News Report: UN Agencies Ramp Up Aid for Rohingya Refugees

Lisa Schlein

GENEVA — The United Nations estimates some 429,000 Rohingya refugees have fled violence in Myanmar for Bangladesh since August 25. As the number edges toward half-a-million, U.N. agencies are increasing life-saving assistance to desperate people living in squalid settlements.

The number of daily arrivals has fallen to about 1,000 from a high of 20,000 a day. Nevertheless, that steep decline in refugee numbers has done little to ease overcrowding in the makeshift Rohingya sites near two official camps in southeastern Bangladesh.

Authorities have allocated an 800-hectare area to new arrivals. The U.N. refugee agency says it is speeding up the distribution of plastic sheeting so as many people as possible can have some protection from monsoon rain and wind.

UNHCR spokesman Andre Mahecic says health is a major concern given the inclement weather, overpopulated camps and lack of essential relief.

News Report: 'Patient' on Wheelchair Kills ICRC Foreign Physiotherapist in Afghanistan

Ayaz Gul

ISLAMABAD — A foreign woman working for the International Committee of the Red Cross has been shot dead in northern Afghanistan.

ICRC spokesman Ahmad Rameen Ayaz told VOA the incident took place Monday at an orthopedic clinic in Mazar-i-Sharif, the capital of Balkh province.

He identified the victim as 38-year-old physiotherapist, Lorena Enebral Perez, a Spanish national.

Ayaz said the Afghan intelligence agency has arrested the assailant and launched an investigation into the deadly attack.

The shooter was said to be a “regular patient” and had hidden the pistol in his wheelchair.

The ICRC spokesman added the motive for the violence was not known immediately.

Ayaz said the aid worker was quickly evacuated to a nearby NATO military hospital where she succumbed to her injuries.

USA: America pulls into Changi Naval Base to support USS John S. McCain

From U.S. 7th Fleet Public Affairs

USS America (LHA 6) file photo. (U.S. Navy/MC3 Justin A. Schoenberger) >>

SINGAPORE - Amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA 6) arrived Aug. 21 at Changi Naval Base and is moored across the pier from the guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain (DDG 56).

While in Singapore, America will provide messing and berthing services to McCain crew members and to support damage control efforts on board. America will also support ongoing searches for 10 missing Sailors. Ship Repair Facility divers are on scene as well to assess the damage to the hull.

McCain was involved in a collision with the merchant vessel Alnic MC while underway east of the Strait of Malacca and Singapore early in the morning on Aug. 21 (as reported 6:24 a.m. Japan Standard Time) and arrived at Changi Naval Base in the afternoon.

Significant damage to the hull resulted in flooding to nearby compartments, including crew berthing, machinery and communications rooms. Damage control efforts by the crew halted further flooding.

News Story: (RoK) One soldier killed, six injured in blast during artillery drill

South Korean Army K9 Thunder Self-Propelled Artillery

SEOUL/CHEORWON, South Korea, Aug. 16 (Yonhap) -- One Army soldier was killed and six others were injured Friday in an explosion during an artillery firing drill, the military said.

The blast occurred on the shooting range of a front-line Army unit in Cheorwon, some 88 kilometers north of Seoul, at 3:19 p.m., according to an Army officer.

Seven servicemen were rushed to a hospital and one of them, a 27-year-old sergeant first class, died during the transport, the officer said.

Read the full story at YonhapNews

News Story: Thailand-US military exercise kicks off

Bangkok (VNA/NNT) – Around 725 Thai soldiers and 683 American troops are taking part in the Hanuman Guardian joint military exercise 2017 in Kanchanaburi province of Thailand. 

Held at the 9th Infantry Division headquarters, the joint military exercise is hosted by the Royal Thai Army and the US Army Pacific.

Read the full story at VietnamPlus

News Story: Chinese navy's hospital ship docks in Colombo, Sri Lanka

Chinese Navy hospital ship Peace Ark (Image: Wiki Commons)

COLOMBO, Aug. 7 (Xinhua) -- Chinese navy's hospital ship Peace Ark arrived at the port of Colombo on Sunday for a four-day stopover there.

The ship slowly sailed into the port at around 10:00 a.m.(0430 GMT) in its first visit to Sri Lanka, with some 300 people, including officials of both countries and representatives of various Chinese communities there, welcoming its arrival.

The hospital ship will be open to the public during the stopover and provide medical service for local residents, said Major General Guan Bolin, commander of the task.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Story: (Vietnam) Deputy Defence Minister meets Vice Chief of Australia’s Defense Force

Hanoi (VNA) - Vietnam and Australia need to maintain and develop further their defense cooperation, said Lieutenant General Phan Van Giang, Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army (VPA), and Deputy Minister of National Defense.

He made the statement at a meeting with Vice Admiral Raymond Griggs, Vice Chief of Australia’s Defense Force, in Hanoi on July 27, as part of the guest’s ongoing visit to Vietnam from July 26-30.

Giang said the bilateral defense cooperation has reaped positive outcomes over the past time, including the effective implementation of a Memorandum of Understanding in the field signed in 2010.

He affirmed that Vietnam always attaches great importance to the comprehensive cooperation with Australia and hoped the two sides will increase all-level delegation exchanges and explore new cooperation spheres.

Read the full story at VietnamPlus

USA: Pacific Angel Exercise in Fiji Focuses on Exchanges of Expertise

By Air Force Tech. Sgt. Benjamin Stratton, 35th Fighter Wing

LAUTOKA, Fiji, July 18, 2017 — U.S. and Fijian military forces, along with several nongovernmental organizations, are participating in Pacific Angel 17-3, an exercise that focuses on humanitarian assistance and exchanges of expertise.

The exercise began July 11 and runs to July 24, with multilateral international participants from across the Indo-Asia-Pacific region working together to assist local communities and improve capabilities among one another as one team.

Missions include several concurrent civil-military assistance activities that include medical programs, various subject-matter-expert exchanges and civic and engineering assistance programs.

U.S. and Fijian service members have the opportunity to work in partnership with local nongovernmental organizations, providing humanitarian assistance to the residents in Fiji's subdivisions of Ba, Tavua and Savusavu.

News Story: 40 Marawi evacuees die since rebels occupy city - Philippine health chief

MANILA, July 17 (Xinhua) -- The Department of Health (DOH) in the Philippines said on Monday that 40 people who fled the besieged Marawi City in the southern Philippines have died since the conflict broke out in May between military and rebels.

Health Secretary Paulyn Ubial told a news conference at the Malacanang presidential palace that the evacuees died from causes ranging from acute gastrointestinal infections to heart-related diseases.

Ubial said that "all the deaths are home-based evacuees," referring to evacuees who chose to stay with their relatives outside of Marawi.

"They did not come from established evacuation centers but they were internally-displaced persons coming from home-based evacuees. And they died, all of them except for two died in health facilities," she said.

She also said 16,411 evacuees were admitted or treated in both government and private health facilities.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Story: Vietnam affirms political determination to join UN peacekeeping mission

Hanoi (VNA) – Deputy Defence Minister, Sen. Lieut. Gen Nguyen Chi Vinh affirmed Vietnam’s political determination to join the United Nations (UN) Peacekeeping Mission at a reception in Hanoi on June 27 for a delegation from the UN Assessment and Advisory Visit (AAV). 

The delegation was led by Bianca Selway, representative from the UN Department for Peacekeeping Operations. 

The reception was also attended by UK representative in charge of the UN peacekeeping mission Samantha Hope and UK defence attaché in Vietnam David Houghtonm, who sought to increase coordination among Vietnam, the UN and the UK in transferring the operation of the UK’s second-level field hospital in the South Sudan city of Bentiu, part of the UN Peacekeeping Mission in South Sudan, to Vietnam. 

Vinh, who is also head of the Defence Ministry’s Steering Committee on Vietnam’s participation in the UN Peacekeeping operations, thanked the UN for sending officials to Vietnam to make preliminary evaluation of its training, professional capacity and operating standards in military medicine and engineering. 

Read the full story at VietnamPlus

News Report: Cargo Ship Captain: USS Fitzgerald Ignored Warnings Before Deadly Crash

USS Fitzgerald after the collision with ACX Crystal (File Photo)

According to the captain of the Filipino cargo ship the ACX Crystal, which collided with the destroyer USS Fitzgerald on June 17, the American warship failed to respond to warning signals or take evasive action before the collision which killed seven US seamen.

