Russia evacuates residents in Belgorod, China reveals spy case involving UK, US launches lunar lander after 50 years

China conducts live-fire drills in the East China Sea, South Korea launches two more military reconnaissance satellites, Mexico cancels or postpones 200 flights after an incident, India summons Maldives High Commissioner... are some of the notable international events in the past 24 hours.

US launches lunar lander after more than 50 years. (Source: Reuters)

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

Asia-Pacific

*China conducts live-fire drills in the East China Sea: On January 8, the Chinese Maritime Safety Administration announced that the country's military will conduct live-fire drills in several areas of the East China Sea from 10:00 a.m. (9:00 a.m. Hanoi time) to 3:00 p.m. from January 8-9.

The announcement from the China Maritime Safety Administration stated that no ships are allowed to enter the designated exercise area. Previously, on June 13, 2023, China also deployed similar military exercises in the East China Sea after US warships and allies (Japan, Canada and France) conducted exercises in the Western Pacific.

China regularly conducts military exercises along its East China Sea coast, but those near Taiwan (China) often attract the most attention. (Reuters)

*South Korea calls for enhanced response to North Korean UAVs: South Korean Defense Minister Shin Won-sik on January 8 called on the country's military to strengthen its defense posture and combat capabilities against "increasingly serious threats" posed by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

South Korea's UAV Operations Command was established in September 2023 to strengthen countermeasures and enhance the country's anti-UAV capabilities.

Pyongyang unveiled surveillance and attack UAVs at a weapons exhibition and military parade in July 2023, and announced that it would build new UAVs at the 9th Plenum of the 8th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea in late 2023. (Yonhap)

*India summons Maldives High Commissioner in New Delhi to protest: The Indian Ministry of External Affairs on January 8 summoned Maldives High Commissioner Ibrahim Shaheeb to express its deep concern over the derogatory comments made by some officials of the island nation's ruling party against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The concerns were also conveyed by the Indian High Commissioner in Male to the Maldives Ministry of External Affairs on January 7.

The move comes a day after the Maldives government suspended three deputy ministers for posting insulting comments on social media about the Indian Prime Minister. In a statement, the Maldives government said these were personal opinions and did not reflect the views of the Maldivian government.

The developments show that India-Maldives relations have deteriorated further since the government led by President Mohamed Muizzu came to power. (The India Times)

*Police vehicle bomb in Pakistan, many casualties: Pakistani police said on January 8, at least 5 people were killed and many others injured in an explosion near a police vehicle in the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

"A police truck carrying around 25 policemen on anti-polio duty was attacked by an IED (improvised explosive device)," said Anwar ul Haq, a district official in Bajaur, killing at least five people and injuring more than 20 others.

The attack took place in Mamund in Bajaur district, bordering Afghanistan, in an area where militancy has been on the rise since the Taliban took control of Kabul in 2021. (THX)

*US aircraft carrier conducts maritime mission in South China Sea: The US Carrier Strike Group 1 (CSG-1), commanded by Rear Admiral Carlos Sardiello, is currently conducting maritime security operations in the South China Sea. The group, consisting of the aircraft carrier CVN 70, Carrier Air Wing 2, guided-missile cruiser USS Princeton, and Destroyer Squadron 1, underscores the US Navy’s presence in the region and the importance of safe and lawful use of shared maritime forces.

The South China Sea is a vital region, facilitating nearly $4 trillion worth of trade and home to rich fishing grounds. Therefore, CSG-1 operations have great significance for regional and international security and trade. (Straits Times)

*Indonesia proposes interim deal in South China Sea: Three Indonesian presidential candidates debated the South China Sea, the role of ASEAN in keeping peace at sea and other issues on defense, foreign policy and ethics in the third debate on January 7.

Regarding the tension in the East Sea, former Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo said it is necessary to promote a temporary agreement between the parties involved to avoid escalating the conflict. He stressed: "We must promote this and consider this our initiative, so that we can prevent the consequences that we do not want."

Meanwhile, at the latest debate, candidate Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto stressed that tensions in the South China Sea show the importance of Indonesia, even if not directly involved, having a strong national defense system.

This is the third of five debates scheduled for Indonesia's presidential election on February 14, in which more than 204 million people are eligible to vote. (AFP)

*South Korea to launch two more military spy satellites: South Korea's Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) announced on January 8 that the country plans to launch two more military spy satellites in 2024 to better monitor North Korea - a move that could heat up the inter-Korean space race.

According to DAPA, two synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites are scheduled to be launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida in April and November, respectively. South Korea's announcement came days after North Korea said it would launch three more spy satellites this year. (Youhap)

*China reveals spying case involving UK: China said its security agencies have uncovered a spying case in which the UK's Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) used a foreigner in China to collect secrets and information.

China's Ministry of State Security revealed on its WeChat social media account on January 8 that a foreigner, identified only by his surname Huang, was in charge of an overseas consultancy and that MI6 had established an "intelligence cooperation relationship" with him in 2015. M16 then instructed Huang to enter China multiple times and instructed him to use his public identity as a cover to gather China-related intelligence for British espionage.

