Asean Observer

BALTIMORE— President Joe Biden on Thursday said the United States would defend Taiwan if the island were attacked by China, which considers it part of its territory.“Yes,” he responded when asked in a CNN town hall about defending Taiwan. “We have a co…

WASHINGTON— The United States has barred imports from a Malaysian latex glove maker over alleged labour abuses, the latest firm from the country to face such a ban. The relatively affluent Southeast Asian nation is home to millions of migrant workers…

Around 1,040 candidates are expected to participate in the general election scheduled on Oct 31, to compete for 465 seats in Japan’s House of Representatives, with campaigning starting tomorrow, according to a Kyodo News tally.Leaders of major politica…

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN— Myanmar’s junta chief will be excluded from an upcoming ASEAN summit, the group said Saturday, a rare rebuke as concerns rise over the military government’s commitment to plans on defusing a bloody crisis. Foreign ministers from t…

SYDNEY— Eight countries and the EU diplomatic chief urged the Myanmar junta to let a regional special envoy meet ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi.The call comes as concerns grow over the military government’s commitment to a “five-point consensu…

YANGON– Myanmar’s Foreign Affairs Ministry said, the country is looking forward to confirmation on the ASEAN special envoy’s visit, a press release said.Regarding a visit by the special envoy, also the Second Minister of Brunei’s Foreign Affairs, Erywa…

SINGAPORE– Singapore reported 2,932 new cases of COVID-19 yesterday, bringing the total tally in the country to 138,327, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said in a press release.Of the new cases, 2,412 were in the community, 517 were in migrant workers’ do…

PUTRAJAYA (Malaysia)— The Sudanese Charge d’ Affaires in Kuala Lumpur was summoned by the Foreign Ministry (Wisma Putra) on Wednesday morning to convey Malaysia’s concern over the issue pertaining to the Petronas Sudan Complex in Khartoum.Several media…

WASHINGTON— The top diplomats from Israel and the United Arab Emirates are set to hold three-way talks in Washington Wednesday as President Joe Biden’s administration embraces and looks to expand a normalisation drive.Concerns about Iran — the specter …

TEHRAN– The speaker of Iran’s parliament said here yesterday that, any dialogue regarding the 2015 nuclear agreement must lead to the lifting of the sanctions against Iran.“The United States withdrew from the agreement during the Trump era, and it was …