Competition Watchdog Could Sever Qantas-China Eastern Airlines PartnershipThe Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) could refuse to authorise Qantas and China Eastern Airlines to continue an ongoing codeshare agreement over fears it could impact fares. The two airlines are seeking to extend their joint coordination agreement to coordinate cargo and passenger transport operations between Australia and China until the end of March 2024. “We are concerned that the authorisation would provide Qantas and China Eastern with the opportunity and incentive to increase prices, compared to what they would charge absent the alliance, by limiting or delaying the introduction of additional capacity on the Sydney-Shanghai route as passenger demand continues to grow,” ACCC Commissioner Anna Brakey said on Sept. 15....

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US Eyeing Access to Additional Military Bases in PhilippinesThe United States is considering gaining access to more military bases in the Philippines under the countries’ Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), a U.S. commander said on Thursday. Adm. John Aquilino, commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, said that he and Philippine military chief Romeo Brawner have “made recommendations” to their senior leaders about expanding EDCA sites. “We are in discussions, but everyone has a boss, and we both have bosses. We’ll have those conversations I think in private and give our bosses some decision space on how they’d like to go forward,” he said, according to the Philippine News Agency....

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Mainland Student Charged With Sedition for Planning to Display Pillar of Shame in Hong KongA doctoral law student from mainland China has been charged with planning to display publicly a large “Pillar of Shame” banner in Hong Kong, and she has pleaded guilty to a charge of “attempting to commit or prepare to commit an act with seditious intent.” She appeared at the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Court on Sept. 11 and will be sentenced by Judge Peter Law Tak-chuen the following day. The defendant remains in custody. According to the case, the defendant, Zeng Yuxuan (23 years old), received a 9-meter (29.52 feet) by 3-meter (9.84 feet) banner showing the “Pillar of Shame” with the words “The Tiananmen Massacre June 4th, 1989; The old cannot kill the young forever” on its base, from mainland Chinese pro-democracy activist Zhou Fengsuo in May. On June 1, when the police searched her residence, they found a 1.5-meter (4.92 feet) by 0.6-meter (1.96 feet) “Pillar of Shame” banner hanging in her apartment....

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U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai speaks during a press conference at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan in Tokyo on April 20, 2023. (Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP via Getty Images)The White House on Sept. 13 raised concerns about reports that Beijing ordered civil servants at some government agencies to stop bringing Apple’s iPhones to the offices. “We’re watching this with concern,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters during a briefing on Wednesday. “Clearly, it seems to be of a piece of the kinds of aggressive and inappropriate retaliation to U.S. companies that we’ve seen from the PRC in the past,” said Mr. Kirby, referring to China’s official name, the People’s Republic of China. “The truth is, we don’t have perfect visibility on exactly what they’re doing and why.”...

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