Category: Week in Review

The U.S. State Department imposed sanctions on a Chinese research institute and several companies it said have been involved in supplying Pakistan's ballistic missile program. Liu Pengyu, spokesperson for China's embassy in Washington, said, "China firmly opposes unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction that have no basis in international ...

China and the Philippines accused each other of deliberately ramming their coast guard ships near the disputed Sabina Shoal on Saturday. A China Coast Guard (CCG) spokesperson said the Philippines ship “deliberately collided with” a Chinese vessel. Meanwhile, officials in Manila said the opposite: that a CCG ship “directly ...

The Indian government is planning to spend $1 billion to expedite the construction of 12 hydroelectric dams in Arunachal Pradesh, a sensitive region near the contested border with China. Beijing denounced the move and said New Delhi has "no right to build in that area and that ...

Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit Kazakstan and Tajikistan this week during a five-day tour that begins on Tuesday.  Xi will also attend a two-day leaders summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization that begins on Wednesday in Astana. (AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE) ...

Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Vietnamese Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính in Beijing on Wednesday for talks that focused on infrastructure development. The Prime Minister is looking for more Chinese support to bolster Vietnam's rail and energy sectors. (VN EXPRESS)

China and the Philippines Inch Closer to Conflict in the South China Sea. Don McLain Gill, a Manila-based geopolitical analyst, said that the situation was now at “a critical juncture” and that “the ball is in the court of the U.S.-Philippines alliance.” (THE DIPLOMAT) ...

Chinese Premier Li Qiang will embark on a three-nation, week-long tour of Asia-Pacific countries on Thursday that will include stops in Malaysia, New Zealand, and Australia. Li's visit to both NZ and Australia will be the first by a Chinese premier in seven years and the first to ...

Australia has asked for military talks with China and is comfortable growing closer to the Philippines, Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles said on Sunday at the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit. (REUTERS) U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin arrived in the Cambodian ...

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will visit Cambodia next week after attending the Shangri-la Dialogue in Singapore. The visit is widely seen as an effort to counter China's enormous influence in the Southeast Asian country. (THE DIPLOMAT) China’s Premier ...

India signed a ten-year contract to run Chabahar port in Iran. The deal follows a 2016 refurbishment agreement and will be the first time an Indian entity runs an overseas port. Chabahar will give India access to nearby Afghanistan and the Gulf of Oman and is aimed at ...

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida took aim at Chinese development financing in developing countries, implicitly accusing Beijing of setting "debt traps." Kishida made the remarks in Brazil on Saturday during a South American tour that is widely seen as an effort to challenge Beijing's growing influence in the ...

China-friendly former foreign minister Jeremiah Manele was elected prime minister of the Solomon Islands on Thursday, defeating an opposition leader intent on curbing Beijing’s reach in the Pacific nation. Manele won 31 votes in a secret ballot of 50 MPs, the climax of a national election that ...