LAOAG, Philippines: Military force from the United States, Australian and the Philippines launched a barrage of high-precision rockets, artillery fire and airstrikes to sink a ship Wednesday as part of largescale war drills in waters facing the disputed South China Sea that have antagonized Beijing.
Military officials and diplomats from several countries, along with journalists, watched the display of firepower from a hilltop along a sandy coast in Laoag City on Wednesday in Ilocos Norte, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s northern home province.
More than 16,000 military personnel from the United States and the Philippines, backed by a few hundred Australian troops and military observers from 14 countries were participating in annual combat-readiness drills called Balikatan, Tagalog for shoulder-to-shoulder, which started on April 22 and will end on Friday.
It’s the latest indication of how the United States and the Philippines have bolstered a defense treaty alliance that started in the 1950s.
Marcos has ordered his military to shift its focus to external defense from decades-long domestic anti-insurgency operations as China’s increasingly aggressive actions in the South China Sea become a top concern. That strategic shift dovetails with the efforts of President Joe Biden and his administration to reinforce an arc of alliances in the Indo-Pacific region to counter China.
China has angered the Philippines by repeatedly harassing its navy and coast guard ships with the use of powerful water cannons, a military-grade laser, blocking movements and other dangerous maneuvers in the high seas near two disputed South China Sea shoals that have led to minor collisions. Those have caused several injuries to Filipino navy personnel and damaged supply boats.
“We’re under the gun,” Philippine ambassador to Washington Jose Romualdez told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.
“We don’t have the wherewithal to be able to fight all of this bullying coming from China so where else will we go?” Romualdez asked. “We went to the right party which is the United States and those that believe in what the US is doing.”
China has accused the Philippines of setting off the hostilities in the disputed waters by encroaching into what it says are its offshore territories, demarcated by 10 dashes on a map. This has often prompted the Chinese coast guard and navy to take steps to expel Philippine coast guard and other vessels from that area. The Philippines, backed by the US and its allies and security partners, has repeatedly cited a 2016 international arbitration ruling based on the United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea that invalidated China’s claim over virtually the entire South China Sea on historical grounds.
China did not participate in the arbitration complaint filed by the Philippines in 2013, rejected the ruling, and continues to defy it.
After an hour of the combat-readiness drills, black smoke started to billow from the stern of the mock enemy ship that was struck by missile fire and it started to sink ,as shown on a monitor watched by foreign military guests and journalists. US and Philippine warplanes later dropped bombs on the BRP Lake Caliraya, the target ship, which was made in China but decommissioned by the Philippine navy in 2020 due to mechanical and electrical issues, according to Philippine military officials.
Philippine military officials said the maneuvers would bolster the country’s coastal defense and disaster-response capabilities and claimed they were not aimed at any country. China has opposed military drills involving US forces in the region as well as increasing US military deployments, which it warned would ratchet up tensions and hamper regional stability and peace.
Washington and Beijing have been on a collision course over China’s increasingly assertive actions to defend its vast territorial claims in the South China Sea, and Beijing’s stated goal of annexing Taiwan, by force if necessary.
In February last year, Marcos approved a wider US military presence in the Philippines by allowing rotating groups of American military forces to stay in four more Philippine military camps. That was a sharp turnaround from his predecessor Rodrigo Duterte, who feared that a larger American military footprint could antagonize Beijing.
China strongly opposed the move, which would allow US forces to establish staging grounds and surveillance posts in the northern Philippines across the sea from Taiwan, and in western Philippine provinces facing the South China Sea.
China has warned that a deepening security alliance between Washington and Manila and their ongoing military drills should not harm its security and territorial interests or interfere in the territorial disputes. The Philippines countered that it has the right to defend its sovereignty and territorial interests.
“An alliance is very important to show China that you may have all the ships that you have, but we have a lot of firepower to sink all of them,” Romualdez said.
US, Philippine and Australian forces sink a ship during war drills in the disputed South China Sea
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US, Philippine and Australian forces sink a ship during war drills in the disputed South China Sea
- Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.has ordered his military to shift its focus to external defense from decades-long domestic anti-insurgency operations
In Bangladeshi slums, women lead climate action to escape poverty
- Red Crescent-supported Women’s Squad was established in Barisal’s slums in 2018
- 23-member team leads hygiene and health efforts, negotiations with authorities, NGOs
DHAKA: Growing up in a poor, densely populated neighborhood of a southern Bangladeshi city, Josna Begum has for most of her life lived in conditions where even access to clean water was rare.
