Latest news with #rulesbasedorder
CNA
a day ago
- General
- CNA
If Singapore has to pick a side, it will choose principles: Chan Chun Sing
Singapore Defence Minister Chan Chun Sing says the country will not take sides amid rising geopolitical tensions and rivalries. Instead, the island-state will stand by principles that uphold a rules-based global order and safeguard its national interests. Aslam Shah has more.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
EU sees China-Russia threat as greatest challenge in world
European leaders travelled to Asia with a key message this week: they must work more closely together to preserve the rules-based order from threats from China and Russia. Source: European Pravda; Bloomberg Details: Kaja Kallas, the European Union's top diplomat, and French President Emmanuel Macron have highlighted the link between Russia's war against Ukraine and Russia's deepening relations with China in a series of speeches in Southeast Asia in recent days. "It is the greatest challenge of our time," Kallas said on Saturday at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Asia's top forum for defence leaders, military officers and diplomats. "When China and Russia speak of leading together changes not seen in a hundred years and of revisions of the global security order, we should all be extremely worried," Kallas added. Kallas accused China of facilitating Russia's war machine, saying that 80% of the dual-use goods used to fight Ukraine come from the world's second-largest economy. She recalled that US Secretary of Defence Pete Hagel warned of the threat from China to the rest of Asia and said that Russia should also be a major concern. "If you are worried about China, you should be worried about Russia," Kallas said. Western officials accuse China of supplying Russia with critical technologies, including drones, while claiming that both countries are involved in cyberattacks, acts of sabotage and dangerous activities related to infrastructure, such as deep-sea cables. Background: Kallas called on European and Asian partners to cooperate to combat secret shadow tanker fleets and review maritime security laws. Emmanuel Macron warned China of a potentially stronger NATO presence in Asia if it does not take additional measures to stop North Korea from engaging in war against Ukraine. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
Japan Times
3 days ago
- Politics
- Japan Times
Nakatani urges closer defense tie-ups amid erosion of rules-based order
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani called Saturday for closer defense cooperation among like-minded partners in the Indo-Pacific region in order to strengthen the global rules-based order and — in an implicit criticism of China — act as a counter to countries seeking to erode the status quo. The Japanese defense chief used a speech before scores of his counterparts and military brass in Singapore at the Shangri-La Dialogue, Asia's leading security conference, to push for closer cooperation and coordination, 'while ensuring openness, inclusiveness and transparency, with an aim of restoring a rules-based international order in the Indo-Pacific region, strengthening accountability and promoting the international public good.' Nakatani said the need to unite on defense cooperation was clear, pointing to Russia's invasion of Ukraine — a violation of the U.N. charter — and Beijing's moves in the disputed South China Sea, including its decision to openly ignore a 2016 international arbitral tribunal ruling that dismissed the country's claim to most of the strategic waterway. Without directly naming China, Nakatani had strong words for Beijing and the precedent it has attempted to set in the South China Sea and by quickly building up its military forces and dispatching them to flash points, such as in the waters and airspace near Taiwan and Japan. 'There is a serious disregard for accountability,' Nakatani said. 'In the South China Sea, the very country that previously declared it had no intention of militarizing the area is rapidly advancing militarization. Additionally, there has been a sharp increase in military buildup, including nuclear forces lacking transparency, and provocative military activities in the region. 'This poses a significant obstacle to maintaining trust in the defense arena,' he said. Pointing to rising numbers of state-sponsored cyberattacks as well as repeated attempts to damage undersea cables crucial for communications and economic livelihoods, Nakatani also appeared to direct his fire at Beijing, saying that "some countries that do not share common values and interests are willing to attack the foundations of our society and economy for their own interests." Chinese-backed hackers are said to have been behind a number of cyberattacks on Japan, the U.S. and others, while Chinese-flagged ships have damaged or cut undersea cables in the Baltic Sea and near Taiwan. In response to these moves, Tokyo has ramped up defense cooperation and coordination with scores of countries both in the region and further afield — and has pledged to do even more. Unveiling Japan's new OCEAN (One Cooperative Effort Among Nations) initiative during his speech, Nakatani said that even more like-minded nations could work together, 'taking a comprehensive view of the Indo-Pacific region as a whole.' 'Now is the time for countries to join hands under OCEAN, engage in dialogue, and work to restore, rather than dissolve, the rules-based international order; to realize, rather than ignore, accountability; and to promote, rather than undermine, the international public good,' he said. But Nakatani also echoed French President Emmanuel Macron, who a day earlier opened the conference with a speech focused on the need to maintain a degree of 'strategic autonomy' at a time when the United States and China have demanded that countries pick a side in their growing rivalry. While saying that the Japan-U.S. alliance 'will continue to be the cornerstone of peace and prosperity in the region and the world,' Nakatani also appeared to hint at the need for Tokyo to carefully calibrate its relationships, including its ties with Washington. 'There is a healthy and growing caution against excessive dependence on a single country that does not share common values and interests,' Nakatani said. 'Maintaining an appropriate level of strategic autonomy is an important foundation for maintaining stable relations in the defense field.' These tacit remarks come as Japan grapples with how best to secure its interests in the face of U.S. President Donald Trump's unpredictable approach to foreign policy. Japan has not been spared his wrath as Trump slapped both friends and foes alike with onerous tariffs while simultaneously calling long-standing alliances unfair, including Washington's security pact with Tokyo. The European Union's top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, who spoke during the same panel discussion as Nakatani, also doubled down on the need for deepened cooperation, reiterating former Prime Minster Fumio Kishida's mantra that 'Ukraine today could be East Asia tomorrow.' Pointing to alleged Chinese shipments of dual-use products to Russia for its war in Ukraine and the deployment of thousands of North Korean soldiers for the same conflict, Kallas said that the security of Europe 'is very much interlinked' with Asia, and that defense cooperation is crucial. 'If you think that you can just focus on one region because it doesn't concern you, then I think ... you are on the wrong track,' she said. 'We can only address these big global concerns if we act together,' she added. Nakatani, for his part, welcomed the involvement of European countries, as well as NATO, in the Indo-Pacific region, expressing his intention to beef up cooperation. But, asked following his speech how the OCEAN concept related to Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's idea of an 'Asian NATO,' Nakatani was coy, reiterating only that it is continuing to be discussed within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
Bloomberg
3 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Europe Sees China-Russia Threat as World's ‘Greatest Challenge'
European leaders headed to Asia this week with a key message: We need to work closer together to preserve the rules-based order against threats from China and Russia. Kaja Kallas, the European Union's top diplomat, and French President Emmanuel Macron emphasized the links between Vladimir Putin's war against Ukraine and Russia's deepening relationship with China during a range of appearances in Southeast Asia in recent days.
Bloomberg
6 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
China Talks of Unity, But Beijing Always Comes First
For all China's pledges of unity with Asian nations on trade, its actions in the South China Sea tell a different story — one where Beijing's interests always come at the expense of its neighbors. The world's second-largest economy regularly positions itself as the champion of the rules-based order. That argument has been easier to make in the face of Donald Trump's trade war. The US president's ' Liberation Day ' tariffs hit Southeast Asia particularly hard, with Vietnam and Cambodia seeing rates of 46% and 49%, respectively.
