HANOI: US-China rivalry is set to dominate discussions as the foreign ministers of 10 South-east Asian countries begin an online summit today, with Washington’s top diplomat ready to take aim at Beijing’s “bullying” in the South China Sea. The summit comes just days after China launched ballistic missiles in the […]
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TAIPEI: Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen called today for an alliance of democracies to defend against “aggressive actions” and protect freedom, alluding to Chinese actions in the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait as major threats to regional stability. China, which claims democratic Taiwan as its own, has ramped up its […]
Greece, which emerged from its third international bailout in 2018 and has been struggling with the economic impact of the coronavirus crisis, wants to spend part of its multi-billion euro cash reserves on its defence sector. Greece plans to acquire arms, boost its armed forces and revamp its defence industry, […]
Trump, who long touted friendly ties with Chinese President Xi Jinping as he sought to make good on promises to rebalance a massive trade deficit, has made getting tough on China a key part of his campaign for re-election on November 3. With the US election approaching, President Donald Trump […]
SYDNEY: Two Australian media firms have rushed two of their China-based reporters from the country after police there demanded interviews with both journalists, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reported today. An ABC correspondent based in Beijing and the Australian Financial Review’s (AFR) correspondent based in Shanghai boarded a flight to […]
BEIJING: China accused Indian troops of violating a bilateral agreement and firing warning shots in the air during a confrontation with Chinese personnel on the disputed border on Monday, amid renewed tensions between the two countries. Chinese border guards took “countermeasures” to stabilise the situation, Zhang Shuili, spokesman for the […]
WASHINGTON: Republican President Donald Trump, accused by Joe Biden of putting lives at risk in his handling of the coronavirus, yesterday called his Democratic rival “stupid” and demanded an apology for what Trump called anti-vaccine rhetoric. Trailing in national opinion polls as the US death toll from the virus approaches […]
TOKYO: Japan’s chief cabinet secretary Yoshihide Suga signalled the possibility of calling a snap election if he were to become the country’s next prime minister, the Asahi newspaper reported today. Suga, a frontrunner to succeed incumbent prime minister Shinzo Abe, also stressed Japan’s resolve to hold next year’s Tokyo Olympic […]
HONG KONG: Lawyers representing some of the Hong Kongers captured by the Chinese coastguard as they allegedly tried to flee the financial hub by speedboat told AFP today that they have been denied access to their clients. Mainland authorities announced a group of 12 Hong Kongers were intercepted some 70 […]
GUWAHATI (India): The Indian Army has asked its Chinese counterpart if five civilians who went missing from an eastern border state days ago were in their custody, an Indian military spokesman said today. Relations between the nuclear-armed Asian giants have hit a multi-decade low since clashes at their western Himalayan […]