Category Archives: Asia Pacific

Huawei accused of building secret microchip factories to beat US sanctions

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US-based semiconductor association claims Chinese tech firm has acquired at least two plants and is constructing three others

Huawei has been accused by a leading association of semiconductor manufacturers of building a collection of secret chip-making facilities across China to help the technology company bypass US sanctions, according to a report.

The Chinese tech firm moved into chip production last year and was receiving an estimated $30bn (£23.7bn) in state funding from the government, the Washington-based Semiconductor Industry Association was quoted as saying by Bloomberg, adding that Huawei had acquired at least two existing plants and was building three others.

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Chinese dissident and Xi Jinping critic flees China to South Korea by jetski

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Chinese dissident Kwon Pyong, 35, was arrested after becoming stuck in mudflats near Incheon

A Chinese dissident previously jailed for criticising Xi Jinping has fled to South Korea by jetski, towing barrels of fuel behind him to ensure he completed the long journey.

The man identified by Chinese activist groups as Kwon Pyong, 35, was arrested last Wednesday night after he got stuck in mud flats near Incheon.

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Wednesday briefing: Fukushima nuclear plant is set to flush tonnes of water into the sea – but is it safe?

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In today’s newsletter: Japan’s decision to release radioactive water from the tsunami-hit power plant has divided groups – is it entirely safe or staggeringly stupid?

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China officials hit by US sanctions over ‘forced assimilation’ of children in Tibet

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Antony Blinken criticises China’s state boarding schools that ‘seek to eliminate Tibet’s distinct linguistic, cultural and religious traditions’

The United States will impose visa sanctions on Chinese officials pursuing “forced assimilation” of children in Tibet, where UN experts say one million children have been separated from their families.

Secretary of state Antony Blinken said the US would restrict visas to Chinese officials behind the policy of state boarding schools, in the latest in a series of US moves on Beijing that comes despite a resumption of high-level dialogue.

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Fukushima: wastewater from ruined nuclear plant to be released from Thursday, Japan says

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Release plans approved by UN nuclear authority have caused outcry in China and concern for the reputation of Japan’s seafood

Japan is to begin releasing wastewater from the wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant from Thursday, in defiance of opposition from fishing communities, China and some scientists.

The prime minister, Fumio Kishida, said on Tuesday he had asked the plant’s operator, Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco), “to swiftly prepare for the water discharge” in accordance with plans approved by nuclear regulators, adding that the release would begin on Thursday, “weather and ocean conditions permitting”.

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Cambodia: son of long time ruler Hun Sen becomes PM in historic transfer of power

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Major powers will be watching to see if Hun Manet adopts his father’s authoritarian approach to governing

Cambodia’s newly elected parliament has endorsed military general Hun Manet as prime minister, completing a historic transfer of power in a fast-changing country led by his father for nearly four decades.

The western-educated Hun Manet, 45, had the backing of most of the National Assembly in proceedings screened live on television on Tuesday. He became eligible for the job after winning a seat in last month’s parliamentary elections, widely criticised as a sham.

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New Zealand Labour’s support sinks to worst level in six years, poll finds

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Prime minister Chris Hipkins says Labour now ‘underdogs’ as National gains ground ahead of 14 October election

New Zealand’s Labour party is polling at its worst levels in 6 years, with prime minister Chris Hipkins saying they are now “underdogs” in the upcoming election.

If the results of the poll were repeated at the election, the left block would lose its large electoral majority, while also reducing the diversity of New Zealand’s parliament and replacing the gender parity currently held with a male majority.

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Thaksin Shinawatra jailed on return to Thailand as his party regains power

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Ex-PM begins eight-year jail term but appointment of Srettha Thavisin as leader could shorten his sentence

Thailand’s populist former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra has arrived in Bangkok after more than 15 years in exile as his party returned to government in a controversial pact with its military rivals that keeps reformists out of power.

Thaksin – a hugely influential but also divisive politician – began an eight-year jail term on his return, though commentators have noted that his arrival in the country coincides with his party’s return to office and a backroom deal could allow him to escape a full sentence.

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Brics group looks to expand at summit despite divisions among key members

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Experts say India concerned about expansion and any overt anti-west turn as leaders fly into South Africa

Leaders from developing countries representing almost half the world’s population including China and Russia are meeting in South Africa for a key summit aimed at reinforcing their alliance as a counterweight to the west.

The Brics grouping summit in Johannesburg is being hosted by the South African president, Cyril Ramaphosa, and brings together the prime minister of India, Narendra Modi, as well the presidents of China, Xi Jinping, and Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

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Thai party of Thaksin Shinawatra strikes deal with ex-military rivals

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Arrangement angers many Pheu Thai supporters and could coincide with former PM’s return from exile

The party associated with Thailand’s former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra has struck a deal with its former military rivals, a move that could coincide with his return after more than 15 years in exile.

The deal announced on Monday has angered many Pheu Thai supporters, as well as those of the reformist Move Forward party that won the most votes and seats in the May general election but whose leader was blocked from taking office.

