Latest news with #Chinese-flagged
Bangkok Post
6 days ago
- Bangkok Post
Chinese crewman crushed by ship's crane off Surat Thani
A Chinese crewman was crushed to death by a cargo crane on a merchant vessel off the coast of Surat Thani on Tuesday, according to local marine authorities. The accident was reported about 1pm to the Thai Maritime Enforcement Command Centre (Thai-MECC) in Surat Thani. A high-speed patrol boat was immediately sent to assist the injured sailor. The Chinese-flagged Ocean Wintry was en route from Indonesia to China with a scheduled stop in Surat Thani to load cargo. The accident occurred at sea in the middle of the Gulf of Thailand. Upon reaching the vessel, the patrol boat captain reported that a crewman had been crushed by a falling motorised crane, sustaining severe injuries to his lower torso and left leg. He died shortly after the accident, despite efforts to save him. The deceased crewman was identified as Wang Jiejun, 56, a Chinese national. His body was being brought ashore for a formal autopsy.
Japan Forward
09-07-2025
- Politics
- Japan Forward
China Defies 2008 Agreement in Disputed Waters With Suspected New Structure
Two large Chinese-flagged vessels were caught installing what is believed to be a new structure in the East China Sea near the Japan-China median line. The confirmation comes from satellite imagery provided by the European Space Agency. It is backed by ship tracking data from the Automatic Identification System (AIS) as of June 30. At present, the operation appears to be underway in waters west of the median line. A similar installation was observed in May, approximately 45 kilometers southwest of the current site. Including the latter, China has already installed 19 such structures in the area. This latest activity may signal the construction of a 20th. Two large Chinese vessels believed to be installing a structure in the East China Sea, June 22. Captured by the European Space Agency satellite (ESA). According to navigation warnings issued by the Japan Coast Guard on June 24, the current activity was detected approximately 360 kilometers north-northwest of Kume Island in Okinawa Prefecture. The warning cited the possible presence of a platform base. Furthermore, it advised vessels in the area to proceed with caution. The Japanese government believes that China is installing these structures for resource development. On June 24, Masaki Kanai, Director-General of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), lodged a strong protest with Shi Yong, Deputy Chief of Mission at the Embassy of China in Tokyo. Five days later, on June 29, Liberal Democratic Party Policy Research Council chairperson Itsunori Onodera conducted an aerial inspection of the area. He and a team of officials boarded a Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) P-3C patrol aircraft for the survey. An investigation by The Sankei Shimbun confirmed the presence of two large Chinese-flagged vessels anchored in the area. Using imagery from ESA's Sentinel-2 Earth observation satellite and ship-tracking data from MarineTraffic, analysts determined that the vessels arrived around midnight on June 19. Since June 20, they have remained side by side in nearly the same location. The investigation identified the two ships as the 297-meter heavy-lift crane ship Zhen Hua 30 and the 153-meter cargo transport vessel Haiyang Shi You 226 . Both ships appear to be engaged in ongoing maritime construction. Satellite images indicate that Zhen Hua 30 was also involved in similar installation activities back in May. China National Offshore Oil Corporation, a state-owned enterprise, operates the Haiyang Shi You 226 . Its unilateral resource development in the region has drawn international concern. The disputed area remains without a formally agreed boundary for the exclusive economic zone or continental shelf. In this legal vacuum, China's unilateral construction activities are in breach of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. In 2008, Japan and China signed an agreement to jointly develop gas fields in the East China Sea. The framework calls for both countries to cooperate without undermining their respective legal claims, pending a clear definition of maritime boundaries. Following Japan's formal protest on June 24, the MOFA strongly urged Beijing to return to negotiations based on the 2008 joint development accord. China, however, rejected the protest. At a press conference on June 25, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun stated, "We do not accept Japan's groundless accusations." He added, "We hope Japan will work in the same direction with China, and create favorable conditions for resuming the intergovernmental negotiations between the two countries." A structure (the 13th). An investigation confirmed its foundation in May 2022 (provided by the Ministry of Defense). In response, a Japanese MOFA official reaffirmed Tokyo's position. That is, both governments had previously committed to a peaceful and cooperative approach in the region. "Both Japanese and Chinese leaders agreed to make the East China Sea a 'Sea of Peace, Cooperation, and Friendship,'" the official said. "We are strongly urging China to cease unilateral development and refrain from creating faits accomplis in the area." Reports suggest some of the structures China previously installed include helipads, raising concerns about potential military applications. In 2022, then-Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno stated that reports had confirmed radar and other equipment on at least one of the 18 known structures. (Read the article in Japanese .) Author: Ryo Nishiyama, The Sankei Shimbun
