Policy

Vietnam Signals Air Force Overhaul by Weighing Adoption of French Rafale Fighters Indonesia, India, Iraq Also Purchasing Rafales, Expanding France’s Export Channels Franco-German Rift Over Next-Generation Fighters Raises Question: Rafale Exports as a Strategy to Reinforce Strategic Autonomy?

China Reviews Shanggui Canal Following Pinglu Waterway, Expanding Inland–ASEAN Logistics Corridor Cambodia Advances Funan Techo Canal With China to Reduce Reliance on Vietnam Security Controversy Intensifies Amid Concerns Over Potential Military Use

U.S.

Accumulated friction over cooperation → alternative scenarios under reviewFrance reaches out to UAE, equity demands emerge as a variable

Trump Presses Ahead With the ‘SAVE Act,’ Reiterating Claims of Election Fraud Democrats Warn Supporters Will Lose Voting Rights, Use Filibuster to Block Passage Trump Administration Advances SAVE Program to Build a New Citizenship Verification Regime

Bessent “China’s Trading Disorder, a Speculative Peak” From Chinese “Auntie” Investors to the State, Broad-Based Gold Buying China-Origin Capital Distorting Market Mechanisms As sharp surges and abrupt sell-offs repeatedly unfold in the

Most powerful executive branch to date takes shape “Takaichi power” fuels prospects of long-term rule

North Korea’s economic rise is less about growth than about funded capabilityConflict-linked cash is speeding up industrial and military learningPolicy must disrupt cash-to-capacity channels, not just impose sanctions

Tariffs do not just redirect trade; they quietly reroute skills, students, and institutions Trade diversion reshapes education and jobs Policy must treat trade shocks as human-capital shocks, not only as economic ones. When the U.S.

This is no longer a race to catch up, but a push to reduce strategic dependence on China Supply chains and education systems are now instruments of geopolitical power Resilience will depend on how quickly institutions adapt skills, policy, and procurement

Vietnam Steps Up Efforts to Foster the Rare Earth Industry, Moves to Overhaul Regulatory Framework Expansion of the Mining Value Chain to Absorb Surging Global Rare Earth Demand South Korea, the United States, and the EU Move Early to Establish Cooperative Ties With Vietnam

EU brings satellite-based infrastructure into the security domainEarly warning without interception contrasts with the U.S.-style space shield

Takayichi, the ‘Female Abe,’ Seeks the Revival of Japan’s Self-Defense Forces Trump’s Rare Intervention in an East Asian Ally’s Election Boost to Policies Envisioning Japan as a ‘War-Capable State’ U.S.

Policy language hardens around “reducing dependence on the opposing bloc”Repeated boundary-setting weakens the premise of an integrated market

With “one in three citizens elderly,” Japan’s aging accelerates, heightening labor shortage risks Tokyo steps up institutional reforms as industries extend, abolish, and reconfigure retirement systems Major economies move in lockstep on retirement age extensions, signaling a global labor market shift

U.S. visa tightening cuts off long-term settlement pathsIndia absorbs returning talent as a core growth asset

Europe’s problem is not a lack of firms, but a system that keeps them small An EU federation is best understood as industrial infrastructure, not constitutional ambition Without enforced market integration, Europe will keep exporting its champions instead of building them

Misaligned climate policy shifts emissions across borders instead of cutting them globally Uneven rules push firms to relocate production rather than invest in deep decarbonisation Only coordinated incentives can stop carbon leakage and restore policy credibility

Cheap solar has reshaped the growth logic for power-scarce economies Solar-first strategies deliver faster, cheaper energy than nuclear in most cases today The challenge is timing: build solar now and scale complexity only when demand rises

Japan’s growth problem is not a lack of effort, but weak output per hour Extending work hours raises costs without fixing productivity or wages Policy should shift from time worked to skills, management, and productivity gains