World News
China’s Deployment of Missile in South China Sea Causes Serious Concern

Taiwan’s Defense Ministry, in a statement, confirmed on Wednesday that China had placed antiaircraft missiles on the island.
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WASHINGTON D.C. – The United States Pentagon has expressed “Serious Concern†after China deployed surface-to-air missiles on an island in the South China Sea, an escalation that further militarizes a region where significant tensions have already emerged between China and its neighbours.
Officials in Taiwan and the United States on Wednesday said China has placed missile batteries on Woody Island, the largest in the Paracel island group roughly 300 kilometres southeast of China – an area that has been the focus of a renewed construction effort as Beijing places a heavier stamp on its claims in the South China Sea.
Both Vietnam and Taiwan also claim the Paracels, islands that like the much more distant Spratly group – where Beijing has dredged the sea to create new land masses capable of supporting buildings and runways – are disputed territory inside a maritime expanse criss-crossed by vital shipping lanes that move some $5-trillion (U.S.) in world trade.
The deployment of surface-to-air missiles marks a controversial expansion by China, adding to the small military base it operates on Woody Island, whose facilities include radar and a runway that has been used by fighter jets.
China has controlled the Paracels since 1974, after a short naval battle with Vietnam. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi played down the missile installation, saying Wednesday that “the limited and necessary self-defence facilities China has built on islands and reefs†are “consistent with the self-defence and self-preservation China is entitled to under international law.â€
But the United States and China’s neighbours see the missile installation, which appeared on satellite images between Feb. 3 and 14, as a provocative step by a country that has disregarded international opposition in asserting influence over a vast maritime area it claims as its own – although no country has been willing to do more than issue verbal criticism.
“There is every evidence every day there has been an increased militarization of one kind or another,†U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said, saying the missiles will prompt “very serious conversation†with China.
Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung called on U.S. President Barack Obama to employ “more practical actions†to counter China in the region. Japan and the Philippines also criticized China, whose growing assertiveness in the South China Sea has been one of the triggers for a massive regional ramp-up in military expenditures.
The Asia-Pacific share of global defence spending will grow from one-fifth in 2010 to nearly a third by 2020 – from $435-billion a year to $553-billion – according to a December estimate by defence analysis firm IHS Jane’s.
“The region is at the threshold of an arms race – if not already in an arms race – and the South China Sea is heading toward becoming a theatre of big power rivalry, specifically between China and the United States,†said Yanmei Xie, a senior analyst with International Crisis Group.
Confirmation of the missile installation came only hours after Mr. Obama concluded his first summit with Southeast Asian leaders in California by calling for “tangible†measures to reduce South China Sea tensions, “including a halt to further reclamation, new construction and militarization of disputed areas.â€
Commentators in China, however, placed blame squarely on the United States, which has used its own military hardware to undermine Chinese claims, including overflights by B-52 bombers and sailings by warships within 12 nautical miles of both the Spratly and Paracel Islands.
With a new missile installation, “jet fighters from the U.S., an outside country, may feel uneasy when making provocative flights in the region. To us, that’s a proper result,†the Communist Party-run Global Times wrote in an editorial on Thursday.
“There’s no need to exaggerate†the effect of missiles in the region, said Zhu Feng, a professor at Nanjing University who is executive director of the China Center for Collaborative Studies of the South China Sea.
China has been building up its military presence on Hainan Island, its southernmost province, and placing missiles on Woody Island serves as a “kind of reinforced defence line,†Prof. Zhu said.
In the United States, observers see the missile installation as a potential precursor to Chinese imposition of an air defence identification zone that would see Beijing assert control of the skies over the South China Sea as well.
China imposed such a zone over the East China Sea in 2013, and has shown little evidence of bowing to global concern.
“The actions China has undertaken in the South China Sea over the last few years suggest it’s prepared to absorb the reputational damage,†said Ian Storey, a South China Sea expert at the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute. “It expects countries to protest its moves, but there’s nothing really anyone can do to force China to change course.â€
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World News
Marine Le Pen’s National Rally Wins the First Round in France 2024 Election

Exit polls in France showed that Marine Le Pen’s right-wing National Rally (RN) party made huge gains to win the first round of election on Sunday. However, the final outcome will depend on how people trade votes in the days before next week’s run-off.
