Reuters Asia Top

By Ben Blanchard and Roger Tung TAIPEI (Reuters) -Taiwan’s annual military drills this year take into account China’s recent war games and focus on breaking a blockade, the defence ministry said on Wednesday, as a senior security official said Taiwan now had a “Five Eyes” intelligence link. China, which views democratically governed Taiwan as its …

Taiwan drills to focus on piercing blockade, get ‘Five Eyes’ intelligence link Read More »

By Devjyot Ghoshal BANGKOK (Reuters) – Government and think-tank representatives from Myanmar and its neighbours, including India and China, held talks in New Delhi on Tuesday as part of a secretive effort to de-escalate a bloody crisis in the army-run Southeast Asian nation, two sources said. Myanmar was plunged into conflict and economic chaos in …

Myanmar’s neighbours, some ASEAN members hold secretive talks on crisis – sources Read More »

SEOUL (Reuters) – Possible U.S. presidential candidate Ron DeSantis called on Wednesday for greater cooperation with South Korea as he visited Seoul on the second leg of a trip seen aimed at burnishing his foreign policy credentials for a presidential run. DeSantis, in a meeting with Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, vowed support for South Korean …

DeSantis urges more cooperation with South Korea Read More »

BEIJING (Reuters) – China will start building relay satellites that by 2030 will act as a communication bridge between missions to the moon and beyond, and ground operations on Earth, Chinese state media reported on Wednesday. A pilot of the satellite constellation will support China’s ongoing lunar exploration programme and the building of the International …

China unveils plan to build satellite system for space exploration Read More »

By Asiri Fernando COLOMBO (Reuters) -Sri Lanka is trying to reduce its overall debt by $17 billion through restructuring, its president told the parliament on Wednesday as he sought support of opposition parties for a nearly $3 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme. President Ranil Wickremesinghe also said the country would discuss debt restructuring with …

Sri Lanka trying to reduce overall debt by $17 billion, president says Read More »

SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australia said on Wednesday it would start domestic manufacture of guided missiles by 2025, two years sooner than expected, in a wide-ranging shakeup of defence arrangements to focus on long-range strike capability. On Monday, the Labor government said it accepted the recommendations of a defence review that said China had launched the …

Australia aims to start making guided missiles within two years Read More »

By Chen Lin SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Singapore on Wednesday executed a man convicted of drug trafficking, a representative for his family said, despite pleas from his relatives and activists for clemency. Tangaraju Suppiah, 46, had been convicted for abetting the trafficking in 2013 of more than 1 kg (2.2 pounds) of cannabis, double the threshold …

Singapore executes citizen for cannabis trafficking Read More »

By David Lawder and David Shepardson WASHINGTON (Reuters) -South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said on Tuesday the South Korean-U.S. alliance must “leap into a new phase” to jointly overcome complex crises, including slowing economic growth, technology competition with strategic rivals and climate change. Speaking a day before a Washington summit with President Joe Biden, …

Yoon says U.S.-South Korea alliance should evolve into future tech partnership Read More »