https://www.scmp.com/rss/524334/feed Tommy Pigott: Known for his role as Principal Deputy Spokesperson for the US Department of State, a position he assumed in January 2025. With nearly a decade of communications experience, including as Strategic Communications Director at the Republican National Committee, he articulates US foreign policy. His responsibilities involve engaging with media on global affairs, notably highlighting the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue’s (Quad) role in fostering a free and open Indo-Pacific. He also... en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com William Zheng William Zheng A video released by the People’s Liberation Army during a military drill this week has sparked debate about whether Taiwan failed to detect a J-20 stealth fighter and how close the aircraft might have come to a key military airport on the island. The video was released by the PLA’s Eastern Theatre Command on Tuesday – the second day of the “Justice Mission 2025” joint military exercises around Taiwan. The footage shows a PLA J-20 flying near an unidentified landscape that some observers say... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3338548/did-pla-stealth-fighter-approach-key-taiwan-airbase-new-video-sparks-debate?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3338548/did-pla-stealth-fighter-approach-key-taiwan-airbase-new-video-sparks-debate?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 02 Jan 2026 11:31:16 +0000 Mark Magnier Mark Magnier The US State Department on Thursday urged Beijing to end intimidating military moves in the area around Taiwan that it said create needless anxiety and stress. Washington’s New Year’s Day message followed a two-day live-fire exercise that Beijing wrapped up on Tuesday, dubbed Justice Mission 2025, that played out on a more extensive scale than its predecessors. “China’s military activities and rhetoric towards Taiwan and others in the region increase tensions unnecessarily,” said Tommy Pigott,... https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3338442/us-urges-beijing-end-military-pressure-against-taiwan-engage-meaningful-dialogue?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3338442/us-urges-beijing-end-military-pressure-against-taiwan-engage-meaningful-dialogue?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 01 Jan 2026 21:33:03 +0000 Amber Wang Amber Wang China and the United States have held their second round of maritime security talks this year to help manage risks between their militaries, according to the Chinese navy. The talks, held in Hawaii from Tuesday to Thursday, were “candid and constructive,” the PLA Navy said in a statement on Saturday. It said both sides exchanged views on the security situation, discussing cases of air and sea encounters and measures to improve operational safety. The meeting marked the latest effort by the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3333801/china-us-hold-candid-maritime-security-talks-amid-japan-south-china-sea-tensions?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3333801/china-us-hold-candid-maritime-security-talks-amid-japan-south-china-sea-tensions?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 22 Nov 2025 12:08:42 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Syria’s President Ahmed al-Sharaa arrived in the United States on Saturday for a landmark official visit, his country’s state news agency reported, a day after Washington removed him from a terrorism blacklist. Sharaa, whose rebel forces ousted long-time ruler Bashar al-Assad late last year, is due to meet US President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday. The interim leader met Trump for the first time in Riyadh during the US president’s regional tour in May. US envoy to Syria Tom Barrack... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3332079/syrias-leader-arrives-us-trump-visit-after-removal-terrorism-blacklist?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3332079/syrias-leader-arrives-us-trump-visit-after-removal-terrorism-blacklist?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 08 Nov 2025 23:10:17 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Russia’s top diplomat Sergey Lavrov and US counterpart Marco Rubio discussed preparations for a coming summit in Hungary between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump in a call on Monday, both sides said. Rubio “emphasised the importance of upcoming engagements as an opportunity for Moscow and Washington to collaborate on advancing a durable resolution of the Russia-Ukraine war”, Tommy Pigott, principal deputy spokesman for the US State Department, said. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3329718/lavrov-and-rubio-discuss-putin-trump-summit-zelensky-seeks-invite?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3329718/lavrov-and-rubio-discuss-putin-trump-summit-zelensky-seeks-invite?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 20 Oct 2025 18:17:54 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse US President Donald Trump’s administration said on Wednesday that it had fired a State Department employee who did not acknowledge a romantic relationship with a Chinese national. “The State Department has officially terminated the employment of a Foreign Service officer who admitted concealing a romantic relationship with a Chinese national with known ties to the Chinese Communist Party,” State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said. The State Department said the officer, a man whom it did not... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3328291/us-diplomat-fired-over-romance-chinese-woman?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3328291/us-diplomat-fired-over-romance-chinese-woman?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 08 Oct 2025 23:00:58 +0000 Reuters Reuters The United States said on Friday it will not allow Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to travel to New York next month for a United Nations gathering of world leaders, where several US allies are set to recognise Palestine as a state. A US State Department official said Abbas and about 80 other Palestinians would be affected by the decision to deny and revoke visas from members of the umbrella Palestine Liberation Organisation and the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority. Abbas had... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3323724/us-aligns-israel-refuses-visas-palestinian-officials-un-summit-statehood?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3323724/us-aligns-israel-refuses-visas-palestinian-officials-un-summit-statehood?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 29 Aug 2025 15:25:35 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse US President Donald Trump said on Monday he had talked to Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin since meeting in Washington last week with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders. Trump was last known to have spoken to Putin on August 18, when he interrupted his talks with Zelensky and the Europeans at the White House to call the Russian leader. “Yes, I have,” Trump told reporters when asked if he had talked to Putin since then. Asked how the latest talks went, Trump replied: “Every... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3323137/trump-says-putins-dislike-zelensky-delaying-meeting-between-2-leaders?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3323137/trump-says-putins-dislike-zelensky-delaying-meeting-between-2-leaders?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 26 Aug 2025 03:20:05 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse A diplomatic row between the United States and France escalated on Monday when Washington decided to stand firmly behind its ambassador’s criticism of the French response to a rising tide of antisemitism. US ambassador Charles Kushner, the father of US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, was ordered to report to the French foreign ministry on Monday. But, as Kushner was absent, the US embassy’s charge d’affaires went in his place and was received by two French foreign ministry directors, a... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3323117/us-backs-ambassador-france-charles-kushner-antisemitism-row?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3323117/us-backs-ambassador-france-charles-kushner-antisemitism-row?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 25 Aug 2025 20:34:02 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press The State Department has fired a press officer who was responsible for drafting Trump administration talking points about policy towards Israel and Gaza after complaints from the US Embassy in Jerusalem. Officials said Shahed Ghoreishi, a contractor working for the Bureau of Near East Affairs, was terminated over the weekend following two incidents last week in which his loyalty to Trump administration policies was called into question. Ghoreishi, who is Iranian American, also was targeted on... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3322649/us-state-department-fires-official-who-questioned-pro-israel-policy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3322649/us-state-department-fires-official-who-questioned-pro-israel-policy?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 21 Aug 2025 08:25:24 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will welcome counterparts from the “Quad” to Washington on Tuesday, in an at least brief refocus on Asia, the State Department said. Rubio first welcomed foreign ministers from the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue – an informal strategic forum comprising the United States, India, Australia and Japan aimed at upholding a free and open Indo-Pacific – on January 21, his first meeting after US President Donald Trump’s inauguration. The summit had been seen as a sign... https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3316003/marco-rubio-welcome-asian-quad-counterparts-back-washington?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3316003/marco-rubio-welcome-asian-quad-counterparts-back-washington?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 26 Jun 2025 20:37:50 +0000