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North Korea abruptly cancels first post-Covid international commercial flight

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Air Koryo flight from Pyongyang cancelled two hours after its scheduled arrival in Beijing

North Korea’s national airline’s first commercial flight since it largely closed itself off from the world in early 2020 in response to the Covid pandemic has been abruptly cancelled.

Journalists gathered on Monday at Beijing’s Capital international airport to await Air Koryo flight JS151 from Pyongyang, due to arrive at 9.50am.

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China cuts key interest rate amid economic slowdown

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Central bank reduces one-year loan prime rate but surprises analysts by leaving five-year rate unchanged

China’s central bank has cut one of its key lending rates but left another unchanged, surprising economists who had expected more forceful action to support economic growth amid widespread concerns over its path.

The world’s second-largest economy is in the midst of a slowdown, and has slipped into deflation with prices falling year on year as slowing domestic spending weighs on the country’s post-Covid economic recovery.

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Japan’s armed forces covered up sexual and other harassment, report shows

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Most of the 1,325 cases in the self-defence forces were not reported because victims feared retribution, say experts

Japan’s military has covered up cases of sexual and other forms of harassment among members of the self-defence forces (SDF) and refused to take allegations seriously, according to a report that sheds light on widespread abuse in the armed forces.

A panel of experts formed in response to a high-profile case in 2022 said it was aware of 1,325 cases of harassment targeting women and men, adding that more than 60% of victims had not reported them.

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Australia to buy Tomahawk cruise missiles in $1.7bn spend on long-range defence capability

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Anti-radiation and anti-tank missiles among purchase which will be locked in just days after raucous internal debate at Labor conference over Aukus pact

The Albanese government has announced a $1.7bn spend on hi-tech missiles which the defence minister, Richard Marles, said are needed “to hold our adversaries further from our shores and keep Australians safe”.

Australia will become just the third nation after the US and the UK to have access to Tomahawk cruise missiles, with $1.3bn being spent on 200 of the long range missiles to boost the capability of the three Hobart-class air warfare destroyers.

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China sends dozens of warplanes near Taiwan after vice-president’s US stopover

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Chinese state media says military exercises involving planes and vessels were intended as a ‘stern warning’ against colluding with ‘foreign elements’

China launched military drills around Taiwan on Saturday as a “stern warning” after voicing anger over a stopover in the United States by the island’s vice-president, William Lai.

Lai – the frontrunner in Taiwan’s presidential election next year and a vocal opponent of Beijing’s claims to the island – returned on Friday from a trip to Paraguay during which he stopped briefly in New York and San Francisco.

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US ‘concerned’ over reports of Russia-North Korea nuclear cooperation

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National security adviser Jake Sullivan makes comments as US, Japan and South Korea agree to new security pledge

The United States is “concerned” about the national security implications of North Korea and Russia reportedly cooperating on nuclear missile technology, the Biden administration said, as the US welcomed the leaders of Japan and South Korea to Camp David on Friday for an unprecedented trilateral summit.

The US, Japan and South Korea agreed to a new security pledge committing the three countries to consult with each other in the event of a security crisis or threat in the Pacific, according to the Biden administration.

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China’s property crisis deepens with developer Country Garden at risk of default

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Evergrande has filed for bankruptcy protection and firms covering 40% of Chinese home sales have defaulted

China’s property crisis has deepened with two major developers facing severe financial difficulties that threaten to send shock waves through the country’s economy and beyond.

Evergrande, the poster child for the woes of China’s property sector, filed for chapter 15 bankruptcy protection in New York on Thursday. The provision permits the company to protect its US assets and will allow cross-border bankruptcy proceedings as it undergoes a restructuring.

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China’s struggling property giant Evergrande files for bankruptcy protection in US

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The company’s chapter 15 protection will protect its US assets while it attempts a restructuring deal

China’s Evergrande Group, the world’s most heavily indebted property developer and the poster child for the country’s property crisis, has filed for bankruptcy protection in a US court.

The company sought protection under chapter 15 of the US bankruptcy code, which protects its US assets while it attempts a restructuring deal. The code also provides mechanisms for dealing with insolvency cases involving more than one country.

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Australia’s plan for long-range missiles would not deter aggressors without support from US

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Military thinktank says plan to deploy ‘yet to be acquired’ weapons would ‘risk further escalation for no prospect of gain’

Australia’s push to develop and deploy its own missiles lacks credibility as a means to deter conflict unless backed up by US support, a new paper warns.

The report, published by the Australian Army Research Centre, points to the Australian government’s desire to increase the country’s “self-reliance”.

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China’s army filmed apparently preparing for conflict in Taiwan strait

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Propaganda video shows troops running past anti-landing barricades similar to those that dot Taiwan’s coast

China’s army released a propaganda video showing soldiers preparing for a conflict in what appears to be the Taiwan strait.

The one-and-a-half-minute video, published on the Eastern Theatre Command’s official WeChat account on Thursday, is titled “Reading the Strait” and shows soldiers in combat gear doing press-ups under crashing waves, a tank battalion driving into the sunset and troops running up sandy shores past anti-landing barricades, similar to those that dot Taiwan’s coast.

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