Follow Southern China Morning Post - ASEAN Diplomacy, filter it, and define how you want to receive the news (via Email, RSS, Telegram, WhatsApp etc.) https://follow.it/scmp24 Wed, 19 Jan 2022 19:38:54 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/iy4bXBWAUFHpNTpdljVDauzdsCmHakzH The Philippines has placed a US$375 million order with India for supersonic cruise missiles jointly developed with Russia, boosting Manila’s naval capabilities in the face of growing Chinese assertiveness in the region.The deal is also seen as a breakthrough for Delhi, as it works to export arms to regional partners, while reducing its dependence on arms imports.The BrahMos is one of India’s most advanced missiles – it has a range of 290km and travels at 2-3 Mach, or nearly one km per second –…]]> Fri, 14 Jan 2022 13:31:49 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/iy4bXBWAUFHpNTpdljVDauzdsCmHakzH https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/iy4bXBWAUFFk_ppse9KOQXn9ye8UNv30 Twin panda cubs made their first public appearance on Wednesday before devoted fans in Tokyo, but they will be on display only briefly for now – over three days – following a spike in Covid-19 cases driven by the Omicron variant.The twins, male cub Xiao Xiao and his sister Lei Lei, which were born at Tokyo’s Ueno Zoo in June, took their first steps as beaming fans held up their smartphones to film the cuddly pair as they played together.In a video released by the zoo on Wednesday, the twin cubs…]]> Wed, 12 Jan 2022 12:04:10 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/iy4bXBWAUFFk_ppse9KOQXn9ye8UNv30 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/iy4bXBWAUFEf1VUPT0y-qMb1naedg1wr When Indonesia’s Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi announced her ministry’s targets for this year, she said the country would intensify negotiations to resolve border disputes with nations including Malaysia and the Philippines.Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, has decades-long land and maritime boundary disagreements with its neighbours.Retno, who also highlighted her ministry’s achievements from last year, said boundary disputes needed to be resolved using international law…]]> Wed, 12 Jan 2022 02:45:29 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/iy4bXBWAUFEf1VUPT0y-qMb1naedg1wr https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/iy4bXBWAUFFlCivxKHMJCsb1naedg1wr Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will head to Sri Lanka this weekend as the island nation searches for funds to rebuild foreign exchange reserves and repay debt amid ballooning import bills.Wang’s visit comes as Beijing seeks to balance US and Indian influence in the Indo-Pacific region during a pivotal political year for China. He may offer more grants while in the capital Colombo, according to a Sri Lankan government official who asked not to be identified. The ministries of finance and…]]> Fri, 07 Jan 2022 11:45:47 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/iy4bXBWAUFFlCivxKHMJCsb1naedg1wr https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/iy4bXBWAUFEAU5FtDHHy06CY3L745TL_ Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen’s trip to Myanmar begins Friday amid criticism that his visit will undo efforts by Asean to defuse the deepening political and security crisis that has been worsened by the pandemic.Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo, who usually posts on Twitter in Indonesian, tweeted in English on Wednesday that he had spoken to Hun Sen about Myanmar.While he extended his support for Cambodia’s rotating chairmanship of the Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) bloc,…]]> Fri, 07 Jan 2022 03:00:20 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/iy4bXBWAUFEAU5FtDHHy06CY3L745TL_ https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/iy4bXBWAUFFid2tmIbicf11cWWor9YPv The United States and China seem to have retreated into a state of “mutually tolerable friction” but opposing positions on Taiwan, Hong Kong and the South China Sea could turn the tide, regional observers said at a forum in Singapore on Thursday.Ryan Hass, senior fellow at the Washington-based Brookings think tank, said US-China ties had “stabilised” since US President Joe Biden took office last January. Before that, the relationship was “effectively dysfunctional” with no proper channels of…]]> Thu, 06 Jan 2022 08:51:44 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/iy4bXBWAUFFid2tmIbicf11cWWor9YPv https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/iy4bXBWAUFGWleToToLUY6CY3L745TL_ Vietnam has criticised China’s zero-Covid policies as over the top after tight border controls caused a backlog of thousands of trucks and disrupted trade.