US demands clarity from allies on their role in potential war over Taiwan, FT reports
US demands clarity from allies on their role in potential war over Taiwan, FT reports

US demands clarity from allies on their role in potential war over Taiwan, FT reports

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US demands clarity from allies on their role in potential war over Taiwan, FT reports

The Pentagon is urging Japan and Australia to clarify what role they would play if the U.S. and China went to war over Taiwan, the Financial Times reported on Saturday. The reported request caught both Tokyo and Canberra off guard, the newspaper said. Taiwan has faced increased military pressure from China, including several rounds of war games, as Beijing seeks to assert its sovereignty claims over the island.

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Flags of U.S. and China are seen in this illustration picture taken August 2, 2022. REUTERS/Florence Lo/Illustration/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights , opens new tab

Item 1 of 2 Flags of U.S. and China are seen in this illustration picture taken August 2, 2022. REUTERS/Florence Lo/Illustration/File Photo

July 12 (Reuters) – The Pentagon is urging Japan and Australia to clarify what role they would play if the U.S. and China went to war over Taiwan , the Financial Times reported on Saturday.

Elbridge Colby, the U.S. under-secretary of defense for policy, has been pushing the matter during recent talks with defense officials of both countries, the report said, citing people familiar with the discussions.

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According to the newspaper, the reported request caught both Tokyo and Canberra off guard, as the U.S. itself does not offer a blank cheque guarantee to defend Taiwan.

Reuters could not verify the report. The U.S. department of defense did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The U.S is Taiwan’s most important arms supplier, despite a lack of formal diplomatic ties. Taiwan has faced increased military pressure from China, including several rounds of war games, as Beijing seeks to assert its sovereignty claims over the island. Taiwan rejects China’s assertion of sovereignty.

Colby was deputy assistant secretary of defense for strategy and force development during President Donald Trump’s first term. Colby is known for arguing that the U.S. military should prioritize competition with China and shift its focus from the Middle East and Europe.

Reporting by Shivani Tanna in Bengaluru; Editing by Sharon Singleton, William Maclean

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Source: Reuters.com | View original article

China, ASEAN to submit upgraded free trade deal to leaders in October, says China’s foreign minister

China and ASEAN agree to submit a pact upgrading their free trade areas to their leaders for approval in October. Negotiations about the so-called 3.0 version of the free trade zone started in November 2022 and completed in May. The two sides agreed to strive to complete consultations next year on a code of conduct in the South China Sea.

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China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi speaks to the media as he walks between meetings during the 58th ASEAN Foreign Ministers meeting and related meetings at the Convention Centre in Kuala Lumpur on July 11, 2025. MANDEL NGAN/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights , opens new tab

SHANGHAI, July 12 (Reuters) – China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations have agreed to submit a pact upgrading their free trade areas to their leaders for approval in October, according to China’s foreign minister Wang Yi on Saturday.

Negotiations about the so-called 3.0 version of the free trade zone started in November 2022 and completed in May, seeking to cover areas such as the digital economy, green economy and supply chain connectivity.

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China and ASEAN also agreed on a five-year action plan that specifies collaboration between the two sides in over 40 fields in the coming years, according to a statement published by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, citing Wang’s comments after attending the East Asia Summit in Kuala Lumpur on Friday.

Wang also said the two sides agreed to strive to complete consultations next year on a code of conduct in the South China Sea – a set of guidelines aiming to manage disputes in the region, where Beijing and several ASEAN members have overlapping maritime claims.

Reporting by Shanghai and Beijing Newsrooms; Editing by William Mallard

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Source: Reuters.com | View original article

US demands clarity from allies on their role in potential war over Taiwan, FT reports

The US is Taiwan’s most important arms supplier, despite a lack of formal ties. The request has caught Tokyo and Canberra off guard, as the US does not offer a blank cheque to defend Taiwan. The US is known for arguing that the military should shift its focus from the Middle East and Europe.

Read full article ▼
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The Pentagon is urging Japan and Australia to clarify what role they would play if the US and China went to war over Taiwan, the Financial Times reported on July 12.

Mr Elbridge Colby, the US under-secretary of defence for policy, has been pushing the matter during recent talks with defence officials of both countries, the report said, citing people familiar with the discussions.

According to the newspaper, the reported request caught both Tokyo and Canberra off guard, as the US itself does not offer a blank cheque guarantee to defend Taiwan.

Reuters could not verify the report.

The US Department of Defence did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The US is Taiwan’s most important arms supplier, despite a lack of formal diplomatic ties.

Taiwan has faced increased military pressure from China, including several rounds of war games , as Beijing seeks to assert its sovereignty claims over the island. Taiwan rejects China’s assertion of sovereignty.

Mr Colby was deputy assistant secretary of defence for strategy and force development during President Donald Trump’s first term, and is known for arguing that the US military should prioritise competition with China and shift its focus from the Middle East and Europe. REUTERS

Source: Straitstimes.com | View original article

US demands clarity from allies on their role in potential war over Taiwan, FT reports

The Pentagon is urging Japan and Australia to clarify what role they would play if the U.S. and China went to war over Taiwan.

Read full article ▼
(Reuters) -The Pentagon is urging Japan and Australia to clarify what role they would play if the U.S. and China went to war over Taiwan, the Financial Times reported on Saturday.

Elbridge Colby, the U.S. under-secretary of defense for policy, has been pushing the matter during recent talks with defense officials of both countries, the report said, citing people familiar with the discussions.

