DOUALA, Cameroon (AFP) — Most of the sailors kidnapped off the Cameroon coast last week were Filipinos, not Chinese as first reported, according to an official document seen by AFP Sunday. On Friday, an official in the port of Douala told AFP that 17 crew had been abducted, including “nine Chinese civilian sailors” from one of the two ships attacked, along with Ukrainians. The attacks took place on Thursday in Cameroonian waters off Douala, located […]
Tag: maritime
Vietnam criticizes China over vessels in disputed waters
HANOI, Vietnam (AFP) — Vietnam has accused China of trespassing and demanded a Chinese survey ship in the South China Sea withdraw in the latest flashpoint over the disputed territory. The two countries have long been locked in a maritime disagreement over the resource-rich waters, with the Chinese claiming nearly all of it. But the international community has largely sided with the other claimants — Vietnam, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Brunei — citing […]
Philippines agree to joint China probe over boat sinking
MANILA, Philippines (AFP) — China and the Philippines agreed to conduct a joint inquiry over the sinking of a Filipino fishing boat by a Chinese vessel in disputed waters, President Rodrigo Duterte’s spokesman said Saturday. The June 9 incident, when the two boats collided in the South China Sea, has sparked public outrage. Manila has accused the Chinese trawler of abandoning the vessel’s 22 Filipino crew members — later rescued by Vietnamese fishermen — […]
Thai Navy to remove bitcoin-rich couple’s sea home
BANGKOK, Thailand (AFP) — The Thai Navy will begin removing a “seastead” home built by an American bitcoin investor and his partner off the coast of Thailand, an official said Saturday, as the couple remain in hiding from charges accusing them of violating the country’s sovereignty. Chad Elwartowski and his Thai girlfriend Supranee Thepdet, known as “Bitcoin Girl Thailand”, are facing charges of threatening the kingdom’s independence after authorities found their ocean-based home about 12 […]
US warship cruises disputed sea during PHL-US Balikatan exercises
by Ron Lopez Agence France Presse MANILA, Philippines (AFP) — A US warship laden with hi-tech fighter planes took center stage at key war games in the Philippines Thursday, brandishing military might as fresh tensions bubble in the contentious South China Sea. The amphibious assault ship USS Wasp, with at least 10 F-35B stealth jets on deck, stood guard as amphibious tanks rolled onto a Philippine beach located a short sail from islands also […]
Pakistan navy says it stopped Indian sub from entering its waters
KARACHI, Pakistan (AFP) — Pakistan has stopped an Indian submarine from entering its waters, the navy said Tuesday, as tensions continue to run high between the nuclear-armed foes. The development came days after a rare aerial dogfight between India and Pakistan over the disputed territory of Kashmir ignited fears of an all-out conflict, with world powers rushing to urge restraint. “The Pakistan navy stopped an Indian submarine from entering our territorial waters,” a naval […]
China, SE Asia to hold maritime drill to ease tensions
SINGAPORE (AFP) — China and Southeast Asian states will hold their first joint maritime exercises next week, officials said Friday, in a move aimed at easing tensions but which may spark US alarm. Beijing’s expansive claims to the South China Sea have long been a source of friction with rival claimants in Southeast Asia, as well as the US which has traditionally been the dominant naval power in the area. Despite disagreements over Beijing’s territorial […]
US warship sails near South China Sea area claimed by Beijing: Pentagon
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — An American warship has sailed through waters off the contested Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, in the latest implicit challenge to Beijing’s sweeping territorial claims in the region, the Pentagon said Sunday. “Guided-missile destroyer USS Decatur conducted a freedom of navigation operation,” an official told AFP. “Decatur sailed within 12 nautical miles of Gaven and Johnson reefs in the Spratly Islands.” The official said all US military […]
US gives boats to Vietnam amid South China Sea tensions
HANOI, Vietnam (AFP) — The US delivered six patrol boats and equipment worth a combined $20 million to Vietnam, the US embassy in Hanoi said Thursday, as the former foes boost ties amid continuing tensions in the South China Sea. Hanoi and Washington have improved defense links in recent years as they seek to counter Beijing’s growing might in the disputed and resource-rich waterway. The US Coast Guard gave its Vietnamese counterpart six fast-response Metal […]
US aircraft carrier arrives in Vietnam for historic visit
DANANG, Vetnam (AFP) — A US aircraft carrier arrived in Vietnam Monday for the first time since the end of the war, as the former foes bolster military ties in the face of Beijing’s build-up in the disputed South China Sea. The USS Carl Vinson will make a four-day port call to the central city of Danang for a highly symbolic trip that will include a visit to a center for victims of Agent […]
Aerial search for Pacific ferry survivors suspended
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AFP) — The aerial search for survivors from a ferry that sank in the remote Pacific was suspended Friday with more than 80 people still missing, many of them children, officials said. “The Kiribati government has suspended aerial searches for survivors of the ferry MV Butiraoi,” Rescue Coordination Center New Zealand said in a statement. The Butiraoi set off January 18 on a two-day voyage with 88 people aboard, including 23 children and teenagers. […]
Vietnam and China agree to back off conflicts in S. China Sea
HANOI, Vietnam (AFP) — Vietnam and China agreed Monday to back away from conflicts in the South China Sea, in a move aimed at easing tensions over Beijing’s claims to most of the waterway. The communist neighbors have long-sparred over the sea — to which Brunei, Taiwan and the Philippines also have partial claims — through which $5 trillion in shipping trade passes annually. China has built artificial islands and airstrips capable of hosting military […]
