Chronologies
Regional Overview
Chronology
: Philippines accuses China’s coast guard of harassment and of damaging two of its boats in the South China Sea, rejecting Beijing’s position that it had expelled those vessels from the hotly contested shoal.
: US Labor Department official calls on international companies to leave Xinjiang due to forced labor concerns.
: US Authorities announce that Indian agents may have been involved in the attempted murder of a Sikh separatist in the United States, and the assassination of another in Canada. India’s foreign ministry said The Washington Post report made “unwarranted and unsubstantiated imputations on a serious matter,” while New Delhi is investigating the issue.
: MOU reports that in the first quarter 43 North Korean defectors—eight men and 35 women—arrived in the South: fewer than in the previous quarter (57), but more than in the same period in 2023 (34).
: China hints that it would retaliate after President Biden signed legislation to boost Taiwan’s defenses and get TikTok’s Chinese owner to divest from the social media platform.
: Philippines’ House of Representatives begins to investigate former President Duterte over a pact he allegedly made with China.
: 400;">: US and Taiwan start another in-person negotiating round for the US-Taiwan Initiative on 21st Century Trade in Taipei.
: 400;">: Victor Cha conducts the first US multi-question polling of strategic elites in South Korea on the nuclear question and finds that the vast majority of South Korean strategic elites (66%) do not favor nuclearization and that confidence in the United States as a security provider remains strong.
: Philippines denies the Chinese claim that the two countries reached an agreement over an escalating maritime dispute in the South China Sea, calling the claim propaganda.
: France and the Philippines plan to begin talks next month on a defense pact that would allow troops from each country to hold exercises in the other’s territory.
: 400;">: Department of Homeland Security announces the establishment of the Artificial Intelligence Safety and Security Board to advise the Department and the broader public on the “safe and secure development and deployment of AI technology in our nation’s critical infrastructure” to stay ahead of potentially hostile nation-state actors such as the PRC.
: Korean Central News Agency reports that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has guided the test of a rocket developed by “newly-founded” military factory, as North Korea celebrates 92nd founding anniversary of the Korean People’s Revolutionary Army.
: US Secretary of State Blinken raises concerns about China’s support for Russia’s military, during five-and-a-half hours of talks with China’s Wang Yi in Beijing.
: 400;">: According to a survey conducted by Yomiuri in February and March, 84% of respondents feel that Japan is in a threatening security environment. Respondents who considered China a threat rose to 91%, up five percentage points from last year’s survey.
: 400;">: Descendants of 18 Chinese “comfort women” who were sexually exploited by Japanese soldiers during World War II file lawsuits in the Shanxi High People’s Court against the Japanese government.
: President-elect Lai Ching-te announces ministerial level appointments to his national security and cross-Strait team. Almost all are holdovers from President Tsai’s team, signaling again Lai’s stated commitment to continue Tsai’s policies.
: US Congress passes a sweeping foreign aid package which includes arms support for Taiwan, as China urges Washington to stop selling weapons to Taipei.
: Japan’s coastguard extends an initiative designed to help other nations counter Chinese expansion in the South China Sea to the Marshall Islands and Micronesia.
: US and South Korean officials meet in Hawaii for talks on sharing the cost of keeping American troops in South Korea, with the US seeking “a fair and equitable outcome” that will strengthen the alliance.
: 400;">: US-Philippine 39th Balikatan Exercise, joined in part by the French navy and set to conclude on May 10, kicks off in the South China Sea region.
: China accuses the US of “stoking military confrontation” with the recent deployment of a powerful missile launcher to exercises in the Philippines.
: China’s Ministry of Commerce imposes anti-dumping duties on polycarbonate imported from Taiwan for a period of five years.
: 400;">: General elections begin in India to determined majority control of the Lok Sabha, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking a third term. Voting is to continue through June 1.
: Meeting in Washington, G7 foreign ministers call peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait “indispensable to security and prosperity for the whole international community,” and call for peaceful resolution of cross-strait issues. They add, “We support Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organizations, including in the World Health Assembly and WHO technical meetings.”
: Taiwan says China’s decision to open new air routes that run close to two Taiwanese-controlled islands was a flight safety risk taken without consultation.
: China’s Wang Yi meets Indonesian counterpart, Retno Marsudi, in Jakarta, and the two nations pledge to strengthen economic ties and maintain peace and stability in the region.
: China claims that China and the Philippines entered a “gentleman’s agreement” to avoid conflict in the South China Sea under former President Duterte.
: ASEAN Foreign Ministers issue a joint statement of concern over the recent escalation of conflict in Myanmar, including around Myawaddy, Kayin State, along the border area between Myanmar and Thailand and in Rakhine State of Myanmar, both which have caused significant displacement of civilians.
: US Navy flies an aircraft through the Taiwan Strait, as China sends fighter jets to monitor the plane’s passage.
: 400;">: President Biden gives a speech in a presidential campaign stop at the United Steelworkers Headquarters in Pennsylvania titled “New Actions to Protect US Steel and Shipbuilding Industry from China’s Unfair Practices.”
: US, Japanese, and South Korean finance leaders agree to consult closely on foreign exchange and market developments in a trilateral meeting.
: 400;">: Office of the USTR, following a review of a petition filed on March 12 by five US national labor unions, initiates a Section 301 investigation into “the PRC’s longstanding efforts to dominate the maritime, logistics, and shipbuilding sectors.” Beijing expresses strong dissatisfaction to the investigation.
: South Korea summons a Japanese diplomat to protest against Japan’s claim on a group of islands at the center of a longstanding territorial dispute.
: US reiterates to China its concerns over what it sees as industrial overcapacity in China, prompting Beijing officials to push back against that accusation.
: US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Chinese counterpart Dong Jun hold their first substantive talks in nearly 18 months as the two countries work to restore military ties.
: 400;">: Fourth US-People’s Republic of China Economic and Financial Working Groups are held in Washington, DC, both of which discuss macro- and micro-issues of import and conclude with mutual commitments to continually deepen bilateral communications.
: 400;">: Aiming to reduce their reliance on China for critical minerals, Japan, the US and the Philippines agree to a framework for a stable supply of nickel under which resource-rich countries and high-consumption countries in Europe, Africa and other regions work together to share information and invest in developing critical minerals.
: China’s Zhao meets Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang, expressing Beijing’s willingness to deepen trust and boost cooperation.
: US, Japan, and South Korea conclude two-day naval exercise to strengthen response capabilities against the North.
: Prime Minister Kishida addresses a joint session of the US Congress. He states that “China’s current external stance and military actions present an unprecedented and the greatest strategic challenge, not only to the peace and security of Japan but to the peace and stability of the international community at large.”
: Visiting Kim Jong Il University of Military and Politics (some DPRK media style this Kim Jong Il Military and Political Academy), Kim Jong Un says: “Now is the time to be more thoroughly prepared for a war than ever before.” KCNA’s photos show blurred maps and a model, which appear to depict South Korea and central Seoul.
: China bans senior executives from two US defense contractors, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems and General Dynamics Land Systems, in retaliation for US sales of their systems to Taiwan.
: China’s top legislator Zhao Leji says China is willing to work closely with the North Korean legislature to help relations reach a “higher level.”
: Former Taiwan president and KMT elder Ma Ying-jeou meets President Xi in Beijing, their first meeting since November 2015, when they met in Singapore as Ma’s presidency drew to a close.
: President Biden and Prime Minister Kishida issue a joint leaders’ statement, declaring that their countries will be “global partners” going forward, acting together on the world stage to uphold a free and open international order based on the rule of law.
: 400;">: South Korea’s ruling People Power Party suffers a defeat in National Assembly elections, raising questions about the long-term sustainability of President Yoon Suk Yeol’s agenda.
: China accuses the EU of protectionism and “reckless distortion” of the definition of subsidies in response to a new EU investigation into Chinese wind turbine makers.
: President Marcos says he is “horrified” to learn of an agreement between his predecessor and China that bars Manila from shipping construction materials to a military outpost in the South China Sea.
: US Department of Commerce announces a $6.6 billion subsidy and up to $5 billion in loans to support TSMC’s new fab facility in Arizona.
: South Korea launches its second military spy satellite into orbit, days after North Korea reaffirmed its plan to launch multiple reconnaissance satellites this year.
: Vietnam National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue meets President Xi in Beijing and proposes more cooperation on trade and development projects.
: Australia-Japan-Philippines-United States Maritime Cooperative Activity takes place in the disputed South China Sea.
: Starting a five-day visit to China, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen calls on China to address manufacturing overcapacity and to create a level playing field for American companies and workers.
: 400;">: US-EU Trade and Technology Council holds its sixth ministerial meeting and releases a joint statement saying the parties have “engaged with other countries who share our concerns about China’s non-market policies and practices in the medical devices sector, and conveyed these concerns directly to China.”
: President Biden speaks with China’s Xi for nearly two hours on a range of topics including TikTok ownership, tensions in the South China Sea, and whether American sanctions against China amounted to de-risking or decoupling.
: 400;">: Japan’s industry ministry approves subsidies up to 590 billion yen ($3.9 billion) for chip foundry venture Rapidus as Tokyo pushes forward with plans to rebuild the country’s chip manufacturing base amid concerns over supply chain security.
: 400;">: US issues a response of “strong opposition” to China’s renaming of geographical areas—mountains, rivers, and residential areas—in the Indian-administered Arunachal Pradesh state. Washington’s statement of opposition comes after Beijing released a list of 30 new names for places along the 1,865-mile disputed Himalayan border between China and India, citing China’s list issuance as a “unilateral attempt” to assert claim over the disputed territory of strategic interest.
: Philippines says it is prepared to respond to China’s attempts to disrupt its supply missions in the South China Sea and protect its troops stationed in the waterway.
: Indonesia’s Prabowo meets Prime Minister Kishida and says he wants to deepen security and economic cooperation with Japan.
: 400;">: Representatives from US Indo-Pacific Command, US Pacific Fleet, and US Pacific Air Forces meet with People’s Liberation Army representatives in Honolulu, Hawaii for the first Military Maritime Consultative Agreement working group held since December 2021.
: 400;">: Japanese government designates 16 airports and ports in seven prefectures where the SDFs and the coast guard will be granted peacetime use, as part of efforts to boost the country’s defenses.
: Philippines’ national security adviser and US counterpart discuss “coercive, aggressive and deceptive actions” by Beijing in the South China Sea.
: ISEAS-Yusof Institute in Singapore releases the 2024 State of Southeast Asia Survey. The Survey finds that a slight majority of respondents in the region would align with China rather than the United States if they felt compelled to choose.
: North Korea fires a suspected intermediate-range ballistic missile into the sea, drawing swift condemnation from South Korea, Japan, and the US.
: India rejects China’s renaming of nearly 30 places in its northeastern Himalayan state of Arunachal Pradesh, calling the move “senseless” and reaffirming that the border province is an “integral” part of India.
: Indonesian President-elect Prabowo Subianto pledges to continue his country’s friendly policy toward China as he meets with Chinese leader Xi in Beijing.
: 400;">: According to Japan’s Coast Guard, two Chinese Coast guard ships stay in Japanese waters near the contested Senkaku (Diaoyu) Islands for more than two days before leaving on the 30th.
: US says it will impose new visa restrictions on a number of Hong Kong officials over the crackdown on rights and freedoms in the Chinese-ruled territory.
: Spokesman of former Philippine leader Rodrigo Duterte alleges that Duterte made a “gentleman’s agreement” with Chinese President Xi to maintain the status quo in the South China Sea while he was in office.
: China lifts its punitive tariffs on Australia’s wine exports, signaling an end to a three-year campaign of trade pressure on Canberra.
: 400;">: US Marines join a large-scale combined exercise at a high-tech training facility in South Korea for the first time amid efforts to boost readiness against North Korean threats.
: President Marcos says that the Philippines will take action against dangerous attacks by the Chinese coast guard and suspected militia ships in the South China Sea.
: 400;">: President Xi meets representatives of US business, strategic and academic communities at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. It is his first meeting with a visiting US business delegation since 2015.
: India strongly rejects remarks made by the United States and Germany on the arrest of key opposition leader and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal a month before its national election.
: China’s Xi calls for closer trade ties with the US during a meeting with top American business leaders.
: Taiwan commissions two new navy ships as a safeguard against the rising threat from China, which has been increasing its naval and air force missions around the island.
: China responds to the hacking allegations, urging the US and UK to stop slandering and smearing China and imposing unilateral sanctions on the country.
: World’s longest twin-lane tunnel officially opens, resulting in a heated exchange of remarks between Beijing and New Delhi. Both countries claim the Arunachal Pradesh region where it was built.
: New Zealand alleges that hackers linked to the Chinese government launched a state-sponsored operation that targeted New Zealand’s Parliament in 2021.
: China files a WTO complaint against the US over what it says are discriminatory requirements for electric vehicle subsidies.
: North Korea says that Prime Minister Kishida Fumio has offered to meet with leader Kim Jong Un but stresses that prospects for this summit depend on Tokyo tolerating the North’s weapons program and ignoring its past abductions of Japanese nationals.
: Secretary Blinken meets Vietnamese Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son in Washington, for the inaugural Comprehensive Strategic Partnership foreign ministerial meeting.
: Philippines lodges its “strongest protest” against Beijing after a water cannon assault by the Chinese coast guard injured Filipino navy crew members in the South China Sea.
: US and UK accuse hackers linked to China of being behind “malicious” cyber campaigns targeting political figures.
: Nepal’s newly-appointed foreign minister, Narayan Kaji Shrestha, visits China on his first foreign visit.
: 400;">: Japanese government announces plans to build underground evacuation shelters capable of accommodating residents for about two weeks in times of emergency in remote islands near Taiwan, including Yonaguni and Ishigaki.
: State Department issues a statement condemning PRC actions against Philippine maritime operations in the South China Sea, pointing to the repeated use of water cannons and reckless blocking maneuvers resulted in injuries to Filipino service members and significant damage to their resupply vessel, rendering it immobile.
: President Biden signs into law the US federal government’s Fiscal Year 2024 spending bill, which includes $300 million in Foreign Military Financing loans for Taiwan under the State Department.
: Another major incident takes place involving Chinese Coast Guard ships blocking access to Second Thomas Shoal by a Philippines supply ship with construction materials and two accompanying Coast Guard vessels. Beijing accuses the United States of instigating Manila’s provocations and warns that Manila’s relations with China were “at a cross roads.”
: China and Singapore announce that they will restart a high-level bilateral forum, the Social Governance Forum, in June.
: 400;">: Unidentified gunmen conduct a terrorist attack in Crocus City Hall in Krasnogorsk in the Moscow Region, killing 143 people and wounding more than 80.
: Chinese coast guard ships unsuccessfully attempt to block two Philippine government vessels carrying scientists from reaching two sandbars in the South China Sea.
: Australia and the UK criticize China for its actions in Hong Kong and the South China Sea and its support of Russia.
: China opposes the “denigration and smearing” by the US of the new Hong Kong security law passed earlier this week.
: 400;">: A report by the UN panel of experts shows that North Korea engages in “malicious” cyber activities to generate about half of its foreign currency revenue and bankroll its weapons programs.
: Vietnamese President Vo Van Thuong, in office only a year, is pushed out of power in the Vietnamese Communist Party’s anti-corruption purge. A successor is not yet named.
: China’s coast guard says a number of Philippine personnel ignored its warnings and illegally landed on a reef in the Spratly Islands.
: 400;">: North Korea says it has successfully conducted a ground jet test of a solid-fuel engine for a new type of intermediate hypersonic missile amid heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
: 400;">: Japanese Coast Guard states that a fleet of Chinese ships sailed in the territorial waters of the Diaoyu Islands on March 20.
: Taiwan’s foreign minister says that China has built “enormous” military bases on three islands in the South China Sea, but Taipei is not looking to further escalate tensions.
: China’s Wang Yi meets with Australian counterpart Penny Wong in Canberra—the most highest level meeting in Australia between the two nations since 2017.
: Kim Jong Un oversees firing drills in the western region of North Korea by artillery units involving “newly-equipped super-large” rocket launchers.
: US officials approve legislation providing billions of dollars in funding for the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of Palau.
: US Secretary of State Blinken underscores Washington’s “ironclad commitment” to help defend the Philippines in case of an armed attack against its forces in a news conference with Philippine counterpart Enrique Manalo.
: US State Department spokesperson says that the US believes Hong Kong’s new national security law has the potential to accelerate the closing of a once open society.
: Japan hosts officials from 14 Pacific Island countries for the 2nd Japan Pacific Islands Defence Dialogue.
: North Korea fires short-range ballistic missiles into the sea for the first time in two months, as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visits Seoul for a conference hosted by President Yoon Suk Yeol on advancing democracy.
: China’s foreign minister meets New Zealand counterpart at the start of a tour that will also include Australia.
: 400;">: Russian President Vladimir Putin officially wins his fifth presidential term with 87.28% of the vote.
: India rejects US concern over the implementation of a religion-based citizenship law as “misplaced, misinformed, and unwarranted.”
: North Korea hosts a military demonstration involving a new battle tank, as South Korea and the US wrap up joint drills.
: President Joe Biden opposes the planned sale of US Steel to Japan’s Nippon Steel, saying that the US needs to “maintain strong American steel companies powered by American steel workers.”
: 400;">: SDF and US Marine Corps conduct the annual Iron Fist exercise to practice recapturing remote Japanese Islands.
: Thailand expects to complete its negotiations over a free trade agreement with the European Union by the end of next year.
: China protests against Prime Minister Modi’s new tunnel built in territories along the two countries’ disputed Himalayan border.
: China demands that Japan set up a compensation system for potential economic damage from the release of treated radioactive wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear plant.
: China’s foreign ministry responds to Biden’s budget proposal, saying it “strongly opposes” US efforts to arm Taiwan and “will take resolute measures to firmly safeguard its own sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
: President Biden’s 2025 budget proposal includes a $100 million request to help Taiwan strengthen cross-strait deterrence. Defense Department requests $500 million to replenish US munitions stockpiles drawn down to aid Taiwan through Presidential Drawdown Authority.
: New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Winston Peters visits India and says that India’s importance to New Zealand’s society, economy, and security is growing.
: North Korea’s Kim Jong Un guides an artillery firing drill, involving units near the border that are in firing range of Seoul.
: 400;">: Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff says North Korea has tried to jam US-ROK navigation system during drills; no military or civilian damage from first GPS jamming by DPRK in eight years is reported.
: 400;">: US court orders forfeiture of 145 crypto accounts tied to North Korea cybercrime, Washington alleges two Chinese nationals used accounts to launder some $100 million in virtual assets stolen by DPRK
: Australia upgrades relations with Vietnam, beginning an annual dialogue on minerals amid a push to shift supply chains away from China.
: Malaysian Prime Minister Ibrahim says that attempts to contain China’s rise will only aggravate the country and sow discord in the region.
: 400;">: US Attorney General Merrick Garland announces the arrest and indictment of a Chinese national residing in California charged with theft of trade secrets in connection with an alleged plan to steal artificial intelligence-related technology from Google “while covertly working for China-based companies seeking an edge in the AI technology race.”
: Assistant Secretary Kritenbrink and Vietnam Standing Vice Foreign Minister Nguyen Minh Vu conclude 10th Asia-Pacific Dialogue in Hanoi, the first under the US-Vietnam Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
: United States and India hold 20th meeting of the US-India Counter Terrorism Joint Working Group and 6th Designations Dialogue in Washington, DC.
: 400;">: USS John Finn (DDG 113) conducts a routine south-to-north Taiwan Strait transit “through a corridor in the Taiwan Strait that is beyond any coastal state’s territorial seas.”
: Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong defends the country’s exclusive arrangement with Taylor Swift.
: Indian EAM Subrahmanyam Jaishankar goes on a tour of East Asia, with stops in South Korea and Japan, to boost security and economic cooperation.
: South Korea’s National Intelligence Service reveals that DPRK hackers have broken into at least two ROK makers of chipmaking equipment.
: Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim defends ties with China and complains of alleged pressure by the US and its regional allies to take sides in the West’s rivalries with Beijing.
: Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese hosts ASEAN and Timor-Leste leaders for the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit to celebrate 50 years of partnership.
