Blinken, in China for the second time in less than a year, met leading Chinese politicians in the capital Beijing, where US officials said he would directly raise crucial areas of difference including Russia, Taiwan and trade.

The unusual climate patterns combined with geopolitical challenges have disrupted global food supplies. Indonesian rice imports spiked this year after the global price for the commodity set a 15-year record high.

Blinken, paying his second visit to the rival country in less than a year, voiced hope for progress but said he would directly raise areas of difference, which are expected to include Russia, Taiwan and trade.

ASEAN must play a central role and be prepared to mitigate various security threats posed by geopolitical challenges, Indonesia said during talks in Hanoi where hundreds of diplomats and experts convened to discuss the group's future.

During the telephone call, the two also discussed the US-Indonesia defense relationship, as well as regional and global security issues.

Mahathir has condemned the questioning of his son by the country’s anti-graft agency, calling it “selective” and driven by his political rivalry with the sitting government. 

Everywhere, US allies are taking steps to defend or advance their interests in the event former President Donald Trump returns to power in November elections, an even chance based on recent opinion polls in swing states.

A day before meeting Beijing's top brass, Blinken visited the bustling metropolis of Shanghai where he sampled local food, watched a basketball game and strolled along the city's famous Bund promenade on the busy Huangpu River.

Thailand circulated a proposal for Malaysia, Laos and Indonesia, to meet to address the long-running conflict said Nikorndej Balankura, adding that the meeting could be held in Thailand and "any ASEAN member may join".

Blinken's visit is the latest high-level contact between the two nations that, along with working groups on issues from global trade to military communication, have tempered the public acrimony that drove relations to historic lows early last year.

Fighting had flared as recently as Saturday in Myawaddy, forcing 3,000 civilians to flee in a single day as rebels fought to flush out stranded Myanmar government troops holed up at a border bridge crossing.

Australia's federal court late on Monday granted the country's cyber regulator, the eSafety commissioner, a two-day injunction requiring the social media platform to hide some posts on a knife attack last week against an Assyrian church bishop, Mar Mari Emmanuel, during a service at his church.

All 10 were crew members aboard the aircraft involved in the accident, which occurred at the Lumut naval base in the western state of Perak at 9.32 a.m. Tuesday morning (0132 GMT), the navy said.   

Biden had "appeared to imply his uncle was eaten by cannibals after his plane was shot down over PNG during WWII", Marape's office said in a statement late on Sunday.

Despite being in a disadvantaged area on the battlefield, Brigadier-General Soe Min That never yielded to the enemy after withdrawing from the Pha Song camp. He was killed by drones on the battlefield.

Junta sends in airstrikes to support 200 junta troops trapped along a river across from Mae Sot, Thailand.

The sea should not be an arena where countries can flex their "gunboat muscles", added Zhang Youxia, vice chairman of the Central Military Commission and China's second-highest-ranking military official.

"Sometimes you have loose moments," James Marape said in an interview after Biden's contentious remarks, adding that the relationship was stronger than "one blurry moment".

Nigeria's regulator recalled a batch of Benylin paediatric syrup last Wednesday, having found a high level of diethylene glycol in the product during routine testing.

The three-way AUKUS agreement runs counter to a South Pacific treaty banning nuclear weapons in the region, says Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

Mainland China has some of the world's most extensive internet censorship, with web users unable to access everything from Google to many foreign apps without workarounds such as a virtual private network (VPN).

Suu Kyi has been detained by the Myanmar military since it overthrew her government in a 2021 coup. The 78-year-old Nobel laureate was held under house arrest for a total of 15 years under a previous junta.

Prabowo thanked Beijing for a “very pleasant reception” earlier this month, a trip analysts believe was motivated by China seeking to more closely align with Indonesia in a contest of influence with the US.

In a statement issued late Thursday, the foreign ministers of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations urged "all parties for an immediate cessation of violence" in Myanmar, which has been roiled by conflict since the military seized power in a February 2021 coup.

Wang arrived at around 11 a.m. at the Defense Ministry's headquarters in Central Jakarta shortly after wrapping up his session with Foreign Minister Retno.

The meetings come after Prabowo visited Beijing this month where Chinese President Xi Jinping praised relations with Jakarta, laying out a vision for regional peace as tensions rise in Southeast Asia.

Wang Yi is scheduled to attend the China-Indonesia High-Level Dialogue Cooperation Mechanism meeting in Labuan Bajo on Friday to discuss further bilateral cooperation in more detail.

US President Joe Biden hosted Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Washington last week where the three leaders jointly expressed their "serious concerns" over China's actions in the South China Sea. 

During his visit to Jakarta, Wang is also scheduled to chair the fourth meeting of the China-Indonesia High-Level Dialogue Cooperation Mechanism.

The bulk of the new spending, part of a A$330 billion decade-long budget, will only kick in after five years, and ultimately take defense spending to 2.4 percent of GDP by 2034 from just over 2 percent today.