Global Networks: Philippines

Showing posts with label Philippines. Show all posts

2:55 pm

Philippines braces for typhoon over Easter

(GNN) - The Philippines issued warnings of possible landslides and storm surges, with typhoon Maysak set to strike eastern coastal areas, where many resorts are located, over the Easter weekend.

Maysak, initially a top-rated category 5 typhoon, has weakened to category 4 as it lost strength over the water. It is expected to further lose strength as it hits the mountains of northeastern Philippines on Saturday or Sunday, the weather bureau said.

But authorities are concerned foreign and Filipino tourists spending the long Easter weekend on the beaches along the eastern coasts of the main Luzon island may ignore warnings. The typhoon is expected to make landfall within 72 hours. The Easter holidays began on Thursday in the Philippines.

"This will bring waves which our surfers really like. But this is a typhoon we are facing, even if we say it may become just a storm...The waves will be strong and it will be dangerous for our fellowmen in the eastern coasts," Esperanza Cayanan, an officer at the weather bureau, said in a televised disaster briefing.

Officials of Aurora province northeast of Manila estimate about 10,000 tourists were expected to troop to its Baler Bay, a popular spot for surfers.

Storm surges 3 to 4 meters high were expected along eastern coasts, Cayanan said.

Maysak, packing winds of 175 kms per hour (109 miles per hour) near the center and gusts of up to 210 kph, entered Philippine territory late on Wednesday.

The typhoon was spotted 995 kms (618 miles) east of Catarman in Northern Samar province southeast of Manila before noon of Thursday, and was moving northwest at 19 kph.

Heavy rainfall was expected within a radius of 150 to 200 km (93 to 124 miles) from the eye of the storm, Cayanan said.

The typhoon could damage rice and corn crops in central and northern areas of the Philippines, although damage is likely to be minimal as the major harvest of the national staple rice was finished around February.

About 20 major typhoons pass through the Philippines yearly, and the storms have become fiercer in recent years. After Haiyan, a category 5 typhoon that struck in November 2013, the toll of dead and missing ran to nearly 8,000 people.

(Reuters)(Reporting by Rosemarie Francisco; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)

6:55 pm

Senators seek U.S. strategy to stop China's South China Sea reclamation

(GNN) - Leading U.S. senators expressed alarm on Thursday at the scale and speed of China's land reclamation in the South China Sea and said a formal U.S. strategy was needed to slow or stop the work.

In a letter to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter, Republican Senators John McCain and Bob Corker and Democrats Jack Reed and Bob Menendez said that without a comprehensive strategy "long-standing interests of the United States, as well as our allies and partners, stand at considerable risk."

They said China’s land reclamation and construction in the South China Sea's Spratly archipelago gave it the potential to expand its military reach and was "a direct challenge, not only to the interests of the United States and the region, but to the entire international community."

The letter said Gaven Reef had grown about 28 acres (114,000 square meters) in the past year and previously submerged Johnson Reef was now a 25-acre (100,000-square-meter) “island.” Fiery Cross reef increased in size more than 11-fold since August.

"While other states have built on existing land masses, China is changing the size, structure and physical attributes of land features themselves," the letter said. "This is a qualitative change that appears designed to alter the status quo in the South China Sea."

It said any attempt by China to militarize the artificial islands could have "serious consequences" and could embolden Beijing to declare a new air defense zone in the South China Sea like it announced in 2013 in an area contested with Japan.

The senators, who head the Senate Armed Services Committee and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the strategy should lay out "specific actions the United States can take to slow down or stop China’s reclamation activities... ."

China claims about 90 percent of the potentially energy rich South China Sea. It has defended its reclamation work there, saying it is not seeking to overturn the international order. The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have overlapping claims.

Chinese reclamation work is well advanced on six Spratly reefs and workers are building ports and fuel storage depots and possibly two airstrips. Experts say this will not overturn U.S. regional military superiority but could allow Beijing to project power deep into the maritime heart of Southeast Asia.