: 400;">: China’s Special Representative on Eurasian Affairs Li Hui travels to Russia, Poland, Ukraine, Germany, and France for his second round of talks on the peaceful settlement of the Ukraine conflict.
: South Korea’s President Yoon calls for unification on the March 1st Independence Movement Day, a holiday marking a 1919 Korean uprising against Japanese colonial rule.
: China and Thailand implement a bilateral visa waiver agreement, enabling visitors from both countries to travel between China and Thailand without visa requirements. The measure is seen as a way to revive Thailand’s tourism industry as the new Thai government aims to attract more than 8 million Chinese visitors in 2024.
: Tuvalu’s Prime Minister Feleti Teo reaffirms that his government will maintain diplomatic ties with Taipei, ruling out a shift to Beijing.
: A Philippine lawmaker demands answers from Singapore about an alleged exclusivity agreement with pop star Taylor Swift.
: India begins replacing dozens of its military personnel in Maldives with civilian technical staff who will operate three aircraft given by India to provide humanitarian services.
: President Biden orders US investigation of national security risks posed by Chinese-made “smart cars” that can gather sensitive information about Americans driving them.
: China says its coast guard patrols around the Kinmen islands near the Chinese coast are “beyond reproach” and dismisses complaints about the boarding of a Taiwan tourist boat.
: 400;">: Beyond Parallel reports that since August 2023, there have been at least 25 different visits to Najin for the loading of munitions from North Korea to be delivered to Russia, and, at least 19 “dark vessels”—vessels with their AIS transmissions turned off to avoid outside detection—have visited Vostochny Port in Russia to both unload and load containers from the port. These voyages have reportedly supported the transfer of more than 2.5 million rounds of artillery shells and other munitions.
: 400;">: Biden-Harris administration issues an Executive Order on Preventing Access to Americans’ Bulk Sensitive Personal Data and United States Government-Related Data by Countries of Concern.
: Philippine President Marcos tells Australia’s Parliament that the strategic partnership between the two nations is more important than ever with peace in the region under threat from China.
: In Bangkok, Assistant Secretary Kritenbrink co-leads 9th US-Thailand Strategic Dialogue alongside Ministry of Foreign Affairs Permanent Secretary Eksiri Pintaruchi as well as the Second Strategic and Defense Dialogue alongside Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs Jedidiah Royal. Both dialogues are conducted under the auspices of the US-Thai Communiqué on Strategic Alliance and Partnership.
: Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs Permanent Secretary Albert Chua and Assistant Secretary Kritenbrink meet in Singapore to co-chair the 6th United States-Singapore Strategic Partnership Dialogue.
: 43rd iteration of Joint Exercise Cobra Gold, co-hosted by Thailand and the US, takes place in Rayong, Thailand. Over 33 nations train in the air, sea, and space domains.
: India and Japan begin a two-week “Dharma Guardian” military exercise to foster greater cooperation in confronting common security challenges.
: US cautions Pacific Islands nations against assistance from Chinese security forces after it was reported that Chinese police are working in Kiribati, a neighbor of Hawaii.
: First agreement from the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) goes into effect for five of the 14 IPEF members: Japan, India, Singapore, Fiji, and the United States.
: 400;">: Using such foreign organizations as the US Defense Department’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) or the DoD affiliated Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), as models, Japan announces it will launch a research institute for innovative technology development this autumn.
: Japan and China launch a new round of discussions regarding the release of treated wastewater from the disaster-hit Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
: Indonesia’s and Australia’s defense ministers meet in Jakarta to discuss the strengthening of security ties and the signing of a defense cooperation agreement.
: US Representative Mike Gallagher leads a bi-partisan delegation to Taiwan composed of members of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party.
: Biden administration approves a $75 million arms sale to upgrade a data communications system employed by Taiwan’s military.
: President Biden signs an executive order to bolster defenses against cyberattacks on the nation’s ports, as officials warn about the threat posed by Chinese hackers.
: Chinese coast guard says it drove off a Philippine vessel that had “illegally intruded” into waters near the Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea—a claim disputed by the Philippines.
: 400;">: Biden-Harris Administration issues an Executive Order to bolster the cybersecurity of US maritime ports, which includes a “Maritime Security Directive on cyber risk management actions for ship-to-shore cranes manufactured by the People’s Republic of China located at US Commercial Strategic Seaports.”
: Family of a South Korean wartime labor victim withdraws compensation of 60 million won (about $44,000) from Hitachi Zosen Corp., marking the first time that a wartime labor victim accepts a Japanese company’s compensation. In response, the Japanese government summoned Korean Ambassador to Japan Yun Duk-min to protest.
: A US B-52 bomber flies with three Philippine jet fighters as part of three days of joint air patrols over disputed territory in the South China Sea, prompting Chinese condemnation.
: China asks the US to end the “unwarranted harassment” of its students, following renewed reports of interrogation and deportation at a US airport.
: China increases patrols in the waters off the coast of Taiwan’s Kinmen archipelago, days after two of its fishermen drowned while being chased by the Taiwanese coast guard, which accused the boat of trespassing.
: Top diplomats of the G7 countries strongly condemn North Korea’s arms transfers to Russia, calling it a direct violation of relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions.
: India and Taiwan sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on migration and mobility that will open the doors for Indian workers to seek employment in the island.
: Chinese FM Wang Yi delivers a keynote speech at the annual Munich Security Conference (MSC). He reiterates China’s commitment to promoting peace talks for the Ukraine crisis.
: 400;">: Multi-agency Disruptive Technology Strike Force, led by the Departments of Justice and Commerce, releases a fact sheet on its one-year anniversary summarizing its progress in its mission to “prevent nation-state actors [including China] from illicitly acquiring our most sensitive technology.”
: Liu Jianchao, head of the CCP’s Liason Department, travels to Moscow for the first “For the Freedom of Nations” International Forum of Supporters of the Struggle Against Modern Practices of Neocolonialism. The forum is launched by the “United Russia” party chaired by Dmitry Medvedev, who meets Liu on the sidelines of the forum. More than 400 participants from over 55 countries join. Russian FM Lavrov also speaks at the forum.
: 400;">: USS John Finn (DDG 113) conducts a bilateral exercise with allied maritime forces from Japan in the South China Sea.
: DPRK media report that Kim Jong Un, at the test-firing of a new surface-to-sea missile named Padasuri-6—it means sea eagle—the previous day, termed the NLL “a ghost [line] without any ground in the light of international law.”
: 400;">: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s sister Kim Yo Jong says that there is no impediment to closer ties with Japan.
: Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto wins Indonesian presidential race with an absolute majority, the first candidate to do so since the 1998-99 democratic transition in Indonesia. Prabowo’s campaign coalition does not win a majority in Parliament, which will require that he build a broad coalition within his Cabinet.
: 400;">: Two Chinese fishermen drown while being chased by Taiwan’s Coast Guard off the coast of Taiwan’s Kinmen archipelago.
: 400;">: US Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian Nelson, testifying before the House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services, lists China as a threat to the US financial system and affirms “we will safeguard our priority interests, along with those of our allies and partners, and will protect human rights.”
: Mongolian Prime Minister Oryun-Erdene Luvsannamsrai visits South Korea in an effort to bolster economic relations, particularly in mineral extraction, tourism, and urban development.
: 400;">: Australia’s trade minister plans to talk with Chinese officials about the removal of restrictions on Australian imports and the suspended death sentence given to writer Yang Hengjun.
: US Marines from III Marine Expeditionary Force and the US Agency for International Development assist the government of the Philippines in providing humanitarian assistance and disaster relief in response to severe flooding and landslides in the southern Philippine province of Mindanao.
: 400;">: South Korea conducts a US-led multinational air exercise, along with Japan, Australia, France and Canada, in Guam to enhance joint operability.
: US Navy and Philippine Navy (PN) conduct third iteration of the Maritime Cooperative Activity (MCA) in the South China Sea.
: 400;">: Taiwan detects 8 Chinese balloons crossing the Taiwan Strait in an uptick of activity at the start of the Lunar New Year holiday.
: 400;">: On her first visit to Taiwan since taking office in 2016, Tokyo Gov. Koike Yuriko spends two days in Taiwan “to strengthen ties with the island’s leadership.”
: 400;">: US Navy and Philippine Navy conduct the third iteration of the Maritime Cooperative Activity in the South China Sea, “reaffirming both nations’ commitment to bolstering regional security and stability” and “in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific.”
: 400;">: Kim Jong Un says North Korea would not hesitate to use all of its military power against its enemies if any of them used force against the country.
: Following Korean Supreme Court rulings upholding lower court decisions that order Japanese firms to compensate wartime labor victims, President Yoon states he “wish[es] to see cooperation between business people of the two countries” on the issue to improve bilateral ties.
: Pakistan elections take place, six months after parliament was dissolved. Ousted ex-Prime Minister Imran Khan’s party, Tehreek-e-Insaf, wins the most seats at 100, but short of the 134 necessary to form a government. Shehbaz Sharif of the center-right Pakistan Muslim League is ultimately re-elected prime minister as the head of a coalition government.
: 400;">: 2024 National Proliferation Financing Risk Assessment report shows that North Korea continues to engage in “malicious” cyber activities and mobilize information technology (IT) workers to bankroll its weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programs.
: 400;">: US National Security Agency and partners issue a Cybersecurity Advisory titled “PRC State-Sponsored Actors Compromise and Maintain Persistent Access to US Critical Infrastructure.”
: 400;">: Department of Justice arrests an individual in California seeking to illegally transfer to China software and technology developed by the US government for use to detect nuclear missile launches and track ballistic and hypersonic missiles.
: 400;">: USS John Finn (DDG 113) and USS Gabrielle Giffords (LCS 10) conduct trilateral operations with allied maritime forces from Japan and Australia in the South China Sea to “promote transparency, rule of law, freedom of navigation and all principles that underscore security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific.”
: 400;">: China’s Coast Guard patrols the waters of the Diaoyu Islands, which are territories in the East China Sea that are claimed by China, Japan and Taiwan.
: 400;">: Chinese-Australian writer Yang Hengjun receives a suspended death penalty in China, and Australia is “appalled” by the sentence.
: 400;">: US urges Papua New Guinea to turn down China’s offer of a potential security pact, warning the Pacific nation against any security guarantee with Beijing.
: 400;">: Senior officials from the Department of the Treasury and China’s Ministry of Finance hold the third meeting of the Economic Working Group, the first time the meeting is held in China.
: 400;">: Thailand and Sri Lanka sign a free trade agreement, a move Sri Lanka hopes will help it emerge from its worst financial crisis in decades.
: North Korea says it tested cruise missiles outfitted with “super-large” warheads and a new type of anti-aircraft missile.
: KMT legislator and 2020 presidential candidate Han Kuo-yu is elected speaker of the Legislative Yuan.
: Philippine President Marcos approves the third phase of the military’s modernization, which includes the purchase of the country’s first submarine, to defend its maritime sovereignty in the South China Sea.
: US Department of Commerce announces that the IPEF Agreement Relating to Supply Chain Resilience will enter into force from today. Ratification occurs after five IPEF partners deposited their instruments of ratification, acceptance, or approval with the Depositary.
: United States, European Union, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway, Republic of Korea, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom issue a joint statement marking three years since the military coup in Myanmar on Feb. 1, 2021. The statement condemned the military’s ongoing human rights abuses and urged “unified efforts by ASEAN” to resolve the crisis.
: 400;">: Japanese government sources reveal that four Chinese warships have been constantly deployed around Taiwan, likely aiming to block US and other forces by using the ships in conjunction with other warships nearby.
: CSIS Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative reports that Chinese Coast Guard and Maritime Militia blocking Philippine resupply missions to disputed Second Thomas Shoal had increased in frequency and intensity since 2022.
: 400;">: Office of the United States Trade Representative releases the findings of its 2023 Review of Notorious Markets for Counterfeiting and Piracy, which lists several China-based e-commerce and social commerce markets, a cloud storage service, and “seven physical markets in China known for the manufacture, distribution, and sale of counterfeit goods.”
: North Korea fires multiple unidentified cruise missiles into the sea off its west coast—the third time Pyongyang tested cruise missiles in less than a week.
: Philippine navy detects nearly 200 Chinese warships and maritime militia boats around Mischief Reef in the South China Sea.
: Taiwan’s military conducts a two-day exercise at sea, on land, and in the air to practice defending against a surprise attack.
: China’s Wang Yi says that China and Thailand must accelerate the construction of a planned high-speed railway linking the countries.
: 400;">: US Commerce Department issues a proposed rule that would compel US cloud companies to alert the government when foreign clients train their most powerful AI models using the compute power provided by these cloud companies.
: Southeast Asian foreign ministers press for an end to Myanmar’s conflict and express their support for a regional peace plan and a “Myanmar-owned and led solution” to the crisis.
: North Korea fires several cruise missiles off its east coast, continuing a streak of weapons tests that have drawn condemnation from the US, South Korea, and Japan.
: Taiwan’s defense ministry detects 23 Chinese air force planes operating around Taiwan and carrying out “joint combat readiness patrols” with Chinese warships, ahead of high-level China-US talks in Thailand.
: 400;">: Biden administration proposes a requirement on US cloud companies to determine whether foreign entities are accessing US data centers to train AI models, as part of a series of measures to prevent China from using US technology for AI.
: South Korea and the United States conduct their first cyber security drills to bolster their joint posture against rising cyber threats.
: South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) says that production of spy drones to monitor North Korea has begun, under a 471.7 billion won ($353.6 million) contract it signed in December with a consortium comprising Korean Air and two defense firms, LIG Nex1 and Hanwha Systems.
: Chainalysis report shows that North Korea-linked hackers stole $1 billion worth of crypto-currency through 20 attacks in 2023, the highest number of their hacks since record-keeping began in 2016.
: US navy destroyer USS John Finn transits the Taiwan Strait.
: After North Korea testfires several cruise missiles over the Yellow Sea, ROK MND Shin Won-sik tells ROKAF 17th Fighter Wing
: North Korea appears to have torn down a huge arch in its capital that symbolized reconciliation with South Korea, a week after leader Kim Jong Un dismissed hopes for peaceful reunification.
: 400;">: A newly released report says Japan’s Air Self-Defense Force scrambled fighter jets 555 times from April to December 2023, of which 392 or about 70% of which were against Chinese aircraft, down by 70 scrambles year on year.
: 400;">: Vietnam’s ambassador urges Washington to end its “non-market economy” label on Hanoi, warning that maintaining punitive duties on Vietnamese goods is bad for bilateral ties.
: Co-chairs of the US Congressional Taiwan Caucus make the first trip by US lawmakers to Taiwan after the presidential election.
: China and Nauru formally restore diplomatic relations after the Pacific island nation cut its ties with Taiwan earlier this month.
: Taiwan says that six Chinese balloons either flew over the island or through airspace just north of it, while Chinese warplanes and navy ships were also detected in the area.
: Japan and NATO begin talks to establish a secure communication line to quickly share sensitive security information.
: US, South Korea, and Japan conduct combined naval exercises in a show of strength against North Korea.
: South Korea sanctions 11 vessels, two individuals, and three companies. Most are North Korean, and all have been named in UN Panel of Experts (PoE) reports as involved in ship-to-ship transfers of oil, coal, and other products: violating UN Security Council (UNSC) sanctions against the DPRK.
: China and the Philippines agree to improve maritime communication and to properly manage conflicts and differences through friendly talks.
: North Korea says it has successfully test-fired a solid-fuel intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) carrying a hypersonic warhead.
: US, Japan, and South Korea launch a three-day joint naval exercise to strengthen “deterrence and response capabilities” in response to North Korea and to respond to “maritime security threats.”
: White House dispatches former US National Security Advisor Steven Hadley and Former Deputy Secretary of James Steinberg to Taiwan to meet President Tsai Ing-wen, President-elect Lai, and leaders of opposition parties in a show of US support for Taiwan after the election.
: (North) Korea Central News Agency briefly reports that on Jan. 14 “the DPRK Missile Administration conducted a test-fire of an intermediate-range solid-fuel ballistic missile loaded with a hypersonic maneuverable controlled warhead.”
: North Korea’s Supreme People’s Assembly abolishes three bodies handling inter-Korean matters: the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Country (CPRK), the National Economic Cooperation Bureau, and the Kumgangsan International Tourism Administration.
: Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. congratulates the winner of Taiwan’s presidential election, Lai Ching-te.
: Lai Ching-te of the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party is elected president of Taiwan, but his party loses control of the Legislative Yuan. The following day China says Taiwan’s ruling DPP does not represent the island despite its victory. President Joseph Biden says, “We do not support independence” when asked to comment on the results of Taiwan’s election.
: China brokers a truce and ceasefire agreement in Kunming between Myanmar’s military regime and an alliance of Myanmar’s ethnic minority groups.
: United States imposes sanctions on three Russian entities (the Ashuluk Firing Range, 224th Flight Unit State Airlines, and the Vladimirovka Advanced Weapons and Research Complex) and one individual (Vladimir Mikheychik, general director of 224th Flight Unit State Airlines) for their involvement in the transfer and testing of North Korean ballistic missiles for Russia’s use against Ukraine.
: 14th Ministerial-level meeting of the India-US Trade Policy Forum commences. The Ministers took stock of the progress made in addressing concerns impacting the bilateral trade relationship since the 13th TPF in January 2023. This was highlighted by the historic settlement of all seven longstanding trade disputes at the World Trade Organization (WTO) between the two countries. Key areas of discussion were: critical minerals, supply chains, and trade in high-tech products.
: 400;">: Chinese Coast Guard ships are videotaped by the Philippines driving away Philippine fishing boats near the disputed Scarborough Shoal.
: China and the Maldives upgrade relations during newly-elected President Muizzu’s first state visit to Beijing.
: 400;">: Aso Taro, LDP vice-president and former prime minister, speaks to the US Congress and, separately, to reporters saying that the Japanese government may regard a contingency in Taiwan as a situation threatening the existence of Japan, thus implying that Japan may exercise the right of collective self-defense based on 2015 national security legislation.
: NK News reports that several North Korean propaganda websites targeting South Korea went offline simultaneously. Sites affected include Uriminzokkiri, DPRK Today, Arirang Meari, Tongil Voice, and Ryomyong. This appears related to Pyongyang trying to work out Kim Jong Un’s new line on South Korea.
: Myanmar’s junta chief, Min Aung Hlaing, meets a special envoy from ASEAN, which has encouraged peace efforts in the country.
: Malaysia and Singapore agree to jointly develop a special economic zone (SEZ) in the southern Malaysian state of Johor.
: China threatens new trade measures against Taiwan, after it accused Beijing of “economic coercion” ahead of elections and expressed anger at a surprise Chinese satellite launch over its airspace.
: Taiwan’s defense ministry detects three more Chinese balloons flying over the Taiwan Strait, one of which crossed the island. Jan. 8, 2024: An annual parachuting drill including forces from eight countries including Britain, France, Germany, the US, and Japan’s 1st Airborne Brigade features the recapturing of an island that had been occupied by an unnamed enemy force.
: 400;">: US Justice Department, in partnership with other government partners, sentences a US Navy service member to 27 months in prison “for transmitting sensitive US military information to an intelligence officer from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in exchange for bribery payments.”
: Kim Yo Jong issues another statement. She claims the KPA did no sea shelling yesterday, but rather “conducted a deceptive operation” with explosions on land—to see if Seoul could tell the difference: “The ROK military gangsters quickly took the bait we threw.”
: PRC foreign ministry announces the imposition of countermeasures against five US defense industry companies for arms sales to “China’s Taiwan Region” in accordance with its Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law.
: Maldives suspends three deputy ministers for disparaging Indian Prime Minister Modi, during a dip in ties between the two nations.
: PRC foreign ministry announces the imposition of countermeasures against five US defense industry companies for arms sales to “China’s Taiwan Region” in accordance with its Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law.
: Taiwan’s defense ministry accuses China of threatening aviation safety and waging psychological warfare with a recent spate of balloons spotted near or over the island, days before key Taiwanese elections.
: China’s foreign ministry spokesperson condemns second US-Philippines patrol in the disputed South China Sea.
: US, Japan, and South Korea hold the inaugural Trilateral Indo-Pacific Dialogue in Washington, DC, an outcome of the 2023 Camp David Summit, and release a Joint Statement.
