The United States and European Union on Thursday voiced strong concern at China's "problematic and unilateral actions" in the South China Sea and stressed the need for close contact to manage "competition and systemic rivalry" with Beijing.
New coronavirus variants highlight the need for countries to do their own research and development on COVID-19 vaccines, said a senior Philippines trade official, adding that people will only be safe once the whole world is vaccinated.
The U.S. Army is keen to expand its access and basing arrangements in Southeast Asia as part of a strategy to deter China, the secretary of the army said on Wednesday.
The top U.S. diplomat for East Asia will visit Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand from the weekend after President Joe Biden pledged stepped up engagement with Southeast Asia, a key battleground in his contest for influence with China.
Myanmar's junta leader Min Aung Hlaing is not attending a virtual China-ASEAN leaders' summit on Monday, according to two sources with knowledge of the meeting.