SYDNEY — Australian rescue and medical teams have reached Vanuatu, authorities said on Thursday, where at least 14 people including one French and two Chinese nationals were killed and hundreds were injured in a 7.3 magnitude earthquake two days ago.

France’s Ambassador Jean-Baptiste Jeangène Vilmer on Thursday confirmed the death of a French national, Vincent Goiset, a resident in Vanuatu who was killed by the rubble of a collapsed building in the city center, he said in a Facebook post.

French and Australian rescue teams are searching for survivors at a collapsed building, where eight to 15 people are buried, with some confirmed dead, he wrote.

Vanuatu’s National Disaster Management Office said in a report the number of deaths and injuries was expected to increase, as search and rescue continues.

A Chinese woman who ran a shop on the ground floor of another collapsed building, a four-story building owned by Chinese company Kenwu Industries, had died, said Michael Mai, who works for the company. She was one of two Chinese nationals the Chinese embassy said were killed in the earthquake, he told Reuters in an interview.

“She was near to the building, very close when it collapsed,” he said.

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Australia would help Vanuatu restore operations at the international airport in the nation’s capital of Port Vila, which has been closed to commercial airlines because of damage.

“Additional assistance will be provided where possible, ahead of the airport reopening,” Wong said in a post on X.

About 150 Australian citizens returned home overnight on the two aircraft that delivered assistance, Wong said.

Other countries have also offered support, with a U.S. military aircraft expected to arrive on Thursday, while France sent a military helicopter with satellite communications and military engineers.

A Royal New Zealand Air Force Hercules arrived in Port Vila with rescue equipment and medics on Thursday and will assist with the evacuation of New Zealanders, New Zealand officials said.

Another New Zealand military flight had to be diverted on Wednesday evening to New Caledonia due to an engine fire warning and will be repaired on Thursday.

Disruptions to power and communication in Vanuatu are hindering rescue efforts, while UNICEF has said water contamination was a major concern.
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Bangkok — For many countries in Southeast Asia, Chinese investment and tourism are key to their economies. However, cheap low-quality Chinese products that are flooding markets across the region are also raising concerns about how they are undercutting local businesses, experts say.

That is forcing countries like Thailand to find ways to combat onslaught of low-priced goods.

Last year, bilateral trade between Thailand and China was more than $126 billion, with direct Chinese foreign investment heavily contributing to the Thai economy.

Three of Thailand’s main economic industries are manufacturing, agriculture and services. But manufacturing has seen a decline, with 2,000 factories closing in 2023, leading to thousands of jobs lost, according to data from the Department of Industrial Works.

Business owners have long bemoaned the fact that low-quality Chinese goods are undercutting local Thai businesses.

Bobae Shopping Mall – a retail and wholesale market in Bangkok – is one of the places where that impact is showing. With seven floors dedicated to shopping units, many have their shutters down, even though Thailand is in its peak season and Christmas is next week.

Banchob Pianphanitporn is the owner of Ben’s Socks, which is located on the fifth floor. He has owned the business for 26 years and manages four units. He has one factory in Thailand that employs 24 staff in total.

He said that over the last decade, his sales have dropped by half because of Chinese imports.

“I would say [sales are] 50% down since 10 years ago,” he told VOA.

“I sell socks for 150 baht ($4.38) per a dozen, but if this was a Chinese product, they would sell at 85 baht ($2.48). If [customers] have low budget they will say [my socks] are expensive. They don’t consider the materials, [my socks] are much better material and more flexible,” he added.

Thailand’s slow manufacturing industry has contributed to a sluggish year for the economy. Forecasts project that Thailand’s economic will grow by 2.3% – 2.8% percent in 2024, which is less than its regional neighbors. Although the Bank of Thailand forecasts a 3% growth in 2025, concerns from business owners remain.

Banchob points to several closures of units in his mall, blaming Thailand’s economy. But in an effort to remain open, he promotes his business on social media to attract more customers.

“Social media is a must. I’m on TikTok; I make much content. I have to work harder to tell people I’m still alive; Ben Sock’s made in Thailand is here,” he added.