: ROK Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) says that from 0900 to 1100 the DPRK fired some 200 shells into the sea from two locations: Jangsan Cape, north of South Korea’s northernmost island of Baengnyeong, and Deungsan Cape, north of the ROK’s western border island of Yeonpyeong. Residents of both islands are ordered to “evacuate” (meaning seek shelter, not to actually get off the islands: regular ferry services are briefly suspended). South Korea carries out a live-fire exercise in response to shelling by North Korea, which spurred the evacuation of two South Korean islands in the Yellow Sea.
: South Korean and US troops conduct joint combat firing drills near the North Korean border, as Pyongyang condemns the allies for pushing the region to “an inferno of nuclear war.”
: 400;">: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken releases a statement designating the People’s Republic of China as one of 12 “Countries of Particular Concern for having engaged in or tolerated particularly severe violations of religious freedom.”
: China lodges a protest to Myanmar after five people were injured by artillery shells fired in battles between the country’s ruling junta and rebel groups.
: Two Chinese navy vessels shadow Philippine and US ships conducting joint patrols in the South China Sea.
: Asian leaders extend support to Japan following the magnitude-7.6 earthquake that struck Japan on New Year’s Day.
: Two Chinese balloons cross the median line separating Taiwan from China, with one balloon detected directly above the island.
: South Korea protests against Tokyo’s inclusion of disputed islands in a tsunami advisory issued after a major earthquake struck a day earlier.
: Thailand and China plan to permanently waive visa requirements for each other’s citizens in March.
: South Korea’s Ministry of Unification (MOU) launches a new early warning system to detect Northern defectors who need more support or are at risk.
: Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen calls for peaceful coexistence with Beijing, just hours after China’s President Xi Jinping reiterated his ambition to “reunify.”
: Taiwan’s one-year compulsory military service for men goes into effect.
: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and President Xi vow to increase cooperation between the two countries in New Year messages.
: President Xi exchanges congratulations with President Biden on the 45th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries.
: North Korea vows to launch three new spy satellites, build military drones, and boost its nuclear arsenal in 2024 as leader Kim Jong Un said US policy is making war inevitable.
: China’s “reunification” with Taiwan is inevitable, President Xi says in his New Year’s address, striking a stronger tone than he did last year with less than two weeks to go before the Chinese-claimed island elects a new leader.
: Foreign ministers of Southeast Asia’s regional bloc ASEAN express concern over growing tensions in the South China Sea.
: Japan says it lodged a protest with South Korea over military drills conducted in waters near South Korean-controlled, Japanese-claimed islets in the Sea of Japan.
: China’s defense ministry accuses Taiwan’s government of deliberately “hyping up” a military threat from China for electoral gain ahead of elections on the island in just over two weeks’ time, but again sent warplanes into the Taiwan Strait.
: South Korea signs a contract with the US government to buy 20 additional F-35A stealth fighter jets amid efforts to bolster response capabilities against North Korean military threats.
: Unification of Taiwan with mainland China “will surely be realized,” Chinese President Xi declares at a speech in Beijing to commemorate the 130th anniversary of Mao Zedong’s birth.
: Russia and India discuss plans and make progress in talks toward jointly producing military equipment.
: Chinese government threatens to place further trade sanctions on Taiwan if the ruling party “stubbornly” adheres to supporting independence, in a further escalation of the war of words as Taiwanese elections approach next month.
: Russia tells South Korea not to be surprised if Moscow retaliates against Seoul for expanding the list of goods which cannot be exported from the East Asian nation to Russia without special permission.
: South Korea imposes sanctions on eight North Koreans linked to nuclear and missile development through arms trade, cyberattacks and other illicit activities.
: Chinese state media accuses the Philippines of repeatedly infringing on China’s territory in the South China Sea, spreading false information and colluding with extraterritorial forces to cause trouble.
: Eight Chinese fighter jets cross the median line of the Taiwan Strait, as well as one Chinese balloon, according to Taiwan’s defense ministry.
: China resumes imports of grouper from Taiwan, a day after angering Taipei with the ending of tariff cuts on some chemical imports less than a month before Taiwanese elections.
: Japan says it will send Patriot air defense missiles to the US after changing its arms export rules, in a shift away from its pacifist policies.
: Federation of Korean Industries proposes regular business summits to promote cooperation with its US and Japanese counterparts.
: Taiwan accuses China of economic coercion and election interference after Beijing announced the end of tariff cuts on some chemical imports from the island, saying Taipei violated a trade agreement, just ahead of Taiwanese elections.
: Department of Commerce announces the launch of an industrial base survey of the US semiconductor supply chain to “bolster the semiconductor supply chain, promote a level playing field for legacy chip production, and reduce national security risks posed by the People’s Republic of China (PRC).”
: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un says Pyongyang would not hesitate to launch a nuclear attack if an enemy provokes it with nuclear weapons.
: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi warns the Philippines that any miscalculation in their escalating dispute in the South China Sea would bring a resolute response, and urges dialogue to address “serious difficulties” between the two neighbors.
: Philippines defense minister rebukes China for accusing his country of provoking tension and stirring trouble in the South China Sea.
: Top diplomats of the US, South Korea, and Japan condemn North Korea’s recent ballistic missile launches and urge Pyongyang to engage in “substantive dialogue without preconditions.”
: United States imposes sanctions on a network of 10 entities and four individuals based in Iran, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Indonesia for facilitating Iran’s procurement of sensitive goods for the production of attack drones.
: South Korea, the US, and Japan launch a system to share North Korean missile warning data in real time.
: North Korea fires an intercontinental ballistic missile that has a range to hit anywhere in the continental US, marking its second launch in hours as Pyongyang condemned a US-led show of force as “war” moves.
: US condemns the prosecution of “pro-democracy advocate and media owner Jimmy Lai in Hong Kong under the PRC-imposed National Security Law.”
: East Timor plans to choose partners for the Greater Sunrise offshore natural gas project that will bring it benefits, signaling that it will not rule out participation by Chinese companies.
: Chinese leader Xi arrives in Vietnam seeking to deepen ties with the Southeast Asian neighbor, weeks after Hanoi elevated diplomatic relations with the US and Japan.
: Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese hails US Congress for authorizing the sale of nuclear submarines to another country for the first time, allowing the AUKUS defense partnership of Australia, the US, and Britain to go ahead.
: Japan and ASEAN intend to work together on cybersecurity and systems for managing and operating artificial intelligence.
: China condemns Canada’s support for the Philippines over what it said were violations of China’s sovereignty in the South China Sea.
: Defense ministers of Japan, Britain, and Italy sign an agreement to establish a joint organization to develop a new advanced jet fighter, as their countries push to strengthen cooperation in the face of growing threats from China, Russia and North Korea.
: Russia and China conduct 7th joint air patrol over the Sea of Japan and East China Sea with Russia’s Tupolev-95MS strategic bombers and China’s Hong-6K strategic bombers.
: Philippines condemns China’s recent actions in the South China Sea, urging restraint to preserve regional stability following a spike in tensions over the weekend.
: Japan does not appeal a South Korean appeals court’s Nov. 23 ruling which was in favor of a group of former “comfort women.”
: Two Chinese naval vessels become the first ships to dock at a new pier at Cambodia’s Ream Naval Base.
: At their first in-person summit for four years, China and the EU agree that their trade relationship should be more balanced, but gave no sign of resolving differences on a range of issues.
: Leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) meet virtually and release a Leaders’ Statement which says the G7 “stand prepared to build constructive and stable relations with China” but remain committed to “push for a level playing field” for workers and companies and remain “seriously concerned” about the situation in the East and South China Seas.
: Philippines’ coast guard says more than 135 Chinese “maritime militia” vessels are “swarming” around the disputed Whitsun Reef in the South China Sea.
: Malaysia invites China’s President Xi to visit, as the Southeast Asian country also seeks to boost the number of Chinese tourists to 5 million a year to fuel economic growth.
: Philippines builds a new coast guard station on the contested island of Thitu in the South China Sea, boosting its ability to monitor movements of Chinese vessels and aircraft in the busy disputed waterway.
: Chief minister of the western Indian state of Gujarat calls on Japanese semiconductor companies to invest in the hometown of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
: Japan and Vietnam agree to strengthen their security and economic ties in the face of China’s growing influence in the region.
: Taiwan High Prosecutors Office indicts 10 people, including several active-duty military personnel, for allegedly spying for China.
: China, Japan, and South Korea agree to restart cooperation and pave the way for a summit in the latest move to ease tensions between the Asian neighbors.
: US Navy destroyer USS Hopper conducts a freedom of navigation operation in the South China Sea near the Paracel Islands.
: A South Korean appeals court, the Seoul High Court rules in favor of a group of 16 former “comfort women” (survivors of Imperial Japan’s wartime sexual slavery) ordering the Japanese government to provide 200 million won (about $150,000) in compensation to each victim, overruling a lower court ruling in 2021. Foreign Minister Kamikawa issues a statement calling the ruling “extremely regrettable and absolutely unacceptable.”
: South Korea suspends part of a 2018 inter-Korean military tension reduction agreement in response to North Korea’s latest launch of a military spy satellite. The US, South Korea, and Japan’s nuclear envoys also hold phone calls and “strongly” condemn North Korea’s space launch. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) reports the three countries have shared information regarding the launch.
: United States authorities thwarted a plot to kill a Sikh separatist in the United States and issued a warning to India over concerns the government in New Delhi was involved, according to a senior Biden administration official.
: North Korea notifies Japan it plans to launch a rocket carrying a space satellite between Nov. 22 and Dec. 1 in the direction of the Yellow Sea and East China Sea, Japan’s Coast Guard said on Tuesday.
: South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol heads to Britain for a state visit, hoping to boost economic ties and security partnerships as his country faces what it sees as growing danger from a nuclear-armed North Korea.
: Philippines approaches neighbors Malaysia and Vietnam to discuss a separate code of conduct regarding the South China Sea, citing limited progress toward a broader regional pact with China.
: Taiwan reports renewed Chinese military activity around the island, with nine aircraft crossing the sensitive median line of the Taiwan Strait and warships carrying out “combat readiness patrols.”
: Maldives new President Mohamed Muizzu, who campaigned on altering the tiny Indian Ocean archipelago’s “India first” policy, requests India withdraw its military from the country.
: United States and the Philippines sign a landmark deal that would allow Washington to export nuclear technology and material to Manila, which is exploring the use of nuclear power to decarbonize and boost energy independence.
: Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio stresses the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait during a meeting with President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the APEC summit.
: After meeting President Xi, Biden tells the media: “I reiterate what I’ve said since I’ve become president and what every previous president of late has said—that we—we maintain an agreement that there is a one-China policy and that—and I’m not going to change that. That’s not going to change.”
: United States and the Philippines announce that they will explore opportunities to collaborate on semiconductor supply chains with funds from the CHIPS Act of 2022.
: Japanese Trade Minister Nishimura Yasutoshi and Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao agree to create a new framework to discuss export controls on key minerals and other trade issues.
: ASEAN defense chiefs and counterparts from regional partners like the United States, China, and Russia meet in Jakarta for the 10th ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting-Plus.
: Defense ministers in ASEAN call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and a durable solution to the crisis in Myanmar during the opening of a regional meeting in Jakarta.
: President Biden and President Xi begin a high-profile summit in San Francisco in a renewed attempt to stabilize US-China relations.
: North Korea tests newly developed solid-fuel engines for new-type for a new type of intermediate-range ballistic missile.
: President Biden and Indonesian counterpart, Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, meet at the White House, agreeing to elevate ties and cooperate in fields ranging from climate and energy to digital connectivity and defense.
: Leaders from the 21-member Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum gather in San Francisco for the 30th APEC summit.
: India and the US underline their commitment to boosting security ties as their top diplomats and defense chiefs discuss regional security, China and the wars in Ukraine and Gaza.
: President Ishmael Toroama, who represents the Autonomous Region of Bougainville within Papua New Guinea, travels to Washington, D.C.
: Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese calls for the “full resumption of free and unimpeded trade” with China in a meeting with counterpart Li Qiang that marked the return of talks after a four-year hiatus.
: Group of Seven (G7) wealthy nations – Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the US – as well as the EU, meet in Tokyo to discuss issues including Russia’s war in Ukraine and the Israel-Gaza crisis.
: Prime Minister Kishida and Malaysian counterpart Anwar Ibrahim agree to promote bilateral defense and maritime security cooperation amid China’s increasing military assertiveness in the Asia-Pacific region.
: Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio says his country, the Philippines, and the US are cooperating to protect the freedom of the South China Sea as he commits to help enhance Manila’s security capabilities.
: US Navy destroyer USS Dewey conducts a freedom of navigation operation in the South China Sea near the Spratly Islands.
: Destroyer from the US Navy 7th Fleet and a frigate from the Royal Canadian Navy jointly conduct a “routine Taiwan Strait transit through waters where high-seas freedoms of navigation and overflight apply in accordance with international law.”
: 27th US-Vietnam Human Rights Dialogue is conducted in Washington. Ongoing since normalization of US-Vietnam relations in 1995, the Dialogue has been incorporated as a key feature of the US-Vietnam Comprehensive Strategic Partnership announced in September.
: United States imposes sanctions on the Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE), the country’s most lucrative state-owned enterprise. Washington also adds the names of three entities and five individuals to the sanctions list, for their involvement with the Tatmadaw.
: President Biden has a one-hour meeting with China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, at the White House, where he highlighted the importance of maintaining open lines of communication with Beijing.
: UN expert panel overseeing sanctions against Pyongyang estimates North Korea’s state-sponsored cyber theft last year at $1.7 billion.
: South Korean and U.S. troops conduct live-fire exercises to hone their ability to respond to potential “Hamas-style surprise artillery attacks” by North Korea.
: President Biden warns China that the US will defend the Philippines in case of any attack in the disputed South China Sea.
: China says that the US does not have the right to get involved in problems between China and the Philippines.
: California Gov. Gavin Newsom meets Chinese President Xi in Beijing. Newsom, joined by US Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns, also meets China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Vice President Han Zheng and signs a new climate-focused Memorandum of Understanding with National Development and Reform Commission Chairman Zheng Shanjie.
: Philippines accuses China’s coast guard of colliding with a Filipino supply boat in the South China Sea.
: US, South Korea, and Japan conduct the first trilateral aerial exercise to strengthen their joint response capabilities against North Korea.
: California Gov. Gavin Newsom visits China to reinforce his state’s role as a global leader on climate change.
: Biden administration reduces the types of semiconductors that American companies will be able to sell to China, citing the desire to close loopholes in existing regulations announced last year.
: Chinese President Xi Jinping outlines his views on the past and future of the Belt and Road Initiative, as Beijing hosts world dignitaries at a forum marking the 10th anniversary of its signature foreign policy strategy.
: Department of Commerce’s BIS adds 13 Chinese companies to the Entity List for aiding the AI capabilities of China’s military and high-tech surveillance sector and, thus, “acting contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States.”
: President Putin visits Beijing to participate in the 3rd Belt-Road-Initiative Forum. He holds talks with President Xi Jinping on Oct. 18.
: South Korea military transport plane help evacuate 163 South Koreans, 51 Japanese, and six Singaporeans from Israel.
: India’s stock market loses momentum as risk-averse investors pull out money amid a diplomatic row with Canada.
: North Korea threatens to stage the “most powerful and rapid first strike” against US strategic assets deployed to the Korean Peninsula.
: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. applies for permanent approval to ship US chip equipment to its facility in Nanjing, China, after its one-year license for the plant received a temporary renewal.
: US Navy P-8A Poseidon aircraft transits the Taiwan Strait in international airspace to “demonstrate the United States” commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific.”
: China sends fighter jets to monitor and warn a US Navy patrol aircraft that flew through the Taiwan Strait.
: EU launches investigation into overcapacity in China’s steel sector, a move that could see a tariff of 25% imposed on imports from the world’s second-largest economy.
: South Korea’s defense minister pushes to suspend a 2018 inter-Korean military agreement in order to resume front-line surveillance on rival North Korea, as the surprise attack on Israel by Hamas raised concerns in South Korea about similar assaults by the North.
: South Korea, the United States, and Japan stage a trilateral maritime interdiction exercise for the first time in seven years.
: Taiwan’s government opens an investigation into four companies named in a media report as conducting business with firms linked to U.S.-sanctioned Huawei in China, and is considering tighter rules on key technologies.
: Canada joins India-hosted parliamentary speakers’ summit of G20 nations, signaling both countries are keen to cooperate in legislative affairs despite tensions over the killing of a Sikh separatist leader.
: China issues a warning to Philippine vessels involved in mission to supply troops stationed in disputed waters in the South China Sea.
: China complains about the “very short” time provided by the European Union to engage in consultations for the bloc’s inquiry into subsidies for electric vehicles.
: India orders Canada to remove 41 of 62 diplomats from the country as their diplomatic row escalates.
: Philippines and the US kick off a two-week joint naval exercise, part of efforts to bolster international cooperation amid Beijing’s increasingly assertive activity in the South China Sea.
: Indian EAM S. Jaishankar criticizes Canada’s “permissive” attitude toward terrorism and violence and allowing a culture of intimidation toward Indian diplomats.
: Washington officials say U.S. soldier Travis King, who crossed the inter-Korean border into North Korea in July, is in US custody after his release by the reclusive regime.
: United States holds a summit with 14 Pacific Island States to discuss climate change, regional security, and China.
: A delegation from the US Food and Drug Administration visits Divi’s Laboratories, an Indian manufacturer of artificial pharmaceutical ingredients, in Hyderabad.
: Philippines Coast Guard removes the floating barrier surrounding Scarborough Shoal.
Sept. 25, 2023: South Korea and the US stage joint naval drills in East Sea amid North Korean threats.
Sept. 25, 2023: South Korea and the US stage joint naval drills in East Sea amid North Korean threats.
: Department of Commerce’s BIS adds 11 entities based in China to the Entity List for national security concerns, including implication in “a conspiracy to violate US export controls.”
Sept. 25, 2023: North Korea opens the border to foreigners for first time since COVID-19.
Sept. 25, 2023: North Korea opens the border to foreigners for first time since COVID-19.
: Defense officials from the US and the PRC hold a hybrid in-person and virtual meeting to discuss the Department’s recently released 2023 DOD Cyber Strategy Unclassified Summary and to engage in “substantive discussion on a range of cyber-related topics.”
: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Japanese and Australian counterparts on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York.
: US and China launch new joint economic working groups in an effort to build cooperation despite growing tensions and competition.
: President Biden holds a summit with five former soviet Central Asian states to discuss regional security and territorial integrity.
: ASEAN begins a five day joint military exercise in Indonesian waters, amid growing tensions in the South China Sea.
: Canada accuses “agents of the government of India” of being behind the death of Sikh community leader in British Columbia.
: US, Japan, and South Korean national security advisors hold a call to discuss the summit between Russian President Putin and North Korean leader Kim.
: European Commission starts investigation into whether to impose tariffs to protect the EU against Chinese electric vehicle imports benefiting from state subsidies.
: North Korea fires two short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea in an apparent show of force ahead of its leader Kim Jong Un’s summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
: Department of Defense releases its 2023 Cyber Strategy Summary in which the PRC is listed as the first among several state and non-state actors in a “contested cyberspace.”
: US Navy destroyer USS Ralph Johnson (DDG 114) and Royal Canadian Navy frigate HMCS Ottawa (FFH 341) operate in the South China Sea as part of a joint exercise.
: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits to Russia for summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin amid growing concerns over military cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow. While there, Kim and Putin meet at Russia’s Vostochny spaceport, Kim inspects factory producing modern fighter jets in Russia’s Far East, Kim meets Russia’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu to inspect Russia’s nuclear-capable bombers, and Putin accepts the invitation to visit Pyongyang.
: President Biden visits Hanoi to discuss US-Vietnam relations and semiconductors. During the visit, Vietnam elevates the US to the highest diplomatic status, alongside China and Russia.
