28/10/2025

TUESDAY | OCT 28, 2025

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Trump gets royal welcome in Japan

knowledge of the plans told Reuters. Takaichi, told Trump that strengthening their countries’ alliance was her “top priority” in a telephone call on Saturday. Trump said he was looking forward to meeting Takaichi, a close ally of his late friend and golfing partner, former prime minister Shinzo Abe, adding: “I think she’s going to be great.” Thousands of police are guarding Tokyo. A knife-wielding man was arrested on Friday outside the US embassy and an anti-Trump protest is planned in downtown Shinjuku. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Japanese counterpart Ryosei Akazawa, architects of the tariff deal agreed in July, are set to hold a working lunch. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, travelling with Trump alongside Secretary of State Marco Rubio, is also expected to meet his new

The news sent Asian stocks soaring to record peaks. “I’ve got a lot of respect for President Xi and I think we’re going to come away with a deal,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One before landing in Tokyo. Wearing a gold tie and blue suit, Trump shook hands with officials on the tarmac and gave a few fist pumps, before his helicopter whisked him off for a scenic night tour of Tokyo. His motorcade was later seen entering the Imperial Palace grounds, where he met Emperor Naruhito. Trump has already won a US$550 billion (RM2.3 trillion) investment pledge from Tokyo in exchange for respite from punishing import tariffs. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is hoping to further impress Trump with promises to buy US pickup trucks, soybeans and gas, and announce an agreement on shipbuilding, sources with

o China trade truce hopes rise

TOKYO: President Donald Trump received a royal welcome yesterday in Japan, the latest leg of a five-day Asia trip which he hopes to cap with an agreement on a trade war truce with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Trump, making his longest journey abroad since taking office in January, announced deals with four Southeast Asian countries during the first stop in Malaysia and is expected to meet Xi in South Korea on Thursday. Negotiators from the world’s top two economies hashed out a framework on Sunday for a deal to pause steeper American tariffs and Chinese rare earths export controls, US officials said.

Trump meets Naruhito at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. – AFPPIC

world’s oldest hereditary monarchy. Naruhito’s role, however, is purely symbolic, and the key diplomacy will take place with Takaichi today. – Reuters

counterpart, Satsuki Katayama. Trump was the first foreign leader to meet Naruhito after he came to the throne in 2019, continuing an imperial line that some say is the

China, Australia keen on stable ties BEIJING: China and Australia sought yesterday to keep ties on an even keel despite tensions over military encounters in the South China Sea and rivalry in the Asia-Pacific region, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese describing both sides as “friends”. China is ready to build a more stable and strategic partnership with Australia, Prime Minister Li Qiang told Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on the sidelines of a summit in Malaysia, according to Xinhua news agency. Albanese visited China in July to mend ties that had been strained to near breaking point under the previous Australian administration, vowing to keep communication channels open and look for areas of cooperation while guarding against “misunderstanding”. China-Australia relations are showing a positive trend, Li told Albanese in their meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Xinhua reported. Last week, both sides traded barbs over an encounter in the South China Sea, most of which is claimed by Beijing as part of its territory. Australia said a Chinese fighter jet dropped flares near one of its patrol planes, prompting Beijing to complain that Canberra was trying to cover up an “intrusion” into Chinese airspace. “I made the position directly clear that this was an incident of concern for Australia,” Albanese told reporters after his meeting with Li. Australia, in February, also criticised the actions of a Chinese fighter jet as “unsafe and unprofessional”, saying it had dropped flares within 30m of a maritime patrol plane, also in the South China Sea. In the Asia-Pacific region, China has been deepening its influence over Pacific Island nations through trade and diplomacy. In 2022, Beijing signed a security deal with the Solomon Islands, and a year later it signed a policing agreement. This month, Australia signed a defence cooperation deal with Papua New Guinea that observers say is aimed at countering China’s growing security presence in the broader region. Despite the rivalry and military incidents, economic ties have remained stable, with both countries repeatedly calling for free trade and further dialogue. China is willing to work with Australia in the green economy, high-tech industries and the digital sector, Li told Albanese. Albanese said his seventh meeting with Li showed Australia and China, its largest trading partner, could manage differences through dialogue. “We have disagreements and friends are able to discuss issues frankly – I did that.” – Reuters

ROYAL SALUTE ... Thai Army gunners fire a cannon salute outside the Grand Palace after the body of Queen Mother Sirikit was transferred there from King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital in Bangkok on Sunday. – REUTERSPIC

Singapore studies nuclear energy option SINGAPORE: The city-state is studying the potential deployment of nuclear energy – particularly emerging technologies like small modular reactors – and released a background paper yesterday outlining the government’s efforts in capability building. Minister-in-charge of Energy, Science and Technology Dr Tan See Leng said Singapore has also formed dedicated nuclear energy teams within key agencies to lead these efforts and is collaborating with international partners. The 16-page paper, titled “Building Singapore’s Capabilities to Assess Nuclear Energy”, stated that Singapore has not made any decision on the deployment of nuclear energy. “Any decision to deploy nuclear energy will take into account the safety, reliability, affordability and environmental sustainability of the technology in Singapore’s context,” it said, adding that the public will be engaged regularly on any developments.

continue to monitor the progress of new nuclear energy technologies. Tan said the Energy Market Authority will sign new cooperation agreements with two US organisations: the Idaho National Laboratory and Battelle Memorial Institute to further strengthen Singapore’s expertise in the area. These cooperation agreements build on the Agreement for Cooperation Concerning Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy signed in July last year and the Memorandum of Understanding Concerning Strategic Civil Nuclear Cooperation signed in January between Singapore and the US. Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lawrence Wong, in his Budget 2025 speech, had said that Singapore will study the potential deployment of nuclear energy in the republic and will take further steps to systematically build up its capabilities in this area. – Bernama

It also said Singapore will continue its efforts to build up domestic capabilities, supported by international partners. In 2012, the Singapore government conducted a pre-feasibility study on nuclear energy. While the study concluded that nuclear power plants of the time were not suitable for a small and densely populated city-state like Singapore, it recommended that the country

“Nuclear energy has the potential to be a safe, reliable and cost-competitive option for Singapore. “We understand that the public has many queries about our plans. We will engage the public regularly as we progress on this journey together,” he said during a lecture at the Singapore International Energy Week yesterday.