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November
Germany's Scholz: must be prepared for Ukraine war escalation
Written by Nur Yasmin
Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Germany must be ready for the situation in Ukraine to escalate, speaking at a conference in Berlin hosted by the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper.
He said the 100 billion euro ($102.76 billion) defence fund announced in the wake of Russia's invasion had been the result of a lesson learned to build up the German military's defence stocks. (Reuters)
November
Pentagon chief raises concern about Beijing's 'dangerous' behavior with Chinese counterpart
Written by Nur Yasmin
U.S. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin on Tuesday emphasized the need to improve crisis communications during a meeting with his Chinese counterpart while raising concern about "increasingly dangerous" behavior by Chinese military aircraft.
The roughly 90-minute meeting in Cambodia, described as "productive and professional" by a U.S. official, was the pair's first since a visit to Taiwan by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in August enraged China, which regards the island as its territory.
In his second face-to-face meeting with Chinese Defense Minister General Wei Fenghe this year, Austin discussed the importance of "substantive dialogue on reducing strategic risk and enhancing operational safety," Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Pat Ryder said in a statement after the meeting.
"He (Austin) raised concerns about the increasingly dangerous behavior demonstrated by PLA (China's People's Liberation Army) aircraft in the Indo-Pacific region that increases the risk of an accident," Ryder said.
In June, a Chinese fighter aircraft dangerously intercepted an Australian military surveillance plane in the South China Sea region in May, Australia's defence department said.
Australia has said that the Chinese jet flew very close in front of the RAAF aircraft and released a "bundle of chaff" containing small pieces of aluminium that were ingested into the Australian aircraft's engine.
Tuesday's meeting of the defence ministers took place on the sidelines of an ASEAN gathering in Siem Reap, Cambodia.
After Pelosi's visit, China announced it was halting dialogue with the United States in a number of areas, including between theater-level military commanders.
A senior U.S. defence official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Austin and Wei had a "lengthy" discussion about Taiwan and also talked about restarting in the coming months some of the mechanisms that had been cancelled after Pelosi's visit.
"There's an expectation that there will be some restart of some of the mechanisms that have been frozen for the last six months," the official said.
Tuesday's talks come after a three-hour meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping last week on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Indonesia, aimed at preventing strained ties from spilling into a new Cold War.
Despite tensions between the United States and China, U.S. military officials have long sought to maintain open lines of communication with their Chinese counterparts to mitigate the risk of potential flare-ups or deal with any accidents.
After Austin and Wei's first meeting this year in Singapore in June, the Pentagon chief said his talks with his Chinese counterpart were an important step in efforts to develop those means of communication.
Relations between China and the United States have been tense, with friction between the world's two largest economies over everything from Taiwan and China's human rights record to its military activity in the South China Sea.
Pelosi's Taiwan trip infuriated China, which saw it as a U.S. attempt to interfere in its internal affairs. China subsequently launched military drills near the island.
The United States has no formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan but is bound by law to provide the island with the means to defend itself. (Reuters)
November
Malaysian police warn of ethnic tensions on social media after divisive election
Written by Nur Yasmin
Malaysian police have cautioned the country's social media users to refrain from posting "provocative" content on race and religion after a divisive general election on Saturday that ended in a hung parliament.
Two major alliances are now racing to secure support from other parties to form the government: a multiethnic, progressive bloc led by veteran opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim and a conservative Malay Muslim coalition led by former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin.
The police warning comes as race-based narratives dominated political chatter on social media during and after the election, according to an online hate speech monitoring project run by the Malaysia-based Centre for Independent Journalism.
It also comes as electoral gains by an Islamist party that has touted sharia law raised fears among investors over its potential impact on policies.
Race and religion are thorny issues in multicultural Malaysia, which has a majority of mostly Muslim ethnic Malays alongside significant ethnic Chinese and ethnic Indian minorities of other faiths.
Police said they had detected social media content that touched on racial and religious sentiments and insulted the country's monarchy after the election.
