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Month: June 2024
Namibian court declares laws banning gay sex unconstitutional
WINDHOEK — A high court in Namibia on Friday declared unconstitutional two colonial-era laws that criminalized same-sex acts between men, in a landmark win for the LGBTQ community in the southern African nation.
The case was brought by Namibian activist Friedel Dausab with the support of UK-based non-governmental organization Human Dignity Trust.
Dausab told Reuters after the court’s decision he was “just happy”. “It’s a great day for Namibia,” he said. “It won’t be a crime to love anymore.”
Rights campaigners say that while convictions under the laws on “sodomy” and “unnatural sexual offences” were relatively rare, they have perpetuated discrimination against the LGBTQ community and made gay men live in fear of arrest.
Namibia inherited the laws when it gained independence from South Africa in 1990, though same-sex acts between men were initially criminalized under colonial rule.
South Africa has since decriminalized same-sex sexual activity and is the only country on the African continent to allow LGBTQ couples to adopt children, marry and enter civil unions.
Last year, Uganda enacted one of the world’s harshest anti-LGBTQ laws, which included the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality”, despite widespread condemnations from the West.
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South Korea summons Russian ambassador as tensions rise with North Korea
SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea summoned the Russian ambassador to protest the country’s new defense pact with North Korea on Friday, as border tensions continued to rise with vague threats and brief, seemingly accidental incursions by North Korean troops.
Earlier Friday, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un issued a vague threat of retaliation after South Korean activists flew balloons carrying anti-Pyongyang propaganda leaflets across the border, and South Korea’s military said it had fired warning shots the previous day to repel North Korean soldiers who briefly crossed the rivals’ land border for the third time this month.
That came two days after Moscow and Pyongyang reached a pact vowing mutual defense assistance if either is attacked, and a day after Seoul responded by saying it would consider providing arms to Ukraine to fight Russia’s invasion.
South Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim Hong Kyun summoned Russian Ambassador Georgy Zinoviev to protest the deal between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un and called for Moscow to immediately halt its alleged military cooperation with Pyongyang.
Kim, the South Korean diplomat, stressed that any cooperation that directly or indirectly helps the North build up its military capabilities would violate U.N. Security Council resolutions and pose a threat to the South’s security, and warned of consequences for Seoul’s relations with Moscow.
Zinoviev replied that he would convey Seoul’s concerns to his superiors in Moscow, the ministry said.
Leafletting campaigns by South Korean civilian activists in recent weeks have prompted a resumption of Cold War-style psychological warfare along the inter-Korean border.
The South Korean civilian activists, led by North Korean defector Park Sang-hak, said it sent 20 balloons carrying 300,000 propaganda leaflets, 5,000 USB sticks with South Korean pop songs and TV dramas, and 3,000 U.S. dollar bills from the South Korean border town of Paju on Thursday night.
Pyongyang resents such material and fears it could demoralize front-line troops and residents and eventually weaken Kim Jong Un’s grip on power, analysts say.
In a statement carried by North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency, Kim Yo Jong, one of her brother’s top foreign policy officials, called the activists “defector scum” and issued what appeared to be a threat of retaliation.
“When you do something you were clearly warned not to do, it’s only natural that you will find yourself dealing with something you didn’t have to,” she said, without specifying what the North would do.
After previous leafletting by South Korean activists, North Korea launched more than 1,000 balloons that dropped tons of trash in South Korea, smashing roof tiles and windows and causing other property damage. Kim Yo Jong previously hinted that balloons could become the North’s standard response to leafletting, saying that the North would respond by “scattering dozens of times more rubbish than is being scattered on us.”
In response, South Korea resumed anti-North Korea propaganda broadcasts with military loudspeakers installed at the border for the first time in years, to which Kim Yo Jong, in another state media statement, warned that Seoul was “creating a prelude to a very dangerous situation.”
Tensions between the Koreas are at their highest in years as Kim Jong Un accelerates his nuclear weapons and missile development and attempts to strengthen his regional footing by aligning with Russian President Vladimir Putin in a standoff against the U.S.-led West.
South Korea, a growing arms exporter with a well-equipped military backed by the United States, says it is considering upping support for Ukraine in response. Seoul has already provided humanitarian aid and other support while joining U.S.-led economic sanctions against Moscow. But it has not directly provided arms, citing a long-standing policy of not supplying weapons to countries actively engaged in conflict.
Putin told reporters in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Thursday that supplying weapons to Ukraine would be “a very big mistake,” and said South Korea “shouldn’t worry” about the agreement if it isn’t planning aggression against Pyongyang.
South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said Minister Cho Tae-yul on Friday held separate phone calls with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa to discuss the new pact. The diplomats agreed that the agreement poses a serious threat to peace and stability in the region and vowed to strengthen trilateral coordination to deal with the challenges posed by the alignment between Moscow and Pyongyang, Cho’s ministry said in a statement.
North Korea is extremely sensitive to criticism of Kim’s authoritarian rule and efforts to reach its people with foreign news and other media.
In 2015, when South Korea restarted loudspeaker broadcasts for the first time in 11 years, North Korea fired artillery rounds across the border, prompting South Korea to return fire, according to South Korean officials. No casualties were reported.
South Korea’s military said there are signs that North Korea was installing its own speakers at the border, although they weren’t yet working.
In the latest border incident, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said several North Korean soldiers engaged in unspecified construction work briefly crossed the military demarcation line that divides the two countries at around 11 a.m. Thursday.
The South Korean military broadcast a warning and fired warning shots, after which the North Korean soldiers retreated. The joint chiefs didn’t immediately release more details, including why it was releasing the information a day late.
