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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Jun- 2026 -14 June
Trump pursues Iran deal with Netanyahu locked out of the room
The Israeli prime minister faces an ICC arrest warrant in France, but his exclusion from G7 talks signals a deeper shift: Washington is negotiating Iran's future without the leader who…
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13 June
Indonesia’s rupiah crisis is forcing Prabowo to choose early
Student protests in Jakarta on 12 June demanded spending cuts and an end to military roles in civilian posts, echoing the 1998 movement that toppled Suharto as the rupiah weakened…
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12 June
Trump claims a deal while US Navy kills Indian sailors
Three Indian nationals died when American forces struck merchant vessels off Oman in four days, even as the president announced he had cancelled further Iran strikes and expected a settlement…
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11 June
Indonesia convicted four officers. The investigation found thirteen.
A Jakarta military court sentenced the men who attacked activist Hendry Yulius to 1.5–3 years, while Indonesia's human rights commission identified at least nine other suspects never charged.
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10 June
Japan is quietly becoming Asia’s third power pole
Tokyo committed to doubling defense spending to 2% of GDP by 2027, making it the world's third-largest military spender while building a network of security partnerships across Southeast Asia and…
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10 June
New Zealand stops trusting America. China and Japan fill the gap.
A survey of 2,300 residents found 43% now see China as a friend, up from 38%, while US favorability collapsed from 61% to 39% in a single year, driven by…
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9 June
China just abandoned denuclearization. North Korea noticed.
Xi Jinping's first visit to Pyongyang since 2019 omitted any mention of nuclear weapons, signaling Beijing now accepts a permanent arsenal as the price of regional leverage against Washington.
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9 June
North Korea found a buyer for its war. Sanctions collapsed.
Moscow's demand for artillery shells has generated up to $14.4 billion for Pyongyang, enabling 3.7% GDP growth while 15,000 troops fight in Ukraine at a one-in-three casualty rate.
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7 June
US and Iran clash in the Gulf as Israel fights on Lebanon’s border
American forces destroyed six Iranian drones over the Strait of Hormuz on June 6 while Tehran launched ballistic missiles at Kuwait and Bahrain, and Israeli troops engaged Hezbollah across the…
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5 June
Japan is arming Southeast Asia with ships tailored to each threat
On June 5, Tokyo and Jakarta agreed to begin talks on transferring used Asagiri-class destroyers—3,500-ton air-defense capable hulls—while offering lighter Abukuma-class ships to Manila, signaling Japan's shift from aid donor…
