Tag: diplomacy

Biden welcomes ASEAN leaders with energy, security pledges

by Shaun TANDON President Joe Biden on Thursday welcomed Southeast Asian leaders to Washington, promising support for clean energy and maritime security in the face of a rising China. The Biden administration made the pledge as it opened a two-day summit with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, part of a campaign to show that the United States still prioritizes Asia despite months of intense focus on repelling Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The White House […]

China’s President Xi congratulates Marcos, says he is confident of ‘stronger’ China-Philippines ties

  (Eagle News) — China’s President Xi Jinping has sent his congratulatory message to the Philippines’ president elect former senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr on his election as president, adding to the list of world leaders who recognized the landslide win of the son of the late president Ferdinand Marcos. China and the Philippines are neighbors facing each other across the sea and partners through thick and thin, China’s Xinhua news agency quoted Xi as […]

US eyes trade deal-lite as ASEAN leaders gather

by Shaun TANDON The United States is preparing a scaled-back version of a trade pact as Southeast Asian nations gather in Washington, where President Joe Biden is seeking to show solid commitment in the face of a rising China. Leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations will meet Biden for dinner Thursday at the start of a two-day summit, part of a renewed US focus on Asia after months of intense effort on Ukraine. […]

Solomons PM dismisses concerns over China maritime deal

HONIARA, Solomon Islands (AFP) —  The Solomon Islands’ prime minister dismissed criticism of a new maritime investment deal with China on Wednesday, saying there was nothing “sinister” in the draft agreement. The new agreement, a copy of which has been leaked to the media, comes after a controversial security pact was signed last month. The pact sparked alarm in Australia and the United States, which feared it could lead to Beijing securing a military foothold […]

UN calls for end to Russian war in Ukraine

  UNITED NATIONS, United States (AFP) — The United Nations and several countries called Thursday for an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine, with little mention of reviving the two countries’ apparently stalled peace talks. “Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is a violation of its territorial integrity and of the Charter of the United Nations,” said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres at a Security Council meeting organized by the United States. “It must end for the sake […]

Israel slams Russian claims on Hitler over Ukraine war

  JERUSALEM, Undefined | AFP  Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid on Monday slammed his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov for alleging Adolf Hitler may have “had Jewish blood” and summoned Moscow’s ambassador for “clarifications”. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, Israel has sought to keep a delicate balance between the two sides, but remarks by Lavrov to an Italian channel sparked anger in Israel. Moscow has previously said it wants to “de-militarise” and “de-Nazify” […]

Russia expels eight Japanese diplomats

Moscow said Wednesday it was expelling eight Japanese diplomats in a tit-for-tat response to expulsions by Tokyo over the conflict in Ukraine. Accusing Tokyo of pursuing an “openly hostile anti-Russian course,” the foreign ministry said in a statement that the Japanese diplomats must leave by May 10, in a reciprocal answer to Japan’s expulsion of eight Russian diplomats. It accused Tokyo of “taking steps that were unprecedented in modern Russian-Japanese relations” and “abandoning friendly, constructive […]

Biden to travel to South Korea and Japan in May

US President Joe Biden will travel to South Korea and Japan in May, the White House announced Wednesday, paying a visit to two of Washington’s main Asian allies amid tensions with rival China and regional foe North Korea. During the May 20-24 trip, Biden will meet the leaders of the two countries with the aim of advancing his “administration’s rock-solid commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific and to US treaty alliances with the Republic of Korea and […]

Chinese troops in Solomons ‘likely’: Australian minister

  SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — China is “very likely” to put troops in the Solomon Islands after signing a contentious security deal with the Pacific nation, Australia’s home affairs minister said Wednesday. The deal was announced by Beijing last Tuesday, just weeks after a draft version leaked on social media and sparked concern it could open the door to a Chinese military presence in the South Pacific. Asked how realistic it was that China would […]

US ‘deeply troubled’ by ‘unjust’ conviction of Turkish activist Kavala: State Dept

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States was “deeply troubled” by the conviction Monday of a leading Turkish activist, calling his life sentence on controversial charges of trying to topple the government “unjust,” the State Department said. “The United States is deeply troubled and disappointed by the court’s decision to convict Osman Kavala,” a critic of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who had already been jailed without a conviction for more than four years, State […]

Japan says disputed islands ‘illegally occupied’ by Russia

  TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan described four disputed islands as “illegally occupied” by Russia for the first time in nearly two decades on Friday as ties sour between the countries over the war in Ukraine. The two nations have long been engaged in attempts to agree a post-World War II treaty, but the islands held by Moscow and claimed by Tokyo remain a key sticking point. Japan’s foreign ministry last used the expression in […]

US warns on China pact as diplomats head to Solomon Islands

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States on Monday voiced alarm over a potential security deal between China and the Solomon Islands, as top US diplomats headed to the South Pacific to curb Beijing’s inroads. Kurt Campbell and Daniel Kritenbrink, the top officials on Asia at the National Security Council and State Department respectively, will lead the delegation traveling this week to the Solomon Islands, Fiji and Papua New Guinea. A leaked draft of […]