Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

BEIJING, Aug 29 (NNN-AGENCIES) — UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly will visit China this week, Beijing’s foreign ministry said.

During the Wednesday visit, “the two sides will have in-depth communication on China-UK relations and on international and regional issues of shared concern”, foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin told a regular briefing.

“It is hoped that the UK side will work alongside China in upholding a spirit of mutual respect, conduct in-depth exchanges, enhance understanding, and promote the stable development of China-UK relations,” he added.

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 29 (NNN-Bernama) — Malaysia needs to focus on the importance of international collaborations in expediting the energy transition initiative as collective efforts could drive positive change for a cleaner and more sustainable future, said Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

He said by working together, the collective strengths can be leveraged to accelerate the deployment of renewable technologies, the development of innovative energy storage solutions, and the enhancement of energy efficiency practices.  

TAIPEI, Aug 29 (Reuters) - Taiwan's defence ministry warned on Tuesday of a possible "sharp increase" in military tensions after reporting renewed Chinese military activity including fighter jets crossing the sensitive median line of the Taiwan Strait.

Democratically governed Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory, has complained for three years of increased military pressure from Beijing, mostly in the form of China's air force flying near the island.

TOKYO, Aug 29 (Reuters) - Japan threatened on Tuesday to take China to the World Trade Organization (WTO) to seek a reversal of Beijing's ban on all of its seafood imports after the release of treated radioactive water from the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters that Japan would take "necessary action (on China's aquatic product ban) under various routes including the WTO framework".

SEOUL, Aug. 29 (Xinhua) -- Kim Jong Un, top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), has instructed the Korean People's Army (KPA) Navy to rapidly develop its fighting capacity and make an all-out effort to get combat-ready, the official Korean Central News Agency reported Tuesday.

Kim made the instructions during his congratulatory visit to the KPA Navy Command on Sunday, one day before the country's Navy Day, in a high-profile move to celebrate the occasion and raise the morale of the country's naval force, said the report.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for his military to be constantly ready for combat to thwart its rivals’ plots to invade his country, state media said Tuesday, as the U.S., South Korea and Japan held a trilateral naval exercise to deal with North Korea’s evolving nuclear threats.

The U.S. and South Korean militaries have been separately holding summer bilateral exercises since last week. North Korea views such U.S.-involved training as an invasion rehearsal, though Washington and its partners maintain their drills are defensive.

BEIJING (AP) — The top Chinese official in charge of economic relations with Washington told Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo on Tuesday he was ready to “make new positive efforts” to improve cooperation following an agreement to reduce trade tension by launching groups to discuss export controls and other commercial disputes.

BEIJING, Aug 28 (NNN-PRENSA LATINA) — China and El Salvador strengthen collaboration in infrastructure construction and educational exchange while evaluating new opportunities for cooperation.

The ambassador of El Salvador, Aldo Álvarez, stressed in an interview with Prensa Latina the solid relationship and the good state of the political dialogues between the two countries, despite the short time of bilateral ties.

BEIJING, Aug 28 (Reuters) - U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo discussed concerns about restrictions on American businesses including Intel (INTC.O) and Micron (MU.O) with Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao on Monday in a meeting where the two countries also agreed to launch an export control enforcement information dialogue.

The pair also discussed China's restrictions on gallium and germanium exports in wide-ranging and candid talks that lasted more than two hours, followed by a two-hour lunch, according to a brief comments from Raimondo and the Commerce Department.

OKUMA, Japan (AP) — At a small section of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant’s central control room, the treated water transfer switch is on. A graph on a computer monitor nearby shows a steady decrease of water levels as treated radioactive wastewater is diluted and released into the Pacific Ocean.