NEWSWORTHY
Xi's Manila visit yields raft of deals as Duterte furthers embrace of China
Xi Jinping sealed a raft of deals Tuesday during a trip to Manila as Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's administration shrugs off U.S. warnings about accepting Chinese cash. Xi's two-day trip marks the first state visit to the Philippines by a Chinese president in 13 years. ...
U.S. flies B-52 bombers near disputed islands in South China Sea
The U.S. Air Force has flown two B-52 bombers near disputed islands in the South China Sea, the military said in a statement. The U.S. Pacific Air Forces said that the two Guam-based bombers had conducted training "in the vicinity of the South China Sea" ...
Japan-based carrier USS Ronald Reagan set to make port call in Hong Kong amid U.S.-China tensions
The U.S. Navy's Kanagawa-based aircraft carrier, the USS Ronald Reagan, is due to make a port call in Hong Kong on Wednesday, a notice posted to the website of the city's maritime authority said, nearly two months after China denied a request by another ...
At ASEAN and APEC summits, Asian leaders work toward pacts on South China Sea and trade
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 ...
Freedom of navigation? Defiant U.S. Vice President Mike Pence flies over disputed South China Sea
Vice President Mike Pence has undertaken a kind of "freedom of navigation" operation of his own over the disputed South China Sea, an interview published Tuesday revealed ahead of Pence's visit to Singapore for a series of meetings in the region. In an interview with ...
Xi seen expanding China's Pacific footprint at Australia's expense as Trump snubs APEC confab
For Xi Jinping, diplomatic wins rarely come this easily: Just showing up at an Asia-Pacific summit this week would help score a victory for China. With U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin staying away from Papua New Guinea — an economy smaller ...
Pence subs for Trump at summits with skeptical Asian nations
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 ...
U.S. defense chief works to keep rising Sino-American tensions from boiling over
When the United States imposed sanctions on China's military this fall, China retaliated by canceling Defense Secretary Jim Mattis' plans to meet his counterpart in Beijing. But just days later, a Chinese general visited the Pentagon with a reassuring message: Beijing valued the importance ...
In first, Washington calls on Beijing to remove missiles from South China Sea
The United States has for the first time urged China to remove missile systems deployed to contested man-made islands in the South China Sea, the Pentagon said Friday. The move, believed to be the first time the U.S. had directly addressed the issue, came in ...
Australia invests in developing Papua New Guinea naval base with eye toward interoperability
Australia announced Thursday it will invest in redeveloping a Papua New Guinea naval base as concerns mount over increasing Chinese influence in the South Pacific. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and his Papua New Guinea counterpart, Peter O'Neill, met in Sydney to sign the joint ...
Are U.S. FONOPs upholding freedom or stirring up trouble?
U.S. freedom of navigation missions in the South China Sea are aimed at preventing Beijing from establishing a sphere of influence.
U.S. to press patrols in disputed sea as China warns 'meddlers'
The U.S. Navy will continue patrolling the disputed South China Sea, a top navy official said Monday, after a Chinese destroyer came dangerously close to an American ship during a "freedom of navigation" sail-by near a Chinese-occupied reef. Admiral John Richardson, who heads U.S. naval ...