South Korea’s military says believes recent border intrusions were not intentional, as the North Korean soldiers have not returned fire and retreated after the warning shots.
The South’s military has observed the North deploying large numbers of soldiers in frontline areas to build suspected anti-tank barriers, reinforce roads and plant mines in an apparent attempt to fortify their side of the border. Seoul believes the efforts are likely aimed at preventing North Korean civilians and soldiers from escaping to the South.
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Historic flooding in China’s Guangdong kills 9
BEIJING — Nine people have died and six are missing after downpours caused historic flooding in rural parts of Guangdong province in southern China, while authorities warned Friday of more flooding ahead in other parts of the country.
Four people died and four are missing, in Meixian district in Guangdong’s Meizhou city, state broadcaster CCTV reported Thursday night. Another five are dead in Jiaoling county, which is also in Meizhou.
The heaviest rains were from Sunday into Tuesday, toppling trees and collapsing homes. A road leading to Meixian district completely collapsed during the heavy rains. The Songyuan river, which winds through Meizhou, experienced its biggest recorded flood, according to CCTV.
The estimated direct economic loss is 3.65 billion yuan ($502 million) in Jiaoling county, while in Meixian district, the loss is 1.06 billion yuan ($146 million).
Other parts of the country also face torrential rains and extreme weather in the next 24 hours, with the National Meteorological Center issuing a warning for several provinces in the south and a few individual places in the north.
Henan and Anhui provinces in central China, as well as Jiangsu province on the coast and the southern province of Guizhou, all are expecting hail and strong thunderstorms, according to the forecast. Rainfall could be as high as 5-8 centimeters in one day in Henan, Anhui and Hubei provinces, the National Meteorological Center said.
Last week, southern Fujian and Guangxi provinces experienced landslides and flooding amid heavy rain. One student died in Guangxi after falling into a river swollen from the downpour.
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US bans Russia’s Kaspersky antivirus software
Washington — U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration on Thursday banned Russia-based cybersecurity firm Kaspersky from providing its popular antivirus products in the United States over national security concerns, the U.S. Commerce Department said.
“Kaspersky will generally no longer be able to, among other activities, sell its software within the United States or provide updates to software already in use,” the agency said in a statement.
The announcement came after a lengthy investigation found Kaspersky’s “continued operations in the United States presented a national security risk due to the Russian Government’s offensive cyber capabilities and capacity to influence or direct Kaspersky’s operations,” it said.
U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said, “Russia has shown time and again they have the capability and intent to exploit Russian companies, like Kaspersky Lab, to collect and weaponize sensitive U.S. information.”
Kaspersky, in a statement to AFP, said the Commerce Department “made its decision based on the present geopolitical climate and theoretical concerns,” and vowed to “pursue all legally available options to preserve its current operations and relationships.”
“Kaspersky does not engage in activities which threaten U.S. national security and, in fact, has made significant contributions with its reporting and protection from a variety of threat actors that targeted U.S. interests and allies,” the company said.
The move is the first such action taken since an executive order issued under Donald Trump’s presidency gave the Commerce Department the power to investigate whether certain companies pose a national security risk.
Raimondo said the Commerce Department’s actions demonstrated to America’s adversaries that it would not hesitate to act when “their technology poses a risk to the United States and its citizens.”
While Kaspersky is headquartered in Moscow, it has offices in 31 countries around the world, servicing more than 400 million users and 270,000 corporate clients in more than 200 countries, the Commerce Department said.
As well as banning the sale of Kaspersky’s antivirus software, the Commerce Department also added three entities linked to the firm to a list of companies deemed to be a national security concern, “for their cooperation with Russian military and intelligence authorities in support of the Russian government’s cyber intelligence objectives.”
The Commerce Department said it “strongly encouraged” users to switch to new vendors, although its decision does not ban them from using the software should they choose to do so.
Kaspersky is allowed to continue certain operations in the United States, including providing antivirus updates, until September 29, “in order to minimize disruption to US consumers and businesses and to give them time to find suitable alternatives,” it added.
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Amnesty International concerned for safety of LGBTQ+ people in Namibia
Windhoek, Namibia — Amnesty International has called on authorities in Namibia to ensure the safety of the LGBTQ+ community as a court prepares to rule in a case challenging the laws that criminalize homosexual conduct.
In November 2020, the Law Reform Commission of Namibia recommended discarding laws related to sodomy as they relate to intimate same-sex practices between homosexual men.
However, the parliament of Namibia has been slow to repeal these laws, which prompted gay activist Friedel Dausab to sue the government on the ground that the sodomy law is not consistent with the Namibia constitution.
The High Court of Namibia will rule on this matter Friday.
“There were many pieces of laws that have been in the law books for many years, basically since before independence, many of which really did not make sense any longer and they are just not compatible with the modern times,” said Etuna Joshua, the chairperson of the Law Reform and Development Commission of the Ministry of Justice.
Linda Baumann, an LGBTQ+ activist, said the community has taken extra security measures to ensure its safety during and after the proceedings on Friday.
Baumann said Namibia has seen an increase in violence against LGBTQ+ persons, which she says is directly linked to a Supreme Court ruling that said marriages between same-sex couples performed out of the country were valid.
She said that since that ruling, religious and faith-based groups have incited violence against the LGBTQ+ community.
“Amnesty [International] is not exaggerating,” said Baumann. “What we are doing as a movement is to alert ourselves around the issue around safety and security because we have anti-groups. … We’ve also seen murders of LGBT people in six months. Six people, six months.”
