
'Restrainers' propose slashing US troop numbers in South Korea, Okinawa
KEN MORIYASU
WASHINGTON -- The U.S. military should shrink its global footprint, including by slashing the scale of American forces in South Korea by more than 60%, a report by two prominent analysts from the so-called restrainer camp proposed on Wednesday.
The report recommended that the number of U.S. forces deployed to South Korea be around 10,000, not the 28,500 of today. The analysts envision turning primary responsibility for the country's defense back to Seoul.
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Yomiuri Shimbun
2 hours ago
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Judge Orders Trump Administration to Halt Indiscriminate Immigration Stops, Arrests in California
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A federal judge on Friday ordered the Trump administration to halt indiscriminate immigration stops and arrests in seven California counties, including Los Angeles. Immigrant advocacy groups filed the lawsuit last week accusing President Donald Trump's administration of systematically targeting brown-skinned people in Southern California during its ongoing immigration crackdown. The plaintiffs include three detained immigrants and two U.S. citizens, one who was held despite showing agents his identification. The filing in U.S. District Court asked a judge to block the administration from using what they call unconstitutional tactics in immigration raids. Immigrant advocates accuse immigration officials of detaining someone based on their race, carrying out warrantless arrests, and denying detainees access to legal counsel at a holding facility in downtown LA. Judge Maame E. Frimpong also issued a separate order barring the federal government from restricting attorney access at a Los Angeles immigration detention facility. Frimpong issued the emergency orders, which are a temporary measure while the lawsuit proceeds, the day after a hearing during which advocacy groups argued that the government was violating the Fourth and Fifth amendments of the constitution. She wrote in the order there was a 'mountain of evidence' presented in the case that the federal government was committing the violations they were being accused of. The White House responded quickly to the ruling late Friday. 'No federal judge has the authority to dictate immigration policy — that authority rests with Congress and the President,' spokesperson Abigail Jackson said. 'Enforcement operations require careful planning and execution; skills far beyond the purview (or) jurisdiction of any judge. We expect this gross overstep of judicial authority to be corrected on appeal.' Immigrants and Latino communities across Southern California have been on edge for weeks since the Trump administration stepped up arrests at car washes, Home Depot parking lots, immigration courts and a range of businesses. Tens of thousands of people have participated in rallies in the region over the raids and the subsequent deployment of the National Guard and Marines. The order also applies to Ventura County, where busloads of workers were detained Thursday while the court hearing was underway after federal agents descended on a cannabis farm, leading to clashes with protesters and multiple injuries. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, the recent wave of immigration enforcement has been driven by an 'arbitrary arrest quota' and based on 'broad stereotypes based on race or ethnicity.' When detaining the three day laborers who are plaintiffs in the lawsuit, all immigration agents knew about them is that they were Latino and were dressed in construction work clothes, the filing in the lawsuit said. It goes on to describe raids at swap meets and Home Depots where witnesses say federal agents grabbed anyone who 'looked Hispanic.' Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, said in an email that 'any claims that individuals have been 'targeted' by law enforcement because of their skin color are disgusting and categorically FALSE.' McLaughlin said 'enforcement operations are highly targeted, and officers do their due diligence' before making arrests. But ACLU attorney Mohammad Tajsar said Brian Gavidia, one of the U.S. citizens who was detained, was 'physically assaulted … for no other reason than he was Latino and working at a tow yard in a predominantly Latin American neighborhood.' Tajsar asked why immigration agents detained everyone at a car wash except two white workers, according to a declaration by a car wash worker, if race wasn't involved. Representing the government, attorney Sean Skedzielewski said there was no evidence that federal immigration agents considered race in their arrests, and that they only considered appearance as part of the 'totality of the circumstances' including prior surveillance and interactions with people in the field. In some cases, they also operated off 'targeted, individualized packages,' he said. 'The Department of Homeland Security has policy and training to ensure compliance with the Fourth Amendment,' Skedzielewski said. Order opens facility to lawyer visits Lawyers from Immigrant Defenders Law Center and other groups say they also have been denied access to a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in downtown LA known as 'B-18' on several occasions since June, according to court documents. Lawyer Mark Rosenbaum said in one incident on June 7 attorneys 'attempted to shout out basic rights' at a bus of people detained by immigration agents in downtown LA when the government drivers honked their horns to drown them out and chemical munitions akin to tear gas were deployed. Skedzielewski said access was only restricted to 'protect the employees and the detainees' during violent protests and it has since been restored. Rosenbaum said lawyers were denied access even on days without any demonstrations nearby, and that the people detained are also not given sufficient access to phones or informed that lawyers were available to them. He said the facility lacks adequate food and beds, which he called 'coercive' to getting people to sign papers to agree to leave the country before consulting an attorney. Friday's order will prevent the government from solely using apparent race or ethnicity, speaking Spanish or English with an accent, presence at a location such as a tow yard or car wash, or someone's occupation as the basis for reasonable suspicion to stop someone. It will also require officials to open B-18 to visitation by attorneys seven days a week and provide detainees access to confidential phone calls with attorneys. Attorneys general for 18 Democratic states also filed briefs in support of the orders. U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents were already barred from making warrantless arrests in a large swath of eastern California after a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction in April.


