Japan's military is considering joining the United States in maritime air patrols in the South China Sea in response to China's increasingly assertive pursuit of territorial claims, a Japanese and a U.S. source familiar with the discussions said.
China will hold joint naval drills with Russia in mid-May in the Mediterranean Sea, the first time the two countries will hold military exercises together in that part of the world, the Chinese Defence Ministry said on Thursday.
China's Defence Ministry on Thursday rebuffed a senior U.S. official who cast doubt on China's plans to hold a military parade in September to mark the end of the World War Two.
China's foreign ministry said on Tuesday that it was "extremely concerned" after leaders of Southeast Asian countries expressed worry about land reclamation and navigational freedom in the disputed South China Sea.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told Japanese leaders on Monday that Washington's treaty commitments to Japan's security remain "iron-clad" and cover all territories under Tokyo's administration, including tiny islands in the East China Sea that China also claims.
The Philippines called on its Southeast Asian neighbors to unite in urging China to halt reclamation of land in the South China Sea, but the call failed to raise widespread support ahead of a regional summit.
The Japanese military could expand its role and missions around the world under new U.S.-Japan defense guidelines that are expected to be released on Monday and may cause unease in China.
Southeast Asian leaders edged closer to open criticism of China's land reclamation in the disputed South China Sea at a regional summit on Monday, as the Philippines drew the ire of Beijing which called its objections to the work "unreasonable".
Rescuers dug with their bare hands and bodies piled up in Nepal on Sunday after an earthquake devastated the heavily crowded Kathmandu Valley, killing more than 2,200 people, and triggered a deadly avalanche on Mount Everest.
Nepal urged countries to send aid to help it cope with the aftermath of a devastating earthquake that killed more than 1,300 people, a toll officials said would rise as the desperate search for survivors continued into the early hours of Sunday.
An 88-year-old South Korean woman forced to become a sex slave in Japanese military brothels during World War Two on Friday called on Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to apologize and restore her "honor" when he visits Washington next week.
China's parliament has passed legislation that restricts tobacco advertising in public, strengthening efforts to curb smoking in a country where more than a billion people are smokers or exposed to second-hand smoke.
The United States has asked for access to Philippine military bases in eight locations to rotate troops, aircraft, and ships as Washington shifts its forces to Asia and as China expands its military presence in the South China Sea.
U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter is due to unveil an updated cyber strategy on Thursday that will stress the military's ability to retaliate with cyber weapons, a capability he hopes will help deter attacks.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, in an apparent reference to China's growing military assertiveness, told a conference of Asian and African leaders on Wednesday that the use of force by the "mightier" should never go unchecked.
China on Wednesday defended the actions of its vessels in the disputed South China Sea after the Philippines accused China's coast guard of using water cannon on Philippine fishing boats and urged Manila to increase its "education" of its fishermen.
The Hong Kong government published a long-awaited electoral blueprint for selecting the city's next leader on Wednesday, a plan enshrining China's desire for a tightly controlled poll that has angered activists and stoked talk of fresh protests.
China's Interpol office has released a list of 100 wanted economic fugitives, the ruling Communist Party's anti-corruption watchdog said on Wednesday, as the government deepens its fight against suspected corrupt officials who have fled overseas.
Politicians in Pakistan complained on Wednesday that a plan for projects worth $46 billion to be built with Chinese funding has been unfairly changed to the disadvantage of two provinces.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said ahead of his trip to a leaders' summit in Jakarta that he aims to improve ties with China, and reiterated that he is ready to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Filipino activists denounced China's coast guard on Tuesday for turning water cannon on Philippine fishing boats in disputed waters, near where hundreds of Filipino and American Marines landed on a beach in a mock assault.
