Japan, Philippines Sign New Security Pacts as Regional Tensions Rise

By Mikhail Flores The Philippines and Japan signed two defence pacts on Thursday, including a deal allowing their forces to exchange supplies and services, with both countries seeking to strengthen security cooperation in response to rising regional tensions. The Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement, ...

APEC Offers China a Chance to Revitalize Integration

By Christopher Findlay and Wenxiao Wang As the chair of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in 2026, China has a chance to revitalize Asia-Pacific integration around services and the digital economy. With services accounting for most output and employment across ...

South Korea’s Lee Says Urged Xi to Help Curb North’s Nukes

By Agatha Cantrill with Kang Jin-kyu in Seoul South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said Wednesday he had urged Chinese leader Xi Jinping to help him curb Pyongyang's nuclear programme and suggested a freeze in its development of weapons of mass ...

South Korea’s Lee to Meet Xi With Trade, Pyongyang on the Agenda

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung will meet Monday with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Beijing, with closer economic ties as well as the recalcitrant North on the agenda. Lee is the first South Korean leader to visit Beijing in six ...

China Launches Military Drills Simulating Blockade of Taiwan Ports

By Peter Catterall with Joy Chiang in Taipei China launched live-fire drills around Taiwan on Monday that it said would simulate a blockade of the self-ruled island's key ports, prompting Taipei to condemn Beijing's "military intimidation."

Analysis from Cobus van Staden

2026: Africa-China Relations in a World Shaped by North-South Geopolitics

When talking about Africa–China relations, one is always moving along a sliding scale. There are myriad interactions with Chinese entities that concern only individual African countries, segueing into trends affecting the whole continent and sliding further into global dynamics shaping the developing world, of which Africa is the heart.

The Africa-China relationship is its own thing, but Africa’s fate can’t easily be separated from factors affecting the wider Global South, ...

Japan’s Only Two Pandas to Be Sent Back to China: Reports

Two pandas at a Tokyo zoo will be returned to China in January, Japanese media said on Monday, potentially leaving Japan without the beloved animals for the first time in half a century. Loaned out as part of China's "panda diplomacy" ...

U.S., Japan Defense Chiefs Say China Harming Regional Peace

By Hiroshi Hiyama Beijing's actions are "not conducive to regional peace", Japan's defense minister and U.S. counterpart Pete Hegseth agreed during a call after Chinese aircraft locked radar on Japanese jets near Taiwan, Tokyo said Friday.

Japan, NATO Share ‘Grave Concern’ Over China, Russia Flights: Tokyo

NATO chief Mark Rutte and Japan's defence minister shared their "grave concerns" about recent joint patrols by Chinese and Russian aircraft, Tokyo said. The incident on Tuesday came as Japan-China relations worsen after comments by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi about Taiwan ...

South Korea Scrambles Jets After Russian, Chinese Planes Approach

South Korea said it had sent up fighter jets on Tuesday after seven Russian and two Chinese military aircraft entered its air defense zone. The Russian and Chinese aircraft entered the Korea Air Defense Identification Zone (KADIZ) around 10 am local ...

China’s Aerial Confrontations With Japan and Philippines Stoke Regional Anxiety Amid U.S. Silence

Tensions surged over the weekend after two dangerous mid-air confrontations between Chinese and Japanese fighter jets and another with a Philippine aircraft over disputed territory in the South China Sea. Tokyo and Beijing on Monday sought to portray the other ...

After Review, Pentagon Confirms Submarine Sales to Australia

The Pentagon said Thursday it has endorsed the tripartite AUKUS security pact with the United Kingdom and Australia, which would involve Canberra's acquisition of at least three Virginia-class nuclear submarines within 15 years. The administration of Donald Trump said earlier this ...

Pacifist Japan Struggles to Boost Troops as China Anxiety Grows

By Hiroshi Hiyama Sporting dark face paint and clutching a gun, teenage soldier-in-training Takuma Hiyane crawls across a field on Japan's Okinawa, the front line of the nation's defence as anxiety grows over China's territorial ambitions.
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