A local daily newspaper recently published a report on a string of killings where LGBTQ+ people were the victims. However, some critics say Namibia has a high number of killings in general and the killings cannot be regarded as hate crimes.
Mercedez Von Cloete, a transgender activist who successfully sued the state for a transphobic assault at the hands of a police officer seven years ago, said the community is at risk of targeted violence if the sodomy law is repealed by the High Court.
“It was targeted violence as a result of not only political but also religious hate speech as well as mob organizing that has made LGBTQ people — especially in the last couple of months — feel unsafe. … And I applaud Amnesty International for the fact that they were able to at least raise an alarm.”
Amnesty International human rights lawyer Mandipa Machacha told VOA that “while Namibia traditionally had tolerance towards LGBT persons compared to other countries [in Africa], there has always been a certain level of hostility, and the situation deteriorated significantly following the 2023 ruling which recognized same-sex unions.”
She said Amnesty International fears Friday’s ruling may drive homophobia against members of the LGBTQ+ community.
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US ‘sleepwalking’ into space disaster, lawmaker warns
washington — A key U.S. lawmaker warned Thursday that Russia is on the verge of ushering in the end of the Space Age with its new, nuclear anti-satellite weaponry.
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner, an Ohio Republican, told an audience in Washington that allowing Russia to gain such an advantage would be catastrophic. He called on President Joe Biden to mount an aggressive response.
“This crisis is the Cuban missile crisis in space,” Turner said, comparing the moment to the 1962 confrontation between the U.S. and the former Soviet Union, which took both sides to the brink of nuclear conflict.
But in this case, Turner said, Russia could unilaterally impose high costs on the U.S. simply by detonating a nuclear anti-satellite weapon in orbit.
“This threat would mean that our economic, international security and social systems come to a grinding halt,” he said. “This would be a catastrophic and devastating attack upon Western economic and democratic systems.”
Turner, who accused Biden of “sleepwalking into an irreversible day zero,” called on the White House to immediately declassify all of its intelligence on the Russian program to make the world aware of the full extent of the threat.
The White House on Thursday rejected Turner’s accusations.
“He’s just wrong. He’s just flat-out wrong,” White House national security spokesman John Kirby told reporters.
“We have absolutely taken this very seriously,” Kirby said. “We’ve been working this particular problem set from every possible angle, including through intense diplomacy with countries around the world and, obviously, through direct conversations with Russia.”
Russia has repeatedly denied the U.S. accusations, including last month when Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov dismissed concerns as “fake news.”
“The Americans can say whatever they want, but our policy does not change,” Ryabkov told the Interfax news agency, adding that Moscow, “always consistently opposed the deployment of strike weapons in low-Earth orbit.”
Turner first raised concerns about the prospect of a Russian anti-satellite weapons program in February, when he issued a statement warning of “a serious national security threat” and issued his initial call for the White House to declassify the relevant intelligence.
Biden responded by confirming that Russia was developing a space-based, anti-satellite weapons system but added there was no indication that Russia had decided to move ahead with the program and that there was no nuclear threat to anyone on Earth.
Concerns spiked last month when the U.S. accused Russia of using a May 16 space launch to deploy what the U.S. Defense Department described as an anti-satellite weapon “capable of attacking other satellites in low-Earth orbit.”
“Russia deployed this new counterspace weapon into the same orbit as a U.S. government satellite,” Major General Pat Ryder, Pentagon press secretary, said at the time. “So, you know, obviously that’s something that we’ll continue to monitor.”
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Fleeing war, Ukrainian student finds refuge in music in Chicago
The United Nations estimates as many as 6.5 million Ukrainians have fled the country since Russia’s invasion in 2022. VOA’s Kane Farabaugh explores the story of one Ukrainian teenager seeking safety in music in Chicago.
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US asks Vietnam to support Ukraine’s sovereignty, territorial integrity
WASHINGTON — The United States called on Vietnam Thursday to support Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity following Vladimir Putin’s one-day visit to Hanoi, part of the Russian president’s brief Asian tour seeking to shore up alliances in the face of mounting Western sanctions.
“We expect that any country, when it engages in conversations with the government of Russia, and especially when it hosts leaders from the government of Russia, will make clear their respect for the principles of the U.N. Charter, including sovereignty and territorial integrity, and convey that those principles must be upheld across the world,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told VOA during a briefing on Thursday.
U.S. diplomat to Hanoi
Meanwhile, the State Department’s top diplomat for Asia is traveling to Hanoi to reaffirm ties after the U.S. and Vietnam upgraded their bilateral relationship last year.
“Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel J. Kritenbrink will travel to Hanoi, Vietnam, June 21 to 22,” according to a State Department press release.
“He will meet with senior Vietnam government officials to underscore the strong U.S. commitment to implementing the U.S.-Vietnam Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and to working with Vietnam in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific region.”
Kritenbrink’s trip was planned “well before” Putin’s visit to Hanoi, according to Miller.
Vietnam maintains three tiers of diplomatic relationship with other countries: Comprehensive Partnerships; Strategic Partnerships; and Comprehensive Strategic Partnerships. The United States, China and Russia are among the countries that maintain top-tier ties with Vietnam.
U.S. officials did not have an assessment, when asked by reporters, if there is any indication that Vietnamese companies or people are providing material support to Moscow for its war on Ukraine, or whether Washington has warned Hanoi against it.
At the White House, John Kirby, the National Security Council communications adviser, told reporters that the U.S. will “stay focused on continuing to deepen” the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with Vietnam and “broaden it, improve it, for our own mutual benefit to each other and to the region.”
