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☆ Blinken chides Beijing's 'escalating actions' at sea, concerned over Taiwan
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-28 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken criticised Beijing's "escalating and unlawful actions" in the South China Sea at a summit on Saturday, while his Russian counterpart said Washington has stoked anxiety with its plan for a nuclear deterrence with ally Seoul for the Korean peninsula. Blinken singled out China over its coast guard's hostile actions against U.S. defense treaty ally the Philippines in the South China Sea. The Philippines' small troop presence on a grounded former U.S. navy ship at the Second Thomas Shoal has angered China for years. Blinken discussed Taiwan with Wang and concerns about Beijing's recent "provocative actions", included a simulated blockade during the inauguration of Taiwan President Lai Ching-te, a senior U.S. State Department official said. Wang told Blinken that although communications had been maintained between China and the United States, Washington had not stopped its containment and suppression of Beijing and had even intensified it.

Persons: Antony Blinken, Wang Yi, Beijing's, Blinken, Thomas Shoal, Wang, Lai Ching Organizations: China's, 57th Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Washington, Seoul, U.S, ASEAN Regional Forum, EU, Association of Southeast Asian Nations, ASEAN, Foreign, Taiwan, U.S . State Department Locations: Vientiane, South, China, Philippines, South China, Manila, Russia, India, Australia, Japan, Gaza, Ukraine, North, U.S, Laos, Beijing, Taiwan, United States, Washington

☆ China says relations with Japan at 'critical stage'
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-27 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Relations between China and Japan are at a critical stage, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Japanese counterpart on Friday as the pair discussed thorny issues including Japanese nationals detained in China, food import bans and semiconductor curbs. "China-Japan relations are currently at a critical point: advance or be left behind," Wang told Kamikawa, according to a readout of the talks issued by the Chinese foreign ministry. It is hoped that the Japanese side will establish an objective and correct perception of China and pursue a positive and rational policy towards China." In their first one-to-one talks in eight months, Kamikawa strongly urged the lifting of import restrictions Beijing imposed on Japan food products in the wake of the Fukushima water release. She also called for the early release of Japan detainees in China.

Persons: Wang Yi, Wang, Japan's Yoko Kamikawa, Kamikawa Organizations: Southeast, ASEAN, Saturday's East Asia Summit, ASEAN Regional Forum, Japan, Astellas Pharma Locations: China, Japan, Laos, Saturday's, Beijing, Tokyo

[1/7] Indonesian President Joko Widodo greets Cambodia's Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn during the Courtesy Call at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia, July 14, 2023. REUTERS/Ajeng Dinar Ulfiana/PoolJAKARTA, July 14 (Reuters) - Foreign ministers of two dozen countries meet in Indonesia on Friday with U.S.-China rivalry, the war in Ukraine and North Korean missiles set to dominate roundtable talks in Southeast Asia's annual security gathering. In opening remarks to foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), chairman Indonesian President Joko Widodo said the gathering aimed to seek solutions rather than exacerbate regional and global problems. LAVROV: WESTERN 'DOMINATION'The 10-member ASEAN hosts an East Asia Summit on Friday morning before holding a separate meeting with Blinken. China's Wang also met with Lavrov, and said the two sides would "strengthen strategic communication and coordination".

Persons: Joko Widodo, Prak Sokhonn, Antony Blinken, Wang Yi, Nancy Pelosi, Matthew Miller, Wang, Blinken, Sergei Lavrov, China's Wang, Lavrov, Myanmar's, Martin Petty, Michael Perry Organizations: Cambodia's, Association of Southeast Asian Nations, REUTERS, U.S, North Korean, Friday's ASEAN Regional Forum, ASEAN, State Department, ARF, enraging, Washington, Department, U.S . Navy, East Asia Summit, United Nations Security Council, Russian, Thomson Locations: Jakarta, Indonesia, JAKARTA, China, Ukraine, North, United States, Russia, Taiwan, enraging Beijing, LAVROV, Australia, Japan, Britain, South Korea, Myanmar

☆ US, Japan, South Korea, condemn North Korean missile launch in joint statement
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

July 14 (Reuters) - North Korea's firing of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) this week violates multiple U.N. resolutions and threatens peace and stability in the region, the United States, South Korea, and Japan said on Friday in a joint statement condemning the launch. The missile, fired off North Korea's east coast on Wednesday, flew for 74 minutes to an altitude of 6,000 km (3,728 miles) and a range of 1,000 km, according to Japan, in what would be the longest-ever flight time for a North Korean missile. The countries urged North Korea "to cease its unlawful and escalatory actions and promptly return to dialogue," the statement added. Blinken reaffirmed the United States' "ironclad commitments" to the defense of Japan and South Korea in that meeting, according to a separate statement from the U.S. State Department. The launch came after heated complaints from North Korea in recent days, accusing American spy planes of flying over its exclusive economic zone waters, condemning a recent visit to South Korea by an American nuclear-powered cruise missile submarine, and vowing to take steps in reaction.

