US defense chief regrets China’s decision not to meet during Southeast Asian security talks

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin expressed regret Wednesday that his Chinese counterpart chose not to hold talks with him during meetings of Southeast Asian defense chiefs in Laos, calling it a setback for the entire region. (Reuters/File)
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Updated 20 November 2024
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US defense chief regrets China’s decision not to meet during Southeast Asian security talks

  • The decision by Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun “is a setback for the whole region,” Austin said after the first day of meetings
  • “It affects the region because the region really wants to see us, two significant players in the region, two significant powers, talk to each other, and that reassures the entire region”

VIENTIANE, Laos: US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin expressed regret Wednesday that his Chinese counterpart chose not to hold talks with him during meetings of Southeast Asian defense chiefs in Laos, calling it a setback for the entire region.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations is holding security talks in Vientiane at a time of increasing maritime disputes with China and as the transition to a new US president approaches.
The decision by Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun “is a setback for the whole region,” Austin said after the first day of meetings.
“It’s unfortunate. It affects the region because the region really wants to see us, two significant players in the region, two significant powers, talk to each other, and that reassures the entire region,” he said.
There was no immediate comment from China on its decision not to meet with Austin.
Austin just wrapped up meetings in Australia with officials there and with Japan’s defense minister. They pledged to support ASEAN and expressed their “serious concern about destabilizing actions in the East and South China Seas, including dangerous conduct by the People’s Republic of China against Philippines and other coastal state vessels.”
In addition to the United States and China, other nations attending the two-day ASEAN meetings from outside Southeast Asia include Japan, South Korea, India and Australia.
Along with the Philippines, ASEAN members Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei have competing claims with China in the South China Sea, which Beijing claims almost entirely as its own territory.
Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos are the other ASEAN members.
Opening the talks, Laotian Defense Minister Chansamone Chanyalath said he hoped for productive meetings that would “become a standard for us to continue ASEAN’s cooperation in defense, including how to handle, thwart, and manage security challenges in the present and in the future.”
As China has grown more assertive in pushing its territorial claims in recent years, ASEAN members and Beijing have been negotiating a code of conduct to govern behavior in the sea, but progress has been slow.
Officials have agreed to try to complete the code by 2026, but talks have been hampered by thorny issues, including disagreements over whether the pact should be binding.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who has called for more urgency in the code of conduct negotiations, complained at a meeting of ASEAN leaders last month that his country “continues to be subject to harassment and intimidation” by China’s actions, which he said violated international law.
Chinese and Philippine vessels have clashed repeatedly this year, and Vietnam in October charged that Chinese forces assaulted its fishermen in disputed areas in the South China Sea. China has also sent patrol vessels to areas that Indonesia and Malaysia claim as their exclusive economic zones.
At the meeting of ASEAN leaders last month, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington was “very concerned about China’s increasingly dangerous and unlawful activities in the South China Sea which have injured people, harm vessels from ASEAN nations and contradict commitments to peaceful resolutions of disputes.”
He pledged that the US would “continue to support freedom of navigation, and freedom of overflight in the Indo Pacific.”
In response, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said US and other non-regional militaries present in the sea were the main source of instability.
“The increasing military deployment and activities in the South China Sea by the US and a few other non-regional countries, stoking confrontation and creating tensions, are the greatest source of instability for peace and stability in the South China Sea,” Mao said.
It is not clear how the incoming administration of US President-elect Donald Trump will address the South China Sea situation.
After Austin’s meetings in Australia, the Defense Department said the US, Australia and Japan had agreed to expand joint drills and announced a defense consultation body among the three countries’ forces to strengthen their cooperation.
When asked Tuesday while in the Philippines about whether the strong US defense support would continue for the country under Trump, Austin said he would not speculate.
Although Austin failed to hold talks with Chinese Defense Minister Dong, Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani was expected to meet with Dong and express concerns about Beijing’s military activities, Japan’s NHK public television reported.
Japan has protested that a Chinese military aircraft violated its airspace briefly in August, and in September expressed “serious concerns” after a Chinese aircraft carrier and two destroyers sailed between two Japanese islands.
The meetings are also likely to touch on tensions in the Korean Peninsula, the Russia-Ukraine war, and wars in the Middle East. They are also expected to discuss other issues, including natural disasters, cybersecurity and terrorism.
Another thorny regional issue is the civil war and humanitarian crisis in ASEAN member Myanmar. The group’s credibility has been severely tested by the war in Myanmar, where the army ousted an elected government in 2021, and fighting has continued with pro-democracy guerillas and ethnic rebels.
More than a year into an offensive initiated by three militias and joined by other resistance groups, observers estimate the military controls less than half the country.
Myanmar military rulers have been barred from ASEAN meetings since late 2021, but this year the country has been represented by high-level bureaucrats, including at the summit in October.


