US cuts diplomatic staff in China, Russia regains territory in Kursk province, Egypt announces reconstruction of Gaza Strip in 3 years

President Trump urged Ukraine to hold elections, the US criticized China's "reckless actions" in the East Sea, Russia continued to attack Ukraine's critical infrastructure, the EU considered ensuring security for Kiev in the post-war period... are some of the outstanding international events in the past 24 hours.

China's Ministry of Commerce said the country is "making every effort" to push forward negotiations with the EU. (Source: Getty Images)

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

Asia- Pacific

*South Korea and NATO discuss North Korea issue: On February 20, the Joint Chiefs of Staff of South Korea (JCS) said that military officials of this country and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) had a phone call to discuss a joint response to military threats from North Korea.

During the phone talks, JCS Chairman Adm. Kim Myung-soo and NATO Military Committee Chairman Adm. Giuseppe Cavo Dragone shared their assessment of the security situation on the Korean Peninsula and discussed ways to enhance military cooperation between South Korea and NATO. (Yonhap)

*Former Australian Prime Minister: Cannot "rely" on the US under President Trump: Former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said on February 20 that the country cannot "rely" on the US under President Donald Trump.

In an interview with ABC , Mr. Turnbull affirmed: “We have to realize that the world has changed, America has changed. And we cannot assume that we can rely on America as we did before.”

Mr. Turnbull assessed that since the beginning of his second term, President Trump has "tried to bully" Denmark, Canada and other countries. Mr. Turnbull served as Prime Minister of Australia from 2015-2018. (THX)

*China strives to promote trade talks with EU: China's Ministry of Commerce said on 20/20 that the country is "making every effort" to promote negotiations with the European Union (EU) when asked about progress in negotiations on tariffs on electric vehicles and trade between China and Europe.

“China hopes the European side will listen to the voice of industry and promote bilateral investment cooperation through dialogue and consultation,” a spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Commerce stressed.

In addition, the official also said that China's anti-subsidy investigations into dairy products and pork imported from the EU are still ongoing. (Reuters)

*Pakistan plans to deport all Afghan refugees: The Afghan Embassy in Islamabad said Pakistan is planning to deport all Afghan refugees from its territory, regardless of whether they have residence permits or not.

The decision was taken by Pakistan amid a surge in terrorist attacks in the country, which Islamabad blames on Afghans and members of the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan extremist group.

The United Nations International Organization for Migration estimates that Pakistan has repatriated nearly 825,000 Afghan refugees since September 15, 2023. In January 2025 alone, that number was 18,500. (RIA Novosti)

*US criticizes China's "reckless actions" at Scarborough Shoal: The US State Department on February 20 declared China's "reckless actions" in the East Sea as "a threat to maritime and air operations".

The statement came two days after a Chinese Navy helicopter flew within 3 meters of a Philippine fishing plane patrolling the disputed Scarborough Shoal (called Huangyan Island by Beijing) in the South China Sea. (Rapper)

*Indonesia reshuffles cabinet: On February 19, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto reshuffled the cabinet, replacing a minister and three heads of state agencies to improve the efficiency of government operations.

Specifically, Mr. Brian Yuliarto was appointed as Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology, replacing Satryo Soemantri Brodjonegoro. Meanwhile, Mr. Yusuf Ateh was appointed as head of the Financial and Development Supervision Agency, Ms. Amelia Adininggar Widyasanti was appointed as head of the Central Statistics Agency and Mr. Nugroho Sulistyo Budi took on the new role as head of the State Cyber ​​and Cryptography Agency. (THX)

Europe

*Belarus sets date for joint strategic exercise with Russia: On February 20, the Belarusian Ministry of Defense announced that the country and Russia will conduct a joint strategic exercise called "Zapad-2025" (West-2025) on Belarusian territory in mid-September.

Belarus Defense Minister's advisor Valery Revenko previously announced that the country would consider inviting Western observers to the joint exercise. According to Revenko, the Zapad-2025 exercise will involve 13,000 soldiers.

According to the Vienna Document on Confidence-Building Measures and Security in Europe, the exercise is subject to monitoring. Minsk has informed all countries participating in the Vienna Document about the timing and scope of Zapad-2025 . (TASS)

*Russia continues to attack Ukraine's critical infrastructure: The Ukrainian military said on February 20 that Russia continued to conduct overnight attacks on the country, launching 161 drones and 14 missiles.

Missile attack targets critical infrastructure in Kharkov province, northeastern Ukraine.

Ukraine's military added that its air force had shot down 80 drones while 78 others had "lost control", possibly due to electronic warfare measures. (Reuters)

*Greece calls on Europe to "wake up" after US policy change: Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on the evening of February 19 that Europe needs to "wake up" and build its own defense policy after the US's drastic change towards Ukraine and geopolitical developments in recent months.

The Greek leader also said that recent developments and the US's different perspective forced Europe not only to face the truth but also to act quickly and implement decisions that had been discussed for a long time.

The Greek Prime Minister made the statement shortly after attending the second online meeting convened by France with the participation of European and Canadian leaders to discuss the Ukraine issue. (Reuters)

*EU considers post-war security guarantees for Ukraine: The Financial Times (FT) newspaper on February 20 quoted diplomatic sources as revealing that European Council President Antonio Costa is consulting with 27 European Union (EU) member states to draw up a list of military commitments that the bloc is willing to provide to Ukraine. These are considered potential security guarantees in case Ukraine reaches a peace agreement with Russia.

France and Britain are separately planning a “relief force” based on Western air power with support from the United States, while deploying ground forces to protect key Ukrainian sites such as ports and nuclear power plants, the source said. (RIA Novosti)

*Russia reclaims 800 square kilometers of territory in Kursk region: The head of the Main Operational Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation - Colonel General Sergey Rudskoi - announced that the Russian army has reclaimed more than 800 square kilometers of territory in Kursk region from Ukraine. This figure is equivalent to more than 60% of the total area that Ukraine has captured since launching its offensive last year.

