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Category: East
East news. East is the direction toward which the Earth rotates about its axis, and therefore the general direction from which the Sun appears to rise. The practice of praying towards the East is older than Christianity, but has been adopted by this religion as the Orient was thought of as containing mankind’s original home
India, Bangladesh boost defense ties to counterweigh China
NEW DELHI — India and Bangladesh on Saturday moved to bolster their defense relationship and signed agreements for expanding cooperation in maritime security, ocean economy, and space and telecommunication sectors, as New Delhi presents itself as a regional power and a counterweight to China.
The agreements were signed during Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s visit to India, the first foreign leader to visit New Delhi since Narendra Modi became the country’s prime minister for a third term two weeks ago.
Modi welcomed Bangladesh’s decision to join his Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative to expand and facilitate regional cooperation of India’s maritime neighbors. He said the deals with Dhaka were part of his country’s pursuit of a neighborhood-first approach.
Bangladesh also enjoys good ties with China, its major trade partner mostly for raw materials. But maintaining a close relationship with Beijing is challenging for Bangladesh, which also balances diplomatic and trade relationships with India and the United States, China’s main rivals.
Bangladesh’s garment industry, which brings in more than 80% of foreign currency from exports, is heavily dependent on China for raw materials.
Hasina told reporters in New Delhi that the two countries decided to boost the sharing of river waters and cooperation in the power and energy sectors.
She also met Indian industry leaders and invited them to invest in Bangladesh, which plans to develop bigger ports, waterways rail, and road connectivity. India loaned Bangladesh $8 billion in the last eight years, to help expand that infrastructure.
Since Hasina’s Awami League party came to power in 2009, she has acted to address New Delhi’s concern about Indian militant groups taking shelter in Bangladesh.
However, an agreement on sharing the waters of the River Teesta remains elusive. The question of illegal immigration from Bangladesh to India also has dogged bilateral ties for years.
India is Bangladesh’s largest export destination in Asia. Trade between the two countries touched $15.9 billion in the financial year 2022-23.
New Delhi mainly exports cotton, motor vehicles, sugar, iron, steel, aluminum, electrical and electronic equipment to Bangladesh. It imports cereal, pulp paper and board, cement and raw hides from Bangladesh.
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Rescuers find family of 6 dead in landslide in eastern China
BEIJING — A family of six was found dead by rescuers in Fujian province, state media reported Saturday, adding to the extreme weather deaths after downpours caused landslides in the area, even as authorities extended a warning of more severe weather ahead.
The six people, who had previously been reported missing, were found dead in a temple near their home by rescuers after days of searching in Fujian’s Shanghang county, according to the state-backed Hongxing news. They had gone to the temple seeking shelter, as it was on higher ground, but the building was toppled by a landslide, killing the family.
Authorities on Friday said 47 people were dead in neighboring Guangdong province, which has seen historic flooding caused by the rains. The weather damaged more than a hundred bridges and flooded farmland and destroyed roads connecting rural townships.
The heaviest rains fell from Sunday into Tuesday, toppling trees and collapsing homes, and authorities estimated billions of dollars in damage.
China’s National Meteorological Center issued a warning for more extreme weather across a swath of provinces in the south on Saturday, extending a warning from Friday, and for a few areas in the north.
Henan and Anhui provinces in central China, as well as Jiangsu province on the coast and the southern province of Guizhou, all are expecting hail and strong thunderstorms, according to the forecast.
In Heilongjiang province in the northeast, railways canceled multiple trains running over the weekend owing to the heavy rain.
Last week, Fujian and Guangxi provinces in southern China experienced landslides and flooding amid heavy rain. One student died in Guangxi after falling into a river swollen from the downpour.
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Xi signals further military purges to eradicate corruption
Washington — Speaking at China’s first military political work conference in a decade this week, Chinese President Xi Jinping reiterated the need for the military to eliminate corruption and strengthen its loyalty to the Chinese Communist Party. He also warned of “deep-seated issues” in the military’s politics, ideology, work style and discipline.
“The gun barrels should always be in the hands of those who are loyal and reliable to the party and there must be no place for corrupt elements to hide in the military,” Xi said in his remarks, according to China’s state broadcaster CCTV.
In a lengthy overview, Xi urged the military to enhance the thoroughness of its ideological transformation by following the Communist Party’s theories, improving the leadership of party organizations, and eradicating conditions that may allow corruption to thrive.
Chieh Chung, a military researcher at the National Policy Foundation in Taiwan, said the remarks show that “Xi wants to emphasize the importance for the military to be loyal to the party and his leadership while signaling his concerns about how corruption affects the military” and its capabilities.
Xi “hopes the warnings can help accelerate the development of advanced technologies and equipment,” Chieh told VOA by phone.
Since last July, China has ousted more than a dozen top military commanders, including former defense minister Li Shangfu, and leaders of the People’s Liberation Army’s Rocket Force.
While the Chinese government hasn’t publicly linked their removals to corruption, some foreign media outlets and experts see their removal as part of the extended anti-corruption campaign Xi initiated since he came to power in 2012.
Reuters reported last September that Li was facing an investigation related to the procurement of military equipment.
The removal of top military leaders not only highlights the prevalence of corruption; it also raises other questions.
“Since corruption has hampered Russia’s ability to supply its military in the Ukraine war, it raises the question of whether the Chinese military’s capabilities have been compromised by corruption or not,” Lin Ying-yu, a military expert at Tamkang University in Taiwan, told VOA by phone.
There is also a concern about the impact Xi’s persistent attempts to eradicate corruption will have on the military internally.
“When a former defense minister can be abruptly removed from his position without any clear explanation, it will create a deep sense of fear within the military because no one knows when they might be the next one to be purged,” said Su Tzu-yun, a military expert at the Taipei-based Institute for National Defense and Security Research.
Su said this is part of the Communist Party’s strategy of “ruling with terror,” which allows Xi to concentrate decision-making power on the top leadership within the party.
“While tackling corruption in the military is important to Xi, the anti-corruption campaign has become a political tool for him to consolidate his control over the military,” Su told VOA by phone.
In January, the state-run People’s Liberation Army Daily published an opinion piece that emphasized the importance of implementing Xi’s instructions for the military and extending the party’s governance to the grassroots level.
“By strengthening the supervision of military personnel, it builds a firm first line of defense for soldiers to comply with the rules and refuse to be corrupted,” said the opinion piece run by the PLA Daily.
While Xi looks to consolidate control and build loyalty, both Chieh and Su see other potential side-effects such as the promotion of unqualified leaders and the impact that could have on the military’s capabilities and readiness.
“When Beijing puts so much emphasis on loyalty to the party, it could reduce the military’s combat capabilities and make the military huge but weak,” Su said.
Xi’s expressed desire to continue cracking down on corruption also means the Chinese military may need to go through a period of adjustment, Chieh said.
“Normally, the military’s combat capabilities will decrease following several rounds of purges, so I expect the Chinese military to go through a tough period of adjustment and reorganization over the next few years,” he told VOA.
