UK warship bound for South China Sea
4 killed in Philippine storm
SYDNEY, Feb 13, (Agencies): A British warship will sail through the South China Sea next month to assert freedom-of-navigation rights, British Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson said in remarks published on Tuesday.
British officials first flagged the voyage six months ago and the journey is likely to stoke tensions with China, who claim control of most of the area and have built military facilities on land features in the sea. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also have claims to the energy-rich sea that carries billion of dollars in trade.
The frigate HMS Sutherland will sail through the region after a visit to Australia, Williamson said in an interview with The Australian newspaper.
“She’ll be sailing through the South China Sea (on the way home) and making it clear our navy has a right to do that,” he said, according to the newspaper. Williamson did not specify whether it would sail within 12 nautical miles of any disputed territory, according to the paper. Several US Navy ships have made their own freedom-of-navigation journeys that drew stern rebukes from Beijing.
US joins Thai military exercise:
The biggest US force in years joined an annual military exercise in Thailand on Tuesday despite controversy over the Thai junta’s invitation to neighboring Myanmar’s army, which has been accused of ethnic cleansing.
The United States scaled back attendance at Cobra Gold, Asia’s largest multilateral military exercise, after a 2014 coup in Thailand. But relations between the junta and the United States have improved under President Donald Trump. The presence of the 6,800 US personnel — nearly double last year’s number — was a demonstration of America’s continuing muscle in a region where China is growing ever more powerful.
The Cobra Gold military exercise has been held for more than three decades. This year’s Cobra Gold will be attended by some 11,075 personnel from 29 countries.
Philippine storm kills 4:
Four people were killed in the southern Philippines early Tuesday as a tropical storm unleashed heavy rain and triggered deadly landslides, police said.
Tropical Storm Sanba slammed the east coast of the main southern island of Mindanao Tuesday with gusts of 75 kms (47 miles) an hour.
The heavy rain triggered landslides that hit mountain villages outside the mining town of Carrascal — 760 kms south of the capital Manila — killing four people, municipal police chief James Alendogao told AFP.
“These areas are currently inaccessible and we do not know the extent of the damage,” he added.
The state weather service said the storm was expected to move swiftly northwest over the next 24 hours, bringing moderate to heavy rain across the central Philippines.
English quits after poll:
New Zealand’s opposition leader Bill English said Tuesday he would leave Parliament after losing last year’s election.
The former prime minister told reporters he was resigning as leader of the conservative National Party and leaving Parliament later this month.
English, 56, has served as a lawmaker for 27 years. He took the reins as prime minister in December 2016 after his predecessor John Key resigned. A former farmer, English built a reputation as being reliable and empathizing with those who were struggling. He even learned to embrace his image as being a little boring.