Showing 1 - 10 of 54
Trump agrees to small reduction in Philippine tariffs
AFP, Published on 23/07/2025
» WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump agreed Tuesday to reduce threatened tariffs on the Philippines, but only by one percentage point, after what he termed a successful meeting with his counterpart Ferdinand Marcos.
EU, Philippines announce restart of free trade talks
Bloomberg News, Published on 19/03/2024
» MANILA - The European Union (EU) and the Philippines announced the resumption of their free trade negotiations, seven years after they were halted, Manila's Department of Trade and Industry said in a statement.
Philippines confirms Russia helicopter deal cancelled over US sanctions
Reuters, Published on 10/08/2022
» The Philippines has scrapped an order for 16 Russian military helicopters, an official confirmed Wednesday, following reports former president Rodrigo Duterte decided to cancel it due to US sanctions on Moscow.
Asean-US balancing act
Asia focus, Ismira Lutfia Tisnadibrata and Nareerat Wiriyapong, Published on 25/04/2022
» The commitment of the United States to Southeast Asia since the end of the Vietnam War has been subject to a series of ebbs, flows and imbalances. History shows that it tends to wane whenever Washington is distracted by other global developments.
Xi defends China’s Covid response amid mounting economic woes
Bloomberg News, Published on 21/04/2022
» President Xi Jinping defended China’s lockdown-dependent approach to fighting the pandemic, even as he sought to reassure the world that the country was still committed to opening its economy.
Philippines relaxes rules to woo foreign investment
Reuters, Published on 04/03/2022
» MANILA: Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte approved a law allowing foreign investment in more business sectors, his office said on Friday, in a bid to boost jobs and growth in the Southeast Asian economy.
Three-way link
Asia focus, Apiradee Treerutkuarkul, Published on 07/02/2022
» Facing an increasingly uncertain strategic environment in the Indo-Pacific region, the United States and one of its key allies -- South Korea -- are pursuing increased cooperation beyond Northeast Asia, a path that is expected to lead them to Southeast Asia.
Philippines allows full foreign ownership in telco, rail
Bloomberg News, Published on 03/02/2022
» The Philippine Congress approved a bill allowing full foreign ownership of telecommunications and railways services, opening up one of the world’s most restrictive economies.
Year of Turbulence
Asia focus, Asia Focus Team, Published on 27/12/2021
» Pandemic drags on recovery: In the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, many Asian countries had enviable success, avoiding large-scale outbreaks and mass deaths. But the arrival of the more transmissible Delta variant this year and sluggish vaccine rollouts compounded by low availability sent cases surging. Combined with poor monitoring and easy movement among countries, often unofficially, Southeast Asia became a virus hotspot. The ballooning health crisis collided with churning political discontent in the case of Myanmar, Thailand and Malaysia. Economically, the new wave of infections, and attendant restrictions imposed to curb the spread, stalled recoveries. After nearly two years of strict border controls, many countries started to loosen up and live with Covid. But the rise of the Omicron variant now threatens to scuttle those tentative reopening plans and usher in a third year of economic anxiety.
'Old normal' is good for Asean-US relations
Asia focus, Ong Bo Yang, Published on 16/08/2021
» During an Asean-US foreign ministers' meeting last month, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken reaffirmed Asean's importance as a strategic partner. The United States, he said, remains committed to fighting the coronavirus pandemic, achieving economic growth, and addressing the climate emergency together with its regional friends.