12/07/2025

SATURDAY | JULY 12, 2025

8

Rubio meets China’s Wang on sidelines of Asean talks

Beijing offers help to resolve Cambodian-Thai border dispute BEIJING: China has urged Cambodia and Thailand to resolve their border dispute through friendly dialogue, offering to play a constructive role by upholding an “objective and fair” position, its Foreign Ministry said. Foreign Minister Wang Yi urged peaceful coexistence between the neighbours during a meeting on Thursday with Thai counterpart Maris Sangiampongsa on the sidelines of an Asean summit in Malaysia, the ministry said. “China is willing to uphold an objective and fair position and play a constructive role for the harmonious coexistence between Thailand and Cambodia,“ said Wang. Tension has risen between the Southeast Asian neighbours since the end of May, after a Cambodian soldier was killed in a brief exchange of gunfire at a disputed area on their 820km border. Last month, Cambodia asked the International Court of Justice to resolve the disputes. Wang has reiterated China’s impartiality on the border issue in a meeting with Cambodian Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn, the ministry said in a summary. He emphasised security measures to protect Chinese and Cambodians, calling for tougher action to “completely eradicate the tumour” of cross-border crimes, such as online gambling, wire fraud, counterfeiting and smuggling. Referring to US tariffs, he added that China believes Southeast Asia has the ability to cope with the “complex situation” and safeguard common interests as well as those of individual nations. – Reuters Joint air drill by US, S. Korea and Japan SEOUL: South Korea, Japan and the United States conducted a joint air drill yesterday, involving a US B-52 strategic bomber and fighter jets of the two US allies over international waters, the South Korean Defence Ministry said. It was the first time this year that a US B-52H strategic bomber was deployed to the Korean Peninsula for a drill, conducted to improve deterrence against North Korea’s increasing nuclear and missile threats, it said. The three countries’ defence chiefs also held an annual meeting in Seoul yesterday, during which they recognised the importance of close trilateral cooperation in addressing security challenges posed by North Korea in the Indo-Pacific and beyond, the ministry said in a statement. “We are illuminating a future path together, a path in which partnerships could evolve through regular engagement,“ said US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen Dan Caine. “(North Korea) and China are undergoing an unprecedented military buildup with a clear and unambiguous intent to move forward with their own agendas.” – Reuters

on Taiwan. China claims the democratic self-ruled island as part of its territory and has threatened to use force to bring it under its control. Similar to most countries, Washington has no formal diplomatic relations with the island. However, the United States is Taiwan’s biggest arms supplier and has shown increasing support for Taipei in the face of Beijing’s growing military pressure on the island in recent years. US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth accused China in late May of “credibly preparing to potentially use military force to alter the balance of power” in the Asia-Pacific region. He also claimed that Beijing “trains every day” to invade Taiwan. In response, Chinese diplomats accused the United States of using the Taiwan issue to “contain China” and called on Washington to stop “playing with fire”. – AFP

he said. Tensions between Washington and Beijing have ratcheted up since Trump took office in January, with both countries engaging in a tariff war that briefly sent duties on each other’s exports sky-high. At one point, the United States hit China with additional levies of 145% on its goods as both sides engaged in tit-for-tat escalation. China’s countermeasures on US goods reached 125%. Beijing and Washington agreed in May to temporarily slash their staggeringly high tariffs, an outcome Trump dubbed a “total reset”. Before becoming secretary of state in January, Rubio had already been one of the most vocal critics of China on the American political stage for many years. Rubio and Wang were expected to discuss US concerns over China’s expansionary behaviour in the South China Sea and Beijing’s growing military pressure

region as secretary of state, US officials said Washington was “prioritising” its commitment to East and Southeast Asia. Rubio said on Thursday the United States has “no intention of abandoning” the Asia-Pacific region. However, US tariffs overshadowed the conference and Rubio sought to placate Asian trade partners, saying talks are ongoing and might result in “better” rates than for the rest of the world. Trump has threatened punitive tariffs of between 20% and 50% against more than 20 countries, many of them in Asia, if they do not strike deals with Washington by Aug 1. Wang on Thursday called for a “fairer and more reasonable” international order. “At the same time, we are confronted with challenges such as the impact of unilateral protectionism and the abuse of tariffs by a certain major country,”

o Chinese official calls for ‘fairer and more reasonable’ international order

Two dead, 27 hurt in bus crash MANILA: A bus carrying students fell into a ravine in Zamboanga del Sur province in southern Philippines on Thursday, killing two and injuring 27 others, Xinhua reported, citing authorities. Provincial disaster risk reduction and management officer Ronnie Villanueva said the incident occurred at about 8am local time. He said a student died at the scene while an elderly victim was pronounced dead at a local hospital, with 27 others suffering from various injuries. An initial police investigation revealed that the brakes on the bus failed while it was negotiating a descending curve, causing it to veer off the cliff. The college students were headed to a camp for a programme aimed at preparing them for service in the Armed Forces in the event of emergencies. – Bernama-Xinhua Rubio, a longtime China hawk, and Wang were in Kuala Lumpur for a gathering of Asean foreign ministers, which Japan, South Korea and Australia are also attending. Ahead of Rubio’s first trip to the KUALA LUMPUR: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi yesterday on the sidelines of Asean talks here. Rubio and Wang’s first face-to face meeting since US President Donald Trump returned to office came as Washington and Beijing are locked in disputes on everything from trade and fentanyl to Taiwan and technology.

FESTIVE TRIBUTE ... Devotees performing a dragon dance as part of an annual parade to honour the goddess of the Chinese Gow Lengchi Shrine in Thailand’s southern Narathiwat province. – AFPPIC

Armed men kill nine in Pakistan QUETTA: Authorities have retrieved from Pakistan’s mountains the bullet-riddled bodies of nine passengers kidnapped by armed men in a spate of bus attacks in the troubled southwestern province of Balochistan, officials said yesterday. There was no immediate claim of responsibility but Baloch separatists, seeking a greater share of resources, have figured in similar past killings of those identified as hailing from the eastern province of Punjab. passengers were seized from two buses on Thursday. “We are identifying the bodies and reaching out to the families,“ he said, adding that the victims, working as labourers in the restive region, were returning home to Punjab. Ethnic insurgents accuse Pakistan’s government of stealing regional resources to fund expenditure elsewhere, mainly in the sprawling province of Punjab.

bordering Afghanistan and Iran, a mineral-rich region. In recent months, separatists have stepped up their attacks, mostly targeting Pakistan’s military, which has launched an intelligence-based offensive against them. Their other main targets have been Chinese nationals and interests, in particular the strategic port of Gwadar on the Arabian Sea, with the separatists accusing Beijing of helping Islamabad to exploit resources. The BLA blew up a railway track and took over 400 train passengers hostage in an attack in March that killed 31. – Reuters

not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. New Delhi denies accusations by Islamabad that it is funding, training and backing the militants in a bid to stoke instability in the region, where Pakistan relies on China among international investors to develop mines and mineral processing. “India is doubling down to further its nefarious agenda through its proxies,“ the Pakistani army said in remarks that followed the worst fighting in nearly three decades between the foes in May. The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) is the strongest among the insurgent groups, long operating in the area

Security forces foiled three insurgent attacks on Thursday before the kidnappings, said Rind, accusing neighbour and arch rival India of backing the militants. The Indian Foreign Ministry did

Government official Naveed Alam said the bodies were found in the mountains. Meanwhile, provincial government spokesperson Shahid Rind said the