Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

MANILA, Dec 26 (Reuters) - The Philippines is not provoking conflict in the South China Sea, its military spokesperson said on Tuesday, responding to China's accusation that Manila was encroaching on Beijing's territory.

It was the latest salvo amid rising tension as the two have traded accusations in recent months over a series of maritime run-ins, including China allegedly ramming a ship this month carrying the Philippines' military chief.

"The Philippines is not provoking conflict," Medel Aguilar told state broadcaster PTV.

BEIJING, Dec 26 (Reuters) - China warned that remnants of a rocket would hit an area in the South China Sea on Tuesday, following the sixth deployment of its most powerful launch vehicle eleven days ago.

Rocket debris, which generally burns up in the atmosphere on re-entry, is expected to fall off the coast of China's island province of Hainan between 11:00 a.m. (0300 GMT) and noon (0400 GMT), said the China Maritime Safety Administration.

JAKARTA, Dec. 25 (Xinhua) -- The Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway (HSR), the first HSR in Indonesia and Southeast Asia, has handled more than 1 million passenger trips since its commercial operation was officially launched on Oct. 17, according to the China State Railway Group Co. Ltd. on Monday.

The railway's passenger trips hit the 1-million mark in number on Sunday.

BEIJING (AP) — Beijing recorded the most hours of sub-freezing temperatures in December in more than seven decades as a cold wave has enveloped northern and central swathes of China, bringing snowstorms and record-breaking temperatures.

A weather observatory in the Chinese capital as of Sunday had recorded more than 300 hours of sub-freezing temperatures since Dec. 11 – the most since records began, in 1951, according to the official newspaper Beijing Daily.

PHNOM PENH, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet will participate in the fourth Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) Leaders' Meeting via video conference on Monday, the country's foreign ministry said in a press statement on Saturday.

Myanmar and China will co-chair the virtual meeting, the statement said.

The LMC consists of six countries, namely China, Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam.

PHNOM PENH, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet will participate in the fourth Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) Leaders' Meeting via video conference on Monday, the country's foreign ministry said in a press statement on Saturday.

Myanmar and China will co-chair the virtual meeting, the statement said.

The LMC consists of six countries, namely China, Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam.

BEIJING (AP) — The strong earthquake that hit northwest China this week, and killed at least 148 people, has caused economic losses estimated to be worth tens of millions in the agricultural and fisheries industries, state media reported Saturday.

BEIJING, Dec. 22 (APP): “As a new business model, ‘Silk Road e-commerce’ provides global consumers with a wealth of goods and services with its convenient, efficient and low-cost features, and we would like to ride the wave of it to boost bilateral trade,” noted Aqeel Ahmed Chaudhry, director of the Pakistani national pavilion located in the Silk Road e-commerce cooperation pilot zone center, Pudong, Shanghai, China.

JAKARTA, Dec 22 (NNN-ANTARA) – Three people died and eight others were injured, in a vehicle accident in Indonesia’s West Java yesterday.

“A truck was speeding down a downhill road, out of control, then beat some motorbikes and stopped after hitting a house and a shop,” head of the Cianjur Police Traffic Unit, Commissioner Adjutant, Adhi Prasidya, explained.

Those who died were the truck driver, a motorcyclist, and a homeowner.

The injured have been taken to the nearby hospital for medical treatment.

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 22 (NNN-Bernama) — The ringgit continued to trend higher as it strengthened against the US dollar in the early session on Friday following weaker US economic data, an economist said.

At 9 am, the ringgit climbed to 4.6300/6380 against the greenback from yesterday’s close of 4.6525/6565.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the final third quarter (3Q) 2023 US gross domestic product (GDP) estimates came in lower than expected at 4.9 per cent against consensus survey of 5.2 per cent.