BEIJING: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday (Jun 19) he had asked China’s government to be vigilant about private companies that may be providing Russia with technology that could be used against Ukraine, although he said he had seen no evidence Beijing is providing lethal assistance toContinue Reading
PUSH TO DIVERSIFY Export giant Germany, by virtue of its economic might, has always enjoyed special ties with China. Under former chancellor Angela Merkel, Berlin took a pragmatic approach of talking up economic opportunities while keeping less flattering opinions on rights and freedom behind closed doors. That made China aContinue Reading
“The Chinese are determined to control the South China Sea,” he added.
“The US and its allies are determined to challenge that control, because it is after all international waters and international airspace. It’s not Chinese territorial waters, irrespective of what the Chinese claim.”
On the issue of Taiwan, Dr Davis said the US has a fundamental choice to make, because “if it does nothing, its strategic credibility in the Indo-Pacific region is completely gone”.
“But if it does respond, if it does intervene to support Taiwan, then we’re looking at a major war between China and the United States,” he noted.
“And I don’t think any diplomatic discussions are going to alleviate that, because the interests and the stakes involved around Taiwan are so great for both sides that it’s very difficult to see a way back from that.”
Moving forward, Beijing, in return for the US easing sanctions, could make constructive contributions to ensure stability, analysts suggested.
Tensions have soared between the world’s two largest economies in recent years on issues ranging from trade to technology to Taiwan. US officials say that they do not expect major breakthroughs from Blinken’s talks but they hope to reopen regular lines of communication to prevent mishaps from escalating into conflict.Continue Reading
WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke separately with his South Korean and Japanese counterparts, emphasising the importance of “sustained … trilateral cooperation” ahead of his visit to China, the State Department said on Saturday (Jun 17). The conversations also come as North Korea has stepped up missile launches inContinue Reading
Ties between the countries have deteriorated across the board, raising concerns that they might one day clash militarily over the self-ruled island of Taiwan, which China claims as its own. They are also at odds over issues ranging from trade, US efforts to hold back China’s semiconductor industry and Beijing’sContinue Reading
WASHINGTON: There has been no sign of improvement in the political situation in Myanmar since the 2021 coup, Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said on Friday (Jun 16) following a meeting in Washington with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who said he shared his counterpart’s pessimism. Singapore is aContinue Reading
WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Friday (Jun 16) that his coming visit to China aims to open up better communications “by addressing misperceptions and avoiding miscalculations”. “Intense competition requires sustained diplomacy to ensure that competition does not veer into confrontation or conflict,” Blinken said. “That isContinue Reading
Luke de Pulford, the executive director of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, a group made up of lawmakers from democratic countries concerned about Beijing’s behaviour, said to his knowledge it was the first time a British minister who attends cabinet had met with a Taiwanese minister. “This is extremely welcomeContinue Reading
SYDNEY: In 2018 Paul Wang left his home in Beijing to start a new life in Australia, investing A$1 million (US$680,000) in a food processing business in the hopes of qualifying for permanent residency under the country’s investment visa scheme. Five years on, his hopes for his family of threeContinue Reading