LONDON — General elections in the United Kingdom will be held on July 4, and thousands of Hong Kongers who are eligible to vote through the British National (Overseas) program, or BNO visa, are expected to make their voices heard.

The program was launched in January 2021 in response to a harsh Chinese security law imposed on Hong Kong seven months earlier. Since then, more than 150,000 Hong Kongers have received visas. The policy allows them to build new lives in the U.K. and gives them the right to vote.

In towns such as Sutton and Wokingham, where many Hong Kongers live, the influence of Hong Kong society is obvious as the election approaches. Candidates seeking to secure their votes are addressing their concerns and needs.

Lucy Demery, a Conservative Party parliamentary candidate for Wokingham, lived in Hong Kong for 17 years and once joined peaceful protests against the strict rule of the Chinese Communist Party.

She told VOA that she wants to make sure that she is “the biggest, strongest advocate for the Hong Kong community here.”

“It’s a priority of mine to make sure that all Hong Kongers in Wokingham feel safe and secure and integrated into the community here. … It’s really a Conservative government that initiated the BNO settlement scheme, which I’m very proud of,” she said.

In Sutton, parliamentary candidates from all parties met with more than 70 BNO Hong Kongers and journalists on Saturday. The event was organized by local community groups Sutton Hong Kongers and Vote for Hong Kong 2024.

The candidates expressed support for integration and providing a safe environment for the Hong Kong people. They also took a firm stance on international issues involving China, emphasizing the importance of human rights and democracy.

Hersh Thaker, a Labour Party candidate for Carshalton and Wallington, said, “This is going to be one of the most remarkable migration stories in British history when you look back at the number of people that have come over from Hong Kong, but actually the contribution that has been made to this country as a result of this has been extraordinary.”

But not all Hong Kongers are eager to participate in the political process.

Richard Choi, Sutton Hong Kongers’ organizer, told VOA, “It’s important for Hong Kongers to feel safe. They are too scared to get involved in politics. They are afraid of speaking out. It’s hard to get feedback from them. Even though their email address, postcode, and data are not required, people still don’t want to get involved. Article 23 [of Hong Kong’s national security law] and the spy incident make it even worse.” 

Last month, the U.K. prosecuted three people under the country’s National Security Act of 2023 for allegedly assisting Hong Kong intelligence agencies to conduct foreign interference activities in the U.K. According to the prosecution, Chung Biu Yuen, the executive manager of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in London, was the suspected mastermind of the activities.

Article 23 of Hong Kong’s national security law has also been used against Hong Kongers in the U.K. The Hong Kong passports of activists Simon Cheng and Nathan Law, who are in exile in the U.K., have been revoked, and their families in Hong Kong have been harassed.

Demery said the U.K.’s strengthened national security law is crucial in protecting the safety of Hong Kong people.

“It was also a Conservative government which strengthened our national security laws in the U.K., which allows us now to be cracking down on some transnational oppression from Hong Kong and China on our territory,” she said.

Bobby Dean, the Liberal Democrats candidate for Carshalton and Wallington, trained democracy activists in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. He expressed concerns about China’s threat to the Hong Kong community in the U.K. and called on the government to take a tough stance.

“In the West, for too long, [we] have been too lenient and too concerned about how bad state actors like Russia and China might react to the language and rhetoric that we use, and so, we really soften that,” he said. “China and Russia are looking at the hard calculation, not the tone of what we say.”   

During the event, some Hong Kongers expressed their concerns about higher tuition fees for those who haven’t lived in the U.K. for three years. One BNO passport holder said, “People misunderstand that Hong Kong people are rich. But many of us cannot afford £50,000 [$63,000] a year in tuition fees for our children because we are still classified as internationals.”

Tom Drummond, the Conservative Party candidate for Sutton and Cheam, said he would help solve the problem of expensive tuition fees.

“We need to rebuild trust. We are all standing to make your lives better. I will be your voice in Westminster instead of your voice in Sutton. But I think it’s important to realize that we’re standing, all of us. And whoever’s elected, I’ve got no doubt, they’re going into it for the right reasons,” he said.

Luke Taylor, the Liberal Democrats candidate for Sutton and Cheam, said, “I think I would give you the reassurance that as Liberal Democrats, we have a history of standing on, as a party, the right side of controversial issues. We are not afraid to be contrary to the established view.”

Adrianna Zhang contributed to this report.
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Islamabad — The United Nations human rights expert for Afghanistan warned Tuesday against sidelining the rights and voices of women at an upcoming international meeting with the country’s fundamentalist Taliban leaders.

The special rapporteur, Richard Bennett, issued the warning while presenting his latest report on the Taliban’s allegedly intensifying rights violations against Afghan women and girls to the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva.

“Following extensive research, consultation, and analysis, it finds that the Taliban’s institutionalized system of gender oppression established and enforced through its violations of women’s and girls’ fundamental rights is widespread and systematic and appears to constitute an attack on the entire civilian population, amounting to crimes against humanity,” Bennett reported.

“The gravity and scale of the crimes can’t be overstated. We have a collective responsibility to challenge and dismantle this appalling system and to hold those responsible to account,” said the U.N. expert. 

Bennett shared his findings as the U.N. prepares to host a two-day meeting of international envoys on Afghanistan in Doha, Qatar, commencing June 30. The Taliban will attend for the first time what will be the third Doha conference since U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres launched the process more than a year ago.

Afghan civil society groups and representatives reportedly have not been invited to the third Doha huddle, even though they attended the second this past February. The Taliban refused to join those discussions unless their delegates could be accepted as the sole representatives of Afghanistan.

Guterres rejected the Taliban’s demands in a post-meeting news conference. The U.N. has stated that the Doha process is aimed at developing a coherent and unified world approach to engagement with the Taliban.

Bennett said Tuesday the upcoming meeting presents an important opportunity to affirm that civil society, including women, are “meaningful participants” and that women’s rights are central to discussions.

“The Taliban are not recognized as a government and should not be treated as such. They must not be allowed to dictate the terms of U.N.-hosted meetings,” Bennett said.

“Failure to learn the lessons of the past and sidelining human rights could have devastating and long-lasting consequences,” he added. “The Taliban’s institutionalization of its system of gender oppression should shock the conscience of humanity.”

The Taliban have dismissed international criticism of their governance, including restrictions on women’s access to education and employment, saying their policies are aligned with Afghan culture and their harsh interpretation of Islamic law.

On Sunday, the Taliban’s foreign ministry spokespersons formally confirmed that its delegation would attend the third Doha conference.

“The agenda and participation list of the upcoming Doha meeting shared with the Islamic Emirate after two months of discussions with the U.N., it was decided in principle to participate in the said meeting,” Abdul Qahar Balkhi said. He used the official title of their men-only government, which is yet to be recognized by the world.

“If there are any changes to the agenda and participation, it would naturally affect our decision, which we will share with all sides at that time,” Balkhi cautioned.

Bennett urged the international community to use an “all-tools approach” centered on justice and accountability, incorporating human rights and women’s voices in political processes and diplomatic engagement while dealing with the Taliban.

