Top Asian News 4:58 a.m. GMT

Former Hong Kong publisher Jimmy Lai begins to testify in his national security trial

HONG KONG (AP) — Former Hong Kong publisher Jimmy Lai began testifying Wednesday in his landmark national security trial, telling the court about his 2019 meetings with former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo during Hong Kong’s anti-government protests, but said he did not ask the U.S. officials to take action. Lai’s case is widely seen as a measure of press freedom and judicial independence in the Asian financial hub. Lai testified that he asked Pence to voice his support for Hong Kong but not for the U.S. government to take any action, saying, “It’s beyond me.” During the same trip to the U.S., Lai also met with Pompeo and discussed the situation in Hong Kong with him, noting it was a similar conversation to the one he had with Pence, he said.

Southeast Asian defense chiefs meet in Laos as maritime disputes with China are flaring

VIENTIANE, Laos (AP) — Southeast Asian defense chiefs and representatives met in Laos on Wednesday for security talks at a time of increasing maritime disputes with China in the Asia-Pacific and as the transition to a new U.S. president looms. U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin was set to join the meetings of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations defense ministers in Vientiane, where many will be looking for assurances before President-elect Donald Trump’s return to power in January. Austin just wrapped up meetings in Australia with officials there and Japan’s defense minister, where they pledged their support for ASEAN and their “serious concern about destabilizing actions in the East and South China Seas, including dangerous conduct by the People’s Republic of China against Philippines and other coastal state vessels.” In addition to the United States, other nations attending the two-day ASEAN meetings include Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and China.

Argentina’s Milei pivots to pragmatism in first talks with China’s Xi after shaking up the G20

LA PAZ, Boliva (AP) — Last year, then-presidential candidate Javier Milei declared Argentina would not “make deals with communists” in China or Brazil, calling their leaders “murderers” and “thieves” in a bid to channel the populist energies of Donald Trump and other global far-right icons into a winning political message. But Tuesday, President Milei found himself at the Group of 20 summit in Rio de Janeiro shaking hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping and vowing to boost trade with the Asian powerhouse, a day after his economy minister signed a preliminary agreement to export Argentine natural gas to Brazil. Milei even acquiesced to a joint declaration endorsed by world leaders late Monday despite his earlier attempts to play spoiler to the G20 host, Brazil’s left-wing president Luiz Inácio “Lula” da Silva who was once called by Milei a “corrupt communist.” The final moments of the summit revealed Milei’s more pragmatic streak, coming as a surprise after the irascible president sought to undercut various international initiatives — withdrawing Argentine negotiators from the U.N.

Elections in 2 Indian states are seen as a test of Prime Minister Modi’s popularity

NEW DELHI (AP) — Millions of people are voting in state elections in politically significant Maharashtra, India’s western industrial hub, and the mineral-rich eastern province of Jharkhand on Wednesday, a test of the popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist party and its regional partners. Maharashtra is India’s wealthiest state and home to the financial and entertainment capital, Mumbai. It is currently ruled by a coalition of Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party and a Hindu nationalist ally. An opposition alliance, including the Congress party, is in power in eastern Jharkhand state. Modi has held big rallies in the two states. The challenge comes barely four months after his party suffered a setback and returned to power in national elections for a third term without a parliamentary majority.

Marcos says Indonesia has agreed to send Filipino death-row drug convict back to the Philippines

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said Wednesday that a deal has been reached for Indonesia to send back a Filipino death-row drug convict, who was nearly executed by firing squad but got a reprieve due to years of pleadings from Manila. Marcos thanked Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto and his government for granting a longstanding Philippine request for Mary Jane Veloso to be brought back home to serve her sentence in her country. “Mary Jane Veloso is coming home,” Marcos said in a statement. “Arrested in 2010 on drug trafficking charges and sentenced to death, Mary Jane’s case has been a long and difficult journey.” It was not immediately clear when Veloso would be transported to the Philippines, but Marcos said he looked forward to welcoming her home.

Prak Sokhonn reappointed as Cambodia’s foreign minister

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Cambodia’s National Assembly unanimously approved the reappointment of Prak Sokhonn as foreign minister Wednesday. Prak Sokhonn, a first vice president of the Senate and a former deputy prime minister and foreign minister, replaced Sok Chenda Sophea, who remains deputy prime minister. Prime Minister Hun Manet posted a congratulatory message to Prak Sokhonn on his Telegram channel shortly afterward. Hun Manet succeeded his father last year after Hun Sen ruled the Southeast Asian country for nearly four decades, but there have been few signs of political liberalization. Prak Sokhonn was deputy prime minister and foreign minister from 2016 through 2023 under Hun Sen.

Tens of thousands crowd New Zealand’s Parliament grounds in support of Māori rights

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — As tens of thousands crowded the streets in New Zealand’s capital, Wellington, on Tuesday, the throng of people, flags aloft, had the air of a festival or a parade rather than a protest. They were marching to oppose a law that would reshape the county’s founding treaty between Indigenous Māori and the British Crown. But for many, it was also a celebration of a resurging Indigenous language and identity that colonization had once almost destroyed. “Just fighting for the rights that our tūpuna, our ancestors, fought for,” Shanell Bob said as she waited for the march to begin.

45 pro-democracy activists get 4 to 10 years in prison in Hong Kong’s biggest national security case

HONG KONG (AP) — Forty-five ex-lawmakers and activists were sentenced to four to 10 years in prison Tuesday in Hong Kong’s biggest national security case under a Beijing-imposed law that crushed a once-thriving pro-democracy movement. They were prosecuted under the 2020 national security law for their roles in an unofficial primary election. Prosecutors said their aim was to paralyze Hong Kong’s government and force the city’s leader to resign by aiming to win a legislative majority and using it to block government budgets indiscriminately. The unofficial primary held in July 2020 drew 610,000 voters, and its winners had been expected to advance to the official election.

US defense chief says alliance with Philippines will transcend administrations

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Tuesday condemned China’s dangerous actions against the Philippines and renewed a warning that the United States would defend its treaty ally if Filipino forces come under an armed attack in the increasingly volatile waters. During a visit to the Philippine province of Palawan next to the disputed South China Sea, Austin was asked if the strong U.S. military support to the Philippines would continue under incoming President Donald Trump, including $500 million in new military funding. Austin expressed belief that the strong alliance “will transcend” changes of administration. “We stand with the Philippines and we condemn dangerous actions by the PRC against lawful Philippine operations in the South China Sea,” he said, using the acronym of China’s official name.

Congressional panel urges toughing the US-China trade relationship

WASHINGTON (AP) — A congressional panel has recommended that the U.S. toughen its trade relationship with Beijing, pushing to roll back a nearly 25-year-old decision that helped bring about China’s rapid economic growth but that many in Washington now see as hurting U.S. interests. In its annual report to Congress released Tuesday, the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission called for the first time for ending permanent normal trade relations with Beijing. It echoes moves by prominent Republican lawmakers — including Sen. Marco Rubio, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for secretary of state — as the trade war with China is expected to intensify under the incoming administration.