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China’s Defense Ministry Says Dutch Ship Incident ‘Heinous’ 

The Dutch warship HNLMS Tromp was patrolling the East China Sea on Friday in support of UN sanctions against North Korea when it was circled several times by two Chinese fighter jets. (Reuters)
The Dutch warship HNLMS Tromp was patrolling the East China Sea on Friday in support of UN sanctions against North Korea when it was circled several times by two Chinese fighter jets. (Reuters)
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China’s Defense Ministry Says Dutch Ship Incident ‘Heinous’ 

The Dutch warship HNLMS Tromp was patrolling the East China Sea on Friday in support of UN sanctions against North Korea when it was circled several times by two Chinese fighter jets. (Reuters)
The Dutch warship HNLMS Tromp was patrolling the East China Sea on Friday in support of UN sanctions against North Korea when it was circled several times by two Chinese fighter jets. (Reuters)

China's defense ministry on Tuesday warned the Netherlands to restrain actions of its naval and air forces after the Netherlands' defense ministry said Chinese fighter jets approached a Dutch ship unsafely in the East China Sea.

"We strongly deplore the heinous nature of the Dutch side's words and deeds, and have lodged solemn representations with them," the Chinese defense ministry said.

Chinese air force jets circled a Dutch frigate and approached a Dutch helicopter in the East China Sea in a way that "caused a potentially unsafe situation," the Netherlands' defense ministry said on Saturday.

The ministry said the HNLMS Tromp was patrolling on Friday in support of UN sanctions against North Korea when it was circled several times by two Chinese fighter jets.

Later, the ship's NH90 helicopter was approached by two Chinese fighter jets and a helicopter in an incident that took place in international airspace, according to the Netherlands' defense ministry.

Zhang Xiaogang, a spokesperson for China's defense ministry said the Dutch side was "falsely claiming to be carrying out a UN mission and flexed its force in the sea and airspace under the jurisdiction of another country, creating tension and undermining the friendly relations between the two countries."

Zhang said China wanted to warn the Dutch side that "infringement and provocation will be resolutely countered by the Chinese side."

The United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Tromp is heading for Japan next and then to Hawaii for the "Rim of the Pacific" naval exercises, according to the Netherlands' defense ministry.

Both China and Japan claim a group of islets in the East China Sea, which has long been a sticking point in bilateral ties. The two countries have repeatedly faced off around the uninhabited Japanese-administered islands.

China's run-ins with the Philippine navy have also been escalating in disputed areas of the South China Sea.

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Typhoon Gaemi Weakens to Tropical Storm as It Moves Inland Carrying Rain toward Central China

In this photo released by the Taiwan Ministry of National Defense, Taiwanese soldiers clear debris in the aftermath of Typhoon Gaemi in Kaohsiung county in southwestern Taiwan, Friday, July 26, 2024. (Taiwan Ministry of National Defense via AP)
In this photo released by the Taiwan Ministry of National Defense, Taiwanese soldiers clear debris in the aftermath of Typhoon Gaemi in Kaohsiung county in southwestern Taiwan, Friday, July 26, 2024. (Taiwan Ministry of National Defense via AP)
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Typhoon Gaemi Weakens to Tropical Storm as It Moves Inland Carrying Rain toward Central China

In this photo released by the Taiwan Ministry of National Defense, Taiwanese soldiers clear debris in the aftermath of Typhoon Gaemi in Kaohsiung county in southwestern Taiwan, Friday, July 26, 2024. (Taiwan Ministry of National Defense via AP)
In this photo released by the Taiwan Ministry of National Defense, Taiwanese soldiers clear debris in the aftermath of Typhoon Gaemi in Kaohsiung county in southwestern Taiwan, Friday, July 26, 2024. (Taiwan Ministry of National Defense via AP)

Tropical storm Gaemi brought rain to central China on Saturday as it moved inland after making landfall at typhoon strength on the country's east coast Thursday night.

The storm felled trees, flooded streets and damaged crops in China but there were no reports of casualties or major damage. Eight people died in Taiwan, which Gaemi crossed at typhoon strength before heading over open waters to China.

The worst loss of life, however, was in a country that Gaemi earlier passed by but didn't strike directly: the Philippines. A steadily climbing death toll has reached 34, authorities there said Friday. The typhoon exacerbated seasonal monsoon rains in the Southeast Asian country, causing landslides and severe flooding that stranded people on rooftops as waters rose around them.

China Gaemi weakened to a tropical storm since coming ashore Thursday evening in coastal Fujian province, but it is still expected to bring heavy rains in the coming days as it moves northwest to Jiangxi, Hubei and Henan provinces.

About 85 hectares (210 acres) of crops were damaged in Fujian province and economic losses were estimated at 11.5 million yuan ($1.6 million), according to Chinese media reports. More than 290,000 people were relocated because of the storm.

Elsewhere in China, several days of heavy rains this week in Gansu province left one dead and three missing in the country's northwest, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

Taiwan Residents and business owners swept out mud and mopped up water Friday after serious flooding that sent cars and scooters floating down streets in parts of southern and central Taiwan. Some towns remained inundated with waist-deep water.

Eight people died, several of them struck by falling trees and one by a landslide hitting their house. More than 850 people were injured and one person was missing, the emergency operations center said.

Visiting hard-hit Kaohsiung in the south Friday, President Lai Ching-te commended the city's efforts to improve flood control since a 2009 typhoon that brought a similar amount of rain and killed 681 people, Taiwan's Central News Agency reported.

Lai announced that cash payments of $20,000 New Taiwan Dollars ($610) would be given to households in severely flooded areas.

A cargo ship sank off the coast near Kaohsiung Harbor during the typhoon, and the captain's body was later pulled from the water, the Central News Agency said. A handful of other ships were beached by the storm.

Philippines At least 34 people died in the Philippines, mostly because of flooding and landslides triggered by days of monsoon rains that intensified when the typhoon — called Carina in the Philippines — passed by the archipelago’s east coast.

The victims included 11 people in the Manila metro area, where widespread flooding trapped people on the roofs and upper floors of their houses, police said. Some drowned or were electrocuted in their flooded communities.

Earlier in the week, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered authorities to speed up efforts in delivering food and other aid to isolated rural villages, saying people may not have eaten for days.

The bodies of a pregnant woman and three children were dug out Wednesday after a landslide buried a shanty in the rural mountainside town of Agoncillo in Batangas province.