Taiwan planning int’l press tour to reinforce S. China Sea claimsMarch 22, 2016 - 17:55 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Taiwan’s government says it will take international media on a tour of its largest island holding in the South China Sea in a bid to reinforce its territorial claims in the contested region, the Washington Post reports. Deputy Foreign Minister Bruce Linghu said the trip Wednesday, March 23 to Taiping aims to counter the Philippines’ contention in a case brought before the Permanent Court of Arbitration that the island is merely a rock and not entitled to territorial waters and other rights. Linghu said the visit would demonstrate that Taiping has the ability to sustain human habitation and therefore meets the definition of an island under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. He said Taiping meets that criterion “whether from the perspective of history, geography or international law.” Taiping is the largest naturally occurring island in the Spratly group, where China has been actively producing man-made islands by piling sand atop coral reefs and adding runways, harbors and military installations. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | The Power of One Dram to benefit Road of Life charity The companies inform that the May beneficiary of The Power of One Dram is the “Road of Life” charitable organization. Ucom General Director gives lecture at French University in Armenia The General Director of Ucom Ralph Yirikian delivered a lecture at the French University of Armenia. Kazakhstan welcomes Yerevan, Baku’s agreement to meet in Almaty Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has welcomed the agreement of Baku and Yerevan to hold negotiations in Almaty. Armenia offers to temporarily host, preserve Gaza manuscripts The Armenian Foreign Minister has said Yerevan is ready to help preserve manuscripts from the conflict zone in Gaza. |