VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

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)

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)

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)

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)