SUNDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2016

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aittimes.net

02 03Typhoon Haima leaves

at least 7 dead in

northern Philippines

Govt takes on

‘5-6’ loan sharks

in wet markets

MANILA: Nais ni Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte namagpatupad ng visa requirements para sa mgaAmerikano na gustong magtungo sa Pilipinas. Itoang binigyang-diin ni Pangulong Duterte sakanyang mensahe sa mga negosyante sa Beijing,China. Ayon sa Pangulo, dapat ay maging pataslamang ang labanan dahil ang mga Pinoy na gus-tong magtungo sa US ay kailangan ng visa atdumadaan pa sa butas ng karayom para lamangmakakuha nito. Ikinuwento din ni Duterte angmasamang karanasan niya sa mga US immigrationofficers sa Los Angeles airport noong dumaan siladito kasama ang ilang kongresista upang magtun-go sa Brazil. Aniya, kung ano-ano ang hinanap sakanya ng immigration officer sa LA airport hang-gang sa nais siyang i-detain nito dahil hinahanappa ang kanyang authority to travel.

BEIJING/MANILA: Philippine President RodrigoDuterte said Friday he did not mean he would cut offties with the United States when he said in China thathe was separating from the U.S., adding it’s in his coun-try’s best interest to stay with America. Despite theclarification, the tough-talking president kept up on histirades against the U.S., saying in a late-night speech inhis southern hometown of Davao city that he wouldnever travel to America “in this lifetime.”

At an economic forum Thursday in Beijing, where hemade a state visit, Duterte declared “my separationfrom the United States ... both in military and econom-ics also.” His pronouncement was met with applause,but Duterte did not explain what he exactly intendedto do and when.

Duterte, however, said in an arrival speech in Davaothat he was not severing ties with his country’s treatyally that is home to a large number of Filipino expatri-ates. “When you say severance of ties, you cut the

diplomatic relations. I cannot do that. Why? It’s to thebest interest of my country that we maintain that rela-tionship,” Duterte said, adding that Filipinos were notready to embrace such an option.

What he meant by his remarks in China, Dutertesaid, was ending a Philippine foreign policy that closelyleaned toward the U.S.

In China, he said his country is separating from theU.S. in a speech before a Beijing economic forum onThursday, after handing China a major diplomatic vic-tory, agreeing to resume dialogue on their South ChinaSea territorial dispute following months of acrimony.

The rapprochement between the two Asia nationscould widen a political rift between the United Statesand the Philippines, whose recently elected leader hasmade no secret of its antipathy for America andordered an end to joint maneuvers between their mili-taries.

Continued on Page 6

Korean abducted in

first Philippines

cargo ship raid

MANILA: Suspected Islamist militants kidnapped thecaptain of a South Korean cargo ship in the southernPhilippines, the first such attack on a large merchantvessel, authorities said Friday.

The abduction on board the 11,400-tonne heavyload carrier Dong Bang Giant 2 by men identifyingthemselves as Abu Sayyaf militants occurred Thursdaydespite President Rodrigo Duterte’s vows to crush thenotorious kidnapping-for-ransom group.

Ten suspects abducted the Korean captain and aFilipino crewman, taking them onto their speedboatbefore letting the South Korean-flagged cargo ship andthe rest of the crew go, regional military commandspokesman, Major Filemon Tan, told ABS-CBN televisionin Manila. “They identified themselves as Abu SayyafGroup members... we’re looking into this.” TheInternational Maritime Bureau’s Malaysia-based PiracyReporting Centre as well as Tan described the attack as alandmark incident.

“This is the first kidnapping incident on a merchantship in this area as past kidnapping incidents involvedtugs and fishing boats,” the centre said in an advisory.

“Vessels are advised to maintain strict anti-piracywatch and exercise extreme caution and keep clear ofthe position given in this report.”

Continued on Page 3

Mga Kano hingan

ng visa, para patas!

