The resumption of searches for the missing Indonesian ferry, military training in North Korea, and the crisis of the Myanmar ambassador

Today (Monday), Indonesian rescue services resumed searches for 129 people still missing from the passengers of a ferry that sank in the Java Sea, killing at least six people.

The Virgo Transport 8 ferry was carrying 213 passengers and 30 crew members when it sailed on Saturday from Surabaya on the eastern island of Java, heading to Banjarmasin on the island of Borneo.

Today (Monday), the head of the National Search and Rescue Agency, Muhammad Shafi’i, confirmed the death of six people, noting that 108 people had been rescued, while 129 were still missing. He said that five aircraft and 17 ships, including warships, had been deployed to participate in the search operations, according to Agence France-Presse.

He stressed: “We will intensify search operations in six sectors that we have identified, giving priority to searching for victims floating on the surface of the water.” He added that divers and drones will also be deployed under the surface of the water to search for victims inside and near the hull of the sunken ferry, after relief teams determine its location.

Reuters quoted Shafi'i as saying that turbulent waters accompanied by high waves and strong winds are hampering search operations on Monday. For his part, Transport Minister Dodi Burwagandi announced (Monday) during a press conference that the ferry, which capsized and sank amid bad weather conditions and waves more than two and a half meters high, was not overcrowded, but rather the number of passengers on board was less than its maximum capacity of 500 people.

Maritime accidents are frequent in Indonesia, which includes more than 17,000 islands and relies heavily on maritime transport, partly due to non-compliance with safety standards and fluctuations in weather conditions.

Contact was lost last Monday with a speedboat carrying eight people near the Anak Krakatau volcano in western Java Island, and searches are still continuing to find the passengers, including five journalists who were sent to cover the volcanic eruption.

North Korea said today (Monday) that it conducted a joint live-fire exercise involving missiles, artillery and drones, which it claimed demonstrated “tremendous destructive power.”

North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency said Saturday's training was aimed at getting used to the operating procedures of the integrated firepower control system.

The South Korean Army Chief of Staff had previously said that it had detected the launch of short-range ballistic missiles from the eastern coastal area of ​​Wonsan in North Korea on Saturday morning.

After watching the training, Marshal Pak Jong-chun said that the training would “raise the level of specialization to overthrow the enemy’s armed forces, organizationally and structurally, as soon as the order is issued.” He added that the weapon systems that were moved demonstrated the "tremendous destructive power of concentrated fire," according to the Korean Central News Agency.

The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said that several missiles were launched on Saturday, each flying a distance of 250 kilometers towards North Korea's eastern waters. The flight distances indicate that the weapons are designed to strike targets inside South Korea.

The firing exercise represented the first announced launches of ballistic missiles by North Korea in about three weeks.

Last month, US President Donald Trump restricted the scope of a large bilateral military exercise with South Korea, citing what he described as the good relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. This is an apparent attempt to revive diplomacy between them, but North Korea rejected Trump's gesture, saying that reducing the training does not change its "provocative and aggressive nature."

The military-backed government of Myanmar on Sunday considered that its ambassador to the United Nations - who is loyal to ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi - is holding his position illegally, while the international organization prepares to consider the issue of replacing him.

Myanmar has been witnessing a civil war since a military coup in 2021 led to the overthrow of the elected government headed by Nobel laureate Suu Kyi, ending the country's decade-long experiment with democracy, according to the Jakarta Post.

The United Nations set up a credentials committee this month to decide whether to accept Myanmar's candidate for UN ambassador or stick with Kyaw Moe Tun, who rejected the coup and for more than five years ignored government claims that he no longer represents Myanmar.

The Myanmar Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Kyaw Moe Tun was “removed from civil service” retroactively as of February 27, 2021, for failure to comply with government orders, committing high treason, and colluding with “terrorist organizations,” according to a statement published in the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper.

A day before his dismissal, he made an emotional appeal during his speech before the United Nations General Assembly, demanding that “the strongest possible action be taken against the military coup.”