Canberra pushed for a more substantive treaty earlier this year, but Papua New Guinea baulked because leaders feared it undermined the country's "sovereign rights".

In the call, the two top diplomats exchanged views on the Israeli-Hamas conflict and agreed to maintain communication on the situation in the Middle East, according to a Chinese foreign ministry statement.

In a discussion series organized by the Jakarta-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and a number of prominent China-based think tanks, Chinese analysts and experts have expressed optimism that ties between China and the United States could improve soon and that the country’s relationship with ASEAN and especially with Indonesia could remain a bright spot in the increasingly turbulent region.

Turkey, which supports a two-state solution to the decades-old conflict, has sharply criticised Israel over its campaign in Gaza, launched in response to militant group Hamas' rampage on Oct. 7. More than 15,500 people have been killed in the Israeli air and ground attacks, according to Gaza's health ministry.

"On December 4, littoral combat ship USS Gabrielle Giffords illegally entered the waters adjacent to Ren'ai Reef in the Nansha region of China without the approval of the Chinese government," Southern Theatre Command spokesman Tian Junli said.

US Air Force Special Operations Command said the CV-22B Osprey was on "routine training mission" out of Yokota Air Base in Japan, with the "cause of the mishap [...] currently unknown"

Military attachés from 36 friendly countries gathered in Cisarua, Bogor regency, West Java, on Wednesday.

President Jokowi highlighted the importance of religion, religious leaders and society in bringing about peace in the world.

Thailand's foreign ministry said Saturday that 10 Thai hostages had been released by Hamas and would be returned to the kingdom "as soon as possible", after undergoing medical checks in Israel.

The three-day exercises, announced by Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr on social media, follow discussions by the Philippines and Australia early this year on joint patrols to underscore what they say is their commitment to a rules-based order.

Mazlan predicted more MPs from Bersatu would switch support to Anwar, further weakening Perikatan Nasional, the opposition bloc led by ex-PM Muhyiddin Yassin.

The ship entered the strait on Thursday and sailed in a southerly direction, the ministry said. 

The Nov. 14 incident is the second case affecting Natuna fishermen in the past two years.

The military will maintain high vigilance, resolutely defend national sovereignty and maritime rights and interests, and resolutely safeguard peace and stability in the South China Sea, it said.

The legacy of Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean peninsula remains politically sensitive for both sides, with many surviving "comfort women" - a Japanese euphemism for the sex abuse victims - still demanding Tokyo's formal apology and compensation.

Northern China has reported an increase in "influenza-like illness" since mid-October when compared to the same period in the previous three years, the WHO said.

Since their introduction in June 2022, tighter US rules on tackling human rights violations in China's Xinjiang region, home to the largely Muslim Uyghur minority, have led to controls on over 6,000 shipments carrying goods worth more than $2 billion through September, the latest month for which US customs data are available.

The Philippine leader's announcement comes amid a rapid strengthening of ties this year between the two defence treaty allies, including a decision to almost double the number of Philippine bases accessible to the US military. 

The candidate from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, Lai said he would be joined on the ticket by Hsiao Bi-khim, Taipei's de facto ambassador to the United States since 2020. 

Relations between the two have grown more tense under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, who has increasingly complained about China's "aggressive" behaviour while rekindling strong ties with the Philippines' sole treaty ally, the United States.

Indonesia has been intensifying its engagement with its smaller island-nation neighbors amid tensions between the United States and China.

"We will get the view of the Chinese president on what we can do to bring down the temperature, to not escalate the situation in the West Philippine Sea," Marcos said in a video message.  

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, who has become a close US ally in his more-than one year in power, was on hand when his energy secretary signed the pact with Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific summit in San Francisco.

He was responding to a question about the coordinated offensive mounted by rebel groups in several parts of Myanmar.

The leaders shook hands and strolled in a garden at a historic California estate during four-hour talks aimed at preventing growing tensions between the world's largest economies from spiraling into conflict.

Defence ministers in Southeast Asia's regional bloc ASEAN called on Wednesday for a ceasefire in Gaza and a durable solution in Myanmar, as conflicts are deepening there.

Southeast Asian defense chiefs have agreed to strengthen their collaborative efforts amid an increasingly unpredictable global outlook and deepening divides, with concerns over the security of its maritime domain taking on an overarching theme.

The annual get-together, which starts on Wednesday, comes as conflict rages in the Middle East and Ukraine and as tensions ratchet up in disputed waters in the South China Sea, where China is being accused of aggression against the Philippines, which has US backing and seeks to boost its military ties with Japan.

TikTok has already been either partially or completely banned by other countries, with many citing security concerns.

Biden greeted President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo at the White House as the two leaders prepare for a Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in San Francisco, where Washington hopes to reduce friction with Beijing. Biden is due to meet Xi on Wednesday.