Chinese President Xi Jinping departed Hungary Friday after a five-day trip to Europe. Xi pledged to work with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in a new “multipolar world order.” As Henry Ridgwell reports, analysts say Xi wants to exploit the West’s different approaches to Beijing.
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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
Putin may visit Vietnam as Hanoi aims to secure power balance
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam — Vietnamese officials are hopefully anticipating an unannounced visit to Hanoi by Russian President Vladimir Putin, possibly as early as next week on his way to Beijing for meetings with Chinese leaders.
Experts say such a visit would allow the Russian leader to show that Western efforts to isolate his government over its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine have failed, while furthering Hanoi’s efforts to navigate a middle ground between the United States and China.
Vietnam could also be expected to seek an arms deal with its historical ally as its Soviet-era military equipment ages beyond its service life.
During a phone call on March 26, the leader of the ruling Communist Party of Vietnam — General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong — extended an invitation to Putin to visit Hanoi. According to state media outlet Vietnam News Agency, “President Putin happily accepted the invitation and agreed for the two sides to arrange [the visit] at a suitable time.”
Ian Storey, fellow at Singapore’s ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, told VOA that the visit could take place this month, when Putin is expected to travel to Beijing to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Putin confirmed at an April 25 congress of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs that he would visit Beijing sometime in May. He did not provide dates, but Bloomberg quoted unidentified sources saying it would take place on May 15 and 16.
“Putin might use this opportunity to visit Russia’s three closest partners in Asia: China, Vietnam and North Korea,” Storey wrote in an email on April 10. “Putin would use this visit to signal to the world that his government’s ‘Turn to the East’ policy remains on track and that the West has failed to isolate Russia.”
Balancing power
Maintaining a close connection to Moscow is a priority for the Vietnamese leadership as they attempt to balance between the world’s two leading powers, said Alexander Vuving, a professor at Honolulu’s Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies.
“Vietnam has to balance its relationship between China and the United States, and it’s like it’s caught between a rock and a hard place,” he told VOA during a Zoom call on April 13.
Vuving said that Beijing is a threat to neighboring Vietnam’s territorial integrity not only as it encroaches into the South China Sea but also as its power grows regionally. While the U.S. is the obvious counterbalance, Washington is seen as a threat to the country’s regime by the ruling Communist Party.
“Russia offers a very good middle ground for Vietnam,” Vuving said. Moscow shares “regime affinity and their leaders still call each other comrades.” Furthermore, Russian enterprises are key partners to Vietnam’s oil and gas ventures in the South China Sea, he said.
Storey said a meeting would be particularly significant after Hanoi upgraded ties with Washington in September 2023 and Xi visited Hanoi in December.
“Putin has been invited to visit Vietnam twice now,” first by President Vo Van Thuong in October 2023 and again in March by Trong, Storey wrote.
“Now that the visits of Presidents [Joe] Biden and Xi have taken place, Vietnam might welcome a visit by Putin for two reasons: First, to demonstrate that it pursues a balanced foreign policy; and second, to show Moscow that despite the war in Ukraine, Russia remains a valuable friend.”
Arms and public perception
Nguyen The Phuong, a doctoral candidate at the University of New South Wales Canberra, told VOA that an arms deal with Russia may be in the works.
“If Putin visited it will be a very good chance for Vietnam to explore those kinds of possibilities of how they could somehow purchase weapons from Russia,” Phuong said, speaking to VOA on April 8 over Zoom.
Storey wrote that acquiring new fighter jets is a top priority for Vietnam “as its current inventory of Russian-made aircraft is reaching the end of its operational life.”
“We cannot rule out future purchases from Russia,” he said, adding that any discussion of arms deals would be kept tightly under wraps amid sensitivity over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Although Vietnam’s international reputation would be damaged if news of an arms deal with Russia was made public, it would likely be supported by the majority of the Vietnamese public, according to Phuong.
“They would be welcoming of the upcoming visit of Putin,” he said. “The Vietnamese public still has some sense of some support for Russian weapons — it’s a result of a historical narrative and propaganda.”
Still, that support is not universal.
Tran Anh Quan, a Ho Chi Minh City-based social activist, said he has opposed the war on Ukraine since its outset.
“If today I do not oppose Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, then later, if China invades my country, who will speak up to support us?” he wrote over the messaging app Telegram in Vietnamese on April 13.
Quan told VOA that he has faced pushback from Vietnamese authorities for his efforts to support Ukraine.
“In March 2022, I created the Vietnamese Stand With Ukraine fanpage to launch a campaign to support the Ukrainian people. Then I printed and sold t-shirts with the slogan Vietnamese Stand With Ukraine to raise money to send to the Ukrainian embassy in Hanoi,” he wrote.
“In October 2022, security from the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security came to my house to arrest me and interrogate me about my pro-Ukraine views. The police told me verbatim that ‘supporting Ukraine is a plot to overthrow the Vietnamese state.'”
In the face of threats, Quan said, he closed his initiative to support Ukraine.
“They threatened to kill me if they met me in Ho Chi Minh City. So I had to close my business to be safe,” he said.
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China resumes cooperating with US on illegal migration
washington — China has quietly resumed cooperation with the United States on the repatriation of Chinese migrants illegally stranded in the U.S., The Associated Press reported Thursday.
The U.S.-China repatriation cooperation resumes amid the influx of Chinese migrants across the southern border of the United States.
China halted the cooperation in August 2022 as part of retaliation over the visit to Taiwan by then-Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.
Beijing considers the self-ruled island a breakaway province that must one day reunite with the mainland — by force if necessary — and opposes any official contact between Taipei and foreign governments, especially Washington, which supplies weapons for Taiwan to defend itself.
Since the cooperation was halted, the U.S. has seen a spike in the number of Chinese migrants entering illegally from Mexico.
U.S. border officials in 2023 arrested more than 37,000 Chinese nationals at the southern border, nearly 10 times more than in 2022.
China’s Foreign Ministry this week told the AP Beijing was “willing to maintain dialogue and cooperation in the area of immigration enforcement with the U.S.” and would accept Chinese nationals who were deported.
The resumption came after Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas in April told NBC News the U.S. and China were holding high-level talks on the issue.
Ariel G. Ruiz Soto, a senior policy analyst at the Washington-based Migration Policy Institute, said negotiations may increase the number of deportations of Chinese migrants in the short term. But he said the real effect on migrants’ decision-making process depends more on U.S. resources and capacity to conduct more removals.