: President Joe Biden travels to Vietnam for a visit hosted by Nguyen Phu Trong, secretary-general of the Vietnamese Communist Party. Washington and Hanoi announce that US-Vietnam relations will be elevated to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. The two countries announce that they will explore possibilities of strengthening semiconductor supply chains with funds from the International Technology Security and Innovation (ITSI) funds created by the CHIPS Act of 2022.
: President Biden, Prime Minister Modi, and other G20 leaders unveil the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor, which has been seen as a direct competitor to China’s BRI.
: India and the United States, along with the European Union, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and other G20 partners, sign a memorandum of understanding on the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor, or IMEC. Included in the deal is a railway to link Middle Eastern countries and connect them to India by port.
: G20 adds the African Union to its membership on the final day of the G20 summit, making it the G21 and adding a major voice from the Global South.
: US Navy destroyer USS Ralph Johnson (DDG 114) and Royal Canadian Navy frigate HMCS Ottawa (FFH 341) conduct “a routine Taiwan Strait transit…through waters where high-seas freedoms of navigation and overflight apply in accordance with international law.
: At the G20 summit, Prime Minister Kishida explains Japan’s position and responds to criticisms of the three Fukushima water releases on Aug. 24, Oct. 5, and Nov. 20.
: Modi welcomes President Biden to India, and the leaders reaffirm their commitment to the G20 and express confidence that the outcomes of the G20 Leaders’ Summit in New Delhi will advance their shared goals.
: India reduces import tariffs on US poultry which resolves the last of all the US-India trade disputes.
: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi chairs the 20th ASEAN-India Summit.
: South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup holds a phone call with US and Japanese counterparts to discuss trilateral security cooperation following up on the Camp David Summit, and North Korea’s missile launches.
: 32nd Korea-Japan Customs Heads’ Meeting is held in South Korea, the first such meeting between the neighboring countries in seven years.
: US Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) adds 42 Chinese companies to its Entity List, effective Oct. 6, for supplying US-origin integrated circuits to Russian intermediaries and end-users.
: ASEAN leaders agree to prevent Myanmar from gaining chairing the group in 2026 as previously scheduled.
: Taiwan government announces that investments approved for the 18 countries under the New Southbound Policy increased to $5.3 billion in 2022, up 90% from $2.8 billion in 2019.
: US Navy destroyer USS Ralph Johnson (DDG 114) conducts a “bilateral sail” with Philippine Navy guided-missile frigate BRP Jose Rizal (FF-150) in the South China Sea “to enhance the interoperability between the two navies.”
: Regional leaders convene in Indonesia for a number of high-level meetings, including the 43rd ASEAN Summit and the 18th East Asia Summit.
: Australia extends its police presence in the Solomon Islands per their request as Canberra becomes increasingly concerned with China-Solomon relations.
: North Korea fires missiles over the Yellow Sea in the wake of US-South Korea joint military exercises.
: Philippines, Taiwan, and Malaysia reject China’s latest South China Sea map with an updated 10-dash line that covers about 90% of the South China Sea.
: Russia says it will deepen ties with North Korea as “Moscow and Pyongyang maintain good, mutually respectful relations,” but doesn’t confirm Putin-Kim letter exchange.
: China holds intensive anti-submarine exercises in the South China Sea as part of efforts to hone its capabilities amid rising maritime tensions with its neighbors and their allies.
: China and former Taiwan-ally Nicaragua sign free trade agreement, deepening economic ties since the country switched its allegiance to Beijing from Taiwan in 2021.
: Biden approves military aid worth $80 million to Taiwan under the Foreign Military Financing program normally used for sovereign states.
: Fiji to sign a defense agreement with France, after the Cabinet of the Pacific Islands nation approved the deal. French President Emmanuel Macron toured the Pacific Islands in July, where France has overseas territories, denouncing predatory behavior by big powers in a region where China is extending trade and security ties.
: Japan makes record defense spending request amid tension with China by asking for a $52.67 billion in spending for the 2024 fiscal year. The plan, announced last year, seeks to double defense spending to 2% of GDP by 2027.
: China says countries should see its national map in ‘objective’ way after countries, including the Philippines, India and Malaysia, protested Beijing’s newly released map expanding its claim over regions of the South China Sea.
: China’s Ministry of Defense states that military-to-military communication between Beijing and Washington has “not stopped,” amid high tensions between the two superpowers over the South China Sea, Taiwan, and other issues.
: US deploys B-1B bombers for separate drills with South Korea, Japan as the three allies step up responses to counter threats from North Korea. A US B-1B flew alongside South Korean FA-50 jets and US Air Force F-16 fighters as part of Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises.
: State Department notifies Congress of $80 million arms deal to Taiwan through the Foreign Military Financing (FMF) program, which is usually reserved for sovereign states.
: South Korea, Japan, and the US hold a trilateral missile defense exercise in respond to North Korea’s failed satellite test.
: Taiwan warns of surge in tensions after reporting renewed Chinese military activity including fighter jets crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait. The ministry spotted 12 Chinese military aircraft in its air defense identification zone, of which seven crossed the median line in addition to five Chinese ships which carried out “combat readiness patrols” in the region.
: In a speech to mark Navy Day, North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un condemns “gang bosses” of the US, Japan, and South Korea after they announced regular joint military exercises, apparently referring to their Aug. 18 summit as a “confrontational move” forcing the waters off the Korean Peninsula to be reduced to “world’s biggest war hardware concentration spot.”
: China and Japan agree to postpone visit by head of Japan junior coalition partner “in light of current China-Japan relations.” China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin remarks that the country “stands ready to work with it to make active efforts for improving and growing China-Japan relations.”
: South Korean government announces that the amount of tritium in seawater after Japan began discharging ALPS-treated wastewater is safe and well below the standard limit.
: Japan complains of harassment calls from China over Fukushima water release, with condemning the instances of stone-pelting of the Japanese Embassy in Beijing.
: Three US marines killed when an Osprey aircraft crashes near Darwin, Australia during an exercise.
: US Navy official highlights the need for China’s ‘aggressive behavior’ in South China Sea to be challenged and checked after the country used the water canon of its coast guard against a Philippine vessel.
: Russian ships return after more than three weeks of joint-patrolling the Pacific Ocean with Chinese navy ships. Warships of Russia’s Pacific Fleet, together with a detachment of Chinese navy ships travelled more than 7,000 nautical miles through the Sea of Japan, the Sea of Okhotsk, the Bering Sea, and the Pacific Ocean.
: Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo visits China to meet with counterparts, and the two sides agree to new consultations on trade and export control systems.
: Chinese police experts arrive in Vanuatu amid political crisis in which Prime Minister Ishmael Kalsakau lost a no-confidence vote for signing a security pact with Australia.
: Taiwan reports 20 Chinese air force planes entering the island’s air defense zone, including a combat drone that flew along Taiwan’s Pacific east coast.
: Japan’s ASDF scrambles jet fighters to monitor two Chinese H-6 bombers flying between Okinawa and Miyako islands.
: Japan scrambles jet to monitor Chinese military drone flying near the country’s westernmost Yonaguni island and Taiwan. As per the Defense Ministry, the spy drone came from the East China Sea north of Taiwan and went to the Bashi Channel that separates Taiwan’s southern coast and the Philippines.
: China’s Defense Ministry urges the US to stop “arming” Taiwan, after the State Department approved a $500 million sale of infrared search, track systems for F-16 fighter jets and well as other equipment, to the island.
: Australia acknowledges its security interest in the South China Sea and vows to work more closely with the Philippines on joint patrols. More than 2,000 Australian and Philippine defense personnel, as well as US Marines, are participating in amphibious landing and air assault drills and conducting bilateral exercises with the Philippine Navy.
: Fiji’s Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka indicates that the Pacific Islands should remain a “zone of peace,” adding that he hopes a rivalry between the US and China does not develop into a military conflict.
: China and Australia raise climate change, security at Pacific leaders’ summit as the leaders of four nations debate declaring the strategic region “neutral” as China and the US jostle for influence. Climate change, security and trade dominate the opening day of a summit of the leaders of PNG, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Fiji and New Caledonia’s ruling FLNKS party.
: Taiwan’s presidential front-runner William Lai Ching-te pledges to adopt “values-based diplomacy” to support democracies in the region, an apparent sign of a shift from President Tsai’s approach of prioritizing commerce and countries that formally recognize Taiwan.
: Japan commences releasing treated radioactive water from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean, prompting China to announce an immediate blanket ban on all aquatic products imported from the former.
: Deputy Treasury Chief Adeyemo says the US is well-prepared to weather China’s economic headwinds and is closely monitoring economic developments in China, where growth is faltering amid a worsening property slump, weak consumer spending, and tumbling credit growth.
: Taiwan proposes $3 billion spending on new weapons.
: United States seeks a six-month extension to a science and technology agreement with China, to undergo negotiations with the latter to “amend and strengthen” the landmark deal.
: US State Department approves sale of equipment worth $500 million to Taiwan, to upgrade infrared search and track systems for F-16 fighter jets, as well as other machinery.
: China suspends imports of Taiwanese mangoes, citing a “severe threat” to China’s agricultural and ecological security posed by citrus mealybugs in shipments of the fruit, making full use of its economic and military playbook to scare the Taiwanese electorate ahead of January’s presidential election. Imports of Taiwanese apples, pineapples, and grouper fish had previously been banned by Beijing.
: North Korea claims a failed satellite launch.
: China’s climate envoy Xie Zhenhua and US counterpart Kerry hold video talks on climate-change cooperation.
: US Treasury expands use of sanctions in Myanmar to impose penalties on any individual or entity operating in the jet fuel section of the country’s economy, designating two individuals and three entities involved in procuring and distributing jet fuel to the its military.
: Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen makes rare visit to a memorial park on Kinmen Island, less than 1.2 miles from Chinese-controlled territory, to commemorate the 65th anniversary of the beginning of the Second Taiwan Strait crisis.
: Philippines completes resupply mission to grounded warship on Second Thomas Shoal despite attempts by the China Coast Guard and Chinese Maritime Militia “to block, harass, and interfere.”
: Cambodian legislature approves nomination of Hun Manet, eldest son of former prime minister Hun Sen, as prime minister, marking a generational shift in the dominant Cambodian People’s Party (CPP).
: China firmly opposes the Philippines exploiting the opportunity of resupplying troops to transport “illegal” construction materials to a grounded warship Sierra Madre, in Second Thomas Shoal.
: After more than three months of political and judicial maneuvering, the Thai Parliament approves nomination of the Pheu Thai Party’s Srettha Thavisin for prime minister. On the same day, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra returns to Thailand after a 15-year exile.
: 15th BRICS Summit is held in Johannesburg, South Africa and invites six countries (Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates) to join the group, from Jan. 1, 2024.
: China lodges representations with relevant parties over US, Japanese, and South Korean leaders’ criticism of China at Camp David.
: South Korea and India join the US, Japan, and European countries in supporting the Philippines in its maritime disputes with Beijing in the South China Sea, as China’s recent use of water cannon against a Philippine resupply ship creates a global backlash.
: Central American parliament expels Taiwan, replacing it with China at the behest of Nicaragua, which switched diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China in December 2021.
: South Korea and the US begin joint large-scale military exercise aimed at bolstering defense and preparedness against North Korea’s evolving nuclear and missile threats.
: Vietnam announces plans to fortify its military presence on the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, where it is locked in territorial disputes with China and the Philippines. The project, led by Vietnam’s defense ministry and navy, involves constructing and expanding military and other facilities on Pearson Reef and Pigeon Reef, over which Hanoi holds effective control.
: US tightens export controls of nuclear power items to China to ensure that items are used only for peaceful purposes rather than proliferation of atomic weapons.
: Chinese sources denounce the spirit of Camp David—the meeting of President Biden, President Yoon, and Prime Minister Kishida—as “hypocritical anti-China pantomime with a mini-NATO in the making.”
: Indonesia taps local fishers to boost Natuna Islands defense, which have transformed into the front lines of the country’s remote island protection, amid increased Chinese activity in the area.
: President Biden, President Yoon, and Prime Minister Kishida hold historic trilateral summit at Camp David, and adopt the Spirit of Camp David and the Camp David Principles. They commit to immediately consult in event of common threat.
: Associated Press reports that China appears to be constructing an airstrip on a disputed South China Sea island.
: US cements “game-changing” defense ties with Australia and Japan amid growing concerns posed by China, following a new security deal between Canberra and Tokyo.
: South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol calls for real-time nuclear and missile information sharing with Japan and the US as Seoul marks Liberation Day.
: Beijing concludes agreements with government of Guinea to build a trans-Guinean railway to carry iron ore from the nation’s inland to the coast to cut China’s reliance on Australia iron-ore.
: During US visit, Taiwan’s Vice President Lai vows that his country shall remain unafraid and never back down in the face of authoritarian threats.
: Japan and US begin discussions on joint development of an interceptor missile for hypersonic projectiles, expected to improve deterrence against China, Russia, and North Korea.
: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un calls for increase in missile production to help secure “overwhelming military power” and be ready for war, as South Korea and the US prepare for annual military drills.
: China’s foreign ministry condemns brief US visit by Taiwan Vice President William Lai Ching-te, saying he is “troublemaker through and through” and Beijing would take strong steps to protect its sovereignty.
: China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi visits Cambodia to reaffirm his country’s commitment to the country after its incumbent prime minister handed off the job to his son, Hun Manet following an election in July.
: Malaysia holds six state elections, a contest between the government coalition (PH) led by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and the opposition coalition (BN), which includes the Islamist fundamentalist party PAS. As expected, results are split evenly—each side won three states each—but the PH won their states with a smaller majority than previously, with gains by PAS.
: New Zealand acknowledges awareness of China-linked intelligence activity in country, calling it a “complex intelligence concern.” The accusations are the latest comments from the New Zealand government outlining concerns about China’s behavior and its destabilizing impact.
: India, Japan, the US, and Australia hold naval exercise off Sydney, and Japanese and Indian navy vessels make pit-stops in Solomon Islands and PNG on the way to Sydney, highlighting the strategic importance of the region. In a news conference in Sydney, Vice Adm. Karl Thomas, commander of the US Seventh Fleet notes that the deterrence that the four Quad nations provide as they operate together “shall serve as a “foundation for all the other nations operating in this region. “
: Australia revamps Pacific Island foreign aid by unveiling a new international development aid policy focusing on climate change. The policy, revised for the first time in roughly a decade, will establish a fund of up to A$250 million ($163 billion) to encourage private-sector investment in Pacific Island and Southeast Asian nations.
: Secretary of Defense Austin pledges to defend Philippine vessels if attacked in the South China Sea, after the China Coast Guard ship water cannon firing incident.
: President Biden signs executive order requiring US persons to notify the Treasury Department of certain transactions and investments in China, particularly those in high-tech sectors such as semiconductors, quantum computing, artificial intelligence, and other technologies with potential military applications.
: China asks Philippines to remove grounded ship from Second Thomas Shoal after blocking two Manila supply ships with water cannons, as both sides assert their claims of the area.
: US weighs deploying new military elements in Japan to better coordinate operations with the JSDF under the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), as a Taiwan contingency would necessitate a swift collective response.
: Chinese Coast Guard and maritime militia vessels use water cannons and other maneuvers to obstruct a Philippine resupply mission to Second Thomas Shoal. The State Department issues an immediate statement of support for the Philippines. The Philippine military condemns this as “excessive and offensive,” to block a Filipino supply boat from delivering
: China deepens military ties with Russia for “non-Western” front, as Russian anti-submarine ships and fighter jets join the Northern Theater Command of the PLA for joint exercises.
: China to lift tariffs on Australian barley imports that had been in place for three years affecting billions of dollars of trade, as the two nations repair strained ties.
: Xi Jinping announces that China seeks advances in artificial intelligence-powered drones and hypersonic weapons in a broader military buildup, as Xi prepares the country for “extreme” scenarios.
: US extends invite to Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, during meeting at the State Department between Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink and Yang Tao, director-general of North American and Oceanian Affairs at China’s Foreign Ministry.
: Xi appoints new chief of China’s nuclear arsenal to oversee conventional and nuclear missiles, one day before the anniversary of the People’s Liberation Army. Wang Houbin, former deputy commander of the navy, is named head of the PLA Rocket Force, and Xu Xisheng its new political commissar.
: President Xi calls “for enhancing the planning of war and combat, strengthening the command system for joint operations, and stepping up training under real combat conditions to raise the forces’ capabilities to fight and win,” during visit to PLA Eastern Theater Command headquarters.
: China announces curbs on exports of drone-related equipment including drone engines, lasers, communication equipment, and anti-drone systems; set to take effect Sept. 1 2023, amid US tech tensions.
: State Administrative Council (SAC) on Myanmar extends the state of emergency for another six months.
: Ten Chinese and Russian naval vessels pass through the Soya Strait between Cape Soya in the northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido and the Russian island of Sakhalin in the first China-Russia joint naval vessel sailing near Japan since September 2022.
: US and Australia agree to upgrade two additional air bases in northern Australia and to step up cooperation on weapons production and maintenance, as China’s growing strategic ambitions solidify defense ties between Washington and Canberra.
: US bars Hong Kong leader from APEC summit, for his role in crackdowns against pro-democracy protests under a stringent national security law enacted by Beijing in 2020.
: Japanese defense ministry announces the presence of five Chinese and five Russian warships in its territorial waters, as they sailed through the Soya Strait between Hokkaido and Sakhalin to the Sea of Okhotsk, possibly in connection with a joint patrol in the Pacific Ocean.
: US announces $345 million in military aid for Taiwan that includes defense, education and training for the Taiwanese, in addition to supply of man-portable air defense systems, or MANPADS, intelligence and surveillance capabilities, firearms, and missiles.
: Indonesia secures at least $13 billion in investment pledges from Chinese companies following meeting between Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and President Xi in Chengdu.
: Japan releases 2023 Defense White Paper saying that the international community is facing its greatest trial since World War II and has entered a new era of crisis. This includes China rapidly enhancing its military capability qualitatively and quantitatively, including nuclear and missile forces.
: White House announces $345 million military aid package for Taiwan—including anti-air and anti-armored munitions—through the fast-track “Presidential Drawdown Authority,” prompting China to accuse the US of turning the island into a “powder keg and ammunition depot” a day later.
: South Korea and the US stage joint air drills with F-35A and F-16 jets.
July 28-Aug. 21, 2023: Chinese and Russian navies conduct the third joint patrol of the western and northern Pacific.
: North Korea and South Korea mark 70th anniversary of the Korean Armistice agreement.
: Secretary Blinken visits Tonga, dedicating a new embassy there as part of efforts to shore up the US presence in the Pacific.
: Qin Gang is replaced in as China’s foreign minister by his predecessor Wang Yi.
: Australia to buy 20 Hercules military planes worth $6.6 billion ahead of visit by Secretary Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
: China and Russia conclude four-day military exercise in the Sea of Japan to, according to the Chinese defense ministry, “enhance strategic cooperation between the two countries and strengthen their ability to jointly safeguard regional peace and stability.”
: Following general elections in Cambodia in which the Cambodian People’s Party won 120 out of 125 seats, the State Department said it had “taken steps” to impose visa restrictions “on individuals who undermined democracy and implemented a pause of foreign assistance programs” after determining the elections were “neither free nor fair.”
: US commissions warship in Sydney, the first time a US Navy vessel joined active service at a foreign port, as the allies step up military ties in response to China’s expanding regional reach.
: China seeks to reassure multinationals over anti-spying law and pledges transparency to Western, Japanese, and South Korean business lobbies by increasing the predictability of policies via regular exchanges with foreign partner companies.
: Japan returns South Korea to its white list of preferred trading partners, four years after removing it from the list.
: Russia and China conduct joint sea and naval drill “North/Interaction-2023” in the Sea of Japan. Five Russian and five Chinese naval ships participate.
: US climate envoy Kerry urges China to separate climate from politics in a meeting with Chinese Vice President Han Zheng, calling it a “universal threat” that should be handled separately from broader diplomatic issues and be treated as a “free-standing” challenge that requires the collective efforts of the world’s largest economies to resolve.
: US nuclear missile sub visits South Korea for the first time since the 1980s, as the allies launched Nuclear Consultative Group talks to coordinate responses in the event of a nuclear war with North Korea.
: Officers from the JSDF and the Chinese military meet in Beijing, resuming an in-person exchange program for the first time since before the COVID-19 pandemic.
: Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry visits China where he holds meetings with top Chinese climate officials to discuss opportunities for cooperation.
: US calls for UN Security Council action against North Korea’s ICBM test, but permanent members China and Russia oppose it.
: Secretary Blinken holds “candid and constructive” talks with Wang Yi in Jakarta in interactions Washington says are aimed at managing competition between the rival superpowers.
: Solomon Islands denies suggestions by the US, New Zealand, and Australia on its policies dealing with Beijing and maintains that China will enhance the capability of its 1,500 police officers in cybersecurity and community policing.
: South Korea and the US stage air drills involving s B-52H strategic bomber in response to the North’s launch.
: Japanese government signs a new partnership agreement with NATO to enhance security coordination with Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg explicitly referencing concern China’s military buildup.
: Philippines launches website containing “official information” about Manila’s arbitration victory against Beijing in their South China Sea territorial dispute. The site’s launch represents the latest effort by President Marcos’ administration to firm up Manila’s position in the dispute.
: North Korea fires an intercontinental ballistic missile.
: Chinese company launches world’s first methane-liquid oxygen rocket- Zhuque-2, beating US rivals in sending what could become the next generation of launch vehicles into space.
: State-owned Bank of China (BOC) opens first representative office in Papua New Guinea, kick-starting Xi Jinping’s plans to build a comprehensive strategic partnership with PNG.
: North Korea accuses the United States of violating its airspace.
: North Korea denounces US move to introduce a nuclear missile submarine to waters near the Korean Peninsula, stating that the action brings a nuclear conflict closer to reality.
: China and the Solomon Islands announce a comprehensive strategic partnership, as they bolster relations four years after the Pacific nation switched ties from Taiwan to China.
: China and South Korea push for deep-sea mining as a United Nations body convenes a meeting in Jamaica to discuss setting guidelines for such activities.
: 10 members of South Korea’s National Assembly, civic activists, and South Korean fishermen protest Japan’s planned discharge of Fukushima water outside Japanese Prime Minister Kishida’s residence in Tokyo.
: China conducts a week of naval and air exercises in the Taiwan Strait.
: Justice ministers from Japan and ASEAN pledge to cooperate in promoting the rule of law amid China’s increasing maritime assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific region.
: Treasury Secretary Yellen visits China where she has “frank, pragmatic, in-depth and constructive” meetings with top Chinese officials in charge of economic affairs.
: Taiwan Vice President and Democratic Progressive Party Presidential candidate Lai Ching-te, publishes an opinion column in the Wall Street Journal promising to defend Taiwan’s democracy against Chinese coercion.
: Chinese media announce that a PLAN flotilla led by a Type 075 amphibious assault ship recently passed through the first island chain from straits south of Japan, marking the first time that this type of large warship was reported operating in the vicinity of Japan.
: An investigative report says Russia has been importing drones from Chinese companies explicitly for use in its invasion of Ukraine, despite denials from Beijing.
: South Korea and US stage air drills involving a B-52H strategic bomber.
: Japan’s Ministry of Defense announces that engineering company IHI will begin repairing engines in F-35 fighter jets used by the SDF and the US military, in a move that will enable troops to move more quickly and act as a deterrent against aggressive neighbors.
: China signs cooperative arrangements with “friend” New Zealand, aimed at improving market access for a Western country that has long maintained a conciliatory approach toward China.
: A Chinese survey vessel is detected in the waters near the Senkaku Islands in Okinawa Prefecture, though there is no intrusion into Japanese territorial waters.
: China issues warnings to foreign consulates, reminding them that dual-national detainees cannot receive visits from consular officers.
: Taiwan says it spots two Russian frigates sailing through waters near Taiwan, in a move that could heighten tensions in the region.
: Suspicions over Chinese intelligence collection outposts in Cuba renew concerns over its efforts to establish a global network for power projection.
: US convenes a meeting of working-level experts from China, France, Russia, and the UK to discuss nuclear weapons issues including strategic risk reduction, as a part of “a routine, continuing dialogue and ongoing exchange in the context of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.”
: US Coast Guard ship Stratton sails through the Taiwan Strait, after Secretary Blinken’s high-profile visit to Beijing. The US Navy’s 7th Fleet in an official statement declares that “Stratton’s transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the United States’ commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific.”
: US and India declare themselves “among the closest partners in the world” during a state visit by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Washington hosted by President Biden.
: G7 affirms unity and need for close coordination on China after Secretary Blinken’s meeting with Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK, and the EU on the sidelines of a conference in London.
: Chancellor Olaf Scholz addresses German Parliament, vowing to reject all unilateral attempts to change the status quo in the East and South China Seas by force or coercion, especially Taiwan. He reiterates concern for human rights and the state of the rule of law in China.
: In the 18th intrusion this year, four Chinese coast guard Haijing vessels sail near the contested Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands for around two hours.
: US Treasury announces new sanctions on Myanmar and designates two regime-controlled banks, Myanmar Foreign Trade Bank (MFTB) and Myanma Investment and Commercial Bank (MKN), both of which have been instrumental in facilitating the military’s use of foreign currency to procure arms and jet fuel abroad.
: Taiwan raises caution over a Chinese aircraft carrier group led by the vessel Shandong, sailing through the Taiwan Strait amid heightened military tension.
: Taiwan on alert for Chinese-funded election interference through means of illicit funding of Beijing-friendly candidates using communications apps or group tours, according to three internal security reports released by the government.
: Annual position paper released by the European Chamber of Commerce in China notes slowdown in both the Chinese and global economies as the biggest issue affecting European firms in the country. The number of European companies reporting China-sourced revenues decreased in 2022, while the importance of China to companies’ global profits fell for a second consecutive year.
: North Korea criticizes Blinken’s China visit as “begging trip,” in what it called a policy failure to pressure China. The commentary carried by KCNA news agency, states that the US is responsible for escalating regional tensions with “anti-China complexes,” such as the Quad grouping with Japan, India, and Australia, and the AUKUS pact with Britain and Australia.
: Japan to harmonize standards for domestically produced defense equipment with those of the US and Europe to reduce maintenance costs and increase business opportunities for Japanese defense companies, under draft guidelines issued by the government.
: Secretary Blinken voices deep concerns over Chinese military activities in Cuba, at a press conference in London.
: Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov shows confidence in Russia’s strategic partnership with China. He acknowledges that China has the sovereign right to forge ties with other countries and that Russia is not worried about US attempts to sway the former’s policy toward Moscow.
: Wall Street Journal report suggests that China and Cuba negotiating to establish a new joint military training facility on the island, sparking alarm in the US that it could lead to stationing Chinese troops and other security operations 100 miles off Florida’s coast.
: Lowy Institute Poll of Public Attitudes finds 82% of Australians support the security alliance with the US. They also favored responding to a Chinese attack on Taiwan with economic sanctions, arms supplies, or using the navy to prevent a blockade, without becoming an active combatant. The prospect of a military conflict between the US and China over Taiwan is seen as a “critical threat” by 64% of Australians, twice as many people as two years ago. The top threat cited by 68% percent of respondents, was cyber attacks from other countries.
: Secretary Blinken urges China’s vigilance on its firms providing technology to Russia that could be used against Ukraine.
: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz rejects blanket state supervision of exports to China, noting that the country has drafted a new laws to guarantee the security of the economy.
: US Navy runs rehearsal for ballistic submarine USS Michigan visit to Busan amid tensions driven by North Korea’s weapons testing, and as Seoul and Washington are bolstering their military cooperation to deter Pyongyang.
: Secretary of State Blinken visits Beijing where he holds 12 hours of meetings with top Chinese officials including President Xi—the first visit of its kind since 2018. Blinken also holds meetings with then-Foreign Minister Qing Gang and Central Foreign Affairs Commission director Wang Yi. Xi and Blinken agree to stabilize US-China relations in Beijing talks, while failing to produce any breakthrough during Blinken’s visit to the city.
: Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, share pessimism on Myanmar, calling for continued pressure on the military junta and sustained efforts to scale-up negotiation across all stakeholders.
: National security advisers of the US, Japan and the Philippines hold trilateral meeting to discuss regional security issues and ways to strengthen relations. They deliberate contentious issues in the South and the East China Sea, North Korea and reiterate the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.
: China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Hong Kong condemns Hong Kong resolutions passed by the European Parliament, calling them a “despicable act” that “trampled” on principles of international law.
: National Security Advisers for the US, Japan, and South Korea discuss maintaining stability in the Taiwan Strait and coordination in the East China and South China Seas. At a trilateral meeting in Tokyo, they also examined North Korea’s “illicit nuclear and missile programs and most recent provocations and identified next steps to strengthen their cooperation.”
: North Korea condemns South Korea’s live-fire drills with the United States and threatens to sternly respond to “any kind of protests or provocations by enemies” in the region.
: US targets North Korea’s missile development in new sanctions after South Korea’s military raps Pyongyang for firing two short-range missiles less than an hour after it warned of an “inevitable” response to military drills staged by South Korean and US troops.
: Taiwan Foreign Minister Joseph Wu discusses the need for maintaining the status quo in its relationship with neighboring China, encouraging European states to offer support and courage for resilience; while addressing a press conference in Prague.
: China holds military exercises in the East China Sea north of Taiwan, including live-fire exercises from warships, as the US and its allies conduct their drills in the Western Pacific.
: Biden administration adds 43 entities to an export control list, including Frontier Services Group Ltd, a security and aviation company previously run by Erik Prince, for training Chinese military pilots and other activities that threaten US national security.
: China deploys a reconnaissance aircraft over Pacific waters east of Taiwan to monitor and gather intelligence on an exercise involving the navies of the United States, Japan, France, and Canada.
: South Korea and the US stage the Combined Distribution Exercise in Pohang.
: Taiwan military releases updated civil defense handbook including a section on differentiating between Chinese and Taiwanese soldiers based on uniforms, camouflage, and insignia.
: Taiwan’s Air Force scrambles after spotting 10 Chinese warplanes crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait, in its second recce in less than a week after 37 Chinese military aircraft flew into the island’s air defense zone.
: China’s Assistant Foreign Minister Nong Rong summons South Korean ambassador to express “serious concern and dissatisfaction” over Seoul’s “improper reaction” to comments made by the Chinese envoy, who warned Seoul against making “wrong bets” in the Sino-US rivalry.
: Honduras opens embassy in China after cutting diplomatic relations with Taiwan earlier this year.
: With eye on China, the Five Eyes (Australia, Britain, Canada, New Zealand and the US) and Japan condemn trade practices that amount to economic coercion in a joint declaration.
: China’s largest naval training ship sails for the Philippines on a regional “friendly” tour, amid growing unease over Chinese maritime activities in the South China Sea. Training conducted by the ship, is expected to focus on navigation, anti-piracy and shooting exercises with light-weight weapons, according to Chinese state media.
: Chinese coastal patrol ship Haixun03 starts patrolling waters around Hainan Island and Paracel Islands in the South China Sea and aims to inspect ships in these waters. The patrol is expected to continue for around one month and cover 900 nautical miles.
: US Senate panel approves measure to strip China of “developing” status after passing the “Ending China’s Developing Nation Status Act” without dissent.
: ASEAN announces it will hold its first joint military exercise in the North Natuna Sea, the southernmost waters of the South China Sea, in its latest multilateral security drills.
: Japan conveys “strong concern” and lodges protest against China after the PLA Navy enters Japan’s waters near Yakushima Island. Two Chinese Coast Guard vessels also reportedly entered Japan’s territorial waters around the Senkaku Islands, which China calls Diaoyu, and attempted to approach a Japanese fishing boat.
: Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar notes that India and China must find a way to step back from potential confrontation in the western Himalayas, as militarized, disputed border could lead to conflict between the nuclear-armed neighbors.
: China, Pakistan, and Iran hold their first trilateral meeting on counter-terrorism in Beijing, involving “in-depth” exchanges on the prevailing regional counter-terrorism situation.
: Two Russian Tu-96 and two Chinese H-6K strategic bombers conduct the sixth joint patrols of the Sea of Japan, East China Sea, and Western Pacific. Russian bombers landed and took off from a Chinese military airfield.
: US and India release a Roadmap for US-India Defense Industrial Cooperation prior to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s four-day state visit to the US.
: North Korea denounces UN Security Council for holding a meeting on its recent satellite launch upon “robbery demands” from the US, vowing to continue rejecting sanctions and taking “self-defensive” action.
: US, Japan, Australia, and the Philippines hold first quadrilateral defense chief talks in Singapore on the sidelines of the SLD to ponder challenges posed by China in the South China Sea and in waters around Taiwan.
: Japan, US, and South Korean defense chiefs agree to real-time sharing of information about North Korean missiles by the end of 2023. This system will allow the three nations to detect and track projectiles fired by the North more accurately and swiftly
: Defense Minister Andrew Little acknowledges New Zealand’s interest in cooperating with Australia, the UK, and the US under their AUKUS trilateral security framework in nonnuclear areas such as artificial intelligence, cyber-security and quantum computing.
: Japanese, US, and Philippines Coast Guards conduct joint drills, the first exercise of its kind between the three countries, in the face of China’s expansion in the South China Sea.
: 20th Asia Security Summit (Shangri-la Dialogue, SLD) is held in Singapore. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin meets on the sidelines with counterparts from Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore.
: Defense Secretary Austin shakes hands with Chinese counterpart Li Shangfu at 20th SLD, but they hold no “substantive dialogue”; Beijing rejected Washington’s request for a meeting on the conference’s sidelines.
: China and Singapore defense establishments agree to set up a secure, bilateral hotline to strengthen high-level communication between their defense leaders.
: CIA announces that Director William Burns made a secret trip to China in May in an attempt to keep lines of communication open despite security and economic tensions.
: At US-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework meeting, trade ministers agree to strengthen supply chains for essential materials such as chips and critical minerals to reduce dependence on China. This is the first time the 14 participating countries–the US, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, India, Fiji, and seven members of ASEAN–agreed on specific measures since IPEF launched in May 2022.
: South Korea and US stage massive live-fire drills marking the 70th anniversary of their alliance.
: United States and Papua New Guinea conclude a Defense Cooperation Agreement and an Agreement Concerning Counter Illicit Transnational Maritime Activity Operations.
: Leaders of the Quad countries—the US, Japan, India and Australia—meet on the sidelines of the G7 summit and hold brief discussion releasing a joint statement, vision statement, and fact sheet, which includes support for quality undersea cable networks in the Indo-Pacific.
: G7 communique, released by member countries lays out common “de-risking” path on China, and calls for international standards that regulate artificial intelligence.
: US and Japan impose sanctions on hundreds of people and organizations connected to Russia’s war on Ukraine, including businesses involved in aerospace, quantum computing and finance as the G7 reiterates its determination to raise the costs of Moscow’s invasion.
: President Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio meet, seeking unified G7 policies on China and agree to work together to counter “coercive behavior.”
: Biden cancels visit to Papua New Guinea to return to Washington for debt ceiling negotiations.
: United States and Palau agree to renew COFA.
: US and Micronesia agree to renew a key strategic pact—the Compact of Free Association Agreement—as the US shores up support among Pacific Island states to counter competition from China.
: Thai general elections are held, with a record turnout of 75.22%. Parties cover the political spectrum from the pro-democracy Move Forward Party to two parties —Thai Union and Phalang Pracharat—headed by the organizers of the 2014 coup.
: President Yoon hosts former Japanese Prime Minister Aso Taro for dinner.
: Japan and South Korea announce aim to lower blind spots on North Korean missile activity by linking radar systems through the US, a move designed to allow the sharing of launch data in real time. The US would link the radar systems used by the Japanese Self-Defense Forces, the South Korean military, and US troops stationed in both Japan and South Korea, to share data such as where North Korean missiles are launched, as well as the speed and distance travelled.
: US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen calls on G7 democracies to build economic resilience to help developing nations counter the threat of nondemocratic states like China and Russia.
: House Rules Committee holds a hearing on “Examining China’s Coercive Economic Tactics.”
: National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan meets Chinese Communist Party Politburo Member and Director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission Wang Yi in Vienna.
: Indonesia hosts the first ASEAN Summit of the year in Labun Bajo. Myanmar is not represented .
: Flotilla of Chinese vessels enters Vietnamese waters and loiter in a Russia-Vietnam offshore lease. A Chinese research vessel moves at speed appropriate for surveying,
: US Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns meets China’s Foreign Minister Qin Gang in Beijing where they agree on the need to stabilize relations between the two countries.
: US moves a $500 million proposed arms sale package bound for Taiwan to a fast track through the “Presidential Drawdown Authority” created for streamlining aid to Ukraine.
: Philippine President Marcos expands upon his agreement to grant the US access to more military bases in his country and reassures Chinese officials by stating that the bases will not be used for “offensive action” against any country. He also clarifies that the US has not asked the Philippines to provide troops in case of war between China and the US over Taiwan.
: US and the Philippines move toward real-time sharing of military information and greater coordination to guard against any coercive behavior by China in the South China Sea.
: US says it is prepared to assist the Philippines as China interferes with Manila’s efforts to resupply a grounded naval ship in the South China Sea.
: Philippine President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr., visits Washington, his first visit to the capital since his father was forced to leave office in 1986.
: China and Singapore hold a four-day joint naval exercise in regional waters.
: India chairs the annual SCO defense ministers’ meeting in New Delhi. The SCO defense chiefs pledge to boost strategic communication, focus on consensus, and expand SCO cooperation and jointly safeguard regional security and stability.
: President Yoon and President Biden adopt the Washington Declaration to strengthen the United States “extended deterrence” commitment to South Korea.
: US and South Korea pledge cooperation on potential use of nuclear arms in response to any attack from North Korea, on a guarantee that Seoul swears off from developing its own nuclear weapon. President Yoon also states that the South Korea-US alliance will not be “shaken” by leaked US documents that allegedly contained the contents of tapped conversations of top South Korean officials.
: US and Philippine armed forces unleash a volley of missiles on a mock enemy warship in the South China Sea, in a show of military power and a strengthening alliance at a time of rising regional tension.
: Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announces Sydney as the venue and host for the 2023 Quad Leaders’ summit, the third in-person meeting of the leaders of Australia, the United States, India, and Japan.
: Government and think-tank representatives from Myanmar and its neighbors, including India and China, hold talks in New Delhi as part of a secretive effort to de-escalate a bloody crisis in the army-run Southeast Asian nation.
: Chinese foreign ministry clarifies the government’s intention to continue supporting Central Asian countries in safeguarding their independence and territorial integrity, after a senior Chinese envoy in Europe raises an uproar by questioning the sovereignty of those states.
: Taiwan’s Han Kuang exercises are expected to focus on piercing blockade, combat forces preservation and maritime interception using the “Five Eyes” intelligence link in response to China’s over riding sovereignty claims in the region.
: South Korea and the US agree to boost economic partnerships in critical technology industries such as microchips, electric vehicles and batteries, post the US-South Korea bilateral meet.
: Chinese President Xi Jinping speaks to Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy for the first time since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
: China and Russia sign a memorandum of understanding on strengthening maritime law enforcement cooperation to combat terrorism, illegal migration, smuggling of drugs and weapons and banning illegal fishing.
: Submarines from Russia’s Pacific Fleet destroy a mock enemy object as part of naval drills in the Sea of Japan.
: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz invites Chinese Premier Li Qiang for talks in Berlin, as the German government develops a new China strategy to reduce dependence on Asia’s economic superpower, a vital export market for German goods.
: Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei pledges his unconditional support for the “Republic of Taiwan” on a trip that comes as China steps up pressure on the handful of countries that still maintain formal ties with the island.
: United States sanctions three individuals for providing support to North Korea’s efforts to illegally generate funds for its nuclear and missile development programs.
: China’s cooperation with Europe and other nations is “endless” just as its ties with Russia are “unlimited,” China’s envoy to the European Union said, giving some reassurance of China’s neutrality over Ukraine.
: Sixth edition of Cope India-2023, an Air Exercise between the Indian and American Air Forces at Air Force Stations Kalaikunda, Panagarh and Agra concludes.
: China and Singapore plan military drills as Beijing deepens its defense and security ties with Southeast Asia, a region with strong existing US alliances.
