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Association Of Southeast Asian Nations News

09 Jun 2023

China's Largest Naval Training Ship Heads for Philippines in 'Friendly' Tour

File photo - ŠTyg728/Wikimedia Commons - CC BY-SA 4.0

China's largest naval training ship sailed for the Philippines on Friday, its last stop of a regional "friendly" tour, amid growing unease over Chinese maritime activities in the South China Sea.The giant training vessel, Qijiguang, bigger than a typical destroyer, left Brunei on Thursday for the Philippines as part of an around 40-day trip which has included stops in Vietnam and Thailand before Brunei.At the end of its trip, Qijiguang and its crew of 476 navy students and officers would have passed through the Yellow Sea…

12 Jul 2022

US Urges China to End 'Provocative' Behavior in South China Sea

(Photo: Arthur Rosen / U.S. Navy)

Washington will defend treaty ally the Philippines if its forces are attacked in the South China Sea, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said, urging China to follow international law and cease "provocative behavior" in the busy waterway.Blinken made the comments on Monday, the sixth anniversary of a ruling by an international tribunal that invalidated China's sweeping claims to the South China Sea, a conduit for about $3 trillion worth of ship-borne trade each year."We re-affirm that an armed attack on Philippine armed forces ... would invoke U.S.

25 Jun 2021

Pertamina Shipping Unit to Spend $4 Billion on Fleet Upgrades

Indonesia's state oil company Pertamina's new unit, Pertamina International Shipping (PIS), is looking to spend $4 billion in the next seven years to refurbish its fleet of vessels and upgrade terminals, a top official said on Friday.The new unit plans to replace 23 vessels and expand its fleet, to ensure compliance with the latest International Maritime Organization standards and eventually serve other regional companies, said its director of business planning, Wisnu Medan Santoso."There are many oil and gas players in ASEAN who do not have their own shipping arm, we see this as an opportunity," Wisnu told Reuters, referring to countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations."We have a large captive cargo, we have a large economy of scale.

22 Jan 2020

Ferry Industry Sets Pace on Critical Solutions

(Photo: BC Ferries)

Interferry CEO Mike Corrigan describes a distinctly upbeat period in the worldwide ferry community – and explains how the global trade association plans to take its support to far-reaching new levels.There are times when the phrase “there are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics” seems all too true, but here’s an honest number for you – ferries carry a global total of more than 2 billion passengers a year, which is almost on a par with airlines.Hard to believe? Not for those of us in the industry, but almost certainly for many citizens and politicians.

20 Aug 2019

SE Asia Plans Oil Spill Contingency

According to International Maritime Organization (IMO), one of the key elements in oil spill contingency planning is to define the communication channels to be used by cooperating parties when facing an incident.A workshop in Pulau Indah, Klang, Malaysia (19-21 August) has brought together officials from states in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), to help bring into operation the Regional Oil Spill Contingency Plan, which was adopted in 2018.Participants from nine countries got to grips with key elements of the plan and practiced communications between States, in order to identify any gaps and lessons to be learned.The workshop will help drive forward the implementation of this recently adopted plan…

30 Jul 2019

Vietnamese Fishermen Want Action Against China

A Vietnamese fishermen's group has called on the government to take stronger measures for the removal of a Chinese oil survey vessel that Vietnam accuses of violating its sovereignty in the South China Sea.Vietnamese and Chinese ships have been in a weeks-old standoff near an offshore oil block, the latest confrontation in waters that are a potential global flashpoint as the United States challenges China's sweeping maritime claims.The busy waterway will be high on the agenda this week as countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meet in Bangkok with foreign ministers from China, the United States and other powers.Vietnam…

02 Jan 2019

Cosco Shipping Ports Buys Stake in Beibu Gulf Port

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)…

30 Nov 2018

ASEAN Adopts Oil Spill Contingency Plan

International Maritime Organization (IMO) technical assistance and institutional support has been instrumental in the recent adoption of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Regional Oil Spill Contingency Plan.IMO said that the plan was adopted by the 24th ASEAN Transport Ministers Meeting, held in Bangkok, Thailand (8 November). The Regional Oil Spill Contingency Plan provides for a mechanism whereby ASEAN Member States can request and provide mutual support in response to any oil spills.It also ensures a common understanding and effective integration between affected and assisting ASEAN Member States, in the event of incidents involving oil spills…

22 Oct 2018

European Shipowners Hail EU-Singapore Trade Pact

The European Union and Singapore signed three agreements to take their political, trade, and investment relations to a new level as the landmark trade deal aims to remove import duties and taxes and improve market access for services providers, investors and firms.“European shipowners welcome the fact that the EU and Singapore show their commitment to free, fair and rules-based trade at a time that protectionism is on the rise”, said European Community Shipowners’ Associations (ECSA)’s Secretary General Martin Dorsman, “The EU-Singapore FTA text contains the liberalisation principles of international maritime transport services.”“Shipping needs global trade to exist and global trade cannot exist without an efficient shipping industry.

