The US has delayed a regional ASEAN summit scheduled to take place in Las Vegas this month due to fears about the spread of COVID-19, a senior administration official said on Friday.
“As the international community works together to defeat the novel coronavirus, the United States, in consultation with ASEAN partners, has made the difficult decision to postpone the ASEAN leaders meeting,” the official said on condition of anonymity.
ASEAN leaders were scheduled to be hosted by US President Donald Trump on March 14.
Photo: AP
The US “values our relationships with the nations of this critical region, and looks forward to future meetings,” the official said.
The announcement came as health officials in California confirmed the US’ second case believed to have been transmitted to a person who did not travel overseas or come in contact with anyone known to be infected.
Trump has played down fears of a major outbreak in the US, even as infections ricochet worldwide.
There are now more daily cases being recorded outside of China than inside the country, where the virus first emerged in December last year, the WHO said.
More than 2,700 people have died in China and about 78,000 have been infected. There have been more than 50 deaths and 3,600 cases in dozens of other nations, raising fears of a pandemic.
Trump last year skipped an ASEAN summit and parallel East Asia Summit in Bangkok.
He instead sent US National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien, in the lowest-level participation ever by the US in the East Asia Summit.
The move came after years of US efforts to show that Washington is committed to Asia in the face of a rising China.
In Japan, major cherry blossom festivals have been canceled due to an outbreak of COVID-19, the latest in a growing list of events quashed as the virus spreads globally.
The traditional spring celebrations in Tokyo and Osaka, which attract millions of people wanting to seeing the white and pink flowers, would not go ahead as planned next month.
“We are sincerely sorry for those who were looking forward to the viewing ... but please give us your understanding,” the Japan Mint said in Osaka on Friday.
Other cherry blossom events — feverishly anticipated by locals and tourists — are likely to follow suit, local media reported.
The organizers of Tokyo’s Nakameguro Cherry Blossom Festival said that people could still enjoy the blooming trees that grow along public roads.
The US government has signed defense cooperation agreements with Japan and the Philippines to boost the deterrence capabilities of countries in the first island chain, a report by the National Security Bureau (NSB) showed. The main countries on the first island chain include the two nations and Taiwan. The bureau is to present the report at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee tomorrow. The US military has deployed Typhon missile systems to Japan’s Yamaguchi Prefecture and Zambales province in the Philippines during their joint military exercises. It has also installed NMESIS anti-ship systems in Japan’s Okinawa
‘WIN-WIN’: The Philippines, and central and eastern European countries are important potential drone cooperation partners, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung said Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) in an interview published yesterday confirmed that there are joint ventures between Taiwan and Poland in the drone industry. Lin made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper). The government-backed Taiwan Excellence Drone International Business Opportunities Alliance and the Polish Chamber of Unmanned Systems on Wednesday last week signed a memorandum of understanding in Poland to develop a “non-China” supply chain for drones and work together on key technologies. Asked if Taiwan prioritized Poland among central and eastern European countries in drone collaboration, Lin
TRAGEDY STRIKES TAIPEI: The suspect died after falling off a building after he threw smoke grenades into Taipei Main Station and went on a killing spree in Zhongshan A 27-year-old suspect allegedly threw smoke grenades in Taipei Main Station and then proceeded to Zhongshan MRT Station in a random killing spree that resulted in the death of the suspect and two other civilians, and seven injured, including one in critical condition, as of press time last night. The suspect, identified as a man surnamed Chang Wen (張文), allegedly began the attack at Taipei Main Station, the Taipei Fire Department said, adding that it received a report at 5:24pm that smoke grenades had been thrown in the station. One man in his 50s was rushed to hospital after a cardiac arrest
ON ALERT: Taiwan’s partners would issue warnings if China attempted to use Interpol to target Taiwanese, and the global body has mechanisms to prevent it, an official said China has stationed two to four people specializing in Taiwan affairs at its embassies in several democratic countries to monitor and harass Taiwanese, actions that the host nations would not tolerate, National Security Bureau (NSB) Director-General Tsai Ming-yen (蔡明彥) said yesterday. Tsai made the comments at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, which asked him and Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) to report on potential conflicts in the Taiwan Strait and military preparedness. Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) expressed concern that Beijing has posted personnel from China’s Taiwan Affairs Office to its
RSS