Tag - islands

 
Menu
Search
 
May 04, 2024
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

ISLANDS

Philippine, Australian, Japanese and U.S. warships take part in the four nations' first-ever joint military drills in the South China Sea on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 7, 2024
Philippines, U.S., Australia and Japan hold joint military drills in disputed South China Sea
The exercises came as the Chinese military held a “joint maritime and aerial combat patrol” in an unspecified area of the waterway.
Chinese Coast Guard ships fire water cannons at a Philippine boat during a supply mission near Second Thomas Shoal in the disputed South China Sea on March 5. This incident highlights the danger that such confrontations could have for sparking a wider conflict.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 2, 2024
Beware the steady creep toward crisis in the South China Sea
The Philippines is pushing back. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has adopted a policy of “assertive transparency” to show the world what China is doing.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s order appears to expand the role of the military among the agencies supporting the government's maritime council.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 31, 2024
Philippines' Marcos boosts maritime security as China tension rises
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s order appears to expand the role of the military among the agencies supporting the government's maritime council.
Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 25, 2024
New Zealand troops to help Solomon Islands in election
New Zealand said it will dispatch defense personnel, helicopters and a naval ship to the Solomon Islands to assist in a national election due next month.
A screenshot from a video taken and released Saturday shows China Coast Guard ships deploying water cannons against a Philippine military-chartered civilian supply boat near the Second Thomas Shoal in disputed waters of the South China Sea.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 24, 2024
After clash, China warns Philippines over escalation in South China Sea
China's Defense Ministry issued the warning a day after Manila accused Beijing of damaging a Philippine vessel and injuring its crew with water cannons.
A screenshot from a video taken and released Saturday shows China Coast Guard ships deploying water cannons against a Philippine military-chartered civilian supply boat near the Second Thomas Shoal in disputed waters of the South China Sea.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 23, 2024
Philippines says China Coast Guard again injured crew with water cannon in South China Sea
Chinese vessels severely damaged a Philippine civilian resupply ship as it headed for a military base in the flashpoint Second Thomas Shoal.
Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen visits army bases ahead of the Lunar New Year in Hsinchu, Taiwan, on Feb. 6.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 21, 2024
Citing safety risk, Taiwan president skips South China Sea visit
The official said the South China Sea had been highly militarized, and that the trip may cause international controversy.
Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Philippines' president, speaks during an interview in Manila on Tuesday. Marcos said the threat to his nation from China's sweeping claims in the South China Sea is growing but argued that his government's efforts to assert sovereignty over disputed areas aren't meant to start a conflict by "poking the bear." 
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 20, 2024
Marcos warns on China threat, says he’s not ‘poking the bear’
But since the threat has grown, Manila "must do more" to defend its territory, the Philippine president says.
Philippine Coast Guard personnel film a China Coast Guard vessel during a supply mission in the disputed South China Sea on March 5.
BUSINESS
Mar 11, 2024
U.S. key to Philippines’ plan to tap oil and gas in South China Sea
Manila is seeking to parlay its deepening security ties with Washington into broader economic benefits, the Philippine ambassador to the U.S. said.
Philippine Coast Guard personnel inspect the hull of the ship during a collision incident between the Philippine Coast Guard vessel BRP Sindangan and a Chinese Coast Guard ship in the disputed South China Sea on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 5, 2024
Manila says coast guard ship damaged in 'dangerous' moves by Chinese vessel
The incident comes a day after Philippine Foreign Minister Enrique Manalo called on China to "stop harassing us" and as ASEAN meets in Australia.
The fishing vessel had engine trouble on Sunday off the Kozushima island in the Izu the archipelago.
JAPAN
Mar 4, 2024
One dead, 24 rescued off Japanese fishing boat
Dramatic television footage showed the 56-meter vessel on its side being pounded by waves as the crew huddled on deck and a helicopter hovered overhead.
Philippine Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo speaks during an interview on the sidelines of the Australia-ASEAN summit in Melbourne on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 4, 2024
Philippines foreign minister urges China to 'stop harassing us'
Philippine Foreign Minister Enrique Manalo was speaking on the sidelines of an ASEAN-Australia summit in Melbourne.
A U.S. B-52 bomber conducts joint training with Air Self-Defense Force F-2 fighter jets on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 2, 2024
Japanese fighter jets and U.S. bombers train over Sea of Japan and East China Sea
The joint exercises over the two waterways were seen as a show of deterrence to both Beijing and Pyongyang.
