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Category: South Asia

Philippine defense chief condemns Chinese activity near Second Thomas Shoal

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China has deployed an array of armed coast guard forces near the disputed Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea — one in a series of Chinese actions that the Philippines’ defense chief on Friday called “a matter not only of concern but of condemnation.” Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro spoke Friday during a joint press conference with Richard Marles, the defense chief for Australia, as the two countries engaged in combat drills that began Aug. 15 and worked toward an enhanced joint defense pact. “We work really closely with the Philippines in terms of asserting the rules-based order in the South China Sea,” Marles said. “That’s really important for us to jointly do.” The Philippine military reported this week that China has deployed coast guard and militia ships in the area, as well as a cadre of speedboats, some fitted with high-caliber machine guns. A helicopter and a drone were also reported in the area. According to the Philippine report, one of China’s boats came within 50 meters of the Sierra Madre, a warship that the Philippines deliberately grounded in 1999 to serve as a base of operations on Second Thomas Shoal. Two Filipino boats were deployed to keep the Chinese from coming closer, the Philippine military said. Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro, right, shakes hands with his Australian counterpart Richard Marles prior to their meeting at a hotel in Makati, Philippines, on Friday, Aug. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)(Aaron Favila/AP) China’s coast guard on Friday released a statement warning the Philippines to “immediately stop all infringement activities, provocations and false accusations” in the area, saying it would continue to “carry out law enforcement activities.” The Philippines and China have long fought and negotiated over territory in the South China Sea. Second Thomas Shoal sits within the Philippines’ U.N.-defined exclusive economic zone. It’s also within the wide swath of the sea that China claims as part of its maritime territory. In March, the Philippines accused China of “deceptive messaging” after state-run television accused the Philippine military of burning trash aboard the Sierra Madre. Last June, members of China’s coast guard used pikes and machetes to puncture Philippine boats and seized firearms during a Philippine mission to resupply the Sierra Madre. By December, China said it had granted permission for such resupply missions on humanitarian grounds. Philippine fishermen told RFA’s BenarNews last year that the heavy presence of Chinese vessels caused them to send out fewer boats, leading to a reduced catch and economic hardship. Includes reporting from The Associated Press. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

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Joint Sea Exercise India Philippines

Philippines, India conduct joint exercises in South China Sea

Editor03 mins

Indian and Philippine naval crews sailed together for the first time in the South China Sea, officials said on Monday, one of several joint exercises the Philippine navy has held to counter China’s far-reaching maritime claims. The two-day joint sail included three Indian ships. It began on Sunday, a day before Philippine Prime Minister Ferdinand Marcos left for a five-day state visit to New Delhi that will include talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Before departing, Marcos lauded the two countries’ “shared values” and “steadfastness in upholding international maritime law.” China claims almost all of the South China Sea, a critical shipping route that’s also partially claimed by Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam, despite an international arbitration court in 2016 ruling that its assertions had “no legal basis.” Beijing did not accept the ruling. A spokesperson for China’s military on Monday said that Chinese ships had conducted patrols in the South China Sea during the same period as the joint exercises. The spokesperson said those patrols were “routine,” but said that the joint exercises “disrupted regional peace and stability.” The Philippines has pressed its claims over the disputed waterway in recent months, enacting new laws, pushing for a maritime code of conduct, and considering new international lawsuits. Since 2023, it has conducted joint exercises with partners including the U.S., Japan, Australia, France and Canada. This year, Manila and Beijing have expressed their quarrel in the physical world — with each country’s coast guard unfurling a flag on a contested sandbank in April — and in cyberspace, jousting over a Google Maps update labeling part of the waterway the “West Philippine Sea.” Includes reporting from Agence France-Presse and Reuters. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

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North Korean officials in China seen pretending to be South Korean