Asahi Shimbun
2 hours ago
- Asahi Shimbun
Rubio and Wang stress cooperation after talks in Malaysia as US-China tensions simmer
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, front second left, meets with China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi, second right, during the 58th ASEAN Foreign Ministers' meeting and related meetings at the Convention Centre in Kuala Lumpur on July 11. (Mandel Ngan/Pool Photo via AP) KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia--U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi agreed Friday to explore 'areas of potential cooperation' between Washington and Beijing, and stressed the importance of managing differences, following their first in-person meeting as they wrapped up a two-day regional security forum in Malaysia. Rubio and Wang met Friday on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, regional forum in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, as tensions between the two global powers continue to rise over trade, security, and China's support for Russia's war in Ukraine. 'Look, we're two big, powerful countries, and there are always going to be issues that we disagree on,' Rubio told reporters after the meeting. "I think there's some areas of potential cooperation. I thought it was very constructive, positive meeting and a lot of work to do.' Both sides need to build better communications and trust, he said. Rubio also indicated that a potential visit to China by U.S. President Donald Trump to meet with President Xi Jinping was likely, saying: "The odds are high. I think both sides want to see it happen.' China's Foreign Affairs Ministry, in a statement later Friday, echoed Rubio's sentiment, calling the meeting 'positive, pragmatic and constructive.' The statement didn't provide details on specific topics such as tariffs or China's position on the Russia-Ukraine war, but it said that both countries agreed to 'increase communication and dialogue' and 'explore expanding areas of cooperation while managing differences.' Wang called for 'jointly finding a correct way for China and the U.S. to get along in the new era,' it said. While tariffs loomed in the background, Rubio said that trade wasn't a major focus of his talks because 'I'm not the trade negotiator.' 'We certainly appreciate the role trade plays in our bilateral relationships with individual countries. But the bulk of our talks here have been about all the other things that we cooperate on,' he said. The meeting with Wang was held less than 24 hours after Rubio met in Kuala Lumpur with another rival, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, during which they discussed potential new avenues to jumpstart Russia-Ukraine peace talks. The high-level meetings took place amid regional unease over U.S. policies — especially Trump's threats to impose sweeping new tariffs on both allies and adversaries. Southeast Asian leaders voiced concerns, but according to Rubio, many prioritized discussions on security issues, their concerns about Chinese domination and desire for cooperation with the U.S. 'Of course, it's raised. It's an issue,' Rubio said. 'But I wouldn't say it solely defines our relationship with many of these countries. There are a lot of other issues that we work together on, and I think there was great enthusiasm that we were here and that we're a part of this.' European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas warned separately that the U.S.-led trade war could backfire. 'There are no winners in trade wars,' she told reporters. 'If you start a trade war with everyone, you make your partners weaker and China stronger.' Kallas said that the EU doesn't seek retaliation, but has tools available, if necessary. Trump sees China as the biggest threat to the United States in multiple fields, not least technology and trade, and like previous U.S. presidents has watched the country greatly expand its influence globally while turning increasingly assertive in the Indo-Pacific, notably toward its small neighbors over the South China Sea and Taiwan. His administration has warned of major tariffs on Chinese exports, though talks have made little progress. Since former U.S. President Joe Biden was in office, Washington has also accused China of assisting Russia in rebuilding its military industrial sector to help it execute its war against Ukraine. Rubio said the Trump administration shares that view. 