A Chinese coast guard ship near the China-controlled Scarborough Shoal, in disputed waters of the South China Sea on Feb. 16.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 29, 2024
China militia presence increases in South China Sea: report
Satellite imagery of nine features in the sea, including reefs and shoals, identified an average of 195 militia ships present on any given day in 2023.
A floating barrier at the entrance of Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea on Feb. 22
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 27, 2024
Satellite images reveal floating barrier at mouth of disputed atoll in South China Sea
China claims the Scarborough Shoal, although it is inside the Philippines' 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone.
Police officers stand guard around a venue during a Takeshima Day event in Matsue, the capital of Shimane Prefecture, on Thursday.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Feb 22, 2024
Annual event held reinforcing Japan's claim on South Korea-held islets
Authorities in Shimane Prefecture designated Feb. 22 as Takeshima Day in 2005, a century after the Cabinet placed them under the prefecture's jurisdiction.
Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa (far left) and the prime minister of Samoa, Fiame Naomi Mataafa (far right), meet in Apia, the capital of Samoa, on Feb. 10.
COMMENTARY
Feb 21, 2024
Japan plays a game of Pacific islands geopolitical chess
The influx of Chinese investment and activities have introduced risk for some Pacific island nations, moves which Japan cannot ignore.
Taiwan's coast guard said it would continue to use radar, surveillance and patrols to ensure the "harmony and safety" of the waters near the Taiwan-controlled Kinmen islands, which are close to China's shores.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 21, 2024
Taiwan drives away Chinese coast guard boat as tensions rise
The Chinese coast guard vessel had entered Taiwan's waters near Kinmen a day after officers from the agency boarded a Taiwanese tourist boat.
Filipino fishermen aboard their wooden boats sail past a Chinese coast guard ship near the China-controlled Scarborough Shoal, in disputed waters of the South China Sea on Feb. 15.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 20, 2024
Philippines joint air patrol with U.S. to 'protect territory'
China claims sovereignty over most of the South China Sea, a conduit for more than $3 trillion of commercial shipping annually.
Taiwanese Coast Guard crew surround an overturned Chinese speed boat near the Kinmen Islands on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 18, 2024
China to send coast guard ships as tensions rise over Taiwanese islands
Taiwan defended its moves after two people on a Chinese speedboat, which got too close to a front-line Taiwanese island, died when their boat overturned.
Biden calls ally Japan ‘xenophobic’ along with rivals China and Russia
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks in Syracuse, New York, on April 25.
Yen swings stir talk that Japan is in the FX market once again
An electronic screen in Tokyo displays the yen exchange rate against the U.S. dollar and the graph showing its recent swings, on Thursday.
Harajuku strives to reclaim its former glory — and surpass it
Laforet Harajuku, which celebrated its 45th anniversary last year, has been a witness to the district's evolution over the years.
Weak yen fattens tourist wallets in Japan
People visit the Ameya Yokocho market in Tokyo's Ueno district during the Golden Week holiday on Tuesday.
Japan's May 1 intervention may have cost ¥3.66 trillion, BOJ data suggests
An electronic screen displays a graph showing Japanese yen exchange rates surging against the dollar amid signs of intervention by authorities, in Tokyo on Thursday.
Kishida sets sights on energy and climate in South America trip
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will use a policy speech in Sao Paulo to set out his vision for ties between Japan and South America, almost 10 years after former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe advocated for stronger ties between the two in the same city.
Yellow sand allergy: A health issue made worse by climate change
A screenshot of the Meteorological Agency's satellite image of clouds and yellow sand (in pink) on Sunday.
Climate change, chalky grains and the risks for Japan’s rice farmers
A farmer plants seedlings in Satsumasendai, Kagoshima Prefecture. Japan’s self sufficiency rate for rice is nearly 100%, compared with 38% for food overall, on a calorie basis.
Japan wants you to spend more with ‘luxury tourism’
Performers play a traditional drum unique to Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, in the prefectural capital of Kanazawa on March 16 to mark the extension of the Hokuriku Shinkansen line to Tsuruga Station in Fukui Prefecture.
Theaster Gates’ ambitious ‘Afro-Mingei’ brings Black Chicago to Tokyo
Theaster Gates' “A Heavenly Chord” lines up church pews before seven speakers and a Hammond B3 organ, a type of electric organ prevalent in Black American churches.

Podcast

From easily navigable train stations to the helpfulness of its municipal staff, Tokyo has earned high praise for its commitment to accessibility for disabled travelers.
[Rebroadcast] Japan is doing better on accessibility than you may think

Longform

Rows of irises resemble a rice field at the Peter Walker-designed Toyota Municipal Museum of Art.
The 'outsiders' creating some of Japan's greenest spaces
By Stephen Mansfield

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Prize winner Maki Imoto catches light with glass
Prize winner Maki Imoto catches light with glass

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER