Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

TAIPEI, Aug 15 (Reuters) - Taiwan's defence ministry said on Tuesday it has not seen large-scale exercises or any other action by the Chinese military near the island after China condemned a brief U.S. visit by Taiwan Vice President William Lai.

China on Sunday denounced Lai's U.S. stopover on his way to Paraguay, saying that he was a separatist and "troublemaker through and through", and that it would take strong steps to protect its sovereignty.

TOKYO, Aug 15 (Reuters) - As the yen slid past 145 per dollar with barely a murmur from Japanese policymakers during recent days, suspicion grew that they won't be as quick to order intervention as they were last year as they now reap some benefits from a weaker currency.

Surging exports helped economic growth hit 6% on an annualised basis in the second quarter, and lower global oil prices have helped keep a lid on the import bill.

TOKYO, Aug 15 (Reuters) - Nearly 900 flights in Japan were cancelled and 240,000 people were ordered to move to safety as a slow-moving typhoon made landfall early on Tuesday, cutting off power to tens of thousands of homes.

Typhoon Lan, approaching from the Pacific Ocean, made landfall at the southern tip of Wakayama prefecture, some 400 km (250 miles) southwest of Tokyo, lashing much of central and western Japan with heavy rain and powerful winds.

Authorities issued flood and landslide warnings, and some tornadoes formed.

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Four Australian tourists and two Indonesians were rescued after being missing for two days in the waters off Indonesia’s Aceh province, officials and the father of one of the Australians said Tuesday.

Peter Foote, the father of Elliot Foote, who had traveled to Indonesia to celebrate his 30th birthday with friends, said he received a text message from his son saying he is okay.

TOKYO (AP) — A strong tropical storm lashed central and western Japan with heavy rain and high winds Tuesday, causing flooding and power blackouts and paralyzing air and ground transportation while many people were traveling for a Buddhist holiday week.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s president called for deeper security cooperation with the U.S. and Japan to address North Korean nuclear threats, saying Tuesday that his upcoming summit with the U.S. and Japanese leaders at Camp David will “set a new milestone in trilateral cooperation.”

SEOUL, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) -- Kim Jong Un, top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), inspected some major munitions factories on Friday and Saturday, and urged the country's armed forces to step up war preparations, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported Monday.

During the inspection, Kim asked the tactical missile factory to drastically boost its existing capacity, and urged the factory that produces tactical missile transporter-erector-launchers to speed up the production of modern and highly efficient launching vehicles, said the report.

PHNOM PENH, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) -- The Cambodian Mine Action Center (CMAC) experts have recovered more than 2,000 pieces of war-era unexploded ordnance (UXO) buried on a school campus in northeastern Kratie province, a mine clearance chief said on Monday.

"Within a three-day period of operations on Aug. 11-13 at the Queen Kosamak High School in Kratie province, CMAC's Remnants of War team has cleared 2,116 pieces of unexploded ordinances as the remnants of war," CMAC's director-general Heng Ratana told Xinhua.

BEIJING (AP) — Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu is visiting Russia and Belarus in a show of support for those nations which the West has sought to isolate over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Li departed Monday on the six-day trip, during which he will deliver an address at the Moscow Conference on International Security and meet with defense leaders from Russia and other nations, the Defense Ministry said on its social media account, citing spokesperson Col. Wu Qian.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un again toured major munitions factories and ordered a drastic increase in production of missiles and other weapons, state media said Monday, as the South Korean and U.S. militaries announced they will begin major drills next week to hone their joint capability against the North’s evolving nuclear threats.

Kim’s push to produce more weapons also comes as U.S. officials believe Russia’s defense minister recently talked with North Korea about selling more weapons to Russia for its war with Ukraine.