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The island of Santa Rosa sits in the Amazon River between Colombia and Peru, with the government in Lima recently naming it a federal district.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro has accused the neighbouring country of Peru of annexing a disputed island on the Amazon River, resuscitating a longstanding disagreement between the two nations.

In a social media post on Tuesday, Petro said that Peru had acted to “unilaterally” assert control over the small island of Santa Rosa in a recent congressional vote.

“The Peruvian government has just appropriated it by law,” Petro wrote on the social media platform X.

He added that Peru’s actions could block the Colombian city of Leticia from accessing the Amazon River. “Our government will resort to diplomacy to defend our national sovereignty.”

Petro’s comments appeared to be a response to a vote in June, whereby Peru’s Congress designated the island of Santa Rosa a district in its Loreto province.

Who controls the island has been a subject of debate between Peru and Colombia for nearly a century.

Peru has claimed ownership based on treaties from 1922 and 1929, and it has administered Santa Rosa for decades.

But Colombia maintains that the island of Santa Rosa had not emerged from the Amazon River at the time of the treaties and therefore is not subject to them.

It has also argued that the treaties set the boundary between the two countries at the deepest point of the Amazon River, and that islands like Santa Rosa have emerged on the Colombian side of that dividing line.

“Islands have appeared north of the current deepest line, and the Peruvian government has just appropriated them by law and placed the capital of a municipality on land that, by treaty, should belong to Colombia,” Petro wrote.

He warned that Peru’s claims to Santa Rosa could inhibit travel and trade to nearby Leticia, which boasts a population of nearly 60,000.

“This unilateral action”, Petro wrote on Tuesday, “could make Leticia disappear as an Amazonian port, taking away its commercial life”.

Petro said he would hold celebrations commemorating Colombian independence from Spain in Leticia on Thursday, framing the island’s status as a symbol of national sovereignty.

The Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs also said in a social media post that it would push for further diplomacy in determining the nationality of newly emerged islands.

“For years, Colombia has maintained the need to carry out bilateral work for the allocation of islands,” the ministry wrote. Colombia, it added, “has reiterated the position that ‘Santa Rosa Island’ has not been allocated to Peru”.

The Amazon River is one of the longest waterways in the world, with the most water discharged of any river.

But those powerful currents deposit and rearrange sediment throughout the river basin, forming – and sometimes erasing – islands.

Santa Rosa is one of those newer islands. The land now contains forest and farmland, as well as the village of Santa Rosa de Yavari.

That town is home to a population of fewer than 1,000 people, according to Peru’s latest census, and is largely reliant on tourism, based on its proximity to the Amazon.

The Peruvian government has argued that making Santa Rosa a district was necessary to ensure it received federal funds and could collect taxes.

“Peru is complying firmly with its obligations under international law and with valid bilateral treaties,” the Peruvian government said in a statement.

The exercise coincided with President Ferdinand Marcos’s departure for a five-day trip to India, where he said he would look to deepen maritime ties.

India and the Philippines have staged their first joint sail and naval exercises in the disputed South China Sea.

The two-day joint military deployment that kicked off on Sunday is likely to anger China, which claims nearly the entire key waterway and has separate territorial disputes with the two Asian countries.

Philippine Chief of Staff Romeo Brawner Jr said on Monday that the joint sail took place inside his country’s exclusive economic zone.

“We did not experience any untoward incidents, but there are still those shadowing us – as we had already expected,” Brawner told reporters, without naming China.

In past joint patrols with other foreign navies, Chinese navy and coastguard ships have kept watch from a distance, according to the Philippine military.

Indian navy ships that took part included guided missile destroyer INS Delhi, tanker INS Shakti and corvette INS Kiltan. The Philippines deployed two frigates, BRP Miguel Malvar and BRP Jose Rizal.

The exercise coincided with President Ferdinand Marcos’s departure for a five-day trip to India, where he said he would look to deepen maritime ties and seek cooperation on sectors including defence, pharmaceuticals and agriculture.

Brawner, meanwhile, expressed hope that Filipino forces could engage India’s military in more joint manoeuvres in the future.

The drill “sends a powerful signal of solidarity, strength in partnership and the energy of cooperation between two vibrant democracies in the Indo-Pacific”, he said.

