US-Cambodia to resume joint military exercises, South Korea holds emergency meeting on North Korea missile launch, Ukraine sanctions 140 Russian entities

Russia prevented a terrorist attack on a defense company, another submarine cable connecting Finland and Sweden encountered a problem, and the possibility of the US deploying nuclear weapons in Greenland... are some of the notable international events in the past 24 hours.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian during a meeting on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Kazan (Russia) on October 23, 2024. (Source: Reuters)

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

Asia- Pacific

*US-Cambodia to discuss resuming joint military exercises: The Phnom Penh Post reported that at a meeting on January 13 with the Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Cambodian Army (RCAF) – General Vong Pisen, US Defense Attaché to Cambodia Kyle Saltzman said discussions on resuming the joint exercise “Angkor Sentinel” between the US and Cambodia could take place in February.

Kin Phea, director of the Institute of International Relations at the Royal Academy of Cambodia, described the discussions on resuming joint exercises as a positive sign of improving US-Cambodia relations. The relationship has been strained by disagreements over democracy and Cambodia’s tightening ties with China. (Phnom Penh Post)

*South Korea interrogates military generals over martial law: On January 14, a special committee of the South Korean National Assembly conducted its first interrogation session of Defense Ministry officials and military commanders who are believed to be involved in President Yoon Suk Yeol's imposition of martial law last month.

Key witnesses, including Army Chief of Staff Gen. Park An-su, who served as martial law chief, and Lt. Gen. Kwak Jong-keun, head of the Army Special Operations Command, were present at the hearing. Lt. Gen. Yeo In-hyung, head of the Defense Counterintelligence Command, who is suspected of dispatching troops to the National Assembly and the National Election Commission and ordering the arrest of leaders of the ruling and main opposition parties, was not present at the hearing. (Yonhap)

*Japan welcomes Chinese military delegation: On January 14, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said that the Chinese delegation, including officials from the Eastern Theater Command of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), will visit Japanese counterparts and senior defense officials of the host country from January 13-17.

The visit comes after Japanese and Chinese defense ministers met in November 2024 in Laos on the sidelines of a regional defense conference, where they agreed to increase exchanges between soldiers.

Mr. Hayashi commented: "For the first time in 5 years, exchanges between soldiers on both sides have been restored. (AFP)

*Philippines protests China's deployment of "monster ship" in the East Sea: On January 14, the Philippines said China's deployment of its largest coast guard ship 5901 in Manila's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) was alarming and clearly aimed at intimidating fishermen operating around a disputed shoal in the East Sea.

Speaking at a press conference, Philippine National Security Council spokesman Jonathan Malaya emphasized: "We are surprised by the increasing actions of the People's Republic of China in deploying 'monster' ships."

Mr. Malaya affirmed that Manila will continue to protest China's presence in this disputed sea. (Reuters)

*South Korea holds emergency meeting on North Korea's missile launch: The National Security Council under the South Korean Presidential Office convened a meeting on January 14 to discuss North Korea's launch of multiple short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea.

In a statement to the press, the Presidential Office spokesman said: "The government will closely monitor North Korea's moves and maintain readiness to resolutely respond to any provocations."

North Korea fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles at around 9:30 a.m. today, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said, just days before U.S. President-elect Donald Trump takes office. The launch on January 14 was Pyongyang's second this year, after it said it had test-fired a hypersonic intermediate-range ballistic missile last week. (Yonhap)

Europe

*Russia and Belarus hold joint command exercises: The Belarusian Defense Ministry confirmed on January 14 that staff training of the Joint Forces Command between the Belarusian and Russian armies will be held in Minsk to strengthen the defense capabilities of the Union State.

According to the Belarusian Defense Ministry, from January 14 to 16, representatives of the armed forces of Belarus and Russia will announce one of the options for using military groups during joint operations at fixed checkpoints.

The ministry said the exercise is an integral part of a series of preparatory measures for the Zapad-2025 joint strategic exercise to be held this year on the territory of Belarus. (Sputniknews)

*Ukraine imposes sanctions on 140 Russian financial entities: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has signed a decree imposing sanctions on 140 entities in the Russian financial sector, including the National Payment Card System (NSPK) - the operator of the Mir payment system.

The decree was published on Mr. Zelensky's website. According to the text, sanctions are imposed for a period of 10 years on 96 legal entities and 75 individuals.

In addition to NSPK, the sanctions list also includes money transfer service provider Zolotaya Korona. (Sputniknews)

*Russia declares partnership agreement with Iran not aimed at third countries: On January 14, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov declared that the strategic partnership agreement between Russia and Iran will not be aimed at any other country.

The Kremlin announced on January 13 that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian will hold talks in Moscow on January 17, after which the two sides will sign a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty.

Regarding the Ukraine issue, Mr. Lavrov expressed that Russia is ready to study the peace initiatives on Ukraine of US President-elect Donald Trump when he takes office next week. According to him, Russia welcomes the fact that Mr. Trump's transition team has started talking about "reality on the ground" when discussing Ukraine. (Reuters)

*Another submarine cable connecting Finland and Sweden damaged: Swedish Civil Defense Minister Karl-Oskar Bohlin said on January 14 that another submarine cable between Sweden and Finland in the Baltic Sea has been damaged for unknown reasons.

