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China’s defense minister accused the United States on Sunday of trying to “hijack” the support of countries in the Asia-Pacific region to turn them against Beijing, saying Washington is seeking to advance its own interests “under the guise of multilateralism”, Associated Press reported.

Defense Minister Gen. Wei Fenghe lashed out at U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, rejecting his “smearing accusation” the day before at the Shangri-La Dialogue that China was causing instability with its claim to the self-governing island of Taiwan and its increased military activity in the area.

Austin had stressed the need for multilateral partnerships with nations in the Indo-Pacific, which Wei suggested was an attempt to back China into a corner.

“No country should impose its will on others or bully others under the guise of multilateralism,” he said. “ The strategy is an attempt to build an exclusive small group in the name of a free and open Indo-Pacific to hijack countries in our region and target one specific country — it is a strategy to create conflict and confrontation to contain and encircle others.”

China has been rapidly modernizing its military and seeking to expand its influence and ambitions in the region, recently signing a security agreement with the Solomon Islands that many fear could lead to a Chinese naval base in the Pacific, and breaking ground this past week on a naval port expansion project in Cambodia that could give Beijing a foothold in the Gulf of Thailand, according to the Associated Press.

Last year US officials accused China of testing a hypersonic missile, a weapon harder for missile defense systems to counter, but China insisted it had been a “routine test of a spacecraft.”

Answering a question about the test on Sunday, Wei came the closest so far to acknowledging it was, indeed, a hypersonic missile, saying, “As for hypersonic weapons, many countries are developing weapons and I think there’s no surprise that China is doing so.”

“China will develop its military,” he added. “I think it’s natural.”

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken last month said China represented the “most serious long-term challenge to the international order” for the United States, with its claims to Taiwan and efforts to dominate the strategic South China Sea, Associated Press reported.

The US and its allies have responded with so-called freedom of navigation patrols in the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait, sometimes encountering a pushback from China’s military.

Wei accused the US of “meddling in the affairs of our region” with the patrols, and “flexing the muscles by sending warships and warplanes on a rampage in the South China Sea.”

China has squared off with the Philippines and Vietnam, among others, over maritime claims and Wei said it was up to the countries in the region to find their own solutions.

“China calls for turning the South China Sea into a sea of peace, friendship and cooperation,” he said. “This is the shared wish and responsibility of countries in the region.”

Taiwan and China split during a civil war in 1949, but China claims the island as its own territory, and has not ruled out the use of military force to take it, while maintaining it is a domestic political issue, according to the Associated Press.

CPN-UML lawmaker Yogesh Bhattarai expressed his serious objection to the role of an unauthorized person in the budget formulation process.

Speaking at the meeting of the House of Representatives on Monday, he expressed his dissatisfaction for using an unauthorized person by Finance Minister Janardan Sharma in the formulation of the budget for the next fiscal year.

He demanded the resignation of Minister Sharma.

"The Finance Minister has come into controversy. Hence, he should resign immediately," the former Tourism Minister said.

He demanded the resignation of the Finance Minister in the Parliament after the news came in the media that he had taken a former non-gazetted officer to the Ministry and changed the tax rate on May 28, the day before the budget was presented in the Parliament.

Prime Minister and Nepali Congress (NC) President Sher Bahadur Deuba has reaffirmed the government’s commitment to implement the rights of the workers.

Inaugurating the national conference of Nepal Trade Union Congress (NTUC) in Kathmandu on Sunday, PM Deuba reiterated that his government would leave no stone unturned for full enforcement of the contribution-based Social Security Act.

The private, formal and those involved in foreign employment would be included in social security, Deuba said, clarifying that the government was not led by his party Nepali Congress alone so it could not take decisions unilaterally.

“Based on the consensus forged in the current coalition government, the government will consider guaranteeing the labourers with all rights,” the executive Head of the Government assured.

Furthermore, the PM cited two recent moves of the incumbent government- increase in salary of the civil employees and social security to senior citizens reaching 68 years had also supported ensuring the rights of the labourers.

Calling for collective efforts to make the labour market activity, he pledged to work towards job creation for labourers hit hard due to the repercussions of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine in the industrial sector.

Similarly, Nepal Trade Union Congress’ President Pushkar Acharya said that the Labour Act was introduced in 2074 BS during the leadership of Deuba and demanded its full implementation as he is in the same role now.

It may be noted that it is for the 5th time that Deuba has been serving as the Head of the Government.

“We would like to urge PM Deuba to deliver in terms of implementation of the Act,” he said. He demanded the establishment of the Labour Court in all seven provinces and to end the situation for the labourers having to come to the federal capital for minor works.

Likewise, senior vice-president Mahendra Prasad Yadav lamented that it was a matter of sorrow that Labour Commission mentioned in the Interim Constitution-2063 BS was removed from the Constitution promulgated through the Constituent Assembly in 2072 BS. He appealed to the Nepali Congress to incorporate the issues relating to the labourers in its statute.

The NTUC was established in 2033 BS. The union was led by former Prime Minister and NC President late Girija Prasad Koirala and had labourers working in a jute mill in Biratnagar.

Over 2,000 representatives from all 77 districts are participating in the two-day conference. The gathering will endorse NTUC’s policies and programmes for the upcoming fiscal year 2022/23.

Democratic Socialist Party leaders held a meeting with Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba at the latter's residence in Baluwatar on Monday.

Party Chairman Mahantha Thakur, Rajendra Mahato and Sharad Singh Bhandari among other leaders attend the meeting held this morning.

During the meeting, the leaders discussed the 11-point agreement the party had submitted to the Prime Minister on June 7 and the issues related to taking part in government among others, according to a source.

In its memorandum, the party had demanded that the government immediately provide citizenship certificates to the children of the naturalized citizens as per the constitution.

It also demanded withdrawal of false cases slapped against the party cadres during the Tharuhat and Madhesh movement and release of the arrested cadres including Resham Chaudhary in Mahottari and Kailali, amend the constitution, provide representation in local bodies, province assemblies and federal parliament on the basis of population, implement the idea of distributing budget on the basis of population density and make public the report of high-level probe commission led for former Supreme Court justice Girish Chandra Lal.

Likewise, the party also demanded that the government arrange fertilizers to the farmers and control inflation and black marketing and provide land ownership certificates to those who have not received yet.