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that territorial and maritime disputes should be resolved between the countries directly involved, and no third party should intervene.

In response to a question last week about the Philippines’ plans to build up military cooperation, the Chinese Ministry of National Defense called the country a “troublemaker” that has aligned itself with foreign forces to stir up trouble, in what China deems its own territorial waters.

“China never wavers in its resolve and will safeguard national territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests, and take resolute countermeasures against any provocations by the Philippine side,” spokesperson Zhang Xiaogang had told reporters.

The South China Sea is a strategic shipping route where $3 trillion of annual shipborne commerce takes place.

A 2016 ruling of an international arbitral tribunal found China’s sweeping claims have no basis under international law, a decision Beijing rejects.

Troops from Thailand and Cambodia exchanged fire at a disputed portion of their border early on Thursday, both sides said.

The Thai military said Cambodian soldiers opened fire near the Khmer temple Ta Muen Thom, where tensions have run high in recent weeks.

Cambodia’s defence ministry however said Thai troops fired the first shots, and Cambodian soldiers responded in self-defence.

Cambodia had sent a surveillance drone into the area before deploying troops carrying heavy weapons, the Thai military said.

A spokeswoman for the Cambodian defence ministry, Maly Socheata, said their troops “exercised their right to defend their sovereignty and territorial integrity against the aggression of the Thai troops.

Socheata said Thailand “violated the territorial integrity of Cambodia”.

The clash on Thursday morning comes hours after Thailand recalled its ambassador to Cambodia, following a landmine explosion that injured a Thai soldier along the border.

On Wednesday, Bangkok also said it would expel Cambodia’s ambassador.

Bilateral relations between the two countries are at their worst in more than a decade, after armed clashes in May left one Cambodian soldier dead.

In the past two months, both countries have imposed tit-for-tat restrictions and strengthened troops presence along the border.

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The clash is the latest in a long-running deadly border dispute between the Southeast Asian neighbours.

A clash has taken place between Thai and Cambodian troops at a disputed area of their border, Thailand’s military has said.

In a statement, the Thai military said Cambodian troops opened fire in an area near the disputed Ta Moan Thom temple – located on the countries’ shared border in northwestern Cambodia’s Oddar Meanchey Province – early on Thursday.

It said Cambodia had deployed a surveillance drone before sending troops to the area with heavy weapons.

In May, a long-running border dispute between Thailand and Cambodia boiled over into military clashes that left one Cambodian soldier dead.

The continuing border dispute has soured relations between the Southeast Asian neighbours, with the two sides trading barbs and tit-for-tat retaliatory measures, including the closure of border crossings.

Cambodia has also blocked imports of fuel and gas, as well as fruit and vegetables, from Thailand.

Most recently, on Wednesday, a Thai soldier sustained injuries and lost his right leg in a landmine incident.

In response, Thailand’s governing Pheu Thai Party said it had recalled Thailand’s ambassador to Cambodia and will expel Cambodia’s ambassador from the country. Thailand has also downgraded diplomatic relations with Cambodia, the party said.

In response, Cambodia has withdrawn all of its diplomats from Thailand and ordered all Thai diplomats to leave the country.

The Cambodian government also downgraded diplomatic relations with Thailand to the “lowest level”, reducing it to the rank of “second secretary”, according to local news outlet the Phnom Penh Post.

Earlier, Thailand had accused Cambodia of placing landmines on the Thai side of the disputed border area between Thailand’s Ubon Ratchathani Province and Cambodia’s Preah Vihear Province, after three soldiers were injured while on a patrol on July 16.

Cambodia claims the soldiers, one of whom lost his foot in the explosion, veered off agreed routes and triggered a mine left behind from decades of war.

Defence Minister Phumtham Wechayachai says Thailand reinforces military presence in response to Cambodia move.

Thailand has reinforced its military presence along a disputed border with Cambodia following an increase in troops on the other side, the Thai defence minister has said.

Tensions between the two Southeast Asian countries have been rising since a Cambodian soldier was killed on May 28 in a brief skirmish in an undemarcated border area.

Since the incident, the two governments have been exchanging carefully worded statements committing to dialogue.

Thailand’s Defence Minister Phumtham Wechayachai, who also serves as deputy prime minister, said on Saturday that Cambodia had rejected proposals in bilateral talks held on Thursday that could have led to a de-escalation.