And while top officials in the U.S. have repeatedly highlighted 2027 as the year that the Chinese military aims to possess the capabilities to invade Taiwan, Chieh thinks the purges and Xi’s remarks at the political work conference suggest the PLA may be hard pressed to achieve that goal.
“Since the Chinese military’s command system and the rocket force’s capabilities may not have reached the goal set by the top leadership due to rampant corruption, I think this makes it even less likely for the Chinese military to have the capabilities required to invade Taiwan by 2027,” he said.
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Russia-North Korea defense pact moves military cooperation out of shadows
washington — A new defense pact signed between Russia and North Korea this week publicly laid out Moscow’s willingness to engage in full-fledged military cooperation with Pyongyang, in contrast to their denials prior to the summit, analysts said.
Before Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Pyongyang for a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Wednesday, it was already widely believed that Moscow was transferring military technology to Pyongyang for weapons upgrades.
In 2023, North Korea launched the solid-fuel Hwasong-18 missile for the first time. After analyzing the shape and color of the smoke at the tail of the missile, experts said these technologies appeared to have come from Russia.
At the same time, U.S. and other officials have accused North Korea of providing Russia with large quantities of conventional munitions for its war in Ukraine.
In September, Kim showed an interest in various military assets during his tour of Russia’s satellite launch site, fighter jet factory, and Pacific Fleet equipped with nuclear-capable bombers and hypersonic missiles.
Both Russia and North Korea denied any arms dealings between them prior to Putin’s visit to Pyongyang.
It is still uncertain exactly what types of military technology Moscow could provide Pyongyang.
But at the summit, Moscow made explicit its willingness to prop up Pyongyang’s military in return for continued flow of munitions to use against Ukraine, according to Bruce Bechtol Jr., a former intelligence officer at the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency and now a professor at Angelo State University in Texas.
In the Treaty of Comprehensive Strategic Partnership signed between Putin and Kim at their summit, the two agreed to set up “mechanisms” for undertaking “measures” for “strengthening the defense capabilities.”
They also agreed to develop and cooperate in the areas of science and technology, including space.
At a joint press conference following their summit, Putin said Moscow “does not rule out developing military and technical cooperation” with Pyongyang as agreed on in the pact in response to the U.S. and other NATO countries’ allowing weapons that they supplied to Ukraine being used against targets inside Russia.
Kim and Putin also agreed in the treaty to intervene militarily if either North Korea or Russia is invaded. But Bechtol said the most significant part of the treaty “is military cooperation.”
“We’re not going to invade North Korea. We’re not going to invade Russia. It’s all about the military cooperation, the arms deals” that have “no limits” and will be made in a “barter” form rather than in a “cash and carry” arrangement, he said.
Any arms exports or imports by North Korea would violate U.N. Security Council resolutions.
Putin trade proposal
In an article by Putin published by North Korea’s state-run newspaper Rodong Sinmun on Tuesday ahead of his arrival in Pyongyang, Putin said Russia and North Korea would develop a trade and payment system not controlled by the West. This would make it easier to circumvent international sanctions on both countries.
Joshua Stanton, a Washington-based attorney who helped draft the North Korea Sanctions and Policy Enforcement Act of 2016, said, “Russia and North Korea have been talking about setting up ruble-based and renminbi-based payment systems for at least a decade.”
He continued: “It never worked before. It would probably violate U.N. sanctions, and if our Treasury Department is willing to impose secondary sanctions on the banks that facilitate it, it will fail again.”
Moscow and Pyongyang are likely to exchange military hardware using railways rather than sea routes to avoid “any kind of interdiction,” said David Maxwell, vice president of the Center for Asia Pacific Strategy. He said the idea of interdiction could be discussed when Washington, Seoul and Tokyo meet on the sidelines of a NATO summit in July.
Putin said at a press conference in Pyongyang this week that Russian Railways will participate in the upgrade of the Khasan-Rajin railway crossing between the two countries.
‘High intensity of commitment’
Even without the treaty, military cooperation — including arms transfers from Russia to North Korea — was likely to have gone forward, according to Bechtol and other analysts.
“I frankly don’t think that the treaty makes a huge difference,” said Michael Kimmage, who from 2014 to 2016 served on the Secretary’s Policy Planning Staff at the U.S. State Department, where he held the Russia-Ukraine portfolio.
“It’s signaling a high intensity of commitment” and “a longevity of commitment,” which “in and of itself is quite significant,” but “I don’t think the treaty itself is that dramatic of a turning point,” he said.
Bruce Bennett, a senior defense analyst at the RAND Corporation, said, “It is hard to imagine this new agreement makes it easier for Russia to transfer military technologies to North Korea, given the transfers in recent years of Iskander missile technology, liquid oxygen and petroleum fuel for satellite launchers, repair of satellite launcher problems, GPS jammers, and 24 mm MRL precision guidance.”
He continued: “I think the bottom line is not the greater feasibility of weapons technology transfers but the Russian government’s greater political willingness to make the transfers.”
Putin’s outspoken willingness to cooperate militarily with Pyongyang has prompted deep concerns in both Seoul and Washington.
A senior South Korean presidential official said on Thursday that Seoul will now consider sending arms directly to Ukraine. Seoul has withheld providing lethal weapons to Ukraine since Russia invaded the country in February 2022.
A spokesperson for the South Korean foreign ministry told VOA’s Korean Service on Thursday that Seoul is “gravely concerned” about the treaty and the declaration of military technology cooperation “that outrightly violates U.N. Security Council resolutions.”
A State Department spokesperson told VOA Korean on Wednesday that “deepening cooperation between Russia and the DPRK is a trend that should be of great concern.” The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) is North Korea’s official name.
In contrast, Liu Pengyu, a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, told VOA on Thursday that Moscow and Pyongyang have “a normal need for exchanges, cooperation and a closer relationship.”
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Cities, provinces across China join global propaganda push
WASHINGTON — Each year, China’s government spends billions on foreign propaganda and until recently those efforts were largely driven by departments in the central government and state media. Now, a growing number of cities are joining that effort, with the China Media Project, an independent research group, recently documenting at least 23 foreign propaganda centers at China’s city and provincial levels.
China experts say the move makes sense because it allows Beijing to draw on more resources and create tailored messages at a time when the country’s image is facing serious challenges over concerns that range from trade to human rights as well its handling of the COVID pandemic.
“The battle for discourse power requires all hands on deck,” Jonathan Sullivan, a China specialist at the University of Nottingham, told VOA.
“In every sector, China brings its full capacity — institutional, financial and human resources — to the fight, so it is normal” for Beijing to do the same with propaganda, Sullivan said.
Joshua Kurlantzick, author of Beijing’s Global Media Offensive, said this is one of the many attempts to spread the Chinese Communist Party, or CCP, propaganda.
“If one doesn’t work, China has so many efforts they can try others,” he told VOA in a written response.
