Asia Watch Archive

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi travelled to Indonesia, Australia, and New Zealand last week, focusing on defence, uranium, and trade.

Over the weekend, 14 countries, including Canada, reaffirmed support for a decade-old ruling that invalidates Beijing's sweeping claims over much of the South China Sea, siding with the Philippines and, in the process, attracting China's ire.

Australia cemented just its fourth official alliance on Monday, signing a mutual-defence agreement and major investment deal with Fiji, partly to ward off Chinese influence in the South Pacific. On Monday in Fiji’s capital of Suva, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his Fijian counterpart, Sitiveni Rabuka, signed the "Ocean of Peace Alliance," which commits each country to aid the other in the event of an attack.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney joined his fellow NATO leaders in Ankara, Türkiye, on Tuesday and Wednesday for the annual summit of the defence alliance, discussing the Russia–Ukraine war, increased military spending, and the U.S.–Iran conflict.

The European Union’s trade chief, Maros Sefcovic, met with Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao on Monday, seeking to reshape a lopsided trade relationship and prevent a summer of discontent between Brussels and Beijing.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. arrived in Vancouver, B.C., on Canada Day for a four-day visit, which included a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Thursday. It was the first visit by a Philippine head of state to Canada since 2015.

A trio of Canadian ministers travelled to Japan this week for a mission focused on trade, industry, and defence, looking to seal deals and hedge against plodding trade talks with the U.S. and Mexico.

National security advisers from Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa (BRICS) and beyond met in New Delhi on Monday and Tuesday to discuss “non-traditional security challenges,” including the risks posed by new technologies, according to India’s foreign ministry.

BRICS has expanded over the last two years, now counting Egypt, Indonesia, and Iran as members, among others. Together, the expanded ‘BRICS+’ accounts for roughly half of the world’s population and 40 per cent of global GDP.

Philippine Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. visited Ottawa last week, with Canada and the Philippines signing a Mutual Logistics Support Arrangement and a Statement of Intent on Strengthening Defence Cooperation.

The picturesque town of Évian-les-Bains, France, was the backdrop for a three-day G7 summit this week, as leaders mulled the Iran conflict, the Russia–Ukraine war, trade, and the rickety scaffolding of a “new world order.”

Longtime Liberal MP Judy Sgro, chair of the Canada-Taiwan Friendship Group, plans to travel to Taiwan in October with a group of Liberal and Conservative MPs, in defiance of Beijing’s orders to stay away from the island. 

Chinese President Xi Jinping was in Pyongyang, North Korea, on Monday and Tuesday for his first visit to North Korea since 2019 and his first trip abroad this year.

Myanmar’s president and former junta chief, Min Aung Hlaing, wrapped up a five-day visit to India yesterday, his first trip abroad since becoming president two months ago.

Nearly 600 diplomats, politicians, policy experts, and academics from 40 countries descended on Singapore last week for the Shangri-La Dialogue, an annual meeting focused on Indo-Pacific geopolitics, defence and security, and U.S.–China relations.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. travelled to Japan on Tuesday for a four-day state visit that coincides with the 70th anniversary of diplomatic ‘normalization’ between Manila and Tokyo.

Ottawa managed back-to-back visits by ministers from India and China this week, a previously unthinkable milestone in Canada’s Indo-Pacific engagement.

Piyush Goyal, India’s commerce and industry minister, visited Canada from Monday to Wednesday. China’s Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, arrives today, right on Goyal’s heels. The two countries represent one-third of the world’s population and a quarter of global GDP.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae met on Tuesday to discuss bilateral ties, the Middle East, and supply chains as both countries look to firm up energy security.

Starting last weekend, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi toured the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, and Italy on a six-day trip focused on trade, semiconductors, immigration, and advanced manufacturing. This is Modi’s third trip abroad in 2026 — following visits to Israel and Malaysia — and comes just months after the signing of the European Union–India free trade agreement (FTA) in January.

The Philippines House of Representatives voted to impeach Vice President Sara Duterte, a move likely to inflame the feud between the Duterte camp and that of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

The impeachment, based on allegations of misusing public funds and threatening Marcos Jr. and other senior government officials, will face a tougher vote in the Senate. Duterte denies the allegations, claiming they are politically motivated.

On Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump arrived in Beijing for his long-awaited summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Both leaders are prioritizing stability in the relationship and extending the trade truce they reached at the APEC meetings in South Korea last October.