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OPINION China’s recent outcry over the alleged breach of ‘Gentleman’s Agreement’ with the Philippines reveals a profound irony, given the history of its coercion and deceit There is a huge amount of insincerity and gall involved in the Chinese complaint that the Philippines had torn up the bilateral ‘Gentleman’s Agreement,’ between Beijing and Manila. While the term ‘Gentleman’s Agreement’ has an implicit assumption of ‘trust’ as a fundamental tenet besting a relationship, which may otherwise not be legally binding -- to even imagine that there has been any element of ‘trust’ between these two sparing countries, is to put oneself...

CNN — President Joe Biden on Wednesday called close US ally Japan “xenophobic” at a Washington, D.C., fundraiser, just weeks after lauding the US-Japan alliance at a state dinner. The president made the remark at the off-camera event while arguing that Japan, along with India, Russia and China, would perform better economically if the countries embraced immigration more.

On Monday’s edition of NBC’s “MTP Now,” Rep. Mike Quigley (D-IL) said that the only way to have success against Hamas is through diplomacy and “Hamas is much more than a military organization, it’s a movement. And the manner in which Israel has conducted this war is a recruiting tool for Hamas. So, they’re really not accomplishing what they want to do if the destruction occurs at the level it has so far. They need to be much more surgical and tactical.” Quigley stated, “[A]ny success there is going to be done diplomatically. So, those efforts to get a ceasefire...

The Chinese Foreign Ministry is vowing to retaliate in a dramatic escalation of tensions after it said the United States had demanded Beijing close its consulate in Houston. Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said the US made the demand on Tuesday and described the US move as “unprecedented escalation”. Wang said the Chinese embassy and consulates in the US had received both explosives and death threats recently. “China demands the US revoke the wrong decision. If the US went ahead, China would take necessary counter measures,” Wang said. Wang’s disclosure came after Hu Xijin, editor-in-chief of The Global Times, said on...

Henry Kissinger, who died on Wednesday night at the age of 100, was the most enduringly influential secretary of state in the history of the United States. He was also the most controversial. But the influence matters far more than the controversy. His critics have wasted no time in ignoring the old injunction that no ill should be spoken of the recently deceased. The scurrilous magazine Rolling Stone led with the repulsive headline 'Henry Kissinger, War Criminal Beloved by America's Ruling Class, Finally Dies'. At a time when anti-Semitism has again reared its ugly head in the wake of the...

The truth is that China’s maritime provocations in the South China Sea will continue until war ensues.As America, and much of the world, remains focused on conflicts in Europe and the Middle East, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) continues to ramp up its bellicose actions in the South China Sea and in the waters and airspace around Taiwan.The PRC’s use of water cannons — capable of inflicting fatal injuries — against Philippine resupply vessels seeking to reach a Philippine outpost in Philippine waters; engaging in dangerous maneuvers at sea and in the air; and aggressively employing “gray-zone” tactics with...

Hamas thanked Vladimir Putin for his support for the “Palestinian cause” as the terror group released a Russian hostage from the Gaza Strip on Sunday afternoon. It said its release of a Russian citizen from the war-ravaged territory was made in appreciation of the position taken by Moscow’s position on the conflict with Israel. “In response to the efforts of Russian president Putin and in appreciation of the Russian position in support of the Palestinian cause, we released a detainee who holds Russian citizenship,” Hamas said.

No matter the distance or the weather, Jane Christensen was determined to see the giant pandas before they left Washington. Now in her 60s, Christensen told AFP she had been captured by the species' magical cuteness over a half-century ago, when China first gifted two pandas to the United States. "I've had 'panda-monium' ever since," she said under a chilly rain outside the Smithsonian National Zoo's panda exhibit, hundreds of miles from her home in Michigan. All three of the zoo's pandas are leaving for China by the end of the year, bringing at least a temporary end to a...

New York -- The US is “deeply concerned” about the allegations raised by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau against India on the killing of a Khalistani separatist in Canada, Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said and Washington was "closely coordinating" with Ottawa on the issue and wants to see "accountability" in the case. Speaking at a press conference here on Friday, Blinken said the US has engaged directly with the Indian government on the issue and the most productive thing would be the completion of this investigation. “Let me say a few things about this. First, we are deeply...

@RandPaul Unrestrained U.S. aid for Ukraine must come to an end, and we will adamantly oppose all future aid packages unless they are linked to a clear diplomatic strategy designed to bring this war to a rapid conclusion.