“It’s incumbent on us all to take decisive action to stand with Afghan women and girls, hold the perpetrators accountable, and restore dignity, equality, and justice for all.”

The Taliban stormed back to power in Afghanistan almost three years ago, banning girls ages 12 and older from attending secondary school. They have also barred women from working in public and private sectors, including the U.N, except for Afghan health care and a few other departments.

Women are not allowed to travel long distances by road or air unless accompanied by a male relative and are banned from visiting public places such as parks, gyms, and bathhouses.

The Taliban’s return to power in August 2021 led to the worsening of economic and humanitarian conditions in the impoverished country of more than 40 million people, which is reeling from years of war and the devastation of natural disasters.
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New Delhi — Days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi began his third term in office, India and the United States agreed to strengthen cooperation in high technology areas during a visit by U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan to New Delhi.

Sullivan met Modi, the Indian foreign minister and his Indian counterpart during the visit that reaffirmed both countries will pursue closer ties.

“India is committed to further strengthen the India-US comprehensive global strategic partnership for global good,” Modi wrote on X after meeting Sullivan on Monday.

The main focus of Sullivan’s visit was to hold discussion with Indian National Security Advisor Ajit Doval on a landmark initiative launched by the two countries in January last year to collaborate more closely in high-technology areas including defense, semiconductors, 5G wireless networks and artificial intelligence.

The initiative, launched with an eye to countering China, marks a significant push in tightening the strategic partnership between the two countries.

“The visit by Sullivan in the early days of Modi’s new administration signals that the U.S. wants to maintain the momentum in the high technology partnership between the two countries,” according to Manoj Joshi, Distinguished Fellow at the Observer Research Foundation in New Delhi.

A joint fact sheet by the two countries following Sullivan’s meeting with Doval said that they launched a new strategic semiconductor partnership between U.S. and Indian companies for precision-guided ammunition and other national security-focused electronics platforms.

They also agreed to co-invest in a lithium resource project in South America and a rare earths deposit in Africa “to diversify critical mineral supply chains” and discussed possible co-production of land warfare systems, according to the fact sheet.

Growing the domestic defense manufacturing sector remains a top focus for the Modi administration as it looks to lower its dependence on imported arms. Although India has diversified its imports of military equipment, it is still heavily reliant on Russia.

For India, the technology initiative is a top priority as it looks to strengthen the country’s security and build its capabilities in high technology areas.

“India wants to become one of the leading countries in cutting edge technologies and it is of great benefit for New Delhi to partner the U.S. which is the leader in these areas,” said Joshi. “The idea is to get into co-production, co-development, innovation and attract American companies to set up bases here.”

Sullivan also met Indian foreign minister Subrahmanyan Jaishankar, who has been retained as the external affairs minister in Modi’s new administration, signaling a continuation in the country’s foreign policy. “Confident that India-US strategic partnership will continue to advance strongly in our new term,” Jaishankar wrote on X.

In Washington, White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby told reporters Monday that India and the U.S. “share a unique bond of friendship and Mr. Sullivan’s trip to India will further deepen the already strong U.S.-India partnership to create a safer and more prosperous Indo-Pacific.”

New Delhi’s ties with Washington have expanded in recent years amid mutual concerns in both countries about an assertive China — India’s military standoff with Beijing along their disputed Himalayan borders remains unresolved four years after a clash between their troops.

As Sullivan visited India, an Indian national, Nikhil Gupta, charged with trying to hire a hitman to assassinate a Sikh separatist leader in the U.S., appeared in court in New York Monday following his extradition from the Czech Republic. The alleged plan was foiled.

Allegations by U.S. prosecutors of the involvement of an Indian government official in the plot to kill Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a dual US-Canadian citizen, have raised concerns about a strain in bilateral ties.

The U.S. allegations followed accusations levelled by Canada in September of involvement of Indian nationals in the killing of a Canadian Sikh leader.

India, which views Sikh separatist groups overseas as security threats, has denied its involvement in both the killing in Canada and the alleged plot in the U.S. But it said it has set up an inquiry committee to examine the information provided by Washington.

Analysts in New Delhi say ties are unlikely to be adversely impacted by the alleged murder plot. “The U.S. is quite pragmatic on these matters. They are continuing to stress that ties with India are important, so I don’t think a failed conspiracy will derail ties,” Joshi said.
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Seoul, South Korea — Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to arrive Tuesday in North Korea, where he is expected to sign a treaty outlining Moscow’s expanded cooperation with Pyongyang, according to Russian state media.

Putin has decided to sign a comprehensive strategic partnership agreement with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during his two-day visit, reported the Russian news agency TASS.

The report provided no details of the document, though earlier the agency quoted a Putin foreign policy aide as saying it would likely cover defense matters.

Earlier Tuesday, Putin vowed to work with North Korea to counter sanctions as both countries expand their “many-sided partnership,” according to a letter published in North Korean state media.

In the letter, Putin said the two countries would develop trade mechanisms “not controlled by the West” and would “jointly oppose illegitimate unilateral restrictions.”

Russia is a long-time supporter of North Korea. Though ties have sometimes been rocky, both countries recently found more reasons to work together, especially following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

U.S. officials say North Korea has provided Russia with 11,000 containers of munitions, as well as ballistic missiles, for use in the Ukraine battlefield. Both North Korea and Russia deny such weapons deals even though a growing number of independent observers have documented North Korean weapons being used against Ukrainian forces.

“Moscow and Pyongyang will likely continue to deny violations of international law but have notably shifted from hiding their illicit activities to flaunting their cooperation,” said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul.

Defense ties

U.S. officials have expressed concerns that Russia may provide advanced weapons or other help related to North Korea’s nuclear program.

Such worries intensified last September when Kim inspected numerous advanced Russian weapons while touring several military sites in eastern Russia, including a modern space launch facility.

Though North Korea’s latest satellite launches showed signs of Russian assistance, analysts debate how far defense cooperation would go, noting that Russia does not often share its most advanced military technology.

“These states do not share durable alliance institutions and values; they are only weakly bound together by resistance to the enforcement of international laws and norms,” said Easley.

Treaty history

Analysts will closely parse the language of any new treaty signed by Putin and Kim.

Russia currently has comprehensive strategic partnerships with countries including Vietnam, Mongolia, and some Central Asian nations.

While such documents form the basis for Russia’s “highest type of interstate relations,” they do not amount to alliance treaties, observed former Russian diplomat Georgy Toloraya.

“I don’t think that this treaty would include a clause which directly calls for military assistance, but it will certainly give room to imagine a situation where this could be provided,” he said in an interview with VOA.

In 1961, North Korea and the Soviet Union signed a friendship and mutual assistance treaty that included a provision for automatic military intervention in emergencies.

That deal was abolished after the Soviet Union’s collapse. The two countries signed a new treaty in 2000, but it focused on economic rather than military matters.

According to Putin aide Yuri Ushakov, the treaty being negotiated by Kim and Putin would replace all other bilateral treaties.

