Talking points

Deputy Foreign Minister Fu Ying gives a speech at a forum in Beijing organised by The Economist magazine, which could give a fresh insight on the government's thinking on a host of hot-button issues. Fu's remit includes China's relationship with its neighbours in Asia and boundary and ocean affairs. China claims swathes of the South China Sea which are also claimed by several of its neighbours.

A controversial birth control law in the Philippines takes effect - unless a Catholic couple succeeds in a last-ditch Supreme Court challenge. The Responsible Parenthood Act makes sex education and contraceptives more widely available to the poor. Proponents say it will help moderate rapid population growth, reduce poverty and bring down the high maternal mortality rate, but it has infuriated conservative Catholics led by retired archbishop Oscar Cruz.