Diplomatic Briefing
Your exclusive news aggregator handpicked daily!Archive for Asia
Newsline: China ambassador arrives in North Korea
China said Tuesday its new ambassador to North Korea has taken up his post, in a sign the North is reopening amid reports it has been suffering heavily from the COVID-19 pandemic and food shortages. Wang Yajun will help in the development of the traditional friendship between the “close neighbors sharing mountains and rivers,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a daily briefing. (https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/politics/article/china-ambassador-arrives-in-north-korea-in-sign-17863795.php) China is North Korea’s main source of economic aid and political support, but interactions have been disrupted by travel restrictions imposed in an attempt to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Newsline: China says diplomatic deal with Honduras without conditions
China’s establishment of diplomatic relations with Honduras was a political decision without conditions attached, China’s foreign ministry said. “Diplomatic ties are not something for trade,” China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told a regular news briefing, in response to a question on whether China would give Honduras almost $2.5 billion the Central American country had earlier sought from Taiwan. (https://neuters.de/world/china/china-says-diplomatic-deal-with-honduras-political-decision-without-conditions-2023-03-27/) Honduran Foreign Minister Eduardo Enrique Reina wrote to Taiwan this month asking for almost $2.5 billion in aid, including a loan of $2 billion to help write off debt as well as funds for the construction of a hospital and a dam, according to copy of the letter seen by Reuters. Taiwan said in the days leading to China and Honduras announcing diplomatic ties that Chinese involvement was obvious, and that Taiwan would not engage in “meaningless” dollar diplomacy with China. Honduras announced at the weekend it had opened formal ties with Beijing and ended its decades-long relationship with Taiwan. Taiwan now has formal diplomatic relations with just 13 countries, mostly poor and developing nations in Central America, the Caribbean and the Pacific. Taipei and Beijing accuse each other of using “dollar diplomacy” in their competition for allies. China and Honduras signed the deal on diplomatic recognition in Beijing over the weekend, ending relations with Taiwan dating back to the 1940s.
Newsline: Vietnam’s foreign ministry pledges to protect legal rights acts in South China Sea
Vietnam’s foreign ministry pledged to protect its legal rights after a Vietnamese ship monitored a Chinese Coast Guard vessel on Saturday in a Russian-operated gas field in Vietnam’s South China Sea exclusive economic zone (EEZ). A spokeswoman for Vietnam’s foreign ministry said that Vietnam acts in the South China Sea “to protect its legal rights”. (https://neuters.de/world/asia-pacific/vietnam-sends-ship-track-chinese-vessel-patrolling-russian-gas-field-eez-data-2023-03-27/) Chinese coast guard ships have sailed directly into energy exploration blocks operated or owned by Russian firms in Vietnam’s EEZ about 40 times since January 2022, according to vessel-tracking data from Vietnamese research organisation South China Sea Chronicle Initiative (SCSCI), an independent non-profit. The gas-rich fields exploited by the Russian companies are among the furthest from Vietnam’s coast and are close to the strategic boundary with Indonesia’s EEZ, and to blocks claimed by China. Zarubezhneft, Gazprom, and Russia’s foreign ministry and embassy in Hanoi did not respond to requests for comment. A spokesperson for China’s foreign ministry said the Chinese Coast Guard carries out patrols in the areas under China’s jurisdiction in the South China Sea while respecting international law, and said it was not aware of patrols in energy exploration blocks operated by Russian firms. Exclusive economic zones generally extend 200 nautical miles (370km) beyond its shores. By international law, a country’s territorial waters – in which it can control all activities – typically extend about 12 nautical miles from its shores. Conflicts can arise where such claims overlap. Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Brunei are among other countries that have competing claims in the South China Sea.