Persons: Antony Blinken, Yoshimasa Hayashi, Park Jin, Blinken, Ismail Shakil, Caitlin Webber, Sandra Maler Organizations: UN, U.S, Foreign, ASEAN Regional Forum, U.S . State Department, Thomson Locations: United States, South Korea, Japan, Korean, North Korea, Jakarta, Indonesia, American, Ottawa

[1/5] Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi delivers her opening remarks during a retreat session of the 56th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Foreign Minister's Meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia, July 12, 2023. REUTERS/Ajeng Dinar Ulfiana/PoolJAKARTA, July 12 (Reuters) - ASEAN foreign ministers on Wednesday called for regional unity in addressing an intensifying conflict in Myanmar, amid doubts over the bloc's capability to implement a two-year-old peace process that has yet to get off the ground. Retno's remarks come after a Thai-led meeting last month attended by Myanmar's military leaders who have been barred from high-level ASEAN meetings. Most ASEAN members shunned that meeting, which Thai Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai defended, saying Thailand was suffering in terms of its border, trade and refugee problems. Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi on Wednesday said the agreed peace plan should remain ASEAN's focus.

Persons: Retno Marsudi, Don Pramudwinai, Don, Aung San, Aung San Suu Kyi, Suu Kyi, Rizal Sukma, Sukma, Kanupriya Kapoor, Martin Petty, Michael Perry Organizations: Indonesian, 56th Association of Southeast Asian Nations, REUTERS, ASEAN, Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Indonesia's, United Nations, Thai Foreign, Centre, Strategic, International Studies, Friday's East Asia Summit, ASEAN Regional, Thomson Locations: Jakarta, Indonesia, JAKARTA, Myanmar, ASEAN, Thai, Thailand, Aung San Suu, China, Philippines, Vietnam, South China, Friday's, United States, Russia

July 11 (Reuters) - China's foreign minister Qin Gang will not attend a diplomatic gathering in Indonesia this week for health reasons, a spokesman for his ministry said on Tuesday. Foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China are scheduled to meet on Thursday, before Friday's East Asia Summit and ASEAN Regional Forum. "State Councillor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang cannot attend this ASEAN ministerial meeting because of health reasons," spokesman Wang Wenbin said. Qin, 57, took over from Wang as foreign minister in December and was last seen in public on June 25 in Beijing after meeting officials from Sri Lanka, Russia and Vietnam. Wang Yi, who is the foreign policy chief for the Chinese Communist Party, ranks above Qin, who as the foreign minister is the government's foreign policy chief.

Persons: Qin Gang, Wang Yi, Wang Wenbin, Wang, Qin, Josep Borrell, Antony Blinken, Blinken, Yew Lun Tian, Karen Lema, Stanley Widianto, Martin Petty, John Geddie, Robert Birsel Organizations: Association of Southeast Asian Nations, ASEAN, Friday's East Asia Summit, ASEAN Regional, Politico, European Union, EU, U.S, Chinese Communist Party, Thomson Locations: Indonesia, China, Jakarta, Wang, Beijing, Sri Lanka, Russia, Vietnam, Washington, Manila

☆ Myanmar crisis, South China Sea tensions loom over ASEAN meet
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( Kate Lamb | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

JAKARTA, July 11 (Reuters) - Southeast Asia's top diplomats will gather in Indonesia on Tuesday amid pressure to address a bloody political crisis in Myanmar and resolve tensions in the South China Sea where some ASEAN members have overlapping territorial claims with China. The meeting of foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) comes as doubts mount over the credibility and unity of the bloc in dealing with the region's thorniest challenges. Indonesia is also seeking during this week's forum to accelerate talks on a long-stalled code of conduct on the South China Sea. More than $3 trillion in trade passes through the South China Sea each year, and overlapping territorial claims by China and the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Brunei have led to a spate of confrontations. ASEAN will also hold the East Asia Summit and the ASEAN Regional Forum later this week, with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov both slated to attend.

Persons: Human Rights Volker Turk, Retno Marsudi, Antony Blinken, Sergei Lavrov, Stanley Widianto, Kanupriya Kapoor Organizations: ASEAN, Association of Southeast Asian Nations, United, United Nations, Human Rights, . Security, International Criminal Court, East Asia Summit, ASEAN Regional Forum, U.S, Russia's, Thomson Locations: JAKARTA, Indonesia, Myanmar, South China, China, ASEAN, United Nations, Jakarta, Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei

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