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US, Vietnam agree to deepen ties as China worries grow
US President Joe Biden hailed closer ties with Vietnam on Sunday as the two countries struck a deal to deepen cooperation, including on semiconductors, but said he was not aiming to contain China. The "comprehensive strategic partnership" with Hanoi is part of Washington's push to bolster its network of allies around Asia and the Pacific in the face of Beijing's rising influence. Biden accused Beijing of seeking to bend the international order to its will. "One of the things that is going on now is China is beginning to change some of the rules of the game, in terms of trade and other issues," Biden said. Sometimes to Beijing's chagrin, Washington has invested heavily in building alliances as part of its Indo-Pacific strategy, including the Quad security dialogue with India, Australia and Japan, and the AUKUS pact with Britain and Australia. Biden said he wanted establish clear ground rules for relations. "I don't want to contain China. I just want to make sure we have a relationship with China that is on the up and up, squared away, everybody knows what it's all about," he said. Biden flew in to Hanoi straight from a G20 summit that failed to agree to a phase-out of fossil fuels and highlighted deep divisions over the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The US president said he had met Chinese Premier Li Qiang at the G20 -- a meeting the White House had not announced -- and discussed "stability". Semiconductor deal Global supply chain shocks and fears about US reliance on China for strategic resources have further driven the push to boost ties with the likes of Vietnam. The new partnership includes an agreement on semiconductors, with the United States committing to help Vietnam develop its capabilities and expand production. There is also a section on rare earth minerals, which used in the manufacture of high-tech devices such as smartphones and electric car batteries. Vietnam has the world's second-largest deposits of rare earths after China and US officials say it has a key role to play as it looks to diversify and strengthen its supply chains. Biden moved last month to restrict US investment in Chinese technology in sensitive areas including semiconductors, quantum computing and artificial intelligence. "This can be the beginning of even a greater era of cooperation," Biden said as he met Nguyen Phu Trong, the head of Vietnam's ruling Communist Party and the country's paramount leader. "Vietnam and the United States are critical partners at what I would argue is a very critical time." The deal puts the United States on a par with China -- as well as Russia, India and South Korea -- at the top level of the Vietnamese hierarchy of diplomatic relations. Trong thanked Biden for his contribution to improving US-Vietnamese ties and said his country would work hard to implement the new agreement. Although it is careful to be seen as not taking sides between the United States and China, Vietnam shares US concerns about its neighbour's growing assertiveness in the contested South China Sea. However, The New York Times reported just ahead of Biden's visit that Vietnam was secretly arranging to buy arms from Russia in contravention of US sanctions. The report cited a Vietnamese finance ministry document that laid out plans to fund arms purchases from the Kremlin through a joint oil and gas project in Siberia. AFP has contacted the Vietnamese government for comment. US Deputy National Security Advisor Jon Finer told reporters that Washington acknowledged Vietnam's decades-long military relationship with Russia. But he said there was "increasing discomfort on the part of the Vietnamese with that relationship", and the new partnership would help Hanoi "diversify away from those partnerships" by allowing it to source from the United States and its allies. Human rights Biden said he had raised human rights in his meeting with Trong and pledged to "continue our candid dialogue in that regard". Vietnam has a dire rights record. Government critics face intimidation, harassment and imprisonment after unfair trials, and there are reports of police torture to extract confessions, Human Rights Watch says. While Biden has often criticised China's human rights record, he has largely stayed quiet on Vietnam and campaigners feared he may not raise the subject. On Monday Biden visit a Hanoi memorial to his friend John McCain, the former US senator shot down and held captive during the Vietnam War who in later years helped rebuild ties between the two countries. The post US, Vietnam agree to deepen ties as China worries grow appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
CIA denies hand on Wagner mutiny
