President highest-profile casualty of graft crackdown
Phuc blamed for conduct of officials under him
Hundreds of officials hit by ‘blazing furnace’ campaign
Phuc’s downfall widely expected
HANOI, Jan 17 (Reuters) – Vietnam President Nguyen Xuan Phuc has resigned after the ruling Communist Party blamed him for “violations and wrongdoing” by officials under his control, the government said on Tuesday, in a major escalation of the country’s anti-graft campaign.
Phuc, a former prime minister widely credited with accelerating pro-business reforms, held the largely ceremonial post of president since 2021 and is the highest-ranking official targeted by the party’s sweeping corruption crackdown.
Vietnam has no paramount ruler and is officially led by four “pillars”: the party’s secretary, the president, prime minister and speaker of the house.
Phuc, 68, was ultimately responsible for offences committed by many officials, including two deputy prime ministers and three ministers, the government said.
“Fully being aware of his responsibilities before the party and people, he submitted an application to resign from his assigned positions, quit his job and retire,” it said in statement.
Phuc’s office could not immediately be reached for comment and it was not clear if a replacement has been chosen.
Vietnam has been rife with speculation he would be removed following January’s dismissal of two deputy prime ministers who served under him, as the party doubles down on a “blazing furnace” anti-corruption drive led by its powerful long-serving chief, Nguyen Phu Trong.
Last year, 539 party members were prosecuted or “disciplined” for corruption and “deliberate wrongdoings”, including ministers, top officials and diplomats, according to the party, while police investigated 453 corruption cases, up 50% from 2021.
Trong earlier this month said the party was “more determined” and “more effective and methodical” in its approach, and vowed to deliver results.
IMPACT UNCERTAIN
Opinions vary on the impact of the anti-graft drive on investment and policy.
Le Hong Hiep of the Vietnam Studies Programme at the Singapore’s ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute said the purge could pave the way for cleaner more capable leaders to rise.
“As long as the leadership reshuffles do not lead to radical policy changes, their impact on the economy will also be limited,” Hiep posted on his Facebook account.
However, Ha Hoang Hop, a senior visiting fellow at the same institute, said Phuc’s demise and uncertainty over the impact of the crackdown could unnerve investors.
“This could lead Vietnam to a time of instability that would worry foreign friends and investors,” he said.
Phuc’s resignation requires approval from the legislature, which sources on Monday said would hold a rare extraordinary meeting this week, adding to expectation that Phuc’s fate had been sealed.
Phuc, who was known in Vietnam for his friendly approach and love for the national soccer team, was once tipped as a future party General Secretary, the state’s most prestigious job.
As prime minister from 2016 to 2021, he oversaw an average 6% annual economic growth for Asia’s burgeoning manufacturing powerhouse and helped further a liberalisation drive that included trade deals with the European Union and Pacific powers.
Despite his downfall, the government on Tuesday praised his achievements, particularly his pandemic response.
“He has made great efforts in leading, directing and administering the COVID-19 epidemic prevention and control, achieving important results,” it said.
Editing by Kanupriya Kapoor and Martin Petty
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WASHINGTON, Dec 29 (Reuters) – A Chinese military plane came within 10 feet (3 metres) of a U.S. air force aircraft in the contested South China Sea last week and forced it to take evasive maneuvers to avoid a collision in international airspace, the U.S. military said on Thursday.
The close encounter followed what the United States has called a recent trend of increasingly dangerous behavior by Chinese military aircraft.
The incident, which involved a Chinese Navy J-11 fighter jet and a U.S. air force RC-135 aircraft, took place on Dec. 21, the U.S. military said in a statement.
“We expect all countries in the Indo-Pacific region to use international airspace safely and in accordance with international law,” it added.
A U.S. military spokesperson said the Chinese jet came within 10 feet of the plane’s wing, but 20 feet from its nose, which caused the U.S. aircraft to take evasive maneuvers.
The United States has raised the issue with the Chinese government, a separate U.S. official said.
The Chinese embassy in Washington D.C. did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In the past, China has said that the United States sending ships and aircraft into the South China Sea is not good for peace.
U.S. military planes and ships routinely carry out surveillance operations and travel through the region.
China claims vast swathes of the South China Sea that overlap with the exclusive economic zones of Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia and the Philippines.
Trillions of dollars in trade flow every year through the waterway, which also contains rich fishing grounds and gas fields.
In a meeting with his Chinese counterpart in November, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin raised the need to improve crisis communications, and also noted what he called dangerous behavior by Chinese military planes.
Despite tensions between the United States and China, U.S. military officials have long sought to maintain open lines of communication with their Chinese counterparts to mitigate the risk of potential flare-ups or deal with any accidents.
Australia’s defence department said in June that a Chinese fighter aircraft dangerously intercepted an Australian military surveillance plane in the South China Sea region in May.
Australia said the Chinese jet flew close in front of the RAAF aircraft and released a “bundle of chaff” containing small pieces of aluminum that were ingested into the Australian aircraft’s engine.
In June, Canada’s military accused Chinese warplanes of harassing its patrol aircraft as they monitored North Korea sanction evasions, sometimes forcing Canadian planes to divert from their flight paths.
Relations between China and the United States have been tense, with friction between the world’s two largest economies over everything from Taiwan and China’s human rights record to its military activity in the South China Sea.
U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan in August infuriated China, which saw it as a U.S. attempt to interfere in its internal affairs. China subsequently launched military drills near the island.
The United States has no formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan but is bound by law to provide the island with the means to defend itself.
Reporting by Idrees Ali and Doina Chiacu
Editing by Frances Kerry and Josie Kao
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Idrees Ali
Thomson Reuters
National security correspondent focusing on the Pentagon in Washington D.C. Reports on U.S. military activity and operations throughout the world and the impact that they have. Has reported from over two dozen countries to include Iraq, Afghanistan, and much of the Middle East, Asia and Europe. From Karachi, Pakistan.
LONDON, Dec 6 (Reuters) – Oil prices fell in a volatile market on Tuesday as the U.S. dollar stayed strong and economic uncertainty offset the bullish impact of a price cap placed on Russian oil and the prospects of a demand boost in China.
Brent crude futures were down 61 cents, or 0.74%, to $82.07 a barrel at 1447 GMT. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) fell 51 cents, or 0.66%, to $76.42.
Earlier in the session, both contracts fell by more than $1, while Brent rose by more than $1 in Asian trading.
Crude futures on Monday recorded their biggest daily drop in two weeks after U.S. services industry data indicated a strong U.S. economy and drove expectations of higher interest rates than recently forecast.
The U.S. dollar index edged lower on Tuesday but was still buoyed by bets of higher interest rates, following the biggest rally in two weeks on Monday.
A stronger greenback makes dollar-denominated oil more expensive for buyers holding other currencies, reducing demand for the commodity.
“Inflationary headwinds could still cause global economic turbulence in coming months,” said Tamas Varga of oil broker PVM, but added that “China’s gradual COVID opening is a tentatively positive development”.
In China, more cities are easing COVID-19-related curbs, prompting expectations of increased demand in the world’s top oil importer.
The country is set to announce a further relaxation of some of the world’s toughest COVID curbs as early as Wednesday, sources said.
The market was weighing the production impact of a price cap of $60 per barrel on Russian crude imposed by the Group of Seven (G7), the European Union and Australia, contributing to market volatility.
The price cap adds to the disruption caused by the EU’s embargo on imports of Russian crude by sea and similar pledges by the United States, Canada, Japan and Britain.
The embargo is likely to tighten market supply as the EU has to source crude from elsewhere, Commerzbank analyst Carsten Fritsch said in a note.
Russia has declared its intention not to sell oil to anyone who signs up to the price cap.
The threat of losing insurance will limit Russia’s access to the tanker market and could reduce crude exports by 500,000 barrels per day from February levels, said analysts from Rystad Energy in a note.
Russia’s January-November oil and gas condensate production rose 2.2% from a year earlier to 488 million tonnes, according to Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, who expects a slight output decline following the latest sanctions.
Reporting by Rowena Edwards in London, additional reporting by Muyu Xu in Singapore; editing by Jason Neely and Barbara Lewis
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NUSA DUA, Indonesia, Nov 14 (Reuters) – Chinese leader Xi Jinping will arrive on the Indonesian island of Bali on Monday for a long-awaited meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden, ahead of a Group of 20 (G20) summit set to be fraught with tension over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The two leaders are expected to discuss Taiwan, Ukraine and North Korea’s nuclear ambitions, issues that will also loom over the G20 that opens on Tuesday without Russian President Vladimir Putin in attendance.