The centers are popping up across the country and the most recent was on June 7, when China’s northeastern city of Tianjin established the Tianjin International Communication Center, or TICC.
According to the city’s state-run newspaper, the Tianjin Daily, the new center will “use lenses and pens to demonstrate a lively Tianjin to the outside world” and “serve the country’s overall public diplomacy.”
The establishment of the TICC follows the formation on May 31 of Zhejiang International Communication Center. That provincial-level center, according to the China Public Diplomacy Association, will “showcase China’s governance through the Zhejiang model … and allow the world to truly understand China.”
Since 2023, the spread of global propaganda centers at the local level began expanding rapidly. On July 3, 2023, Shenzhen formed the SZMG International Communication Center. A few days later, eastern Jiangsu province established Jiangsu International Communication Center on July 12.
Shanghai joined in October 2023 with SMG International, a city-level external communication base dubbed as “a video window for Shanghai’s city image.”
On January 6, 2024, the northern province of Hebei announced its own Great Wall International Communication Center. As of this month, China has established 23 provincial-level external communication centers, tasked to remake China’s approach of delivering its message externally.
Gary Rawnsley, a professor of public diplomacy at the University of Lincoln, said these provincial-level centers indicate China has begun to realize that it cannot carry out the same propaganda to all foreigners.
“I would say that this is a clever and strategic move because it indicates that China is understanding the need to tailor its messages for particular audiences,” he said. “When we look at the activities of some of these centers, they are very much oriented toward the needs and interests of people in neighboring countries.”
Tailored for its audiences
“Tailored” and “targeted” are key words used by provincial-level international communication centers, or ICCs.
An article by Qiushi Journal, the leading official theoretical journal for the Chinese Communist Party, says the centers are “developed based on local propaganda needs” and will become “a new force” for China’s global propaganda.
The Jiangsu International Communication Center has active accounts in seven languages on major social platforms that are blocked in China, including X, formerly known as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
The director of the Hubei Communication Center told a local newspaper that in addition to making full use of social media accounts, the center has adopted a “one place, one policy” approach to tailor the content according to their audiences.
“For example, we focus on football programs to Brazil and Argentina, and culinary shows to Southeast Asia and Italy,” said the center’s director, Cao Xiqing.
Not all the centers were established over the past year.
China’s Yunnan province, which borders Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam, formed the South and Southeast Asian Media Network on May 31, 2022. According to the Information Office of the Yunnan Government, this is “the only international communication center in the country specially designed for audiences in South Asia and Southeast Asia.”
The regional network publishes journals in Burmese, Thai, Cambodian and Lao. In addition to distributing its content on social media, it also has web pages in seven languages — Burmese, Lao, Thai, Khmer, English, Vietnamese and Chinese.
Soft power focus
The local ICCs focus on China’s soft power. Rawnsley from the University of Lincoln said this is deliberate.
“It seems to be that at the central level, they are moving toward a much more political style of programming and letting these regional centers soften their programming for particular audiences and focusing much more on culture, tourism and history,” he told VOA.
VOA examined recent tweets by the Henan International Communication Center and found topics that included night scenes of its capital, Zhengzhou, foreigners learning Chinese medicine, Henan Opera and Shaolin Kung Fu. The Henan ICC also has a promotional video of the Belt and Road Initiative, Beijing’s massive global infrastructure project.
The ICCs also host various activities. For example, the Hubei ICC held an event named “The Story of the Communist Party of China” in May 2023, inviting foreigners in China to learn the history of the CCP.
Rawnsley said this highlights how everything the regional centers are doing is not completely autonomous.
“Everything will be following particular guidelines that are laid down in Beijing,” he said.
Limited effect
Despite their rapid formations, these centers have not attracted much traffic. The Henan ICC, which joined X in November 2022, currently has 19,000 followers. The Jinan ICC’s X account has around 55,000 followers since it was established in April 2022.
China has poured enormous resources into its external propaganda, yet people’s attitudes toward China have worsened in recent years, especially since the 2020 coronavirus outbreak.
A poll by the Pew Research Center in May showed that 81% of Americans have an unfavorable view of China, including 43% who hold a very unfavorable view of the country.
A 2022 poll by Pew that surveyed people in 19 countries found 68% of the respondents had an unfavorable impression of Beijing. The research organization found these unfavorable opinions are related to concerns about China’s policies on human rights.
China has received heavy criticism for its strict policies in Xinjiang, Tibet and Hong Kong, as well as its aggression toward self-ruling island Taiwan, which China claims as a breakaway province. The CCP leadership denies all these accusations.
Rawnsley said the problem China faces is much more than just its presentation.
“China keeps adding more and more platforms, but it doesn’t change the message. It doesn’t change what people know is going on inside China,” he said.
“At the end of the day, policy and behavior determines credibility,” he said. “Actions speak louder than words.”
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Philippines says did not consider invoking US pact over South China Sea clash
MANILA — The Philippines did not consider invoking a mutual defence treaty with the United States after accusing China of disrupting a resupply mission in the disputed South China Sea, officials said on Friday.
A Philippine sailor suffered serious injury after what its military described as “intentional-high speed ramming” by the Chinese Coast Guard on Monday, aiming to disrupt a resupply mission for troops stationed on the Second Thomas Shoal.
Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who also chairs the national maritime council, said the confrontation between Philippine navy sailors and the Chinese coast guard “was probably a misunderstanding or an accident”.
“We are not yet ready to classify this as an armed attack,” Bersamin told a briefing.
The Philippines has a mutual defence treaty with the United States, and U.S. officials including President Joe Biden have reaffirmed its “ironclad” defence commitments against any attack on Philippine aircraft and vessels in the South China Sea.
Andres Centino, a presidential assistant for maritime concerns, said invoking the treaty was not considered in discussions.
The council, however, had recommended to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. that its resupply missions to the disputed shoal should continue to be “scheduled regularly”.
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Historic flooding in China’s Guangdong kills 9
BEIJING — Nine people have died and six are missing after downpours caused historic flooding in rural parts of Guangdong province in southern China, while authorities warned Friday of more flooding ahead in other parts of the country.
Four people died and four are missing, in Meixian district in Guangdong’s Meizhou city, state broadcaster CCTV reported Thursday night. Another five are dead in Jiaoling county, which is also in Meizhou.
The heaviest rains were from Sunday into Tuesday, toppling trees and collapsing homes. A road leading to Meixian district completely collapsed during the heavy rains. The Songyuan river, which winds through Meizhou, experienced its biggest recorded flood, according to CCTV.
The estimated direct economic loss is 3.65 billion yuan ($502 million) in Jiaoling county, while in Meixian district, the loss is 1.06 billion yuan ($146 million).
Other parts of the country also face torrential rains and extreme weather in the next 24 hours, with the National Meteorological Center issuing a warning for several provinces in the south and a few individual places in the north.
Henan and Anhui provinces in central China, as well as Jiangsu province on the coast and the southern province of Guizhou, all are expecting hail and strong thunderstorms, according to the forecast. Rainfall could be as high as 5-8 centimeters in one day in Henan, Anhui and Hubei provinces, the National Meteorological Center said.
