WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden and China’s Xi Jinping may hold their fifth call as leaders as soon as today, as concerns rise over a possible visit to Chinese-claimed Taiwan by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. White House officials have said the long-planned call will have a broad agenda, including discussion of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which China has yet to condemn. At its core, US officials see the exchange as another chance to manage competition between the world’s two largest economies, whose ties are increasingly clouded by tensions over democratically governed Taiwan, which Xi has vowed to reunite with the mainland, by force if necessary. Beijing has issued escalating warnings about repercussions should Pelosi visit Taiwan, a move that would be a dramatic, though not unprecedented, show of US support for the island, which says it is facing increasing Chinese military and economic threats. Washington does not have official relations with Taiwan and follows a “one-China” policy that recognizes Beijing, not Taipei diplomatically. But it is obliged by US law to provide the island with the means to defend itself, and pressure has been mounting in Congress for more explicit support. “This is about keeping the lines of communication open with the president of China, one of the most consequential bilateral relationships that we have, not just in that region, but around the world, because it touches so much,” White House national security spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Wednesday. One person briefed on planning for the call said the Biden administration thinks leader-to-leader engagement is the best way to lower tensions over Taiwan. Xi has an interest in avoiding a tense confrontation with the United States as he seeks an unprecedented third term in office at a congress of China’s ruling Communist Party, which is expected in October or November, some analysts believe. Biden also wants to discuss climate and economic competition issues, the person briefed said, as well as the idea of placing a price cap on Russian oil to punish Moscow for its war in Ukraine, an issue Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen raised with Chinese counterparts earlier in July. The Biden administration has been debating whether to lift some tariffs on Chinese goods as a way to ease soaring inflation, but US officials have said a decision was not expected ahead of the call. When Biden last spoke to Xi in March, he warned of “consequences” if Beijing gave material support for Russia’s war, and the US government believes that that red line has not been crossed in the months since. The White House has reiterated that its “one-China” policy has not changed despite speculation over a possible trip by Pelosi, which the speaker has yet to confirm. The last time a speaker of the US House of Representatives visited Taiwan was in 1997, and as a co-equal branch of government, the US executive has little control over congressional travel. China has grown more powerful militarily and economically since, and some analysts worry such a visit at a time of fraught ties, could spur a crisis across the 160km-wide Taiwan Strait waterway separating China and Taiwan. “The relationship is in such a toxic state. Mutual distrust is really at an all-time high. I think people don’t realize how dangerous this particular moment is,” said Bonnie Glaser, a China expert at the German Marshall Fund of the United States. She said Biden and Xi needed to focus their call on de-escalation, including possible mechanisms to reduce the risk of mishaps. Kirby said the administration has been in touch with Pelosi’s office to make sure she has “all the context” she needs to make decisions about her travel. China has given few clues to specific responses it might take if Pelosi, a long-time critic of China, particularly on human rights issues, does go to Taiwan. Martin Chorzempa, a senior research fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, said playing up the Taiwan issue could serve Xi as a domestic distraction from China’s slowing economy, but “any reaction strong enough to trigger US sanctions would create massive damage to China and the world economy.”