“Prior negotiations with Venezuela, for example, did not lead to large increases in removals from the United States partially because it takes time to change structures and implement these measures,” he told VOA.
The New York Times reported that 100,000 Chinese nationals are living in the U.S. despite final orders for deportation.
The number of Chinese migrants illegally entering the U.S. on its southern border has shown a downward trend this year, after a record spike in December.
U.S. Customs and Borders Protection (CBP) said that while there were nearly 6,000 arrests of Chinese nationals in December, there were 3,700 in January, 3,500 in February, and just over 2,000 in March.
Soto attributed the drop to stronger visa and border enforcement, but also to China’s censoring online information about the route.
“Because technology has become so entrenched in how migrants learn and select travel routes today, unlike in prior years when these were more heavily based on personal knowledge and networks,” he told VOA, “it is likely that censoring content in mainstream channels can make it more difficult to travel along existing routes.”
Social media platform Douyin, the Chinese version of the short video sharing platform TikTok, has since last year been quietly cracking down on content about “Zouxian,” which means “walk the line” in Mandarin.
The term refers to Chinese migrants illegally crossing borders, including into the U.S. from Mexico and South America. It became a popular topic on the Chinese internet a few years ago and was used to search for information and tips on the route.
Reuters reported last year that many Chinese migrants found at the U.S. southern border said they found out how to travel there on Douyin.
Yang Yinhua, 31, told VOA he had no idea what the word “Zouxian” meant until last summer when he was introduced to the phrase while reading news about how dangerous the journey could be. He tried to look it up on China’s biggest search engine, Baidu, but couldn’t find much useful information. In August, someone he met on the internet invited him to join a group chat on Douyin.
Group members shared information and tips about how to Zouxian to other countries, including the U.S. Yang said the chat quickly reached the maximum number of participants, which was 500. It was one of the six Zouxian group chats created by a user called Yunfei. Yang said all six chats were filled within weeks.
“Nobody was living a decent life during the last five or six years,” he told VOA. “The ruling party wasn’t making the people feel happy like it used to.”
When Yang’s mother died alone during the pandemic, he blamed China’s draconian COVID-19 policy and decided it was time to leave his home country.
By October, he had a plan to travel to the U.S. by way of Turkey, Ecuador and the Mexico-U.S. border.
But Yang noticed Douyin started blocking Zouxian content. Yang and others in the group chat had to invent new words to continue discussing the route because the platform kept censoring certain key words.
By the end of October, Yunfei had deleted all videos he posted about getting to the U.S., Yang said. Then Douyin suspended Yunfei’s account and shut down all six of his chat groups.
As soon as he left China, Yang stopped using Douyin and moved to the messaging application Telegram, where he joined a group chat also set up by Yunfei.
But by the time Yang entered the chat, Yunfei had already left. In April, Yang said, the chat was taken over by what he called “little pink patriots,” a derogatory nickname for those expressing pro-Beijing views.
On TikTok, the international version of Douyin owned by the same parent company ByteDance, users noticed in January that content about Zouxian and the U.S.-Mexico border were being blocked.
“No results found,” the app says when you search for the term “Zouxian.” It adds that the phrase “may be associated with behavior or content that violates our guidelines.”
According to TikTok’s community guidelines, content considered harmful cannot be displayed. That includes hate speech, sexual violence, harassment, human exploitation and more.
“We do not allow human exploitation, including trafficking and smuggling,” the guidelines read.
VOA tested Douyin in May and found that, aside from a few news clips about Chinese migrants traveling to the southern border of the U.S., “Zouxian” does not return any details about the route. Search results for locations including “Ecuador,” “Guatemala” and “Panama” likewise show no results for Zouxian.
For many Chinese migrants, Douyin was one of the few sources of online information on the route. China’s internet firewall blocks social media sites Facebook, YouTube and X in China.
VOA reached out to ByteDance for comment but received no response by the time of publication.
Wang Yaqiu, director of China, Hong Kong and Taiwan at human rights organization Freedom House in Washington, said the phenomenon of Zouxian reflects many Chinese people’s dissatisfaction with Beijing, which she thinks can partly explain Douyin’s crackdown.
“I think the CCP [Chinese Communist Party] is embarrassed that so many Chinese people want to flee the country even through such risky means. It exposes CCP propaganda about the Chinese economy and how good people’s life are to be a sham,” she wrote to VOA.
In March, the bodies of eight Chinese migrants were found washed up on a beach in southern Mexico after the boat they were on capsized.
Despite China’s censorship of the route, Yang evaded border patrols to cross into the U.S. in early December with his sister. He lives in California, works at a warehouse and has no desire to return to China.
Aline Barros contributed to this report.
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Biden set to impose tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, sources say
WASHINGTON AND SAN FRANCISCO — U.S. President Joe Biden is set to announce new tariffs on China as soon as next week, targeting strategic sectors, including electric vehicles, according to two people familiar with the matter.
The full announcement, which could take place as soon as Tuesday, is expected to largely maintain existing levies, according to one of the people. An announcement could also be pushed back, the person said.
The tariffs were also set to include semiconductors and solar equipment, according to one of the people.
Details on the precise value or categories of tariffs that would be imposed were sketchy, but the administration was said to have zeroed in on areas of interest within strategic competitive and national security areas, one of the people said.
The U.S. Trade Representative’s office made its recommendations to the White House weeks ago, but a final announcement was delayed as the package was debated internally, according to one of the sources and an additional person familiar with the matter.
Biden, a Democrat seeking reelection in November, is looking to contrast his approach with that of Republican candidate Donald Trump, who has proposed across-the-board tariffs that White House officials see as too blunt and prone to spark inflation.
The White House and the office of the U.S. Trade Representative declined to comment. Bloomberg News first reported the story.
The measures could invite retaliation from China at a time of heightened tensions between the world’s two biggest economies. Trump’s broader imposition of tariffs during his presidency prompted China to retaliate with its own levies.
Biden has said he does not want a trade war with China even as he has said the countries have entered a new paradigm of competition.
Both 2024 presidential candidates have sharply departed from the free-trade consensus that once reigned in Washington, a period capped by China’s joining the World Trade Organization in 2001.
In 2022, Biden launched a review of the Trump-era policy under Section 301 of the U.S. trade law. Last month, he called for sharply higher U.S. tariffs on Chinese metal products, but the targeted products were narrow in range, estimated at more than $1 billion of steel and aluminum products, a U.S. official said.
