As U.S. President Donald Trump threatens to seize Greenland, tensions over whether his actions would undermine efforts to deter China in the Indo-Pacific were laid bare at a recent major security forum in Hawaii. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/01/17/asia-pacific/politics/trump-greenland-allies-skepticism-china/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #politics #us #china #donaldtrump #indopacific #usmilitary #taiwan #pla #defense
The leaders of Japan and Italy have agreed to accelerate security cooperation, including a deal to expand supply chains for critical minerals, emphasizing that the security of their regions "is strongly interrelated." https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/01/17/japan/politics/takaichi-italy-meloni-security-economic/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #italy #italyjapanrelations #supplychains #rareearths #indopacific #europe #sanaetakaichi #giorgiameloni #russiaukrainewar #china
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s meeting with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Tuesday is expected to reconfirm improving bilateral ties as Japan faces a diplomatic falling-out with another key neighbor, China. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/01/13/japan/politics/japan-south-korea-takaichi-lee-nara/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #southkoreajapanrelations #southkorea #leejaemyung #sanaetakaichi #china #chinajapanrelations #indopacific #defense #taiwan #northkorea
People in China are calling for a Venezuela-style snatch of Taiwan's leaders in a prelude to taking over the island, but analysts, scholars and security officials say China's modernizing military is still far from ready. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/01/12/asia-pacific/china-taiwan-venezuela-lai-assassination/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #china #taiwan #pla #us #usmilitary #defense #indopacific #venezuela #laichingte
China appears to be quietly contemplating an unconventional approach to rapidly boosting its naval power — transforming its vast commercial shipping fleet into an armada of makeshift warships. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/01/12/asia-pacific/china-merchant-fleet-military/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #china #pla #taiwan #usmilitary #indopacific
Japan enters 2026 with rare political stability under Prime Minister Takaichi, but her durability will depend on managing a fragile coalition, navigating U.S. pressure and delivering long-term economic solutions. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2026/01/07/japan/takaichis-2026-political-landscape/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #japan #sanaetakaichi #ldp #jip #donaldtrump #usdefense #indopacific #japaneseeconomy
China's Xi Jinping has urged visiting South Korean leader Lee Jae Myung to make the “correct" choices, as Beijing seeks a united front amid its standoff with Japan over Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's remarks on Taiwan. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/01/06/japan/politics/china-south-korea-xi-lee-japan/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #southkorea #southkoreajapanrelations #leejaemyung #xijinping #taiwan #pla #sanaetakaichi #chinajapanrelations #indopacific #northkorea
The U.S. strikes on Venezuela and seizure of the country’s president could push Latin American nations closer to China while simultaneously emboldening Beijing in the Indo-Pacific. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/01/05/asia-pacific/politics/us-china-venezuela-analysis/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #politics #us #venezuela #donaldtrump #china #taiwan #pla #indopacific #usmilitary
As the Year of the Wood Snake promised subtlety and adaptation, the U.S., China and Japan instead delivered strategic blundering, authoritarian overreach and geopolitical instability. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2025/12/26/world/good-riddance-year-of-the-serpent/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #worldnews #china #chinesezodiac #2025 #2026 #yearofthewoodsnake #yearofthefirehorse #indopacific #us #donaldtrump #xijinping #ishibashigeru #sanaetakaichi #usjapanrelations #chinajapanrelations #uschinarelations
Chinese leader Xi Jinping installed new military leadership for its central and eastern regions amid an unprecedented purge of the top defense echelons. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/12/23/asia-pacific/china-replaces-military-commanders/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #china #pla #corruption #taiwan #indopacific #xijinping
China's newest and most advanced aircraft carrier, the Fujian, sailed through the Taiwan Strait on Tuesday, Taipei said, its first transit of the sensitive waterway since formally entering service last month. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/12/17/asia-pacific/chinese-aircraft-carrier-taiwan-strait/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #china #pla #taiwan #indopacific #aircraftcarriers
It is necessary for Japan, the United States, Australia and the Philippines to conclude a "collective defense pact" to contain China and ensure regional peace and stability, Ely Ratner says. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/12/14/japan/politics/ratner-collective-defense-pact-indo-pacific/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #elyratner #defense #constitution #indopacific #us #china
Trump's National Security Strategy 2025 emphasizes tactical priorities over grand strategy, shifting focus to the Western Hemisphere and Asia, while keeping the overall limits of U.S. policy largely unchanged. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2025/12/12/world/reading-trumps-national-security-strategy/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #worldnews #donaldtrump #joebiden #defense #eu #indopacific #usjapanrelations #russiaukrainewar #europe #china #africa #asia #middleeast
Facing deepening fractures in the global trade order, Asia-Pacific leaders adopted a joint declaration that emphasized the need for resilience and shared benefits in trade at the end of the annual APEC summit Saturday. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/11/01/asia-pacific/politics/apec-summit-trade-wrapup/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #politics #apec #indopacific #southkorea #trade #tariffs #donaldtrump #us #china #leejaemyung #xijinping #globaleconomy
America fostered the island’s rise. It’s unclear what happens when the superpower goes missing. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2025/10/14/world/singapore-and-a-us-led-world/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #worldnews #singapore #singaporeaneconomy #us #indopacific #globaleconomy #ussingaporeanrelations
U.S. President Donald Trump's nominee to be the Pentagon's top Asia official has urged Japan to ramp up its defense budget, saying Tokyo “has long underemphasized spending for its own defense.” https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/10/08/japan/japan-us-defense-spending-pentagon/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #usjapanrelations #donaldtrump #defense #budgets #shigeruishiba #defenseministry #indopacific #johnnoh #sanaetakaichi
An expert panel has called for Japan’s next-gen subs to be able to operate longer and strike targets from father away. Easier said than done, analysts say, amid an array of technical and political challenges. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/10/08/japan/japan-nuclear-submarines-analysis/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #sdf #defense #submarines #nuclearenergy #missiles #china #us #indopacific #pla
Australia and Papua New Guinea have signed a major mutual defense treaty mainly intended to offset China’s expanding military clout in the South Pacific and prevent it from projecting power in the area. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/10/06/asia-pacific/politics/australia-papua-new-guinea-defense-treaty-signed/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #politics #papuanewguinea #australia #defense #china #indopacific
India's challenge is to maintain strategic autonomy and to promote its vision of a more inclusive, rules-based and connected South and Southeast Asia. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2025/10/05/world/indias-dangerous-neighborhood/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #worldnews #india #nepal #thailand #indopacific #southeastasia #malaysia #cambodia #defense #china #pakistan #bangladesh #democracy
China is transforming parts of its east coast into a platform for potential missile strikes against Taiwan and the nearby seas — a move crucial to bringing Taipei under Beijing’s control and fending off U.S. forces. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/10/05/asia-pacific/china-missiles-threatening-taiwan/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #taiwan #china #pla #missiles #usmilitary #asia #indopacific #defense
