Power
The world’s next decade is being decided in rooms most Western readers never see. These are the elections, alliances, and military standoffs across Asia-Pacific — and what each one costs the West.
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Jul- 2026 -13 July
India just halved frigate build times, reshaping Indian Ocean power
Six Nilgiri-class stealth frigates entered service in 18 months using block-assembly methods that cut construction from 63 months to 31, signaling India can now sustain naval production at a pace…
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13 July
Iran closes Strait of Hormuz, collapsing month-old US deal
The IRGC Navy declared the waterway closed on July 12 after US strikes and failed Muscat talks, threatening one-fifth of global oil supply and a 14-point memorandum signed barely a…
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13 July
Israel found a kilometer of Iranian-built tunnels beneath Lebanon. The ceasefire just got harder.
A 15-year-old Hezbollah complex under Beaufort Castle included missile launch positions, medical clinics, and invasion plans targeting Israeli towns six kilometers away, exposing the failure of a 2006 UN security…
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11 July
China’s ethnic law reaches beyond its borders to silence Taiwan
Article 63 of Beijing's new Ethnic Unity law extends legal liability to overseas individuals and groups for acts deemed divisive, prompting Taiwan to weigh countermeasures and the European Parliament to…
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11 July
Trump demands Iran guarantee the Strait of Hormuz or face missiles
The U.S. president threatened 1,000 missile strikes on July 11 while insisting Tehran issue a public statement confirming all shipping lanes remain open, even as Qatari mediators continue private talks.
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10 July
Australia, US and Japan test a new kind of military interchangeability
Exercise Southern Cross 26 marks the first time ground crews from all three nations jointly armed and refueled F-35 fighters, moving beyond coordination toward operational substitution.
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10 July
Iran war reignites. Asia’s growth bet just collapsed.
Brent crude jumped to US$78 per barrel on July 9, the dollar strengthened, and Asian currencies fell in tandem, leaving central banks with shrinking room to support growth.
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10 July
China’s missile test splits its closest Pacific ally
The Solomon Islands joined a dozen Pacific nations in protesting Beijing's July 6 JL-3 submarine-launched ballistic missile test, exposing fractures in China's aid-for-silence strategy across the region.
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10 July
Iran’s succession crisis just killed the ceasefire with missiles
The U.S. struck Iranian air defenses on July 9; Iran retaliated with missiles and drones across Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and Jordan, collapsing a month-old agreement and sending Brent crude up…
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10 July
Panetta warns US risks forever war over Hormuz control
The former CIA director says the administration's implicit strategy—seizing the Strait of Hormuz to guarantee a ceasefire with Iran—would require sustained military operations with no clear endpoint and casualties the…