Last week, southern Fujian and Guangxi provinces experienced landslides and flooding amid heavy rain. One student died in Guangxi after falling into a river swollen from the downpour.
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US asks Vietnam to support Ukraine’s sovereignty, territorial integrity
WASHINGTON — The United States called on Vietnam Thursday to support Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity following Vladimir Putin’s one-day visit to Hanoi, part of the Russian president’s brief Asian tour seeking to shore up alliances in the face of mounting Western sanctions.
“We expect that any country, when it engages in conversations with the government of Russia, and especially when it hosts leaders from the government of Russia, will make clear their respect for the principles of the U.N. Charter, including sovereignty and territorial integrity, and convey that those principles must be upheld across the world,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told VOA during a briefing on Thursday.
U.S. diplomat to Hanoi
Meanwhile, the State Department’s top diplomat for Asia is traveling to Hanoi to reaffirm ties after the U.S. and Vietnam upgraded their bilateral relationship last year.
“Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel J. Kritenbrink will travel to Hanoi, Vietnam, June 21 to 22,” according to a State Department press release.
“He will meet with senior Vietnam government officials to underscore the strong U.S. commitment to implementing the U.S.-Vietnam Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and to working with Vietnam in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific region.”
Kritenbrink’s trip was planned “well before” Putin’s visit to Hanoi, according to Miller.
Vietnam maintains three tiers of diplomatic relationship with other countries: Comprehensive Partnerships; Strategic Partnerships; and Comprehensive Strategic Partnerships. The United States, China and Russia are among the countries that maintain top-tier ties with Vietnam.
U.S. officials did not have an assessment, when asked by reporters, if there is any indication that Vietnamese companies or people are providing material support to Moscow for its war on Ukraine, or whether Washington has warned Hanoi against it.
At the White House, John Kirby, the National Security Council communications adviser, told reporters that the U.S. will “stay focused on continuing to deepen” the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with Vietnam and “broaden it, improve it, for our own mutual benefit to each other and to the region.”
Putin’s visit to North Korea
Russia and Vietnam pledged Thursday to deepen ties during a state visit by Putin aimed at bolstering his alliances to counter Western efforts to isolate Moscow over the war in Ukraine.
Russia and Vietnam “want to push up cooperation in defense and security, how to deal with nontraditional security challenges on the basis of international law, for peace and security in the region and the world,” Vietnamese President To Lam told reporters after talks with Putin.
Putin traveled to Vietnam, a close ally of Moscow since the Cold War, after talks in Pyongyang with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Those two countries signed a mutual defense pact.
In Washington, Republican Representative Mike Turner, who is the chairperson of the U.S. House of Representatives Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, voiced concerns over the possibility of Russia providing North Korea with technological assistance to improve its long-range ballistic missiles and their ability to directly target the United States.
“I think we’ve all sort of felt intuitively that China, Russia, North Korea, Iran are working together in both their development of capabilities and in their threats to the United States. These symbolic meetings, I think, should allow us to focus on this as a threat that has already been occurring,” Turner said during an event at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.
VOA’s White House correspondent Anita Powell and National Security correspondent Jeff Seldin contributed to this report. Some material in this report came from Reuters and Agence France-Presse.
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Chinese premier sees mixed success in Asia-Pacific charm offensive
SYDNEY — Chinese Premier Li Qiang has wrapped up a three-country tour of the Asia-Pacific region, boosting trade ties and rebuilding relations. But the trip also saw a reemergence of some thorny diplomatic issues.
Through this visit Li, the second most powerful official in China, became the first premier to visit New Zealand and Australia since 2017.
He wrapped up his trip with a stop in Malaysia, marking an almost decade-long lull since his predecessor Li Keqiang visited the Southeast Asian nation in 2015.
Li’s tour heralded some results, including the announcement of new trade deals with New Zealand and Malaysia.
But a bizarre incident in Canberra involving Chinese officials and a formerly imprisoned local journalist was described as “entirely inappropriate” by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
Li’s tour began in a more muted manner, with the premier meeting New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon for talks in Wellington.
The pair announced new agreements on trade and climate change, with Li describing the two countries as “good friends.”
Luxon, though, said the split was “probably 50-50” in time spent discussing differences between the two countries compared to their common interests.
New Zealand’s leader had a “challenging course” to navigate, according to Kathryn Paik, a senior fellow with the Australia Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, balancing economic priorities with concerns over China’s increasing engagement in the Pacific.
“This balancing will become more difficult, as New Zealand continues to become more aware of the detrimental effects of Chinese actions abroad,” Paik told VOA.
The Chinese premier also raised concerns about New Zealand’s potential participation in the AUKUS security alliance — a trilateral pact between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States — that is seen as a counter to Beijing’s influence in the Indo-Pacific region.
From New Zealand, Li touched down in Australia for a meeting closely watched after relations between the two took a nosedive during the pandemic.
Australia’s former Prime Minister Scott Morrison was a vocal critic of China on a number of issues, from human rights to calling for an international inquiry into the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Beijing hit back, slapping tariffs and restrictions on a variety of Australian goods and commodities.
The Albanese administration has worked to rebuild the relationship with the key trading partner and this visit was evidence of how far things have come.
Canberra and Beijing “are back to the normal pattern of relations now,” said former Australian Ambassador to China Geoff Raby.
“Sure, there are big differences and issues that we disagree on. But that’s the same in all relationships,” Raby told VOA.
Beijing’s so-called “panda diplomacy” was on full display during the visit, with Li announcing China would send Adelaide Zoo two new giant pandas, replacing Wang Wang and Fu Ni who are returning to their homeland.
The premier also offered 15-day, visa-free entry for Australian visitors to China, something also promised to New Zealand citizens during his visit there.
Albanese said he and Li also discussed improving military dialogue between the countries, after a recent incident when a Chinese jet dropped flares in the pathway of an Australian defense helicopter over the Yellow Sea.
But while Albanese may have said the trip “renewed and revitalized” relations with China, all local media outlets could talk about was what happened with Cheng Lei — an Australian journalist who recently returned home from three years detention in China.
Lei was reporting on a press conference at Canberra’s Parliament House when Chinese officials appeared to block cameras from filming her.
“It was a complete stuff-up by the Chinese side, stupid, completely stupid. They are their own worst enemies,” said former ambassador Raby.
“It really did deflect attention within Australia from the positive aspects of the visit. It was such a stupid thing,” Raby told VOA.
The final leg of Li’s tour was in Malaysia, with the Chinese premier marking fifty years of diplomatic relations with his hosts.
Li met with Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and the pair witnessed the signing of a slew of new deals, such as a five-year agreement to boost economic and trade cooperation.
The pair also jointly pushed a lever to break ground at the construction of a new railway station that will form a key part of China’s prized Belt and Road Infrastructure project.
