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WASHINGTON, May 16 (Reuters) - The speaker of Taiwan's parliament praised Japan, South Korea and the Philippines on Tuesday for helping to create a "crescent of defense" with Taiwan and the U.S. against China's ambitions in the Indo-Pacific region. You praised Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol for calling Taiwan a global issue and opposing a change to the status quo by force. "The crescent of defense formed by Korea, Japan, Taiwan and the Philippines will, with American support, be a key stabilizer of peace and security in the Indo-Pacific region," he added. China has been stepping up its military activities around Taiwan to try and force the democratically governed island to accept Beijing's sovereignty. It has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control.

WASHINGTON, May 10 (Reuters) - China is facing a growing backlash from the United States and other Western governments over its controversial efforts to pressure dissidents and their advocates abroad, but Beijing has appeared undeterred. Authorities in the U.S., Canada, Britain and elsewhere recently have taken a hard line, including with expulsions, indictments, arrests and probes, against Chinese operations they say are aimed at intimidating critics and pursuing officials accused of corruption living abroad. Among Beijing's alleged tactics are threats of harm, online harassment and clandestine operations on foreign soil to hunt pro-democracy activists. Beijing responded within hours by ordering a Canadian diplomat in Shanghai to leave over what it called Ottawa's "unreasonable actions". Despite the latest diplomatic spat between China and Canada, “I don't think that you can say that these particular actions are harming the business relationship," said Sarah Kutulakos, the executive director of the Canada China Business Council.

☆ Japan working towards opening of NATO liaison office in Tokyo
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, May 9 (Reuters) - Japan is working towards the opening of a NATO liaison office in Tokyo, Japan's ambassador to the U.S. Koji Tomita said on Tuesday. "The point you mentioned is one of the things that we are working on to strengthen our partnership. But I really haven't heard any final confirmation of that, but we are working in that direction," he said. NATO has not confirmed the Nikkei report, saying it would not go into details of NATO allies' ongoing deliberations. After the Nikkei Asia report, China said "high vigilance" was needed in the face of NATO's "eastward expansion."

☆ US opens embassy in Tonga in new pushback against China in Pacific
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, May 9 (Reuters) - The United States has opened a new embassy in Tonga, the State Department said on Tuesday, part of efforts to step up the U.S. diplomatic presence in the Pacific region to counter China. The United States "officially opened the U.S. Embassy in Nuku'alofa on May 9, 2023," State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement. Miller said the embassy would allow Washington to deploy additional diplomatic personnel and resources, including the potential appointment of a resident ambassador to Tonga, with which the United States has had diplomatic relations since 1972. Despite the diplomatic push, the Solomon Islands announced in March it had awarded a multi-million-dollar contract to a Chinese state company to upgrade an international port in Honiara. The United States and regional allies Australia and New Zealand have had concerns that China has ambitions to build a naval base in the region since the Solomon Islands struck a security pact with Beijing last year.

☆ Japan PM Kishida visits Seoul to forge closer ties amid N.Korea threats
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

South Korean officials are hopeful that Kishida will make some kind of gesture in return and offer some political support, although few observers expect any further formal apology for historical wrongs. But the historical differences between South Korea and Japan also threaten to cast a shadow over the blossoming ties between its two leaders. The majority of South Koreans believe Japan hasn't apologised sufficiently for atrocities during Japan's 1910-1945 occupation of Korea, Lee said. "They think that Prime Minister Kishida should show sincerity during his visit to South Korea, such as mentioning historical issues and expressing apologies," she added. Still, South Korea is an "important neighbour that we must cooperate with on various global issues," Japan's foreign ministry has said.

WASHINGTON, May 4 (Reuters) - Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said on Thursday that granting U.S. access to Philippine military bases was a defensive step that would be "useful" if China attacked Taiwan. Marcos told Reuters the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) reached with the United States in 2014 was originally conceived to improve disaster responses. Marcos said Washington "has not proposed any kind of action for the Philippines in terms of taking part in the defense of Taiwan." Biden said on Monday that the U.S. commitment to the defense of its ally was "ironclad," including in the South China Sea, and that the guidelines issued on Wednesday laid out treaty commitments if either side were attacked in the South China Sea. He said the patrols would help preserve freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, where China has a growing military presence.