Duterte announces separation

from US, but won’t sever ties

FBC 75th tourney continues Page 5

MANILA: Members of an indigenous group and activists participate in a protest calling for the immediate pull-out of US troops inthe Philippines in Manila yesterday. Protesters marched to Mendiola, near the Malacanang palace, to call on the Duterte adminis-tration to break away from the US, calling for an independent foreign policy. —AFP

Duterte

VIGAN: Super Typhoon Haima weakened andblew out to sea Thursday after smashing intothe northern Philippines with ferocious windand rain overnight. Flooding, landslides andpower outages were evident, but large casual-ties appeared to have been averted after nearly100,000 people fled to safer ground.

Haima’s blinding winds and rain had rekin-dled fears of the catastrophe wrought byTyphoon Haiyan in 2013, but there were noimmediate reports of any major damage.Several villages are cut off by fallen trees, land-slides and floods, impeding communicationsand aid.

Although storms are a part of life in thecountry’s north, many villagers were still horri-fied by Haima’s fury.

“In my age, I’m 60 years old, this is thestrongest typhoon I have ever seen,” villagecouncilor Willie Cabalteja told The AssociatedPress in Vigan city in Ilocos Sur province. “Wehaven’t slept. Trees were forced down, houseslost their roofs and fences and metal sheetswere flying around all night.”

At least seven people were killed in thestorm, officials said. But the evacuations fromhigh-risk communities helped prevent a largernumber of casualties.

Two construction workers died when alandslide buried their shanty in La Trinidadtown in the mountain province of Benguet,officials said, while two villagers perished inanother landslide and another was swept awayin a river and remains missing in Ifugaoprovince, near Benguet. A 70-year-old mandied apparently of a heart attack in an emer-gency shelter while another man died afterbeing pinned by a fallen tree in Isabelaprovince. One other typhoon-related deathwas reported in northern Ilocos region butdetails were not immediately available.

Haima, with sustained winds of 225 kilome-ters (140 miles) per hour, hit northeasternCagayan province late Wednesday then bar-reled northwestward before blowing out intothe South China Sea with sustained winds of150 kilometers (93 miles) per hour and gusts ofup to 185 kph (115 mph), according to fore-casters.

Although weakening, the typhoon wasexpected to blow toward China, Filipino

forecasters said.After dawn, the extent of damage in

Cagayan - about 500 kilometers (310 miles)north of Manila - and nearby regions becameevident, with overturned vans, toppled or lean-ing electric posts and debris blocking roads.Most stores, their window panes shattered andcanopies shredded by the wind, were close.

In northern Ilocos Sur province, ricefieldsresembled brown lakes under waist-high

floodwaters, although cleanup operations hadstarted.

“Search, rescue and retrieval operations areongoing,” Office of Civil Defense administratorRicardo Jalad said in a statement.

The region is still recovering from a typhoonlast weekend that killed two people and dis-placed tens of thousands of villagers.

President Rodrigo Duterte, on a state visit toChina, urged people to heed orders by disaster

agencies. Duterte is to fly home Friday.About 20 typhoons and storms lash the

Philippines each year, adding to the burdens ina country also at risk of earthquakes and vol-canic eruptions.

In November 2013, Typhoon Haiyan struckthe central Philippines with ferocious power,leaving more than 7,300 people dead and dis-placing more than 5 million others after level-ing entire villages. —AP

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2016 2

Typhoon Haima leaves at least 7 dead in northern Philippines

TUGUEGARAO: A resident dries her clothes on a destroyed tree near their house destroyed at the height of typhoon Haima, inTuguegarao City, Cagyan province, north of Manila yesterday. Hungry Philippine typhoon survivors huddled in makeshift shel-ters and waited for aid on October 21, after losing nearly everything from one of the most powerful storms to hit the SoutheastAsian archipelago. —AFP

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2016 3M A N I L A : The t rade depar tment sa idSaturday it would tour wet markets offer-ing loans with zero to little interest, to helpthe poor start businesses and wean themoff loan sharks.

President Rodrigo Duterte blasted “5-6”lending in a speech in Beijing this week,saying exorbitant interest rates are “killing”the Filipino entrepreneur’s spirit.

The loan tour is part of a pilot-test of“Pondo Para sa Pagbabago at Pagasenso[Change and Progress Fund],” the govern-ment ’s plan to spur small and mediumenterprises, Trade Secretary Ramon Lopeztold DZMM.

