Philippine experts opposed the ongoing annual military drills between the #Philippines and the U.S., which began on Monday in #Manila, stating that inviting extra-regional powers challenges #ASEAN's neutrality and freedom, raising the risk of future conflicts in #Asia. #WestWatch #US #SouthChinaSeaDispute #SouthChinaSea #usa #Asia #ASEAN #philippines

The South Pacific region should not become an arena for a major power rivalry, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Saturday. He made the remarks during talks with Justin Tkachenko, foreign minister of Papua New Guinea (#PNG), in Port Moresby. #WestWatch #US

On the afternoon of April 19th, Beijing time, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held the fourth meeting of the China-Indonesia High-level Dialogue Cooperation Mechanism (HDCM) in East Nusa Tenggara Province, #Indonesia. Wang Yi met with Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi and Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Pandjaitan. #wangyi #diplomacy

Fu Cong, #China's permanent representative to the #UN, expressed disappointment over the #US veto of #Palestine's #UNmembership bid, preventing the world body from recognizing a Palestinian state. The draft resolution received 12 votes in favor, with two abstentions from the #UK and #Switzerland, and one vote against.

Israel retaliated against Iran with drones and missiles. Iranian air defenses intercepted targets over Isfahan, causing explosions in the skies but not on the ground. #MilitaryOperations #InternationalRelations #Iran #Israel