America’s new ship-killer missiles come to the Philippines
US Marines are training to defend Taiwan in a new way

On April 22nd a Chinese aircraft-carrier strike group sailed within three nautical miles of the Philippines’ northernmost islands. It was an unusual show of force. China’s reason for sabre-rattling was clear: in late April, America flew a new short-range missile system to Basco, in the Batanes island chain, for the first time.
This article appeared in the Asia section of the print edition under the headline “Unseen marines”

From the May 24th 2025 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the edition
How to ease pollution, gridlock and honking on India’s roads
The country’s elites won’t like it

Is Thailand heading for another coup?
The generals would be mad to try

Australia’s mushroom murderess is found guilty
The trial, with a plot stranger than detective fiction, has gripped the country
The Economist is hiring a Seoul-based researcher/reporter
We’re looking for a fluent speaker of Korean and English
Central Asia still has a complex relationship with Russia
But countries know their neighbour is a crucial partner
Welcome to North Korea’s Benidorm
The hermit kingdom’s new resort is for its own enjoyment, not foreigners’