
India and the Philippines stage joint naval drill in the disputed South China Sea
Armed Forces of the Philippines chief of staff Gen. Romeo Brawner said Monday that the two-day joint naval sail and exercises which began Sunday went successfully, and expressed hopes that Filipino forces could engage India's military in more joint maneuvers in the future.
Productivity Tool
Zero to Hero in Microsoft Excel: Complete Excel guide
By Metla Sudha Sekhar
View Program
Finance
Introduction to Technical Analysis & Candlestick Theory
By Dinesh Nagpal
View Program
Finance
Financial Literacy i e Lets Crack the Billionaire Code
By CA Rahul Gupta
View Program
Digital Marketing
Digital Marketing Masterclass by Neil Patel
By Neil Patel
View Program
Finance
Technical Analysis Demystified- A Complete Guide to Trading
By Kunal Patel
View Program
Productivity Tool
Excel Essentials to Expert: Your Complete Guide
By Study at home
View Program
Artificial Intelligence
AI For Business Professionals Batch 2
By Ansh Mehra
View Program
Asked if Chinese forces carried out any action in response, Brawner said without elaborating that "we did not experience any untoward incident but we were still shadowed. We expected that already."
by Taboola
by Taboola
Sponsored Links
Sponsored Links
Promoted Links
Promoted Links
You May Like
Gold Is Surging in 2025 — Smart Traders Are Already In
IC Markets
Learn More
Undo
Two Chinese navy ships, including a guided-missile destroyer, were spotted about 25 nautical miles (46 kilometers) from one of two Philippine navy frigates that participated in the joint sail on Sunday, the Philippine military said.
The Chinese military's Southern Theater Command said it conducted routine patrols in the South China Sea on Sunday and Monday and added that it remains resolute in defending China's territory and maritime rights and interests.
Live Events
Without mentioning India by name, the Southern Theater Command accused the Philippines of drawing in outside countries to organize joint patrols that it said undermine regional peace and stability.
China's Foreign Ministry said territorial disputes should be resolved by those directly involved without any third-party intervention.
China has a longstanding land border dispute with India in the Himalayas, which sparked a monthlong war in 1962 and a number of deadly firefights since then.
Separately, Beijing's expansive claims to virtually the entire South China Sea, a key global trade route, have led to tense confrontations with other claimant states, particularly the Philippines and Vietnam. Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also lay claims to parts of the contested waters.
The Philippines has staged naval patrols in the disputed waters with its treaty ally, the United States, and other strategic partners including Japan, Australia, New Zealand and France to promote freedom of navigation and overflight and strengthen deterrence against China.
It has allowed journalists to join territorial sea and aerial patrols to witness China's increasingly aggressive actions, provoking angry Chinese reactions.
In response to a question last week about Manila's plans to build up military cooperation, China's Ministry of National Defense called the Philippines a "troublemaker" that has aligned itself with foreign forces to stir up trouble in what China deems its own territorial waters.
Brawner said the Philippines has to boost deterrence to prevent war. "The way to do that is, number one, the Armed Forces of the Philippines has to be strengthened through modernization, and secondly, we need to partner with like-minded nations and that's what we're doing with India," he said last week.
During a reception on board an Indian navy tanker, the INS Shakti, on Thursday, Brawner said the vessel's port call in Manila was more than ceremonial. It "sends a powerful signal of solidarity, strength in partnership and the energy of cooperation between two vibrant democracies in the Indo-Pacific," he said.
Brawner welcomed the deepening of relations between the two Asian countries and "reaffirmed the shared commitment to maritime security, regional stability and a rules-based international order in one of the world's most geopolitically sensitive regions."
