CHINA
Navy drills in S China Sea
The navy carried out drills in the South China Sea to simulate fending off an aerial attack, state media said yesterday, as Beijing and Washington trade barbs over who is responsible for heightened tensions in the disputed region. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday expressed concern during a visit to Beijing over efforts to militarize the area. His followed a flurry of US activity in the region, including reports last week that US Air Force B-52s had flown near disputed islands that drew a sharp rebuke from Beijing. The navy carried out a simulated missile attack in an unspecified area of the South China Sea using three target drones making flyovers of a ship formation at varying heights, the People’s Liberation Army Daily said. The drills were part of efforts by an also unspecified training base to prepare for real-life combat against aerial targets after officials said some training failed to prepare troops effectively, the newspaper said.
SOUTH KOREA
Three ex-spymasters jailed
Three former spy chiefs were yesterday sentenced to jail for bribing disgraced former president Park Geun-hye with millions of dollars from the National Intelligence Service (NIS). The trio were convicted of funneling a total of 3.5 billion won (US$3.2 million) to Park while they each served as head of the agency under the then-president from 2013 to 2016. “Special activities funds of the NIS should be spent on collecting intelligence,” the Seoul Central District Court said in a statement. Former agency directors Lee Byung-kee and Lee Byung-ho were thrown behind bars for three-and-a-half years each, while Nam Jae-joon was sentenced to three years in jail. Nam is already in prison after being given a 42-month term last month for obstructing prosecutors investigating meddling by the agency into the 2012 presidential election. Prosecutors on Thursday also demanded 12 more years in prison for Park for accepting the funds.
UNITED STATES
White House defends salute
The White House is defending President Donald Trump’s decision to return a military salute to a North Korean three-star general. North Korean state media released video of Trump reaching out to shake the hand of the minister of the Korean People’s Army, who instead saluted during a US-North Korea summit in Singapore on Tuesday. The two then reversed gestures, with Trump saluting and the general reaching out to shake hands. The two eventually shook hands. “It’s a common courtesy when a military official from another government salutes, that you return that,” White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said on Thursday. The awkward moment raised some eyebrows, because the countries are technically still at war.
REBUILDING: A researcher said that it might seem counterintuitive to start talking about reconstruction amid the war with Russia, but it is ‘actually an urgent priority’ Italy is hosting the fourth annual conference on rebuilding Ukraine even as Russia escalates its war, inviting political and business leaders to Rome to promote public-private partnerships on defense, mining, energy and other projects as uncertainty grows about the US’ commitment to Kyiv’s defense. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy were opening the meeting yesterday, which gets under way as Russia accelerated its aerial and ground attacks against Ukraine with another night of pounding missile and drone attacks on Kyiv. Italian organizers said that 100 official delegations were attending, as were 40 international organizations and development banks. There are
TARIFF ACTION: The US embassy said that the ‘political persecution’ against former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro disrespects the democratic traditions of the nation The US and Brazil on Wednesday escalated their row over US President Donald Trump’s support for former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, with Washington slapping a 50 percent tariff on one of its main steel suppliers. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva threatened to reciprocate. Trump has criticized the prosecution of Bolsonaro, who is on trial for allegedly plotting to cling on to power after losing 2022 elections to Lula. Brasilia on Wednesday summoned Washington’s top envoy to the country to explain an embassy statement describing Bolsonaro as a victim of “political persecution” — echoing Trump’s description of the treatment of Bolsonaro as
The military is to begin conscripting civilians next year, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said yesterday, citing rising tensions with Thailand as the reason for activating a long-dormant mandatory enlistment law. The Cambodian parliament in 2006 approved a law that would require all Cambodians aged 18 to 30 to serve in the military for 18 months, although it has never been enforced. Relations with Thailand have been tense since May, when a long-standing territorial dispute boiled over into cross-border clashes, killing one Cambodian soldier. “This episode of confrontation is a lesson for us and is an opportunity for us to review, assess and
Pakistani police yesterday said a father shot dead his daughter after she refused to delete her TikTok account. In the Muslim-majority country, women can be subjected to violence by family members for not following strict rules on how to behave in public, including in online spaces. “The girl’s father had asked her to delete her TikTok account. On refusal, he killed her,” a police spokesperson said. Investigators said the father killed his 16-year-old daughter on Tuesday “for honor,” the police report said. The man was subsequently arrested. The girl’s family initially tried to “portray the murder as a suicide” said police in
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