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TOKYO, April 28, 2024 (AFP) – Beijing has lodged a protest with Tokyo after a group of Japanese lawmakers visited a disputed island chain, with the Chinese embassy on Sunday denouncing the trip as “provocative”. The five-member delegation led by former defence minister Tomomi Inada joined local government officials in conducting a maritime inspection on Saturday in the East China Sea around the Japan-administered Senkaku islands, known by Beijing as the Diaoyu. “Diaoyu Dao and […]
By Rose TROUP BUCHANAN BANGKOK, April 19, 2024 (AFP) – Southeast Asian regional bloc ASEAN said it is “deeply concerned” about a recent upsurge in fighting in Myanmar, after fierce clashes over a key trading hub on the Thai border. The foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations urged “all parties for an immediate cessation of violence” in Myanmar, which has been roiled by conflict since the military seized power in a February […]
PARIS, April 14, 2024 (AFP) – Countries around the world condemned Iran’s strikes on Israel late Saturday, warning the attack threatened to further destabilise the Middle East. Here are some of the main reactions so far: – United States – US President Joe Biden promised “ironclad” support for Israel after holding an urgent meeting with top security officials. “I just met with my national security team for an update on Iran’s attacks against Israel. Our […]
SEOUL, April 13, 2024 (AFP) – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and China’s top legislator hailed a “new chapter” of Beijing-Pyongyang relations on Saturday, in one of the most high-level meetings between the allies in years. Beijing’s third highest-ranking official Zhao Leji — a member of the powerful Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party’s Politburo — made a goodwill visit to the nuclear-armed North this week as the two countries mark 75 years […]
By Aurélia END WASHINGTON, April 12, 2024 (AFP) – China is helping Russia undertake its biggest military expansion since Soviet times, US officials said Friday, stepping up public pressure as concerns rise over Ukraine. US officials are hoping the release of the intelligence will encourage European allies to press China, as Chancellor Olaf Scholz heads to Beijing this weekend and Group of Seven foreign ministers meet next week in Italy. Unveiling US findings, officials said […]
SYDNEY, April 9, 2024 (AFP) – The top US military officer in the Pacific on Tuesday said Washington was “very, very concerned” about Beijing’s recent “dangerous” actions in the disputed South China Sea, after confrontations with Philippine vessels. Speaking in Sydney, United States Indo-Pacific Command head Admiral John Aquilino referenced recent encounters between Chinese and Philippine boats around a remote shoal in the Spratly Islands. “I’m very concerned about what’s happening at the Second Thomas […]
China conducted “combat patrols” Sunday in the South China Sea, its army said, the same day the Philippines, the United States, Japan and Australia held their first joint drills in the disputed waters. The maritime activities took place days before US President Joe Biden was due to hold the first trilateral summit with the leaders of the Philippines and Japan, with growing tensions over the hotly contested South China Sea on the agenda. Beijing’s People’s […]
By Beiyi SEOW BEIJING, April 7, 2024 (AFP) – US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Chinese Premier Li Qiang sounded a hopeful tone on US-China cooperation on Sunday, though the American policymaker noted both sides cannot shy away from tough conversations. The US-China relationship can only move forward with direct and open communication, Yellen told Li, after arriving in the Chinese capital from the southern city of Guangzhou. Li, in welcoming Yellen, said “China sincerely […]
By Paola Lopez and Santiago Piedra with Sofia Miselem in Mexico City QUITO, April 7, 2024 (AFP) – Ecuador faced criticism from the UN and across Latin America on Saturday after its security forces stormed the Mexican embassy in Quito to arrest graft-accused former vice president Jorge Glas, who had been granted political asylum there. Special forces equipped with a battering ram surrounded the embassy, and at least one agent scaled the walls, in an […]
By Max DELANY BRUSSELS, Belgium, April 3, 2024 (AFP) – NATO foreign ministers on Wednesday debated the creation of a 100-billion-euro fund for Ukraine, as alliance chief Jens Stoltenberg urged them to guarantee long-term arms supplies for Kyiv’s outgunned forces. Stoltenberg pitched the five-year fund for Kyiv and a plan to deepen NATO’s involvement in delivering weapons in a bid to shield support in the face of a potential return by Donald Trump to the […]
The Philippines said Wednesday that Iran has freed all 18 Filipino crew members of an oil tanker that was seized in the Gulf of Oman in January. Iran’s navy had boarded the Greek-owned St. Nikolas, which was carrying 19 crew, off the coast of Oman. The only Greek crew member was released the following week. Tehran began freeing the Filipino crew in batches at the end of January after a replacement crew was hired from […]
SEOUL, March 26, 2024 (AFP) – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s powerful sister said Tuesday Pyongyang would reject “any contact or negotiations” with Japan, just a day after she said Tokyo’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida had requested a summit with her brother. Relations between the two countries are historically strained, including by a long-running kidnapping dispute and North Korea’s banned weapons programmes, but Kishida has recently expressed a desire to improve ties, which Pyongyang […]
