China has appointed a new special envoy for the North Korean standoff, the foreign ministry said on Monday, a relatively low-profile diplomat now in charge of Asian affairs, amid renewed international concern over China's nuclear-armed neighbor. More »
The drilling ship at the center of a row between Vietnam and China over oil prospecting in disputed waters in the South China Sea has arrived in waters off the Malaysian port of Labuan, shipping data in Thomson Reuters Eikon showed on Monday. More »
Lin Wong and Philip Wen More »
Southeast Asian foreign ministers ended an impasse on Sunday over how to address disputes with China in the South China Sea, issuing a communique that called for militarization to be avoided and noting concern about island-building. More »
FILE PHOTO: Employees work at a engine factory of CSSC Wartsila Engine (Shanghai) Co. Ltd in Shanghai, China June 13, 2017. Factories in China and Japan motored ahead in July, giving investors optimism that the global economy can carry momentum through into th... More »
Drilling for oil and natural gas on the Reed Bank in the South China Sea may resume before the end of the year, a Philippine energy official said on Wednesday, as the government prepares to offer new blocks to investors in bidding in December. More »
FILE PHOTO: Actor Tom Hanks arrives for ‘The Circle’ premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival in the Manhattan borough of New York, New York, U.S. April 26, 2017. For his work in films reflecting U.S. history such as “Saving Private Ryan,” “Apollo 13” and “Bridge... More »
FILE PHOTO – A B-1B Lancer from the U.S. Air Force 28th Air Expeditionary Wing heads out on a combat mission in support of strikes on Afghanistan in this file picture released December 7, 2001. Cedric H.Rudisill/USAF/Handout via REUTERS Two U.S bombers have fl... More »
U.S. navy sailors stand in formation on the deck as USS Stethem (DDG 63) destroyer vessel arrives at a military port for an official visit, in Shanghai, China, November 16, 2015. REUTERS/Stringer A U.S. warship sailed near a disputed island in the South China ... More »
FILE PHOTO: India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses a gathering after he inaugurated Kochi Metro at a stadium in Kochi, India, June 17, 2017. REUTERS/Sivaram V/File Photo The United States is expected to authorize India’s purchase of a naval variant of ... More »
Mitch Golden, portfolio manager for hedge fund Greenlight Masters, poses following an interview at the Sohn Investment Conference in New York City, U.S., May 8, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid Bayliss More »
FILE PHOTO – Former U.S. National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski arrives to testify before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, February 1, 2007. REUTERS/Jim Young/File Photo Zbigniew Brzezinski, who served as U.S. Presid... More »
Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Dewey transits the South China Sea. Kryzentia Weiermann/Courtesy U.S. Navy/via REUTERS China said on Thursday that Chinese warships warned a U.S. Navy warship to leave after it sailed within 12 nautical miles of... More »
The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Dewey prepares for a replenishment-at-sea in the South China Sea May 19, 2017. Picture taken May 19, 2017. Kryzentia Weiermann/Courtesy U.S. Navy/Handout via REUTERS A U.S. Navy warship sailed within 12 naut... More »
An aerial view of uninhabited island of Spratlys in the disputed South China Sea, April 21, 2017. REUTERS/Erik De Castro China and Vietnam will manage and properly control their maritime disputes, avoiding actions to complicate or widen them, so as to maintain... More »
A hooded man holds a laptop computer as cyber code is projected on him in this illustration picture taken on May 13, 2017. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel/Illustration Asian governments and businesses reported some disruptions from the WannaCry ransomware worm on Monday... More »
A hooded man holds a laptop computer as blue screen with an exclamation mark is projected on him in this illustration picture taken on May 13, 2017. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel/Illustration Officials across the globe scrambled over the weekend to catch the culprits ... More »
A hooded man holds a laptop computer as blue screen with an exclamation mark is projected on him in this illustration picture taken on May 13, 2017. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel/Illustration Hackers either working for the Vietnamese government or on their behalf have... More »
FILE PHOTO: The Facebook logo is displayed on the company’s website in an illustration photo taken in Bordeaux, France, February 1, 2017. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau/File Photo Vietnam’s government said Facebook has committed to work with it to prevent content that... More »
FILE PHOTO – A United Airlines Boeing 787 taxis as a United Airlines Boeing 767 lands at San Francisco International Airport, San Francisco, California, U.S. on February 7, 2015. REUTERS/Louis Nastro/File Photo United Airlines said on Thursday it would offer p... More »
Hugo Shong, IDG Capital Global Chairman, at IDG headquarters in Beijing, China, August 21, 2015. REUTERS/Stringer IDG Capital, a private equity and venture capital firm, will deploy greater resources and time in companies as they grow, in contrast to some quic... More »
