East Asia

On 3 September, China will stage a show of force to mark the anniversary of its victory over Japan. The event has strong symbolic and political significance, reflecting the country's strategic rivalry with Washington and other countries in the Asia-Pacific region. From the Japanese city of Okinawa, which in recent days commemorated the battle in which some 200,000 people lost their lives, a message to the contrary has emerged, calling for the past to be remembered in order to build peace, rather than tomorrow's conflicts.

At the second Forum held in Kazakhstan after the one in Xi'an in 2023, China and the five countries in the region signed 58 trade agreements with investments of over $24 billion. Among the priorities are transport routes and energy, but also the processing of rare earths. On the political front, Xi Jinping gained support for his condemnation of all forms of ‘trade wars involving tariffs and sanctions’.

The ‘new generation’ prime minister of the city-state chose the People's Republic of China for his first trip outside Southeast Asia. In his meeting with Xi Jinping, he praised ‘multilateralism and the rules-based global order’. The ambitions of the former marginal colony that has become a major financial hub between East and West. On Taiwan, support for the ‘one China’ policy.

More and more young workers in Chinese cities are taking advantage of the weekend to travel outside the country at least once a month. Japan, South Korea, Southeast Asia and Russia are the most popular destinations, but some are even venturing overseas on gruelling tours with very tight schedules.

During a visit in August, India and Japan will ink the deal for the E10 series of high-speed trains. But investments in semiconductors and strategic cooperation are also on the agenda ahead of the Quad summit next fall.

An Iranian blockade of the world's main maritime transit point for oil and gas would have severe repercussions in Asia, especially for China, India, Japan, and South Korea. As crude oil prices rise, many doubt that Iran can carry out its threats because they would harm China, risking further isolating the country.

Half of all these seats in the upper house will be renewed on 20 July, a crucial date for PM Ishiba after his Liberal Democratic Party failed to obtain an absolute majority in the lower house of parliament in last October's elections. For voters, the government’s response to rice prices will be crucial. This most iconic of grains has gained great importance in the country since the 1970s.

In a message marking the anniversary of the end of World War II, the Bishops' Conference renews its call for a worldwide ban on nuclear weapons. Asking forgiveness for having tried to “show patriotism” in the imperial era, Catholic bishops criticize today's change of course in Tokyo with new missile units in Okinawa and Nansei: “The elderly tell us: we are preparing for war.”

With Xi Jinping's offer of mediation from Astana falling on deaf ears, China is looking with great concern at a possible direct US intervention in Iran. The crisis is highlighting the fragility of the multilateral bodies promoted by Beijing such as SCO and BRICS. Meanwhile, Chinese nationals are being evacuated.

North Korea’s strongman Kim Jong-un is strengthening his regime’s military and economic ties with Moscow, sending more manpower to Russia. A year after Moscow and Pyongyang signed a defence treaty, North Korean losses in the Ukraine war are up.

In Hong Kong, the NGO that reported on spontaneous worker protests and workplace accidents in mainland China has been forced to cease operations. It was founded in 1994 by activist Han Dongfang, who tried to set up an independent trade union in Tiananmen Square in 1989. A few hours after the announcement, the website was already down. Sixty civil society groups have now been dissolved since 2020.

While the eyes of the world are on the negotiations between China and the United States, Chinese-backed ethnic militias control new unregulated rare earth deposits. Beijing's priority is clear: to secure control over strategic resources, including through growing interventionism that is fuelling the country’s civil war and causing serious environmental damage.