As climate change-related heatwaves and floods took an increasing toll in recent years, she joined a women’s community project in 2018 and soon rose to lead it — helping make Hatkhola, the slum area where she lives in Barisal city, a safer and healthier place — and support other women in escaping poverty.
“My locality is one of the most underprivileged areas of Barisal city. Here, people are mostly unaware of their rights and responsibilities,” Josna told Arab News.
“Women didn’t have a voice. We had no chance to share our opinions at home, in the community, or in any official space. We wanted to unite so we could solve our issues ourselves.”
A mother of three, Josna, 44, has been volunteering with the Women’s Squad — an all-women team established by the Bangladesh Red Crescent and British Red Cross in slum areas of Barisal. She currently serves as the team’s leader in the Hatkhola locality.
“We build awareness about climate change impacts like untimely heavy rain, drought, heatwaves, repeated cyclones, floods. We encourage people to plant more trees to help reduce the effects of climate change. We also make people aware of the importance of keeping the canals clean so they can hold enough water during heavy rainfall,” she said.
“We work to keep the environment clean where we live. To motivate the community, all 23 members of our women’s squad do the drainage cleaning tasks ourselves. We raise awareness about the effects of waterlogging, which causes diseases like dengue, malaria.”
Josna initially faced objections from her husband, a daily-wage worker, but this changed when he saw the effects of her work.
The Women’s Squad has managed to obtain a submersible water pump from the Red Crescent, and convinced local authorities to repair five tube wells, securing clean water for over 700 families, who did not have access before.
They have also persuaded local officials to repair a 106-meter-long drainage system, helping prevent waterlogging during the rain season, and are now focused on improving sanitation in the neighborhood that until recently had no proper bathrooms or toilets.
“Now, seeing my success, all family members are happy and encouraging me to keep going,” Josna said.
“With support from the Red Crescent Society, we secured two bathrooms, and just weeks ago, we coordinated the construction of another toilet with the help of a local NGO. This new facility is fully equipped, including features to accommodate people with disabilities.”
To uplift the community, the women also help households plant trees and grow vegetables on whatever small plots of land they have. With support from NGOs, they organize vocational training for those interested in learning to drive, sew, perform basic electrical work, or service mobile phones.
Moly Begum, another member of the Women’s Squad, who leads the team in Barisal’s Stadium Colony area, is proud of the effect their engagement has in changing not only the quality of life, but also the social standing of women.
“I didn’t have any recognition in the family and society. Nobody listened to my words. I thought, if I could get engaged with some social work, people would know me in the community, and I would be able to serve them,” she said.
“My area is an underprivileged poor area. There are many distressed women in my community. Violence against women and children was very common here ... That’s why I got involved with the Women’s Squad.”
Over the past seven years, much of what she hoped to achieve has materialized or borne fruit, as her team members went door-to-door with their advocacy and helped organize various forms of support from NGOs and local authorities.
They have been intervening in incidents of domestic violence or child marriage, as they also tried to make sure more children in the marginalized community would get access to education, while women gain some financial independence.
“The members of the Women’s Squad approached every house in the community. We encouraged the guardians to send their children to school. We convinced them that every child is equal, whether a boy or a girl,” Moly told Arab News.
“Women are now engaged in small-scale income-generating activities. Many in my community are now running tea stalls, clothing shops, selling pickles, cakes. All these things happened due to our Women’s Squad’s work.”
Environmentalists urge policy reform as toxic waste rises in Philippines
- Country’s waste management system ‘cannot cope’ with rising production, consumption, Greenpeace warns
- Number of illegal dumps surged by 84% in 2024, posing health risks to local communities
MANILA: Philippine environmental groups are calling for immediate policy reform after official data showed that the country’s annual hazardous waste levels increased to more than 269,000 metric tonnes annually, fueling concern over public health threats.
The Philippines’ toxic waste generation increased by 13 percent last year from about 238,000 metric tonnes in 2023, with oil comprising about one-third of the total, according to data published by the Philippine Statistics Authority last week.
Though it is one of the lowest volumes recorded based on figures compiled since 2015, the latest data set showed that the Philippines is producing hazardous waste at a faster rate compared to the development of waste management infrastructure.
Despite the number of trash processing facilities and sanitary landfills increasing in 2024 by about 8.7 percent and 14.7 percent, respectively, the number of reported illegal dumps rose by 84 percent in the same year.
“It’s still alarming because the infrastructure can’t catch up,” Jashaf Shamir Lorenzo, head of policy development and research at BAN Toxics, told Arab News on Thursday.
The rising number of illegal dumps concerns observers as the sites usually involve open burning or the burying of hazardous waste underground.