According to Thai government spokesperson Sasikarn Wattanachan, there has been a 20 percent decrease in low-quality imports in Thailand since July. Authorities have introduced tighter inspections of cheap imports, focusing on agricultural, consumer and industrial items. Thailand has also added a 7% value added tax on goods imported that are under 1,500 baht or $43.77, the Bangkok Post has reported.

But for other sellers and store owners, they don’t see any difference.

Pam, a seller at Pretty Baby, a baby clothes store in the Bangkok mall, says the seemingly unlimited stock from Chinese manufacturers has affected sales. Pam did not want to disclose her full name fearing retaliation for speaking with the press.

“[Chinese products] are selling a lot, but we don’t have that much stock. The government still allows the products from overseas. Our sales have dropped down a little bit,” she told VOA.

For some customers, retaining regular customers is key to beating cheaper alternatives.

Prang is part-owner of V.C. shop, a clothing store which specializes in loose-fitting clothing known as elephant pants.

“The hard advertising from Chinese people [on social media] has had a big effect,” she told VOA. Prang too did not want to give her full name.

“Pants can sell here for 70 baht ($2.04) but Chinese sell for 50 baht ($1.46). In the past we can tell [the difference] between Thai and China products, now China copies look 99 percent the same. We cannot fight with the costs, but we are confident on our material and quality, and we can keep our customers,” she added.

It’s not just Thailand that is trying to reduce low-quality imports. A growing number of countries across Asia are looking for ways to protect local manufacturers and trade.

In India, a proposed temporary tax of 25% on steel imports is likely to be imposed to curb cheaper alternatives from China and boost production from Indian manufacturers, the Reuters news agency reported on December 17.

And in Indonesia, protests against Chinese imports have prompted Jakarta to propose a 200% tariff on certain imported clothing and ceramic goods, to protect small and medium enterprises.

Vietnam also relies heavily on China in trade. Beijing is Hanoi’s largest trading partner, with bilateral trade amounting to more than $171 billion in 2023. Although both governments share communist ideologies and a 1,287-kilometer land border, Vietnam is also acting to combat China’s cheap imports.

In late November, Hanoi banned Chinese online retailers Shein and Temu after the two companies failed to meet a business registration deadline with the Vietnamese government. But local businesses in Vietnam have long voiced concern over discounted products and the sale of counterfeit items from the retailer.

“Cheap Chinese imports from platforms like Shein and Temu are flooding Vietnam’s markets, squeezing local producers and sparking outrage over unfair competition,” Nguyen Khac Giang, Visiting Fellow at ISEAS, told VOA.

“In response the government is cracking down by scrapping VAT exemptions, tightening oversight, and banning platforms which do not register in Vietnam. It’s a bold move to rein in Chinese e-commerce giants and defend local businesses, but I think the fight is far from over,” he added.

Zachary Abuza, a professor at the National War College in Washington who focuses on Southeast Asia politics, says both Thailand and Vietnam may also have another motive.

“China produces on an economy of scale that no one in Southeast Asia can, their productions costs are lower for most products. I think what you see Thailand and Vietnam doing now is trying to court Chinese investment for local production, to create local product ecosystems. But neither is willing to take China head on and accuse them of unfair trading practices,” he told VOA.
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MACAU — China’s President Xi Jinping arrived in Macau on Wednesday to mark a quarter century of Beijing’s rule over the former Portuguese enclave, and is likely during his three-day visit to urge further diversification from its casino industry. 

Xi’s trip to the world’s biggest gambling hub is his third as president, during which he will attend the inauguration of the territory’s new chief executive, elected in October. Xi last visited in 2019 when anti-government protests were rocking the neighboring financial hub of Hong Kong. 

A special administrative region of China, Macau is the only place in the country where gambling is legal, and its economy is heavily dependent on the casino industry, which contributes about 80% of regional tax revenue. 

Located on China’s southern coast, Macau returned to Chinese rule on December 20, 1999, governed under the same “one country, two systems” formula as Hong Kong. 

Beijing has consistently praised Macau for its loyalty and stability, with more than half of its 700,000 population immigrating from China in recent decades.  

The city was on high security ahead of Xi’s arrival on Wednesday, with several roads closed and Macau’s light rapid transit operator announcing the temporary closure of a key section. 