Obstacles

If Putin’s letter is any indication, his visit will also likely focus on expanding economic ties, including by ramping up exchanges related to education, culture, and tourism.

However, this plan faces obstacles due to United Nations Security Council resolutions that prohibit a wide range of economic engagement with North Korea.

While Russia says it no longer supports U.N. sanctions on North Korea, it has not formally announced that it will stop observing them.

Instead, Russia may search for what it sees as loopholes that facilitate cooperation even in areas that are subject to U.N. sanctions, such as North Korean laborers earning income abroad.

For instance, North Korean IT specialists could work remotely from their home country without technically receiving income abroad, said Toloraya, a former member of the U.N. Panel of Experts, which was meant to monitor enforcement of the North Korea sanctions.

Russia earlier this year effectively abolished the U.N. panel – one of its boldest steps to unilaterally degrade the U.N. sanctions regime it once supported.

What North Korea wants

For Kim, Putin’s visit is meant to provide a boost in domestic legitimacy, especially amid North Korea’s increasingly public frictions with its main economic backer China, said Kim Gunn, who earlier this year stepped down as South Korea’s top nuclear envoy.

“North Koreans feel nervous about that, because their economy is 99% dependent on China,” said Kim, who is now a member of South Korea’s National Assembly. “Kim Jong Un’s answer is to say, ‘Don’t worry, we still have Russia.”

In the lawmaker’s view, Kim Jong Un also likely hopes that Putin’s visit will give him leverage with Chinese President Xi Jinping, creating a situation where both Russia and China vie for North Korea’s favor.

But, Kim Gunn added, the new Russia-North Korea relationship is likely a “marriage of convenience,” rather than a restoration of Soviet-era ties.

“Russia is not the former Soviet Union,” he said. “And Russia is at war in Ukraine – they are pouring all their energy into this war. There’s not so much room for Russia to do anything with North Korea.”
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washington — China initiated a new wave of influence campaigns against Taiwan over the past few days, as its top official overseeing Taiwan affairs reiterated Beijing’s “resolve and ability to shatter” the island’s attempt to seek independence while promising to welcome more Taiwanese people to participate in cross-strait exchanges.

During his keynote address at the 16th Straits Forum in the southern coastal city of Xiamen on June 14, China’s No.4 official, Wang Huning, said, “Separatists seeking Taiwan independence,” an indirect reference to the island’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party, undermine peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and harm the interests and well-being of Taiwanese people.

“Their actions will push Taiwan to the brink of war and bring disaster to people on the island,” he said.

While he renewed warnings directed at Taiwan’s new government, which only took office last month, Wang said Beijing would welcome more Taiwanese people taking part in cross-strait exchanges.

Some analysts say Wang’s comments reflect Beijing’s long-standing practice of using a “carrot and stick” strategy to influence Taiwan. “What’s more interesting is that Beijing seems to be turning Fujian into a testing ground for its favorable policies toward Taiwan,” Chen Fang-Yu, a political scientist at Soochow University in Taiwan, told VOA by phone.

Reaching out to investors, students

Because of the rising tension between Beijing and Taipei since Taiwan President Lai Ching-te took office on May 20, Chen said Beijing must limit the scope of its favorable policies toward Taiwan and use it to signal that it’s still open to exchange with Taiwan.

“Since Beijing adopted a tough approach to handle cross-strait relations after the Democratic Progressive Party came to power in 2016, they can no longer roll out broad-based policies that are favorable to Taiwan, and instead, they have to limit the scope of the benefits they offer to Taiwan,” he said.

In recent months, Beijing has rolled out plans to enhance access to China for Taiwanese investors and encourage Taiwan residents to study, work and live in Fujian while resuming travel from the coastal Chinese province to Taiwan’s outlying Matsu Islands.  

In addition to the influence campaign from China, Taiwan’s main opposition party, the China-friendly Kuomintang (KMT), has also renewed its pledge to promote peace across the Taiwan Strait while accusing the ruling DPP, which highlights Taiwan’s sovereignty, of “setting fire” to cross-strait relations.

Sean Lien, deputy chairperson of the KMT, said his party hopes to make Taiwanese people realize that it is “the party genuinely making an effort to ensure Taiwan’s safety and democracy” through cross-strait platforms like the Straits Forum.

“It is absurd that the ones setting fire [to cross-strait relations] are sometimes considered heroes, while those putting out the fires are derided,” he said during an interview with Chinese media outlets.

Party of peace

Some experts say Lien’s comments reflect the KMT’s ongoing attempt to present itself as the political party that can conduct peaceful exchanges with China.

“The KMT is doubling down on the framing that they are the only one who can try to calm Beijing down and Taiwan President Lai Ching-te is the person messing up cross-strait relations,” Lev Nachman, a political scientist at National Chengchi University in Taiwan, told VOA by phone.

While the KMT has long claimed that the DPP could lead Taiwan to war with China, Chen at Soochow University said this narrative has become more effective at influencing some Taiwanese people’s views on the ruling party and China.

“Since the Ukraine war has increased some Taiwanese people’s fears towards a potential Chinese invasion, the KMT’s claim that they are the only political party that can maintain peace across the Taiwan Strait may appeal to some Taiwanese people who are concerned about a potential war with China,” he told VOA.

Despite Beijing’s and the KMT’s efforts to portray his government as “separatist forces” that will lead Taiwan into a war, Lai maintained his tough tone on China’s threats toward Taiwan, warning Sunday that Beijing views the annexation of Taiwan as its great national cause.

“The biggest challenge is to face the powerful rise of China, [which is] destroying the status quo in the Taiwan Strait and regards Taiwan’s annexation and the elimination of the Republic of China as the great rejuvenating cause of its people,” he said at an event commemorating the 100th anniversary of a military academy in Kaohsiung.

Despite his attempt to reassure the Taiwanese people that he is committed to maintaining the status quo across the Taiwan Strait, Nachman said Lai’s comments failed to lower Beijing’s skepticism.

“Beijing views Lai’s inauguration speech as overly provocative and there is this intrinsic distrust of him that even if he reiterates his commitment to maintaining the status quo across the Taiwan Strait, the Chinese government doesn’t seem to buy his message,” he told VOA.

Creating ‘chaos’

Chen said since the Lai administration hasn’t found an effective way to respond to the pressure imposed by Beijing and the KMT, it has allowed Beijing’s attempt to create chaos in Taiwan and increase the public’s distrust in the new government to be somewhat effective.

“The goal of Beijing’s influence campaign against Taiwan is to create chaos and increase distrust in the government and there will always be individuals in Taiwan willing to help facilitate Beijing’s campaign,” he told VOA.

But as the United States prepares to hold its presidential election in November, some experts say it’s unlikely that Beijing and Taipei will do anything to drastically change the dynamics across the Taiwan Strait.

