ASEAN

Japan on Thursday offered to cooperate with other Asian countries to address ocean pollution by reducing plastic debris. The country, together with China and South Korea, will assist the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in enhancing their monitoring of plastic waste and assessing the impact ...

Leaders from 16 Asia-Pacific nations, including Japan, China and India, have said they will now seek a free trade agreement next year, missing a year-end deadline amid disagreements over tariffs and other politically sensitive issues. The delay underscores the difficulty posed by the diversity of ...

Leaders from Southeast Asia and neighboring countries met in Singapore on Wednesday and cited progress on keeping peace in the contentious South China Sea as evidence that the region is managing to handle such issues on its own. Both the Singapore meeting and a summit ...

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence criticized Myanmar's military over the persecution of Rohingya Muslims in a meeting with national leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Wednesday and said those responsible should be held accountable. "The violence and persecution by military and vigilantes that resulted in ...

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamed sharply criticized Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Tuesday for her handling of an ethnic crisis that led to mass killings and the exodus of more than 700,000 Rohingya Muslims from her country. Mahathir said Nobel Peace Prize laureate ...

Southeast Asian nations will call for those responsible for atrocities in Myanmar's Rakhine state to be held "fully accountable," according to a statement prepared for a regional summit, reflecting a stronger line being taken within the group. The draft of the chairman's statement, which was ...

U.S. President Donald Trump's absence at several international summits in Asia this week isn't a snub, Vice President Mike Pence told reporters en route to the region. The vice president was due to arrive in Tokyo later Monday on a trip that will also take ...

During the planned meeting, Abe is expected to seek cooperation in resolving the abductions issue and brief Pence on his recent visit to China.

Defense chiefs from the U.S. and China agreed in principle to guidelines on encounters between warplanes, in the latest bid by Pacific nations to keep increased military activity from escalating into conflict. U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis and seven other regional military chiefs, including ...

Defense Minister Takeshi Iwaya said Saturday that Tokyo will invite commissioned air force officers from every member state of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to observe Air Self-Defense Force (ASDF) training. "The Indo-Pacific region is facing complicated security issues, and we need to collectively ...