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Jesse Johnson
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrive to speak to the press prior to meetings at the State Department in Washington on Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 27, 2023
Top U.S. and China envoys seek 'in-depth' dialogue to stabilize ties
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken for talks that could pave the way for a meeting of the two countries' leaders.
Then-Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu attends the 20th IISS Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore in June.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Oct 25, 2023
Chinese defense chief’s ouster opens door to better military ties with U.S.
Although questions remain over Li Shangfu’s fate, his firing has opened an avenue for resuming high-level military talks with the U.S.
Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu salutes before delivering a speech during the 20th Shangri-La Dialogue summit in Singapore on June 4.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 24, 2023
China ousts defense chief and removes ex-top envoy from Cabinet
Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu has been removed from his positions as defense chief and state councilor, state-run media said.
Japan on Tuesday named Shigeo Yamada (left) its new ambassador to the United States and tapped and former Foreign Ministry top bureaucrat Kenji Kanasugi to be its envoy to China.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 24, 2023
Japan taps new U.S. and China envoys as Tokyo looks to balance ties
The appointments of new envoys to the U.S. and China come amid growing rivalry between Washington and Beijing.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi speaks during an opening ceremony of a diplomatic symposium at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 24, 2023
China's top diplomat to visit U.S. ahead of possible Xi trip
Foreign Minister Wang Yi will be the highest-ranking Chinese official to travel to Washington in about five years.
A China Coast Guard vessel collides with a Philippine resupply vessel in the disputed South China Sea on Sunday, in this image taken from video.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 22, 2023
Philippines and China trade blame over South China Sea collision
The incident occurred near the Second Thomas Shoal, as a Philippine resupply vessel made its way toward a military garrison.
Smoke billows after an Israeli strike on Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, on Sunday amid ongoing fighting between Israel and Palestinian groups.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 22, 2023
Fears grow that Israel-Hamas war could spread across Middle East
Tensions surged as the U.S. said it was sending more military assets to the region and Israel appeared poised for a ground invasion of the Gaza Strip.
Journalists watch a large screen showing Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa addressing the International Peace Summit hosted by the Egyptian president in Cairo on Saturday amid the ongoing fighting between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 21, 2023
Japan FM urges redoubling of diplomacy to halt Israel-Hamas fighting
Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa joined a handful of leaders and officials for a meeting hosted by the Egyptian president in Cairo.
Military vehicles carrying DF-5B intercontinental ballistic missiles in Beijing in 2019
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 20, 2023
Pentagon says China set to have over 1,000 nukes by 2030
The report adds that China has "probably completed" 300 intercontinental ballistic missile silos as it expands its launch facilities.
A Chinese fighter jet is seen during an intercept of a U.S. aircraft in the South China Sea, including by approaching a distance of just 12 meters before repeatedly flying above and below the U.S. aircraft and flashing its weapons.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 18, 2023
U.S. sees 'sharp increase' in Chinese military's 'risky' behavior
The Pentagon said it has documented nearly 300 dangerous incidents that affected U.S., allied and partner aircraft since the fall of 2021.
Defense Minister Minoru Kihara speaks during a meeting with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin at the Pentagon in Washington on Oct. 4.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 16, 2023
Defense chief retracts comments implying LDP vote would be good for SDF
Article 61 of the Self-Defense Forces Law explicitly forbids SDF personnel from engaging in political activity, with the exception of voting.
A field of kochia plants is lit up in the colors of the rainbow at Hitachi Seaside Park in Ibaraki Prefecture, in September.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 15, 2023
Ibaraki regains ignominious crown as least attractive prefecture
This marks the 12th time the prefecture ranked last since the survey began in 2009 — after being dethroned by Saga in 2022.
People evacuated from Israel arrive at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, just south of the South Korean capital, late Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 15, 2023
Japan evacuates eight citizens from Israel as 51 others arrive in Seoul
An SDF aircraft will remain on standby in Djibouti for the possibility of airlifting additional Japanese nationals.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping walks past then-Foreign Minister Qin Gang (front left) and defense chief Li Shangfu (front right) as he arrives for the closing session of the National People's Congress at Beijing's Great Hall of the People in March.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 13, 2023
With purges of top officials, is China’s Xi in trouble? Hardly.
The well-known opacity in Beijing may have clouded assessments of how the turbulence is affecting Xi’s grip on power
A China Coast Guard ship blocks the direction of a Philippine Coast Guard ship conducting a resupply mission for Filipino troops stationed at a grounded warship in the South China Sea on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 7, 2023
Chinese and Philippine coast guard ships come within meter of colliding
The close call came Wednesday near Second Thomas Shoal, about 200 kilometers off the Philippine coast, as Manila was carrying out a resupply mission.
U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping meet on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Nusa Dua, Indonesia, last November.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 7, 2023
Biden says meeting with Xi in November is a 'possibility'
Washington and Beijing are edging closer to setting up a Biden-Xi meeting on the sidelines of the APEC summit in San Francisco from Nov. 16-17.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin welcomes Defense Minister Minoru Kihara to the Pentagon in Washington on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 5, 2023
Japan expedites purchase of Tomahawks as security concerns grow
In light of the increasingly challenging Asian security environment, Japan will acquire the cruise missiles a year earlier than initially planned.
A man walks past a television showing a news broadcast featuring a photo of U.S. soldier Travis King, who ran across the border into North Korea while part of a tour group visiting the Demilitarized Zone on South Korea's border, in Seoul, on Aug. 16.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 28, 2023
U.S. soldier in American custody after release from North Korea
U.S. Army soldier Travis King was released by Pyongyang more than two months after he sprinted across the border from the South in July.
A Philippine Coast Guard member cuts a rope connecting a floating barrier that was installed near Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea, in this undated photo released late Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 26, 2023
Philippines removes floating barrier in South China Sea
Manila said Tuesday said it had conducted “a special operation” to remove a 300-meter floating barrier installed by China.
Anti-war demonstrators mark the 78th anniversary of the United States' 1945 atomic bomb attack on Hiroshima with a march and protest in New York's Times Square on Aug. 6.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Sep 26, 2023
Nuclear specter rises as world marks day for eliminating weapons
The goal of ridding the world of nukes appears more distant than ever as the U.S., Russia and China ramp up activity at their test sites.

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