The US military will this year conduct its first ever missile drill around the Japanese island of Okinawa, according to a report Thursday, as Washington seeks to counter China. The US military has told its Japanese counterpart it plans to deploy surface-to-ship missiles in the strategically important Okinawa this year for the first such drill […]

 Chinese President Xi Jinping said that his country won’t promise to abstain from using force when countering foreign meddling and separatist movements in Taiwan. He made the remarks Wednesday at a gathering commemorating the 40th anniversary of issuing the Message to Compatriots in Taiwan that marked a thaw in China-Taiwan relations. “We make no promise […]

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi announced that Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi is slated to pay an official visit to Tehran on Monday. In remarks on Sunday night, Qassemi said Qureshi would make a trip to Iran to hold talks with his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Javad Zarif. The Pakistani foreign minister plans to […]

The abrupt resignation of US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis sparked concern among Asia-Pacific allies who credit the retired general with building trust and tempering isolationist impulses, regional officials and analysts said on Friday. The region – which includes strong US allies Japan, South Korea and Australia – hosts some of the world’s most volatile flashpoints, […]

Canadian businessman Michael Spavor, who worked with North Korea, is being investigated on suspicion of harming China’s state security, officials said, days after a former Canadian diplomat was detained in China in an escalating diplomatic row. The state security bureau in the northeastern Chinese city of Dandong, which borders North Korea, has been investigating Spavor […]

If International Crisis Group (ICG) employee Michael Kovrig was carrying out “relevant activities” for the group in China without it being registered, then he may have broken China’s foreign NGO law, China’s Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday. Ministry spokesman Lu Kang made the comments at a daily news briefing in Beijing, Reuters reported. The ICG […]

Financial and banking transactions between Iran and China would resume as of Monday, vice chairman of Iran-China Joint Chamber of Commerce announced. According to Mohammad Reza Hariri, the hurdles in banking transactions between the two countries were cleared last week and financial transactions would resume on Monday through China’s Bank of Kunlun, the key Chinese conduit […]

China warned Canada Saturday that there would be severe consequences if it did not immediately release Huawei Technologies Co Ltd’s chief financial officer, calling the case “extremely nasty.” Meng Wanzhou, Huawei’s global chief financial officer, was arrested in Canada on Dec. 1 and faces extradition to the United States, which alleges that she covered up […]

Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani held separate meetings with his Turkish and Afghan counterparts in the capital, Tehran, on Friday, discussing a range of regional and international issues, including ways to combat terrorism. Speaking at the meeting with Turkish Parliament Speaker Binali Yildirim, Larijani said mutual cooperation to boost security in the Middle East has […]

Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Christine Lagarde called the desire of Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump to engage in talks to resolve a trade dispute between the two countries a “significant progress.” “I am not sure, you know, that the objective is a trade agreement. But at least […]