Asia-Pacific Archives

Taiwan wants progress to be accelerated on a long-stalled bilateral investment agreement with the European Union, the island's President Tsai Ing-wen said on Tuesday (20 December).

If the EU raises the bar on animal welfare for livestock farmed within the bloc, equivalent rules must be applied to imported products to keep domestic producers competitive, several national ministers have warned.

With changed geopolitical realities, the EU and ASEAN should move closer together to tackle evolving crises and bolster multilateral approaches, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, current chairman of the Southeast Asian union, told EURACTIV ahead of the two blocs' first joint summit.

The European Union and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meet for their first summit on Wednesday to deepen economic ties, with European leaders pressing for firm, shared language critical of Russia.

German automakers and Asian battery suppliers are getting together in Hungary in a multi-billion-dollar marriage of convenience to drive their electric ambitions.

European motorists could find Russian diesel in their tanks even after bans take effect because regulators lack tools to trace the origin of fuel when it has passed through other countries.

The EU on Wednesday (7 December) escalated disputes with China to the WTO, requesting panels be assembled to hear cases over trade restrictions on Lithuania and on legal recourses for EU patent holders.

Russia's defence ministry has said it has deployed mobile coastal defence missile systems on a northern Kuril island - part of a strategically located chain of islands that stretch between Japan and the Russian Kamchatka Peninsula.

As India takes over the G20 presidency, Prime Minister Narendra Modi describes its challenges and priorities, based on promoting fairness and harmony throughout the world, under the slogan 'One Earth, One Family, One Future'.

Berlin and Brussels say they are ready to respond to the growing global challenge posed by dedicated industrial policies now favoured by major powers, like America's Inflation Reduction Act.

A boat believed to be carrying hundreds of migrants was safely towed to the Greek island of Crete on Tuesday (22 November) after a dramatic rescue complicated by near gale-force winds, the coastguard said.

The EU must avoid creating new 'dependencies' and offer an alternative to partner countries as it reshapes its diplomatic approach after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the bloc's chief diplomat Josep Borrell told EURACTIV.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has offered a preview of "a possible world of tyranny and turmoil," US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Saturday (19 November) in a speech to a security forum in Canada.

The year 2022 saw a significant strengthening of ties between South Korea and Poland, thanks to major arms deals and a Korean firm contracted to build a nuclear power plant in Poland - with a touch of 'kimchi diplomacy'.

Asia-Pacific leaders gathered in Bangkok on Friday (18 November) for a summit to focus on economic woes but their schedule was disrupted by a North Korean suspected intercontinental ballistic missile test while police fired rubber bullets to disperse protesters.

The EU and several G20 governments pledged $20 billion to help Indonesia phase out coal, its main energy source, according to a joint declaration signed on the sidelines of the G20 summit Tuesday (15 November).

Indian refiners are wary of buying Russia crude oil loading after 5 December when European Union sanctions take effect, pending clarity on the proposed G7 price cap mechanism, according to sources familiar with the refiners' crude purchase plans.

Leaders of the Group of 20 (G20) nations deplored Russia's aggression in Ukraine "in the strongest terms" on Wednesday (16 November) and demanded its unconditional withdrawal in a declaration adopted at the end of a two-day summit.

US Vice President Kamala Harris will visit the Philippine islands of Palawan on the edge of the disputed South China Sea, a senior official said on 15 November, in a move that may be interpreted by Beijing as a rebuke.

A joint railway project between Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan is gaining momentum as it could open up international trade routes, but some caution against collaborating with Taliban-controlled Afghanistan considering ongoing human rights abuses and the introduction of Sharia law.

Leaders of the Group of 20 (G20) nations opened talks on 15 November on the island of Bali, with a plea by host Indonesia for concrete action to mend the global economy despite deep rifts over the war in Ukraine.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden met on 14 November for long-awaited talks that come as bilateral relations are at their lowest in decades, marred by disagreements over a host of issues from Taiwan to trade.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping will arrive on the Indonesian island of Bali on 14 November for a long-awaited meeting with US President Joe Biden, ahead of a G20 summit set to be fraught with tension over Russia's war in Ukraine.

US President Joe Biden said on Wednesday (9 November) he thinks Twitter boss Elon Musk's relationships with other countries is worthy of being looked at.