In addition, China promised to begin importing fresh durians from Malaysia. The Southeast Asian nation is one of the world’s biggest producers of the notoriously smelly fruit.
Malaysia, like much of the Indo-Pacific, is walking a tightrope in balancing relations with its biggest trading partner China and the United States. Kuala Lumpur recently received large investments from major U.S. companies including Microsoft and Google.
It’s an approach of “strategic ambiguity,” according to James Chin, professor of Asian studies at the University of Tasmania. “They don’t show their hand too openly.”
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Chinese sailors wield knives, axe in disputed sea clash with Philippines
Manila — Chinese coast guard sailors brandished knives, an axe and other weapons in a clash with Philippine naval vessels near a strategic reef in the South China Sea, dramatic new footage released by Manila showed.
The clash took place Monday as Philippine forces attempted to resupply marines stationed on a derelict warship that was deliberately grounded atop the disputed Second Thomas Shoal in 1999 to assert Manila’s territorial claims.
It was the latest in a series of escalating confrontations between Chinese and Philippine ships in recent months as Beijing steps up efforts to push its claims to the disputed area.
Philippine military chief General Romeo Brawner said the “outnumbered” Filipino crew had been unarmed and had fought with their “bare hands.”
A Filipino sailor lost a thumb in the clash, in which the Chinese coast guard confiscated or destroyed Philippine equipment including guns, according to the Philippine military.
Fresh footage released by the Philippine military late Wednesday showed small boats crewed by Chinese sailors shouting, waving knives and using sticks to hit an inflatable boat as a siren blares.
A voice speaking Tagalog can be heard in one clip saying someone had “lost a finger.”
Manila’s footage of the clash stands in stark contrast to photos released by Beijing’s state media on Wednesday, which did not show Chinese forces wielding weapons.
‘Violent confrontation’
Asked about the videos on Thursday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said Manila’s comments on the clash were “totally bogus accusations that confuse black with white.”
He blamed the Philippines for the confrontation, saying they had “escalated tensions” and accused them of ramming Chinese boats.
Lin said the Philippine boats had been trying “to sneak in building materials, but also tried to smuggle in military equipment.”
Beijing has insisted that its coast guard behaved in a “professional and restrained” way and claimed “no direct measures” were taken against Filipino personnel.
But in a clip shared by Manila, a Chinese sailor standing on the deck of one of the boats can clearly be seen waving an axe.
Another shows a Chinese coast guard sailor striking the inflatable boat with a stick. A second man can also be seen stabbing the boat with a knife.
The Philippines military said an axe-wielding sailor had “threatened to injure” a Filipino soldier, while others were “explicitly threatening to harm” Filipino troops.
“The [Chinese coast guard] personnel then began hurling rocks and other objects at our personnel,” Manila said.
“They also slashed the [inflatable boats], rendering them inoperable.”
The Filipino sailors, wearing brown camouflage with helmets and vests, are not carrying weapons in the clips.
“Amidst this violent confrontation, the CCG [Chinese coast guard] also deployed tear gas, intensifying the chaos and confusion, while continuously blaring sirens to further disrupt communication,” the caption said.
Manila has accused Beijing of an “act of piracy” against its forces.
It has also demanded the return of items “looted” by the Chinese side, including seven guns, and reparations for damaged equipment.
‘Perilous’ situation
Analysts say Beijing is escalating confrontations with the Philippines in a bid to push it out of the South China Sea.
Jay Batongbacal, director for the Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea in Manila, told AFP that China’s forces could be poised to seize the grounded Philippine warship, the Sierra Madre.
“The deployment of their forces at present around the Sierra Madre and then the many reefs around the Kalayaan island group is indicative that they’re ready to do it,” he said, referring to Manila-claimed areas in the Spratly Islands.
The United States has said that “an armed attack” against Philippine public vessels, aircraft, armed forces and coastguard anywhere in the South China Sea would require it to come to Manila’s defense as a treaty ally.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken “emphasized that [China’s] actions undermine regional peace and stability” in a call with his Philippine counterpart Enrique A. Manalo on Wednesday, according to the State Department.
Blinken said they also “underscored the United States’ ironclad commitments to the Philippines under our Mutual Defense Treaty.”
Another analyst said the clashes “brought us perilously close” to a point where the United States would be required to intervene militarily.
“The Philippines will likely need to continue resupply missions to the Sierra Madre, one way or another,” said Duan Dang, a Vietnam-based maritime security analyst.
“Backing down and accepting Beijing’s terms regarding these operations would mean relinquishing sovereign rights within its Exclusive Economic Zone,” he said.
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Philippines demands China return rifles, pay for boat damage in sea clash
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine military chief demanded Wednesday that China return several rifles and equipment seized by the Chinese coast guard in a disputed shoal and pay for damages in an assault he likened to an act of piracy in the South China Sea.
Chinese personnel on board more than eight motorboats repeatedly rammed then boarded the two Philippine navy inflatable boats Monday to prevent Filipino navy personnel from transferring food and other supplies including firearms to a Philippine territorial outpost in Second Thomas Shoal, which is also claimed by Beijing, according to Philippine officials.
After a scuffle and repeated collisions, the Chinese seized the boats and damaged them with machetes, knives and hammers. They also seized eight M4 rifles, which were packed in cases, navigation equipment and other supplies and wounded a number of Filipino navy personnel, including one who lost his right thumb, two Philippine security officials told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
The two officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of a lack of authority to publicly discuss the sensitive conflict.
Video and photographs issued by the Philippine military Wednesday night show the chaotic faceoff at the shoal, with Chinese personnel onboard boats brandishing knives, axe and sticks while surrounding two Philippine navy supply boats beside Manila’s ship outpost. Sirens blare constantly as both sides yell at each other and the Chinese smash the Philippine navy boat with a pole and grab what appears to be a bag with a stick.
Pictures show a damaged Philippine navy boat with its side floaters slashed and deflated and another boat with its windshields and navigational screens shattered. A man displays a damaged cellphone.
“We are demanding that the Chinese return our rifles and our equipment and we’re also demanding that they pay for the damage they caused,” Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr., head of the Philippine armed forces, said in a news conference in western Palawan province, where he pinned a medal on the wounded navy officer.
“They boarded our boats illegally and seized our equipment,” Brawner said. “They’re now like pirates with this kind of actions.”
Armed with long knives and machetes, the Chinese coast guard personnel tried to beat the unarmed Filipinos, who resisted with their bare hands by parrying the blows and pushing back the Chinese, Brawner said. “Our objective is also to prevent war.”
Some of the Chinese pointed their knives at the Filipino navy personnel, he said.
China blamed the Philippines for the confrontation, saying the Filipino personnel “trespassed” into the shoal in defiance of its warnings.
“This is the direct cause of the incident,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said in Beijing. “The Chinese coast guard at the scene has taken professional law-enforcement measures with restraint aimed at stopping the illegal supply mission by the Philippine vessels and no direct measures were taken against the Philippine personnel.”
