🇯🇵 Japan reaffirms no-nukes pledge after senior official suggests acquiring weapons

Japan reaffirmed its decades-old pledge never to possess nuclear weapons on Dec 19 after local media reported that a senior security official suggested the country should acquire them to deter potential aggressors.

At a regular press briefing in Tokyo, Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said Japan’s nuclear policy had not changed, but declined to comment on the remarks or to say whether the person ‍would remain in government.

There is a growing political and public willingness in Japan to loosen its three non-nuclear principles ​not to possess, develop or allow nuclear weapons. This is driven in part by doubts over the reliability of US security guarantees under President Donald Trump and growing threats from nuclear-armed China, Russia and North Korea.

#Japan

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🇻🇳 Vietnam's top leadership talks heat up as Communist Party meets

Senior officials of Vietnam's ruling Communist Party began a two-day meeting that is set to select candidates for the country's leadership positions for the next five years.

The gathering precedes the five-yearly party congress, scheduled on January 19-25, which will formally nominate leaders and set key policy and economic targets for the remainder of the decade.

Party chief To Lam opened the meeting saying the plenum of the party's central committee is tasked with finalising the selection of state and party leaders, according to his speech published on the government portal.

Lam is seeking a second term as party chief, the country's most powerful job which he assumed in August last year after his predecessor Nguyen Phu Trong died.

#Vietnam

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🇰🇵🇯🇵 North Korea’s KCNA: Japan’s ambition for nuclear weapons should be curbed

North ‍Korea said Japan's ambition for possession of nuclear weapons should be "thoroughly curbed," state media ‍KCNA ​reported on Sunday.

Japan is showing the intention to possess nuclear weapons explicitly by saying it needs to review the three non-nuclear principles, KCNA said citing a ​commentary of ​North Korea's foreign-policy ‍official.

Japan began making such ⁠comments actively as soon as the United States approved a request from South Korea for building a nuclear submarine, ‌the media said.

#NorthKorea #Japan

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🇯🇵 Japan to support domestic AI development with 1 tril. yen funding

The Japanese government will provide roughly 1 trillion yen ($6.34 billion) in support over five years to help a planned new company develop home-grown artificial intelligence.

The company will be established by around 10 firms including SoftBank Group Corp., aiming to develop the country's largest base AI model through public-private cooperation.

Japan's move to develop its own AI comes as it hopes to compete with China and the United States, leading players in the field of this technology that can directly impact national security.

#Japan

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🇮🇩 Questions raised over Indonesia’s plan to send peacekeepers to Gaza after recent floods at home

Recent devastating floods in Indonesia have cast fresh doubts over Jakarta’s plan to send peacekeeping troops to Gaza, even as the Indonesian military starts preparing for the deployment.

Deploying thousands of soldiers abroad while the country is still reeling from a disaster that has killed over a thousand people would paint President Prabowo Subianto’s administration as out of touch, analysts say.

Connie Rahakundini Bakrie, a military analyst, said the planned deployment would be ill-timed now. The Indonesian military should not look overseas while facing urgent priorities at home, she said, where the recovery effort required after the recent major flash floods will take years to complete.

In late November, devastating flash floods and landslides struck three Indonesian provinces – Aceh, North Sumatra and West Sumatra – after record rainfall sparked by Cyclone Senyar.

#Indonesia

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🇨🇳🇺🇸 China says US seizure of ships ‘serious violation’ of international law

In a press briefing, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lin Jian said: “The US’s arbitrary seizure of other countries' vessels is a serious violation of international law,” adding that China “opposes illegal unilateral sanctions…without authorization from the UN Security Council.”

This came after the US intercepted a China-bound oil tanker off the Venezuelan coast.

Venezuela has the right to develop relations with other countries, Lin Jian said at a news briefing, adding that China opposes all “unilateral and illegal” sanctions.

#China #USA

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🇨🇳🇯🇵🇹🇼 China protests Japanese official’s visit to Taiwan

China lodged a diplomatic complaint with Japan after a high-ranking official from Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) visited Taiwan.

Taiwan President Lai Ching-te received LDP executive acting secretary general Koichi Hagiuda in Taipei, marking a rare high-level visit from Japan amid growing regional tensions.

Tokyo may respond diplomatically to China’s complaint, while further Taipei-Tokyo cooperation initiatives are likely to be explored, particularly in high-tech and strategic sectors.

#China #Japan #Taiwan

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🇨🇳🇺🇸 China likely loaded more than 100 ICBMs in silo fields, Pentagon report says

China is likely to have loaded more than 100 intercontinental ballistic missiles across its latest three silo fields and has no desire for arms control talks, according to a draft Pentagon report which highlighted Beijing's growing military ambitions.

