Pentagon chief says China’s island-building erodes security
of the island of Hahajima, near the epicentre, told NHK national television.
“I have not experienced anything like that, so it was so scary.”
She added that things on the island were normal. There were no reports of significant damage or injuries, though the Tokyo fire department had received calls about people suffering injuries through falls, NHK said. In Chiba, just east of Tokyo, loudspeaker broadcasts called on people to remain calm, but there were no signs of damage. “Since it was magnitude 8.5 this was a very big quake, but fortunately it was very deep at 590 km,” Naoki Hirata, an earthquake expert at the University of Tokyo’s Earthquake Research Centre, told NHK.
“But the shaking was felt over a broad area... because it was deep, there is little danger of a tsunami.” SINGAPORE: US defence secretary Ash Carter said on Saturday that Beijing’s island-building in the South China Sea was undermining security in the Asia-Pacific but, despite his blunt remarks, the response from Chinese officials was measured.
Carter, speaking to top defence officials from the Asia-Pacific at the annual Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, acknowledged that several countries had created outposts in the region’s disputed islands, but he said the scope of China’s activity created uncertainty about its future plans.
“China has reclaimed over 2,000 acres, more than all other claimants combined ... and China did so in only the last 18 months,” Carter told the ShangriLa Dialogue security forum. “It is unclear how much farther China will go.” He said the US was “deeply concerned” about the scale of China’s land reclamation and the prospect of further militarization of the islands, saying it would boost “the risk of miscalculation or conflict.”
He added: “We all know there is no military solution to the South China Sea disputes. Right now is the time for renewed diplomacy, focused on a finding a lasting solution that protects the rights and interests of all.” A Chinese military delegate to the forum said Carter was wrong to criticise China, but his comments were not as hostile as those made at the Shangri-La Dialogue in past years.
“This year, Carter’s speech is more balanced...It’s helpful for building new ties between China and the US as major powers, and also helpful to improving military relationships,” Former president fears LTTE revival in Sri Lanka “We are glad that terrorists are no more. But I have a suspicion that we may return to see terrorism,” Rajapaksa said
Rajapaksa, who led the Sri Lankan forces in the bloody victory over the LTTE in 2009, plans to contest parliamentary polls in another bid to return to power
He first won in 2005, surfed a popularity among the Sinhala majority to win again in 2010. He had Constitution changed to allow the third term he hoped to win in January’s poll.
The nearly three-decades-long LTTE war ended in 2009 with the defeat of the Tigers and resulting in the deaths of at least 100,000 people.