Top Asian News 3:42 a.m. GMT

What is the Pacific Islands Forum? How a summit for the world’s tiniest nations became a global draw

NUKU’ALOFA, Tonga (AP) — As leaders of Pacific nations were welcomed to their annual meeting in Nuku’alofa, Tonga, on Monday, they were greeted first by torrential rain and then by an earthquake. The magnitude 6.9 quake was deep enough not to cause damage, but the long shudder and ankle-deep water served as a reminder of the natural vulnerabilities of many of the member countries of the Pacific Islands Forum, who are locked in an existential struggle for economic and environmental survival. It also underscored the tension at the heart of an event that once barely captured the world’s notice and now draws delegations from dozens of countries across the globe — the way a fierce skirmish for geopolitical influence in the South Pacific among major powers further afield threatens to overtake local concerns, often to island leaders’ dismay.

Philippines says an ‘excessive force’ of Chinese ships blocked a food delivery to Filipinos in shoal

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — China deployed “an excessive force” of 40 ships that blocked two Philippine vessels from delivering food and other supplies to Manila’s largest coast guard ship in a disputed shoal in the latest flare-up of their territorial disputes in the South China Sea, Philippine officials said Tuesday. China and the Philippines blamed each other for the confrontation on Monday in Sabina Shoal, an uninhabited atoll both countries claim that has become the latest flashpoint in the Spratlys, the most hotly disputed region of the sea passage that is a key global trade and security route. China and the Philippines have separately deployed coast guard ships to Sabina in recent months on suspicion the other may act to take control of and build structures in the fishing atoll.

Canada imposes a 100% tariff on imports of Chinese-made electric vehicles, matching the US

TORONTO (AP) — Canada announced Monday it is launching a 100% tariff on imports of Chinese-made electric vehicles, matching U.S. tariffs imposed over what Western governments say are China’s subsidies that give its industry an unfair advantage. The announcement came after encouragement by U.S. national security advisor Jake Sullivan during a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Cabinet ministers Sunday. Sullivan is making his first visit to Beijing on Tuesday. Trudeau said Canada also will impose a 25% tariff on Chinese steel and aluminum. “Actors like China have chosen to give themselves an unfair advantage in the global marketplace,” he said.

Pope will visit the Istiqlal mosque in Indonesia on the first stop of an interfaith Asian trip

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — When Pope Francis begins his Asia tour next week, one of his early stops will be at Indonesia’s iconic Istiqlal mosque. The 87-year-old head of the Catholic Church will hold an interfaith meeting with representatives of the country’s six officially recognized religions as the populous Southeast Asian nation faces growing challenges to its tolerant image. Francis, who has suffered a slew of health problems and has become increasingly reliant on a wheelchair, has a rigorous schedule during his four-nation visit. He will start his trip in Jakarta on Sept. 3, where he will meet Indonesian President Joko Widodo.

What’s behind the bloodiest recent attacks in Pakistan’s Baluchistan province?

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Multiple attacks in Pakistan’s restive southwest have killed at least 38 people, the highest death toll in a 24-hour period blamed on separatists in Baluchistan province in recent years. Gunmen mowed down people after dragging them off buses, cars and trucks. Police and passersby were fatally shot in broad daylight in another district. A railway bridge connecting the province with the rest of the country was blown up. A police station was attacked. There have been other reports of shootings. The assaults were more audacious and brutal than the ones usually perpetrated by militants, who normally target security personnel or installations.

Biden speaks with Modi about Indian premier’s recent visit to Ukraine, situation in Bangladesh

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden spoke with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, days after the most prominent leader from a nation that maintains a neutral position on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine visited Kyiv. Modi said in a posting on X that he spoke to Biden about “India’s full support for early return of peace and stability” in Ukraine. He said the leaders also discussed India’s concern about the safety of Hindus and other religious minorities in neighboring Bangladesh after this month’s ouster of the country’s long-serving prime minister. The White House said Biden commended Modi’s engagement with Ukraine as well as his visit last week to Poland, one of Ukraine’s closest Eastern European allies.

Army private who fled to North Korea will plead guilty to desertion

WASHINGTON (AP) — An Army private who fled to North Korea just over a year ago will plead guilty to desertion and four other charges and take responsibility for his conduct, his lawyer said Monday. Travis King’s attorney, Franklin D. Rosenblatt, told The Associated Press that King intends to admit guilt to a total of five military offenses, including desertion and assaulting an officer. Nine other offenses, including possession of sexual images of a child, will be withdrawn and dismissed under the terms of the deal. King will be given an opportunity at a Sept. 20 hearing at Fort Bliss, Texas, to discuss his actions and explain what he did.

The worldwide catastrophe of rising seas especially imperils Pacific paradises, Guterres says

NUKU’ALOFA, Tonga (AP) — Highlighting seas that are rising at an accelerating rate, especially in the far more vulnerable Pacific island nations, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres issued yet another climate SOS to the world. This time he said those initials stand for “save our seas.” The United Nations and the World Meteorological Organization Monday issued reports on worsening sea level rise, turbocharged by a warming Earth and melting ice sheets and glaciers. They highlight how the Southwestern Pacific is not only hurt by the rising oceans, but by other climate change effects of ocean acidification and marine heat waves. Guterres toured Samoa and Tonga and made his climate plea from Tonga’s capital on Tuesday at a meeting of the Pacific Islands Forum, whose member countries are among those most imperiled by climate change.

China is conducting military patrols near the Myanmar border as civil war rages on the other side

BEIJING (AP) — China’s military is carrying out armed patrols near the Myanmar border this week, where the government is concerned about potential fallout from fierce fighting in a civil war on the other side. Troops were deployed to Yunnan province in southwestern China on Monday to test their ability to maintain security in border areas, the military’s Southern Theater Command said. An alliance of ethnic militias has dealt a series of setbacks to Myanmar’s military in the country’s northeast, which is near China. Five people were injured on the Chinese side in January by a stray artillery shell. Live-fire drills will be held from Tuesday to Thursday in four locations including two in Ruili city, the Yunnan government said.

Taiwan drills with anti-amphibious landing missiles to deter China

PINGTING, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwan drilled Monday with anti-amphibious landing missiles as part of strategy to remain mobile and deadly in an attempt to deter an attack from China, which claims the democratically ruled island as its own territory to be brought under its control by force if necessary. Troops fired tube-launched, optically tracked, wire-guided missiles known as TOW 2A missiles mounted on M1167 Humvees at floating targets off a beach in Pingtung County during the two days of exercises. The area on Taiwan’s southern tip faces both toward the Taiwan Strait and China, and toward the Pacific Ocean. The missiles are among the most effective and popular anti-tank weapons in the world and a key component in what some experts say is Taiwan’s best strategy to resist a potential Chinese invasion.