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The Philippines under Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jnr - who has swept to a landslide victory in the country's presidential election - is expected to tread a careful line between China and the United States, observers say.
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Unlike his main rival Robredo - the vice-president, who said she would seek stronger ties with Washington and distance from Beijing - Marcos Jnr's tone was friendlier to China during the campaign.
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Marcos Jnr also joined his family when they travelled to China in the 1970s to meet Chinese leaders. "He grew up witnessing the rapprochement, diplomatic relations and friendly interactions between China and the Philippines during his father's administration," said Yang Jinglin, associate professor at the Centre for China-Asean Studies at the Guangxi University for Nationalities.

"His mother is friendly to China ... and has a very good relationship with the Chinese government at a high level, which is bound to influence Marcos Jnr's foreign policy towards China," Yang added.
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Joshua Kurlantzick, senior fellow for Southeast Asia at the Council on Foreign Relations, said Macros Jnr was not expected to change the approach to China much, but it remained to be seen how much closer he would move to the US.
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Shen Shishun, a researcher with the China Institute of International Studies, said many Southeast Asian nations did not want to pick a side.

"The international situation is so complicated at the moment, countries in Southeast Asia, like the Philippines and Singapore, are seeking a balanced policy among the big powers, because siding with one country is certainly detrimental," Shen said.

US President Joe Biden said he would be willing to intervene militarily to defend Taiwan if it were attacked. It is one of the strongest statements in support of the island in decades. Biden also warned that China's increasingly assertive stance over Taiwan was "flirting with danger".

"We agreed with the One China policy, we signed on to it... but the idea that it can be taken by force is just not appropriate," he said.

The US president pointed to Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine, saying that sanctions against Russia should be continued "in many ways" to send a right message to China over Taiwan.

His statements appear to clash with the US tradition of "strategic ambiguity" as Washington usually avoids making any such explicit guarantees to Taiwan. Taiwan's foreign ministry thanked Biden and the US government for reaffirming their commitment to the island.

Biden is on a five-day Asia tour. After three days in South Korea, he arrived in Tokyo Monday morning, where he launched a new regional economic plan involving 12 Indo-Pacific states. 

The Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity, or IPEF, provides a means for partner countries to deal with key issues including climate change, supply chain and digital trade, but does not extend to seeking to negotiate tariffs or ease market access.

#China #Taiwan #Japan

ABC News’ Britt Clennett discusses the high tensions between the United States and China during President Joe Biden’s Asia tour.

In recent weeks, Biden has increasingly promised support to Taiwan (before the White House has quickly backtracked). So in this video we discuss if the US really has Taiwan's back and if these gaffes could make a conflict with China more likely...

Chinese and US defence chiefs, Wei Fenghe and Lloyd Austin, held their first face-to-face meeting in Singapore on June 10. The Taiwan issue dominated the talks held on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore.
At the meeting, Beijing reportedly threatened to “crush” any “independence plot” in the self-ruled Island. In response, Washington urged China not carry out “destabilising actions” near Taiwan.
#chinataiwan  #china  #uschina
 
0:00 INTRODUCTION
1:04 CHINA WILL “SMASH TO SMITHEREENS” TAIWAN‘S INDEPENDENCE BID
3:07 US CALLS CHINA’S BEHAVIOUR ‘PROVOCATIVE’

as scary as this looks its really gonna happen in our life time

I've heard the US colony of Hawaii still sees itself as partially occupied (since July 7, 1898) and would still like to regain its independence today. At least the indigenous population of Hawaii spoke out in favor of it in 2014.  ---  Will the USA now allow the colony of Hawaii to gain independence?

"Beijing will "not hesitate to start a war "if Taiwan declares independence"..... They have their own political system, president, economy and army. They have already been independent for a long time 😏

US has to stay out of China's Domestic Affair (Taïwan) !

Over 185 countries voted that Taiwan is not a country. I think this is their internal issue, and China should have the right to reclaim their territory if there was never an acceptance of a claim of independence. May China be successful in their endeavours whether uneducated internet politicians believe I'm CCP or not.

We should not be fought taiwanese,because they are half brothers of the Chinese also this makes meddlesome of Western countries in Asia.

And no one should underestimate China's lies about Taiwan.

Intensifying competition between the US and China is the backdrop for what is billed as Asia’s premier defence summit. But that is not all that is up for discussion at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, the first one since the COVID-19 pandemic. From maritime disputes to the Myanmar crisis, the current environment is quite complex.

The war in Ukraine has forced Taiwan to re-focus on how it defends itself from a possible Chinese invasion.

In recent months, Beijing has stepped up military incursions into Taiwan's Air Defense Identification Zone, raising alert levels on the island.

Taipei is now thinking of improving training for its nearly two million reserve force, investing in specialised weapons and civil defense. And there’s also a greater willingness among people to be prepared to take up weapons should the time come.

The United States will do its part to manage tensions with China even though Beijing is becoming increasingly aggressive in Asia, including near Taiwan, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said.
 
#china #southchinasea #unitedstates #taiwan #News #Reuters

China will "fight to the very end" to stop Taiwan from declaring independence, Chinese Defence Minister Wei Fenghe said in a speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue on Sunday (Jun 12).

"We will fight at all cost and we will fight to the very end. This is the only choice for China," General Wei said.

His speech came a day after US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said China was becoming "more coercive and aggressive" in its approach to its territorial claims in the region.

On Sunday, General Wei said Beijing firmly rejects the US' "smearing accusations and even threats" against China.

Global affairs should be handled through consultation by all stakeholders instead of being dictated by just one country or a small group of countries, he said, adding: "No one or no group of countries should impose its will on others or bully others under the guise of multilateralism."

General Wei said the United States' Indo-Pacific strategy is an attempt to build an exclusive small group in the name of a free and open Pacific to "hijack countries in the region and target one specific country". It is a strategy to "create conflict and confrontation to contain and encircle others", he said.

(Bloomberg) -- The US sought to bolster its support in Asia this weekend by reassuring nations they don’t need to join a coalition against China
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It represented a break from the Trump administration pressing nations to take sides on the use of 5G equipment from Huawei, one of China’s most strategically important companies, a position that rankled many at the last gathering of defense officials in 2019.
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The Association of Southeast Asian Nations “will take comfort that both have said, ‘There is no need to choose. We don’t want you to choose,’” Singaporean Defense Minister Ng Eng Hen said. “But whether that’s the reality, I think only the facts will speak for themselves.”

Fareed argues that the best way for the US to keep China in check is to ensure that Russia is defeated in Ukraine. #CNN #News