“Pandemic prevention measures that Guangxi is applying under the ‘zero Covid’ policy, such as stopping border gate operations or stopping the import of some types of fruit, are overkill,” Vietnam’s trade ministry said after a video call with officials from the southwestern Chinese region on Friday.Xian Covid-19 cases pass 150 for 7th day in a…]]> Sun, 02 Jan 2022 04:00:24 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/iy4bXBWAUFGWleToToLUY6CY3L745TL_ https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/iy4bXBWAUFFA9eoNVNplH11cWWor9YPv The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is a free-trade agreement between the 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) members plus Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea.The deal took effect in Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Japan, Laos, New Zealand, Thailand, Singapore and Vietnam on January 1.South Korea will follow on February 1, but Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar and the Philippines have yet to ratify the deal.According to a report in The…]]> Fri, 31 Dec 2021 22:30:16 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/iy4bXBWAUFFA9eoNVNplH11cWWor9YPv https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/iy4bXBWAUFFQruy20JbYKJVjH6qdYdAk Recent moves by Japan in the name of ensuring its own security could run the risk of escalating tensions in the Taiwan Strait.This is because they are likely to have fed into China’s anxieties that any attempts by Beijing – though unlikely for now – to retake the island by force would spark a possible intervention by Japan itself and the United States.Last Thursday, Japan’s Kyodo news agency reported that the US and Japanese armed forces had drawn up a draft plan for a joint operation for a…]]> Fri, 31 Dec 2021 03:30:23 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/iy4bXBWAUFFQruy20JbYKJVjH6qdYdAk https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/iy4bXBWAUFFRSlHaA5lJN-T5HJgy6HUf Japan conducted a drill last month at a remote southwestern island under the assumption that foreign forces had occupied Japanese-administered islands claimed by China, known as Diaoyu/Senkaku.Several government sources told Kyodo News that a drill involving the Self-Defence Forces (Japan’s de facto military), coastguard and police took place at an uninhabited island in Nagasaki prefecture with land features resembling Uotsuri Island, one of the islets that make up the Diaoyu/Senkaku islands in…]]> Mon, 27 Dec 2021 10:45:11 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/iy4bXBWAUFFRSlHaA5lJN-T5HJgy6HUf https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/iy4bXBWAUFGPFTHRFgdV0pVjH6qdYdAk Japan will not send a government delegation to the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, the top government spokesman said on Friday, a decision seen as in line with a US-led diplomatic boycott of the sporting spectacle over China’s human rights record.But Japanese athletes will attend the Games in February as scheduled, according to government sources.Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said Japan will send Seiko Hashimoto, a House of Councillors lawmaker and president of the organising committee…]]> Fri, 24 Dec 2021 08:10:41 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/iy4bXBWAUFGPFTHRFgdV0pVjH6qdYdAk https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/iy4bXBWAUFHKVzrvqeQDJ3n9ye8UNv30 North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has praised outgoing Chinese ambassador Li Jinjun for helping usher in a “fresh heyday” in bilateral ties, Pyongyang’s state media reported on Thursday, as the envoy returned home after nearly seven years in the post.Kim’s compliments were conveyed by his right-hand man Choe Ryong-hae, state news agency KCNA said. Li also met North Korean premier Kim Tok-hun before his departure, which was delayed by several months because of the coronavirus pandemic.The North…]]> Thu, 23 Dec 2021 09:30:28 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/iy4bXBWAUFHKVzrvqeQDJ3n9ye8UNv30 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/iy4bXBWAUFHQScOmlOiKruT5HJgy6HUf Former Japanese prime minister Yoshihide Suga has struck a more conciliatory note towards China in a new media interview, although analysts suggest his comments may be more related to internal differences within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and also designed to rehabilitate a reputation that took a battering before he stepped down in October.In an interview published on Tuesday by the Nikkei newspaper, Suga said it was “overly simplistic” to suggest that the statement issued with US…]]> Tue, 21 Dec 2021 10:00:33 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/iy4bXBWAUFHQScOmlOiKruT5HJgy6HUf https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/iy4bXBWAUFE8cjHgZ56tP-zdsCmHakzH Moves by key Arab states to end the isolation of war-torn Syria