Tag: South China Morning Post

The Story: Chinese telecomm giant Huawei has sent a demand letter to another multinational telecomm giant, New York based Verizon, claiming $1 billion as a...

This story is being published by POLITICO as part of a content partnership with the South China Morning Post. The United States will “compete vigorously” with China’s actions in the South China Sea if needed, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said on Saturday, but insisted Washington was still willing to work with Beijing on a “results-oriented” relationship. “Make no mistake: America is in the Indo-Pacific to stay. This is our priority theater,” he said. When asked about the future of U.S. troops in South Korea, he said they were “separate and distinct from negotiations” with North Korea. Beijing’s drills prompted the U.S. to withdraw China’s invitation to the forthcoming Rim of the Pacific exercises in Hawaii, a move Mattis called a small consequence China faced for “militarizing the South China Sea”. On Sunday, two U.S. Navy warships sailed close to several islands in the Paracel group, in a move Beijing described as a “serious infringement of Chinese sovereignty”. On Wednesday, in what appeared to be a symbolic move signaling India’s growing importance, the U.S. military renamed its Pacific Command the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command. “There is also a strong bipartisan commitment in Congress to strengthen our military.” The bill included the suggestion to rename the U.S. Pacific command, as well as recommendations for the U.S. to strengthen partnerships and its own missile defenses, and develop the Indo-Pacific stability fund. “When we were in the Philippines, we told the Filipinos – you can’t just have silence.