: NASA and South Korea’s science agency are expected to sign a pact to boost outer space co-operation and expand high-tech partnerships and security ties to deter North Korea.
: Australia to prioritize long-range precision strike capability, domestic production of guided weapons, and diplomacy—key points of a review recommending the country’s biggest defense shake-up since World War II.
: China’s Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong lodges solemn representations with the South Korean ambassador over “erroneous” remarks by the South Korean President Yoon about Taiwan.
: Japan’s Self-Defense Forces prepare to shoot down North Korea satellites to minimize damage should a ballistic missile fall on Japan.
: Philippines and China to set up more lines of communication to resolve maritime issues in the South China Sea
: At the Lanting Forum in Shanghai, the Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang states that it is right and proper for China to uphold its sovereignty as both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to China.
: South Korea’s foreign ministry expresses “deep disappointment and regret” after Prime Minister Kishida sent a ritual offering of a “masakaki” tree stand to Yasukuni Shrine.
: Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirms his attendance at the NATO summit, days after his New Zealand counterpart, Chris Hipkins, confirmed his participation. Australia and New Zealand are not members of NATO but have a decades-long relationship with the Western alliance.
: North Korea criticizes the G7 over call for denuclearization, while it vows to continue to build up its forces until military threats from the United States and its allies are eliminated.
: Russia bans the League of Residents of Chishima and Habomai Islands from campaigning for Japanese sovereignty over four disputed islands seized by the Soviet Union at the end of World War II, amid rising tensions between Moscow and Tokyo.
: Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei announces plans to visit Taiwan, as a reciprocal gesture mirroring Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen to the country. The Guatemalan delegation is expected to pitch the country as a destination for investment and will tour several companies with the hopes of replicating their business model back home.
: United States to coordinate closely with South Korea on more support for Ukraine, calling its key Asian ally “a stalwart partner” in defending Ukraine’s sovereignty.
: Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong urges Pacific island countries to stay united in the face of great power competition. Her visit to the French territory coincides with a push by a China-backed group for several Pacific island nations, including New Caledonia, to sign a splinter security pact.
: US Trade Representative Katherine Tai states that the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework trade negotiations are progressing “at a very quick pace” and she expects results from the talks as early as by the end of the year. The IPEF marks Washington’s first major pan-Asian trade engagement effort in nearly a decade.
: Vietnam opposes China’s unilateral annual ban on fishing in a vast area of the South China Sea, calling it a violation of its sovereignty. China in its defense, says the ban, applicable from May 1 to Aug. 16, is to promote sustainable fishing and improve marine ecology.
: A US congressional war game simulating a Chinese invasion of Taiwan shows the need to arm the island “to the teeth,” after the exercise indicated the US must boost production of long-range missiles and businesses must brace for economic fallout.
: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un orders preparations for the planned launch of the country’s first spy satellite to counter threats from the United States and South Korea. Analysts say the military satellite is part of the reclusive, nuclear-armed state’s efforts to advance surveillance technology, including drones, to improve its ability to strike targets in the event of a conflict.
: South Korean President Yoon opens door for possible military aid to Ukraine if it comes under a large-scale civilian attack; signaling a shift in his stance against arming Ukraine for the first time.
: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to convene envoys on Afghanistan from various countries to work on a unified approach to deal with the Taliban authorities here on.
: South Korean President Yoon comments on Taiwan in an interview with Reuters, prompting China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs to comment on Yoon’s comments the same day, labeling them “meddling.” South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs denounces China’s response the following day and summons Chinese Ambassador Xing Haiming.
: United States and South Korea conduct combined attack drills as part of the Korea Marine Exercise Program to strengthen capabilities and interoperability.
: United States and Thailand conduct the third bilateral energy dialogue in Washington, DC.
: Recently elected New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins to attend the upcoming NATO summit.
: Rick Waters, deputy assistant secretary of state for China and Taiwan, accepts Washington’s knowledge of China’s transnational law enforcement within the borders of “dozens of countries” in a US House of Representatives hearing.
: Australia and New Zealand to sign an Arms Co-operation Deal, Plan ANZAC, to improve army interoperability with more cooperation over training, capability, readiness and personnel.
: G7 industrial powers stress unity amid growing acts of coercion and sanctioning of nuclear weapons, committed by China and Russia respectively.
: Japan and South Korea hold their first security talks since 2018, centered around strategic environments surrounding the two countries. Their finance ministers also announce plans to hold a bilateral meeting for the first time in seven years, heralding closer cooperation in economic policy that has been hampered by diplomatic conflict.
: Tokyo lodges a protest against Russia over its military exercises around disputed islands near Japan’s Hokkaido.
: Russia brushes off Japanese criticism of naval exercises by its Pacific Fleet, saying it needed to be on guard against a variety of regional threats while focusing on Ukraine.
: South Korea, the United States, and Japan stage joint naval missile defense exercises to improve responses to North Korean threats, as Pyongyang accuses Washington of ramping up “nuclear blackmail” with military drills.
: Taiwan to buy 400 US land-launched Harpoon missiles in the face of rising threat from China. The Pentagon announced a $1.17 billion contract for 400 of the anti-ship missiles, saying production was expected to be completed by March 2029.
: South Korea fires warning shots after toward a North Korean vessel that breached the Northern Limit Line, the de facto sea boundary.
: China launches a weather satellite as civilian flights alter their routes to avoid a Chinese-imposed no-fly zone to the north of Taiwan which Beijing put in place because of the possibility of falling rocket debris.
: Japan’s Economy and Trade Minister Nishimura Yasutoshi urges members of the G7 nations to help emerging countries reduce emissions, including the financing of decarbonization in “hard-to-abate” industries.
: A suspect is arrested after allegedly throwing an explosive device at Prime Minister Kishida in an assassination attempt.
: China’s top diplomat Wang Yi “hopes and believes” Germany will support China’s “peaceful reunification” with Taiwan, at a meeting with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock; adding that China once supported Germany’s reunification.
: South Korean Principal Deputy National Security Adviser Kim Tae-hyo states that there is a possibility that Japan could join the South Korea-US intelligence alliance.
: Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken express a desire to deepen their ties as Washington seeks to solidify alliances to counter an increasingly assertive China.
: US, South Korea, and Japan hold the 13th Defense Trilateral Talks, a director-general level talk in Washington, DC to discuss the North Korean threat and ways to deepen trilateral security cooperation.
: North Korean States media announces the testing of a new solid-fuel ICBM, the Hwasong-18, to “radically promote” its nuclear counterattack capability.
: Beijing’s ambassador to Manila remarks that Philippines is “stoking the fire” of regional tensions by offering expanded military base access to the United States, whose goal is to interfere in China’s affairs with Taiwan. This statement comes in the light of Philippines identifying four more bases that Washington can use under an Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement signed in 2014.
: South Korea and the United States hold joint air drills following North Korea’s recent firing of an intercontinental ballistic missile.
: Chair of ASEAN bloc strongly condemns a military air strike on a village in Myanmar, reported to have killed up to 100 people including civilians.
: Japan, India, and France announce a common platform for talks among bilateral creditors to coordinate restructuring of Sri Lanka’s debt. This move is expected to serve as a model for solving the debt woes of middle-income economies.
: Canada and South Korea plan to launch talks on an information security agreement to facilitate intelligence-sharing and promote security ties, earlier this year.
: China’s foreign ministry sanctions US Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), chairman of the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, for visiting Taiwan and sending “serious wrong signals” to Taiwan independence separatist forces.
: China opts out of a United Nations project to survey Asian wet markets and other facilities at high risk of spreading infectious diseases from wild animals to humans.
: Xi stresses need to deepen military training, preparation and comprehensively raise their level of modernization after inspecting his country’s Southern Theatre Command navy.
: Taiwan’s defense ministry announces the incursion of 14 Chinese air force planes across the Taiwan Strait’s median line. This demarcation serves as an unofficial barrier between the two sides.
: Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party nominates Vice President William Lai Ching-te as its presidential candidate in the 2024 election.
: South Korea reaches an agreement to lend the United States 500,000 rounds of 155mm artillery shells. This deal would give Washington greater flexibility to supply Ukraine with ammunition while sticking to the government principle of not providing lethal weapons in conflict zones.
: French President Emmanuel Macron favors the status-quo on Taiwan, he says, after facing backlash over comments calling for caution against being drawn into a crisis over Taiwan driven by an “American rhythm and a Chinese overreaction.”
: United States becomes the first major fishing nation to ratify a deal to cut subsidies contributing to overfishing. The deal aims to cut billions of dollars in harmful subsidies that empty the ocean of marine life.
: South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup talks with Secretary of Defense Austin regarding recent news of leaked documents that the US wiretapped conversations of top South Korean national security officials. The two agree that a “great deal of disclosed information was fabricated.” Kim Tae-hyo, South Korean principal deputy national security adviser, states that South Korea and the US believe that a “large portion” of the leaked classified documents may be fake and are considering the involvement of a “third party.”
: US and the Philippines conduct the 38th iteration of the Balikatan (“Shoulder-to-Shoulder”) exercises.
: China ends three days of military drills around Taiwan, after testing integrated military capabilities under actual combat conditions, having practiced precision strikes and blockading the island that Beijing views as its own.
: A spokesperson for the Department of State announces that the US commitment to South Korea is “ironclad” when asked about recently leaked documents revealing (among other things) that the US may have eavesdropped on conversations at the South Korean presidential office. A South Korean presidential official states that South Korea will seek “appropriate measures” from the US if necessary after looking into the validity of the leaked documents.
: US, Japan, Australia, and India hold the Quad Cyber Challenge.
: Malaysia express firm commitment to protecting its sovereign rights and interests in the South China Sea after China expressed concern about Malaysian energy projects in a part of the South China Sea that China also claims.
: House of Representatives votes unanimously to instruct the White House to work toward changing China’s status as a “developing nation” in the World Trade Organization.
: Over 5,000 people flee into Thailand after fighting between the Myanmar military and armed ethnic rebels.
: House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul visits Taiwan and meets Tsai and Vice President Lai Ching-te. On the 13th, China responds by sanctioning him personally, adding to the list of senior members of Congress on Beijing’s blacklist.
: China and Cambodia conclude “Golden Dragon 2023” joint military exercise.
: Japan sets out the new aid scheme—Overseas Security Assistance—to allow overseas defense funding by offering countries financial assistance to help them bolster their defenses, marking its first unambiguous departure from rules that forbid the use of international aid for military purposes. The OSA will be managed separately from the Overseas Development Assistance program that for decades has funded roads, dams and other civilian infrastructure.
: US House Speaker McCarthy meets with Taiwan President Tsai before a bipartisan group of US lawmakers at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library outside Los Angeles.
: A US B-52 strategic bomber joins military exercises with South Korea in the latest demonstration of the allies’ readiness to respond to any North Korean provocation. The bomber, in the first deployment to South Korea of a US B-52 since March 6, joined US F-35B and F-16 fighters, and South Korean F-35 jets for the exercise.
: Trade ministers of the G7 countries hold their first meeting of the year via teleconference, to discuss export controls and economic security by reaffirming “that export controls are a fundamental policy tool to address the challenges posed by the diversion of technology critical to military applications as well as for other activities that threaten global, regional, and national security.”
: China urges the World Trade Organization to scrutinize US-led technology export restrictions aimed at curbing its ability to make advanced chips. Chinese representatives addressed the WTO meeting by demanding that Japan, the Netherlands and the United States to report their plans and subsequent measures to the body and urged the WTO to step up supervision on the matter.
: China and France agree to work for a peaceful solution to the Ukraine conflict during French President Macron’s three-day visit to China.
: South Korea, the United States, and Japan hold a trilateral naval exercise featuring the USS Nimitz carrier that is focused on enhancing response capabilities against underwater threats.
: For the first time, South Korea’s Ministry of Unification publishes its annual report on North Korean human rights.
: Biden administration convenes the second Summit for Democracy, co-hosted with the governments of Costa Rica, the Netherlands, Republic of Korea, and Republic of Zambia.
: Myanmar’s State Administrative Council officially dissolves 40 political parties, including the National League for Democracy, the party of Aung San Suu Kyi and the winner of the November 2020 elections that the military set aside with the coup of Feb. 1, 2021.
: Media reports suggest the US, Japan, and Philippines plan to create a trilateral framework involving their national security advisers.
: North Korea fires two short-range ballistic missiles toward the East Sea.
: US Treasury Department imposes sanctions on two individuals and six entities in Myanmar and advises that the provision of jet fuel to the Tatmadaw will come under US sanctions.
: US Forces Korea conducts the first training on the deployment of a remote launcher of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense missile defense system stationed in South Korea.
: North Korea conducts a new underwater nuclear strategic weapon test and cruise missile exercise to “alert the enemy to an actual nuclear crisis.”
: House Select Committee on China holds a hearing entitled “The Chinese Communist Party’s Ongoing Uyghur Genocide.”
: A US Navy destroyer sails near one of the most important man-made and Chinese controlled islands in the South China Sea, in a freedom of navigation mission that Beijing denounced as illegal.
: Rick Waters, head of the State Department’s “China house” travels to Shanghai, Beijing, and Hong Kong for meetings with Chinese officials.
: North Korea criticizes US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield for calling on the UNSC to denuclearize North Korea. North Korea states that pressure to dismantle its nukes means “a declaration of war.”
: Solomon Islands awards a multi-million-dollar contract to a Chinese state company to upgrade an international port in Honiara in a project funded by the Asian Development Bank. The Solomon Islands had struck a security pact with Beijing in 2022, prompting concern from the United States and its allies, including Australia, New Zealand and Japan, over China’s ambitions to build a naval base in the region.
: President Ferdinand Marcos Jr grants the US access to four new military bases under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement.These sites will be located in various parts of the Philippines, including in a province facing the South China Sea.
: North Korea fires multiple cruise missiles off its east coast in a latest series of tests of its weapons as its rivals, South Korea and the United States, conducted joint military exercises.
: Russian President Vladimir Putin remarks that Chinese proposals tabled by Xi Jinping can be used as the basis of a peace settlement in Ukraine. In a joint statement at the end of Xi’s state visit to Moscow, the two men caution against any steps that might push the Ukraine conflict into an “uncontrollable phase,” adding that there could be no winners in a nuclear war.
: China’s President Xi Jinping invites Russian President Vladimir Putin for the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, to be held in China later this year.
: Russia flies two Tupolev Tu-95MS strategic bomber planes over the Sea of Japan for more than seven hours, as Japan’s Prime minister begins his visit to Ukraine. The planes are capable of carrying nuclear weapons and Moscow regularly flies them over international waters in the Arctic, North Atlantic and Pacific as a show of strength.
: China and Cambodia hold the first ever Golden Dragon 2023 Joint Military Naval exercises in Sihanoukville, Cambodia.
: Russia overtakes Saudi Arabia to become China’s top oil supplier in the first two months of 2023, as buyers snap up sanctioned Russian oil at steep discounts. Arrivals from Russia totaled 15.68 million tons in January-February, or 1.94 million barrels per day, up 23.8% from 1.57 million bpd in the corresponding 2022 period, according to data from the General Administration of Customs.
: North Korea conducts a two-day practice simulating a tactical nuclear counterattack to South Korea-United States “war” drills.
: Prime Minister Kishida deems India “an essential partner when it comes to realizing Japan’s free and open Indo-Pacific vision,” as he announces joint maritime exercises with India and the United States, as well as goodwill exercises with ASEAN and the Pacific Islands, in addition to promising $75 billion in investment to counter China and help regional economies across all sectors.
: South Korea and the United States conduct high-tech military drills with increased “intensity and realism” to bolster deterrence against North Korean provocations.
: 2022 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, released by the US Department of State, calls out North Korea for dozens of human rights issues such as torture, total state control of media, and trafficking.
: Kishida travels to India to promote a vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific and invites Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the G7 summit in May.
: Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi discusses global security and China’s presence in the Pacific with the leader of the Solomon Islands; in the very first visit by a Japanese foreign minister to the island state.
: North Korea fires a short-range ballistic missile toward the East Sea.
: A US B-1B strategic bomber returns to South Korea for joint exercises and as a show of force as North Korea fires a ballistic missile into the East Sea.
: Russia, China, and Iran complete three-way naval exercises in the Arabian Sea that included artillery fire at targets on the sea and in the air.
: Taiwan vows to remain resilient and pragmatic and support its allies, not bowing before the “big bully in the neighborhood,” as the island faces the loss of long-term ally Honduras to China.
: China blocks the United States from broadcasting an informal United Nations Security Council meeting on human rights abuses in North Korea online.
: North Korea fires a Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile toward the East Sea in a show of the “toughest response posture” against “aggressive” combined drills by the US and South Korea.
: China’s foreign ministry counters Japan’s territorial claims over disputed waters in the East China Sea, calling the move a “grave violation” of Chinese sovereignty.
: South Korean President Yoon travels to Tokyo to meet with Prime Minister Fumio, the first such summit between leaders of the two countries in 12 years.
: US Senate confirms President Joe Biden’s nominee Eric Garcetti as Ambassador to India.
: China’s Coast Guard enters waters around disputed East China Sea islets on Wednesday to counter what it called the incursion of Japanese vessels into Chinese territorial waters.
: South Korea participates in a US-led multinational anti-submarine warfare exercise to enhance joint anti-submarine warfare capabilities.
: Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese meets his Fiji counterpart in Suva to alleviate concerns surrounding its $245 billion nuclear-powered submarine program. Australia is party to a nuclear-free zone treaty with 12 other South Pacific nations, including Fiji, which is gridlocked by the effects of nuclear weapons tests by the United States and France.
: China, Iran, and Russia conduct joint naval exercises titled “”Marine Security Belt” exercises “in the Gulf of Oman to “deepen practical cooperation among the navies of participating countries.”
: US Environmental Protection Agency finalizes a rule to require industrial facilities and power plants in 23 states to cut their smog-forming nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions, under the final “Good Neighbor” plan.
: Negotiators from 14 countries, including the US, take part in the second round of negotiations on the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework in Bali.
: China, Russia, and Iran hold a joint naval drill, code-named “Security Bond-2023,” in the Gulf of Oman.
: Honduras President Xiomara Castro announces the country will switch its diplomatic relations from the Republic of China to the People’s Republic of China.
: North Korea fires two strategic cruise missiles from a submarine in the East Sea.
: South Korea and the United States begin the 11-day Freedom Shield exercise that present “realistic” scenarios reflective of North Korea’s evolving nuclear and missile threats.
: South Korean navy destroyer ROKS Choe Yeong conducts a joint field exercise with the USS Rafael Peralta.
: Iran and Saudi Arabia agree to re-establish relations after years of hostility that had threatened stability and security in the Gulf and helped fuel conflicts in the Middle East from Yemen to Syria. The deal, brokered by China, was announced after four days of previously undisclosed talks in Beijing between top security officials from the two rival Middle East powers.
: A Gallup Korea poll shows that 59% of Koreans do not approve of the Yoon government’s compensation plan because it does not involve an apology or compensation from Japanese firms.
: President of Federated States of Micronesia David Panuelo mentions the commencement of talks with Taiwan about switching diplomatic ties for $50 million in assistance after frustrations with China.
: North Korea fires a short-range ballistic missile toward the Yellow Sea.
: Chinese government announces a 7.2% rise, to $225 billion, in the country’s defense budget for 2023, though foreign analysts estimate that actual military spending may be 1.1 to 2 times higher than stated in the official budget.
: ASEAN and Chinese officials meet for a three-day discussion for the “China-ASEAN Joint Working Group on the Implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea.”
: South Korea announces that its companies would compensate people forced to work under Japan’s 1910-1945 occupation, seeking to end a dispute that has undercut US-led efforts to present a unified front against China and North Korea. This solution shall help resolve the colonial-era forced labor that has overshadowed political and trade relations between the two neighbors.
: South Korea and the United States stage combined air drills involving a US nuclear-capable B-52H strategic bomber.
: China announces the contribution of 200,000 euros ($217,000) to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for technical assistance to Ukraine for the safety and security of nuclear power plants or other peaceful nuclear facilities in Ukraine.
: Negotiators from more than 100 countries complete a UN treaty to protect the high seas, to reverse marine biodiversity losses and ensure sustainable development; after five rounds of protracted UN-led negotiations.
