South China Sea claims. China proclaimed sovereignty and displayed its flag on Sandy Cay, a sandbank in the South China Sea, state media reported late last week. The sandbank is categorized as a rock, which could give the nation controlling it claim over surrounding waters. The Philippines disputed that China had seized Sandy Cay, visiting yesterday and displaying their own flag “to uphold the country’s sovereignty” and prove a lack of Chinese presence. China’s move came as the United States and the Philippines prepared to start joint naval drills nearby.
Efforts at India-Pakistan mediation. The United States is urging India and Pakistan to work toward a “responsible solution” after India publicly blamed Pakistan for an attack last week in Kashmir, a State Department spokesperson said. Pakistan denies responsibility; meanwhile, India’s navy tested missiles yesterday.
Iran port blast. An explosion at the port of Bandar Abbas in southern Iran on Saturday killed at least forty people and injured hundreds more. An official said the explosion was caused by chemicals but did not specify which; an unnamed person with ties to Iran’s military told the New York Times that sodium perchlorate, an ingredient in solid fuel for missiles, exploded.
Reduced trade at U.S. ports. The Port of Los Angeles estimates that the volume of goods arriving in the week beginning May 4 will be a third lower than the same period last year. Container tracking service Vizion said that bookings of twenty-foot shipping containers from China to the United States in mid-April were 45 percent lower than the year before. Traders appear to be “kicking decisions down the road” amid Washington and Beijing’s trade war, the International Chamber of Commerce’s secretary-general said.
Trump expands canal sights. Trump posted on social media Saturday that U.S. military and commercial ships should be able to transit both the Panama and the Suez canals for free. He wrote that he tasked Rubio with “immediately” addressing the situation. Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino said Saturday that fees were regulated by the autonomous Panama Canal Authority. The president of Egypt, who controls the Suez Canal, did not immediately comment.
South Korea’s opposition candidate. Former presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung overwhelmingly won the primary for the country’s opposition Democratic Party, which leads polls ahead of the June 3 election. Lee has taken more centrist positions than the party’s pro-labor standard in recent months; he also supports dialogue with North Korea. A senior South Korean trade official said Seoul would not reach a trade deal with Washington before the election.
Reported strike on migrant center. A U.S. strike overnight on a detention center in Houthi-controlled Yemen killed at least sixty-eight African migrants, the Houthi television channel reported. The U.S. military did not immediately comment. U.S. Central Command said yesterday that its strikes against the Houthis had hit more than eight hundred targets and killed hundreds of Houthi fighters since March 15.
Somalia’s new defense minister. Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre appointed a new defense minister yesterday as the country struggles to push back against gains by the militant group al-Shabaab. Ahmed Moallim Fiqi Ahmed, who previously served as foreign minister and national security chief, will hold the position. Al-Shabaab captured villages within thirty miles of the capital, Mogadishu, last week before being pushed back by government forces.
