“We are confident that there will be no new major changes,” Romualdez said, as quoted by the Manila-based Daily Tribune newspaper. Is the Philippines becoming a US ‘proxy’ against Beijing in the South China Sea? Trump’s administration rejected China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea delineated by Beijing’s historical nine-dash line, which includes much … Read more
At the same time, it has been working towards increasing its defence budget to 2 per cent of its gross domestic product by 2027, which will potentially make it the third biggest defence spender in the world after the United States and China. In addition, back in 2015, when Shinzo Abe was Japanese prime minister, … Read more
The National Security Advisor of the United States, Jake Sullivan, postponed his trip to India this week amid ongoing events in the Middle East. NSA Sullivan looks forward to holding the Initiative for Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) annual review at the next earliest possible date, the US Embassy spokesperson said. “Due to ongoing events … Read more
China has “no reason” to view the first-ever trilateral summit between the US, Japan and the Philippines as a threat, a top White House official said on Friday. “These meetings were not about any one other nation. This was about deepening and revitalising existing alliances and partnerships and strengthening some new ones,” said John Kirby, … Read more
U.S. President Joe Biden said Thursday that U.S. defense commitment to Pacific allies was “ironclad” as he gathered Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the White House on Thursday in the midst of growing concern about provocative Chinese military action in the Indo-Pacific. The U.S. and the Philippines have … Read more
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida began a much-anticipated visit to Washington on Tuesday that spotlights shared concerns about provocative Chinese military action in the Pacific and at a rare moment of public difference between the two nations over a Japanese company’s plan to buy an iconic U.S. company. Kishida and his wife will stop by … Read more
The United States seeks to modernise the command structure of its decades-old security alliance with Japan to deal with a “much more assertive China” including towards Taiwan, US ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel said on Friday as the two countries look to discuss the issue at a coming summit in Washington. Speaking ahead of Japanese … Read more
During his state visit to Berlin, Marcos made it clear he had “no choice” but to defend his country’s sovereign rights in the area. But the Filipino leader also clarified that he was not just rejecting any proposals China made and that diplomacy was still his preferred option. Scholz, who hosted three Southeast Asian leaders … Read more
Despite the EU’s efforts, neither statement includes any mention of Taiwan. The 2024 statement also urges parties to “exercise self-restraint in the conduct of all activities” in the South China Sea and “encourages all countries to avoid any unilateral actions that endanger peace, security, and stability in the region”. A senior EU official said: “On … Read more