(Reuters)(Reporting by David Brunnstrom; Editing by David Storey and Cynthia Osterman)

9:16 am

Rocket Internet-Backed Car Listings Site Carmudi Raises $25M To Fuel Growth In Asia And Mexico

(GNN) - Carmudi, a car classifieds site that focuses on emerging markets, announced today that it has raised $25 million to gear up its operations in Mexico and several Asian countries. This round, Carmudi’s second, includes Asia Pacific Internet Group (a joint venture between Rocket Internet and Ooredoo), Holtzbrinck Ventures, Tengelmann Ventures, as well as an undisclosed private investor.

This brings the total Carmudi has raised so far to $35 million. Its last funding round was in April 2014. The company, which was founded in 2013 and now operates in 20 countries, will use the funds to expand in seven Asian markets (Bangladesh, Indonesia, Myanmar, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam) as well as Mexico.

The company’s other markets are spread throughout Africa and the Middle East and include Cameroon, Congo, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Qatar, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Tanzania, the United Arab Emirates, and Zambia.

Carmudi co-founder and global managing director Stefan Haubold says that the company plans to add more countries to its roster, but hasn’t decided which ones yet. Its latest round will be used to invest in product technology, in particular making its mobile app easier to use, and scaling up operations in Asia and Mexico.

The site currently has a total of 300,000 listings for vehicles worldwide, and claims five million users a month. Carmudi’s Android apps were rolled out last year, and it launched a iOS version earlier this month.
Carmudi’s mobile apps have been downloaded 300,000 times so far. In total, mobile visits now account for about 60 percent to 70 percent of its total traffic, which is important because the company is targeting markets where many users access the Internet primarily through smartphones or tablets.

Haubold claims that Carmudi is now the top car classifieds site in the Philippines, Bangladesh, and Myanmar. In Asia, alternatives to Carmudi’s service include local car listings and classifieds sites in each market.

Haubold says his company differentiates through its mobile apps, which let buyers upload photos and descriptions of their cars; services like loan calculators; and inventory sweeps that clear out listings after a certain length of time (60 days for most listings and 45 for ones placed by dealerships) so buyers see fresh inventory.

In some Southeast Asia markets, Carmudi’s rivals include iCar Asia, which grew last year by making acquisitions of smaller car classified sites in Thailand and Indonesia. Haubold does not consider iCar Asia a competitor, however, because Carmudi has newer listings and operates in markets that do not overlap with iCar Asia.

Carmudi monetizes through listing fees, but is currently focused on expansion and growth, says Haubold.
Rocket Internet has been busy building a network of e-commerce services and marketplaces throughout Southeast Asia, including many (real estate classifieds platform Lamudi, price comparison site Pricepanda, and car-calling app Easy Taxi) included in the Asia Pacific Internet Group’s portfolio. This creates online and offline (in the case of logistics) networks that may eventually help each individual startup scale up faster.

8:17 am

Singtel, Sony And Warner’s New Video Streaming Service Beats Netflix To Asia

(AsiaTimes.ga) Telecom giant Singtel is planning to beat Netflix to the punch in Asia after it announced it has partnered with Sony Pictures and Warner Brothers to introduce a video streaming service in the region.

The companies said that HOOQ — which is described as a “joint venture startup” — will offer Hollywood movies and U.S. TV shows alongside domestic content from India, China, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia, Korea and Japan. In total, HOOQ will begin with an initial catalog of over 10,000 shows and movies.

There’s no specific launch date, but Singtel said the service will go online in the first quarter of 2015, initially in Indonesia, Philippines, India and Thailand. From there, the telecom giant is promising a ‘progressive rollout’ to other countries where it has business — other Singtel markets include Singapore, and Australia.

