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East China Sea

East China Sea
Like the South China Sea, the East China Sea has been an area of much contention. China's long-standing feud with Japan has continued with friction over the Diaoyu Islands, which both countries lay claim to, and arguments over who owns a swathe of sea territory. China is also at loggerheads with South Korea over Socotra Rock, a submerged reef that hosts a Korean scientific research station, and which Beijing says intrudes on its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
An Indonesian coastguard ship sails next to a Vietnamese fishing vessel near Indonesia’s Natuna Islands in July 2020. Chinese, Vietnamese and Indonesian fishing boats have occasionally clashed over marine resources in the area. Photo: AFP
South China Sea

‘Wolf in sheep’s clothing’: why Japan’s Natuna port plan raises alarm in China

Tokyo offers port upgrades to boost maritime security, but analysts say Jakarta is being pragmatic, not taking sides against Beijing.

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China-Japan relations

Japan’s China-facing military push tests labour, budget and political limits

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China-Japan relations

In Focus | How Japan is digging in to deter – and withstand – a conflict over Taiwan

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South Korea

South Korea scrambles jets after Russian military planes enter air defence zone

This is the second incursion in weeks since over 10 Chinese and Russian military jets entered the zone in late June.

Two US Air Force F-22 fighter jets (front) fly with two South Korean Air Force F-35As during a joint air drill ion May 16, 2024. Photo: South Korean Defence Ministry/AFP
China-Japan relations

Japan lawmakers to visit China in bid to cool row, but thaw unlikely: experts

‘China opposes the Takaichi administration’s erroneous policies but it does not reject exchanges with Japan’: academic Xu Weijun.

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Japan

Opinion | Japan’s defence white paper is the opening move in a longer game

Japan’s latest defence white paper confirms Chinese strategists’ fears that post-war pacifist guard rails are being dismantled under the guise of ‘self-defence’.

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China-Japan relations

Japan tests long-range missile as counterstrike capability against China grows

First public flight test of upgraded Type 12 variant marks milestone in efforts to counter Chinese naval power.

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A Mitsubishi F-2B fighter jet was spotted carrying two inert air-launched Type 12 anti-ship missiles under its wings during a flight test at Gifu airbase in central Japan on July 30. Photo: Handout
Hong Kong weather

Hong Kong to face brighter but hotter weather this week after days of heavy rain

Forecaster issues second consecutive amber rainstorm warning on Monday, but says sunnier week ahead with temperatures of up to 33 degrees.

Hong Kong weather

Thunderstorms in Hong Kong as week of rain persists on Sunday

More than 30mm of rainfall recorded in most parts of the city, with heavy rain expected on Monday before easing later in the week.

Hong Kong weather

Hong Kong set for heavy showers, squally thunderstorms over next few days

Authorities receive six landslide reports between Friday and Saturday evening.

Showers are forecast to be heavy at times on Sunday. Photo: Elson Li
Japan

US-led drills edge Japan and South Korea closer on defence

Command roles at Rimpac show Tokyo and Seoul can work together militarily, but history caps how far ties can go.

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A team is seen at mission control console inside a South Korean maritime patrol aircraft during a joint exercise as part of the 2026 Rimpac exercise near Honolulu. Photo: The Korea Times
China-Japan relations

Beijing fires new salvo at Tokyo with documentary on disputed Diaoyu Islands

Series comes as political and maritime tensions have been ramping up between the neighbours for months.

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Japan

Japan seeks Southeast Asia sea lanes to avoid troubled waters in region

A proposal to map charts through five straits comes as Japan fears trade disruption from choke points in the South China Sea and off Malacca.

US-China relations

The US mounts pressure across 3 maritime flashpoints. How should China respond?

Washington’s strategy for Taiwan Strait and East and South China seas aims to force Beijing to overextend, analysts warn.

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A fighter jet takes off from China’s Liaoning aircraft carrier during a mission in the South China Sea and the western Pacific Ocean that concluded on June 22. Photo: CCTV
China-EU relations

EU accuses China of seeking to reshape global order in stark new strategy paper

China trying to ‘reshape the global order in line with their interests’, EU says in some of bloc’s strongest official criticism of Beijing.

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A new EU strategy paper casts China and Russia as the two principal revisionist powers challenging European security and the international rules-based order. Photo: Shutterstock
China's military weapons

What does China’s submarine missile test mean for its nuclear triad expansion?

More than a technical milestone, undersea launch sends strategic signal to the US and Beijing’s neighbours in Asia-Pacific, analysts say.

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US-China relations

Nato can’t be ‘naive’ about China as it ramps up military might, Rutte claims

Nato’s secretary general contacts Japan’s defence minister after Chinese nuclear submarine fires test missile into Pacific.

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Science

Why is no one chartering China’s first privately owned research vessel?

A month after launch, the fishermen who sank 150 million yuan into the project have yet to secure their first client.

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Project leader Cai Yunjie at the launch in May of China’s first privately-funded scientific research vessel. Photo: Getty Images
Taiwan

Beijing details rare marine survey east of Taiwan after Tokyo-Manila talks

Move marks mainland China’s latest bid to assert jurisdictional claims in the contested waters following the maritime boundary negotiations.

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Taiwan

What’s behind Beijing’s seabed mapping east of Taiwan?

Expert says knowledge of the waters and seabed could allow ‘more effective submarine and anti-submarine operations’.

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Taiwan

Are Japan-Philippines talks a maritime red line for China’s blue-water ambitions?

Analysts warn the Tokyo-Manila boundary negotiations will be seen in Beijing as an attempt to challenge its position on Taiwan.

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Beijing responded to the announcement of the maritime boundary talks by sending its coastguard into new waters east of Taiwan on Monday. Photo: Xinhua
Taiwan

How Japan, Philippines are building a maritime security front against China

Tokyo-Manila defence cooperation is linking Pacific flashpoints, with broad implications for Beijing, analysts say.

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Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi (right) shakes hands with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr in Tokyo on May 28. Photo: Kyodo
US-China relations

Editorial | Shangri-La Dialogue has outlived its usefulness for China

While Washington and Beijing softened their rhetoric this year, the US-dominated forum is exhausting its function as a space for engagement.

Japan

Russia’s military activity has Japan fearing a dual-front war

Japan scrambled its fighter jets 448 times in nine months last year. Most of the intercepts involved Russian or Chinese aircraft.

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South China Sea

As allies boost Taiwan Strait transits, why is the US going a different route?

Chinese think tank notes the changing risks: ‘China will inevitably respond, and that makes the overall situation appear more tense’.

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A Chinese think tank says a shift in US transits through Taiwan Strait is consistent with broader trends in China-US military interactions since their 2023 leadership summit. Photo:AP
US-China relations

Quad foreign ministers fight for relevance as leaders’ summit remains elusive

Critical minerals and Indo-Pacific security took centre stage amid doubts over US commitment and a delayed leaders’ summit.

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From left: Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio pose in New Delhi at a meeting of Quad foreign ministers. Photo: Kyodo
2026 Xi-Trump summits

What does Pete Hegseth’s presence in China say about Trump’s military agenda?

US arms sales to Taiwan, nuclear weapons and military-to-military communication will be among topics discussed, experts say.

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China-Japan relations

Are China and Russia flexing their maritime muscle near Japan?

Tokyo’s recent tracking of three PLA Navy warships transiting Tsushima Strait comes amid heightened regional tensions.

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