Bloomberg US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin urged China to avoid “destabilizing actions” toward Taiwan in his first face-to-face meeting with Defense Minister Wei Fenghe since House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taipei in August. In talks Tuesday in Siem Reap, Cambodia, the Pentagon chief also called for the two sides to maintain open lines of communication and warned of ...

Bloomberg The US and Russia urged Turkey to avoid escalating violence in northern Syria as Turkey’s leader vowed a fresh incursion against Kurdish militants that could threaten existing cease-fire agreements. Turkey over the weekend started an aerial attack on the Kurdish militia it holds responsible for a deadly bomb attack in Istanbul last week. The army may also launch a ...

Bloomberg The search for Malaysia’s next leader hit a snag when former ruling coalition Barisan Nasional said it will stay out of any new government and become part of the opposition instead, prolonging the uncertainty after the weekend’s inconclusive vote. The move deprives both Anwar Ibrahim’s reformist group and ex-premier Muhyiddin Yassin’s pro-Malay alliance the support they require to form ...