The
incident took place at Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly island group,
which is around 200 kilometres (125 miles) from the western Philippine
island of Palawan and which Manila insists is part of its continental
shelf.
The Philippine military said Thursday it had evaded a Chinese sea
blockade by using an airplane to drop food to soldiers on a tiny and
remote South China Sea shoal claimed by both countries.
The incident was the latest to escalate tensions between the Asian
nations over their conflicting claims to parts of the South China Sea, a
major sealane and rich fishing ground that is believed to hold vast
mineral resources.
"We confirmed there was an airdrop of food to our troops," Defence Department spokesman Peter Paul Galvez said.
He said the airdrop was "via airplane," but did not say when it occurred nor give further details.
The incident took place at Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly island
group, which is around 200 kilometres (125 miles) from the western
Philippine island of Palawan and which Manila insists is part of its
continental shelf.
The shoal is more than 1,000 kilometres from Hainan island, the closest
Chinese landmass, but China claims nearly all of the South China Sea
based on what it says are historical records.
A tiny unit of Filipino marines live on the BRP Sierra Madre, a
decrepit, beached former World-War-II US navy transport ship that was
transferred to the Philippine navy and run aground on the shoal in the
1990s.
Riot
police prepare to prevent protesters from marching closer to the U.S.
Embassy Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2014 in Manila, Philippines, against the
forthcoming visit of U.S. President Barack Obama. (Photo: AP/Bullit
Marquez)Hundreds of protesters took to the streets of the
Philippine capital on Tuesday to demand U.S. troops leave their country,
just days after Philippine President Noynoy Aquino announced he is "close" to a deal that would open the Philippines to an expanded U.S. military presence.
“Aquino is desperately trying to outdo previous Philippine presidents when it comes to puppetry to the US," said
Elmer “Bong” Labog, spokesperson for labor organization Kilusang Mayo
Uno (May First Movement), which organized the demonstration.
Riot police clashed with approximately 300 demonstrators, who carried
signs and banners that read "Obama Not Welcome" and "US Troops Out
Now," near the U.S. embassy in Manila. At one point police attacked the
crowd with truncheons, but no one was seriously injured, the Associated Pressreports.
The protest comes ahead of a planned visit by U.S. President Barack Obama in April, which will be aimed
at making progress towards an agreement over sustained U.S. military
presence in the Philippines, including in the Subic Bay, which overlooks
the South China Sea.
Social movements in the Philippines have long opposed
U.S. power over their country, which includes more than five decades of
direct colonial rule and the backing of brutal dictator Ferdinand
Marcos — who was president from 1965 to 1986 until he was overthrown by a
popular movement. Even after Philippine independence, the U.S.
maintained a heavy presence of bases and troops, despite widespread
opposition to the environmental and social harm they spread, including
numerous incidents of sexual assaults and rape of the local population.
While the last U.S. base in the country was shut down in 1992, the
U.S. currently sends 500 troops to the southern Philippines annually for
so-called counter-terrorism purposes, while 6,500 come each year for
training, according to the Philippine military.
With the cooperation of Aquino, Obama is aggressively pushing to
expand this military presence as part of the U.S. military's pivot to
Asia to hedge against China. The U.S. and Philippine governments have
levied U.S. humanitarian response to Typhoon Haiyan to build support for a deal.
According to Labong, Aquino "tries to make it appear that the return
of US military bases to the Philippines is part of efforts to help the
country when it is part of the U.S. geopolitical strategy."
_____________________
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License.
MANILA, Philippines —
Police clashed briefly in the Philippine capital Tuesday with
about 300 protesters opposed to a planned visit by President Barack
Obama and the continued U.S. military presence in the country.
Riot police across a road from the U.S. Embassy were pushed back
by the demonstrators, prompting the police to retaliate with truncheons.
The
protesters allied with the May One Movement workers' federation held a
brief program of speeches denouncing U.S. imperialism in front of the
seaside embassy before dispersing peacefully. No arrests were made and
there were no serious injuries.
About 500 American soldiers are
based in the south where they have been providing Philippine troops
anti-terrorism training since 2002. Protesters say their presence
violates Philippine sovereignty. The Philippine Constitution allows
foreign military bases only under a treaty.
Obama is scheduled to
visit the Philippines in April, part of a tour of Asia which will also
take him to Japan, South Korea and Malaysia to boost diplomatic and
economic ties with the region.
Qatari women with their children and housemaid strolling in Doha. Photograph: Stock Connection/REX
Foreign maids, cleaners and other domestic workers are being subjected to slave-like labour conditions in Qatar,
with many complaining they have been deprived of passports, wages, days
off, holidays and freedom to move jobs, a Guardian investigation can
reveal.
