Asia Watch Archive

Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand will meet with Indian officials in New Delhi and Mumbai from October 12–13 ahead of a one-day stay in China and then Singapore, setting up a key week for Canadian diplomacy in Asia.

Takaichi Sanae secured the leadership of Japan’s governing Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in a “surprise” victory on Saturday, positioning herself as the first woman to become Japanese prime minister.

A month after his May election win, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney phoned Chinese Premier Li Qiang, with both leaders agreeing to recalibrate the relationship.

In the end, not even the furniture could be saved: U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest barrage of tariffs — encompassing a 10 per cent levy on softwood lumber and timber and a 25 per cent levy on cabinets, bathroom vanities, and upholstered furniture — has plunged the U.S.’s Indo-Pacific trading partners into further uncertainty, with many racing to conclude bilateral trade agreements to dodge future bouts of surprise tariffs.

Two years after Canada–India diplomatic relations flew into a tailspin, bilateral ties are stabilizing, thanks to a mix of dialogue, patience, and new geopolitical realities.

On September 18, 2023, then-Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused “agents of the Indian government” of carrying out the June 2023 murder of Canadian Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Burnaby, B.C., sending bilateral relations reeling.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney was in New York City earlier this week for the UN General Assembly’s (UNGA) High-Level Week, but scored his biggest diplomatic coup at home on Wednesday, signing the Canada-Indonesia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) in Ottawa alongside Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto.

Last week, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto fired Sri Mulyani Indrawati, one of Indonesia's longest-serving finance ministers, in a fresh bid to unshackle economic growth and quell further protests.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced on Monday that the U.S. and China reached a tentative “framework” agreement on the fate of TikTok, stopping the clock on a ban and possibly transferring the app into U.S.-controlled ownership.

Thailand has its third prime minister in two years, following the removal of Paetongtarn Shinawatra last week by the country’s Constitutional Court. In a parliamentary vote on Friday, lawmakers selected business tycoon and long-time politician Anutin Charnvirakul as Thailand’s new leader.

On Sunday, Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru announced his resignation, telling a press conference that it was the “appropriate time” to step aside following the conclusion last month of substantive trade negotiations with the U.S.

Last week, what started as a small, student-led protest in Jakarta against “tone-deaf” perks for Indonesian politicians — including a sizeable monthly housing allowance — evolved into massive, sometimes violent demonstrations against police brutality, income inequality, and political accountability.

Chinese President Xi Jinping hosted around 20 leaders from across Eurasia last weekend at the 25th Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit, held in the northeast port city of Tianjin.

The two-day summit brought together leaders and representatives from the 10 SCO member states — including India, Pakistan, and Russia — and guests from Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Vietnam, and elsewhere.

Last week, seven opposition lawmakers from Taiwan’s Kuomintang (KMT) party survived a “recall vote” — a repeat vote triggered by civil-society groups accusing the KMT of being “pro-China” and obstructing the agenda of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) — in the DPP’s second recall loss in as many months. In July, a separate recall vote targeted 24 legislators from the KMT; all of them held onto their seats.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and U.S. President Donald Trump held their inaugural in-person meeting at the White House on Monday, focusing on trade, shipbuilding, security co-operation, and North Korea.

South Korea and the U.S. kicked off an annual bilateral military exercise on Monday, labelled Ulchi Freedom Shield, which will run for 11 days and involve at least 21,000 troops.

Unnerved by the unpredictability and animosity of U.S. President Donald Trump, China and India are rebuilding bridges — resolving trade and border issues — as Trump, drifting closer to Russia, muddies the geopolitical waters.

Earlier this week in Seoul, South Korean President Lee Jae-myung met with Vietnam’s To Lam, general secretary of the ruling Communist Party, for Lee’s first hosting of a foreign leader since being elected in June.

The two leaders agreed to roughly double bilateral trade from US$86 billion to US$150 billion. They also inked 10 memoranda of understanding, spanning science and technology, renewables, fisheries, and education.

On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order extending a trade truce with China for 90 days, just hours before sky-high tariffs were set to return. American tariffs on Chinese goods will hold steady at 30 per cent, while Beijing will maintain tariffs of 10 per cent on American goods.

Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. met with U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, the first visit by a Southeast Asian leader since Trump’s inauguration six months ago.

Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru’s coalition squandered what remained of its withering political power on Sunday, losing its upper-house majority in a “disastrous” election that saw far-right parties surge and voter turnout spike.

The outcome could exacerbate policy gridlock in Japan and complicate Tokyo’s efforts to address cost-of-living concerns.