Cambodia denies Thai army accusation of violating ceasefire
Thai forces said Cambodian troops launched attacks at multiple locations after the ceasefire was supposed to take effect. Cambodia's Defense Ministry denied the accusation, telling reporters on Tuesday that the clashes ended after the ceasefire began.
An unconditional ceasefire agreement was reached on Monday in Malaysia, which is this year's chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. The clashes broke out last Thursday.
Thai and Cambodian military commanders were scheduled to meet unofficially on the border on Tuesday. But as troops on both sides remain on alert, attention is on whether the ceasefire will hold and the tensions eased.
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Japan Times
3 hours ago
- Japan Times
Israeli Cabinet may order complete Gaza takeover
Israel's Cabinet could authorize on Tuesday a complete military takeover of Gaza for the first time in two decades, media reported, despite international pressure for a ceasefire to ease appalling conditions in the besieged Palestinian territory. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is leaning toward an expanded offensive and taking control of the entire enclave after 22 months of war against militant group Hamas, Israeli Channel 12 reported. A senior Israeli source said on Monday that more force was an option following the collapse of indirect ceasefire talks with Hamas. Seizing the entire territory would reverse a 2005 decision by Israel to pull settlers and military out of Gaza while retaining control over its borders — a move right-wing parties blame for Hamas gaining power there. It was unclear, however, whether a potential full takeover of Gaza would entail a prolonged occupation or a short-term operation aimed at dismantling Hamas and freeing hostages. Israel's coalition government is regarded as one of the most right-wing in its history, with the cabinet including parties that seek to annex both Gaza and the West Bank and encourage Palestinians to leave their homeland. The country's military has throughout the war pushed back against the idea of Israel trying to fully occupy Gaza and establish military rule there, which would require it to take over long-term governance. The military has also struggled with manpower issues as the war has dragged on, with reservists being repeatedly called up and putting a strain on capabilities. The conflict was triggered by a Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023, when gunmen stormed the border from Gaza, killing more than 1,200 people and seizing around 250 hostages according to Israeli tallies. Israel's military campaign has devastated the tiny, crowded enclave, killing more than 60,000 people according to Palestinian health authorities. It has forced nearly all of Gaza's over 2 million people from their homes and caused what a global hunger monitor called last week an unfolding famine. That has caused widespread international anger and prompted several European countries to say they would recognize a Palestinian state next month if there was no ceasefire. Inside Gaza on Tuesday, Israeli gunfire and strikes killed at least 13 Palestinians, local health authorities said, including five people in a tent in Khan Younis and three aid seekers near Rafah in the south. Israeli tanks pushed into central Gaza earlier on Tuesday but it was not clear if the move was part of a larger ground offensive. Palestinians living in the last fifth of the territory where Israel has not yet taken military control via ground incursions or orders for civilians to leave said any new move to occupy the area would be catastrophic. "If the tanks pushed through, where would we go, into the sea? This will be like a death sentence to the entire population," said Abu Jehad, a Gaza wood merchant, who asked not to be named in full. A Palestinian official close to the talks and mediation said Israeli threats could be a way to pressure Hamas to make concessions at the negotiation table. "It will only complicate the negotiation further, at the end, the resistance factions will not accept less than an end to the war, and a full withdrawal from Gaza," he said, asking not to be named. Israel said it would allow merchants to import goods. A source in Gaza said some trucks had already entered carrying chocolates and biscuits for a merchant. It is hoped that essential items such as children's milk, fresh meat and fruits, sugar, and rice could be allowed in, which would alleviate scarcity and drive down prices of what is available in the markets. U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff said last week he was working with the Israeli government on a plan that would effectively end the war in Gaza. But Israeli officials have also floated ideas including expanding the offensive and annexing parts of Gaza. The failed ceasefire talks in Doha had aimed to clinch agreements on a U.S.-backed proposal for a 60-day truce, during which aid would be flown into Gaza and half of the hostages Hamas is holding would be freed in exchange for Palestinian prisoners jailed in Israel. The Israeli military was expected on Tuesday to present alternatives that include extending into areas of Gaza where it has not yet operated, according to two defense officials.
