Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

TOKYO, June 25 (Xinhua) -- Japan on Friday ratified the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the world's biggest free trade agreement, which comprises 15 Asia-Pacific countries including China and 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Foreign Ministry said.

The ministry, as reported by local media, said Tokyo deposited its ratification instrument with the ASEAN Secretariat. In doing so Japan has become the third member toward the enforcement of RCEP.

BEIJING, June 25 (Xinhua) -- Deep Sea No.1, China's first self-operated 1,500-meter deep-water gas field, started production on Friday, according to the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC).

The operation of the gas field, 150 km off the city of Sanya in south China's island province of Hainan, marks the country's capability of ultra deep-water drilling for oil and gas, compared with the 300-meter depth previously, said the CNOOC.

Beijing, Jun 25 (PTI) China on Friday operationalised its first fully electrified bullet train in the remote Himalayan region of Tibet, connecting the provincial capital Lhasa and Nyingchi, a strategically located Tibetan border town close to Arunachal Pradesh.

The 435.5-km Lhasa-Nyingchi section of the Sichuan-Tibet Railway has been inaugurated ahead of the centenary celebrations of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) on July 1.

TOKYO (AP) — Global shares mostly rose Friday, buoyed by a rally on Wall Street that came after U.S. President Joe Biden announced a bipartisan deal on infrastructure spending.

France’s CAC 40 shed 0.2% to 6,620.26 in early trading, while Germany’s DAX slipped 0.2% to 15,562.46. Britain’s FTSE 100 edged up 0.2% to 7,121.87. U.S. shares were set to drift higher with Dow futures up 0.2% at 34,159. S&P 500 futures gained nearly 0.1% to 4,258.62.

HONG KONG (AP) — China on Friday promoted Hong Kong’s top security official to the territory’s No. 2 spot as Beijing looks to the administration of the Asian financial hub to clamp down on free speech and political opposition.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam said Secretary for Security John Lee would replace Matthew Cheung as the city’s chief secretary, while police chief Chris Tang would take over Lee’s role. Raymond Siu Chak-yee, Tang’s deputy, will take over as head of the police force.

23 June 2021; MEMO: Authorities in Uzbekistan are once again restricting and controlling the practise of Islam after some years of easing its previous hard-line policy towards non-state sanctioned interpretations.

According to a report on Sunday by RFE/RL, the government has in recent months recalled around 1,500 students of Islamic studies in Egypt and Turkey.

BEIJING, June 24 (APP): India’s increasing military deployment and encroaching on China’s territory is root cause of tension on Sino-Indian border, Chinese Foreign Ministry’s Spokesperson, Zhao Lijian said.

Zhao said during his regular briefing while responding to Indian foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar’s statement in which he said China’s military deployment along the border with India and uncertainty over whether Beijing will fulfill its promise on troop reductions remains “a challenge” for relations between the two neighbours.

BEIJING, June 24 (APP): Chinese enterprises donated oxygen concentrators and face masks to bolster Pakistan’s capacity in its ongoing efforts to combat Covid-19 pandemic at a ceremony held at the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC) here on Thursday.

The donation ceremony was especially organised to mark the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between Pakistan and China which is being celebrated this year.

TAIPEI, June 24 (Reuters) - The United States no longer sees Taiwan as a problem in its relations with China, but as an opportunity to promote a free and open Indo-Pacific, a senior U.S. diplomat said on Thursday.

Like most nations, the United States has no formal diplomatic ties with the Chinese-claimed island, but is its most important international backer, to Beijing's anger, and President Joe Biden's administration has moved to restate that support.

BANGKOK (AP) — British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab met with business leaders and officials in Singapore on Thursday as he wrapped up a three-nation trip to Southeast Asia aimed at strengthening his country’s ties to the region.

Raab’s trip to Vietnam, Cambodia and Singapore is part of a policy “tilt” toward the Indo-Pacific region recommended by a recent British government review of defense and foreign policy in response to China’s growing influence on the world stage.