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HONG KONG, June 7, 2024 (AFP) – Three people were arrested for turning their backs and remaining seated when China’s national anthem was played prior to Hong Kong’s home World Cup qualifier against Iran, police said Friday. Football fans in Hong Kong used to boo the national anthem as a show of political discontent, but the government in 2020 banned the practice as part of a wider crackdown following huge democracy protests in the city. […]
MANILA, June 4, 2024 (AFP) – The Philippine military said Tuesday that Chinese boats illegally “seized” food and medicine airdropped to a Filipino outpost in the South China Sea. The alleged incident happened on May 19 at Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly Islands, where Filipino troops are garrisoned on a grounded navy vessel to assert Manila’s claims to the waters. Beijing claims almost the entire South China Sea and there has been a series […]
BEIJING, June 4, 2024 (AFP) – A module of a Chinese lunar probe successfully took off from the far side of the Moon on Tuesday carrying samples to be taken back to Earth, state media reported. The achievement is a world first, and the latest leap for Beijing’s decades-old space programme, which aims to send a crewed mission to the Moon by 2030. The ascender module of the Chang’e-6 probe “lifted off from lunar surface”, […]
TAIPEI, June 4, 2024 (AFP) – Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te said on Tuesday that the memory of Beijing’s deadly crackdown at Tiananmen Square “will not disappear in the torrent of history” in a post marking the event’s 35th anniversary. Discussion of the crackdown at Tiananmen Square on June 4, 1989 is highly sensitive for China’s communist leadership, and any mention of it is strictly censored on the mainland. But self-ruled Taiwan commemorates the date with […]
By Jing Xuan Teng and Martin Abbugao SINGAPORE, June 2, 2024 (AFP) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused China on Sunday of working hard to stop countries from going to a peace summit, which Beijing has publicly criticised because Russia is not invited. Zelensky made the remarks at a security forum in Singapore as he sought to rally support for the conference and appealed for more military aid for Ukraine, which has been ceding ground […]
By Jing Xuan TENG SINGAPORE, June 2, 2024 (AFP) – Chinese Defence Minister Dong Jun warned Sunday his military is ready to “forcefully” stop Taiwan independence but called for greater exchanges with the United States. The remarks at an annual security forum in Singapore followed the first substantive face-to-face talks in 18 months between the two countries’ defence chiefs. “We have always been open to exchanges and cooperation, but this requires both sides to meet […]
SINGAPORE, June 2, 2024 (AFP) – China’s defence minister warned Sunday of “limits” to Beijing’s restraint on the South China Sea and over the deployment of ballistic missiles in the Asia-Pacific region. Dong’s remarks at a security forum in Singapore were a clear reference to the Philippines and the United States, which have been boosting defence ties in the face of China’s growing military might and influence. “China has maintained sufficient restraint in the face […]
SINGAPORE, June 1, 2024 (AFP) – US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Saturday the Indo-Pacific region remained a “priority” for Washington, saying the United States was secure “only if Asia is”. Lloyd made the remarks at a major security forum in Singapore, a day after he met with his Chinese counterpart Dong Jun. “The United States can be secure only if Asia is and that’s why the United States has long maintained its presence in […]
By Satish Cheney and Martin Abbugao SINGAPORE, May 31, 2024 (AFP) – Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos said Friday that the presence of the United States was “crucial to regional peace”, as the Southeast Asian country faces growing Chinese pressure in waters off its coastline. Marcos has sought to deepen defence cooperation with the United States as he stands up to Chinese actions in the South China Sea, which Beijing claims almost entirely. “China’s determining influence […]
TAIPEI, May 29, 2024 (AFP) – Taiwan’s parliament passed a package of controversial bills on Tuesday to expand its power as thousands of disapproving protesters rallied outside and chanted “defend democracy”. Proponents say expanded parliamentary powers are needed to curb corruption but critics fear the laws could weaken the self-ruled island’s democracy against the influence of China, which claims it as part of its territory. New Taiwan President Lai Ching-te represents the Democratic Progressive Party […]
BEIJING, May 29, 2024 (AFP) – China on Wednesday vowed military pressure on Taiwan would carry on as long as “independence” provocations continued on the self-ruled island. Last week, China held two days of military drills around Taiwan that saw warships and jets loaded with live munitions practise seizing and isolating the self-ruled island. The exercises were launched three days after Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te took office and made an inauguration speech that China […]
TAIPEI, May 27, 2024 (AFP) – A senior US lawmaker affirmed on Monday Washington’s support for Taiwan against Chinese “aggression”, on the first congressional visit to the self-ruled island since it swore in a new president. Sitting down Monday morning with President Lai Ching-te, Representative Michael McCaul — who heads the influential House Foreign Affairs Committee — said he and his colleagues stood in “strong support of this beautiful island”. Three days after Lai was […]