Biden also announced launching an investigation into Chinese trade practices across the shipbuilding, maritime and logistics sectors, a process that could lead to more tariffs.
The Biden administration has also been pressuring neighboring Mexico to prohibit China from selling its metal products to the United States indirectly from there.
China has said the tariff measures are counterproductive and inflict harm on the U.S. and global economy.
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Australian study says China uses global apps, games for propaganda
SYDNEY — An Australian study claims that China’s monitoring of global internet users’ online habits — a practice that has made TikTok controversial in the United States — extends far beyond the popular social media app to numerous other platforms and even online games.
The Australian Strategic Policy Institute, a research organization that receives funding from the Australian government and others overseas, said in a May 2 report that Beijing’s propaganda chiefs are forging ties with Chinese tech companies to gather personal data from a wide range of social media apps or platforms and popular online games.
They include ride-sharing app DiDi, the action game Genshin Impact, and Temu, the popular online marketplace.
The Australian study claims that China’s ambition is to harvest “strategically valuable” data from media, gaming, artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies.
It states that China is “working to extend its influence abroad to reshape the global information ecosystem … to strengthen its grip on power, legitimize its activities and bolster China’s cultural, technological, economic and military influence.”
There has been no response, so far, from Chinese authorities. Beijing has previously accused the Australian government of “anti-China hysteria” over various geopolitical and trade disputes.
Samantha Hoffman, the lead author of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute report, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation this week that data obtained from apps, platforms and games could be valuable to China.
“That could be data on the way that users make decisions. [With] Temu, it could be preferences that indicate the likes and dislikes of particular demographics,” she said. “If China is trying to shape the way that the world perceives and understands truth and reality, then this data will help to make those efforts more successful over time.”
The report urged policymakers to “develop robust defenses and countermeasures to safeguard against future information campaigns orchestrated by Beijing.”
It also asserts that much attention has been given to the Chinese-owned platform TikTok because of concerns that the user data it collects could be shared with Chinese authorities. It cautions, however, the problem “runs much deeper than just TikTok.”
TikTok’s Chinese owner, ByteDance, has said it will mount a court challenge in the United States to what it called an “unconstitutional” law making its way through Congress that could require the platform to be sold or banned in that country.
ByteDance has denied collusion with the Chinese government.
Marina Zhang, an associate professor at the Australia-China Relations Institute at the University of Technology Sydney, told VOA she thinks the Strategic Policy Institute report is exaggerated.
“[The] Chinese propaganda machine is huge, but to link all social media apps [to] this propaganda machine is a bit of overstretching,” she said.
Zhang said she believes technological collaboration, and not confrontation, is in China’s best interests.
“If segregation is going to happen and if reports like this [are] going to happen, China will be isolated from the rest of the world,” Zhang said. “So, we do not want to see a total technological decoupling between China and the West in terms of not just applications but also eventually in technological infrastructure. That is not going to be good for anybody.”
Last year, Australia said it would ban TikTok on government devices, including cell phones, because of security and surveillance fears.
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Philippines calls for expelling Chinese diplomats as South China Sea row escalates
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines’ national security adviser called on Friday for Chinese diplomats to be expelled over an alleged leak of a phone conversation with a Philippine admiral in a significant escalation of a bitter row over the South China Sea.
China’s embassy in Manila had orchestrated “repeated acts of engaging and dissemination of disinformation, misinformation and malinformation,” with the objective of sowing discord, division and disunity, Eduardo Ano said in a statement.
Those actions “should not be allowed to pass unsanctioned without serious penalty,” he said.
China’s embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the call to expel diplomats. The office of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and the foreign ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The two countries have been embroiled in a series of heated standoffs this past year in disputed areas of the South China Sea as the Philippines, emboldened by support from the United States and other allies, steps up activities in waters occupied by China’s vast coast guard.
China has accused the Philippines of trespassing and of treachery, while Manila has scolded Beijing for what it says is a policy of aggression and dangerous maneuvering inside its exclusive economic zone.
The expelling of diplomats could intensify a row that has so far seen heated exchanges, diplomatic protests and the ramming and water-cannoning of Philippine ships at two disputed shoals, the closest of which is more than 850 kilometers away from mainland China.
Ano was referring to a news report this week of an alleged leak of a call between a Chinese diplomat and a Philippine admiral discussing a dispute over the South China Sea, which carried a transcript that showed the admiral agreeing to concessions with China.
According to the transcript published by the Manila Times, the admiral agreed to China’s proposal of a “new model,” where the Philippines would use fewer vessels in resupply missions to troops at the disputed Second Thomas Shoal, and notify Beijing about missions in advance.
Reuters has not heard the reported phone conversation and could not verify the contents of the published transcript. The report said the conversation had taken place in January and the transcript was provided by a “ranking Chinese official,” which it did not name.
‘Interference operations’
Ano said he backed the defense minister’s call for the foreign ministry to take appropriate action against embassy officials, who he claimed recorded an alleged phone conversation in violation of Philippine laws, including its anti-wiretapping act, as well as serious breaches of diplomatic protocols.
“Those individuals in the Chinese Embassy … and those responsible for these malign influence and interference operations must be removed from the country immediately,” he said.
China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on Wednesday the embassy in Manila had released details about “relevant communications” between the two countries on managing the situation at the Second Thomas Shoal, where the Philippines has stationed troops at a grounded warship.
Lin, in comments shared by the embassy, did not elaborate on what details or communications were released, or when, but said “facts are clear and backed by hard evidence that cannot be denied.”
“The Philippines has insisted on denying these objective facts and seeks to mislead the international community,” Lin added.
China has long been vexed by the Philippines’ maintaining a small group of marines at the Second Thomas Shoal aboard a rusty ship that was intentionally grounded on a reef 25 years ago.
Beijing has repeatedly said the Philippines had agreed to tow that ship away, which Manila has rejected.
Manila-based political analyst Julio Amador said expelling diplomats should be part of the Philippines’ diplomatic tool kit and Chinese Embassy officials had shown they did not value their working relationships with Philippine officials.
“Diplomacy is based on trust, yet China is trying to make it look like all meetings between its diplomats and Philippine government representatives are negotiations with binding results,” he said.