Newsline: India summons Canada’s envoy
India summoned Canada’s High Commissioner on Sunday to “convey strong concern” over Sikh protesters in Canada and how they were allowed to breach the security of India’s diplomatic mission and consulates. According to Canadian media reports, hundreds of protesters gathered in front of the Indian consulate in Vancouver on Saturday over demands for an independent Sikh state, a simmering issue for decades recently triggered again. “It is expected that the Canadian government will take all steps which are required to ensure the safety of our diplomats and security of our diplomatic premises so that they are able to fulfil their normal diplomatic functions,” India’s Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement. (https://neuters.de/world/india/india-summons-canada-high-commissioner-concerned-over-sikh-protesters-2023-03-26/) The statement follows Indian police on March 21 launching a hunt for Sikh preacher Amritpal Singh, who has revived talk of an independent Sikh homeland and stoked fears of a return to violence that killed tens of thousands of people in 1980s and early 1990s. Canada has the highest population of Sikhs outside their home state of Punjab in India.
Newsline: China establishes diplomatic ties with Honduras
China established diplomatic ties with Honduras on Sunday after the Central American country ended its decades-long relationship with Taiwan. The ending of ties with Taiwan had been expected after the Honduran foreign minister travelled to China last week to open relations and President Xiomara Castro said her government would start ties with Beijing. China said its foreign minister, Qin Gang, and Honduran Foreign Minister Eduardo Enrique Reina signed the deal on diplomatic recognition in Beijing, ending relations with Taiwan dating back to the 1940s. In a brief statement late on Saturday, the Honduran foreign ministry said it recognised the People’s Republic of China as the only legitimate government that represents all of China and that Taiwan is an “inseparable part of Chinese territory”. (https://neuters.de/world/honduras-government-says-ending-diplomatic-ties-with-taiwan-2023-03-26/) China claims democratically ruled Taiwan as its own territory with no right to state-to-state ties, a position Taipei strongly rejects. China demands that countries with which it has ties to recognise its position.
Newsline: U.S. Ambassador made rare prison visits to citizens in China
Over the course of the past month, U.S. Ambassador Nicholas Burns had the first meetings in more than five years with at least three U.S. citizens whom Washington says have been wrongfully detained, a senior U.S. official and family members said. Chinese-American citizen Kai Li, jailed in China on spying charges he denies, received a rare in-person visit last week from the U.S. Ambassador to Beijing and urged the U.S. government to continue to work for his release, Li’s son said on Friday. Burns met Li on March 16 in a Shanghai prison, Li’s son Harrison said. Li, a businessman, has been held in China since 2016 and was handed a 10-year jail sentence in 2018 for espionage. “The biggest message that my dad wanted to convey is to remind everyone in the U.S. government and the public that … he’s 100 percent innocent,” Harrison Li said. “Of course the U.S. government knows this, but he said it just bears repeating.” (https://neuters.de/world/envoy-made-rare-prison-visits-three-us-citizens-china-official-says-2023-03-24/) Burns wanted to shake Li’s hand but Chinese authorities did not allow that, Harrison Li said. The two could see and hear each other in an hour-long meeting through a floor-to-ceiling glass partition, he said. Harrison Li said that when the ambassador asked his father what he hoped to do once he was released, he replied that he wanted to work on “improving relations between the United States and China.” China did not allow in-person visits during its prolonged COVID-19 lockdown. Burns has also met with Mark Swidan, a Texas-based businessman who was convicted by a Chinese court in 2019 and David Lin, an American pastor detained in China since 2006, the senior U.S. official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. He did not provide the dates but said Burns visited the men “within the last few weeks” and that “this is the first time he’s actually had a chance to get face-to-face.” Burns has accompanied consular officers on prison visits to U.S. citizens held in China, a State Department spokesperson said. China’s embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Newsline: China’s top diplomat eyes stronger ties with New Zealand
China regards New Zealand as a key partner and has confidence in stable bilateral ties, China’s top diplomat Wang Yi said on Friday. China and New Zealand have always respected and trusted each other, and bilateral ties have long been at the forefront of China’s relations with developed Western countries, Wang told New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta, according to a statement by the Chinese foreign ministry. “China-New Zealand cooperation has great potential,” Wang said. (https://neuters.de/world/asia-pacific/chinas-top-diplomat-confident-about-stable-ties-with-new-zealand-2023-03-24/) Mahuta arrived in China on Wednesday for a four-day trip, the first by a New Zealand minister since 2019, with her trip seen paving the way for a future visit by Chris Hipkins who became prime minister in January after Jacinda Ardern resigned. New Zealand and China’s interactions have remained largely cordial, with the two sides upgrading their free trade pact last year. China remains New Zealand’s largest trading partner.