“Furthermore, there has been a reinforcement of military presence, which has exacerbated tensions along the border,” Phumtham said in a statement.

“Consequently, the Royal Thai Government has deemed it necessary to implement additional measures and to reinforce our military posture accordingly.”

He did not provide further details on the extent of reinforcements by either side.

There was no immediate comment from Cambodia.

In a separate statement on Saturday, the Thai army said Cambodian civilians had also repeatedly made incursions into Thailand’s territory.

“These provocations, and the buildup of military forces, indicate a clear intent to use force,” the Thai army said, adding it would take control of all Thai checkpoints along the Cambodia border.

Thailand and Cambodia have for more than a century contested sovereignty at various undemarcated points along their 817km (508-mile) land border.

Tension escalated in 2008 over an 11th-century Hindu temple, leading to skirmishes over several years and at least a dozen deaths, including during a weeklong exchange of artillery fire in 2011.

On Monday, Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Manet said the government would file a complaint with the International Court of Justice (ICJ) over the border dispute.

“Cambodia hopes that the Thai side will agree with Cambodia to jointly bring these issues to the International Court of Justice… to prevent armed confrontation again over border uncertainty,” Hun Manet said during a meeting between MPs and senators.

Thailand has not recognised the ICJ’s jurisdiction since 1960 and has instead called for bilateral talks.

Efforts have been made by Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who is the current chair of the Southeast Asian ASEAN bloc, and China to reduce tensions, but the border remains disputed.

A meeting of the Cambodia-Thailand Joint Boundary Commission – which addresses border demarcation issues – is scheduled for June 14.

China’s drills near the Scarborough Shoal came as South Korea announced finding new Chinese buoys in the Yellow Sea.

China’s navy has conducted “combat readiness patrols” near the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea, while South Korean officials separately announced the discovery of more Chinese buoys in contested waters in the Yellow Sea.

The Southern Theatre Command of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted the drills in the “territorial waters and airspace of China’s Huangyan Island and surrounding areas”, state-run news outlet Xinhua reported on Saturday, using China’s name for the Scarborough Shoal.

The report said the PLA had been conducting drills in the area throughout May to “further strengthen the control of relevant sea and air areas, resolutely defend national sovereignty and security, and resolutely maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea”.

The Scarborough Shoal is a rocky islet claimed by The Philippines, located 220km (119 miles) west of Luzon, the nearest landmass. Beijing blockaded and seized the territory, a traditional fishing ground, from Manila in 2012.

The Chinese navy regularly carries out provocative military drills in the area as part of its claims of sovereignty over almost all of the South China Sea, despite a 2016 international tribunal ruling that Beijing’s claims had no legal basis under international law.

In late April, Manila accused Beijing of carrying out “dangerous manoeuvres and obstruction” after a Chinese naval ship damaged a Philippine coastguard ship with a water cannon near the shoal.

Tension in the Yellow Sea

Also on Saturday, South Korean officials announced they had recorded three new Chinese buoys installed near overlapping waters with South Korea, bringing the total number of such devices installed by China in the Yellow Sea to 13.

“[We] are closely monitoring activities within the provisional maritime zone [PMZ], including China’s unauthorised installation of structures, and will closely [cooperate] with relevant agencies to protect our maritime sovereignty,” a Ministry of Defence official said, according to South Korea’s official Yonhap news agency.

Two of the Chinese buoys – first detected in May 2023, but only announced this week – have been installed near the zone, according to Yonhap.

The third buoy is located inside the maritime zone, a contested area where the exclusive economic zones (EEZ) claims of South Korea and China overlap, Yonhap added.

China asserts its maritime boundary is based on a 1962 agreement signed with North Korea which cuts into waters South Korea considers part of its economic zone.

The Yellow Sea PMZ allows joint management of marine resources and prohibits activities beyond navigation and fishing.

However, tensions have grown between Beijing and Seoul as China has repeatedly erected installations in the waters, including 10 three-metre-wide and six-metre-tall observation buoys since 2018 and a fixed steel structure in 2022.

Last week, China declared three no-sail zones within the zone, in a move “believed to be for military training purposes”, according to the Korea Joongang Daily newspaper.

The no-sail declarations caused concern in Seoul over a potential uptick in Chinese military activity in the area.