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Tag: Border Disputes

  • South Korea accuses North Korea of firing missile towards the sea

    South Korea accuses North Korea of firing missile towards the sea

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    South Korean military officials say the launch, directed at the East Sea, appears to be unsuccessful.

    North Korea has carried out a suspected unsuccessful missile test, according to South Korea’s military, a day after Pyongang said it successfully launched a spy satellite.

    South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the launch came from North Korea’s capital region late on Wednesday. The missile was fired into the sea east of North Korea and the effort apparently failed, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said early on Thursday without giving details, including the type of missile fired.

    The North Korean launch came hours after South Korea suspended parts of the 2018 inter-Korean military tension reduction agreement in response to the North’s launch on Tuesday of a military spy satellite.

    The agreement had created a buffer zone and barred aerial surveillance on the heavily militarised border with the North.

    On Tuesday, North Korea’s space agency said it had successfully launched a Malligyong-1 satellite into orbit, part of an effort to enhance surveillance capabilities against the United States and South Korean forces.

    South Korea and its alllies condemned the launch as a violation of United Nations resolutions. Military authorities in South Korea confirmed that the spy satellite has entered orbit but said they will need additional time to assess whether it is functional.

    The White House said the launch “raises tensions and risks destabilizing the security situation in the region and beyond”.

    Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said his government had made a “strong protest against North Korea”.

    North Korea has consistently asserted that building up its surveillance capabilities is a “sovereign right”, striking a defiant tone in the face of widespread opposition and as tensions rise on the Korean Peninsula.

    The country had tried to launch what it called spy satellites on two previous occasions this year, but both of those efforts ended in failure.

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  • Dominican Republic to shut border with Haiti from Friday, president says

    Dominican Republic to shut border with Haiti from Friday, president says

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    Luis Abinader says his government has ‘no alternative but to take drastic measures’ as canal dispute deepens.

    The Dominican Republic will close its entire border with neighbouring Haiti later this week, President Luis Abinader has announced, as a conflict over the construction of a canal from a shared river worsens.

    Santo Domingo said the closure, set to begin at 6am local time (10:00 GMT) on Friday, will last “as long as necessary” with the support of the Dominican military and police forces, though talks with Haiti are set to continue.

    “Unfortunately, they left us no alternative but to take drastic measures,” Abinader told reporters during a news conference on Thursday.

    He added that even if the Haitian government – which is struggling to cope with a surge in deadly gang violence – could not control the construction of the canal, his country could.

    “We have been prepared for weeks, not only for this situation but also for a possible peace force in Haiti,” Abinader said.

    The Dominican president threatened earlier this week to close the border over construction work on the Haitian canal.

    Officials in the Dominican Republic say the project will divert water from the Massacre River, which runs in both countries, and violate the 1929 Treaty of Peace, Friendship and Arbitration.

    Relations between Haiti and the Dominican Republic, which share the island of Hispaniola, have faced heightened tensions in recent years, notably over border security and the treatment of Haitian migrants and asylum seekers in the Dominican Republic.

    Haiti’s government had said on Wednesday that it met with Dominican officials in the Dominican Republic that day to try to resolve the canal dispute.

    The brief statement by Haiti’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not provide much detail, except to say that both sides were trying to find a “fair and definitive” solution.

    On Thursday, the Dominican Republic said the looming border closure was set to include all land, sea and air routes. It also said it deployed a further 20 armoured vehicles to a military camp on the border.

    Haitians were seen rushing to the frontier, and Sunrise Airways said it was adding a flight between both countries on Thursday afternoon before the closure.

    The United States Embassy in Haiti’s capital of Port-au-Prince, which has called on its citizens to leave Haiti amid the uptick in violence, said on its website that those planning to leave for the Dominican Republic would need to make other arrangements.

    “The US Embassy is not able to facilitate entry into Haiti or the Dominican Republic through a closed border crossing,” the statement said.

    The Dominican Republic last fully closed its border with Haiti following the July 2021 assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise.

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  • Dominican president threatens to close border with Haiti over canal dispute

    Dominican president threatens to close border with Haiti over canal dispute

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    The Dominican government has alleged that a Haitian-built canal threatens to divert its water and harm its farmlands.

