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Exercises starting on Monday will be the first to be held outside Philippines’ territorial waters, and come amid a rise in tensions in the South China SeaPhilippine and US forces will carry out their first ever military exercises outside the south-east Asian country’s territorial waters, in a move China has said will only lead to greater insecurity in the South China Sea.The annual Balikatan...

Election closely watched for any impact on Pacific country’s relationship with Beijing, while voters focus on struggling health and other servicesSolomon Islanders have voted in a national election, the first since the prime minister, Manasseh Sogavare, struck a security pact with China in 2022 and drew the Pacific Islands nation closer to Beijing.The outcome of Wednesday’s election will be closely watched by the US,...

Olaf Scholz says European cars should have equal access to Chinese customersEurope live – latest updatesThe chancellor of Germany has urged industry bosses in China to play fair by not overproducing cheap goods or infringing copyright rules.Speaking on a three-day visit to China, where he is travelling with leading business representatives and three government ministers, Olaf Scholz said he, in turn, would encourage the...

Authorities continuing ‘intimidation’ including separating children from their parents, despite pledge to end collective punishmentChina continues to unlawfully target the families of activists and dissidents, despite a pledge to end the practice of collective punishment, a Chinese human rights group has said in a report.The persecution, which includes intimidation and harassment, forced evictions, travel bans, criminal proceedings against family members and preventing children from...

The security deal with Beijing agreed by PM Manasseh Sogavare is under the spotlight ahead of the 17 April voteChina’s rising power in the Pacific explained in 30 secondsChina’s influence in the Pacific is being scrutinised as ally Solomon Islands prepares to hold elections this month, with two candidates indicating they would seek to review a controversial security pact between the two countries.Ties between...

Top-ranking Chinese official Zhao Leji met Kim Jong-un during three-day visit to PyongyangA top ranking Chinese official reaffirmed ties with North Korea during a meeting in Pyongyang on Saturday with the country’s leader, Kim Jong-un, China’s state media reported, in the highest-level talks between the allies in years.The visit by Zhao Leji, who ranks third in the ruling Communist party hierarchy and heads the...

Ferdinand Marcos Jr says building trilateral ties vital, after the three countries criticise China’s ‘dangerous and aggressive behaviour’ in the regionA cooperation agreement by the Philippines, the United States and Japan will change the dynamic in the South China Sea and the region, the Philippine president has said, while seeking to assure China it was not a target.“I think the trilateral agreement is extremely...

Prime minister testified at inquiry into foreign interference that agency’s report of China meddling wasn’t relayed to himCanada’s spy agency is under pressure after Justin Trudeau and his closest advisers say they were never made aware of a report that Beijing “clandestinely and deceptively” interfered in both the 2019 and 2021 federal elections.Canada is in the midst of a contentious public inquiry “examining and...

Fitch cut to negative comes as country moves away from reliance on growth from property sectorBusiness live – latest updatesFitch has downgraded the outlook on China’s debt as it warned of increased risks to the economy while the country moves away from its reliance on growth from the property sector.On Wednesday the US-based agency said it had revised China’s sovereign credit rating from stable...

Suspects, all under 14 at time, are accused of bullying classmate over long period before killing him in Hebei last monthChina will put three boys on trial for allegedly murdering another child, a provincial prosecutor has said, in a case that has shocked the country and sparked public debate over the treatment of juvenile offenders.The three suspects, all aged under 14 at the time...

‘I kept praying and praying’, says rescued woman as search for four people missing from hiking trail set to resume following Wednesday’s quakeRescuers in Taiwan planned to bring in heavy equipment on Saturday to try to recover two bodies buried on a hiking trail, while more than 600 people remained stranded in various locations, three days after the island’s strongest earthquake in 25 years.Four...

News service says it closed bureau after passing of new national security law known as Article 23US-funded Radio Free Asia (RFA) has closed its Hong Kong bureau over safety concerns for its staff in the wake of a new national security law known as Article 23.“Actions by Hong Kong authorities, including referring to RFA as a ‘foreign force’, raise serious questions about our ability...

