Russia and Vietnam yesterday pledged to deepen ties as Russian President Vladimir Putin made a state visit aimed at bolstering his alliances to counter Moscow’s growing isolation over the war in Ukraine.
Putin traveled to Vietnam, a close ally of Moscow since the days of the Cold War, from a summit with North Korea’s Kim Jong-un where he won a pledge of “full support” on Ukraine and signed a mutual defense pact.
The Russian leader did not receive such a clear public declaration of support in Hanoi, but Vietnamese President To Lam indicated a desire to boost defense cooperation.
Photo: Kremlin Pool via EPA-EFE
“The two sides want to push up cooperation in defense and security, how to deal with non-traditional security challenges on the basis of international law, for peace and security in the region and the world,” Lam told reporters after talks with Putin.
Russia has been Vietnam’s main arms supplier for decades, accounting for more than 80 percent of imports between 1995 and last year, but orders have dropped off over the past few years as international sanctions related to the Ukraine conflict have intensified.
The two sides in a joint statement said that their defense and security cooperation was “not directed against any third country,” and contributed to “peace, stability and sustainable development” in the region.
Photo: AFP
Lam and Putin signed about a dozen cooperation agreements ranging from education to justice and civil nuclear projects.
Putin told reporters the talks were constructive and that both sides had “identical or very close” positions on key international issues.
He said they discussed creating “an adequate and reliable security architecture in Asia-Pacific based on the principles of not resorting to force, and of resolving differences peacefully.”
Putin later held talks with Vietnamese Communist Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong — who is No. 1 in the country’s hierarchy — and laid a wreath at the memorial to Vietnamese independence leader Ho Chi Minh.
Putin’s Asia tour came as Western powers stepped up sanctions aimed at constraining Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The US, the UK and the EU all announced new sanctions over the past week, while the G7 agreed to use profits from frozen Russian assets to provide a new US$50 billion loan to Kyiv.
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,”
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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.
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