A Philippine national has been arrested at the Katunayake Bandaranaike International Airport with a stock of Kush drugs valued at more than Rs. 61.8 million, it was reported. 

A team of officers from the Airport Unit of the Police Narcotics Bureau carried out a raid at the arrival terminal of Katunayake Airport today (14) and arrested the 63‑year‑old woman along with the drugs.

The suspect was taken into custody after officers discovered 6.180 kilos of Kush concealed in her possession during arrival checks.

The suspect is being further investigated by the Airport Unit of the Police Narcotics Bureau. (Newswire)

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Philippine vessels in the West Philippine Sea on Wednesday encountered “aggressive actions” from at least five Chinese ships, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said.

The agency said in a statement that the PCG and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) were conducting a routine maritime patrol near Bajo de Masinloc to support Filipino fishermen in the area when the aggression happened.

“During this operation, our vessels encountered aggressive actions from several Chinese Coast Guard vessels, specifically CCG 5303, 3302, 3104, as well as People’s Liberation Army Navy vessels with bow numbers 500 and 571,” PCG spokesperson on West Philippine Sea Jay Tarriela said on X.

Tarriela said at around 6 a.m., a Chinese Coast Guard fired a water cannon at the BRP Datu Pagbuaya navigational antennas. He said the ship was 16 nautical miles south of Bajo de Masinloc when the hostility happened. 

After this, the same China ship “intentionally sideswiped the BRP Datu Pagbuaya,” Tarriela said. 

The China ship launched a second water cannon attack on the same Philippine vessel, he added.

The official also reported that the PCG vessels, including the BRP Teresa Magbanua, “faced blocking, shadowing, and dangerous maneuvers from PLA Navy vessel 500 and CCG 503.”

The BRP Cabra was also “subjected to reckless maneuvers by CCG 3104 at a distance of 300 yards.”

Bajo de Masinloc, also known as Panatag and Scarborough Shoal, is located off Masinloc, Zambales, within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.

China’s coast guard said that Philippine coast guard ships came “dangerously close” to its own. 

“China exercised control over them in accordance with the law,” a spokesman said.

Manila and Beijing have a long history of maritime territorial disputes in the West Philippine Sea, with several collisions involving Filipino and Chinese vessels in recent months, as well as water cannoning by the China Coast Guard.

China has for years sought to expand its presence in contested areas of the South China Sea, including parts of the West Philippine Sea. 

It has built artificial islands armed with missile systems and runways for fighter jets, and deployed vessels that the Philippines says harass its ships and block fishing. (ABS -CBN)

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The Philippine defence minister rebuked China on Wednesday (Dec 20) for accusing his country of provoking tension and stirring trouble in the South China Sea, saying only Beijing believed what it was saying.

“Truth and in fact, no country in the world, none, supports unequivocally their claim to the whole of South China Sea,” Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro said as both nations have exchanged accusations over recent collisions in the waterway.

China claims almost the entire South China Sea, a conduit for more than US$3 trillion of commercial shipping annually, including parts claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei.

The Permanent Court of Arbitration in 2016 said China’s claims had no legal basis, a ruling the United States supports but Beijing rejects.

There was no immediate comment from the Chinese Embassy in Manila.

More than a week ago, Manila and Beijing traded accusations over a collision of their vessels in the South China Sea, with the latter saying the incidents were “entirely caused” by the Philippines.

Following the incidents, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said on Saturday a “paradigm shift” was needed in how his country deals with the South China issue because diplomatic efforts with China were headed “in a poor direction”.

Tensions between the Philippines and China have grown under Marcos, who has increasingly complained about China’s “aggressive” behaviour, while he sought closer ties with the United States, Manila’s treaty ally.

Marcos has said the Philippines will continue to talk to its partners in the Indo-Pacific region and come up with a joint position on their responsibilities in the West Philippine Sea.

The Philippines refers to the part of the South China Sea within its exclusive economic zone as the West Philippines Sea. (Channel News Asia/ Reuters)

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