Asia-Pacific Update

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• US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned Chinese State Councilor Wang Yi in Munich against providing lethal aid to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Blinken also rebuked Wang over an alleged Chinese spy balloon, saying that the craft’s entry into US airspace was an “irresponsible act.
• Wang Yi said China and the EU should prepare for a meeting of their leaders, in a bid to strengthen the country’s ties with the bloc as the political tensions with the US heightens. Wang urged EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell to help “bring bilateral exchanges back to pre-epidemic levels.”
• A Chinese official visited Taiwan at the invitation of the Taiwanese capital’s newly elected China-friendly mayor. Dozens protested at Sunshan Airport in Taipei denouncing Chinese efforts to undermine the independence of the self-ruling island.
• North Korea on Saturday fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) from its capital into the sea off Japan, after threatening to take strong measures against South Korea and the US over their joint military exercises. The United States responded by flying long-range supersonic bombers.