Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

BEIJING (AP) — Construction activity appeared underway on both the Indian and Chinese sides of a contested border high in the Karakoram mountains a week after a deadly clash in the area left 20 Indian soldiers dead, satellite images showed.

The images released this week by Maxar, a Colorado-based satellite imagery company, show new construction activity along the Galwan River Valley, even as Chinese and Indian diplomats said military commanders had agreed to disengage from a standoff there.

BEIJING (AP) — China has extended COVID-19 tests to newly reopened salons amid a drop in cases, while South Korea continues to face new infections after it eased social distancing rules to lift the economy.

In the U.S., Vice President Mike Pence called off off a planned campaign bus tour in Florida following a surge in confirmed cases there. Hard-hit Italy, meanwhile, registered the lowest day-to-day tally of COVID-19 deaths Saturday in almost three months.

BEIJING, June 27 (APP): A renowned Chinese scholar on Saturday hoped that India would learn from grisly lesson in wake of Galwan Valley clash and would not touch the bottom line of China in any way. If the Indian troops invade Galwan Valley again, the Chinese troops will certainly drive them back.

KUALA LUMPUR, June 27 (NNN-BERNAMA) — The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM) on Friday called on the government to immediately take steps to support the ban on torture under international conventions.

SUHAKAM, in a statement, said the prohibition of torture was enshrined under Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) 1948 and Article 5 of the Federal Constitution of Malaysia.

It said one of the steps needed to be taken is to reduce the detention rate of detainees to overcome congestion in detention centres.

PEKAN, June 27 (NNN-BERNAMA) — The Malaysian government is firm in its stand to stop the entry of Rohingya refugees into the country, said Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob. 

He said the government is maintaining its stand that the best solution is to send them back and the Foreign Ministry has been told to discuss ways to realise the matter.

“We also told the Foreign Ministry to discuss with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) as many countries in the world which talked about humanitarianism are not accepting them.

SEUNUDDON (Indonesia), June 27 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Indonesian fishermen rescued nearly 100 Rohingya refugees, including 79 women and children, in Aceh province after officials said they were planning to push them back out to sea.

Countries around Southeast Asia have grown increasingly reluctant to accept refugee boats as they battle the novel coronavirus, but the Acehnese fishermen said that rescuing the Rohingya was a moral duty.

HANOI (Reuters) - Vietnam and the Philippines warned of growing insecurity in Southeast Asia at a regional summit on Friday amid concerns that China was stepping up its activity in the disputed South China Sea during the coronavirus pandemic.

Both Hanoi and Manila lodged protests with China in April after Beijing unilaterally declared the creation of new administrative districts on islands in the troubled waterways to which Vietnam and the Philippines also have competing claims.

PUTRAJAYA, June 26 (NNN-BERNAMA) — Malaysia’s position regarding the South China Sea has been clear and consistent, with views it should remain a sea of peace and trade, said Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin. 

“Malaysia holds the view that the South China Sea should remain a sea of peace and trade.

“Thus, matters relating to the South China Sea must be resolved peacefully based on universally recognised principles of international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) 1982,” he said. 

TOKYO, June 25 (Xinhua) -- Japan on Thursday partially resumed international flights, with a chartered plane leaving Narita Airport near Tokyo bound for Vietnam.

The flight is the first of three arranged by the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Vietnam and operated by Vietnam Airlines that will depart from Narita Airport from Thursday through Saturday.

The plane departed Japan with 150 passengers aboard, all of whom were provided with protective gowns and face masks for the flight as a measure to help prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Southeast Asian leaders are holding an annual summit Friday by video to show unity and discuss a regional emergency fund to tame the immense crisis wrought by the coronavirus pandemic. The long-divisive South China Sea conflicts are also in the spotlight.

The leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations linked up online due to regional travel restrictions and health risks, which have delayed dozens of meetings and shut out the ceremonial spectacles, group handshakes and photo-ops that have been the trademark of the 10-nation bloc’s annual summits.