VIENTIANE, Laos: China’s foreign minister told his US counterpart Saturday that Beijing denies charges that it is helping Russia’s war effort in Ukraine.
Wang Yi, meeting with Secretary of State Antony Blinken in the capital of Laos, also said his country would take “forceful measures” to defend Chinese interests, according to a statement from the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
China’s already strong economic, diplomatic and military ties with Russia were further strengthened after Russia invaded its pro-Western neighbor Ukraine in February 2022.
Now China has sought to paint itself as a mediator in Russia’s invasion, sending envoy Li Hui to Europe on multiple rounds of shuttle diplomacy.
China says the United States and other Western countries are fueling the war by arming Ukraine.
NATO, for its part, has branded Beijing a “decisive enabler” of the war.
But Beijing has rebuffed claims it is supporting Russia’s war effort, insisting last week that its position was “open and above board.”
The United States has imposed sanctions on Chinese companies that sell Russia equipment which Washington says could help the war effort.
“The US should stop indiscriminate unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction,” Wang told Blinken, according to the statement.
“China is opposed to being smeared and to false accusations being made against it, does not accept pressure and blackmail, and will take resolute and forceful measures to safeguard its major interests and legitimate rights,” Wang added.
The two diplomats met on the sidelines of a meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
China has never condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine and it accuses NATO of ignoring Russia’s security concerns.
But last year China called for respect for the territorial integrity of all countries, including Ukraine.
“China’s position on the Ukrainian issue is candid and we will continue to promote peace talks” between Russia and Ukraine, said Wang.
In a sign of China’s weight in trying to end the war, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba this week made his first trip to China since the war started.
Early this month, President Xi Jinping called on the international community to “create conditions” for direct talks between Russia and Ukraine.
China regularly calls for an end to fighting in Ukraine, a position that in effect would allow Russia to hold on to the Ukrainian territory it has seized by force.
China tells US it denies charges it is helping Russia’s war effort in Ukraine war
https://arab.news/mjgum
China tells US it denies charges it is helping Russia’s war effort in Ukraine war
- The US has imposed sanctions on Chinese companies that sell Russia equipment that could help the war effort
- China says the US and other Western countries are fueling the war by arming Ukraine
Left homeless by blaze, Muslims in southernmost Philippines observe Ramadan as month of trial
- Thousands lost their homes when parts of Bongao in Tawi-Tawi were burnt to ashes
- Many trying to fully observe the fasting month say they are grateful to be alive
Manila: As Annalexis Abdulla Dabbang was looking forward to observing the month of Ramadan with her family, just days before it began they lost everything when an enormous fire tore through whole neighborhoods of their city in the southernmost province of the Philippines.
Bongao is the capital of Tawi-Tawi, an island province, forming part of the country’s Muslim minority heartland in the Bangsamoro region. The city experienced its worst fire in years in early February, when flames swept through the coastal community, leaving more than 5,000 people homeless.
“We were swimming for our lives. We had to swim to escape from the fire ... We swam in darkness, and (even) the sea was already hot because of the fire,” Dabbang, a 27-year-old teacher, told Arab News.
“Everything we owned was gone in just a few hours — our home, our memories, the things we worked hard for, everything turned to ashes.”
Trying to save their 2-year-old daughter and themselves, she and her husband left everything behind — as did hundreds of other families that together with them have since taken shelter at the Mindanao State University gymnasium — one of the evacuation centers.
Unable to secure a tent, Dabbang’s family has been sleeping on the bleachers, sharing a single mat as their bed. When Ramadan arrived a few days after they moved to the makeshift shelter, they welcomed it in a different, more solemn way. There is no family privacy for suhoor, no room or means to welcome guests for iftar.
“Ramadan feels different now. It’s painful but at the same time more real. When we lost our home, we began to understand what sacrifice really means. When you sleep in an evacuation center, you understand hunger, discomfort in a deeper way,” Dabbang said.
“We don’t prepare special dishes. We prepare our hearts.”
While she and thousands of others have lost everything they have ever owned, she has not lost her faith.
“Our dreams may have turned to ashes, but our prayers are still alive,” she said.
“This Ramadan my prayers are more emotional than ever. I pray for strength, not just for myself, but for my family and for every neighbor who also lost their family home. I pray for healing from the trauma of fire. I pray that Allah will replace what we lost with something better. I pray for the chance to rebuild not just our house, but our sense of security.”
Juraij Dayan Hussin, a volunteer helping the Bongao fire victims, observed that many of them were traumatized and the need to cleanse the heart and mind during Ramadan was what kept many of them going, because they are “thankful that even though they lost their property, they are still alive.”
But the religious observance related to the fasting month is not easy in a cramped shelter.
“It’s hard for Muslims to perform their prayers when they do not have their proper attire because they usually have specific clothes for prayer,” he said. “Sanitation in the area is also an issue ... when you fast and when you pray, cleanliness is essential.”
For Abdulkail Jani, who is staying at a basketball court with his brother and more than 70 other families, this Ramadan will be spent apart from their parents, whom they managed to move to relatives.
“The month of Ramadan this year is a month of trial ... there will be a huge change from how we observed Ramadan in the past, but we will adjust to it and try to comfort ourselves and our family. The most important thing is that we can perform the fasting,” he told Arab News.
“Despite our situation now, despite everything, as long as we’re alive, we will observe Ramadan. We’ll try to observe it well, without missing anything.”
