Tag - islands

 
 

ISLANDS

Chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Gen. Romeo Brawner (left), and Yoshihide Yoshida, chief of staff of the Joint Staff of the Self-Defense Forces, in Manila in July
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 2, 2024
Philippines and Japan militaries hold first joint exercises in South China Sea
The drills, which took place within the Philippines' exclusive economic zone, followed similar exercises between Manila and Washington on Wednesday.
Upper House lawmaker Muneo Suzuki speaks to reporters in Moscow on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 30, 2024
Pro-Moscow lawmaker Muneo Suzuki visits Russia again
The Upper House member defied the central government by flying to Moscow for talks with senior Russian officials.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin (left), U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken (second from left), Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo (second from right), and Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro pose for a photo ahead of the allies' "two-plus-two" meeting at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City, Metro Manila, on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jul 30, 2024
Philippines gets 'unprecedented' aid — and reassurances — during talks with U.S.
Manila will receive $500 million in security assistance, months before the U.S. votes in a contentious presidential election.
Migrants take part in an activity organized by the nongovernmental organization Proem-AID's Water Project to overcome the traumatic experience of a dangerous sea crossing, on Las Teresitas beach in Santa Cruz De Tenerife, Spain, on Wednesday.
WORLD / Society
Jul 26, 2024
Volunteers help migrants reverse water trauma in Spain's Canaries
Many migrants barely survived their crossing, and others lost family members or friends to the ocean.
Minamitorishima
JAPAN
Jul 25, 2024
Ground Self-Defense Force eyes missile training on remote Tokyo island
The GSDF is holding talks with local communities in hopes of starting missile training on Minamitorishima in 2026.
Foreign ministers from ASEAN member countries pose for a photo before a meeting session in Vientiane, Laos, on Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jul 25, 2024
ASEAN seeks to tackle the Myanmar crisis and South China Sea tensions
ASEAN's foreign ministers will discuss efforts to end the Myanmar conflict that has turned into a civil war.
A woman watches as soldiers practice laying mines and nets to stymie the landing of enemy forces at the mouth of a major river leading to the city in Taipei on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 24, 2024
China squeezes Taiwan by targeting islands and fishing sites
Mostly using its Coast Guard, Beijing appears to be asserting itself in new ways around Taiwan’s offshore outposts.
A Philippine flag flutters from BRP Sierra Madre, a dilapidated Philippine Navy ship that has been aground since 1999 and became a Philippine military detachment on the disputed Second Thomas Shoal, part of the Spratly Islands, in the South China Sea, on March 29, 2014.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jul 23, 2024
Manila will still assert South China Sea rights after China resupply deal
The provisional arrangement with Beijing “will not prejudice our respective national positions,” the Philippines’ Department of Foreign Affairs says.
The grounded Philippine Navy ship BRP Sierra Madre, where marines are stationed to assert Manila's territorial claims at Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea's Spratly Island chain, is seen in April last year.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jul 22, 2024
Philippines and China reach 'arrangement' for reef resupply missions
Manila did not provide details of the arrangement, but said Monday that here will be no prior notification from it to China for the routine missions.
SH-60K patrol helicopter
JAPAN
Jul 21, 2024
MSDF chopper in crash that left eight dead found on seabed
An unmanned probe found what appeared to be a helicopter on the seabed.
Jake Sullivan
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jul 20, 2024
U.S. to support Philippines' efforts to resupply ship on atoll
The U.S. "will do what is necessary" to see that the Manila is able to resupply the vessel in the disputed South China Sea, national security adviser Jake Sullivan said.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and the Cook Islands' Prime Minister Mark Brown shake hands during 10th Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting on Thursday in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jul 18, 2024
With eye on China, Japan deepens ties with Pacific islands at Tokyo summit
Collaborations have been agreed in seven fields, including technology and connectivity, climate change, people-centered development and security.
The background footage shows a Chinese Coast Guard ship using a water cannon against a Filipino resupply vessel, during a news conference at the Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila in August 2023.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 18, 2024
The risky business of standing up to Beijing
Philippines faces balancing act between economic interests and territorial rights.
Protesters mark the eighth anniversary of the 2016 arbitration ruling over China's claims in the South China Sea, in Quezon City, Philippines, on Friday. Beijing still refuses to abide by the ruling.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 17, 2024
South China Sea ruling anniversary and the disregard for the rule of law
Last Friday marked the eighth anniversary of the Philippines-China South China Sea arbitral tribunal ruling. That decision was a win for Manila.
Philippine National Security Adviser Eduardo Ano efforts were underway to de-escalate tensions in the South China Sea where Manila and Beijing have accused each other of aggressive behavior.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jul 12, 2024
Manila rejects ‘use of force’ to undermine its South China Sea interests
Amid efforts to de-escalate tensions between the Philippines and China, Manila's national security adviser outlines its commitment to dialogue and diplomacy.
A meeting on judicial issues facing Pacific island countries was held in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Jul 10, 2024
Japan to help Pacific island nations promote rule of law
The ministry has been supporting Southeast Asian countries in improving their judicial systems since the 1990s.
The Philippine-occupied Thitu Island, locally known as Pag-asa, in the contested Spratly Islands of the South China Sea in March 2023
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jul 9, 2024
Philippines rejects China's claim it has damaged coral in South China Sea
Manila has called for an independent, third party marine scientific assessment of the causes of damage to coral reef ecosystems in the South China Sea.
An aerial view shows the BRP Sierra Madre on the contested Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea on March 9, 2023. On Saturday, Manila accused China of intimidation over its anchoring of its largest coast guard vessel in the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone in the South China Sea.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jul 8, 2024
China anchors 'monster ship' in South China Sea: Philippine coast guard
The anchoring of the 165-meter Chinese coast guard vessel in the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone is “intimidation,” Manila says.
Philippine Coast Guard personnel prepare rubber fenders after China Coast Guard vessels blocked their way to a resupply mission at the Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea in March.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 6, 2024
Philippines turned down U.S. help amid South China Sea tensions
The U.S., a treaty ally, has offered support but Manila prefers to handle operations on its own, Armed Forces Chief Gen. Romeo Brawner said.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi speaks during a news conference at the Prime Minister's Office on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 6, 2024
Japan criticizes China over buoy in Pacific Ocean
The Chinese side said that the buoy is for tsunami observation and not intended to violate Japan's sovereign rights over its continental shelf.

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’