SEOUL, South Korea: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un warned he’s ready to use his nuclear weapons in potential military conflicts with the United States and South Korea, state media said Thursday, as he unleashed fiery rhetoric against rivals he says are pushing the Korean Peninsula to the brink of war. Kim’s speech to war veterans on the 69th anniversary of the end of the 1950-53 Korean War was apparently meant to boost internal unity in the impoverished country amid pandemic-related economic difficulties. While Kim has increasingly threatened his rivals with nuclear weapons, it’s unlikely that he would use them first against the superior militaries of the US and its allies, observers say. “Our armed forces are completely prepared to respond to any crisis, and our country’s nuclear war deterrent is also ready to mobilize its absolute power dutifully, exactly and swiftly in accordance with its mission,” Kim said in Wednesday’s speech, according to the official Korean Central News Agency. He accused the United States of “demonizing” North Korea to justify its hostile policies. He said US-South Korea military drills targeting North Korea show the US’s “double standards” and “gangster-like” aspects because it brands North Korea’s routine military activities — an apparent reference to its missile tests — as provocations or threats. Kim also alleged the new South Korean government of President Yoon Suk Yeol is led by “confrontation maniacs” and “gangsters” who have gone further than previous South Korean conservative governments. Since taking office in May, the Yoon government has moved to strengthen Seoul’s military alliance with the United States and bolster its capacity to neutralize North Korean nuclear threats including a preemptive strike capability. “Talking about military action against our nation, which possesses absolute weapons that they fear the most, is preposterous and is very dangerous suicidal action,” Kim said. “Such a dangerous attempt will be immediately punished by our powerful strength and the Yoon Suk Yeol government and his military will be annihilated.” Moon Hong-sik, a deputy spokesperson at the South Korean Defense Ministry, reiterated Thursday an earlier position that South Korea has been boosting its military capacity and joint defense posture with the United States to cope with escalating North Korean nuclear threats. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the military maintains a firm readiness. In April, Kim said North Korea could preemptively use nuclear weapons if threatened, saying they would “never be confined to the single mission of war deterrent.” Kim’s military has also test-launched nuclear-capable missiles that place both the US mainland and South Korea within striking distance. US and South Korean officials have repeatedly said in the past few months that North Korea is ready to conduct its first nuclear test in five years. Kim is seeking greater public support as his country’s economy has been battered by pandemic-related border shutdowns, US-led sanctions and his own mismanagement. In May, North Korea also admitted to its first COVID-19 outbreak, though the scale of illness and death is widely disputed in a country that lacks the modern medical capacity to handle it. “Kim’s rhetoric inflates external threats to justify his militarily focused and economically struggling regime,” said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul. “North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs are in violation of international law, but Kim tries to depict his destabilizing arms buildup as a righteous effort at self-defense.” Experts say North Korea will likely intensify its threats against the United States and South Korea as the allies prepare to expand summertime exercises. In recent years, the South Korean and US militaries have canceled or downsized some of their regular exercises due to concerns about COVID-19 and to support now-stalled US-led diplomacy aimed at convincing North Korea to give up its nuclear program in return for economic and political benefits. During Wednesday’s speech, Kim said his government recently set tasks to improve its military capability more speedily to respond to military pressure campaigns by its enemies, suggesting that he intends to go ahead with an expected nuclear test. But Cheong Seong-Chang at the private Sejong Institute in South Korea said North Korea won’t likely conduct its nuclear test before China, its major ally and biggest aid benefactor, holds its Communist Party convention in the autumn. He said China worries that a North Korean nuclear test could give the United States a justification to boost its security partnerships with its allies that it could use to check Chinese influence in the region. North Korea recently said it is moving to overcome the COVID-19 outbreak amid plummeting fever cases, but experts say it’s unclear if the country can lift its strict restrictions soon because it could face a viral resurgence later this year. During Wednesday’s event, Kim, veterans and others didn’t wear masks, state media photos showed. On Thursday, North Korea reported 11 fever cases, a huge drop from the peak of about 400,000 a day in May. North Korea has rejected US and South Korean offers for medical relief items. It has also said it won’t return to talks with the United States unless it first abandons its hostile polices on the North, in an apparent reference to US-led sanctions and US-South Korean military drills.

