Top Asian News 4:58 a.m. GMT

China’s foreign minister criticizes US tariffs and accuses the country of ‘meeting good with evil’

BEIJING (AP) — Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said China will continue to retaliate for the United States’ “arbitrary tariffs” and accused Washington of “meeting good with evil” in a press conference Friday on the sidelines of the country’s annual parliamentary session. Wang said China’s efforts to help the U.S. contain its fentanyl crisis have been met with punitive tariffs, which are straining their ties. “No country should fantasize that it can suppress China and maintain a good relationship with China at the same time,” Wang said. “Such two-faced acts are not good for the stability of bilateral relations or for building mutual trust.” The U.S.

China’s foreign minister blasts the US over tariffs at his annual meeting with journalists

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Along with fulminating against the United States, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi reasserted China’s South China Sea claims, blasted Japan for its past aggression and covered a wide range of other issues during his annual meeting with the press. Here are some of the key topics covered during his Friday press conference. China has clashed frequently with the Philippines over ownership of and access to islands in the South China Sea, whose rich fishing grounds China claims virtually in its entirety. However, Wang was quick to place blame elsewhere, saying Manila was being manipulated by forces “outside the region,” its standard term for the U.S.

South Korea stops some military drills after accidental bombing in possible setback to US exercises

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea suspended the training flights of air force aircraft and all live-fire drills following its fighter jets’ accidental bombing of a civilian area, officials said Friday, posing a potential setback to its upcoming annual military training with the United States. On Thursday, two South Korean KF-16 fighter jets mistakenly released four MK-82 bombs each on a civilian area in Pocheon, a city near the tense border with North Korea. The bombing, which injured nearly 30 people, two of them seriously, occurred when South Korean and U.S. forces were engaging in a live-fire drill in connection with their broader Freedom Shield command post exercise set to begin Monday.

US says multiple offers were made to resettle Uyghurs before Thailand deported them back to China

BANGKOK (AP) — The United States and other countries made repeated offers to Thailand to resettle more than three dozen Uyghur men before they were deported back to China, where rights groups fear they may face torture and other abuse, the U.S. State Department said Friday. The 40 Uyghurs, who had been in Thai custody since 2014 after fleeing state repression of their minority group in China’s northwestern Xinjiang region, were whisked away from a Bangkok detention center under cover of darkness last week. “We have worked with Thailand for years to avoid this situation, including by consistently and repeatedly offering to resettle the Uyghurs in other countries, including, at times, the United States,” the State Department said in response to questions from The Associated Press.

Court orders South Korean President Yoon released from jail for his criminal trial over martial law

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A South Korean court on Friday ordered impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol to be released from jail, a move that could allow Yoon to stand trial for his rebellion charge without being physically detained. Yoon was arrested and indicted in January over the Dec. 3 martial law decree that plunged the country into political turmoil. The opposition-controlled parliament separately voted to impeach him, leading to his suspension from office. The hearings in his impeachment trial at the Constitutional Court concluded in late February, and that court is expected to rule soon on whether to formally remove him from office or reinstate him.

Canada and Philippines will sign a key defense pact to boost combat drills and military ties

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Canada and the Philippines, both vocal critics of China’s increasingly aggressive actions in the disputed South China Sea, have concluded talks for a key defense pact that would allow their forces to hold joint combat drills and boost defense engagements, the Department of National Defense in Manila said Friday. Canada and other Western nations have been reinforcing their military presence in the Indo-Pacific to help promote the rule of law and expand trade and investment in the region. That dovetails with Philippine efforts under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to broaden defense ties with friendly countries to bolster his country’s defense as it faces an increasingly assertive China in the disputed South China Sea.

Rare cyclone weakens to a tropical low weather system as it approaches the Australian east coast

BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — A tropical cyclone weakened into a tropical low weather system on Saturday as it approached Brisbane, Australia’s third-most populous city, bringing flooding rain that was expected to lash the coastal region for days. Tropical Cyclone Alfred had been expected to become on Saturday the first cyclone to cross the east Australian coast near the Queensland state capital since 1974. But it weakened early Saturday to a tropical low, which is defined as carrying sustained winds of less than 63 kph (39 mph). The system was expected to cross the coast north of Brisbane between Bribie Island and the Sunshine Coast region later Saturday, Bureau of Meteorology manager Matt Collopy said.

Japan’s refusal to recognize same-sex marriage in law is unconstitutional, a court finds

TOKYO (AP) — A Japanese high court on Friday ruled that Japan’s refusal to legally recognize same-sex marriage is unconstitutional, the latest victory for same-sex couples and their supporters seeking equal rights. Friday’s decision by the Nagoya High Court, in central Japan, marks the ninth victory out of 10 rulings since the first group of plaintiffs filed lawsuits in 2019. The decision was also the fourth high court ruling in a row to find the current government policy unconstitutional, after similar decisions in Tokyo, Fukuoka and Sapporo. After a fifth court ruling expected later this month in Osaka, the Supreme Court is expected to handle all five appeals and make a decision.

China imposes retaliatory tariffs on Canadian farm and food products

BEIJING (AP) — China on Saturday announced retaliatory tariffs on some Canadian farm and food imports, after Canada imposed duties in October on Chinese-made electric vehicles and steel and aluminum products. The new duties become effective March 20, according to a statement by the Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council. Additional 100% tariffs will be imposed on Canadian rapeseed oil, oil cakes and peas, and additional 25% tariffs will apply to pork and aquatic products. The tariffs add to global trade tensions already high, with rounds of tariff announcements by the United States, China, Canada and Mexico. The duties come in retaliation for Ottawa imposing tariffs against Chinese imports in October, including a 100% surtax on all Chinese-made EVs and 25% on steel and aluminum imports.

Police in Bangladesh use batons and tear gas to disperse rally by banned Islamist group

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Police used batons and stun grenades on Friday to disperse thousands of members of the banned Hizbut Tahrir group as they marched near Bangladesh’s main Baitul Mokarram Mosque in the country’s capital. Police said that many people were injured and several protesters were arrested during the violence which came after weekly prayers. Masud Alam, a deputy commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, said that attempts were made to disperse the rally after marchers broke away from the police barricade. Witnesses said that scores of people were injured. The clashes happened as between 3,000 and 5,000 protesters joined the procession, chanting slogans such as “Freedom has one path, Khilafat, Khilafat,” or caliphate, and “Naraye Taqbir, Allahu akbar,” meaning “Cry, God is the greatest.” The Islamist group had mounted a social media campaign in recent days and distributed leaflets and used posters across Dhaka urging people to join the procession, dubbed “March for Khilafat.” Hizbut Tahrir says it wants unification of all Muslim countries over time in a unitary Islamic state or caliphate, headed by a caliph elected by Muslims.