EU 'pumps' another 40 billion euros into Kiev, US House of Representatives wants to ban Chinese students, Russia responds to EU's 16th sanctions package

China, Iran, Russia hold nuclear talks, Finland sentences Russian citizen to life in prison, EU extends sanctions on Russia, US resumes sending long-range bombs to Ukraine... are some of the prominent international events in the past 24 hours.

Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu (center) welcomes Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi (left) and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov in Beijing, March 14. (Source: CCTV)

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

Asia-Pacific

*China patrols around disputed islands with Japan: A fleet of Chinese Coast Guard vessels on March 14 conducted patrols in the waters surrounding the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands.

In a statement, the China Coast Guard said the patrol was aimed at protecting China's rights and interests in accordance with the law.

The statement was made in the context of the relationship between Japan and China often being filled with tensions related to the claim of sovereignty over the small islands of Senkaku, an archipelago controlled by Tokyo, while Beijing also claims sovereignty and calls it Diaoyu. (THX)

*South Korea, US conduct joint special operations drills: South Korea's military said on March 14 that its and the US soldiers conducted joint special operations drills this week as part of a major joint South Korea-US military exercise.

About 250 US troops took part in the four-day drills, which began on March 10 at the Special Operations School in Gwangju, 27 km southeast of Seoul. The drills involved 16 helicopters from both sides, including Chinook and Black Hawk helicopters, and focused on training troops to conduct special reconnaissance and nighttime attack missions, according to the US Army.

North Korea has long criticized joint military exercises by the United States and South Korea, while the United States and South Korea insist their drills are purely defensive in nature. (Yonhap)

*China, Iran, Russia hold nuclear talks: Senior diplomats from Iran, Russia and China met in Beijing on March 14 to hold talks on Tehran's nuclear program, state broadcaster CCTV reported, just days after Iran rejected US proposals to resume talks on its nuclear program.

In 2015, Iran signed a deal with the United States, Russia, China, the United Kingdom, France and Germany, agreeing to limit its nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions. However, in 2018, US President Donald Trump, in his first year in the White House, withdrew the US from the deal.

Last week, President Trump said he had sent a letter to Tehran's leadership offering to negotiate with Iran. However, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said that Iran would not negotiate with the US under "threats" and that Iran would not stand idly by when "ordered" by the US. (Al Jazeera)

*North Korea criticizes Japan for security cooperation with South Korea, US: North Korea on March 14 condemned Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) for pushing to amend the war-renouncing constitution, and accused Tokyo of seeking security cooperation with South Korea and the US.

The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) made the criticism in a commentary after the LDP announced a new vision for the country, including amending the constitution, at its annual party congress on March 9.

Japan's constitution, adopted in 1947 after World War II, renounces war and prohibits the use of force to settle international disputes. KCNA condemned the joint air force drills by South Korea, the United States and Japan on the peninsula in January, as well as another joint exercise scheduled for later this month. (Yonhap)

Europe

*G7 agrees on many prominent security issues: Foreign Ministers of the Group of Seven leading industrialized countries (G7) on March 14 expressed serious concern about the situation in the East Sea and the East China Sea.

In addition, the G7 group stressed the need for strong "security agreements" to ensure a ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia, while warning that Moscow would face new sanctions if it did not agree to a ceasefire.

On the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the G7 foreign ministers did not mention a two-state solution in the draft final statement, instead emphasizing the urgency of a "political vision for the Palestinian people" and reaffirming support for the resumption of unhindered humanitarian aid to Gaza as well as a permanent ceasefire. (Reuters)

*EU proposes 40 billion euro military aid package for Ukraine: According to a discussion document seen by Reuters, the European Union (EU) diplomatic agency proposed that member states provide a military aid package of up to 40 billion euros ($43.35 billion) to Ukraine this year.

The document, an updated version of an earlier proposal, also states that each EU country taking part in the effort should contribute “in line with its economic potential.” (Reuters)

*Russia responds to EU's 16th package of sanctions: The Russian Foreign Ministry announced on March 13 that Moscow has expanded the entry ban on representatives of the European Union (EU) and its member states in response to the bloc's latest package of sanctions.

According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, this expanded entry ban applies to representatives of EU governments and trade organizations, security agencies and citizens involved in providing military aid to Ukraine and sanctions against Russia.

Previously, on February 24, the European Council approved the 16th package of sanctions against Russia, targeting many areas including energy, trade, transportation, infrastructure and finance. (AFP)

*Finland sentences Russian citizen to life in prison: On March 14, the Helsinki Court (Finland) sentenced a male Russian citizen to life in prison for war crimes.

Voislav Torden, 38, also known as Jan Petrovsky, was found guilty of four out of five charges of war crimes in Ukraine in 2014, the verdict said.

Torden, for his part, has consistently denied all allegations and asserted that he had nothing to do with the above incidents and did not play a leadership role. Torden was arrested at Helsinki-Vantaa airport in the summer of 2023 while trying to travel to France under a different name and was detained in Finland. (AFP)

*Ukraine moves to set up group to develop ceasefire monitoring mechanism: Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on March 14 that the country has begun to set up a group to develop methods to monitor any potential ceasefire.

“We have started to set up a national team to develop appropriate procedures to effectively monitor a potential ceasefire,” Foreign Minister Sybiha told reporters. (Reuters)

*EU extends sanctions against Russia: European Union (EU) diplomats confirmed on March 14 that the bloc's envoys agreed to extend sanctions against Russian individuals and organizations.

