Category Archives: Asia Pacific

Former UK civil service chief calls Xi Jinping a ‘dictator’ over Taiwan threats

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Comments from Simon Case come as UK defence review highlights Chinese military exercises around Taiwan as driver of global instability

The former head of the UK’s civil service has described the Chinese leader Xi Jinping as a “dictator” and said Donald Trump had put “helpful pressure” on Europe to increase defence spending.

Simon Case, who served as the cabinet secretary until December, when he stepped down on health grounds, said China had sent a clear message to “prepare for serious conflict” in Taiwan.

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Thailand’s PM Paetongtarn Shinawatra suspended over leaked Hun Sen call

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Paetongtarn could be heard calling former Cambodian leader ‘uncle’ and criticising Thai commander in recording

Thailand’s constitutional court has suspended the prime minister, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, while it investigates alleged ethical violations relating to a leaked phone call.

The court announced on Tuesday that it would consider a petition filed by 36 senators calling for Paetongtarn’s dismissal, accusing her of dishonesty and breaching ethical standards in violation of the constitution.

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China hosts first fully autonomous AI robot football match

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Footage of three-a-side game shows humanoids struggling to kick the ball or stay upright

They think it’s all over … for human footballers at least.

The pitch wasn’t the only artificial element on display at a football match in China on Saturday. Four teams of humanoid robots took on each other in Beijing, in games of three-a-side powered by artificial intelligence.

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Seoul wrestles with how to handle invasion of ‘lovebugs’

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Swarms in South Korean capital trigger heated debate over pest control as experts say rising temperatures partly to blame

Seoul residents are grappling with an invasion of so-called “lovebugs” that have swarmed hiking trails and urban areas across the South Korean capital, with experts debating how to handle the infestations that are surging as the climate crisis draws them further north.

Viral footage shared on social media shows Gyeyangsan mountain in Incheon, west of Seoul, with hiking trails and observation decks carpeted black with the insects.

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‘It’s not Chinese assistance’: Australia accuses China of taking undue credit for aid projects in the Pacific

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Minister Pat Conroy says Chinese ‘branding’ of multilateral development projects to bolster its influence in the region is a consistent frustration

China is bolstering its geopolitical influence in the Pacific by “branding” Asian Development Bank projects – funded in significant part by Australian taxpayer dollars – as Chinese projects, the Australian government says.

On the island of Bougainville, an autonomous region of Papua New Guinea to Australia’s north, the state-owned China Railway Construction Corporation has begun work to strengthen the runway at Kieta-Aropa, on the outskirts of the largest city.

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Protesters in Bangkok demand resignation of prime minister over leaked phone call

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Paetongtarn Shinawatra has angered Thai nationalists, who accuse the Thai leader of kowtowing to Cambodia

Thousands of protesters have gathered in Bangkok to demand the resignation of Thailand’s prime minister over a leaked phone call with a former Cambodian leader.

Paetongtarn Shinawatra has faced growing pressure over her handling of a border dispute with neighbouring Cambodia that flared in May when a Cambodian soldier was killed during a brief exchange of fire.

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China ‘planned car collision’ during Taiwan vice-president’s visit to Prague

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Czech intelligence revealed Chinese diplomats allegedly planned staged incident during Hsiao Bi-khim’s 2024 visit

Taiwan’s vice-president has said she will not be intimidated after reports by Czech intelligence that Chinese officials planned to stage a car collision when she was in Prague last year.

Hsiao Bi-khim visited the Czech Republic in March 2024, in the first overseas visit by her and Taiwan’s president, Lai Ching-te, after winning the election in January. It was reported at the time that a Chinese diplomat had run a red light while following her car – under police escort – from the airport.

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Top Chinese general ousted from body that oversees China’s military

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Purge is latest sign President Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption drive has reached highest echelons of armed forces

A top Chinese general has been dismissed from the body that oversees the Chinese military in the latest sign that Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption drive has reached the highest echelons of the armed forces.

Miao Hua, a senior admiral from the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) navy, was the director of the political work department of the central military commission (CMC), making him responsible for ideology and loyalty within the armed forces. The six-person CMC is one of the most powerful institutions in China and is headed by Xi himself.

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‘Twitter killer’ who murdered nine in Japan reportedly executed

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The execution of Takahiro Shiraishi would be the first instance of capital punishment in Japan since 2022

Japan has executed a man dubbed the “Twitter killer” who murdered and dismembered nine people he met online, in the nation’s first enactment of the death penalty since 2022.

Takahiro Shiraishi was sentenced to death for murdering and dismembering nine people he met on the social media platform, now called X, in 2017. He was hanged on Friday.

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US reaches deal with China to speed up rare earth shipments, White House says, amid efforts to end trade war

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US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick quoted as saying US countermeasures will be removed once US receives rare earths

The United States has reached an agreement with China on how to expedite rare earth shipments to the US, a White House official has said, amid efforts to end a trade war between the world’s biggest economies.

President Donald Trump said earlier on Thursday that the US had signed a deal with China the previous day, without providing additional details, and that there might be a separate deal coming up that would “open up” India.

