BEIJING // A territorial dispute over the South China Sea was expected to be the main focus of talks yesterday and today in Beijing between the Philippine foreign affairs secretary, Albert del Rosario, and Chinese officials.
In a statement released before his arrival yesterday, Mr del Rosario said he was likely to discuss the wrangle between the two nations over the resource-rich sea area, tensions over which have flared in recent weeks.
China claims the South China Sea as its own, but a total of six countries also make claims on part of the area.
After China was recently accused of placing its markers in parts of what Manila describes as the West Philippine Sea, Mr del Rosario said Beijing had become "more aggressive" in making claims on the area.
Anger has also flared in Vietnam in recent weeks after Chinese patrol boats allegedly severed cables belonging to a Vietnamese oil-exploration ship, sparking street protests in Hanoi as well as Ho Chi Minh City.
Among the key figures Mr del Rosario was scheduled to meet were Xi Jinping, the Chinese vice president and likely successor to Hu Jintao, and the Chinese foreign minister, Yang Jiechi.
China's disputes this year over the South China Sea follow a ratcheting up of tensions with Japan last year over the East China Sea after a Chinese fisherman was detained when his boat collided with two Japanese coastguard vessels.
dbardsley@thenational.ae
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Director: Edgar Wright
Starring: Ansel Elgort, Kevin Spacey, Jamie Foxx, Lily James
Three and a half stars
Ain Issa camp:
- Established in 2016
- Houses 13,309 people, 2,092 families, 62 per cent children
- Of the adult population, 49 per cent men, 51 per cent women (not including foreigners annexe)
- Most from Deir Ezzor and Raqqa
- 950 foreigners linked to ISIS and their families
- NGO Blumont runs camp management for the UN
- One of the nine official (UN recognised) camps in the region
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Company: Instabug
Founded: 2013
Based: Egypt, Cairo
Sector: IT
Employees: 100
Stage: Series A
Investors: Flat6Labs, Accel, Y Combinator and angel investors
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
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Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
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Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
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