Defence ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations have agreed a set of guidelines for warplanes flying over the disputed South China Sea, and will invite China and the US to sign up to the same code of conduct. Singapore’s Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen announced the agreement at the annual Asean defence ministers’ […]

With Washington taking a new, profoundly aggressive tack in its dealings with Beijing, analysts speak of ‘active competition with occasional confrontation’ as the new normal Despite a glimmer of optimism sparked by the possibility of a meeting next month between Trump and Xi to resolve increasing tensions between the planet’s two largest economies, Sino-US relations […]

SINGAPORE (AP) — U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis plans to meet on Thursday in Singapore with his Chinese counterpart amid escalating tensions over China’s purchase of Russian fighter planes and missiles as well as ongoing friction in the South China Sea. Shortly after Mattis arrived in Singapore on Wednesday after a visit to Vietnam, a […]

A US Navy research vessel docked in Taiwan Monday, sparking concern in Beijing at a time of heightened tension between the US and China. The Thomas G. Thompson (T-AGOR-23), a research ship owned by the Office of Naval Research, arrived in Kaohsiung earlier this week to refuel and make crew changes, the Associated Press reported. […]

Two US B-52 bombers flew near contested islands in the South China Sea Tuesday, according to a statement from Pacific Air Forces. The two B-52H Stratofortress bombers, which are based in Guam, “participated in a routine training mission in the vicinity of the South China Sea,” the statement said, adding that the flight was part […]

While the United States and China are competitors on the world stage and appear to be working separately, the two powers that are currently locked in a trade war, may be able to collaborate outside Asia where they have fewer overlapping interests, the California-based Rand Corp said in a study of China’s policies with the […]

Japan’s navy has been taking part in military exercises in the South China Sea over the past two months. The exercises are evidence of increased Japanese activity in an area where Japan has long-term interests, including controlling China’s influence. In September, a Japanese submarine, helicopter carrier and two destroyer warships explored parts of the South […]

WASHINGTON: The US remains highly concerned with China’s continued militarisation in the disputed South China Sea and its “predatory economic behaviour”, Defense Secretary James Mattis has said. China is engaged in hotly contested territorial disputes in the South China Sea, and with Japan in the East China Sea. Both the areas are stated to be […]

Report by think tank affiliated with State Council also urges Chinese authorities to do more to win over Southeast Asian countries because it faces ‘long-term’ struggle to counter US influence China has been warned it must do more to lure neighbouring countries away from the US orbit, according to a report that predicted the US […]

The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy Air Force (PLANAF) appears to have a new bomber in its ranks, and it could boost China’s military strength in disputed waterways. Satellite images of the PLANAF base at Guiping-Mengshu in Guangxi Province, China show what observers suspect are Xian H-6J bombers, new naval variants of the upgraded H-6Ks […]