CANBERRA: A Chinese envoy asked Australian authorities Thursday to increase efforts to find survivors in an Indian Ocean search for 39 crew members missing from a capsized Chinese fishing boat.
Ambassador to Australia Xiao Qian said the Australian authority had already sent four airplanes and three ships to the search area, which is in the center of the Indian Ocean.
No survivors or life rafts have been spotted.
Xiao said China wanted to coordinate with “friendly countries,” including Australia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and the Maldives, on the search and rescue effort following the capsizing Tuesday. The Australian Maritime Safety Authority, the search coordinator, said the upturned hull was spotted Tuesday from a cargo ship 5,000 kilometers northwest of the Australian west coast city of Perth.
Chinese authorities say the missing crew includes 17 from China, 17 from Indonesia and five from the Philippines.
“We wish that they could send more — more aircraft, more ships and more staff,” Xiao told reporters, referring to Australian authorities. “We wish that our Australian colleagues would coordinate with other international or foreign vessels or ships near that area … to help the search and rescue to save as many lives as possible.”
On Wednesday, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Li Qiang ordered Chinese diplomats, as well as the agriculture and transportation ministries, to assist in the search for survivors.
Australia, Indonesia and the Philippines have also expressed their willingness to join in the search, and merchant and fishing vessels in the area searched for survivors Wednesday.
The search authority said the multinational search effort was continuing Thursday over an area of 12,000 square kilometers (4,600 square miles) south of where the upturned hull was found.
An Australian military P-8A Poseiden aircraft and a chartered aircraft based in Perth would rejoin the search after spending the night in the Maldives, the authority said in a statement. Australia was liaising with the Chinese Maritime Rescue Coordination Center, with three Chinese naval ships continuing the search.
“A number of merchant ships and other vessels have been assisting with the search and will continue to do so today,” the statement said.
Transport Minister Catherine King, who is responsible for the search authority, was traveling overseas and was not available for comment, her office said.
No word was given on the cause of the capsizing.
The capsized boat, Lu Peng Yuan Yu 028, was based in the eastern coastal province of Shandong, operated by the Penglai Jinglu Fishery Co. Ltd., according to reports. Another Chinese vessel, Lu Peng Yuan Yu 018, is operating near to the upturned hull and has been asked to conduct a grid search for survivors, according to Indonesian authorities.
Chinese envoy asks Australia to increase search for 39 aboard capsized fishing boat in Indian Ocean
https://arab.news/pesnx
Chinese envoy asks Australia to increase search for 39 aboard capsized fishing boat in Indian Ocean
- Missing crew includes 17 from China, 17 from Indonesia and five from the Philippines
- Australia, Indonesia and the Philippines express willingness to join in the search
Bangladesh’s religio-political party open to unity govt
- Opinion polls suggest that Jamaat-e-Islami will finish a close second to the Bangladesh Nationalist Party in the first election it has contested in nearly 17 years
DHAKA: A once-banned Bangladeshi religio-political party, poised for its strongest electoral showing in February’s parliamentary vote, is open to joining a unity government and has held talks with several parties, its chief said.
Opinion polls suggest that Jamaat-e-Islami will finish a close second to the Bangladesh Nationalist Party in the first election it has contested in nearly 17 years as it marks a return to mainstream politics in the predominantly Muslim nation of 175 million.
Jamaat last held power between 2001 and 2006 as a junior coalition partner with the BNP and is open to working with it again.
“We want to see a stable nation for at least five years. If the parties come together, we’ll run the government together,” Jamaat chief Shafiqur Rahman said in an interview at his office in a residential area in Dhaka, days after the party created a buzz by securing a tie-up with a Gen-Z party.
Rahman said anti-corruption must be a shared agenda for any unity government.
The prime minister will come from the party winning the most seats in the Feb. 12 election, he added. If Jamaat wins the most seats, the party will decide whether he himself would be a candidate, Rahman said.
The party’s resurgence follows the ousting of long-time Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in a youth-led uprising in August 2024.
Rahman said Hasina’s continued stay in India after fleeing Dhaka was a concern, as ties between the two countries have hit their lowest point in decades since her downfall.
Asked about Jamaat’s historical closeness to Pakistan, Rahman said: “We maintain relations in a balanced way with all.”
He said any government that includes Jamaat would “not feel comfortable” with President Mohammed Shahabuddin, who was elected unopposed with the Awami League’s backing in 2023.
