The Pentagon report, published Oct. 20, marks the first apparent confirmation that modified submarines seen in Chinese shipyards over the last 18 months are Type 093B guided missile submarines.

Several top U.S. officials including U.S. State Secretary Antony Blinken met their Chinese counterparts in Beijing this summer.

Saudi Arabia, which has faced attacks from Yemen's Houthi rebels using ballistic missiles and drones, has a significant demand for interceptor missiles.

The country's communist government tolerates no opposition to its one-party rule and regularly jails critics, but its recent focus on environmental activists appears to carry a particular message, said Jonathan London, an expert on contemporary Vietnam.

A United Nations representative acknowledged the call for reform within the multilateral organization and call the change 'essential', while admitting that real change will depend on the will of the Security Council's five permanent members.

Thailand has already paid a 7 billion baht ($193.7 million) instalment to China for the purchase of one of three Yuan Class S26T submarines with German-made diesel engines, but the deal was delayed when Germany forbade the use of its engines for Chinese military exports.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi, the highest-ranking Chinese official in the US capital in nearly five years, will visit from Thursday through Saturday against a backdrop of friction over trade, Ukraine, the Middle East, Taiwan and China's assertive actions at sea near the Philippines.

China heavily censors any material that may not be compliant with its policies or is deemed potentially divisive or critical of its policies or leaders. 

The countries have traded blame over Sunday's incidents near Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly Islands, with both sides filing diplomatic protests and releasing videos to support their accusations.

Beijing's foreign ministry said it hoped Anthony Albanese's visit, due November 4 to 7 on the invitation of Premier Li Qiang, would help improve relations.

The sources, who included a US official, a congressional source and a US source familiar with the matter, were confirming an earlier report by the Politico news organization.

More than 10 Southeast Asian nationals have fallen victim to the escalating acts of violence in the war-torn Gaza City over the past few weeks.

The analysis found mature rubber plantations covered 14.2 million hectares in Southeast Asia in 2021, mostly in Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam.

Jokowi’s visit to China and Saudi Arabia underscores how significant they are in Indonesia’s foreign policy focus and national economic interests, experts have said.

In a speech delivered for the third Belt and Road Forum (BRF) in Beijing on Wednesday, Jokowi also called for countries not to "politicize" infrastructure development under the Chinese-led BRI.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has thrown Putin into international isolation, leaving him with few allies.

Belt and Road cooperation must not be politicised, and it requires collective efforts to maintain its core values, he said.

Officials and private sector representatives convened at the ACCPP in Jakarta on Tuesday to discuss regional as well as international measures to rid the world of marine debris.

China is also willing to boost imports of Indonesia's agricultural and fishery products, Xi said in a meeting with Indonesian President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo on the sidelines of the Belt and Road Forum, according to state media China Central Television.

The two presidents share a strong personal bond, with Xi calling his Russian counterpart his "best friend" and Putin cherishing his "reliable partner".

China said it drove away several Japanese vessels that "illegally" entered territorial waters on Monday around the islands, which it calls Diaoyu, and it urged Japan to stop all "illegal activities" in the area.

MANILA, Oct 16 (Reuters) - The Philippine military has demanded China stop "dangerous and offensive" actions in the South China Sea, after a Chinese navy ship shadowed and attempted to cut off a Philippine navy vessel conducting a resupply mission late last week.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov discussed the conflict between Israel and Hamas with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing ahead of a visit by President Vladimir Putin to China.

Malang-based private weapons manufacturer Sari Bahari produces 16 types of aerial military weapons, including NATO-standard bombs.

At the top of the invite list to China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) forum is Russia's President Vladimir Putin, on his first trip to a major global power since the Ukraine invasion threw his regime into international isolation.

With 88 percent of polling places reporting, around 59 percent of people had voted against a proposal to acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders within the 1901 constitution for the first time.

Beijing is hosting representatives of 130 countries on Oct. 17-18 to mark a decade of its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) -- a key geopolitical project of President Xi to extend China's global reach.

The referendum asks whether to recognize Indigenous people and establish a representative body that can provide non-binding advice to parliament.

On Saturday, Australians will decide whether to recognise First Nations peoples for the first time in the 1901 constitution and create an Indigenous advisory body -- a so-called "Voice" -- for policies that affect their communities.

China has unveiled a white paper that builds on President Xi's vision of "a global community with a shared future" introduced a decade ago, which critics say is intended to coincide with the 10th anniversary of Beijing's so-called belt and road global infrastructure strategy.