46 h. ago China’s $1.2 Trillion Windfall Quietly Seeps Into Global Markets

China’s $1.2 Trillion Windfall Quietly Seeps Into Global Markets  Bloomberg.com

Economics

52 h. ago China quietly builds worldwide space network, alarming US over future military power

China quietly builds worldwide space network, alarming US over future military power  Fox News

Events

61 h. ago Asean urged to rethink stance as Myanmar election risks normalising junta rule

With Myanmar in the throes of an election widely expected to return its military junta to power, calls have renewed for Asean to rethink its approach of not engaging the regime. The region, observers warn, should also brace itself for the “very real possibility” that half of Southeast Asia might eventually recognise the results of Myanmar’s election and by extension the ruling junta. On Sunday, Myanmar began its second round of voting in the country’s first general election since the military...

Politics

6 d. ago Civilian or military? China turns to merchant fleet to boost military power.

Civilian or military? China turns to merchant fleet to boost military power.  The Japan Times

Events

7 d. ago Dragon in the Cab: How China Quietly Embedded Itself in American Trucking

Dragon in the Cab: How China Quietly Embedded Itself in American Trucking  FreightWaves

Politics

9 d. ago Uniform justice? Why the Philippine military expelled a lawmaker but not VP Sara Duterte

The Philippine military has opted to keep Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio in charge of an army reserve command despite her incendiary public remarks, even as it recently expelled a pro-Duterte lawmaker from the reserve force for politicised conduct. Military officers and defence observers said the contrasting treatment underscores how power, political risk and legal grey zones shape how the Armed Forces of the Philippines disciplines its reservists, as the rift between the president and his...

Events

9 d. ago How China’s history links military strength to fighting corruption

For China’s leadership, the most urgent lesson of modern military power comes not from a foreign manual but from its own history books. Its catastrophic defeat by Japan in 1895, born of internal corruption, forms the invisible backdrop to every Chinese showcase of modern hardware. The recent live-fire drill around Taiwan code-named Justice Mission 2025 – a forceful display of Beijing’s resolve to achieve reunification and deter any challenge to its core interests – was no exception. To Beijing,...

Events

2 w. ago Opinion | How China quietly became the world’s climate policy leader

Opinion | How China quietly became the world’s climate policy leader  South China Morning Post

Politics

2 w. ago China’s Laser Leap: Beijing Is Quietly Winning the Next Arms Race

China’s Laser Leap: Beijing Is Quietly Winning the Next Arms Race  The National Interest

Politics

2 w. ago Residents in Venezuela’s Caracas report multiple explosions, low

At least seven explosions and low-flying aircraft were heard around 2am local time on Saturday (2pm Hong Kong time) in Venezuela’s capital, Caracas. It was not immediately clear what was behind the explosions. Venezuela’s government, the Pentagon and White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Smoke could be seen rising from the hangar of a military base in Caracas. Another military installation in the capital was without power. People in various neighbourhoods rushed to the...

Events

2 w. ago Latin America Becomes Chessboard as China and Trump Jockey Quietly

Latin America Becomes Chessboard as China and Trump Jockey Quietly  LatinAmerican Post

Politics

2 w. ago In the new world order, market power trumps military might. Can China compete?

China needs to adapt to a more competitive global environment driven by market power, technological innovation and institutional leverage, according to analysts at a leading Beijing-based think tank. These pillars were more critical than conventional military dominance or strengthening territorial control in the great power rivalry, particularly as Beijing sought to project itself as a stabiliser in an increasingly fractured international order, the analysts added. In an article this week, Fu...

Events

2 w. ago Malaysia’s Anwar says Asean to assess Myanmar after ‘premature’ polls

Asean will assess developments in Myanmar following the first phase of elections and avoid actions that would “confer premature legitimacy” to any party, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said on Tuesday. His comments came as Myanmar’s dominant pro-military party claimed an overwhelming victory in the first phase of the elections after democracy watchdogs warned the junta-run poll would only entrench military rule. The armed forces snatched power in a 2021 coup that triggered civil war, but...

Events

2 w. ago World shares are mostly lower in quiet holiday trading as China stages war drills near Taiwan

World shares are mostly lower in quiet holiday trading as China stages war drills near Taiwan  WHEC.com

Events

2 w. ago Why Myanmar’s junta election cannot hide a collapsing economy

Myanmar’s junta-held election will not mask the nation’s dire economic condition, experts warn, as civil war drives some of the highest inflation in Asia, power shortages hack at production and the country’s military rulers seek fast cash from the sale of rare earths and kickbacks from drugs and scams. The military has begun a phased election, with voting in some areas taking place on Sunday and further rounds planned in January, a process critics say is designed to project control rather than...

Politics

2 w. ago Corruption, Cashiering, Continued Progress: New China Military Power Report Probes PLA Leadership and Organizational Trends | Andrew S. Erickson

Corruption, Cashiering, Continued Progress: New China Military Power Report Probes PLA Leadership and Organizational Trends | Andrew S. Erickson  Andrew S. Erickson

Events

2 w. ago Why are rich Chinese ‘quietly’ moving private jets offshore, slumming it in budget seats?

China’s ultra-wealthy are quietly parking their private jets offshore to sidestep tougher compliance rules at home, while corporate executives are downgrading to commercial flights, analysts say, as economic headwinds hit the country’s business aircraft fleet. Aircraft owned by affluent Chinese nationals are said to be increasingly resurfacing in hubs such as Singapore and Japan, while more billionaires and corporate executives are turning to first-class commercial cabins or timeshare jet...

Economics

3 w. ago How China’s control of battery supply chains is becoming a critical risk for U.S. military power and AI initiatives — reducing reliance will take nearly a decade

How China’s control of battery supply chains is becoming a critical risk for U.S. military power and AI initiatives — reducing reliance will take nearly a decade  Tom's Hardware

Events

3 w. ago Trump’s military restraint on Venezuela: power play with eye on China or weakness?

President Donald Trump’s reluctance to authorise direct military intervention in Venezuela underscored the US dilemma of how to reassert dominance in its traditional sphere while managing escalation risks in multipolar rivalry with China and Russia, observers said. But they cautioned against seeing US hesitation as weakness, noting intensified sanctions, naval blockades and diplomatic pressure from Washington, alongside a recalibrated strategy to sustain influence without overcommitment against...

Events

3 w. ago Is China quietly preparing cargo ships to transform into military vessels in case of war?

Images of a cargo ship in Shanghai carrying containerised vertical launchers, sensors and self-defence systems have gone viral and sparked online discussion for apparently showing China’s capability to convert civilian cargo vessels to military purposes. The circulated images show vertical launch systems, rotary phased-array radars, over-the-horizon radars, close-in weapon systems and decoy launchers mounted atop containers on a cargo vessel. This configuration appears to be a temporary...

Events