Putin’s visit to North Korea
Russia and Vietnam pledged Thursday to deepen ties during a state visit by Putin aimed at bolstering his alliances to counter Western efforts to isolate Moscow over the war in Ukraine.
Russia and Vietnam “want to push up cooperation in defense and security, how to deal with nontraditional security challenges on the basis of international law, for peace and security in the region and the world,” Vietnamese President To Lam told reporters after talks with Putin.
Putin traveled to Vietnam, a close ally of Moscow since the Cold War, after talks in Pyongyang with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Those two countries signed a mutual defense pact.
In Washington, Republican Representative Mike Turner, who is the chairperson of the U.S. House of Representatives Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, voiced concerns over the possibility of Russia providing North Korea with technological assistance to improve its long-range ballistic missiles and their ability to directly target the United States.
“I think we’ve all sort of felt intuitively that China, Russia, North Korea, Iran are working together in both their development of capabilities and in their threats to the United States. These symbolic meetings, I think, should allow us to focus on this as a threat that has already been occurring,” Turner said during an event at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.
VOA’s White House correspondent Anita Powell and National Security correspondent Jeff Seldin contributed to this report. Some material in this report came from Reuters and Agence France-Presse.
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Chinese premier sees mixed success in Asia-Pacific charm offensive
SYDNEY — Chinese Premier Li Qiang has wrapped up a three-country tour of the Asia-Pacific region, boosting trade ties and rebuilding relations. But the trip also saw a reemergence of some thorny diplomatic issues.
Through this visit Li, the second most powerful official in China, became the first premier to visit New Zealand and Australia since 2017.
He wrapped up his trip with a stop in Malaysia, marking an almost decade-long lull since his predecessor Li Keqiang visited the Southeast Asian nation in 2015.
Li’s tour heralded some results, including the announcement of new trade deals with New Zealand and Malaysia.
But a bizarre incident in Canberra involving Chinese officials and a formerly imprisoned local journalist was described as “entirely inappropriate” by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
Li’s tour began in a more muted manner, with the premier meeting New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon for talks in Wellington.
The pair announced new agreements on trade and climate change, with Li describing the two countries as “good friends.”
Luxon, though, said the split was “probably 50-50” in time spent discussing differences between the two countries compared to their common interests.
New Zealand’s leader had a “challenging course” to navigate, according to Kathryn Paik, a senior fellow with the Australia Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, balancing economic priorities with concerns over China’s increasing engagement in the Pacific.
“This balancing will become more difficult, as New Zealand continues to become more aware of the detrimental effects of Chinese actions abroad,” Paik told VOA.
The Chinese premier also raised concerns about New Zealand’s potential participation in the AUKUS security alliance — a trilateral pact between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States — that is seen as a counter to Beijing’s influence in the Indo-Pacific region.
From New Zealand, Li touched down in Australia for a meeting closely watched after relations between the two took a nosedive during the pandemic.
Australia’s former Prime Minister Scott Morrison was a vocal critic of China on a number of issues, from human rights to calling for an international inquiry into the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Beijing hit back, slapping tariffs and restrictions on a variety of Australian goods and commodities.
The Albanese administration has worked to rebuild the relationship with the key trading partner and this visit was evidence of how far things have come.
Canberra and Beijing “are back to the normal pattern of relations now,” said former Australian Ambassador to China Geoff Raby.
“Sure, there are big differences and issues that we disagree on. But that’s the same in all relationships,” Raby told VOA.
Beijing’s so-called “panda diplomacy” was on full display during the visit, with Li announcing China would send Adelaide Zoo two new giant pandas, replacing Wang Wang and Fu Ni who are returning to their homeland.
The premier also offered 15-day, visa-free entry for Australian visitors to China, something also promised to New Zealand citizens during his visit there.
Albanese said he and Li also discussed improving military dialogue between the countries, after a recent incident when a Chinese jet dropped flares in the pathway of an Australian defense helicopter over the Yellow Sea.
But while Albanese may have said the trip “renewed and revitalized” relations with China, all local media outlets could talk about was what happened with Cheng Lei — an Australian journalist who recently returned home from three years detention in China.
Lei was reporting on a press conference at Canberra’s Parliament House when Chinese officials appeared to block cameras from filming her.
“It was a complete stuff-up by the Chinese side, stupid, completely stupid. They are their own worst enemies,” said former ambassador Raby.
“It really did deflect attention within Australia from the positive aspects of the visit. It was such a stupid thing,” Raby told VOA.
The final leg of Li’s tour was in Malaysia, with the Chinese premier marking fifty years of diplomatic relations with his hosts.
Li met with Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and the pair witnessed the signing of a slew of new deals, such as a five-year agreement to boost economic and trade cooperation.
The pair also jointly pushed a lever to break ground at the construction of a new railway station that will form a key part of China’s prized Belt and Road Infrastructure project.
In addition, China promised to begin importing fresh durians from Malaysia. The Southeast Asian nation is one of the world’s biggest producers of the notoriously smelly fruit.
Malaysia, like much of the Indo-Pacific, is walking a tightrope in balancing relations with its biggest trading partner China and the United States. Kuala Lumpur recently received large investments from major U.S. companies including Microsoft and Google.
It’s an approach of “strategic ambiguity,” according to James Chin, professor of Asian studies at the University of Tasmania. “They don’t show their hand too openly.”
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Chinese sailors wield knives, axe in disputed sea clash with Philippines
Manila — Chinese coast guard sailors brandished knives, an axe and other weapons in a clash with Philippine naval vessels near a strategic reef in the South China Sea, dramatic new footage released by Manila showed.
