The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) has accused its Chinese counterpart of steering one of its ships within metres of a Filipino patrol vessel in the disputed South China Sea (SCS), breaking international rules and risking a collision.The incident happened on 2 March near the contested Scarborough Shoal – one of the region's richest fishing grounds and a flashpoint between the two countries – but was only made public Sunday.It was the fourth time in the past year that a Chinese coastguard v

As the May 2022 Presidential Election draws near, with the impending change of administration in the Philippines, there have been different views and perspectives on how Philippine foreign policy should adjust to the changes in the strategic environment underpinned by the United States (US)-China geopolitical competition in the Indo-Pacific region and the US-Russia geopolitical tussle in Eastern Europe amid the Ukraine crisis. Indeed, the rivalry and competition of major powers, more

Shanghai on Saturday recorded a sharp rise in COVID-19 cases, but a member of the city's pandemic task force said officials were determined to avoid a full lockdown over the damage it would do to the economy.Millions of Chinese in affected areas have been subjected to city-wide lockdowns by an Omicron-led outbreak that has sent daily case counts creeping ever-higher, though they remain insignificant compared to other countries.Shanghai, however, has aimed to ease disruption with a more t

A top doctor in China's pandemic fight who came under pressure last year for questioning the country’s zero-COVID policy has called again for balancing anti-virus measures with maintenance of normal life as China struggles with an Omicron surge.Shanghai infectious disease expert Zhang Wenhong – who has been called "China's Fauci" after United States (US) disease expert Anthony Fauci – also said in a blog post that the city's medical resources were becoming "strai

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the West’s unprecedented response, represent a watershed in international relations, marking the formal end of the post-Cold War era and setting the stage for seismic geopolitical and geo-economic shifts.

Crash investigators on Tuesday said they do not yet know why a China Eastern jet carrying 132 people plunged from the sky, with recovery teams still scouring a forested mountainside for flight recorders from the pulverised Boeing aircraft.No survivors had been found nearly 36 hours after Monday's crash – the deadliest air disaster in three decades in China, a country that had maintained an enviable air safety record."With the current information, we are unable to make a clear judgme

The Philippines and the United States (US) will kick off the largest-ever joint military drills in the archipelago nation next week, US officials said Tuesday, showing off their strong defence ties in the face of growing Chinese assertiveness.Nearly 9,000 Filipino and American soldiers will take part in the 12-day war games on the main island of Luzon, which are usually an annual affair but were cancelled or curbed during the pandemic.The exercises, which start on 28 March, will cover among o

Most countries are now trying to live with the coronavirus – so how long can China hold on to its "zero-COVID" goal?Striking A BalanceFor the last two years, China's strict measures to contain COVID, enforced by swift lockdowns and aggressive restrictions, seemed to be largely paying off.As the rest of the world grappled with surges in cases and deaths in 2020, China's President Xi Jinping declared the country's handling of the pandemic through lockdowns and widesprea

China on Sunday imposed stay-at-home orders on millions more people in the country's northeast as it battles its biggest COVID-19 outbreak in two years.The country has largely kept the virus at bay since it brought to heel its initial outbreak in 2020 using targeted lockdowns, mass testing and travel restrictions.But the Omicron strain has broken through its defences in recent months and taken hold in multiple cities.Jilin, the second-biggest city in Jilin province, will lock down about

The war in Ukraine is pushing the world ever closer to an existential crisis. The lessons of the 20th century and its ghastly world wars have been lost on today’s leaders. The peace dividend of the Cold War has been squandered. Two superpowers – the United States (US) and the Russian Federation – are on the brink of an unimaginable military confrontation.