The first “Multilateral Maritime Cooperative Activity” involving defense wings of the United States, Australia, Japan and the Philippines concluded off Batanes Island near Taiwan last Sunday. Lawmaker France Castro warned such military drills could push the Philippines into the theater of war in Southeast Asia.
The ‘Multilateral Maritime Cooperative Activity,’ a joint maritime drill by Australia, the United States, Japan and the Philippines, in progress off the coast within the Philippines Exclusive Economic Zone on April 7. (Photo: AFP)
The US has roped in Japan and Australia as allies in its Indo-Pacific Strategy that aims to contain China. Along with India, they form part of the defense alliance, QUAD. Next week, US President Joe Biden will hold the first trilateral summit with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Washington.
The League of Filipino Students, the largest youth outfit in the Catholic-majority nation, urged the public to denounce the “interference” both by the US and China in the affairs of the Philippines.
Religious minorities have expressed concerns over demands by pro-Hindu nationalists to re-establish monarchy and Hindu state in Nepal. This week, pro-monarchy supporters took to the streets and clashed with police.
Members of minority groups said they are facing rising pressure from hardline Hindu groups in the form of hate speech, discrimination from the state and public, and mob violence. The march in the capital Kathmandu was organized by right-wing and pro-monarchist party, Rastriya Prajatantra Party, the fifth largest party in the parliament, on Tuesday.
Supporters of Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) waving their party flag shout slogans during a protest to demand the restoration of monarchy and the status of a Hindu state in the Himalayan nation, along a street in Kathmandu on April 9. (Photo: AFP)
Media reports say that in recent months, the districts in Eastern Nepal bordering India, have experienced a rise in cases of communal violence and social hostilities targeting the religious minority groups by religious fanatics.
This prompted the local governments to enforce ‘curfews’ to bring the situation under control. Nepal abolished absolute monarchy in 2007 and declared itself a secular state.
Malaysians have paid tributes to an Irish missionary nun who pioneered girls’ education for decades. Sister Enda Ryan, a member of Franciscan Missionaries of Mary congregation, died last Sunday at the age of 96.
The nun has been widely hailed as the founder of the iconic Assunta schools and for helping to build the Ave Maria Clinic, now the Assunta Hospital, the first private hospital in Malaysia. The schools and hospital are in Petaling Jaya, a newly developed satellite town for Kuala Lumpur.
Sister Enda Ryan is seen with her former students in this file image. (Courtesy: Lily Lee)
Many have posted on social media lauding the nun’s contributions. She was born on December 30, 1928, joined the congregation in 1947, and came to the then Malaya in 1955 after graduating from university with a degree in education.
The nun retired in 1989 but was a leading figure in developing education policies and practices in Malaysia. In 1966, the Malaysian government granted her citizenship for her contributions to education.
Tibetan Buddhists have denounced the Chinese authorities for a directive that bans some of the religious practices conducted after the death of Dalai Lama, the supreme spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism.
The pro-Beijing regime in Tibet recently distributed a manual containing a ban on 10 activities after the Dalai Lama’s death including refraining from displaying his photos and other “illegal religious activities and rituals.”
The Dalai Lama speaks at a public gathering in Dharamsala in India on Feb. 24. (Photo: AFP)
The manual also lists rules against disrupting the process of recognizing the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation, which has been a contentious issue with the Chinese authorities.
Tibetan Buddhists believe that the successor of the Dalai Lama happens through incarnation, whereas the Chinese government seeks to control the centuries-old selection method by appointing its preferred candidate. China annexed Tibet in 1951, muzzled dissent with an iron fist and attempted to strongly influence socio-economic and religious life of Tibetans ever since.
Cambodian government has decided to deport 700 Chinese nationals suspected of running illegal online gambling and scam operations.
This came amid an ongoing crackdown on cyber criminals operating out of Sihanoukville, a notorious den for organized crime on the south coast.
In this Sept 27, 2022, photo in Phnom Penh, a victim of a Chinese scamming gang shows a scar on his leg after he was tortured. Dozens of casinos sprang up in recent years in Sihanoukville following Chinese investment, making the City a hub for gamblers and drawing in international crime groups. (Photo: AFP)
The Chinese were detained after joint Cambodian-Chinese police operations following a similar crackdown on Chinese nationals, at the behest of Beijing, in Laos and Myanmar.
More than 40,000 Chinese nationals were deported for similar crimes from Myanmar during the last three months of last year.
Cambodia has seen a rise in human trafficking and scam compounds run by organized crime rings, which erupted during the Covid-19 pandemic and has since spread into neighboring countries.
However, the government ordered a crackdown after 2,000 people were arrested for online crimes this year.
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