The clash took place Monday as Philippine forces attempted to resupply marines stationed on a derelict warship that was deliberately grounded atop the disputed Second Thomas Shoal in 1999 to assert Manila’s territorial claims.
It was the latest in a series of escalating confrontations between Chinese and Philippine ships in recent months as Beijing steps up efforts to push its claims to the disputed area.
Philippine military chief General Romeo Brawner said the “outnumbered” Filipino crew had been unarmed and had fought with their “bare hands.”
A Filipino sailor lost a thumb in the clash, in which the Chinese coast guard confiscated or destroyed Philippine equipment including guns, according to the Philippine military.
Fresh footage released by the Philippine military late Wednesday showed small boats crewed by Chinese sailors shouting, waving knives and using sticks to hit an inflatable boat as a siren blares.
A voice speaking Tagalog can be heard in one clip saying someone had “lost a finger.”
Manila’s footage of the clash stands in stark contrast to photos released by Beijing’s state media on Wednesday, which did not show Chinese forces wielding weapons.
‘Violent confrontation’
Asked about the videos on Thursday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said Manila’s comments on the clash were “totally bogus accusations that confuse black with white.”
He blamed the Philippines for the confrontation, saying they had “escalated tensions” and accused them of ramming Chinese boats.
Lin said the Philippine boats had been trying “to sneak in building materials, but also tried to smuggle in military equipment.”
Beijing has insisted that its coast guard behaved in a “professional and restrained” way and claimed “no direct measures” were taken against Filipino personnel.
But in a clip shared by Manila, a Chinese sailor standing on the deck of one of the boats can clearly be seen waving an axe.
Another shows a Chinese coast guard sailor striking the inflatable boat with a stick. A second man can also be seen stabbing the boat with a knife.
The Philippines military said an axe-wielding sailor had “threatened to injure” a Filipino soldier, while others were “explicitly threatening to harm” Filipino troops.
“The [Chinese coast guard] personnel then began hurling rocks and other objects at our personnel,” Manila said.
“They also slashed the [inflatable boats], rendering them inoperable.”
The Filipino sailors, wearing brown camouflage with helmets and vests, are not carrying weapons in the clips.
“Amidst this violent confrontation, the CCG [Chinese coast guard] also deployed tear gas, intensifying the chaos and confusion, while continuously blaring sirens to further disrupt communication,” the caption said.
Manila has accused Beijing of an “act of piracy” against its forces.
It has also demanded the return of items “looted” by the Chinese side, including seven guns, and reparations for damaged equipment.
‘Perilous’ situation
Analysts say Beijing is escalating confrontations with the Philippines in a bid to push it out of the South China Sea.
Jay Batongbacal, director for the Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea in Manila, told AFP that China’s forces could be poised to seize the grounded Philippine warship, the Sierra Madre.
“The deployment of their forces at present around the Sierra Madre and then the many reefs around the Kalayaan island group is indicative that they’re ready to do it,” he said, referring to Manila-claimed areas in the Spratly Islands.
The United States has said that “an armed attack” against Philippine public vessels, aircraft, armed forces and coastguard anywhere in the South China Sea would require it to come to Manila’s defense as a treaty ally.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken “emphasized that [China’s] actions undermine regional peace and stability” in a call with his Philippine counterpart Enrique A. Manalo on Wednesday, according to the State Department.
Blinken said they also “underscored the United States’ ironclad commitments to the Philippines under our Mutual Defense Treaty.”
Another analyst said the clashes “brought us perilously close” to a point where the United States would be required to intervene militarily.
“The Philippines will likely need to continue resupply missions to the Sierra Madre, one way or another,” said Duan Dang, a Vietnam-based maritime security analyst.
“Backing down and accepting Beijing’s terms regarding these operations would mean relinquishing sovereign rights within its Exclusive Economic Zone,” he said.
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Lack of legal framework complicates policing political deepfakes
Voters in this U.S. presidential election are vulnerable to bad actors using artificial intelligence to create disinformation that benefits rival politicians or promotes the interests of foreign governments. VOA’s Ivanna Pidborska looks at the use of AI in Election 2024 in this report narrated by Carolyn Presutti. Camera and edit: Kostiantyn Golubchik, Dmytro Melnyk
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South Korea blasts Russia-North Korea deal, says it will consider possible arms supplies to Ukraine
SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea’s presidential office condemned an agreement reached by Russia and North Korea that vowed mutual defense assistance in the event of war and says it will reconsider its policy of limiting support to Ukraine of non-lethal supplies.
The comments by a senior presidential official on Thursday came after the office issued a statement condemning the agreement reached by Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in their summit in Pyongyang on Wednesday. The office said the agreement posed a threat to South Korea’s security and warned that it will negatively affect Seoul’s relations with Moscow.
The presidential official, who spoke on condition of anonymity during a background briefing, according to office rules, said Seoul in response will reconsider the issue of providing arms to Ukraine to help the country fight off Russia’s invasion.
South Korea, a growing arms exporter with a well-equipped military backed by the United States, has provided humanitarian aid and other support to Ukraine while joining U.S.-led economic sanctions against Moscow. But it has not directly provided arms to Ukraine, citing a long-standing policy of not supplying weapons to countries actively engaged in conflict.
The new agreement between Russia and North Korea reached by their leaders at a Pyongyang summit requires both countries to use all available means to provide immediate military assistance in the event of war, North Korean state media said Thursday.
Both North Korea’s Kim Jong Un and Russia’s Vladimir Putin had described the deal reached Wednesday as a major upgrade of bilateral relations, covering security, trade, investment, cultural and humanitarian ties. Outside observers said it could mark the strongest connection between Moscow and Pyongyang since the end of the Cold War.