“Mapapautang sila ng mababa o haloswala ng interes. Mawawala na ‘yang ‘5-6’ nanapakalaki ng interes [They will be givenloans with very low or almost no interest. Itwill be the end for 5-6 and it’s high interestrates],” Lopez said.

The S ecur i t ies and ExchangeCommission earlier this week asked thepol ice and the Nat ional Bureau of

Investigation to help in its crackdown oninformal lending.

Lopez said the government would also

push for signature products that a city orprovince i s k nown for, l ike shoes inMarikina City. —ABS-CBN News

Govt takes on ‘5-6’ loan sharks in wet markets

Continued from Page 1The attack occurred just off the southern entry of the Sibutu

Passage, a 29-kilometre (18-mile) wide channel used by mer-chant shipping in transit between the Pacific Ocean and theSouth China Sea.

The channel lies off the southern Philippines’ Tawi-Tawiislands, which together with the nearby Sulu archipelago arepreyed on by Abu Sayyaf militants based in the region. The car-go ship was heading for South Korea from Australia. The AbuSayyaf is a loose network of militants formed in the 1990s withseed money from Osama bin Laden’s Al-Qaeda network, andhas earned millions of dollars from kidnappings-for-ransom.

Kidnapping spreeThe group began abducting sai lors in border waters

between Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines early this year,

taking several dozen hostages.The spike in abductions sparked Indonesian warnings that

the region could become the “next Somalia” and pushed thethree neighbours to pledge coordinated patrols. Tan, theFilipino regional military spokesman, said the previous vesselsattacked in the area were all small tugboats.

“This is a big ship. It is not that easy to board a larger ship. Itwould be very difficult, especially in the open seas,” he said ofthe South Korean vessel.

Tan said that while military patrols had been stepped up, thePhilippine navy and coast guard did not have enough vessels tocover such a large area all the time.

Filipino authorities had interviewed witnesses on board thehijacked vessel, with the military now in “hot pursuit” of the kid-nappers, Tan added.

The Abu Sayyaf militants also beheaded two Canadian

hostages after demands for millions of dollars were not met,and released a Nor wegian man along with a number ofIndonesian and Malaysian sailors this year after ransoms werebelieved to be paid.

Military sources say the militants are still holding a Dutchhostage, five Malaysians, two Indonesians and four Filipinos intheir jungle stronghold in the southern Philippines. While itsleaders have in recent years pledged allegiance to the IslamicState group, analysts say the Abu Sayyaf is mainly focused on alucrative kidnapping business rather than religious ideology.

Duterte, who took office on June 30, had vowed to destroythe Abu Sayyaf and deployed thousands of extra troops intothe group’s strongholds to achieve his aim.

Previous Philippine leaders had made similar vows to wipeout the Abu Sayyaf and failed, even with help from military allythe United States. —AFP

Duterte

MANILA: Workers assess the damage to Camp 5 bridge linking the summer capital of Baguio city in northern Philippines to Manila, a day after raging waters brought aboutby Super Typhoon Haima caused the foundation to collapse Friday in Benguet province in northern Philippines. —AP

Korean ...

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2016 4

By Maximo Zeus Euqor

KUWAIT: After the brief slumber in team competition, the pinwreckers of the Philippine Bowling Association in Kuwait areback in action as the PBAK 30th Anniversary Cup TeamTournament-2016 was launched at the COZMO BowlingCenter in Kheifan. Twelve teams were presented by the mas-ter of ceremony Miss Myra Nicole Manalo. In its inauguralshowdown six teams that posted victories are inimitableteam, Asian Air Safari, the lucky team of Mangaf Strikers, lanemasters’ COZMO team, the striking force of MD Strikers,Indonesians best-NUSANTARA and unpredictable Scavengers.

The tournament kicked off Friday morning with a shortprogram. It started with the entrance of colors by the Boyscouts from Kuwait-Philippine International English Schoolfollowed by the participating bowlers from the 12 vyingteams then the playing the national anthems of Kuwait andPhilippines. Invocations were led by Lito Michael and AhmadFahmi, followed by the recitation of Oath of sportsmanship byAlonzo Bush, the ceremonial ball rolling by bowlers of variousnationalities and finally the declaration of Tournament Openby the Over-all Tournament Director Hermie Saliba. Before thestart of the lane confrontation McDonald’s provided snacks toall participants, guests and friends and the presentation ofPlaque of Appreciation to COZMO management by VicePresident Hermie Saliba.

The twelve participating teams with their members are: AllStar Strikes- Fadel Al Qassem (team captain), Abdul Aziz AlAslawi, Ibrahim Saeed Al Busaf, Ali Hikmat, Abdul RahmanAbdullah, Hanadi Mezael and Laras Nitikusumo; Asian AirSafari - Hermie Saliba (team captain), Mousa Abdullah,Waleed Al Gharib, Vernie Villaruel, Lito Michael, Gani delaCruz, Norman Conde, Ruben Cervantes, Sonia Mathews andRose Saliba; COZMO- Ferdie Saliba (team captain), NoeMahayag, Tony Zuleta, Ronell Valencia, Bader Malalah,Mohammad Karam, Faisal Al Saleem, Alex Cervantes, Neng

Cervantes and Abdullah Dashti; Fiery Dragons- MandyManalo (team captain), Mar Evangelista, Camilo Baker lll,Eddie Pena, Joel Tizxon, Moises Amahan, Agnes Noble, MariaPerly Virly, Jeannette Angeles and Eden Evangelista; IndianBowling League- Ulysses Menezes (team captain), FatimaSequera, Anastasius Menezes, Nadine Diaz, Siddarth Nait, Ali

Jawli, Joe Simmons, Rudolph Castelino, Jason D’Souza andIman Pradana;LEAF- Lito Mercado (team captain), RockyCastil, Cris Carungay, Joe Presenta, Reygan Percy, ChuckKishpaugh, Blanca Sambajon, Marjorie Mercado, ImeldaDaguio and Leila Cervantes.

MD Strikers- Rudy de Lima (team captain), Nasser Hajras,Rani Skeik, Abdul Wahab Al Shatti, Allen Morais, NeveenWasel, Myra Manalo and Alma Turley; Mangaf Strikers- JasonGamba (team Captain), Medz Nicdao, Jhun Janoras, CeddieMartin Faa, Robert Opena, Adolfo Prena and Ron Favor;NUSANTARA- Ahmad Fahmi (team captain), Tatang Razak,Tito Octavianus, Gantosori, Erlisa, Datuk Rozian, BimaNitikusumo, Benjamin Hasan, Saleh Faraj and AbelNitikusumo; Original Pin Killers- Christopher Bush (team cap-

tain), Farid Gabriel, Jun Husmillo, Rashid Aker Ali, Ishaaq AlWaahid, Ahmad Fadil Karam, Aris de Guzman, Jacky Guitang,Jelyn Cplegio and Norlan Balasan; Scavengers- Nasha King,(team captain), Anthony King, Aji Varghese, Ali Ashkanani, AliArqoub, Mohammad Yousef, Mohammad Othman and BasmaAhmar and Swooping Eagles- Alonzo Bush (team captain),Glen Corbit, Danny Solis, John Caldwell, Darrel Sullivan, RizRoque, Jessica Balagat, Angie Bush, Jocelyn Borros and MonaCorpuz.

Competing teams are playing with handicapping systemand after the 12 game elimination round, the top eight teamswill be playing for a two-week round robin. The tourney alsofeatures the singles’ event for the ladies and men’s categories.Special awards will be presented to teams and bowlers withhigh averages and high scores. After the first round play UAEExchange was declared Team of the Week (2859); Team HighGame Scratch (955) and Team High Series (2859).

Category Name Individual Name Individual High High

Game AverageMen’s A Mousa Abdullah 234 Mousa Abdullah 200.33Men’s B Joe Presenta 198 Saleh Faraj 180.33 Men’s C Jason Gamba 221 Jason Gamba 173.00Ladies A Sonia Mathews 201 Myra Manalo 172.66Ladies B Abel Nitikusumo 169 Abel Nitikusumo 144.50 Team High Game (Scratch) Team High Series (Scratch) Asian Air Safari - 906 Asian Air Safari - 2621Weekly High Series:1. Asian Air Safari - 2931

First round results: 1. Asian Air Safari (3006); 2. MangafStrikers (2926); 3. COZMO (2908); 4. NUSANTARA (2891); 5. MDStrikers (2872); 6. All Star Strikers (2845); 7. Fiery Dragons(2823); 8. Scavengers (2819); 9. Original Pin Killers (2742); 10.Swooping Eagles (2721); 11. LEAF (2682) and 12. IndianBowling League (2546).

PBAK 30th Anniversary Cup Team Tournament-2016

Asian Air Safari, Mangaf Strikers, Cozmo, leaders on opening day

Greetings

Dania F. Bernadas celebratedher birthday last Friday.“Another year has passed

and you grow more beautiful,smart and god fearing each year.May you always stay happy,healthy and playful and that wayyou can still take care of us whenwe grow old.” Happy 4th birthdayDania, our baby our little angel ,greetings from Dania’s parentsKlyde and Marlyn, Godparents,Titos/titas and friends.

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2016 5KUWAIT: FBC’ s 75th Tourney double-round robin came toa close last Friday, October 21, 2016 at Kuwait DisabledClub, Hawally with dominating teams from each categoryadvancing into the double-knockout stage on October 28,2016. The 2nd day of the elimination rounds concludedwith more spectacular matches from all participants and

continue to battle it out as the tournament approaches itsmid-point.

Also, FBC would like to welcome and thank all new mem-bers mostly from beginners level who joined this tourney.Meanwhile, the awarding of 71st and 72nd tourney winnerswill be held on October 28, 2016 and is inviting all the win-

ners to claim their much awaited action-posters and prizes.FBC is inviting all badminton enthusiasts to join every

Fridays in the regular tourneys and adults/kids badmintoncoaching/tutorial and court rental from 2 pm to 5 pm. Forinquiries please come personally at the Kuwait DisabledSports Club in Hawally.

FBC 75th tourney continues

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2016 6Aged just 17 and still living with her fami-

ly, Rina Fukushi has seen more of theworld than most Japanese schoolgirls.

She is the newest model sensation makingwaves in Europe and New York, wowing on therunway for the likes of Miu Miu and MarcJacobs when not chowing down on hamburg-ers or playing with her little brother.

Discovered at 14, hailed by Vogue as “ultra-cool” and “eye-catching” with her enormouseyes, thick eyebrows and bee-sting lips, she isalready the veteran of seasons in Paris, Milanand New York — giving American models GigiHadid and Kendall Jenner a run for their mon-ey.

“I always believed I could be a star from themoment I was scouted. But at the same time, Istill can’t believe it’s real,” says Fukushi, delight-fully friendly and giggly, yet equally self-assuredfor her age.

She arrives early for an interview with AFP,taking time out from her packed schedule atTokyo Fashion Week to meet at a chic cafe.

Quick to laugh, she is a dab hand at sign lan-guage to ease gaps in lost in Japanese-Englishtranslation, yet both shy and vivacious, fault-lessly polite and totally absorbed in the worldof fashion.

A girl who loves to rummage around vintagestores whenever she is travelling, she dressesfor the interview in black — mini skirt fromParis, turtleneck from Japan — and brownhandbag from Milan.

A silver pendant inscribed “Rina,” in Japanesescript, hangs from her neck and she carries aleather jacket from Beautiful People, a Japaneselabel for whom she walked the previous night.

Her schedule is punishing: she’s up at 7am,rushes from show to show, working until 10pmand finally falls into bed around 1am.

Loves New YorkIn between it all, she is studying, which she

does online to fit around her schedule. Whenhigh school ends in March she hopes to spendmore time in New York, which she loved visitingin September.

“I really like the people,” she explains, laugh-ing when asked if she thinks New York is loudand dirty compared to Tokyo. She loves theenergy, the diversity and the get-up-and-goattitude.

Marc Jacobs left a deep impression. Shethought his spring/summer show of rainbowrastafarian locks “so cute,” although she dis-solves into more laughter when asked what histowering, seven-inch platform boots were liketo walk in. “I was really careful not to slip.”

Wearing no make-up, her face is radiant withnatural beauty, and her dark brown hair fallsjust below the shoulder. It used to be longer,but was cut — without warning — backstageat Alexander Wang.

As a model it pays to be professional andamenable. Fukushi is both, and besides, thesoft-spoken Taiwanese-American fashiongenius of New York urban cool was “so kind” toher.

“He didn’t know where I was from,” she gig-gled.

Described in the Japanese fashion press as“exotic” Fukushi is the daughter of a Spanish-Filipino mother and a Japanese-Americanfather.

Born in Manilla, the family returned to Japanwhen she was a baby, and she grew up inTokyo, although she speaks Tagalog as well asJapanese.

“I thought she had the perfect proportions,”says her agent Mayumi Kozakura, incrediblyone of three scouts who spotted her the firstday she went out shopping with a friend inTokyo’s Harajuku district.

Being JapaneseBut at 176 cm (five feet, nine inches) Fukushi

is short for a runway model, by Western stan-dards.

It’s one of the reasons she admires Kate Mossso much: the British model who defied beauty

norms by pioneering so-called heroin chic iseven shorter.

“When she wears clothes, they look fabu-lous,” Fukushi says of Moss. “She has inner beau-ty and I think that is so important.”

Tokyo Fashion Week sees Japanese design-ers mostly shun Asian models in favour of whiteWestern girls, albeit with catwalks in Europeand New York under increasing pressure toshow diversity.

“I like myself and I have confidence. What iswrong about being Asian or Japanese?” she

says. “I don’t feel ‘I am sorry for being Japanese’.If I am confident that clothes look good on me,people don’t see anything wrong. So it doesn’tannoy me.”

She is dreaming big. She would love to fronta campaign and walk for Chanel, and perhapsbecome an actress or singer later in life.

She’s a fan of J-pop and likes to retreat intonature when she gets occasional time off.

But mostly she’s working. Otherwise, shesleeps or eats, she jokes. Hamburgers in NewYork and steak are her favourites. —AFP

Rina, young Japanese model taking world by storm

TOKYO : Japanese model Rina Fukushi modeling branded products by Japanese designer Tae Ashida during the Tae Ashida 2017Spring/Summer collection show in Tokyo. —AFP

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2016 7

Continued from Page 1

“Your honors, in this venue, I announce my separation fromthe United States ... both in military and economics also,” Dutertesaid. His remarks were met with applause, but Duterte was notmore specific.

In Washington, U.S. State Department spokesman JohnKirby said Duterte’s remarks were “inexplicably at odds with thevery close relationship we have with the Filipino people as wellas the government there on many different levels, not just froma security perspective.”

Following talks in Beijing between Duterte and his Chinesecounterpart Xi Jinping, a senior Chinese diplomat announcedthe sides had agreed to restore the full range of contacts,although he said the leaders touched only briefly on theSouth China Sea.

“Both sides agreed that the South China Sea issue is notthe sum total of the bilateral relationship,” Vice ForeignMinister Liu Zhenmin told reporters. The two sides agreed toreturn to the approach used five years ago of seeking a settle-ment through bilateral dialogue, Liu said.

That was followed with an announcement by PhilippineTrade Secretary Ramon Lopez at a bilateral economic forumthat his country and China will sign $13.5 billion of deals thisweek. He did not elaborate.

Separately, the Philippines Presidential CommunicationsOffice said Xi committed more than $9 billion in low-interestloans to the country, with about a third of the loan offer com-ing from private banks. About $15 million in loans will gotoward drug rehabilitation programs.

In opening remarks to his talks with Xi, Duterte hailed awarming of relations with China.

“China has been a friend of the Philippines and the roots ofour bonds are very deep and not easily severed,” he said.“Even as we arrive in Beijing, close to winter, this is a spring-time of our relationship.”

Xi, who greeted Duterte with full military honors at theGreat Hall of the People, the seat of the ceremonial legislaturein the heart of Beijing, said the meeting had “milestone signif-icance.” In a reference to the South China Sea tensions, Xi saidthat “although we have weathered storms, the basis of ourfriendship and our desire for cooperation has not changed.”

While not mentioning the South China Sea specifically, Xisaid that the two sides could set aside “issues on which an

agreement is hard to reach” in their discussions, according tothe official Xinhua News Agency.

Bilateral talks had been suspended after China seized con-trol of Scarborough Shoal, off the main Luzon island in thenorthern Philippines, and the Philippines launched the arbi-tration process under Duterte’s predecessor. The Philippineshas insisted the ruling form the basis for any negotiations,while Beijing has insisted on the opposite.

Duterte has walked a tightrope in trying to mend damagedrelations with China while defending his country’s claims inthe South China Sea.

The Philippine leader known for his devil-may-care, profan-ity-laden speeches had said he would not raise the issue thathas angered China unless his Chinese counterpart firstbrought it up, out of “courtesy” to his host.

Duterte’s visit showed his desire for economic benefits,while the Chinese want to manage issues between the twocountries through bilateral talks, Bonnie Glaser, senior adviserfor Asia at the Center for Strategic and International Studies inWashington, D.C., wrote in an email.

“This is an interesting courtship between China and thePhilippines,” Glaser wrote. “It remains to be seen whetherChina will seek Manila’s respect for Chinese sovereignty. Thatwould likely be a deal breaker.”

In Washington, officials seemed puzzled by Duterte’s com-ments.

“We are going to be seeking an explanation of exactlywhat the president meant when he talked about separationfrom us,” Kirby told reporters. “It’s not clear to us exactly whatthat means and all its ramifications.”

Kirby said the top U.S. diplomat for Asia, Daniel Russel, istraveling to Manila this weekend and would hold conversa-tions with Filipino government officials.

“It isn’t just the United States that is baffled by this rheto-ric,” Kirby said. “We have heard from many of our friends andpartners in the region who are likewise confused about wherethis is going.”

Despite Duterte’s increasingly sharp criticism of the UnitedStates, Kirby said the two countries’ 70-year alliance hasn’t yetbeen affected.

“We remain rock solid in our commitment in the mutualdefense treaty we have with the Philippines. That hasn’tchanged,” he said, adding that he hoped the alliance would“grow and develop and deepen.”—AP

Duterte ...

China slams ‘provocative’ US

sail-by in South China Sea

BEIJING: China has slammed the US for sailing a warship neardisputed territory in the South China Sea, saying the move wasa “serious illegal act” and “deliberately provocative”.

In a statement on its website late Friday night, the country’sdefence ministry said two Chinese naval vessels warned off aUS ship after it entered “Chinese territorial waters” near theParacel Islands, known as Xisha in Chinese.

China controls all of the islands, which are also claimed byVietnam and Taiwan.

The ship’s “entrance into China’s territorial waters is a seriousillegal act and a deliberately provocative act,” it said, addingthat the ministry had made “solemn representations” toWashington.

In a separate online statement, the foreign ministry said theaction had “seriously violated China’s sovereignty and securityinterests, and had seriously broken relevant Chinese law andinternational law.” —AFP

DAVAO: Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte walksthrough the terminal at the Davao International Airportafter arriving back from a state visit to Brunei and Chinaon October 22, 2016. Philippine President RodrigoDuterte said on October 22 he would not sever hisnation’s alliance with the United States, as he clarifiedhis announcement that he planned to “separate”.—AFP

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2016

Pages 6-7

Rina, young

Japanese model

taking world by

storm

MBL tournament continuesKUWAIT: The 15th Conference MBL(Mario’s Basketball League) at Al SaheelSports Club, Abu Halifa -Kuwait, sponsoredby Al Mulla Exchange Company continuesevery Friday.

Game results are as follows: LKT team bag the Rookies by 64-60 (5’9’)Dynaviation -84 vs, K2 -81(inter-co.)Sandras beat Pinoy -Kuwait ,78-61(38

above) Heatwave 74 vs. Seaside 69 (5’9’) Responder -72 vs. MWR -62 (inter -co.)ITT KUWAIY -78 vs. FBS-68 (inter-co.)MBL is still open for the participating

teams for 5’9’ and under, Inter- Company,and 38 and above division , for more infos.,pls contact, Jojo Matildo Commissioner,Jojo Magbanua, Deputy Commissioner.