Revenue at Chinese telecom rose 10% as net profit more than doublesChinese telecoms firm Huawei grew faster in 2023 than it has for four years, as it shrugged off the impact of US sanctions.Revenues rose by nearly 10% to 704.2bn yuan (£77bn) as the Shenzhen-based company enjoyed a rebound within its consumer segment, which includes smartphone handsets. Continue reading...

New Zealand did not follow the US and UK in imposing financial restrictions after accusing Beijing of links to cyber-attacksPoliticians, journalists and critics of Beijing were among those targeted by cyber-attacks run by groups backed by China, western intelligence services said this week.The separate cyber-attacks hit the US, UK and New Zealand – all members of the Five Eyes alliance. The network of five...

Five Chinese nationals and their Pakistani driver killed while en route from Islamabad to dam construction siteSix people have been killed after a suicide bomber rammed a vehicle into a convoy of Chinese engineers working on a dam project in north-west Pakistan, in the third significant attack on Chinese interests in the country in a week.The first two attacks targeted a Pakistani naval airbase...

Warning comes after UK and US announce sanctions against Chinese companies following mass hacking of UK dataCyber-attacks linked to Chinese intelligence agencies are increasing in capability and frequency as they seek to test foreign government responses, analysts have warned in the wake of revelations about a mass hacking of UK data.On Tuesday, the UK and US governments accused hacking group Advanced Persistent Threat 31...

In today’s newsletter: Information about 40 million UK voters was stolen by Chinese spies in a hack that also targeted elected officials. A cybersecurity experts walks us through whether these are isolated incidents, or the tip of a digital iceberg• Sign up here for our daily newsletter, First EditionGood morning. You’re probably not an MP or peer on the Inter-parliamentary Alliance on China (Ipac),...

Former chairman Chen Xuyuan accepted millions in return for help with contracting, investment options and event management, state media report court as sayingThe former chief of China’s national football association, Chen Xuyuan, has been sentenced to life in prison for accepting bribes, state media reported on Tuesday, after one of the biggest anti-corruption probes in the sport in years.The severe sentence for Chen, 67,...

Plant on outskirts of Coventry could create up to 6,000 jobs and will be part of planned Centre for ElectrificationA Chinese manufacturer of electric vehicle batteries is in talks to invest more than £1bn to build a giant new factory on the outskirts of Coventry.EVE Energy, which says it employs 28,000 staff worldwide, is understood to be in talks to construct a 5.7m sq...

Eight-episode series based on Liu Cixin novels triggers accusations of ‘Americanisation’ of a Chinese storyNetflix’s big-budget adaptation of Three-Body Problem, a series of novels by the Chinese author Liu Cixin, has divided opinion on Chinese social media.The eight-episode series, 3 Body Problem, was released in full on Netflix on Thursday. It is based on the first book in Liu’s trilogy, an ambitious sci-fi series...

Beijing dismisses chorus of concern from western governments over punitive new law as slanderChina has accused western governments and the United Nations of slander after they criticised Hong Kong’s new national security law, which was rushed through the city’s pro-Beijing parliament this week.The law, known as Article 23, covers newly defined acts of treason, espionage, theft of state secrets, sedition and foreign interference. Critics...

Latest legislative crackdown on dissent and international collaboration likely to scare off some businesses, say criticsHong Kong was once Asia’s world city, a global financial hub and business gateway to China. But the passage of new national security laws is the latest sign the door is closing.On Tuesday, article 23 was unanimously passed by Hong Kong’s unicameral, opposition-free parliament. The law covers newly defined...

Death of 13-year-old boy has put spotlight on juvenile crime and the plight of children left behind by rural migrant workersThe killing of a 13-year-old boy in northern China last week, for which three boys are in police custody, has triggered a heated discussion in the media on juvenile crime and the plight of children left at home by migrant workers.Police arrested three boys...

Feleti Teo tells the Guardian Tuvaluans fear last year’s treaty may give Australia too much say over the Pacific nation’s securityTuvalu’s new prime minister, Feleti Teo, wants “guarantees” from Canberra that a landmark treaty with Australia will not undermine his country’s sovereignty.Teo, who was appointed leader last month, told the Guardian a controversial security clause in the Falepili Union treaty has led to fears...