“It has no right to make demands on the Philippines on how the latter manages areas over which it has sovereign rights.”
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Japan proposes expanding commercial whaling to fin whales
TOKYO — Japan’s Fisheries Agency has proposed expanding commercial whaling along the country’s coast to fin whales, a larger species than the three currently permitted.
The proposal comes five years after Japan resumed commercial whaling within its exclusive economic zone after withdrawing from the International Whaling Commission in 2019. It ended 30 years of what Japan called “research whaling” that had been criticized by conservationists as a cover for commercial hunts banned by the commission in 1988.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, whose electoral district is traditionally known for whaling, said Thursday the government supports sustainable use of whales as part of Japan’s traditional food culture and plans to promote the industry.
“Whales are an important food resource and we believe they should be sustainably utilized just like any other marine resources, based on scientific evidence,” Hayashi told reporters. “It is also important to carry on Japan’s traditional food culture.”
The Fisheries Agency said it is seeking public comments until June 5 on the proposed plan and will seek its approval at the next review meeting in mid-June.
The agency decided to propose adding fin whales to the allowable catch list after stock surveys confirmed a sufficient recovery of the fin whale population in the North Pacific.
The plan is not meant to increase whale meat supply and whalers who catch fin whales do not necessarily have to meet a quota, an agency official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the issue. For this year, the agency has set a combined catch quota of 379 for the three other whale species.
Last year, Japanese whalers caught 294 minke, Bryde’s and sei whales — less than 80% of the quota and fewer than the number once hunted in the Antarctic and the northwestern Pacific under the research program.
Japan’s whaling has long been a source of controversy and attacks from conservationists, but anti-whaling protests have largely subsided after Japan terminated its much-criticized Antarctic research hunts in 2019 and returned to commercial whaling limited to Japanese waters.
Whale meat consumption in Japan was an affordable source of protein during the malnourished years after World War II, with annual consumption peaking at 233,000 tons in 1962. However, whale was quickly replaced by other meats, and supply has since fallen to around 2,000 tons in recent years, according to Fisheries Agency statistics.
Japanese officials want to increase that to about 5,000 tons, to keep the industry afloat.
On a visit to the former Tsukiji fish market area in downtown Tokyo, Yuuka Fujikawa from Hokkaido, said she has hardly seen whale meat sold at supermarkets. “I’ve actually never tried it myself,” she said.
“I want more people to appreciate the taste of whale,” said Hideyuki Saito, from neighboring Saitama prefecture. “I want it to be more popularized.”
Carlos Sempere Santos, a 28-year-old tourist from Spain, said he couldn’t imagine eating whale as whales are special and smart animals.
Shirley Bosworth from Australia said she opposes whaling because whales “should be protected.” Whales often get beached in Australia, where people unite to try and “push them back in the sea.”
A whaling operator Kyodo Senpaku Co. last year launched whale meat vending machines. The company also completed construction of its new 7.5 billion yen ($48 million) Kangei Maru — a 9,300-ton mother ship — and pledges to use it for sustainable commercial whaling.
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Seoul mulls joining AUKUS as Beijing protests
Washington — Seoul is mulling over sharing advanced military technology with the U.S., the United Kingdom and Australia through what is known as AUKUS Pillar II, a move that would enhance its security capabilities at the risk of angering its powerful neighbor, China.
AUKUS is a trilateral security partnership formed among Australia, the U.K. and U.S. in 2021 to push back against China’s growing aggression in the Indo-Pacific.
The Pillar II of AUKUS aims to deliver and share advanced military technology among its partners, including hypersonic, artificial intelligence (AI) and cyber technology. Its Pillar I is designed to deliver nuclear-powered attack submarines to Australia.
Liu Pengyu, a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, objected to the arrangement, telling VOA’s Korean Service on Monday, “Despite being called a ‘trilateral security partnership,’ AUKUS is essentially about fueling military confrontation through military collaboration.”
“It creates additional nuclear proliferation risks, exacerbates the arms race in the Asia-Pacific and hurts regional peace and stability. China is deeply concerned and firmly opposed to it,” Pengyu said. He made the comments without naming South Korea.
Seoul has not been admitted officially to AUKUS but talks about South Korea’s inclusion in Pillar II were held between Seoul and Canberra earlier this month.
On May 1, after a meeting with Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles in Melbourne, South Korean Defense Minister Shin Won-sik told reporters that he had discussed with his Australian counterparts the possibility of joining AUKUS Pillar II.
A U.S. Defense Department spokesperson told VOA’s Korean Service on May 2 that “AUKUS partners have developed principles and models for additional partner engagement.”
The spokesperson added that the U.S. “will undertake consultations in 2024 with prospective partners regarding areas where they can contribute to and benefit from this historic work.”
Talks about bringing Japan into Pillar II are even more advanced.
Washington announced during a U.S.-Japan summit on April 10 that the three AUKUS partners are “considering cooperation with Japan on AUKUS Pillar II advanced capability projects.”
A day after talks with the South Korean defense minister, Marles met with the Japanese Defense Minister Kihara Minoru and U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin in Hawaii where they reaffirmed their consideration for Japan’s involvement in Pillar II.
A spokesperson for the British Defense Ministry told VOA’s Korean Service on May 2 that the U.K. “will continue to seek opportunities to engage allies and close partners as work on AUKUS Pillar 2 progresses, however, no decisions have been made on which countries, beyond Japan, we could collaborate with.”
The spokesperson said any decisions on bringing other states into the arrangement would be announced at an appropriate time.
Terence Roehrig, a professor of national security and Korea expert at the U.S. Naval War College, said, “There is a strong possibility that South Korea will join AUKUS Pillar II” as it “has a solid reputation in developing advanced technologies” such as “semiconductors, AI, hypersonic, robotic, and unmanned systems.”
Roehrig continued, “No doubt, Beijing will protest Seoul’s inclusion,” but “South Korea has much to gain from joining AUKUS, and if managed carefully, can reduce the risk of any major Chinese response.”
Melanie Hart, the China policy coordinator for Undersecretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment Jose Fernandez at the State Department, said the U.S. will do all it can to help South Korea if it is faced with a Chinese economic retaliation. She made the remark in an interview with South Korean media Yonhap earlier in the month.
David Maxwell, vice president of the Center for Asia Pacific Strategy, said Seoul’s involvement in AUKUS fits into South Korea’s goal of becoming a global pivotal state and its alignment with countries supporting a rules-based international order.
