VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

China's international trade negotiator has expressed concern over Australia's scrutiny of the operations of Chinese firms there, the commerce ministry said, while flagging the potential for economic and trade co-operation.

The comments by Vice Commerce Minister Wang Shouwen came during a meeting on Monday with Australia's deputy secretary general for foreign affairs and trade in the Chinese capital, the ministry said in a statement.

The meeting continues an apparent thaw in trade ties that saw China lift curbs on Australian coal exports in early January, although the trade partners continue to feud over Australian exports of wine, beef, barley, seafood, and timber.

It also came a day before Canberra, citing security concerns, vowed to remove TikTok, a social media platform owned by China's ByteDance, from all devices owned by the federal government, citing security concerns. 

Wang urged Canberra to "provide a fair, open and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese enterprises" during the meeting.

His remarks echoed what Chinese foreign ministry officials have said about the United States' decision to place the app under greater scrutiny.

"China-Australia economic and trade relations are at an important juncture of stabilisation and improvement," the ministry quoted Wang as saying, while calling for stronger communication and co-ordination to help resolve concerns.

The chief executive of Australian mining giant BHP, Mike Henry, and China's vice foreign minister, Xie Feng, met on March 27, the Chinese foreign ministry said in a separate statement on Tuesday.

It expressed hope for a greater contribution by BHP to improving ties, particularly in new areas such as climate change and new energy. (Reuters)

China warned U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Tuesday not to "repeat disastrous past mistakes" by meeting Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, saying it would not help regional peace and stability, only unite the Chinese people against a common enemy.

The Republican McCarthy, the third-most-senior U.S. leader after the president and vice president, will host a meeting in California on Wednesday with Tsai, during a sensitive stopover in the United States that has prompted Chinese threats of retaliation. 

China, which claims Taiwan as its own territory, staged war games around the island last August after then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, visited the capital, Taipei.

Tsai will make what is formally called a "transit" in Los Angeles on her way back to Taipei after a trip to Central America. The United States says such stopovers are common practice and there is no need for China to overreact.

But China's consulate in Los Angeles said it was "false" to claim it as a transit, adding that Tsai was engaging in official exchanges to "put on a political show". 

No matter in what capacity McCarthy meets Tsai, the gesture would greatly harm the feelings of the Chinese people, send a serious wrong signal to Taiwan separatist forces, and affect the political foundation of Sino-U.S. ties, it said in a statement.

"It is not conducive to regional peace, security nor stability, and is not in the common interests of the people of China and the United States," the consulate added.

McCarthy is ignoring the lessons from the mistakes of his predecessor, it said, in a veiled reference to Pelosi's Taipei visit, and is insisting on playing the "Taiwan card".

"He will undoubtedly repeat disastrous past mistakes and further damage Sino-U.S. relations. It will only strengthen the Chinese people's strong will and determination to share a common enemy and support national unity." 

Speaking to reporters in Beijing on Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said China will closely follow developments and resolutely and vigorously defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity, without giving details.

CHINESE MILITARY ACTIVITIES

Although Taiwan has not reported unusual Chinese movements in the run-up to the meeting, China's military has continued activities around the island.

Taiwan's defence ministry on Tuesday morning reported that in the previous 24 hours it had spotted nine Chinese military aircraft in its air defence identification zone, in an area between Taiwan's southwest coast and the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Islands at the top of the South China Sea.

In a statement on Tuesday, Taiwan's foreign ministry said China had no right to complain, as the People's Republic of China has never ruled the island.

China's recent criticism of Tsai's trip "has become increasingly absurd", it added.

"Even if the authoritarian government continues with its expansion and intensifies coercion, Taiwan will not back down," the statement said.

In China, prominent commentator Hu Xijin wrote on his widely followed Twitter account "the Chinese mainland will definitely react, and make the Tsai Ing-wen regime lose much more than what they can gain from this meeting."

Hu, who had voiced his concerns over House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan last year, also wrote "The U.S. side is definitely not getting any real advantage either," on his Weibo account, a Twitter-like social media platform in China.

