HONG KONG – Increasingly assertive action by China’s coast guard ships in the South China Sea risks destabilising the region, according to the authors of new research tracking maritime law enforcement incidents across the vital trade route.

While the risks of full-blown naval conflict dominates strategic fears over the disputed waterway, the danger of incidents involving coast guards should not be underestimated, said Bonnie Glaser, a regional security expert at Washington’s Center for Strategic and International Studies think-tank.

CSIS researchers have detailed some 45 clashes and standoffs in the South China Sea since 2010 in a survey due to be published week on its ChinaPower website and seen by Reuters.

While the research includes clashes between a variety of regional states and types of vessels, the actions of China’s coast guard dominates the picture. China’s coast guard has been involved in 30 of the cases logged, two-thirds of the total. Four other incidents involved a Chinese naval vessel operating in a law enforcement capacity.

“The evidence is clear that there is a pattern of behaviour from China that is contrary to what law enforcement usually involves,” Glaser told Reuters.

“We’re seeing bullying, harassment and ramming of vessels from countries whose coast guard and fishing vessels are much smaller, often to assert sovereignty throughout the South China Sea.”

The research includes the violent maritime stand-off between Beijing and Hanoi over the placement of a Chinese oil exploration rig off the Vietnamese coast in 2014, as well as tensions that led up to China’s occupation of the Scarborough Shoal off the Philippines in 2012.

It is being published as Chinese coast guard and other vessels return to Scarborough, sparking formal diplomatic protests from Manila.

China’s State Oceanic Administration, which oversees the coast guard did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the research.

The research defines an incident where a nation’s coast guard or navy has used coercive measures beyond routine law enforcement action.

In the short term, Glaser said she believed the risk of injury or death could be worse in civilian clashes than among navies patrolling the South China Sea, given the frequency and intensity of incidents in recent years.

Encounters by rival coast guards are not yet covered by expanding communications arrangements that are geared to preventing clashes between the region’s naval forces.

The survey cites research showing the unifying of China’s civilian maritime fleets in 2013, coupled with on-going budget increases, has given it the world’s largest coast guard.

It now deploys some 205 vessels, including 95 ships over 1,000 tonnes, according to the US Office of Naval Intelligence – a far larger fleet than other regional countries, including Japan.

China claims much of the South China Sea, which carries the bulk of Northeast Asia’s trade with the rest of the world. Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have claims in the area.

VIENTIANE, Laos – Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte expressed regret Tuesday (Sept 6) that his comments branding US leader Barack Obama a “son of a w****” came across as a personal attack.

The insult on Monday was the latest offensive comment to raise questions about Mr Duterte’s diplomatic skills, leading Mr Obama to cancel a planned meeting with him at a regional summit in Laos.

Here are 10 of his most undiplomatic remarks from before and after his landslide election victory this year:

RESPECT ME, SON OF A W****

“You must be respectful. Do not just throw away questions and statements. Son of a whore, I will curse you in that forum.” – Mr Duterte, who has launched a war on crime that has claimed more than 2,400 lives, warns Mr Obama not to raise human rights issues with him in Laos.

‘GAY’ ENVOY

“I’m fighting with (US Secretary of State John Kerry’s) ambassador. His gay ambassador, the son of a w****. He pissed me off.” – Mr Duterte in an August speech smarting over US Ambassador to Manila Philip Goldberg’s criticism of his comment about wanting to rape a “beautiful” Australian missionary.

‘F*** YOU, UN’

“F*** you, UN, you can’t even solve the Middle East carnage… couldn’t even lift a finger in Africa… shut up, all of you.” – Mr Duterte in a June press conference, a seemingly unprovoked attack on the world body.

Anti-crime blitz sweeps Philippines as Duterte comes into power

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AFP, Reuters

UN PULLOUT

“Maybe we’ll just have to decide to separate from the United Nations. If you are that disrespectful, son of a w****, then I will just leave you.” – Mr Duterte in an August news briefing after a UN human rights expert said orders in his anti-crime crackdown violated international law. He later said he was just joking.

‘INUTILE’ BAN –

“Ban Ki-moon, he should write to me so that I will tell him: ‘You did nothing. People are being massacred by the thousands. You can’t stop (the war) in Turkey, Syria.’ So one useless, inutile body.” – Mr Duterte in an August press conference railing against the UN chief after Mr Ban denounced his apparent endorsement of extrajudicial killings.

JET SKI POLICY

“I will go there on my own with a jet ski, bringing with me a flag and a pole and once I disembark, I will plant the flag on the runway and tell the Chinese authorities, ‘Kill me!'” – Mr Duterte in a February campaign speech explaining how he would handle Manila’s row with Beijing over the South China Sea. He has since adopted a more cautious tone.

SUICIDE, GENOCIDE, UPSIDE

“That’s the invention of a woman who wants to commit suicide. You can think of genocide, suicide or what, side by side, upper side, whatever, what if upper side or even upside?” – Mr Duterte launches a rambling verbal assault on Ms Agnes Callamard, the UN special rapporteur on summary executions, after she accused him of violating international law with his statements seen as inciting people to kill.

BURNING SINGAPORE FLAG

“I burned the flag of Singapore. I said: ‘F*** you … You are a garrison pretending to be a country.'” – Mr Duterte in a November speech, recalling how in 1995 he burned a Singapore flag to protest at the execution of a Filipina maid in the city-state.