MANILA, Philippines: Any Asian aggressor who violates the sovereignty of other countries in the region risks punitive counter actions, just like what Russia is confronting now for its invasion of Ukraine, the US secretary of the Navy said in a veiled warning to China’s increasingly assertive behavior. Carlos Del Toro told The Associated Press in an interview Tuesday night in Manila that the US military focus in the Asia-Pacific region, particularly in the disputed South China Sea, would never slacken and in fact has intensified despite the war in Ukraine. He did not name China but underscored that Beijing has encroached in sovereign waters of its Asian neighbors and violated international law with impunity. He renewed assurances by President Joe Biden that the US would honor its obligations under a 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty in case Philippine forces, ships and aircraft come under attack in the disputed South China Sea, where Manila and Beijing have had increasingly tense territorial spats in the last decade. Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei also lay claim to the strategic waterway, one of the world’s busiest, which China claims virtually in its entirety on historical grounds. Beijing rejected a 2016 international arbitration ruling that invalidated its claims and continues to defy the landmark decision. “As President Biden has said, if one country violates one inch of Filipino sovereignty, whether it be at sea or on shore or an offshore island, we will be there to support the Filipino nation and the Filipino people in every possible way,” Del Toro said. China’s move to transform seven disputed reefs into missile-protected island bases in the Spratlys, the most hotly contested section of the South China Sea, “is very concerning” and prompted the US and other Western nations to press on with freedom of navigation patrols around the Chinese-claimed territories to underscore “that they are not in the possession of the PRC,” he said, referring to the People’s Republic of China. Chinese officials were not immediately available for comment on Del Toro’s remarks but they have repeatedly warned the US to stay away from they say is a purely Asian dispute. Chinese forces have at times responded to US and Australian aerial and sea patrols by firing flares and using jamming equipment to warn them to move away. Some US Navy ships have been chased closely, according to US military officials. The Chinese actions increase the risk of miscalculations and US forces have been trained “to be very disciplined” and to stick to long-established rules of engagement to avoid confrontations, Del Toro said. “It’s important to videotape all of these illegal actions that these countries are actually doing so the entire world can see exactly how they are behaving,” he said. Del Toro said potential Asian aggressors should learn from the current troubles of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has faced sanctions from Western nations and their allies, which also provide weapons and humanitarian support to Ukrainians. “I think that’s a tremendous lesson that countries who were free, democratic and principled will work together against adversaries who were not,” he said. If such level of aggression is ever committed in the Asia-Pacific, “I’m convinced that allies and partners will come together to do the same thing here in the Pacific,” Del Toro said. After meetings in Singapore and Thailand, Del Toro flew to the Philippines this week to meet top military and defense officials and hold, he said, “some classified discussions about additional capabilities that we could actually continue to help provide to the Philippines, a call for greater cooperation for more ... complicated exercises.” He cited the expansion of American combat exercises with Filipino forces and an ongoing 26-nation exercise in Hawaii involving 38 warships, four submarines and thousands of military personnel. Called the Rim of the Pacific Exercise, the drills are the world’s largest held biennially. America’s military engagement with the Philippines ran into difficulties under former President Rodrigo Duterte, who threatened to end the presence of visiting American forces and a key defense pact that allowed thousands of US Marines and troops to train in the country, Washington’s oldest treaty in Asia. But the alliance held up. The brash-talking populist had often criticized US security policy while nurturing cozy ties with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Putin. His tirades against Washington eased after it provided millions of doses of coronavirus vaccine at the height of the pandemic in the Philippines. Del Toro’s visit reflects a renewed charm offensive by Washington after Duterte’s exit and the recent election of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Del Toro was behind a recent decision to name a future US Navy destroyer the USS Telesforo Trinidad, in honor of a Filipino-American sailor who rescued two crew members when their ship caught fire more than a century ago. “It’s symbolic of the bonds between our two nations, our commitment to the shared values … to freedom, and democracy,” he said.

