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US Defense Chief Refocuses Attention on China Security Risks

A handout photo made available by the US Department of Defense (DoD) shows US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin delivering his speech at a plenary session of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) 21st Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, 01 June 2024. EPA/Chad J. McNeeley/ US Department of Defense (DoD) Handout
A handout photo made available by the US Department of Defense (DoD) shows US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin delivering his speech at a plenary session of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) 21st Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, 01 June 2024. EPA/Chad J. McNeeley/ US Department of Defense (DoD) Handout
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US Defense Chief Refocuses Attention on China Security Risks

A handout photo made available by the US Department of Defense (DoD) shows US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin delivering his speech at a plenary session of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) 21st Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, 01 June 2024. EPA/Chad J. McNeeley/ US Department of Defense (DoD) Handout
A handout photo made available by the US Department of Defense (DoD) shows US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin delivering his speech at a plenary session of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) 21st Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, 01 June 2024. EPA/Chad J. McNeeley/ US Department of Defense (DoD) Handout

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Saturday tried to refocus attention on China's threat in the Pacific, seeking to alleviate concerns that conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza have distracted from America's security commitments in Asia.

Austin, who was speaking at the annual Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore, met his Chinese counterpart, Dong Jun, on Friday in a bid to cool friction over issues from Taiwan to China's military activity in the South China Sea.

There has been increasing concern that Washington's focus on helping Ukraine counter Russia's invasion and support for Israel's war in Gaza, while trying to ensure that the conflict does not spread, has taken away attention from the Indo-Pacific.

"Despite these historic clashes in Europe and the Middle East, the Indo-Pacific has remained our priority theater of operations," Austin said in his speech, which appeared aimed at making the administration's legacy in the region clear as President Joe Biden's first term in office nears its end.

Biden is running for re-election in November against former President Donald Trump.

"Let me be clear: The United States can be secure only if Asia is secure. That’s why the United States has long maintained our presence in this region."

Austin underscored the importance of alliances in the region.

"And ... peaceful resolution of disputes through dialogue and not coercion or conflict. And certainly not through so-called punishment," Austin said, taking a shot at Beijing.

During their meeting, Dong warned Austin that the US should not interfere in China's affairs with Taiwan, defense ministry spokesperson Wu Qian told reporters. China claims the democratically governed island as its own territory.

Some US officials say Beijing has become more emboldened in recent years, recently launching what it described "punishment" drills around Taiwan, sending heavily armed warplanes and staging mock attacks after Lai Ching-te was inaugurated as Taiwan's president.

The United States has provided tens of billions of dollars in military aid to Ukraine since the invasion, and the US Congress appropriated $61 billion more last month. It has also continued to arm Israel, and the same bill provides $26 billion to in additional support for that country.

About $8 billion is set aside for countering China in the Indo-Pacific as part of the supplemental funding bill passed by lawmakers.

Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr on Friday denounced illegal, coercive and aggressive actions in the South China Sea, a disputed ocean territory that China has been flooding with coastguard ships in recent months.

The Philippines, a sprawling archipelago with strong historical ties to the United States and close geographical proximity to China, is at the center of an intensifying power struggle between Washington and Beijing.

Austin said the harassment Manila was facing was dangerous.

"America will continue to play a vital role in the Indo-Pacific, together with our friends across the region that we share and care so much about," Austin said.

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Death Toll Rises From Helene While Supplies are Rushed to North Carolina and Florida Digs Out

Flooding caused by the storm that started as Hurricane Helene covering streets in Asheville, North Carolina, USA, 27 September 2024 (issued 29 September 2024). EPA/BILLY BOWLING
Flooding caused by the storm that started as Hurricane Helene covering streets in Asheville, North Carolina, USA, 27 September 2024 (issued 29 September 2024). EPA/BILLY BOWLING
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Death Toll Rises From Helene While Supplies are Rushed to North Carolina and Florida Digs Out

Flooding caused by the storm that started as Hurricane Helene covering streets in Asheville, North Carolina, USA, 27 September 2024 (issued 29 September 2024). EPA/BILLY BOWLING
Flooding caused by the storm that started as Hurricane Helene covering streets in Asheville, North Carolina, USA, 27 September 2024 (issued 29 September 2024). EPA/BILLY BOWLING

