Taiwan – In an interview with CNN, the president of Taiwan, Tsai Ing-wen expressed confidence that the US would protect the island if China launched a military assault. “I have trust” that US soldiers would assist Taiwan protect itself, Tsai told the television network, adding that Washington’s commitment includes sending Americans to train Taiwan’s military, a program confirmed to the …

China – President Xi Jinping of China recently declared that “peaceful reunification” with Taiwan “would be and can be realized,” days after Chinese aircraft made unprecedented incursions into the democratically ruled island’s air defense zone. Taiwan, which has never officially proclaimed independence, is constantly threatened by China, which regards the island as its own and has promised to take it, …

The Chinese embassy in Australia denounced on Friday the “unfounded allegations” leveled against China by Australia’s defence and foreign ministers and their US counterparts after their annual meeting in Washington. In a statement released after the Australia-US Ministerial Consultations, the two nations voiced worry over China’s “expansive maritime claims in the South China Sea that lack legal foundation” and declared …

The US welcomes competition and is not seeking confrontation with Beijing, but would speak out on matters such as maritime conflicts in the South China Sea, Vice President Kamala Harris said as she wrapped off a tour to Southeast Asia. Harris criticized China of pressuring its Southeast Asian neighbors during trips to Singapore and Vietnam, prompting strong rebukes from Beijing, which …

Taiwan, unlike Afghanistan, will not collapse in the case of an assault, Premier Su Tseng-chang said today, issuing an oblique warning to strong neighbor China not to be misguided into believing it could conquer the island. China, which claims democratically ruled Taiwan as its own territory, has increased military and diplomatic pressure on Taipei to recognize Chinese sovereignty, prompting alarm in …

Quarantine protocols in Metro Manila and Bulacan will ease to general community quarantine (GCQ) with “some restrictions” starting June 16, President Rodrigo Duterte announced on Monday. The quarantine level in the two areas will last until June 30. Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said the only difference in the GCQ with “some restrictions” classification in Metro Manila and Bulacan is that …

The Philippines on Tuesday denied that it wrote a letter to Taiwan seeking for COVID-19 vaccines. Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque told ABS-CBN News when asked to confirm the report and confirmed the country has denied that. Taiwanese media initially reported that an official from Taiwan’s Central Epidemic Command Center confirmed that the Philippines “sent a letter to us” seeking to …

METRO MANILA – Filipinos who are travelling to Taiwan will no longer be forced to complete their 14-day self-isolation in a government facilities upon their arrival in lieu of the declining rate of Covid-19 cases in the country. According to Taiwan’s Central Epidemic Command Center, starting November 9, all asymptomatic travelers from the Philippines can complete their two weeks self-isolation …

TAIPEI – Taipei on Tuesday established the ASEAN parliamentary friendship group with the aim of building closer ties with the member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to promote regional peace, economic development and trades. According to the head of Taiwan-ASEAN Parliamentary Friendship Association, Ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Ou-po (陳歐珀), the establishment of the …

China ramped up its rhetoric about Taiwan, labeling any support for its independence as “doomed to fail,” and threatened retribution against US diplomatic visits to the island.  After the conclusion of a civil war in 1949, Taiwan has been administered independently from China, but Beijing considers the island part of its territories pending reunification. The island is Washington’s flashpoint, pledging …