'I think the Chinese clearly have been supportive of the Russian effort,' he said. 'They've been willing to help them as much as they can without getting caught.' Rubio and Wang had been shadowboxing during the two-day ASEAN meeting, with each touting the benefits of their partnership to Southeast Asian nations. Rubio has played up cooperation, including signing a civil-nuclear cooperation agreement with Malaysia, while Wang has railed against Trump's threatened tariffs and projected China as a stable counterweight in talks with ASEAN counterparts on the sidelines. 'The U.S. is abusing tariffs, wrecking the free trade system and disrupting the stability of the global supply chain,' Wang told Thai counterpart Maris Sangiampongsa, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry. In a meeting with Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Prak Sokhonn, Wang said that the tariffs are 'an attempt to deprive all parties of their legitimate right to development.' He said that 'China is willing to be Cambodia's trustworthy and reliable friend and partner.' Wang also met with Lavrov on Thursday, where the two offered a joint message aimed at Washington. 'Russia and China both support ASEAN's central role in regional cooperation ... and are wary of certain major powers creating divisions and instigating confrontation in the region,' Russia's Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong sided with Rubio's call for a balanced Indo-Pacific, warning that 'no one country should dominate, and no country should be dominated.' But like Kallas, she said that engagement with China remains vital. 'We want to see a region where there is a balance of power ... where there is no coercion or duress,' Wong said. ___ Huizhong Wu in Bangkok, and Eileen Ng in Kuala Lumpur, contributed to this report.


The Mainichi
4 hours ago
- The Mainichi
Japan urges China to stop flying fighter jets too close to Japanese military aircraft
TOKYO (AP) -- Japan has demanded China stop flying its fighter jets abnormally close to Japanese intelligence-gathering aircraft, which it said was happening repeatedly and could cause a collision. Japan's Defense Ministry said a Chinese JH-7 fighter-bomber flew as close to 30 meters (98 feet) to a YS-11EB electronic-intelligence aircraft of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force on Wednesday and Thursday. The ministry said it occurred outside Japanese airspace over the East China Sea and caused no damage to the Japanese side. China had no immediate comment on the latest incident. Previously, Beijing alleged that Japan flew close to its aircraft and was spying on China's ordinary military activity, and demanded Japan stop its actions. Japan is concerned about China's acceleration of its military buildup, especially in Japan's southwestern areas. Japan's Foreign Ministry said in a statement late Thursday that its vice minister Takehiro Funakoshi expressed "serious concern" to Chinese Ambassador to Japan Wu Jianghao and strongly requested Beijing to stop the activity that could "provoke accidental collisions" and strongly urged China to ensure that similar actions are not repeated. The countries traded accusations over similar close encounters last month when Japan said a Chinese combat aircraft flew extremely close to Japanese navy P-3C surveillance aircraft over the Pacific Ocean, where two Chinese aircraft carrier s were seen operating together for the first time. The incident comes as economic ties between Japan and China appear to be warming as the two countries face the U.S. tariff war. On Friday, Japan announced the start of its animal health and quarantine agreement with China, which paves the way for a resumption of Japanese beef exports to China. A ban has been imposed since 2001 after an outbreak of mad cow disease in Japan and expectation there for resuming beef exports is high, though a timeline was unknown. The agreement came less than two weeks after China partially lifted a 22-month ban on Japanese seafood imports over the country's discharges of treated radioactive wastewater from the tsunami-hit Fukushima nuclear power plant that began in 2023. China has since approved re-registration of three Japanese seafood exporters.