“The dynamic across the Taiwan Strait is going to be as quiet as it possibly can be, [because] there is a lot of uncertainty over who will be the next U.S. president,” Rorry Daniels, managing director of the Asia Society Policy Institute, told VOA by phone.  
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BANGKOK — Influential former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, a powerful backer of the ruling government, was granted bail on Tuesday, local media reported, avoiding pre-trial detention for allegedly insulting the monarchy in a 2015 interview.

Thaksin’s is the first of four high-profile cases involving key political players that are before the courts on Tuesday, in the latest legal wrangling that could see Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy plunged into a new period of uncertainty.

The cases involve some of Thailand’s most powerful politicians, including its current prime minister, and could deepen a decades-old rift between the conservative-royalist establishment and its opponents, such as the populist ruling Pheu Thai party and the opposition Move Forward party.

Thaksin sought bail from a court in Bangkok shortly after the attorney general formally indicted the 74-year-old billionaire for an offense that carries a maximum jail sentence of up to 15 years for each perceived royal insult. Public broadcaster ThaiPBS and other local media reported the court had accepted $13,600 bail.

Separately, the Constitutional Court will conduct a hearing in a case lodged by a group of senators that could potentially see Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin dismissed from office for breaching the law in appointing a lawyer with a conviction record to his cabinet.

The same court will also hear a case seeking to disband the popular opposition Move Forward Party for their campaign to amend the country’s royal insult law, following a complaint by the Election Commission.

The court is expected to announce the next hearing or verdict date for cases involving Srettha and Move Forward on Tuesday.

The Constitutional Court will also rule whether the ongoing selection process for a new upper house, which started earlier this month and is scheduled to conclude in early July, is lawful.

If the court cancels or delays the process, it would temporarily extend the term of military-appointed senators who have a played crucial role in the formation of the previous government.

Powerful courts, rattled markets

“The political parties and representatives that voters have chosen are being systematically and repeatedly stymied,” Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political scientist at Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn University, told Reuters.

A single petition can bring down a sitting, elected government or oust a prime minister, he said, outlining the power of the country’s courts.

“There’s a judicial assertiveness that has been damaging to Thailand, subverting popular will and popular mandates.”

Such tensions have previously triggered violent street protests, dissolutions of political parties, airport closures and military coups that have hamstrung the economy.

Thai stock markets have been rattled by the specter of a political crisis. The main stock index dropped to its lowest level since November 2020 Monday, but was up more than 1% Tuesday morning.

 
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SEOUL, South Korea — South Korean soldiers on Tuesday fired warning shots to repel North Korean soldiers who temporarily crossed the rivals’ land border for the second time this month, South Korea’s military said.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said around 20 to 30 North Korean soldiers, while engaging in unspecified construction work on the northern side of the border, briefly crossed the military demarcation line that bisects the countries as of 8:30 a.m. It said the North Korean soldiers retreated after the South broadcasts warnings and fired warning shots and the South’s military didn’t spot any suspicious activities after that.

The South also fired warning shots on June 11 after another group of North Korean soldiers briefly crossed the MDL. The Joint Chiefs of Staff said that Tuesday’s incident occurred in a different area along the central frontline region. It said it doesn’t believe the North Korean soldiers intruded the border intentionally and that the North did not return fire.

The South’s military said it has been observing increased North Korean construction activity in frontline border areas, such as installing suspected anti-tank barriers, reinforcing roads and planting land mines.

The border intrusions come as tensions rise between the war-divided rivals, who in recent weeks have engaged in Cold War-style psychological warfare and made it clear they are no longer bound by their landmark military agreement in 2018 to reduce tensions.
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washington — Washington and Seoul have expressed alarm about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s upcoming visit to Pyongyang, while Beijing says it has no intention of interfering with the cooperation between Russia and North Korea.

Putin will pay a state visit to North Korea on Tuesday and Wednesday, the North’s official KCNA news agency announced on Monday. His trip to Pyongyang will be followed by a two-day state visit to Vietnam, where discussions will touch on trade and economic cooperation, the Kremlin said Monday.

The South Korean Foreign Ministry said it opposes Moscow and Pyongyang deepening their military cooperation through Putin’s trip to the country.

“All cooperation and exchanges between Russia and North Korea will need to abide by relevant U.N. Security Council resolutions and contribute toward the peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula,” a spokesperson told VOA’s Korean Service on Monday.

Putin’s visit to the country, the first in 24 years, comes amid increased military cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang.

North Korea has transferred approximately 10,000 containers that could hold nearly 5 million artillery shells to Russia to fight against Ukraine, South Korean Defense Minister Shin Won-sik said in an interview with Bloomberg News on Friday.   

All arms exports and imports by North Korea are sanctioned by the U.N. Security Council.

Both Pyongyang and Moscow have denied any arms dealings between them.

Putin’s trip to Pyongyang is expected to increase military cooperation that officially kicked off when North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visited Russia in September 2023. Kim invited Putin to Pyongyang during his visit to Russia.

“We discourage any government from receiving President Putin,” a State Department spokesperson told VOA’s Korean Service on June 12.

“If he is able to travel freely, it could normalize Russia’s blatant violations of international law and inadvertently send the message that atrocities can be committed in Ukraine and elsewhere with impunity,” the spokesperson said.

Deepening cooperation between Russia and North Korea poses concern for the Korean Peninsula as well as for Ukraine as it defends its “freedom and independence against Russia’s brutal war,” the spokesperson added.

After the International Criminal Court in The Hague issued an arrest warrant for Putin in March 2023 for Russia’s alleged war crimes in Ukraine since its unprovoked invasion of the country in February 2022, Putin is limited in his international travels to allied countries.

Since his new presidential term began in May, Putin has visited Belarus, China and Uzbekistan.

In the meantime, Liu Pengyu, a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, told VOA on Thursday that “China has no intention [of] interfer[ing] with the exchange and cooperation between two sovereign countries.”

He said, “Both DPRK and Russia are China’s friendly neighbors.” North Korea’s official name is the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

China and Russia, both veto-wielding permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, have supported North Korea at council meetings held in the past several years by opposing new U.S.-led resolutions condemning North Korea’s ballistic missile launches banned by the U.N.

In March, Moscow vetoed a resolution granting the annual extension of a U.N. panel of experts that monitors sanctions on North Korea while Beijing abstained.

Michael Kimmage, who served on the U.S. State Department’s Policy Planning staff on Russia and Ukraine from 2014 to 2016, said, “Putin wishes to forge a long-term relationship with North Korea, and this would be reflected” in his visit to Pyongyang.

“Not only does North Korea supply Russia with weaponry to use in its war against Ukraine, but a more radical North Korea will pin the resources of Russia’s archenemy, the United States, in East Asia, helping to create a third zone of difficulty for Washington, in addition to Europe and the Middle East,” Kimmage said.

Kimmage, currently the chair at Catholic University of America’s history department, added that Russia’s other partner, China, may not want Pyongyang to be more provocative and may not be pleased with deepening ties between Moscow and Pyongyang.

Earlier this month, Putin threatened to arm the West’s adversaries with long-range missiles that could target the West in response to NATO members, including the U.S., allowing Ukraine to use Western-supplied weapons to target inside Russia.

