at 18:30 (JST), December 04

Asian View
"Asian View" is a five-minute news segment broadcast by NHK WORLD-JAPAN. It features the latest news and deep analysis from Japan and the rest of Asia. Listen to "Asian View" and get the latest information from a region that's playing an increasingly important role in the world.





https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/upld/medias/en/radio/news/20231204183000_english_1.mp3


Key words : philippines 130
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20231204_02/

The Philippines says more than 130 Chinese ships have gathered in part of its exclusive economic zone in the South China Sea. Manila and Beijing have competing claims to the waters.

The Philippine Coast Guard said on Sunday that it had found the Chinese vessels moored near a coral reef of the Spratly Islands, over 300 kilometers west of the Philippine island of Palawan.

The Philippines says waters around the reef are part of its EEZ. But Beijing has de facto control of the reef.

Video clips of the area released by the coast guard show lines of large ships equipped with what appear to be cranes.

The Philippines says two of its patrol boats on Saturday conducted patrols in the waters and warned the Chinese vessels to leave the area. But it says the Chinese ships refused the orders.

The Philippines suspects that the Chinese ships are carrying maritime militia personnel.

The Philippines is keeping its guard up, saying the number of Chinese vessels in the waters has been growing from last month's level.

The Philippines spotted more than 200 Chinese ships in the same area in March 2021. Manila lodged a protest with Beijing at the time.

Key words : xi law enforcement
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20231202_06/

Chinese President Xi Jinping has told a Coast Guard command to strengthen its law enforcement capabilities in the East China Sea.

Observers say Xi's orders could prompt the Coast Guard to step up activities near the Senkaku Islands. Japan controls the islands. China and Taiwan claim them.

China's state-run television reported on Friday that Xi inspected the command office two days earlier and was briefed about its operations.

Xi reportedly pointed out the need to resolutely protect China's territorial sovereignty and maritime interests, and crack down on illegal activities.

Chinese Coast Guard ships have repeatedly entered Japanese territorial waters off the Senkaku Islands. The Japanese government has also urged China to remove a buoy placed within Japan's exclusive economic zone near the islands.

Prime Minister Kishida Fumio expressed deep concern over the situation in the East China Sea when he met Xi in the United States in November.

The Japanese government maintains that the Senkaku Islands are an inherent part of Japan's territory, in terms of history and international law. It says there is no issue of sovereignty to be resolved over them.

Key words : prominent hong kong activist
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20231204_04/

Agnes Chow, a prominent Hong Kong activist who was jailed in 2020 for her role in a pro-democracy protest, says she is now in Canada and will probably never return to Hong Kong.

Chow updated her Instagram account for the first time in about two years on Sunday. She revealed that she is currently in Toronto and had left Hong Kong in September. Chow was released from prison in June of 2021.

Chow said that she was originally scheduled to return to Hong Kong this month, as she is required to periodically report to the police. But she said that she has decided not to go back. She cited as reasons the situation in Hong Kong, her personal safety, as well as her physical and mental health.

Chow was one of the leaders of the Umbrella Movement. Young people in Hong Kong called for democratic elections during that campaign in 2014. Chow became well known in Japan at that time, as she posted some of her messages on social media in fluent Japanese.

The Hong Kong government has put exiled pro-democracy campaigners on a wanted list. That is among the steps the government has taken to try to keep activists residing overseas in check.

Key words : rescue effort accounted for stationed
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20231203_20/

Search and rescue efforts continue on Sunday, four days after a US Osprey military aircraft crashed into the sea off Yakushima Island in the southwestern Japanese prefecture of Kagoshima.

Eight personnel were on board when the Osprey went down on Wednesday. One of them has been confirmed dead, while seven others remain unaccounted for.

The US Air Force says the crewmember confirmed dead has been identified as 24-year-old Staff Sergeant Jacob Galliher, who was stationed at Kadena Air Base in Okinawa.

What appears to be part of the wreckage of the aircraft was retrieved by fishers in waters off the island and stored in a warehouse in the town of Yakushima.

On Sunday morning, US personnel were seen visiting the warehouse, wrapping up the stored items and loading them onto a truck before heading to Yakushima Airport.

The US Air Force also said the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson is taking part in the search for the missing crewmembers. Carrier-based aircraft and drones as well as divers are being used in the operation.