He said Beijing would expose “its own weakness and malign activities if it chooses to attack South Korea” economically and that Seoul should not base its decision on how China might respond.
Michael O’Hanlon, director of research in foreign policy at the Brookings Institution in Washington, agreed that Seoul would be a good fit for AUKUS. But, he said, “South Korea must have its main eye on North Korea” whereas AUKUS is focused on China.
Therefore, he continued, “There are limitations to what could likely be expected in any tightening of the collaboration.”
An involvement in AUKUS would entail “significant cost-sharing,” said James Przystup, senior fellow at Hudson Institute and Japan chair specializing alliance management in the Indo-Pacific. But both Seoul and Tokyo joining the Pillar II “is an idea whose time has come.”
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AI becomes latest frontier in China-US race for Africa
johannesburg — What’s the future of Artificial Intelligence in Africa?
When that question is entered into the AI platform ChatGPT, it answers that it “holds immense potential for transformative impact across various sectors,” notably health care, agriculture and education.
Human experts tend to agree, and AI is fast becoming the latest frontier in U.S.-China competition on the continent.
“To advance in AI research and innovation, African countries will need significant investments in computing infrastructure,” said Chinasa T. Okolo, a Center for Technology Innovation fellow at The Brookings Institution. “The U.S. and China could potentially be good partners to help with such initiatives.”
In the coming years, researchers predict AI companies will run out of data in English and Western languages but that is not the case in Africa where much more data is still needed, Okolo said.
“Thus, by investing in Africa, companies from AI superpowers like the U.S. and China stand to gain valuable data that they could use to build services and systems to be sold back to African countries,” she said.
South Africa’s AI drive
One country on the continent that is rapidly pursuing AI is South Africa.
At a government summit on AI in April, Mondli Gungubele, the minister of communications and digital technologies, said, “The era of generative AI is just beginning, and as a country and a continent we cannot and must not allow ourselves to be left behind.”
South Africa has already established the Artificial Intelligence Institute of South Africa, or AIISA, and it is rolling out “hubs” at universities across the country. It was created to ensure that the country’s industries and sectors benefit from AI, said Hitekani Magwedze, spokesman for the ministry of communications and digital technologies.
“Through the AIISA, we have now created AI hubs in manufacturing and services, farming and agriculture, automotive and transportation, and military and defense,” with more sectors planned, Magwedze told VOA.
“South Africa has global partnerships with major countries such as U.S. and China in the G20 and BRICS,” he said. “These leading countries see South Africa as a gateway into Africa and the developing countries agenda.”
Magewedze said AI can help with unemployment, inequality and poverty in the country.
In May, Tshwane University of Technology will launch a new AI Career Tech Center in collaboration with U.S. tech giant, Intel.
“The AI hubs across the country are partnering with strong partners from the international community to achieve the objectives of the AI institutes,” said Anish Kurien, Acting Director of the university’s AIISA hub.
Earlier this month, South Africa’s Department of Defense launched a Defense Artificial Intelligence Research Unit at the country’s military academy.
“There is a need for African solutions to African challenges, and AI is an enabling technology of the [Fourth Industrial Revolution] which will play a role in solving many of the social issues facing our beloved continent,” Wayne Dalton, the deputy director of the new research unit, told VOA.
When asked about U.S.-China involvement, Dalton said, “South Africa’s AI strategy and goals are in their infancy” but “there will be plenty of opportunities for the U.S. and China to help us achieve these goals.”
The increased focus on AI in South Africa comes at a time when public opinion has increased for China and slightly decreased for the U.S., according to a new Gallup report released in April.
Trends in public opinion may not necessarily apply to collaboration on the AI front, and African nations will partner with parties that can offer the most value, said Okolo.
“While the U.S. government has provided substantial aid to African countries, China took a different approach by leading with infrastructure investments, which will increasingly become important as African countries aim to bolster their telecommunications and data infrastructure,” she said.
China and US interest
The U.S. has already invested in AI in Africa. Silicon Valley giant Google opened its first AI lab in Ghana, while IBM has research facilities in Kenya and South Africa.
At an American Chamber of Commerce Business Summit in Nairobi last month, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo announced a partnership to enable U.S. companies to invest in AI and data centers in Kenya.
Lisa Walker, managing director for Africa operations at Prosper Africa, a U.S. government trade initiative, told VOA the organization is advancing partnerships under U.S. President Joe Biden’s Digital Transformation with Africa strategy.
“Prosper Africa launched the Africa Tech for Trade Alliance in April of last year. Today, there are 24 private sector partners under this Alliance including industry leaders like Google, AWS, Intel, Cisco Systems, Visa, Mastercard, PayPal, UPS, DHL, FedEx and others,” she said.
China also has taken an interest in AI in Africa. For over a decade, China has been investing in the continent’s internet infrastructure and connectivity through President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative.
In April, a China-Africa Internet Development and Cooperation Forum was held in the China’s southeastern coastal city of Xiamen and attended by representatives from some 20 African countries.
“Africa is an important participant in scientific and technological progress. The development and application of AI is of great significance to the developing countries, including China and African countries,” Liu Pengyu, spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, told VOA.
As for U.S.-China competition in AI, Liu said, “China is willing to carry out communication, exchanges and practical cooperation with all parties, including Africa and the United States, on AI global governance to ensure that AI always develops in the direction of human civilization and progress.”
During their meeting in San Francisco last year and a recent phone call, Liu said, Chinese and U.S. leaders agreed to promote cooperation in the field of AI. Liu added that the two sides will soon hold the first intergovernmental dialogue on AI.
Prosper Africa’s Walker had a different take when asked about U.S.-China competition, saying U.S. companies had “incomparable brand value.”
“It’s the focus on mutual growth, local job creation and shared prosperity that continues to set American tech companies apart from international competitors,” she said.
However, Brookings Institution fellow Okolo is more pessimistic about U.S.-China involvement in Africa.
“While I’ve seen rising interest in Africa from the U.S. and China, I believe it’s honestly hard to say how well these countries are interested in specifically working with African countries to advance AI innovation,” said Okolo. “While American and Chinese researchers often collaborate with each other in academic AI research, these countries themselves are vying to be leaders within the ‘AI race.'”
According to the recently released AI Index Report from Stanford University’s Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence, the U.S. was the leading source of top computer programs known as AI models last year, with 61 compared to China’s 15. However, it found that China led globally in terms of AI patents with 61.1%, while the U.S. accounted for only 20%.
