Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sent a ritual offering on Tuesday to a Tokyo shrine for war dead, irking Asian neighbors just before he hopes to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of a leaders' summit in Jakarta.
China reviewed a new national security law during a meeting of its legislature's top body that will deal with a range of risks, including "harmful moral standards", state media said on Monday.
China's Defense Ministry complained on Friday that Japanese surveillance activities threatened the safety of Chinese ships and aircraft, raising the issue after Japan said earlier this week that its jet fighter scrambles had hit levels unseen since the Cold War.
Philippine President Benigno Aquino said on Friday the territorial dispute with China in the South China Sea was of concern for the world because global trade will be hit by China's reclamation.
Recent satellite images published on Thursday show China has made rapid progress in building an airstrip suitable for military use in contested territory in the South China Sea's Spratly Islands and may be planning another, moves that have been greeted with concern in the United States and Asia.
China could eventually deploy radar and missile systems on outposts it is building in the South China Sea that could be used to enforce an exclusion zone over the disputed territory, the U.S. military commander for Asia said on Wednesday.
Any failure to tackle China's huge pollution problems in the coming years could stoke public discontent and create "social conflicts," government researchers warned, underlining political concerns driving Beijing's war on smog.
Senior officials of South Korea and Japan will resume security talks next week after more than five years, with the hope of normalizing dialogue despite recent diplomatic spats.
China's plans for islands it is creating in the South China Sea show for the first time the scale of civilian architecture it will extend across the disputed waterway, entrenching its reach in the maritime heart of Southeast Asia, experts say.
U.S. President Barack Obama said Washington is concerned China is using its "sheer size and muscle" to push around smaller nations in the South China Sea, drawing a swift rebuke from Beijing which accused the United States of being the bully.
North Korea has fired two surface-to-air missiles off its west coast, South Korea said on Thursday, with the latest in a string of short-range firings by the North coming shortly before the U.S. defense secretary arrived in the region.
Japanese Emperor Akihito headed on Wednesday for the island nation of Palau where he will visit a World War Two battlefield, the latest journey in his efforts to soothe the wounds of a conflict that haunts Asia 70 years after its end.
Chinese President Xi Jinping told the visiting head of Vietnam's ruling Communist Party on Tuesday that the two countries must manage their dispute over the South China Sea well to maintain peace and stability, state media reported.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter kicked off his first Asian tour on Wednesday with a stern warning against the militarization of territorial rows in a region where China is at odds with several nations in the East and South China Seas.
China's foreign ministry added its support on Tuesday to calls for a ceasefire in Yemen, after Russia and the Red Cross appealed for a military pause to allow humanitarian aid deliveries and the evacuation of civilians.
China urged Japan on Tuesday to properly educate its youth, joining South Korea in condemning Japan's approval of textbooks its neighbors say distort history by claiming disputed islands.
China called on other countries on Tuesday to respect its judicial sovereignty after U.S. former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton denounced as "inexcusable" the detention of five women activists.
This week's framework nuclear deal with Iran was also good for boosting relations between China and the United States, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in a call with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.
China has provided a "priority" list to the United States of Chinese officials who are suspected of corruption and are believed to have fled to the U.S., a top state-run newspaper said on Wednesday.
The Philippines said on Thursday it would resume repair and reconstruction works in the disputed South China Sea after halting activities last year over concerns about the effect on an arbitration complaint filed against China.
China's Foreign Ministry confirmed, in a roundabout way, on Tuesday that it had issued an invitation to wartime enemy Japan to attend events in China to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of World War Two later this year.
