Day: June 9, 2022

MANILA – The Philippines’ newly-elected leaders said yesterday, the centuries-old friendship between China and the Philippines continues “to reach new heights” and brings “great mutual benefits” to the people.

Today, Jun 9, the Philippines and China will celebrate the 21st Filipino-Chinese Friendship Day.

Philippine President-elect, Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos, who will succeed President Rodrigo Duterte on Jun 30, said, he looks forward to “more years” of friendship with China.

“The centuries-old friendship between the Philippines and China has been, and will continue to be of great mutual benefit to our people,” Marcos said in his message, during an online event.

“From trade, arts, culture, and athletics, to regional peace and stability, to the employment of opportunities for our people, and all the significantly generous efforts extended to us during the pandemic, the cooperative partnerships of our two nations continue to reach new heights.

“I join you in this celebration, as we look forward to more years, not only of diplomatic relations but of continuous fruitful engagements between China and the Philippines, as we continue to enjoy the friendship that we have developed over the years,” he added.

For her part, Vice President-elect, Sara Duterte-Carpio, lauded “the enduring kinship” between the Philippines and China, saying, it has led to the “success of various endeavours across all industries that have contributed to our growing economy over the years, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“With the marking of these important events, it is only apt to express our utmost gratitude to everyone who plays their repetitive roles in preserving our independence and promoting the ongoing Philippine-China diplomatic relations,” Duterte-Carpio said.

“I remain hopeful in forging fresh relations that will help empower more communities in both nations, paving the way for a more sustainable and lasting peace for the future generation,” she added.

The Philippines and China established diplomatic relations on Jun 9, 1975.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

PHNOM PENH– Cambodia, yesterday started an upgrade project, at the Ream Naval Base, located in the south-western province of Preah Sihanouk, with China’s aid, officials said.

Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister, Tea Banh, and Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia, Wang Wentian, among around 2,000 people, attended the ground-breaking ceremony.

Banh said, the project will strengthen Cambodia’s naval capacity to protect maritime territorial integrity and combat crimes.

“I have a strong conviction that when completed, these modern facilities will importantly contribute to protecting Cambodia’s independence, peace, security, sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as, enhancing the image of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF), in regional and international affairs,” he said in a speech.

Banh said, the modernisation of the Ream Naval Base would also contribute to maintaining peace, security and prosperity in the region.

“On behalf of the government and the defence ministry of Cambodia, I’d like to express my profound gratitude to the government, the People’s Liberation Army and the people of China, for providing kind support to the RCAF,” Banh added.

Noting that the bond of friendship between China and Cambodia has grown stronger, Wang said, the Ream Naval Base upgrade project, is a result of mutual respect and equal consultation between the two sides, in line with domestic laws of both countries and relevant international laws and practices.

“It is not targeted at any third party,” the Chinese ambassador noted.

Wang said, certain countries keep smearing the normal exchanges and cooperation between China and Cambodia, arbitrarily impose unilateral sanctions on Cambodia, under the guise of democracy and human rights, and blatantly interfere in Cambodia’s internal affairs, through long-arm jurisdiction.

“We firmly oppose all these misbehaviours,” he said.

The ambassador said, China will always be a good neighbour, a reliable friend and a trustworthy partner that Cambodia can count upon, and that, it is ready to build a closer China-Cambodia community with a shared future, contributing to the well-being of the two peoples and the construction of a China-ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) community with a shared future.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

WASHINGTON — The US Commerce Department suspended the export privileges of three US-based firms for 180 days for what it said was the illegal export of satellite, rocket and defense technology to China.

Quicksilver Manufacturing, Rapid Cut and US Prototype received technical drawings and blueprints from US customers and sent them to manufacturers in China to 3-D print satellite, rocket, and defense-related prototypes without authorisation, the department said.

The three companies, which share the same Wilmington, North Carolina, address, could not immediately be reached for comment. The Chinese Embassy in Washington did not immediately comment.

“Outsourcing 3-D printing of space and defense prototypes to China harms US national security,” Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Enforcement Matthew Axelrod said in a statement.

“By sending their customers’ technical drawings and blueprints to China, these companies may have saved a few bucks, but they did so at the collective expense of protecting US military technology.”

The department said the information illegally sent to China included sensitive prototype space and defense technologies and that the 180-day export suspension could be renewed.

The Commerce Department did not identify the companies who had contracted with the North Carolina firms.