Police arrest more than 50 Palestine Action demonstrators in London

Updated 9 sec ago
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Police arrest more than 50 Palestine Action demonstrators in London

  • Protests against ban on group held across the UK including in Manchester, Edinburgh and Bristol
  • Hearing into legal challenge to the group’s terrorism designation to be held Monday

LONDON: More than 50 protesters have been arrested in central London supporting the banned group Palestine Action. 

Protests were held across the UK on Saturday, including in Manchester, Edinburgh and Bristol after the group was outlawed as a terrorist organization.

The main demonstration was in Parliament Square in Westminster, where numerous people held up signs reading “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action.”

Supporting a proscribed group in the UK is illegal. The protesters in London were detained under Section 13 of the UK’s Terrorism Act, which carries a possible jail term of six years.

On X the Metropolitan Police stated: “55 people were arrested in Parliament Square for displaying placards in support of Palestine Action which is a proscribed group.”

Eight people were also arrested in Truro, Cornwall for a similar protest. Several others were detained in Manchester.

Defend Our Juries, the group behind the protests, said before the demonstrations that 120 people in the UK had been arrested for supporting Palestine Action so far.

The group was banned after activists broke into a Royal Air Force base at Brize Norton on June 20, causing an estimated £7 million ($9.38 million) of damage to military aircraft.

Membership of direct support for Palestine Action now carries a prison term of up to 14 years. Displaying the group’s name on clothing could lead to a six-month jail sentence.

A hearing into a permission to bring a judicial review into the ban will be held at the High Court in London on Monday.


28 dead after tourist boat capsizes in Vietnam’s Ha Long Bay: state media

Updated 2 min 14 sec ago
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28 dead after tourist boat capsizes in Vietnam’s Ha Long Bay: state media

  • Vietnamese Border Guards and navy rescued 11 people and recovered 28 bodies

HANOI: At least 28 people have died and more than a dozen remain missing after a tourist boat carrying more than 50 people capsized Saturday in Vietnam’s Ha Long Bay, state media said.

“On the afternoon of July 19, the Wonder Sea tourist boat carrying 53 people capsized. Vietnamese Border Guards and navy rescued 11 people and recovered 28 bodies,” VNExpress news site reported.


Belgium probes death of Canadian festival-goer at Tomorrowland

Updated 19 July 2025
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Belgium probes death of Canadian festival-goer at Tomorrowland

  • The Antwerp prosecutor’s office said they were looking to establish what caused the death
  • The event’s organizers said the woman became unwell at the festival

BRUSSELS: Belgian authorities said Saturday they have opened an investigation into the death of a Canadian woman who fell ill at Tomorrowland, one of the world’s largest electronic music festivals.

The Antwerp prosecutor’s office told AFP they were looking to establish what caused the death of the 35-year-old, one of tens of thousands of festival-goers who attended the event’s opening night on Friday.

The event’s organizers said the woman became unwell at the festival, which is held in Boom, near Antwerp, and “received first aid on site” before being transferred to hospital, where she later died.

“This morning, we were saddened to learn of her death. Our thoughts are with her family, friends, and loved ones,” said Tomorrowland spokeswoman Debby Wilmsen.

Featuring scores of DJs including David Guetta, Lost Frequencies and Charlotte de Witte, Tomorrowland draws electronic music enthusiasts from all over the world.

Around 400,000 people are expected to attend over two weekends.

The event was initially thrown into doubt this week after a fire destroyed its main stage. But organizers speedily put in place an “alternative setup,” and the festival went ahead as planned.


Ukraine evacuates 43 deportees held on Russian-Georgian border

Updated 19 July 2025
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Ukraine evacuates 43 deportees held on Russian-Georgian border

  • At least 56 Ukrainians were being held in a basement facility near the Russian-Georgian border, according to aid group Volunteers Tbilisi
  • Sybiga said 43 Ukrainians had been evacuated from Georgia via Moldova

KYIV: Ukraine said Saturday it had evacuated 43 of its citizens recently deported from Russia who were being held in Georgia in dire conditions, accusing Moscow of “weaponizing” deportations.

At least 56 Ukrainians, mostly prisoners who completed their sentences and were subsequently ordered to leave Russia, were being held in a basement facility near the Russian-Georgian border, according to aid group Volunteers Tbilisi.

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga said 43 Ukrainians, many lacking documents, had been evacuated from Georgia via Moldova, “including former political prisoner Andrii Kolomiyets.”

More people still remain in “difficult” conditions at the Russian-Georgian border, Sybiga said on X.