The United States renewed a warning Tuesday that it is obligated to defend the Philippines, a treaty ally.
Second Thomas Shoal, part of the disputed Spratly Islands, has been occupied by a small Philippine navy contingent aboard a grounded warship that has been closely monitored by China’s coast guard and navy in a yearslong territorial standoff. China claims the South China Sea virtually in its entirety.
There is fear that disputes in the South China Sea, long regarded as an Asian flashpoint, could escalate and pit the United States and China in a larger conflict. Aside from China and the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have conflicting territorial claims in the busy waterway.
Since last year, hostilities between China and the Philippines have escalated in the disputed waters, particularly in Second Thomas Shoal, which is less than 370 kilometers from the Philippine coast and where the BRP Sierra Madre, now encrusted with rust, was deliberately grounded in 1999 to create a territorial outpost. The ship remains an actively commissioned military vessel, meaning an attack on it could be considered by the Philippines as an act of war.
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US lawmakers meet Dalai Lama as China slams visit
New Delhi — A group of U.S. lawmakers met the Dalai Lama in India’s northern town of Dharamshala Wednesday, amid cheers from Tibetans in exile and an angry reaction from China, which calls the Tibetan spiritual leader a separatist and a splittist.
The visit follows the passage last week of a bill by the U.S. Congress that seeks to encourage dialogue between Beijing and Tibetan leaders in exile, who have been seeking more autonomy for Tibet. Talks with the Dalai Lama’s representatives and China stalled in 2010.
“This bill is a message to the Chinese government that we have clarity in our thinking and our understanding of this issue of the freedom of Tibet,” Nancy Pelosi, former House Speaker, said to cheers from hundreds of Tibetans whom the lawmakers addressed at a public ceremony after meeting the Dalai Lama at his residence.
U.S. President Joe Biden is expected to soon sign the legislation called “Promoting a Resolution to the Tibet-China Dispute Act,” also referred to as the Resolve Tibet Act.
In Dharamshala, where the Tibetan government in exile is based, the visit of the U.S. lawmakers brought hope. “It is a jubilant moment for all Tibetans. We are all overjoyed. The visit is very significant because it comes soon after the passage of the bill which we hope will soon be passed into law,” Tenzin Lekshay, spokesperson for the Central Tibetan Administration, told VOA.
Congressman Michael McCaul, who led the seven-member visiting delegation, said the bill reaffirms American support for what he referred to as the Tibetan right to self- determination. He said that their delegation had received a letter from the Chinese Communist Party, warning them not to visit.
Beijing said the U.S. should not sign into law the bill passed by Congress. “China will take resolute measures to firmly defend its sovereignty, security and development interests,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman, Lin Jian said on Tuesday, as the lawmakers arrived in the Indian town.
The Chinese embassy in New Delhi reiterated Beijing’s concerns. “We urge the U.S. side to fully recognize the anti-China separatist nature of the Dalai group, honor the commitments the U.S. has made to China on issues related to Xizang, stop sending the wrong signal to the world,” it said in a statement Tuesday night. Xizang is China’s name for Tibet.
In his remarks to Tibetans, McCaul said it is important that China not influence the choice of the Dalai Lama’s successor. “Beijing has even attempted to insert itself into choosing the successor of the Dalai Lama,” he said. “We will not let that happen.”
The issue is contentious. China says it has the right to approve the spiritual leader’s successor while according to Tibetan tradition, the Dalai Lama is reincarnated after his death. The Dalai Lama has said his successor is likely to be found in India but Tibetans in exile fear China will try to designate a person to be the successor, in an effort to bolster control over Tibet.
Meanwhile, Tibetan spokesman Lekshay said China needs to come forward to reinstate a dialogue with exiled Tibetan leaders. “It is a time for introspection for China to see what is going wrong, particularly with the Tibet issue which has been a longstanding conflict. China needs to be more positive.”
Beijing does not recognize the exiled administration. A formal dialogue process between the Dalai Lama’s representatives and the Chinese government ended in 2010 after it failed to produce a concrete outcome.
Pointing out that they are asking for autonomy within China and not independence, Lekshay said the Tibetan administration in exile did not represent a separatist movement.
Tibetans in exile say they fear that their culture, language and identity is under threat due to Chinese assimilation of the region.
The Dalai Lama, who fled to India in 1959, has been instrumental in putting the Tibetan cause in the global spotlight but in recent years some Tibetan activists have expressed concerns that the Tibet cause is not getting appropriate attention in Western capitals.
The Himalayan town of Dharamshala has been the Dalai Lama’s home since he fled Tibet over six decades ago following a failed uprising against Chinese rule.
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Media: Myanmar authorities arrest 22 for marking Suu Kyi’s birthday
Yangon — Myanmar authorities arrested 22 people for marking the birthday of imprisoned democracy figurehead Aung San Suu Kyi, local media reported on Wednesday.
Police in Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-largest city, arrested 22 people who had posted pictures of themselves wearing flowers in their hair — long a signature Suu Kyi look — Eleven Media reported, citing an anonymous official.
Other local media said around a dozen had been arrested in the central Myanmar city for wearing flowers or praying with them in public.
A prominent pro-junta Telegram account posted several photos claiming to show those arrested, including one showing five people with their legs placed in stocks.
Suu Kyi, who turned 79 on Wednesday, has been detained by the military since it toppled her government and seized power in 2021.
The coup and subsequent crackdown on dissent have sparked a widespread armed uprising that the military is struggling to crush.
The junta has rebuffed numerous requests by foreign leaders and diplomats to meet Nobel laureate Suu Kyi, who has reportedly suffered health problems during more than three years in detention.
Suu Kyi’s only known encounter with a foreign envoy since the coup came in July last year, when then-Thai foreign minister Don Pramudwinai said he had met her for more than an hour.
Suu Kyi is serving a 27-year sentence imposed by a junta court after a trial condemned by rights groups as a sham to shut her out of politics.
Her son told AFP in February she was in “strong spirits” after receiving a letter from her — their first communication since she was detained in the coup.
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Fresh Malaysian durians for China after trade deals signed during Li’s visit
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Fresh Malaysian durians will soon make their way to China as the two countries signed a slew of trade and economic deals Wednesday during a visit by Premier Li Qiang to celebrate a half-century of diplomatic relations.
Li held private talks with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim in the government administrative capital of Putrajaya before they met with their delegations. The two leaders witnessed the signing of various pacts, including a new five-year deal for economic and trade cooperation that officials said would bolster links between industries in priority sectors like high-level manufacturing and the digital economy.
The sides also inked a protocol on measures that will allow Malaysia to export to China fresh durian, a spiky tropical fruit with a strong odor and known for its creamy pulp, Anwar’s office said.
Exporting fresh durians to China will open a new market for Malaysia, which began selling durian pulp and paste to China in 2011 and frozen durian whole fruits in 2018. Malaysia’s frozen durian export value to China has surged from 170 million ringgit ($36 million) in 2018 to nearly 1.2 billion ringgit ($255 million) last year, it said.