Evans Revere, a former U.S. State Department official with extensive experience negotiating with North Korea, said Putin’s meeting with Kim in Pyongyang “could reveal the details of Russian support for North Korea.”

“Pyongyang is reportedly interested in missile guidance, engine and fuel technologies, avionics upgrades for its aircraft and assistance with its nuclear program,” he said.

Revere added, “Russia has a significant strategic and tactical interest in complicating the security calculus of the United States and its allies in Northeast Asia. Putin’s visit will soon demonstrate how far Moscow is prepared to go in pursuing that interest.”

VOA’s Soyoung Ahn contributed to this report.
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Protests in Turkey are growing over Azerbaijani oil deliveries to Israel. Azerbaijani oil exports have continued to pass through a Turkish port despite Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s recent announcement of a trade embargo against Israel because of its offensive in Gaza. Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul.
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Islamabad, Pakistan — The Taliban’s reclusive supreme leader on Monday warned Afghans against earning money or gaining worldly honor at a time when the country is in the grip of humanitarian crises and isolated on the global stage. 

Hibatullah Akhundzada gave his warning in a sermon to mark the festival of Eid al-Adha at a mosque in southern Kandahar province, weeks before a Taliban delegation goes to Doha, Qatar for U.N.-hosted talks on Afghanistan. 

This is the first round of talks the Taliban will attend since they seized power in August 2021. They weren’t invited to the conference of foreign special envoys to Afghanistan in the first round, and they snubbed the second round because they wanted to be treated as the country’s official representatives. 

No government recognizes the Taliban as the legitimate rulers of Afghanistan, whose aid-dependent economy was plunged into turmoil following their takeover. 

U.N. spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said the invitation to the Doha meeting at the end of June does not imply recognition of the Taliban. 

Akhundzada reminded Afghans of their duties as Muslims and made repeated calls for unity in his 23-minute sermon. 

Messages by him and another influential Taliban figure, Sirajuddin Haqqani, to mark a religious festival in April showed tensions between hardliners and more moderate elements who want to scrap harsher policies and attract more outside support. 

In Monday’s message, Akhundzada said he wanted brotherhood among Muslims and that he was unhappy about differences between citizens and Taliban officials. Public dissent over Taliban edicts is rare, and protests are swiftly and sometimes violently quashed. 

He said he would willingly accept any decision to remove him as supreme leader, as long as there was unity and agreement on his ouster. But he was unhappy about differences and disagreement between people. 

“We were created to worship Allah and not to earn money or gain worldly honor,” Akhundzada said. “Our Islamic system is God’s system and we should stand by it. We have promised God that we will bring justice and Islamic law (to Afghanistan) but we cannot do this if we are not united. The benefit of your disunity reaches the enemy; the enemy takes advantage of it.” 

The Taliban have used their interpretation of Islamic law to bar girls from education beyond the age of 11, ban women from public spaces, exclude them from many jobs, and enforce dress codes and male guardianship requirements. 

Akhundzada told Taliban officials to listen to the advice of religious scholars and entrust them with authority. He said officials shouldn’t be arrogant, boast, or deny the truth about Islamic law. 

Pakistani journalist and author Ahmed Rashid, who has written several books about Afghanistan and the Taliban, said Akhundzada’s appeals for unity were a sign of desperation because he refused to spell out the real issues facing Afghans such as unemployment, economic development, and building a consensus for social reform. 

“I would not be convinced that this was a meaningful speech if I were the Taliban,” said Rashid. 

Michael Kugelman, director of the Wilson Center’s South Asia Institute, said Akhundzada’s focus on unity may also be preemptive and meant to nip in the bud any possibility that rifts could flare up again. 

He also questioned if the audience being targeted went beyond Afghans to focus on the global Muslim community. 

“Operationally speaking, the Taliban don’t have transnational goals. But the supreme leader looks to command respect beyond Afghanistan’s borders,” said Kugelman. 
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BEIJING — China hit back on Monday after G7 leaders warned Beijing to stop sending weapons components to Russia, saying their end-of-summit statement was “full of arrogance, prejudice and lies.”

When Group of Seven leaders met last week in Italy, souring trade relations with China as well as tensions over Ukraine and the South China Sea were a focus of their discussions.

The statement released at the end of the summit on Friday criticized China on many of these issues.

It included an accusation against Beijing of sending dual-use materials to Russia, which it said were helping the war effort in Ukraine.

On Monday China’s foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said the statement had “slandered and attacked China”.

It had “rehashed cliches that have no factual basis, no legal basis, and no moral justification, and are full of arrogance, prejudice and lies,” he said at a regular press briefing.

The Group of Seven,  made up of the United States, Japan, France, Germany, Canada, Britain and Italy, had also taken aim at what it called “dangerous” incursions by China in the South China Sea.

Worries of a military escalation between China and its neighbors are rising, and on Monday Philippine and Chinese vessels collided near the Second Thomas Shoal, according to the Chinese Coast Guard.

“We oppose China’s militarization, and coercive and intimidation activities in the South China Sea,” read the G7 statement, using stronger language than at last year’s summit in Japan.
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BEIJING — China said Monday it had launched an anti-dumping investigation into imports of pork products from the European Union.

The probe is in response to an application submitted on behalf of domestic producers, Beijing said, and comes in the face of mounting trade tensions between China and the EU.

“The Ministry of Commerce has opened an anti-dumping investigation into imports of relevant pork and pig by-products originating from the European Union,” the ministry said in a statement.

China has criticized the bloc’s decision last week to slap additional tariffs of up to 38 percent on Chinese electric car imports from next month after an anti-subsidy probe.

The European Commission pointed to “unfair subsidization” in China, which it said “is causing a threat of economic injury” to EU electric car makers.

Beijing warned the tariffs would “harm Europe’s own interests” and condemned the bloc’s “protectionism”.

Pork is China’s most popular meat and a staple of diets in the world’s second most populous nation.
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Bangkok — Thailand faces a critical week of court cases that could trigger a political crisis in Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy, with the fate of the prime minister and the main opposition hanging in the balance.

Four cases before the courts on Tuesday involve the country’s most powerful politicians: Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, former prime leader Thaksin Shinawatra, the popular opposition Move Forward party and upper-house lawmakers.

For decades, Thailand’s politics has been shaped by a struggle between its conservative-royalist establishment, supported by the military, and populist parties such as those backed by Thaksin and the current opposition Move Forward party.

“These cases highlight the fragility and complexity of Thailand’s political climate,” ANZ Research said in a note.

“On the economic front, the immediate concerns are the potential for disruptive protests and delays to fiscal policy implementation.”

How is the prime minister involved?

Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, a political novice who took office last August, has been accused by a group of conservative senators of breaching the constitution when he appointed a former lawyer with a conviction record to his Cabinet.

Srettha, who denies any wrongdoing, could face dismissal if the Constitutional Court rules against him.

If Srettha is removed from office, a new government must be formed, and his ruling Pheu Thai party would need to put forward a new candidate for premier to be voted on by parliament.

