Indonesia yesterday warned leaders, including US Vice President Kamala Harris, Chinese Premier Li Qiang (李強) and Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov, against sharpening rivalries as they wrapped up an East Asia summit in Jakarta.
The meeting brought Washington and Beijing into contact a day after Li warned major powers must manage differences to avoid a “new Cold War,” and ahead of the G20 summit in New Delhi tomorrow and on Sunday that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is to miss.
Interactions between the officials from the world’s top two economies are being closely watched as they seek to control tensions that risk flaring anew over issues ranging from Taiwan to ties with Moscow, and the competition for influence in the Pacific.
Photo: AFP
“Every leader has an equal responsibility to not create new conflicts, to not create new tensions, and at the same time we also have a responsibility to lower heated tensions,” Indonesian President and ASEAN chair Joko Widodo said in closing remarks.
“I can guarantee you that if we are not able to manage differences, we will be destroyed,” he added.
Harris spoke about “Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine,” maritime challenges in the South and East China seas and the growing threat of North Korean missile programs, US Assistant Secretary for East Asia and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink told a briefing.
However, a leaders’ statement seen by Agence France-Presse (AFP) omitted any mention of the waterway or the Ukraine war.
A Southeast Asian diplomat, who declined to be identified, told AFP a draft paragraph in the leaders’ statement referring to the South China Sea was rejected.
“China objects of course and this is a negotiated text. This is also why there is no Ukraine paragraph because Russia objects,” the diplomat said.
Lavrov spoke of the risks of the “militarization of East Asia,” accusing the NATO alliance of moving into the region, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement yesterday.
A chair statement released by Indonesia said each country “reiterated our national positions” on the Ukraine war in the meeting, and “reaffirmed our shared commitment to safeguarding and promoting peace, security and stability in the South China Sea.”
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol told leaders at the meeting that any attempts to change the status quo in the South China Sea were “unacceptable,” and called for a “rules-based maritime order,” his office said.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said regional powers must oppose the “dangerous use of coast guard and maritime militia vessels” in the disputed waterway, according to his speech released by the presidential palace.
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
GEOPOLITICAL CONCERNS: Foreign companies such as Nissan, Volkswagen and Konica Minolta have pulled back their operations in China this year Foreign companies pulled more money from China last quarter, a sign that some investors are still pessimistic even as Beijing rolls out stimulus measures aimed at stabilizing growth. China’s direct investment liabilities in its balance of payments dropped US$8.1 billion in the third quarter, data released by the Chinese State Administration of Foreign Exchange showed on Friday. The gauge, which measures foreign direct investment (FDI) in China, was down almost US$13 billion for the first nine months of the year. Foreign investment into China has slumped in the past three years after hitting a record in 2021, a casualty of geopolitical tensions,
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