First U.S.-ASEAN joint maritime drills kick off as Washington beefs up presence in South China Sea
The United States and 10 Southeast Asian nations were set to kick off joint maritime naval exercises Monday, including drills in the disputed South China Sea, as Washington ramped up its moves against alleged "bullying" in the disputed waterway by Beijing. Eight warships, four aircraft ...
'Ping pong bombs' during ASEAN summit in Bangkok wound three
Several small bombs exploded across Bangkok on Friday, rattling the Thai capital as it hosted a regional summit attended by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and leaving three people wounded. Thailand, which has a grim history of political violence, remains deeply divided after a ...
Japan's Taro Kono urges new U.K. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab to achieve orderly Brexit
Foreign Minister Taro Kono urged his new British counterpart, Dominic Raab, on Thursday to achieve an "orderly" exit from the European Union to minimize the impact on the global economy. In their first talks since Raab was named foreign secretary by British Prime Minister Boris ...
ASEAN nations hope Japan and U.S. can 'shape' behavior of China, Thai expert says
While the Association of Southeast Asian Nations has grown concerned about the impact on the region of trade tensions between the United States and China, the 10-member group has high hopes that Japan and China will step up cooperation in spurring the regional economy ...
U.S. set to push security strategy as Chinese maneuvers rattle region
Recent incidents involving Chinese ships in Southeast Asian waters are testing regional faith in Beijing's sincerity about maritime peace, and aiding a renewed U.S. push to build alliances with countries unnerved by China's assertiveness. Chinese maneuvering in energy-rich stretches of the South China Sea, including ...
Rising tensions in South China Sea cast shadow over ASEAN summit
Rising tensions in the South China Sea and the fallout from the U.S.-China trade war are set to dominate talks this week as top diplomats converge in Bangkok for a key Southeast Asia summit. U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo will be joined at the ...
U.S. willing to hold three-way talks with Japan and South Korea on sidelines of ASEAN forum
A senior U.S. official on Friday expressed willingness to hold a trilateral foreign ministerial meeting with Japan and South Korea on the sidelines of Association of Southeast Asian Nations meetings next week in Bangkok. Foreign Minister Taro Kono, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and ...
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations is considering inviting North Korea's foreign minister as a special guest to an upcoming ASEAN-plus-three meeting of ministers and their counterparts from Japan, China and South Korea, ASEAN sources have said. The idea, floated by South Korea, has been ...
Once dubbed "garbage island" for its overflowing landfills and filthy streets, Taiwan now has Asia's highest rate of recycling and is a role model for the region, analysts said on Thursday. With untreated waste causing marine pollution and clogged drains triggering fatal floods from Bangkok ...
How Japan's clout is rising in age of U.S.-China tensions
As the West's concerns about China's dominance on the global stage continue to grow, Japan is increasingly regarded as a balancing force in the region. Perhaps reflecting this geopolitical shift, London-based think tank The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), known for hosting the annual ...
With future economic payout in mind, ASEAN appears unwilling to get tough on North Korea
In the year that has passed since the historic first U.S.-North Korea nuclear summit in Singapore, ASEAN countries have become unwilling to get tough on the hermit state, with some eyeing economic benefits from Pyongyang in the future. The 10 members of the Association of ...
Outcry as ASEAN predicts 'smooth' Rohingya return to Myanmar
An ASEAN report predicting half a million Rohingya refugees will return to Myanmar in two years has left observers incredulous for glossing over army atrocities, ignoring an ongoing civil war in Rakhine state and failing to mention the persecuted Muslim minority by name. The leaked ...
