• Tue-01-2023
Kim calls for 'exponential increase' of North Korea's nuclear arsenal (January 1, 2022, Channel News Asia)

In a report at the end of a key party meeting in Pyongyang, Kim called "for an exponential increase of the country's nuclear arsenal", the official KCNA reported. Citing what it called US and South Korean hostility, the report said the North needed "mass-producing of tactical nuclear weapons" and to "develop another ICBM (intercontinental ballistic missile) system whose main mission is quick nuclear counterstrike".

  • Sun-12-2022
Japan eyes global military power status (December 23, 2022, Asia Times)

Japan appears to be transforming into something more like the normal great power that realists predicted decades ago. The country has acquired many necessary accouterments of typical great powers.

  • Mon-12-2022
Why Taiwanese are among Ukraine's foreign fighters (December 13, 2022, BBC)

Thousands of foreign soldiers have travelled to Ukraine to fight and the number of Taiwanese among them is small, estimated at about 10. But Russia's invasion has resonated on the self-ruled island halfway around the world. China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and said it will unify it by force if necessary. Taiwan sees itself as distinct from the mainland.

  • Tue-12-2022
Malaysian Cabinet: PM Anwar unveils 27 deputy ministers (December 9, 2022, Channel News Asia)

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Friday night (Dec 9) unveiled the line-up of deputy ministers, completing the Cabinet under his administration. Mr Anwar, who is concurrently serving as the finance minister, will work with Barisan Nasional’s (BN) Ahmad Maslan and Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) Steven Sim to lead the ministry.

  • Tue-12-2022
Saudi Arabia gathers China's Xi with Arab leaders in 'new era' of ties (December 9, 2022, Channel News Asia)

Chinese President Xi Jinping met Gulf Arab leaders in Riyadh on Friday (Dec 9) in the first of two "milestone" Arab summits showcasing Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as an aspiring leader of the Middle East and key partner for global powers.

  • Tue-01-2023
Russia and China hold naval drills, practise submarine capture (December 28, 2022, Reuters)

Russia and China have completed naval drills in the East China Sea, after a week of joint exercises which included practising how to capture an enemy submarine with depth charges and firing artillery at a warship, Russia's defence ministry said.

  • Sun-12-2022
Will a Successor to Xi Jinping Emerge from the Party’s Seventh-Generation Leadership? (December 16, 2022, The Jamestown Foundation China Brief)

The fact that Xi’s prestige has been dented by his repeated bending of CCP conventions for self-serving purposes—as well as his poor handling of the economy—means that his authority might be challenged even before his fourth term as general secretary runs out by the year 2032.

  • Mon-12-2022
Saudi Arabia signs Huawei deal, deepening China ties on Xi visit (December 8, 2022, Reuters)

The Chinese leader held talks with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, de facto ruler of the oil giant, who greeted him with a warm smile. Xi heralded "a new era" in Arab ties.

  • Fri-12-2022
Xi Versus the Street (November 30, 2022, Foreign Affairs)

Of course, given Beijing’s powerful tools of surveillance and control, it seems unlikely that these events pose a direct threat to the regime. Xi may well stay in power another five or ten years, and perhaps even longer. But in challenging the government, the protests have raised far-reaching questions about how Xi’s second decade in power will play out.