ASIA TODAY Jakarta, 7.4 magnitude earthquake, no deaths or major damage

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Today’s headlines: US Secretary of State Blinken pledges to strengthen ties with Southeast Asia against “Beijing’s aggressive actions, Pakistan invites Afghanistan to OIC summit, China sends 1 million vaccines to Nicaragua, Japan protests against US military base in Henoko.”

Indonesia

There was a 7.4 magnitude earthquake that triggered a tsunami warning this morning in Indonesia, which was later lifted by the Meteorological Department. There have been no reports so far of injuries or serious damage.

USA – Indonesia

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken pledged that Washington would strengthen ties with Southeast Asia in an effort to counter Chinese power. According to his statements, the United States will also enhance (military) cooperation with the Indo-Pacific countries in response to Beijing’s “aggressive measures”.

Singapore

Dixon Yu Jun Wei is a Singaporean citizen who spent 14 months in a US prison last year on charges of spying for China. On his return to Singapore, he was arrested again and then released after the city’s Department of Homeland Security made it clear that he posed no threat.

Pakistan – Afghanistan

Pakistan has invited the “Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan” to the summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to be held in Islamabad on December 19. An Afghan foreign ministry official said the meeting’s agenda would focus on “the economy, the banking system and the normalization of relations between the two countries.” Afghanistan’s relations with the world.

China

After severing ties with Taiwan, Nicaragua received one million vaccines from China. And local media showed footage of an AirChina plane that arrived in the Central American country, carrying 200,000 first doses of Sinopharm.

Japan

Demonstrators in Okinawa protested the relocation of a US military base in the Henoko region by rowing canoes and small boats off the coast. The prefectural governor faced a long legal battle against the central government in Tokyo, but the transfer is part of an agreement between the United States and Japan that was signed after three American soldiers raped a 12-year-old girl near Futenma (where the base was). Now located) in 1995.

Russia

The Russian security services (FSB) announced that they had arrested 106 neo-Nazi terrorists, belonging to the Ukrainian group MKB (“Murder Cult Maniacs”, who were planning attacks in 37 regions of Russia. And seized weapons and explosives in large quantities from the detainees. The group was founded In 2017 by Ukrainian citizen Igor Krasnov, born in 2000, it is widespread in many former Soviet countries, and claims the theory called “acceleration”, which uses genocide to accelerate the extinction of the human race.

Israel – United Arab Emirates

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett met the Crown Prince of the United Arab Emirates, Mohammed bin Zayed, in Abu Dhabi, and the talks focused on discussions of trade relations between the two countries. The Jewish state aims to maintain international sanctions against Iran, of which the UAE is an important trading partner.

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