ASIANOMICS

🇰🇷 South Korea's ex-leader Yoon returns to jail as martial law probe accelerates Former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was back in a solitary jail cell on Thursday with basic food and a khaki prison uniform after prosecutors secured a new detention warrant over his bid to impose martial law last year. The Seoul Central District Court's decision to approve the warrant bolstered the special counsel investigation into allegations that Yoon's move in December represented obstruction of justice and abuse of power. The court said in a statement it granted the request because of concerns Yoon could seek to destroy evidence, returning him to confinement at the Seoul Detention Center where he spent 52 days earlier in the year before being released four months ago on technical grounds. #SouthKorea @asianomics

🇰🇷🇰🇵 South Korea returns six North Koreans stranded at sea this year South Korea returned on Wednesday six North Koreans who had become stranded at sea earlier this year after their vessels had drifted south, Seoul's Unification Ministry said. The North Koreans had expressed a desire on multiple occasions to go back home, according to the ministry. A North Korean patrol ship was standing by at a transfer point and the six had returned in one of their boats, a ministry official said. #SouthKorea#NorthKorea @asianomics

🇵🇭🇨🇳 Philippine defense chief rules out US as factor in China's 'expansionist' agenda China's aggressiveness in the Indo-Pacific is rooted in long-standing strategic ambitions independent of any US policy, and the region's challenges stem from Beijing's own expansionist agenda, the Philippines' top defense official said "The aggressiveness of China has been several years in the making," Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro said in an interview. While acknowledging that US policies influence regional dynamics, Teodoro said China's actions were "pre-determined" by its leadership, regardless of who was in power in Washington. #ThePhilippines#China @asianomics

🇹🇼🇨🇳Taiwan launches annual war games with simulated attacks against military command Taiwan launches its largest ever military drills on Wednesday, starting with simulated attacks on its command systems and infrastructure ahead of a Chinese invasion, senior defence officials said. The early stages of the annual Han Kuang exercises will focus on testing how Taiwan’s military can decentralise command in the event of a crippling communications attack. Over the next 10 days, the drills will expand to assess Taiwan's combat readiness against a full-scale attempt to seize the island. "We are learning from the situation in Ukraine in recent years and realistically thinking about what Taiwan might face ... in real combat," said one senior defense official, highlighting the need to protect command and communication systems. #Taiwan#China @asianomics

🇰🇷 South Korea's former President Yoon to attend hearing on detention warrant South Korea's former President Yoon Suk Yeol will appear on Wednesday at a Seoul court, which will consider a special prosecutor's request to detain him as part of a probe into his botched bid to impose martial law. The Seoul Central District Court will hear from the special counsel team investigating Yoon's martial law decree in December and Yoon's legal team on the request to detain the deposed president over allegations of abuse of power and obstruction of justice. After the hearing, Yoon is expected to await the court's decision at the Seoul Detention Center, or in a detention area within the court, the special prosecutor's team has said. There has been tight security around the court, which is expected to announce a decision late on Wednesday or in the early hours of Thursday. #SouthKorea @asianomics

🇨🇳🇺🇸China warns Trump on tariffs, threatens retaliation on supply chain deals China warned the Trump administration on Tuesday against reigniting trade tension by restoring tariffs on its goods next month, and threatened to retaliate against nations that strike deals with the United States to cut China out of supply chains. Washington and Beijing agreed to a trade framework in June that restored a fragile truce, but with many details still unclear, traders and investors on both sides of the Pacific are watching to see if it will unravel or lead to a lasting détente. Reiterating Beijing's view that Trump's tariffs amount to "bullying", the official People's Daily said, "Practice has proven that only by firmly upholding principled positions can one truly safeguard one's legitimate rights and interests." #China#USA @asianomics

🇺🇸🇰🇷🇯🇵 Japan, South Korea face 25% tariffs as Trump ramps up trade war in letters to leaders US President Donald Trump opened a new phase on Monday in the trade war he launched this year, telling partners, from powerhouse suppliers such as Japan and South Korea to minor players, that they face sharply higher tariffs from August 1. "If, for any reason, you decide to raise your tariffs, then, whatever the number you choose to raise them by, will be added on to the 25% that we charge," Trump told Japan and South Korea in letters released on his Truth Social platform. It was unfortunate that Trump was hiking tariffs on imports from Japan and South Korea, two of the closest US allies, but there was still time for a breakthrough in negotiations, said former U.S. trade negotiator Wendy Cutler. #USA#SouthKorea#Japan @asianomics

🇦🇺🇨🇳 Australia's Albanese confirms China visit as Beijing eyes trade deal review Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Tuesday that he would visit China from this weekend as Beijing looks to build on partnerships on AI, green energy and the digital economy. "I look forward to going to Shanghai, Beijing and Chengdu, which I will visit from Saturday," Albanese told reporters in Hobart. He did not give more details about his trip. Albanese's trip comes as China, its largest trading partner, suggested a review of the 10-year-old free trade agreement between the two countries to boost ties in agriculture and mining, and explore growth areas in new technologies. #Australia#China @asianomics

🇨🇳🇵🇭 Philippines summons Chinese envoy over sanctions against former senator The Philippines' foreign ministry has summoned China's ambassador to Manila over Beijing's imposition of sanctions against former senator Francis Tolentino. Tolentino was barred entry to mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau over "egregious conduct" detrimental to relations between Manila and Beijing. The Chinese foreign ministry has previously accused some Filipino politicians of making "malicious remarks and moves" that hurt ties between the two nations. "The imposition of punitive measures ... is inconsistent with the norms of mutual respect and dialogue that underpin relations between two equal sovereign states," presidential press officer Claire Castro told a briefing. #China#ThePhilippines @asianomics

🇫🇷🇲🇾 Anwar’s Paris visit a success, marks revival of partnerships across all sectors, says Macron French President Emmanuel Macron has hailed Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s visit as a success, with the two leaders jointly reviving partnerships across all sectors. He said that the rapprochement between the two nations’ economies and shared diversification strategies were essential. Macron was referring to the newly signed project in the critical minerals and rare earths sector with the company Carester, which just opened a plant in Lacq; in transport, with the historic cooperation between Malaysia Airlines and Airbus; and also in the field of energy transition. #France#Malaysia @asianomics

🇯🇵 Dozens more evacuate from southwestern Japan islands amid quakes More people evacuated from small islands in southwestern Japan on Sunday as quakes continued to rattle the area, heading to the closest main island of Kyushu. A total of 46 residents of Akuseki and Kodakara in the Tokara island chain boarded a ferry in the morning, local authorities said, the second batch of evacuees to leave for Kagoshima. The number of felt quakes detected in the Tokara island chain area has exceeded 1,500 since June 21. Evacuation of islanders began after a temblor on Thursday with a magnitude of 5.5 that measured lower 6 on the country's seismic intensity scale of 7. While the area is known for being seismically active, some experts have said the latest situation is unusual as quakes in the region generally subside in around 10 days. #Japan @asianomics

🇨🇳🇪🇺 China retaliates to EU ban with import restrictions on medical devices China's finance ministry said on Sunday it was restricting government purchases of medical devices from the European Union that exceed $6.3 million in value, in retaliation to Brussels' own curbs last month. The European Union said last month it was barring Chinese companies from participating in EU public tenders for medical devices worth $70 billion or more per year after concluding that EU firms were not given fair access in China. "Regrettably, despite China's goodwill and sincerity, the EU has insisted on going its own way, taking restrictive measures and building new protectionist barriers," China's commerce ministry said in a separate statement on Sunday. #China#EU @asianomics