Also lacking from the initial announcement is an indication of price, but — interestingly — it looks like customers won’t be limited to paying via credit cards, as is the case with Netflix. Singtel said it will use its “billing capabilities” in countries where credit card ownership remains low, so that may mean customers can pay as part of their post-pay contract, and perhaps even using prepaid credit.

The timing of the launch is interesting because Netflix has not arrived in Asia Pacific yet. The U.S. company is preparing to launch in Australia and New Zealand sometime this year, after which it is likely to foray into Asian markets, so HOOQ will almost certainly be first in many parts of the region. You could see that as a first mover advantage, or a move that is good for the industry in general because it raises awareness of OTT video services in nascent markets.

Nonetheless, Peter Bithos, the CEO of HOOQ, believes that there is an immediate demand for Netflix-like video streaming services in Asia.

“We are starting this venture to change the way people across Asia view entertainment. Today, across developing markets, there is limited access to quality entertainment, streamed directly to the screen of one’s choice. It’s either illegal, high cost or difficult to get. We aim to fix that,” he said in a statement.

Piracy and lack of awareness are often cited as major barriers for licensed streaming services in Asia but, with two content companies and one telco on board, HOOQ is no bootstrapped startup. It could use Singtel’s network of operators — which reach a total subscriber base of over 500 million customers — and vast resources to gain traction from the get-go.

No doubt we’ll be hearing more updates from HOOQ very soon.

Featured Image: Marc Bruxelle/Shutterstock

11:24 am

China sends spy ship off Hawaii during U.S.-led drills

#GNN - #China has sent a spy ship to #international waters off of Hawaii during a giant U.S.-led naval exercise involving 22 countries, even as Beijing participates in the drills for the first time this year, the U.S. #Navy said on Sunday.

The Navy played down any U.S. intelligence risk associated with the proximity of the Chinese surveillance vessel and noted that China also sent a similar ship to monitor the last Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise two years ago.

"We've taken all necessary precautions to protect our critical information," said Captain Darryn James, chief spokesman of the U.S. Pacific Fleet.

"We expect this ship will remain outside of U.S. territorial seas and not operate in a manner that disrupts the ongoing Rim of the Pacific maritime exercise."

There was no immediate comment from Beijing.

U.S. officials hope China's participation in RIMPAC helps avert misunderstandings on the high seas but analysts long cautioned the maneuvers may ultimately help Beijing strengthen its growing naval capability by observing the forces of the United States and its allies.

Still, the United States also conducts surveillance operations in international waters and airspace and the Navy did not voice protest over the appearance of the Chinese vessel, described as a Chinese Navy auxiliary general intelligence ship.

Even though the vessel was inside America's 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone, it was operating within international law, James said.

Still, James said he was unaware of any participant doing something similar since the drills began in 1971.

"To my knowledge, this is the first time a nation has ever sent a surveillance ship near Hawaii while also having invited ships participating in the RIMPAC exercise," James said.

The Chinese ships participating in the drills are the missile destroyer Haikou, the missile frigate Yueyang, the supply ship Qiandaohu and the hospital ship Peace Ark.

Chinese forces include two helicopters, a commando unit and a diving unit, a total 1,100 personnel.

The exercises come at a time when tensions are high between Beijing and U.S. allies such as Japan and the Philippines over China's pressing of territorial claims in the South and East China Seas. They also come after a dispute with Vietnam that led to one of the worst breakdowns in ties since they fought a brief war in 1979.

(GNN)(Reuters)(AIP)(Reporting by Phil Stewart; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)

8:07 am

Super typhoon kills fourteen in southern China: Xinhua

(#GNN) - A super #typhoon has #killed at least #fourteen people in #China since making #landfall on Friday afternoon, state #media said on Saturday, after hitting parts of the #Philippines and leaving 77 dead.

Typhoon Rammasun reached the southern Chinese island province of Hainan on Friday, before striking parts of the mainland later on Friday and early on Saturday, said the official Xinhua news agency.