Xi, who was greeted at Macau’s airport by dozens of cheering school children waving yellow and red flowers and lion dancers, said Macau was the “jewel of the motherland.” 

“I have always been concerned about the development of this place and the well-being of all its residents,” he told the crowd, which included senior government officials and Macau’s current leader Ho Iat Seng. 

“In the next few days, I will take a walk, have a look, and have extensive and in-depth exchanges with friends from all walks of life to discuss Macau’s development plans.” 

Since he took office in 2013, Xi has called for the Macanese economy’s “appropriate diversification and sustainable development,” including casinos and the flow of funds across borders within a sweeping anti-corruption drive. The move has throttled gambling revenues from the high roller VIP sector.  

On Thursday, Xi is scheduled to attend a banquet dinner and cultural performance at the Macau Dome, located alongside Macau’s Las Vegas-style Cotai strip, according to the city’s government.  

On Friday, he will attend the anniversary ceremony and the inauguration of Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai, 62, who was born in China’s southern Guangdong province and speaks fluent Portuguese. 

Sam, head of Macau’s highest court since 1999, will become the first city leader to be born and raised in mainland China.  

He was the only candidate given permission by a panel of 400 pro-China loyalists to run in Macau’s election. In December, Sam unveiled his team of officials to govern Macau for the next five years.  

Among them is Tai Kin Ip, a seasoned economy minister whose mandate is to diversify the economy and reduce reliance on gambling revenue brought in by operators Wynn Macau, Sands China, SJM Holdings, Galaxy Entertainment, Melco, and MGM China. 

Sam has vowed to improve residents’ livelihoods and develop non-gaming industries once he takes charge on Friday.  

He said Macau will also develop its role as a conduit between Chinese and Portuguese-speaking countries and its collaboration with other southern Chinese cities in the Greater Bay Area. 

At Beijing’s directive, last year Macau’s government rolled out its first economic blueprint centered on a strategy envisaging tourism and leisure as the main pillars.  

Chinese flags and red congratulatory banners fluttered along roads and over buildings around the city in preparation for the 25th-anniversary celebrations. Casino exteriors displayed large signs to welcome Xi.
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HANOI — Vietnam will showcase locally made weapons at an international arms fair in Hanoi on Thursday, as it seeks to boost its domestic industry and possibly export military equipment. 

Among the nearly 250 exhibitors will be top defense companies, including from the United States, Europe, Turkey and countries at war with each other, such as Israel, Iran, Russia and Ukraine. 

The Southeast Asian nation is a major importer of weapons, especially from Russia, having invested for years in its defense capabilities in an unstable region where it has clashed with China over boundaries in the South China Sea. 

But recently it has also bolstered its domestic defense industry and promoting exports of military products is now a priority, defense ministry officials have repeatedly said. 

State-owned defense firm Viettel and other local companies will showcase missile defense systems, drones, air defense radars, armored vehicles and artillery, according to defense ministry media. 

Some of these weapons will be displayed for the first time, said Nguyen The Phuong, an expert on Vietnam security at Australia’s University of New South Wales. 

He noted a key strategy to strengthen the local industry had been the signing of deals with foreign arms exporters to have some of their components produced in Vietnam. 

Talks with South Korean companies were underway for possible new deals under those conditions, especially for artillery and aviation, he said. 

Similar talks had also been held with companies from other countries, including the Czech Republic, officials said. 

Rivals’ gear on display

At the expo, Iran’s defense ministry will have an entire pavilion, not far from the booths of Israel’s defense firms Israel Aerospace Industries and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems. 

The fair will also host a dozen booths of Russian firms and one for Ukraine’s Motor Sich, an aircraft engine manufacturer. 

A dozen Turkish defense companies, including Aselsan, Turkish Aerospace Industries and Roketsan, are among listed participants, making Turkey’s one of the largest delegations. 

China’s Norinco will be one of two Chinese exhibitors, in a first for a Vietnamese defense fair. 

U.S. defense giants Lockheed Martin, Boeing and Textron Aviation Defense will also have their booths at the fair.  

They have all been involved in talks with Vietnamese authorities for the sale of helicopters. Lockheed is also discussing a possible deal on C-130 Hercules military transport planes, sources had told Reuters. 

