Tag: diplomacy

US nuclear-powered submarine enters South Korean port

SEOUL, June 16, 2023 (AFP) – A US Navy nuclear-powered submarine arrived in the South Korean port city of Busan Friday, demonstrating Washington’s pledge to counter Pyongyang’s growing threats, Seoul’s military said. Relations between the two Koreas are at one of their lowest points, with diplomacy stalled and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un proclaiming his nation an “irreversible” nuclear state and calling for increased weapons development, including tactical nukes. In response, Seoul and Washington […]

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Australia blocks new Russian embassy near parliament

By Steven TRASK Agence France-Presse SYDNEY, June 15, 2023 (AFP) — Australia blocked Russia from building a new embassy in the shadow of Parliament House Thursday after intelligence officials warned it posed a spying risk and security threat. Russia holds the lease for a parcel of land some 400 meters (0.25 miles) from Australia’s parliamentary precinct in Canberra and has been laying the foundations for a new embassy building. But, after failing to block the […]

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China navy training ship visits the Philippines

MANILA, June 14, 2023 (AFP) — A Chinese navy training vessel berthed in the Philippines on Wednesday for a rare port visit as the two countries contest reefs and waters in the South China Sea. Dragon dances and a brass band greeted the 165-metre (542-foot) Qi Jiguang in Manila to mark its final stop on a Southeast Asian tour through Vietnam, Thailand and Brunei. “It’s a goodwill visit,” Chinese ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian […]

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Iran and Venezuela have ‘common enemies,’ Raisi says in Caracas

CARACAS, June 13, 2023 (AFP) — Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi began a rare diplomatic tour of Latin America on Monday with a first stop in Caracas, where he said his country and Venezuela are “friends” with “common enemies.” Raisi’s schedule is also set to include visits to Cuba and Nicaragua, who, like Iran and Venezuela, are all the target of US sanctions. “We have common interests, common visions, and common enemies,” the president said, without […]

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China slams US over reported ‘spy base’ in Cuba

BEIJING, June 9, 2023 (AFP) – China warned the United States Friday against “interfering in Cuba’s internal affairs”, in response to reports that Beijing was planning to set up a spy base on the island just off American shores. The media reports, based on comments by anonymous US officials to The Wall Street Journal and CNN, were dismissed by Cuba’s deputy foreign minister as “mendacious and unfounded”, while the White House called them inaccurate. When […]

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ASEAN bloc to hold first joint military drills in South China Sea

JAKARTA, June 8, 2023 (AFP) – Southeast Asian nations have agreed to hold their first-ever joint military drills in the South China Sea, Indonesian officials said Thursday, as tensions grow over China’s increasing assertiveness in the region. “We will hold joint military drills in the North Natuna Sea,” Indonesian military chief Yudo Margono said after a meeting of Southeast Asian defence chiefs in Bali, state news agency Antara reported. They will take place in September […]

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Taiwanese chip giant TSMC says industry could have ‘stabilizing’ effect

HSINCHU, Taiwan, June 6, 2023 (AFP) — Taiwanese semiconductor giant TSMC said Tuesday its production of ever-smaller microchips will remain on the island, hopeful that the critical industry will have a “stabilizing effect on global geopolitical conflicts”. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company — whose clients include Apple and Intel — controls more than half the world’s output of silicon wafers, used in everything from smartphones to cars and missiles. Recent years have seen it navigating geopolitical […]

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US, China join naval drills in Indonesia despite rifts

JAKARTA, June 5, 2023 (AFP) – The United States and China have sent warships to the multinational naval drills that began in Indonesia on Monday, despite the rifts between the two powers. Washington and Beijing are engaged in fierce competition on diplomatic, military, technological and economic fronts. The US military has stepped up its Asia-Pacific operations to counter an increasingly assertive China, which has recently staged several rounds of war drills around Taiwan. But both […]

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In Moldova, Europe bids to show Putin united front

By Dave CLARK, Daniel ARONSSOHN Agence France-Presse CHISINAU, June 1, 2023 (AFP) – European leaders meet Thursday at a summit held on one of the most vulnerable points on the continent’s strategic frontline, in a show of diplomatic force designed to pressure Moscow. The European Political Community (EPC), which groups 27 EU members with 40 of their allies and excludes Russia and Belarus, chose Ukraine’s tiny neighbor Moldova for its second summit. Less than an […]

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‘Unfortunate’ that Chinese counterpart declined talks: Austin

By W.G. Dunlop, Sara HUSSEIN Agence France-Presse TOKYO, June 1, 2023 (AFP) — Beijing’s decision to decline a meeting between US and Chinese defense chiefs is “unfortunate”, particularly given recent “provocative” Chinese behavior, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Thursday. The comments come days after Washington accused Beijing of an “unnecessarily aggressive maneuver” near a US surveillance aircraft. Washington had invited China’s Minister of National Defense Li Shangfu to hold talks with Austin on the […]

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Beijing blames US ‘provocation’ for South China Sea fighter jet incident

BEIJING, May 31, 2023 (AFP) – Beijing blamed US “provocation” Wednesday for an incident last week in which a Chinese plane crossed in front of an American surveillance aircraft over the South China Sea. The incident comes at a time of frayed ties between Washington and Beijing over issues including Taiwan, which China regards as its territory, and the shooting down of an alleged Chinese spy balloon that flew over the United States this year. […]

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NATO upbeat on Sweden bid as US urges Turkey to say yes

By Pierre-Henry Deshayes and Shaun Tandon Agence France-Presse OSLO, Norway (AFP) — NATO’s chief voiced guarded optimism Tuesday on welcoming Sweden to the alliance as the United States pressed holdout Turkey to drop its objections, two days after President Tayyip Recep Erdogan won re-election. Sweden and Finland last year reversed decades of hesitation and formally applied to join NATO after Russia invaded Ukraine, which had unsuccessfully sought to enter the alliance whose members promise to […]

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