WASHINGTON, May 4 (Reuters) - Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr dismissed criticism during an interview on Thursday that his presidential campaign played down the corruption and extravagance the Marcos family was known for during his father's rule. Marcos told Reuters at the end of a four-day visit to Washington that his country's citizens could not continue to fight decades-old social battles. During his campaign, critics said Marcos' presidential bid tried to whitewash the corruption and authoritarianism associated with his father's 20-year rule. The Marcos family denies wrongdoing. Marcos' Washington visit has been the first by a Philippine president in more than 10 years and included a summit on Monday with U.S. President Joe Biden.

WASHINGTON, May 4 (Reuters) - Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said on Thursday his agreement this year to grant the United States access to more military bases in his country was not intended for use for "offensive action" against any country. Speaking to a U.S. think-tank in Washington, Marcos said he had made that point to Chinese officials during recent talks. He also said the U.S. had not asked the Philippines to provide troops in case of war between China and the U.S. over Taiwan. Marcos told the Center for Strategic and International Studies that the 2014 Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) that allows access to bases in the Philippines was conceived to deal with the effects of climate change. Manila's ties with Washington have deepened under Marcos and he granted the U.S. military access to four more bases in February, something China said was "stoking the fire" of regional tension.

Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns said on Tuesday Washington was very concerned about China's recent "punitive" action toward some U.S. companies, and that foreign firms are delaying investments in the country due to uncertainty about the openness of its economy. "If you put that together with some of the punitive actions that the government here in Beijing has taken against several American companies recently, we're very concerned about this," Burns said, adding: "We intend to have a full discussion with the government here about it." China's foreign ministry said at the time Mintz was suspected of engaging in unlawful business operations. Burns said a lot of foreign firms were delaying making major investments until they could see some consistency in messaging from China. He said he had warned American companies to carefully abide by a U.S. law that prohibits importing goods from China's Xinjiang region over concerns about forced labor by Uyghurs and other Muslim ethnic minorities.

WASHINGTON, April 29 (Reuters) - At a summit on Monday, U.S. President Joe Biden and Philippines counterpart Ferdinand Marcos Jr are expected to reach agreements on greater business engagement, as well as "military enhancements" amid shared concerns about China, a senior Biden administration official told Reuters. Marcos is due in the United States on Sunday for a four-day visit that Philippines official say is aimed at reaffirming the special relationship between the Philippines and the United States, which are long-time allies. The senior U.S. administration official said it was impossible to underestimate its strategic importance of the Philippines, although the relationship was more than just about security. "We will roll out some deliverables during the next week that will highlight business engagement but also some military enhancements as well," he said on Saturday. The official said that as part of moves to boost commercial ties, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo would a lead a presidential business delegation to the Philippines.

April 28 (Reuters) - South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said on Friday it was necessary to ensure Russia’s invasion of Ukraine does not succeed and that Seoul was considering its options when it came to lethal aid to Kyiv. "If we were to accept nuclear weapons by North Korea, South Korea may have to possess nuclear weapons... and this would lead to a situation of disarmament. Yoon said the Washington Declaration required Seoul to keep respecting the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and not acquire its own nuclear weapons. He said there were opinions in South Korean society that said Seoul should acquire nuclear weapons and had the technological capabilities for this, but it was complex equation about politics and economics too. "Those opinions saying that we need to have our own nuclear arsenal are not considering all these things."

☆ Analysis: Calls for South Korean nuclear arsenal unlikely to fade despite US deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Josh Smith | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

"Domestic politics could distort the incentives South Korean leaders face when it comes to limiting their nuclear options over the long run." Nuclear expert Siegfried Hecker warned in January there could be disastrous downsides to Seoul acquiring its own nuclear weapons. The United States once stationed hundreds of tactical nuclear weapons in South Korea and has made other agreements to reassure Seoul. Choi Il, a retired South Korean submarine captain, told Reuters that South Korea's fundamental answer to the growing North Korean threat remains unchanged. "If you strike us with nuclear weapons, then we will strike back with our own."

WASHINGTON, April 27 (Reuters) - South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol told U.S. lawmakers on Thursday it is necessary to speed up trilateral cooperation with Japan and the United States to counter increasing North Korean nuclear threats, and said the world must not "shy away" from promoting freedom for the North. "Korea will never forget the great American heroes who fought with us to defend freedom," he said. On Wednesday, Yoon met President Joe Biden at the White House and the United States pledged to give South Korea more insight into its nuclear planning over any conflict with North Korea, amid anxiety over Pyongyang's growing arsenal of missiles and bombs. Yoon became the seventh South Korea leader to address Congress, underscoring the close relationship between Seoul and Washington. "We will actively work to safeguard the freedom of the people of Ukraine and support their efforts in reconstruction," he said.

