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News, analysis, graphs and maps from all across the Asia-Pacific
🇰🇵 North Korea's Kim visits family tomb to pay tribute to his father
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Tuesday visited a mausoleum for his late father and grandfather Kim Jong Il and Kim Il Sung to pay tribute to his father.
Kim made the visit to the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, where his father and grandfather lie in state, on the 13th anniversary of Kim Jong Il's death.
Kim was accompanied by senior party and government officials, KCNA reported, including premier Kim Tok Hun and Choe Ryong Hae.
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🇺🇸🇯🇵 Trump says he could meet Japan PM before returning to White House
US President-elect Donald Trump said Monday he could meet with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba before he returns to the White House in January.
During a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, Trump said of the Japanese side, "If they'd like to do that, I would do that."
About a month earlier, Ishiba was unable to hold an in-person meeting with Trump on his way back to Japan from South America. Ishiba said at the time that according to Trump's team, the president-elect could not hold talks with him before taking office due to legal constraints.
#USA #Japan
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🇹🇼🇨🇳 Taipei mayor calls for reduced tensions during rare visit of Chinese officials
The mayor of Taiwan's capital told visiting Chinese officials on Tuesday he hoped for peace and wanted less of the "howls of ships and aircraft" around the island, saying dialogue trumps confrontation.
Addressing the annual Taipei Shanghai City Forum with Shanghai Vice Mayor Hua Yuan in attendance, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an used poetic language to say he wished for peace across the Taiwan Strait.
"More dialogue and less confrontation; more olive branches of peace and less sour grapes of conflict. More lights from fishing boats to adorn the sunset; less of the howls of ships and aircraft," Chiang said.
#Taiwan #China
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🇰🇷 South Korean authorities make new attempt to raid presidential office
South Korean authorities made a new attempt on Tuesday to search the presidential office and obtain evidence as part of a probe into the legality of President Yoon Suk-yeol's short-lived bid to impose martial law.
A joint investigation team including police and the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) was trying to access computer servers of the presidential office's security service to get records of phones including one used by the police commissioner.
This would be the second time authorities have tried to raid the presidential office over the declaration of martial law that was reversed within hours after a standoff with parliament.
#SouthKorea
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🇰🇷 South Korea investigators want to question impeached president
South Korea's joint investigation team consisting of police and other authorities said Monday it will ask impeached President Yoon Suk-yeol to appear for questioning this week over his short-lived declaration of martial law earlier this month.
The team, which also involves a corruption investigation body and the defense ministry, plans to call in Yoon to come before the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials on Wednesday, it said.
Prosecutors also made a request for Yoon to appear at their office for questioning Sunday but he rejected it.
#SouthKorea
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🇰🇷 South Korea's ruling party leader stepped down
South Korea's ruling party leader, Han Dong-hoon, said on Monday that he was stepping down.
Despite party backlash over his calls for President Yoon Suk-yeol's impeachment, Han said he had no regret in doing so.
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🇺🇸🇯🇵 US starts relocating Marines from Japan’s Okinawa over base grievances
The United States has begun relocating thousands of Marines from the Japanese island of Okinawa, Tokyo and Washington said, after decades of mounting grievances among locals over America’s military presence.
In 2012, the United States said it would redeploy 9,000 Marines from the island where communities complain bases are an unfair burden – with objections ranging from pollution to noise and helicopter crashes.
The relocation began with “a small detachment of approximately 100 logistics support Marines” transferred to the US island territory of Guam, Japan’s defense ministry and the US Marine Corps said.
#USA #Japan
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🇺🇸🇨🇳 Biden administration inks renewed science cooperation deal with China
The United States and China renewed a science cooperation agreement on Friday, the US State Department said, this time with "robust national security guardrails," despite objections from Republicans who argue that the decision should have been left to the incoming Trump administration.
For 45 years, the landmark US-China Science and Technology Agreement has yielded cooperation across a range of scientific fields, creating a framework for agency exchanges and giving the US access to Chinese data useful in areas such as monitoring earthquakes, weather and influenza.
But the deal lapsed this year amid mounting concerns in the US that China too often failed to uphold intellectual property provisions or reciprocity in data exchanges. the State Department said the new deal is significantly narrower than previous iterations and covers only basic research, not critical or emerging technologies core to the rivalry between the countries.