The North’s official Korean Central News Agency on Thursday reported the language of the comprehensive strategic partnership agreement. The agency said Article 4 of the agreement states that if one of the countries gets invaded and is pushed into a state of war, the other must deploy “all means at its disposal without delay” to provide “military and other assistance.” But it also says that such actions must be in accordance with the laws of both countries and Article 51 of the United Nations Charter, which recognizes a U.N. member state’s right to self-defense.
The summit between Kim and Putin came as the U.S. and its allies expressed growing concern over a possible arms arrangement in which Pyongyang provides Moscow with badly needed munitions for its war in Ukraine, in exchange for economic assistance and technology transfers that could enhance the threat posed by Kim’s nuclear weapons and missile program.
Following their summit, Kim said the two countries had a “fiery friendship,” and that the deal was their “strongest-ever treaty,” putting the relationship at the level of an alliance. He vowed full support for Russia’s war in Ukraine. Putin called it a “breakthrough document” reflecting shared desires to move relations to a higher level.
North Korea and the former Soviet Union signed a treaty in 1961, which experts say necessitated Moscow’s military intervention if the North came under attack. The deal was discarded after the collapse of the USSR, replaced by one in 2000 that offered weaker security assurances.
A full day after the summit, South Korean officials said they were still interpreting the results, including what Russia’s response might be if the North comes under attack. Analysts were mixed on whether the agreement obligates Russia to an automatic military invention on behalf of the North in war situations or was carefully worded enough to avoid such a commitment. It also wasn’t immediately clear why the article invokes the U.N. charter.
“We are currently reviewing the specifics of the treaty signed between Russia and North Korea during President Putin’s visit to North Korea. We will announce our government’s position after we are done,” Lim Soosuk, South Korea’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, said during a briefing.
Still, Lim expressed regret that Moscow and Pyongyang signed the agreement while openly talking about military and technology cooperation that would be in violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions.
“Based on our close analysis and assessment of the results of [Putin’s] visit, including the comprehensive strategic partnership treaty signed between Russia and North Korea, we will work with the international community, including our allies and friends, to take correspondingly stern and decisive measures to any actions that threaten our security,” Lim said.
The deal was made as Putin visited North Korea for the first time in 24 years, a visit that showcased their personal and geopolitical ties with Kim hugging Putin twice at the airport, their motorcade rolling past giant Russian flags and Putin portraits, and a welcoming ceremony at Pyongyang’s main square attended by what appeared to be tens of thousands of spectators.
According to KCNA, the agreement also states that Pyongyang and Moscow must not enter into agreements with third parties if they infringe on the “core interests” of another and must not participate in actions that threaten those interests.
KCNA said the agreements require the countries to take steps to prepare joint measures for the purpose of strengthening their defense capabilities to prevent war and protect regional and global peace and security. The agency didn’t specify what those steps are, or whether they would include combined military training and other cooperation.
The agreement also calls for the countries to actively cooperate in efforts to establish a “just and multipolar new world order,” KCNA said, underscoring how the countries are aligning in face of their separate, escalating confrontations with the United States.
Kim in recent months has made Russia his priority as he pushes a foreign policy aimed at expanding relations with countries confronting Washington, embracing the idea of a “new Cold War” and trying to display a united front in Putin’s broader conflicts with the West.
Tensions on the Korean Peninsula are at their highest point in years, with the pace of both Kim’s weapons tests and combined military exercises involving the U.S., South Korea and Japan intensifying in a tit-for-tat cycle.
The Koreas also have engaged in Cold War-style psychological warfare that involved North Korea dropping tons of trash on the South with balloons, and the South broadcasting anti-North Korean propaganda with its loudspeakers.
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Somalia asks peacekeepers to slow withdrawal, fears Islamist resurgence
MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somalia’s government is seeking to slow the withdrawal of African peacekeepers and warning of a potential security vacuum, documents seen by Reuters show, with neighboring countries fretting that resurgent al-Shabaab militants could seize power.
The African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS), a peacekeeping force, is committed to withdrawing by Dec. 31, when a smaller new force is expected to replace it.
However, in a letter last month to the acting chair of the African Union Peace and Security Council the government asked to delay until September the withdrawal of half the 4,000 troops due to leave by the end of June. The letter has not been reported before.
The government had previously recommended, in a joint assessment with the AU in March, reviewed by Reuters, that the overall withdrawal timeline be adjusted “based on the actual readiness and capabilities” of Somali forces.
The joint assessment, which was mandated by the U.N. Security Council, warned that a “hasty drawdown of ATMIS personnel will contribute to a security vacuum.”
“I’ve never been more concerned about the direction of my home country,” said Mursal Khalif, an independent member of the defense committee in parliament.
The European Union and United States, the top funders of the AU force in Somalia, have sought to reduce the peacekeeping operation due to concerns about long-term financing and sustainability, four diplomatic sources and a senior Ugandan official said.
Negotiations about a new force have proven complicated, with the AU initially pushing for a more robust mandate than Somalia wanted, three of the diplomatic sources said. A heated political dispute could lead Ethiopia to pull out some of the most battle-hardened troops.
Somalia’s presidency and prime minister’s office did not respond to requests for comment.
Mohamed El-Amine Souef, AU special representative to Somalia and head of ATMIS, said there was no definitive timeline for concluding negotiations but that all parties were committed to an agreement that helps achieve sustainable peace and security.
“The AU and Somalia’s government have emphasized the importance of a conditions-based drawdown to prevent any security vacuum,” he told Reuters.