The Age
21-06-2025
- Politics
- The Age
Shadow fleets and ‘grey-zone' sabotage: The communication battleground beneath the waves
In October 2023, damage to the Balticconnector gas pipeline and telecom cables linking Estonia, Sweden and Finland made headlines. Official statements were cautious, but satellite data later tracked a Chinese-flagged vessel suspiciously close to the damage zone. A similar pattern repeated off the coast of Denmark's Bornholm island just months later. Each time, attribution proved elusive – but not implausible. Loading CSRI executive director Andrew Yeh said the involvement of commercial shadow fleets was consistent with grey-zone doctrine. 'Undersea cables underpin prosperity and security in the digital age,' he said. 'We cannot afford to be naive about the unprecedented threat that China and Russia's grey-zone operations pose to the UK's undersea infrastructure. The Baltic Sea is a peculiar theatre for modern maritime competition. At first glance, it's a crowded body of water – shallow, narrow, hemmed in by nine countries, six of them NATO members. But that congestion is precisely what makes it a high-stakes flashpoint. It has become a transport lifeline for Vladimir Putin's Russia, both in terms of exports and imports, and strategically. About 60 undersea cable systems crisscross the Baltic, with more added each year. These cables don't just power Netflix in Norway or Zoom in Zeebrugge – they form the encrypted foundation of NATO's command networks, trans-Atlantic data flows, and even the control systems for power grids and offshore wind farms. Yet NATO admits that it can't see everything. Much of the Baltic's maritime domain isn't covered by the automatic identification system that tracks commercial ships. Vessels operating 'dark' – without beacons, under false flags or masking their activity – have found freedom in the grey. That's where Task Force X comes in. Onboard Alliance, we're watching unmanned surface vehicles such as the Saildrone Explorer and Martac's Devil Ray glide in formation with crewed vessels. These aren't science-fair toys. They're the spear point of a NATO-wide effort to fill the surveillance gaps in increasingly contested waters. This week in The Hague, the issue will be high on the agenda of world leaders as they come together to discuss and debate European security and, in particular, the rate of spending needed to keep the continent safe. Data from the new systems and unmanned vehicles taking part in these exercises will be fed directly to a screen in real-time during the summit, showcasing the technology's effectiveness in enhancing NATO's understanding of the Baltic region. Leaders will also be asked to endorse a new rapid adoption action plan to ensure NATO's defences remain fit for purpose in an era of rapidly evolving threats and disruptive technological advancements. Task Force X is designed to integrate uncrewed systems – surface, subsurface and aerial – into NATO's maritime task groups. It's a lesson in agility, drawn from the US Navy's successful experiments in the Persian Gulf and Red Sea. But where those missions focused on anti-terrorism and anti-piracy, this one is squarely about deterring sabotage, especially to undersea infrastructure. The recent spate of attacks has accelerated the mission's rollout, with several NATO nations contributing commercial off-the-shelf systems upgraded with AI detection, sonar arrays and encrypted communications. 'The idea is to decentralise detection,' says Captain David Portal of Allied Maritime Command. 'We use autonomous vessels to track anomalies – dark ships, unexpected activity around known cable routes – and then feed that data into a real-time, pan-alliance picture.' The goal? To spot suspicious activity before the cable is cut – not after. What makes this different from past NATO initiatives is its scope. Task Force X isn't just plugging in new drones – it's part of a broader 'digital ocean vision', which seeks to use AI, big data and machine learning to create a living, learning map of NATO waters. Simon Purton, the head of innovation at NATO's Allied Command Transformation, says the organisation has moved with unprecedented speed following the disruptions to undersea infrastructure in the past year, integrating the allies' capabilities with scalable platforms to provide situational awareness, and deterrence, 24/7. 