Russia shoots down Ukrainian UAV in Black Sea, China elects new Foreign Minister

The Thai Parliament postponed the election of Prime Minister, the President of the Philippines visited Malaysia, Italy may withdraw from BRI... are some notable world news in the past 24 hours.

Mr. Wang Yi was elected as the new Foreign Minister of China. (Source: AFP)

The World & Vietnam Newspaper highlights some of the day's international news highlights.

Russia-Ukraine

* Russia repels Ukrainian drone attack in Black Sea : On July 25, the Russian Defense Ministry said, “Ukrainian armed forces carried out an unsuccessful attack overnight with a naval unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) on the patrol ship Sergei Kotov.” The ship then opened fire and destroyed two Ukrainian UAVs. (AFP/Reuters)

* Russia: NATO is being drawn into dangerous actions in Ukraine : On July 25, speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the United Nations Conference on Food Systems in Rome (Italy), Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin said: “We know that there are plans to convene a Ukraine-NATO council on July 26. We are closely following the development of events.

We believe that NATO is openly engaged in a military confrontation in Ukraine with Russia, and is a direct participant in these actions. Here we can mention the dangerous expansion of NATO's military involvement in actions that further increase regional tensions. We consider such things unacceptable.

Earlier, on July 23, NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu announced that the Ukraine-NATO Council will meet at ambassadorial level in Brussels on July 26 to discuss the termination of the grain agreement and potential scenarios related to Ukraine continuing to supply grain through the Black Sea. (Reuters)

* IAEA discovers anti-personnel mines outside Zaporizhzhia plant : On July 24, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi said that when inspecting the Zaporizhzhia plant area on July 23, IAEA experts found a number of mines in the buffer zone between the inner and outer perimeter fences of the plant. Accordingly, the mines were in a restricted area that plant staff could not access and no mines were discovered inside the plant.

According to him, “planting such explosives at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is inconsistent with the IAEA's safety standards and nuclear security guidelines.”

However, he also concluded that “any explosion from those mines would not affect the nuclear safety and security systems of this plant.” (TASS)

* Germany and Poland reach agreement to maintain Leopard tanks for Ukraine : On July 24, German Defense Ministry spokesman Mitko Müller announced that Germany and Poland have reached an agreement to repair Leopard 2 tanks for the VSU.

“We are pleased that Ukrainian Leopard 2А4 tanks can now be repaired in Poland,” said Mr. Müller. The first two Ukrainian tanks have already arrived at the Bumar-Łąbędy maintenance center in Poland.

Although he did not announce the cost or capacity of the contribution, Minister Müller called the efforts of both Germany and Poland a success.

Previously, on July 22, Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said that the Leopard 2 tank repair and maintenance center had begun operations in Gliwice. In April 2023, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius announced a project to establish a Leopard tank repair center in Poland, which is expected to begin operations by the end of May. The German government will cover the costs.

However, earlier this month, Germany said the first draft of a contract between it and Poland had failed to be agreed upon because Warsaw had offered unrealistic prices for repair services. Specifically, the Polish company demanded more than 100,000 euros ($110,000) to maintain the tanks, while in Germany it would cost only 12,000 euros.

Earlier, on July 12, Germany canceled plans to establish a joint tank maintenance center in Poland after negotiations failed, and said that modern Leopard 2 tanks damaged in Ukraine would be repaired in Germany. ( Ukrinform )

* US transfers 32 Stryker armored vehicles to Ukraine: AP quoted sources as saying that the new US military aid package for Ukraine, worth 400 million USD, includes 32 Stryker armored fighting vehicles.

In addition, Washington will also transfer to Kiev artillery shells, Hydra-70 missiles, Hornet surveillance drones, HIMARS, NASAMS, Stingers and Javelin missiles. However, this does not include the controversial cluster bombs and cluster munitions that the US provided last time.

The US is expected to announce this new military aid package on July 25. (AP/Reuters)

Southeast Asia

* Thai parliament postpones prime minister election : On July 25, National Assembly Speaker Wan Muhamad Noor Matha postponed the bicameral session scheduled for July 27 to elect the prime minister. Earlier, Senator Somchai Sawaengkarn, who is also an advisor to the Senate in the Thai parliament, said senators did not object to postponing the vote to elect the prime minister.

Previously, on July 24, the Office of the Ombudsman of Thailand requested the Constitutional Court to request the National Assembly to postpone the vote to elect the prime minister scheduled for July 27, and to issue a ruling on the constitutionality of the National Assembly's resolution not allowing Mr. Pita Limjaroenrat, the prime minister candidate of the Forward Party (MFP), to be re-nominated for this position.

