Iran Seizes Boat for Allegedly Smuggling Fuel

A file picture shows an IRGC speedboat manoeuvring near an oil tanker. (AFP)
A file picture shows an IRGC speedboat manoeuvring near an oil tanker. (AFP)
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Iran Seizes Boat for Allegedly Smuggling Fuel

A file picture shows an IRGC speedboat manoeuvring near an oil tanker. (AFP)
A file picture shows an IRGC speedboat manoeuvring near an oil tanker. (AFP)

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have seized a foreign boat allegedly smuggling fuel in the Gulf and arrested its 11 crew members, a senior justice official said.

“Naval forces have seized a foreign vessel carrying smuggled fuel in Gulf waters,” said Mojtaba Ghahramani, justice chief for Iran’s southern Hormozgan province.

“Over 220,000 liters of smuggled fuel were seized and 11 foreign crew members were detained for investigation,” he added.

Ghahramani did not specify the date the boat was seized, nor the origin of the vessel or nationality of the crew.

The Guards also captured an “Iranian boat carrying 20,000 liters of smuggled diesel, intended to supply the foreign ship” and arrested three crew members, Ghahramani said, adding the seizure was made in Iranian territorial waters.



China’s Foreign Minister Warns Philippines over US Missile Deployment

 China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi attends the 14th EAST Asia Summit Foreign Ministers' Meeting in the 57th ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting at the National Convention Center, in Vientiane, Laos July 27, 2024. (Reuters)
China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi attends the 14th EAST Asia Summit Foreign Ministers' Meeting in the 57th ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting at the National Convention Center, in Vientiane, Laos July 27, 2024. (Reuters)
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China’s Foreign Minister Warns Philippines over US Missile Deployment

 China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi attends the 14th EAST Asia Summit Foreign Ministers' Meeting in the 57th ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting at the National Convention Center, in Vientiane, Laos July 27, 2024. (Reuters)
China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi attends the 14th EAST Asia Summit Foreign Ministers' Meeting in the 57th ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting at the National Convention Center, in Vientiane, Laos July 27, 2024. (Reuters)

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has warned the Philippines over the US intermediate-range missile deployment, saying such a move could fuel regional tensions and spark an arms race.

The United States deployed its Typhon missile system to the Philippines as part of joint military drills earlier this year. It was not fired during the exercises, a Philippine military official later said, without giving details on how long it would stay in the country.

China-Philippines relations are now at a crossroads and dialogue and consultation are the right way, Wang told the Philippine Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo on Friday during a meeting in Vientiane, the capital of Laos where top diplomats of world powers have gathered ahead of two summits.

Wang said relations between the countries are facing challenges because the Philippines has "repeatedly violated the consensus of both sides and its own commitments", according to a Chinese foreign ministry statement.

"If the Philippines introduces the US intermediate-range missile system, it will create tension and confrontation in the region and trigger an arms race, which is completely not in line with the interests and wishes of the Filipino people," Wang said.

The Philippines' military and its foreign ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Wang's remarks.

China and the Philippines are locked in a confrontation in the South China Sea and their encounters have grown more tense as Beijing presses its claims to disputed shoals in waters within Manila's its exclusive economic zone.

Wang said China has recently reached a temporary arrangement with the Philippines on the transportation and replenishment of humanitarian supplies to Ren'ai Jiao in order to maintain the stability of the maritime situation, referring to the Second Thomas Shoal.

Philippine vessels on Saturday successfully completed their latest mission to the shoal unimpeded, its foreign ministry said in a statement.