External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar met with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Tokyo on Sunday ahead of the Quad Foreign Ministers’ meeting.

EAM Jaishankar and US Secretary Blinken hold talks in Tokyo

“Great to catch up with Antony Blinken in Tokyo today. Our bilateral agenda progresses steadily. Also had a wide ranging discussion on regional and global issues,” the EAM posted on X after the meeting.

“Look forward to attending the Quad FMM tomorrow,” he added.

Just before arriving in Tokyo, both Blinken and EAM Jaishankar were in Laos for the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ meetings.

The foreign ministers of the four Quad countries — India, the US, Japan and Australia — will hold their eighth meeting in Tokyo on July 29 to review and build on continuing initiatives and announce deliverable outcomes.

“The foreign ministers meeting will be an opportunity for the Quad partners to reaffirm our commitment to delivering concrete benefits to the Indo Pacific region,” said Camille Dawson, Deputy Assistant Secretary for State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs at the US State Department, earlier this week.

“Quad partners are deeply invested in the success of the people of the region and that is reflected in the initiative that the quad is promoting by listening to the priorities our regional partners and harnessing the considerable resources of our four countries,” she said.

The Quad is a diplomatic partnership between Australia, India, Japan, and the United States committed to supporting an open, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific that is inclusive and resilient. AGENCIES

 External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar began his Japan visit by unveiling a bust of Mahatma Gandhi in Tokyo’s Edogawa, on Sunday.

“Bapu’s achievements continue to inspire us to this day and his message of peace and non-violence is timeless. His principles are even more relevant today when the world sees so much conflict, tension and polarization,” the EAM said at the unveiling ceremony.

Edogawa Mayor Takeshi Saito, Japan’s Parliamentary Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Masahiro Komura, Member of Parliament Hideo Onishi and several members of the Indian community also attended the event.

“Happy to learn from the Mayor that the park, close to the heart of Indian community in Tokyo, would also be soon named as the Gandhi Park,” said Jaishankar.

“I was told this is a place, somebody called it Little India, I hope it becomes bigger, but this is a place where the Indian community in Tokyo lives and gathers in large numbers. And I cannot think of a more appropriate occasion and a better way of strengthening bonds between India and Japan than by this event,” he added.

The EAM is in Tokyo to attend the eighth meeting of the Quad foreign ministers on Monday where the grouping – comprising of India, Japan, Australia and the United States – will review and build on continuing initiatives and announce deliverable outcomes. AGENCIES

Japan’s Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Masahiro Komura said on Sunday that the statue of Mahatma Gandhi installed in Nishikasai will become a familiar symbol of Japan-India friendship and exchanges to the local people.

Koumura attended the unveiling ceremony of a bust of Mahatma Gandhi by External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar held in the Edogawa Ward of Nishikasai in Tokyo on Sunday.

The ceremony was hosted by the Embassy of India in Tokyo and the Edogawa Ward. Along with the Japanese Minister and EAM Jaishankar, India’s Ambassador to Japan Sibi George and Edogawa Ward Mayor Saito Takeshi also attended the event.

In his speech at the ceremony, Komura stated that India is Japan’s “Special Strategic Global Partner” that shares fundamental values and strategic interests with Japan, and that the area of people-to-people exchanges in the relationship between the two countries has great potential for future development.

At the event, EAM Jaishankar spotlighted that “Bapu’s achievements” continue to inspire everyone to this day and his message of peace and non-violence remains timeless.

“His principles are even more relevant today when the world sees so much conflict, tension and polarization,” the EAM said at the unveiling ceremony.

The EAM is in Tokyo to attend the eighth meeting of the Quad foreign ministers on Monday where the grouping – comprising India, Japan, Australia and the United States – will review and build on continuing initiatives and announce deliverable outcomes. AGENCIES

Austrian authorities have dismantled a terrorist network involved in raising funds for the Islamic State (IS) organization and arrested nine suspects, the country’s interior ministry has said.

Austrian security forces recently conducted house searches in five federal states, seizing mobile phones, laptops, data storage devices, a significant amount of cash, and a vehicle, Xinhua news agency reported, citing the ministry.

All nine suspects, aged between 23 and 36, are of Chechen descent.

The ministry on Saturday noted that the suspects, all long-time IS supporters, have cooperated with IS sympathizers in Germany and other European countries. AGENCIES

 Ten people, including children, were killed in a rocket attack that struck a football pitch in the Druze town of Majdal Shams in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights, according to Israeli media outlets.

Helicopters, ambulances, and intensive care vehicles were dispatched to the scene, evacuating the injured to Ziv Medical Center, where at least 30 casualties were the result of the attack on Saturday, Xinhua news agency reported, citing Israeli state-owned broadcaster Kan.

“We arrived at the field and saw destruction and objects burning. Casualties were lying on the ground, and the sights were difficult to see,” said Idan Avshalom, a senior medic at the Magen David Adom, the country’s emergency medical service.

Israeli media said that the rocket was fired from Lebanon by the Hezbollah militant group, while Hezbollah denied on Saturday evening that the Shiite group had “absolutely nothing to do with the incident.”

Following Hezbollah’s denial, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement that “following assessments carried out in the IDF and the intelligence available to us, the rocket fire at Majdal Shams was carried out by Hezbollah”.

