Vietnam and the Philippines signed an MoU on Tuesday to boost security cooperation in the volatile South China Sea, which covers “incident prevention in the South China Sea” and “maritime cooperation” among coastguards.
Taiwan expressed anger after China “unilaterally” changed a flight path close to the sensitive median line in the Taiwan Strait, accusing Beijing of deliberately attempting to change the status quo for possible military means.
India and the US are “natural partners” who must move forward together in the business and strategic sectors, Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Tuesday. Speaking at the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce conference in New Delhi, Singh remarked that India-US cooperation will act as a force multiplier for a rules-based world order. He held that the American capital and technological expertise could aid India’s journey to becoming a developed nation by 2047.
A Pakistani court on Tuesday sentenced ex-PM and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan to ten years in prison for his alleged role in leaking classified state documents and violating the Official Secrets Act. Shah Mahmood Qureshi, former foreign minister and PTI vice chairman, has also received a ten-year jail sentence.
Hungarian PM Viktor Orban warned in an interview on Tuesday that Ukraine’s accession to the EU would have adverse consequences on the European economy, particularly in the agricultural sector. “This case [farmer protests in Europe] shows what a serious problem Ukraine is for Europe, even not taking into account the conflict,” Orban remarked. He emphasised that EU countries should not let their agricultural sectors collapse for the sake of Kyiv.
On Tuesday, Hamas received a new proposal for a ceasefire and the release of hostages in Gaza. Reuters reported that mediators presented the deal after discussions with Israel, citing a Hamas official. The proposal includes a three-stage truce in which the group would first release the remaining civilian hostages it captured on 7 October, then the soldiers, and finally the bodies of hostages who have been killed. The official did not specify how long the phases would last or what was planned to follow the final stage.