Brazil’s Embraer said it will exhibit its C-390 Millennium plane – a rival to the C-130. 

Top European defense firms will also attend, including aerospace giant Airbus, Britain’s BAE Systems, Germany’s Rheinmetall, Italy’s Leonardo and France’s Thales Group. 
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WASHINGTON — The 2025 defense spending authorization bill is coming up to a final vote in the U.S. Senate. As the American Northeast buzzes with drone sightings and fears of foreign surveillance, the bill moves to ban products from the world’s largest drone-maker: China.

In a procedural vote on Monday, senators voted 83-12 in favor of moving to a full vote on the National Defense Authorization Act, a massive piece of annual legislation that sets priorities and authorizes funding for the U.S. Department of Defense.

A provision within the 2025 NDAA aims to create mechanisms for further oversight and prohibition of the use of Chinese drones while working to increase drone supply chain resilience within the U.S. and partner countries.

The bill mandates an investigation into two Chinese drone manufacturers, DJI and Autel Robotics, with the aim of placing them on the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) “Covered List.” This would prevent their use in telecommunications industries. Another section calls for the Department of Defense to regularly disassemble and analyze the components of DJI drones.

The provision on drones draws in part from earlier anti-Chinese drone legislation introduced by Republican Representative Elise Stefanik and Senator Rick Scott. These bills received bipartisan support, showing how concerns over the risk that Chinese drones pose to U.S. national security have united a politically divided Congress.

“DJI drones pose the national security threat of TikTok, but with wings,” Stefanik said. “This Chinese-controlled company cannot be allowed to continue to operate in the U.S.”

During an interview on Fox News, Democratic Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi described how he collaborated with Stefanik to draft legislation on Chinese drones to be included in the NDAA.

“These Chinese-manufactured drones allow for the CCP, the Chinese Communist Party, to access data in a backdoor manner and ultimately surveil Americans,” Krishnamoorthi said.

China’s DJI dominates the production and sale of household drones, with 2021 estimates suggesting that the company accounts for 76% of the worldwide consumer market and about 90% of the U.S. market. While more companies have emerged in past years, DJI still controls the largest share of the market.

This gives the U.S. an increased imperative to diversify the domestic drone economy, Carlos Gimenez, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee’s Transportation and Maritime Security Subcommittee, told VOA.

“We have to go a little cold turkey on this one. To say, ‘No, we can’t buy that anymore,’” Gimenez said. “You have to look for other suppliers, which then will slowly incentivize American companies to start building them.”

While the Chinese drone ban has bipartisan support within Congress, it faces pushback from drone enthusiasts and nongovernmental organizations that oppose a blanket ban on Chinese drone products.

Brandon Karr, spokesperson for the nonprofit Law Enforcement Drone Association (LEDA), supports the development of stricter and more rigorous data security regulations for drones rather than an all-out ban, which could pose problems for American law enforcement and safety agencies.

Karr has written to Congress, advocating for agencies to develop their own protocol and oversight for drone data security and to maintain their right to use Chinese drones while minimizing their risk.

LEDA leads training on drone operation and best practices for public safety and law enforcement. All 30 of the drones the group uses for training are made by Chinese companies.

“Generally speaking, over 90% of public safety agencies in the nation and worldwide today are utilizing Chinese aircraft,” Karr said. “So in the event that a bill like this would go fully through and would potentially ban the use of Chinese drones for public safety, it’d be catastrophic for the public safety drone industry.”

The biggest advantage of Chinese drones is their low cost, especially when compared with American models. Karr told VOA that he’d rather use American products, but that domestically produced drones were double the price of those made in China and included more maintenance fees.

“There’s not a law enforcement entity across the United States that would rather fly a Chinese aircraft over an American if they were competitively priced,” he said.

In addition to LEDA, the California Fire Chiefs Association, the Air Public Safety Association and other groups have written to Congress saying the bill will harm them, with most citing concerns over cost.

In an interview with VOA in August, Republican Senator Marco Rubio called Chinese drones “a huge vulnerability,” and said that data security regulations would not address the security risks of Chinese drones given their frequent software updates.