The Peace and Security Council is due to meet on Somalia later on Thursday to discuss the drawdown and follow-up mission.
As the drawdown proceeds, with 5,000 of around 18,500 troops leaving last year, the government has projected confidence. It has said the new force should not exceed 10,000 and should be limited to tasks like securing major population centers.
The call for a smaller force likely reflects views of nationalists who oppose a heavy foreign presence in Somalia, said Rashid Abdi, an analyst with Sahan Research, a Nairobi-based think-tank focused on the Horn of Africa.
Worried neighbors
Uganda and Kenya, which contributed troops to the departing mission, are also worried.
Henry Okello Oryem, Uganda’s state minister of foreign affairs, said that despite intensive training efforts, Somali troops could not sustain a long-term military confrontation.
“We do not want to get into a situation where we are fleeing, the kind of thing that we saw in Afghanistan,” he told Reuters.
Oryem said Kenya accepted the drawdown requested by the U.S. and EU but that the concerns of countries with forces in Somalia should be heard.
Kenyan President William Ruto told reporters in Washington last month that a withdrawal that did not account for conditions on the ground would mean “the terrorists will take over Somalia.”
In response to questions, an EU spokesperson said it was focused on building domestic security capacities and supported in principle a Somali government proposal for a new mission that would have a reduced size and scope.
A U.S. State Department spokesperson said the force should be large enough to prevent a security vacuum. Washington has supported all requests submitted by the AU to the U.N. Security Council to modify the drawdown timeline, the spokesperson said.
In response to a question about Ethiopian forces, the spokesperson said it was critical to avoid security gaps or unnecessary expenses “incurred by swapping out existing troop contributors.”
Setbacks
Two years ago, an army offensive in central Somalia initially seized large swathes of territory from al-Shabaab.
In August, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamed declared his intention to “eliminate” the powerful al-Qaida offshoot within five months.
But just a few days later, al-Shabaab counter-attacked, retaking the town of Cowsweyne. They killed scores of soldiers and beheaded several civilians accused of supporting the army, according to a soldier, an allied militiaman and a local resident.
“This broke the hearts of Somalis but gave courage to al-Shabaab,” Ahmed Abdulle, the militiaman, from a clan in central Somalia, said in an interview in April.
The Somali government has never publicly provided a death toll for the Cowsweyne battle and didn’t respond to a request for a toll for this story.
“There were enough troops in Cowsweyne, over a battalion, but they were not organized well,” said a soldier named Issa, who fought in the battle there last August.
Issa said car bombs had blasted through the gates of Cowsweyne army camp on the day of the attack, citing a shortage of defensive outposts to protect bases from such attacks.
Ten soldiers, militiamen from local clans and residents in areas targeted by the military campaign reported no army operations in the past two months following additional battlefield setbacks.
Reuters could not independently establish the extent of the territorial losses to al-Shabaab. Somalia’s national security adviser said on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) this week that the army had held most of its gains.
The peacekeepers’ withdrawal could make it more difficult to hold territory. While analysts estimate Somalia’s army at around 32,000 soldiers, the government acknowledged, in the assessment with the AU, a shortage of some 11,000 trained personnel due to “high operational tempo” and “attrition.”
The government has said its soldiers are capable of confronting al-Shabaab with limited external support.
Somalia has defied gloomy predictions before and has expanded its security forces in recent years.
Residents of the seaside capital Mogadishu – whose ubiquitous blast walls testify to the threat of Shabaab suicide bombers and mortars – say security has improved. Once quiet streets bustle with traffic, and upscale restaurants and supermarkets are opening.
An assessment published in April by the Combating Terrorism Center at the United States Military Academy said an Afghanistan-like collapse was unlikely, helped by ongoing external support.
The United States, for instance, has about 450 troops in Somalia to train and advise local forces, and conducts regular drone attacks against suspected militants.
But the assessment’s author, Paul D. Williams, a professor of international affairs at George Washington University, said the militants’ estimated 7,000-12,000 fighters would nevertheless be “slightly militarily stronger” than Somali forces because of superior cohesion and force employment.
International support
Somalia’s security has been underwritten by foreign resources since Ethiopia invaded in 2006, toppling an Islamist-led administration but galvanizing an insurgency that has since killed tens of thousands of people.
The U.S. has spent more than $2.5 billion on counterterrorism assistance since 2007, according to a study last year by Brown University. That number does not include undisclosed military and intelligence spending on activities like drone strikes and deployments of American ground troops.
The EU says it has provided about $2.8 billion to ATMIS and its predecessor since 2007. Turkey, Qatar and other Middle Eastern countries also provide security assistance.
But resources are under strain. The EU, which pays for most of ATMIS’s roughly $100 million annual budget, is shifting toward bilateral support with an eye toward reducing its overall contributions in the medium-term, four diplomatic sources said.
Two diplomats interviewed by Reuters, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe private negotiations, said the U.S. and EU want to scale back peacekeeping operations because of competing spending priorities including Ukraine and Gaza and a sense Somalia should take responsibility for its own security.
Some European countries would like to see the new mission financed through assessed contributions of United Nations member states, which would increase the financial burden on the United States and China, the four diplomatic sources said.
The State Department spokesperson said the U.S. did not believe such a system can be implemented by next year but said there was strong international consensus to support the follow-on mission. The EU didn’t address questions about the financing of the replacement mission.
Financing for the new mission can only be formally addressed once Somalia and the AU agree on a proposed size and mandate.
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Kenyan protesters to return to streets over tax hikes
Nairobi, Kenya — Kenyan protesters were due to stage fresh protests across the country on Thursday against contentious tax hikes that many fear will worsen a cost-of-living crisis.
