While visiting Chongqing’s Army Medical University, Xi says China needs ‘new generation of red military doctors’ and stresses importance of improved training, logistical support and specialised battlefield medicine as Beijing steps up war readiness.

Manuel Mamba has been tossed out of office for illegally using public funds just as joint military exercises involving Manila and Washington take place in his province.

The move is in line with Pyongyang’s efforts to attract Iran to an alliance against the US and boost cooperation for mutual benefit, analyst notes.

Moscow vetoed a resolution to prevent an orbital arms race, prompting the US to ask if Russia was hiding something.

The weapons, with double the striking distance, were used for the first time to bomb a Russian airfield in Crimea and Russian forces in another occupied area.

While Philippines was absent from forum, members passed updated Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea, a non-binding multilateral agreement.

Some Malaysians accuse the military of poor planning that led to the crash and having defence assets of questionable quality.

The Philippine Navy says 124 Chinese vessels have been detected in the West Philippine Sea since the military drills began on Monday.

The move comes as Kyiv faces manpower shortages in the fighting against Russia, and is tied to a new law that includes tougher penalties against draft dodgers.

Almost 70 per cent of Filipino respondents in a survey said Congress should focus immediately on curbing rising commodity prices.

This year’s ‘biggest ever’ Balikatan exercises kicked off as Manila took delivery of a state-of-the-art missile system from India – and had hopes for US$2.5 billion in US military aid.

A video of the incident showed one of the helicopters clipping the rotor of the other before the two crashed to the ground at Lumut naval base in the western state of Perak.

The Mobile Cooperation Team initiative was first set up in 2017 as part of Tokyo’s efforts to train and equip the coastguards of Southeast Asian nations that felt threatened by China’s presence.

Disinformation campaigns waged by China and Russia fan misperceptions amid years-long ‘drumbeat of very negative information’, says Kurt Campbell.

Manila has received its first batch of BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles from India, in a carefully timed shipment observers say is the start of a ‘clear push’ to expand military sales with Southeast Asia.

Swedish think tank finds regional expenditure on armed forces rises at its highest rate in a decade.

A long-delayed US$61 billion in funding for Kyiv’s forces has cleared the House but still needs a vote in the Senate.

The SH-60K reconnaissance helicopters carrying a total of eight crew lost contact near Torishima island, about 600km south of Tokyo.

Yemen’s Iran-based Houthi rebels have attacked almost 100 vessels in the vital trading route of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden in months of strikes.

Beijing will feel ‘inconvenient’ as Washington steps up trilateral military cooperation to stem Pyongyang threats, expert says.

The Ukrainian president is seeking more air defence systems from Western allies after a drone of fatal drone and missile attacks from Russia.

Next week’s iteration of the annual joint exercise will be the biggest and a clear signal to Beijing, observers say.