: China’s National Budget 2023 allocates 1.55 trillion Yuan ($224 billion) to military spending and the state is expected to boost defense expenditure by 7.2%, slightly outpacing 2022’s economic growth forecast.
: As the chair of the G7 in 2023, the Japanese government pledges financial and technological support to help ASEAN countries decarbonize their economies, combat global climate change and promote “realistic energy transition.”
: Philippines spots a Chinese navy ship and dozens of militia vessels around a contested Philippine-occupied Thitu island in the South China Sea, as territorial tensions mount in the area.
: South Korea and Japan create a new channel of bilateral communication to negotiate a resolution of the wartime forced labor issue.
: US State Department announces $6 billion in funding commitments around the world to protect oceans and fight climate change. The announcement includes 77 different commitments, with $3 billion allocated for climate resilience and climate research, more than $665 million for sustainable fisheries and $200 million tackling marine pollution.
: A Cambodian court convicts former leader of the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) Kem Sokha of treason and sentenced him to 27 years of house arrest. Under detention since 2017, his sentencing is a clear warning to the remnants of the Cambodian political opposition ahead of general elections on July 23.
: United States and South Korea announce that they will conduct more than 10 days
: A Russian submarine launches the Kalibr cruise missile from Sea of Japan in a drill. These missiles have been previously used by Kremlin to attack multiple targets in Ukraine, including power stations, by launching them from ships and submarines in the Black Sea.
: United States adds 37 Chinese and Russian entities to its trade blacklist for activities including contributing to Russia’s army, supporting China’s military and facilitating or engaging in human rights abuses in Myanmar and China.
: Vietnam’s National Assembly elects Vo Van Thuong as the country’s new president, in a reshuffle of the country’s top leadership amid a sweeping anti-graft campaign.
: Quad foreign ministers meet to reaffirm support for an inclusive, resilient, free and open Indo-Pacific.
: In his first speech addressing the March First Independence Movement Day, President Yoon calls Japan a “partner” to work together to face global challenges.
March 2, 2023: White House announces a new Cyber-Security strategy in the latest effort to bolster its cyber defenses amid a steady increase in hacking and digital crimes targeting the country. The strategy urges tighter regulation of existing cyber-security practices across industries and improved collaboration between the government and private sector.
March 2, 2023: White House announces a new Cyber-Security strategy in the latest effort to bolster its cyber defenses amid a steady increase in hacking and digital crimes targeting the country. The strategy urges tighter regulation of existing cyber-security practices across industries and improved collaboration between the government and private sector.
: Thailand and the United States kick off military exercises involving more than 7,000 personnel and forces from 30 countries, with the annual “Cobra Gold” drills; one of the world’s longest-running multilateral military exercises and the biggest in Southeast Asia, to shore up alliances in Asia at a time of increasing competition with China. The latest edition of this drill will include a new component focused on space exercises.
: South Korean and US special commandos conduct Exercise Teak Knife, combined drills set to strengthen the “ironclad” security commitment between the allies.
: South Korea, the United States, and Japan hold their first economic security dialogue, amid efforts to strengthen the resilience of supply chains and develop technology. With an intent to expand bilateral economic security cooperation with the United States to the trilateral level, the countries discussed cooperation to protect technology and data and vulnerabilities arising from economic interdependence.
: China accuses the US of “endangering” peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait after a US P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol and reconnaissance military plane flies through the sensitive waterway; citing Beijing’s “sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction” over the strait.
: International Finance Corporation (IFC), the World Bank’s investment arm, will provide Sri Lanka a $400 million cross-currency swap facility to help fund essential imports; as the Indo-Pacific island nation grapples with its worst financial crisis in over seven decades.
: JPMorgan proposes a new Asia credit index with slashed China weighting in parallel to its existing $85 billion Asia credit index, amid growing geopolitical tensions and dimming appetite for Chinese property bonds.
: G20 finance chiefs fail to reach a consensus on describing the war in Ukraine and end the meeting by issuing a “Chair’s summary and an Outcome document” in which it simply summed up the two days of talks and noted disagreements.
: USS Springfield, a US nuclear-powered submarine, arrives in South Korea, in an apparent warning to North Korea’s repeated missile provocations.
: North Korea fires four Hwasal-2 strategic cruise missiles to demonstrate the “war posture” of the country’s nuclear combat forces.
: Canada pledges four more Leopard 2 battle tanks, an armored recovery vehicle, over 5,000 rounds of 155 mm and a new legion of sanctions targeting 129 individuals and 63 entities including Russian deputy prime ministers and other officials to Ukraine in its defense against Russia.
: US State Department marks the first anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine by sanctioning more than 60 top Russian officials, including cabinet ministers and regional leaders, and three nuclear weapons institutes.
: Pacific Islands Forum agrees to pass on the diplomatic post to Taiwan ally Nauru in 2024; as it resolves to face climate change and superpower rivalry as a united “family.”
: North Korea test-fires four strategic cruise missiles during a drill designed to demonstrate its ability to conduct a nuclear counterattack against hostile forces; in response to the US-South Korea simulated exercises held earlier.
: China issues a 12-point “Position Paper on the Political Settlement of the Ukraine Crisis.”
: US and South Korean Deterrence Strategy Committee conducts its 1st Table-Top/Simulated Exercise, known as DSC TTX, in response to Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s recent aggressive nuclear policy and advancements in nuclear capabilities.
: United States is set to expand the number of troops helping train Taiwanese forces, at a time of heightened tensions between Washington and Beijing.
: G7 nations raise $39 billion worth of economic support for Ukraine and urge an IMF program for the country by the end of March. The decision comes after a meeting of the bloc’s finance ministers and central bank governors on the eve of the war’s first anniversary.
: Philippines and Australia discuss pursuing joint patrols in the South China Sea, days after the Southeast Asian country held similar talks with the United States on the need to counter China’s assertiveness in the strategic waterway.
: China and Japan square off at their 1st Formal Security Talk in over four years. The talks, aimed at easing tensions between the world’s second- and third-largest economies, come as Tokyo worries that Beijing will resort to force to take control of Taiwan in the wake of Russia’s attack on Ukraine, sparking a conflict that could embroil Japan and disrupt global trade.
: North Korea fires two short-range ballistic missiles toward the East Sea, following the joint air drills staged by South Korea and the United States.
: US Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield urges the UN Security Council to condemn North Korea’s ballistic missile launches and encourage Pyongyang to engage in diplomacy.
: Philippines and the United States discuss conducting joint coast guard patrols, including in the South China Sea, in a response to overlapping sovereign claims in the strategic waterway and China’s “aggressive activities” in the region; which has also become a flashpoint for Chinese and US tensions around naval operation.
: Russia, China, and South Africa hold second joint naval drill, Mosi-2, in the Indian Ocean off the coast of South Africa.
Feb. 22, 2023: Following North Korea’s recent ballistic missile launches, South Korea, the United States, and Japan conduct a trilateral missile defense exercise to strengthen security cooperation.
Feb. 22, 2023: Following North Korea’s recent ballistic missile launches, South Korea, the United States, and Japan conduct a trilateral missile defense exercise to strengthen security cooperation.
: North Korea launches a long-range ballistic missile into the sea off Japan’s west coast, after warning of a strong response to upcoming military drills by South Korea and the United States. Japanese authorities declare that the missile plunged into waters inside Japan’s exclusive economic zone more than an hour after it was launched, suggesting the weapon was one of Pyongyang’s largest missiles.
: Japanese and South Korean foreign ministers meet on sidelines of Munich Security Conference reiterating the need for “close communications between the two countries on each diplomatic level to resolve issues of concern.”
: In an effort to maintain lines of communication, Secretary Blinken meets Wang Yi on the sidelines of the 59th Munich Security Conference, the first high-level meeting between Chinese and US officials since the balloon incident.
: China imposes sanctions on US defense manufacturers Raytheon and Lockheed Martin as a “countermeasure” for their fulfillment of arms sales contracts for Taiwan.
: US Vice President Kamala Harris discusses challenges posed by China with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and agrees to remain closely aligned in meetings with the European leaders, held alongside the Munich Security Conference.
: Taiwan finds crashed weather balloon on a remote island, after it had found the remains of a probable crashed weather balloon likely from China on a remote and strategically located island near the Chinese coast, amid a dispute between China and the United States over spy balloons.
: Myanmar’s parallel National Unity Government asks the US for more sanctions against the Tatmadaw and increased funding for anti-junta forces.
: Japan says it will start a pilot program in April to test the use of a digital yen, its central bank, joining a growing number of countries seeking to catch up with front-runner China in launching a central bank digital currency.
: South Korea releases its latest defense white paper describing North Korea as its “enemy” for the first time in six years and reporting an increase in Pyongyang’s stockpile of weapons-grade plutonium up to 70 kg.
: US, South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan hold first meeting of the “Chip4” or “Fab 4” initiative to build a resilient semiconductor supply chain, involving senior government officials.
: China’s President Xi Jinping and his Iranian counterpart, Ebrahim Raisi, call for the lifting of sanctions on Iran as an integral part of a stalled international agreement on its nuclear program.
: Over 60 countries including the US and China sign a modest “call to action” endorsing the responsible use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the military at the first international summit on military AI, co-hosted by the Netherlands and South Korea this week at The Hague.
: Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology releases a study suggesting the negligible impact of the release of waste water from Japan’s wrecked Fukushima nuclear power into South Korean water bodies.
: China puts Lockheed Martin and a unit of Raytheon Technologies on an “unreliable entities list” over arms sales to Taiwan, banning them from imports and exports related to China in its latest sanctions against the US companies.
: Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi announces that Japan will invite his Ukrainian counterpart to the G7 Foreign Ministers’ meeting to be held in Germany.
: Manila’s Army Chief Lt. Gen. Romeo Brawner announces that the Philippines and the United States will carry out their biggest joint military drills in 2023, against a backdrop of growing tensions with China in the South China Sea.
: Japan condemns China’s violations of its airspace by uncrewed surveillance balloons and “strongly suspects” that Chinese surveillance balloons entered Japanese territory at least three times since 2019.
: China Semiconductor Industry Association (CSIA), the country’s top chip industry trade group, opposes reported export controls from the United States, Japan and the Netherlands.
: Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr summons China’s ambassador to express his “serious concern” over China’s actions in the South China Sea, where a Chinese coast guard ship directed a “military-grade laser” at one of its ships supporting a resupply mission to troops in the disputed waterway, temporarily blinding its crew on the bridge.
: Prime Minister Modi and President Biden meet to review ongoing and new initiatives to deepen the India-US Comprehensive and Global Partnership and welcome the Air India–Boeing agreement.
: Officials from China, India, Saudi Arabia, and G7 nations will participate in a first virtual meeting of a new sovereign debt roundtable.
: US State Department Counselor Derek Chollet will lead a delegation to Pakistan and Bangladesh, as Washington and Islamabad seek to repair ties strained under former Prime Minister Imran Khan.
: United States and Papua New Guinea make substantial progress on the text of a defense cooperation agreement that lays the groundwork for closer military ties between the two nations. The agreement is expected to improve the capacity of Papua New Guinea’s Defense Force and increase stability and security in the region.
: Top Communist Party official Wang Huning meets with Taiwan’s senior opposition leader Andrew Hsia to discuss the need for maintaining the “peace and stability of cross-strait relations.”
: Department of Commerce adds six Chinese companies to the Entity List over their involvement in Beijing’s balloon surveillance program.
: US signs a memorandum of understanding with the Federated States of Micronesia.
: Australian government will examine surveillance technology used in offices of its defense department amid reports citing security risks from Chinese-made cameras installed there posed a security risk.
: Japan and the Philippines pledge closer security ties amid China tensions by penning a deal, allowing their armed forces to work together during disaster relief operations. The two sides also agree to establish a framework that would “strengthen and smooth the process of holding joint exercises.”
: Malaysia Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim vows to facilitate peace talks to a long-simmering insurgency in restive southern Thailand during an official visit to the country.
: First Australian coal cargoes arrive in China, after the easing of an unofficial ban on imports introduced by Beijing more than two years ago.
: North Korea showcases its missile production muscle during a night-time parade, displaying more intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and hinting at a new solid-fuel weapon; despite United Nations Security Council resolutions and sanctions.
: United States, Britain, and Australia carry out joint air drills over the Nevada desert and beyond, as part of an effort to simulate high-end combat operations against Chinese fighter aircraft and air defenses.
: Opposition gains majority in key Solomon Islands province after anti-China leader ousted. Daniel Suidani, a vocal critic of the country’s relationship with China, vocally opposed the Solomon Island switching recognition from Taiwan to China in 2019.
: Philippine President Marcos visits Japan seeking closer security ties, as Manila increasingly sides with the United States in its regional tussle with China.
: Australia and New Zealand talk up their relationships with China at a joint prime ministerial news conference in the latest sign of strengthening ties with their biggest trading partner.
: Canada and Taiwan agree to commence formal talks to start formal negotiations for a deal to encourage two-way foreign investments and deepen their Indo-Pacific partnership.
: Philippine Coast Guard steps up its presence in the disputed South China Sea by deploying additional vessels and conducting more sorties and over-flights to protect maritime territory and the country’s fishermen.
: China protests the downing of the balloon with the US Embassy in Beijing.
: South Korea and Australia’s central banks renew a currency swap agreement valued at 9.6 trillion won or A$12 billion, for five years until early 2028. The agreement, first signed in 2014, allows either party to exchange funds in their own currency for the other currency under pre-set terms.
: ASEAN chair Indonesia says it will intensify talks on code for South China Sea, amid escalating tensions in the strategic waterway.
: A US military fighter jet shoots down a suspected Chinese spy balloon off the coast of South Carolina, a week after it first entered US airspace.
: South Korea Foreign Minister Park Jin reaffirms commitment to strengthening “extended deterrence” in relation to North Korea in a meeting with US top diplomat Antony Blinken amid concerns over Pyongyang’s increasing missile and nuclear capabilities.
: China objects to further cooperation between Britain, the US, and Australia on nuclear submarines in a statement made by the foreign ministry during a formal briefing.
: Micronesia will sign an extension of its economic and security pact with the United States; a deal seen as important in Washington’s efforts to counter Chinese influence in the Pacific.
: World Bank allows two separate proceedings to resolve a long-running disagreement over water between India and Pakistan to run in parallel, fearing the stalemate endangered the historic Indus Water Treaty.
: United States and South Korea conduct joint air exercises for the second time in a week with some of their latest warplanes, despite North Korean complaints that the exercises increase tensions on the peninsula.
: Philippines grants the US greater access to bases amid mounting concern over China’s increasing assertiveness in the disputed South China Sea and tension over self-ruled Taiwan. The United States would be given access to four more locations under the 2014 Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA).
: South Korea and the US stage combined air drills over the Yellow Sea.
: Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang and his Japanese counterpart Yoshimasa Hayashi discuss concerns over disputed East China Sea islands. The disputed East China Sea islets claimed by both China and Japan have long been a sticking point in bilateral relations. China calls the islands Diaoyu, while Japan calls them Senkaku.
: US reopens its embassy in the Solomon Islands with Secretary Blinken hailing it as an important signal of Washington’s commitment to democracy in the Pacific region.
: US launches a partnership with India to compete against China on military equipment, semiconductors, and artificial intelligence.
: NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg stresses the importance of NATO working closely with partners in the Indo-Pacific. He notes that Europe cannot not ignore what happens in East Asia, as global security is interconnected.
: US and allies mark anniversary of Myanmar coup with more curbs on energy officials and junta members, among others.
: To hold onto power under the current constitution, the State Administrative Council in Myanmar extends the State of Emergency imposed during the coup on Feb. 1, 2021 for another six months.
: US Customs and Border Protection begins to issue detention notices against aluminum shipments originating in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region over concerns of forced labor.
: NATO and Japan pledge to strengthen ties in face of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and growing military cooperation with China. NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg and Prime Minister Kishida note that these developments have created the most tense security environment since World War II.
: Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen holds a telephone call with Czech President-elect Petr Pavel in a diplomatic coup for Taipei.
: Defense chiefs of the United States and South Korea vow to expand military drills and boost nuclear deterrence planning to counter North Korea’s weapons development and prevent the possibility of a war.
: Myanmar’s military, which has been is invited to take part in a regional military meeting co-chaired by the United States and Thailand.
: A Chinese surveillance balloon floats across the continental United States after first being spotted over Alaska on Jan. 28.
: Kiribati announces that it will rejoin the Pacific Islands Forum, ending a split that had threatened unity at a time of increased superpower tensions in the strategically located region.
: France and Australia unveil plans to jointly manufacture ammunition for Ukraine to shore up defense cooperation and move past a row over Canberra’s decision to ditch plans to buy French submarines two years ago.
: South Korea’s Coast Guard arrests an unnamed oil dealer. He is accused of supplying 19,000 tons of diesel fuel, worth 18 billion won ($14.65 million), to North Korea in 35 ship-to-ship transfers during October 2021-January 2022, using a Chinese firm as intermediary for transport and payment.
: China’s coast guard drives away Japanese vessels from disputed waters in the East China Sea.
: NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg arrives in Seoul in a move to intensify ties with Asia. The trip, intended to reach out to US allies like South Korea and Japan is band-wagoning with like-minded partners in the face of the war in Ukraine and rising competition with China.
: Russia rules out talks with Japan on renewing a pact that allows Japanese fishermen to operate near disputed islands off the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido, known in Russia as the Kurils and in Japan as the Northern Territories. They have been at the core of decades of tension between the neighbors.
: Australia’s defense and foreign ministers aim to deepen security ties with France and Britain, as noted in their visits to Europe this week, flagging the Indo-Pacific as a key area of focus.
: Japanese newspaper Sankei Shimbun reports that Japan is considering lifting export controls to South Korea as they continue to work on a resolution to the wartime forced labor issue.
: Myanmar’s ruling junta announces tough requirements for parties to contest elections in 2023, including a huge increase in their membership. This move is expected to sideline the military’s opponents and cement its grip on politics.
: Thailand’s ruling pro-military Palang Pracharat Party picks political veteran and former army chief Prawit Wongsuwon as its prime ministerial candidate. Prawit, who serves as the current deputy prime minister, is expected to face-off with the incumbent Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha.
: United States Marine Corps opens a new base on Guam to counter China’s presence in the Western Pacific.
: A security assessment by the Indian Police in the Himalayan region of Ladakh reports there could be more clashes between Indian and Chinese troops along their contested frontier there as Beijing ramps up military infrastructure in the region.
: International Criminal Court will reopen its investigation into possible “crimes against humanity” committed in the Philippines during former President Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war, which led to the deaths of over a thousand civilians.
: Japan tightens sanctions against Russia following its latest wave of missile attacks in Ukraine, adding goods to an export ban list and freezing the assets of Russian officials and entities.
: US Trade Representative appeals two WTO dispute panel rulings brought by China on Section 232 tariffs and on “made in China” designations for Hong Kong to a defunct WTO Appellate Body.
: Central bank estimates show that South Korea’s economy shrank in the 4th quarter of 2022 for the first time in two and a half years.
: Human Rights Watch researchers report that several demonstrators, apprehended for publicly protesting China’s then-ongoing zero-COVID policy in 2021, continue to remain in detention.
: President Biden extends a program that allows for Hong Kong residents to remain in the US, citing the erosion of human rights and freedoms.
: A report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime suggests a 33% jump in opium cultivation in military-ruled Myanmar. This growth is directly connected to the political and economic turmoil since the 2021 coup and has reversed a six-year downward trend in the strife-torn country.
: Chris Hipkins is confirmed as New Zealand’s next prime minister, with Carmel Sepuloni, as his deputy, marking the first time a person with Pacific Island heritage has risen to that rank. Hipkins succeeds Jacinda Ardern, New Zealand’s first female prime minister, who announced her resignation on Jan. 19.
: Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. seeks foreign ministerial-level talks with China to resolve any new conflicts in the South China Sea by proposing that their top diplomats lead the Bilateral Consultation Mechanism (established in 2017), to allow a more rapid response to future conflicts in the disputed sea.
: US President Joe Biden appoints long-time State Department official Julie Turner as North Korea human rights envoy, a position unfilled since 2017.
