Syria will not take part in meetings with Kurdish-led SDF in Paris, state TV says
The source cited an earlier forum arranged by the U.S.-backed SDF that it said was a violation of an accord between the government and the group.
The source was quoted as saying that Damascus would not be involved in negotiations with any side that aims to "revive the era of the former region".
(Reporting by Menna Alaa El-Din and Ahmed Tolba. Editing by Mark Potter)
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Borneo Post
3 hours ago
- Borneo Post
The South China Sea Code
Photo shows a chain of islands in the South China Sea. — AFP photo FIRST of all, I wish to join other Malaysians in congratulating Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, our Prime Minister, for his recent success in securing the agreement of Thailand and Cambodia to stop fighting, For a while, anyway. At the time of writing this article, the ceasefire appeared to be holding. Secondly, I think there is a job that Malaysia should also attempt, as Chairman of Asean. The success in the peace-making is no mean achievement for our country, showing the relevance of Malaysia's role in international diplomacy. All this success at diplomacy should embolden our diplomats to think about embarking on another task – tuning the text of the South China Sea Code of Conduct (COC). Asean leaders have been talking about this Code for the past 20 years or so, but have not been able to produce it for reasons only the diplomatic fraternity would talk about, out of hearing of the journalists. The COC is a mechanism for managing internal disputes among the littoral countries of Asean, namely the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam and China. China's active participation in the discussion on the Code is crucial because all decisions reached at meetings will be binding on the countries concerned. Good relations and rapport between China and the Asean member countries are urgent because these Asean member countries lie inside the loop of the so-called 'Nine-Dash Line'; they must be set free as soon as possible. Asian and China's statesmen in the past wanted this region of the world to be classified as a Zone of Peace and Neutrality (ZOPAN). Why cannot it remain such for all times? The current leaders of the countries and China must show statesmanship if they want history to be kind to their leadership when they disappear from the scene. By 2018, the soft copy of the Code was put on the backburner until Singapore assumed the Asean Chair. According to a report by Reuters, quoted by The Borneo Post on Feb 8, 2018, the move to 'expedite negotiations on a code of conduct on China for the disputed South China Sea' had hit a snag. But this was eventually solved after China and Asean had decided on a negotiating framework. In fact, the parties had begun preliminary discussions on the Code itself. Unfortunately, the substantive discussions petered out. I don't know why. Meanwhile, China's activities in terms of building more and more islands/land reclamations in parts of the Sea, threats about an imminent invasion of Taiwan by China, and about the use of water cannons on Filipino fishers by Chinese patrol boats, made the littoral states nervous. To compound the anxiety, there has been intense competition for hegemony between China and the USA, the 'Big Boys'. More worries for the peoples of the Asean block. Hence the urgency for a rule to govern relations. We were relieved for a short time only when in 2016 the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague ruled that 'China's Nine-Dash Line had no legal basis', referring to a judgment in a case brought by the Philippines against China. But China simply rejected the ruling. Malaysia, if given the chance to handle the fine-tuning of the Code, has to be careful about making too much noise (fishing in troubled waters). We must avoid getting into trouble with China, or be seen as siding with other major powers. But the job is of such importance that the Chairman of Asean is expected to handle it, however difficult the task will be. The idea of the COC was seriously discussed in August of 2018. It should be a mechanism by which disputes would be managed, peace and stability be promoted among all the littoral states around the South China Sea. Reuters reported that 'China and the 10- member Asean block adopted a negotiating framework on the code and had commenced talks on the code itself'. That was seven years ago. It is a difficult issue to solve indeed but Malaysia, given another chance at diplomacy, has nothing to lose by trying! Try it we must for a reason – a good reason. The federal government of Malaysia might lose some credibility on the home front should Malaysia's national interests in Sarawak, now at stake, be relegated to the backburner – or worse, ignored. Don't forget that Sarawak and Sabah, with long shorelines facing the South China Sea, are well within the sights of any power that might want to enforce a Nine-Dash-Line! When Malaysia was about to assume the chairmanship of Asean, many people in Sarawak were wondering if the federal government had forgotten about the state's interests. These interests were subject to dispute by China, referring to the famous Nine-Dash-Line again. The preservation and protection of this nation's rights and interests over the territorial waters off Sarawak are fundamental to the future of the Federation itself. That's not just headline fodder, obviously Sarawak can't be expected to defend its own territory against possible attacks from the sea! It is essential that all the Asean countries, where the territorial waters are inside that Nine-Dash-Line, to come together and, in one voice, talk to China about mutual respect for each other's right to own property within one's boundary. * The opinions expressed in this article are the columnist's own and do not reflect the view of the newspaper. asean China nine-dash line south china sea
The Star
3 hours ago
- The Star
Australia, Canada, UK urge Belarus to end 'campaign of repression'
FILE PHOTO: Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko attends an expanded format meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council in Minsk, Belarus June 27, 2025. Sputnik/Sergey Bobylev/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The governments of Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom condemned what they called ongoing repression and human rights violations in Belarus and accused Belarusian authorities of waging a campaign to shut down civil society, independent media and any form of political opposition. KEY QUOTES "We — Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom — stand united in condemning the ongoing repression and human rights violations," the three countries said in a joint statement on Saturday. "Thousands have been unjustly detained, subjected to torture, or forced into exile. These actions represent a flagrant breach of Belarus' international law obligations and are a serious violation of human rights and fundamental freedoms," they added, urging Belarusian authorities "to end their campaign of repression." WHY IT'S IMPORTANT Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has led Belarus through more than three decades of authoritarian rule and was re-elected in January for a seventh five-year term. Lukashenko crushed huge street protests in 2020 after an election the opposition and Western governments accused him of stealing, and all his leading opponents were jailed or forced to flee the country. CONTEXT Several hundred people convicted of extremism and other politically related offences have been released since mid-2024 in what analysts see as a bid by Lukashenko to ease his isolation from the West. However, human rights groups say nearly 1,200 are still behind bars. Lukashenko denies there are any political prisoners in the country. Australia, Canada and the UK said they welcomed the recent releases of several political prisoners in Belarus but added that they remain concerned by what they termed as continued arrests and persecution of individuals for exercising their human rights. (Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Mark Porter)
The Star
5 hours ago
- The Star
Chad's former PM and opposition leader sentenced to 20 years
N'DJAMENA (Reuters) -Chad's former Prime Minister and opposition leader Succes Masra has been sentenced to 20 years in prison after he was convicted of disseminating racist and xenophobic messages that incited violence, his lawyer told Reuters on Saturday. Masra is a staunch opponent of President Mahamat Idriss Deby, who nonetheless served as prime minister in Deby's interim government for about five months before running against him in a May 2024 election. Chad's prosecutor launched an investigation against him in May in relation to a clash in which dozens were killed in the southern town of Mandakao that month. In addition to 20 years in prison, Masra was ordered to pay a fine of 1 billion CFA francs ($1.8 million), said Kadjilembaye Francis, one of his lawyers. The lawyer said his team planned to appeal. (Reporting by Mahamat Ramadane; Writing by Portia Crowe; Editing by Mark Porter)
