Top Asian News 3:54 a.m. GMT

US-Chinese military talks resume on safety in the air and at sea after a nearly 2-year break

WASHINGTON (AP) — For the first time in nearly two years, U.S. and Chinese defense officials met this week to discuss unsafe and aggressive ship and aircraft incidents between the two militaries in the Pacific region, restarting a dialogue that Beijing abruptly ended in a dispute involving Taiwan. The meeting, which was Wednesday and Thursday in Hawaii, came as Washington and Beijing work to expand communications between the two world powers and ease escalating tensions. Military-to-military contact had stalled in August 2022, when Beijing suspended all such communication after then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, the self-governing island China claims as its own.

Beneath the calm, Hong Kong’s new security law drives deeper, quieter changes

HONG KONG (AP) — On the surface, life in Hong Kong after a broad new national security law recently took effect appears unchanged. A 2020 security law drew thousands of protesters to the streets when it was enacted. Now, that’s seen as too risky. This time, no arrests made headlines. There were no newsroom raids. Instead, there’s a deeper, quieter wave of adaptation underway among Hong Kong residents who are living under the threat of more extensive restrictions after the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance took effect on March 23. At an immigration expo during the law’s first two days, immigration consultant Ben Li’s booth was constantly busy, its small white tables all occupied.

As Yellen heads to Beijing, China worries that the U.S. is planning more tariffs on green tech

GUANGZHOU, China (AP) — As U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen appeals to Chinese leaders to change their domestic manufacturing policies on the second day of an official visit, state media are receiving her message with skepticism, and anxiety about more U.S. tariffs on green energy products. Yellen, who started her five-day visit in one of China’s major industrial and export hubs, has focused thus far on what the U.S. considers to be unfair Chinese trade practices in talks with senior Chinese officials. The official Xinhua News Agency wrote Friday night that while Yellen’s trip is “a good sign” that the world’s two largest economies are maintaining communication, “talking up ‘Chinese overcapacity’ in the clean energy sector also smacks of creating a pretext for rolling out more protectionist policies to shield U.S.

More than 600 people still stranded in Taiwan, 3 days after earthquake that killed at least 12

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Rescuers were planning to bring in heavy equipment on Saturday to try to recover two bodies buried under boulders on a hiking trail, three days after Taiwan’s strongest earthquake in 25 years. Four more people remain missing on the same Shakadang Trail in Taroko National Park, famed for its rugged mountainous terrain. Search and recovery work was set to resume, after being called off Friday afternoon because of aftershocks. At least 12 people were killed by the magnitude 7.4 earthquake that struck Wednesday morning off Taiwan’s east coast, and 10 others were still missing. More than 600 people, including about 450 at a hotel in the Taroko park, remained stranded in various locations cut off by rockslides and other damage.

South Korea election issues: Green onions, striking doctors, an alleged sexist jab at a candidate

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Soaring prices for green onions and apples. Striking doctors. A politician’s allegedly sexist jab at a female candidate. These are among the issues animating voters in South Korea this year. As South Koreans prepare to vote for a new 300-member parliament next week, many are choosing their livelihoods and other domestic topics as their most important election issues, staying away from traditionally popular agendas like North Korean nuclear threats and the U.S. security commitment. “I feel drawn to someone who talks about things that can be truly helpful to our neighborhoods,” said Kim Yun-ah, a 45-year-old Seoul officer worker.

Survivors of Taiwan’s historic quake recall harrowing moments of tremors, being trapped under rocks

HUALIEN, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwan residents endured harrowing experiences on Wednesday when the ground shook with the strongest earthquake to hit the island in 25 years. People saw rocks tumble onto roadways, watched parts of their homes fall around them and waited for rescuers to free them from rubble. The historic quake killed at least 12 people and injured more than 1,000. Several hundred people remained stranded after vital highways were damaged and the walls of some structures cracked. The quake’s epicenter was just off the coast of eastern Hualien County, a rural area known for tourism and rice paddy fields, but also the site of frequent earthquakes and tsunamis.

Yellen calls for level playing field for US workers and firms during China visit

GUANGZHOU, China (AP) — U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen called on China on Friday to address manufacturing overcapacity that she said risks causing global economic dislocation, and to create a level playing field for American companies and workers. Starting a five-day visit in one of China’s major industrial and export hubs, she raised what the U.S. considers to be unfair Chinese trade practices in talks with senior Chinese officials. “The United States seeks a healthy economic relationship with China that benefits both sides,” she said ahead of a meeting with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng and the central bank governor and other officials in the southern city of Guangzhou.

UN chief appoints former Australian foreign minister Julie Bishop as UN special envoy for Myanmar

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appointed former Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop on Friday as his special envoy for Myanmar, a post that has been vacant for 10 months as the country’s conflict escalated into the worst violence since the military takeover in 2021. Bishop will replace Noeleen Heyzer, a former U.N. undersecretary-general for Singapore who left after 20 months at the end of her contract in June 2023. In a grim assessment to the U.N. General Assembly before leaving, Heyzer said the impact of the military takeover has been “devastating,” with violence continuing “at an alarming scale.”

Japan’s Kishida, ahead of US trip, seeks stronger military ties with Washington and other partners

TOKYO (AP) — Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Friday he wants to strengthen military and weapons development cooperation with the United States as well as with other countries such as the Philippines, as he prepares for a visit to the U.S. next week to meet with President Joe Biden. “Defense industry cooperation between Japan and the United States, as well as with like-minded countries, are extremely important,” Kishida said in an interview Friday with selected foreign media, including The Associated Press, at the Prime Minister’s Office. “Within the Japan-U.S. alliance, I do hope to steadily improve deterrence and response capability,” he said.

ASEAN finance leaders end meetings in Laos, pointing to challenges from geopolitics, volatile prices

LUANG PRABANG, Laos (AP) — Southeast Asian economies are gaining ground as tourism and exports recover from the shocks of the pandemic, but geopolitical tensions and volatile commodity prices still pose serious risks, regional financial leaders said Friday. Laos’ Finance Minister Santiphab Phomvihane read out a joint statement following meetings among finance ministers at a hotel in the Laotian city of Luang Prabang, a UNESCO heritage site, but he made no other remarks and took no questions. Estimates for economic growth in members of the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations vary but are generally near a robust 5% for 2024.