    The president of the Dominican Republic has announced a freeze on new visas for Haitians and threatened to close the border between the two countries as tensions rise over a disputed canal.

    President Luis Abinader issued the order on Monday, citing construction work on a Haitian canal that Dominican officials say will divert water from the Massacre River, which runs in both countries.

    “If the conflict is not resolved before Thursday, [officials will] completely close the border to air, sea and land commerce,” the government said in a statement.

    The announcement is the latest chapter in a long history of friction between the two countries, which share the same island of Hispaniola but are split by ethnic, linguistic and cultural divisions.

    In an unusual complication, it remains unclear who authorised work on the canal in Haiti.

    The Dominican government said it believes Haitian citizens are acting unilaterally to build the waterway, without the approval of their local officials.

    In Monday’s statement, the Dominican government framed the situation as an indication of the instability on the other side of the border.

    “The Haitian government has repeatedly admitted it does not have the capacity to resolve internal conflicts due to the loss of the Haitian state’s monopoly on force due to criminal organizations,” it said.

    Haiti has indeed seen an uptick in gang violence in recent years, particularly in the wake of the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in 2021. No federal elections have been held in recent years, contributing to a power vacuum that criminal organisations had taken advantage of.

    The United Nations estimated last December that at least 60 percent of the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince had fallen under gang control.

    The resulting violence has forced tens of thousands of Haitians to flee their homes, with some seeking safety across the border in the Dominican Republic, another source of tension between the two countries.

    Abinader has stepped up efforts to restrict immigration, including through the construction of a border barrier between the two countries. He has also ramped up deportation efforts.

    William Charpantier, coordinator for MENAMIRD, a national roundtable for migrants and refugees in the Dominican Republic, told Al Jazeera that 20,000 people were expelled in a nine-day period last year.

    Some, he said, were not even Haitian but were rather Dominican citizens targeted because of their skin colour. Haiti is a predominantly Black country, while the majority of Dominicans identify as mixed race.

    “These deportations have resulted in the separation of families. People with valid documents have been deported, people who were born here in the Dominican Republic have been deported,” Charpantier said. “These aren’t deportations. It’s persecution based on race.”

    Experts warn that, if the Dominican Republic follows through on Monday’s threat to fully seal the border, it could have a devastating impact on the already impoverished Haiti, which relies heavily on imports from its neighbour.

    The move could even harm the Dominican economy. Haiti serves as the country’s third-largest trading partner and informal trade across the border likewise results in millions of dollars in profit.

    A study from the Dominican Republic’s Central Bank estimated that, in 2017, the informal trade amounted to approximately $430m in commerce. Of that figure, $330m was in exports to Haiti.

    Last week, Abinader ordered a vital crossing near the town of Dajabon closed after reports of excavation work on the canal, which Dominican officials worry could harm farmland and the environment.

    The government has said that it will seek talks with Haiti to find a “definitive solution”.

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  • Tourists from Morocco shot dead after straying into Algerian waters

    Tourists from Morocco shot dead after straying into Algerian waters

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    Two men reportedly killed after straying past Morocco’s maritime border into Algeria on jet skis.

    Two French-Moroccan men have reportedly been shot and killed after they accidentally crossed Morocco’s maritime border with Algeria on water scooters, according to Moroccan media reports.

    The incident took place on Tuesday after five men lost their bearings while exploring the sea on jet skis. France confirmed on Friday one of its citizens had been killed.

    The foreign ministry in Paris reported the death without providing the circumstances, saying another one of its citizens was jailed in “an incident involving several of our nationals”.

    Mohamed Kissi told Moroccan news website 360.ma that he, his brother Bilal, and two friends were on vacation and riding jetskis off the waters of the Moroccan town of Saidia as the sun began to set.

    “We were low on gas for the water scooters and were drifting. In the darkness we found ourselves in Algerian waters,” Kissi was quoted as saying.

    A speedboat with the word “Algeria” emblazoned on the side carrying naval forces approached the group.

    After a brief exchange, Kissi said Algerian forces fired on the group, and his brother Bilal and their friend Abdelali Mechouer were killed. Their other friend, Smail Snabe, was wounded and detained by Algerian forces.

