Asia Pacific

Turkey's FM arrives in South Korea on four-day trip

Mevlut Cavusoglu's trip to the East Asian country is aimed at "further strengthening" bilateral ties with its "strategic partner".

France says US torpedoed its submarine deal with Australia

"This brutal, unilateral, and unpredictable decision reminds me a lot of what Mr Trump used to do," says FM Jean-Yves Le Drian, accusing US President Biden of stabbing Paris in back and acting like his predecessor Trump.

EU to unveil Asia-Pacific plan after Australia scraps deal with France

The 27-member bloc will set out a formal strategy to boost its presence in the region but Australia's decision to cancel submarine deal with France may complicate cooperation.

China: UK-US-Australia risk 'shooting themselves in foot' with new pact

Beijing slams Western allies and their new alliance under which Canberra will acquire nuclear submarine technology, calling it "extremely irresponsible".

Plastic pollution threatens migratory species in Asia-Pacific: UN

Plastic particles have infiltrated even the most remote and seemingly-pristine regions of the planet, with tiny fragments discovered inside fish in the deepest recesses of the ocean and peppering Arctic sea ice, according to a latest UN report.

Pacific Rim nations agree to step up Covid-19 vaccine sharing

Leaders of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation at virtual retreat agree to step up Covid-19 vaccination sharing efforts and take action to lower costly tariffs that complicate the movement of vaccines across borders.

Ugly truth: Global agribusiness trade is driven by illegal deforestation

A May 2021 report by Forest Trends, a US based non-profit, finds at least 69 percent of agro-conversion from 2013 to 2019 (4.5 million hectares per year) was conducted in violation of national laws and regulations.

WHO: Millennials, many asymptomatic, driving new phase of Covid-19 pandemic

The spread of the virus is being driven by people in their 20s, 30s, and 40s, says the World Health Organization as a surge in new cases prompts some countries to reimpose curbs.

The Modi-Trump revival of the quadrilateral summit is a bad idea

Any attempts to revive this long-planned alliance will be ineffective in trying to counter China, and instead will simply be viewed as an alliance of Islamophobes.

How China’s debt trap diplomacy works and what it means

Beijing is accused of luring developing or underdeveloped countries to borrow money for infrastructure projects and later controlling them if they fail to pay off their loans in time, while a US-based study says asset seizure is a rare instance.

Asian shares climb as Trump says US-China trade deal nears

US president's upbeat comments on trade stoked confidence in Asia. Experts say "accommodative Fed and accommodative monetary policy" are likely driving the markets, calling US-China trade headlines just "noise" that works in the short-term.

Asia-Pacific trade wars: How Japan and Korea have embraced protectionism

The difficult relationship between two key US allies in Asia-Pacific has become a full-blown trade war, which is bound to have an impact on the global economy.