Top Asian News 10:48 a.m. GMT

American bombs in Iran also reverberate in China and North Korea

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — President Donald Trump campaigned on keeping the United States out of foreign wars, but it didn’t take long to convince him to come to the direct aid of Israel, hitting Iranian nuclear targets with bunker-buster bombs dropped by B-2 stealth bombers and Tomahawk cruise missiles fired from a submarine. Beyond the attack’s immediate impact on helping bring the 12-day war to a close, experts say Trump’s decision to use force against another country also will certainly be reverberating in the Asia-Pacific, Washington’s priority theater. “Trump’s strikes on Iran show that he’s not afraid to use military force — this would send a clear message to North Korea, and even to China and Russia, about Trump’s style,” said Duyeon Kim, a senior analyst at the Center for a New American Security based in Seoul, South Korea.

Navy ships and helicopters used in intensified search for 30 missing after Indonesian ferry sinks

GILIMANUK, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesian authorities deployed navy ships and helicopters Friday in the intensified search for 30 people still missing almost two days after a ferry sank near the tourist island of Bali. More than 160 rescuers including police and soldiers were involved in the search that resumed after being halted overnight due to poor visibility, said Ribut Eko Suyatno, the deputy chief of operations at the National Search and Rescue Agency. Three helicopters and a thermal drone were searching by air over the Bali Strait, while about 20 vessels and fishing boats were mobilized for the sea search, Suyatno said.

After decades of service, Taiwan retires its last F-5 fighter jets

HUALIEN, Taiwan (AP) — After decades in service, Taiwan’s Vietnam-era F-5 fighter jets are being retired as part of the island democracy’s transition to more advanced hardware. To keep pace with increased threats from mainland China, Taiwan has been upgrading both its manned and unmanned aerial assets, including purchasing 66 of the latest generation F-16V fighters and upgrading existing aircraft to modern specifications. China claims the island as its own territory and has never dropped its threat to invade since the sides split amid civil war in 1949. The air force invited journalists on Friday to witness one last flyby by the F-5, which first entered service with Taiwan in 1965 and most of which have now been converted to trainers, reconnaissance planes or decoys.

North Korean crosses the heavily fortified border to South Korea

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — An unidentified North Korean man crossed the heavily fortified land border separating the two Koreas and is in South Korean custody, the South’s military said Friday. The South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the military identified and tracked the individual near the central-west section of the military demarcation line and conducted a “guiding operation” before taking the person into custody Thursday night. It said authorities plan to investigate the border crossing and did not immediately say whether they view the incident as a defection attempt. The Joint Chiefs said it notified the U.S.-led United Nations Command about the incident and had not detected any immediate signs of unusual military activity by the North.

Dalai Lama, god-king for Tibetan Buddhists, will have a successor. That decision is consequential

DHARAMSHALA, India (AP) — The Dalai Lama has often called himself a simple monk, but millions of his Tibetan Buddhist followers have worshipped him for decades as a near deity. They also see him as the face of Tibet’s aspirations for greater autonomy, but have for years wrestled with the idea that he might be the last person to hold the role. He put that speculation to rest Wednesday, just days before he turns 90 on Sunday. There will be a successor after his death, he announced, and the Dalai Lama’s office will lead the search and recognize a successor in accordance with past tradition.

Tibetans in exile wonder: Will the next Dalai Lama be as charismatic as this one?

DHARAMSHALA, India (AP) — The Dalai Lama has announced that he intends to reincarnate, paving the way for a successor to take on a mantle stretching back 500 years after his death. But as he approaches his 90th birthday, that news hasn’t eased the worries of Tibetan Buddhists who wonder: What will happen when this Dalai Lama is gone? For decades, the 14th Dalai Lama has been more than a spiritual leader. He has sustained a nation in exile and managed to build a community that’s kept the Tibetan culture and identity alive. He is the China -reviled spokesperson for a Tibetan homeland that many, like him, can see only from afar.

China imposes anti-dumping duties on European brandy as trade tensions rise

BEIJING (AP) — China on Friday imposed anti-dumping duties on European brandy, most notably cognac produced in France, as trade tensions between Beijing and United States allies continue to rise. The tariffs, effective on Saturday, will range from 27.7% to 34.9%, China’s Commerce Ministry said. They are to be in place for five years and will not be applied retroactively. The announcement came during a European visit by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi aimed at ironing out trade differences. Wang was set to visit Paris after stops in Brussels and Berlin. The anti-dumping duties are the result of a probe China launched last year into European cognac, after the European Union undertook a probe into Chinese electric vehicles subsidies.

Pakistan’s biggest brewery is evolving from its 165-year-old liquor legacy

RAWALPINDI, Pakistan (AP) — A pungent fug of malt and yeastiness hangs over Murree Brewery, Pakistan ’s biggest and oldest producer of alcoholic drinks. The company is an outlier in a country where alcohol is outlawed for everyone except non-Muslims, who make up some 9 million people out of 241 million. Pakistan, an Islamic republic, banned booze for Muslims in the 1970s. Murree Brewery has strong financials despite the prohibition, thanks to its history, scant competition and a small, thirsty and predominantly elite consumer base. But the government exerts significant control over the sale and marketing of alcoholic beverages through red tape and high taxes, pushing brewery chairman Isphanyar Bandhara to expand the company’s footprint in Pakistan’s non-alcoholic drinks industry, which, although bigger, is more crowded and less lucrative.

Troops kill 30 militants attempting to sneak into Pakistan from Afghanistan

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistani security forces killed 30 militants who attempted to enter the country from Afghanistan, the military said Friday. It said the members of the Pakistani Taliban were spotted overnight in the North Waziristan district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and the troops seized weapons, ammunition and explosives from the militants. The military’s statement did not mention if there was a gunfight or other details of the operation. The military alleged the militants were backed by India and asked the Afghan government to prevent the use of its territory by “foreign proxies” to attack Pakistan. There was no immediate comment from New Delhi.

China shows signs of tackling the price wars that are taking a toll on its EV industry

BEIJING (AP) — The Chinese government is signaling enough is enough when it comes to the fierce competition in the country’s electric car market. China’s industrial policy has engineered a remarkable transformation to electric vehicles in what is the world’s largest auto market. In so doing, it has spawned far more makers than can possibly survive. Now, long-simmering concerns about oversupply and debilitating price wars are coming to the fore, even as the headline sales numbers soar to new heights. Market-leader BYD announced this week that its sales grew 31% in the first six months of the year to 2.1 million cars.