标签： Asia

In a high-stakes diplomatic summit between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and former U.S. President Donald Trump, Beijing has delivered its starkest warning to Washington in recent years over the long-running Taiwan dispute, emphasizing that mishandling the issue could trigger direct confrontation between the two global powers.

According to an official readout released by China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Xi framed the Taiwan question as the single most sensitive and consequential issue shaping the future of bilateral relations between Beijing and Washington. Striking an uncompromising tone, Xi stated that Taiwan independence and cross-Strait peace are fundamentally incompatible, incompatible as fire and water. He added that a constructive approach to the issue would pave the way for overall stability in U.S.-China ties, while mismanagement would lead to open clashes and even full conflict that would put the entire bilateral relationship in catastrophic jeopardy.

The historically separate governance of China and Taiwan dates back to the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949, when defeated Nationalist Party forces retreated to the island after the Communist Party claimed victory on the mainland. Over the following decades, Taiwan transitioned from decades of martial law to a fully functional multi-party democracy, a status that Beijing has never recognized. China continues to claim the self-governing island of 23 million people as an integral part of its territory, reserving the right to retake it by force if necessary. Cross-Strait relations have deteriorated sharply since 2016, when Tsai Ing-wen of the pro-sovereignty Democratic Progressive Party was elected president of Taiwan. Beijing responded by cutting off all official bilateral dialogue with Taipei, and in recent years has ramped up military pressure, deploying warships and fighter jets to air and sea spaces close to the island on an almost daily basis. Beyond military coercion, Beijing has also successfully poached a number of Taiwan’s remaining formal diplomatic allies, steadily isolating the island on the global stage.

The U.S. maintains no official diplomatic relations with Taiwan but is the island’s largest and most critical unofficial ally, bound by domestic law to ensure Taiwan has the capability to defend itself against potential aggression. For decades, Washington has maintained a policy of “strategic ambiguity”, refusing to explicitly confirm whether it would intervene militarily if China launched an attack on the island. Following Xi’s comments, then-U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio reaffirmed that long-standing U.S. policy on Taiwan remained unchanged, while warning that a military seizure of Taiwan by force would be a catastrophic mistake for Beijing.

Beyond its geopolitical significance, Taiwan holds a critical position in the global tech supply chain: it is the world’s leading manufacturer of advanced semiconductors, AI servers, and high-precision instruments, and the global AI boom of recent years has pushed the island’s top technology firms to record-breaking revenue and profit levels.

Regional analysts note that Xi’s unusually stern rhetoric reflects growing anxiety in Beijing over shifting U.S. policy and deepening ties between Washington and Taipei. In December preceding the summit, the Trump administration announced an $11 billion arms package for Taiwan — the largest ever offered to the island — and Trump has repeatedly pressured Taipei to increase its own defense spending.

William Yang, senior Northeast Asia analyst at the International Crisis Group, explained that Beijing’s forceful readout of the summit carries a clear signal. “If China had secured any meaningful concession on Taiwan from Trump, it would have been reflected in Beijing’s official statement. The absence of any such mention and the relatively stern tone suggest Trump may not have budged on Taiwan in principle,” Yang said.

Ma Chun-wei, a scholar of cross-Strait relations at Taiwan’s Tamkang University, added that Beijing is also concerned that the Trump administration has begun to deviate from long-standing standardized diplomatic language on the Taiwan issue. While the U.S. has for decades acknowledged Beijing’s position on Taiwan while maintaining unofficial ties with the island, the Trump administration’s December national security strategy only reaffirmed a commitment to opposing any unilateral change to the status quo, a framing that experts say leaves room for interpretation that worries Beijing.

For Xi, Ma noted, taking a hard line on the Taiwan issue is also a matter of domestic political credibility: “For Xi Jinping, he must show that the Taiwan issue is in China’s hands. He must demonstrate this image, or else he would be criticized,” Ma explained.