'The future that we see for the military exists in our industry ... in academia ... in our science and technology labs,' he says. 'So what we're trying to do then is create some tangible delivery on that, and also make sure that things are operationally relevant.' Loading Onboard the ship Alliance, that transformation is tangible. In the ship's command centre, researchers and officers watch sonar feeds and machine-learning-driven anomaly alerts. On-screen blips mark every commercial vessel. More worrying are the gaps – ship tracks that go dark near critical cable corridors, only to reappear hours later, far from where they should be. The stakes aren't abstract. In January, foreign ministers from Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania issued a joint communique pledging to 'intensify maritime patrols' after more confirmed sabotage incidents. While none pointed fingers directly, the language was unequivocal: this was the work of hostile actors. Russia, for its part, denies involvement. But few NATO commanders are buying that narrative. Australia's vast digital economy, worth billions of dollars, relies almost entirely on a surprisingly small and vulnerable network: just 15 known international subsea cables. These vital conduits, stretching to international hubs such as Singapore and Hawaii, carry 99 per cent of the nation's data traffic. It is one of the many reasons NATO is working with its 'Indo-Pacific 4' partners – Australia, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand. A NATO official tells me that the need to protect critical undersea infrastructure is a 'topic of increasing concern' in both the Euro-Atlantic and the Indo-Pacific. 'For this reason, we are sharing information and best practices about how we are going about it,' the official says. 'We also see potential for co-operation ... specifically in the area of technology development to allow us to better survey our critical undersea infrastructure.' With its blend of national contributions and off-the-shelf tech, the exercises are designed to deter further mischief, not through confrontation, but through visibility. The thinking is simple: if you can be seen, you can be deterred. Still, Task Force X is not without challenges. As with any move towards automation, there are questions around command authority, cyber vulnerabilities and even the ethics of allowing AI to classify potential threats. But few aboard Alliance seem bogged down in philosophical hand-wringing. The pace of experimentation is brisk. The political appetite, sharpened by recent attacks, is real. As I disembark under a steely Nordic sky, one thing is clear: the front lines of conflict are no longer just on land, sea or air. They are digital, invisible and, increasingly, underwater.
Sydney Morning Herald
21-06-2025
- Politics
- Sydney Morning Herald
Shadow fleets and ‘grey-zone' sabotage: The communication battleground beneath the waves
In October 2023, damage to the Balticconnector gas pipeline and telecom cables linking Estonia, Sweden and Finland made headlines. Official statements were cautious, but satellite data later tracked a Chinese-flagged vessel suspiciously close to the damage zone. A similar pattern repeated off the coast of Denmark's Bornholm island just months later. Each time, attribution proved elusive – but not implausible. Loading CSRI executive director Andrew Yeh said the involvement of commercial shadow fleets was consistent with grey-zone doctrine. 'Undersea cables underpin prosperity and security in the digital age,' he said. 'We cannot afford to be naive about the unprecedented threat that China and Russia's grey-zone operations pose to the UK's undersea infrastructure. The Baltic Sea is a peculiar theatre for modern maritime competition. At first glance, it's a crowded body of water – shallow, narrow, hemmed in by nine countries, six of them NATO members. But that congestion is precisely what makes it a high-stakes flashpoint. It has become a transport lifeline for Vladimir Putin's Russia, both in terms of exports and imports, and strategically. About 60 undersea cable systems crisscross the Baltic, with more added each year. These cables don't just power Netflix in Norway or Zoom in Zeebrugge – they form the encrypted foundation of NATO's command networks, trans-Atlantic data flows, and even the control systems for power grids and offshore wind farms. Yet NATO admits that it can't see everything. Much of the Baltic's maritime domain isn't covered by the automatic identification system that tracks commercial ships. Vessels operating 'dark' – without beacons, under false flags or masking their activity – have found freedom in the grey. That's where Task Force X comes in. Onboard Alliance, we're watching unmanned surface vehicles such as the Saildrone Explorer and Martac's Devil Ray glide in formation with crewed vessels. These aren't science-fair toys. They're the spear point of a NATO-wide effort to