Notably, although the EU removed three deceased individuals from the sanctions list, it continued to blacklist Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman, despite pressure from Hungary. (Reuters)

*Greece reshuffles cabinet: Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on March 14 appointed new finance and transport ministers in a cabinet reshuffle aimed at boosting support after large-scale protests over the 2023 rail disaster.

Accordingly, Mr. Kyriakos Pierrakakis was appointed as Minister of Finance, replacing Mr. Kostis Hatzidakis - the official who will take the position of Deputy Prime Minister. Meanwhile, Mr. Christos Dimas was appointed as Minister of Transport, and Mr. Konstantinos Kyranakakis, 37 years old, was appointed as Deputy Minister of Transport responsible for overseeing the reform of the Greek railway industry.

The shake-up comes weeks after hundreds of thousands took to the streets to demand justice for the worst rail disaster in Greek history, which killed 57 people, most of them students. (AFP)

Middle East – Africa

*Russia defends Iran's right to develop civilian nuclear energy: The Kremlin said on March 14 that Western sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program were illegal and should be lifted.

The statement came as China held a meeting with Iran and Russia, with Beijing and Moscow backing Tehran after the US called for nuclear talks with Iran. Senior Chinese and Russian diplomats said dialogue should only resume in a “spirit of mutual respect”.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stressed that Iran has never expressed any intention to develop nuclear weapons, but the Islamic Republic has every right to develop a civilian nuclear energy program, and Moscow is supporting Tehran in this process. (Reuters)

*UN calls for “genuine transition” in Syria: UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen said on March 14 that it was time for a “genuine, credible and inclusive transitional government” in Syria after noting the interim constitutional declaration issued by the interim government.

Earlier, on March 13, Syrian interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa signed a provisional constitution, placing the country under Islamist rule for a five-year transition period. Syria's provisional constitution guarantees "women's rights to education and participation in labor, guarantees political rights" and stipulates "freedom of opinion, expression, media, publication and the press." (Reuters)

*China proposes 5 points to resolve Iran's nuclear issue: During a meeting with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Ryabkov Sergey Alexeevich and Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi in Beijing on March 14, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi proposed 5 points to satisfactorily resolve Tehran's nuclear issue.

According to the Chinese Foreign Minister, Beijing is committed to balancing rights and responsibilities, and taking a comprehensive approach to the goal of nuclear non-proliferation and peaceful use of nuclear energy. In addition, China firmly maintains the framework of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) as the basis for the new consensus. (THX)

*Saudi Arabia supports "all initiatives" to end Ukraine war: Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman told Russian President Vladimir Putin on March 14 that the country supports "all initiatives" to end the conflict in Ukraine, after US-Ukraine talks in Jeddah proposed a 30-day ceasefire.

According to the announcement of the Saudi Arabian Foreign Ministry on March 14, in a phone call with President Putin, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman reaffirmed "his commitment to facilitating dialogue and supporting all initiatives to achieve a political solution." (AFP)

America - Latin America

*US freezes budget for RFA: Politico on March 13 quoted anonymous sources as saying that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), headed by billionaire Elon Musk, has just frozen the budget for Radio Free Asia (RFA) and other media agencies of the US Government Communications Agency (AGM) for 30 days, and may even permanently cut these budgets.

RFA is a media agency funded by the US government, broadcasting in many languages to serve listeners living in many countries and territories in Asia, such as China, North Korea, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar... In addition to RFA, AGM also includes a number of other media agencies such as VOA, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Middle East Broadcasting Networks, Cuba-focused Radio, Television Marti... (Politico)

*US House of Representatives to introduce bill to ban Chinese students: Republican lawmakers in the US House of Representatives introduced a bill on March 14 to block Chinese citizens from applying for student visas, on the grounds that they could spy for Beijing.

The bill must pass both the House and Senate before it can be signed into law. It does not yet have any official co-sponsors.

Chinese nationals are the second-largest group of international students in the United States, after India. There were 277,398 Chinese students studying in the United States in the 2023-24 academic year, a number that has steadily declined since the 2019-20 academic year. (Reuters)

*Boeing plane carrying 178 people caught fire: On the evening of March 13, 172 passengers and 6 crew members were urgently evacuated from an American Airlines flight after a fire broke out.

According to Denver International Airport (USA), a fire broke out on an American Airlines plane parked at gate C38 on the evening of March 13, with "visible smoke". The airport said: "Passengers were evacuated and the emergency slides were activated". By 6:15 p.m., the fire was extinguished and no casualties were recorded.

According to American Airlines, the flight departed from Colorado Springs Airport and was scheduled to land at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, but was diverted to Denver. The aircraft used for the flight was a Boeing 737-800. (FOX.8)

*US to resume sending long-range bombs to Ukraine: The US is set to resume deliveries to Ukraine of long-range bombs, known as Ground-Launched Small Diameter Bombs (GLSDBs), after they were upgraded to better withstand Russian jamming.

The bombs were purchased under the Biden administration through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which the United States has purchased nearly $33.2 billion worth of new weapons and military equipment for Kiev directly from U.S. and allied defense contractors.

The Trump administration agreed on March 11 to restore military aid and intelligence sharing with Ukraine after Kiev said it was ready to support Washington's proposal for a 30-day ceasefire with Russia. (Reuters)

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