Obama says US “looking out” for Philippines

Obama says US "looking out" for Philippines

US President Barack Obama on Friday told Philippine President Benigno Aquino, who is embroiled in a territorial spat with China, that the US was “looking out” for his country.

Manila, which has been in a security alliance with the US for 60 years, is caught up in a long-running dispute with Beijing over the strategically vital South China Sea, where the two countries are among six claimants.

Obama, in the Indonesian resort of Bali for the East Asia Summit, said the US-Philippines relationship ensured “we are looking out for each other when it comes to security”.

China warns against South China Sea interference

China warns against South China Sea interference

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao warned Friday against outside interference over the South China Sea dispute, in a challenge to Washington which wants to broach the issue at an Asian summit.

“External forces should not use any excuse to interfere,” he said in a speech at China’s meeting with Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) leaders in Indonesia, without directly mentioning the United States.

“The dispute on the South China Sea is a matter that been going on for years. It should be resolved by the relevant sovereign states through friendly consultation and discussion directly,” said Wen in a speech released by the state news agency Xinhua.

Several Asian nations have competing claims over parts of the South China Sea, believed to encompass huge oil and gas reserves, while China claims it all. One-third of global seaborne trade passes through the region.

Southeast Asia caught between US and China

Southeast Asia caught between US and China

Indonesia has warned deploying US Marines in Australia could cause regional tensions, highlighting the balancing act nations face as Washington and Beijing jostle for influence in Asia.

China’s regional neighbours welcome the United States’ diplomatic campaign to assert itself as a Pacific power, and create a counterbalance to the Asian superpower’s growing might, but can ill afford to alienate Beijing.

President Barack Obama announced in Canberra on Wednesday that the US would deploy up to 2,500 Marines in the northern city of Darwin, rankling China which termed it “not quite appropriate”.

Missing a large hole in Sarawak kitty

Taib Mahmud - The longest serving Chief Minister in Malaysia

by Awang Abdillah

How on earth did the Auditor-General give Sarawak‘s finances a ‘clean bill of health’ when for the past nine years billions have been chanelled to ‘phantom agencies’?

The annual Auditor-General’s Report which is supposed to be professional and independent is grossly inaccurate, especially on Sarawak.

Giving the state government a clean bill of health for nine consecutive years (until 2010) is not only inaccurate but unbelievable and disgusting.

Komen: Skandal ‘lembu’ lambang transformasi Najib

Najib

oleh Kim Quek

Skandal NFC ini memperlihatkan kebiasaan sikap rakus dan tamak BN apabila berdepan dengan dana awam.

Mengikut piawaian Barisan Nasional (BN), skandal National Feedlot Corporation Sdn Bhd (NFC) tidak sebesar mana, kerana hanya melibatkan kurang dari RM300 juta dana awam.

Namun perdebatan hangat yang berterusan tentang skandal ini membolehkan kita menilai tahap tadbir urus negara ini.  Dan yang lebih mustahak sama ada terdapat anjakan paradigma di kalangan pemimpin BN di bawah program transformasi yang diperkenalkan oleh Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.