Li, the first Chinese premier to visit Malaysia since 2015, flew in for a three-day visit late Tuesday from Australia. Li, who was given a red-carpet welcome, said upon his arrival that the two nations’ 50-year anniversary was a new starting point to deepen links and increase exchanges.
“China is advancing Chinese modernization on all fronts through high-quality development. Malaysia, on its part, is promoting national development under the vision of Malaysia MADANI. China is ready to work with Malaysia,” Li said in a statement published by the national Bernama news agency.
Li, China’s No. 2 leader after President Xi Jinping, last week also became the first Chinese premier to visit New Zealand and then Australia in seven years.
Other agreements signed aim to promote investment in the digital economy and green development, combat transnational crime, and boost housing and urban development, higher education, people-to-people exchanges in science and technology, tourism and cultural cooperation, Anwar’s office said.
Trade with China — Malaysia’s No. 1 trading partner since 2009 — made up 17% of Malaysia’s global trade, valued at $98.8 billion last year, Trade Minister Zafrul Aziz was quoted as saying by Bernama last week.
While trade dominated the talks, Malaysia’s Foreign Minister Mohamad Hassan has said the prickly issue of territorial claims in the South China Sea was also likely to be raised.
Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Taiwan all dispute Beijing’s claims to almost the entire South China Sea. But unlike the publicized clashes between the Philippines and China, Malaysia’s government prefers the diplomatic channel and rarely criticizes Beijing even though Chinese coast guard ships have sailed near Malaysia’s waters. This is partly to protect economic ties between the trade partners.
“That is why we need to further build on this good cooperation we have established since 1974. The good ties we have enjoyed since will allow us to manage and resolve any issue amicably,” Mohamad Hassan was quoted as saying by The Star newspaper ahead of Li’s visit.
Anwar, who visited China twice last year, has sought to move closer to Beijing even while engaging the U.S. as a key ally. While speaking at a forum in Tokyo in May, Anwar stressed that Beijing is too close, too important and too strategic to ignore.
Ahead of Li’s visit, Anwar told Chinese media that Malaysia planned to join the BRICS bloc of developing economies but didn’t give details. The plan was confirmed by Zafrul and Mohamad Hassan on Monday. The bloc’s core members are Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, who seek a fairer world order currently dominated by Western nations. The bloc expanded with Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates invited to become members this year. Some 40 countries have also expressed interest.
“Joining BRICS doesn’t mean Malaysia will lose its strategic ambiguity between Beijing and Washington. It merely means an additional platform to give it a bigger voice as a middle power,” said James Chin, professor of Asian studies at Australia’s University of Tasmania.
Li is also scheduled to have an audience with King Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar. Malaysia’s Foreign Ministry said Li and Anwar will also attend a groundbreaking ceremony at a construction site for the East Coast Rail Link, which connects Malaysia’s west coast to eastern rural states and is a key part of China’s Belt and Road infrastructure initiative.
The project was suspended in 2018 after Malaysia’s long-ruling coalition was toppled in a historic general election over a massive corruption scandal. It was subsequently revived after the Chinese contractor agreed to cut the construction cost by one-third, and is now due to be completed by the end of 2026.
The two leaders will also attend a dinner to celebrate the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations. Both leaders will also meet the business community at a luncheon before Li heads home Thursday.
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Security and trade dominate Australian ministerial talks in Papua New Guinea
SYDNEY — Senior Australian ministers are in Papua New Guinea to discuss security and development amid China’s growing ambitions in the region.
The ministerial forum comes at a critical time with the Canberra government hoping to maintain its position as a dominant trade and security partner in the Pacific.
Papua New Guinea is boosting trade ties with China and has had negotiations with Beijing over policing cooperation, which has caused alarm in Canberra and Washington, which struck a defense accord with Papua New Guinea last year.
Australia’s high-level delegation to Papua New Guinea includes Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong, Defense Minister Richard Marles, and ministers for cyber security, agriculture and fisheries, trade and international development.
They will join their counterparts for talks Wednesday on economic and security cooperation.
Wong told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. that Canberra will pursue its own interests, while Beijing will do the same.
“We do not expect China to stop being China. China will continue to assert its interests,” she said. “How we deal with that is to assert ours and we do so both in the bilateral relationship but also in the way we engage in the region and the way we engage with other powers.”
Meg Keen, director of the Pacific Islands Program at the Lowy Institute, a Sydney-based research organization, told VOA that both Canberra and Washington want to limit Beijing’s influence in Papua New Guinea.
China has already sent police to neighboring Solomon Islands and Kiribati, insisting it has a plan to help Pacific Island countries maintain social order.
Australia has, however, said that Beijing should have “no role” in policing the Pacific Islands, and that the Canberra government will train more local security forces to fill gaps.
Keen said China has strategic ambitions in the Pacific region.
“China is in a competition with Taiwan for recognition and since 2019 it has been able to win the support away from Taiwan of three countries in the region. That is significant. Kiribati is one of those,” Keen said. “So, while these are small countries they have enormous ocean territories. They sit in a very strategic place between the United States, Australia and Asia.”
This week, the Chinese Premier Li Qiang held talks with senior government officials in Australia.
It was a further sign that bilateral relations, which have been strained over various geopolitical and trade disputes, are improving.
However, differences between the two sides remain over human rights, the South China Sea, allegations of cyber espionage and, increasingly, over Beijing’s ambitions in the Pacific, a region Australia has traditionally considered to be its sphere of influence.
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US approves $360 million arms sale to Taiwan for missiles, drones
TAIPEI, Taiwan — The U.S. State Department has approved the possible sale to Taiwan of drones and missiles for an estimated $360 million, the Pentagon’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said.
The United States is bound by law to provide Chinese-claimed Taiwan with the means to defend itself despite the lack of formal diplomatic ties, to the constant anger of Beijing.
China has been stepping up military pressure against Taiwan, including staging war games around the island last month after the inauguration of Lai Ching-te as president.
The sale “will help improve the security of the recipient and assist in maintaining political stability, military balance, and economic progress in the region,” the Pentagon agency said in separate statements on Tuesday in the U.S.
The sale includes Switchblade 300 anti-personnel and anti-armor loitering munitions and related equipment for an estimated cost of $60.2 million, and ALTIUS 600M-V drones and related equipment for an estimated cost of $300 million, the agency added. Loitering munitions are small guided missiles that can fly around a target area until they are directed to attack.
Taiwan’s defense ministry expressed its thanks, especially for U.S. efforts to increase arms sales to the island. Taiwan has repeatedly complained of delayed deliveries.
“In the face of the Chinese communists’ frequent military operations around Taiwan, these US-agreed-to arms sales items will have the ability to detect and strike in real time, and can respond quickly to enemy threats,” it said in a statement.
Peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait require goodwill from China, the ministry added.
“It is hoped that the People’s Liberation Army will stop its oppressive military operations around Taiwan and jointly contribute to regional stability.”