"Stern actions... will be taken against users that attempt to incite a situation that can threaten public safety and order," Inspector-General of Police Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani said in a statement late Monday.
Malaysia's King Al-Sultan Abdullah has given political parties until 2 p.m. (0600 GMT) on Tuesday to put together a government alliance, after no coalition won enough seats for a parliamentary majority.
Muhyiddin's bloc includes the Islamist party PAS, which has advocated for a strict interpretation of sharia, while Anwar's alliance includes the Democratic Action Party, a predominantly Chinese party unpopular with many conservative Malay voters.
Malaysian social media users on Monday reported a slew of posts on short video platform TikTok after the election that mentioned a deadly race riot in Kuala Lumpur on May 13, 1969.
Around 200 people were killed in those clashes, which took place after opposition parties supported by the ethnic Chinese community made inroads in a general election three days earlier. (Reuters)
November
Malaysia's palace asks political blocs to submit PM candidates by Tuesday
Written by Nur Yasmin
Malaysia's palace extended a deadline for political parties to submit their prime minister candidates to Tuesday at 2 p.m. (0600 GMT), it said in a statement.
Competing coalitions were initially asked to submit candidates by 2 p.m. on Monday, after a general election resulted in a hung parliament. (reuters)
November
China says it is willing to increase flights to Italy
Written by Nur Yasmin
China is willing to continue to increase flights between China and Italy to facilitate personnel exchanges between the two sides, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Monday. (Reuters)
November
Pakistan reopens Afghan crossing shut after border hostilities
Written by Nur Yasmin
Pakistan has reopened a major Afghan border crossing that was shut for trade and transit after security forces clashed last week, officials from both sides said on Monday.
As the crossing opened on Monday, three people were wounded in another clash reported on a northwestern border with Afghanistan, an Afghan official said.
Abdul Hameed Zehri, Deputy Commissioner of the Pakistan town of Chahman, which borders the Afghan district of Spin Boldak, said the southwestern crossing was reopened after dialogue between Pakistani and Afghan Taliban officials on Sunday.
Thousands of people and hundreds of trucks that had been stranded on both sides were able to cross the border on Monday, Zehri said.
The separate hostilities that started on Monday were in the northwestern Pakistan district of Kurram, said Munib Zadran, a police spokesman for bordering Paktia province.
A Pakistani security official said the fresh exchange of fire killed one member of border personnel and wounded nine other people.
Afghan Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid confirmed the latest clash.
"We are going to meet senior Pakistani officials to find an amicable solution," he said.
The Pakistan military did not respond to a request for comment, but a Pakistan security official said there has been regular border management coordination with Afghan authorities, adding that details of Afghan investigations into last week's hostilities will be shared with Pakistan in due course.
Disputes linked to the miles long border have been a bone of contention between the neighbouring countries for decades. (reuters)
November
Harris says U.S. and Philippines ties long and enduring
Written by Nur Yasmin
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris said on Monday after meeting Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr that the relationship between the two countries was long and enduring and American commitment unwavering.
After the meeting at the presidential palace, Marcos also said that ties between the countries remained strong and important. (Reuters)
November
South Korea seeks cooperation from China, Russia as U.N. meets on North Korea
Written by Nur Yasmin
South Korea on Monday asked for the "active cooperation" of China and Russia to prevent North Korea from conducting further missile tests, hours ahead of a U.N. Security Council meeting on the North's test-launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile.
South Korea's nuclear envoy Kim Gunn spoke with the Chinese and Russian ambassadors in Seoul, the foreign ministry said in a statement, and asked them to help hold North Korea accountable for its "provocations".
The Security Council meeting was scheduled at the request of the United States after North Korea last week launched a missile capable of reaching the U.S. mainland.
"Kim asked for active cooperation from China and Russia, permanent members of the Security Council, and for them to play constructive roles to restrain North Korea from further provocations and to make it return to dialogue," the ministry said.
North Korea has conducted an unprecedented number of ballistic missile launches this year and Washington has warned for months that it could conduct a nuclear bomb test, the first since 2017, at any time.