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Report: US flags risks from illicit transfers of Iranian oil off Malaysia
KUALA LUMPUR — A U.S. treasury official warned of environmental risks from illicit transfers of Iranian oil off Malaysia, news portal Malaysiakini reported on Thursday, as the United States narrows its focus on financing for militant groups routed through Southeast Asia.
The United States sees Iran’s capacity to move its oil as being reliant on service providers based in Malaysia, a senior U.S. treasury official said this week.
The official also said the U.S. was attempting to prevent Malaysia from becoming a jurisdiction where the Palestinian militant group Hamas could raise and transfer funds.
Brian Nelson, U.S. Treasury undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said one of the main ways Iran raised money was through the sale of illicit oil to buyers in East Asia, Malaysiakini reported.
“Many of these shipments traverse the waters around Malaysia and are loaded onto vessels of questionable legitimacy that may also pose major environmental and safety risks,” he was reported as saying.
Nelson expressed concern for any parties providing “ship-to-ship” transfers of illicit oil as such maneuvers could lead to accidents or oil spills that could threaten Malaysia’s coasts.
The U.S. Treasury has also seen an uptick in attempts by Iran and its proxies, including Hamas, to raise and move money in Southeast Asia, Nelson added.
He urged those who wish to support humanitarian assistance to Gaza to donate to reputable charities to ensure the funds were not diverted elsewhere.
Nelson and Neil MacBride, Treasury general counsel, are on a visit to Singapore and Malaysia this week to advance efforts in countering financing and revenue generation by Iran and its proxies.
The office of Malaysia’s prime minister did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
But Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said he conveyed the country’s stance regarding sanctions to Nelson during a meeting on Thursday. Saifuddin said Malaysia would comply with United Nations sanctions but would not recognize unilaterally applied sanctions.
He told reporters he also informed Nelson that Malaysia had investigated and taken action against an organization with suspected links to Palestinians. He did not name the organization.
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Guam undergoes military buildup without additional border resources
Last year, Congress called for an investigation into 100 reported incidents of Chinese nationals attempting to enter U.S. military bases and other sensitive sites around the world. Officials on the island of Guam – which hosts some of the most strategically important U.S. bases in the Pacific – says they too are at risk and are asking for help in protecting their shores. VOA’s Jessica Stone reports.
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Chinese cities lift curbs on buying homes as property crisis bites
Beijing — Two of China’s wealthiest cities said Thursday they would lift all restrictions on buying homes, joining a growing list of urban areas rolling back curbs as they look to prop up the faltering property market.
Many Chinese cities imposed restrictions and tough credit requirements on home purchases well over a decade ago in an effort to tamp down soaring prices and rampant speculation.
But they are now reversing those policies in a bid to stem an economic slump characterized by a debt crisis among developers, low demand and falling prices.
The eastern city of Hangzhou — home to 12.5 million people — said Thursday it had ditched all purchase restrictions “to promote the [market’s] stable and healthy development”.
“From the date of issuance… those who buy lodgings within the bounds of this city will no longer have their purchasing qualifications reviewed,” it said.
Hangzhou, a major innovation hub home to tech giants such as Alibaba, is one of the most desirable and expensive places to buy property in China.
In a separate announcement, the northwestern city of Xi’an, which has a population of 13 million, said it had also cancelled all such restrictions.
The announcements quickly racked up more than 230 million views on social media site Weibo, where many users were doubtful the policy would make any difference.
“With Hangzhou’s house prices, what’s the point of cancelling buying restrictions? I still can’t afford it,” wrote one commenter.
Bill Bishop, publisher of the influential Sinocism newsletter, called the move “a sign of desperation.”
“If this does not goose sales there will be more trouble as prices will have to adjust downward a lot,” he wrote on social media site X.
More than 20 cities have abolished home purchase restrictions since the beginning of last year, according to an AFP tally.
Chengdu in southwestern China said last month it would no longer look at prospective buyers’ household registration documents, social security and other conditions before greenlighting purchases.
Several of the biggest cities, including Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, have partly lifted curbs but have resisted dumping them entirely.
Property and construction account for more than a quarter of China’s gross domestic product, but the sector has been under unprecedented strain since 2020.
That year, authorities tightened developers’ access to credit in a bid to reduce mounting debt.
Since then, major companies including Evergrande and Country Garden have teetered on bankruptcy, while falling prices have dissuaded consumers from investing in property.
Measures introduced by the central government to support the sector have so far had little effect.
And President Xi Jinping has largely stuck to his often-touted maxim that “houses are for living in, not for speculation.”
Last month, the International Monetary Fund said China’s economic recovery from the pandemic could falter if the crisis was not properly addressed.
“Without a comprehensive response to the troubled property sector, growth could falter, hurting trading partners,” it warned in its World Economic Outlook report.
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Myanmar junta rebuffs Cambodia ex-leader’s request to meet Suu Kyi
Yangon — Myanmar’s junta on Wednesday denied a request by former Cambodian leader Hun Sen for talks with democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been detained since a 2021 coup.
Suu Kyi has largely been hidden from view since the military detained her as they seized power in a putsch that has plunged the country into turmoil.
The junta has rebuffed numerous requests by foreign leaders and diplomats to meet the Nobel laureate, 78, who has reportedly suffered health problems during more than three years in detention.
On Tuesday Hun Sen, who ruled Cambodia for nearly four decades before stepping down last year, said he had requested a meeting with Suu Kyi during video talks with junta chief Min Aung Hlaing.
But the junta had “no reason to facilitate it at this moment,” junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun said in an audio message released by the military’s information team.
The military would hold promised and much-delayed fresh elections “without fail,” he said, without giving details.
“We are going to avoid matters which can delay or disturb future processes.”
Since her detention Suu Kyi’s only known encounter with a foreign envoy came in July last year, when the then Thai foreign minister Don Pramudwinai said he had met her for over 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.
Last month the junta said she was being “given necessary care” as temperatures in the military-built capital Naypyidaw, where she is believed to be detained, hit around 40 degrees celsius (104 Fahrenheit).
Zaw Min Tun also addressed Thai media reports that former Thai leader Thaksin Shinawatra had recently held talks with several Myanmar ethnic armed groups operating along their shared border.
Some of those groups have given shelter and military training to those fighting the junta’s coup and have themselves clashed regularly with the military.