fill the surveillance gaps in increasingly contested waters. This week in The Hague, the issue will be high on the agenda of world leaders as they come together to discuss and debate European security and, in particular, the rate of spending needed to keep the continent safe. Data from the new systems and unmanned vehicles taking part in these exercises will be fed directly to a screen in real-time during the summit, showcasing the technology's effectiveness in enhancing NATO's understanding of the Baltic region. Leaders will also be asked to endorse a new rapid adoption action plan to ensure NATO's defences remain fit for purpose in an era of rapidly evolving threats and disruptive technological advancements. Task Force X is designed to integrate uncrewed systems – surface, subsurface and aerial – into NATO's maritime task groups. It's a lesson in agility, drawn from the US Navy's successful experiments in the Persian Gulf and Red Sea. But where those missions focused on anti-terrorism and anti-piracy, this one is squarely about deterring sabotage, especially to undersea infrastructure. The recent spate of attacks has accelerated the mission's rollout, with several NATO nations contributing commercial off-the-shelf systems upgraded with AI detection, sonar arrays and encrypted communications. 'The idea is to decentralise detection,' says Captain David Portal of Allied Maritime Command. 'We use autonomous vessels to track anomalies – dark ships, unexpected activity around known cable routes – and then feed that data into a real-time, pan-alliance picture.' The goal? To spot suspicious activity before the cable is cut – not after. What makes this different from past NATO initiatives is its scope. Task Force X isn't just plugging in new drones – it's part of a broader 'digital ocean vision', which seeks to use AI, big data and machine learning to create a living, learning map of NATO waters. Simon Purton, the head of innovation at NATO's Allied Command Transformation, says the organisation has moved with unprecedented speed following the disruptions to undersea infrastructure in the past year, integrating the allies' capabilities with scalable platforms to provide situational awareness, and deterrence, 24/7. 'The future that we see for the military exists in our industry ... in academia ... in our science and technology labs,' he says. 'So what we're trying to do then is create some tangible delivery on that, and also make sure that things are operationally relevant.' Loading Onboard the ship Alliance, that transformation is tangible. In the ship's command centre, researchers and officers watch sonar feeds and machine-learning-driven anomaly alerts. On-screen blips mark every commercial vessel. More worrying are the gaps – ship tracks that go dark near critical cable corridors, only to reappear hours later, far from where they should be. The stakes aren't abstract. In January, foreign ministers from Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania issued a joint communique pledging to 'intensify maritime patrols' after more confirmed sabotage incidents. While none pointed fingers directly, the language was unequivocal: this was the work of hostile actors. Russia, for its part, denies involvement. But few NATO commanders are buying that narrative. Australia's vast digital economy, worth billions of dollars, relies almost entirely on a surprisingly small and vulnerable network: just 15 known international subsea cables. These vital conduits, stretching to international hubs such as Singapore and Hawaii, carry 99 per cent of the nation's data traffic. It is one of the many reasons NATO is working with its 'Indo-Pacific 4' partners – Australia, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand. A NATO official tells me that the need to protect critical undersea infrastructure is a 'topic of increasing concern' in both the Euro-Atlantic and the Indo-Pacific. 'For this reason, we are sharing information and best practices about how we are going about it,' the official says. 'We also see potential for co-operation ... specifically in the area of technology development to allow us to better survey our critical undersea infrastructure.' With its blend of national contributions and off-the-shelf tech, the exercises are designed to deter further mischief, not through confrontation, but through visibility. The thinking is simple: if you can be seen, you can be deterred. Still, Task Force X is not without challenges. As with any move towards automation, there are questions around command authority, cyber vulnerabilities and even the ethics of allowing AI to classify potential threats. But few aboard Alliance seem bogged down in philosophical hand-wringing. The pace of experimentation is brisk. The political appetite, sharpened by recent attacks, is real. As I disembark under a steely Nordic sky, one thing is clear: the front lines of conflict are no longer just on land, sea or air. They are digital, invisible and, increasingly, underwater.
