July 11 NEWSROOM TOKYO Bangkok Live
2. Manila marks 9 years since court win over South China Sea
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NHK
9 hours ago
- NHK
Srebrenica massacre in Bosnia-Herzegovina marks 30th anniversary
The 30th anniversary of what is known as Europe's worst atrocity since World War Two was marked on Friday in Bosnia-Herzegovina. In July 1995, armed Bosnian Serbs seized the eastern town of Srebrenica and murdered more than 8,000 Bosnian Muslims who were taking shelter there. The massacre occurred amid a fierce ethnic conflict during the break-up of Yugoslavia. The commander of the armed forces has been sentenced to life in prison by a United Nations tribunal. The tribunal was the first war crimes court created by the world body and paved the way for the establishment of the International Criminal Court. A ceremony commemorating the massacre also took place on the same day near where the tribunal used to be located in the Dutch city of The Hague. A newly erected monument was unveiled in the ceremony. A man taking part in the ceremony said it is important to keep pressure on those who broke the peace, in view of what is happening in the world today. Speaking about the war tribunal, Professor Kubo Keiichi at Waseda University says the political and military leaders of the Bosnian Serbs were defiant in the beginning, but were eventually forced to take responsibility due to the firm stand taken by the international community. He said it is crucial to keep saying "no" to war crimes. He argued that the international community should learn lessons from these developments and never give up its efforts to hold accountable those responsible for war crimes committed in such places as Ukraine and Palestine. The ICC has issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and others over suspected war crimes.
Japan Times
10 hours ago
- Japan Times
U.S. urges clarity on Japan's role in potential war over Taiwan, report says
The Pentagon is urging Japan to make clear the role it would play in the event of a U.S.-China conflict over Taiwan, a media report said Saturday, with the U.S. Defense Department's No. 3 official later appearing to confirm the push. U.S. Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby has been broaching the sensitive issue in meetings with Japanese and Australian officials in recent months, the Financial Times (FT) quoted unidentified sources as saying. Following the report's publication, Colby said in a post to X that linked to the report that the Defense Department is focused on implementing U.S. President Donald Trump's 'America First' agenda of 'restoring deterrence and achieving peace through strength.' He said that included 'urging allies to step up their defense spending and other efforts related to our collective defense.' Quoting an unidentified U.S. defense official, the FT said the 'animating theme' of the discussions with allies was 'to intensify and accelerate efforts to strengthen deterrence in a balanced, equitable way.' But the move reportedly caught Japanese officials off-guard since the U.S. itself maintains a policy of 'strategic ambiguity' on whether or not it would defend democratic Taiwan. China claims the self-ruled island as its own and has vowed to unify it with the mainland, by force if necessary. Colby hinted in his post on X that moves by the Pentagon under Trump had caused unease among some U.S. partners, but emphasized that the U.S. side 'will not be deterred from advancing his agenda.' 'Of course, some among our allies might not welcome frank conversations,' he wrote. 'But many ... are seeing the urgent need to step up and are doing so.' Elbridge Colby, then-nominee to be U.S. undersecretary of defense for policy under President Donald Trump, arrives for a Senate Armed Services Committee confirmation hearing in Washington in March. | BLOOMBERG Asked to confirm the report, the Pentagon referred The Japan Times to Colby's X post and one by chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell quoting a media commentator praising the FT story. 'The Department of Defense is focused on preventing war, with a strong shield of deterrence,' Parnell said in quoting the commentator. 'That requires strength — but it is a simple fact that our allies must also do their part.' Washington is Taiwan's most important global backer and arms supplier — despite not having formal diplomatic ties with Taipei. Trump has refused to say what he would do in the event of a Taiwan emergency, differing from his predecessor, Joe Biden, who deviated from U.S. policy several times by hinting that the United States would defend the island. Tokyo, which also does not have diplomatic ties with Taipei, has also become more vocal about its concerns over Taiwan in recent years. The Chinese military has ramped-up training and drills near the island, unnerving Japan and prompting senior government and ruling party officials to say that an emergency over Taiwan would also represent an emergency for Japan. Those fears are widely seen as a driving factor behind Japan's push to beef up its defense capabilities, with Tokyo saying in a defense white paper last year that China's string of large-scale military exercises around Taiwan likely 'demonstrated at least part of Beijing's invasion strategy.' Japan in March unveiled an evacuation plan for the roughly 120,000 people on remote southwestern islands near Taiwan, drawn up with a possible conflict in mind. A High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) is displayed at a park during Taiwan's annual Han Kuang military exercise in Taichung, Taiwan, on Saturday. | REUTERS The U.S. and Japan are also widely believed to be working on concrete operation plans in the event of an emergency over Taiwan. Recent bilateral and trilateral military drills involving the U.S., Japan and Australia — including this month's Southern Jackaroo and Talisman Sabre exercises — are largely focused on interoperability with a Taiwan contingency in mind. But any military response by Japan would face constitutional and legal restraints, though these have been loosened over the last decade. Much would also depend heavily on whether China struck U.S. or Self-Defense Force bases in Japan. Japanese leaders would have to formally declare such a contingency as being at a certain level to allow the SDF to respond. That process would likely take some time to unfold — a likely concern of Washington — although the severity of the situation could quicken decision-making. Experts say that in the event of a Taiwan contingency, time would be of the essence when making critical policy decisions. 'The allies should avoid, at all costs, a situation in which the U.S. is engaged in the defense of Taiwan while Tokyo debates its response,' James J. Przystup, a senior fellow with the Hudson Institute think tank, wrote in an analysis released Thursday. 'Failure to respond in a timely fashion would put the alliance at risk,' he added.
NHK
16 hours ago
- NHK
Trump notifies EU, Mexico of 30 percent tariff on US-bound products
US President Donald Trump says he will levy a 30-percent tariff on products coming from the European Union and Mexico starting August 1. Trump posted letters on social media on Saturday to notify these US trade partners of the new tariff rate. In April, Trump announced what he calls the reciprocal tax of 20 percent to the EU. In May, after calling negotiations with the EU deadlocked, Trump hinted at a 50-percent import tax on the European bloc. The EU has been working out details with Trump of trade in the aviation and automobile sectors. An EU trade negotiator said on Wednesday that they are on track to seal a deal. Trump has been levying a 25-percent tax on Mexican imports to the US, citing an inflow from Mexico of the opioid drug fentanyl. The tariff is not applicable to items covered by a free trade agreement among the US, Canada and Mexico. In the letter, he wrote that Mexico has been helping secure the border, but what it has done is not enough. He has not indicated whether items included in the free trade agreement will be excluded. Trump has been sending out such letters to notify each country of tariff rates on their products sold to the US. Japan was told to pay a 25-percent tariff.