The court will likely announce the next hearing or verdict date on Tuesday.

What is the case against Thaksin?

Thaksin, the influential former premier who was ousted in a 2006 military coup, is to be formally indicted in a criminal court in Bangkok Tuesday for allegedly insulting the country’s royalty and other charges linked to a 2015 media interview.

The court will then decide whether to grant bail to the billionaire politician, who said he is innocent. “This case has no merit at all,” he told reporters earlier this month.

Thailand’s lese-majeste law, one of the world’s toughest, carries a maximum jail sentence of up to 15 years for each perceived royal insult.

The 74-year-old returned to Thailand to a rock star’s reception last August after 15 years of self-imposed exile.

Hours after his arrival, the Shinawatra family-backed Pheu Thai party and Srettha sailed through a parliamentary vote to pick the prime minister, fueling speculation that Thaksin had struck a deal with his former enemies in the conservative establishment.

Thaksin and the Pheu Thai party have denied this.

Is the opposition under threat?

Another case could lead to the dissolution of the progressive Move Forward party, which has 30% of seats in the lower house after winning last year’s closely fought election but was blocked by conservative lawmakers from forming a government.

The dissolution of Move Forward’s predecessor party, Future Forward, in 2020 over a campaign funding violation was among the factors that triggered massive anti-government street protests.

The Constitutional Court is considering an Election Commission complaint that alleges the Move Forward party breached the constitution with an election campaign to reform the country’s royal insult law.

Move Forward, which denies any wrongdoing, ceased efforts to change the law following a January verdict from the same court that ruled the party’s plan to amend the law was a hidden effort to undermine the monarchy.

The court is expected to announce the next hearing or verdict date on Tuesday.

What about the senate election?

The Constitutional Court will also deliver a verdict Tuesday on the ongoing selection of a new 200-member Senate, after accepting a petition questioning whether parts of the complex, three-tier process were lawful.

If the process is canceled or delayed, it would temporarily extend the term of military-appointed lawmakers who have been central in determining government formation, including last year’s maneuver to block Move Forward from forming a government.

The current upper house was hand-picked by the military following a 2014 coup that ousted an elected Pheu Thai government that had been led by Thaksin’s sister, who still lives in self-imposed exile.
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Beijing — China is being buffeted by two weather extremes, with heavy rain and flooding forcing the evacuation of tens of thousands of people in the south and a heat wave prompting fears of a drought for farmers in the north.

At least one person has died in the flooding. The body of a student who fell into a swollen river in the southern city of Guilin was found two days later on Saturday, state broadcaster CCTV said in an online report. Elsewhere in the Guangxi region, heavy rains flooded homes in some villages.

To the east, landslides and flooding hit parts of Fujian province, and 36,000 people have been moved, according to state media. One landslide trapped a truck in Songxi county, and videos posted online by the Quanzhou government showed vehicles inundated with muddy flood waters in a part of the historic city.

The Chinese government has issued repeated calls to step up disaster prevention and preparedness in anticipation of more severe weather events because of climate change. Violent rain and hailstorms killed seven people in eastern China’s Jiangxi province earlier this year.

Much of northern China, including the capital, Beijing, has endured high temperatures for the past week. The National Meteorological Center has issued a heat warning, forecasting highs around 38 degrees Celsius (100 degrees Fahrenheit) for Monday in parts of Beijing and nearby areas and in the Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia regions to the west.

Hot weather was also reported in Taiwan, the self-governing island claimed by China off its east coast. The temperature reached 36.6 degrees Celsius (98 degrees Fahrenheit) in one township in Taitung county on Sunday, the island’s Central News Agency reported, citing the government weather agency.

A lack of rainfall in northern China has raised concerns about farm production this year.

A Chinese vice premier, Liu Guozhong, called for drought prevention efforts Saturday on an inspection tour of Hebei province, which borders Beijing.

He said that water resources should be allocated scientifically and the conservation of water for farming should be strengthened, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. He also called for helping farmers plant drought-resistant crops to firm up the foundation for the autumn grain harvest.
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MELBOURNE, Australia — Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Sunday promised a new pair of giant pandas to a zoo and urged Australia to set aside its differences with Beijing at the outset of the first visit to the country by China’s second-highest ranking leader in seven years. 

China’s most powerful politician after President Xi Jinping arrived late Saturday in Adelaide, the capital of South Australia state, which has produced most of the Australian wine entering China since crippling tariffs were lifted in March that had effectively ended a 1.2 billion Australian dollar ($790 million) a year trade since 2020. 

Li’s trip has focused so far on the panda diplomacy, rebounding trade including wine and recovering diplomatic links after China initiated a reset of the relationship in 2022 that had all but collapsed during Australia’s previous conservative administration’s nine years in power. 

Relations tumbled over legislation that banned covert foreign interference in Australian politics, the exclusion of Chinese-owned telecommunications giant Huawei from rolling out the national 5G network due to security concerns, and Australia’s call for an independent investigation into the causes of and responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Beijing imposed an array of official and unofficial trade blocks in 2020 on a range of Australian exports including coal, wine, beef, barley and wood that cost up to AU$20 billion ($13 billion) a year. 

All the trade bans have now been lifted except for Australian live lobster exports. Trade Minister Don Farrell predicted that impediment would also be lifted soon after Li’s visit with Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao. 

Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Li’s visit was the result of “two years of very deliberate, very patient work by this government to bring about a stabilization of the relationship and to work towards the removal of trade impediments.” 

“We will cooperate where we can, we will disagree where we must and we will engage in our national interest,” Wong said before joining Li at Adelaide Zoo, which has been home to China-born giant pandas Wang Wang and Fu Ni since 2009. 

Li announced that the zoo would be loaned another two pandas after the pair are due to return to China in November. 

“China will soon provide another pair of pandas that are equally beautiful, lively, cute and younger to the Adelaide Zoo, and continue the cooperation on giant pandas between China and Australia,” Li said in Mandarin, adding that zoo staff would be invited to “pick a pair.” 

Wong thanked Li for ensuring that pandas would remain the zoo’s star attraction. 

“It’s good for the economy, it’s good for South Australian jobs, it’s good for tourism, and it is a signal of goodwill, and we thank you,” Wong said. 

Li’s visit is the first to Australia by a Chinese premier in seven years and marks an improvement in relations since Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s center-left Labor Party was elected in 2022. 

Li noted that Albanese in November was the first Australian prime minister to visit China since 2016. 

“China-Australia relations were back on track after a period of twists and turns,” Li said on arrival on Saturday, according to a translation released by the Chinese Embassy in Australia on Sunday. “History has proven that mutual respect, seeking common ground while shelving differences and mutually beneficial cooperation are the valuable experience in growing China-Australia relations.” 

Hundreds of pro-China demonstrators, human rights protesters and democracy activists gathered outside the zoo before Li’s visit. 

Among the protesters was former Hong Kong lawmaker Ted Hui, who fled to Australia three years ago to avoid a prison sentence for his activism. He said the panda offer was a cynical move to soften China’s image and to distract from the government’s human rights failings. 