Somebody at China's foreign ministry must be getting promotions.It's been one diplomatic victory after another for the Chinese, While most of the attention is focused on China's growing military might and technological success, the diplomatic front is racking up successes, too.David Goldman had an interesting tweet:. Whoops! There went Brazil. Whoops! There went Honduras. Whoops! Here goes Malaysia.https://t.co/NZfJavjIGt — David P. Goldman (@davidpgoldman) March 30, 2023 The article references Malaysia's fairly new prime minister, Anwar Ibrahim, reputedly a Western-friendly leader, calling for China to step up its One Belt, One Road development initiative, which is focused on high-value infrastructure investment...

Saudi Arabia and Iran have agreed to restore diplomatic ties, Iran announced Friday afternoon. The two countries will reopen their embassies in Riyadh and Tehran within 60 days, Iranian media reported, claiming that the deal was reached during a recent meeting in China. The Islamic Republic and the Saudi kingdom have not had formal diplomatic ties after an attack on the Saudi embassy in Tehran and a Saudi consulate in Mashhad, prompting Saudi Arabia to expel Iran's mission in Riyadh. The attacks in Tehran and Mashhad came in response to the execution of a prominent Shi'ite cleric in Saudi Arabia....

Local officials in London overwhelmingly rejected plans for a massive, new Chinese Embassy on Thursday. The decision over the long-planned project is a bitter setback for the Chinese government, which currently operates its embassy out of a townhouse in central London. It also comes as a once-promising "golden era" in relations between the two countries has deteriorated in recent years. In turning down the Chinese government's plans, councilors in the London borough of Tower Hamlets cited the need to protect 14th century ruins inside the proposed embassy grounds as well as concerns about potential terrorist attacks, public protests and traffic...

...In an opinion piece posted Monday morning criticizing the Biden administration’s move as “too arrogant,” Chinese commentator Hu Xijin nonetheless offered that, “as a major military industrial power, Russia does not need to ask China to provide substantial military assistance for the limited scale war in Ukraine.” “Moreover, China is not obligated to promise nor to export arms to Russia,” Hu said in a video circulated by the state-sponsored English-language Global Times, for which he was executive editor until December. Though not a direct mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party, the news agency is aligned with its views and seen...

When I was a kid, growing up in the foothills of the Appalachians, one of our pastimes was crawdad hunting. It usually happened when the weather was scorching hot and contrary to popular belief it gets hot and humid in the mountains. Once there weren't enough kids around to play stickball, or our bikes were down for repairs, the creek beckoned. Mom and Dad warned us time and again to stay out of the creek, but keeping an eye on me and my brother was a full-time job in and of itself. Growing up out in the country certainly had...

Firmly convinced that Russia will invade Ukraine unless he can stop them, President Biden has tasked Vice-President Harris with "soothing the savage breasts of these potential combatants." Biden says he is optimistic for her prospects of success. "She is a woman known for her feminine wiles," he pointed out. "Despite her lack of significant contributions to the public good in all the jobs she's had in the public sector and the unfavorable impression most ordinary people have of her, she has risen to the second-highest job in our government. She also has a very positive endorsement of her skills from...

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will fly to Ukraine next week and hold crisis talks by phone with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, his office said. In recent months Putin has amassed a force of more than 100,000 soldiers at the border and regional tensions have escalated sharply.

Two US officials involved in negotiations over renewing the 2015 Irn nuclear deal have stepped back from the talks and a third has left the team altogether amid internal discord over how firm the White House should be with Tehran, according to a report. Richard Nephew, the State Department's deputy special envoy for Iran who pushed for a tougher approach, has not been part of the talks since early December, Wall Street Journal reported Monday. A State Department spokesman told Reuters late Monday that Nephew was no longer in the envoy role, though he was still at the department. Two...

U.S. defense leaders have allowed China’s military might to grow unchecked while they prattle on about critical race theory and climate change. That increases the risk of war over Taiwan.The Chinese Communist Party is open about its imperial ambitions. Chinese leader Xi Jinping calls explicitly for “the transformation of the global governance system”—which means China in charge of the Asian Pacific and, ultimately, the world. America must act now to stop it. Our economic prosperity, no less than our national security, depends on it. A China that bestrides the Pacific would make today’s supply chain woes look pleasant. A China...

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Traveling across Africa, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken saw firsthand the limits of America’s influence abroad. Blinken confronted authoritarianism, growing threats from newly energized extremists, and persistent challenges posed by COVID-19 and climate change, all of which have stubbornly resisted various U.S. interventions. And, nowhere on his three-nation tour last week — to Kenya, Nigeria and Senegal — was he able to escape obvious signs of the intense competition between the U.S. and China:...