News Story: Iran tests new medium-range missile, defying US warnings

By Eric RANDOLPH

Iran said on Saturday that it had successfully tested a new medium-range missile in defiance of warnings from Washington that such activities were grounds for abandoning their landmark nuclear deal.

State television carried footage of the launch of the Khoramshahr missile, which was first displayed at a high-profile military parade in Tehran on Friday.

It also carried in-flight video from the nose cone of the missile, which has a range of 2,000 kilometres (1,250 miles) and can carry multiple warheads.

"As long as some speak in the language of threats, the strengthening of the country's defence capabilities will continue and Iran will not seek permission from any country for producing various kinds of missile," Defence Minister Amir Hatami said in a staement.

The test comes at the end of a heated week of diplomacy at the UN General Assembly in New York, where US President Donald Trump again accused Iran of destabilising the Middle East, calling it a "rogue state whose chief exports are violence, bloodshed and chaos".

Previous Iranian missile launches have triggered US sanctions and accusations that they violate the spirit of the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and major powers.

Read the full story at SpaceDaily

Related Story:

• Iran's Rouhani vows to strengthen missiles despite US warnings

News Report: Critics of Iran Nuclear Deal Debate the Way Forward

Daniel Schearf

NEW YORK — During his speech Tuesday to the U.N. General Assembly, U.S. President Donald Trump made his disdain for the nuclear agreement with Iran absolutely clear.

"The Iran deal was one of the worst and most one-sided transactions the United States has ever entered into," Trump said. "Frankly, that deal is an embarrassment to the United States, and I don't think you've heard the last of it, believe me."

On the sidelines of the UNGA, some prominent critics of the Iran nuclear deal endorsed his position Tuesday, debating how best to move forward to prevent Tehran from becoming a nuclear weapons state, while underscoring concerns about Tehran's links with North Korea.

Participants in the United Against Nuclear Iran conference (UANI) agreed they see flaws in the 2015 deal, which offered incentives to Iran in return for guarantees that it would not develop nuclear weapons. But speakers disagreed on whether the United States should attempt to renegotiate and expand the deal negotiated under former President Barack Obama, or scrap it altogether.

News Report: Leverage in Cambodia Key Question for US, EU

David Boyle

PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA — Radio Free Asia has joined the ranks of media outlets shuttered under the now almost blanket smothering of an independent press in Cambodia, as U.S. and European diplomatic efforts have failed, so far, to halt the county's descent into authoritarianism ahead of elections next year.

The closure of the U.S.-funded outlet, due to what it called intimidation, represents another escalation in opposition to Washington by Prime Minister Hun Sen.

Conciliatory overtones made in a news conference Tuesday by U.S. Ambassador William Heidt have failed to halt the government's campaign to paint Washington as the masterminds of a vast conspiracy involving all major opponents of the government.

"These are extraordinary allegations. The business of diplomacy is normally carried out with careful and respectful language, the kind of language I'm going to use today. Difficult messages are delivered privately first. Friendly nations seek ways to bridge differences," he told reporters.

Two days later, the government mouthpiece Fresh News posted an article declaring the United States "should take a helicopter to transport its citizens from Cambodia, as it did in April 1975."

News Report: EU Foreign Policy Head Expects Myanmar to Act on Rakhine Crisis Within 1 Week

EU foreign policy head Mogherini says that she expects the government of Myanmar to deal with the roots and consequences of the ethnic crisis in the state of Rakhine this week.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said that she was expecting the government of Myanmar to make the necessary steps to address both reasons and consequences of the devastating inter-ethnic conflict in the state of Rakhine within a week.

The state of Rakhine in western Myanmar has seen a build-up of violence since the beginning of August, although the conflict itself is decades old. The government forces of predominantly Buddhist Myanmar have been clashing with Muslim Rohingya insurgents, with many civilians caught in the crossfire.

News Report: Russia Advocating Conciliatory Approach to North Korea

Brian Padden

SEOUL — Russia is increasingly advocating an arms control strategy to accept North Korea as a nuclear state, disagreeing with the United States and its allies, and even to a degree with China, which all support applying sanctions to force Pyongyang into denuclearization talks.

While meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in in Vladivostok, Russian President Vladimir Putin Thursday again urged for dialogue to resolve the North Korean nuclear crisis, and said whipping up military hysteria around the North Korean crisis was counterproductive and could trigger a global catastrophe. He also said it is not possible to resolve the North Korean crisis with sanctions and pressure alone.

A different approach

Echoing the sentiments of the Russian leader, Alexander Nikitin, the head of an academic institution run by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, told an international defense forum in Seoul Thursday that the time has come to stop seeking the “immediate denuclearization of the DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) and instead pursue "realistic and verifiable” arms controls talks.

