VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo discussed chip supply chains during a call with her opposite number in Taiwan and the two will cooperate on technology trade and investment through a newly established mechanism, her office said.

The United States has repeatedly pressed Taiwan, as a major chip producer, to do more to help resolve a global shortage of semiconductors, which has shuttered some auto production lines and impacted consumer goods.

Taiwan says it is doing all it can to help.

Raimondo, in a Monday call with Taiwan Economy Minister Wang Mei-hua, "underscored the United States' support for Taiwan and the importance of the U.S.-Taiwan commercial and investment relationship", the U.S. Commerce Department said.

"She also expressed the United States' continued interest in working together with Taiwan on issues of common commercial concern, particularly in the area of semiconductor supply chains and related eco-systems."

The United States and Taiwan will cooperate through a new Technology Trade and Investment Collaboration, or TTIC, framework, to develop commercial programmes and explore ways to strengthen critical supply chains, it added.

Raimondo and Wang also committed to "identifying other steps to support semiconductors and other critical supply chains".

Taiwan's Economy Ministry cited Wang as saying that Taiwan and the United States werelong-term and reliable supply-chain partners.

They discussed the key role Taiwan plays in global supply chains and the importance of Taiwan and the United States in strengthening supply-chain resilience and continuing to expand two-way trade and investment cooperation, the ministry added.

Taiwan also hopes to further work with the United States on infrastructure in third countries and helping Taiwan firms participate in U.S. President Joe Biden's "Build Back Better" plan, it quoted Wang as saying.(Reuters)

Malaysia will decide by January whether to continue with its plan for a single wholesale 5G network, after Reuters reported concern from mobile carriers over pricing and transparency.

Malaysia's proposed centralised 5G network has met resistance from major operators, who have yet to sign up to the government plan, according to the report last month.

The Cabinet was now considering whether to allow multiple 5G providers, after concern from telecom firms and industry players that the government plan could hamper competition, Communications and Multimedia Minister Annuar Musa told reporters on Tuesday.

"The Cabinet will discuss again and will make a final decision by January whether to stick with a single wholesale network system or to have more than one operator to allow for some kind of competition," he said.

Meanwhile, Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB), the wholly state-owned agency tasked with building and managing 5G infrastructure, will proceed with an initial rollout this month, Annuar said.

DNB and major mobile operators Axiata Celcom (AXIA.KL) and Maxis (MXSC.KL) did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Operator DiGi.com (DSOM.KL) declined to comment.

Jim Lim, an analyst covering telecoms at Kuala Lumpur-based Kenanga Research, said the government discussion indicated progress in talks between operators and DNB, and authorities' willingness to compromise on carriers' demands.

"The faster (the government) makes a decision on this, the better, as the more certain the future operating environment will be for the telcos," he said in an email.

The government in February abandoned an earlier plan to apportion spectrum to carriers, opting instead for a single shared network in a bid to reduce costs, improve efficiency and accelerate infrastructure buildup.

Carriers, however, are worried that would result in a nationalised monopoly more costly than deploying 5G on their own, sources had told Reuters.

DNB has said it will charge operators less to access its 5G network than the cost they incurred for 4G.

The agency on Monday also offered 5G services to carriers for free up to March 31 as it begins network deployment in three central areas. 

Last week, Telekom Malaysia (TLMM.KL) became the first operator to sign up for 5G trials with DNB, but did not say if it had signed a long-term deal.(Reuters)

Russia and India signed a flurry of trade and arms deals during President Vladimir Putin's visit to New Delhi for talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, including one that will see India produce more than 600,000 Kalashnikov assault rifles.

Putin travelled to India with Russia's defence and foreign ministers in a visit that saw the two countries reinforce their ties with a military and technical cooperation pact until 2031 and a pledge to boost annual trade to $30 billion by 2025.

The Russian president is visiting India amid increasingly strained relations between Russia and the United States, also a key Indian ally, which has expressed reservations about the growing military cooperation between Moscow and New Delhi.

A joint statement published after the talks said Russia and India had "reiterated their intention to strengthen defence cooperation, including in the joint development of production of military equipment."

In addition to the deal for India to produce AK-203 assault rifles, Russia said it was interested in continuing to provide S-400 air defence missile systems.

India's Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said the two countries had signed 28 investment pacts, including deals on steel, shipbuilding, coal and energy. He added that a 2018 contract for the S-400 missile systems was currently being implemented.

"Supplies have begun this month, and will continue to happen," he said, referring to the S-400.

The deal with Moscow puts India at risk of sanctions from the United States under a 2017 U.S. law aimed at deterring countries from buying Russian military hardware.

Russian oil company Rosneft said it signed a contract with Indian Oil to supply up to 2 million tonnes of oil to India by the end of 2022. 

The countries also signed a memorandum of understanding for Russia to send an uninterrupted supply of coal to India to support its steel production, among other deals.

Putin and Modi also discussed the situation in Afghanistan, voicing their commitment to ensure that the country will never become a safe haven for international terrorism.

South Korea imposed stricter measures on Monday to contain growing coronavirus infections and the Omicron variant, leaving some foreign residents vaccinated overseas effectively barred from places such as restaurants, cafes and cinemas.

South Korea recognises the vaccination status of Korean citizens who were vaccinated overseas but not foreigners, unless they entered the country under a quarantine exemption.

Some foreign residents, particularly from Europe and the United States, were vaccinated earlier in the year when South Korea had not yet made vaccines available and were not eligible for the quarantine exemptions that were extended to certain people in business, education or for humanitarian reasons.

It is unclear how many people are affected but the problem has caught the attention of several foreign embassies, which have been lobbying unsuccessfully for weeks for a change.

"We continue to argue for urgent review of the guidance in order to ensure equitable treatment of foreign and Korean nationals vaccinated overseas," Stephen Burns, a spokesman for the British embassy in Seoul, told Reuters.

The Australian Embassy is in ongoing contact with the South Korean government on this matter and continues to advocate for a change to their policy, ambassador Catherine Raper said in a post on Twitter on Monday.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency says the policy affects a small number of people and is necessary given rising COVID-19 cases.

"A cautious approach is required at this time with locally and globally confirmed cases of the Omicron variant and the possibility of further community spread," a spokesperson said, adding that officials will review the rules depending on the domestic outbreak situation.

The KDCA reported 4,325 new COVID-19 infections on Monday, for a total of 477,358 since the pandemic began, with 3,893 deaths overall. The country has detected 24 cases of the new Omicron variant.

In response to growing daily cases, South Korea has put on hold previous efforts to "live with COVID-19", instead imposing new vaccine pass requirements and ending quarantine exemptions for all travellers arriving from overseas.

The problem for foreigners with unregistered vaccines stands to become more acute as previous rules that required a government vaccine pass or negative COVID-19 test for entry to gyms, saunas, and bars have now been expanded to include cafes, restaurants, cinemas and other public spaces.

Unvaccinated individuals or people without proof of vaccination can still dine in restaurants, but only if they sit alone.

"An example of how South Korea isn't quite a truly global, international country yet," tweeted Jean Lee, an analyst on Korea affairs at U.S.-based Wilson Center.

In March, authorities in several major cities including Seoul sparked an uproar by ordering all foreign workers be tested for coronavirus. Some of those measures were dropped after complaints by embassies and a human rights probe. (Reuters)