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Xinhua Asia-Pacific news summary at 1645 GMT, June 15

Xinhua, June 16, 2015 Adjust font size:

An official from the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) said here Monday that the Malaysian oil tanker Orkim Harmony having gone missing since June had most likely been hijacked by pirates.

MMEA Deputy Director-General Ahmad Puzi Ab Kahar said in a press conference that the lack of signs of wreckage indicated that it did not sink, and its communications equipment and other tracking devices should have been deliberately switched off judging on the lack of distress calls. (Malaysia-Tanker-Missinig)

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TOKYO -- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has showed dictator 's arrogance in pushing forward a series of controversial security- related bills in parliament, but his autocracy quickly backfired since three prominent Japanese constitutional scholars testified in a Diet Session recently that the bills allowing the Self- Defense Forces to exercising the right to collective defense violate the country's Constitution.

Two of the three experts, Yasuo Hasebe, professor of constitutional law at Waseda Law School, and Setsu Kobayashi, professor emeritus at Keio University, in a joint appearance on Monday at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan criticized that the bills architected by the ruling coalition are "legally, politically and economically unwise" policies and would only result in the increase of danger facing Japan. (Japan-PM-Protest) ---- SEOUL-- South Korea on Monday called for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to return to the dialogue table without any preconditions in response to the DPRK's government statement that urged the South side to form an atmosphere conducive to improving inter-Korean relations.

Seoul's Unification Ministry said in a statement that the DPRK should immediately stop acts of escalating military tensions on the peninsula as Pyongyang itself mentioned an atmosphere to ameliorate the north-south relations. (S.Korea-DPRK-Dialogue)

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JAKARTA -- Indonesia's flag carrier airlines Garuda Indonesia has signed Letter of Intent (LoI) with France-based plane maker Airbus related to its plan to acquire 30 Airbus A350 XWB which would be used to serve non-stop flights to Europe, a Garuda Indonesia senior official said here on Monday.

"With its fuel saving, long range and extra wide cabin, the plane would be one of our options in a bid to reposition us as a premium operator to lead the competitive flight services to regions beyond Asia," Garuda Indonesia President Director Arif Wibowo said in a statement. (Indonesia-Airbus) Endi