The report was filed from Bangkok by AP correspondents, with additional contributions from Simina Mistreanu in Bangkok and Michelle L. Price in Washington.

Nine years after his last trip to China during his first presidential term, former and returning U.S. President Donald Trump touched down in Beijing for a landmark summit that could redefine the trajectory of relations between the world’s two most powerful rival nations. Chinese President Xi Jinping rolled out a meticulously orchestrated, grand ceremonial welcome for Trump outside the Great Hall of the People, complete with a military honor guard, 21-gun salute, and a military band playing the U.S. national anthem. As Trump walked the receiving line, he twice paused to greet crowds of waving schoolchildren holding both Chinese and American flags, before sharing a warm, informal greeting with Xi, patting Xi’s arm in a gesture of goodwill that drew attention from observers.

In unscripted remarks after their initial handshake, Trump offered effusive praise for his host, telling Xi, “You’re a great leader. I say it to everybody.” During a later cultural tour of the 600-year-old Temple of Heaven, he commented to reporters that China is a beautiful country, and opened his remarks at that evening’s state banquet by calling the high-level talks a “cherished” opportunity to connect. This warm reception marks a striking departure from Trump’s long-held rhetorical posture toward China, which he built his 2016 political brand around by taking a hardline stance. During his first campaign, he infamously claimed China was “raping” the United States economically; in 2020, he doubled down, saying China had “ripped off the United States like no one has ever done before” and labeled the COVID-19 pandemic the “Chinese virus”. Ahead of his return to office, he pledged to force China to “pay” for what he framed as unfair trade practices.

At the peak of the U.S.-China trade war in the preceding year, the two powers imposed reciprocal tariffs totaling over 100% on each other’s goods. A fragile truce followed the escalation, and this summit was framed around three core unanswered questions: whether the truce will hold, what long-term trade deal will replace it, whether Beijing can help broker a diplomatic resolution to the ongoing Iran crisis that has blocked the Strait of Hormuz, and how the two powers will navigate the long-simmering tensions over Taiwan – the self-governing island that China claims as its sovereign territory, and which the U.S. maintains unofficial diplomatic and defense ties with.

Beijing’s elaborate welcome was not just a gesture of hospitality to Trump and the 30 top American CEOs accompanying him on the trip; it was a deliberate display of geopolitical strength broadcast to audiences across the United States and the entire globe. Almost immediately after talks got underway, Chinese state media released comments from Xi that made clear Taiwan remains a major flashpoint that could derail progress between the two sides. When reporters pressed both leaders on whether they had discussed Taiwan during their Temple of Heaven visit, neither leader responded to the question.

John Delury, senior fellow at the Asia Society’s Center on US-China Relations, framed the summit as a visible marker of shifting global power dynamics. “We are witnessing a historical change,” Delury explained. “I hesitate to put too much on this specific summit, but the inexorable rise of China to a place where it is legitimately rivaling the U.S. – that is now happening before our eyes. Beijing is now the second world capital.”

Xi has positioned himself as a steady, predictable global leader in contrast to what many global observers frame as Trump’s mercurial policy style. In the years since Trump’s first term, China has expanded its global trade reach dramatically, pre-emptively building new economic partnerships to offset the risk of renewed U.S. tariffs. Over the past year, China demonstrated its economic leverage during the trade war: it matched Trump’s tariffs tit-for-tat, and restricted exports of rare earth minerals – critical inputs for advanced global manufacturing – forcing Washington to return to negotiations and agree to lower tariff rates.

Today, China controls 30% of global manufacturing output, processes over 90% of the world’s rare earth minerals, and produces between 60% and 80% of global supplies of solar panels, wind turbines and electric vehicles. Xi has indicated he believes this summit has already made clear to the U.S. and the world just how deeply dependent global economies are on Chinese manufacturing and technology. While ongoing international concerns over China’s human rights record and its close diplomatic ties to Russia and North Korea persist, those issues have been pushed to the background amid Trump’s broader reshaping of the global world order. Many global analysts now see the trajectory of global power shifting in China’s favor.