People “just want drones, and these are the cheapest ones they can find,” said Rubio, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for secretary of state in the next administration. “We need to help incentivize the development of alternative manufacturers that are cost effective for law enforcement, for utility companies, for others.”

DJI has not yet responded to VOA’s request for comment on the latest version of the NDAA, which could ban the company’s drones.

However, when votes were taken to include a ban of DJI drones in the NDAA in the House of Representatives earlier this year, DJI representatives told VOA that the moves “suggest protectionism and undermine the principles of fair competition and an open market.”

“Our drones have enabled the growth of entire industries, empowering small businesses in sectors such as agriculture, real estate, and transportation. These businesses depend on the accessibility of DJI’s drone technology to thrive. We believe that innovation, security, and privacy can coexist and are essential to advancing the drone industry and the interests of all stakeholders,” wrote DJI representatives.

DJI has consistently denied claims that it sends drone data to the Chinese government.

Katherine Michaelson contributed to this report.
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The Pacific Islands increased their engagement and advocacy on the global stage in 2024 — whether through climate action or by taking advantage of U.S.-China geopolitical competition. The two countries have been vying for influence in the region. VOA’s Jessica Stone reports. Videographer: Jessica Stone, Charley Piringi
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Taipei, Taiwan — Australia signed two multi-million dollar deals with Nauru and Papua New Guinea last week that analysts say will help Canberra counter China’s growing influence in the Pacific.

The deals, which support development in Nauru and pledge to pour hundreds of millions over the next 10 years into the establishment of a rugby team in Papua New Guinea, also give Australia some power to prevent the two island nations from signing security-related deals with China.

Beijing has been aggressively expanding its cooperation with islands in the Pacific in recent years, to the concern of Australia, the U.S. and other allies in the region. 

Under the multi-million dollar deal that Australia signed on December 9 with Nauru, Canberra will offer $89 million to the Pacific Island country over five years, providing key development support in banking, telecommunication, and security.

In exchange, Australia can veto any engagements by third countries in the Pacific island country’s security and critical infrastructure sectors.

During a signing ceremony at Australia’s Parliament House on December 9, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described the agreement as “a serious responsibility and a sign of the enduring respect between our two nations.”

Nauruan President David Adeang said the treaty would help his country, which faces serious financial challenges, strengthen its economy and address critical challenges.

Mihai Sora, director of the Pacific Islands program at Lowy Institute in Australia, says Australia has to make such agreements despite the cost.

“China has an increasing security access to the Pacific, whether through policing, or military land, air or sea assets, and that raises the cost of Australia’s defense posture,” Sora told VOA in a video interview.  “Locking in this legal agreement with Nauru is one part of the effort to maintain Australia’s access and to deny China’s access to that space.”

Last week, Australia also struck a deal with Papua New Guinea, or PNG, that will see Canberra provide $384 million over 10 years to help the Pacific Island country set up a rugby team that will start competing in Australia’s national rugby league in 2028.  The funding is also expected to help build a compound to accommodate players and offer tax breaks to recruit players.

In return, PNG signed a separate pact that reaffirms Australia as the country’s major security partner.

While many details of the two agreements remain confidential, analysts and media outlets briefed by Canberra said the deals allow Australia to withdraw funding for the rugby team if PNG signs a security agreement with a country outside the so-called “Pacific Family,” which excludes China.

“We know from briefings with government officials and media reports that there is a security commitment that PNG has agreed to not to sign a policing or military deal with China,” Sora told VOA.

Some PNG analysts say the agreement is part of Australia’s attempt to build closer ties with PNG’s civil society.

“Australia realized that all this aid and budgetary support that it has been giving to PNG hasn’t translated into buying support for them at the grassroots level and since a lot of people in PNG support Australian rugby teams, [Canberra] picks a sport that a good portion of the PNG population is crazy over, with a hope that it could generate more support for Australia at the grassroots level in PNG,” Michael Kabuni, an analyst who previously taught at the University of Papua New Guinea, told VOA in a video interview.

During a ceremony announcing the deal in Sydney on December 12, PNG Prime Minister James Marape said the agreement could help his country foster domestic unity and unite PNG and Australia together “in ways that matter most, people to people.”