A Vietnamese man who died in solitary confinement at a Japanese immigration detention center, raising questions about monitoring of detainees, died from a stroke, a Justice Ministry official said on Monday. More »
Hwang Kag-gyu, head of Lotte Corporate Innovation Office, speaks during a news conference in Seoul, South Korea, April 3, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji South Korea’s Lotte Group will continue to invest in its China business despite diplomatic tensions over the dep... More »
The North Korea flag flutters next to concertina wire at the North Korean embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia March 9, 2017. REUTERS/Edgar Su U.S. President Donald Trump held out the possibility on Sunday of using trade as a lever to secure Chinese cooperation a... More »
FILE PHOTO – Visitors view U.S. artist James Rosenquist’s ”Celebrating the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by Eleanor Roosevelt” (1998) on display by the Acquavella Galleries, Inc., New York at the Art 37 in Bas... More »
Models present creation of Bateeq brand by Indonesian designer Michelle Tjokrosaputro from her Autumn/Winter 2017 collection during Tokyo Fashion Week in Tokyo, Japan March 22, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon Colorful embroidery, creative batik designs and fearle... More »
Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force’s (JMSDF) latest Izumo-class helicopter carrier DDH-184 Kaga is pictured before a handover ceremony for the JMSDF by Japan Marine United Corporation in Yokohama, Japan, March 22, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai Japan’s second big hel... More »
Boats at Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea are shown in this handout photo provided by Planet Labs, and captured on March 12, 2016. REUTERS/Planet Labs/Handout via Reuters China will begin preparatory work this year for an environmental monitoring stati... More »
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said on Wednesday that China hopes to maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea by pushing forward with negotiations for a code of conduct for rival claimants in the disputed waters. More »
Vietnam demanded on Monday that China stop sending cruise ships to the South China Sea in a response to one of Beijing’s latest steps to bolster its claims in the strategic waterway. More »
EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom talks to reporters in Pasay city, Metro Manila, in the Philippines March 10, 2017. REUTERS/Erik De Castro The European Union is seeing increased impetus around the world to move forward with Free Trade Agreements (FTA) w... More »
Malaysia’s 2019 Asian Cup qualifier against North Korea due to be played in Pyongyang later this month has been postponed, the Asian Football Confederation announced on Friday. More »
The North Korea flag flutters next to concertina wire at the North Korean embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia March 9, 2017. REUTERS/Edgar Su Two Malaysian U.N. employees were allowed to leave North Korea on Thursday, a spokeswoman for the U.N.’s World Food Prog... More »
FILE PHOTO – North Korean Ambassador to Malaysia Kang Chol speaks during a news conference at the North Korean embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, February 20, 2017. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha/File Photo Malaysia’s Prime Minister Najib Razak rebuked North Kore... More »
North Korean suspect in Kim Jong Nam murder, Ri Jong Chol, leaves a Sepang police station to be deported, in Malaysia March 3, 2017, in this photo taken by Kyodo. Mandatory credit Kyodo/via REUTERS A North Korean suspect detained by Malaysia in connection with... More »
Vietnamese Doan Thi Huong (L) and Indonesian Siti Aishah are seen in this combination picture from undated handouts released by the Royal Malaysia Police to Reuters on February 19, 2017. Malaysia on March 1, 2017 charged both women with the murder of Kim Jong ... More »
Employees walk in the main office building of Samsung Electronics in Seoul, South Korea, in this file photo taken on January 6, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji Samsung Electronics Co Ltd’s display panel subsidiary has received a license to invest another $2.5 billio... More »
Kim Jong Nam arrives at Beijing airport in Beijing, China, in this photo taken by Kyodo February 11, 2007. Picture taken February 11, 2007. Kyodo/via REUTERS Malaysia has requested Interpol to put an alert out to apprehend four North Korean suspects in the mur... More »
North Korean Ambassador to Malaysia Kang Chol speaks during a news conference at the North Korean embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, February 20, 2017. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha Malaysia is considering expelling North Korea’s envoy to the Southeast Asian nat... More »
File Photo: Chinese dredging vessels are purportedly seen in the waters around Mischief Reef in the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea in this still image from video taken by a P-8A Poseidon surveillance aircraft provided by the United States Navy... More »
Sailors man the rails as the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier departs on deployment from Naval Station North Island in Coronado, California, U.S. January 5, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake China said on Tuesday it opposed action by other countries under the pretext o... More »
Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Foreign Ministers link arms during the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Retreat in Boracay, central Philippines February 21, 2017. L-R: Saleumxay Kommasith, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Laos- Anifah Aman, Minister of F... More »
Malaysia’s Prime Minister Najib Razak said on Tuesday that comments by the North Korean ambassador casting doubt over a Malaysian investigation into the killing of the estranged half-brother of North Korea’s leader were “diplomatically rude”. More »
Malaysian police officers gather in front of the gate of the morgue at Kuala Lumpur General Hospital where Kim Jong Nam’s body is held for autopsy in Malaysia February 21, 2017. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha Malaysian authorities said on Tuesday they had still t... More »
Kim Jong Nam arrives at Beijing airport in Beijing, China, in this photo taken by Kyodo February 11, 2007. Picture taken February 11, 2007. Mandatory credit Kyodo/via REUTERS min Park and A. Ananthalakshmi More »
FILE PHOTO: Chinese President Xi Jinping addresses the guests during a gift handover ceremony at the United Nations European headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, January 18, 2017. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo U.S. President Donald Trump has broken the ic... More »
Yemeni Ali Alghazali, 13, who was previously prevented from boarding a plane to the U.S. following U.S. President Donald Trump’s executive order on travel ban, walks with his uncle Saleh Alghazali, upon Ali’s arrival at Terminal 4 at JFK airport in Queens, New... More »
Visitors use their mobile phones before a ceremony marking the end of trading in 2016 at the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) in Tokyo, Japan December 30, 2016. REUTERS/Toru Hanai Asian share markets and Wall Street stock futures fell on Monday after immigration cur... More »
Chimneys of a steel factory are pictured at an industrial area in Kawasaki, Japan, January 16, 2017. Picture taken January 16, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon Japan is threatening to take India to the WTO over restrictions that nearly halved its steel exports to ... More »
The crowd on the National Mall reacts during the inauguration of U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington, U.S., January 20, 2017. REUTERS/James Lawler Duggan One of the biggest cheers President Donald Trump received from supporters watching his inaugural add... More »
Armed men killed eight fishermen in what appeared to be an attack by pirates in dangerous waters in the southern Philippines, a coast guard spokesman said on Tuesday. More »
Doctors in Vietnam have removed surgical forceps from a man who unknowingly carried them inside his body for 18 years, national television VTV reported. More »
FILE PHOTO: Asahi Super Dry beer cans are displayed at the Asahi Group Holdings headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, May 17, 2016. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo Japan Inc may become a more important force in dealmaking next year as its cashed-up companies seek to buy... More »
Musician Richard Marx poses backstage at the American Idol XIII 2014 Finale in Los Angeles, California May 21, 2014. REUTERS/Danny Moloshok American soft rock singer Richard Marx helped subdue a “chaotic” and “dangerous” passenger who launched a lengthy, viole... More »
The oceanographic survey ship, USNS Bowditch, is shown September 20, 2002, which deployed an underwater drone seized by a Chinese Navy warship in international waters in South China Sea, December 16, 2016. Courtesy U.S. Navy/Handout via REUTERS The Chinese and... More »
Reince Priebus reacts during a general session at the Republican National Committee Spring Meeting at the Diplomat Resort in Hollywood, Florida, U.S. on April 22, 2016. REUTERS/Joe Skipper/File Photo President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming White House chief of... More »
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump looks towards the media as he arrives at a costume party at the home of hedge fund billionaire and campaign donor Robert Mercer in Head of the Harbor, New York, U.S., December 3, 2016. REUTERS/Mark Kauzlarich U.S. President-el... More »
Wearing a Peruvian shawl, U.S President Barack Obama poses for a family photo at the APEC Summit in Lima, Peru November 20, 2016. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque Pacific Rim leaders vowed on Sunday to fight protectionism and Chinese officials said more countries are lo... More »
An aerial photo taken though a glass window of a Taiwanese military plane shows the view of Itu Aba, which the Taiwanese call Taiping, at the South China Sea, March 23, 2016. REUTERS/Ministry of Foreign Affairs/Handout via Reuters/File Photo Taiwan’s coastguar... More »
U.S. President Barack Obama talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in Lima, Peru November 20, 2016. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque U.S. President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin spoke for around four m... More »