“It’s a public relations move by the Chinese regime and, disappointingly, the Australian government is reciprocating by welcoming him and shaking hands,” Hui said. 

Hui said Li showed cowardice by entering the zoo by a rear entrance while most of the protesters and China supporters had gathered at the main entrance. But Hui and other protesters were able to shout slogans at Li from a distance inside the zoo. 

Li’s agenda became more contentious after he left Adelaide and arrived in the national capital, Canberra, late Sunday for Parliament House meetings on Monday with Albanese and other political figures. Li will visit a Chinese-controlled lithium processing plant in resource-rich Western Australia state on Tuesday. 

Albanese has said he will raise with Li recent clashes between the two countries’ militaries in the South China Sea and Yellow Sea that Australia argues endangered Australian personnel. 

Albanese will also raise the fate of China-born Australian democracy blogger Yang Hengjun, who was given a suspended death sentence by a Beijing court in February. Australia is also concerned for Hong Kong-Australia dual national Gordon Ng, who was among 14 pro-democracy activists convicted by a Hong Kong court last month for national security offenses. 

Li’s visit to Tianqi Lithium Energy Australia’s processing plant south of the Western Australia capital of Perth will underscore China’s interest in investing in critical minerals. The plant produces battery-grade lithium hydroxide for electric vehicles. 

Australia shares U.S. concerns over China’s dominance in the critical minerals, which are essential components in the world’s transition to renewable energy sources. 

Citing Australia’s national interests, Treasurer Jim Chalmers recently ordered five Chinese-linked companies to divest their shares in the rare earth mining company, Northern Minerals. 

Asked if Chinese companies could invest in processing critical minerals in Australia, Wong replied that Australia’s foreign investment framework was “open to all.” 

“We want to grow our critical minerals industry,” Wong said. 

Australia is the second stop of Li’s tour after New Zealand, and will end in Malaysia.
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Islamabad — Afghanistan’s Taliban government said Sunday it will send a delegation to the two-day United Nations conference on Afghanistan, set to commence in Doha, Qatar, June 30.

This will mark the first time the de facto Afghan rulers will attend a gathering of international envoys on Afghanistan since U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres started the process over a year ago, aimed at developing a coherent and unified world approach to engagement with the Taliban.

Zabihullah Mujahid, the chief Taliban spokesman, told an Afghan television channel Sunday that their government had held internal discussions on the agenda for the third Doha conference and agreed to participate.

“We will announce the composition of the delegation later, God willing. We believe this will serve the interest of Afghanistan,” Mujahid said in his interview, aired by TOLO News.

He defended the decision and did not mention any conditions from their government, saying they consider any meetings facilitating humanitarian aid and investment in Afghanistan to be crucial.

The Taliban Foreign Ministry spokesman later said in a formal statement that the decision to participate in the upcoming Doha meeting had stemmed from their own two months of discussions with the U.N. on the agenda and the list of the participants. 

“If there are any changes to the agenda and participation, it would naturally affect our decision which we will share with all sides at that time,” Abdul Qahar Balkhi cautioned. 

The U.N. has stated that the third Doha meeting aims to increase international engagement with the Taliban and Afghanistan at large “in a more coherent, coordinated and structured manner.”

Guterres did not invite the Taliban to the first Doha meeting in May 2023, and the Afghan rulers refused an invitation to the second this past February.

The fundamentalist Taliban had asked the U.N. during the lead-up to the second Doha meeting to only recognize their delegates as the country’s official representatives. This meant that Afghan civil society leaders and women’s rights activists would not be allowed to be present. The Taliban authorities also sought a meeting between their delegation and the U.N. at “a very senior level.”

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres rejected the conditions. The international community does not recognize the Taliban government, as many of its top leaders remain under terrorism-related U.N. sanctions.

Mujahid did not specify any conditions for their involvement in the forthcoming Doha conference.

Curbs on women

Sunday’s Taliban announcement comes amid persistent calls from Afghan and global rights monitors to ensure women’s representation at the table in the Doha meeting, with women’s and girls’ rights at the center of discussions.

The hardline Taliban stormed back to power in Afghanistan almost three years ago, imposing sweeping curbs on women’s right to education and public life at large in line with their harsh interpretation of Islam.

Afghan girls ages 12 and older are banned from attending secondary school, while women are prohibited from public and private workplaces, including the U.N., except for Afghan health care and a few other sectors.

Women are not allowed to travel long distances by road or air unless accompanied by a close male relative and are banned from visiting public places such as parks, gyms, and bathhouses.

The elusive Taliban supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, has rejected international criticism of his governance, including restrictions on women, as an interference in Afghanistan’s internal affairs.

The Taliban’s ban on educating girls reached 1,000 days last week, with UNICEF, denouncing it as a “sad and sobering milestone and demanding its immediate removal.

“For 1.5 million girls, this systematic exclusion is not only a blatant violation of their right to education but also results in dwindling opportunities and deteriorating mental health,” UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said.

The Taliban’s return to power in August 2021 has led to the worsening of economic and humanitarian conditions in the impoverished nation of more than 40 million people, reeling from years of war and the devastation of natural disasters.

The World Food Program estimates that more than a quarter of the population needs food assistance for survival. “More than 12 million people in Afghanistan do not know where their next meal will come from,” the U.N. agency stated.
…

…

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — An oil spill caused by a dredger boat hitting a stationary cargo tanker has blackened part of Singapore’s southern coastline, including the popular resort island of Sentosa, and sparked concerns it may threaten marine wildlife as a cleanup operation was under way Sunday.

The Netherlands-flagged dredger Vox Maxima struck the Singaporean fuel supply ship Marine Honor on Friday. It damaged the cargo tank on Marine Honor, which leaked oil into the sea.

Singapore’s Maritime and Port Authority said in a statement late Saturday the oil leak from the vessel had been contained, and that the oil that escaped from the damaged tanker had been treated with dispersants.

But due to the tidal current, it said the treated oil had landed along shorelines including at Sentosa and other southern islands, a nature reserve and a public beach park. Sentosa, which attracts millions of visitors annually, houses one of Singapore’s two casinos, golf courses and Southeast Asia’s only Universal Studios theme park.

Part of the beachfront at the public park and at the nature reserve have been closed to facilitate clean-up efforts, it said. The Sentosa beach will remain open to the public but sea activities and swimming are prohibited.

On Sunday, workers in orange suit were seen scooping up sand in a clean-up operation at an empty beach in Sentosa. Black water washed up on the oil-stained shore.

Authorities have deployed 18 crafts for the clean-up efforts and laid close to 1,500 meters of container booms, temporary floating barriers to trap the oil spill.

“More will be laid over the next few days to prevent further spread of oil onto the shore, and facilitate the recovery of the trapped oil off the affected shorelines and lagoons to prevent them from going back to sea,” the statement said.

Conservationists and biologists are monitoring the full extent of the damage on marine and wildlife.