“More than 800 square kilometers have been liberated, which is about 64 percent of the territory initially occupied by the enemy,” Colonel General Rudskoi told Krasnaya Zvezda, stressing that the Russian army is advancing in all directions. (Reuters)

*US President urges Ukraine to hold elections: US President Donald Trump said on February 20 that it was time for Ukraine to hold elections and find out how the money Washington provided to Kiev was used.

Speaking to reporters, Mr. Trump emphasized: “It's time to have elections. They haven't had elections for a long time... and it's time to find out what happened to all that money... I want to find out... all the money that we sent to Ukraine. Where is it? ". (RIA Novosti)

Middle East – Africa

*US stops funding Palestinian security forces: The Washington Post (WP) newspaper on February 19 quoted information from US and Palestinian officials confirming that the White House has stopped all funding for the Palestinian Authority (PA) security forces.

According to the WP, the US ended direct aid to the PA during President Donald Trump's first term but continued to fund training and reform of the PA's security forces.

Accordingly, this force is considered key to the PA's ability to maintain law and order in the Gaza Strip and areas in the Israeli-occupied West Bank that the Palestinian Authority still controls. (THX)

*Israel kills 3 Palestinian gunmen in West Bank: On February 19, Israeli defense officials said that three Palestinian gunmen were killed by Israeli border police in the Far'a camp in the northern West Bank. The three were involved in arms smuggling.

Two other wanted Palestinians were also arrested during the operation. After the three gunmen were killed, border police officers searched the area and found a disassembled M16 assault rifle buried in the ground along with other weapons. A pistol was also found on the body of one of the Palestinian gunmen. (Al Jazeera)

*Morocco prevents terrorist plot, arrests 12 suspects: On February 19, Morocco's Central Bureau of Judicial Investigation announced that the country had successfully prevented an extremely dangerous terrorist plot and arrested 12 suspects.

Counterterrorism authorities carried out simultaneous operations on February 19 in cities including Casablanca, Fez and Tangier. The operations resulted in the arrest of 12 suspects, aged between 18 and 40, and the seizure of numerous weapons and improvised explosive devices, the department said in a press release.

According to the statement, Islamic State (IS) militants operating in the Sahel region provided financial and logistical support to the suspects. (Al Jazeera)

*Egypt claims it can rebuild the Gaza Strip within 3 years: Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said on February 19 that Egypt has the expertise and capacity to rebuild the war-torn Gaza Strip and completely restore the land within 3 years.

Since US President Donald Trump announced his proposal in early February, under which the US would take over the Gaza Strip and permanently relocate Palestinians from their historic land without giving them the right to return, Egypt has firmly rejected the plan.

According to an assessment released by the United Nations (UN), the European Union (EU) and the World Bank on February 18, the reconstruction of Gaza will cost more than $50 billion. Clearing more than 50 million tons of rubble in Gaza could take 21 years. (AFP)

America - Latin America

*US considers the possibility of automatically admitting Ukraine into NATO: NBC News reported that the US is considering the possibility of automatically admitting Ukraine into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) if Russia violates a future peace agreement between the two sides.

NBC quoted US officials as saying that automatic admission to NATO could be seen as a security measure for Ukraine.

Previously, President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly asserted that Ukraine's efforts to join NATO are a threat to Russia's national security. The Kremlin leader demanded that Ukraine abandon its plans to join NATO as a precondition for ceasefire talks. (RIA Novosti)

*Canada will designate Mexican drug cartels as terrorists: Canada's new ambassador to Mexico, Cameron MacKay, announced on February 19 that Ottawa will follow the US in designating major Mexican drug cartels as terrorists. However, this policy will only apply to Canadian territory and fully respect Mexico's sovereignty.

Meanwhile, the President of the Mexican Senate said that the US's designation of Mexican gangs as terrorists was being used by President Donald Trump as a pretext for his claims to intervene in other countries. Mr. Noroña stressed that in matters of independence and sovereignty, Mexico will not make any concessions. (AFP)

*South Korea-US joint air force drills: South Korea's Defense Ministry announced that on February 20, the country and the US conducted a joint air force drill involving at least one B-1B bomber, in a show of force to counter military threats from North Korea.

South Korea's F-35A and F-15K fighter jets, along with U.S. F-16 fighter jets, also participated in the exercise, the first such exercise between the two allies this year. (Yonhap)

*US, Mexico agree to increase joint patrols along border: The Pentagon said the US and Mexican militaries have agreed to coordinate patrols on both sides of the border, increase information sharing and improve communication methods to strengthen border security.

According to an announcement from the Pentagon, the Commander of the Northern Command (NORTHCOM) - General Gregory M. Guillot - and the Mexican Minister of Defense - General Ricardo Trevilla Trejo - recently met and signed a joint statement on cooperation activities along the border.

The move comes as the US is urging Mexico to crack down on drug and criminal gangs after accusing its neighbor of facilitating the flow of fentanyl into US territory. (Reuters)

*US to cut 10% of diplomatic staff in China: According to informed sources, the US is preparing to cut the size of its diplomatic mission in China by up to 10%.

SCMP understands that US diplomats working in mainland China, Hong Kong as well as local staff could receive notice as early as February 22 of the unprecedented cuts.

The cuts will affect the embassy in Beijing and consulates in Guangzhou, Shanghai, Shenyang and Wuhan, as well as the consulate in Hong Kong, two sources familiar with the matter said.

The cuts are part of a White House effort to overhaul the US diplomatic service globally, with diplomatic missions expected to cut about 10% of both US and local staff, sources said. (SCMP)

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