Exit polls from Ipsos, Ifop, OpinionWay, and Elabe showed that the RN got about 34% of the vote. This was a big loss for President Emmanuel Macron, who called the early election after his party lost badly in the European Parliament elections earlier this month.
The National Rally (RN) easily won more votes than its opponents on the left and center, including Macron’s Together group, whose bloc was predicted to get 20.5% to 23% of the vote. Exit polls showed that the New Popular Front (NFP), a hastily put together left-wing alliance, would get about 29% of the vote.
The results of the exit polls matched what people said in polls before the election, which made Le Pen’s fans very happy. But they didn’t say for sure if the anti-immigrant, anti-EU National Rally (RN) will be able to “cohabit” with the pro-EU Macron in a government after the runoff election next Sunday.
Voters in France Angry at Macron
Many French people have looked down on the National Rally (RN) for a long time, but now it is closer to power than it has ever been. A party known for racism and antisemitism has tried to clean up its image, and it has worked. Voters are angry at Macron, the high cost of living, and rising concerns about immigration.
Fans of Marine Le Pen waved French flags and sang the Marseillaise in the northern French district of Henin-Beaumont. The crowd cheered as Le Pen said, “The French have shown they are ready to turn the page on a power that is disrespectful and destructive.”
The National Rally’s chances of taking power next week will rest on what political deals its opponents make in the next few days. Right-wing and left-wing parties used to work together to keep the National Rally (RN) out of power, but the “republican front,” which refers to this group, is less stable than ever.
If no candidate gets 50% of the vote in the first round, the top two candidates and anyone else with 12.5% of the registered voters immediately move on to the second round. The district goes to the person who gets the most votes in the runoff.
France is likely to have a record number of three-way runoffs because so many people voted on Sunday. Experts say that these are much better for the National Rally (RN) than two-way games. Almost right away on Sunday night, the horse trade began.
Macron asked people to support candidates who are “clearly republican and democratic.” Based on what he has said recently, this would rule out candidates from the National Rally (RN) and the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) party. Leaders on the far left and the center left both asked their third-placed candidates to drop out.
Minority government
Jean-Luc Melenchon, leader of France Unbowed, said, “Our rule is simple and clear: not a single more vote for the National Rally.” But the center-right Republicans party, which split before the vote when some of its members joined the RN, didn’t say anything.
The president of the RN party, Jordan Bardella, who is 28 years old, said he was ready to be prime minister if his party gets a majority of seats. He has said he won’t try to make a minority government, and neither Macron nor the communist NFP will work with him.
“I will be a “cohabitation” Prime Minister, respectful of the constitution and of the office of President of the Republic, but uncompromising about the policies we will implement,” he said.
A few thousand anti-RN protesters met in Paris’s Republique square on Sunday night for a rally of the leftist alliance. The mood was gloomy.
Niya Khaldi, a 33-year-old teacher, said that the RN’s good results made her feel “disgust, sadness, and fear.”
“This is not how I normally act,” she said. “I think I came to reassure myself, to not feel alone.”
Election Runoff
The result on Sunday didn’t have much of an effect on the market. In early Asia-Pacific trade, the euro gained about 0.23%. Fiona Cincotta, a senior markets expert at City Index in London, said she was glad the outcome “didn’t come as a surprise.”
“Le Pen had a slightly smaller margin than some of the polls had pointed to, which may have helped the euro a little bit higher on the open,” she noted. “Now everyone is waiting for July 7 to see if the second round supports a clear majority or not. So it does feel like we’re on the edge of something.”
Some pollsters thought the RN would win the most seats in the National Assembly, but Elabe was the only one who thought the party would win all 289 seats in the run-off. Seat projections made after the first round of voting are often very wrong, and this race is no exception.
On Sunday night, Reuters reported there were no final results for the whole country yet, but they were due in the next few hours. In France, exit polls have usually been very accurate.
