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WORLD NEWSThursday 3 March 2016
South Korea:: Philippines: China ships spotted
at disputed atolls have left area
North Korea human rights law has passed
JIM GOMEZ
HYUNG-JIN KIM South Korean lawmakers watch an electric board showing the Associated Press
Associated Press tally after they voted about the legislation on human rights in MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Chinese coast guard ships
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) North Korea, during the plenary session at the National Assem- were sighted two weeks ago at a disputed South Chi-
— South Korea’s National bly in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, March 2, 2016. South na Sea atoll, sparking fears Beijing may take control
Assembly on Wednesday Korea’s National Assembly has approved its first legislation on of it, but they were gone when the Philippine govern-
passed its first legislation on human rights in North Korea, in a move that is likely to enrage ment checked on Wednesday, the country’s top dip-
human rights in North Ko- its northern rival. lomat said.
rea, in a move that is ex- In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong
pected to enrage its north- (Kim Hyun-tai/Yonhap via AP) Lei said the Ministry of Transportation dispatched ships
ern rival. to salvage a fishing vessel that had run aground near
The bill’s passage came and publishing informa- casts to North Korea to pro- Jackson Atoll in late 2015 and which posed a risk to
shortly before the U.N. Se- tion about human rights in vide information to people navigation.
curity Council unanimous- North Korea. It is required about their authoritarian During the operation, Chinese ships “persuaded fishing
ly approved its toughest to transfer that information homeland. boats to leave the waters in an effort to ensure safety
sanctions against North Ko- to the Justice Ministry, a North Korea views any out- conditions for normal navigation,” Hong told reporters,
rea in 20 years in response step parliamentary officials side criticism of its rights adding the Chinese vessels returned home after com-
to the country’s recent say would provide legal situation as part of a U.S.- pleting their work.
nuclear test and rocket grounds to punish rights vio- led plot to overthrow its Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said it’s uncertain
launch. lators in North Korea when government, a reason why if the Chinese ships would return, adding Philippine de-
A total of 212 South Korean the two Koreas eventually it says it needs nuclear fense authorities were monitoring the disputed region.
lawmakers voted for the bill reunify. weapons. “They might be back tomorrow, they may not,” del Ro-
and 24 others abstained in The bill also requires the In 2014, a U.N. commis- sario told reporters.
the floor vote. It becomes government to seek hu- sion of inquiry on North Ko- Mayor Eugenio Bito-onon Jr., who heads a Philippine-
law when it is endorsed by man rights talks with rea published a report lay- claimed region in the Spratly Islands, said he also saw
the Cabinet Council, con- North Korea. A rights foun- ing out abuses such as a the Chinese ships at the atoll for two straight days last
sidered a formality. dation would be set up to harsh system of political week while flying in a plane over the uninhabited, ring-
North Korea’s state media study humanitarian aid to prison camps holding up to shaped reef, which the Philippines calls Quirino.
has warned that enact- the North and conduct 120,000 people. The com- Jackson Atoll lies several kilometers (miles) from the
ment of the law would re- rights surveys and other mission urged the Security Philippine-claimed Mischief Reef, which China occu-
sult in “miserable ruin.” projects. Some critics say Council to refer North Ko- pied in 1995 and has developed into an island.
The North’s human rights the foundation may assist rea to the International A Philippine security official said an air force surveil-
situation is a global con- civic groups that send leaf- Criminal Court over its hu- lance plane did not see Chinese vessels on a flight
cern along with its nuclear lets or make radio broad- man rights record. Wednesday. Still, the mere sighting of the Chinese ves-
and missile ambitions. A sels has set off concerns.
variety of bills on the is- “I’m alarmed because we frequently pass by that atoll
sue have been proposed on our way to Pag-asa,” Bito-onon told The Associated
in the National Assembly Press by telephone, using the Filipino name for Thitu Is-
in recent years, but were land in the Spratlys where a small Filipino fishing com-
all spiked or stalled be- munity and troops stay.
cause of sharp divisions in In Washington, State Department spokesman Mark
South Korea over how to Toner said the U.S. was looking into the reports about
deal with North Korea. the presence of Chinese vessels, but could not confirm
Liberals have shied away them. He said the U.S. does not want to see China us-
from harsh criticism of the ing its ships to intimidate fishing vessels in that region.
North’s rights record due to Filipino, Vietnamese and Malaysian fishing boats have
worries that it might under- gone to Jackson’s vast fishing lagoon for years, Bito-
mine efforts at reconcilia- onon said.
tion between the rivals. But In another concern, Bito-onon said Philippine planes
the main opposition party landing and taking off at Thitu have been warned fre-
eventually agreed on the quently to stay away by Chinese forces based at the
bill’s passage amid deep- nearby Subi Reef, one of seven disputed Spratly reefs
ening international criticism that China have built into islands. The plane that he
of North Korea’s nuclear was on last week flew to Thitu and was shooed away
test and rocket launch. by the Chinese too, he said.
The bill would establish a “When you take off or land, you’ll hear their warning:
center in South Korea’s Uni- ‘You are flying within our security zone, please leave im-
fication Ministry tasked mediately to avoid miscalculation,’” Bito-onon said.q
with collecting, archiving
