03/06/2025

TUESDAY | JUNE 3, 2025

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Cambodia to file complaint with ICJ over border dispute

Philippines, EU agree to start security dialogue MANILA: The Philippines and the European Union have agreed to start a dialogue on security and defence to tackle emerging threats like cyber attacks and foreign interference, Foreign Minister Enrique Manalo said yesterday. The announcement came during the visit to Manila of EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas for meetings with Manalo as well as a courtesy call on Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. “We hope that through the security and defence dialogue we will remain proactive and united in addressing emerging security threats that transcend borders, cyber attacks and foreign interference and manipulation of information,” Manalo said in a joint briefing with Kallas. Kallas said the new dialogue will be a “dedicated platform” in which the regional bloc and the Philippines can deepen defence cooperation, share expertise on security matters and explore joint initiatives. The dialogue will be part of a partnership and cooperation agreement between the Philippines and the EU, which was established in 2012 and entered into force in 2018. Kallas said the EU remains committed to upholding a rules-based order, promoting peace and addressing common concerns in the South China Sea and Russia’s war against Ukraine. “We reject any unilateral changes to the status quo, including use of coercion,” Kallas said when asked what the EU’s red lines are when it comes to China’s activities in areas like Taiwan and the South China Sea. China claims sovereignty over nearly all the South China Sea, including parts of the exclusive economic zones of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam. – Reuters Man arrested at Mumbai airport with vipers MUMBAI: A passenger smuggling dozens of venomous vipers was stopped after flying into Mumbai from Thailand, Indian customs officials said. The snakes, which included 44 Indonesian pit vipers, were “concealed in checked-in baggage”, Mumbai Customs said in a statement late on Sunday. “An Indian national arriving from Thailand was arrested,” the department said. The passenger, details of whom were not released, also had three Spider-tailed horned vipers, which are venomous, but usually only target small prey such as birds as well as five Asian leaf turtles. It issued photographs of the seized snakes, including blue and yellow reptiles squirming in a bucket. The snakes are an unusual seizure in Mumbai, with officers more regularly posting pictures of hauls of smuggled gold, cash, cannabis or pills of suspected cocaine swallowed by passengers. However, in February, customs officials at Mumbai airport also stopped a smuggler with five Siamang gibbons, a small ape native to the forests of Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. The small creatures, listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, were concealed in a plastic crate placed inside a trolley bag, customs officers said. – AFP

o Prime minister eyes joint submission

ICJ complaint, Hun Manet said. Another is Ta Moan Thom Temple, the backdrop for a video posted on social media earlier this year showing a woman singing a patriotic Khmer song which led to Bangkok lodging a formal protest to Phnom Penh. Cambodia and Thailand have long been at odds over their more than 800km border, which was largely drawn during the French occupation of Indochina. The 2008 military clashes erupted over a patch of land next to Preah Vihear Temple, a 900-year old structure near their shared border. This led to several years of sporadic violence before the International Court of Justice ruled the disputed area belonged to Cambodia. – AFP

Thai side did not agree on bringing the issue to the ICJ, Cambodia would still file the complaint. He said the border dispute was being “incited by small extremist groups in both countries”, which could lead to further clashes. Thailand’s Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Cambodia’s military had said they were attacked first in Wednesday’s incident, while the Thai side said their soldiers were responding to gunshots. The Thai and Cambodian militaries met the following day, agreeing to ease tensions. Thailand says a Joint Boundary Committee will meet in the next two weeks to resolve the issue. The Emerald Triangle is among the areas that will be named in the

neighbours erupted in 2008 and have led to several years of sporadic violence, resulting in at least 28 deaths. The most recent occurred on Wednesday, when a Cambodian soldier was killed in a location known as the Emerald Triangle: a joint border area between Cambodia, Thailand and Laos. Cambodia’s Foreign Ministry sent a letter the next day to the Thai embassy in Phnom Penh demanding “an immediate and thorough investigation” into the “unprovoked attack”. Describing the incident as “a violation of Cambodian sovereignty”, Phnom Penh said it remained committed to resolving the issue through “peaceful and diplomatic avenues”. Hun Manet said that even if the

PHNOM PENH: Cambodia will file a complaint with the International Court of Justice (ICJ) over border disputes with Thailand, Prime Minister Hun Manet said yesterday, after a Cambodian soldier was killed in a frontier clash on Wednesday. “Cambodia hopes that the Thai side will agree with Cambodia to jointly bring these issues to the International Court of Justice ... to prevent armed confrontation again over border uncertainty,” Hun Manet said during a meeting between MPs and senators. Military clashes between the

Supporters of Lee Jae-myung cheering during a rally in Hanam yesterday. – REUTERSPIC

Shamans divided on South Korea’s political destiny

INCHEON: of presidential elections in South Korea may still be unknown, but shaman Yang Su-bong says the winner came to her in visions years ago. South Koreans go to the polls today to choose their next president, a snap vote triggered by ex-leader Yoon Suk Yeol’s disastrous declaration of martial law in December. And for Yang, a traditional Korean mudang , it’s clear that liberal frontrunner Lee Jae-myung will emerge victorious – a prediction that chimes with all major opinion polls that put Lee well ahead in the presidential race. The latest Gallup survey show 49% of respondents viewing Lee as the best candidate, while Kim Moon soo, from the conservative People Power Party was trailing with 35%. “From the beginning, I’ve seen Lee Jae-myung becoming president,” Yang said at her office in The outcome

predicting Yoon’s untimely fall three years ago. “To become a truly great person, you must learn to carry burdens,” he said. Yoon “lacks that destiny”, he said. And “despite his age, he lacks judgement”, he said. He isn’t so sure that frontrunner Lee will help end South Korea’s political turmoil. “Things will stabilise for two years, but then there will be bloodshed – political purges,” he darkly predicted. Fellow shaman Hong Myeong hui agreed that turbulent times could be ahead. She said conservative contender Kim Moon-soo has a “quiet fire” in him. But liberal Lee’s “energy is fast and consuming, like a wildfire in spring”, she said. “His term will be stormy,” Hong said. – AFP

Ousted ex-leader Yoon and his first lady Kim Keon Hee have also been accused of turning to shamans when making decisions, including, it is alleged, the fateful martial declaration. Claims like that provoke an “intense emotional reaction” in South Korean society; in part because the country’s history is full of leaders led astray by spiritual advisers, said Lee Won-jae, a sociologist at South Korea’s KAIST university. “When it comes to dramatising politics, there’s nothing quite as effective as invoking shamanistic themes,” he said. And some shamans even turn to social media to ply their craft, livestreaming on YouTube and offering advice over video calls. Shaman Lee Dong-hyeon, who goes by Ohbangdoryeong (guardian of the five directions) says he was approached by local politicians after

the western port city of Incheon. “I saw a presidential aura,” she said, adding that she faced “criticism and even threats” for her prediction. “But I can’t lie about what I see.” Shamanism has shaped culture and belief on the Korean peninsula for centuries. South Koreans still regularly turn to them for advice on everything from their love lives to important business decisions and cities, and the registrar of the country’s largest shamanic organisation lists 300,000 practitioners. But the folk religion has also come under the spotlight for all the wrong reasons: two presidential impeachments have been linked to undue influence allegedly wielded by shamans. Park Geun-hye was removed from office in 2017 in an influence peddling scandal involving claims of, among other things, participation in shamanistic rituals.