    The French-Moroccan said he swam to escape until he was rescued by Moroccan maritime police.

    The French foreign ministry said its “crisis support centre and our embassies in Morocco and Algeria are in close contact with our fellow citizens’ families, to whom we are offering every support”.

    No diplomatic relations

    No immediate response was available from Algerian authorities.

    A cousin of the brothers, actor Abdelkarim Kissi, asked Moroccan authorities to bring the case to international courts.

    “They killed Bilal Kissi, my little cousin,” Kissi wrote on social media, “His only fault was crossing the Algerian territorial waters.”

    According to 360.ma, a funeral was held for Bilal Kissi on Thursday in the Moroccan town of Bni Drar. The outlet also reported that Mechouer’s family is seeking the repatriation of his body, recovered by Algerian forces.

    When asked Thursday about the incident, Moroccan government spokesperson Mustapha Baitas said “these issues are within the jurisdiction of the judicial authority’’ and did not provide further comment.

    The border between Algeria and Morocco has been closed since 1994 and the two have had no diplomatic relations since Algiers cut ties with Rabat in 2021.

     

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  • India accuses China of violating border agreements

    India accuses China of violating border agreements

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    Indian defence minister held ‘frank discussions’ with his Chinese counterpart, India’s defence ministry says.

    India’s defence minister has accused China of eroding the “entire basis” of ties between the two countries by violating bilateral agreements, a reference to a nearly three-year-old standoff involving thousands of soldiers stationed along their disputed border in the eastern Ladakh region.

    Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh met with visiting Chinese Defence Minister Li Shangfu and “had frank discussions about the developments in the India-China border areas as well as bilateral relations”, India’s Defence Ministry said on Thursday.

    Singh told Li that “development of relations between India and China is premised on the prevalence of peace and tranquillity at the borders,” and that all border issues need to be resolved in accordance with existing agreements and commitments, the ministry said in a statement.

    There was no immediate comment on the talks from the Chinese side.

    India says the deployment of a large number of Chinese troops, their aggressive behaviour and attempts to unilaterally alter the border status quo violate agreements between the countries. The violations have “eroded the entire basis of bilateral relations”, Singh said.

    A clash three years ago in the Ladakh region killed 20 Indian soldiers and four Chinese. It turned into a long-running standoff in the rugged mountainous area, where each side has stationed tens of thousands of military personnel backed by artillery, tanks and fighter jets.

    An Indian Army truck crosses Chang La Pass near Pangong Lake in the Ladakh region of India in September 2018 [File: Manish Swarup/AP Photo]

    Days before Li’s visit, top Indian and Chinese army commanders held an 18th round of talks in an attempt to work out a disengagement of troops from areas of tension.

    Both India and China have withdrawn troops from some areas on the northern and southern banks of Pangong Tso, Gogra and Galwan Valley, but continue to maintain extra troops as part of a multi-tier deployment.

    A Line of Actual Control separates Chinese and Indian-held territories from Ladakh in the west to India’s eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh, which China claims in its entirety. India and China fought a war over their border in 1962.

    Defence Minister Li is visiting New Delhi to attend a meeting of the defence chiefs of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization on Friday. The group consists of China, India, Pakistan, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

    Singh also met separately on Thursday with the defence ministers of Iran, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan.

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  • Taiwan says 19 Chinese fighter jets entered its air defence zone

    Taiwan says 19 Chinese fighter jets entered its air defence zone

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    A total of 25 Chinese warplanes and three warships were monitored operating off the Taiwanese coast.

    Taiwan’s defence ministry has observed 19 Chinese air force combat planes entering the island’s air defence zone in the past 24 hours, part of what Taipei calls regular harassment by Beijing.

    Taiwan’s defence ministry said on Wednesday that 19 Chinese J-10 fighters had flown into the southwestern corner of the island’s air defence identification zone, or ADIZ, though they remained closer to China’s coast than Taiwan’s, according to a map the ministry released of the air incursion.

    The Taiwanese military monitored the situation and ordered the air force to scramble fighter planes, prepared to dispatch ships, and activated coastal missile defence systems in response, the ministry said.