China enters these talks with a clear upper hand, as Trump faces domestic political headwinds of his own, including sinking approval ratings, and international pressure over the ongoing Iran crisis that has shut down the Strait of Hormuz – a critical global energy shipping lane whose closure has sent shockwaves through the global economy. Trump has publicly said he is counting on Beijing’s help to reopen the corridor. As Iran’s largest trading partner with decades of close diplomatic ties to Tehran, Beijing holds significant influence over the Iranian government. If Xi can help push Tehran toward negotiations to de-escalate the crisis, that would give China even greater leverage in talks with the U.S.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio framed the U.S. position ahead of the trip, telling Fox News, “It’s in their interest to resolve this. And we hope to convince them to play a more active role.” But analysts widely agree China will demand major concessions in exchange for cooperation on Iran. According to Chinese state media, Xi has already made clear to Trump during closed-door talks that the Taiwan issue has the potential to spark direct conflict between the two powers. Analysts expect Xi will pressure the U.S. to delay or halt arms sales to Taiwan – a requirement that would put Washington in a difficult position, as it is legally bound to provide the island with defensive military capabilities. Officials in Taipei are closely watching the summit’s outcome with significant anxiety.

This visit differs from Trump’s first trip to China in key ways: unlike his first visit, when former First Lady Melania Trump accompanied him, this trip centers heavily on the high-powered U.S. business delegation, which includes some of the biggest names in American tech and industry: Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Apple CEO Tim Cook, and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, all of whom attended the opening state banquet.

Trump has centered his trade demands around pushing China to further open its domestic markets to increased access for U.S. companies. As of the end of the first day of talks, few concrete details of any potential deal have been released to the public. A preliminary White House statement only confirmed that the two sides “discussed ways to enhance economic cooperation”, including expanding U.S. firms’ access to the Chinese market and facilitating Chinese investment in U.S. domestic industries. On the Iran issue, the statement added that “both countries agreed that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon” and “the Strait of Hormuz must remain open to support the free flow of energy”.

Additional talks between the two leaders are scheduled for the following day, which are expected to yield more concrete details on potential agreements. For Trump, a tangible diplomatic win from the summit is critical to boost his sinking domestic approval ratings back home. Xi, for his part, has signaled China is open to expanding cooperation in trade and agriculture, a move widely interpreted as a signal Beijing is prepared to increase purchases of U.S. soybeans, beef, and Boeing commercial aircraft.

The two leaders have agreed to a new framing of the bilateral relationship as “constructive, strategic and stable”, a positioning that will guide U.S.-China ties for the next three years. At the same time, China is grappling with its own serious domestic economic challenges, including rising youth unemployment, uneven post-pandemic growth, a persistent real estate sector crisis, and record high levels of local government debt. While Beijing seeks a global order less centered on U.S. hegemony, it still has a critical strategic interest in maintaining stable, functional relations with Washington.

At the close of the opening day’s state banquet, after remarking that he had received a “magnificent welcome like no other” in Beijing, Trump formally invited Xi to visit Washington D.C. for a return summit in September. Xi struck a unifying tone in response, saying that the “great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation” and Trump’s campaign slogan “Make America great again” can progress hand in hand. He closed his remarks with a toast to the future of both nations, ending the evening with a single word: “Cheers.”

In a landmark ruling that upholds core free speech principles, a US federal judge issued a temporary preliminary injunction on Wednesday halting the Trump administration’s sanctions against Francesca Albanese, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Palestine, finding the punitive measures likely violated her constitutional right to free expression.

Albanese was targeted with US sanctions in July 2025, just weeks after she published a sweeping, critical report on June 30 that condemned Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. In that document, she identified over 60 major global firms — including tech giants Google, Amazon, and Microsoft — alleging the companies were complicit in shifting Israel’s occupation-based economy into what she framed as an economy of genocide. The report called on the International Criminal Court (ICC), national judicial bodies worldwide to launch investigations and prosecute implicated corporate leaders and companies, and urged UN member states to impose targeted sanctions and asset freezes on the entities named.