“We assume that encouraging terrorist groups which destroy Myanmar interests is not appropriate,” Zaw Min Tun said.
The military launched its coup citing unsubstantiated claims of massive electoral fraud in 2020 elections won resoundingly by Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD).
It has pushed back a timetable to hold fresh polls several times.
In March junta chief Min Aung Hlaing said it may not be able to hold polls nationwide as it struggles to crush opposition to its rule.
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While visiting France, Xi offers few concessions over trade, Russia
Chinese President Xi Jinping wrapped up his two-day visit to France Tuesday — his first trip to Europe in five years. As Henry Ridgwell reports, China and Europe are seeking to mend ties but face major obstacles — including trade disputes and Beijing’s support for Russia.
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New US-China climate envoys to hold their first in-person talks in Washington
state department — The United States’ and China’s new climate envoys are holding their first in-person talks on Wednesday and Thursday in Washington, leading a bilateral working group discussion to accelerate concrete climate action.
Some analysts caution that political and economic tensions between the world’s two largest emitters of carbon dioxide, or CO2, could hamper progress on the climate front.
This week’s talks will take place against the backdrop of the Biden administration’s probe into Chinese-made electric vehicles, or EVs, and calls to increase tariffs on the import of solar panels from China to protect domestic producers.
John Podesta, senior adviser to U.S. President Joe Biden for international climate policy, and Liu Zhenmin, the People’s Republic of China’s special envoy for climate change, along with relevant officials from both countries, will convene this week’s working-group talks.
“The meeting will focus on areas identified in the Sunnylands Statement, including energy transition, methane and other non-CO2 greenhouse gases, circular economy and resource efficiency, low-carbon and sustainable provinces/states and cities, and deforestation, among others,” according to the State Department.
Sunnylands statement
In November 2023, John Kerry, then-U.S. special presidential envoy for climate, and Xie Zhenhua, China’s former special envoy for climate change, met in Sunnylands, California, to reaffirm their commitments to jointly address the climate crisis.
The agreement focuses on many less competitive areas, according to analysts.
“For example, in a first, both sides agreed to include methane in their 2035 climate goals and the agreement highlighted a target of promoting at least five large-scale cooperative projects in carbon capture, utilization and storage, or CCUS,” said Jennifer Turner, the director of the Washington-based Wilson Center’s China Environment Forum.
CCUS is a process that captures carbon dioxide emissions from sources like coal-fired power plants and either reuses or stores it so it will not enter the atmosphere.
In the Sunnylands statement, the U.S. and China also said they are determined to end plastic pollution.
“The two countries have been meeting at the table for the Global Plastic Treaty but neither has made plastic a part of the bilateral talks. As is true in energy, we are also plastic waste superpowers and what actions we take in this space could also be game changing,” Turner told VOA on Tuesday.
Digitally connected vehicles and solar panels
However, the climate envoys are likely to steer clear of electric vehicles as an area for climate cooperation because they have become a huge area of tension.
The Biden administration has said it would investigate Chinese-made digitally connected vehicles, citing potential national security risks and concerns over their capability to collect sensitive information about American users. On February 29, Biden criticized what it called PRC’s unfair practices in its auto industry.
“China’s policies could flood our market with its vehicles, posing risks to our national security,” Biden said in a statement.
U.S. officials have also criticized China’s excess production in solar panels and lithium-ion batteries. In April, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said China’s subsidizing of clean energy and industrial overcapacity “hurts American firms and workers, as well as firms and workers around the world.”
In October 2023, the European Commission, responsible for trade policy in the 27-nation European Union, launched an investigation into potential distortive subsidies for battery electric vehicles manufactured in China, possibly leading to additional tariffs.
The investigation is ongoing.
Chinese officials said the Biden administration’s actions are discriminatory. They have asked the U.S. to “stop overstretching the concept of national security” and “stop its discriminatory suppression against Chinese companies.”
“I would like to stress that Chinese-made cars are popular globally not by using so-called ‘unfair practices,’ but by emerging from the fierce market competition with technological innovation and superb quality,” said a spokesperson for China’s Foreign Ministry, Mao Ning, on March 1 during a briefing in Beijing.
She called the U.S. investigation “trade protectionism” and said, “such acts of politicizing economic and trade issues will only hinder the development of the U.S. auto industry itself.”
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Taiwan renews debate over removal of Chiang Kai-shek statues
He was once the most powerful man in Taiwan. But today, the statues of Taiwan’s late President Chiang Kai-shek are at the center of the island’s heated debate about how to reflect on its authoritarian past. VOA’s William Yang has more on this story from Taipei.
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Heavy metal music finds a home in Indonesia
Heavy metal music is controversial in some conservative societies but quite popular in the world’s largest Muslim-majority country. As VOA’s Dave Grunebaum reports, heavy metal has a home in Indonesia.
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Heavy metal music has a home in Indonesia
Jakarta, Indonesia — The sounds from guitars strumming and drums beating sears through the air. Crowds dance in circles while thumping their heads back and forth.
Some 38,000 fans attended Hammersonic this past weekend, according to organizers of Southeast Asia’s largest annual heavy metal music festival. Featuring 55 bands, the event is held in Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim majority country.
One of the groups performing, Lamb of God, was barred from performing in neighboring Malaysia in 2013 after Islamic leaders there said some of the band’s songs were blasphemous. Interestingly, the current president of Indonesia, Joko Widodo, talks openly about his passion for heavy metal and says he’s a fan of Lamb of God.
“We’re a moderate Muslim country and that’s why we’re more open to foreign influence including heavy metal music than some more conservative countries” said Pri Ario Damar, dean of the performing arts faculty at the Jakarta Institute of Arts.
Damar, 49, was a bass guitarist in a local heavy metal band back in the 1990s and currently plays with his students from time to time. “Heavy metal has been popular here for decades,” he says. “So there are several generations of listeners here who appreciate it as an outlet to comment on society, politics and the environment.”
At 6 p.m. local time, during a break in the live performances at Hammersonic, many fans went to the designated prayer area. Some of them prayed wearing heavy metal t-shirts simultaneously showing their Muslim faith and favorite music.
While bands from around the world took the stage, Dian Ranidita, a 40-year-old Indonesian mother of three, tapped her feet to the rhythms while her husband Yanuardi gently bobbed his head up and down.