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Putin’s visit puts Vietnam in ‘difficult position’ with ‘no breakthrough,’ experts say
WASHINGTON — Russian President Vladimir Putin’s upcoming visit to Vietnam will put the Southeast Asian country in a difficult position and could even be seen as risky for Hanoi, according to three international relations experts who spoke on Monday to VOA. They expected no breakthrough from the visit.
Putin is scheduled to visit Vietnam on Wednesday and Thursday, after his Tuesday-Wednesday trip to North Korea.
Risks for Hanoi
“Hosting Putin in a combined trip that brings him to North Korea is bad optics for Hanoi and will bring some risks. This may make Vietnam less trustful in the eyes of the West, Japan and South Korea. But on the other hand, Hanoi would gain more trust in the eyes of Russia,” said Alexander Vuving, a professor at the Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies in Honolulu.
According to Vuving, the link between Putin’s visits to North Korea and Vietnam lies mostly in logistics: It makes more sense for Putin’s schedule to go to these countries in one trip rather than in two separate trips.
“But it also highlights the fact that Vietnam, like North Korea, is a close friend of Russia,” he said.
Nguyen Ngoc Truong, former president of the Center for Strategic Studies and International Development, a government-affiliated think tank in Hanoi, said Vietnam had sent a message telling Russia they did not want Putin to combine the North Korea and Vietnam stops in one trip “because it could cause international misunderstandings.”
But the combined trip will still take place because “in terms of foreign affairs, Vietnam must consider all aspects,” Truong said.
‘Traditional and dearest friend’
Truong pointed out that the Vietnamese leadership is grateful for the assistance Vietnam received in past wars from the former Soviet Union. Therefore, they consider Russia a “traditional and dearest friend.”
“Vietnamese people, especially those who understand geopolitics, cannot turn their backs on their friends because of immediate events. Russians stood shoulder to shoulder with Vietnam through the darkest and happiest moments, including assisting with weapons,” Truong said.
Hoang Viet, a Ho Chi Minh City Law University lecturer and international dispute expert, stressed that Vietnam “does not want to lose its long-standing relationship” with Russia, a major power holding a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council. Viet noted that Russia has never had any disputes or conflicts with Vietnam.
“Given the current harsh Western sanctions, Putin’s visit puts Vietnam in a difficult position. But Vietnam still has to maintain its relations because with the Vietnamese way of thinking, they must honor traditional friendship,” Viet observed.
Relationship with U.S.
Just nine months ago, Vietnam welcomed U.S. President Joe Biden, and on that occasion, Hanoi and Washington upgraded their relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, on par with the relationship that Vietnam had for many years with Russia, China and a few other countries.
Viet noted that while the U.S. views Vietnam as an important player in its Indo-Pacific strategy, Vietnam still largely relies on Russian weapons for its defense strength. Therefore, Vietnam must balance its relations with Russia and the U.S.
“No country should give Putin a platform to promote his war of aggression and otherwise allow him to normalize his atrocities,” a spokesperson for the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi told Reuters on Monday when asked about the impact of the visit on ties with the United States.
“If he is able to travel freely, it could normalize Russia’s blatant violations of international law,” the spokesperson added, referring to the invasion of Ukraine that Putin launched in February 2022.
The Hague-based International Criminal Court in March 2023 issued an arrest warrant for the Russian president over alleged war crimes in Ukraine. Vietnam, Russia and the U.S. are not members of the ICC.
No breakthrough expected
Viet expected that during the visit, Russia and Vietnam would enter into deals on weapons and oil and gas, which he called “traditional deals,” while Hanoi tries “not to violate Western sanctions.”
Truong expected there would be no special outcomes, saying “It will be just a friendly visit. There will probably not be any breakthroughs between the two countries. Military and defense cooperation in the current situation is unlikely to develop at all.”
Vuving said he thought the top issues likely to be discussed by Vietnam and Russia will be the ways to boost bilateral trade in the face of Western sanctions, cooperation in the energy sector, including oil, gas, solar and nuclear energy, and Vietnam’s purchase of weapons from Russia.
“Issues like payments and direct flights will likely be high on the agenda, as they are critical for restoring bilateral trade,” Vuving said.
He assessed that “Russia will benefit more from the visit.”
Noting that Vietnam will be the farthest destination for Putin since his invasion of Ukraine, Vuving commented that the visit will show that after the invasion, “many friends remain loyal to Moscow. These friends are not only in Russia’s neighborhood, and some are friends to Russia not because they are enemies of the West,” he said.
“But Vietnam also benefits from the visit as it helps to gain more trust from Russia and helps to keep Russia on Vietnam’s side in the South China Sea disputes with China,” he said.
Neutral stance toward war
Vuving added that Vietnam has been trying to maintain a largely neutral stance toward the war in Ukraine. However, the hosting of Putin will carry big risks to this stance.
Viet said despite trying to balance its heart for both Ukraine and Russia, two former Soviet republics that provided colossal help to Vietnam, Hanoi still leans more to one side.
“Russia’s strength is different; Russia is also a great power. In geopolitics, interests are important. Vietnam finds more benefits in Russia than in Ukraine. Since the beginning of the war, the Vietnamese government still seems more inclined to maintain relations with Russia than with Ukraine,” Viet said.
Truong commented, “Ukrainians may not like this trip, but they are also a people who have gone through many tough and tragic events in their history, and they understand everything very well. As a country living next to a giant neighbor [like Vietnam], they have similar views and similar feelings.”
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Hong Kong bourse to keep trading through severe weather: leader
HONG KONG — Hong Kong’s stock exchange will continue trading through typhoons and heavy storms beginning in September, the city’s leader announced Tuesday.
The bourse in the international finance hub typically suspends trading when a strong typhoon signal or “black rainstorm warning” is hoisted, meaning several days are lost each year.
Southern China is accustomed to seeing seasonal typhoons in the latter half of the year, but climate change has made tropical storms more unpredictable while increasing their intensity.
On Tuesday, John Lee said that from Sept. 23 investors can trade as usual “when the typhoon signal number eight or above is hoisted in Hong Kong, or even during a black rainstorm warning.”
“Shenzhen and Shanghai are now trading in bad weather. There is no reason why Hong Kong, as an international financial center, should not follow suit,” he added.
“Non-stop trading in inclement weather can strengthen the competitiveness of the Hong Kong Exchange,” he said, adding that the September timeframe would give the industry time to prepare.
Katerine Kou, chair of Hong Kong Securities Association, said discussion on the move had been ongoing for a year given the city’s role as “a super connector between the Chinese market and the global market.”
“I think Hong Kong as a whole, including the exchange, have been trying to score more points, and to enhance its global competitiveness,” Kou told AFP. “This is definitely a score-winning move.”
Last year, the city raised its highest T10 warning — for Typhoon Saola — for only the 16th time since World War II.
A week after Saola, Hong Kong was flooded by the heaviest rainfall in nearly 140 years, leaving its streets inundated and subway stations waterlogged.
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