The Star
10-06-2025
- The Star
On the edge of hope: Life on Philippines' quiet front line in the South China Sea
THITU ISLAND (South China Sea): Every morning at 7am, Filipino government worker Elmer Bania steps into his office and looks out the window facing the sea. Just beyond the horizon, he spots the grey and white silhouettes of Chinese-flagged vessels – uninvited yet expected. But the 62-year-old does not flinch at the sight. It's just another day on Thitu Island, where some 335 Filipino civilians live on the front lines of the South China Sea dispute. Locals call it Pag-asa, the Filipino word for hope. It lies about 500km west of Palawan Island province, within the cluster of atolls and reefs comprising the Spratly Islands that are claimed by six countries, including the Philippines. These contested waters, a major fishing ground that is also believed to be rich in oil and natural gas reserves, have long been shadowed by China's sweeping maritime claims. Filipinos have their own name for the Spratlys archipelago – the Kalayaan island group, meaning freedom in the Filipino language. For settlers like Bania, their presence on Thitu is a quiet act of patriotism. Hope, he tells The Straits Times, is both the name of his island home and a peaceful form of defiance in the face of a global superpower. 'We're not going to let China take over Pag-asa. This is our home! Filipinos do not yield to anyone.' Hope amid a sea of tension The Straits Times was among a handful of media outlets invited by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to join a rare five-day patrol across the Spratlys, a journey timed just before the country marks its 126th Independence Day on June 12. We flew in on a military aircraft that landed on Pag-asa Island's airstrip, then clambered into rubber boats to reach the naval ship waiting offshore that would take us around the rest of the Philippine-held features in the Spratlys. As we bounced over 1.6m swells, seawater drenched our gear and boots thudded against the deck with every hard landing. The journey was as unforgiving as the terrain, a visceral introduction to life in the South China Sea. The Philippines seized Thitu from Taiwan in 1971, after a typhoon forced the latter's garrison to retreat. Manila formally annexed the island in 1978 and opened it to civilians in 2002 in a bid to bolster its sovereign claim. Since then, a small but resilient community has taken root, coexisting with an undisclosed number of Filipino military personnel. Today, their lives are deeply intertwined. Civilians ride in military aircraft and boats for free. Soldiers help unload supplies, fix power lines and even build schools. In emergencies, residents rely on the military to fly them out. Life hums quietly these days on Thitu's 37 hectares, where fishing is a mainstay. Here, homes are patched together from plywood, cement and scrap metal. Fishing boats rest along the white sand beaches in the eastern shore. In the afternoons, children play dodgeball on dusty roads, while their fathers shoot pool and mothers watch their favourite dramas. Bania moved here in 2012 with his family, drawn by the simple, low-cost life that contrasted with the bustle and strife of his home town in Taytay, northern Palawan. 'There were only a few houses when I first came to Pag-asa, but I felt at peace. And the island is beautiful, so my family decided to stay here,' he said. But beyond the lull of island routines, tension simmers. Chinese ships are a constant presence, often shadowing local fishing boats, sometimes idling near the pier. Bania remembers the early days when Chinese vessels dredged coral reefs just a few miles offshore. 'We couldn't do anything then,' he said. 'We were too few.' Today, he says, civilians are more prepared. Male residents have received basic military training from soldiers stationed on Thitu. Visiting military officials sometimes hold lectures about the environmental and geopolitical issues involving their island home. 'The AFP trained us. If foreigners land here, we know what to do,' Bania said, recalling how locals once blocked the airstrip with fuel drums after hearing a rumour of a foreign plane landing. Even children on Thitu, like Bania's 14-year-old grandson Yans, want to serve the country. Born in Taytay but raised on Thitu, Yans dreams of joining the Philippine Air Force some day. 'I want to defend our motherland,' he told ST. The Banias are not scared if ever tensions flare between the Philippines and China, confident that Filipino troops will protect them. 