China has feigned outrage at the US sailing a warship within 20km of one of its islands. It’s all about it wanting to protect military power, writes Bill Emmott

Barry C Lynn looks at the easing of America’s trading relationship with China in the 1990s and the present dilemma for the US in managing its dependence and weaker status.

China’s shift away from muscle-flexing and a confluence of interests with a US-led order offer hope it will not continue to engender large-scale regional instability next year, says Yoon Young-kwan

China says it and Japan have agreed to ramp up high-level contacts following a virtual freeze of more than two years due to tensions over a territorial dispute.

Week 9 (May 28th, 2014) When I started playing GAA at under nines and under tens game day, for me, meant a thirty minute trip in the back of my parents’ Honda Civic into Waterford City, a short spin to one of the nearby parishes or a stroll over to the local field at Dunhill GAA Club.

US president Barack Obama has confirmed that the US will defend Japan in a potential confrontation with China over a set of disputed islands.

Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe visited a shrine yesterday that is seen by critics as a symbol of Tokyo’s wartime aggression, infuriating China and South Korea and prompting concern from the United States about deteriorating ties between the North Asian neighbours.

A Chinese warship nearly collided with an American Navy guided missile cruiser operating in international waters, US military officials say.

Two people have been arrested after cannabis worth an estimated €40,000 was seized in Dublin.

China has summoned Japan’s ambassador to register a protest over Japanese Cabinet members’ visits to a controversial shrine to war dead in Tokyo.

China and Russia kicked off their largest-ever joint naval drills today in the Sea of Japan.

China’s government says it is ready to discuss strengthening cyber security at a top-level forum with US officials next week and wants Washington to help settle territorial disputes in east Asia.

A Chinese plane has been spotted above small islands controlled by Tokyo but claimed by Beijing, officials in Japan said.

Tokyo’s outspoken and nationalistic governor said today he is quitting after nearly 14 years in office to form a new political party ahead of expected national elections.

Japan's exports to China have fallen sharply, for the second month in a row.

China flexed some maritime muscle in its dispute with Japan over a chain of uninhabited islands, holding naval exercises in the East China Sea to strengthen its response to threats to its territorial sovereignty.

The head of the International Monetary Fund on called today for urgent action to tackle Europe's debt problems and an approaching fiscal crisis in the US, warning that ripple effects from the global slowdown are being felt around the world.

Mitsubishi and Mazda have reported a plunge in China sales for September when tensions between Japan and China escalated into anti-Japanese riots.

A water cannon battle erupted between Japanese and Taiwanese ships in the latest confrontation over tiny islands in the East China Sea, as Japan met another rival, China, in an effort to reduce tension.

A water cannon battle erupted between Japanese and Taiwanese ships in the latest confrontation over tiny islands in the East China Sea, as Japan met another rival, China, in an effort to reduce tension.

World markets came under pressure today as eurozone debt fears returned to the fore and mounting political tensions between China and Japan troubled investors.

The US Defense Secretary Leon Pannetta is warning that China and other Asian countries could end up at war if governments keep up their "provocative behaviour".

In China, thousands of protesters are throwing stones at the Japanese embassy amid rising tensions between the two countries over disputed islands in the East China Sea.

Chinese government ships are patrolling near contested East China Sea islands in a show of anger after Tokyo moved to assert its control in the area.

The Japanese government has agreed to buy several privately owned islands in the East China Sea that are controlled by Japan but also claimed by China, media reports said.

A powerful typhoon lashed the southern Japanese island of Okinawa and surrounding areas today, injuring four people and cutting off power to about 57,000 households.

Japan today called on South Korea to end its "illegal occupation" of tiny islets in the strongest language so far in a dispute that has sent the two countries' relations to the lowest levels in years.

Several Japanese nationalists landed yesterday on a rocky island in the East China Sea at the heart of a territorial row with Beijing, sparking protests in several Chinese cities and a diplomatic rebuke from Beijing.

China said it would lodge a complaint with Japan after it detained Chinese activists who landed on a disputed island and raised a flag yesterday, as tension between Japan and its neighbours escalated on the anniversary of the end of World War Two.

Japan's defence minister has ordered missile units to intercept a rocket expected to be launched by North Korea next month if it flies over Japan.

A South Korean coastguard was killed and another injured today when they were stabbed by a Chinese captain whose boat was stopped for suspected illegal fishing.

Demonstrations against Japan broke out in at least six Chinese cities over the weekend despite efforts by authorities to rein in the growing protest movement, reports said.

The Chinese and Japanese prime ministers held an impromptu meeting in a hallway at a conference in Europe, in the highest-level contact between the countries since a bitter territorial dispute erupted a month ago, both governments confirmed Tuesday.

Japan freed 14 crew members of a Chinese ship after their vessel collided with two Japanese patrol boats near disputed southern islets, but still holds the captain in custody.

Three crew members of a Zimbabwe-registered cargo plane were killed when the aircraft crashed at Shanghai’s main international airport.

Japan and China have reportedly agreed on a gas exploration deal in the East China Sea, striking a compromise over a long-running bilateral row.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe signed agreements to co-operate on energy and environmental protection today aimed at repairing the countries’ frayed relations.

Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe arrived in China today for a fence-mending visit between the estranged Asian powers that will also focus on North Korea’s threats to carry out a nuclear test.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan arrived in Beijing today for talks on North Korea’s nuclear programme and mending ties between Japan, South Korea and China.

Powerful storm Chanchu killed two children in southern China today to bring its death toll in Asia to 39, while flooding scores of homes in an area where more than 600,000 people were evacuated.

China and Japan began talks today on a dispute over gas deposits in the East China Sea amid increasingly strained relations.

Japan’s foreign minister today pledged to smooth ties with China and South Korea after Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi enraged the two Asian neighbours and sparked business jitters by visiting a war shrine that critics say glorifies Japan’s militaristic past.

ASIA remembered the 60th anniversary of Japan’s Second World War surrender yesterday by honouring the dead and searching for reconciliation, while Japan’s leader tried to salve wounds by apologising for the “great damages and pain” it inflicted on its neighbours.

Japan’s foreign minister called on China to denounce violent anti-Japanese protests as Chinese nationalists prepared for a third weekend of demonstrations over Tokyo’s wartime aggression and its campaign for a UN Security Council seat.