Israel’s Minister of Defence Yoav Galant, army chief Herzi Halevi, and other senior defence officials conducted an operational situation assessment following the attack, according to Kan.

Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, currently visiting the US, has been informed of the incident’s details and is holding security consultations with senior security officials. AGENCIES

A 34-year-old man armed with a knife was shot dead by police in Middleton Grange, a southwestern suburb of Sydney, in Australia’s state of New South Wales (NSW).

The NSW Police Force said in a statement on Sunday that emergency services were called to the scene at about 11 p.m. local time following reports that a man was allegedly armed with a knife, Xinhua news agency reported.

Police officers were allegedly confronted and threatened by the man with a knife on arrival, and initial information indicated that a 33-year-old male officer was struck with the knife and was protected by his operational vest. The police officer was not physically injured, according to the statement.

The police said a taser was used and proved ineffective, and the man was shot by police.

The officers conducted CPR until the arrival of NSW Ambulance paramedics, who worked on the man.

However, he could not be revived. AGENCIES

 A Russian Su-34 fighter jet crashed in the Volgograd region in southern Russia during a scheduled training flight, said the Russian Ministry of Defence.

The incident occurred during a routine exercise when the aircraft went down in a deserted area, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Ministry of Defence confirmed that the crew ejected themselves and survived.

The crash caused no damage on the ground as the flight was conducted without ammunition.

Preliminary findings suggested that a technical malfunction caused the crash. AGENCIES

 The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on Sunday reported that a second oil tanker had sunk off Bataan province, west of Manila.

PCG spokesperson Rear Admiral Armando Balilo said the oil tanker MTKR Jason Bradley sank off Mariveles town around 5 p.m. local time on Saturday, Xinhua news agency reported.

He said three coast guard vessels went to the accident site and confirmed the sunken vessel’s presence. The team confirmed the presence of an oil slick and oil sheen in the area. “They deployed an oil boom at the site to ensure that the oil sheen would not spread,” he added.

PCG Lieutenant Commander Michael John Encina, the acting PCG station commander in Bataan province, said the MTKR Jason Bradley was not carrying cargo and just carry working fuel instead.

Encina added that salvage operations will begin soon and are expected to last one or two weeks.

Meanwhile, Balilo said that the siphoning of the industrial fuel oil from the Philippine tanker that sank Thursday off Limay town in Bataan province will be delayed as divers seal the leaking valves of nine tanks aboard the tanker. He said the divers are expected to finish sealing the nine leaking valves on Monday so that the siphoning can proceed on Tuesday.

Balilo said a minimal amount of oil sheen from the first sunken tanker had reached the waters off Hagonoy town in Bulacan province. However, he reiterated that the amount of oil spills remains manageable. AGENCIES

The deployment of US nuclear weapons in Southeast Asia would heighten regional security risks, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday, following his visit to Malaysia.

According to Russian media reports, Lavrov stated the United States has long been sharing nuclear weapons with its NATO partners in what it calls “joint nuclear missions,” in which non-nuclear states can train their soldiers to use nuclear weapons. That practice is now shifting to Asia, Xinhua news agency reported.

“If this sad and rather risky experience (the deployment of US nuclear weapons in other countries) is brought to Southeast Asia, I think no one will benefit from it; the risks will increase,” he said.

The United States is “impudently” pushing its military infrastructure, including strategic weapons, into the region, militarising Southeast Asia and the Asia-Pacific, Lavrov said.

He mentioned AUKUS, a project to build nuclear-powered submarines involving the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia.

AUKUS aims to instill “tolerance in the Asian region concerning the deployment of nuclear weapons components,” Lavrov said. It “must be put under the control of the International Atomic Energy Agency” for “full transparency.”

Lavrov also said the recent agreement between the United States and South Korea on joint nuclear planning is yet another extension of US strategic influence in the region. AGENCIES

Iranian Caretaker Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani and German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock have exchanged views on Germany’s closure of Islamic centres in the European country in a phone call.

Bagheri Kani on Saturday expressed dissatisfaction with the German government’s decision, condemning it as a “completely political” move, including the shutdown of the Islamic Center Hamburg (IZH), Xinhua news agency reported, citing a statement from the Iranian Foreign Ministry.

He described the action as part of a strategy to “spread Islamophobia and safeguard Israel’s interests”, and warned that Germany should accept the consequences of its actions.

Baerbock responded by stating that under German law, the Islamic centres could pursue their rights through legal mechanisms. She highlighted the necessity of efforts in resolving the differences that had arisen, expressing hope that the obstacles to bilateral relations would be removed through dialogue and diplomatic channels.

The two ministers also discussed the latest developments in West Asia, the talks on the revival of the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers, the removal of sanctions, and bilateral consular issues, according to the statement.

On Wednesday, the German Interior Ministry said in a statement that it had banned the Hamburg-based IZH and its affiliated organisations throughout Germany, claiming the centre was “an Islamist extremist organisation pursuing anti-constitutional objectives”.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry on Wednesday summoned German Ambassador to Tehran Hans-udo Muzel and protested the country’s move, which it described as a “hostile action contrary to the fundamental principles of human rights.” AGENCOES