In a statement, Minister Bolin said anchor drag marks had been identified, confirming the incident involved a ship, but he did not address the possibility that it was a deliberate incident.

On December 25 last year, the Estlink 2 power transmission line connecting Finland and Estonia was shut down. Finnish police suspect that the Cook Islands-flagged ship Eagle S damaged the cable by dragging its anchor on the seabed.

On December 25-26, four more telecommunications cables under the Baltic Sea were broken, three of which connected Finland with Estonia, and the remaining one connected Finland with Germany. (AFP)

*Russia foils terrorist attack on defense enterprise: Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) announced on January 14 that it had foiled a terrorist attack planned by Ukrainian intelligence involving the use of toxic chemicals to poison workers at a defense enterprise in the Yaroslavl region.

The FSB also said that the terrorist's activities were coordinated from the territory of Ukraine through foreign Internet messaging applications, as evidenced by information obtained from the suspect's communication devices.

In 2023, the FSB arrested an agent of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) who tried to poison Russian soldiers during an event in the Armenian city of Armavir. In 2024, four Russian citizens recruited by Ukrainian military intelligence were arrested in the city of Saint Petersburg while planning to poison food intended for Russian servicemen. (Sputniknews)

Middle East-Africa

*Iran and Russia could form an anti-Western alliance: In an interview with the press, Deputy Chairman of the Iranian Parliament's Economic Committee Jafar Qaderi said on January 14 that Iran and Russia could serve as a model to inspire other countries to form a stronger alliance against Western powers.

A day earlier, Iranian Ambassador to Russia Kazem Jalali said that Russia and Iran had recently completed a comprehensive strategic partnership agreement, which includes respect for territorial integrity and consists of 47 articles.

In December last year, Mr Jalali announced that Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian would visit Russia on January 17, 2025 to sign the treaty. (Al Jazeera)

*Gaza ceasefire near: US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said the US is very close to a ceasefire in Gaza and hostage rescue agreement between Israel and Hamas.

However, Mr. Sullivan was also careful not to make any specific commitments or predictions. According to a source from The Hill , an Israeli official confirmed that the deal is in the final stages but not yet completed.

Brett McGurk, the White House's top Middle East official, is in Qatar to help facilitate the talks. Steve Witkoff, special envoy to US President-elect Donald Trump, is also coordinating the process. (Reuters)

*Iran arrests IS member: Iran's Tasnim news agency reported on January 14 that the country's law enforcement agency arrested a member of the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS) in the northern Iranian province of Mazandaran.

According to Tasnim, the suspect was arrested in Juybar district in a joint operation between anti-terrorism units of Mazandaran province and neighboring Golestan province. Information about the suspect was not released and he has been handed over to the judiciary.

In October last year, three IS members were arrested in the Nowshahr district of Mazandaran province before they could carry out an attack on a popular tourist complex. (Tasnim)

America - Latin America

*US condemns North Korea's missile launch: The US Indo-Pacific Command on January 14 condemned North Korea's launch of multiple short-range ballistic missiles off its east coast, and is in close consultation with South Korea and Japan over recent events.

The US Indo-Pacific Command affirmed that this event did not pose a direct threat to US personnel, territory or allies, and said it would continue to monitor the situation.

Earlier in the day, North Korea fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles off its east coast, marking Pyongyang's latest show of force just days before U.S. President-elect Donald Trump returns to power. (Reuters)

*US President-elect declares he wants to meet Mr. Putin "soon": In a recent interview with Newsmax TV channel, US President-elect Donald Trump declared he wants to hold a meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin as soon as possible.

"I know he wants to meet and I'll meet him very soon. I could have done it sooner but... got to get to work. With some things, you really have to be there," Trump stressed.

Meanwhile, President-elect Trump's incoming national security adviser, Mike Waltz, told ABC News that phone calls between the Russian leader and the US President-elect could take place in the near future.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also said that President Putin is ready to talk with his new US counterpart without any preconditions. (TASS)

*Mr. Trump would have been convicted if he had not won a second term: According to a report by special prosecutor Jack Smith cited by US media early on January 14, President-elect Donald Trump would have been convicted of attempting to overturn the 2020 election results if he had not won the election four years later.

"The Department of Justice's view that the Constitution prohibits the continued prosecution and trial of a President is absolute and does not depend on the seriousness of the charges, the strength of the Government's evidence, or the merits of the prosecution, which the Office of the Special Counsel fully supports," the report said. (AFP)

*The possibility of the US deploying nuclear weapons in Greenland: Alexander Stepanov, program director at the Academy of Political Science and senior researcher at the Institute of Latin American Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, said that the US gaining control of Greenland would allow Washington to deploy nuclear-armed aircraft carriers and high-precision weapons on the island without any restrictions.

“If the US gains control of the island, multi-purpose groups armed with high-precision weapons, including Dark Eagle hypersonic missiles, as well as a naval base for Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarines or SSNX project submarines carrying hypersonic sea-based missiles, will most likely be deployed there,” Stepanov argued.

Meanwhile, the US Geological Survey estimates that Greenland holds 30% of the world's untapped gas reserves, which melting ice will make easier to access. (TASS)

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