Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte will visit China next week, Beijing announced on Friday, after Duterte threatened to cancel talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping if he could not discuss South China Sea disputes. In a brief statement, the Chinese foreign ministry said Duterte would visit China for five days from August 28 at the […]

  HANOI: Australia’s prime minister on Friday (Aug 23) urged nations in Asia to stand up for their “independence and sovereignty”, with tensions high in the disputed South China Sea where Beijing is under fire for increasingly bullish behaviour. Scott Morrison’s comments came after the United States slammed China for its “escalation” in the waterway, […]

  WASHINGTON—The United States on Thursday sharpened its criticism of China’s activities in disputed areas of the South China Sea, slamming an “escalation” in efforts to intimidate other claimants” such as Vietnam. China redeployed a government-owned survey vessel — with armed escorts — into the waters off Vietnam earlier this month, the US said. Hanoi […]

  MIYAKO, Japan — A high-stakes “game of chicken” is playing out in the East China Sea, as Beijing pokes and provokes Tokyo with an intensifying campaign of aerial and maritime encroachments designed to challenge Japan’s control of disputed islands. Every day, around the clock, Japan scrambles fighter jets and dispatches coast guard vessels to […]

  As their trade and technology tensions spread into currency manipulation, the geostrategic rivalry between the U.S. and China is fast becoming a nonmilitary war. It is no longer about trade tariffs and proprietary technologies but involves the full range of mercantilist practices to counter an adversary. While this titanic tussle is reminiscent of the […]

  Sino-Philippine ties are showing signs of cooling since the two countries made friends in 2016, according to a recent survey on how much Filipinos trust their powerful Asian neighbor. Social Weather Stations, the Metro Manila research institution behind that survey, released new numbers last month saying people’s trust had fallen to a one-year low. […]

  MANILA, Philippines — Bayan Muna party-list representatives have filed a resolution seeking a probe into the security implications of Chinese investors’ plan to develop three strategic islands in the northern Philippines. Bayan Muna Reps. Carlos Zarate, Eufemia Cullamat, and Ferdinand Gaite, in filing House Resolution No. 254, said security concerns on the projects are […]

  SEEMINGLY unfazed by China’s possible response, Preisdent Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday, August 21, assured that he would invoke the arbitral ruling when he visits Beijing. In a speech delivered in Romblon, the President said he would discuss with Chinese President Xi Jinping the Philippines’ landmark win before the Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration, whether […]

  MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte said Wednesday he hopes that the joint oil and gas exploration with China could help resolve the maritime dispute over the South China Sea. Duterte had welcomed China’s proposal to share oil resources in the West Philippine Sea, the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the disputed waters, as […]

In this photo taken on Sept. 23, 2015, a Chinese Coast Guard vessel fires its water cannon on Filipino fishermen in a confrontation off Scarborough Shoal in the West Philippine Sea. (AP) WASHINGTON–The White House on Tuesday accused China of “bullying tactics” in the increasingly tense waters of the South China Sea and said it […]