Local conservation group Marine Stewards reportedly said there were photos of dead fish, otters and kingfishers covered in oil slick.

Group founder Sue Ye told Singapore Straits Times that oil spills smother and suffocate fish, birds and marine animals that have to go to the surface for air, such as turtles and dolphins.
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SYDNEY — Chinese Premier Li Qiang is toasting a turnaround in trade ties with Australia on Sunday with a trip to a major winegrowing region that was hit by Beijing’s sanctions.

The highest-ranking Chinese official to visit Australia in seven years, Li’s four-day trip offers the prospect of lucrative trade after Beijing lifted punitive measures against a string of major Australian exports.

China is by far Australia’s biggest trading partner, taking in nearly 30% of its exports last year including major commodities iron ore and coal.

Two-way trade reached $216 billion in 2023.

“Mutual respect, seeking common ground while shelving differences and mutually beneficial cooperation” are key to growing China-Australia relations, Li said on his arrival in Adelaide on Saturday.

The premier recalled Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s fence-mending trip to Beijing last November, saying: “China-Australia relations were back on track after a period of twists and turns.”

Li is to visit winemakers in the famed Barossa region near Adelaide, hometown of Foreign Minister Penny Wong, who is credited with helping stabilize relations with China.

Wine was among a string of Australian exports, along with coal, timber, barley, beef, and lobsters subjected to Chinese sanctions in 2020 during a diplomatic rift with the former conservative government.

Those sanctions cost Australian exporters an estimated $13 billion a year.

But they have been gradually lifted since Albanese’s government entered power in 2022 and adopted a softer diplomatic approach toward China.

Li and Albanese are to hold talks behind closed doors in Canberra on Monday, encompassing fractious issues of foreign influence, human rights, rivalry in the Pacific and alleged unsafe behavior by China’s military in the region.

But the Chinese premier, who will also head to a lithium mine in Perth, is focusing his visit on economic opportunities.

“Australia has endured a long period of deep freeze, where it was not possible to have any sort of official conversations with China, which I think is a bad situation,” said Melissa Conley Tyler, honorary fellow at the University of Melbourne’s Asia Institute.

Li’s visit sends a message that “Australia is back to being seen as a friendly country rather than the unfriendly, hostile country we were seen as during those years of maximum tension,” she told AFP.

Setting the warmer diplomatic tone, Li will first visit the Adelaide Zoo where giant pandas Wang Wang and Fu Ni have been on loan from China since 2009.

Hopes are high that the pair — instruments of China’s so-called Panda diplomacy — will be allowed to stay despite producing no offspring in their time together.

“The pandas have been a great part of the lives of many Adelaide families and so we look forward to that continuing,” Australia’s foreign minister said in a television interview Sunday.

Behind the diplomacy, the impact of China’s trade measures lingers.

Chinese tariffs had effectively blocked premium Australian wine exports worth an estimated $660 million a year.

Three months after they were scrapped, Australian wine producers remain hesitant to rush back into pretariff levels of trade with China, said Paul Turale, marketing manager at industry body Wine Australia.

“It will take some time to grow to what the industry was before,” he told AFP.

Australia’s rock lobster industry, one of the last still suffering under the Chinese sanctions, is hopeful that Li will remove them, too, during his visit.

“More than 20% of Australian jobs reply on trade, so growing our export opportunity is fundamental to Australia’s continued economic success,” Business Council of Australia chief executive Bran Black said ahead of the visit.

“Australia’s trade with China will continue to be a priority and we are pleased there is a continuing stabilization of the relationship.” 
…

ISLAMABAD — Rescuers in northern Pakistan have retrieved the body of one of the two Japanese climbers who had gone missing earlier in the week while attempting to scale a 7,027-meter (23,054-foot) mountain.

Waliullah Falahi, a senior area administrator, confirmed to VOA Saturday that Pakistani army helicopters are assisting “high-altitude porters” in the search for the second Japanese national. He identified the deceased climber as Ryuseki Hiraoka.

Expedition organizers said Hiraoka and his partner, Atsushi Taguchi, were trying to summit Spantik mountain, also known as the Golden Peak, in the Karakoram range without the help of porters before they disappeared Wednesday.

Hiraoka and Taguchi are reported to be experienced climbers. Hiraoka is a well-known Japanese mountain guide who has summited Mount Everest five times and climbed several other 8,000-meter mountains and many peaks in the Andes and the Pamirs.

The men were last seen Monday, and the alarm was raised by fellow climbers who had expected to cross paths with them the following day.

A military helicopter spotted the climbers Thursday, but the search was suspended due to poor weather conditions. Japanese climbers from another expedition were also reportedly assisting in the rescue efforts.

Pakistan’s northern Gilgit-Baltistan region is home to five of the world’s 14 peaks above 8,000 meters, including K2, the world’s second-highest mountain, at 8,611 meters (28,251 feet) above sea level.

Eight others are in Nepal, including Mount Everest, the world’s highest, and one is along the Nepalese border with the Tibetan region of China.

Thousands of foreigners travel to Gilgit-Baltistan during the summer climbing season, from early June to late August.
…

SYDNEY — Charities welcomed Australia’s decision to provide an additional $6.6 million to the World Food Program to help people in the Gaza Strip who are facing possible famine.

The new aid, announced Wednesday, brings Australia’s total of humanitarian aid for Gaza to $47.9 million since the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel ignited the war.

Save the Children Australia called the assistance vital. Its chief executive, Mat Tinkler, told local media that the “entire child population in Gaza [is] at risk of famine” and that “there are still more than a million children in desperate need of support.”

A coalition of charities, including Oxfam Australia and Caritas Australia, an aid agency of the Australian Catholic Church, said in a statement that “unimpeded humanitarian access was crucial” to the people of Gaza who “were physically and psychologically traumatized, sick and starving.”

The additional aid was announced by Australian Minister for Youth Anne Aly at a conference convened by Egypt, Jordan and the United Nations in Jordan.

Aly said the “humanitarian situation in Gaza is catastrophic.”

Aly represented Australia in place of Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong, who said in a statement that her government “continues to press for a cease-fire, for humanitarian aid to reach Gazans in desperate need, and for hostages to be released.”

Wong said Australia supported the cease-fire endorsed Monday by the U.N. Security Council.

Aly told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that the conference also looked at how Gaza would be rebuilt after the war, saying that education will be important.

“So, really looking at what are the early efforts that can be put into rebuilding of Gaza,” she said, “not so much the infrastructure and rebuilding cities, but really, almost, rebuilding the people.”

Israeli authorities have said they have “daily assessments with international aid organizations operating in Gaza to review the situation and respond to the needs on the ground.”

Australia, which has said Israel has the right to defend itself, supports a two-state solution in which Israel and a future Palestinian state coexist within internationally recognized borders.

The Gaza conflict has divided public opinion in Australia, where there have been large pro-Palestinian demonstrations and rallies by supporters of Israel. Community groups have reported an increase in anti-Muslim and antisemitic abuse since the war began eight months ago.
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