WASHINGTON: After weeks of delays, nearly 800,000 doses of the monkeypox vaccine will soon be available for distribution, US health regulators said Wednesday. The announcement comes amid growing criticism that authorities have been too slow in deploying the vaccine, potentially missing the window to contain what could soon become an entrenched infectious disease. Nearly two weeks ago, the Food and Drug Administration said it had finished the necessary inspections at Bavarian Nordic’s facility in Denmark, where the company fills vials of the vaccine. The FDA said via Twitter on Wednesday that the certification had been finalized. The doses are already in the US “so that they would be ready to be distributed once the manufacturing changes were approved,” the agency said. The US already has sent more than 310,000 doses of the two-shot Jynneos vaccine to state and local health departments. But clinics in San Francisco, New York and other major cities say they still don’t have enough shots to meet demand. There were more than 4,600 reported monkeypox cases in the US as of late Wednesday, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The head of the US Department of Health and Human Services said Wednesday officials would announce more vaccine allocations on Thursday. Officials at the San Francisco Department of Health welcomed the news, saying they need many thousands more vaccine doses than the 7,800 they have received to date. “Without enough vaccine supply, we would have trouble fulfilling our basic duty of keeping our communities safe,” the agency said in a statement. Washington, D.C., officials said Wednesday they would join their counterparts in San Francisco, New York City and other cities who have stopped offering appointments for second vaccine doses due to short supplies. They said the single-dose strategy would allow them to “vaccinate more people at risk and slow the spread of monkeypox in the community more quickly.” The monkeypox virus mainly spreads through skin-on-skin contact, but it can also transmit through touching linens used by someone with the infection. The vast majority of cases reported have been in men who have sex with men, though health officials have stressed that anyone can catch the virus. People with monkeypox may experience fever, body aches, chills and fatigue. Many in the outbreak have developed zit-like bumps on many parts of the body. The sluggish federal response has drawn comparisons to the initial days of the COVID-19 outbreak, but experts have pointed out that the US had one huge advantage: more than 1 million doses of vaccine in the strategic national stockpile. But it turned out US officials had only about 2,000 doses on hand when the outbreak was first identified in May. Shipping and regulatory delays have meant only a portion of the rest were deployed. “There’s not enough doses,” said Dr. Perry Halkitis, a public health specialist at Rutgers University. “I think with some quicker action on the part of federal government we might not be in the situation we are now.” The doses previously shipped came from a separate facility in Denmark that already had FDA clearance. Another 786,000 doses made at a newly opened Bavarian Nordic facility were awaiting the US certification announced Wednesday. The FDA requires inspections of all vaccine manufacturing plants to assure safety, sterility and consistency of production. US officials announced orders this month for 5 million more doses, though most of those are not expected to arrive until next year Officials have recommended the shots be given to people who know or suspect they were exposed to monkeypox in the previous two weeks. The Jynneos vaccine has never been widely used in response to an outbreak like this, and the government will track how well it’s working.

RIYADH: When Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman paid a visit on Tuesday night to the archaeological site of the Acropolis in Athens, the purpose was more than to take in the greatest architectural and artistic complex bequeathed by Greek antiquity to the world.

The crown prince went to the Acropolis Museum, where he and Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the Greek prime minister, witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Saudi Arabia and Greece for cooperation in the cultural field.

The agreement was signed from the Saudi side by Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan Al-Saud, the Kingdom’s culture minister, who previously visited Athens in May 2021 to discuss aspects of cultural cooperation.

During his visit to the Acropolis, the crown prince, who was accompanied by Prime Minister Mitsotakis and Dr. Lina Mendoni, minister of culture and sports of Greece, was briefed on the ancient buildings, areas and theaters contained within the archaeological site.

Those include the Erechtheion, the Belvedere, the Parthenon, the Theater of Dionysus, and the ancient Odeon of Herodes Atticus theater.

Later in the evening, the crown prince was honored with a dinner banquet at the Acropolis Museum hosted by Mitsotakis. Opened to the public in 2009, the world-famous archaeological Acropolis Museum houses Bronze Age, Roman and Byzantine artifacts discovered at the site of the Acropolis.

Hosting the agreement-signing ceremony at this venue was rich in symbolism. “This has never happened before,” Adonis Georgiadis, the Greek minister for development and investment, told Arab News on Tuesday ahead of the Saudi crown prince’s arrival in Athens.

“We have never signed an MoU with any other country in the world in the Acropolis Museum. And this is just a (message) from our prime minister to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to show how we feel, that you are something very exceptional to us.”

In September 2021, the Saudi-Greek Business Council was set up to enhance bilateral trade and investment.