    Six other Chinese air force planes and three Chinese navy vessels were also detected operating near Taiwan on Wednesday, but they did not enter Taiwan’s ADIZ.

    Taiwan – which China views as its own territory and has promised to bring back under Beijing’s control – has complained for years about China’s military activities near the island.

    The Chinese aircraft on Wednesday entered the ADIZ but did not cross the more sensitive median line of the Taiwan Strait, which previously served as an unofficial barrier between the two sides.

    The ADIZ is a broader area that Taiwan monitors in order to give it more time to respond to any threats.

    China’s air force has also flown over the median line on an almost daily basis since staging war games near Taiwan last August to protest against the visit to the island of then-United States House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

    Taiwan has responded to the extra pressure from China by upgrading its fleet of F-16 fighter jets and ordering 66 more of the planes from the US while buying a range of other weaponry and extending its mandatory term of military service for all males from four months to one year.

    Relations between Beijing and Washington, Taiwan’s primary ally and source of defensive weaponry, have also spiralled recently over China’s actions towards the island, as well as trade and technology issues, and simmering tensions in the South China Sea.

    US Secretary of State Antony Blinken cancelled a visit to Beijing last month after the US shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon off the US east coast, drawing furious protests from China.

    Wednesday’s incursions were also relatively modest by recent standards. During China’s National Day weekend in 2021, Beijing dispatched 149 military aircraft southwest of Taiwan in strike group formations

    Democratically-elected Taiwan has repeatedly offered talks with China regarding the status of the island, but has also said it will defend itself if attacked, and that only the Taiwanese people can decide their future.

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  • Florida activates national guard as Cuban arrivals seek refuge

    Florida activates national guard as Cuban arrivals seek refuge

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    Governor Ron DeSantis criticised US President Joe Biden’s immigration stance as rising numbers of Cuban asylum seekers arrive.

    Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Friday mobilised the state national guard to help local officials respond to a large influx of Cuban asylum seekers landing at the southernmost tip of the contiguous United States.

    DeSantis, a Republican, used an executive order on Friday to activate the Florida National Guard and direct state law agencies to assist in the Florida Keys, a chain of tropical islands that extend into the Gulf of Mexico.

    The move came in response to the arrival of more than 700 mostly Cuban refugees and migrants over the New Year’s weekend alone.

    In a statement on Friday, the governor criticised Democratic President Joe Biden and the federal government’s immigration policies.

    “The burden of the Biden administration’s failure falls on local law enforcement who lack the resources to deal with the crisis,” DeSantis said.

    The governor’s statement made no mention of the Biden administration’s announcement of a new policy on Thursday to start turning back Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans who arrive illegally at the Texas border.

    The administration also said it would offer humanitarian parole for up to 30,000 people a month from those four countries if they apply online, pay their airfare and find a financial sponsor.

    Some refugee and migrant advocates said the new policy could worsen the situation in Florida. Ramon Raul Sanchez with the Cuban American group Movimiento Democracia said even more Cubans may risk their lives by taking to the sea to reach the US instead of flying to Central America and coming to the Texas border by land.

    But Blas Nunez-Neto, acting assistant secretary for Border and Immigration Policy at the US Department for Homeland Security, argues the new program could incentivise Cubans not to come illegally by sea.

    He said Cubans would be better off applying under the new parole program announced on Thursday because that would give them a potential path to residency they might not otherwise have.

    “Do not risk your life at sea” because there are “much better options” under the new program, he said.

    DeSantis said Florida will deploy aeroplanes, helicopters and marine patrols to the area “to support water interdictions and ensure the safety of migrants attempting to reach Florida through the Florida Straits”.

    More than 4,400 asylum seekers and migrants, mostly Cubans with some Haitians, have arrived by boat in Florida since August as the two countries face deepening and compounding political and economic crises.

    Because Washington and Havana do not have diplomatic relations, it is problematic for the US government to send Cubans back once they arrive in Florida.

    Those stopped at sea are already taken back, since Cuba will accept those people. Almost 8,000 Cubans and Haitians have been intercepted since August – about 50 per day compared with 17 per day in the 2021-22 fiscal year and just two per day during the 2020-21 fiscal year.

    Officials said at least 65 migrants have died at sea since August.

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