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China has offered to hold joint military exercises with the Philippines, local media reported on Thursday, quoting Manila's military chief.

Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief Romeo Brawner will study the offer which was presented to him by China's ambassador to Manila, CNN Philippines and state-run PTV reported.

"They said they submitted some white papers, we have to study," Brawner said in a video posted by CNN Philippines on messaging platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

There was no immediate comment from Brawner, but military spokesperson Medel Aguilar said he did see the video of Brawner's interview and reiterated the conversation he had with the Chinese diplomat was "informal."

"I am not aware if we are already furnished with the white papers," Aquilar told Reuters. Brawner spoke to reporters on the sidelines of an event hosted by China's ambassador in Manila to mark the anniversary of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), Aquilar said.

China's embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

"We try to establish relations with armies, with armed forces around the world. This is one way for us to prevent war," Brawner said.

Beijing's offer to carry out joint military drills with the Philippines comes as time of heightened tensions between the countries over what Manila describes as China's "aggressive" activities in the South China Sea.

China has longstanding territorial disputes in the South China Sea with several countries in the region, including the Philippines.

There were no other details given on the proposed joint military drills, but Brawner said they would not be conducted in the South China Sea.

A former army chief, Brawner this month took over as armed forces head, succeeding Andres Centino who was appointed by Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr as his adviser on the South China Sea.

Marcos, who has sought closer ties with Washington, reiterated in his annual address on Monday, that he will protect his country's sovereign rights and territorial integrity.

China does not accept the Arbitral Tribunal's ruling in 2016 which concluded Beijing's claim to almost the entire sea was invalid. (Reuters)

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said on Thursday during a visit to Papua New Guinea that the United States was not seeking a permanent base in the Pacific country but would boost the nation's capability under a new defence agreement.

Papua New Guinea (PNG) and the United States signed a defence cooperation agreement in May that sets a framework for the U.S. to refurbish PNG ports and airports for military and civilian use over 15 years. read more

Austin met PNG Prime Minister James Marape on the first visit by a U.S. defence chief, to discuss deepening ties and announce a U.S. Coast Guard vessel would arrive in August under a separate maritime law enforcement deal.

French President Emmanuel Macron will arrive in PNG, a resource-rich but largely undeveloped nation north of Australia, on Thursday evening, the first visit by a French leader. Macron warned in a speech on Thursday in neighbouring Vanuatu of a "new imperialism" appearing in the Pacific region, testing the maritime and financial sovereignty of small nations. read more

"Foreign ships fish illegally here. In the region, many loans with Leonine conditions strangle up development," he said.

The United States and its allies are seeking to deter Pacific Islands nations from establishing security ties with China, a major infrastructure lender to the region, a rising concern amid tension over Taiwan, and after Beijing signed a security pact with Solomon Islands.

The U.S. Coast Guard is boosting its presence in the region under bilateral agreements to patrol the vast exclusive economic zones of island states, although the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu, with closer ties to Beijing, have blocked U.S. Coast Guard port calls.

Marape said PNG's second-largest city of Lae, a major cargo port, has been designated as a U.S. base for disaster management.

"I just want to be clear, we are not seeking a permanent base in PNG," Austin told a press conference in the capital, Port Moresby.

The text of the defence agreement shows that it allows the staging of U.S. forces and equipment in PNG.

Austin said the two countries would modernise PNG's defence force and boost interoperability.

"Our goal is to make sure we strengthen PNG's ability to defend itself and protect its interest," he said.

PNG's parliament has yet to ratify the defence deal, which has been questioned by some opposition politicians concerned about upsetting major trading partner China. Marape said his government prioritised diplomacy.

"In the Pacific we are not about war, we are about peace, tolerance and of course promoting our values of democracy, Christianity ... The USA has always been showing that character also in their global footprint," he said.

"USA do not need PNG's ground to be a launching pad," he told reporters in response to questions.

"They have bases in Philippines, in Korea, elsewhere, much closer to China," he added. (Reuters)

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday the door was open for New Zealand to engage with the AUKUS weapons development and procurement project between the United States, Britain and Australia.

The multi-stage AUKUS project announced in March is planned to culminate in the late 2030s and early 2040s with British and Australian production and operation of a new submarine class - SSN-AUKUS - and include "cutting edge" U.S. technologies.

"The door's very much open for New Zealand and other partners to engage as they see appropriate going forward," Blinken told a news conference in Wellington.

"We've long worked together on the most important national security issues. And so as we further develop AUKUS, as I said, the door is open to engagement."

Blinken is New Zealand for just over a day as part of a three-country visit to the Pacific.

He met with New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins and Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta. He will travel to Australia later Thursday where the largest Australia-U.S. military exercise is due to begin.

New Zealand has said that it is open to discussions on a second phase of AUKUS focusing on military technology, but Mahuta on Thursday reiterated it was “not prepared to compromise or change our nuclear-free position” and that it continued to support a nuclear-free Pacific.

She said her discussions with Blinken were warm and personal and they had covered the international rules-based order, the increasingly contested global environment including in the Pacific, and highlighted the two countries' commitment to democracy and human rights.

New Zealand and the U.S. describe themselves as close strategic partners, although their alliance was suspended in the 1980s when New Zealand barred visits from U.S. nuclear-powered or armed warships.

Their relationship has become increasingly close in the past couple of years due to mutual concerns about China’s presence in the Pacific, particularly Beijing's growing defence and policing ties with the Solomon Islands and its potential destabilizing effect in the region.

Mahuta said that while New Zealand respected the Solomon Islands' independence, it also supported regional agreements that ask Pacific countries to come together when making decisions that could impact the region. (Reuters)

VOINews, Jakarta - Bank Indonesia is featuring products from more than 1,000 government-assisted micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) at the 2023 Indonesia Creative Works (KKI) event.

"The 2023 KKI, carrying the theme 'Badarau Nusantara,' displays over 1,000 MSMEs that have succeeded in penetrating global markets and applying digital technology," remarked the central bank's governor, Perry Warjiyo, during the opening ceremony of the 2023 KKI, which was monitored online in Jakarta on Thursday.

The "Badarau Nusantara" theme promotes collaboration in encouraging the spirit of novelty and innovation of Indonesian MSMEs and spotlights the beauty of Kalimantan's culture.

This year's KKI theme aligns with the government's agenda of relocating the capital city from Jakarta to the new capital city (IKN) Nusantara in East Kalimantan in 2024.

In addition to featuring the exhibition, the 2023 KKI facilitates 280 MSMEs to meet with 21 financial institutions and conduct 89 export business-matching activities with five aggregators.

Furthermore, 45 assisted coffee MSMEs are participating in the Pesona Kriya Nusantara activity as part of the 2023 KKI.

The 2023 KKI is being held on July 27-30 and is drawing direct as well as virtual participation from around 1,100 MSMEs.

Apart from BI-assisted MSMEs, this year's edition of KKI also brings together MSMEs assisted by the Industry Ministry, State-owned Enterprises Ministry, Cooperative and Small-Medium Enterprises Ministry, Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry, and the National Crafts Council.

On the occasion, Governor Warjiyo invited the public to attend the event and purchase the MSME products on offer in an effort to support the development of Indonesian MSMEs.

He also advised visitors transacting with MSMEs at the 2023 KKI against bidding for the products offered at lower prices.

"Remember, 80 percent of 65.5 million MSME players are mothers who work in the hopes of making a living for their families and sending their children to school. Therefore, when you buy MSME products, please bid the prices up, not down," he affirmed. (Antaranews)