Tag: Philippines

  • Asia in Obama's 2014 State of the Union: We're Still Number One

    President Barack Obama’s 2014 State of the Union does not emphasize Asia, except as a competitor. Last year’s post is here. Opening comments Asia got scant attention in this State of the Union. Japan was not mentioned at all, which has been a kind of norm for Obama. China came up twice as a competitor…

  • Is the China-Japan confrontation Xi's inside political play, or part of a broader move?

    Is China’s new leader, Xi Jinping, flexing military muscle with Japan to solidify rule within the Communist Party and the People’s Liberation Army, or is the heightened dispute with Japan best viewed in a broader context? At Foreign Policy, John Garnaut examines the relationship between Xi and the PLA. The article is worth a read, but the…

  • China News Update, July 5, 2012 – U.S.–China ties, South China Sea

    Today’s news opens with a speech July 5 in Hong Kong by Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Cui Tiankai, a key figure in Chinese relations with the United States. The speech calls for “building a new type of relationship between major countries here in the Asia-Pacific,” a key Hu Jintao phrase from the Strategic and Economic…

  • China News Update for July 1, 2012 – U.S.–China relations and South China Sea update

    The first set of links are on things other than the South China Sea. The second set are devoted to that ongoing issue. See also my new post on the Global Times referring to the South China Sea as one of China’s “core interest.” The People’s Daily reported that preparations are on track for the…

  • 'Global Times' calls South China Sea a 'core interest'

    The nationalist-leaning state-controlled newspaper Global Times on its English-language website Sunday made what might be a significant statement in the ongoing Chinese dispute with Vietnam and the Philippines, among others, in the South China Sea. In an unsigned opinion piece, the paper states: As to China, it is not interested in being involved in frequent…