Voter turnout was high compared to previous parliamentary elections. This shows how passionate people are about politics after Macron made the shocking and politically risky decision to call a vote in parliament.
Mathieu Gallard, research head at Ipsos France, said that at 1500 GMT, nearly 60% of voters had turned out, up from 39.42% two years earlier. This was the highest comparable turnout since the 1986 legislative vote. It wasn’t clear when the official number of people who voted would be changed.
World News
Pakistan Seeks US Support for Counter-Terrorism Operation Azm-e-Istehkam

(CTN News) – Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States, Masood Khan, has urged Washington to provide Pakistan with sophisticated small arms and communication equipment to ensure the success of Operation Azm-e-Istehkam, a newly approved counter-terrorism initiative in the country.
The federal government recently approved the reinvigorated national counter-terrorism drive, which comprises three components: doctrinal, societal, and operational.
Ambassador Khan noted that work on the first two phases has already begun, with the third phase set to be implemented soon.
Addressing US policymakers, scholars, and corporate leaders at the Wilson Center in Washington, Khan emphasized the importance of strong security links, enhanced intelligence cooperation, and the resumption of sales of advanced military platforms between Pakistan and the US.
He argued that this is crucial for regional security and countering the rising tide of terrorism, which also threatens the interests of the US and its allies.
“Pakistan has launched Azm-i-Istehkam […] to oppose and dismantle terrorist networks. For that, we need sophisticated small arms and communication equipment,” said Ambassador Khan.
Pakistan–United States relations
The ambassador observed that the prospects of Pakistan-United States relations were bright, stating that the two countries “share values, our security and economic interests are interwoven, and it is the aspiration of our two peoples that strengthens our ties.”
He invited US investors and businesses to explore Pakistan’s potential in terms of demographic dividend, technological advancements, and market opportunities.
Khan also suggested that the US should consider Pakistan as a partner in its diplomatic efforts in Kabul and collaborate on counterterrorism and the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan.
He stressed that the bilateral relationship should be based on ground realities and not be hindered by a few issues.
“We should not base our engagement on the incongruity of expectations.
Our ties should be anchored in ground realities, even as we aim for stronger security and economic partnerships. Secondly, one or two issues should not hold the entire relationship hostage,” said the ambassador.
World News
China Urges Taiwanese to Visit Mainland ‘Without Worry’ Despite Execution Threat

China has reassured Taiwanese citizens that they can visit the mainland “without the slightest worry”, despite Taiwan raising its travel alert to the second-highest level in response to Beijing’s new judicial guidelines targeting supporters of Taiwanese independence.
Last week, China published guidelines that could impose the death penalty for “particularly serious” cases involving “diehard” advocates of Taiwanese independence.
In response, Taiwan’s government urged the public to avoid “unnecessary travel” to mainland China and Hong Kong, and raised its travel warning to the “orange” level.
However, Zhu Fenglian, a spokeswoman for a Chinese body overseeing Taiwan affairs, stated that the new directives are “aimed solely at the very small number of supporters of ‘Taiwan independence’, who are engaged in malicious acts and utterances”.
She emphasized that “the vast majority of Taiwan compatriots involved in cross-strait exchanges and cooperation do not need to have the slightest worry when they come to or leave mainland China”.
“They can arrive in high spirits and leave fully satisfied with their stay,” Zhu added.
What’s Behind The China-Taiwan Tensions?
The tensions stem from the longstanding dispute over Taiwan’s status. Mainland China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has refused to rule out using force to bring the democratic island under its control, while Taiwan sees itself as a sovereign state.
Beijing has not conducted top-level communications with Taipei since 2016, when the Democratic Progressive Party’s Tsai Ing-wen became Taiwan’s leader. China has since branded her successor, President Lai Ching-te, a “dangerous separatist”.
“The DPP authorities have fabricated excuses to deceive the people on the island and incite confrontation and opposition,” Zhu said in her statement.
Despite the political tensions, many Taiwanese continue to travel to mainland China for work, study, or business.
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