Top Asian News 3:57 a.m. GMT

Trump’s abrupt change of US policy on Ukraine raises questions about Taiwan support

BANGKOK (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump’s abrupt reversal of three years of American policy toward Ukraine has raised concerns China might become emboldened to push its territorial claim on Taiwan, though experts say Beijing is most likely in a wait-and-see mode right now to see how the situation in Europe plays out. In the past two weeks, Trump has falsely claimed Ukraine “should have never started the war,” said Ukraine “may be Russian someday” and questioned the legitimacy of President Volodmyr Zelenskyy’s government, while upending the longstanding American position of isolating Russia over its aggression by beginning direct talks with Moscow and voicing positions sounding remarkably like the Kremlin’s own.

Here’s why Chinese warships near Australia and New Zealand have prompted alarm

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Leaders in Australia and New Zealand say China should have given them more warning before its navy conducted an unusual series of live fire exercises in the seas between the two countries, forcing flights to divert on short notice. The drills by three naval ships happened in international waters beneath a busy commercial flight path over the Tasman Sea on Friday and Saturday, and at least once involved live fire. There’s no suggestion China broke any laws, but analysts say the episode highlights escalating regional tensions over China’s influence. The Tasman Sea spans 1,200 miles (2,000 km) between Australia and New Zealand, the largest Western powers in the South Pacific Ocean.

Chinese fishing vessels used North Korean crews in breach of UN bans, a report says

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A fleet of Chinese fishing vessels used North Korean crews between 2019 and 2024 in violation of U.N. bans, and many people were apparently subjected to abuses including being trapped at sea for years, a report said Monday. The Environmental Justice Foundation, a London-based group specializing in environmental and human rights issues, said it identified the presence of North Koreans on 12 Chinese tuna long-liners operating in the southwest Indian Ocean. The report was mostly based on interviews with 19 Indonesians and Filipinos who worked alongside them. “The testimony received from Indonesian and Filipino crew members suggests that concerted efforts were made to hide the presence of North Koreans on these vessels, and that those North Koreans on board were forced to work for as many as 10 years at sea — in some instances without ever stepping foot on land,” the report said.

China holds live-fire exercises in Gulf of Tonkin after Vietnam marks its territorial claims

BANGKOK (AP) — Chinese authorities said they began live-fire exercises in the Gulf of Tonkin on Monday, only days after Vietnam announced a new line marking what it considers its territory in the body of water between the countries. China’s Maritime Safety Administration said the exercises would be focused on the Beibu Gulf area, closer to the Chinese side of the Gulf of Tonkin, and would run through Thursday evening. It gave no further details, but the drills follow an announcement last week by Vietnam establishing a baseline used to calculate the width of its territorial waters in the Gulf of Tonkin.

Taliban confirm British couple in their 70s arrested in Afghanistan as family call for their release

The Taliban on Monday confirmed the arrest of a British couple in their 70s in Afghanistan after a plea from their children for their release. The four adult children of Peter and Barbie Reynolds said their parents have lived in Afghanistan for 18 years, remaining after the Taliban toppled the Western-backed government in 2021. The couple run Afghanistan-based Rebuild, an organization that provides education and training programs for businesses, government agencies, educational organizations and nongovernmental groups. The Sunday Times, which first reported the arrests, said one project was for mothers and children. The Taliban has severely restricted women’s education and activities.

Judge tosses part of a lawsuit against UK band The 1975 for gay kiss at Malaysian music festival

LONDON (AP) — Members of the British band The 1975 cannot be held personally liable for losses of a Malaysian music festival that was shut down by authorities after lead singer Matty Healy kissed a male bandmate on stage, a London judge ruled Monday. The organizer of the Good Vibes Festival is seeking 1.9 million pounds ($2.4 million) in losses after Healy criticized the country’s anti-homosexuality laws and then kissed bassist Ross MacDonald at the Kuala Lumpur show in July 2023. Footage of the kiss sparked a backlash in the predominantly Muslim country, where homosexuality is a crime punishable by up to 20 years in prison and caning.

Elevated parts of highway being built in South Korea collapses, killing 2 workers

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Elevated parts of a highway under construction collapsed in South Korea on Tuesday, killing two workers and injuring seven others, officials said. Ten people were working on the site in the city of Cheonan, about 90 kilometers (55 miles) south of Seoul. They fell when it collapsed and were trapped in the rubble, the National Fire Agency said. Seven injured workers were sent to hospitals for treatment. Fire agency officials said rescue workers were trying to find the missing worker. The cause of the collapse wasn’t immediately known. Acting President Choi Sang-mok urged authorities to mobilize all available personnel and equipment to salvage the workers.

Residents attack Bangladesh air force base and clash with soldiers, leaving 1 dead

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Residents in southern Bangladesh on Monday attacked an air force base following an altercation, prompting soldiers from the base to open fire, killing at least one person and injuring several others, local media reported. The military in a statement blamed “miscreants” for attacking the base in the city of Cox’s Bazar. The country’s largest English-language newspaper, the Daily Star, reported one dead. The violence broke out after soldiers challenged a man on a motorbike for not wearing his helmet, according to the Bengali-language Prothom Alo newspaper. The military in a later statement said a local had been brought inside the base for questioning as he did not have the necessary documents for his motorbike.

Top US general in Asia-Pacific visits Cambodia to boost relations

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — The top U.S. Army officer for the Asia-Pacific region was in Cambodia on Monday in the latest visit by U.S. officials aimed at improving estranged ties between the two nations and their militaries. The two-day visit by a delegation led by Gen. Ronald P. Clark, commanding general of the United States Army Pacific, comes against a background of rocky relations with Cambodia, whose government Washington has long criticized for political repression and human rights violations. There is also particular concern about its close ties with China. The United States and others fear that China’s navy may have been given exclusive access to a base at Ream on the Gulf of Thailand, which would allow it to more easily project its power from the South China Sea to the Indian Ocean.

Shariah court in Indonesia sentences 2 men to up to 85 lashes for having gay sex

BANDA ACEH, Indonesia (AP) — An Islamic Shariah court in Indonesia’s conservative Aceh province on Monday sentenced two men to public caning for having gay sex. The couple, aged 24 and 18, were arrested on Nov. 7, after neighborhood vigilantes in the provincial capital, Banda Aceh, suspected them of being gay and broke into their rented room to catch them naked and hugging each other. The lead judge said that the two college students were “legally and convincingly” proven to have had gay sex and would receive 85 and 80 strokes respectively. “During the trial it was proven that the defendants committed illicit acts, including kissing and having sex.“ said the judge, Sakwanah, who goes by a single name like many Indonesians.