Link to article: https://thediplomat.com/2025/05/solomon-islands-pm-avoids-no-confidence-vote-but-is-potentially-weakened/ Solomon Islands Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele survived a no confidence vote on Tuesday, keeping his spot in office. He was elected just one year ago, taking the place of Manasseh Sogavare, who elected to step down due to his unpopularity in favor of being Manele’s finance minister. This arose after he started recognizing China over Taiwan… Read more »
Link to article: https://apnews.com/article/new-zealand-philippines-status-of-visiting-forces-agreement-b695ff83f5021e1569b2245229dfe4d3 The Philippines have signed a military pact with New Zealand. This allows the two countries to hold joint military exercises in both countries as well as other cooperative activities. The Philippines did this to bolster its alliance portfolio as tensions continue to rise with China over the South China Sea. There was a ceremony in Manila… Read more »
Link to article: https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/indonesia-parliament-set-ratify-sea-boundary-with-vietnam-lawmaker-says-2025-05-01/ Indonesia and Vietnam are set to agree on new sea boundaries in the highly-contested South China Sea. Indonesia signed this deal in an effort to reduce the number of Vietnamese fishers in its waters, which has caused tensions between the two countries over the years. This agreement broadcasts to the world that they are ignoring China’s… Read more »
Link to article: https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/australia-raises-concerns-with-china-over-letters-targeting-hong-kong-dissident-2025-03-18/ On March 18, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong has raised concerns with China after an incident where anonymous letters were sent to Australian citizens offering a reward in return for information on the location of Australian-based Hong Kong dissident Kevin Yam. Late last week, some residents in Melbourne received letters offering $1 million in Hong Kong… Read more »
Link to article: https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/australias-vast-distances-will-drive-shift-uncrewed-defence-systems-officials-2025-03-26/ Australian officials announced on March 26 that their military will rely more on autonomous systems without crews due to its vast geography. Its air force is working with Boeing to develop a new autonomous aircraft called the “Ghost Bat”. Chief of Air Force Stephen Chappell said they will test the Ghost Bat this year to see… Read more »
Link to article: https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/japan-china-south-korea-meet-geopolitical-turning-point-history-2025-03-22/ On March 22, foreign ministers from Japan, China, and South Korea all met up in Tokyo to talk about security and economic issues amid global uncertainty. Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya started off the meeting by saying we very well might be at a turning point in history and agreed to accelerate preparations for their trilateral… Read more »
Link to article: https://apnews.com/article/china-taiwan-japan-foreign-affairs-8261e3583defaea2df3f0d602f6bd9c8 Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi recently met with journalists at a press conference, where he stated his opinion on various issues. The first of these issues was about the South China Sea and how they have essentially claimed all the waters around the Philippines. Wang blamed the U.S. for this issue, claiming they were manipulating The… Read more »
Link to article: https://www.reuters.com/sports/wada-extends-intelligence-investigations-offensive-oceania-2025-03-02/ The World Anti-Doping Agency is planning to extend its efforts to Asia and Oceania after years of success in Europe, seizing more than 25 tons of PEDs. This weekend, staff is meeting with law enforcement officials in Australia’s Gold Coast to share intelligence and build crime-fighting capacity. This will be the first of 6 workshops in… Read more »
Link to article:https://thediplomat.com/2025/02/constitutional-court-closes-impeachment-hearings-for-south-koreas-president/ On February 25, the South Korean Constitutional Court had their final hearing for former President Yoon Suk-yeol’s “Declaration of martial law” impeachment trial. This comes 6 weeks and 11 hearings after he was arrested. He has become the first sitting South Korean president to be indicted and arrested by investigation agencies over what is speculated to be… Read more »