United States Central Intelligence Agency Director William Burns recently traveled to Ukraine, where he met with intelligence counterparts and President Volodymyr Zelensky, a US official confirmed to AFP Friday. The trip, which was not reported at the time, comes as Kyiv’s brigades pursue a counteroffensive in their nation’s east and south against Russian forces, launched earlier this month after weeks of anticipation. During his trip, Burns reaffirmed “the US commitment to sharing intelligence to help Ukraine defend against Russian aggression,” the US official said. According to The Washington Post, which first reported the visit, Ukrainian officials shared plans to claw back Russian-occupied territory and begin ceasefire negotiations by the end of the year. Burns “traveled to Ukraine as he has done regularly since the beginning of Russia’s recent aggression more than a year ago,” the US official said. The Post reported that the visit occurred in June. The trip took place before the 24-hour insurrection by the leader of the Wagner private military company, Yevgeny Prigozhin, according to the official. The mutiny, which was widely seen as the biggest threat to Kremlin authority in decades, “was not a topic of discussion,” the official added. The United States has attempted to make clear to Russia that it played no role in the rebellion, with major US media reporting Friday that Burns called the head of Russia’s SVR foreign intelligence service, Sergei Naryshkin, following the uprising to assert that the United States was not involved. The Ukrainian military’s commander-in-chief Valery Zaluzhny has said his country’s counteroffensive plans are being hobbled by the lack of adequate firepower, from modern fighter jets to artillery ammunition. On Tuesday, the United States announced a fresh $500-million package of arms to bolster the counteroffensive, including armored vehicles, precision munitions and mine-clearing equipment. The post CIA denies hand on Wagner mutiny appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Mission impossible: Embracing the nuclear ‘explosion’
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President Marcos wants Army to bolster cybersecurity capabilities
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PRO-Davao awaiting order from Senate’s sgt-at-arms to arrest Pastor Quiboloy
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Biden to Host Japan PM Kishida, Philippines President Marcos
WASHINGTON - President Joe Biden will host Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for a White House summit next month amid growing concerns about North Korea's nuclear program, provocative Chinese action in the South China Sea and differences over a Japanese company's plan to buy an iconic American steel company.White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre in a sta.....»»
Biden to host trilateral summit with Japan, Philippines on April 11
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Alleged arms dealer nabbed in Argao town
Alleged arms dealer nabbed in Argao town.....»»
India s powerplay: The tide is turning in the Indo-Pacific
New Delhi's new island chain naval base will have far-reaching consequences for its military presence in the regionThe Indian Navy on Wednesday commissioned its new base INS Jatayu at Minicoy Island of Lakshadweep to bolster its operational capabilities in the strategically impo.....»»
India s powerplay: The tide is turning in the Indo-Pacific
New Delhi's new island chain naval base will have far-reaching consequences for its military presence in the regionThe Indian Navy on Wednesday commissioned its new base INS Jatayu at Minicoy Island of Lakshadweep to bolster its operational capabilities in the strategically impo.....»»
Marcos Jr’s next destinations: Germany, Czech Republic
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PNP inks deal to bolster legal aid for cops
The Philippine National Police has signed an agreement with the Public Safety Mutual Benefit Fund Inc. to boost legal support for PNP personnel......»»
New Delhi raises target for defense exports
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Robin nag-sorry sa ‘drip session’ ni Mariel sa Senado: Hindi na mauulit
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Trump wins South Carolina, swamping Nikki Haley in her home state
The lopsided outcome will bolster calls from Donald Trump's allies that Nikki Haley, Trump's last remaining challenger, should drop out of the race.....»»
Crossovers nail 2nd win
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Chery Tiggo sweeps Strong Group Athletics for solo PVL lead
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Angeles City school gets arms chairs from DENR
Angeles City school gets arms chairs from DENR.....»»
Ravens Are Intelligent, Strategic, And Playful
A "Love for Living Animals" Essay Edgar Allen Poe's classic poem, The Raven, has through generations, led people to know about this bird for the first time. The poem turned Poe from a nobody to an overnight celebrity. Children followed him everywhere he went, flapping their arms like bi.....»»
Rate cut seen to boost growth
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