Worker fumigates along a street in Yangon, Myanmar November 18, 2016. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun Myanmar is largely unprepared for an outbreak of Zika, experts say, with the health ministry slashing anti-virus measures due to lack of funds, overworked doctors skippi... More »
A man lights a cigarette along a road in Mumbai, India, October 26, 2016. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui/File Photo The leadership of a World Health Organization (WHO) treaty aimed at controlling tobacco could be about to get tougher with the global tobacco industry. More »
Vietnamese police have detained a prominent blogger for posting anti-state reports, including one about civilians dying in police custody, which they said undermined trust in the ruling Communist Party. More »
A Halloween display featuring a border wall and figures of Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders is seen on the property of Matt Warshauer in West Hartford, Connecticut. REUTERS/Michelle McLoughlin A Styrofoam model of a hot air-blowing Donald Trump... More »
A migrant worker cries during a crack down on illegal migrant workers at a market in Bangkok, Thailand, September 27, 2016. Picture taken September 27, 2016. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha Thailand is cracking down on migrant workers from neighboring countries, s... More »
Ohio Governor John Kasich speaks as he withdraws as a U.S. Republican presidential candidate in Columbus, Ohio, U.S., May 4, 2016. REUTERS/Aaron Josefczyk Ohio’s Republican governor, John Kasich, took over the White House briefing lectern on Friday to praise t... More »
A man injects heroin into his arm along a street in Man Sam, northern Shan state, Myanmar July 11, 2016. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun The Philippines has launched a bloody “war on drugs” that has killed at least 2,400 people in just two months, while neighboring Indon... More »
U.S. President Barack Obama watches as Chinese President Xi Jinping speaks at the opening ceremony of the G20 Summit in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China September 4, 2016. REUTERS/Mark Schiefelbein/Pool The global economy is being threatened by rising protec... More »
Malaysia is bracing for more Zika cases, officials said on Sunday, after detecting the first locally infected patient, which could further stretch a health system struggling with dengue, another mosquito-borne virus that can be fatal. More »
A worker fogs the drains in the common areas of a public housing estate at an area where locally transmitted Zika cases were discovered in Singapore August 31, 2016. REUTERS/Edgar Su Singapore confirmed 26 more cases of locally transmitted Zika infections, the... More »
Chinese President Xi Jinping waits for the arrival of US National Security Adviser Susan Rice (not pictured) for their meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, July 25, 2016. REUTERS/How Hwee Young/Pool Chinese President Xi Jinping has reshuf... More »
A contractor fogs a condominium garden in Singapore in an effort to kill mosquitoes, September 5, 2013. REUTERS/Tim Wimborne/File Photo Singapore has confirmed 41 cases of locally transmitted Zika virus, mostly among foreign construction workers, and said it e... More »
By Mary Milliken | RIO DE JANEIRO RIO DE JANEIRO As Italian rifle shooter Niccolo Campriani reveled in his second gold medal in the Olympic Games on Sunday, he paused to express some sadness. For him, the “greatest shooter of the century,” Matt Emmons, had not... More »
MANILA When the image of Jennelyn Olaires weeping as she cradled the body of her slain husband went viral in the Philippines, President Rodrigo Duterte called it melodramatic. There’s not much Duterte hasn’t said when it comes to his war on drugs, his only rea... More »
VIENTIANE Southeast Asian nations overcame days of deadlock on Monday when the Philippines dropped a request for their joint statement to mention a landmark legal ruling on the South China Sea, officials said, after objections from Cambodia. Beijing publicly t... More »
BEIJING Freedom of navigation patrols carried out by foreign navies in the South China Sea could end “in disaster”, a senior Chinese admiral has said, a warning to the United States after last week’s ruling against Beijing’s claims in the area. China has refus... More »
BEIJING/MANILA China vowed to take all necessary measures to protect its sovereignty over the South China Sea and said it had the right to set up an air defence zone, after rejecting an international tribunal’s ruling denying its claims to the energy-rich wate... More »
BEIJING European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said on Wednesday that the European Union does not take a stance on sovereignty in South China Sea. Speaking in Beijing, Mogherini said the EU called on all parties to respect legal decisions and u... More »
SINGAPORE China rebuffed U.S. pressure to curb its activity in the South China Sea on Sunday, restating its sovereignty over most of the disputed territory and saying it “has no fear of trouble”. On the last day of Asia’s biggest security summit in Singapore, ... More »
KUNMING, China/VIENTIANE For the southwestern city of Kunming, China’s plan to extend a high-speed rail link 3,000 km (1,875 miles) south to Singapore is already a boon: pristine expressways, a gleaming station and something of a real estate boom, as young buy... More »