News Report: UN Chief Calls on Myanmar to End Violence in Rakhine State

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres voiced concern Tuesday about the potential for ethnic cleansing against the minority Rohingya in Myanmar's Rakhine state, as ongoing violence forces thousands to flee to neighboring Bangladesh.

"I think that we are facing a risk; I hope we don't get there," said Guterres, when asked whether the human rights situation in Rakhine constituted ethnic cleansing. The secretary-general also appealed to the civilian and military authorities in Myanmar to end the violence he said was creating a situation that could destabilize the region.

The United Nations estimates that nearly 125,000 minority Rohingya refugees have fled Rakhine state for Bangladesh in the last two weeks.

"They are scattered in local villages, refugee camps in makeshift sites in southeastern Bangladesh," Vivian Tan, UNHCR Asia regional press officer, told VOA Burmese. "Many of them are arriving in very bad condition. They say that they have walked for days. They have not eaten food since they left [their] homes. Many of them say they have been surviving on water they can find. They are in very bad physical condition."

Tan said that two official refugee camps in Bangladesh are stretched beyond their limits, with arrivals increasing every day.

"Basically, there is no physical space left to accept more [refugees]," Tan said.

News Story: Moon says will not tolerate additional provocation from N. Korea

South Korean President Moon Jae-in

SEOUL, Sept. 4 (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in urged North Korea to immediately halt all its provocations Monday, saying his country will not tolerate anymore.

"President Moon said the country will not overlook any additional provocation from now while expressing his intention to take punitive measures under cooperation with the international community, including the most powerful sanctions and pressure, stressing the need for strong and practical measures that North Korea can feel keenly," the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said of Moon's telephone talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

The conversation between the two leaders came one day after the communist North staged its latest and possibly the most powerful nuclear test so far.

It also came at the request of the German leader, who wanted to personally hear about the "shocking news" from the South Korean president and express the support of her country, as well as the European Union, for South Korea, according to Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Park Soo-hyun.

Read the full story at YonhapNews

News Story: Pakistan Calls For Limited Contact With US

By Samim Faramarz

Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif has called on Islamabad to postpone any visits by US delegations to Pakistan or by Pakistani officials to the United States.

He called for all bilateral talks and visits to be suspended and to call off ground and air lines of communication. 

Asif made the remarks in a National Assembly session on Wednesday where members of the lower house condemned US President Donald Trump's remarks on Pakistan’s involvement in the war in Afghanistan.

“The National Assembly regards President Turmp’s and General Nicholson’s statements on Pakistan as hostile and threatening and calls on the government of Pakistan to express the determination of people of Pakistan to protect Pakistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” he said.

Read the full story at TOLOnews

News Story: Japan, Britain to expand security ties amid N. Korea threat

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his British counterpart Theresa May agreed Thursday their countries will strengthen security cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region, citing the threat from North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile development.

They also confirmed that Japan and Britain will form a "new economic partnership" in light of the latter's withdrawal from the European Union, but did not make a clear commitment to the kind of two-way trade pact London is likely seeking.

Describing North Korea as a "global threat, including to Europe" following the launch on Tuesday of a ballistic missile across Japan, Abe told a joint press conference after the talks that he and May agreed to seek a greater role from China, which has economic ties to the North.

According to a joint statement announced after the meeting, Japan and Britain will work together and with other countries "to strengthen pressure against North Korea, including by increasing the pace of sanctions implementation and working towards the adoption of a new and effective resolution" at the U.N. Security Council.

Read the full story at The Mainichi

Think Tank: Sea, air, land and space updates (1-Aug-2017)

Jack Viola, Eliza Chapman, Jacqueline Westermann and Harley Comrie

Sea state

This year’s parades and celebrations for Russia’s annual Navy Day had a distinctly global feel. Events were held across Russia, and even at the Syrian port of Tartus. The celebrations aim to ‘revive the tradition started by Peter the Great’. The main event was held in St Petersburg, and included three Chinese ships. Those ships had recently conducted joint live-fire drills with their Russian counterparts in the Baltic. In response to Western concerns about the drills, Chinese news agency Xinhua has said the West needs to ‘take a chill pill’.

The Indian government has released a request for information (RFI) to six international companies as part of a program to build six new submarines. India’s comptroller and auditor general recently released a damning report (PDF) on the state of the country’s navy. Of particular concern was the state of its submarines, which the report claims were fitted with only one periscope due to bureaucratic failings, severely diminishing their effectiveness. The RFI comes amid heightened tensions with China arising from its increasing assertiveness in the Indian Ocean.

News Story: New EU Strategy on Afghanistan To Support Peace, Prosperity

The High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and the European Commission have set a proposal for a new EU strategy on Afghanistan that is “in support of peace and prosperity” in the country, according to an EU statement.

“Today, the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and the European Commission have set out their vision for how the European Union can support Afghanistan both to address its challenges and to bring about positive change for the Afghan people,” the statement said.

