Speaking today in Singapore, British Defense Minister Michael Portillo said Britain would increase its military presence in Asia as it returns Hong Kong to China in 1997. He also announced plans for Britain's largest ever air and naval military exercises in Southeast Asia to be held in the Spring of 1997.

The United States has departed from its former "no comment" on the Spratley Islands territorial dispute, and has sent diplomatic note to Beijing pointing out that the baselines China has drawn in the South China Sea are inconsistent with international law. The U.S.

The Palestinian Authority and Hamas may be close to reaching an agreement halting Hamas attacks against Israel. Negotiations, which were broken off last December, have been resumed through the mediation of Yasser Arafat's Telecommunications Minister Imad Falouji, a former Hamas spokesman.

Russia is currently negotiating cooperation agreements with both North and South Korea. Russia's friendship treaty with North Korea expired in August of 1995.

The European Union decided at a September 8 meeting not to retaliate against the U.S. Helms-Burton sanctions against foreign investment in Cuba until after the November U.S. presidential election. The E.U.

Turkish businessmen in the industrial center of Gaziantep last week declared their intention to break U.N. sanctions against Iraq if a solution allowing renewed trade was not soon implemented. A rally of businessmen, transporters, and tradesmen is scheduled for September 14 in Gaziantep.

The dispute over the Diaoyutai Islands in the East China Sea has flared up again, this time in a series of protests sweeping Taiwan and Hong Kong.

In a communiqué released yesterday, the militant Islamic group Hamas called for popular and military resistance to new Israeli settlements. The appeal included calls for military attacks, as well as united protests and practical legal action, to halt renewed land confiscations and settlement activities in Palestinian territories.

According to a high ranking Turkish military official, the Turkish armed forces are prepared for a combined land and air strike against forces of the Kurdestan Workers Party (PKK) in northern Iraq at any time.

China recently dispatched five warships to monitor Indonesian military exercises around the Natuna Islands in the South China Sea. China, Indonesia, and Vietnam have claimed sovereignty over the islands, which are reportedly rich in natural gas.