In May, a spokesman for Mr Duterte said the remark was meant as a joke. “You have to understand the Philippine style of elections. The context is most of our politicians need to communicate to our audience so many of our politicians sing and dance,” said Mr Peter Lavina to reporters.

“Some make jokes, some make funny faces. Some dress outrageously. So it is all in this context that all these jokes, bantering, happen during the campaign,” Mr Lavina added.

ARAB CULTURE

“You are not a warrior if you do that. We are not Arabs. That is not our culture. We are all Malay.” – Mr Duterte in an August speech condemning how Philippine Islamic militants supposedly mutilated the bodies of slain soldiers.

POPE GO HOME

“It took us five hours to get from the hotel to the airport. I asked who was coming. They said it was the Pope. I wanted to call him: ‘Pope, son of a w****, go home. Don’t visit anymore’.” – Mr Duterte in a November 2015 speech recalling being stuck in Manila traffic when Pope Francis visited the Philippines.

Duterte sworn in as Philippines’ 16th president

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AFP, Reuters

The festival of great joy and devotion is round the corner. Beautiful and colourful clay models of Lord Ganesha are flooding the streets.

Yes, soon the elephant headed God will shower his cherished blessings on his devotees as the nation celebrates Ganesh Chaturthi.

Ganesh Chaturthi is celebrated as Lord Ganesha’s birthday by the Hindus throughout the world, but the festival is originated from Maharashtra, India.

Hindi film visuals and large movement of people from western states to the capital has been inspiring the city to greet the festival with opulence.

There has been a rising demand for Ganesha idols in the city for past few years. Although the celebration in the city lacks the grandeur as that of Mumbai, it is catching up with the enthusiasm among Mumbaites.

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AFP, Reuters

If you want to see the special ceremonial puja in the capital, you may visit Sree Vinayak Temple in AB block, Sarojini Nagar which celebrates the festival with fervour for four days.

During the days of this festival, people look forward to the Ganapati ji’s favourite sweet delicacy ‘modakas’ besides other Indian sweet items. The lord is worshipped in the morning and the evening in the same way and modakas are offered to him.

You can easily buy these modakas online. Some famous modak makers who provide online shopping facility are Ramlal Vithaldas and co. famous for mixed dry fruit modakas, Murlidhar sweets famous for Kesar Kaju modakas and Sangeeta Eastern Sweets famous for Kesar modakas.

All these sweet shops are situated in Mumbai but one can order them modakas from anywhere in the world.

On the last day of completion of the festival, the idol is immersed in the river or sea with the final offerings of flowers, camphors and coconuts.

The air is filled with the chants of ‘Ganapati Bappa Morya, Purcha Varshi Laukariya’ through which people pray to Shree Ganesha to come early next year.

One can see extreme vigour and enthusiasm among Ganesha devotees these days.

Lord Ganesha enjoys a fortunate and auspicious status in almost all Hindu families. He is famous for removing all inhibitions and obstacles of his devotees. The idol itself symbolizes success and prosperity.

Time to take a short break and embrace the festival with great pomp and show. May Lord Ganesha bless everyone with all worldly possessions and protect from all evils.

VIENTIANE – The Philippines on Tuesday (Sept 6) defended a surge in killings since Mr Rodrigo Duterte became president over two months ago, handing out a 38-page pamphlet at a regional summit praising his campaign against illegal drugs in which thousands have died.

“We are not butchers who just kill people for no apparent reason,” reads one page of the booklet, citing the Philippines’ feisty national police chief Ronald Dela Rosa.

The pamphlet was distributed at a South-east Asian and East Asian summit in Laos that was overshadowed on Tuesday by the cancellation of a meeting between Mr Duterte and Barack Obama after he referred to the US President as a “son of a bitch”.

“The campaign against illegal drugs has yielded an unprecedented number of ‘surrenderees’: more than 600,000,” said the glossy pamphlet, which features various photographs of Mr Duterte, including one of him attending the funeral of a senior police officer allegedly shot dead by a drug peddler.

The booklet said that since Mr Duterte took office 7,532 drug operations had been carried out, 12,972 pushers and users had been arrested, and police operations in July reduced crime by 49 per cent from a year earlier. “Can you believe it’s only been two months into the Duterte presidency?” the final page reads.

Mr Duterte swept to power in May on promises to wipe out crime and corruption within six months, pledging to wage a war on drug dealers and crush widespread addiction to methamphetamines in the country of 100 million.

Anti-crime blitz sweeps Philippines as Duterte comes into power

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AFP, Reuters

There has been popular support for Mr Duterte’s campaign but the killings have brought expressions of concern from the United States, a close Philippine ally, and the United Nations.

Last week, the number of people killed since July 1 reached 2,400: About 900 died in police operations, they said, and the rest were “deaths under investigation”, a term human rights activists say is a euphemism for vigilante and extrajudicial killings.

Mr Duterte said on Tuesday he regretted that his comments to media on Friday “came across as a personal attack” on Mr Obama. His government said in a separate statement the fight against illegal drugs must be won.

ASEAN Summit 2016

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AFP, Reuters, Lianhe Zaobao