Category: Week in Review

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 ...

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will visit China next month in a bid to "restore confidence" following a series of terrorist attacks against Chinese interests in the South Asia country. Sharif will try to reassure officials in Beijing that the development of the $65 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor remains ...

Russia is building new trade routes to Asia that will circumvent international sanctions by crossing the Arctic and passing through Iran to the Indian Ocean. The new routes will cut transport times to China and India by up to 50% while avoiding dangerous passages like the Red Sea. 

Apple assembled $14 billion worth of iPhones in India in its last fiscal year, providing more evidence of the electronics giant's rapid diversification of its supply chain beyond China. The company also hopes improved sales in the Indian market will help offset slumping demand for Apple products in ...

Indonesia's President-elect Prabowo Subianto met with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday in Beijing and promised his new government will maintain close ties with Beijing. Prabowo is now in Tokyo for two days where he will deliver a similar message to Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. (ASSOCIATED ...

Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang provided fresh assurances on Tuesday to his Sri Lankan counterpart Dinesh Gunawardena that Beijing will assist Colombo in its debt restructuring process. Gunawardena is visiting Beijing this week and raised the issue of Sri Lanka's $7.1 billion outstanding loans owed to Chinese creditors.