Maritime Southeast Asia

One of the key factors exhausting Turkey's economy is ongoing uncertainties, the head of Turkey's largest listed lender has said, adding that it will be important as to whether Turkey will focus on another date after the April 16 referendum.

BELGRADE - China has warned the United States it would not retreat from claims that it controls the South China Sea. VOA reports.

The number of maritime kidnappings hit a ten-year high in 2016, with waters off the southern Philippines becoming increasingly dangerous, the International Maritime Bureau said Jan. 10.

While the overall number of pirate attacks has declined in recent years, the IMB said 62 people worldwide were kidnapped for ransom at sea last year compared to only 19 in 2015 and nine in 2014.

A woman turned in to police after using fake credentials to teach for the last 16 years in Istanbul, Sabah newspaper has reported. 

China has returned a U.S. underwater drone taken by one of its naval vessels in the disputed South China Sea last week after what it said were friendly talks with the United States, which reiterated its criticism of the "unlawful" seizure.
 

Photo: John L. Beeman

India recently signed "white shipping" agreements with different countries for reciprocal exchange of information on merchant vessels in an attempt to bolster its Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA).

Beijing landed a military plane on a disputed South China Sea reef it has built up into an artificial island, officials said on April 18, in the first confirmation of such a flight.
 
An air force plane landed on Fiery Cross reef in the Spratlys archipelago on April 17 to evacuate sick workers, a news report posted online by China's defence ministry said.
 

A powerful and shallow 7.9 magnitude earthquake struck off the west coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra, according to US Geological Survey.

The epicentre was 502 miles southwest of Padang and it was 10 km deep. Up to now, there were no reports of damage or casualties.

Indonesian authorities issued a tsunami warning for the regions of West Sumatra, North Sumatra and Aceh.

China has deployed an advanced surface-to-air missile system to one of the disputed islands it controls in the South China Sea, Taiwan and U.S. officials said, while Chinese FM Wang Yi on Feb. 17 sought to downplay reports that China had positioned anti-aircraft missiles.

Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou defended his visit to a disputed island in the South China Sea on Jan. 28 despite criticism from the United States and protests from the other claimants as tensions swirl in the region.