But, according to the department’s June 7 order denying export privileges, a US aerospace and global defense technology company notified the department in February 2020 of a third-party supplier’s unauthorised export of controlled satellite technology.

The department’s investigation revealed that Quicksilver got an order in July 2017 for satellite parts for the aerospace company’s prototype space-satellite. To make components, Quicksilver was given about a dozen technical drawings and 3-D graphic/computer aided drawing files.

A company employee signed a non-disclosure agreement, which included that the work be conducted in compliance with US export control regulations, the order said. Those regulations required licenses that likely would have been denied.

But Quicksilver fulfilled the order that August without seeking a license, and included an invoice that indicated the products had been shipped from China, the order said.

The Commerce Department said it had discovered a similar violation last July by Rapid Cut, whose ownership and personnel are also related to Quicksilver, involving technology that is controlled for national security.

Quicksilver was also involved in a violation relating to a third US company, an advanced science and engineering company with contracts with the Department of Defense, the department said.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

BARCELONA, 09 June 2022 – The Philippine Consulate General in Barcelona, in partnership with the Department of Tourism Office in London, hosted the Philippine Food Promotion Day – Kain Na! held on 03 June 2022.

The event is a continuing program of the Department of Tourism Office in London to increase awareness of the Philippines in Europe.

In her welcome message, Philippine Consul General to Barcelona Maria Theresa S.M. Lazaro underscored the shared identity between the Philippines and Spain and the influences both have had on each other´s culture. “The Spanish influences are permanently embedded in our culture. However, we have made these influences uniquely ours,” said Consul General Lazaro. “Today, you will be able to sample these Spanish influences in our food, which is central to many things that we do as a people,” Lazaro added.

The Consulate General and the Department of Tourism, which was represented by its Administrative Officer Jing Esmaña, enlisted the help of two Barcelona-based Filipino chefs, Enderun-trained Ms. Daphne Dominique Alivia and Mr. Carlos Bautista, in showcasing various Filipino food from different regions in the Philippines, which include kinilaw, lumpiang baka with vegetables, adobong pisngi ng baboy, buko pandan and carioca. The two highlighted the Filipinos´ creativity and resourcefulness in their food presentation.

The media and online influencers in attendance were amazed at the diversity of food showcased. Spanish journalists Alvaro Laforet and Alicia Escribano commented that the food was flavorful and praised the presentation as “amazing and beautiful.” Influencer and photographer Ms. Shuko Kawase, on the other hand, said that the food sampled was full of vibrant colors reflective of the Philippines and had a variety suitable for everyone’s taste. Another Spanish guest, Felipe Martinez, said Philippine food was among his favorite Asian cuisines and was excited to participate in Kain Na.

The event was met with much enthusiasm from the invited guests who were given food kits and information materials on the Philippines as souvenir items.

Source: Republic of Philippines Department Of Foreign Affairs

KUALA LUMPUR, Jun 9 (NNN-BERNAMA) – The number of foreign tourist arrivals to Malaysia is expected to hit five million by the end of this year, according to the country’s largest association for travel and tour.

The easing of restrictions since Apr 1, and the renewed surge in international travel, put the industry in a good position to recover, Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA) President, Tan Kok Liang, said.

“We have had around one million arrivals since the government lifted restrictions on international tourism arrival. Of those about 600,000 arrivals were from neighbouring Singapore,” he said.

“However, we are optimistic as countries from the EU, Australia, Japan, India and other ASEAN countries have been giving us very positive feedback, and we feel the five million mark will easily be reached,” he added.

Tan, however, said, the tourism sector still faces challenges, most notably a shortage in manpower, following two years of disruptions and other problems in securing foreign workers.

“This has also been noted by Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister, Nancy Shukri, who, we are working with, to raise these issues and seek solutions. The shortage of workers is particularly concerning, as it affects the ability of hotels, restaurants and other manpower intensive businesses,” he said.

“However we are confident that as things continue to improve, we will see a normalisation and the sector will finally be able to pick up where it left off before the pandemic started, even if it takes a little bit of time,” he said.

According to data from Tourism Malaysia, an agency under the ministry, Malaysia recorded 26.1 million arrivals in 2019, contributing 86.1 billion ringgit (19.59 billion U.S. dollars), with this figure dropping to 4.33 million arrivals in 2020, as the pandemic took hold and only 130,000 arrivals in 2021.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK