Southern China Morning Post - ASEAN Diplomacy

Australia has ‘painted itself into a geopolitical corner’ with China, but what is ...

Sun, 20 Sep 2020 00:50:44 GMT

Australia’s over-reliance on the goodwill generated by its free trade agreement with China to shield it from the ramifications of its political alliance with the United States could result in problems with Beijing for years to come, trade and foreign affairs experts said.The rapid deterioration in China-Australian relations is generally perceived to have been fuelled by miscalculations on both sides.While China has been accused of “punishing” Australia with trade blocks – such as anti-dumping…

In a US-China war, whose side is Southeast Asia on? Philippines, Singapore and Malaysia ponder ...

Sat, 19 Sep 2020 01:00:13 GMT

Across Southeast Asia, scenario planning exercises by analysts and policymakers preparing for the unthinkable – a military clash between the world’s two largest economies in their backyard – has taken on added significance in recent weeks.Tensions between the US and China, already fraught over trade, technology and the South China Sea, deepened as Beijing protested against Washington’s ties to Taipei and conducted military activities close to the self-ruled island last week.The question “What…

China-India border dispute: there may be a five-point plan but is it enough to bridge differences?

Wed, 16 Sep 2020 23:00:23 GMT

When the foreign ministers of China and India emerged from their meeting in Moscow last week, there was a sense of relief.Wang Yi and his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said their 2½-hour discussion had yielded a five-point plan to ease the worst border crisis between the two countries in decades.It seemed like there was the start of a way out of clashes that had already claimed the lives of at least 20 Indian soldiers and involved gunfire.But their differences re-emerged almost…

South Korea insists joint military plans with US do not involve nuclear weapons, disputing ...

Tue, 15 Sep 2020 14:38:30 GMT

South Korea said on Tuesday none of its joint military action plans with the United States include any use of nuclear weapons, after a book by a US journalist sparked debate over whether scenarios of a full-blown war with North Korea would entail a nuclear attack from either side.In his new book, titled Rage , Bob Woodward wrote that the US had devised plans for a possible armed clash with North Korea, such as “the US response to an attack that could include the use of 80 nuclear weapons”. The…

Chinese scholar Chen Hong insists he was no security risk despite being banned from Australia

Mon, 14 Sep 2020 21:00:19 GMT

A Chinese scholar banned from Australia on security grounds says he has become critical of Canberra in recent years but is no security risk, adding his biggest contribution to a WeChat group at the centre of a security investigation was usually an emoji.A decision by Australia’s national security agency to cancel the visas of two Chinese academics of Australian literature has embroiled Canberra’s oldest soft power programme in China in a bitter diplomatic dispute.One of the banned academics,…

South China Sea heats up as Indonesia shadows Chinese ship near Natuna Islands

Mon, 14 Sep 2020 14:03:55 GMT

Indonesia’s Foreign Ministry has lodged a protest with Beijing over a Chinese coastguard ship that spent two days in its exclusive economic zone in the South China Sea before leaving on Monday.The incident, which occurred off Indonesia’s Natuna Islands, is the latest in a string of incursions into the country’s EEZ by Chinese coastguard ships and fishing vessels.Indonesia’s maritime security agency Bakamla said the Chinese vessel left the EEZ shadowed by an Indonesian patrol boat at around noon…