The Saudi-Greece annual trade relationship of almost $1 billion includes the exchange of cultural goods, services and skills. One of the main initiatives to come out of a strengthened Saudi-Greek cultural relationship are “Cultural Weeks” to be held in both countries.

These events could facilitate collaborative outcomes such as cultural heritage exchanges, art exhibitions and festivals

During Prince Badr’s previous visit, both Greece and Saudi Arabia pledged to work together to protect tangible and intangible heritage, counter illicit trafficking of cultural property and manage the impacts of climate change.

“As Saudi Arabia’s cultural transformation continues at pace, we welcome closer relations with our Greek friends,” Prince Badr had said after meetings with Mendoni.

“Both our countries have a deep and rich heritage, stretching back millennia, and a shared outlook on the positive power of cultural exchange, and the need for its protection and preservation. As the Kingdom looks to share its culture with the world, Greece’s insight and experience has much to offer us.”

In the run-up to the Saudi crown prince’s visit, Alexis Konstantopoulos, Greek ambassador to Saudi Arabia, told Arab News: “We have deep-rooted ancient civilizations and tourism, because people-to-people relations are extremely important and Greece is a very touristic country.

“On culture, hopefully we’ll be able to do groundbreaking things together. We can explore the possibilities to do archaeological excavations and the setting up of museums together.”

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s delegation included the ministers of energy, sports, foreign affairs, culture, trade, investment, telecommunications and information technology, as well as the national security adviser.

The official engagements on Tuesday evening began with a formal reception ceremony for the crown prince at Maximos Mansion, the official seat and residence of the prime minister of Greece.

Afterward, the two leaders held a bilateral meeting, during which Mitsotakis welcomed the crown prince and wished him and the Saudi delegation a pleasant stay.

Later, Mitsotakis and the crown prince held an expanded meeting in the presence of the delegations of the two countries.

The two leaders witnessed the signing of the agreement to establish the Saudi-Greek Strategic Partnership Council, besides the exchange of a number of bilateral agreements and memoranda of understanding between the two countries.

The deals sealed by the two sides included:

The agreement in the field of energy, signed between Saudi Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman and Nikolaos Dendias, the Greek minister of foreign affairs, sets a framework for cooperation in the fields of renewable energy, electrical interconnection, exporting electricity to Greece and Europe, and clean hydrogen and its transfer to Europe, according to a Saudi Press Agency report.

The agreement will also look at working together in the areas of energy efficiency and the oil, gas and petrochemical industries, while adopting the circular economy approach to carbon and technologies to reduce the effects of climate change.

Both countries will explore the scope of reusing, transporting and storing the gas, as well as capturing carbon directly from the air.

As for the submarine cable agreement, it is designed to promote digital transformation and innovation in the fields of energy, including cybersecurity, while working to develop qualitative partnerships to localize materials, products and services related to all energy sectors and their associated supply chains, and technologies.

Concurrently, a strategic partnership was announced between the private sectors in the two countries to build a data cable project linking East and West, in a way that would ensure the smooth digital supply of data globally at a time when the world is witnessing an annual growth rate in data traffic of more than 30 percent.

Another high point of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s visit was the Saudi-Greek Investment Forum, held in Athens on Wednesday and attended by ministers and representatives of the private sector from both sides.

The forum discussed ways to enhance investment and economic cooperation between the two countries in all sectors. Dialogue sessions were held to discuss various topics, including communications, transport, logistics and energy.

Khalid Al-Falih, the Saudi minister of Investment, attended a meeting of private sector representatives, alongside Minister of Communications and Information Technology Abdullah bin Amer Al-Swaha and Minister of Commerce and Acting Minister of Media Majid bin Abdullah Al-Qasabi.

The meeting culminated in the signing of 21 investment agreements in the fields of logistics, transportation, defense, renewable energies, manufacturing, environment services, aquaculture, import and export, engineering and agriculture. 

Saudi and Greek government and private sector representatives discussed mutually beneficial investment opportunities, further bolstering commercial relationships.