Meanwhile, the British government has accused Chinese spies of targeting its officials in sensitive positions in politics, defense and business as part of an increasingly sophisticated espionage operation aimed at accessing secrets. (Reuters)

Europe

*Russia conducts shooting drills in the Black Sea: The Russian Defense Ministry announced on January 8 that warships of the Black Sea Fleet have conducted day and night shooting drills during patrol missions in the Black Sea. The ministry said: "A detachment of warships of the Black Sea Fleet has completed drills with firing organic weapons day and night while performing patrol missions in the Black Sea and protecting civilian ships on specialized commercial shipping routes from threats from Ukraine."

The crews of the patrol boats practiced responding to the detection of enemy drones at the first stage of the drills. The action of destroying unmanned boats was practiced at the second stage. (TASS)

*Ukraine has no “Plan B” if the EU delays support: Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba admitted that the country has no contingency plan in case the European Union (EU) fails to provide timely financial support to Kiev. Mr. Kuleba also said that Ukraine will tap frozen Russian assets to support post-conflict reconstruction.

“According to our estimates, the total amount of frozen (Russian) assets covers more than 80% of our recovery needs,” said Foreign Minister Kuleba.

The EU is trying to reach an agreement on $21.9 billion in military aid for Ukraine and plans to add 50 billion euros to the bloc's budget to provide macro-financial support to Kiev over the next four years. However, the plan has met with opposition from some member states, primarily Hungary. (Sputniknews)

*Russia evacuates hundreds of residents in Belgorod city: Mayor of Russia's Belgorod city, Mr. Vyacheslav Gladkov said on January 8 that Russian authorities evacuated about 300 residents of the city bordering Ukraine due to Kiev's airstrikes.

Earlier in the day, the Russian Defense Ministry said its air defense systems had intercepted Ukrainian S-200 missiles over the Belgorod region. "An attempted attack by Kiev against facilities on the territory of the Russian Federation using S-200 air defense missiles refitted for hitting ground targets was thwarted on January 8," the ministry said in a statement. (TASS)

Middle East – Africa

*WHO cancels plan to ship medicine to Gaza: The World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed that its staff were forced to cancel their first trip to Al-Awda Hospital in northern Gaza due to security concerns.

“WHO has canceled its planned mission to Al-Awda Hospital and the central medicine warehouse in northern Gaza for the fourth time starting on December 26, 2023, as we have not received de-escalation and safety assurances. The mission was intended to urgently deliver essential medical supplies to maintain the operations of five hospitals in the north, including Al-Awda Hospital,” the WHO statement on social network X said. (TASS)

*Hundreds of casualties in latest attack on Gaza: On January 8, the Gaza Strip's Health Ministry said 73 Palestinians were killed and 99 injured in Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours.

Meanwhile, the same day, the Israeli military announced that they bombed an arms depot and discovered a tunnel in a central area controlled by Hamas. (Reuters)

*Israel investigates why Hamas has “Chinese weapons”: The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced on January 7 that it had discovered Hamas gunmen in the Gaza Strip using Chinese-made assault rifles and grenade launchers.

An investigation report released by the IDF on January 7 said they discovered a Hamas weapons cache, including ammunition boxes for M16 rifles, sniper rifle sights, broadcasting stations, and eavesdropping equipment. These weapons and equipment originated from China.

However, Israeli investigators also said that this discovery does not mean that China has supplied weapons to Hamas. In fact, China has defense relations with many countries and has a number of weapons factories abroad. Israeli authorities are also trying to find out why the Chinese weapons ended up in the hands of Hamas. (Hindustan Times)

America

*US launches lunar lander after more than 50 years: On January 8, the US launched a spacecraft to carry out the mission of landing on the surface of the Moon for the first time in more than 50 years. This activity was undertaken by a private enterprise.

Accordingly, a brand new rocket Vulcan Centaur built by United Launch Alliance was launched from the Space Station at Cape Canaveral at around 2:18 a.m. US time (2:18 p.m. the same day Vietnam time). The rocket carried the Peregrine lander of the private company Astrobotic Technology into space and this lander is expected to land on the Moon in mid-February.

The last time the US carried out a lunar landing mission was in December 1972, in which astronauts Gene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt of the Apollo 17 mission became the 11th and 12th people to walk on the Moon. NASA now hopes to return astronauts to the Moon within the next few years through the Artemis program, with the first mission to launch a spacecraft carrying four astronauts around the Moon later this year. (AFP)

*Mexico delays, cancels 200 flights after Boeing plane's wing flaps: Mexico's largest airline Aeromexico said on January 7 that 62 of its flights were canceled and 90 others were delayed, after the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a suspension order for all Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft due to an Alaska Airlines (US) plane's window flaps blowing out and forcing an emergency landing.

Meanwhile, according to flight tracking site FlightAware, on January 7, Mexico recorded a total of 160 flight delays and 64 flight cancellations, most of which were related to the Boeing 737 MAX 9. Previously, a series of airlines around the world suspended the operation of the Boeing 737 MAX 9 for inspection at the request of the FAA, including Alaska Airlines, United Airlines of the US and Turkish Airlines of Turkey. (Reuters)

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