ASEAN

A group of 17 Philippine business organizations issued a rare statement denouncing China’s attack on Filipino naval personnel.

The strange disappearance of Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang has become a major embarrassment for the regime in Beijing, as speculation grows that he has been silenced and purged for political reasons or personal misbehavior.

Chinese dictator Xi Jinping and his Russian junior partner Vladimir Putin emerged from meetings in Moscow on Tuesday to issue various declarations and joint statements. One of them expressed “serious concern” about the “military biological activities” of the United States and demanded “clarifications” from the U.S. government.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen announced Monday that he had tested positive for coronavirus just two days after meeting with President Joe Biden and other world leaders at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The Foreign Ministry of Indonesia issued remarks on Thursday insisting it was not offended that no American government officials greeted President Joko Widodo upon his arrival in Washington on Tuesday.

China is determined to match its aggressive military talk in South-East Asia with spending. A report by the Lowy Institute in Australia shows in 2021 it achieved just that as other reports indicate Beijing is looking to establish its first permanent military presence on the Atlantic Ocean in the tiny Central African country of Equatorial Guinea.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) announced over the weekend that General Min Aung Hlaing, leader of the military junta in Myanmar, will not be invited to the association’s October 26-28 summit. The unprecedented snub of Gen. Hlaing was welcomed by the Burmese opposition, which asked ASEAN to go even further and invite a representative from the civilian shadow government.

Chinese state media spent the weekend celebrating the announcement of a massive trade deal with 14 other Asia-Pacific nations — including key U.S. allies like Japan, South Korea, and Australia, but not the United States itself — as the “end of U.S. hegemony in the West Pacific.”

China’s state-run Global Times on Sunday celebrated the return of “old friend” Joe Biden to power, reminiscing fondly about Biden’s “noodle diplomacy,” named after his visit to a modest Beijing eatery when he was vice president in 2011.

Britain sees huge trading opportunities in Southeast Asia and seeks to build a “new modern and dynamic” relationship with the region.

Indonesia on Friday announced it would increase maritime patrols around islands in the South China Sea, a few days after Chinese coast guard vessels “trespassed” near the northern Natuna Islands.

Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin, Jr., President Rodrigo Duterte’s top diplomat, replied “fuck you” to a reporter on Twitter on Wednesday for sending him the text of a law that requires him and all public officials to adhere to high standards of “professionalism.”

On the eve of a major joint military exercise between the U.S. and Southeast Asian nations, the U.S. State Department accused China of deliberately blocking access to trillions of dollars in oil and natural gas resources that rightly belong to other nations.

Japan fired the latest salvo in its rapidly-escalating feud with South Korea on Friday by approving a proposal to remove South Korea from its list of trusted trading partners.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte took time to sing for lawmakers and guests at the Batasang Pambansa on Monday after he delivered his fourth State of the Nation Address.

South Korean news outlets reported Wednesday that North Korea’s foreign minister and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo may hold an informal meeting on the sidelines of a conference in Thailand next month, a potential humiliation for Pyongyang after declaring it would cease negotiations with the United States if Pompeo kept his diplomatic post.

President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines, who has adopted as his signature policy a violent nationwide crackdown on drug use, claimed in remarks on Monday that he uses marijuana “to stay awake.”

Vice President Mike Pence said from the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit on Thursday that President Donald Trump will hold a second meeting with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un next year. Pence said Kim will be expected to submit a firm denuclearization plan at the meeting.

Trade tensions between China and the United States are a hot topic of conversation at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit, which kicked off on Tuesday in Singapore.

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte skipped three major events at the annual Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit on Wednesday and has announced he will not attend the summit’s traditional gala dinner, prompting concerns at home about his health and his willingness to confront China in the South China Sea abroad.

Chinese officials warned on Monday that Vice President Mike Pence could destabilize the South China Sea by appearing at this week’s meetings of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.

National Security Advisor John Bolton warned the Chinese government Tuesday that Washington would sternly oppose any attempts to block free transit in the international waters of the South China Sea, anticipating Beijing proposing a “code of conduct” in the region to grant it control of territory far outside its borders.

The U.S. will  “squeeze” Iran “until the pips squeak” through the tough new round of trade sanctions now in force, National Security Advisor John Bolton promised Tuesday.

Contents: China mocks America’s ‘Indo-Pacific’ strategy at ASEAN meeting; Concerns grow over China’s debt strategy for Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)

A Chinese government official said on Friday that the United States should not have “official contact in any form” or maintain military relations with Taiwan. This demand was issued two days after the U.S. Senate passed a bill calling for increased high-level military and civilian government contacts with Taiwan.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has accepted an invitation to conduct a “joint maritime exercises” with the communist government of China, likely in the South China Sea waters between China and their nations, Singapore confirmed on Friday.

Contents: Malaysia’s Najib Razak condemns Myanmar’s (Burma’s) genocide of Rohingyas at ASEAN summit; Cambodia’s Hun Sen threatens violence at protesters at ASEAN meeting

Contents: India and Vietnam sign security agreements for the South China Sea; India’s relationship with Southeast Asian nations overshadowed by China

The Philippine Daily Inquirer on Monday published photos showing the breathtaking extent of Chinese military construction on disputed reefs in the Spratly Islands area of the South China Sea. The Inquirer presents the aerial photography as evidence that China is almost finished transforming the reefs into “island fortress” for the purpose of controlling the entire region.

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte branded human rights criticisms levied at his administration by leftist Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau a “personal insult” on Tuesday, dismissing Trudeau’s concern as “bullshit” and refuting the prime minister’s claim that Duterte was “receptive” to his comments.

Contents: Vietnam protests China’s military drills near the Gulf of Tonkin in South China Sea; India and Vietnam become allies in confronting China

Singapore is scheduled to assume the rotating chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations next year, and China wasted no time making it known that it expects Singapore to keep a lid on ASEAN discontent over Chinese adventures in the South China Sea.

On Thursday, Philippine Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano suggested the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) should reach a “gentlemen’s agreement” on South China Sea waterways because there is no legal authority to enforce a binding contract for navigation through the region.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is ramping up pressure on North Korea by meeting with Asian foreign ministers on Thursday in Washington, D.C.

Rodrigo Duterte, the president of the Philippines, told reporters Monday that he could not yet accept an invitation from his American counterpart Donald Trump to the White House because he is unsure of whether he has the time to make it.

Last month, North Korea’s foreign minister drafted a letter to the Association of ten Southeast Asian Nations – known collectively as ASEAN – warning them of a “nuclear holocaust” if it refuses to join forces with the Hermit Kingdom in opposition to the United States.