New Delhi, April 11 (IANS) As India seeks to position Southeast Asia as a key market for the BrahMos missile, the supersonic cruise weapon – jointly developed by India and Russia – has generated significant interest in the region amid growing Chinese assertiveness in the South China Sea. Its speed, precision strike capability, and multi-platform deployment – from land and sea to air and submarine – make it a formidable weapon for enhancing regional defence capabilities.According to a rep…
Latest Philippines News & Updates
Manila, April 8 (IANS) Secretary (East) at the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Periasamy Kumaran, held a meeting with the Philippines Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Maria Theresa P. Lazaro in Manila on Thursday, discussing progress of strategic partnership between two nations and India’s active support for ASEAN. In a post on X, Lazaro stated, “A pleasure meeting Mr. Periasamy Kumaran, Secretary (East) of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, who is in Manila for the 28th ASEAN-India Senio…
Seoul, April 8 (IANS) Former Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Wednesday called for South Korea and Japan to work together, such as at the UN level, to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz, citing deepening supply disruptions from the war against Iran that are affecting the global economy.Ishiba made the remarks during a forum in Seoul, stressing that Iran’s effective blockade of the vital waterway, responsible for about 20 per cent of global energy supplies, is not limited to just a few cou…
Beijing/Manila, April 4 (IANS) The provisional understanding between the Philippines and China over the contested Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea underscores how Manila has countered Chinese coercion through quiet resolve backed by political leadership, alliance support, calculated military moves, and public willingness to bear the cost of managed escalation. “Chinese coercion was defeated by persistence that denied it success. The Philippines did not secure Second Thomas Shoal beca…
New Delhi, April 3 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on the solemn occasion of Good Friday, stated that the day serves as a reminder of the immense sacrifice made by Jesus Christ. He also expressed hope that the occasion would strengthen the values of harmony, compassion, and forgiveness in society. Taking to the social media platform X, the Prime Minister wrote, “Good Friday reminds us of Jesus Christ’s sacrifice. May this day further deepen the values of harmony, compassion and forgiven…
Jakarta, April 2 (IANS) A powerful 7.4-magnitude offshore earthquake struck eastern Indonesia early Thursday, the United States Geological Survey said, prompting a warning from a US monitoring agency about the possibility of “hazardous tsunami waves” within a 1,000-kilometre radius of the epicentre.According to the USGS, the earthquake’s epicentre was located at 1.20 degrees north latitude and 126.35 degrees east longitude. The quake occurred at a depth of around 30 kilometres, as reported…
Washington, March 27 (IANS) Two US senators have introduced a bipartisan bill to examine delays in weapons deliveries to key Indo-Pacific partners.The legislation, called the First Island Chain Deterrence Act, seeks a detailed review of how such delays affect US military readiness in the region.Senators Michael Bennet and Pete Ricketts said backlogs in arms sales are weakening deterrence against China.“Since the Truman Administration, Democratic and Republican administrations alike have recogn…
Tokyo, March 26 (IANS) Japan began releasing 30 days’ worth of oil from state reserves on Thursday to cushion the impact of the West Asia conflict on its economy, as concerns over supply mount and oil prices soar, local media reported.The move came after the country started drawing down 15 days’ worth of oil from private-sector stockpiles last Monday, reports Xinhua news agencyThe government plans to sell a total of about 8.5 million kiloliters of oil from 11 storage bases across the country, ac…
Seoul, March 25 (IANS) A South Korean national detained in the Philippines was temporarily repatriated to South Korea on Wednesday to face an investigation into alleged cross-border drug trafficking, Cheong Wa Dae said.The convicted criminal, Park Wang-yeol, has been serving a 60-year prison sentence in the Philippines since 2022 for killing three South Koreans in 2016. The 48-year-old is also suspected of smuggling drugs into South Korea through accomplices via social media platforms and is kno…
Kuala Lumpur, March 24 (IANS) Economists have trimmed ASEAN-6 gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast to 4.5 per cent in 2026 from 4.8 per cent, and to 4.7 per cent in 2027 from 4.8 per cent, due to the fallout of the conflict in West Asia. The ASEAN-6 nations refer to Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Malaysia.Maybank Investment Bank said in a recent note that the downgrades are larger for the Philippines (-0.4 percentage points), Vietnam (-0.4 percentage points…