Month: March 2022

“China regrets the reported casualties and it’s not the situation China wants to see,” Wang Wenbin, spokesperson of China’s Foreign Ministry, told reporters in Beijing while speaking about the ongoing war in Ukraine.

The Russia-Ukraine war entered its sixth day on Tuesday, with the latest reports indicating that Russian troops were heading toward the capital Kyiv.

At least 136 civilians have been killed so far in Ukraine and more than 600,000 others have fled the country, according to UN officials.

“China hopes the two sides will pursue dialogue and take each other’s reasonable concerns into account to ensure Europe’s security,” Wang said, according to Chinese daily Global Times.

Ukraine says more than 350 civilians have been killed and over 1,600 injured during attacks by Russian forces.

The war has been met with outrage from the international community, with the EU, UK, US, and Japan implementing a range of economic sanctions on Russia.

Wang added China hopes all “relevant parties show restraint to prevent the situation from further deteriorating.”

“China supports and encourages all the diplomatic efforts in favor of resolving the Ukraine crisis through peaceful means,” he stressed, referring to a round of talks between representatives of Russia and Ukraine in Belarus on Monday.

– ‘Support to Taiwan risky for US’

On the voyage of US warship through the Taiwan Strait this weekend, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said: “If the US intends to lend support to ‘Taiwan independence’ secessionists by sending warship passing through the Taiwan Straits, it will only accelerate the secessionists’ doom, and the US will also have to pay a heavy price for its risky move.”

On Sunday, Taiwan’s Defense Ministry reported two Chinese jets entered its air defense area, while eight such jets crossed the Taiwan Strait on Saturday after a US guided-missile destroyer USS Ralph Johnson (DDG-114) sailed through the Taiwan Strait.

One Chinese jet was detected crossing what Taiwan calls “air defense identification zone (ADIZ)” on Tuesday.

Chinese military jets crossed the ADIZ 17 times last month.

As the world focuses on the Russia-Ukraine war, observers are also closely watching China’s moves regarding Taiwan, which it sees as a breakaway province.

Taipei, however, has insisted on its independence since 1949 and maintains diplomatic relations with at least 14 countries.

A US delegation of former security officials is expected to land in Taipei on Tuesday “to discuss Taiwan-US relations and cooperation, and regional peace and stability.”

Source: Anadolu Agency

Ministers from International Energy Agency (IEA) member countries agreed to release 60 million barrels of oil from storage, the IEA said in a statement on Tuesday.

The 31-member group, who convened for an extraordinary ministerial meeting chaired by US Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm, wanted “to send a unified and strong message to global oil markets that there will be no shortfall in supplies as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.”

The IEA ministers expressed their concern about Russia’s “outrageous actions”, and their support for sanctions imposed by the international community in response.

The ministers noted that Russia’s invasion comes amid already-tight global oil markets, increased price volatility, the lowest commercial inventories since 2014, and the limited ability of producers to provide additional supply in the short term.

“The situation in energy markets is very serious and demands our full attention. Global energy security is under threat, putting the world economy at risk during a fragile stage of the recovery,” said IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol.

“I am grateful that IEA member countries made available the initial 60 million barrels to provide stability to oil markets,” Birol added.

He also expressed his satisfaction that member countries pledged to do everything at their disposal to assist Ukraine with fuel supplies.

Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galushchenko will attend as a special guest at the IEA’s ministerial meeting later this month, Birol confirmed.

Energy supply should not be used as means of political coercion

The announcement of an initial release of 60 million barrels, or 4% of IEA members’ emergency stockpiles of 1.5 billion barrels, is equivalent to 2 million barrels a day for 30 days.

The coordinated drawdown is the fourth in the history of the IEA since its formation in 1974. Previous collective action was taken in 2011, 2005 and 1991.

Russia is the third-largest oil producer globally and the largest exporter worldwide, which plays a pivotal role in global energy markets.

It exports approximately 5 million barrels a day of crude oil, representing roughly 12% of global trade. The average of 2.85 million barrels a day of petroleum products it supplies represents around 15% of the global refined product trade.

Around 60% of Russia’s oil exports go to Europe and another 20% to China.

With the proviso that energy supplies will not be used as a means of political coercion or as a threat to national and international security, the ministers vowed to continue to closely monitor global oil and gas markets and to provide recommendations to the IEA, not ruling out additional emergency oil stock draws if needed.

The meeting also addressed Europe’s significant reliance on Russian natural gas, with a particular emphasis on the need to reduce this reliance by looking to other resources, including LNG, and to pursue a well-managed acceleration of clean energy transitions.

On Thursday, the IEA secretariat will release a 10-point plan on how European countries can reduce their reliance on Russian gas supplies by next winter.

Source: Anadolu Agency