UK officially joins CPTPP

The United Kingdom officially joined the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), one of the world's largest free trade deals, on Sunday, becoming the 12th member state of the bloc.

Upon its accession to the CPTPP, Britain became the first European nation to join the major trans-Pacific trading bloc, in what has been hailed as the country's biggest trade deal accession since Brexit.

This is also the first time a new country has joined the bloc since the agreement came into effect in 2018.

The CPTPP trade deal involves 11 countries, namely Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam, covers a market of about 500 million people, and generates more than 13 percent of the world's income.

The United Kingdom formally applied to join the CPTPP on Feb. 1 2021, and on the last day of March 2023, the country announced that it had completed the relevant negotiations and reached an agreement to join the bloc.

On July 16 last year, the CPTPP Ministerial Meeting formally approved the UK's accession.

The Chinese military has continued to conduct combat readiness patrols in the territorial waters of and airspace over the Huangyan Dao as well as the surrounding areas in the South China Sea since the beginning of December, the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Southern Theater Command said Wednesday.

The PLA Southern Theater Command said it has deployed naval and air forces troops to reinforce patrols and vigilance, further strengthening control and management over the relevant areas.

The move has effectively addressed various infringement and provocations, with an aim to safeguard China's sovereignty and security while maintaining peace and stability in the South China Sea, according to the PLA Southern Theater Command.