International
The Philippines and the United States will simulate the capture of an island in their next military exercises and in full tension with China
The armies of the Philippines and the United States will simulate the capture of an island controlled by enemy forces during the joint military exercises that begin next week in the Southeast Asian archipelago, in full tensions with China.
“It is the first time that maritime exercises will be carried out beyond Philippine territorial waters,” said Army Colonel Michael Logico during an interview with the public channel PTV in which he reported the simulation of the capture of the island, whose location was not specified.
The annual exercises, called “Balikatan”, will gather between April 22 and May 10 about 16,000 troops (more than 11,000 American soldiers and about 5,000 Filipinos) and will take place in areas in front of the island of Taiwan, a self-governing island that Beijing does not rule out invading, and the disputed South China Sea, among other locations.
About 150 Australian soldiers and representatives of the French Navy will also participate in the exercises, which are not explicitly directed against China, while Japan, among other countries, will send observers.
Logico stressed that they have sent an invitation to the Japanese troops to join next year.
The military exercises are held after the trilateral meeting organized last Thursday in Washington between US President Joe Biden; Filipino Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, where various aspects of security and defense were discussed, with a view to countering Beijing.
Tensions between Manila and Beijing have been increasing lately due to incidents between vessels from both sides in areas that are disputed in the South China Sea, where the United States supports the Philippines – with which it has a mutual defense treaty – in order to maintain the right to free navigation in waters through which about 30% of the world’s maritime trade transits.
Marcos Jr., who took power in June 2022, has turned the foreign policy of his predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte, closer to Beijing, to approach his traditional ally, the United States, in turn concerned about China’s growing influence in the Indo-Pacific.
Manila and Washington announced last year a defense agreement by which the Asian country will allow US troops to use four military bases – some with easy access to and the South China Sea – which are in addition to the access agreed in 2014 over five other bases.
In parallel, the Philippines and Japan are advancing on a security agreement that could also include access to bases similar to that of Manila and Washington.
International
Trump criticizes Panama Canal fees and demands U.S. control over strategic waterway
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump criticized what he described as unfair fees imposed on American ships passing through the Panama Canal and threatened to demand that Washington take back control of the strategic waterway.
“Our Navy and commerce have been threatened in a very unjust and reckless way. The rates that Panama charges are ridiculous,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
The president-elect also denounced the growing influence of China in the canal, a situation he called concerning as U.S. businesses depend on the waterway to transport goods between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
“This complete scam against our country will end immediately,” he stated.
The Panama Canal, completed by the United States in 1914, was handed over to Panama under the 1977 treaty signed by Democratic President Jimmy Carter. Panama took full control of the commercial passage in 1999.
“It was exclusively for Panama to manage, not China or anyone else,” Trump said. “We would never allow it to fall into the wrong hands!”
“If Panama cannot guarantee a ‘safe, efficient, and reliable’ operation of the canal, we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to us in its entirety, without a doubt,” the Republican added.
Panamanian authorities did not immediately respond to Trump’s statements. While he will assume office on January 20, Trump has been exerting his political influence in the final days of President Joe Biden’s administration.
Five percent of global maritime trade passes through the Panama Canal, which allows vessels traveling from Asia to the U.S. East Coast to avoid the long and dangerous route around the southern tip of South America.
The countries that use the Panama Canal the most are the United States, China, Japan, and South Korea.
In October, the Panama Canal Authority reported earnings of nearly $5 billion in the last fiscal year.
International
Putin vows retaliation following drone attack on luxury building in Kazan
Russian President Vladimir Putin promised more “destruction” in Ukraine on Sunday, in response to a drone strike that hit a residential building in the city of Kazan, located in central Russia, on Saturday.
Russia accused Ukraine of launching a “massive” drone attack, which struck a luxury apartment block in Kazan, about 1,000 kilometers from the border.
Videos shared on Russian social media show drones hitting a high-rise glass building. No casualties have been reported as a result of the attack.
In his statements, Putin addressed the local leader of Tatarstan, the region where Kazan is located, during a virtual ceremony marking the opening of a road.
The attack in Kazan is the latest in a series of increasingly frequent bombings in this nearly three-year-old conflict. Ukraine has not commented on the attack.
Putin had previously threatened to strike the center of Kyiv with a hypersonic ballistic missile in response to Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory.
The Russian Ministry of Defense stated that the recent Russian strikes on Ukrainian energy facilities were retaliation for Ukraine’s use of Western-supplied missiles to target Russian territory.
International
Small plane crashes in Gramado, Brazil, killing nine people
At least nine people were killed on Sunday after a small aircraft crashed in a commercial area of the tourist city of Gramado, in the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, authorities confirmed.
“There are nine confirmed deaths according to Civil Defense services, and there are no survivors from the plane,” said Cléber dos Santos Lima, director of the Interior Police Department of the Civil Police of the state, in a statement to AFP.
Authorities have not yet confirmed the exact number of passengers and crew aboard the aircraft, a turbo-prop Piper Cheyenne 400. However, Civil Defense had previously stated that “preliminarily, the plane was carrying ten people.”
The plane crashed on Sunday morning “into the chimney of a building, then onto the second floor of a house, and finally fell onto a furniture store,” according to a statement from the Rio Grande do Sul Public Security Secretariat.
Trump criticizes Panama Canal fees and demands U.S. control over strategic waterway
Putin vows retaliation following drone attack on luxury building in Kazan
Small plane crashes in Gramado, Brazil, killing nine people
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