Reuters could not immediately verify the report.

(Reporting by Shivani Tanna in Bengaluru; Editing by Sharon Singleton)

Source: Wiky.com | View original article

UN reports 798 deaths near Gaza aid hubs in six weeks

U.N. rights office reports 798 killings at aid points in Gaza. Israeli- and U.S.-backed GHF disputes UN figures and denies deadly incidents at its sites. Israel says its forces operate near aid sites to prevent supplies falling into the hands of militants. Hamas denies allegation that aid shipments have been looted by Hamas or criminal gangs. The U.N.-led system that Israel alleges has let Hamas-led militants loot aid shipments intended for civilians is called “inherently unsafe” and a violation of humanitarian impartiality standards by the U. N. The GHF said on Friday it had delivered more than 70 million meals to Gaza Palestinians in five weeks, and that other humanitarian groups had “nearly all of their aid looted” by Hamas. The UN says there is an acute shortage of food and other basic supplies in Gaza, during which much of its 2.3 million inhabitants have been reduced to rubble and most of its rubble to rubble.

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Palestinians walk to collect aid supplies from the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, May 29, 2025. REUTERS/Hatem Khaled/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights , opens new tab

Item 1 of 3 Palestinians walk to collect aid supplies from the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, May 29, 2025. REUTERS/Hatem Khaled/File Photo

Summary UN rights office reports 798 killings at aid points in Gaza

Israeli- and U.S.-backed GHF disputes UN figures

GHF denies deadly incidents at its sites

Israeli army is reviewing recent mass casualties

GENEVA, July 11 (Reuters) – The U.N. rights office said on Friday it had recorded at least 798 killings within the past six weeks at aid points in Gaza run by the U.S.- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation and near convoys run by other relief groups.

The GHF uses private U.S. security and logistics companies to get supplies into Gaza, largely bypassing a U.N.-led system that Israel alleges has let Hamas-led militants loot aid shipments intended for civilians. Hamas denies the allegation.

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After the deaths of hundreds of Palestinian civilians trying to reach the GHF’s aid hubs in zones where Israeli forces operate, the United Nations has called its aid model “inherently unsafe” and a violation of humanitarian impartiality standards.

“(From May 27) up until the seventh of July, we’ve recorded 798 killings, including 615 in the vicinity of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation sites, and 183 presumably on the route of aid convoys,” U.N. rights office (OHCHR) spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani told a media briefing in Geneva.

The GHF, which began distributing food packages in Gaza in late May after Israel lifted an 11-week aid blockade, told Reuters the U.N. figures were “false and misleading”. It denies that deadly incidents have occurred at its sites.

“The fact is the most deadly attacks on aid site have been linked to U.N. convoys,” a GHF spokesperson said.

“Ultimately, the solution is more aid. If the U.N. (and) other humanitarian groups would collaborate with us, we could end or significantly reduce these violent incidents.”

The Israeli army told Reuters in a statement that it was reviewing recent mass casualties and that it had sought to minimise friction between Palestinians and the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) by installing fences and signs and opening additional routes.

GUNSHOT WOUNDS

The OHCHR said it based its figures on sources such as information from hospitals in Gaza, cemeteries, families, Palestinian health authorities, NGOs and its partners on the ground.

Most of the injuries to Palestinians in the vicinity of aid distribution hubs recorded by the OHCHR since May 27 were gunshot wounds, Shamdasani said.

“We’ve raised concerns about atrocity crimes having been committed and the risk of further atrocity crimes being committed where people are lining up for essential supplies such as food,” she said.

After the GHF assertion that the OHCHR figures are false and misleading, Shamdasani said: “It is not helpful to issue blanket dismissals of our concerns – what is needed is investigations into why people are being killed while trying to access aid.”

Israel has said its forces operate near the relief aid sites to prevent supplies falling into the hands of militants it has been fighting in the Gaza war triggered by the Hamas-led cross-border attack on October 7, 2023.

The GHF said on Friday it had delivered more than 70 million meals to Gaza Palestinians in five weeks, and that other humanitarian groups had “nearly all of their aid looted” by Hamas or criminal gangs. The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has previously cited instances of violent pillaging of aid, and the U.N. World Food Programme said last week that most trucks carrying food assistance into Gaza had been intercepted by “hungry civilian communities”. , opens new tab

There is an acute shortage of food and other basic supplies 21 months into Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, during which much of the enclave has been reduced to rubble and most of its 2.3 million inhabitants displaced.

Additinal reporting by Crispian Balmer and Charlotte Greenfield in Jerusalem, Editing by Miranda Murray, Mark Heinrich and Timothy Heritage

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Source: Reuters.com | View original article

Source: https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMivgFBVV95cUxNaWZxVmc3TUpySXV4bmt6Y0YwSGxyVWFCYnhPUWtYY1N2c3lWR2cwTTRSOTRZa2ZVWVg3U3FIcFltb2wyT0pPYllIZlFYOUNVMno1OS0zNzR4N2RqMEV6ekFEcFc3clhLQjZSUE5qcmRMTmx0cVYwUlBjd1lTZlR4VVFtbHJZX3lDX1BIeVNET0xrOVFPYUNhd1NIOGdrYTJKVWFvMEJoMm1aVTdXanM2VjNabVFCal9TdmJfWTJn?oc=5

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