Tag - islands

 
 

ISLANDS

U.S. and Philippine Marines fire M198 155mm Howitzer artillery during a live-fire exercise against an imaginary "invasion" force as part of the joint U.S.-Philippines annual Balikatan military drills on a strip of sand dunes in Laoag on Luzon island's northwest coast on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 6, 2024
Philippines and U.S. fire at 'invasion' force in South China Sea war games
Lt. Gen. Michael Cederholm, commander of the U.S. First Marine Expeditionary Force, said the exercise was "to prepare for the worst."
Crew members check an SH-60K helicopter on the deck of the Maritime Self-Defense Force's Hyuga-class destroyer JS Ise during a three-day maritime exercise between the United States and Japan in the Philippine Sea on Jan. 31.
JAPAN
May 3, 2024
MSDF chopper crash likely caused by human factors
The accident off the Pacific island of Torishima on the night of April 20 left one crew member dead and seven other still missing.
Solomon Islands’ newly elected Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele speaks during a press conference outside the Parliament House in Honiara on Thursday. Manele was elected defeated an opposition leader intent on curbing Beijing's reach in the Pacific nation.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 2, 2024
China-friendly Manele elected as Solomon Islands PM
Manele chosen over an opposition leader intent on curbing Beijing's reach in the Pacific nation.
Solomon Islands’ Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare arrives at Parliament House to attend the new prime minister’s voting session in Honiara on Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 2, 2024
Solomon Islands lawmakers to elect PM, with consequences for China
Incumbent Manasseh Sogavare withdrew from the contest after failing to secure an election majority.
An aerial view of the remote islands known as Takeshima in Japan and Dokdo in Korea
JAPAN / Politics
May 1, 2024
South Korean lawmakers land on Japanese-claimed islets
Seventeen people, including three lawmakers of South Korea's main opposition Democratic Party, visited Takeshima, which is known as Dokdo by Seoul.
The Philippine Coast Guard ship BRP Bagacay being hit by water cannon from China Coast Guard vessels near the Chinese-controlled Scarborough shoal in the disputed South China Sea in this screen shot from video taken and released Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 30, 2024
Philippines says China Coast Guard fired water cannon at its vessels
The incident was the latest to occur between the two countries at the disputed atoll in the South China Sea.
Solomon Islands' Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare speaks during a bilateral meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing last July.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 30, 2024
Solomon Islands pro-China PM says not standing for new term
During four spasmodic spells as the Pacific nation's leader, the 69-year-old Sogavare has maneuvered through armed coups, riots and the rise of China.
A Japan Coast Guard vessel sails near one of the disputed East China Sea islands that Japan calls the Senkakus and China calls Diaoyu, in August 2013.
JAPAN
Apr 28, 2024
China confronts Japanese politicians visiting near disputed East China Sea islets
The Japanese group, including former Defense Minister Tomomi Inada, was on an inspection mission organized by the city of Ishigaki, in Okinawa Prefecture.
The city government of Ishigaki, Okinawa Prefecture, has conducted its third marine survey around the Senkaku Islands.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 28, 2024
Okinawa's Ishigaki uses drone for first time during marine survey around Senkakus
During the survey, China Coast Guard vessels entered Japanese waters around the islands and attempted to interfere with the city's ship.
Chinese President Xi Jinping. Ever-growing tensions in the South China Sea all point to an uncomfortable truth for Southeast Asian nations, as well as the U.S.: In this standoff, China is winning.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 24, 2024
Xi’s armada is winning the battle for energy in South China Sea
China’s increasingly assertive stance has sparked a flurry of diplomatic and military efforts aimed at countering Beijing’s footprint.
Lt. Gen. William Jurney, U.S. director for the Balikatan joint military exercise, talks during an opening ceremony in Quezon City, suburban Manila, on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 22, 2024
U.S. and Philippine troops kick off drills as China tensions mount
The U.S. and Philippine militaries will exercise outside of Philippine territorial waters in the South China Sea for the first time since 1991.
Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare speaks during a visit to Beijing last July.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 22, 2024
Pro-China Solomon Islands PM fails to secure outright majority
Manasseh Sogavare's Our Party has won 12 seats with six contests still in play — well short of a majority in the 50-seat parliament.
Crew aboard a Philippines Coast Guard vessel eye a Chinese Coast Guard ship in waters off the Philippines in November 2023.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 18, 2024
Philippine Coast Guard to attend joint military drills with U.S. in first
More than 16,700 Filipino and American troops will participate in the drills, set to focus on potential flashpoints in the South China Sea and near Taiwan.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin speaks during a news conference at the Pentagon in Washington in May last year. Austin held talks with his Chinese counterpart on Tuesday for the first time in nearly a year and a half.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 17, 2024
U.S. and China defense chiefs hold first talks in nearly 18 months
While the talks signaled improving military-to-military ties, the two superpowers remain at odds over a number of issues.
Solomon Islanders queue up to vote outside a polling station in Honiara on Wednesday. The election could reshape regional security, with citizens effectively choosing if their Pacific nation will deepen ties with China.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 17, 2024
China and Taiwan ties hang in the balance in Solomon Islands vote
While domestic issues will be key to voters’ choices, the result will have repercussions for the islands’ ties with China.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa at a Cabinet meeting in Tokyo in March.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 16, 2024
Japan's security environment at its 'most severe and complex,' policy report says
While North Korea and Russia pose challenges, some of the strongest words were reserved for China.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos answers questions from the media in Manila on Monday. Marcos has said that the Philippines will invoke its defense treaty with the U.S. if a Filipino soldier dies from a foreign attack.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 16, 2024
Philippines may invoke U.S. pact if foreign attack proves deadly, says Marcos
Making the comments Monday, the Philippine president referred to his conversation with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin last week at the Pentagon.
Daniel Kritenbrink, assistant secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs at the U.S. Department of State (left), and Nami Kritenbrink arrive to attend a state dinner in honor of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida hosted by U.S. President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden at the White House in Washington on April 10.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 16, 2024
U.S. and China officials discuss Middle East, Taiwan and South China Sea
The meetings come ahead of the May presidential inauguration in democratically governed Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its territory.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., (center) speaks during a meeting at the White House in Washington on Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 15, 2024
Marcos questions ‘secret’ Duterte-China deal on sea dispute
Duterte said the verbal agreement involved keeping the status quo.
Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare and Chinese President Xi Jinping shake hands at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on July 10.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 15, 2024
Opposition figurehead decries China's 'alarming' sway in Solomon Islands
The archipelago is the unlikely focal point of a diplomatic scramble pitting a rising China against Western rivals.

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