The Air Force says in a statement, "Our joint force and Japanese allies stand united in our determination to bring our air commandos home."

Meanwhile, as part of the search operation, two US Ospreys arrived at the airport on Amami Island in Kagoshima Prefecture on Sunday morning.
The regional bureau of Japan's Defense Ministry says those Ospreys are deployed at US Marine Corps Air Station Futenma.

The two Ospreys took off at around 10:50 a.m., after spending about an hour and 20 minutes at the airport, then headed eastward.

Key words : south into orbit four more
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20231202_13/

South Korea's defense ministry says it has put its first military reconnaissance satellite into orbit, a move that will enable better monitoring of North Korea.

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the satellite lifted off from the western US state of California at 10:19 a.m. local time on Friday.

The ministry said the satellite separated from the rocket and was placed into orbit as scheduled.

The satellite will orbit the Earth at an altitude between 400 and 600 kilometers. South Korean media reported that it is capable of identifying objects on the ground as small as 30 centimeters across.

South Korea plans to send four more spy satellites into space by 2025.

Ministry officials hope that monitoring North Korea with an independent satellite system will help capture early signs of potential North Korean ballistic missile launches and bolster the military's preemptive missile strike capability.

North Korea said it successfully put its own spy satellite into orbit last month. It said the satellite took pictures of the White House and US bases, including the Kadena Air Base in southwestern Japan. But Pyongyang has not published any of the images.

Key words : explosion philippines
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20231203_22/

An explosion during a Catholic mass in the southern Philippines has left at least four people dead.

The blast occurred on Sunday morning at a university gymnasium in the Muslim-majority city of Marawi on Mindanao Island.

The country's military and police said an unspecified number of injured people were taken to hospital.

Images taken at the scene show chairs, apparently made of plastic, scattered around on the charred floor.

No one has claimed responsibility. Authorities are investigating the incident as a suspected act of terrorism by Islamic militants.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. suggested that foreign terrorists could be behind the attack, which he condemned.

Marcos said, "Extremists who wield violence against the innocent will always be regarded as enemies to our society."

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front, the country's largest militant group, signed a peace agreement with the government in 2014 to end the fighting in Mindanao. The group is working toward the establishment of an autonomous government there in 2025.

But other armed groups oppose the move, and terror attacks have occurred frequently in the region.

Key words : environmental satirical network
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20231204_06/

An international environmental NGO has given Japan a satirical "Fossil of the Day" award at the venue of the COP28 climate change conference in Dubai.

The Climate Action Network presents the awards every day during the UN conference to countries it says are "doing the most to achieve the least" to curb global warming.

The group said on Sunday that it had chosen Japan, New Zealand and the United States as the first recipients at this year's meeting.

The group referred to Japan's efforts to partially replace fossil fuels with ammonia and other materials to reduce emissions from thermal power plants.

It criticized Japan saying the country's push to extend the life of fossil fuel-based energy is delaying the transition to renewables, not only domestically but also throughout Asia.

Osada Hiroki, a member of a Japanese environmental NGO, mockingly received the award.

Osada said the world needs to do away with fossil fuels as soon as possible as the effects of climate change are emerging across the globe. He said Japan has not been able to do so and needs to take specific measures.

Japan received the award for the fourth time in a row. A Japanese government official declined to comment on the activities of a private organization.

The official said Japan will deliver the message that it will no longer build coal-fired thermal power plants that lack measures to reduce carbon emissions.

Key words : bear attack record
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20231202_07/

Japanese government officials say bear attacks nationwide have surpassed the 200 mark for the first time.

The Environment Ministry says there were 212 victims in the eight months since April, which marks the start of Japan's fiscal year.

Thirty people were attacked in November, the second highest for the month.

The overall tally exceeds the previous record of 158 in fiscal 2020. Record keeping began in 2006.

Some victims lost their lives. They include two people in Hokkaido, two in Iwate Prefecture, and one each in the prefectures of Toyama and Nagano.

Seventy percent of the attacks occurred in northeastern Japan, including 70 in Akita and 45 in Iwate.

The ministry has sent experts to Iwate and Toyama upon request to help the prefectures capture and study bears.

Ministry officials say the animals usually enter hibernation in December, but they also warn more attacks are possible.