MANILA – Beijing and Manila announced that they have reached an agreement on the joint exploration of oil and gas resources in the South China Sea. The announcement came after President Rodrigo Duterte lifted the ban on oil and gas exploration in the contested West Philippine Sea area. According to Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China …

METRO MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte has ended the ban on oil and gas exploration in the West Philippine Sea, the Department of Energy (DOE) confirmed on Thursday. Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi said that the president approved the department’s recommendation to lift the ban that was placed in 2013. He thanked the President’s approval for the recommendation as they need …

METRO MANILA – One of China’s candidate vaccine for COVID-19 has been cleared by the country for Phase 3 clinical trial that is expected to start by November. According to the Food and Drug Administration director general Eric Domingo the vaccine expert panel from the  Department of Science and Technology (DOST) has given the vaccine the green light to proceed …

KUALA LUMPUR – China’s State Councillor Wang Yi, said on Tuesday (Oct. 13) that China and the member states of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) should practice cooperation and remove “external disruption” in the South China Sea. Wang, in a joint news conference with Malaysia’s foreign minister Hishammuddin Hussein said that both countries are in the same …

KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia’s Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein met his counterpart from China, Wang Yi and reaffirm the two country’s commitment on solving several issues of importance. In a released joint press statement, both country reiterated their commitment to promote the key relations of both countries on the basis of equality and mutual respect and win-win cooperation. Key …

BEIJING – A Chinese hospital in Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, launched a cross-border medical platform to further step up medical cooperation between Beijing and ASEAN countries. The China-ASEAN Cross-Border Medical Cooperation Platform was initiated by First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University with the cooperation of Microsoft, Mindray Bio-Medical Electronics Co and China UnionPay. The one-stop platform offers full-life-cycle …

METRO MANILA – Filipino fishermen are will to get training from the government to become the country’s to become the country’s maritime militia to counter China’s growing paramilitary fishing fleet being deployed in the area. Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana told the Senate finance committee which is currently deliberating Department of National Defense (DND)’s proposed P283.2-billion budget for next year, that …

BEIJING – Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi will schedule a state visit to Cambodia, Malaysia, Laos and Thailand this month, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying announced on Friday. According to Hua, Wang’s visits aims to further stregthen the China-ASEAN cooperation as well as build mutual trust in the region. Hua added that China and ASEAN countries are …

ASEAN – The U.S. government announced new partnership to aid five Southeast Asian countries in an effort to take another bite out of Chinese influence in the region. On September 11, The Mekong-U.S. Partnership was formed by offering aid to Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam for project related to Covid-19 relief to anti-drought measures. The US government hopes to …

The region’s relationship with the two superpowes is under pressure as the rivalry of the two superpowers are affecting Asia’s shared prosperity and security. The rise of China as a global power causes deepening tension with the United States. This has been recently intensified by the Covid-19 pandemic that is affecting the global economy. Asean has played a vital role …