The cash-strapped government of President William Ruto agreed to make some concessions on Tuesday after hundreds of mostly young protesters clashed with the police in the capital Nairobi.
But the government will still go ahead with some tax increases and has defended the proposed hikes as necessary for filling its coffers and cutting reliance on external borrowing.
Protesters have vowed to take to the streets across the country, including in the Indian Ocean city of Mombasa and the lakeside city of Kisumu, both opposition bastions.
“They need to reject the bill, not edit it,” Sarah Njoroge, 21, told AFP. “It appears that they think we are vocal on social media and will get tired.”
The authorities have blocked several roads near parliament in Nairobi and deployed a heavy police presence, with lawmakers beginning debate on the bill on Wednesday.
Protesters in Nairobi said they would march to parliament, which must pass the final version of the bill before June 30.
A parliament source told AFP that a vote on the proposals was expected on June 27.
The taxes were projected to raise $2.7 billion, equivalent to 1.9 percent of GDP, and reduce the budget deficit from 5.7 percent to 3.3 percent of GDP.
The presidency on Tuesday announced the removal of proposed levies on bread purchases, car ownership as well as financial and mobile services, prompting a warning from the treasury of a 200-billion-shilling shortfall as a result of the budget cuts.
The government has now targeted an increase in fuel prices and export taxes to fill the void left by the changes, a move critics say will make life more expensive in a country already battling high inflation.
Tuesday’s protest was largely peaceful with black-clad protesters forced into cat-and-mouse chases with police who fired volleys of teargas.
At least 335 people were arrested, according to a consortium of lobby groups including the human rights commission KNCHR and Amnesty Kenya.
“We have changed tack. Today we will be in colorful and defiant clothing to avoid a repeat of them arresting everyone in black,” said an organizer of the march, who requested anonymity fearing reprisals.
Kenya is one of the most dynamic economies in East Africa but a third of its 51.5 million people live in poverty.
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Philippines demands China return rifles, pay for boat damage in sea clash
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine military chief demanded Wednesday that China return several rifles and equipment seized by the Chinese coast guard in a disputed shoal and pay for damages in an assault he likened to an act of piracy in the South China Sea.
Chinese personnel on board more than eight motorboats repeatedly rammed then boarded the two Philippine navy inflatable boats Monday to prevent Filipino navy personnel from transferring food and other supplies including firearms to a Philippine territorial outpost in Second Thomas Shoal, which is also claimed by Beijing, according to Philippine officials.
After a scuffle and repeated collisions, the Chinese seized the boats and damaged them with machetes, knives and hammers. They also seized eight M4 rifles, which were packed in cases, navigation equipment and other supplies and wounded a number of Filipino navy personnel, including one who lost his right thumb, two Philippine security officials told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
The two officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of a lack of authority to publicly discuss the sensitive conflict.
Video and photographs issued by the Philippine military Wednesday night show the chaotic faceoff at the shoal, with Chinese personnel onboard boats brandishing knives, axe and sticks while surrounding two Philippine navy supply boats beside Manila’s ship outpost. Sirens blare constantly as both sides yell at each other and the Chinese smash the Philippine navy boat with a pole and grab what appears to be a bag with a stick.
Pictures show a damaged Philippine navy boat with its side floaters slashed and deflated and another boat with its windshields and navigational screens shattered. A man displays a damaged cellphone.
“We are demanding that the Chinese return our rifles and our equipment and we’re also demanding that they pay for the damage they caused,” Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr., head of the Philippine armed forces, said in a news conference in western Palawan province, where he pinned a medal on the wounded navy officer.
“They boarded our boats illegally and seized our equipment,” Brawner said. “They’re now like pirates with this kind of actions.”
Armed with long knives and machetes, the Chinese coast guard personnel tried to beat the unarmed Filipinos, who resisted with their bare hands by parrying the blows and pushing back the Chinese, Brawner said. “Our objective is also to prevent war.”
Some of the Chinese pointed their knives at the Filipino navy personnel, he said.
China blamed the Philippines for the confrontation, saying the Filipino personnel “trespassed” into the shoal in defiance of its warnings.
“This is the direct cause of the incident,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said in Beijing. “The Chinese coast guard at the scene has taken professional law-enforcement measures with restraint aimed at stopping the illegal supply mission by the Philippine vessels and no direct measures were taken against the Philippine personnel.”
The United States renewed a warning Tuesday that it is obligated to defend the Philippines, a treaty ally.
Second Thomas Shoal, part of the disputed Spratly Islands, has been occupied by a small Philippine navy contingent aboard a grounded warship that has been closely monitored by China’s coast guard and navy in a yearslong territorial standoff. China claims the South China Sea virtually in its entirety.
There is fear that disputes in the South China Sea, long regarded as an Asian flashpoint, could escalate and pit the United States and China in a larger conflict. Aside from China and the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have conflicting territorial claims in the busy waterway.
Since last year, hostilities between China and the Philippines have escalated in the disputed waters, particularly in Second Thomas Shoal, which is less than 370 kilometers from the Philippine coast and where the BRP Sierra Madre, now encrusted with rust, was deliberately grounded in 1999 to create a territorial outpost. The ship remains an actively commissioned military vessel, meaning an attack on it could be considered by the Philippines as an act of war.
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Interview: UN refugee chief urges end to ‘insane’ Sudan war
U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi is marking World Refugee Day in Sudan and South Sudan, where he has been traveling this week, highlighting the situation of millions of people displaced by war. VOA United Nations correspondent Margaret Besheer spoke to him from New York.
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