Indonesian President Joko Widodo called for a de-escalation of tensions in Ukraine during a meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bank governors in Jakarta, warning that a conflict threatens security and would be disruptive to the world’s economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This is not the time for rivalry, nor is it the time to create new tensions that disrupt the world’s recovery, let alone endanger the safety of the world, as is happening in Ukraine today,” he said. “All parties must stop the rivalry and tension, we must focus on synergizing, collaborating to save and resurrect the world to quickly rise and recover.”
The remarks from the leader of Southeast Asia’s largest economy echoed concerns that an invasion of Ukraine would have far-reaching consequences.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Kiev’s Western allies say Russia has massed as many as 150,000 troops on its borders in a possible precursor to an attack and are voicing reservations about announcements from the Kremlin that it is withdrawing some forces.
“All countries are connected to each other, no one is isolated,” Widodo said. “The rise of one region will revive another region; the collapse of one region will also bring down other regions.”
Russia, which annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and supports separatists in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region, has said it has no plans to invade.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has made clear that the order had been given only for a “partial” pullback and suggested that a full return to base would depend on how talks with the West go.
Australian Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said the situation was “deeply concerning” and it was in the collective interest that these tensions are resolved.
“We call upon Russia to de-escalate the situation for the alternative would be disastrous in human and economic terms,” he told the G20 conference.
The G20 consists of the EU and 19 countries with the biggest industrialized and emerging economies.
Washington, which last week released a strategy for the Indo-Pacific region as a means to counter China’s growing influence, is concerned Beijing would try to take advantage of the tensions between Russia and Ukraine.
“We stand for a world and a vision grounded in problem solving and innovation, not coercion and aggression,” US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink said during a briefing yesterday.
“I think it stands in stark contrast to the vision of others, including that put forward by” Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), he added.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) would not produce its most advanced technologies in the US next year, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said yesterday. Kuo made the comment during an appearance at the legislature, hours after the chipmaker announced that it would invest an additional US$100 billion to expand its manufacturing operations in the US. Asked by Taiwan People’s Party Legislator-at-large Chang Chi-kai (張啟楷) if TSMC would allow its most advanced technologies, the yet-to-be-released 2-nanometer and 1.6-nanometer processes, to go to the US in the near term, Kuo denied it. TSMC recently opened its first US factory, which produces 4-nanometer
PROTECTION: The investigation, which takes aim at exporters such as Canada, Germany and Brazil, came days after Trump unveiled tariff hikes on steel and aluminum products US President Donald Trump on Saturday ordered a probe into potential tariffs on lumber imports — a move threatening to stoke trade tensions — while also pushing for a domestic supply boost. Trump signed an executive order instructing US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick to begin an investigation “to determine the effects on the national security of imports of timber, lumber and their derivative products.” The study might result in new tariffs being imposed, which would pile on top of existing levies. The investigation takes aim at exporters like Canada, Germany and Brazil, with White House officials earlier accusing these economies of
Teleperformance SE, the largest call-center operator in the world, is rolling out an artificial intelligence (AI) system that softens English-speaking Indian workers’ accents in real time in a move the company claims would make them more understandable. The technology, called accent translation, coupled with background noise cancelation, is being deployed in call centers in India, where workers provide customer support to some of Teleperformance’s international clients. The company provides outsourced customer support and content moderation to global companies including Apple Inc, ByteDance Ltd’s (字節跳動) TikTok and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd. “When you have an Indian agent on the line, sometimes it’s hard
PROBE CONTINUES: Those accused falsely represented that the chips would not be transferred to a person other than the authorized end users, court papers said Singapore charged three men with fraud in a case local media have linked to the movement of Nvidia’s advanced chips from the city-state to Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) firm DeepSeek (深度求索). The US is investigating if DeepSeek, the Chinese company whose AI model’s performance rocked the tech world in January, has been using US chips that are not allowed to be shipped to China, Reuters reported earlier. The Singapore case is part of a broader police investigation of 22 individuals and companies suspected of false representation, amid concerns that organized AI chip smuggling to China has been tracked out of nations such
RSS