East Asia

This strategic move is designed to counter China's dominance in the sector at a time of crisis in bilateral relations. The Chikyu drilling vessel is set to leave on Sunday for the Pacific island of Minami Torishima. Experts believe the seabed around it could contain the world's third-largest deposit.

The 'Yesterday’ project, which reports from abroad on protests in China, selected the 10 most significant collective initiatives of the past year, offering a snapshot of activism in China. It features “unsung heroes” who together defend the rights of workers, parents, students, and small businesses, often challenging the agents of repression.

Following the capture of the Venezuelan president, strategic tensions between the United States and China, which has invested heavily in Latin America and the Caribbean in recent years, have returned to the forefront. Competition between the two powers could now fall on the Panama Canal. In the recent past, the Central American country has sought to keep a balance among rival interests. Washington could target other Chinese infrastructure projects and investments in raw materials.

China cites "international law” and “the UN Charter" to stand with Venezuela (while not respecting it in the South China Sea). Xi Jinping calls on South Korean President Lee to make the “right strategic choices”. A former Japanese defence minister is concerned about a possible domino effect involving Taiwan. India is cautious in order to keep a door open for Trump on tariffs.

The year that just ended saw China further tighten its bureaucratic control over religions. The idea that the country’s interests must come before religion is growing stronger. This includes a “fight” against religious education for minors. Following an unscheduled visit to the Vatican by the Abbot of Saholin, new regulations are expected on issuing passports for members of the clergy. Mainland China has come 99 Catholic bishops: 80 in the official Church, 10 in the underground Church, and nine irregular.

Some 15,000 people gathered in Hanoi at the shrine of the Vietnamese martyrs to celebrate the conclusion of a Holy Year marked by more than a thousand pilgrimages. Celebrations were also held in dioceses in mainland China. In Japan, Cardinal Kikuchi addressed the Church of Tokyo: "May the flame of hope never be extinguished.”

Special Envoy for Asian Affairs Deng Xijun said that the vote (to guarantee Chinese interests) was a condition Xi Jinping imposed on Min Aung Hlaing. The results from the first round on 28 December released by Myanmar’s military regime confirm the expected victory by a wide margin for the military-backed party. In Myanmar, however, China is walking a tightrope, continuing to support ethnic militias that control border areas.

Japan is looking to the region with projects worth $20 billion over five years. The Land of the Rising Sun's soft power policy in the area is strengthening. For Central Asians, the Japanese are ‘very reliable partners focused on practical results’. Key elements include human capital development, training and administrative programmes, technological standards and high-quality projects.

China has opened the 22-kilometre-long Tianshan Shengli Tunnel to traffic, completing a key piece of infrastructure on the motorway linking the city of Urumqi to Yuli. The project drastically reduces travel times between northern and southern Xinjiang and strengthens connections to Central Asia as part of the Belt and Road Initiative. The project is part of the development strategy for border regions, but it crosses a territory marked by strong political tensions over human rights violations against the Uyghurs.

This is a time to see the lights everywhere in the city and hear questions from young Chinese about the "exotic festival" from the West. Local Catholics show a surprising ability to combine mass culture and evangelisation. “I like to think it is a ‘hidden prophecy’ of the True Light for which everyone yearns, and a glimmer of freedom for those who live the greyness of everyday life,” a source living in China told AsiaNews.

Pakistan has reportedly reached a deal worth over US$ 4 billion to supply weapons to the Libyan National Army, despite the UN arms embargo imposed in 2011. This follows a meeting last week in Benghazi between General Munir and the leader of the Libyan faction. The Pakistani defence chief cited the effectiveness shown by the JF-17s in the clashes with India last May.

Just days before Christmas, a major security operation is underway in a town in the so-called Jerusalem of the East, Zhejiang Province. A Protestant community refused to display the flag of the People's Republic of China, after years of fighting against the removal of crosses. China Aid reports that at least 20 people have been arrested, a disturbing sign for all underground churches.