Billionaire Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) and Twitter Inc, addressed a business forum that is part of the summit and said he had “too much work” on his plate.
Speaking by videolink, he appeared lit by candles, wearing a batik shirt sent by the organisers. He said he was speaking from a place that had just lost power.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will represent the Russian president at the G20 summit – the first since Russia invaded Ukraine in February – after the Kremlin said Putin was too busy to attend.
On the eve of Monday’s meeting with Xi, Biden told Asian leaders in Cambodia that U.S. communication lines with China would stay open to prevent conflict, with tough talks almost certain in the days ahead.
The United States would “compete vigorously” with China while “ensuring competition does not veer into conflict”, said Biden, stressing the importance of peace in the Taiwan Strait during an address to the East Asia Summit in Cambodia. He arrived in Bali on Sunday night.
Relations between the superpowers have sunk to their lowest in decades, marred by growing tensions in recent years over a host of issues ranging from Hong Kong and Taiwan to the South China Sea, trade practices and U.S. restrictions on Chinese technology.
But U.S. officials said there have been quiet efforts by both Beijing and Washington over the past two months to repair ties.
“These meetings do not take place in isolation, they are part of a very sustained process,” said one Biden administration official. “We have engaged in serious, sustained – dozens and dozens of hours – of quiet diplomacy behind the scenes.
“I think we are satisfied with the seriousness that both sides have brought to that process.”
Biden and Xi, who have held five phone or video calls since Biden became president in January 2021, last met in person during the Obama administration when Biden was vice president.
Monday’s face-to-face meeting will be at The Mulia, a luxury beachside hotel on Nusa Dua bay in Bali. It is unlikely to produce a joint statement, the White House has said, but it could help stabilise the bilateral relationship.
Both leaders will attend the opening of the G20 summit on Tuesday.
‘SOME DISCOMFORT’
One of the main topics at the G20 will be Russia’s war in Ukraine and Biden will be “unapologetic” in his defence of the European nation, U.S. officials said last week.
Xi and Putin have grown increasingly close in recent years, bound by their shared distrust of the West, and reaffirmed their partnership just days before Russia invaded Ukraine. But China has been careful not to provide any direct material support that could trigger Western sanctions against it.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang emphasised the “irresponsibility” of nuclear threats during the summit in Cambodia, suggesting China was uncomfortable with strategic partner Russia’s nuclear rhetoric, the Biden administration official said.
The West has accused Russia of making irresponsible statements on the possible use of nuclear weapons since its February invasion of Ukraine. Russia has in turn accused the West of “provocative” nuclear rhetoric.
“There have been areas where China and Russia have worked together to deepen and broaden their relationship economically,” said the U.S. official. “But on some of these big issues, I think there is undeniably some discomfort in Beijing about what we’ve seen in terms of reckless rhetoric and activity on the part of Russia.”
Russia’s Lavrov said on Sunday the West was “militarising” Southeast Asia in a bid to contain Russian and Chinese interests, setting the stage for more confrontation with Western leaders at the G20.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said he will address the G20 gathering by videolink on Tuesday.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is expected to meet Lavrov at the summit, a Downing Street spokesperson said in a statement. He is also likely to hold a bilateral meeting with Biden.
The G20 bloc, which includes a broad array of countries ranging from Brazil to India and Germany, accounts for more than 80% of the world’s gross domestic product (GDP) and 60% of its population.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is due to join Indonesian President Joko Widodo to address the parallel B20 business forum taking place on Monday ahead of the G20 summit.
Reporting by Nandita Bose, Fransiska Nangoy, Leika Kihara and Simon Lewis in Nusa Dua; Writing by Kay Johnson and Raju Gopalakrishnan; Editing by Ed Davies and Robert Birsel
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PHNOM PENH, Nov 13 (Reuters) – Joe Biden said on Sunday he was “incredibly pleased” with the turnout in the U.S. election after Democrats clinched control of the Senate, a major victory for the president as he looks to his next two years in office.
Speaking to reporters in Cambodia ahead of an East Asia Summit, Biden said the turnout was a reflection of the quality of candidates his party was fielding, after Senator Catherine Cortez Masto was projected to win re-election in Nevada, narrowly beating Republican challenger Adam Laxalt.
A Democratic victory in a Georgia runoff next month would then give the party outright majority control of a 51-49 Senate, while a Georgia defeat would still keep Democrats in charge of a 50-50 Senate, with Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris able to break tie votes. The additional seat would mean Democrats could spare a vote on key nominations and bills.