'They won't let anything happen to us,' Bania said. La Vida Thitu The island's isolation comes with hard realities. All supplies are shipped or flown in. A single trip from the mainland can cost hundreds of thousands of pesos. Groceries are more expensive, and flights depend on the weather. Still, the Banias make it work. The family runs a small store, and both Bania and his wife work at the municipal hall. Their household income is modest, but it goes a long way on the island. Their teenage grandson attends lessons in a modest schoolhouse in a corner of Thitu, where 15 teachers oversee a cohort of half a dozen youngsters up to high-school level. Health services are limited. There is a health centre with a nurse and midwife on call, and a doctor occasionally visits from nearby Puerto Princesa City on the mainland. But for emergencies, residents must be flown out. Thitu Island was opened to tourists in 2023, marking another quiet milestone in its transformation from a remote military outpost to a slowly thriving community. A few residents have turned their modest homes into homestays, offering basic accommodation to visitors curious enough to see the westernmost edge of Philippine civilian life. Fishermen Fernan Lozada (left) and Roy Cajamco repairing their boat as construction works continue on Thitu on June 3. - ST/MARA CEPEDA For fishermen like Fernan Lozada, 36, who moved here during the Covid-19 pandemic, Thitu offered stability. Like Bania, he came from Taytay town on the mainland, where he struggled to find buyers for his daily catch from the bay. 'Here in Thitu, at least we can make a living,' he said. But he says fishermen now steer clear of the western waters off Thitu, where Chinese vessels often tail the local fishing boats. The area near Sandy Cay – a sandbar just two nautical miles away – has become particularly tense. In April, Chinese coast guard officers planted their national flag there, prompting Filipino sailors to return days later and raise the Philippine flag in response. 'We learnt to adjust to China. We're just small fisherfolk; we can't fight back,' Lozada said. A soldier's oath Filipino troops stationed across the Spratlys also endure isolation, spartan quarters and unforgiving seas – all in the name of defending Philippine sovereignty. Apart from Thitu, reporters embedded in the AFP's maritime patrol were able to set foot on West York Island, locally known as Likas, meaning natural in Filipino. At 18 hectares, it is the second largest Philippine-occupied feature in the Spratlys. Like in Thitu, the island is ringed by white sand beaches and scattered with low vegetation. But West York has no civilian life, only soldiers stationed in outposts cobbled together from timber and salvaged sheet metal. The scant force – the military does not disclose how many troops are deployed due to security reasons – relies on periodic resupply missions for food and water, though there is water from a deep well on the island. Power comes from a lone generator. Internet exists, barely – enough to send requisite messages or make short calls home. To pass the time, soldiers shoot hoops on a makeshift court where the backboard is little more than worn plywood nailed to rusted poles. Despite the remoteness and harsh living conditions, soldiers like Technical Sergeant Nino Calbog wear their deployment as a badge of honour. 'We took an oath to defend this land. This is part of our duty,' he said. That same resolve echoes across the ranks. An AFP spokeswoman, Colonel Francel Padilla, said it is vital for Manila to not only maintain a foothold in the Spratlys, but also steadily build on it. 'We have to really affirm our sovereignty in all the features that we have. We must maintain the presence of thriving communities in the area,' Col Padilla told reporters. Still a long way to go But resolve alone is not enough to effectively counter a more assertive Beijing. While China has transformed once-submerged reefs into sprawling military outposts that glow like cities after dark, the Philippines lags behind in this respect as budgetary constraints and logistical bottlenecks make tangible progress slow and costly. Development here comes in increments, not by leaps and bounds. But strides have been made. On Thitu, the Philippines has built a 1.3km runway, military barracks, a pier, beaching ramp and a sheltered port – modest but vital infrastructure for an island so far removed. Construction is ongoing for a runway extension, aircraft hangar, control tower, new government offices, a larger school and a synoptic station to improve weather forecasts. For now, Thitu Island remains a quiet front line for the Philippines, a sliver of land where civilians and soldiers hold the line with their resilient presence. And for Filipinos like Bania, that is reason enough to stay. 'I have already built a life in Pag-asa. My grandchildren are growing up here. We're already here,' Bania said. 'We're not leaving any time soon.' - The Straits Times/ANN
