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Rubio to Meet Chinese Counterpart in Manila, US Official Says

Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks to reporters before departing Joint Base Andrews, Md., Sunday, July 19, 2026, en route to Manila, Philippines to attend the 59th ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting. (Brendan Smialowski, Pool via AP)
Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks to reporters before departing Joint Base Andrews, Md., Sunday, July 19, 2026, en route to Manila, Philippines to attend the 59th ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting. (Brendan Smialowski, Pool via AP)
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Rubio to Meet Chinese Counterpart in Manila, US Official Says

Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks to reporters before departing Joint Base Andrews, Md., Sunday, July 19, 2026, en route to Manila, Philippines to attend the 59th ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting. (Brendan Smialowski, Pool via AP)
Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks to reporters before departing Joint Base Andrews, Md., Sunday, July 19, 2026, en route to Manila, Philippines to attend the 59th ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting. (Brendan Smialowski, Pool via AP)

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations gathering, a US State Department official said on Tuesday.

The two will meet in Manila, where foreign ministers from the 11-member ASEAN and major partners have gathered this week to discuss a ‌range of ‌global issues.

Analysts have said ‌a ⁠Rubio meeting with ⁠his Chinese counterpart was likely to focus on preparations for a second meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping after the two met last May.

Trump has said Xi will visit ⁠the US at the end ‌of September, and Rubio ‌on Sunday said that the summit was ‌still anticipated.

"I have no reason to believe ‌that they won’t be coming. It’s important," he told reporters as he departed for ASEAN.

Tense US-China relations have stabilized under a temporary trade ‌truce reached by Trump and Xi in October, but deep differences still ⁠define ⁠ties between the two nations, which many analysts see mired in a new form of Cold War.

"There are always going to be irritants, there are always going to be things we don’t agree on, but I think it’s incumbent on powerful and important countries like ours to continue to talk and have a relationship," Rubio told reporters.

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World

Sri Lanka Tracks 11 US-Sanctioned Iranian Tankers off Coast

Vessels near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, August 24, 2026. (Reuters)
Vessels near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, August 24, 2026. (Reuters)
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Sri Lanka Tracks 11 US-Sanctioned Iranian Tankers off Coast

Vessels near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, August 24, 2026. (Reuters)
Vessels near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, August 24, 2026. (Reuters)

Sri Lanka's maritime authorities were monitoring a fleet of 11 US-sanctioned Iranian oil tankers just off the island's southern coast, officials said Wednesday.

The vessels are in limbo -- they cannot return to Iran because of a United States blockade on ships using Iranian ports.

The ships were spotted close to the Galle harbor where an Iranian frigate, IRIS Dena, was sunk by a US submarine in March, killing 104 sailors. Sri Lanka's navy rescued 32 Iranian sailors from that frigate.

"We have deployed reconnaissance aircraft and patrol boats to monitor these Iranian vessels outside our 12-nautical-mile territorial waters," a military official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

The vessels had not sought permission to enter Sri Lankan territory and were entitled to freedom of navigation in international waters.

"There is no indication of any ship-to-ship transfer of oil or illegal discharge of pollutants, so there is no basis for Sri Lankan authorities to take action against them," he said.

Many Iranian merchant vessels moved east towards the Strait of Malacca and Singapore after the US sanctions, while several remained near Sri Lankan waters, authorities said.

Sri Lankan officials said Washington had not formally notified Colombo about sanctioned Iranian-flagged vessels.

World

China’s Xi to Visit Kyrgyzstan, Egypt from Sunday

In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, Chinese President Xi Jinping delivers an important speech at a grand gathering to commemorate the birth centenary of late leader Jiang Zemin at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Monday, Aug. 17, 2026. (Li Xiang/Xinhua via AP)
In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, Chinese President Xi Jinping delivers an important speech at a grand gathering to commemorate the birth centenary of late leader Jiang Zemin at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Monday, Aug. 17, 2026. (Li Xiang/Xinhua via AP)
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China’s Xi to Visit Kyrgyzstan, Egypt from Sunday

In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, Chinese President Xi Jinping delivers an important speech at a grand gathering to commemorate the birth centenary of late leader Jiang Zemin at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Monday, Aug. 17, 2026. (Li Xiang/Xinhua via AP)
In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, Chinese President Xi Jinping delivers an important speech at a grand gathering to commemorate the birth centenary of late leader Jiang Zemin at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Monday, Aug. 17, 2026. (Li Xiang/Xinhua via AP)

Chinese President Xi Jinping will attend a regional summit in Bishkek and pay state visits to Kyrgyzstan and Egypt from Sunday, Beijing's foreign ministry said Wednesday. 

In Egypt, Xi will meet President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi for talks aimed at "making a positive contribution to safeguarding peace and stability in the region", foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said at a news conference. 

The visit comes as Iran and the United States remain locked in a conflict that has spilt over across the Middle East and choked off shipping through the vital Strait of Hormuz, disrupting global oil markets. 

China has significant economic ties to the Middle East, which was its top source of crude oil imports before the war. 

The state visit, Xi's first to Egypt in 10 years, "holds special significance for the development of bilateral ties", Lin said. 

In Kyrgyzstan, Xi will attend an Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit with other member states, including Russia and Iran. 

He will also hold talks with Kyrgyz president Sadyr Japarov to promote "mutually beneficial cooperation and high-quality development between the two countries". 

The tour, which lasts until September 3, will be Xi's second overseas trip this year following a visit to North Korea in June. 

World

South Korea Says Russian Military Planes Entered Its Air Defense Zone

Seoul's defense ministry said multiple Russian aircraft had entered and then left its air defense identification zone over the East Sea. (Republic of Korea Air Force)
Seoul's defense ministry said multiple Russian aircraft had entered and then left its air defense identification zone over the East Sea. (Republic of Korea Air Force)
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South Korea Says Russian Military Planes Entered Its Air Defense Zone

Seoul's defense ministry said multiple Russian aircraft had entered and then left its air defense identification zone over the East Sea. (Republic of Korea Air Force)
Seoul's defense ministry said multiple Russian aircraft had entered and then left its air defense identification zone over the East Sea. (Republic of Korea Air Force)

South Korea said on Wednesday it had scrambled fighter jets in response to Russian military aircraft entering its air defense zone, the second such incursion in weeks.

The relationship between the countries has worsened since South Korea joined Western sanctions following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and since Moscow built stronger ties with North Korea.

Seoul's defense ministry said multiple Russian aircraft had entered and then left its air defense identification zone over the East Sea, also called the Sea of Japan.

"South Korea's military detected the Russian aircraft before they entered the zone and deployed Air Force fighter jets to prepare for any contingency," it said, without giving details.

The Russian aircraft did not violate South Korean airspace, it said.

An air defense identification zone is not sovereign airspace but a buffer area where countries require foreign aircraft to identify themselves for security purposes.

Military aircraft are generally expected to notify the relevant country before entering its zone, although there is no legal obligation to do so.

In late June, more than 10 Chinese and Russian military aircraft entered South Korea's air defense zone.

Beijing's defense ministry said at the time that Chinese and Russian forces had conducted a "strategic air patrol" over the Sea of Japan, the East China Sea and the western Pacific Ocean.

Russia's defense ministry said the patrol was part of normal military cooperation plans and "not directed against third countries".

But South Korea still lodged protests with Beijing and Moscow and demanded measures to prevent a recurrence.