“We’re focusing now on Georgia. We feel good about where we are. And I know I’m a cockeyed optimist. I understand that,” Biden told reporters. “Again, I’m not surprised by the turnout. I’m incredibly pleased. And I think it’s a reflection of the quality of our candidates.”
Control of the House of Representatives has still not been decided. Biden acknowledged such a victory would be “a stretch” for the Democrats, but Republicans have fallen well short of predictions they would sweep to power in Washington.
Biden had framed the midterm election as a test of U.S. democracy at a time when hundreds of Republican candidates embraced former President Donald Trump’s false claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen.
U.S. President Joe Biden makes a statement about the U.S. midterm elections during his visit in Phnom Penh, Cambodia November 13, 2022. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
Trump has repeatedly used his appeal among hard-right conservatives to influence candidates nominated by the Republican Party for congressional, gubernatorial and local races.
He has, however, been blamed for boosting candidates who were unable to appeal to a broad enough electorate, resulting in a lacklustre performance for the Republicans.
The results have also signalled exhaustion with the kind of chaos fomented by the Republican former president, raising questions about the viability of his possible 2024 White House run.
Laxalt, who lost in Nevada, was a former state attorney-general endorsed by Trump.
Biden told reporters the elections showed the Republican Party “is going to have to decide who they are”.
Some Republicans expressed discontent as they faced at least another two years in the minority. “The old party is dead. Time to bury it. Build something new,” Sen. Josh Hawley tweeted.
Reporting by Nandita Bose; Writing by Martin Petty; Editing by Ed Davies and William Mallard
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MUENSTER, Germany, Nov 4 (Reuters) – The Group of Seven on Friday urged China to abstain from “threats, coercion, intimidation, or the use of force,” while expressing their aim for cooperation where possible to tackle global challenges including security, global health and climate.
The mildly-worded communique, wrapping up two days of meetings by the foreign ministers of the world’s seven wealthiest democracies, also reiterated the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits.
The G7 increasingly agrees on the need for a coordinated response to Chinese President Xi Jinping’s ambitions following a congress of the ruling Communist party, a senior U.S. State Department official said earlier, but the communique did not make a reference to a common goal.
The gathering coincided with a one-day visit by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to China, which fuelled concern that Germany would continue to prioritize economic relations with its largest trading partner over security and strategic considerations.
This could risk divisions among Western allies that have sought to adopt a tougher stance towards China in recent years.
“We remind China of the need… to abstain from threats, coercion, intimidation, or the use of force,” the G7 communique said. “We strongly oppose any unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion.”
The G7 said it remained “seriously concerned about the situation in and around the East and South China Seas” after China earlier this year staged war games near Taiwan.
China claims the self-governed island as its own territory and has never renounced the use of force to bring the island under its control.
Moreover the G7 said they would continue to raise concerns with China on its reported human rights violations and abuses, including in Xinjiang and Tibet, and on the “continued erosion of Hong Kong’s rights, freedoms and autonomy”.
The U.S. State Department official told reporters there was had been an “increasing convergence of the views on what China’s ultimate strategy, both domestically but also globally, is” over the last 1-1/2 years.
“Coming out of the party congress, I think there’s an increasing recognition of ultimately what President Xi’s ambitions are and the need for a coordinated response to that,” he said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“That’s something that I think will be a focus of this group as we head into Japan’s presidency next year,” he noted, referring to Japan taking over the G7’s rotating presidency from Germany at the start of next year.
Sino-Japanese relations have long been plagued by a dispute over a group of tiny uninhabited East China Sea islets, a legacy of Japan’s World War Two aggression and regional rivalry.
On Friday Japan’s Sankei newspaper reported that the Japanese and Chinese governments had started planning a meeting between Xi and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida for mid-November.
European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell cautioned earlier in the day that China should not be put in the same category as Russia, which invaded Ukraine in February.
“It is clear that China is… becoming much more assertive, much more on a self-reliant course,” Borrell told reporters.
“But for the time being, many member states have a strong economic relationship with China, and I don’t think we can put China and Russia on the same level.”
The G7 said in their statement that they aimed for “constructive cooperation with China, where possible and in our interest” on global issues such as health and climate change.
Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk, Sarah Marsh and Sabine Siebold; additional reporting by Sarah Marsh; editing by Philippa Fletcher and Jonathan Oatis
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BEIJING, Oct 31 (Reuters) – Chinese President Xi Jinping told the visiting leader of Vietnam’s ruling Communist Party on Monday that both countries and parties should “never let anyone interfere” with their progress, state broadcaster CCTV reported.
The bullish message against outside interference came at a time of strained relations between China and the West, especially with the United States over Taiwan, the Ukraine conflict, trade and other issues.
Xi and Nguyen Phu Trong, both unmasked, shook hands and embraced before taking part in a televised welcome ceremony in Beijing’s Great Hall of the People – an unusual display of close contact between Xi and another leader, as China persists with strict COVID lockdowns.
Trong’s was the first visit by a foreign leader since Xi secured a precedent-breaking third term as General Secretary at the Chinese Communist Party’s 20th party congress this month.
“The development of the cause of human progress is a long and tortuous process, and the development of socialist countries faces a very complicated international environment and serious risks and challenges,” Xi said, according to CCTV.
“The Chinese and Vietnamese parties should persist in working for the happiness of the people and the progress of mankind, push forward socialist modernization with all their might, and never let anyone interfere with our progress or let any force shake the institutional foundation of our development,” Xi added, according to CCTV.
The visit by Trong – who holds more power than either Vietnam’s president or prime minister – was a showcase of Communist unity.
Vietnam and China are among the last five communist-ruled states in the world, along with Cuba, Laos and North Korea.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will also visit China this week.
China is Vietnam’s largest trading partner and a key source of imports for its fast-growing economy, including raw materials and machinery for its crucial manufacturing sector.
Though the two neighbours have a long history of mistrust and territorial disputes, including over islands and waters in the South China Sea, their Communist parties remain officially close.
Like Xi, Trong has also stayed on as party chief beyond the usual tenure of one or two terms, cementing his influence in a party traditionally governed by consensus among its politburo and powerful central committee. His last trip abroad was to Cambodia.
(This story has been refiled to fix the spelling of Vietnamese in the headline)
Reporting by Martin Quin Pollard; additional reporting by Beijing Newsroom; Editing by Andrew Heavens
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The logo of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is pictured at its headquarters in Vienna, Austria, March 21, 2016. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger
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LONDON, Aug 30 (Reuters) – Oil prices fell Tuesday on fears that an inflation-induced weakening of global economies would soften fuel demand, and as Iraqi crude exports have been unaffected by clashes.
Brent crude futures for October settlement fell $2.45, or 2.33%, to $102.64 a barrel by 1022 GMT, after climbing 4.1% on Monday, the biggest increase in more than a month.
The October contract expires on Wednesday and the more active November contract was at $101.12 a barrel, down 1.76%.
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U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $95.46 a barrel, down $1.55, or 1.6%, following a 4.2% rise in the previous session.
Inflation is near double-digit territory in many of the world’s biggest economies, a level not seen in close to a half century. This could prompt central banks in the United States and Europe to resort to more aggressive interest rate hikes that could curtail economic growth and weigh on fuel demand. read more
“The economy will continue to remain slow with the Fed’s aggressive monetary policies. Investors are now waiting for the monthly employment data on Friday,” said Kunal Sawhney, chief executive officer, Kalkine Group.
Prices took a tumble after comments from Iraq’s state-owned marketer SOMO that the country’s oil exports are unaffected by unrest, UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo said. read more
Baghdad seeing its worst fighting for years as clashes between Shi’ite Muslim groups spill into a second day. read more
SOMO also said on Tuesday it can redirect more oil to Europe if required. read more
The market awaits the upcoming meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies such as Russia, known as OPEC+, on Sept. 5.
Saudi Arabia last week raised the possibility of production cuts from OPEC+, which sources said could coincide with a boost in supply from Iran should it clinch a nuclear deal with the West.
“Possible reduction in OPEC+ production is the reason why the oil market has thumbed its nose at weakening equities and the strong dollar,” said Tamas Varga of oil broker PVM.
Meanwhile, the American Petroleum Institute, an industry group, is due to release data on U.S. crude inventories at 4:30 p.m. EDT (2030 GMT) on Tuesday.
U.S. crude oil stockpiles likely fell 600,000 barrels in the week to Aug. 26, with distillates and gasoline inventories also seen down, a preliminary Reuters poll showed on Monday.
