MANILA, Philippines — The latest water cannon attacks by China Coast Guard (CCG) ships against Philippine vessels in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) while Manila and Washington carried out their large-scale military exercises called “Balikatan” were intended by Beijing to test their alliance, according to maritime security experts.

TOKYO- The Liberal Democratic Party’s defeat in a House of Representatives by-election in Shimane, dubbed as a “conservative kingdom,” is set to make it more difficult for Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to retain his leadership post.

HONG KONG- The yen sank to a new 34-year low past 160 per dollar on Monday after a forecast-beating US inflation reading dented expectations for US interest rate cuts this year.

TOKYO – Japan’s Environment Ministry launched a special heat stroke alert system Wednesday as part of efforts to address the increasing number of deaths due to the summer heat in recent years.

WASHINGTON – Former U.S. President Donald Trump is meeting with another senior foreign government official while he’s in New York for his criminal hush money trial.

TOKYO – Japan’s antitrust watchdog said Monday that U.S. search giant Google must fix its advertising search restrictions affecting Yahoo in Japan.

QINGDAO, China – The Chinese Navy on Sunday kicked off a biennial meeting of top foreign naval officials in the port city of Qingdao, in a show of military diplomacy that will be closely watched for signs of more engagement between China and the United States.

PITTSBURGH – President Joe Biden suggested to cheering, unionized steelworkers on Wednesday that his administration would thwart the acquisition of U.S. Steel by a Japanese company, and he called for a tripling of tariffs on Chinese steel, seeking to use trade policy to win over working-class votes in the battleground state of Pennsylvania.

TOKYO – The U.S. ambassador to Japan urged Tokyo on Tuesday to take a greater role in developing, producing and supplying weapons “to enhance our collective security” amid conflict in Ukraine, Gaza and elsewhere.

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines and the United States are considering the expansion of their annual “Balikatan” (shoulder-to-shoulder) military exercises to include Japan following the historic trilateral meeting of the leaders of the three countries in Washington last week, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said on Monday.