"In 2022, we hold the presidency of the G20, an international forum made up of the world's largest economies. Next year, we will assume the chairmanship of ASEAN," he said in an annual state of the nation speech a day before Indonesia celebrates 77 years of independence.

Suu Kyi, 77, has been detained since the generals toppled her government in a coup on February 1 last year, ending the Southeast Asian country's brief period of democracy.

The unannounced two-day trip came after Beijing sent warships, missiles and jets into the waters and skies around Taiwan, a self-ruled democracy that China's leaders claim and have vowed to one day seize. 

Although ministers are traditionally sworn in at a ceremony by the governor-general, this did not occur in the case of Morrison's additional roles and Albanese said it appeared key cabinet members were not aware of the appointments.

In June, days before President Rodrigo Duterte ended his six-year term, the Philippines scrapped a deal to buy 16 Mi-17 Russian military transport helicopters because of fears of US sanctions linked to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The project will be based at one of Australia's largest universities, Monash, and will produce 100 million vaccine doses a year for COVID-19, influenza and other diseases.

The "Falcon Strike" exercise comes after China's biggest-ever military drills around Taiwan, which were conducted in retaliation to a visit there by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Her visit to Japan for the Sept. 27 ceremony, which she will be attending in place of US President Joe Biden, will be her first since she was sworn in as vice president in January 2021.

The unannounced two-day trip came after Beijing sent warships, missiles and jets into the waters and skies around Taiwan, a self-ruled democracy that China's leaders claim and have vowed to one day seize. 

Biden's team has long sought and has not yet confirmed an in-person meeting between the two leaders to lower tensions as the two countries spar over Taiwan, trade and a host of other issues.

Indonesian authorities have repatriated dozens of trafficking victims from Cambodia in recent weeks, but hundreds more are still stranded, mostly due to a reluctance to act.

The support rate in the two-day nationwide telephone survey from Wednesday, when the Cabinet was reshuffled, came after its approval rating dropped to a worst-ever 51.0 percent in the previous poll conducted on July 30 and 31.

The infections were found in China's eastern Shandong and central Henan provinces, affecting 35 people, according to a report in the New England Journal of Medicine this month.

The disagreement over the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) system installed in South Korea emerged after an apparently smooth first visit to China by South Korea's foreign minister this week.

The satellites, including a Jilin-1 Gaofen 03D09 satellite and Yunyao-1 04-08 satellites, were launched by a Long March-6 carrier rocket at 12:50 p.m. Beijing Time and entered the planned orbit successfully.

Still, Kishida told a press conference that there are no plans for a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, after China's firing of ballistic missiles last week into Japan's exclusive economic zone.

Rajapaksa fled to Singapore on July 14 and resigned from office shortly afterwards, following unprecedented unrest over his government's handling of the worst economic crisis in seven decades, and days after thousands of protesters stormed the president's official residence and office. 

China's white paper on its position on self-ruled Taiwan follows days of unprecedented Chinese military exercises near the island, which Beijing claims as its territory, in protest against US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit last week. 

Manila -- a longtime Washington ally -- agreed in November to pay 12.7 billion pesos ($228 million) for the Mi-17 helicopters, as it seeks to modernise its military hardware.

Rajapaksa fled to Singapore on July 14, via the Maldives, following unprecedented unrest triggered by Sri Lanka's worst economic crisis in seven decades and days after thousands of protesters stormed the president's official residence and office. 

The warning from Beijing, which considers Taiwan its territory, came after days of unprecedented Chinese military drills around the island sparked by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's trip.

PNB Merdeka Ventures Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Tengku Datuk Ab Aziz Tengku Mahmud said the rate of construction was currently on track, reaching 92 percent.

The research, published by Nature Communications, said viral transmission from bats to humans may have been "substantially underestimated", adding that its mapping of bat species in the region could aid efforts to determine the origins of COVID-19. 

"Currently, there have been top level communications ... even face-to-face contacts but we have not yet come to the stage to discuss about how to solve those specific issues," he told reporters in Canberra, the capital, as quoted by Reuters. 

ASEAN celebrated its 55th anniversary on Monday in Cambodia’s capital, Phnom Penh,  amid “a time of great upheaval” as Indonesia braces itself for its upcoming role as the group’s chairman next year. The 10-nation bloc, established in 1967 in Bangkok, has recently had its share of troubles with the ongoing superpower rivalry and the crisis in Myanmar.

Sherman said in a news conference in Wellington it was important for the United States to engage in the Pacific and that senior US leaders believe "the future will be written here in the Pacific" without elaborating on what the future could hold.

South Korea's top diplomat, Park Jin, arrived in the eastern port city of Qingdao on Monday for meetings with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, in the first high-level visit to China by President Yoon Suk-yeol's administration. 

Marape won support from a majority of members in the newly elected parliament in this mountainous, forest-covered Pacific island.

Beijing claimed that despite its pledge, the only country in the world to have suffered nuclear attacks in war has been protected by the US nuclear umbrella and is opposed to Washington relinquishing the no-first-use policy regarding its nuclear weapons.

China's Eastern Theatre Command said it would conduct joint drills focusing on anti-submarine and sea assault operations - confirming the fears of some security analysts and diplomats that Beijing would keep pressure on Taiwan's defences.