ULAANBAATAR U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Sunday the United States would consider any Chinese establishment of an air defense zone over the South China Sea to be a “provocative and destabilizing act”. U.S. officials have expressed concern that an ... More »
SINGAPORE The United States stepped up pressure on China on Saturday to rein in its actions in the South China Sea, with top defense officials underlining Washington’s military superiority and vowing to remain the main guarantor of Asian security for decades t... More »
SINGAPORE The recent lifting of the U.S. arms embargo against Vietnam boosted trust between the former enemies, but significant weapons purchases are some way off, a senior Vietnamese military official said on Saturday. Deputy Defence Minister Nguyen Chi Vinh ... More »
DHAHRAN, Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil giant Aramco is seeking to expand globally via joint ventures overseas as it prepares for a partial privatization pushed by a government intent on diversifying the economy. The company is looking at opportun... More »
DHAHRAN, Saudi Arabia State oil company Saudi Aramco wants to expand globally and is looking at potential joint ventures in several countries, including Indonesia, India, the United States, Vietnam and China, chief executive Amin Nasser said on Tuesday. “We ar... More »
TOKYO Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, speaking ahead of a visit to Beijing, said on Monday China was making the world “worried” with its military buildup and maritime expansion in the East and South China Seas. Ties between China and Japan, the world’... More »
ITU ABA, South China Sea On Itu Aba, in the Spratly archipelago of the South China Sea, Taiwanese coast guard officials proudly haul a small wooden bucket of water from one of several simple concrete wells on the coral outcrop. The water, clear and sweet tasti... More »
MANILA The Philippines is to lease from Japan five aircraft to help patrol the disputed South China Sea, President Benigno Aquino announced on Wednesday, as China expands its military presence in the region. The Philippine military, for decades preoccupied wit... More »
SYDNEY/WASHINGTON The United States is in talks to base long-range bombers in Australia, U.S. defense officials said, within striking distance of the disputed South China Sea, a move that could inflame tensions with China. The deployments could include B-1 bom... More »
MANILA The Philippines on Monday urged China to respect a forthcoming ruling by an arbitration court in The Hague on a territorial dispute in the South China Sea after Beijing accused Manila of “political provocation”. China claims almost the entire South Chin... More »
TAIPEI Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou’s planned trip to the Taiwanese-held island of Itu Aba in the disputed South China Sea is “extremely unhelpful” and won’t do anything to resolve disputes over the waterway, a U.S. official said on Wednesday. Ma’s office ear... More »
CLARK FIELD, Philippines Philippine President Benigno Aquino vowed on Monday to leave behind a stronger and a more capable armed forces to face maritime challenges in the South China Sea when he leaves office next year. Aquino, ineligible to run for re-electio... More »
SYDNEY Australia will not bow to Chinese pressure to halt surveillance flights over disputed islands in the South China Sea at the center of rival claims between China and some of its neighbors, Defense Minister Marise Payne said on Thursday. The Australian De... More »
DANANG, Vietnam A small beachfront Vietnamese casino is giving Macau’s VIP gambling scene a run for its money, drawing in more wealthy Chinese through its columned facade than many Southeast Asian rivals with the allure of sun, sand and discretion. Few outside... More »
The U.S. administration hopes to release the full text of a Pacific trade deal within the next 30 days, U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman said in an interview with CNN. The United States sealed the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) with 11 trading partner... More »
ATLANTA A dozen Pacific nations closed in on a sweeping free-trade pact on Sunday in Atlanta but failed to finalize terms on the fifth day of round-the-clock talks, dashing hopes raised by an earlier breakthrough on protections for new biotech drugs. U.S. offi... More »
HANOI Vietnam will trim its state-run media and publishing sector, with the loss of about 10,000 jobs and some widely circulated newspapers, as the ruling Communist Party tightens its control over the booming industry, a report said on Saturday. The number of ... More »
WASHINGTON The discovery of scores of graves in people-smuggling camps in Malaysia is casting a shadow over President Barack Obama’s signature trade deal as U.S. lawmakers consider punishing trading partners that are soft on human trafficking. Just as Obam... More »
HONG KONG When the U.S. navy sent a littoral combat ship on its first patrol of the disputed Spratly islands in the South China Sea during the past week, it was watching the skies as well. The USS Fort Worth, one of the most modern ships in the U.S. navy, disp... More »
BEIJING China and India proposed measures on Friday to resolve a long-festering border dispute, as Beijing sought to clear obstacles to a relationship that it said could change the international political order. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang met Indian Prime Mini... More »