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Reporting by Rowena Edwards, additional reporting by Muyu Xu in Singapore; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Louise Heavens
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Sticker reads crude oil on the side of a storage tank in the Permian Basin in Mentone, Loving County, Texas, U.S. November 22, 2019. REUTERS/Angus Mordant
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Russia oil exports halted via southern leg of Druzhba pipeline
EU puts forward ‘final’ text to resurrect Iran nuclear deal
API data shows crude oil inventories up last week – sources
Dollar edges lower as traders await U.S. inflation report
Recession, demand expectations also weigh on market
NEW YORK, Aug 9 (Reuters) – Oil prices settled slightly lower on Tuesday after a see-saw session as worries that a slowing economy could cut demand vied with news that some oil exports had been suspended on the Russia-to-Europe Druzhba pipeline that transits Ukraine.
Crude prices have been under pressure for weeks as fears mounted that a recession could cut oil demand.
Brent crude settled at $96.31 a barrel, losing 34 cents, or 0.4%. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude settled at $90.50 a barrel, shedding 26 cents, or 0.3%. During the session, both benchmarks rose and fell by more than $1 a barrel.
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Ukraine halted oil flows on the Druzhba oil pipeline to parts of central Europe because Western sanctions had prevented a payment from Moscow for transit fees from going through.
Flows along the southern route of the Druzhba pipeline have been affected while the northern route serving Poland and Germany was uninterrupted.
Oil initially moved higher on the pipeline news and expectations that the shutdown would tighten supplies, but prices reversed course as details became clearer around what caused the disruption and that flows were expected to resume within days. read more
“Considering the fact it is not the Russian side shutting down pipe, but the Ukrainian side, it would figure to be a situation that can resolved sooner rather than later,” Bob Yawger, director of energy futures at Mizuho in New York, said in a note.
Prices were pressured by talks of a last-ditch effort by European nations to revive the Iran nuclear accord. On Monday, the European Union put forward a “final” text to revive the 2015 Iran deal. A senior EU official said a final decision on the proposal, which needs U.S. and Iranian approval, was expected within “very, very few weeks”.
Talks have dragged on for months without a deal.
Iran’s crude exports, according to tanker trackers, are at least 1 million barrels per day below their rate in 2018 when former U.S. President Donald Trump exited the nuclear agreement.
Oil is now down more than $40 from its peak following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which took Brent briefly to $139 a barrel.
U.S. crude oil inventories were also signaling slacking demand, according to market sources citing American Petroleum Institute figures. Crude stocks rose by about 2.2 million barrels for the week ended Aug. 5. Analysts had forecast a small 400,000-barrel drop in crude inventories. Official government data is due on Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. EDT.
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Additional reporting by Alex Lawler, Sonali Paul and Emily Chow
Editing by Louise Heavens, Mark Potter, Barbara Lewis and David Gregorio
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China staging unprecedented military drills around Taiwan
Follows visit by U.S. House Speaker Pelosi to Taipei
China says it will sanction Pelosi over ‘vicious’ actions
Pelosi, in Japan, joins PM Kishida in condemning China
TAIPEI, Aug 5 (Reuters) – China’s firing of missiles during military drills around Taiwan was an unjustified escalation, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, as Beijing said it would impose sanctions on House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi for visiting the island.
Diplomatic relations spiralled further downward on Friday, as China’s foreign ministry followed up by saying it would cancel dialogues between U.S. and Chinese military leaders, and suspend bilateral talks on climate and maritime safety. read more
Blinken said Washington has made it repeatedly clear to Beijing it does not seek a crisis, as diplomatic ructions continued over Pelosi’s visit this week to the self-governed island that Beijing regards as its sovereign territory.
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“There is no justification for this extreme, disproportionate and escalatory military response,” Blinken said, speaking at a news conference during the sidelines of the ASEAN Regional Forum in Cambodia. He added, “now, they’ve taken dangerous acts to a new level”.
China launched its largest ever military drills in the seas and skies around Taiwan on Thursday, a day after Pelosi enraged Beijing by making a solidarity trip to the island, the highest-level U.S. visitor to Taiwan in 25 years. The live-fire drills are scheduled to continue until noon on Sunday.
On Friday, China’s military conducted air and sea drills to the north, southwest and east of Taiwan “to test the troops’ joint combat capabilities”, the Eastern Theatre Command of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) said in a statement on its official Weibo account.
