News
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Playing with fire
THE recent “airport-to-airport” experience of former Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales at the hands of Hong Kong immigration authorities should teach past and present government officials — and the public at large — something about the promise and peril of international law. Given our raucous democracy, Filipinos can pretty much do — and say — as they […]
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Is Trump finally getting an Asia policy?
t appears that the administration of US President Donald Trump is finally putting some meat on the bones of its Asia policy. According to news reports, acting Secretary of Defense Pat Shanahan will unveil the United States’ new “Indo-Pacific strategy” at the upcoming Shangri-La Dialogue (SLD), which will be held in Singapore beginning this […]
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Rare meeting between Taiwanese, US security officials angers Beijing
China responded angrily on Monday as Taiwan confirmed the first meeting in more than four decades between senior US and Taiwanese security officials. Taiwan’s national security chief David Lee met White House national security adviser John Bolton earlier this month, the island’s foreign affairs ministry said in a statement on Saturday. The official Central […]
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The Standoff At Sandy Cay In The South China Sea – Analysis
When I began researching South China Sea issues, the topic was often the butt of deprecating jokes from ‘global strategic thinkers’ because they thought the issues were ‘inconsequential’. A common comment was ‘sea level rise will solve all the problems there, ‘ implying that the sea will cover all the contested features and thus […]
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South China sea tensions: Australian ships tailed by Chinese military in contested region
THE AUSTRALIAN Navy was tailed by the Chinese military as they travelled towards Vietnam on the South Chinese Sea, near islands controversially claimed by Beijing. The Australian Navy was on a three month tour of seven Asian nations with four warships, aircraft and more than 1,200 members of crew when the incident happened, Australia’s […]
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‘Philippines has right in South China Sea but no might yet’
MANILA, Philippines — For Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr., the Philippines has the “right” but “no might yet” on the issue of territorial claims in the South China Sea. “Defense Secretary (Delfin) Lorenzana says Sandy Cay is ours. The erudite paper I read didn’t quite say that categorically. But I like the categorical tone. […]
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As tensions with the US rise, China continues to reach out to the rest of the world
The top priority for China today is the fate of its relations with the United States, but the Chinese leadership is nonetheless determined to build extensive commercial, military, strategic, and cultural ties with the wider world. Last week, President Xi Jinping launched the Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilisations – an event attended by […]
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Taiwan begins mass production of home-grown missile corvettes, minelayers
Taiwan has begun mass production of its home-grown Tuo Jiang-class missile corvettes and high-speed minelayers as it seeks to shore up its naval forces amid rising hostility from Beijing. Dubbed the “aircraft carrier killer”, the small but powerful corvette, which has a displacement of 680 tonnes and a top speed of 45 knots, is […]
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No Enter the Dragon
Former Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales made the Philippines proud this week after she was refused entry for a few hours in China’s special administrative region, Hong Kong. Instead of bowing and entering Chinese territory after immigration authorities claimed there was a “mistake” in not allowing her entry, the feisty senior citizen instead decided to return home […]
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US-China trade war: China willing to cooperate more with US but won’t give in to an unequal deal
China is convinced the United States is seeking to use the trade war to contain it and eventually bring down the Chinese Communist Party, but Beijing will not overreact to what it perceives as American provocations, a source familiar with the leadership’s thinking told The Sunday Times. The Chinese leadership now views the US as […]
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South China Sea In Spotlight Ahead Of Shangrila Dialogue
South China Sea region where China has created artificial islands violating international law is once again in the spotlight ahead of the next edition of the Shangrila Dialogue one of region’s key geopolitical dialogue in Singapore between May 31-June 2. The Chinese foreign ministry shot back last Thursday at a US Senate proposal to […]
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‘Arrogant demands’ by US ‘invade’ China’s economic sovereignty, state news agency says
The United States has called on China to curb the development of its state-owned enterprises (SOEs), a demand that China sees as an “invasion” on its economic sovereignty, Chinese state news agency Xinhua said on Saturday. Trade tensions between Washington and Beijing escalated sharply earlier this month after the Trump administration accused China of […]