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Rouhani Says Western Democracy is 'Fragile'

FILE - Iranian President Hassan Rouhani speaks during a meeting in Tehran, Iran, April 5, 2020. Reuters
FILE - Iranian President Hassan Rouhani speaks during a meeting in Tehran, Iran, April 5, 2020. Reuters
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Rouhani Says Western Democracy is 'Fragile'

FILE - Iranian President Hassan Rouhani speaks during a meeting in Tehran, Iran, April 5, 2020. Reuters
FILE - Iranian President Hassan Rouhani speaks during a meeting in Tehran, Iran, April 5, 2020. Reuters

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Thursday that the chaos unleashed on the US Capitol by US counterpart Donald Trump's supporters exposed the fragility of Western democracy.

"What we saw in the United States yesterday (Wednesday) evening and today shows above all how fragile and vulnerable Western democracy is," Rouhani said in a speech broadcast by state television.

"We saw that unfortunately the ground is fertile for populism, despite the advances in science and industry.

"A populist has arrived and he has led his country to disaster over these past four years.

"I hope the whole world and the next occupants of the White House will learn from it."

Rouhani said he hoped for a change of direction from the incoming administration of US President-elect Joe Biden.

He urged the new administration "to make up (for the past) and restore the country to a position worthy of the American nation, because the American nation is a great nation".

"May they return to reason, legality and their obligations. It's for their own benefit and the good of the world," he said.

Despite routine references to the United States as the "Great Satan" in official rhetoric, it is not the first time that an Iranian president has called America a "great nation".

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Philippines Alarmed after China Sends ‘Monster Ship’ to Disputed Shoal

This handout aerial photo taken on January 13, 2025 and released by the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on January 14 shows Chinese Coast Guard ship 5901 sailing in the South China Sea. (Handout / Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) / AFP)
This handout aerial photo taken on January 13, 2025 and released by the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on January 14 shows Chinese Coast Guard ship 5901 sailing in the South China Sea. (Handout / Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) / AFP)
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Philippines Alarmed after China Sends ‘Monster Ship’ to Disputed Shoal

This handout aerial photo taken on January 13, 2025 and released by the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on January 14 shows Chinese Coast Guard ship 5901 sailing in the South China Sea. (Handout / Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) / AFP)
This handout aerial photo taken on January 13, 2025 and released by the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on January 14 shows Chinese Coast Guard ship 5901 sailing in the South China Sea. (Handout / Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) / AFP)

The Philippines accused China on Tuesday of intimidating its fishermen at a disputed South China Sea shoal, and normalizing an "illegal presence", after Beijing sent its largest coast guard vessel into Manila's maritime zone.

The move comes against the backdrop of rising tension between the Philippines, a US treaty ally, and Beijing during the past two years, stemming from their overlapping claims in the busy waterway of the South China Sea.

The Philippines has protested this month against the entry of Chinese vessels in its 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ), including the 165-m (541-ft) -long ship 5901, last spotted 77 nautical miles off the western province of Zambales.

Jonathan Malaya, a spokesperson for the Philippines' National Security Council, reiterated a call for Beijing to withdraw from Manila's waters the "monster ship" he said was deployed to intimidate its fishermen around Scarborough Shoal.

"We were surprised about the increasing aggression being showed by the People's Republic of China in deploying the monster ship," Malaya told a press conference.

"It is an escalation and provocative," Malaya added, calling the presence of the vessel "illegal" and "unacceptable".

"It is also a clear attempt to intimidate our fishermen and deprive them of their legitimate livelihood."

China's embassy in Manila said the shoal, which it calls "Huangyan Dao", is China's territory, and its actions are in "full accordance with the law".

"It is fully justified," the embassy said in a statement.

Since China seized the Scarborough Shoal in 2012 after a standoff with the Philippines, its coast guard ships have maintained a constant presence to patrol the area.

But China's recent actions have become more concerning because its coast guard vessels moved closer to the Philippine coast, Malaya added.

The Philippine coast guard said it had sent two of its largest vessels to drive away the ship whose presence, its spokesperson said, aimed to normalize China's "illegal deployment" of coast guard vessels in Manila's EEZ.

China's expansive claims in the South China Sea, a strategic shipping conduit for about $3 trillion of annual commerce, overlap with the EEZs of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.

In 2016, an international tribunal ruled China's claims to large swathes of the disputed waterway had no basis, a decision Beijing rejects.