A surge of drugs is engulfing the paradisal South Pacific, as cartels and triads use far-flung island nations to channel narcotics across the globe, top police and UN officials have told AFP.  

Secretary of State Antony Blinken will represent the United States at summits with Asian leaders in Laos this week and expects to discuss human rights in Myanmar, China's "irresponsible" behavior in the South China Sea and Ukraine, the top United States diplomat for East Asia said on Tuesday.

The topics of regional tension in the South China Sea and the civil war in Myanmar are expected to take center stage at the leaders' meeting hosted by Laos in Vientiane.

The Philippines accused China's coast guard on Tuesday of firing water cannon at government ships taking supplies to fishermen at a disputed shoal in the South China Sea, but Beijing said its "control measures" followed the boats' intrusions in its waters.

The 44th and 45th ASEAN Summit, slated to run in Vientiane until Friday, will be the first time that President Joko "Jokowi" misses the bloc’s leaders meeting.

Myanmar will send a representative to a regional summit this week for the first time in three years, a diplomatic source told AFP Tuesday, as the junta struggles to quell a civil war.

Ishiba will visit Laos from Thursday through Saturday "to attend ASEAN-related summits", deputy chief cabinet secretary Keiichiro Tachibana said.

Video provided by Transport for New South Wales showed the koala ambling through Casula station on Friday, around 34 kilometers south-west of the city's central business district.

The two countries also signed an extradition treaty, Yoon said, adding it will help them to step up judicial cooperation.

Nations remain in deadlock over a crucial pact on climate aid, with divisions over who pays, and how much, threatening chances of a deal being landed at next month's COP29 summit.

Former Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte registered his candidacy on Monday to run for mayor of the southern city of Davao in midterm polls due next year.

Thailand's Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said on Monday the regional bloc ASEAN must play a key role in ending the protracted civil war in Myanmar, ahead of a summit of the leaders of the 10-member group in Laos this week.

Powerful criminal networks in Southeast Asia extensively use the messaging app Telegram which has enabled a fundamental change in the way organized crime can conduct large-scale illicit activity, the United Nations said in a report on Monday.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr agreed on Monday to boost defense cooperation as their countries elevated ties to a strategic partnership amid growing security challenges in the region.

Ishiba made no direct reference to China, but Japan's relations with its neighbor have deteriorated in recent years as Beijing asserts its military presence around disputed territories in the region.

The discussion on the bloody conflict raging in Myanmar, which has been ongoing since a coup in 2021, is set to take place just before ASEAN gathers in Laos for a leaders’ summit on Oct. 6 to 11.

"Many fear that today's Ukraine could be tomorrow's East Asia. Why did deterrence not work in Ukraine?" Ishiba told parliament.

From Lockheed Martin of the United States to Sweden's Saab, Israel's Rafael, and the India-Russia joint venture BrahMos, a total of 291 firms showcased military technology and weapons systems at an exhibition in Manila last week.

Xi said China was "ready to join Putin to constantly expand all-round pragmatic cooperation between (our) two countries", state news agency Xinhua said.

The Southern Theater Command of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) conducted combat readiness patrols in efforts to improve combat capabilities and maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea region, according to state media reports. 

The poll, which will come a year early and ahead of the US presidential election in November, will decide which party controls parliament's lower house. Lawmakers there will meet tomorrow to confirm him as the country's next prime minister.

The United States is Taiwan's most important international backer and arms supplier even in the absence of formal diplomatic ties. China has repeatedly demanded Washington stop selling weapons to Taipei, which it claims as its territory.

Monsoon rains from June to September bring widespread death and destruction every year across South Asia, but the number of fatal floods and landslides has increased in recent years.

Pakistan's military said on Thursday that the country has signed a contract to sell JF-17 Thunder Block III jet fighters to Azerbaijan.

The 67-year-old train lover beat arch-nationalist Sanae Takaichi -- who would have been the country's first-ever woman leader -- 215 votes to 194 in a run-off.

Vice Admiral Andrew J. Tiongson, US Coast Guard Pacific Area Commander, noted on a call with regional reporters while visiting Japan that his country and Russia share a maritime boundary line between Alaska and the Russian Far East 

Indonesia is the world's biggest nickel producer, a product that is vital in the production of electric vehicles (EV), and has increased domestic processing of the metal.

The scramble to replace current premier Fumio Kishida was sparked in August when he announced his intention to step down over a series of scandals that plunged the Liberal Democratic Party's (LDP) ratings to record lows.

Japan's top government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi declined to comment on the reports at a regular briefing because they concerned military operations.

China had announced the rare trial on Wednesday, saying that the missile was carrying a dummy warhead.