Brunei Sultan, Phil President Aquino vow closer cooperation

EYE-CATCHING The President's sister and incidentally the country's No. 1 taxpayer, Kris Aquino, at the state luncheon Tuesday hosted by her brother for Brunei Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah who was here on a two-day state visit. EDWIN BACASMAS

President Aquino on Tuesday vowed closer cooperation with visiting Sultan of Brunei Haji Hassanal Bolkiah and other regional leaders to find a peaceful solution to territorial conflicts in the South China Sea.

At a state luncheon for the Sultan, the President said the government wanted to "move forward" with negotiations on a code of conduct to reduce disputes in the international waterway.

The President referred to rival claims by the Philippines and fellow Asean members Malaysia and Vietnam, along with Taiwan and China over the Spratly islands and the Scarborough Shoal in the West Philippine Sea.

"This is our pledge: to continue working with our neighbors in implementing the commitments of Asean member states in the Declaration of the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, and in moving forward with negotiations for the adoption of a Code of Conduct," Aquino said.

The Sultan's visit comes a week before leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations converge in Bandar Seri Begawan on April 24 and 25 for their 22nd summit. Brunei is this year's chair of Asean, which also includes the Philippines, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos and Burma (Myanmar).

Bolkiah, for his part, vowed to foster peace and stability in southeast Asia. He also praised Aquino for his peace initiatives with Moro rebels in Mindanao.

Bolkiah said Brunei, as Asean chair this year, would "continue to work closely with the Philippines towards achieving concrete outcomes in economic growth and social progress, and in promoting regional peace and stability."

Aquino welcomed Bolkiah to Malacañang at past 10 a.m. after the latter laid a wreath at the monument of national hero Dr. Jose Rizal at the Rizal Park. A 21-gun salute boomed as the President and the Sultan stood on a platform while the anthems of both countries were played.

Bolkiah was set to fly out at around 3 p.m.

INQUIRER Global Nation

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Philippine Research Institute Bred RICE with salt gland for Coastal areas; India and Bangladesh could benefits

International Rice Research Institute - Philippines

Salt-tolerant Rice Bred at Philippine Institute  

Scientists have successfully bred a rice variety that is salt-tolerant, which could enable farmers to reclaim coastal areas rendered useless by sea water, a Philippine-based institute said Tuesday.

The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) near Manila said its researchers are in the process of perfecting the variety of rice that would be the most salt-tolerant ever developed before field testing it widely.

"They hope to have the new variety available to farmers to grow within four to five years," the institute said in a statement.

IRRI's media office said the new variety would offer twice the salt-tolerance as previous attempts to breed such a variety.

India and Bangladesh could potentially be the biggest beneficiaries, the IRRI said, remarking that about 20 million hectares (49 million acres) of rice farms worldwide have been affected by salinity.

The new variety was bred by crossing an exotic wild rice species found in brackish water with one cultivated at the institute.

The result is a "new rice line that can expel salt it takes from the soil into the air through salt glands it has on its leaves", the statement said.

"This will make saline stricken rice farms in coastal areas usable to farmers," said lead scientist Kshirod Jena.

"These farmlands are usually abandoned by coastal farmers because the encroaching seawater has rendered the soil useless."

Incidents such as the 2011 tsunami in Japan which flooded thousands of hectares of rice farms with sea water have spurred the development around the world of new varieties of rice that can grow in such areas.

Rice is considered one of three major domesticated crops that feed the world, along with wheat and corn, and scientists have been continuously looking to develop new varieties to increase production.

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