Hundreds of Filipino maids have fled to their embassy in
recent months because conditions are so harsh. Many complain of physical
and sexual abuse, harassment, long periods without pay and the
confiscation of mobile phones.
The exploitation raises further concerns about labour practices in Qatar in advance of the World Cup, after Guardian reports about the treatment of construction workers.
The maids are not directly connected to Qatar's preparations for the
football tournament, but domestic workers will play a big role in
staffing the hotels, stadiums and other infrastructure that will
underpin the 2022 tournament.
Our investigation reveals:
• The Philippine Overseas Labour Office (POLO) sheltered more than 600 runaway maids in the first six months of 2013 alone.
• Some workers say they have not been paid for months.
• Many housemaids do not get days off.
• Some contracts and job descriptions are changed once the workers arrive in Qatar.
• Women who report a sexual assault can be charged with illicit relations.
The
non-payment of wages, confiscation of documents and inability of
workers to leave their employer constitute forced labour under UN rules.
According to the International Labour Organisation, forced labour is
"all work which is exacted from someone under the menace of any penalty
and for which the said person has not offered himself voluntarily".
Lack
of consent can include induced indebtedness and deception about the
type and terms of work, withholding or non-payment of wages and the
retention of identity documents. Initial consent may be considered
irrelevant when deception or fraud has been used to obtain it.
"Menace
of penalty" can include physical violence, deprivation of food and
shelter, non-payment of wages, the inability to repay a loan, exclusion
from future employment and removal of rights and privileges.
Modern-day slavery is estimated to affect up to 21 million people across the globe.
When
the Guardian visited in January, at least 35 runaway maids had sought
sanctuary at the POLO in the capital, Doha, which provides support to
200,000 Filipinos in Qatar. The welfare officer said most complained of
pay being withheld, insufficient food, overwork and maltreatment. Some
said they had endured verbal and physical abuse by sponsors of different
nationalities.
Eight Filipino workers interviewed by the Guardian
said they had not been paid for six months, were sometimes deprived of
food while cleaning for long hours and had had their passports
confiscated.
"We are afraid," said 28-year-old Jane*. "We don't
really know what to do. We are trying to survive. That's why we do
part-time jobs secretly." If they are caught breaching their contract,
the maids face months in a deportation centre. The repatriation process
is often delayed when people do not have their passports, according to
James Lynch, Amnesty International's researcher on Gulf migrants'
rights.
Qatar vigorously denies it is a "slave state" and is
understood to be reviewing the controversial system that governs migrant
labour, and to have stepped up inspections of businesses that use
migrant labour. The Qatari labour ministry said in a statement: "We have
clear laws and contractual terms in place to protect all people who
live and work in Qatar and anyone found to have broken those laws will
be prosecuted accordingly." It said that non-payment of wages and
confiscation of passports were illegal in Qatar, and added: "The vast
majority of workers in Qatar – domestic or otherwise – work amicably,
save money and send this home to improve the economic situation of their
families and communities in their home countries."
But the Philippines-based OFW (Overseas Foreign Workers) Watch,
which supports Filipino migrant workers, said physical abuse, delayed
and refused salaries, the misrepresentation of employers and contracts
and passport confiscations were common issues in Qatar. The Guardian has
already highlighted this malpractice in its investigation into the mistreatment of migrant workers as Qatar gears up for the 2022 World Cup.
As
with the construction workers, the abuse of maids is systemic and
brought into sharp focus by a lack of legal protection and the kafala
sponsorship system, under which workers cannot leave the country or
change jobs without their employer's permission, Lynch said.
"The
women we've spoken to who have suffered abuses in the workplace, ranging
from excessive working hours to physical violence, their employers came
from a variety of countries," he added.
Many maids say they do not get any rest days and that employers confiscate their mobile phones.
Several
recruitment agencies contacted by phone told a Guardian reporter
pretending to be a would-be client that they routinely withheld the
passports of their migrant workers. One agency volunteered that it was
up to the sponsor whether the maid had a day off. "If you want to give
an off day, let them rest at your house," an Al Hadeel Manpower
representative said. "Don't give them free days outside because there is
more problems outside."
The
mayor of a southern Philippines town, two members of his family and a
young child have died after a gunman opened fire outside a terminal at
Manila's international airport.
The attack, which was aimed at Ukol Talumpa, the mayor of Labangan, wounded five people and caused panic among travellers.
According to CNN, initial reports suggested more than one attacker carried out the shooting.
The police however said a lone gunman was carried out the brazen attack
The
dead include Talumpa, his wife and a 28-year-old niece, said Jose Erwin
Villacorte, director of the Manila region's Southern Police District.
