Asia

China’s defense minister Li Shangfu said Tuesday his trip to Moscow was aimed at demonstrating Beijing’s “determination” to strengthen strategic ties with Russia. The visit comes after President Vladimir Putin received Chinese leader Xi Jinping last month in Moscow for a summit showing the nations’ united front against the West. …

The United Nations made a renewed appeal for international aid for Afghanistan, warning that a cut in funding in response to the Taliban government banning women from education and jobs would perpetuate extreme poverty that lasts for decades. Afghanistan remains cut off from the global financial system since the militant …

Taiwan is reportedly in the process of buying 400 land-launched Harpoon anti-ship missiles from the US in a move that is expected to draw condemnation from China which considers the self-ruled island part of its own territory. Citing US-Taiwan Business Council President Rupert Hammond-Chambers and sources, Bloomberg News reported on …

The United States, South Korea and Japan held a trilateral naval missile defense exercise on Monday, the South Korean navy announced, days after North Korea launched its newest intercontinental ballistic missile. The drills were held in international waters between Korea and Japan and featured three destroyers equipped with the Aegis …

The United States has sent a naval warship through the Taiwan Strait in a “freedom of navigation” operation days after China staged massive war games around the self-ruled island. The USS Milius guided-missile destroyer “conducted a routine Taiwan Strait transit” on Sunday, the US Navy said, in the first US …

India and Russia are discussing a free trade agreement, ministers said on Monday, a move that would further deepen bilateral commercial ties that have flourished since war broke out in Ukraine. India’s Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar told an event in New Delhi his government was in “advance agreement” on a …

The G7’s top diplomats began talks in Japan on Monday, looking to project a unified message on concerns about China after controversial remarks by French President Emmanuel Macron. The foreign ministers are keen to move past the firestorm created by Macron’s assertion, after a trip to Beijing, that Europe should …

The Taliban-run government in Afghanistan says a Chinese company has expressed interest in investing $10 billion to mine the country’s massive lithium reserves and help construct other infrastructure there. Shahabuddin Delawar, head of the Afghanistan Ministry of Mines and Petroleum, made the announcement in a statement after a meeting with …

North Korea has test-launched a suspected intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) that landed in the waters between Japan and the Korean Peninsula, prompting Tokyo to lodge a “strong protest.” South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said in a statement on Thursday that the launch was carried out in the vicinity …

China has called on the United States to fulfill its international obligations and offer clarifications on its military-biological activities at home and abroad, amid reports about Washington’s military biological program in Ukraine. A spokesman for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Wang Wenbing, said on Wednesday that Washington has so far …

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) “strongly condemns” the latest air strike carried out by Myanmar’s military on a village, which is reported to have killed up to 100 people, including children, the bloc said in a statement. The statement from ASEAN on Thursday came a day after the …

China’s foreign ministry on Thursday announced sanctions against Michael McCaul, chairman of the US House Foreign Affairs Committee, for “interfering” in the country’s domestic affairs and for visiting Taiwan. McCaul visited Taiwan last week and met Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen.

India reported 10,158 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday as coronavirus cases steadily increase in the south-Asian country. Health ministry data showed daily infections climb past the 10,000 mark, reaching a nearly eight-month high, up from 7,830 cases the previous day. There are currently 44,998 active cases from 229,958 COVID-19 tests. …

North Korea has test-launched a suspected intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) that landed in the waters between Japan and the Korean Peninsula, prompting Tokyo to lodge a “strong protest.” South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said in a statement on Thursday that the launch was carried out in the vicinity …

China has called on the United States to fulfill its international obligations and offer clarifications on its military-biological activities at home and abroad, amid reports about Washington’s military biological program in Ukraine. A spokesman for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Wang Wenbing, said on Wednesday that Washington has so far …

North Korea has announced testing a second underwater nuclear attack drone, two weeks after declaring testing the first such vehicle that it has credited with being capable of unleashing a “radioactive tsunami.” The North announced testing the Haeil-2 nuclear-capable drone on Saturday. “A national defense science research institute in the …

China has ordered sanctions against two American organizations for hosting Taiwan’s visiting President Tsai Ing-wen during a recent trip to the United States. China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Friday that the Washington-headquartered think tank Hudson Institute and the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California would be banned from …

Pakistan Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Saturday said he had canceled his trip to Washington for the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank on the orders of the prime minister due to the political situation in the country. However, Dar said he would attend important attend …

The head of China’s Center For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Saturday urged the World Health Organization (WHO) to return to a “scientific, fair” position in tracing the origin of COVID-19. At a news conference, Shen Hongbing warned the WHO against politicizing the source of the virus, which was …

North Korea has conducted another test of a nuclear-capable underwater attack drone, its state media reported on Saturday, the latest demonstration of its military capabilities as it faces off against the United States and South Korea. North Korea tested a nuclear-capable unmanned underwater attack weapon called “Haeil-2” from April 4 …