The statement came by way of Dainichi Investment Corporation, the Japanese company that owns the Crystal. According to them, Captain Ronald Advincula stated that he signaled at the USS Fitzgerald with flashing lights after the warship "suddenly" changed course to cross his cargo ship's path.

Advincula says that the Fitzgerald then failed to change direction, while the cumbersome cargo ship in vain veered right to avoid it. The collision between the 9,000-ton destroyer and the 29,000-ton cargo vessel tore a hole in the underside of the Fitzgerald, flooding two sleeping compartments. Seven Americans were killed, making it the most fatal incident to befall a US Navy vessel since the al-Qaeda terrorist attack against the USS Cole in 2000 that killed seventeen.

In addition, three sailors including the ship's captain, Navy Commander Bryce Benson, were injured and had to be medivaced to the US Naval Hospital in Yokosuka, Japan. Benson and one of the sailors have since been discharged, while the third remains in the hospital. 

News Story: China, U.S. aim to build productive military-to-military relationship

WASHINGTON, June 23 (Xinhua) -- China and the United States agree to actively pursue a productive military-to-military relationship that is "constructive, pragmatic, and effective," according to a statement released Friday.

"Both sides recognized the China-U.S. military-to-military relationship is an important stabilizing factor to the overall bilateral relationship," said the statement released after the First Round of China-U.S. Diplomatic and Security Dialogue.

Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi co-chaired the dialogue with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Secretary of Defense James Mattis in Washington D.C. on Wednesday.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Story: Twin blasts kill at least 18, injure over 100 in northwest Pakistan

ISLAMABAD, June 23 (Xinhua) -- At least 18 people were killed and over 100 others injured as twin blasts ripped through a market on Friday afternoon in Parachinar, capital city of Pakistan's northwest tribal area of Kurram Agency, reported local Urdu TV channel Geo.

The attack took place at about 5:30 p.m. local time when a handgrenade was hurled into the crowds of the people busy with shopping at a downtown market of the city for the coming Eid, a holiday which marks the end of the fast month Ramadan, said local media.

The second blast happened a few minutes after people gathered at the first blast site for rescue, local media quoted eyewitnesses as saying.

The second blast seems to be of suicide nature, said local media. But there is no official confirmation about it yet.

Army and security personnel have rushed to the site shortly after the twin blasts were reported.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Report: Missing USS Fitzgerald Sailors Found Dead; Search at Sea Ends

YOKOSUKA, JAPAN — The U.S. Navy says its divers have accessed a flooded compartment on the USS Fitzgerald and found the bodies of a number of the sailors missing in a collision between the Navy destroyer and a merchant vessel.

Vice Admiral Joseph Aucoin, the commander of the 7th Fleet, spoke at a news conference at Yokosuka naval base Sunday. He declined to say how many bodies were found, but the search at sea has been called off, he said.

The missing sailors’ names are being withheld, pending notification of their families.

News Story: US, Japan search for 7 Navy sailors after ship collision

USS Fitzgerald after the destroyer collided with a merchant
ship on June 17 2017 (Image by Japan Coast Guard)

By Eugene Hoshiko and Koji Euda

YOKOSUKA, Japan — A U.S. destroyer was back in its home port after colliding before dawn Saturday with a container ship four times its size, leaving seven sailors missing.

The USS Fitzgerald, flanked by two tug boats and other support vessels, was listing to its right as it slowly approached the port at the Yokosuka Naval Base, south of Tokyo.

Crew members from the destroyer USS Dewey had helped stabilize the damaged destroyer after it collided with a container ship off the coast of Japan, leaving at least three sailors injured, in addition to the seven missing.

Family members were frantically seeking news, appealing via social media for calls from sailors aboard from the ship as it slowly made its way to its home base.

Rescuers were searching for seven sailors who were thought to have been thrown into the sea or possibly trapped inside damaged sections of the destroyer, said Japanese coast guard spokesman Yoshihito Nakamura. No one on the container ship was reported injured.

Footage from the Japanese TV network NHK showed Navy crew members working to pump water from flooded sections of the crushed mid-right side of the USS Fitzgerald.

The ship's captain, Cmdr. Bryce Benson, was airlifted to the U.S. Naval Hospital in Yokosuka and was in stable condition with a head injury, the U.S. Navy's 7th Fleet said in a statement. Two other crew members suffered cuts and bruises and were evacuated, it said. It was unclear how many others may have been hurt.