#USA #China
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🇺🇸🇨🇳🇷🇺 Yellen warns ‘wary’ Chinese banks that US sanctions are still a real risk
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Friday that the US was looking at further sanctions on “dark fleet” tankers and would not rule out sanctions on Chinese banks as it seeks to reduce Russia’s oil revenue and access to foreign supplies.
US Treasury officials continue to have conversations with their Chinese counterparts on efforts to detect financial institution activity that could be aiding transactions related to Russia’s war effort.
Yellen said these discussions had been aided by efforts to rebuild US-China economic and financial communications over the past two years.
#USA #China #Russia
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🇨🇳🇺🇸 China eyes negotiations as Trump threatens new tariffs
As Donald Trump steps up his tariff threats against China, Beijing is moving to beat the next US president to the punch with its own restrictions and get Washington to the negotiating table ahead of a full-blown trade war, analysts say.
China is seeking to amass bargaining chips to kick off talks with a new US administration on contentious aspects of bilateral ties, including trade and investment, and science and technology.
This week, China launched a probe into US chip giant Nvidia over what it claimed were suspected antitrust violations, which follows its ban on US-bound exports of rare minerals.
#China #USA
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🇰🇷 South Korea's Yoon faces second impeachment vote over martial law bid
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol faces a second impeachment vote on Saturday over his short-lived attempt to impose martial law.
Opposition parties plan to hold an impeachment vote at 4 p.m., with large demonstrations planned ahead of the vote.
Yoon's conservative People Power Party boycotted the first impeachment vote a week earlier, preventing a quorum. Since then, PPP leader Han Dong-hoon has urged party members to vote for impeachment this time, and at least seven PPP members have said they would vote to impeach.
#SouthKorea
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🇨🇳🇵🇭🇺🇸 China says Philippines has 'provoked trouble' in South China Sea with US backing
China accused the Philippines on Friday of having "provoked trouble" in the South China Sea with US backing, a week after Beijing and Manila traded accusations over a new confrontation in the disputed waters.
"The Philippine side, with US support and solicitation, has been stirring up trouble in many spots in the South China Sea," Wu Qian, a spokesperson for China's defense ministry, said.
Philippines officials said last week that Chinese coast guard vessels had fired water cannon and side-swiped a Manila fisheries bureau boat on the way to deliver supplies to Filipino fishermen around the Scarborough Shoal.
#China #ThePhilippines #USA
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🇰🇷 South Korea opposition leader Lee says impeaching Yoon best way to restore order
South Korean opposition leader Lee Jae-myung said on Friday the best way to restore order in the country is to impeach President Yoon Suk-yeol, a day ahead of a planned parliamentary vote over Yoon's short-lived imposition of martial law.
Democratic Party leader Lee called Yoon's remarks "a declaration of war" against the people. "It proved that impeachment is the fastest and the most effect way to end the confusion," he said.
Opposition parties, which control the single-chamber parliament, have introduced another impeachment bill and plan to hold a vote at 5 p.m. on Saturday. They need at least eight ruling party members to pass the bill with the two-third majority required.
#SouthKorea
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🇦🇺🇵🇬 Australia seals Papua New Guinea security deal with eye on China
The Australian government has signed a confidential agreement with Papua New Guinea, its second security pact in the Pacific in just under a week, in the latest move by the US ally to attempt to contain China’s growing strategic presence in the region.
A confidential security agreement between Canberra and Port Moresby underpins the understanding between the two countries that Australia will remain Papua New Guinea’s security partner of choice, according to a government official.
“We belong to one region, our shared space is important in a world that is currently conflicted all over,” Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape said at the press conference. “We want to preserve our Pacific – safe, peaceful, good for all of us to live in, especially our children.”
#Australia #PapuaNewGuinea
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🇰🇷 South Korean President Yoon vows to 'fight to the end'
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol said he would "fight to the end" on Thursday as his own political party shifted closer to voting with the opposition to impeach him over his short-lived martial law order that threw the country into turmoil.
In a lengthy televised address the embattled leader also claimed North Korea had hacked South Korea's election commission, throwing doubt on his party's landslide election defeat in April.
Yoon is hoping his political allies will rally to his support but this appeared less likely after his fiery address, with the leader of his ruling People Power Party responding that the time had come for Yoon to resign or be impeached by parliament.
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🇰🇷🇺🇸🇰🇵 South Korea to set roadmap in case Trump reopens North Korea nuclear talks
South Korea's foreign minister said he was devising a roadmap to prepare for US President-elect Donald Trump's potential reopening of nuclear talks with North Korea, conceding Seoul's political turmoil had disrupted ties with Trump's team.