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos left Monday for a five-day state visit to India for talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other top officials to boost defense, trade and investment, agriculture, tourism and pharmaceutical industry engagements.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Time of India
36 minutes ago
- Time of India
Seeman restrained from making defamatory remarks on DIG
Chennai: Madras high court has restrained Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK) chief coordinator, Seeman , from making defamatory statements against deputy inspector-general of police Varun Kumar. Justice K Kumaresh Babu issued the interim order on a civil suit filed by Varun Kumar against Seeman. Varun Kumar contended that Seeman began a personal tirade against him ever since he acted against an NTK member, 'Sattai' Duraimurugan. Duraimurugan was arrested by Tiruvallur district police for causing a law-and-order issue due to a false claim on his YouTube channel about the death of Foxconn factory workers from food poisoning. He was also detained under the Goondas Act, Varun Kumar said. At that time, he was serving as superintendent of police at Tiruvallur district. Following Duraimurugan's arrest, Seeman developed animosity towards him, the officer stated. He added that Seeman had been making disparaging remarks against him in the media since then. Seeman termed him a 'beggar' and sullied the image of the entire police force in the country by saying he was 'after all an IPS officer'. You Can Also Check: Chennai AQI | Weather in Chennai | Bank Holidays in Chennai | Public Holidays in Chennai "The statements made by Seeman impact the performance of his official duties. The statements are baseless and without any substance," senior advocate P H Arvind Pandian said, representing the officer. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 11 Foods That Help In Healing Knee Pain Naturally Undo Advocate S Shankar, representing Seeman, sought time to file his response to the allegations. Recording the submissions, the judge said, "...a reading of the statements made by Seeman would prima facie conclude that they have been made in a derogatory and defamatory manner, which would affect the reputation of the officer holding a high office."Article 19(2) of the Constitution carves out a restriction to Article 19(1)(a) (freedom of expression), which protects the citizen from being defamed. Hence, there shall be an order of interim injunction as prayed for, the judge said, and adjourned the hearing to Aug 6.


Time of India
36 minutes ago
- Time of India
‘Harassment' of hostel women by cops: Won't register case as allegations are not corroborative, says Pune police chief
Pune/Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: Amid raging protest and demand for a case under the Atrocities Act against the police personnel accused of harassing three women at a private hostel in Kothrud while investigating a missing woman's case, Pune police commissioner Amitesh Kumar said on Monday that "no offence is made out" against the police personnel as the allegations levelled were "not corroborative". "The police officers and constables did not falter in their duty. A woman's missing complaint is taken very seriously, and it is investigated thoroughly on par with a murder case. I don't think the officers and constables mishandled the case. All the allegations are baseless," Kumar said. Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis told reporters in Mumbai: "Police have given a detailed explanation on this issue. They should not come under any pressure and take appropriate steps as per the law." You Can Also Check: Pune AQI | Weather in Pune | Bank Holidays in Pune | Public Holidays in Pune Opposition leaders, including Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi chief Prakash Ambedkar, NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar and Maharashtra Congress chief Harshawardhan Sapkal, questioned police's approach and behaviour in handling the matter and insisted that they should have registered a case under the Atrocities Act. A large group of protesters, including political party workers, staged an agitation near the Pune police commissioner's office from Sunday evening till the early hours of Monday, pressing for an FIR under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and outraging modesty of women. Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Family Adopted A New 'Dog', But When The Vet Sees It He Calls The Police Undo by Taboola by Taboola A police bandobast was also deployed around Kothrud police station on Monday to ensure there is no untoward incident. It all started on Aug 1 afternoon when a police team from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, assisted by Kothrud police, reached the hostel as part of their search for a woman who had been reported missing from Sambhajinagar since July 19. Police had leads that the woman was in touch with two of the three women — a working woman and two students — at the hostel and wanted to question them about her whereabouts. It was during this exercise that the three women alleged that they were manhandled, harassed and were taken to the Kothrud police station for inquiry. Questions were raised as to why the three women were taken to the police station. Police chief Kumar justified the action and said, "The three women from whom information was sought about the missing woman's whereabouts, did not cooperate with police. As such, police had no option but to take them to the police station. When the police team studied their phone, we eventually managed to trace the missing woman to a women's shelter home in Mundhwa. The three women were neither beaten nor abused." Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar's police commissioner Pravin Pawar said, "Our police teams neither misbehaved nor committed any excesses, at any point of time while tracking the missing woman. Our teams, during each of their visits to Pune, followed all the due procedures, including making station diary entries and seeking local police's help." Pune police gave a written statement to the three women and other protestors around 3am on Monday that no case can be registered against the police personnel as there is no corroborating evidence for such action. "We verified all their harassment claims and found the same misleading and fabricated," Kumar said. Meanwhile, MLA Rohit Pawar said, "Despite so much anger in society against police's behavior, why was an FIR not registered? Who is pressurising police? Was there any written correspondence from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar police to Kothrud police regarding the inquiry in the case? Did police have a search warrant? Police will have to answer all these questions. The manner in which police have handled the issue, it appears that they are under some political pressure but we will keep raising public issues till justice is delivered. " VBA chief Prakash Ambedkar said, "We will take the issue to the court. Pune police's stand is against the Constitution. They should have registered an FIR based on the complaint, but they chose to support their men." State Congress chief Sapkal said, "Police have the responsibility to protect citizens and uphold the rule of law. However, it is shocking to know that they themselves have indulged in making casteist remarks. I demand that the chief minister intervene and take strict action against the police personnel concerned." The case that led Sambhajinagar cops to Pune in search of missing woman On July 19, a Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar resident lodged a complaint with Satara area police stating that his wife (23) had gone missing after she left their house informing her in-laws that she was going to her college to collect a copy of her transfer certificate. The couple was married two years ago. Police then started investigating the matter and tracking her movement which first took them to the Yerawada and Vishrantwadi areas in Pune on July 24, but the search did not yield any result, inspector Krishna Shinde of Satara area police said. The Sambhajinagar crime branch then joined the area police in the search and based on fresh inputs about the missing woman's possible whereabouts, a police team on Aug 1 reached the house of two women at Kharadi in Pune with whom she was in touch before going missing. These women told police that the woman they were looking for was staying with her two friends in a private working women's hostel at Kothrud in Pune. "The teams then approached the Kothrud police station, made a station diary entry and, with their assistance, reached the hostel to seek information about the woman's whereabouts from her two friends," Shinde said. "The teams learnt from the two friends that the woman had shifted to a shelter home in Mundhwa," he added. Savita Bhore, the shelter home in-charge, verified the missing woman's documents and then brought her before the police team, which was accompanied by her family members. The woman then told police that she did not want to return to her marital home as she was facing harassment at the hands of her in-laws. Police recorded her statement along with those of her in-laws before returning to Sambhajinagar, the officer said.


Time of India
36 minutes ago
- Time of India
Patiala protest march demands release of Sikh prisoners and stronger religious protection laws
1 2 Patiala: A big crowd of demonstrators marched through this Punjab city on Monday, demanding the release of Sikh prisoners who have completed their jail terms and calling for tougher laws against the desecration of religious scriptures. The protest, led by the Quami Insaaf Morcha and supported by a broad coalition of social, political, religious, and community organisations, began at PUDA Ground and ended at the deputy commissioner's office. Protesters raised slogans against both the Punjab and central govts along with burning effigies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and chief minister Bhagwant Mann, accusing them of inaction on long-standing religious and human rights concerns. In a media briefing during the event, Quami Insaaf Morcha patron Gurcharan Singh Hawara said the protest was part of a sustained campaign that has included a permanent sit-in at the Mohali-Chandigarh border for more than two-years-and-a-half. "Our demands are simple but long-ignored," Hawara said. "Release those who have served their time, implement strict laws against sacrilege — especially of Guru Granth Sahib — and hold those accountable for incidents like the Behbal Kalan police firing. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Cardiologists: 1 Teaspoon of This Before Bed Melts Belly Fat Like Crazy Portal Life Click Here Undo " Community leaders who addressed the rally at PUDA Ground included Mahinder Pal Singh, Sukhbir Singh Balwera, Harbhajan Singh Butter, and Bibi Charanjit Kaur. Speakers called for unity and urged the public to turn out in large numbers for a major rally scheduled for Aug 15 at the Mohali-Chandigarh border, describing it as a critical juncture in their struggle. The march concluded peacefully. In his closing remarks, Hawara thanked all participating groups and reaffirmed the "Morcha's commitment to non-violent, democratic action".