In addition, Mr. Somchai said that the original voting schedule on July 27 could cause difficulties for some MPs and senators because they will have to attend events to celebrate the King's birthday on July 28 in the provinces they represent. Thus, the next meeting of the Thai Parliament to elect a new prime minister may have to take place after August 2, as Thailand is about to enter a six-day holiday (from July 28 to August 2). (Bangkok Post)

* Philippine President leaves for Malaysia : On July 25, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. left for Malaysia as part of a three-day trip.

Speaking at an air base in Manila before departure, the leader said: “I believe this is an opportune time to tap the potential of the revitalized relationship between the Philippines and Malaysia.”

In Kuala Lumpur, Mr. Marcos is expected to meet with the King of Malaysia, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, and local business leaders to introduce trade and investment opportunities.

President Marcos said the visit will focus on areas such as agriculture, food security, digital economy, tourism and people-to-people exchanges, as well as exploring new avenues of cooperation. (Xinhua)

* Indonesian President to visit China : On July 25, Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said: "President Joko Widodo will visit Chengdu (China) from July 27-28 to discuss with host country President Xi Jinping key issues to promote bilateral relations."

In addition to his meeting with Xi, the Indonesian leader will attend meetings with several major Chinese companies. He will also join other heads of state at the opening ceremony of the 2023 World University Games in Chengdu.

Indonesia and China have close economic ties. According to the Indonesian Ministry of Trade, total trade turnover between the country and China will reach 133.5 billion USD by 2022. In the past 5 years, bilateral trade turnover growth reached 17.69%. (TTXVN)

Northeast Asia

* China elects Mr. Wang Yi as Foreign Minister: On July 25, the National People's Congress (NPC) of China elected Mr. Wang Yi as Foreign Minister and Mr. Phan Cong Thang as Governor of the People's Bank of China.

At the fourth session of the Standing Committee of the 14th National People's Congress, Qin Gang was relieved of his duties as foreign minister and Yi Gang was relieved of his duties as governor of the People's Bank of China. Chinese President Xi Jinping signed an order to issue the decision. (Xinhua)

* Chinese naval fleet visits Russian port : On July 25, CCTV (China) reported that the Chinese naval fleet visited Vladivostok port (Russia) on July 24.

Previously, the Chinese Navy Fleet participated in the joint Russia-China exercise called “North-Interaction 2023”, which took place from July 20-23.

The Chinese side said the main purpose of the exercise is to strengthen naval cooperation between Russia and China, as well as maintain stability and peace in the Asia-Pacific region. (Reuters)

* Russian Defense Minister to visit North Korea : On July 25, KCNA (North Korea) said that this week, North Korea will welcome Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and a high-ranking Chinese delegation to Pyongyang to attend the 70th anniversary of "Victory Day" in the Korean War.

This is a sign that North Korea may be reopening its borders to high-level visitors after a long closure due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“This visit will contribute to strengthening Russian-DPRK military ties and will be an important step in the development of cooperation between the two countries,” the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement. (AFP/Reuters)

Europe

* Italy may withdraw from BRI? On July 27, the Italian newspaper Repubblica reported that during his visit to the US on July 27, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will inform host President Joe Biden of his decision not to renew the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) agreement with China that is about to expire.

Earlier, in May, Ms. Meloni met with US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and expressed this intention. In late June, the Italian Prime Minister also affirmed that his country and China could have good relations, even without the BRI.

Italy is currently the first and only G7 member to sign the BRI Memorandum of Understanding with China, which is set to expire in March 2024. The Italian government will need to decide whether to extend it by the end of 2023.

The agreement signed in 2019 did not lead to major developments. Therefore, not renewing the BRI agreement may not lead to significant changes in terms of project development. ( Repubblica )

Middle East-Africa

* Russia explains its relations with Africa : On July 25, in an interview with Sputnik, Ambassador-at-Large of the Russian Foreign Ministry Oleg Ozerov said: “We treat African partners equally according to the principle of sovereign equality between states, not like many Western countries that treat them like teachers with students. Such treatment should not exist in international relations.

If countries need help from Russia, including in the security sphere, Russia is ready to provide this assistance. Our cooperation differs from the West in that it is non-bloc and not directed against third countries.”

Africa “develops relations with us in the same way as with China, India, Türkiye and the EU. Their main goal is to meet their national interests. We welcome this,” the diplomat said.

Commenting on the upcoming Russia-Africa Summit, Mr. Ozerov affirmed that African leaders want to build a common platform and strengthen relations with Russia in politics, economics and all other aspects, thereby solving integration development issues.

The conference is scheduled to take place on July 27-28 in St. Petersburg (Russia). (Sputnik)

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/tin-the-gioi-257-nga-ha-uav-ukraine-o-bien-den-trung-quoc-bau-ngoai-truong-moi-235917.html