By Alex Kozul-Wright As Israel and Iran exchange deadly salvoes for a fourth day, there are growing concerns that the conflict will spread across one of the world’s key oil- and gas-producing regions. Equity markets initially were roiled after Israel’s surprise attack on Friday but have since stabilised. A day after Israel killed several of […]
Read MoreBy Lawrence Chungin Taipei Beijing has rolled out the red carpet for Ma Ying-jeou, the first former Taiwanese leader to take part in the Straits Forum, the 17th edition of which opened in Fujian province on Sunday. But back home, Ma is facing a fierce backlash from pro-independence politicians and critics, who accuse the former […]
Read MoreUS aircraft carrier USS Nimitz left the South China Sea on Monday morning heading west, according to data from ship tracking website Marine Traffic, after a reception for its planned port call in central Vietnam was cancelled. The carrier had planned to visit Danang City later this week, but two sources, including one diplomat, said […]
Read MoreBy Maria Siow The spotlight is back on the so-called Squad minilateral grouping of nations aimed at countering China’s influence in the Asia-Pacific, after US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth hailed the bloc as the most “strategically positioned to manifest deterrence”. Observers, however, are mixed on such a stance, pointing to Washington’s transactional approach and seemingly erratic […]
Read MoreBy Maziar Motamedi Tehran, Iran – Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says Israel’s attacks on his country could not have materialised without the agreement and support of the United States. “We have well-documented and solid evidence of the support provided by American forces in the region and their bases for the military attacks of the […]
Read MoreBy Jeoffrey Maitem With Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr about halfway through his six-year term, questions are growing over whether his successor will uphold his firmer stance on the South China Sea or, as one senior official has warned, retreat to the symbolic “jet ski” posturing and softer policies seen under his predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte. Last […]
Read MoreThe renewed US-China trade truce struck in London left a key area of export restrictions tied to national security untouched, an unresolved conflict that threatens a more comprehensive deal, two people briefed on detailed outcomes of the talks told Reuters. Beijing has not committed to grant export clearance for some specialized rare-earth magnets that US […]
Read MoreReuters: Britain and four other nations on Tuesday imposed sanctions on two far-right Israeli ministers, Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, accusing them of repeatedly inciting violence against Palestinians in the West Bank. Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Norway joined Britain in freezing the assets and imposing travel bans on Israel’s national security minister Ben-Gvir – […]
Read MoreBy Luna Sun in Beijing and Zhao Ziwen in Washington China and the US have reached a “done deal” that includes rare earth exports from China and Chinese students attending colleges in the US, President Donald Trump said on Wednesday, pointing to a potential breakthrough aimed at easing trade tensions that were reignited by mutual accusations […]
Read MoreSouth Korea’s military said on Wednesday it had suspended loudspeaker broadcasts near the border targeting North Korea, nearly a year after resuming the propaganda and K-pop blasts during a time of growing tension with its neighbour. The step makes good on a promise by President Lee Jae-myung, who took office this month vowing to resume […]
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