At a rare joint news conference for foreign media, Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul and Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok sought to reassure Seoul's allies and calm market jitters since President Yoon Suk-yeol's Dec. 3 martial law attempt.
Cho said Seoul had built a network and communication channels with Trump's campaign that were "stronger than those of any other country", but the martial law order caused disruptions and weakened political momentum between the two sides.
Cho's team has been crafting a roadmap for a possible restart of talks between Washington and Pyongyang, he said, pointing to Trump's pick of his former intelligence chief as envoy for special missions including North Korea policy.
#SouthKorea #USA #NorthKorea
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🇯🇵 Japan drops mantra of reducing nuclear dependency in new draft plan
Japan will utilize nuclear power as much as possible along with renewable energy, a draft government plan showed Tuesday, departing from its earlier resolve to minimize dependence on atomic energy following the 2011 Fukushima crisis.
The Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry presented the draft basic energy plan, a medium- to long-term policy guideline, to a meeting of experts.
It is estimated that nuclear power will account for around 20% of the country's total energy output in fiscal 2040, the same level as the fiscal 2030 target of 20 to 22%, according to ministry projections. It is based on the assumption that around 30 reactors, or the majority of existing ones, will be restarted.
#Japan
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🇨🇳🇺🇸 China, Trump talk up prospects for US-China collaboration
China's top diplomat said on Tuesday he hoped the incoming Trump administration would "make the right choice" and work with Beijing, hours after Donald Trump told reporters the COVID-19 pandemic had strained his relationship with "friend" Xi Jinping.
"We hope the new US administration will make the right choice and work with China in a mutually-beneficial manner to remove disruptions and overcome obstacles," Foreign Minister Wang Yi told a forum in Beijing, according to a statement from his ministry.
The remarks followed President-elect Trump telling his first news conference since his election victory six weeks ago that Chinese President Xi Jinping had been a friend of his and that "he is an amazing guy" but that relations had been strained.
#China #USA
@asianomics
🇰🇷🇯🇵 Over 70% worried South Korea turmoil to affect ties with Japan
Most respondents, who participated in a news poll, expressed concerns that recent political turmoil in South Korea, triggered by President Yoon Suk-yeol's martial law declaration, could impact bilateral relations with Japan.
Yoon, a conservative who took office in 2022, has worked to ease long-standing tensions between South Korea and Japan over wartime labor and other disputes while also strengthening trilateral cooperation with the United States.
The percentage of respondents who said they were either "very worried" or "worried to some extent" about its impact on Japan-South Korea relations totaled 73.4%.
#SouthKorea #Japan
@asianomics
🇺🇸🇯🇵 Trump meets widow of ex-Japanese PM Abe in Florida
US President-elect Donald Trump on Sunday met with Akie Abe, the widow of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, his wife said.
The elected president and Melania Trump are believed to have hosted a private dinner for her. It is the first known meeting between Trump and a Japanese individual since he won the Nov. 5 presidential election.
Her visit to Trump's estate took place about a month after Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba was unable to hold an in-person meeting with the president-elect on his way back to Tokyo from South America, despite his hope to do so.
#USA #Japan
@asianomics
🇨🇳🇹🇼 Chinese officials arrive in Taipei for rare visit
A delegation of Chinese officials led by a deputy Shanghai mayor arrived in Taipei on Monday for an annual city-to-city forum, a rare visit happening at a time of heightened Taiwan-China military and political tension.
Shanghai Vice Mayor Hua Yuan arrived at Taipei's downtown Songshan airport to attend Tuesday's Taipei-Shanghai City Forum, which was first held in 2010.
Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an, from the main opposition Kuomintang party, has said visits like this are needed more than ever at times of tension.
#China #Taiwan
@asianomics
🇨🇳🇯🇵 Japan top diplomat Iwaya arranging to meet China's Wang on Dec. 25
Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya is arranging talks with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on Dec. 25 in what will be his first visit to the neighboring country as Japan's top diplomat.
The visit will take place as Japan and China seek to explore ways to stabilize relations. It also comes before US President-elect Donald Trump, who has vowed to continue pursuing "America First" policies, returns to the White House in January.
During the envisioned meeting, Iwaya and Wang are expected to affirm China's readiness to lift a ban on imports of Japanese seafood.