Blinken emphasised that the United States would not take actions to provoke a crisis, but it would continue to support regional allies and conduct standard air and maritime transit through the Taiwan Strait.
“We will fly, sail and operate wherever international law allows,” he said.
The White House summoned Chinese ambassador Qin Gang on Thursday to condemn escalating actions against Taiwan, the Washington Post reported.
Representatives for the State Department did not immediately reply for a request for comment on China’s halting of talks or the report that Washington had summoned Beijing’s ambassador
China’s foreign ministry announced on Friday that it would impose sanctions on Pelosi and her immediate family in response to her “vicious” and “provocative” actions. read more
“Despite China’s serious concerns and firm opposition, Pelosi insisted on visiting Taiwan, seriously interfering in China’s internal affairs, undermining China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, trampling on the one-China policy, and threatening the peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait,” a foreign ministry spokesperson said in a statement. read more
The foreign ministry said it was also suspending co-operation on cross-border crime prevention and counter-narcotics, and cooperation on repatriation of illegal migrants.
Speaking in Japan, Pelosi said her trip to Asia was never about changing the regional status quo. read more
‘EVIL NEIGHBOUR’
About 10 Chinese navy ships and 20 military aircraft briefly crossed the Taiwan Strait median line on Friday morning, a Taiwan source briefed on the matter told Reuters. read more
Earlier, Taiwan’s defence ministry said the island’s military had dispatched aircraft and ships and deployed land-based missile systems to monitor the situation there.
On Thursday, China fired multiple missiles into waters surrounding Taiwan in an unprecedented escalation during live-fire exercises.
Japan’s defence ministry, which is tracking the exercises, first reported that as many as four of the missiles flew over Taiwan’s capital. It also said that five of nine missiles fired toward its territory landed in its exclusive economic zone (EEZ), also a first, prompting a diplomatic protest by Tokyo.
Later, Taiwan’s defence ministry said the missiles were high in the atmosphere and constituted no threat. It gave no details of their flight paths, citing intelligence concerns.
Some Taipei residents, including Mayor Ko Wen-je, criticised the government for not putting out a missile alert, but one security expert said that could have been done to avoid stoking panic and playing into China’s hands.
“It counteracted the effect of the Chinese Communist Party’s psychological warfare,” said Mei Fu-shin, a U.S.-based analyst. “The shock and fear were not as great as they could have been.”
Asked to comment on the missiles, Taiwan Premier Su Tseng-chang did not directly respond, but referred to China as the “evil neighbour showing off her power at our door.” read more
“In my view, the larger threat is that China is doing a rehearsal for a blockade, demonstrating it can block Taiwan’s ports and airports, and prevent shipping,” said Bonnie Glaser, a Washington-based Asia security specialist at the German Marshall Fund of the United States.
JAPAN’S WORRIES
Responding to the Chinese drills, President Tsai Ing-wen said Taiwan would not provoke conflicts but would firmly defend its sovereignty and national security.
Taiwan has been self-ruled since 1949, when Mao Zedong’s communists took power in Beijing after defeating Chiang Kai-shek’s Kuomintang (KMT) nationalists in a civil war, prompting the KMT-led government to retreat to the island.
Beijing has said its relations with Taiwan are an internal matter. It says it reserves the right to bring Taiwan under Chinese control, by force if necessary.
In Tokyo, Pelosi addressed the diplomatic furore caused by the congressional delegation’s week-long trip to Asia, and most specifically to Taiwan.
“We have said from the start that our representation here is not about changing the status quo in Taiwan or the region,” she told a news conference after meeting Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
“I have informed speaker Pelosi that the fact China’s ballistic missiles had landed near Japanese waters including EEZ threaten our national safety and security and that Japan had strongly condemned such actions,” Kishida said.
China’s foreign ministry said it had summoned the ambassador for Japan and a Canadian diplomat in Beijing on Thursday over an “erroneous” Group of Seven (G7) nations statement on Taiwan, and also made complaints to EU envoys.
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Reporting by Yimou Lee and Sarah Wu in Taipei
Additional reporting by Elaine Lies and Tim Kelly in Tokyo, Greg Torode in Hong Kong, Ann Wang in Liuqiu Island; Susan Heavey in Washington;
Writing by Tony Munroe, Raju Gopalakrishnan, Simon Cameron-Moore and Frances Kerry
Editing by Mark Heinrich, Frances Kerry and Toby Chopra
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.