are strengthening China’s position as attention shifts gradually to the country’s reconstruction.Jordan, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates recently struck three power deals with the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, which political analysts said reflected a loss of faith in the United States’ commitment to its Arab allies given its attention on China. Washington’s Arab allies are increasingly feeling a need to step up diplomacy…]]> Sat, 18 Dec 2021 14:00:21 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/iy4bXBWAUFE8cjHgZ56tP-zdsCmHakzH https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/iy4bXBWAUFF-UQbMefv3JylmFkX7M1Jw Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Thursday he has no plans to attend the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics at the moment, taking what appeared to be a softer tone than Western allies who have declared a diplomatic boycott while suggesting he is still considering various options.“At the moment, I have no plans to attend,” Kishida said in parliament when asked by Shinkun Haku, a lawmaker of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, about whether he will travel to China…]]> Thu, 16 Dec 2021 07:32:30 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/iy4bXBWAUFF-UQbMefv3JylmFkX7M1Jw https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/iy4bXBWAUFFtmsUBj5ZA8nn9ye8UNv30 The US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday said Washington would look for new ways to step up pressure on Myanmar amid persistent post-coup violence and as the country’s neighbours consider whether to continue isolating the junta chief Min Aung Hlaing.Malaysia’s Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah, speaking alongside Blinken in a press conference, said there was an urgent need for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) to find a permanent solution to the situation in…]]> Wed, 15 Dec 2021 09:42:47 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/iy4bXBWAUFFtmsUBj5ZA8nn9ye8UNv30 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/iy4bXBWAUFFfuXdpfDAi1Mb1naedg1wr By Lee Hyo-jinA new song released by Jin of K-pop super band BTS has drawn protests from some Japanese internet users over the use of the words “East Sea” in its lyrics, referring to the waters between Korea and Japan.The two countries have long been at odds over the issue of the sea’s name, with Korea using “East Sea” for the body of water, while Japan has been calling it “Sea of Japan”.Jin released his self-written song Super Tuna with a special music video through BTS’ official YouTube…]]> Mon, 13 Dec 2021 11:34:22 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/iy4bXBWAUFFfuXdpfDAi1Mb1naedg1wr https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/iy4bXBWAUFE_BJstlk-EF5s0ohxaO6Yr Voters in the French island territory of New Caledonia chose overwhelmingly on Sunday to stay part of France, in a referendum boycotted by pro-independence forces and closely watched around the South Pacific.Separatist activists had urged a delay in the vote because of the pandemic, and were angry over what they said were French government efforts to sway the campaign. So they called on their supporters to stay away from voting stations.And they did. With three-quarters of the vote counted, 91…]]> Sun, 12 Dec 2021 15:07:05 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/iy4bXBWAUFE_BJstlk-EF5s0ohxaO6Yr https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/iy4bXBWAUFERGpHFhK26i5VjH6qdYdAk India and Russia’s historically close relationship has been complicated by geopolitical realities but last week’s summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Vladimir Putin demonstrated the extent to which both sides intend to stay close, even if it risks rankling the United States and China.Harsha Kakar, a retired major general in the Indian army, said the meeting proved that despite Russia’s close ties with China, and India’s with the West, and “regardless of whatever alignments…]]> Sun, 12 Dec 2021 12:00:18 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/iy4bXBWAUFERGpHFhK26i5VjH6qdYdAk https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/iy4bXBWAUFHBBGjN7L17NOzdsCmHakzH Japan is considering not sending Cabinet ministers to next year’s Beijing Olympics in line with a US-led diplomatic boycott amid rising criticism over China’s human rights record, government and ruling coalition sources said on Saturday.Japan’s actions would see it side with the United States, along with countries including Australia, Britain and Canada, while stopping short of actually being a diplomatic boycott, the sources said.Various options are being mulled including sending Seiko…]]> Sat, 11 Dec 2021 17:00:29 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/iy4bXBWAUFHBBGjN7L17NOzdsCmHakzH