Associated Press – $8 billion US military aid package to Taiwan will ‘boost confidence’ in region: president-elect

A $8 billion defense package approved by the U.S. House of Representatives over the weekend will “strengthen the deterrence against authoritarianism in the West Pacific ally chain,” Taiwan’s President-elect Lai Ching-te said Tuesday, in a reference to key rival China.

Associated Press – Blinken begins key China visit as tensions rise over new US foreign aid bill

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has begun a critical trip to China armed with a strengthened diplomatic hand following Senate approval of a foreign aid package that will provide billions of dollars in assistance to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan as well as force TikTok’s China-based parent company to sell the social media platform -– all areas of contention between Washington and Beijing.

CNN – US sends land-attack missile system to Philippines for exercises in apparent message to China

China has accused the United States of “stoking military confrontation” with the recent deployment of a powerful missile launcher capable of firing weapons with a range of up to 1,600 kilometers to exercises in the Philippines.

The Diplomat – As Blinken Heads to China, What’s on the Agenda?

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is starting three days of talks with senior Chinese officials in Shanghai and Beijing this week with China-U.S. ties at a critical point over numerous global disputes.

Reuters – US and South Korea to meet on American troop costs this week

U.S. and South Korean officials will meet in Hawaii this week for talks on sharing the cost of keeping American troops in South Korea, with the U.S. seeking “a fair and equitable outcome” that will strengthen the alliance, the U.S. State Department said on Monday.

South China Morning Post – Japan extends anti-China coastguard training push from South China Sea to Pacific islands

Japan’s coastguard has extended an initiative designed to help other nations’ counter Chinese expansion in the South China Sea to two Pacific island countries: the Marshall Islands and Micronesia.