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Beijing, China | AFP | Wednesday 4/12/2023 by Jing Xuan TENG China’s President Xi Jinping called on the country’s armed forces to “strengthen military training oriented towards actual combat”, state media reported Wednesday, after Beijing conducted military drills intended to intimidate Taiwan. Xi’s comments, made on a naval inspection trip on Tuesday, come amid heightened tension in the region after the show of force by Beijing, which sees self-ruled Taiwan as its territory. China on […]
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AFP) — Taiwan’s ruling party nominated Vice President William Lai as its candidate for next year’s presidential elections on Wednesday, choosing a contender who has been more outspoken on Taiwanese independence than incumbent Tsai Ing-wen. The announcement comes two days after China formally ended massive war games around democratic Taiwan that saw it simulate targeted strikes and practice a blockade of the island. The nomination is almost certain to anger China, which openly […]
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korea on Tuesday said a “significant portion” of leaked US intelligence documents indicating concerns in Seoul about arms supplies to Ukraine were fake. The documents are part of a broader leak the Pentagon has described as a “very serious” national security risk. It has also created a diplomatic headache for Washington as they appear to show US spying on close allies including South Korea and Israel. Some files reportedly […]
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AFP) — Eight Chinese warships were still operating in waters around the island on Tuesday, Taiwan’s defense ministry said, a day after Beijing declared an end to its massive war games. China launched three days of military exercises around self-ruled Taiwan on Saturday that saw it simulate targeted strikes and practice a blockade of the island. The show of force was a response to Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen’s meeting with US House Speaker […]
by Shaun TANDON Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will discuss growing military ties with the Philippines on Tuesday before heading to Vietnam and Japan days after a new flare-up of tensions with China over Taiwan. The Philippines, Vietnam and Japan all have longstanding territorial disputes with China that have grown more intense in recent years as Beijing flexes its muscle. Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will […]
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for expanding the country’s war deterrence capabilities in a “more practical and offensive” way, state media said Tuesday, to counter what it called “frantic” aggression by the United States and South Korea. Pyongyang has opened the year with a flurry of weapons tests, including what state media has claimed are nuclear-capable underwater drones and the launch of two intercontinental ballistic missiles. On Monday, […]
Washington, United States | AFP | Monday 4/10/2023 Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit Vietnam later this week in the latest bid to build relations with a growing US partner as tensions flare with China over Taiwan, the State Department said Monday. Blinken will visit Hanoi on his way to a Group of Seven foreign ministers meeting this weekend in the Japanese mountain resort of Karuizawa. Blinken will “discuss our shared vision of a […]
New Delhi, India | AFP | Monday 4/10/2023 The Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama apologised on Monday after a video which showed him asking a boy to suck his tongue triggered a backlash on social media. The video, which has gone viral, shows the Dalai Lama, 87, planting a kiss on the boy’s lips as he leaned in to pay his respects. The Buddhist monk is then seen sticking his tongue out as […]
Quetta, Pakistan | AFP | Monday 4/10/2023 At least four people were killed and 15 others injured Monday by a bomb blast in Pakistan’s southwestern province of Balochistan, officials said. The bomb targeted a police vehicle in a busy market in Quetta, the capital of Balochistan, which is home to several separatist and Islamist insurgencies. “Initial probe suggests that the explosion was caused by an IED (improvised explosive device) that had been planted on a […]
Manila, Philippines | AFP | Monday 4/10/2023 The Philippines will not allow “any offensive actions” from the bases it has opened to US troops, President Ferdinand Marcos said Monday. Manila last week announced the locations of four more military bases it is allowing the US military to use on top of the five agreed on under the 2014 Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, known as EDCA. The deal allows US troops to rotate through and store […]
Taipei, Taiwan | AFP | Monday 4/10/2023 Taiwan’s defence ministry said it detected 12 Chinese warships and 91 aircraft around the island on Monday, after Beijing ended three-day military exercises. “Although (China’s) Eastern Theatre Command has announced the end of its exercise, the military will never relax its efforts to strengthen its combat readiness,” the defence ministry said in a statement, adding that its tally of ships and aircraft was as of 6 pm (1000 […]
Chiang Mai, Thailand | AFP | Thailand’s Chiang Mai was ranked the world’s most polluted city on Friday, with authorities urging people to work from home to avoid the hazardous air. Smoke from forest fires and farmers burning crop stubble has blanketed the popular tourist destination in recent weeks. Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha held video talks with the leaders of neighbouring Myanmar and Laos to discuss the problem, which affects large areas of southeast Asia […]
