networks. In Zhejiang’s provincial capital Hangzhou, two major train stations suspended all services and 327 flights were cancelled at Xiaoshan International Airport. In neighbouring Shanghai, a total of 1,620 train trips and 684 flights were cancelled, state-backed The Pape r reported. As Bavi churns further across China, regions near its path could receive several hundred millimetres of rain in a matter of days, raising the risk of flooding and landslides, said Benjamin Horton, the dean of the School of Energy and Environment at the City University of Hong Kong. “Even if the storm weakens after landfall, its large circulation could continue to generate destructive weather hundreds of kilometres inland,” he said. – Reuters

the height of a vehicle tyre. Emergency crews yesterday deployed excavators and chainsaws to clear waterlogged streets littered with fallen trees. In the city’s mountainous north, CCTV footage showed a landslide that sent large boulders tumbling onto a road, while swollen river waters submerged nearby trees. As it approached China, Bavi passed northern Taiwan on Saturday, bringing strong winds and driving rain across much of the island. The storm dumped nearly 80cm of rain in one area in the northern county of Miaoli. Taiwan’s fire department said yesterday that 134 people had been injured, mainly due to falling off motorcycles, slipping or being struck by objects. It reported no deaths. The Transport Ministry said 137 international flights had been cancelled

Suu Kyi will be looked after, Myanmar tells Asean special envoy BANGKOK: Asean foreign ministers were told yesterday by their Myanmar counterpart that detained former leader Aung San Suu Kyi is in good health and would be looked after, Asean’s special envoy to Myanmar said. kick-start a five-year-old peace initiative that has failed to end a civil war gripping the country. Myanmar’s leadership has been banned from top-level Asean meetings since the military seized power because of their failure to implement a “five-point consensus” peace plan agreed with the bloc.

health and that the premise of how he said this is that she is a relative, she’s a sister and therefore we will take care of her,” Lazaro told a press conference. Suu Kyi is serving a 27-year sentence, recently commuted by one third, on a series of charges that her allies said were fabricated to keep her out of politics, including incitement, corruption, election fraud and violations of the state secrets law. He has denied wrongdoing. The top Asean diplomats met in person with their Myanmar counterpart yesterday for the first time since the coup, in an effort to

Maria Theresa P. Lazaro, the Philippine foreign minister, has been seeking access to Suu Kyi, 81, who has been detained since her elected government was ousted in a 2021 military coup. “My recollection of the statement of the Myanmar foreign minister on Aung San Suu Kyi is that she’s in good

Lazaro attends a press conference with Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow (not pictured) in Bangkok yesterday. – AFPPIC

The country has since April been led by a civilian government following an election earlier this year. Former government leader Min Aung Hlaing is now president and has sought to normalise relations with Asean. – Reuters