The treatment of those held at the border facility near the Dariali crossing is “inhumane,” said Maria Belkina, the head of Volunteers Tbilisi.

“They are without basic necessities — food, water, sanitation,” she told AFP, adding that some of the deportees had medical conditions, including suspected tuberculosis and HIV.

Russia may be accelerating deportations ahead of expected changes to Georgian migration laws in September, which are aimed at tightening entries, she added.

While Georgia has not officially closed the border to Ukrainian nationals, Belkina said a recent policy shift has delayed entry.

“Russia is weaponizing the deportation of Ukrainian citizens through Georgia,” Sybiga said, calling on Russia to transport the deportees directly to its border with Ukraine instead.

It was not clear how many people remained in the border facility, which only has 17 beds and no basic amenities and where some have been kept for weeks, according to Volunteers Tbilisi.

Rights groups estimate up to 800 more Ukrainians could be transferred to the border in the coming weeks.


Indian activists take Palestinian solidarity protest into major New Delhi market 

Updated 19 July 2025
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Indian activists take Palestinian solidarity protest into major New Delhi market 

  • Protesters gathered at Nehru Place to spark greater awareness of Israel’s deadly war on Gaza
  • Many ordinary Indians lack knowledge of atrocities unfolding in Gaza, activists say 

NEW DELHI: Indian activists gathered for a Palestinian solidarity rally in one of New Delhi’s busiest commercial areas on Saturday, looking to raise public awareness of — and educate citizens on — Israel’s war crimes against the Palestinian people. 

Though support for Palestinian statehood was once an integral part of Indian foreign policy, the Indian government has moved closer to Tel Aviv in recent years and has largely remained quiet since Israel launched its deadly assault on Gaza in October 2023. New Delhi has been supplying Israeli forces with weapons and signed an agreement to send thousands of workers to Israel to replace their Palestinian counterparts. 

Indian civil society and students have taken to the streets in solidarity with Palestinians and protest against the government. On Saturday, protesters carried Palestinian flags, “Free Palestine” posters, and placards that read “Stop the Genocide” in Nehru Place, a prominent commercial hub in the Indian capital, as they sought to engage passersby in conversation and spark awareness of Israel’s onslaught on Gaza. 

“Coming to a place like this is really an attempt to take the protest (to) ordinary Indians, because it is their hearts and minds that we wish most to access … We want to create consciousness among ordinary Indians,” Harsh Mander, Indian human rights and peace activist, told Arab News.  

“There has been a repression of pro-Palestine voices all across Europe and North America, but there has been significant pushback and resistance in other countries. India has not seen that kind of societal pushback to the government’s open complicity with the … Zionist project of the Israeli government,” Mander continued. 

Organized by the Indians for Palestine movement, Saturday’s protest moved away from the usual demonstration site of Jantar Mantar in the center of New Delhi. But it was also met with resistance, with some participants becoming the target of harassment from market visitors. 

“The choice of Nehru Place as a site was symbolic — an open, public market square frequented by working-class people, students, and office-goers alike. It was meant to reclaim democratic space in a city where protest is now virtually criminalized,” organizers said in a statement. “Despite everything, the message of the gathering remains clear: There are Indians who stand — and will continue to stand — with the people of Palestine.”

Members of Indian civil society are aiming to educate people about the situation in Gaza to counter a lack of awareness, said Pamela Philipose, a journalist and senior fellow at the Indian Council of Social Science Research.

“Let me tell you, almost 90 percent of the people (in Nehru Place) would not have heard about Gaza, and the 10 percent who had would not have known what is happening in Gaza; that people are dying, that people are hungry, that there is a cruel state called Israel that is attacking them … they don’t know any of this,” she told Arab News. ”And this is educating them. A protest is always an education. That’s what we believe.”

Israel has reportedly killed more than 58,700 Palestinians and wounded over 140,000 others since October 2023. The true death toll, though, is feared to be far higher, with research published in The Lancet medical journal in January estimating an underreporting of deaths by 41 percent.

The study adds that the reported death toll does not include deaths caused by starvation, injury and lack of access to health care, caused by the Israeli military’s destruction of most of Gaza’s infrastructure and the blocking of medical and food aid.

“It is extremely important to protest because the atrocities that are going on in Gaza are unprecedented in the history of the world. It is as bad as, if not worse than, what happened in Nazi Germany,” Nandita Narain, a retired professor from Delhi University, told Arab News. 

“If we don’t protest today, we have lost our humanity. Humanity can only survive if human beings stand up for each other … India has already suffered colonial rule. We should understand better than everybody else how you must support those who have been subjected to brutal occupation by imperialist powers.” 

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