The sanctions imposed on Albanese carried severe practical consequences: she was barred from entering the United States, and was shut out of the US banking system, cutting off access to basic financial services. The legal challenge to the sanctions was brought by Albanese’s husband Massimiliano Cali, a senior World Bank economist based in Tunisia, who filed the civil suit on behalf of himself, Albanese, and the couple’s US citizen daughter. The complaint argued that the Trump administration had unlawfully seized Albanese’s accessible assets without adhering to due process, violated existing US sanctions legislation, and effectively de-banked her, leaving her unable to meet routine daily needs.

In his opinion accompanying the injunction order, US District Judge Richard Leon emphasized that safeguarding free speech is always aligned with the public interest. The judge further ruled that Albanese’s status as a non-US resident does not strip her of protections under the First Amendment to the US Constitution, noting that the administration targeted her specifically because of the content and message of her public criticism.

Albanese celebrated the court’s decision in a public post on X, writing, “BREAKING! US court has suspended the US sanctions against me! As the judge says: ‘Protecting the Freedom of speech is always just the public interest’. Thanks to my daughter and my husband for stepping up to defend me, and everyone who has helped so far. Together we are One.”

The ruling comes amid growing international solidarity with Albanese. Earlier that month, on May 7, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez awarded the UN expert the Order of Civil Merit in a clear show of support. A day before that honor, Sanchez formally asked the European Commission to activate the EU’s Blocking Statute, a regulation designed to protect EU individuals and institutions from extraterritorial US sanctions, to shield both the ICC and the United Nations from US punitive measures.

In a sharp rebuke that has highlighted growing friction over international defense contracts, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has publicly condemned Norway’s decision to revoke an export license for a key naval missile system earmarked for the Royal Malaysian Navy, warning the unilateral move risks eroding long-term trust in European defense contractors. The dispute centers on the Naval Strike Missile (NSM) system and related launcher components, which were contracted to equip Malaysia’s upcoming fleet of littoral combat ships as a core part of the Southeast Asian nation’s ongoing military modernization drive.

Speaking Thursday, Anwar confirmed he conveyed Malaysia’s “vehement objection” to the cancellation directly during a phone conversation with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre. In an official statement released after the call, the Malaysian leader emphasized that Kuala Lumpur has met every contractual obligation for the deal, which was first signed in 2018, with unwavering consistency and good faith. “Malaysia has honored every obligation under this contract since 2018: scrupulously, faithfully and without equivocation,” Anwar said. “Norway, it appears, has not felt compelled to extend us the same courtesy and demonstration of good faith.”

Per Malaysia’s national news agency Bernama, Kongsberg Defense & Aerospace AS, the Norwegian manufacturer of the NSM anti-ship missile system, has distanced itself from the policy move, stating that all export licensing decisions fall exclusively under the jurisdiction of the Norwegian government. As of Thursday, Oslo has not issued any public statement addressing the license revocation or Anwar’s criticisms.

Malaysian Defense Minister Mohamed Khaled Nordin revealed to local media outlets that the Malaysian government had already completed payments for nearly 95% of the total contract value before Norwegian authorities blocked the shipment in March. Without the NSM systems, Malaysia’s littoral combat ship modernization program faces significant delays, which Anwar says will undermine the navy’s operational readiness and carry unforeseen consequences for the regional military balance.

The Malaysian prime minister stressed that signed international defense contracts are binding, formal agreements, not disposable arrangements to be changed at random. “Signed contracts are solemn instruments. They are not confetti to be scattered in so capricious a manner,” Anwar said. “If European defense suppliers reserve the right to renege with impunity, their value as strategic partners flies out the window.”

In response to the cancellation, Khaled confirmed that Malaysian officials are currently reviewing all available legal pathways, including potential claims for financial compensation from the Norwegian side, to resolve the breach of contract.

