News Wire | Asia-Pacific Archive

More Than a Show: China’s Exercises Help It Practice Seizing Taiwan

By Chris Buckley & Amy Chang Chien | The New York Times (free)

A day after Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, visited Taiwan, celebrating it as a bulwark of democracy, China launched three days of military exercises around the island, which its forces may use to press in closer than ever, honing their ability to impose a blockade.

More from WPR: Biden’s Taiwan ‘Gaffe’ Just Said the Quiet Part Out Loud

China Blocks Some Taiwan Imports but Avoids Chip Disruptions

By Joe McDonald | Associated Press (free)

China blocked imports of citrus, fish and other foods from Taiwan in retaliation for a visit by a top American lawmaker, Nancy Pelosi, but has avoided disrupting one of the world’s most important technology and manufacturing relationships.

More from WPR: Social Media Outrage Won’t Drive Social Change in China

U.S., Indonesia Hold Joint Military Drills Amid China Concerns

By Niniek Karmini | Associated Press (free)

The United States and Indonesian militaries began annual joint combat exercises Wednesday on Indonesia’s Sumatra island, joined for the first time by participants from other partner nations, signaling stronger ties amid growing maritime activity by China in the Indo-Pacific region.

Sri Lanka Targets Organizers of Protests That Toppled President

By Skandha Gunasekara & Mujib Mashal | The New York Times

The Sri Lankan government is cracking down on the people who participated in a protest movement that toppled the island nation’s president last month, arresting several demonstration leaders, slapping others with travel bans and ordering the clearing of the last remaining protest tents.

More from WPR: Rajapaksa’s Gone, but Sri Lanka’s Crisis Is Far from Over

Long a Climate Straggler, Australia Advances a Major Bill to Cut Emissions

By Damien Cave | The New York Times

After years of being denounced as a laggard on climate change, Australia shifted course Thursday, with the Lower House of Parliament passing a bill that commits the government to reducing carbon emissions by at least 43 percent from 2005 levels by 2030, and reaching net zero by 2050.

More from WPR: Albanese’s Domestic Agenda Could Reshape Australia’s Regional Relations

New Evidence Shows How Myanmar’s Military Planned Its Brutal Purge of the Rohingya

By Poppy McPherson & Wa Lone | Reuters

War crimes investigators have obtained thousands of pages of documents that shed new light on Myanmar’s campaign to expel the country’s Muslim minority, as well as efforts to hide it from the world. The group that collected the documents, many of which it shared with Reuters, is already handing its material to prosecutors in the Hague.

Indian Government Approves New Emissions Targets

By Sibi Arasu | Associated Press (free)

Nine months after India announced its target of “net zero” emissions by 2070 at the United Nations climate conference in Glasgow, the country’s federal cabinet finally approved a new climate plan on Wednesday.

Pelosi’s Visit and the Coming Taiwan Crisis

By Minxin Pei | The Strategist (free)

Pelosi is hardly responsible for today’s heightened tensions over the island. Even if she had decided to skip Taipei on her tour of Asia, China’s bellicosity toward Taiwan would have continued to intensify, possibly triggering another Taiwan Strait crisis in the near future.

Chinese Military Drills Circling Taiwan Set Up a Potential Standoff

By Paul Mozur & Amy Chang Chien | The New York Times

Although much attention has been on Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, the real potential for a military showdown comes now that she has left.

More from WPR: Biden’s Taiwan ‘Gaffe’ Just Said the Quiet Part Out Loud

Taliban Facing Backlash After U.S. Drone Strike Against Al-Qaida Leader

By Pamela Constable | The Washington Post

The U.S. drone strike that killed al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri here early Sunday also struck a humiliating blow against the Taliban regime, which had secretly hosted the aging extremist in the heart of the Afghan capital for months but failed to keep him safe.

More from WPR: Zawahiri’s Killing Could Make Life Under the Taliban Even Worse

ASEAN to Rethink Peace Plan If Myanmar Executes More Prisoners

Reuters

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations will be forced to reconsider a peace plan agreed with Myanmar if the country’s military rulers execute more prisoners, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said Wednesday.

More from WPR: Myanmar’s Junta Still Has Nothing to Fear From ASEAN

Sri Lanka to Restart IMF Bailout Talks, President Calls for Unity Government

By Uditha Jayasinghe | Reuters

Sri Lanka will restart bailout talks with the International Monetary Fund in August, its new president said Wednesday, while calling on lawmakers to form an all-party government to resolve a crippling economic crisis.

More from WPR: Youth Will Pay the Cost of Global Inaction on Sri Lanka’s Crisis

China Is Stepping Up Its Information War on Taiwan

By A.A. Bastian | Foreign Policy

Pelosi’s visit is another spur for Beijing’s disinformation campaign.

Sri Lanka Says Chinese Military Survey Ship Will Port Only to Refuel

By Uditha Jayasinghe | Reuters

A Chinese military survey ship will visit a strategic port in crisis-hit Sri Lanka later this month only to refuel, a Cabinet spokesman said Tuesday, after neighboring India raised concerns over the vessel’s journey to the Indian Ocean island.

Pakistan Election Commission Says Imran Khan’s Party Accepted Illegal Donations

AFP (free)

Pakistan’s ex-premier Imran Khan’s party accepted millions of dollars in illegal funds from foreign individuals and groups, the election commission ruled Tuesday.

Key Hong Kong Court Ruling to Lift Lid on National Security Cases

AFP (free)

A Hong Kong court delivered a landmark ruling Tuesday that will help lift the lid on secrecy-shrouded pre-trial hearings held under a national security law.

More from WPR: Lee Will Be Beijing’s Man in Hong Kong

Former Maoist Commander Reinstated as Nepal’s Finance Minister

By Gopal Sharma | Reuters

Nepal has reinstated its finance minister, the president’s office announced Sunday, after an internal investigation found no evidence to prove he was involved in making illegal changes to the budget.

China Announces Military Exercise Opposite Taiwan

Associated Press (free)

China said it was conducting military exercises Saturday off its coast opposite Taiwan after warning Speaker Nancy Pelosi of the U.S. House of Representatives to scrap possible plans to visit the island democracy, which Beijing claims as part of its territory.

China’s Most Powerful Rocket Falls Back to Earth, Lands in Criticism

By Jennifer Hassan & Christian Shepherd | The Washington Post

China said its most powerful rocket fell back to Earth, as NASA criticized Beijing for failing to share crucial data about its trajectory.

Former Philippine President Fidel Ramos Dies at 94

By Regine Cabato | The Washington Post

Fidel V. Ramos—former president of the Philippines, career military official and figure of the 1986 revolution that deposed a dictatorship—died Sunday. He was 94.

China on the Offensive

By Bonny Lin & Jude Blanchette | Foreign Affairs

How the Ukraine war has changed Beijing’s strategy.