“The stereotype of heavy music is always dark, violent, aggressive and also like a devil, but actually heavy metal is not like that,” Dian said, adding that she’s been a heavy metal fan since high school because of the different themes in the music that she relates to.
“For instance, romantic themes when you have a broken heart or feeling like fall in love with someone. And also if you’re feeling depressed, there are also depression themes, and when you’re feeling like you want to release your adrenaline,” she said. “Those are some of the many themes in heavy metal.”
Sisi Selatan is a heavy metal band from the Indonesian city of Solo. The group performed songs about love and social activism while fans in front of the stage jumped up and down. Band members say Indonesia is a country that embraces foreign cultural influences.
“We [Indonesians] absorb foreign cultures,” said guitarist Adi Wibowo. “Not only metal music, but also Korean, Japanese, Indian music and more. We embrace these types of music.”
Denisa Dhaniswara is a 24-year-old heavy metal vocalist from Jakarta. Like many singers, she writes songs based on her own personal experiences in life.
“A lot of my lyrics are filled with grief and greed. So, I really want people to feel unsettled when you listen to my music,” she said. “It’s a way of saying: I’ve been feeling like this, do you relate? If you relate that’s good. I mean I’m not alone here.”
Dhaniswara says Indonesia’s heavy metal fanbase is growing as performers get better and better.
“Indonesia has a lot of newer heavy metal bands and that makes me very happy because we’re always emerging,” she said. “Always finding out new stuff. Everybody’s so creative.”
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Australia condemns Chinese interception of Seahawk helicopter over international waters
SYDNEY — Analysts say China continues to undertake “incredibly aggressive’” military actions after an Australian navy helicopter in international waters was targeted by flares dropped by a Chinese fighter jet.
The Canberra government has condemned the incident as dangerous and unprofessional.
The Australian Seahawk helicopter was taking part in a United Nations mission to enforce sanctions against North Korea when it was intercepted by the Chinese air force.
Officials in Canberra say the Chinese fighter jet detonated flares close to the Australian helicopter, forcing its pilot to take evasive action.
The incident took place over international waters in the Yellow Sea off the coast of South Korea during the weekend.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said that his government had made “very strong representations at every level to China” about the incident.
Since coming to power in May 2022, the Albanese government has made concerted efforts to improve relations with China, Australia’s biggest trading partner.
Analysts say that while Australia’s diplomatic and economic relationships with China are stabilizing, bilateral military ties remain unpredictable.
Jennifer Parker, an adjunct fellow at the University of New South Wales and an expert associate at the Australian National University’s National Security College, told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. Tuesday that the Canberra government must contend with growing military tensions in the Indo-Pacific.
“Whilst the diplomatic and economic relationship may have stabilized from where it was, from a military perspective, China is still being incredibly aggressive in the region and not just towards Australia,” she said. “We saw last week Chinese vessels water cannoning Philippines government vessels in the vicinity of Scarborough Shoal, which sits right within the Philippines exclusive economic zone. So, we do know that China’s aggressive behavior in the region has not changed.”
Last week, the Philippines accused China of “dangerous maneuvers” and “harassment” after its use of water cannons against two Philippine vessels during a patrol in the South China Sea.
In response, Beijing urged the Philippines government not to “challenge China’s resolve” to defend China’s sovereignty in the region.
Beijing has sweeping claims in the South China Sea, which is a major international shipping route.
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Powerful ethnic armed group in western Myanmar claims to capture base and hundreds of soldiers
BANGKOK — A powerful ethnic minority armed group battling Myanmar’s army in the country’s west claimed Monday to have taken hundreds of government soldiers prisoner when it captured a major command post.
The Arakan Army, the well-trained and well-armed military wing of the Rakhine ethnic minority movement, has been on the offensive against army outposts in the western state of Rakhine — its home ground — for about six months.
The group said in a video statement posted on the Telegram messaging app that soldiers belonging to the military government’s Operational Command No. 15 headquarters in Rakhine’s Buthidaung township surrendered after a siege.
Buthidaung is about 385 kilometers (240 miles) southwest of Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-largest city.
The reported capture of the base could not be independently confirmed. Myanmar’s military government made no immediate comment, and the spokesperson of the Arakan Army did not respond to questions sent by The Associated Press.
The fight in Rakhine is part of the nationwide conflict in Myanmar that began after the army ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021 and suppressed widespread nonviolent protests that sought a return to democratic rule.
Despite its advantages in arms and manpower, Myanmar’s army has been on the defensive since October, when an alliance of three ethnic rebel groups launched an offensive in the country’s northeast.
The video released by the Arakan Army was described as having been made Saturday. It shows Arakan Army fighters guarding men in military uniforms and civilian clothes, some injured, as they walk through a field and down a roadside accompanied by women and children — families of soldiers often live at their posts.
A caption accompanying the video says it shows the deputy commander of the group and his troops after a “final assault in which (they) faced total defeat and surrendered.”
The video does not specify the total number of captured soldiers and their family members, but in one part about 300 men can be seen sitting in rows in an open field.
In a statement released Sunday, the Arakan Army said it captured the command post Thursday after attacking it for two weeks. It claimed another army post was seized the next day, along with others over the past two months.
The attackers captured “weapons, ammunition, military equipment and surrendered prisoners of war,” the statement said.
Some parts of the video released Monday show young men who appear to be members of the Muslim Rohingya minority.
Myanmar’s military has been accused of filling its depleted ranks with Rohingya men in Rakhine under the recently activated conscription law. The army has lost personnel to casualties, surrender and defections while facing increasingly tough opposition on the battlefield.
The Rohingya were the targets of a brutal counterinsurgency campaign incorporating rape and murder that saw an estimated 740,000 flee to neighboring Bangladesh as their villages were burned down by the army in 2017.
Ethnic Rakhine nationalists aligned with the Arakan Army were also among the persecutors of the Rohingya minority, but now the Arakan Army and the Rohingya are uneasy allies in opposition to the military government.
The Arakan Army, which seeks autonomy from Myanmar’s central government, is part of an alliance of ethnic minority armies that launched an offensive in October and gained strategic territory in Myanmar’s northeast bordering China.
Its success was seen as a major defeat for the military government, and boosted the morale of restive ethnic minorities as well as the pro-democracy resistance.
On Sunday, the Kachin Independence Army, another major ethnic armed group, claimed to have captured Sumprabum, a township in the northern state of Kachin.
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