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Gabriel Dominguez
For Gabriel Dominguez's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on Friday
WORLD / Politics
Apr 26, 2024
Top U.S. and China diplomats talk tough amid warnings of new ‘downward spiral’
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi did not mince words when addressing a raft of contentious topics, including trade, Ukraine and Taiwan.
People backing Ukraine gather outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Tuesday. The Senate on Tuesday voted overwhelmingly to approve a long-stalled $95 billion package of aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Apr 24, 2024
Congress passes Ukraine aid bill in boost to Kyiv — and Taipei — after long delay
The package, which had been delayed amid objections from Republican hard-liners, could be signed into law as soon as this week.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken holds a news conference at the end of a Group of Seven foreign ministers meeting on Capri Island, Italy, on Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 23, 2024
Top U.S. diplomat returns to China, but breakthroughs unlikely
From Ukraine and Taiwan to the South China Sea and the Middle East, the list of bilateral and global issues on the agenda will be long.
The main goal of Australian's new defense strategy is to change a potential adversary’s belief that it could achieve its ambitions with military force at an acceptable cost.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Apr 19, 2024
Australia, like Japan, sees national security interests ‘farther afield’
The goal of Australia's new strategy is to change a potential adversary’s belief that it could achieve its ambitions with force at an acceptable cost.
U.S. President Joe Biden, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and British leader Rishi Sunak deliver remarks on the AUKUS partnership, after a trilateral meeting, at Naval Base Point Loma in San Diego in March last year.
JAPAN / Politics / EXPLAINER
Apr 17, 2024
Benefits and risks: AUKUS looks to take gamble on Japan
The group sees potential benefits in tapping Japan’s strong industrial and technological capacity.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses supporters during an election campaign rally in Pushkar, India, on April 6, ahead of the country's upcoming general election starting Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 15, 2024
For Modi, the Indian election is less about winning and more about by how much
For Indian leader Narendra Modi, an upcoming parliamentary election is less about winning and more about by how much.
U.S. President Joe Biden escorts Philippine leader Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to their trilateral summit at the White House in Washington on Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Apr 12, 2024
Biden vows 'ironclad' defense of Philippines and Japan as China tensions rise
Biden reiterated Washington’s commitment to defending the Philippines from any attack in the South China Sea.
U.S. President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida attend an an arrival ceremony as part of a state visit by Kishida, on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Apr 11, 2024
Global ambitions? U.S. and Japan eye a boosted partnership, but the hurdles are high.
Can Japan truly be America's "global partner"? Experts are divided over the issue.
Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps speak during a news conference following an AUKUS defense ministerial meeting in Mountain View, California, last December.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Apr 9, 2024
U.S., U.K. and Australia consider working with Japan on AUKUS security pact
The three countries said they were weighing inviting Tokyo to join the pact’s second stage, with talks with Japan and others set to begin this year.
Philippine Ambassador Mylene Garcia-Albano is interviewed at the country's embassy in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 4, 2024
Closer defense ties expected after first U.S.- Japan-Philippines summit, Manila's envoy says
The statement comes amid media reports that the three countries plan to launch joint naval patrols in the South China Sea later this year.
The top U.S. military commander in the Indo-Pacific, Adm. John Aquilino, has said that Beijing is maintaining its goal of being able to invade Taiwan by 2027.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Apr 2, 2024
Will China truly be ‘ready’ to invade Taiwan by 2027? It’s complicated.
The most important factor shaping any plan will not be based on just military readiness, but rather on political and strategic objectives, analysts say.
With emerging headwinds in the U.S. and Japan, U.S. President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will have their work cut out for them next month as they look to maintain the momentum driving change in the alliance between both countries.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Mar 31, 2024
Kishida heads to U.S. with a mission — maintain alliance momentum amid challenges
Defense and security will likely top the agenda, though it is unclear how the PM will handle the issue of Ukraine assistance amid a split U.S. Congress.
Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, who chairs the German parliament's defense committee, argues that the security of Europe is inseparable from that of the Indo-Pacific.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 28, 2024
German MP warns of complacency amid growing Indo-Pacific threats
Closer attention need to be paid to the often-belligerent rhetoric coming from places such as China and North Korea, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann said.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs Enrique Manalo attend a working luncheon at the Sofitel Hotel in Manila on Tuesday. Blinken’s trip, which also touched upon economic cooperation, followed a trade mission visit by U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo a week earlier.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 19, 2024
Blinken pledges closer U.S.-Philippine security ties ahead of trilateral summit with Japan
The top U.S. diplomat and his Philippine counterpart also signaled the allies were eyeing ways to "operationalize" security cooperation with Tokyo.
Tokyo will forge ahead with a next-generation fighter aircraft it is jointly developing with Rome and London following an agreement last week between the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its junior coalition partner, Komeito, to revise Japan’s strict defense export guidelines.
JAPAN / Politics / EXPLAINER
Mar 18, 2024
Japan’s eased defense export rules open door to more changes
The speed at which the Kishida administration has been pushing through defense reforms has stunned many even as the regional security environment worsens.
A concept model of the Global Combat Air Programme's fighter jet is displayed at the DSEI Japan defense show at Makuhari Messe in Chiba in March 2023.
JAPAN
Mar 15, 2024
Japan's ruling coalition approves export of future joint fighter jet
The step removes a potentially critical hurdle for the multinational Global Combat Aircraft Program involving the U.K. and Italy.
During the last round of negotiations between Washington and Seoul, then-U.S. President Donald Trump requested steep increases in South Korea’s share of defense costs.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Mar 14, 2024
South Korea, U.S. talk cost-sharing as Seoul girds for Trump 2.0
The agreement on an unusually early start of the defense cost-sharing deals reflects unease over a possible return of Donald Trump to the White House.
Paraguay Foreign Minister Rubén Ramírez Lezcano says that the free trade agreement to be negotiated between Tokyo and Mercosur would include goods and services, including agricultural products, which is very important for Japan.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 13, 2024
Mercosur ‘ready’ to resume FTA talks with Japan, Paraguay foreign minister says
The bloc is keen to expand ties with Asia as it seeks to boost trade and deepen economic integration with partners beyond the U.S., Europe and China.
The Netherland's Prime Minister Mark Rutte waves as he walks past NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg during a summit at the alliance's headquarters in Brussels in June 2021.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Mar 6, 2024
‘A safe pair of hands’: Dutch PM emerges as NATO chief front-runner
Although the top contender, Mark Rutte may still have to win over about a third of the alliance’s 31-member states.
A military delegation arrives for a meeting Monday, ahead the annual session of China’s National People’s Congress (NPC) in Beijing.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Mar 5, 2024
China defense spending to climb 7.2% amid rivalry with U.S.
Beijing's 1.67 trillion yuan ($231.4 billion) budget makes 2024 the ninth straight year to see a single-digit hike in the country’s defense outlays.

Longform

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