Category Archives: Asia Pacific

China-backed hackers spying on US critical infrastructure, says Five Eyes

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Targets include US military facilities on Guam that would be key in an Asia-Pacific conflict, say Microsoft and western spy agencies

A state-sponsored Chinese hacking group has been spying on a wide range of US critical infrastructure organisations and similar activities could be occurring globally, western intelligence agencies and Microsoft have warned.

“The United States and international cybersecurity authorities are issuing this joint Cybersecurity Advisory (CSA) to highlight a recently discovered cluster of activity of interest associated with a People’s Republic of China (PRC) state-sponsored cyber actor, also known as Volt Typhoon,” said a statement released by authorities in the US, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the UK – countries that make up the Five Eyes intelligence network.

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China overtakes US in contributions to nature and science journals

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Citations of Chinese research have risen because of sequencing of Covid-19 genome

China has overtaken the US to become the biggest contributor to nature-science journals, in a sign of the country’s growing influence in the world of academic research.

The Nature Index, which tracks data on author affiliations in 82 high quality journals, found that authors affiliated with Chinese institutions are more prolific than their US counterparts in physical sciences, chemistry, Earth and environmental sciences. The only category in which the US is still in the lead is life sciences.

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Russia and China deepen economic ties amid surge in trade since Ukraine invasion

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Russian PM holds talks with Xi Jinping and signs bilateral pacts to further investment, exports and sports cooperation

Russia and China have agreed to deepen investment in trade services, promote agricultural exports and boost sports cooperation, as Mikhail Mishustin, Russia’s prime minister, signed a set of bilateral agreements on a visit to Beijing.

Mishustin is the highest-ranking Russian official to visit Beijing since the start of the war in Ukraine. In March, China’s leader, Xi Jinping, visited Vladimir Putin in Moscow in a show of support for his “dear friend”.

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Biden trade curbs on China risk huge damage to US tech sector, says Nvidia chief

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Jensen Huang says Chinese firms will ‘just build it themselves’ if they cannot buy from US

The US risks causing “enormous damage” to its tech industry if it continues restrictions on trade with China, according to the chief executive of the chipmaker Nvidia.

Jensen Huang said curbs introduced by the Biden administration, which include restricting the export to China of advanced chips made with US technology, had left the business with “our hands tied behind our back”.

In an interview with the Financial Times, Huang said: “If [China] can’t buy from … the United States, they’ll just build it themselves. So the US has to be careful. China is a very important market for the technology industry.”

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Plastic waste puts millions of world’s poorest at higher risk from floods

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More than 200 million face more intense and frequent floods due to plastic pollution blocking drainage systems, report finds

A devastating 2005 flood that killed 1,000 people in the Indian city of Mumbai was blamed on a tragically simple problem: plastic bags had blocked storm drains, stopping monsoon flood water from draining out of the city.

Now a new report, attempting to quantify this problem, estimates that 218 million of the world’s poorest people are at risk from more severe and frequent flooding caused by plastic waste.

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South China Sea shipwrecks give clues about historic Silk Road trade routes

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Archaeologists begin excavation of two 500-year-old vessels filled with porcelain and timber

Two 500-year-old shipwrecks in the South China Sea, filled with Ming-era porcelain and stacked timber, provide significant clues about the maritime Silk Road trade routes, Chinese archaeologists have said.

The two shipwrecks were discovered in October, and cultural and archaeological authorities have now begun a year-long process of deep-sea exploration and excavation, government officials announced.

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Malaysia confiscates ‘LGBT’ rainbow Swatch watches

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Officials seize 164 watches from Pride collection, with watchmaker promising to ‘replenish the stock and display them on-shelf’

Swiss watchmaker Swatch has said Malaysian authorities seized 164 rainbow-coloured watches worth a total of US$14,000 from its Pride collection.

LGBT people are discriminated against in Malaysia where homosexuality is forbidden and sodomy can be punished with imprisonment and corporal punishment, although enforcement is rare.

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Canadian special rapporteur rules out inquiry into Chinese interference claims

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David Johnston warns that subversive efforts represent ‘increasing threat’ to democracy but public inquiry would be the wrong choice


An official named to investigate allegations that China attempted to subvert Canadian elections has announced he will not launch a public inquiry, prompting frustration from critics who say the decision only furthers Beijing’s interests.

Special rapporteur David Johnston on Tuesday released a 55-page report on foreign interference in Canadian institutions, warning that subversive efforts represented an “increasing threat” to democracy.

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Outcry as World Health Assembly locks out Taiwan under pressure from China

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Taipei criticises ‘unfair and unjust’ decision to deny observer status despite support from US, UK, France and other countries

The World Health Assembly has again rejected Taiwan’s request to join its annual gathering amid routine objections from China and despite strong support from a coalition of countries including the US, UK, France and Australia.

The assembly – the forum through which the World Health Organization is governed – on Monday decided not to extend an invitation for Taiwan to attend the 21-30 May event in Geneva as an observer. China and Pakistan spoke against the bid, while the Marshall Islands, Belize, Nauru and Eswatini – four of Taiwan’s 13 formal diplomatic allies – spoke in support.

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Papua New Guinea won’t be base ‘for war to be launched’, says PM, after US security deal

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James Marape says agreement has clause saying Pacific country is not to be ‘used as a place for launching offensive military operations’

Papua New Guinea will not be used as a base for “war to be launched”, prime minister James Marape has said, as the Pacific country signed a defence agreement with the US amid a race against China for influence in the region.