It said that in recent years, Afghanistan has been confronted with a number of challenges that threaten the progress made in its economic and social development and its democratic institutions.

“The European Union recognizes that the delicate security situation and the fragile economic situation the country is facing, combined with a clear determination on the part of the Afghan authorities to implement much-needed reforms necessitates renewed attention from the international community,” according to the statement.

"The Afghan people deserve peace and prosperity. As the European Union, we have been standing by them and will continue to do so, in support of the reform process, of Afghanistan's democratic path, of the rule of law and human rights, and of bringing peace to the country, to the benefit not only of all Afghans but also of the entire region and the international community as a whole,” Federica Mogherini, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission, said.

Read the full story at TOLOnews

News Story: Vietnam attends chiefs of defence conference on UN peacekeeping

New York (VNA) – A high-ranking delegation of the Vietnam People’s Army attended the Chiefs of Defence Conference on United Nations peacekeeping in New York, the US, on July 6-7.

Sen. Lt. Gen. Pham Ngoc Minh, Deputy Chief of the army’s General Staff and deputy head of the Vietnamese defence ministry’s steering board for participation in UN peacekeeping, led the Vietnamese delegation to the event.

The conference was attended by heads of the defence force from more than 140 UN member countries which engage in peacekeeping activities, along with representatives of such organisations as the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), the European Union, and the African Union.

In his opening remarks, UN Under-Secretary-General Jean-Pierre Lacroix highly valued substantial contributions by countries volunteering peacekeepers, including Vietnam, to the peace stabilisation, war consequences settlement, humanitarian aid to refugees, and environmental protection.

He stressed the need for higher unanimity in the UN member countries’ resolve to cope with existing urgent issues that affect the future of peacekeeping operations such as field assistance, women’s role, swift force deployment, and some measures for improving the efficiency of the peacekeeping force.

Read the full story at VietnamPlus

News Story: EU providing P49-M aid to Marawi evacuees

By Richmond Mercurio

MANILA, Philippines - Nearly two months since the Duterte administration decided not to accept new funds from the European Union (EU), the European Commission yesterday announced it is providing 850,000 euros or about P49 million in humanitarian aid to the country to support victims of the conflict in Marawi City.

The funding is seen to benefit over 50,000 people affected by the ongoing fighting between the Armed Forces and Islamist militants who have taken over parts of the city. 

“The unprecedented violence in Marawi has caused tens of thousands of families to flee, leaving everything behind. This has triggered a sharp increase in humanitarian needs as many of the displaced people are currently deprived of fundamental means to sustain their day-to-day lives,” said Pedro-Luis Rojo, head of the East, Southeast Asia and Pacific Regional office for the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO).

“This grant from the EU will support the delivery of immediate life-saving assistance to those most in need and contribute to increased protection of populations affected by the conflict,” he added.

The EU funding, which will be channeled through the Commission’s ECHO, will focus on the provision of crucial support including food, water supply, healthcare, hygiene kits, sanitation facilities and essential household items as well as ensuring improved protection for those of concern.

Local business chambers led by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry are also donating P1.65 million in cash in addition to relief goods for Marawi city evacuees.

Read the full story at PhilStar

News Story: Southeast Asia anti-terror efforts must start in Marawi

By Patricia Lourdes Viray

MANILA, Philippines — The Southeast Asia region must deepen counter-terror efforts as ISIS-inspired local terror groups lay siege in Mindanao, particularly in Marawi City, an analyst said.

Elliot Brennan, a research fellow at the Institute for Security and Development Policy's Asia Program in Sweden, said the siege in Marawi City must serve as a lesson for the whole region.

On May 23, President Rodrigo Duterte declared martial law and suspended the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus in Mindanao following a clash between government forces and the Maute group.

Brennan noted that the failure of the Armed Forces of the Philippines to act on the Maute group's attack on Marawi despite intelligence report was negligent.

"Its failings since - such as to apprehend the Malay financier of the Marawi campaign, to stop the escape of Hapilon, or simply to quell the insurgency - show a worrying lack of capacity," Brennan said in an article published by Sydney-based Lowy Institute for International Policy.

The policy analyst noted that the fight in Marawi is not actually about the city since many of the militants and funding are from abroad, taking the conflict to a global narrative.

The key to addressing this issue on the regional level would be a disaggregation, delinking and dismantling of militants from around the world.

Read the full story at PhilStar

News Story: In blow to Britain, UN votes to seek legal opinion on Chagos (Diego Garcia) fate

Diego Garcia (Image: Wiki Commons)

By Carole LANDRY

In a diplomatic blow to Britain, the United Nations voted Thursday to ask the International Court of Justice to rule on the fate of the British-ruled Chagos islands, which host an important military base.