U.S. President Joe Biden met his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping last week and said Beijing has an obligation to try to talk North Korea out of resuming nuclear testing. A senior U.S. administration official said earlier this month that Washington believed China and Russia have leverage to persuade North Korea not to resume nuclear bomb testing. (Reuters)
November
No need to avoid Xi at APEC, Taiwan envoy says after rare encounter
Written by Nur Yasmin
Taiwan told its representative there was no need to avoid Chinese President Xi Jinping at the APEC summit in Thailand, the envoy said on Monday, leading to a rare encounter at a time when China has been stepping up military pressure.
The grouping of 21 nations is one of the few international organisations that Taiwan is a member of, since Beijing, which views the island as a Chinese province and not a country, blocks its participation at most others.
Tension between Taipei and Beijing has risen since China staged war games near the democratically-governed island in August after a visit by Nancy Pelosi, then speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.
"Certainly, the presidential office had said to me if there was an opportunity there was no need to avoid a meeting or a greeting. That was the only instruction," Morris Chang told reporters in Taipei on his return from Bangkok.
He said he had talked to Xi on Friday in what he called a pleasant encounter, in which he congratulated Xi on the 20th Congress of China's ruling Communist Party last month.
Chang, who is also the founder of Taiwan chip giant TSMC (2330.TW), , said his interaction with Xi and the congratulations were his own idea and he was offering his "own opinion".
President Tsai Ing-wen "respected" the fact Chang had spoken to Xi, said Hsu Szu-chien, deputy head of Taiwan's National Security Council, who sat beside Chang at the news conference.
Hsu did not elaborate, however, and Tsai did not attend the event, though she did walk Chang to the room in the presidential office where it took place.
China has not commented on Chang's chat with Xi.
The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) grouping has traditionally been one of the few forums where China and Taiwan talk, even if just in passing to exchange pleasantries.
China cut off a formal talks mechanism when Tsai first won office in 2016, believing her to be a separatist, which she denies.
Taiwan participates at APEC as "Chinese Taipei", the name it also uses to participate in the Olympics and some other events. (Reuters)
November
Kazakh President Tokayev wins re-election with 81.3% of vote
Written by Nur Yasmin
Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev secured a second term in Sunday's snap election, winning 81.31% of the vote, the central Asian nation's Central Election Commission said on Monday, citing preliminary data.
He had been widely expected to extend his rule over the oil-rich nation by seven more years, with a strong mandate to continue his increasingly independent foreign policy, as the former Soviet republic navigates the Russia-Ukraine crisis.
"We can say that the people have expressed convincing confidence in me as president and all of you," Tokayev, 69, had told his staff earlier, referring to exit polls that favoured him.
The campaign would "go down in history", the former diplomat added.
Voter turnout was 69.44%, with five other candidates scoring in the low single digits, data showed. Voters' second most popular choice was "against everyone", with 5.8% of ballots.
Observers from the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe said the vote underlined the need for further legal reforms to ensure genuine pluralism.
"The incumbent stood as the joint candidate of all parliamentary parties and, in effect, was not meaningfully challenged in a low-key campaign," the mission said.
Prompted by the exit polls, several fellow central Asian leaders congratulated Tokayev on Monday before the preliminary results. Congratulations from Beijing and Moscow came after the official announcement.
Tokayev won his first election in 2019 with the backing of predecessor Nursultan Nazarbayev, but the two fell out this year amid violent unrest in the nation of 20 million, and Sunday's vote consolidated his power as an independent leader.
“Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s re-election as president for the next seven years means stability, predictability, and a renewed commitment to our time tested multi-vector, pragmatic and balanced foreign policy," Deputy Foreign Minister Roman Vassilenko said.
"The new strong mandate from the people also gives President Tokayev a stronger background from which to pursue the promised reforms aimed at building a just and fair Kazakhstan, including strengthening the rule of law, which surely is a welcome sign as far as foreign audiences, primarily businesses, are concerned." (Reuters)