MANILA, Philippines — A high-stakes political crisis has gripped the Philippines this week, after a sitting Philippine senator facing International Criminal Court (ICC) charges of crimes against humanity slipped out of the heavily guarded Senate compound amid chaotic gunfire between security personnel and government law enforcement agents, senior government officials confirmed Thursday.

Ronald dela Rosa, 64, a former national police chief under ex-President Rodrigo Duterte, had taken shelter inside the Senate compound Wednesday to avoid execution of an ICC arrest warrant unsealed just days earlier. The chaos that cleared his escape path began Wednesday night, when Senate security personnel opened multiple volleys of gunfire during a heated confrontation with a National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) agent assigned to serve the warrant. In the confusion that followed the shootout, dela Rosa managed to slip past security and leave the compound undetected.

Shortly after the incident, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. addressed the nation in a late-night televised broadcast, urging the public to avoid panic and stressing that authorities would conduct a full, transparent investigation into the escape. Law enforcement sources confirmed that one line of active inquiry centers on suspicions the gunfight was deliberately orchestrated to create a diversion and cover for dela Rosa’s exit.

In a public press briefing Thursday, Senate President Alan Cayetano — a close political ally of the Duterte family — pushed back against claims of foul play, insisting “there is no obstruction of justice” in the incident. Cayetano argued that because no ICC arrest warrant had been officially presented to the Senate leadership, dela Rosa was under no legal obligation to remain on the premises and was free to leave at his own discretion. Political critics have rejected this explanation, however, and are calling for Cayetano and the Senate’s top security official to be held legally and politically accountable for facilitating the fugitive senator’s escape.

Dela Rosa’s legal troubles are directly tied to the deadly national anti-drug crackdown launched by Duterte when he held the presidency from 2016 to 2022. Duterte himself was taken into ICC custody last March to face trial in The Hague on separate charges of crimes against humanity stemming from the same campaign. The unsealed ICC warrant against dela Rosa, made public Monday, accuses him of direct responsibility for the crime against humanity of murder, linked to the killings of no fewer than 32 people between July 2016 and April 2018 — the period when dela Rosa led the Philippine National Police and oversaw implementation of Duterte’s anti-drug initiative.

Both Duterte and dela Rosa have repeatedly denied authorizing extrajudicial killings, though Duterte openly publicly threatened drug suspects with death throughout his time in office.

The escape comes amid escalating open political conflict between the Duterte political bloc and the Marcos administration, a rift that lays bare deep enduring divisions within Philippine politics. The tension has escalated rapidly in recent days: Vice President Sara Duterte, Rodrigo Duterte’s daughter and current second-in-command of the country, has openly accused Marcos of orchestrating the “kidnapping” of her father and his illegal transfer to the international court. On Monday, the Marcos-allied majority in the House of Representatives voted to impeach Sara Duterte over allegations of unexplained illicit wealth, misuse of public funds, and a public threat to assassinate President Marcos, his wife, and the House speaker if she were killed amid the deepening political feud. Sara Duterte has denied all wrongdoing, but has declined to respond to the specific allegations against her in detail. Cayetano announced Thursday that the Senate will convene as an impeachment trial court as early as next Monday to begin preparations for the vice president’s trial.

The current Senate leadership shakeup that set this chain of events in motion also ties directly to the dela Rosa case. Just this Monday, Cayetano reclaimed the Senate presidency after securing the support of 13 out of the body’s 24 senators. His razor-thin majority was secured after dela Rosa — who had been absent from Senate proceedings for months over fears of imminent arrest — made a surprise appearance at Monday’s leadership vote, arriving at the compound in Cayetano’s own vehicle. After the vote concluded, NBI agents moved to serve the ICC arrest warrant on the senator, who immediately fled to the Senate plenary hall and was taken into protective custody by his allied senators before the Wednesday night escape.

