Pence says ’empire and aggression’ have no place in Indo-Pacific
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence told leaders of Southeast Asian nations on Thursday that there was no place for “empire and aggression” in the Indo-Pacific region, a comment that could be interpreted as a reference to China’s rise.
Three South Korean firms to plead guilty to rigging price of U.S. military base fuel: Justice Department
Three South Korean companies will plead guilty to criminal charges and pay $236 million for their role in a conspiracy to fix the price of fuel sold to U.S. military bases in South Korea, the Justice Department said on Wednesday.
U.S.’s Pompeo to meet incoming Mexican foreign minister on Thursday
U.S. Secretary of States Mike Pompeo will hold talks with incoming Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard in Houston on Thursday, according to the U.S. State Department.
U.S. returns ‘Bells of Balangiga’ to Philippines a century after clash
U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis on Wednesday formally returned church bells to the Philippines that were taken as war trophies over a century ago following gruesome clashes, seeking to close a contentious chapter in the two allies’ shared history.
From fugitive to governor, a Peruvian mining foe rises again
For most of this year, Walter Aduviri, the governor-elect of Peru’s Andean region of Puno, had been a fugitive.
U.S. carriers join up in East Asia for ‘complex’ warfare drills
Two U.S. aircraft carriers with around 150 fighter jets are conducting “complex” warfare drills in the Philippine Sea, the U.S. Navy said on Thursday, in a show of force in waters south of China and within striking distance of North Korea.
China appears to relax North Korea sanctions: report to U.S. Congress
A U.S. congressional commission said on Wednesday that China appears to have relaxed enforcement of sanctions on North Korea and called on the Treasury Department to provide a report on Chinese compliance within 180 days.
Factbox: What draft Brexit deal says of Irish border and contested ‘backstop’
British Prime Minister Theresa May’s cabinet on Wednesday approved a draft Brexit deal with the European Union, more than 500 pages of legal text that was long held up by disagreements between the two sides on the Irish border.
In APEC host Papua New Guinea, China and the West grapple over strategic port
When Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O’Neill flagged the possibility of China bankrolling a port development off his country’s northern coast in June, the consternation in neighboring Australia set off a lightening-fast response.
Irish PM welcomes Brexit deal as one of his better days in politics
Ireland achieved all its key priorities in Britain’s withdrawal agreement with the European Union, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said on Wednesday, adding that its approval by the British government marked one of the better days in his career.
