PORT-AU-PRINCE –   Kenyan police patrolled Haiti’s capital in armored vehicles Wednesday, a day after the arrival of 200 additional personnel from the African country as part of a multinational security mission, local officials said.

The vehicles patrolled the area around the National Palace and other parts of Port-au-Prince with Kenyan forces and Haitian police on board, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity and did not provide details about the objectives of the operation.

Several bangs were heard as the vehicles passed by, according to an AFP journalist, although it was unclear if they were shots fired by police or the armed gangs who control some 80 percent of the capital.  Kenya stepped up last year to lead the long-sought international force to help Haiti tackle its soaring insecurity.

The UN-approved mission, with an initial duration of one year, will total 2,500 personnel from countries also including Bangladesh, Benin, Chad, the Bahamas and Barbados. Kenya has now sent around 400 personnel to Haiti — 200 on June 25 and 200 on Tuesday — with promises of another 600 in the coming weeks.

The United States has ruled out sending forces, but is contributing funding and logistical support to the mission. Haiti has long been rocked by gang violence, but conditions sharply worsened at the end of February when armed groups launched coordinated attacks in Port-au-Prince, saying they wanted to overthrow then-prime minister Ariel Henry. The violence in Port-au-Prince has affected food security and humanitarian aid access, with much of the city in the hands of gangs accused of abuses including murder, rape, looting and kidnappings. (Jamaicaobserver)…[+]

BEIJING – China firmly opposes the submission by Vietnam to the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (UNCLCS) on the extent of its undersea shelf in the South China Sea, and has lodged stern representations to the Vietnamese side, a foreign ministry spokesperson said.

Last  Wednesday, Vietnam submitted a note of objection to the United Nations, in response to an earlier submission last month by the Philippines on the extent of its undersea shelf in the South China Sea.

When answering a related query at a daily press briefing, spokesperson Lin Jian said the relevant claims of the submission cover parts of China’s Nansha Islands and infringe on China’s territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests. They contravene international law, including the UN Charter and the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, and go against the agreement on the basic principles guiding the settlement of sea-related matters between China and Vietnam, as well as the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea signed by China and ASEAN countries including Vietnam.

Lin emphasized that pursuant to UNCLCS’s relevant rules, the Commission will not consider or qualify the relevant submissions by Vietnam and the Philippines. In fact, such actions are meaningless. They will only highlight differences and intensify contradictions, and are not conducive to the settlement of disputes.

“China will stay committed to properly handling the South China Sea-related disputes with relevant parties through dialogue and consultation,” Lin added. (Xinhua)…[+]