VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

New coronavirus cases in Japan's capital hit a record on Thursday, surging past 30,000 for the first time since the pandemic began, spurring officials to call for more vigilance.

Tokyo's 31,878 new infections far outstripped a previous high in February, and many other regions also reported highs. Thursday's national tally of 186,229 new infections was a record.

Despite few serious cases and deaths, officials warned hospitals were starting to feel the pressure from rising numbers.

"We need to keep a close eye on the infection situation, including the issue of access to medical services, with the highest vigilance," Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told a regular news conference.

New COVID-19 infections nationwide were at their highest ever, he added.

Despite the surge, officials, including Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, have not called for new coronavirus curbs. Nearly all Japanese still wear masks indoors, and many use them outside as well, while most stores require them.

Tokyo residents said the surge was worrying.

"I think it's really shocking that it's more than 30,000," said Ai Okamura, a 30-year-old office worker. "Because I live with my grandmother, it makes me feel much more cautious."

Others said they felt people had relaxed their vigilance in recent months as infections fell.

"Maybe since spring, everyone has calmed down and gone back to normal," said systems engineer Shimichi Koyama, aged 55.

"So it was predictable to a certain extent," he said, referring to the new surge. (Reuters)

 Indonesian President Joko Widodo will visit China from July 25-26, a Chinese ministry spokesman said on Thursday, becoming the first foreign leader in two years to be received individually by Beijing aside from February's Winter Olympics.

Widodo has received an invitation from Chinese President Xi Jinping for the trip, Wang Wenbin said at a regular media briefing.

Wang said Widodo would hold meetings with Xi and with Premier Li Keqiang for an exchange of in-depth views.

Indonesia currently holds the G20 presidency and will host this year's summit of G20 leaders in Bali on November 15-16.

"When the Indonesian President visits China, he can communicate face-to-face with the Chinese leadership," Wang said.

Aside from the Winter Olympics, Beijing has not hosted any foreign leaders individually since strict border measures were put in place in 2020 following the outbreak of COVID-19. (Reuters)

 New Zealand said late on Wednesday it had increased measures to prevent foot and mouth disease (FMD) from getting into the country after the disease was recently found in the Indonesian tourist resort of Bali.

"With FMD recently found in the tourist hotspot of Bali, we've taken concrete steps to boost our work at the border in recent weeks including a public awareness campaign," said Biosecurity and Agriculture Minister Damien O'Connor.

"I call on everyone to be vigilant in playing their part to protect New Zealand's economic security," he said.

Foot and mouth disease is a highly contagious virus that affects cloven hooved animals. An outbreak of the virus in New Zealand would severely impact key exports of dairy, red meat and pork products for months or even years, according to the Ministry for Primary Industries.

Biosecurity New Zealand this week introduced foot mats with disinfecting chemicals for arrivals from Indonesia to ensure footwear is clear of the virus. A campaign has been launched to educate travellers going to Bali of the issues. There is an on-the-ground audit happening of the supply chain for animal feed palm kernel. And New Zealand is providing equipment to Indonesia to help contain the virus there. (Reuters)

Former U.S. defence secretary Mark Esper said on Thursday he would take back to Washington D.C. concerns expressed in Taiwan about the speed of arms sales to the island and the need to get greater access to weapons like portable missiles.

Taiwan has previously talked of problems accessing some weapons it has on order, like shoulder-fired Stinger anti-aircraft missiles. Taiwan has complained of stepped up military pressure from China to force it into accepting Beijing's sovereignty claims. 

The missiles are in hot demand in Ukraine, where they have been keeping Russian aircraft at bay, but U.S. supplies have shrunk and producing more of the anti-aircraft weapons has faced significant hurdles due to limited manufacturing capacity. 

Esper, visiting Taiwan under the auspices of the Atlantic Council think-tank and where he had meetings with senior leaders including President Tsai Ing-wen, said he did not get the sense Taiwanese officials were frustrated at what arms were on offer from Washington.

"I didn't pick up any frustration other than the speed at which we conduct arms sales," he told reporters in Taipei. "There was an expression of the need to get greater access to weapons such as the Javelin and the Stinger."

The Javelin is an anti-tank weapon that Taiwan also uses, and is being used in Ukraine.

"I think there was a concern about the supply chains and supply lines. That's an issue that my delegation and I decided to take back and to share with the right people in D.C."

Esper served from 2019 through 2020 under former President Donald Trump, whose administration approved billions of U.S. dollars in arms sales to Taiwan.

The United States is bound by law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself, but has also been prodding the government to focus more on asymmetric warfare - where a smaller force employs unconventional tactics against a larger enemy - using more mobile weapons, to make the island harder to attack, something Tsai has said she is prioritising.

Esper said Taiwan was never going to be able to match China in terms of conventional power, and Taiwan should be studying how Ukraine has fought Russia using asymmetric strategies.

"You don't do asymmetric warfare with fighter jets. That doesn't mean it can't be part of a more comprehensive strategy, but you have to build the asymmetric capabilities first." (Reuters)