The Indian Ocean archipelago has been at the center of a decades-long dispute over Britain's decision to separate it from Mauritius in 1965 and set up a joint military base with the US on Diego Garcia, the largest of the islands.

The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution presented by Mauritius and backed by African countries asking the ICJ to offer an opinion on the island chain's fate.

The measure was approved by a vote of 94-15 with 65 abstentions, notably from many European countries including Germany and France.

The vote was seen as a test of Britain's ability to rally support at the United Nations from fellow Europeans after it voted to leave the European Union.

Read the full story at SpaceDaily

News Story: Ghani Revises Death Toll To Over 150 In Truck Bombing

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani
(Image: Wiki Commons)

President Ashraf Ghani on Tuesday revised the death toll from Wednesday’s deadly truck bombing, and put the total killed at over 150.

Speaking at the start of the Kabul Process peace meeting in the capital, Ghani said: “Six days ago, thirteen brave Afghan policemen gave their lives to stop a sewerage truck packed with military grade explosives from entering the diplomatic compound, a direct violation of Geneva accords.

“The massive blast tore through the heart of Kabul.  But thanks to their unflinching sacrifice, nobody from the diplomatic community was killed.

“But over 150 entirely innocent Afghan sons and daughters were killed and more than three hundred were brought to hospital with burns, lacerations, and amputations,” he said.

After observing a minute’s silence for victims of recent attacks in Kabul and the UK, Ghani said: “We are gathered here in Kabul today to express solidarity against terror and to begin the difficult process of defining a pathway that can lead to peace.”

Read the full story at TOLOnews

News Story: Afghanistan to host int'l conference on security, reconciliation on June 6 - diplomat

ISLAMABAD, May 29 (Xinhua) -- Afghanistan will hold an international conference on peace, security and reconciliation next week at a time when Taliban insurgents have intensified attacks and killed dozens of policemen over the past few days, a senior Afghan diplomat said here on Monday.

Zardasht Shams, deputy head of the Mission at the Afghan Embassy in Islamabad, said over 20 countries have been invited to the conference in Kabul on June 6.

"The Kabul Process meeting will be held by the instructions of President (Ashraf Ghani) to bring various processes or meetings on Afghanistan under one umbrella," Shams told Xinhua.

He said that anti-terrorism cooperation is also one of the key issues to be discussed by senior diplomats and officials from these countries.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Story: Japan, Malta leaders affirm importance of rule of law at sea

VALLETTA (Kyodo) -- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Maltese counterpart Joseph Muscat affirmed on Saturday the importance of the rule of law at sea in a meeting in Malta amid concerns about the situation in the East and South China seas.

The affirmation in their talks held during the first visit by a sitting Japanese premier to the Mediterranean island nation comes as Japan and some other Asian countries remain concerned about China's expansionary activities in the East and South China seas.

China has made claims to much of the South China Sea, as well as to the uninhabited Senkaku Islands administered by Japan in the East China Sea.

In Malta, the International Maritime Law Institute operates under the United Nations' International Maritime Organization to train specialists in maritime law.

Read the full story at The Mainichi

News Story: ASEAN, partners to enhance cooperation in combating transnational crime

VIENTIANE, May 24 (Xinhua) -- Members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and dialogue partners on Wednesday committed to enhance their cooperation efforts in combating transnational crimes in a bid to maintain security at and across borders in the region.

The 17th Senior Officials Meeting on Transnational Crime (SOMTC) and its related meetings kicked off Wednesday in Lao capital Vientiane in support of ASEAN-centered regional and international cooperation efforts.

The meeting was attended by delegates from 10 ASEAN member countries and dialogue partners including China, Japan, South Korea, India, the European Union, Australia, New Zealand, Russia, Canada and the United States.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Story: Palace decision on EU gets mixed reviews

MANILA, Philippines - The Palace decision to reject new aid from the European Union yesterday drew both praise and scorn from lawmakers and some groups.

Senate allies of the President lauded the move as a step in the right direction and not in any way a severance of ties with the EU.

“When we say we do not accept aid, it only means that we are trying to be self-reliant and we are no longer dependent,” Sen. Richard Gordon said.

“Self reliance means we have a credible defense –air and sea – that can protect our territory. That’s the only way we get respect from the world,” he added.

Gordon said that the move of the government does not mean parting ways with EU and that the designation of former Senate president Edgardo Angara as the President’s special envoy to the EU is “evidence of the high regard the government has for its relationship with Europe.”

“It doesn’t mean throwing Europe away. In fact, they should respect that we’re aiming for self-reliance. As this will earn Philippines self-dignity,” he said.

Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, chairman of the Senate committee on economic affairs, said that the loss of some P13 billion in development aid from the EU is “a price the Philippines can afford to pay in pursuit of truly independent foreign and economic policies.”

He emphasized that the decision does not mean the Philippines is cutting its economic ties with the EU.

Read the full story at PhilStar