Chinese FM Wang Yi to Embark on Southeast Asia Tour 

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi poses as he meets Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan (not seen) in Ankara, Türkiye, July 26, 2023. (Reuters)
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi poses as he meets Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan (not seen) in Ankara, Türkiye, July 26, 2023. (Reuters)
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Chinese FM Wang Yi to Embark on Southeast Asia Tour 

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi poses as he meets Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan (not seen) in Ankara, Türkiye, July 26, 2023. (Reuters)
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi poses as he meets Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan (not seen) in Ankara, Türkiye, July 26, 2023. (Reuters)

China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi will visit Singapore, Malaysia and Cambodia this week, Beijing said on Wednesday as it seeks to build ties in the region.

Wang, who returned to the post last month after the unexplained disappearance of predecessor Qin Gang, will travel to the three countries from Thursday to Sunday, the Chinese foreign ministry said in a statement.

"China hopes to strengthen strategic communication with the three Southeast Asian countries through this visit," the foreign ministry said.

Cambodia has become one of China's strongest allies in the region under the rule of outgoing ruler Hun Sen, receiving huge sums of Chinese investment.

China's relations with Southeast Asia have been complicated by self-proclaimed control over most of the South China Sea despite competing claims from nations including Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines and Malaysia.

Maritime disagreements have pitted some members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) against Beijing and boosted sympathy for US opposition to China's growing assertiveness. Others have backed Beijing.

Singapore has for decades juggled ties with China and the US, engaging in an increasingly delicate balancing act amid the growing rivalry between the two powers across the Asia-Pacific.



UK Offers Peacekeeping Troops to Ukraine Ahead of Paris Talks 

Servicemen of the 24th Mechanized brigade, named after King Danylo, of the Ukrainian Armed Forces fire a BM-21 Grad multiple-launch rocket system toward Russian troops, on a front line, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, near the town of Chasiv Yar in Donetsk region, Ukraine February 15, 2025. (Oleg Petrasiuk/Press Service of the 24th King Danylo Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces/Handout via Reuters)
Servicemen of the 24th Mechanized brigade, named after King Danylo, of the Ukrainian Armed Forces fire a BM-21 Grad multiple-launch rocket system toward Russian troops, on a front line, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, near the town of Chasiv Yar in Donetsk region, Ukraine February 15, 2025. (Oleg Petrasiuk/Press Service of the 24th King Danylo Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces/Handout via Reuters)
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UK Offers Peacekeeping Troops to Ukraine Ahead of Paris Talks 

Servicemen of the 24th Mechanized brigade, named after King Danylo, of the Ukrainian Armed Forces fire a BM-21 Grad multiple-launch rocket system toward Russian troops, on a front line, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, near the town of Chasiv Yar in Donetsk region, Ukraine February 15, 2025. (Oleg Petrasiuk/Press Service of the 24th King Danylo Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces/Handout via Reuters)
Servicemen of the 24th Mechanized brigade, named after King Danylo, of the Ukrainian Armed Forces fire a BM-21 Grad multiple-launch rocket system toward Russian troops, on a front line, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, near the town of Chasiv Yar in Donetsk region, Ukraine February 15, 2025. (Oleg Petrasiuk/Press Service of the 24th King Danylo Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces/Handout via Reuters)

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has become the first European leader to say he is ready to put peacekeeping troops in Ukraine, making the commitment ahead of an emergency leaders' meeting in Paris to discuss Europe's role in a ceasefire.

US President Donald Trump stunned Ukraine and European allies last week when he announced he had held a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin without consulting them to discuss bringing an end to the three-year conflict.

Trump's Ukraine envoy, Keith Kellogg, said on Saturday Europe would not have a seat at the table for any peace talks. Washington sent a questionnaire to European capitals to ask what they could contribute to security guarantees for Kyiv.

Starmer, who is expected to travel to Washington to meet Trump next week, said on Sunday that Europe was facing a "once in a generation moment" for the collective security of the continent, and it must work closely with the United States.

He said Britain was ready to play a leading role in delivering security guarantees for Ukraine, including being ready to put "our own troops on the ground if necessary".

"The end of this war, when it comes, cannot merely become a temporary pause before Putin attacks again," he wrote in the Daily Telegraph newspaper.

French President Emmanuel Macron was due to host leaders from Germany, Italy, Britain, Poland, Spain, the Netherlands and Denmark, which will represent Baltic and Scandinavian countries, along with the European Union leadership and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.

Dozens of similar summits in the past have shown the 27-nation EU to be dithering, disunited and struggling to come up with a cohesive plan to end the Ukraine war on its doorstep.

Britain is not an EU member but has been a leading supporter of Ukraine in its fight to repel the Russian invasion. A peacekeeping force would raise the risk of a direct confrontation with Russia and stretch European militaries, whose arms stocks have been depleted by supplying Ukraine and who are used to relying heavily on US support for major missions.

EUROPE NEEDS TO 'DO MORE, BETTER'

A French presidency official said the acceleration in diplomacy meant Europe needed to do more and in a better way.

In the six-point questionnaire, seen by Reuters on Sunday, the US asked European allies in NATO what they would need from Washington to participate in Ukraine security arrangements.

"We believe that, as a result of the acceleration on the Ukrainian issue, and also as a result of what American leaders are saying, there is a need for Europeans to do more, better and in a coherent manner for our collective security," the official told reporters.

"These initiatives are an opportunity in the sense that they can help speed up the end of the war in Ukraine, but obviously we still need to agree and see under what conditions the end of the war can be achieved."

The discussion, he said, would look at "the security guarantees that can be given by the Europeans and the Americans, together or separately."

Peacekeepers would be just one element of the security guarantees being sought by Ukraine.

Some countries were unhappy that the Paris meeting was only for selected leaders and not a full EU summit, EU officials said.

The French presidency official said the meeting would facilitate future discussions in Brussels and at NATO.

"Everybody should be able to take part in the conversation," he said.