Hu is former editor-in-chief of Chinese state-backed tabloid the Global Times, known for its strident nationalistic stance.

Taiwan has lived with the threat of a Chinese attack since the defeated Republic of China government fled to the island in 1949 after losing a civil war with Mao Zedong's communists.

Life in Taiwan has continued as normal, with shops, restaurants and tourist spots in Taipei packed during a long holiday weekend that ends on Wednesday.

"They will certainly get angry and there will be some actions, but we are actually used to this," said social worker Sunny Lai, 42. (Reuters)

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Tuesday said Beijing has expressed concerns about energy activities by Malaysian state firm Petronas in the South China Sea, even though Kuala Lumpur believes the projects are in its territory.

Anwar's remarks come after he opened the door for negotiations with China earlier this week, in a sign of mounting pressure on Malaysia's energy operations in waters that Beijing claims as its own.

China claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea, through which about $3 trillion worth of ship-borne trade passes annually. Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam have some overlapping claims.

Petronas operates oil and gas fields within Malaysia's 200-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and has in recent years had several encounters with Chinese vessels.

China was worried that "Petronas has carried out a major activity at an area that is also claimed by China," Anwar said, responding to a parliamentary question about his discussions on the South China Sea during his visit to China last week.

"I stressed... that Malaysia sees the area as Malaysian territory therefore Petronas will continue its exploration activities there," Anwar said, without specifying an offshore project or a location.

But Malaysia is open for negotiations "if China feels this is their right", Anwar said.

China would like to work with Malaysia to handle differences in the South China Sea through dialogue and consultation in an appropriate manner, its foreign ministry said on Tuesday.

Petronas declined to comment.

China claims its territory via a "nine-dash line" on its maps, which cuts into the EEZs of Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia.

The Permanent Court of Arbitration, however, ruled in 2016 that the nine-dash line, which stretches as far as 1,500 km off its coastline, has no legal basis.

U.S. think tank, the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI), last week said a Chinese coast guard vessel was for the past month operating near Petronas' Kasawari gas development off Malaysia's Sarawak state, and came as close as 1.5 miles of the project. A Malaysian navy ship was in the area, AMTI said.

China foreign ministry on Monday said they were not aware of the specific incident but said the conduct of the China coast guard is beyond reproach.

The Kasawari field holds an estimated 3 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves and is expected to start production this year.

Anwar, in his parliamentary comments, said China believes its ships were in international waters.

Malaysia's foreign ministry will issue a protest note if there were "collisions" between Malaysian and Chinese vessels there, Anwar said.

In response, the Chinese foreign ministry said Beijing safeguards its "legitimate rights and interests" in the South China Sea. (Reuters)

Pakistan's central bank raised its key interest rate by 100 basis points to its highest-ever level on Tuesday, as the cash-strapped country steped up its fight against soaring consumer prices.

The key rate of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) now stands at a record 21% as the country struggles with consumer price inflation that reached its highest ananual level ever of just over 35% in March.

The rupee closed at 287.29 against the dollar, its lowest ever level, after depreciating over 1% during the day.

"The MPC considers the current monetary policy stance appropriate and stresses that today’s decision, along with previous accumulated monetary tightening, will help achieve the medium-term inflation target over the next eight quarters," the SBP said in a statement.

Investors polled by Reuters had mostly expected a rate hike of 200 basis points.

Worldwide growth in consumer prices has compounded high inflation in Pakistan caused by a weakening currency, energy tariff increases and elevated food prices due to Ramadan.

Soaring prices have put pressure on household budgets and left many desperate, with at least 16 people killed in stampedes for food aid last week.

Food, beverage, and transportation prices have all surged more than 45% and the country is in talks with the International Monetary Fund to unlock its next tranche worth around $1.1 billion as part of a $6.5 billion bailout agreement reached in 2019.

In early March, the bank raised its key rate by 300 basis points to 20%, exceeding market expectations, likely to meet a key requirement of the IMF for release of the pending bailout funds.

In its statement, the SBP reemphasized that the early conclusion of the ninth review of the IMF program was critical to rebuild FX reserve buffers. (Reuters)