Southwest China News

Indonesia has increased patrols around islands near the disputed South China Sea after a Chinese coast guard vessel "trespassed" into Indonesia's exclusive economic zone, authorities said on Friday.The Chinese vessel entered waters off the coast of the northern Natuna islands in mid-December, leading Indonesian foreign ministry to issue a “strong protest” and summon the Chinese ambassador in Jakarta.Speaking in Beijing on Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang…

Hong Kong-based Cosco Shipping Ports has purchased a 4.34% stake in Shenzhen-listed Beibu Gulf Port Co for a total consideration of approximately RMB 470 million (USD 68 mln)."By subscribing the shares, Cosco Shipping Ports aim to further strengthen the cooperation with Beibu Gulf Port, and lay a foundation for the Company to participate in the integration of Guangxi ports. At present, Cosco Shipping Ports teams up with Beibu Gulf Port in operating Qinzhou International Container Terminal Co., Ltd," said a press release from the port company.Beibu Gulf being the gateway of the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor (ILSTC, formerly known as China-Singapore Southern Transport Corridor)…

A passenger ship carrying 458 people sank in the Yangtze River in central China after encountering what the rescued captain said was a storm and strong winds, the government’s Xinhua News Agency reported. The ship, which departed from the eastern Chinese city Nanjing and is bound for Chongqing Municipality in southwest China, sank "within one or two minutes" after being caught in a cyclone, according to the ship's captain and chief engineer. The accident occurred at the Damazhou waterway in the middle reaches of Yangtze River, according to the Changjiang Maritime Safety Administration (MSA). The MSA and Changjiang Waterway have begun rescue the rescue mission and have saved eight people so far, including the captain and the chief engineer.

China has launched its first cruise liner to sail via its ambitious transcontinental initiative Maritime Silk Road (MSR) on its maiden voyage during which it will visit three South-East Asian nations. The liner has scheduled stops in Vietnam, the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia before eventually reaches Kuantan Port in Malaysia. The cruise liner set off from the Beihai port in southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The 135-m-long 20-m-wide modern cruise ship can accommodate about 400 people and is equipped with wireless Internet access. Zhang Xiaoqin, vice governor of Guangxi, said the new cruise liner was another milestone in China-Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) cooperation and would promote maritime connectivity in the region.

A 6.3 magnitude earthquake that struck southwest China on Sunday left at least 367 dead and 1,881 wounded in a remote mountainous area of ​​Yunnan province, and caused some buildings to collapse , including a school. The United States Geological Survey said the quake struck at a shallow depth, less than 1.6 miles. Chinese state media reported that the quake was felt strongest in Yunnan, as well as in the adjacent provinces of Guizhou and Sichuan. The official Xinhua news agency said the epicenter was in the village of Longtoushan, Ludian County of Yunnan Province. Communications have been severely affected and rescuers are coming to the site, the report said. Photos uploaded to Internet by state media showed soldiers carrying the wounded and damaged by bricks that fell from buildings cars.

Chongqing Container Terminal in Southwest China reports container volume up 29.7% to 166,000 teu in Q1 2013. Import and export container volume climbed 29.7 per cent to 166,000 TEU. Laden boxes amounted to 124,000 TEU, an increase of 33.3 per cent. Trade cargo via waterway increased 26.2 per cent to 3.07 million tonnes. 2.34 million tonnes were imports, up 28.1 per cent. Exports weighed in at 734,000 tonnes, up 20.7 per cent. Waterway import and export boxes were up 29.3 per cent to 119,000 TEU. Import boxes increased 17.1 per cent to 41,000 TEU. Export containers increased 36.8 per cent to 78,000 TEU. Overall land trade shipments soared 156.9 per cent to 35,477 tonnes. Containers surged 420 per cent to 5,769 TEU. Import containers rocketed 740 per cent to 3,700 TEU.

Chinese police tracking a vessel on a border river in southwest China reportedly received a big surprise when they allegedly found 270 crocodiles, Xinhua News Agency reported. According the the report, the seizure was the largest this year in Guangxi region. (Source: Xinhua News Agency)