China-Russia military cooperation in Asia raises Japan’s concern
STOCKHOLM — Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi expressed concern Saturday about Russian and Chinese military cooperation in Asia and said the security situation in Europe could not be separated from that in the Indo-Pacific region since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Speaking at a meeting of European and Indo-Pacific foreign ministers in Sweden, Hayashi said Russia’s war in Ukraine had “shaken the very foundation of the international order” and must face a united response by the international community.
“Otherwise, similar challenges will arise in other regions and the existing order which has underpinned our peace and prosperity could be fundamentally overturned,” Hayashi said.
Japan firmly backs Ukraine in the war but China says it remains neutral while declaring a “no limits” relationship with Moscow and blaming the U.S. and NATO for provoking the conflict.
Hayashi accused Beijing of “continuing and intensifying its unilateral attempts” to change the status quo in the East and South China seas by force and increasing its military activities around Taiwan.
“In addition, China and Russia are strengthening their military collaboration, including joint flights of their bombers and joint naval exercises in the vicinity of Japan,” Hayashi said.
China, which claims most of the South China Sea as well as Japanese-held islands in the East China Sea, says it has the right to defend its sovereignty and development interests.
Hayashi also warned that North Korea was “escalating provocations” in the region by conducting ballistic missile launches “with a frequency and in a manner that are unprecedented.”
He joined dozens of ministers from the European Union and the IndoPacific region for the meeting just north of the Swedish capital. China was not invited to the talks.
“Since the aggression of Russia to Ukraine, the security situation here in Europe and the security situation in the Pacific are not separable,” Hayashi said as he arrived.
Some of the Indo-Pacific countries, including India and Pakistan, have called for an end to the Ukraine war but stopped short of condemning Russia for it.
NC abortion ban vetoed: In front of an exuberant crowd, North Carolina’s Democratic governor vetoed legislation Saturday that would have banned nearly all abortions in his state after 12 weeks of pregnancy.
About 1,000 abortionrights activists and voters watched in a plaza in the capital, Raleigh, as Gov. Roy Cooper affixed his veto stamp to the bill in an unconventionally public display. The veto launches a major test for leaders of the GOP-controlled General Assembly to attempt an override vote after they recently gained veto-proof majorities in both chambers. The bill was the Republican response to last year’s U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade.
Cooper, a strong abortion-rights supporter, had until Sunday night to act on the measure that tightens current state law, which bans most abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. The legislation passed along party lines last week in the House and Senate. Override voting could begin this week.
Texas tornado death: One person was killed when his mobile home was crushed as a powerful tornado tore through a community near the southern tip of Texas before dawn Saturday, damaging dozens of residences and knocking down power lines, authorities said.
At least 10 others were hospitalized, including two people who were listed in critical condition, said Tom Hushen, the emergency management coordinator for Cameron County. Many residents also suffered cuts and bruises.
The tornado hit at about 4 a.m. as most people were in their homes asleep in the unincorporated community of Laguna Heights, located on the mainland across from South Padre Island, off the Gulf of Mexico. The county has among the highest poverty rates in Texas and is dotted with substandard housing.
South Asia cyclone: Volunteers in Bangladesh’s coastal districts were using loudspeakers to urge people to seek shelter Saturday as the delta nation braced for an extremely severe cyclone, which was expected to slam ashore in Bangladesh and Myanmar within the next day.
U.N. agencies and aid workers prepositioned tons of dry food and dozens of ambulances with mobile medical teams in sprawling refugee camps with more than 1 million Rohingya who fled persecution in Myanmar.
The camps at Cox’s Bazar are in the path of Cyclone Mocha, which was closing in on the coast of southeastern Bangladesh and Myanmar with wind speeds of up to 135 mph and gusts of up to 150 mph, the Indian Meteorological Department said. It’s projected to make landfall Sunday between Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh and Kyaukpyu in Myanmar.
Turkey elections: Turkish politicians held their final rallies on the last hours of campaigning before Saturday, the eve of pivotal presidential and parliamentary elections that could significantly shape the NATO member’s future, before a so-called propaganda ban went into effect.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is facing the toughest challenge ever in his two decades of power, spoke at three neighborhood rallies in Istanbul, Turkey’s biggest city.
His main challenger is Kemal Kilicdaroglu of the pro-secular, center-left CHP or Republican People’s Party, who is the joint candidate of six opposition parties. He held his final rally in the capital, Ankara, on Friday. On Saturday, he and some of his supporters visited the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey and of the CHP.
On Friday, Erdogan dismissed speculation that he wouldn’t cede power if he lost, calling the question “very ridiculous.” In an interview with more than a dozen Turkish broadcasters, Erdogan said he came to power through democracy and would act in line with the democratic process.
Earthquake relief: The Syrian government has agreed to extend by another three months the use of two border crossings with Turkey into the rebel-held northwest that were opened for aid delivery after a deadly earthquake in February, Syrian and U.N. officials said Saturday.
The Feb. 6 earthquake killed more than 50,000 people, including over 6,000 in Syria, according to the United Nations. The quake also displaced hundreds of thousands of people.
Syria’s ambassador to the U.N., Bassam Sabbagh, tweeted that the period was extended based on Syria’s determination to enhance “stability and improve the living and humanitarian” conditions of all Syrians. He added the move also aims to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid to those in need in all of Syria.