WASHINGTON, April 26 (Reuters) - President Joe Biden and South Korean leader Yoon Suk Yeol are expected to agree on Wednesday to deepen collaboration meant to deter nuclear escalation by North Korea amid heightened anxiety about its growing arsenal of missiles and bombs, U.S. officials said. The Republic of Korea is South Korea's official name. The officials stressed that no U.S. nuclear weapons would be returned to the peninsula, and South Korea would continue not to have control over the U.S. nuclear arsenal. South Korea will also reaffirm its commitment to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty and its non-nuclear status, they said. It is only the second state visit Biden has hosted since he took office two years ago - the first such guest was France's president.

☆ Explainer: South Korea's nuclear dilemma: Would U.S. trade Seattle for Seoul?
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( David Brunnstrom | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

WHY IS SOUTH KOREA WORRIED? U.S. "extended deterrence" protection for South Korea rests on a simple, if grim, assumption: if North Korea were to attack South Korea with nuclear weapons, it would face devastating U.S. retaliatory strikes. Yoon vowed in his election campaign to seek redeployment of U.S. tactical nuclear weapons in South Korea and possibly "nuclear sharing," meaning joint command over U.S. weapons. But his comments have driven a growing debate that one former senior U.S. defense official said threatens to normalize a once unthinkable concept of a South Korean nuclear arsenal. WHAT WOULD BE THE IMPLICATIONS OF A NUCLEAR SOUTH KOREA?

[1/4] South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol delivers remarks to the U.S.-Korea Business Council at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 25, 2023. He said the two countries' economies had been facing new challenges and the economic slowdown was unsettling the investment environment. "Competition for technological hegemony, energy issues and climate crises are casting more uncertainties on business activity day by day," Yoon said. "This cooperation should extend beyond semiconductors to future emerging technologies such as AI, Quantum, SMR (Small Modular Reactors) and more," Yoon said. Core technologies from the United States and South Korea's advanced manufacturing capabilities would "create enormous synergies that will benefit both countries," he said.

WASHINGTON, April 21 (Reuters) - At a summit next week with South Korean leader Yoon Suk Yeol U.S. President Joe Biden will pledge "substantial" steps to underscore the U.S. commitment to deter a North Korean nuclear attack on South Korea, a senior U.S. official said on Friday. In a poll released on April 6 by the Asian Institute for Policy Studies in Seoul, 64.3% of South Koreans supported developing nuclear weapons with 33.3% opposed. The survey showed 52.9% of South Koreans were confident the United States would use nuclear weapons to defend South Korea in the event of a nuclear attack by North Korea. A second official said the United States welcomed the role South Korea had played in supporting Ukraine and would "welcome additional steps (It) might be willing to take." Biden will also commend huge South Korean tech investment in the United States since he took office, which was now approaching $100 million, the official said.

☆ Hours before Blinken visit, US condemns Vietnam's jailing of activist
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, April 13 (Reuters) - Hours ahead of a visit to Hanoi by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the United States on Thursday condemned Vietnam's jailing of a prominent political activist and said ties could only reach their full potential if the country improved its human rights record. Thang participated in environmental and anti-China protests, voiced support for jailed activists, and blogged about socio-political issues, according to his social media accounts. Vietnamese authorities have convicted at least 163 people since 2018 for exercising their rights to freedom of expression or association under "vague or over-broad laws that criminalize protesting or criticizing the government", according to Human Rights Watch. In a statement on Thursday, Human Rights Watch called on Blinken, who is due in Hanoi on Friday, to "publicly and privately urge Vietnam’s leadership to end its systemic abuse of freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly." Reporting by David Brunnstrom; Editing by Daniel WallisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ US will 'turn over every rock' to find source of leak, says Pentagon chief
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Idrees Ali | Thomson Reuters | National Security Correspondent Focusing On The Pentagon In Washington D.C. Reports On U.S. Military Activity | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, April 11 (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Tuesday said the United States will investigate the recent purported leak of classified documents until the source of them was found. "We will continue to investigate and turn over every rock until we find the source of this and the extent of it," Austin said during a press conference at the State Department. "These are things that we will find out as we continue to investigate," Austin added. Investigators are working to determine what person or group might have had the ability and motivation to release the intelligence reports. The leaks could be the most damaging release of U.S. government information since the 2013 publication of thousands of documents on WikiLeaks.

