TAIPEI, TAIWAN — Defense officials in Taiwan say China has deployed nearly 90 naval and coast guard vessels in waters stretching from islands in the south of Japan to the South China Sea. The deployment is the largest to regional waters in almost three decades, Taiwanese officials say, and part of what appears to be…
VIENTIANE, LAOS — Southeast Asian defense chiefs met Thursday with their counterparts from China, the United States and other nations in Laos for security talks, which come as Beijing’s increasingly assertive stance in its claim to most of the South China Sea is leading to more confrontations. The closed-door talks put U.S. Secretary of Defense…
Vientiane, Laos — Southeast Asian leaders stepped up pressure on China to respect international law following clashes in the disputed South China Sea during annual summit talks on Thursday, but Chinese Premier Li Qiang was defiant as he blamed “external forces” for interfering in regional affairs. The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ meeting with…
Taipei, Taiwan — As the United States and other like-minded countries hold joint military exercises in the South China Sea, Chinese vessels have been aggressively asserting Beijing’s territorial claims in the hotly contested waterway, testing the resolve of the Philippines, Malaysia and Vietnam. Last week on September 26, China used two missile boats and a…
WASHINGTON — Vietnam Wednesday protested China’s reported behavior toward fishermen near the disputed Paracel Islands in the South China Sea after Vietnamese state media said Chinese personnel boarded a Vietnamese fishing boat and beat crew members. The Vietnamese reporting said Chinese government personnel Sunday attacked the boat, leaving 10 fishermen with injuries, some serious. Vietnam’s…
washington — President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida discussed diplomacy with China and their shared concerns over “coercive and destabilizing activities” in the South China Sea during a meeting on Saturday at the Quad Leaders Summit in Wilmington, Delaware, the White House said. Biden and Kishida also reiterated their resolve to maintain…
BANGKOK — Military leaders from the U.S. and China met in Beijing for routine talks that only resumed in January after being suspended for two years as ties between the two countries soured. The meetings ended Sunday and officials discussed ongoing issues such as Taiwan, the Russia-Ukraine war and clashes in the South China Sea….
Taipei, Taiwan — As China is set to host bilateral talks with the Philippines this month, their South China Sea dispute is expanding from sea to air, increasing the risk of military confrontation, analysts warn. The Chinese Communist Party’s People’s Daily newspaper on Monday published an article warning that “China-Philippines relations stand at a crossroads”…