30 May 2018

Plans Emerge for Strategic Indian Ocean Naval Port

Indonesia and India pledged on Wednesday to step up defense and maritime cooperation, with plans to develop a strategic Indonesian naval port in the Indian Ocean, the leaders of the two countries said after meeting in Jakarta. Indonesian President Joko Widodo met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss, among other issues, developing infrastructure and an economic zone at Sabang, on the tip of Sumatra island and at the mouth of the Malacca Strait, one of the busiest shipping channels for global trade. "India is a strategic defence partner...and we will continue to advance our cooperation in developing infrastructure, including at Sabang Island and the Andaman Islands," Widodo told a news conference after the meeting at the presidential palace.

12 Dec 2017

Nimitz Carrier Strike Group Returns to Washington

Washington-based ships assigned to Nimitz Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 11 returned Dec. 10, just in time for the upcoming holidays following a six-month deployment to the Indo-Asia-Pacific region and the Arabian Gulf. The aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68), with embarked CSG-11, returned home to Naval Base Kitsap, and Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers USS Shoup (DDG 86) and USS Kidd (DDG 100) returned to Naval Station Everett. The strike group consists of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68), Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 11, Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 9, and Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruisers USS Princeton (CG 59) and USS Lake Erie (CG 70). The air wing and DESRON command staff disembarked in San Diego Dec.

19 Sep 2017

Keeping Asia Abreast of IMO Activities

International Maritime Organization (IMO) is attending the 34th session of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in in Bohol Island, Philippines (19-21 September) to update the Maritime Transport Working Group on its latest activities. IMO is looking forward to enhancing cooperation with the  Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) members, particularly in pursuing the Kuala Lumpur Transport Strategic Plan which seeks to ensure a sustainable transport network, including low carbon modes of transport. IMO also wishes to further promote the implementation of ASEAN Oil Spill Response Action Plan (OSRAP). IMO will share…

22 Aug 2017

US Navy a Hazard to Shipping -Chinese Newspaper

USS John S. McCain following a collision with the merchant vessel Alnic MC while underway east of the Straits of Malacca and Singapore on Aug. 21. (U.S. Navy photo by Madailein Abbott)

The U.S. navy's latest collision at sea, the fourth in its Pacific fleet this year, shows it is becoming an increasing risk to shipping in Asia despite its claims of helping to protect freedom of navigation, an official Chinese newspaper said. The USS John S. McCain and the tanker Alnic MC collided while the guided-missile vessel was nearing Singapore on Monday. The collision tore a hole in the warship's port side at the waterline, flooding compartments that included a crew sleeping area. Ten sailors are missing. The collision - the fourth major accident in the U.S.

02 May 2017

Indonesia-Philippines RoRo Service Up

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Sunday launched a ferry route that will connect the two countries. The Davao-General Santos-Bitung roll on/roll off shipping service from Mindanao to North Sulawesi, Indonesia at the Sasa port in Davao City is launched in a bid to further boost trade in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations region. According to local media reports, the vessel sailed off for the Davao-GenSan-Bitung sea route with initial 50 containers, five of which are flour cargoes produced by Pilmico Foods Corp. This new route will shorten shipping lead time from five weeks to two and a half days, Jakarta Globe reported Jokowi as saying.

22 Jan 2017

Singapore Exchange to Open LNG Index

Singapore Exchange (SGX) is developing a spot pricing index for the Middle East and India liquefied natural gas markets (LNG) in collaboration with inter-dealer broker Tullett Prebon, says WSJ. The index is aimed at market participants who are forced to rely on tenders for setting up prices due to the lack of an accepted price marker. The deal is aimed at boosting Singapore's status as a key LNG hub providing storage, trading, shipping and price discovery activities. The new index aims to provide a credible, consistent and transparent pricing mechanism, as the volume of LNG trades in the region continues to rise. It could also serve as a first step towards standardising LNG trade in the region. The exchange has already launched a spot price index for Asian LNG, known as Singapore SLInG.

29 Dec 2016

India, Indonesia Firm Up Maritime Co-operation

Asia’s most populous democracies and emerging powers, have firmed up a blueprint for enhancing maritime cooperation and resolved to jointly combat terror. India and Indonesia enjoy a good maritime partnership. India has backed Indonesia on the latter’s escalating dispute with China on territorial claims in South China Sea. This nexus is expected to irk China. “Indonesia is our most important partner as part of our ‘Act East’ policy,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said in a joint statement with Indonesian President Joko Widodo. India and Indonesia have affirmed their commitment to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos). "Both leaders committed to maintaining a maritime legal order based on the principles of international law…

20 Dec 2016

A New Maritime Forum?