Manila, the Philippines — A chaotic eruption of gunfire inside the Philippine Senate this week has plunged the country’s already fractured political landscape into open crisis, capping a weeks-long standoff over an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant for a close ally of former president Rodrigo Duterte and exposing the deepening rift between the country’s two most powerful political dynasties.

The crisis centers on Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, one of Duterte’s most loyal long-time associates. As chief of the Philippine National Police from 2016 to 2018, dela Rosa served as the public face of Duterte’s brutal nationwide war on drugs, a campaign that left thousands of suspected drug users and small-scale dealers dead. Human rights organizations have documented hundreds of cases of extrajudicial summary executions during the crackdown, leading the ICC to open a crimes against humanity investigation into the campaign.

The ICC unsealed its arrest warrant for dela Rosa on Monday this week, coinciding with the senator’s first appearance on the Senate floor after months of unexplained absence from public life. The development came months after Duterte himself was taken into custody and transferred to The Hague in March 2025 to face his own ICC charges connected to the drug war. Though Duterte withdrew the Philippines from the ICC during his presidency in 2019, the tribunal has maintained it retains jurisdiction over crimes committed before the withdrawal, including thousands of drug war deaths that dated back to Duterte’s time as mayor of Davao City.

Within days of the warrant being made public, dela Rosa sought protective refuge within the Senate, filing a petition with the Philippine Supreme Court to block local authorities from executing the ICC’s order. On Wednesday, the high court rejected his request for an immediate temporary restraining order, giving President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s administration 72 hours to submit its official response to the petition.

Hours after the Supreme Court’s ruling, dela Rosa took to Facebook Live to issue a public appeal, warning supporters he had received intelligence that authorities were en route to arrest him. “I am calling for your help: let us not have another Filipino brought to The Hague like President Duterte,” he told viewers. Roughly 60 minutes later, multiple gunshots rang out on the Senate’s second floor, triggering panic across the complex.

Chaotic scenes unfolded live on national television: journalists and legislative staff scrambled for cover, the entire Senate building was placed under immediate lockdown, and heavily armed security personnel in flak jackets cordoned off the entire premises. Initial conflicting accounts emerged over the source of the gunfire: Senate Secretary Mark Llandro Mendoza told local reporters that agents from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) had attempted to enter the building and fired shots while retreating. But NBI director denied the claim, stating no agents had been deployed to the Senate that day.

Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla later entered the building to meet with legislative leaders, and emerged alongside newly installed Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano to confirm no injuries were reported. The pair confirmed shots had been fired but declined to name potential perpetrators, noting an official investigation was still ongoing. By the following morning, police announced they had detained at least one person in connection with the shooting. President Marcos addressed the nation in a YouTube video shortly after the incident, calling for calm and promising a full probe. “We will get to the bottom of this… Was this encounter part of destabilisation? We will need to know,” he said.

The gunfire incident is the most visible escalation of a rapidly worsening political power struggle between the Marcos and Duterte political clans, an alliance that collapsed spectacularly after the two groups won the 2022 national election in a landslide. Just this week, the House of Representatives — where Marcos allies hold a majority — voted to impeach Vice President Sara Duterte, Rodrigo Duterte’s daughter and Marcos’ top political rival, over allegations of corruption and plots to assassinate the president. The articles of impeachment were formally transmitted to the Senate on the same day the shooting occurred, and the chamber will now act as an impeachment court with the power to remove Sara Duterte from office and bar her from running for president in the 2028 election.

Dela Rosa’s surprise return to the Senate this week also upended the chamber’s power balance: his presence helped secure enough votes to install Cayetano — a former Duterte foreign minister and vice presidential running mate — as the new Senate president. The 24-member Senate is now controlled by a majority bloc composed of dela Rosa and other Duterte allies, leaving Marcos-aligned senators in the minority. The overlapping crises of the ICC arrest standoff, impeachment trial, and now the Senate shooting have brought long-simmering tensions between the two dynasties to a head, leaving the Philippines facing one of its most unstable political periods in recent history.