Authorities struggled to get water and other supplies to isolated, flood-stricken areas across the US Southeast in the wake of Hurricane Helene as the death toll from the storm rose to nearly 100.
A North Carolina county that includes the mountain city of Asheville reported 30 people killed due to the storm, and several other fatalities reported in North Carolina Sunday pushed the overall death toll to at least 91 people across several states, The Associated Press said.
Supplies were being airlifted to the region around the isolated city. Buncombe County Manager Avril Pinder pledged that she would have food and water into Ashville — which is known for its arts, culture and natural attractions — by Monday.
“We hear you. We need food and we need water,” Pinder said on a Sunday call with reporters. “My staff has been making every request possible to the state for support and we’ve been working with every single organization that has reached out. What I promise you is that we are very close.”
Officials warned that rebuilding from the widespread loss of homes and property would be lengthy and difficult. The storm upended life throughout the Southeast. Deaths also were reported in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and Virginia.
North Carolina governor predicts the death toll will rise as rescuers reach isolated areas North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper predicted the toll would rise as rescuers and other emergency workers reached areas isolated by collapsed roads, failing infrastructure and widespread flooding.
He implored residents in western North Carolina to avoid travel, both for their own safety and to keep roads clear for emergency vehicles. More than 50 search teams spread throughout the region in search of stranded people.
One rescue effort involved saving 41 people north of Asheville. Another mission focused on saving a single infant. The teams found people through both 911 calls and social media messages, North Carolina National Guard Adjutant General Todd Hunt said.
President Joe Biden described the impact of the storm as “stunning” and said he would visit the area this week as long as it does not disrupt rescues or recovery work.
Hurricane Helene roared ashore late Thursday in Florida’s Big Bend region as a Category 4 hurricane with 140 mph (225 kph) winds. A weakened Helene quickly moved through Georgia, then soaked the Carolinas and Tennessee with torrential rains that flooded creeks and rivers and strained dams.
There have been hundreds of water rescues, including in rural Unicoi County in East Tennessee, where dozens of patients and staff were plucked by helicopter from a hospital rooftop Friday.
More than 2 million homeowners and other utility customers were still without power Sunday night. South Carolina had the most outages and Gov. Henry McMaster asked for patience as crews dealt with widespread snapped power poles.
“We want people to remain calm. Help is on the way, it is just going to take time,” McMaster told reporters outside the airport in Aiken County.
Begging for help in North Carolina as that help is slow to arrive The storm unleashed the worst flooding in a century in North Carolina. One community, Spruce Pine, was doused with over 2 feet (61 centimeters) of rain from Tuesday through Saturday.
Jessica Drye Turner in Texas had begged for someone to rescue her family members stranded on their rooftop in Asheville amid rising floodwaters. “They are watching 18-wheelers and cars floating by,” Turner wrote in an urgent Facebook post on Friday.
But in a follow-up message Saturday, Turner said help had not arrived in time to save her parents, both in their 70s, and her 6-year-old nephew. The roof collapsed and the three drowned.
“I cannot convey in words the sorrow, heartbreak and devastation my sisters and I are going through,” she wrote.
The state was sending water supplies and other items toward Buncombe County and Asheville, but mudslides blocking Interstate 40 and other highways prevented supplies from making it. The county’s own water supplies were on the other side of the Swannanoa River, away from where most of the 270,000 people in Buncombe County live, officials said.
Law enforcement was making plans to send officers to places that still had water, food or gas because of reports of arguments and threats of violence, the county sheriff said.
FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell toured south Georgia on Sunday and planned to be in North Carolina Monday.
“It’s still very much an active search and rescue mission” in western North Carolina, Criswell said. “And we know that there’s many communities that are cut off just because of the geography” of the mountains, where damage to roads and bridges have cut off certain areas.
Biden on Saturday pledged federal government help for Helene's “overwhelming” devastation. He also approved a disaster declaration for North Carolina, making federal funding available for affected individuals.
Storm-battered Florida digs out, residents gather for church In Florida's Big Bend, some lost nearly everything they own. With sanctuaries still darkened as of Sunday morning, some churches canceled regular services while others like Faith Baptist Church in Perry opted to worship outside.
Standing water and tree debris still covers the grounds of Faith Baptist Church. The church called on parishioners to come “pray for our community” in a message posted to the congregation’s Facebook page.
“We have power. We don’t have electricity,” Immaculate Conception Catholic Church parishioner Marie Ruttinger said. “Our God has power. That’s for sure.”
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said Saturday that it looked “like a bomb went off” after viewing splintered homes and debris-covered highways from the air.
In eastern Georgia near the border with South Carolina, officials notified Augusta residents Sunday morning that water service would be shut off for 24 to 48 hours in the city and surrounding Richmond County.
A news release said trash and debris from the storm “blocked our ability to pump water.” Officials were distributing bottled water.
With at least 25 killed in South Carolina, Helene was the deadliest tropical cyclone for the state since Hurricane Hugo made landfall north of Charleston in 1989, killing 35 people.
Moody’s Analytics said it expects $15 billion to $26 billion in property damage.
Climate change has exacerbated conditions that allow such storms to thrive, rapidly intensifying in warming waters and turning into powerful cyclones sometimes within hours.
New tropical depression in Atlantic could become strong hurricane, forecasters say A new tropical depression in the eastern Atlantic Ocean could become a “formidable hurricane” later this week, the National Hurricane Center said Sunday. The depression had sustained 35 mph (55kph) winds and was located about 585 miles (945 kilometers) west-southwest of the Cape Verde Islands, the center said. It could become a hurricane by Wednesday.