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Bear roaming runway halts flights at Japanese airport

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A dozen flights cancelled at Yamagata airport as attempts to chase furry trespasser away continue

Authorities at a Japanese airport are locked in a “stalemate” with a black bear which has been roaming the runway despite attempts to chase it off, forcing air traffic controllers to cancel a dozen flights.

The bear first appeared at northern Yamagata airport in the early hours of Thursday, and officials immediately shut operations down, causing delays.

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Kim Jong-un hails new North Korean beach resort as one of country’s ‘greatest feats’ this year

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North Korean leader was accompanied by his daughter Kim Ju-ae, widely presumed to be his heir, at opening of Wonsan Kalma tourist zone

Kim Jong-un is more accustomed to overseeing ballistic missile launches and political purges, but this week the North Korean leader opted for a change of pace with a family visit to a new beach resort – the vanguard in a tourism drive that may one day include foreign visitors.

Kim, who had swapped his trademark Mao suit for a dark suit, white shirt and tie that matched the sandy expanse of Wonsan Kalma, hailed the coastal resort as one of the country’s “greatest feats” of the year, the state-run KCNA news agency said in a report issued on Thursday.

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Hull teenager becomes second Briton ever to join professional sumo stable

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Nicholas Tarasenko, 15, gets rare chance to break into professional sumo ranks after winning amateur tournaments and learning Japanese

A teenager from Hull has arrived in Japan to pursue his dream of becoming a grand champion sumo wrestler, as only the second Briton to win a place at one of the ancient sport’s professional stables.

Nicholas Tarasenko, 15, left Yorkshire for Japan straight after finishing his GCSEs, to become the first British hopeful to join a stable since Nathan Strange – a Londoner who fought under the ring name Hidenokuni – in 1989.

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Aukus vital to ‘deter Chinese aggression’, say US lawmakers, as Trump urged to recommit to submarine deal

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Alliance in best interests of Australia, UK and US, say lawmakers, after Trump administration announced 30-day review of pact

The Aukus pact is vital to “deter Chinese aggression in the Indo-Pacific region”, Republican and Democrat lawmakers in the US have told the Pentagon, urging the US to recommit to the nuclear submarine deal with Australia and the UK.

The Trump administration announced this month it would undertake a 30-day review of the Aukus agreement – the deal struck in 2021 that would see US nuclear submarines sold to Australia, and new-design nuclear-powered Aukus submarines built in the UK and Australia.

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Hong Kong teachers allegedly told to avoid US Independence Day events

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Messages advise staff to also warn students off celebrations to avoid violating national security law

Teachers in Hong Kong have been warned to keep themselves and students away from any US Independence Day celebrations as they may breach national security laws, educators have alleged.

A text message purportedly sent by the principal of a Hong Kong school to staff said the education bureau’s regional education office had reminded them “to be careful about Independence Day activities organised by the US consulate in Hong Kong, and not to participate to avoid violating the national security law and Hong Kong laws”.

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Thai PM apologises over leaked call with Hun Sen as crisis threatens to topple government

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In phone call, Paetongtarn Shinawatra discusses border dispute with former Cambodian leader and calls him ‘uncle’

Thailand’s prime minister, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, apologised after a leaked phone conversation with former Cambodian leader Hun Sen prompted public anger and threatened the collapse of her government.

In the leaked call, Paetongtarn – daughter of the populist former leader Thaksin Shinawatra – discusses an ongoing border dispute with Hun Sen, who is known to be a friend of her family.

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New Zealand halts millions of dollars in aid to Cook Islands over deals struck with China

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Wellington says it has paused payment of some funding until Pacific island nation takes steps to ‘repair the relationship and restore trust’

New Zealand has halted millions of dollars in funding to the Cook Islands over the “breadth and content” of agreements the smaller Pacific nation made with China, officials from the New Zealand foreign minister’s office has said.

New Zealand, which is the Cook Islands biggest funder, won’t consider any new money for the nation until the relationship improves, a spokesperson for foreign minister Winston Peters told the Associated Press on Thursday.

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Cambodia bans fruit imports and soap operas from Thailand as border dispute sours

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The border dispute has led to a surge in nationalist sentiment and tit-for-tat actions by both governments

Cambodia has banned imports of fruit and vegetables from Thailand, the latest escalation in a series of retaliatory actions sparked by a long-running border dispute between the South-east Asian neighbours.

Tensions flared in May when troops briefly exchanged fire at a contested area of the border, killing a Cambodian soldier.

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China stockpiling nuclear warheads at fastest rate globally, new research shows

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New report estimates that China now has at least 600 nuclear warheads, with around 100 per year being added to the stockpile since 2023

China is growing its stockpile of nuclear warheads at a faster rate than any other country, according to newly published research.

A report published on Monday by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) estimated that China now has at least 600 nuclear warheads, with about 100 per year being added to the stockpile since 2023.

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Pacific faces ‘critical moment’ in fight for press freedom, media watchdog warns

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Some reporters in the region face jail for alleged defamation in countries where news outlets often lack resources to defend lawsuits

The Pacific is facing a “critical moment” for press freedom, the region’s media watchdog has warned, as a number of senior journalists in a range of Pacific countries are facing costly lawsuits and criminal prosecution for alleged defamation.

“We have seen a few cases coming up … challenging the fundamentals of press freedom in the region,” said Robert Iroga, the chair of the Pacific Freedom Forum.

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