Analysts say the agreements with Nauru and PNG are part of the more “assertive” diplomatic push in the Pacific that Australia initiated in 2022 after China signed a secretive security agreement with the Solomon Islands.

“Australia and a lot of its allies, including the United States, were caught off guard with the security deal between the Solomon Islands and China, and by signing the deals with these Pacific Island countries, Canberra demonstrates that it wants to show itself as the partner of choice, and some of the Pacific states are responding,” Henryk Szadziewski, an expert on Pacific affairs at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, told VOA by phone.

While Australia may limit China’s security presence in the Pacific region through these deals, Szadziewski said Pacific island countries can still deepen relations with Beijing in other sectors, including education and trade.

“The ways that Chinese companies can enter the economic sector in the Pacific region are not excluded by these deals and this has been a key way for China to make inroads in the Pacific region in terms of influence,” he added.

VOA reached out to the Chinese foreign ministry and the Chinese embassy in Australia for comment but has yet to receive a response.

During a meeting with Samoa’s prime minister Fiame Naomi Mata’afa in Beijing last month, Chinese President Xi Jinping said China “is willing to make empowering Pacific island countries to tackle climate change a priority in its cooperation with these countries.”

Now that Australia has obtained some power to veto security deals in some Pacific countries, Sora said Canberra has to ensure its own priorities don’t overshadow Pacific island countries’ interests and needs.

“Canberra has retained the security manager role [in the Pacific] so the challenge is to demonstrate that Pacific countries’ security needs aren’t subordinate and their own priorities don’t come after Australia’s interests,” he told VOA.

Australia’s focus will be “proving to Pacific countries that their security needs will now be better met as a result of these agreements because anything short of that will leave themselves open to criticism,” Sora added. 
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TAIPEI — The mayor of Taiwan’s capital told visiting Chinese officials on Tuesday he hoped for peace and wanted less of the “howls of ships and aircraft” around the island, saying dialog trumps confrontation.

China, which views democratically-governed Taiwan as its own territory, sends warplanes and warships near the island on an almost daily basis, and held a new round of mass military activities last week.

Addressing the annual Taipei Shanghai City Forum with Shanghai Vice Mayor Hua Yuan in attendance, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an used poetic language to say he wished for peace across the Taiwan Strait.

“More dialog and less confrontation; more olive branches of peace and less sour grapes of conflict. More lights from fishing boats to adorn the sunset; less of the howls of ships and aircraft,” Chiang said.

“I always say that the more tense and difficult the moment, the more we need to communicate,” he added.

China has continued to send warplanes and warships into the strait even with the forum taking place, with Taiwan’s defense ministry saying on Tuesday morning that in the past 24 hours it had detected 10 military aircraft and seven warships.

Chiang is from Taiwan’s main opposition party, the Kuomintang, which traditionally favors close ties across the Taiwan Strait although it denies being pro-Beijing. He is widely considered a future presidential contender.

The forum, first held in 2010, is one of the few high-level venues for talks between Chinese and Taiwanese officials after China cut off a regular dialog mechanism with Taiwan’s central government in 2016 following the election of Tsai Ing-wen as president.

Tsai, and her successor Lai Ching-te, refuse to acknowledge Beijing’s position that both China and Taiwan are part of “one China.” Lai, like Tsai, says only Taiwan’s people can decide their future, rejecting Beijing’s sovereignty claims.

Hua told the forum he hoped for closer practical cooperation.

“Compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait have always been one family. We often come and go, getting closer and closer to each other,” he said.

Shanghai tour group trips to Taiwan will restart, Hua added, offering his own olive branch given China has yet to allow a full post-pandemic resumption of tourism to the island.

Taiwan’s China-policy making Mainland Affairs Council said on Monday the government was showing goodwill by allowing the forum to take place even in the face of the “still serious situation across the Taiwan Strait.”

 
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The first delivery of 38 M1A2T Abrams main battle tanks purchased by Taiwan from the United States arrived early Monday at the army training base in Hsinchu County, northern Taiwan. Analysts say the tanks will provide a generational upgrade to Taiwan’s armored forces.

