Julia Gillard is planning a trip to Indonesia in two weeks to discuss with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono ways to stem the rising flow of asylum seekers coming by boat before the September election. Reflecting her confidence that she will see off any push to install Kevin Rudd as prime minister, Ms Gillard intends…
MANILA (AFP) – Eighteen Vietnamese crew members of a cargo ship have been detained after it ploughed into a coral reef in the central Philippines, the coastguard said Tuesday. The Unicorn Logger, a Panama-flagged freighter, ran aground at a protected marine sanctuary off the tiny island of Sambawan on Friday, coastguard spokesman Armand Balilo…
(Reuters) – Chinese President Xi Jinping [pictured above] told his visiting Vietnamese counterpart of Wednesday that maintaining peace and stability in the contested South China Sea was vital for both countries, who should remember their traditional friendship. Beijing’s assertion of sovereignty over a vast stretch of the South China Sea has set it directly…
Pirates in speedboats attacked an oil supply vessel and kidnapped four Indian and Polish crew members in increasingly dangerous waters off Nigeria’s coast last week, two security sources said on Wednesday. The gunmen launched their assault on the Singapore-flagged tugboat MDPL Continental One around 30 nautical miles from land on June 13, the security…