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International News

From The Asian Reporter, V35, #11 (November 3, 2025), page 2.

China plans to land astronauts on the moon by 2030

JIUQUAN, China (AP) — China said it’s on track to land astronauts on the moon by 2030 as it introduced the next crew of astronauts who will head to its space station as part of the country’s ambitious plans to be a leader in space exploration. "Currently, each program of the research and development work of putting a person on the moon is progressing smoothly," said Zhang Jingbo, spokesman for the China Manned Space Program, citing the Long March 10 rocket, moon landing suits, and exploration vehicle, as fruitful efforts of that work. "Our fixed goal of China landing a person on the moon by 2030 is firm." China is also preparing to send up its latest rotation of astronauts who make up part of the ongoing mission to complete the Tiangong space station, part of its broader space exploration plans. Each team stays inside the station for six months conducting research. The latest crew joining others on the station will be made up of Zhang Lu, Wu Fei, and Zhang Hongzhang. They took off from the Jiuquan launch center Friday at 11:44pm in China. Zhang was previously part of the Shenzhou 15 mission to the station. For Wu and Zhang, this is their first time in space. The astronauts will also carry four mice with them on this trip — two male and two female. They will study the effects of weightlessness and confinement on the animals. China began work on the Tiangong, or "Heavenly Palace," after the country was excluded from the International Space Station due to U.S. national security concerns over the Chinese space program’s direct link to the People’s Liberation Army.

India, China to resume direct flights after 5-year suspension

BEIJING (AP) — India and China are resuming direct flights between some of their cities after a five-year suspension as relations between the two countries begin to thaw, according to Indian authorities. Direct flights between the countries were suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and did not resume as Beijing and New Delhi engaged in prolonged border tensions. Flights between designated cities are resuming subject to commercial carriers’ decisions, India’s embassy to China said in a post on social media platform WeChat. The resumption is part of the Indian government’s "approach towards gradual normalization of relations between India and China," the embassy added. India’s largest carrier, IndiGo, announced it would resume flights from Kolkata, India, to Guangzhou, China. The resumption came after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited China in September for the first time in seven years to attend a regional security forum, which was part of efforts by the two countries to normalize ties. Relations between China and India plummeted in 2020 after security forces clashed along a disputed border in the Himalayan mountains. Four Chinese soldiers and 20 Indian soldiers were killed in the worst violence in decades, freezing high-level political engagements.

East Timor joins the Association of Southeast Asian Nations

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) recently welcomed East Timor as its newest member, which its prime minister said was a "dream realized" for the tiny nation. Meanwhile, Cambodia and Thailand signed an agreement expanding a ceasefire on their borders with the hope it will lead to a lasting peace. "Today, history is made," Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao told the other leaders as the flag of East Timor, also known as Timor Leste, was added to the other 10 on the stage at a formal ceremony in Kuala Lumpur. It was ASEAN’s first expansion since the 1990s and was more than a decade in the making.

Myanmar military shuts down major cybercrime center

BANGKOK (AP) — Myanmar’s military has shut down a major online scam operation near the border with Thailand, detaining more than 2,000 people and seizing dozens of Starlink satellite internet terminals, according to state media reports. Myanmar is notorious for hosting cyberscam operations responsible for bilking people all over the world. These usually involve gaining victims’ confidence online with romantic ploys and bogus investment pitches. The centers are infamous for recruiting workers from other countries under false pretenses, promising them legitimate jobs, and then holding them captive and forcing them to carry out criminal activities. Scam operations were in the international spotlight recently when the United States and Britain enacted sanctions against organizers of a major Cambodian cyberscam gang, and its alleged ringleader was indicted by a federal court in New York. According to a report in the Myanma Alinn newspaper, the army raided KK Park, a well-documented cybercrime center, as part of operations starting in early September to suppress online fraud, illegal gambling, and cross-border cybercrime. It published photos displaying seized Starlink equipment and soldiers said to be carrying out the raid, though it was unclear when exactly they were taken. KK Park is located on the outskirts of Myawaddy, a major trading town on the border with Thailand in Myanmar’s Kayin state. The area is only loosely under the control of Myanmar’s military government, and also falls under the influence of ethnic minority militias. Starlink is part of Elon Musk’s SpaceX company and the terminals link to its satellites. It does not have licensed operations in Myanmar, but at least hundreds of terminals have been smuggled into the Southeast Asian nation. There were previous crackdowns on cyberscam operations in Myanmar earlier this year and in 2023. Facing pressure from China, Thailand and Myanmar’s governments launched an operation in February in which they released thousands of trafficked people from scam compounds, working with the ethnic armed groups that rule Myanmar’s border areas.

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