The government had ordered an all-out effort to prevent loss of life from the typhoon, which is shaping up to be the strongest to hit southern China in more than 40 years.

It is expected to bring heavy rain throughout the weekend before moving southwest and weakening on Monday. Heavy rain is also expected over part of northern Vietnam.

The typhoon has hit several cities in the Chinese provinces of Guangxi, Guangdong and Hainan, tearing down trees and power lines and knocking out power grids.

Rammasun has affected more than 1.3 million people, and caused economic damage worth more than 4.95 billion yuan ($797 million).

In the Philippines, Rammasun badly hit the coconut-growing southern portion of the main island of Luzon, including the central Bicol region, which remained without power four days after it struck.

The storm damaged an estimated 5.85 billion Philippine pesos ($134 million) worth of crops and infrastructure, including roads and bridges.

Typhoons are common at this time of year in the South China Sea, picking up strength from the warm waters and dissipating over land.

Flooding across a large swathe of southern China in the past week has already killed at least 34 people.

($1 = 6.2075 Chinese Yuan)

(GNN)(Reuters)(AIP)(Reporting by Paul Carsten; Additional reporting by Manuel Mogato in MANILA; Editing by Robert Birsel and Rosalind Russell)

11:37 am

China tells U.S. to stay out of South China Seas dispute

(GNN) - China told the United States on Tuesday to stay out of disputes over the South China Sea and leave countries in the region to resolve problems themselves, after Washington said it wanted a freeze on stoking tension.

Michael Fuchs, U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state for Strategy and Multilateral Affairs, said no country was solely responsible for escalating tension in the region. But he reiterated the U.S. view that "provocative and unilateral" behaviour by China had raised questions about its willingness to abide by international law.

China claims 90 percent of the South China Sea, which is believed to contain oil and gas deposits and has rich fishery resources. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Taiwan also lay claim to parts of the sea, where about $5 trillion of ship-borne trade passes every year.

China's Foreign Ministry repeated that it had irrefutable sovereignty over the Spratly Islands, where most of the competing claims overlap, and that China continued to demand the immediate withdrawal of personnel and equipment of countries which were "illegally occupying" China's islands.

"What is regretful is that certain countries have in recent years have strengthened their illegal presence through construction and increased arms build up," the ministry said in a statement.

China would resolutely protect its sovereignty and maritime rights and had always upheld resolving the issue based on direct talks with the countries involved "on the basis of respecting historical facts and international law", it added.

China "hopes that countries outside the region strictly maintain their neutrality, clearly distinguish right from wrong and earnestly respect the joint efforts of countries in the region to maintain regional peace and stability", it added, in reference to the United States.

Recent months have seen flare-ups in disputes over rival offshore claims.

Anti-Chinese riots erupted in Vietnam in May after China's state oil company CNOOC deployed an oil rig in waters also claimed by Vietnam, which has also accused China of harassing its fishermen

China's official Xinhua news agency said authorities had on Tuesday deported 13 Vietnamese fishermen and released one of two trawlers seized recently for illegally fishing close Sanya on the southern tip of China's Hainan island.

Relations between China and the Philippines have also been tested in recent months by their dispute over a different area. A Foreign Ministry spokesman in Manila said the Philippines strongly supported the U.S. call for all sides to stop aggravating the tension.

The United States wants the 10-nation Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China to have "a real and substantive discussion" to flesh out a call for self-restraint contained in a Declaration of Conduct they agreed to in 2002, with a view to signing a formal maritime Code of Conduct, Fuchs said.

A U.S. official said the issue was raised again last week with China at an annual Strategic and Economic Dialogue, a bilateral forum that seeks to manage an increasingly complex and at times testy relationship.

China's Foreign Ministry said that it and ASEAN were carrying out the Declaration of Conduct and "steadily pushing forward" talks on the Code of Conduct.

(GNN)(Reuters)(AIP)(Additional reporting by Manuel Mogato in Manila; Editing by Robert Birsel)