Click here to see the full story in Mandarin.
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Taipei, Taiwan — Taiwan has received 38 advanced Abrams battle tanks from the United States, the defense ministry said Monday, reportedly the island’s first new tanks in 30 years.

Washington has long been Taipei’s most important ally and biggest arms supplier — angering Beijing, which claims Taiwan as part of its own territory.

The M1A2 tanks — the first batch of 108 ordered in 2019 — arrived in Taiwan late Sunday and were transferred to an army training base in Hsinchu, south of the capital Taipei, the defense ministry said.

The M1A2s are the first new tanks to be delivered to Taiwan in 30 years, the semi-official Central News Agency said.

Taiwan’s current tank force consists of around 1,000 Taiwan-made CM 11 Brave Tiger and U.S.-made M60A3 tanks, technology that is increasingly obsolete.

Abrams tanks, which are among the heaviest in the world, are a mainstay of the U.S. military.

Taiwan faces the constant threat of an invasion by China, which has refused to rule out using force to bring the self-ruled island under its control.

China’s foreign ministry on Monday urged the United States to “stop arming Taiwan… and supporting Taiwan independence forces.”

“The Taiwan authorities’ attempt to seek independence through force and foreign help is doomed to fail,” ministry spokesman Lin Jian said.

“China will firmly defend its national sovereignty, security and territorial integrity.”

While it has a home-grown defense industry and has been upgrading its equipment, Taiwan relies heavily on U.S. arms sales to bolster its security capabilities.

Taiwan requested the state-of-the-art M1A2 tanks in 2019, allocating the equivalent of more than $1.2 billion for them. The rest of the order is expected to be delivered in 2025 and 2026, an army official told AFP.

While U.S. arms supplies to Taiwan are enshrined into law, a massive backlog caused by Covid-19 supply chain disruptions and U.S. weapons shipments to Ukraine and Israel have slowed deliveries to Taiwan.

The backlog now exceeds $21 billion, according to Washington think tank Cato Institute.

 

Taiwan would be massively outgunned in terms of troop numbers and firepower in any war with China and in recent years has increased spending on its military.

Taipei allocated a record $19 billion for 2024 and next year’s budget is set to hit a new high as it seeks to bolster its defense approach.

China has increased military pressure on Taiwan in recent years, regularly deploying fighter jets and warships around the island.

Taiwanese authorities said last week that China had held its biggest maritime drills in years, with around 90 ships deployed from near the southern islands of Japan to the South China Sea.

The vessels simulated attacks on foreign ships and practiced blockading sea routes, a Taiwan security official said previously.

Beijing did not confirm the drills and its defense ministry did not say whether the maneuvers had taken place when asked at a press conference on Friday.
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Bangkok — Thailand said on Monday it will host two regional meetings on Myanmar this week, with at least one to have representatives of the junta, as the Malaysian Prime Minister said efforts were being made to bring Myanmar back to the fore of ASEAN.

Thai foreign minister Maris Sangiampongsa will hold the separate consultations on Dec 19 and 20, after Thailand in October offered to host informal talks to try to find a way out of the crisis that has gripped Myanmar since a 2021 military coup.

Representatives from Myanmar will take part in Thursday’s meeting, which Thai foreign ministry spokesman Nikorndej Balankura said would be an informal consultation on border security and transnational crime.

Representatives from China, India, Bangladesh, Laos and Thailand, which all share borders with Myanmar, will also attend.

On Friday, there will be a foreign minister-level meeting on Myanmar for “interested members” of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), including discussing ASEAN’s “Five Point Consensus” plan for peace in the country, Nikorndej said.

It is not clear if Myanmar will have any representatives at Friday’s meeting, and if so at what level.

Since the coup, ASEAN has snubbed Myanmar’s military leaders by only inviting non-political representatives from the country to regional meetings of leaders and foreign ministers.

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who will chair ASEAN in 2025, said on Monday that he was committed to implementing ASEAN’s peace plan, which has made scant progress since its unveiling in April 2021 soon after the coup.

“We are taking measures through dialogues informally at different levels to ensure Myanmar participates, and bring back Myanmar to the fore of ASEAN,” Anwar said at a joint press conference in Kuala Lumpur with Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, without elaborating further.

