China
China’s trade surplus with Central Asia grows in 2025
As Beijing makes steady inroads in other areas.
COMMENT: New “unipolar” National Security Strategy, puts US on collision course with China, Russia
The 2025 US National Security Strategy (NSS), released quietly on the White House website on December 5 outlining Donald Trump’s foreign policy, sets out in unambiguous terms America’s intent to maintain the unipolar world.
The Age of Electricity is here -IEA
Electricity is becoming the most important source of energy, but the International Energy Agency warned that the world is entering a period of heightened energy insecurity marked by geopolitical volatility, rising demand, and an oil glut.
PANNIER: Who’s killing Chinese workers on the Afghan-Tajik frontier?
Beijing, among others, wants answers.
LONG READ: De-dollarisation gathering momentum, driven by geopolitics and ballooning debt fears
De-dollarisation is gathering momentum, but the process of switching to settling global trade in multiple currencies is going at a glacial pace. The problem is that once glaciers start moving, they are impossible to stop.
Japan’s Koizumi to head to Washington for defence talks amid China spat
Tokyo and Washington have been exploring an accelerated timetable for co-producing the Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile, a system central to both countries’ air-defence posture.
Surging US and Russian LNG exports push gas prices to 18-month low
LNG prices in Europe have dropped to their lowest levels in 18 months, thanks to surging supply and subdued demand across the continent.
Situation along Afghan-Tajik border “not stable” – Dushanbe
Tajikistan asks for Russian help to thwart Islamic militant attacks.
South Africa charges international shipping lines with alleged cartel conduct on key China trade routes
Eight cargo shipping companies are accused of colluding to charge the same rate increases on routes between China and South Africa, with some routes to West Africa also affected.
Beijing and Tokyo trade barbs after maritime standoff
The islands are, however, Japan held and Tokyo has long rejected China’s territorial claim and a lesser claim by a Taiwanese county in the east of the self-governing island nation.
China once more moves to escalate tensions with Japan
China has escalated its diplomatic confrontation with Japan by issuing a further formal complaint to the United Nations over remarks by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi concerning Taiwan.
Beijing tells nationals to evacuate Tajik-Afghan border area as number of Chinese citizens killed in cross-frontier attacks rises to five
Identity of group, or groups, that mounted armed assaults remains unknown.
Cambodia reaffirms one-China policy support amid Taiwan tensions
Cambodia has restated its support for the One-China Policy, declaring its opposition to any form of “Taiwan independence” as tensions rise between China and Japan.
Putin admits he’s behind massive truck snarl-ups on Russia-Kazakhstan border
Tells press conference he ordered random roadside checks in crackdown on illegal imports.
Beijing flags Malaysia–US trade pact, urges Kuala Lumpur to re-examine priorities
China has registered firm objections to unspecified elements within the Malaysia–US reciprocal trading accord, advising Malaysian policymakers to prioritise enduring economic advantages and assess strategic outcomes before moving forward.
Three Chinese citizens killed in Tajikistan in drone attack launched from Afghanistan
Incident comes week after Tajik security forces for first time used an armed drone to "neutralise" drug smugglers on Tajik-Afghan border.
COMMENT: China’s choreographed fury at Japan is backfiring
Beijing, with every threat pushes Japan further out of China’s orbit and deeper into a security posture Beijing will one day wish it had not provoked.
China's latest anti-India move focuses on transit travellers
China’s refusal to acknowledge the validity of an Indian passport held by a UK-based Arunachal Pradesh born traveller illustrates a widening pattern in which Beijing links territorial claims to the movement of ordinary Indian citizens.
Panama Canal presses forward with port tenders despite US unease over Chinese bidders
Panama’s canal authority has confirmed that preparations for two port concessions and a cross-isthmus gas pipeline are entering defined stages.
ADB follows World Bank in revising policy on support for nuclear power financing
The Asian Development Bank has revised its energy policy to allow direct support for nuclear power, signalling a notable shift in how multilateral lenders approach baseload generation in emerging Asian economies.