#China #Japan
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🇰🇷🇺🇸 South Korea's acting president moves to reassure allies after impeachment
South Korea's acting president, Han Duck-soo, moved on Sunday to reassure the country's allies and calm financial markets a day after President Yoon Suk-yeol was impeached and suspended from his duties over a martial law attempt.
Han spoke with US President Joe Biden by phone, the White House and Han's office said.
"South Korea will carry out its foreign and security policies without disruption and strive to ensure the South Korea-US alliance is maintained and developed steadfastly," Han said.
#SouthKorea #USA
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🇯🇵🇺🇸 Former PM Abe's widow to meet Trump in Florida: report
Akie Abe, the widow of slain former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, will meet US President-elect Donald Trump on Sunday at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, according to a CNN report.
She is expected to dine with Trump, who is set to begin his second term next month, and his wife, Melania, the report said. The former prime minister enjoyed a close relationship with Trump and was the first world leader to meet him as president-elect in 2016.
#Japan #USA
@asianomics
🇰🇷 With 204 in favor and 85 against, South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol has been impeached.
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🇺🇸🇯🇵 US airman jailed for kidnapping, sexually assaulting teen girl in Japan
A US air force member stationed in Okinawa prefecture was sentenced to five years in prison on Friday on charges of kidnapping and sexually assaulting a girl under the age of 16 in December last year.
The Naha District Court handed down the ruling on Brennon Washington, 25, who had pleaded not guilty. The case not only triggered fresh anti-base sentiment in the prefecture, but also drew attention as local police and the central government did not disclose the incident to the prefectural government.
It was only in June this year, three months after his indictment, that the case came to light through a local media report, sparking protests from the prefectural government.
#USA #Japan
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🇨🇳🇹🇼 China says will not be soft on Taiwan independence activities
China's defense ministry on Friday broke its silence about days of military activities around Taiwan, saying it was up to China to decide whether or not to hold drills and the military would "not be absent" in fighting against separatist forces.
In a statement responding to a question on Taiwan President Lai Ching-te's recent visits to Hawaii and the US territory of Guam and whether or not China has held drills, China's defense ministry offered neither confirmation nor denial, though quoted from ancient Chinese military tactician Sun Tzu.
"Just as water retains no constant shape, so in warfare there are no constant conditions," the ministry said, an expression of Sun's that means war conditions are unpredictable and constantly in flux.
#China #Taiwan
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🇨🇳🇺🇦 China Is Cutting Off Drone Supplies Critical to Ukraine War Effort
China’s escalating conflict with the US over trade is now extending to the drones that have become a vital part of Ukraine’s defense.
Manufacturers in China recently began limiting sales to the US and Europe of key components used to build unmanned aerial vehicles, according to multiple people with knowledge of the developments, who asked not to be identified discussing sensitive information.
The moves are a prelude to broader export restrictions on drone parts that western officials expect Beijing to enforce in the new year, the people said. Those rules could take the form of license approvals based on the intended use of the components or softer requirements for Chinese companies to notify the government of their shipment plans, according to one of the people.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-12-09/china-is-cutting-off-drone-supplies-critical-to-ukraine-war-effort
https://archive.ph/BLSPM
🇯🇵🇨🇳 Japan asks China to bolster security on Nanjing massacre anniversary
Japan has asked China to bolster security to ensure the safety of its nationals in the country on the upcoming 87th anniversary of the 1937 massacre in Nanjing, Japanese government sources said.
The request to Beijing, made by Japanese diplomatic establishments in China in the run-up to ceremonies to mark the anniversary on Friday, follows stabbing incidents in Suzhou and Shenzhen earlier this year.
In June, a Japanese mother and her child were injured in Suzhou. A Japanese schoolboy was also killed in Shenzhen in September. Under such circumstances, Japanese schools in China have decided to close or hold classes online on Friday.
#Japan #China
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🇹🇼🇺🇸 Taiwan officials visit US for quiet talks with Trump's circle
Two senior members of Taiwan's government are in the United States to meet people connected to President-elect Donald Trump's transition team.
Lin Fei-fan and Hsu Szu-chien, both deputy secretaries-general of Taiwan's National Security Council and several of their staff have traveled to the Washington area for meetings through this week.
One of the sources told Reuters the meetings were with individuals in Trump transition circles but would not include nominees for top positions in Trump's next administration, given sensitivity in Beijing over any talks between Taiwanese and US officials.
#Taiwan #USA
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