Indonesia has said its foreign minister will attend the Dec 20 meeting.

Chaos has prevailed in Myanmar since the 2021 military coup sparked a nationwide rebellion and a civil war that has ravaged the nation of 55 million.

At a summit in October, ASEAN called for “an immediate cessation” of violence and the creation of a “conducive environment for the delivery of humanitarian assistance and inclusive national dialogue” that is “Myanmar-owned and –led.”
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Seoul, South Korea — South Korea’s Constitutional Court says it has begun its first meeting on the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol.

South Korea’s opposition-controlled parliament on Saturday vowed to impeach Yoon over his short-lived martial law this month.

Yoon’s presidential powers have been suspended. The Constitutional Court has up to 180 days to determine whether to dismiss Yoon from office or restore his presidential powers, but observers say that a court ruling could come faster.

The court says its first meeting on Yoon’s impeachment began on Monday morning as scheduled. It gave no further details.

Meanwhile, South Korean law enforcement authorities are pushing to summon impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol for questioning over his short-lived martial law decree as the Constitutional Court is set to begin its first meeting Monday on Yoon’s case to determine whether to remove him from office or reinstate him.

A joint investigative team involving police, an anti-corruption agency and the Defense Ministry plans to convey a request to Yoon’s office that he appear for questioning on Wednesday, the police said, as they expand a probe into whether his ill-conceived power grab amounted to rebellion.

Yoon was impeached by the opposition-controlled National Assembly on Saturday over his Dec. 3 martial law decree. His presidential powers will be suspended until the Constitutional Court decides whether to formally remove him from office or reinstate him. If Yoon is dismissed, an election to choose his successor must be held within 60 days.

Yoon has justified his martial law enforcement as a necessary act of governance against an opposition he described as “anti-state forces” bogging down his agendas and vowed to “fight to the end” against efforts to remove him from office.

Hundreds of thousands of protesters have poured onto the streets of the country’s capital, Seoul, in recent days, calling for Yoon’s ouster and arrest.

It remains unclear whether Yoon will grant the request by investigators for an interview. South Korean prosecutors, who are pushing a separate investigation into the incident, also reportedly asked Yoon to appear at a prosecution office for questioning on Sunday but he refused to do so. Repeated calls to a prosecutors’ office in Seoul were unanswered.

Yoon’s office has also resisted a police attempt to search the compound for evidence.

Previous cases

In the case of parliamentary impeachments of past presidents — Roh Moo-hyun in 2004 and Park Geun-hye in 2016 — the court spent 63 days and 91 days respectively before determining to reinstate Roh and dismiss Park.

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who will serve as the country’s acting leader while Yoon’s powers are suspended, and other government officials have sought to reassure allies and markets after Yoon’s surprise stunt paralyzed politics, halted high-level diplomacy and complicated efforts to revive a faltering economy.

Liberal opposition leader Lee Jae-myung, whose Democratic Party holds a majority in the National Assembly, urged the Constitutional Court to rule swiftly on Yoon’s impeachment and proposed a special council for policy cooperation between the government and parliament.

Lee, a firebrand lawmaker who for years drove a political offensive against Yoon’s government, is seen as the frontrunner to replace him. He lost the 2022 presidential election to Yoon by a razor-thin margin.

Kweon Seong-dong, floor leader of Yoon’s conservative People Power Party, separately criticized Lee’s proposal, saying that it’s “not right” for the opposition party to act like the ruling party.

Kweon, a Yoon loyalist, said his party will use existing PPP-government dialogue channels “to continue to assume responsibility as the governing party until the end of President Yoon’s term.”

Yoon’s Dec. 3 imposition of martial law, the first of its kind in more than four decades, harkened back to an era of authoritarian leaders the country has not seen since the 1980s. Yoon was forced to lift his decree hours later after parliament unanimously voted to overturn it.

Yoon sent hundreds of troops and police officers to the parliament in an effort to stop the vote, but they withdrew after the parliament rejected Yoon’s decree. No major violence occurred.

Opposition parties have accused Yoon of rebellion, saying a president in South Korea is allowed to declare martial law only during wartime or similar emergencies and would have no right to suspend parliament’s operations even in those cases.
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