Read the full story at PhilStar

Related Story: US warship collision: 7 Navy sailors missing

News Story: 7 missing as US Navy ship collides with container ship off Japan

USS Fitzgerald after the destroyer collided with a merchant
ship on June 17 2017 (Image by Japan Coast Guard)

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- The U.S. Navy's guided-missile destroyer Fitzgerald collided with a Filipino container vessel off Yokosuka, south of Tokyo, early Saturday, leaving seven crew members of the destroyer unaccounted for and three injured, the U.S. Navy said.

Among the injured, Cmdr. Bryce Benson, Fitzgerald's commanding officer, has been transferred to hospital but is reportedly in stable condition, while two other sailors have also been taken to hospital for "lacerations and bruises," the Navy said.

The Japan Coast Guard sent patrol vessels and an airplane to search for the missing crew, while Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force dispatched a helicopter.

The coast guard is investigating the accident with the U.S. Navy and plans to question the crew members of the ACX Crystal, operated by Japanese shipping firm Nippon Yusen K.K., with an eye on possible endangerment of traffic caused by professional negligence.

Japan has the right to investigate an accident occurring within Japanese waters, but the United States has primary jurisdiction regarding an incident related to a U.S. Aegis-equipped ship under the bilateral status of forces agreement.

The two countries are currently in talks on how to deal with the accident.

Read the full story at The Mainichi - (Image Gallery)

News Story: Russia considers ASEAN as important regional security partner

Hanoi (VNA) – Russia considers the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as an important strategic partner in ensuring regional security and stability.

Russian Deputy Minister of Defence Lieutenant General Alexander Fomin made the statement on June 4 at the 16th Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore.

He noted that the position was recorded in final documents of last year’s Russian Federation-ASEAN summit, as well as an informal meeting of the defence ministers of Russia and ASEAN countries.

Read the full story at VietnamPlus

USA: Pacific Partnership 2017 mission draws to a close

By Lt.j.g Emily Wilkin, Pacific Partnership Public Affairs

USNS Fall River (T-EPF 4) arrives in Da Nang, Vietnam, May 8 for Pacific Partnership. (U.S. Navy/MC2 Joshua Fulton) >>

SINGAPORE - Pacific Partnership 2017, embarked aboard USNS Fall River (T-EPF 4) arrived in Singapore May 31, marking the conclusion of this year’s mission.

Fall River departed Singapore on March 4 and served as the command platform for the Pacific Partnership 2017 mission. Pacific Partnership is the largest annual, multilateral disaster response preparedness mission in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region.

“Pacific Partnership 2017 gave us the chance to build lasting partnerships and friendships with all of the countries we visited. These partnerships will allow us to be better prepared to work together in the future.” said Captain Stanfield Chien, Pacific Partnership 2017 mission commander.

Pacific Partnership 2017 conducted mission stops in three countries – Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Vietnam and was the first Pacific Partnership completed solely utilizing a T-EPF vessel, vice the USNS Mercy.

USA: Pacific Partnership concludes in Nha Trang, Vietnam

By Lt.j.g. Emily Wilkin, Pacific Partnership Public Affairs

Lt. Cmdr. Justin Dye of Navy Medical Center San Diego examines neurological injury patients with local doctors at Khahn Hoa General Hospital, May 22. (U.S. Navy/MC2 Joshua Fulton) >>

KHANH HOA, Vietnam - Pacific Partnership 2017 departed from Nha Trang, Vietnam on May 29 after completing 10 days of disaster response training, medical and engineering subject matter expert exchanges, cooperative health engagements, and community service events.

This year marks the fourth consecutive year and the eighth time the mission has visited Vietnam in the past 11 years. In addition to the team aboard expeditionary fast transport ship USNS Fall River (T-EPF 4), the Nha Trang mission also featured sailors from the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force’s destroyers JS Izumo and JS Sazanami.

News Story: Thailand - Bomb blast at military hospital injures 24 people

Hanoi (VNA) – At least 24 people were wounded in a bomb blast at Phramongkutklao military hospital in the Thai capital city of Bangkok on May 22.

Thailand’s Deputy National Police Chief General Srivara Rangsibhramanakul affirmed that a bomb exploded at the hospital’s front desk.

Read the full story at VietnamPlus