Japan and Indonesia are planning to establish a new high-level bilateral maritime forum. The Japan-Indonesia Maritime Forum will discuss maritime cooperation., says a report in The Japan News. Under the new framework, Tokyo will support Jakarta’s efforts to protect its maritime sovereignty in the South China Sea and other areas. By deepening cooperation with Indonesia, which has strong influence over the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and through multilateral participation, Japan hopes to counter China, which has been building military strongholds in the South China Sea. The forum will comprise meetings of relevant ministers of the two countries and working groups.

06 Jul 2016

China Says Wants Peace after Paper Warns on South China Sea Clash

China's government sought to downplay fears of conflict in the South China Sea after an influential state-run newspaper said on Tuesday that Beijing should prepare for military confrontation. Editorials in the Global Times newspaper ahead of a July 12 international court ruling on competing claims in the South China Sea by China and the Philippines said the dispute had already been complicated by U.S. intervention. It faced further escalation due to the threat posed by The Hague-based tribunal to China's sovereignty, the paper said. "Washington has deployed two carrier battle groups around the South China Sea, and it wants to send a signal by flexing its muscles: As the biggest powerhouse in the region, it awaits China's obedience," the Global Times said.

24 Jul 2016

ASEAN in Discord Ahead of Meeting with top China, U.S. Diplomats

Southeast Asian nations were thrown into disarray after Cambodia on Saturday blocked them from issuing a statement referring to an international court ruling against China's territorial claims in the South China Sea, diplomats said. The U.N.-backed Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague handed an emphatic legal victory to the Philippines in the maritime dispute earlier this month, denying China's sweeping claims in the strategic seaway. Foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will meet for the first time since the ruling on Sunday, before hosting U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, and his Chinese counterpart, Foreign Minister Wang Yi among others.

25 Jul 2016

ASEAN Breaks South China Sea Deadlock

Manila drops request to refer to court ruling in statement. Southeast Asian nations overcame days of deadlock on Monday when the Philippines dropped a request for their joint statement to mention a landmark legal ruling on the South China Sea, officials said, after objections from Cambodia. China publicly thanked Cambodia for supporting its stance on maritime disputes, a position which threw the regional block's weekend meeting in the Laos capital of Vientiane into disarray. Competing claims with China in the vital shipping lane are among the most contentious issues for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, with its 10 members pulled between their desire to assert their sovereignty while finding common ground and fostering ties with Beijing.

26 Jul 2016

U.S. Backs S. China Sea Bilateral Talks

U.S. Secretary of State Kerry says backs bilateral talks; Philippines says dispute does not involve United States. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Tuesday he supported the resumption of talks between China and the Philippines over the South China Sea, following an international court ruling against Beijing over the dispute earlier this month. China did not participate in and has refused to accept the July 12 ruling by the U.N.-backed Permanent Court of Arbitration, in which U.S. ally Manila won an emphatic legal victory. China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi had asked Kerry to lend his support for bilateral talks to restart between Manila and Beijing in a meeting between the two in the Laos capital of Vientiane on Monday.

26 Jul 2016

China Asks U.S. to Support Resumption of Talks with Philippines

China's foreign minister has asked the U.S. secretary of state John Kerry to support the resumption of talks between China and the Philippines over the South China Sea, following a ruling against Beijing over the dispute earlier this month. China did not participate in and has refused to accept the July 12 ruling by The Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration, in which U.S. ally Manila won an emphatic legal victory. Meeting in the Laos capital Vientiane on Monday during a summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told Kerry that China and ASEAN had agreed the dispute should get back onto the "correct" track of being resolved by direct talks with the parties concerned.

24 Aug 2016

Philippines: Sea Dispute Won't Shift Ties with China, U.S.

The Philippines' territorial dispute with China over the South China Sea has not caused Manila to rebalance diplomatic ties with either its ally, the United States, or neighbouring China, Foreign Minister Perfecto Yasay said on Wednesday. An arbitration court in the Hague infuriated China in July by ruling that China had no historical title over the South China Sea and that it had breached the Philippines' sovereign rights with various actions there. "We want to make close friendship with China. It does not mean that we'll weaken our friendship with the United States," Yasay told Reuters during a break in a meeting of the senate foreign relations committee. On Tuesday evening, President Rodrigo Duterte said he expects talks with China over the maritime dispute within a year.