Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Allison Hooker at a meeting last week in New Delhi. Photo: Handout

    US rejects claims of Indo-Pacific retreat, says aid is being recalibrated to counter China

    Senior US officials on Monday pushed back against suggestions of American retreat from the Indo-Pacific, declaring that Washington is recalibrating its foreign assistance to more effectively outcompete China in the strategically vital region while maintaining support for allies through targeted aid and security cooperation. The focus, they said, is shifting away from broad assistance towards…

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    Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Japan would lift defence spending to 2 per cent of GDP by March – well ahead of her party’s earlier timelines. Photo: AFP

      Beijing bristles as Japan weighs missile export to Philippines

      Tokyo is considering exporting a missile system to the Philippines as it seeks to ease its weapons-export restrictions, Japanese media reported – a move likely to draw criticism from Beijing. The missile system, dubbed Type 03 Medium-Range Surface-to-Air Missile, is of the same type that Tokyo plans to deploy on Yonaguni, an island only 110…

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      Philippines’ No 1 Asean chair priority? A South China Sea code, then a visit by Xi

      Philippines’ No 1 Asean chair priority? A South China Sea code, then a visit by Xi

      It was a fleeting handshake, but one that Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr made sure was caught on camera. On November 1, Marcos approached Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Apec handover ceremony in Gyeongju, South Korea, to offer his congratulations as Beijing assumed the trade bloc’s 2026 chairmanship. A Filipino photographer was on hand…

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