Nepal forms interim cabinet, sets elections;
Beijing considers research lab at Scarborough Shoal;
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia follow diplomacy with dollars;
Japan picks Takaichi as LDP leader, set to become first female PM;
North Korea's new weapon
Japan writes a bigger defense check;
The Philippines plant another flag in the Luzon Strait;
Seoul bids on better relations with Beijing;
India joins Russia & Co. in armed exercise;
Australia-PNG defense pact delayed, but not derailed
Just a few months ago, U.S.-India relations were on an upswing. But that was then, and this is now. Ties between Washington and New Delhi have deteriorated dramatically since, for both political and economic reasons.
Pyongyang deploys to Russia's frontlines;
Pacific power shifts toward Beijing;
Chinese ships collide in Scarborough Shoal;
Tokyo diversifies its defense portfolio;
South Korea's population problem
In December 2010, the Asahi Shimbun published a remarkable roadmap laying out the future trajectory of Chinese maritime expansion. In its analysis, the Shimbun outlined a geographically contingent thesis of Chinese geopolitical strategy—one on which the scholar Tetsuo Kotani elaborated further in a 2019 academic paper. Both publications argue that Chinese maritime access to the Pacific and Indian Oceans is effectively constrained through a series of islands and straits in the First Island Chain. These potential chokepoints constitute the “Nine Gates” through which Chinese maritime commerce and sea power must flow.