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Recently, when entering restaurants or leaving official events, North Korean trading officials dispatched to China have been seen taking off lapel pins featuring the smiling faces of national founder Kim Il Sung and his son Kim Jong Il and pretending to be South Korean, two sources in China told Radio Free Asia. All North Korean officials overseas are required to wear the “Kim Bu-ja” — or “father-son” — pins to show their allegiance to the men known respectively as “Great Leader” and “Dear Leader.” The Kim dynasty is now in its third generation. Kim Il Sung, who ruled from 1948 until his death in 1994, was succeeded by Kim Jong-il, who ruled until 2011, after which his son Kim Jong Un took over as supreme ruler. “Last week, I visited a famous restaurant in Shenyang with an executive from a North Korean trading company I knew through business,” a source from the Chinese city told RFA Korean, requesting anonymity for personal safety. “When he arrived at the restaurant, he took off his Kim Bu-ja badge, put it in his pocket, and asked me not to say that he was North Korean,” he said. “Furthermore, he not only hid Kim Bu-ja’s badge, but also asked me to introduce him as a South Korean,” he continued. Easy to tell Another source in Yanji city, in China’s Jilin province, said he had witnessed the same behavior. “Recently, it’s hard to see North Korean officials wearing portrait badges,” he said. “North Korean officials take off their Kim Bu-ja badges and pretend to be South Koreans when they leave official events.” It wasn’t clear why the North Korean officials wanted to hide their identity, the first source said. He speculated that it was because South Koreans in China are treated as wealthy. “We don’t know the exact reason why these officials are taking off their Kim Bu-ja badges, but they might be embarrassed to be officials from North Korea, one of the poorest countries in the world,” he said. Despite their efforts, the second source said that it was easy to tell that the men were from North Korea as soon as they started talking given their accent and manner of speech. “North Korean officials can dress like South Koreans in terms of clothing and hairstyles, but if you talk to them, it’s immediately obvious” that their from the North. Many Chinese can also easily tell the difference, he said. “Some North Korean officials who have been in China for a long time are actually lamenting their situation,” with the North Korean economy on the brink of collapse, to their acquaintances in China, he said. “It’s understandable how North Korean officials feel about not being able to reveal that they’re North Koreans overseas,” he said. Edited by Malcolm Foster. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

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Myanmar junta announces schedule for December, January election

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Read RFA coverage of this topic in Burmese. Myanmar junta has announced that the election it plans to hold in December and January would be held in four phases, marking the first time the military has outlined a specific schedule for the controversial vote. The junta said in early March that the elections were slated for December 2025 with the possibility of January 2026, but observers at that time dismissed its plan, saying the military won’t be able to hold the vote in territory it doesn’t control – about half the country – and that the public will view the results as a sham. “A provisional date for the election is set on the third week and fourth week of December this year and first week and second week of January,” the junta’s Office of the Commander-in-Chief of Defense Services said in a statement on Wednesday, adding that the election would be held in four-part phases. “The government must take advanced measures to hold a fraud-free multi-party democracy general election that is truly free and fair,” it added, without elaborating. Since the 2021 coup, the junta has repeatedly attempted to hold elections, but these efforts have been consistently delayed. The military regime has extended the State of Emergency multiple times over the past four years, citing alleged fraud in the 2020 general elections, in which the National League for Democracy secured a decisive victory. By issuing back-to-back emergency declarations, the junta has effectively postponed the election process, prolonging its grip on power. Signs of progress toward holding elections have emerged in recent months as Myanmar’s junta chief traveled abroad to secure international support. Following diplomatic visits to Russia and Belarus in March, both countries pledged their backing for the junta’s controversial election plan. They join India and China, which have also expressed support for the isolated nation’s electoral process, despite the military regime’s decision to bar some political parties from re-registering due to alleged ties to rebel militias. RELATED STORIES Junta chief vows to hike defense budget, seeking to expand global presence Myanmar to organize election in fewer than half of townships, parties say Myanmar junta chief says election to be held by January 2026 But observers, including human rights groups and officials from the ousted National League for Democracy government, question the legitimacy of the junta-led election after an opaque census by the military left dozens of administrators dead and large parts of the country untouched. Widespread violence in embattled areas, coupled with near-daily airstrikes from the Myanmar military that often target civilians, also leave many skeptical about the feasibility of the election. Insurgent groups now control large swathes of the country’s borderlands, leaving the areas like Rakhine and Shan states under uncertain jurisdiction with minimal junta presence. Translated by Kiana Duncan. Edited by Taejun Kang. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

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