“There is a big health and environmental impact here for everyone … all of these harmful chemicals that could lead to various health issues like neurodevelopmental issues, cancer … (they) increase the risk of communities around them getting these diseases,” Lorenzo said.
“I think (the sites are) also a reflection of the number of wastes that we are really generating that other cities can’t handle. But also, it calls for the need for the government to pay attention to the protection of these communities.”
While the Philippine government has made efforts over the years to improve waste management in the country, environmentalists like Lorenzo say there is still room for improvement.
This includes preventing the illegal waste trade, as the Philippines has been a major destination for such exports over the years, including shipments of toxic chemical waste intended for dumping.
“A lot of the waste coming into the country, historically, has been hazardous waste traded by other countries into us. I think the government should really push for policies that limit hazardous waste coming in,” Lorenzo said.
He is also urging the government to “look at other solutions on waste reduction,” including by installing reuse and refill systems across the country.
The increasing volume of waste in the Philippines is “not surprising,” said Greenpeace Philippines campaigner Marian Ledesma, who is also pushing for policies focused on reducing waste.
“Downstream approaches like waste management simply cannot cope with increasing patterns of production and consumption … the government must enact policies that reduce or prevent waste from the start,” she said.
This includes banning the commercial use of harmful chemical groups in products, phasing out single-use products and packaging like plastics, and regulating hazardous chemicals.
“While the country is taking steps toward better and sustainable waste management, it can improve on upstream measures that prevent or reduce waste generation,” Ledesma said.
“Upstream approaches like cutting production and phase-outs or bans are necessary, have clear benefits for communities and are more cost-effective in the long term.”
Ukrainian parliament approves new government, lawmaker says
- The new cabinet includes two of Svyrydenko’s former deputies
KYIV: Ukraine’s parliament voted in favor of a new government under prime minister Yulia Svyrydenko on Thursday, according to lawmaker Yaroslav Zheleznyak.
The new cabinet includes two of Svyrydenko’s former deputies — Oleksiy Sobolev as minister of economy, agriculture and environment, and Taras Kachka as a deputy prime minister for European integration — as well as Svitlana Hrynchuk as energy minister.
Man jailed in UK after releasing rats outside mosque
- Edmund Fowler caught on CCTV committing offense 4 times
- Mosque manager: Community members ‘scared of further harassment’
LONDON: A man has been jailed in the UK after being filmed dumping wild rats outside a mosque in the city of Sheffield, The Independent reported on Thursday.
Edmund Fowler, 66, was caught on film unloading the rodents from the back of his car outside Sheffield Grand Mosque. Footage showed the rats running through the mosque’s fence into the grounds of the building.
Fowler did this a further three times between May and June before being charged. He pleaded guilty to four counts of racially aggravated harassment at Sheffield Magistrates’ Court, which sentenced him to 18 months in jail and banned him from going near a mosque for a further 18 months upon release.
The mosque’s manager said in a statement that community members “are scared of further harassment and are now too scared to come to the mosque.”
French court overturns town’s burkini ban after woman threatened with fines
- The seaside town of Carry-le-Rouet had implemented the ban in June 2024
- The ban was largely irrelevant until July 2, when an 18-year-old Muslim woman from the city of Marseille went to the town’s beach
LONDON: The Marseilles administrative court has reversed a burkini ban on a French Riviera beach after police threatened fines against a teenager and her family for wearing the Muslim swimsuit, The Times reported on Thursday.
The seaside town of Carry-le-Rouet had implemented the ban in June 2024, but it was found by the court to be a “serious and illegal breach of fundamental freedoms” following the incident.
The ban was largely irrelevant until July 2, when an 18-year-old Muslim woman from the city of Marseille went to the town’s beach.
Two municipal officers spotted her in the sea and ordered her out using whistles. Her family asked what she had done wrong, and the officers said the woman’s garment was “not acceptable,” according to her brother Islan.
The police called for reinforcements. Five gendarmes who arrived later threatened the 18-year-old with fines unless she and her family left the beach.
Islan said the family then left the area. “My sister has taken it badly,” he added. “She is afraid to go out now, does not communicate with other people and avoids talking about what happened.”
The incident led to the Human Rights League seeking a court order overturning the town’s burkini ban.
Over the past decade, about 20 towns and cities on the French coast, including Cannes, have tried to ban the Muslim swimsuit on secular grounds, though almost all the bans were denied or later overturned.
In 2004, France banned Muslim headscarves in schools after MPs decided that the garment violates the secular values of the state education system.
Niqabs and burqas were outlawed in public in 2011 based on concerns that criminals could conceal their identities using the religious garbs.