Japan Times
3 hours ago
- Japan Times
Putin doubts potency of Trump's ultimatum to end the war, sources say
Russian President Vladimir Putin is unlikely to bow to a sanctions ultimatum expiring this Friday from U.S. President Donald Trump, and retains the goal of capturing four regions of Ukraine in their entirety, sources close to the Kremlin said. Trump has threatened to hit Russia with new sanctions and impose 100% tariffs on countries that buy its oil — of which the biggest are China and India — unless Putin agrees to a ceasefire in Russia's war in Ukraine. Putin's determination to keep going is prompted by his belief that Russia is winning and by skepticism that yet more U.S. sanctions will have much of an impact after successive waves of economic penalties during 3½ years of war, according to three sources familiar with discussions in the Kremlin. The Russian leader does not want to anger Trump, and he realizes that he may be spurning a chance to improve relations with Washington and the West, but his war goals take precedence, two of the sources said. Putin's goal is to fully capture the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, which Russia has claimed as its own, and then to talk about a peace agreement, one of the sources said. "If Putin were able to fully occupy those four regions which he has claimed for Russia he could claim that his war in Ukraine had reached his objectives," said James Rodgers, author of the forthcoming book "The Return of Russia." The current talks process, in which Russian and Ukrainian negotiators have met three times since May, was an attempt by Moscow to convince Trump that Putin was not rejecting peace, the first source said, adding that the talks were devoid of real substance apart from discussions on humanitarian exchanges. Russia says it is serious about agreeing a long-term peace in the negotiations but that the process is complicated because the two sides' stances are so far apart. Putin last week described the talks as positive. Rescuers carry a fragment of Russian cruise missile outside a residential building in Kyiv on Aug. 1 | AFP-Jiji Moscow's stated demands include a full Ukrainian withdrawal from the four regions and acceptance by Kyiv of neutral status and limits on the size of its military — demands rejected by Ukraine. In a sign that there may yet be an opportunity to strike a deal before the deadline, Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to visit Russia this week, following an escalation in rhetoric between Trump and Moscow over risks of nuclear war. On Monday, Russia said it was no longer bound by a moratorium on short- and medium-range nuclear missiles. The Kremlin did not respond to a request for comment for this story. All the sources spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation. Trump, who in the past has praised Putin and held out the prospect of lucrative business deals between their two countries, has lately expressed growing impatience with the Russian president. He has complained about what he called Putin's "bulls---" and described Russia's relentless bombing of Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities as "disgusting." The Kremlin has said it noted Trump's statements but it has declined to respond to them. Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko last week called on the world to respond with "maximum pressure" after the worst Russian airstrike of the year killed 31 people in Kyiv, including five children, in what she called Russia's response to Trump's deadline. "President Trump wants to stop the killing, which is why he is selling American-made weapons to NATO members and threatening Putin with biting tariffs and sanctions if he does not agree to a ceasefire," White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said in response to a request for comment. Forces advance The first source said Putin was privately concerned about the recent deterioration of U.S. ties. Putin still retains the hope that Russia can again befriend America and trade with the West, and "he is worried" about Trump's irritation, this person said. But with Moscow's forces advancing on the battlefield and Ukraine under heavy military pressure, Putin does not believe now is the time to end the war, the source said, adding that neither the Russian people nor the army would understand if he stops now. U.S. President Donald Trump's sanctions threat was "painful and unpleasant," but not a catastrophe, a Kremlin source said. | REUTERS Rodgers, the author, said Putin has invested his political reputation and legacy in the war in Ukraine. "We know from his previous writings and statements that he sees himself as part of a strong tradition of standing up to the West and the rest of world to defend Russia's interests," he said. The Kremlin leader values the relationship with Trump and does not want to anger him, however, "he simply has a top priority — Putin cannot afford to end the war just because Trump wants it," the second Russian source said. A third person familiar with Kremlin thinking also said Russia wanted to take all four regions and did not see the logic in stopping at a time of battlefield gains during Russia's summer offensive. Ukraine has suffered some of its biggest territorial losses of 2025 in the past three months, including 502 square kilometers in July, according to Black Bird Group, a Finland-based military analysis center. In total, Russia has occupied around a fifth of Ukraine. Russia's military General Staff has told Putin that the Ukrainian front will crumble in two or three months, the first person said. However, Russia's recent gains remain relatively minor in purely territorial terms, with only 5,000 square kilometers of Ukraine taken since the start of last year, less than 1% of the country's overall territory, according to a June report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington-based think tank. Ukrainian and Western military sources, acknowledge that Russia is making gains, but only gradually and with heavy casualties. Russian war bloggers say Moscow's forces have been bogged down during its current summer offensive in areas where the terrain and dense urban landscape favored Ukraine, but assess that other areas should be faster to take. 'He's made threats before' Trump's sanctions threat was "painful and unpleasant," but not a catastrophe, the second source said. The third source said there was a feeling in Moscow that "there's not much more that they can do to us." It was also not clear if Trump would follow through on his ultimatum, this person said, adding that "he's made threats before" and then not acted, or changed his mind. The source also said it was hard to imagine that China would stop buying Russian oil on instructions from Trump, and that his actions risked backfiring by driving oil prices higher. As a consequence of previous rounds of sanctions, Russian oil and gas exporters have taken big hits to their revenues, and foreign direct investment in the country fell by 63% last year, according to U.N. trade data. Around $300 billion of central bank assets have been frozen in foreign jurisdictions. But Russia's ability to wage war has been unimpeded, thanks in part to ammunition supplies from North Korea and imports from China of dual-use components that have sustained a massive rise in weapons production. The Kremlin has repeatedly said that Russia has some "immunity" to sanctions. Trump has acknowledged Russia's skill in skirting the measures. "They're wily characters and they're pretty good at avoiding sanctions, so we'll see what happens," he told reporters at the weekend, when asked what his response would be if Russia did not agree to a ceasefire. The first Russian source noted that Putin, in pursuing the conflict, was turning his back on a U.S. offer made in March that Washington, in return for his agreement to a full ceasefire, would remove U.S. sanctions, recognize Russian possession of Crimea — annexed from Ukraine in 2014 — and acknowledge de facto Russian control of the territory captured by its forces since 2022. The source called the offer a "fantastic chance," but said stopping a war was much more difficult than starting it.
NHK
7 hours ago
- NHK
Australian minister stresses importance of warship deal with Japan
The Australian government has chosen Japan to partner on the development of a new ship for the country's navy. Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles spoke to NHK about the deal's significance after its announcement. He said: "It is a really significant moment in our relationship with Japan. It's easily the biggest defense industry agreement that there will be between our two countries. I think it's one of the biggest defense exports in Japan's history. And it takes, really to the next level what is becoming a growing and deeply significant defense relationship between our two countries." Marles also said the frigates will help to upgrade his country's defenses amid China's growing maritime activities in nearby waters. He noted that China is engaging in the largest "conventional military buildup since the end of the Second World War." He added that "it's why we need to be doing everything within our power to be making sure that Australia is capable." Marles said that Australia is considering joint missile operations with the United States and Japan as part of an overall plan to strengthen cooperation between the three countries in the Indo-Pacific region.