Newsline: Indian police open probe into London embassy protest
Indian police have opened an investigation into a protest this week outside its High Commission in London, Reuters partner ANI reported on Friday, pursuing action on an incident that has raised tension in relations with Britain. Indian police opened an investigation, the ANI news agency reported. “Case registered after the Ministry of Home Affairs asked Delhi Police to take appropriate legal action,” ANI said, citing the police department of the Indian capital that reports to the federal government. Police officials and the British embassy in New Delhi did not immediately respond to calls and messages seeking comment. (https://neuters.de/world/indian-police-open-investigation-into-london-embassy-protest-media-2023-03-24/) Protesters with “Khalistan” banners took an Indian flag down from a first-floor balcony of the High Commission in the British capital on Sunday to denounce recent police action in India’s Punjab state, British and Indian media reported. Khalistan is the name of an independent Sikh homeland that some members of that community aspire to, both at home in India and in countries where Sikhs have settled. India summoned the top British diplomat in New Delhi on Sunday to convey its “strong protest at the actions taken by separatist and extremist elements” at the mission, and to seek an explanation for “the complete absence” of security there. British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said acts of violence towards staff at the High Commission in London were unacceptable and British police were investigating.
Newsline: Philippines, China pledge peaceful diplomacy to solve maritime issues
Maritime issues between the Philippines and China remain a “serious concern”, a Philippine official said on Friday, as the countries pledged to use diplomacy to resolve differences peacefully during high-level talks. The Philippines hosted this week the first in-person meeting between diplomats from the countries since before the COVID-19 pandemic, amid a flare-up in tensions over what Manila described as China’s “aggressive activities” in the South China Sea. “Both our countries’ leaders agreed that maritime issues should be addressed through diplomacy and dialogue and never through coercion and intimidation,” Philippine foreign ministry undersecretary Theresa Lazaro said at the opening of bilateral talks on the South China Sea. “Maritime issues are an important part of China-Philippines relations that should not be ignored,” China’s Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong said. “In the past years, through friendly dialogue and consultations, the two countries have generally managed and effectively dealt with our differences on maritime issues. And we have also advanced our practical cooperation and our mutual trust,” added Sun, who is on a three-day visit to Manila. (https://neuters.de/world/asia-pacific/philippines-china-say-need-work-together-over-maritime-issues-2023-03-24/) The discussions come two months after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr’s state visit to China, where President Xi Jinping said he was ready to manage maritime issues “cordially” with Manila. Last month, Marcos granted the United States expanded access to military bases, amid China’s growing assertiveness in the South China Sea and towards self-ruled Taiwan. Beijing, which claims large parts of the South China Sea, including some areas in Philippine waters, has expressed concern over an increasing U.S. military presence in its neighbour, accusing Washington of increasing regional tensions.
Newsline: China protests Germany’s ‘vile’ Taiwan visit
Beijing expressed its anger at a visit by Germany’s education minister to Taiwan, describing it as “vile”, while a source at Berlin’s foreign office responded by saying the trip did not deviate from Germany’s “one China” policy. Education Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger, also of the FDP, said at the signing of a technology cooperation agreement with Taiwan’s National Science and Technology Council Minister Wu Tsung-tsong that it was “extremely important to my ministry and I to promote cooperation with like-minded partners”. “This arrangement stands for enhancing cooperation on the basis of the democratic values transparency, openness, reciprocity and scientific freedom, to only name a few,” she said in Taipei on Tuesday. In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said it had filed a strong protest with Germany about her “vile conduct”. Germany should “immediately stop associating and interacting with Taiwan independence separatist forces, immediately stop sending wrong signals to Taiwan independence separatist forces, and immediately stop using the Taiwan issue to interfere in China’s internal affairs”, Wang told a daily news briefing. A source at the German foreign office said Berlin had taken note of the Chinese response but that Stark-Watzinger’s trip was in line with its “one China” policy, which acknowledges that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China. (https://neuters.de/world/german-minister-says-honoured-be-esteemed-partner-taiwan-2023-03-21/) Germany, like most countries, has no formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, though it does maintain a de facto embassy in Taipei.
Diplomatic Briefing 