Top Asia Pacific Breaking News: Latest Updates

MANILA, Philippines (AP) - The Philippine Senate, acting as an impeachment court, opened the trial of Vice President Sara Duterte on Monday in a politically volatile event that will unfold against the backdrop of her bitter feud with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. More than 6,000 police officers, including anti-riot squads, were deployed to secure the Senate, where about 400 anti-Duterte demonstrators converged, chanting "Convict Sara now." Duterte did not appear but was represented by her lawyers at the start of the trial, which will run for 92 days, according to a pretrial plan seen by The Associated Press. If convicted of the charges, which include amassing unexplained wealth and publicly threatening to have Marcos assassinated, Duterte may be permanently disqualified from holding public office.

MANILA, Philippines (AP) - A Philippine senator was arrested Monday and charged under the country's anti-corruption statutes, becoming the latest member of the upper legislative chamber to be arrested in more than a month over suspicion of large-scale graft. Sen. Rodante Marcoleta, who denies committing any wrongdoing, was taken into police custody at the Sandiganbayan special anti-graft court in suburban Quezon city, where he went with his lawyers to question the charges and seek a delay in his arrest. Marcoleta was accused of plunder, a charge under Philippine laws for illegally amassing huge amounts of money through a series of criminal acts.

BANGKOK (AP) - China's navy test-launched a long-range ballistic missile Monday from one of its nuclear-powered submarines in the South Pacific, a rare act that drew protests and concern from countries in the region. The missile carried a dummy warhead, according to the official Xinhua News Agency. China last conducted a missile test in the Pacific two years ago, firing an intercontinental ballistic missile with a dummy warhead, the first since 1980. The 2024 launch mirrored the testing the United States conducts for its own ballistic missile fleet, which experts viewed as an assertion of China's growing superpower status. Monday's launch, at 12:01 p.m.

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) - Australia and Fiji on Monday signed a new bilateral defense alliance in a second major diplomatic win within a year for Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese against Chinese influence in the South Pacific. Chinese official media later reported a Chinese submarine had test-launched a long-range ballistic missile in the South Pacific, a move criticized by Australia. Albanese and his Fijian counterpart, Sitiveni Rabuka, signed the Ocean of Peace Alliance in Fiji's capital, Suva. They also signed an economic treaty, the Vuvale Union, under which Australia will invest more than 1 billion Australian dollars ($693 million) in its island neighbor over a decade.

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) - Clashes broke out inside a prison in the outskirts of Sri Lanka's capital, killing at least 25 people and injuring more than 100, officials and a TV station reported Monday. Police said the unrest at the prison in Negombo, about 35 kilometers (22 miles) north of the capital, Colombo, began on Sunday and continued on Monday. Spokesman Chandana Herath said there were fatalities but could not immediately confirm the toll reported by local television station Hiru. Victims include both inmates and prison officials, the TV reported. Prison spokesman A.C. Gajanayake said the violence started among inmates and when prison guards attempted to intervene on Monday, "they (inmates) started attacking the prison officials." He told reporters that some inmates attempted to escape but were stopped.

BANGKOK (AP) - Two gold rings aged around 2,000 years old were discovered during an excavation at a new archaeological site in western Thailand, officials said. The rings were found with human bones during an ongoing dig at the Don Yai Thong archaeological site in Phetchaburi province last week, the Thai government's Fine Arts Department said in a statement. One ring found Thursday was engraved with characters believed to be Bhrami script, an ancient Indian writing system. An initial assessment by experts identified the script reading as "pusarakhitasa," meaning "the one protected by Pushya," said to be one of the most auspicious zodiac signs in Indian astronomy, the department said.

LEH, India (AP) - The Dalai Lama attended celebrations Monday marking his 91st birthday in Leh, India, as devotees gathered for prayers and celebrations across India and Nepal. Revered by millions of Tibetan Buddhists as a divine figure, the Dalai Lama has spent decades promoting peace, nonviolence and compassion while advocating for greater autonomy for Tibet. After fleeing Tibet in 1959, he established the Tibetan government-in-exile in the northern Indian town of Dharamshala, where he continues to live. China considers him a separatist. ___ This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.

TORONTO (AP) - Canada is expected Monday to choose between German and South Korean bids to build a fleet of 12 submarines in one of its biggest-ever military procurements. Germany's ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems and South Korea's Hanwha Ocean are competing for the contract to build 12 conventionally powered submarines worth tens of billions of dollars. The announcement is expected before Prime Minister Mark Carney departs to the NATO summit in Turkey as NATO allies boost defense spending. Carney is scheduled to tour a Canadian Armed Forces base in the Atlantic-coast province of Nova Scotia on Monday before announcing "new measures to make Canada more secure, resilient, and prosperous." A spokesperson for Carney declined to confirm the submarine announcement will be made on Monday.

BEIJING (AP) - A tropical storm killed two people, caused dam breaches and forced tens of thousands to evacuate in southern China, state media reported Monday. Tropical Storm Maysak killed two people in Nanning, in China's southern Guangxi province. The storm affected about 55,000 people, including 48,000 who were evacuated, according to the official Xinhua News Agency. Multiple dams were at risk, local media reported. China's Ministry of Emergency Management deployed more than 1,000 rescuers, along with vehicles and boats to the region. It also sent two drones to ensure communications. Rivers overflowed in Guangxi's Fangchenggang city, submerging cars up to their roofs, footage on state broadcaster CCTV showed.

Super Typhoon Bavi made landfall Monday over a tiny U.S. territorial island in the western Pacific near Guam, bringing powerful winds and torrential rain to the Northern Mariana Islands. The eye of the storm passed over the island of Rota Monday morning local time, bringing winds of more than 150 mph (241 kph), according to the National Weather Service. It was traveling at around 9 mph (14 kph) west toward the Philippines, the weather service said. "Hang tight," National Weather Service meteorologist Brandon Aydlett said. "We're coming just out of the peak of conditions. It's going to be a slow improvement, but improvement is coming." The storm impacted other parts of the Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S.