Russia: Not testing hypersonic missiles
JOHANNESBURG -- The Russian military denied Wednesday that it was planning to test its new Zircon hypersonic missiles during naval drills off the coast of South Africa this week that will coincide with the one-year anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine.
China's navy also is participating in the Indian Ocean exercises, which come at a time when Russia's relationship with the West is at its lowest point since the Cold War and ties between China and the United States are under serious strain.
As Russian and Chinese warships prepared in South Africa for their joint drills, Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted China's most senior foreign policy official at the Kremlin. Those meetings showed the strengthening of Russia's relationship with China and raised concern in the West that Beijing might be ready to offer Moscow stronger support for its war in Ukraine.
Russia's aims for the naval exercises came under scrutiny because of the involvement of the Admiral Gorshkov, a frigate which is armed with hypersonic missiles and has served as the main test bed for them. The ship arrived in Cape Town last week emblazoned with the letters Z and V, letters also seen on Russian weapons on the front lines in Ukraine, which are used as patriotic symbols in Russia.
China criticizes U.S., Taiwan associating
BEIJING -- China on Wednesday sharply criticized a visit to Taiwan by a senior Pentagon official and reaffirmed it has sanctioned Lockheed Martin and a unit of Raytheon for supplying military equipment to the self-governing island democracy.
The comments from the Cabinet's Taiwan Affairs Office underscore the dramatic deterioration in relations between Beijing and Washington over Taiwan, technology, spying allegations and, increasingly, Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Asked about the reported visit by Michael Chase, deputy assistant secretary of defense for China, office spokesperson Zhu Fenglian said China "resolutely opposes any official interaction and military collaboration" between the U.S. and Taiwan.
Efforts by Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party to cement the island's independence with foreign assistance are "doomed to failure," Zhu told reporters.
China considers Taiwan part of its territory to be brought under its control by force if necessary and has been stepping up its military and diplomatic harassment. The sides split amid civil war in 1949, and China's authoritarian Communist Party has never held sway over the island.
N. Korea: U.N. leader's attitude 'unfair'
SEOUL, South Korea -- North Korea on Wednesday accused U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres of "an extremely unfair and imbalanced attitude," as it lambasted him for condemning its recent missile test but ignoring alleged U.S. hostility against the North.
The accusation came as U.S., South Korean and Japanese destroyers were holding trilateral anti-missile training near the Korean Peninsula, a move the North could regard as a provocation.
After the North's intercontinental ballistic missile test on Saturday, Guterres strongly condemned the launch and reiterated his call for the North to immediately desist from making any further provocations. In a statement, Guterres also urged North Korea to resume talks on denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
"To be most deplorable, the U.N. secretary-general is going on the rampage of illogical and miserable remarks, which are little different from those of U.S. State Department officials over the years," Kim Son Gyong, the North's vice foreign minister for international bodies, said in a statement carried by state media.
Kim said North Korea's ICBM test was a response to the security threat the U.S. posed to the North by temporarily deploying long-range bombers for joint training with South Korea earlier this year. Kim said the test was also a warning to the earlier convocation of the U.N. Security Council on the North.
Israeli Knesset advances high court bill
JERUSALEM -- Israel's parliament advanced a bill Wednesday that would enable lawmakers to overturn a Supreme Court decision with a simple majority, a law that critics say would severely erode the country's democratic checks and balances.
The "Supreme Court override" bill's approval in a preliminary vote in the Knesset was the latest step by Benjamin Netanyahu's ruling coalition toward realizing the judicial overhaul that is steaming ahead despite calls for dialogue and consensus from American Jews and Israel's president, as well as weekly protests by tens of thousands of Israelis.
Netanyahu and his ultranationalist and ultra-Orthodox allies seek to enact a series of laws that would severely restrict the authority of the Supreme Court, which they believe has had unchecked power for years. Critics say they will erode democratic norms, concentrate power with the ruling coalition in parliament and make Israel an illiberal democracy.
The Netanyahu administration's proposed judicial overhaul have drawn fierce opposition and vocal protest in Israel and abroad.
Members of the presidential guard march during the Armed Forces Day in Richards Bay, South Africa, Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023. The parade took place as a naval exercise was underway off the east coast of the country with Russian and Chinese navies. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
Admiral Nikolai Yevmenov, Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy, center, with Chinese naval officers attend the Armed Forces Day in Richards Bay, South Africa, Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023. The parade took place as a naval exercise was underway off the east coast of the country with Russian and Chinese navies. (Themba Hadebe)
Members of the presidential guard march during the Armed Forces Day in Richards Bay, South Africa, Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023. The parade took place as a naval exercise was underway off the east coast of the country with Russian and Chinese navies. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
Admiral Nikolai Yevmenov, Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy, second right, with Chinese naval officers attend the Armed Forces Day in Richards Bay, South Africa, Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023. The parade took place as a naval exercise was underway off the east coast of the country with Russian and Chinese navies. (Themba Hadebe)
This handout photo taken from video released by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023, shows the Admiral Gorshkov frigate of the Russian navy in Richards Bay, South Africa. Russia's Admiral Gorshkov frigate arrived at Richards Bay, South Africa, to participate in naval drills of Russia, South Africa and China, the Russian military said Wednesday. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)
Chinese naval officers attend the Armed Forces Day in Richards Bay, South Africa, Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023. The parade took place as a naval exercise was underway off the east coast of the country with Russian and Chinese navies.(Themba Hadebe)
FILE - People on a yacht, right, protest against the Russian frigate Admiral Gorshkov docked in the Cape Town harbor, South Africa, on Feb. 14, 2023 en route to the South African east coast to conduct naval exercises with the South African and Chinese Navy. China's support for Russia has been rhetorical and political, with Beijing helping prevent efforts to condemn Moscow at the United Nations. Russian and Chinese forces have also held joint military drills, most recently sending ships to take part in exercises with the South African navy in a key shipping lane off the South African coast. (AP Photo/Nardus Engelbrecht, File)
South African nationals join Ukrainians as they demonstrate outside the Russian Embassy in Pretoria, South Africa, Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023. A group of around 40 gathered to protest against the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the joint military naval exercises being held by the South Africa Defence Force and their Russian and Chinese counterparts. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
South Korean Navy’s King Sejong the Great (front) sails with U.S. Navy’s USS Barry (center) and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force’s Atago (top) on Wednesday during a joint missile defense drill in the international waters of the east coast of Korean peninsular. (AP/South Korea Defense Ministry)