Marape said on Tuesday the agreement – which he said he would release in full for public scrutiny on Thursday – prohibited “offensive military operations”.

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Papua New Guinea’s security deal with the US is a win for Washington – for now

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Prime minister James Marape was at pains to say he did not want to be forced to make a choice between the US and China

He may have just signed a new defence cooperation agreement with the United States, but the prime minister of Papua New Guinea was determined to make it clear that he did not want to be forced into making a binary choice between Washington and Beijing.

Speaking after the deal was struck, James Marape reflected the view of Pacific leaders that they should not simply be seen as chess pieces in a broader geopolitical struggle,as China and the US step up their efforts to expand their influence among Pacific island countries. For Pacific countries, their priorities lie in their development needs and action on the climate crisis.

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China and Saudi Arabia boycott G20 meeting held by India in Kashmir

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Indian presidency of group becomes mired in controversy as tourism session hosted in disputed territory

India’s presidency of the G20 group of leading nations has become mired in controversy after China and Saudi Arabia boycotted a meeting staged in Kashmir, the first such gathering since India unilaterally brought Kashmir under direct control in August 2019.

The meeting, a tourism working group attended by about 60 delegates from most G20 countries taking place from Monday to Wednesday, required a large show of security at Srinagar international airport.

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Weather tracker: Guam and Philippines brace for Typhoon Mawar

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Typhoon projected to affect US territory of Guam as early as Tuesday. Elsewhere, Europe is heating up

Over the weekend, a rapidly intensifying region of thunderstorms in the western Pacific culminated in the formation of Typhoon Mawar.

The movement of this storm is projected to affect the Mariana Islands, including the US territory of Guam, as early as Tuesday. There is a risk of wind speeds above 75mph, with torrential rain.

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New Zealand loses fight with Australia over mānuka honey trademark

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Intellectual Property Office rules that New Zealand beekeepers’ attempt to stop Australian producers using the name did not meet necessary requirements

New Zealand honey producers have lost their latest battle to trademark mānuka honey, the latest blow in a years-long fight to stop Australian beekeepers using the lucrative name.

The Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand ruled on Monday that New Zealand mānuka beekeepers’ attempt for a trademark did not meet necessary requirements, and the term mānuka was descriptive.

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New Zealand announces its biggest emissions reduction project in history

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Move to power Glenbrook steel plant with electricity from renewables rather than coal will reduce emissions by 1% – or the equivalent of taking 300,000 cars off the road

New Zealand has announced its largest emissions reduction project in history, transitioning from coal to renewable electricity at the country’s major steel plant in a move that the government says is equivalent to taking 300,000 cars off the road.

The government will spend $140m on halving the coal used at Glenbrook steel plant to recycle scrap steel, replacing that generating power with an electric-powered furnace. The plant will contribute $160m to the project’s cost.

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US and Papua New Guinea sign pact amid Pacific militarisation concerns

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Concerns security deal could leave Papua New Guinea stuck between increasingly hostile US and China

The US has signed a security pact with Papua New Guinea despite concerns within the country about increasing militarisation as Washington competes with Beijing for influence in the Pacific.

The state department said the new agreement would provide $45m (£36m) to help improve security cooperation, including protective equipment for the Papua New Guinea defence force, plus help in mitigating the effects of the climate crisis, transnational crime and HIV/Aids.

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China poses biggest threat to global security, says Sunak

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UK prime minister goes further than G7 summit statement in outlining challenge posed by Beijing

China poses the biggest challenge to global security and prosperity of our age with the “means and intent to reshape the world order”, Rishi Sunak has said.

The UK prime minister said G7 leaders including Japan, the US, Canada and European nations had shown “unity and resolve” in confronting the problems posed by Beijing.

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Ukraine ceasefire not enough without ‘just and durable’ peace, says Sunak

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UK PM says at G7 summit that end to war will need to recognise country’s territorial integrity

Rishi Sunak has said a ceasefire in Ukraine would not be enough, as any end to the war will need to recognise the country’s territorial integrity and include a plan for “just and durable” peace.

The UK prime minister said the last session at the G7 summit in Japan had involved a “conversation about peace” in Ukraine and what it should look like, with more neutral countries India and Brazil also taking part.

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Surge in strikes at Chinese factories after Covid rules end

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Action by workers has trebled this year as the country emerges from its draconian coronavirus measures

Protests in China are often small- scale. On 17 May, a handful of workers at an air-purifier factory in Xiamen, a coastal city in Fujian province, south-east China, gathered to demand the payment of wages that, they said, were in arrears. The protest was quiet, but it was one of nearly 30 similar demonstrations this month alone.

With China’s factories reopened and draconian coronavirus measures abandoned, workers are also going on strike at a remarkable rate.

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Japan and South Korea leaders mend fences in visit to Hiroshima memorial

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Joint visit during G7 summit seen as further evidence of determination to overcome longstanding friction

Japan’s prime minister, Fumio Kishida, and the South Korean president, Yoon Suk Yeol, have paid their respects at a memorial to the tens of thousands of Korean victims of the atomic bombing, in a further sign of improving ties between the north-east Asian neighbours.

The pair, accompanied by their wives, laid bouquets of white flowers before lowering their heads at the memorial in the city’s peace park on Sunday on the sidelines of the G7 summit, where Yoon is one of several non-member leaders taking part in “outreach” sessions.

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