Top Asian News 11:47 a.m. GMT

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese visits China to strengthen trade relations

BEIJING (AP) — Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese kicked off a visit this weekend to China meant to shore up trade relations between the two countries. Albanese met with Shanghai Party Secretary Chen Jining on Sunday, the first in a series of high-level exchanges that will include meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Qiang and Chairman Zhao Leji of the National People’s Congress. The prime minister is leading “a very large business delegation” to China, which speaks to the importance of the economic relations between Australia and China, he told Chinese state broadcaster CGTN upon his arrival in Shanghai on Saturday.

Fuel to Air India plane was cut off moments before crash, investigation report says

NEW DELHI (AP) — Fuel control switches for the engines of an Air India flight that crashed last month were moved from the “run” to the “cutoff” position moments before impact, starving both engines of fuel, a preliminary investigation report said early Saturday. The report, issued by India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau, also indicated that both pilots were confused over the change to the switch setting, which caused a loss of engine thrust shortly after takeoff. The Air India flight — a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner — crashed on June 12 and killed at least 260 people, including 19 on the ground, in the northwestern city of Ahmedabad.

What the ‘black box’ can tell us about plane crashes

NEW DELHI (AP) — A preliminary finding into last month’s Air India plane crash has suggested the aircraft’s fuel control switches were turned off, starving the engines of fuel and causing a loss of engine thrust shortly after takeoff. The report, issued by India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau on Saturday, also found that one pilot was heard on the cockpit voice recorder asking the other why he cut off the fuel in the flight’s final moment. The other pilot replied he did not do so. The Air India flight — a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner — crashed on June 12 and killed at least 260 people, including 19 on the ground, in the northwestern city of Ahmedabad.

Russia warns US, South Korea and Japan against forming security alliance targeting North Korea

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Russia’s foreign minister warned the U.S., South Korea and Japan against forming a security partnership targeting North Korea as he visited his country’s ally for talks on further solidifying their booming military and other cooperation. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov spoke Saturday at North Korea’s eastern Wonsan city, where he met the country’s leader, Kim Jong Un, and conveyed greetings from President Vladimir Putin. Kim during the meeting reaffirmed his government’s commitment to “unconditionally support and encourage all measures” taken by Russia in its conflict with Ukraine. He said Pyongyang and Moscow share identical views on “all strategic issues in conformity with the level of alliance,” according to North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency.

Cambodian sites of Khmer Rouge brutality added to UNESCO heritage list

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Three locations used by Cambodia’s brutal Khmer Rouge regime as torture and execution sites 50 years ago have been added by UNESCO to its World Heritage List. The three locations were inscribed to the list by the United Nations cultural agency Friday during the 47th Session of the World Heritage Committee in Paris. The inscription coincided with the 50th anniversary of the rise to power by the communist Khmer Rouge government, which caused the deaths of an estimated 1.7 million Cambodians through starvation, torture and mass executions during a four-year reign from 1975 to 1979. UNESCO’s World Heritage List lists sites considered important to humanity and includes the Great Wall of China, the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt, the Taj Mahal in India and Cambodia’s Angkor archaeological complex.

France says the South Pacific territory of New Caledonia will have more freedoms

PARIS (AP) — France announced a sweeping, hard-fought agreement Saturday aimed at granting more autonomy to the restive South Pacific territory of New Caledonia, but stopping short of the independence sought by many Indigenous Kanaks. The agreement — hailed by President Emmanuel Macron as ″historic’’ — still needs final approval in New Caledonia, a nickel-rich archipelago east of Australia and 10 time zones away from Paris. The accord may face a vote by New Caledonians in February. The accord proposes the creation of a ″state of Caledonia″ within the French republic and inscribed in the French constitution, and the creation of a ’’Caledonian nationality″ alongside French nationality, according to excerpts viewed by The Associated Press.

Rubio and Wang stress cooperation after talks in Malaysia as US-China tensions simmer

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi agreed Friday to explore “areas of potential cooperation” between Washington and Beijing, and stressed the importance of managing differences, following their first in-person meeting as they wrapped up a two-day regional security forum in Malaysia. Rubio and Wang met Friday on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, regional forum in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, as tensions between the two global powers continue to rise over trade, security, and China’s support for Russia’s war in Ukraine. “Look, we’re two big, powerful countries, and there are always going to be issues that we disagree on,” Rubio told reporters after the meeting.

South Korea, US and Japan hold aerial drill in demonstration of strength against North Korea

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Top South Korean, U.S. and Japanese military officers urged North Korea to cease all unlawful activities that threaten regional security, as the three nations flew advanced warplanes for a joint exercise in a show of force against the North. The development came Friday as Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was to travel to North Korea amid booming military and other cooperation between the two countries that have raised concerns among their neighbors. During their regular meeting in Seoul on Friday, the chairmen of the joint chiefs of staff from South Korea, the U.S. and Japan discussed North Korea’s deployment of troops to Russia to support its war against Ukraine and Russia’s potential transfer of military technology to North Korea in return.

US commander says China has failed to coerce rival states in South China Sea

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — China has failed to intimidate rival claimant states into surrendering their sovereign interests in the disputed South China Sea despite its intensifying “bullying tactics” and the United States and other allied countries are ready to further boost deterrence against Beijing’s aggression, the U.S. Pacific Fleet commander said. Adm. Stephen Koehler, who oversees the largest naval fleet command in the world, gave assurances Friday in a Manila forum of U.S. commitment to help defend freedom of passage and the rule of law in the Indo-Pacific region. The Pacific Fleet’s mission, he said, was to deter aggression across the region with allies and partners “and to prevail in combat if necessary.”

Albanese will meet with Xi next week on a trip focused on Australia-China business ties

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will meet with China’s leader Xi Jinping on an upcoming trip he said Friday would focus on closer business ties. Albanese departs Saturday for the trip that includes stops in Beijing, Shanghai and Chengdu, and meetings with Xi, Premier Li Qiang and Chairman Zhao Leji of the National People’s Congress. Details on those meetings weren’t disclosed. Albanese plans to meet business, tourism and sport representatives in Shanghai and Chengdu, his office said. He will lead a business delegation and will attend a CEO roundtable scheduled for Tuesday in Beijing. “Certainly in areas such as green energy for example, there is a real prospect of further engagement,” Albanese told reporters in Sydney.