REUTERS/Elizabeth FrantzWASHINGTON, April 11 (Reuters) - The top defense and diplomatic officials from the United States and Philippines agreed on Tuesday to complete a road map in coming months to cover the delivery of U.S. defense assistance to the Philippines over the next five to 10 years. Experts say the United States sees the Philippines as a potential location for rockets, missiles and artillery systems to counter a Chinese amphibious invasion of Taiwan, which China claims as its own. Austin said that it was "too early" to discuss what assets the United States would like to station at Philippine military bases under a recently expanded Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA). The joint statement said the United States expects to boost its allocated spending for EDCA sites to over $100 million by the end of 2023, against a previously announced $80 million. U.S.-Philippines relations have warmed considerably under Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, and the 2+2 meeting underlined that as the first of its kind in seven years.

☆ US House speaker McCarthy meets Taiwan leader in California, despite Chinese warnings
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

LOS ANGELES, April 5 (Reuters) - U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy met Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen in California on Wednesday, becoming the most senior U.S. figure to meet a Taiwanese leader on U.S. soil since 1979 despite threats of retaliation from China, which claims self-ruled Taiwan as its own. McCarthy, a Republican who through his House position is number three in the U.S. leadership hierarchy, welcomed Tsai on Wednesday morning at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, near Los Angeles. Reporting by Michael Martina and David Brunnstrom; editing by Kanishka SinghOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

The Chinese Embassy in Washington called self-ruled Taiwan "an inalienable part of China" and said the one-China principle was an "overwhelming trend" internationally. When Taiwan temporarily averted a split with Honduras after President Xiomara Castro took office in January 2022, U.S. State Department officials remained wary. The Biden administration is also keeping a close eye on tiny Belize for any cracks in its Taiwan relationship. Two U.S. officials said Washington was putting less stock in Taiwan maintaining its diplomatic allies in favor of efforts to increase its participation in international organizations. While denied a seat in the United Nations, Taiwan is a member of the WTO and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.

LOS ANGELES, April 5 (Reuters) - Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen is set to meet U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Wednesday in the first such meeting on U.S. soil, a plan that has drawn threats of retaliation from China, which claims self-ruled Taiwan as its own. It will be the highest-level meeting with a Taiwanese president on U.S. soil since Washington switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979. A meeting in California is seen as a potentially less provocative alternative to McCarthy visiting Taiwan, something he has said he hopes to do. Washington called on China not to overreact, portraying Tsai's stopovers as routine and a normal part of its unofficial relationship with Taiwan. White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre told a regular news briefing on Tuesday Tsai's transit was "private" and "unofficial."

LOS ANGELES, April 4 (Reuters) - China, Taiwan, and the United States all share a common interest in ensuring this week's California stopover by Taiwan's president gets the focus each thinks it deserves, but without setting off a new crisis. It is sure to elicit a forceful reaction from Beijing, which considers Taiwan part of its territory. McCarthy, as House speaker, is third in line to the U.S. leadership and he has said publicly that he does not rule out a future visit to Taiwan. Xu Xueyuan, charge d'affaires at China's Washington embassy, said last week that McCarthy meeting Tsai "could lead to another serious confrontation in the China-U.S. With an eye the Taiwan election, China invited former Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou of the KMT party for a visit coinciding with Tsai's U.S. stopovers.

☆ High activity spotted at North Korea nuclear complex after Kim's bomb-fuel order, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The Washington-based 38 North North Korea monitoring project said the activity it had spotted, based on images from March 3 and 17, could indicate that an Experimental Light Water Reactor (ELWR) at the Yongbyon site was nearing completion and transition to operational status. On Tuesday, North Korea unveiled new, smaller nuclear warheads and vowed to produce more weapons-grade nuclear material to expand its arsenal, while denouncing stepped up military exercises by South Korea and the United States. Its state media said Kim had ordered the production of weapons-grade materials in a "far-sighted way" to boost the country's nuclear arsenal "exponentially." South Korea and the United States have warned since early 2022 that North Korea may resume nuclear testing at any time. In a report last year, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) estimated North Korea had assembled up to 20 nuclear warheads, and probably possessed sufficient fissile material for approximately 45–55 nuclear devices.

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