Asean digital ministers

People in Cambodia are asked not to enter and leave COVID-19-hit areas (Photo: VNA) Phnom Penh (VNA) - Cambodia logged 65 new COVID-19 infections on February 25 morning, including 58 cases in the community with links to the “February 20 community infection outbreak”, announced the Ministry of Health. Of the locally-transmitted cases, there were 41 Chinese nationals, nine Vietnamese, five Cambodian and three from the Republic of Korea, Singapore and Japan. As of February 25, the country’s COVID-19 count had risen to 697, including 477 recoveries. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen recently called on Cambodians nationwide, especially those in Phnom Penh, to intensify preventive measures against the COVID-19 pandemic as the new community infection outbreak was announced. All social activities can remain as usual, but preventive measures must be reinforced, he added./. VNA …

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The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain (DDG 56) transits through South China Sea while conducting routine underway operations, February 5, 2021. — Photo from the US Department of Defense HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam is a responsible member of the international community and always upholds provisions under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Seas (UNCLOS 1982), spokesperson for the foreign ministry Lê Thị Thu Hằng said. She made the statement on Thursday in the regular press briefing, held virtually this time due to COVID-19 in Hà Nội, when asked for Việt Nam’s reaction to the US Navy’s first freedom of navigation operation (FONOP) held under the Biden administration in February. The guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain reportedly conducted the FONOP near the Trường Sa (Spratly) and Hoàng Sa (Paracel) archipelagoes in the South China Sea (known as the East Sea by Việt Nam) over which Việt Nam has repeatedly claimed sovereignty, but contested by mainland China and China’s Taiwan. “By engaging in innocent passage without giving prior notification to or asking permission from any of the claimants,” the US Navy noted in a statement. Also regarding the recent statement by French Minister of Armed Forces Florence Parly that France had sent the nuclear submarine, SNA Emeraude, to patrol the South China Sea, together with the naval support ship BSAM Seine, the said spokesperson said: “As a responsible member of the international community and a signatory of the UNCLOS 1982, Việt Nam always upholds the provisions of the UNCLOS, including items related to maritime and flight activities over the sea regions set up in accordance with UNCLOS 1982.” “The maintenance of peace, stability, security and order, safety, maritime and overflight freedom, the rule of law, with respect to sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction of the littoral countries in the South China Sea, in a manner that is consistent with the UNCLOS 1982, is …

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People wait for their turn for COVID-19 testing in Malaysia (Photo: Reuters) Kuala Lumpur (VNA) – The Malaysian parliament may convene during the emergency period as approved by the country’s King, according to a palace statement on February 24. Comptroller of the Royal Household Ahmad Fadil Shamsuddin said the matter was decided following Sultan Abdullah’s meeting with the speakers of the upper and lower house on the same day. The parliament will resume on a date deemed suitable by the King, taking into consideration the advice of Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, the statement said. The consent of the Malaysian King to the advice of the PM on the declaration of the Emergency Proclamation on January 12 is a proactive measure to contain the COVID-19. The state of emergency is due to run until August 1. Malaysia has the third highest COVID-19 tally in Southeast Asia, following Indonesia and the Philippines, posting over 290,000 cases and 1,088 fatalities./. VNA …

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