Asia Watch Archive

Canadian foreign affairs minister Mélanie Joly and defence minister Bill Blair hosted their South Korean counterparts in Ottawa last Friday for the countries’ first-ever ‘2+2’ meeting, which saw Ottawa and Seoul scale up security, military, and diplomatic exchanges, promote a “common vision” for the Indo-Pacific, and denounce the recent deployment of up to 12,000 North Korean troops to Russia.

The U.S. presidential election next Tuesday will send ripples across parliaments, markets, and moods in the Indo-Pacific, with the two candidates locked in a dead heat going into Election Day.

Voters rebuked Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in Sunday’s lower house election, peeling back its majority and dealing a heavy blow to its fledgling leader, Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru.

Ishiba’s LDP won 191 seats — down from 247 before the election — while Komeito, the LDP’s coalition partner, secured 24 seats. The parties’ combined 215 seats is short of the 233 needed for a majority in the House of Representatives.

The dust appears to be settling on the initial stage of the diplomatic dispute between Canada and India, as both sides regroup and mull next steps after a week of charged statements, reactions, and media coverage

South Korea said Tuesday it would consider supplying arms to Kyiv after Seoul’s spy agency alleged that North Korea has sent up to 3,000 special forces soldiers to Russia to assist with Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, fusing together European and Asian security anxieties and raising tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

On Monday, China held sweeping military drills in the seas and skies around Taiwan in response to Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te's resolute National Day speech three days earlier.

Canada and India came to the table on Thanksgiving Monday not to break bread after months of tensions, but to trade stunning allegations, recriminations, and expulsions, sending diplomatic relations to an all-time low and imperiling Canada’s broader relationship with a country identified as a “critical partner” just two years ago.

On Monday in Manila, the Philippines and South Korea formally elevated their bilateral relationship to a “strategic partnership,” an upgrade entailing more co-operation between coast guards and a greater joint focus on tourism, supply chains, and nuclear energy.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is in Laos today for the ASEAN leaders’ summit, a gathering featuring ASEAN’s 10 members and a coterie of external dialogue partners — including Canada, Japan, South Korea, Australia, China, India, Russia, and the U.S.

Chinese President Xi Jinping addressed a 3,000-person reception at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Monday, delivering an address on the eve of National Day that contained familiar calls for “national rejuvenation” and “Chinese modernization,” while reiterating a claim that “Taiwan is an integral part of China's territory.”

Japanese voters will head to the polls on October 27, following a snap election call by newly instated Japanese prime minister Ishiba Shigeru, a self-described“defence nerd” who has floated plans for an ‘Asian NATO’ and is determined to revise a key security treaty with t

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly were in New York City this week for the United Nations General Assembly and its Summit of the Future, where leaders and diplomats tried to — in the words of the UN’s secretary-ge

U.S. President Joe Biden hosted his last meeting of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue on Saturday, bringing together leaders from Australia, Japan, and India in his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware.

After a summer of unrest, Bangladesh is seeking a reset under its brand-new interim government. Led by 84-year-old Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, the Bangladeshi government is beginning to engage with — and host — representatives from other countries to kick-start a return to normalcy.

The U.S. House of Representatives sent a whopping 26 China-focused bills to the Senate last week, exhibiting flashes of both cross-party compromise and partisan sparring, and revealing American lawmakers’ views on (nearly) all things China.

Typhoon Yagi, the most powerful typhoon to hit Vietnam in 30 years, has killed at least 200 people since the storm made landfall on Saturday, injuring hundreds more and inflicting millions of dollars in damages.

Canadian defence minister Bill Blair departs for Japan today following a four-day trip to South Korea, a dual diplomatic tour designed to strengthen ties with two of Canada’s closest Indo-Pacific allies.

Russian President Vladimir Putin was in Ulaanbaatar on Tuesday, meeting with Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khürelsükh to commemorate a Russia-Mongolia military victory over Japan’s army in 1939 and sign agreements on fuel and energy, road transportation, and railway development.

This week, Chinese President Xi Jinping is hosting leaders and senior diplomats from 50 African countries in Beijing for the Summit of the Forum of China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), which runs from September 4–6.

Close to 7,000 troops from 10 countries, including Canada, Indonesia, and the U.S., are taking part in a series of military exercises across Indonesia over the next two weeks.