Tag: diplomacy

Trudeau: Canada will not be cowed by China on human rights

  OTTAWA, Canada (AFP) — Canada will continue to defend human rights in China, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pledged Friday, after a top Chinese diplomat warned Ottawa against welcoming Hong Kong pro-democracy activists. China’s ambassador to Ottawa, Cong Peiwu, warned Canada on Thursday against granting asylum to Hong Kong activists, which he said could have consequences for the “health and security” for the 300,000 Canadians living in the theoretically autonomous Chinese territory. The Canadian daily […]

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Pompeo slams China’s ‘malign activity’ as he meets Asian allies

  by Hiroshi HIYAMA Agence France Presse TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned Tuesday of Beijing’s “malign activity in the region” as he met with key Asia-Pacific allies in Tokyo, presenting a united front against an increasingly assertive China. The top US diplomat is meeting his Japanese, Australian and Indian counterparts on a trip that was scaled back after President Donald Trump and a raft of staff and advisors contracted […]

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Pompeo to cut short Asia visit amid Trump hospitalization

  WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will cut short his trip to Asia this week, a department spokeswoman said Saturday, visiting Japan but skipping planned stops to South Korea and Mongolia. The schedule change comes as President Donald Trump is hospitalized near Washington after testing positive for Covid-19. The US top diplomat will be in Tokyo from Sunday to Tuesday, spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said in a statement, where he […]

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Japan PM urges better ties in call with South Korea’s Moon

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan’s new Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on Thursday called for better ties with South Korea in talks with President Moon Jae-in, the first in months between leaders of the countries. Suga, who took office last week, said he told Moon in a phone call that the countries must repair their “difficult” bilateral relations, which are mired in a long-running dispute over issues dating back Japan’s occupation of the Korean peninsula. “To […]

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North Korea shot dead South Korean in its waters: Seoul

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korean forces shot dead a South Korean fisheries official who disappeared off a patrol vessel and ended up in Pyongyang’s waters, Seoul’s defense ministry said Thursday, calling it an “outrageous act”. The 47-year-old man had been on board a vessel near the western border island of Yeonpyeong, the ministry said in a statement. After analyzing intelligence, the South Korean military had “confirmed that the North fired at a South […]

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China ‘must back off’, says Taiwan

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AFP) — Taiwan on Tuesday demanded that China “back off” and accused it of threatening peace after a Beijing official rejected a largely respected marine boundary following recent incursions. Foreign minister Joseph Wu urged Beijing to “return to the civilized international standards” after a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said there was no so-called median line in the Taiwan Strait “as Taiwan is an inseparable part of Chinese territory”. Wu told reporters: “The median […]

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Trump and new Japan PM Suga discuss ‘free and open Indo-Pacific’: US

  WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Donald Trump on Sunday spoke to Japan’s new prime minister, Yoshihide Suga, to congratulate him on taking office and to discuss a “free and open Indo-Pacific” region, which is increasingly dominated by China. Beijing’s expanding military presence in the region has worried several of its neighbors, and Washington has vowed to stand up against its territorial claims. China is locked in disputes with neighbors including Japan and […]

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Maduro has to leave, Pompeo says on South America trip

  by Shaun TANDON Agence France Presse BOA VISTA, Brazil (AFP) — US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo used a South American tour Friday to tell Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro he “has to leave,” drawing a furious accusation of “war-mongering” from the leftist leader. Touring a refugee center in the town of Boa Vista, Brazil, on the border with Venezuela, Pompeo emphasized the plight of the nearly five million Venezuelans who have fled the country’s […]

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Indonesia protests against China ship in its waters

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — Jakarta has protested against the intrusion of a Chinese coast guard ship into the Southeast Asian archipelago’s waters, Indonesia’s Foreign Ministry said Monday. The Chinese vessel, identified as CCG 5204, was seen Saturday in North Natuna waters, Indonesia’s exclusive economic zone near the Riau Islands province. “Following the issue, the ministry on Sunday communicated with Chinese representative in Jakarta to request clarification,” spokesman Teuku Faizasyah told AFP on Monday. The Indonesian […]

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Turkey says east Med ship will return after maintenance

ANKARA, Turkey (AFP) — Turkey said on Monday that an energy exploration vessel that had pulled out of waters claimed by Greece was only undergoing routine maintenance and would return soon. The Oruc Reis seismic survey ship has been unsettling the strategic eastern Mediterranean region since Turkey sent it along with a small navy flotilla into disputed seas on August 10. Greece responded by staging navy drills with France and several EU allies near ones Turkey […]

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China rips into Trump order revoking visas of 1,000 Chinese students

BEIJING, China (AFP) — China accused Washington of “political persecution and racial discrimination” on Thursday, after the US confirmed it had revoked the visas of more than 1,000 Chinese students under an order by President Donald Trump that accused some of espionage. Trump declared in May that some Chinese nationals officially in the United States for study have stolen intellectual property and helped modernize China’s military, as tensions between the two countries soar on multiple […]

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Pompeo urges Southeast Asia to shun South China Sea firms

  HANOI, Vietnam (AFP) — Washington’s top diplomat urged Southeast Asia on Thursday to cut ties with Chinese companies helping build islands in the South China Sea, weeks after the US blacklisted two dozen firms working in the disputed waters. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s comments came at a regional Asian summit overshadowed by the US-China rivalry over a range of issues, from trade to the coronavirus. Tensions are also simmering over the South China […]

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