Last month, US President Donald Trump said that he may be working on a plan to denuclearize with China and Russia. But the draft Pentagon report said Beijing did not appear to be interested.

"We continue to see no appetite from Beijing for pursuing such measures or more comprehensive arms control discussions," the report said.

In particular, the report said that China had likely put in more than 100 solid-fuelled DF-31 ICBMs in silo fields close to China's border with Mongolia - the latest in a series of silo sites. The Pentagon had previously reported the existence of the fields but not the number of missiles loaded.

#China #USA

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🇯🇵 Japan's FY 2026 defense budget at record 9 trillion yen

Japan's draft defense budget was set at a record 9.04 trillion yen ($58 billion) for fiscal 2026, the government said, as the country faces increasing security challenges from China and North Korea.

The figure, including outlays linked to hosting US military bases, eclipses the then record 8.7 trillion yen in the initial budget for the current fiscal year to March 2026.

Under the defense budget, 100.1 billion yen has been earmarked for building the "Shield" layered coastal defense system, which requires numerous aerial, surface and underwater vehicles.

With China in mind, 1.1 billion yen has been set aside to assess the use of long-endurance drones as a measure against airspace violations.

#Japan

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🇹🇼 Taiwan opposition starts long shot bid to impeach President Lai

Taiwan’s opposition lawmakers started the process of impeaching President Lai Ching-te – a bid that will almost certainly fail given they lack the votes to go forward.

On Dec 26, legislators from the Kuomintang and the Taiwan People’s Party set the impeachment vote for May 19, 2026. The effort is very likely to stall out then because while the parties hold a majority of seats in Parliament, they lack the necessary two-thirds to proceed.

The opposition says it wants to impeach Lai because his government refused to implement an amendment it passed that would shift more fiscal revenue to city and county governments, many of which are controlled by the KMT.

#Taiwan

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🇨🇳 China taxes condoms, contraceptive drugs in bid to spur birth rate

China removed a three-decade-old tax exemption on contraceptive drugs and devices from Jan 1 in new steps to spur a flagging birth rate.

Condoms and contraceptive pills now incur value-added tax of 13%, the standard rate for most consumer goods.

China’s population fell for a third consecutive year in 2024, and experts have cautioned that the downturn will continue. China exempted childcare subsidies from personal income tax and rolled out an annual childcare subsidy in 2025, following a series of “fertility-friendly” measures in 2024.

#China

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🇨🇳🇰🇷 China’s Xi to host South Korea’s Lee in New Year amid Japan tensions

Chinese President Xi Jinping will host his South Korean counterpart Lee Jae Myung on a state visit starting on Jan 4, signaling Beijing’s intent to strengthen ties with Seoul amid strained relations with Japan over Taiwan.

The visit marks the second meeting between Xi and Lee in just two months, an unusually short interval that signals China’s keen interest in reinforcing ties with Seoul and boosting economic collaboration and tourism.

Xi’s invitation to Lee for a state visit from Jan 4 is a calculated move aimed at deepening bilateral relations especially before the South Korean leader visits Japan.

#China #SouthKorea

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🇯🇵 Japan sets sail on rare earth hunt as China tightens supply

A Japanese mining ship departed on Monday for a remote coral atoll to probe mud rich in rare earths, part of Tokyo’s drive to curb its reliance on China for critical minerals as Beijing tightens supply.

The month-long mission of the test vessel Chikyu near Minamitori Island some 1,900 kilometers southeast of Tokyo, will mark the world’s first attempt to continuously lift rare earth seabed sludge from the deep onto a ship.

Japan has been reducing its dependence ​on China for the minerals vital to the production of cars, smartphones and military equipment, an effort that has taken on urgency amid a major diplomatic ‍dispute with ⁠Beijing.

“If this project succeeds, it will be of great significance in diversifying Japan’s rare earth resource procurement,” the head of ‍the government-backed project said, adding that recovering the key minerals from 6 km below sea level would be a major technological achievement.

#Japan

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🇵🇭 Philippine army colonel faces charges after anti-Marcos post goes viral

A Philippine army colonel relieved for his anti-Marcos stance has “voluntarily” returned to his unit and will face charges and psychiatric evaluation, according to his superior.

Audie Mongao was on Friday discharged from command of the Armed Forces of the Philippines Training Support Group after he publicly withdrew support for President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr in a social media post, saying “it’s too much, enough already”.

Since 1986, a Philippine military officer’s “withdrawal of support” has been synonymous with an attempt to unseat a sitting president in a coup.

Marcos’ father and namesake was overthrown in 1986 in a “People Power” uprising that grew out of an abortive coup bid against the dictator. Fifteen years later, then-president Joseph Estrada was forced out of office after a sudden withdrawal of support by the entire chain of command.

#ThePhilippines

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