: US hits its debt ceiling and begins resorting to “extraordinary measures” to avoid default.
: Vietnamese State President Nguyen Xuan Phuc resigns ahead of the near certainty that he would be pushed out in Vietnamese Communist Party Secretary-General Nguyen Phu Trong’s “Burning Furnace” anti-corruption campaign.
: Indonesia deploys a warship to its North Natuna Sea to monitor a Chinese Coast Guard vessel that had been active in the resource-rich area in Indonesia’s exclusive economic zone.
: South Korea’s advanced Army unit stages a joint field exercise with a US Stryker Brigade Combat Team near the inter-Korean border.
: Prime Minister of Japan Kishida Fumio meets with President Biden at the US-Japan Summit 2023. The two leaders exchange views on regional issues, establish consensus on the need to uphold the status quo in the Indo-Pacific, and concur on continuing to work closely in addressing issues related to China.
: China inducts the “Zhu Hai Yun,” the world’s first seaborne drone carrier with autonomous navigation and remote-control functions. It has been constructed under the supervision of the Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory and has been awarded the first intelligent ship certificate by the China Classification Society.
: In the South Korean foreign ministry’s report to President Yoon Suk Yeol on major policy tasks for 2023, First Vice Foreign Minister Cho Hyun-dong says Korea will continue to mend ties with Japan through “reasonable solutions” to pending issues, and also hope to resume shuttle diplomacy.
: US House of Representatives votes to establish China Select Committee, which will focus on the Chinese Communist Party’s economic, technological and security progress and the strategic competition between Beijing and Washington.
: Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-California) is elected speaker of the House of Representatives on the 15th ballot, the longest such process for a House speaker in a century and a half. Rumors circulate that concessions made to Republican hardliners include demands for spending cuts in return for lifting the US’ debt ceiling.
: Chinese Embassy in South Korea releases a statement protesting the visit of several South Korean lawmakers to Taiwan.
: US 7th Fleet Destroyer USS Chung-Hoon transits the Taiwan Strait.
: China’s National Development and Reform Commission holds talks on proposals to allow four major importers—China Baowu Steel Group, China Datang, China Huaneng Group, and China Energy Investment—to make new purchases from Australia in 2023 after a more than two-year ban as relations between the nations improve.
: Chinese President Xi Jinping meets visiting Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. in Beijing. They sign 14 agreements stepping up bilateral cooperation in areas such as trade and investment, agriculture, renewable energy, infrastructure development, and maritime security cooperation. They also agree to set up direct communication channels to manage maritime disputes in the South China Sea.
: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his daughter inspect dozens of intermediate-range and short-range ballistic missiles, emphasizing Kim’s declaration to “exponentially increase” missile production in the new year. North Korea also tests a nuclear-capable “super-large multiple launch rocket system,” which Kim states can strike anywhere in South Korea.
: Chinese President Xi Jinping says during his televised New Year speech that he sincerely hopes that “our compatriots on both sides of the Strait will work together with a unity of purpose to jointly foster the lasting prosperity of the Chinese nation.”
: President Biden signs into law the $1.65 trillion Omnibus Consolidated Appropriations Act covering funding for the US government for fiscal year 2023 that includes provisions to authorize $2 billion in loans to Taiwan to buy weapons from the US.
: US authorizes the sale to Taiwan of Volcano (vehicle-launched) antitank mine-laying systems, valued at $180 million.
: President Tsai Ing-wen of Taiwan announces that conscription for all young men born after 2005 will be extended from 4 to 12 months beginning in 2024.
: Five North Korea drones cross the inter-Korean border, with one flying over northern Seoul. South Korea fails to shoot down the five drones but sends its own drones to the border, with some crossing the border to carry out surveillance and other operations.
: Japan announces a defense spending hike of more than 26% for the following year—its biggest increase since World War II—in response to concerns over a potential invasion of Taiwan. The amount includes $1.6 billion to purchase US-made Tomahawk cruise missiles.
: North Korea fires two short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea, following the combined South Korea-United States air drills the day before.
: World Trade Organization rejects US efforts to attach “Made in China” label to products manufactured in Hong Kong.
: North Korea reportedly conducts first static ground test of a large solid-propellant rocket motor, the first indication that the regime is developing a propulsion system usable in intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) or ICBM-range submarine-launched ballistic missiles.
: Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong arrives in China to mark the 50th anniversary of bilateral ties, potentially offering an opportunity to mend relations that have soured over trade and security tensions.
: South Korea, the United States, and 13 other member nations participate in US-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework ministerial meeting.
: Operator of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange opens its first US office in New York to attract foreign companies interested in listing in the Asian financial hub, even as US-China tensions weigh on the bourse’s profits.
: North Korea conducts an “important final-stage” test that evaluates the capabilities of putting a military reconnaissance satellite into orbit.
: Local government in China’s Xinjiang region scrubs detailed data on monthly exports from its customs website after the US slapped a ban on shipments over forced labor concerns.
: North Korea fires two ballistic missiles toward the sea off the Korean Peninsula’s east coast, days after the country tested a high-thrust solid-fuel engine that experts said would allow quicker and more mobile launch of ballistic missiles.
: Japan issues the National Security Strategy (NSS), the National Defense Strategy (NDS), and the Defense Buildup program. South South Korea issues strong protest against Japan’s territorial claim over disputed islands made in a national security strategy released on Friday while cautiously responding to Tokyo’s plans for an unprecedented military buildup.
: UN General Assembly passes a resolution calling for international efforts to improve human rights conditions in North Korea, making this the 18th consecutive year the General Assembly has adopted such a resolution.
Dec. 16, 2022: Malaysian political parties supporting PM Anwar Ibrahim sign a cooperation pact promising to ensure stability, ahead of a confidence vote on the premier next week.
Dec. 16, 2022: Malaysian political parties supporting PM Anwar Ibrahim sign a cooperation pact promising to ensure stability, ahead of a confidence vote on the premier next week.
: Australia signs new security deal with Vanuatu. It comes amid intensified competition with China in the Pacific, after Beijing’s own security deal with the Solomon Islands.
: US Forces Korea launch a new space forces unit as the allies ramp up efforts to better counter North Korea’s evolving nuclear and missile threats.
: Leaders from ASEAN and the EU resolve to cooperate more on everything from clean energy to security, as they gathered in Brussels for the first-ever summit between the blocs.
: India’s defense minister says that Indian troops prevented Chinese soldiers from entering Indian territory during a border scuffle that led to injuries on both sides in the first such clash since 2020 between the Asian giants.
: Top nuclear envoys of South Korea, the US, and Japan hold trilateral meeting in Jakarta amid speculation that North Korea may carry out another nuclear test.
: South Korea’s foreign minister tells his Chinese counterpart that the country expects China to actively support South Korea’s efforts for dialogue with North Korea.
: Indonesia summons a United Nations official after the organization expressed concerns over threats to civil liberties posed by the newly-ratified revisions to its criminal code.
: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) storms to power in Gujarat with a historic mandate, winning a record-breaking 156 of 182 seats, a seventh consecutive victory for the party in the native state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
: China and Saudi Arabia sign 34 energy and investment deals as President Xi vows to strengthen the comprehensive strategic partnership with Riyadh during his first visit to the Middle East since 2016.
: US downgrades diplomatic relations with Myanmar, with the incumbent US ambassador returning home later this month and Washington deciding not to send a successor.
: Indonesian Parliament votes to revise the country’s Criminal Code to criminalize adultery, sex outside marriage, and insults to the president or other state authorities.
: China moves one step closer to reopening by relaxing COVID-19 control measures and allowing some who test positive to isolate at home.
: US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) announces two arms sales approvals for Taiwan, with a total value of $428 billion, which includes spare parts for the F-16 Fighting Falcon, Indigenous Defense Fighter, and C-130 military transport aircraft.
: “Tool-in” ceremony celebrating installation of the first equipment at TSMC’s factory in Arizona marks the start of a new era of semiconductor manufacturing in the US and for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, with Biden flying in for the ceremony.
: North Korea fires 130 artillery shells into inter-Korean maritime buffer zones.
: Canada will increase its role in the Indo-Pacific and challenge China when it disrupts the international order, Foreign Minister Melanie Joly says, stating that “international norms have kept us safe since the Second World War and therefore need to be respected.”
: South Korea imposes sanctions targeting eight persons and seven agencies seen as complicit in the DPRK’s WMD programs.
: Korean government asks the US to include car-sharing EVs such as Uber and Lyft in the EV tax incentives under the Inflation Reduction Act.
: President Biden and French counterpart Emmanuel Macron reiterate the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and expressed concerns over the challenges posed by China.
: India takes over as president of the G20 for next year’s summit that is scheduled to be held in New Delhi. India’s FM Jaishankar says the presidency is a “crucial responsibility that is being assumed by India at a very challenging time in world politics.”
: Delhi responds to criticism from Beijing regarding India-US military exercises, with India’s External affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi saying China “needs to reflect and think about its own breach of these agreements of 1993 and 1996.”
: India assumes the G20 presidency.
: Jiang Zemin, China’s paramount leader during the 1997 Hong Kong handover and 2001 entry into the World Trade Organization, dies at age 96.
: India-Australia bilateral training exercise “AUSTRA HIND 22” between contingents of the Indian Army and the Australian Army takes place at Mahajan Field Firing Ranges (Rajasthan).
: India-Malaysia joint military annual training exercise “Harimau Shakti -2022” is conducted at Pulai, Kluang, Malaysia.
: Congressional and other sources claim that weapons deliveries to Taiwan amount to $18.7 billion, up from more than $14 billion a year earlier.
: Malaysia’s new prime minister, Anwar Ibrahim, says he will continue to maintain stable ties with China as he seeks to emphasize economic engagement, while avoiding confrontation on contentious issues.
: Taiwan’s opposition Nationalist (Kuomintang or KMT) Party scores a major victory over President Tsai Ing-wen’s Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in island-wide local elections.
: South Korean President Yoon warns that the government might step in to break up a nationwide strike by truckers, describing it as an illegal and unacceptable move to take the national supply chain “hostage” during an economic crisis.
: 9th ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus) convenes in Siem Reap, Cambodia, where regional defense chiefs adopt a joint declaration to promote peace and security in the region.
: Malaysia’s King Abdullah calls special meeting of hereditary sultans to discuss who should be prime minister as an unprecedented post-election crisis enters its fourth day.
: US VP Kamala Harris wraps up a three-day visit to the Philippines by flying to an island that faces the disputed South China Sea, making her the highest-ranking US official to visit Palawan, which has been at the front-line of the maritime feud between China and several Southeast Asian countries.
: Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim seeks backing from the graft-tainted incumbent coalition and his longtime rival to form a government, in a bid to gain an edge over opponent Muhyiddin Yassin, after a tumultuous election delivered a hung Parliament.
: Japanese PM Kishida sacks internal affairs minister Terada Minoru over a funds-related scandal amid falling support ratings for his Cabinet. Terada is the third Cabinet minister to go in under one month.
: Myanmar’s ruling military says that it did not engage in bargaining with other countries before releasing four foreign prisoners among nearly 6,000 in an amnesty this week.
: North Korea fires one short-range ballistic missile into the East Sea.
: South Korea and the United States co-host the Symposium on Countering DPRK Cyber-Exploitation of Cryptocurrency Exchanges. Officials from more than a dozen countries discuss ways to counter cryptocurrency theft and other illegal cyber activities of North Korea.
: Myanmar junta releases 5,800 prisoners, 400 of whom are estimated to be political detainees including Australian economist Sean Turnell and US citizen Kyaw Htay Oo.
: Japan and China hold their first summit in about three years as Japanese companies struggle to find a balance between maintaining a presence in the world’s No. 2 economy and responding to US calls to diversify. The meeting between PM Kishida and President Xi comes ahead of the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders meeting.
: President Xi criticizes Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in person over alleged leaks of their closed-door meeting at the G20 summit, a rare public display of annoyance by the Chinese leader.
: ROK President Yoon and Japanese Prime Minister Kishida agree to seek a quick settlement of the issue of compensation for Korean victims of wartime forced labor, a key point of contention between the two neighbors, during their summit in Cambodia.
: Thailand hosts the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting and brokers a consensus statement that calls Russia out for the war in Ukraine.
: G20 Summit takes place Nov. 15-16.
: President Biden and President Xi hold a three-hour meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, their first in-person meeting as presidents. President Biden warns President Xi that the US would enhance its security position in Asia if Beijing cannot rein in North Korea’s weapons programs. During a three-hour meeting the two leaders also had strong words about Taiwan.
: President Yoon Suk Yeol of South Korea meets Indonesian President Joko Widodo, discussing potential areas of cooperation between the two economies in high-tech and clean energy sectors.
: Japanese PM Kishida criticizes Beijing for stepping up actions that infringe on Japan’s sovereignty in the East China Sea at an annual summit of ASEAN and its partners.
: US upgrades ties with ASEAN, elevating their relationship to a “comprehensive strategic partnership,” vowing to deliver more aid as President Biden steps up efforts to counter China’s growing influence in the regional bloc.
: President Biden participates in the East Asia Summit in Cambodia and the adjacent US-ASEAN Summit. Presidents Xi Jinping of China and Vladimir Putin of Russia do not attend the EAS
: Southeast Asian heads of government issue a “warning” to Myanmar to make measurable progress on a peace plan or risk being barred from ASEAN meetings, as social and political chaos escalates in the country.
: After meeting his Russian counterpart for the fifth time this year, India’s foreign minister says that India will continue buying Russian oil because it benefits the country, adding that the two countries were expanding trade ties.
: President Biden extends for an additional year the national emergency declared in 2020 related to the threat from securities investments that finance certain Chinese companies.
: North Korea launches one short-range ballistic missile toward the East Sea. The missile is assumed to be one of North Korea’s new SRBMs.
: US midterm election take place, with Republicans capturing a majority in the House of Representatives but Democrats retaining control of the Senate.
: North Korean state media reports that it has never had arms dealings with Russia and has no plans to do so, after the US said North Korea appears to be supplying Russia with artillery shells for its war in Ukraine.
: Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Forces hold international naval fleet review, with South Korea’s navy participating amid efforts by the two countries to thaw their icy relations.
: North Korea fires four short-range ballistic missiles toward the Yellow Sea on the last day of the Vigilant Storm drill of South Korea and the United States.
: North Korea fires three short-range ballistic missiles toward the East Sea.
: Foreign ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Britain, and the US include Taiwan in their G7 meeting statement, saying they “reaffirm the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and call for the peaceful resolution of cross-Strait issues.”
: North Korea fires intercontinental ballistic missile and two short-range missiles toward the East Sea.
: North Korea launches a barrage of missiles and artillery shells, with one short-range ballistic missile flying across its de facto maritime border with South Korea.
: North Korea fires multiple ballistic missiles, including one that triggered an alert for residents in parts of central and northern Japan to seek shelter.
: Rights group Amnesty International claims that aviation fuel supply chains connect foreign companies to the Myanmar junta’s airstrikes on civilians.
: Chinese Premier Li Keqiang chairs the 21st SCO Prime Ministerial meeting.
: Chinese President Xi tells visiting leader of Vietnam’s ruling Communist Party that both countries and parties should “never let anyone interfere” with their progress, state broadcaster CCTV reports.
: South Korea and Poland sign agreement to jointly push for a plan to build a nuclear power plant in the European nation, raising hopes for Seoul’s first nuclear power plant export in more than a decade.
: South Korea and the United States conduct the five-day Vigilant Storm exercise involving stealth jets and more than 240 aircraft.
: Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council head states that China should stop sabre-rattling against Taiwan and maintain peace and stability, as Beijing ramped up political and military pressure on the island.
: North Korea fires two short-range ballistic missiles toward the East Sea.
: Secretary of Defense Austin releases 2022 National Defense Strategy, which codifies China as the US military’s pacing challenge and seeks to prevent the PRC’s dominance of key regions. He also releases the Nuclear Posture Review and the Missile Defense Review.
: Cambodia, current chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, says the bloc is gravely concerned about escalating violence in Myanmar.
: India’s navy hosts the 29th edition of the Singapore-India Maritime Bilateral Exercise (SIMBEX) at Visakhapatnam.
: Goto Shigeyuki, a former health minister, is chosen to replace Yamagiwa Daishiro as Japan’s economic revitalization minister, who resigned due to controversy surrounding his ties with the Unification Church.
: Department of Justice charges individuals for alleged participation on malign schemes in the US on behalf of the Chinese government, including conspiracy to forcibly repatriate Chinese nationals, obstruction of judge, and acting as illegal agents of a foreign country.
: Chinese President Xi seals his bid for a third term while his deputy and several other top officials got the boot as the country’s top leadership meeting wrapped up.
: Sri Lanka’s Parliament passes a constitutional amendment aimed at trimming presidential powers, beefing up anti-corruption safeguards, and helping to find a way out of the country’s worst financial crisis since independence.
: Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., announces that Manila will drop a $215 million helicopter deal with Russia and instead purchase military helicopters from the United States.
: Indian National Congress elects its first president outside the Gandhi family in over 20 years, party veteran Mallikarjun Kharge.
: North Korea fires around 100 artillery rounds into the Yellow Sea and another 150 rounds into the East Sea, into the eastern and western buffer zones north of the Northern Limit Line.
: Japan announces additional sanctions on North Korea and freezes the assets of five organizations for their involvement with the nuclear and missile programs.
: Maritime forces from the US, Canada, and Japan conduct exercises in the South China Sea in support of Royal Australian Navy forces.
: Singapore and Vietnam ink new agreements to deepen collaboration in trading renewable energy and working on carbon credit projects.
: Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio sends a ritual offering to Yasukuni Shrine, but does not visit the shrine.
: Xi Jinping opens the Chinese Communist Party’s twice-a-decade National Congress by pledging to never renounce using force to take control of Taiwan while championing a clampdown on Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement. Congress continues until Oct. 22.
: North Korea fires a short-range ballistic missile into the sea and hundreds of artillery rounds near the border with the South.
: South Korea announces new unilateral sanctions against North Korea, the first in five years, designating 15 individuals and 16 organizations for their involvement with the nuclear and missile programs.
: Around 10 North Korean military aircraft fly close to the border with South Korea, prompting the South Korean Air Force to scramble F-35A stealth fighters and other assets.
: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervises the testfiring of long-range strategic cruise missiles involving units operating “tactical nukes” to send a “clear warning to the enemies” and a demonstration of the country’s deterrence capabilities.
: Philippines seeks to revive its upstream oil industry with redevelopment of an oil field that last produced in the early 1990s, as it hopes to wean itself off fuel imports, according to energy officials.
: Indonesian President Jokowi orders a stress test for the economy amid global uncertainty. His comments follow IMF cuts to its global growth forecast for 2023 amid pressures from the war in Ukraine, high energy and food prices, inflation, and sharply higher interest rates.
: White House releases its National Security Strategy.
: Japan lifts border restrictions after almost 2 years and 7 months.
: Malaysian PM Ismail Sabri Yaakob announces dissolution of Parliament, paving the way for the country’s 15th general election despite protests by most political parties over holding polls during the monsoon flood season.
: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervises an exercise of tactical nuclear operation units to check and assess the “war deterrent and nuclear counterattack capability” in response to recent joint US-South Korea military exercises. Kim states that North Korea has “no content for dialogue with the enemies and felt no necessity to do so.”
: North Korea fires two short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea, its seventh missile provocation in two weeks.
: US Commerce Department imposes sweeping export controls against China’s semiconductor industry, affecting both US chip design firms and Taiwan suppliers using American technology like TSMC.
: South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup meets the commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command in Seoul to discuss North Korea’s provocations and the Seoul-Washington alliance.
: North Korea fires two short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea, its sixth missile test in under two weeks.
: US Treasure Department announces sanctions on three individuals for procurement of Russian-made arms from Belarus for the military regime in Myanmar.
: South Korea, Japan, and the US conduct a joint naval exercise in the East Sea focusing on countering nuclear and missile threats from North Korea.
: US aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan redeploys near the Korean Peninsula in a show of might aimed at deterring further North Korean activity after Pyongyang fired a ballistic missile over Japan.
: Taiwan vows to safeguard interests amid US-led Chip4 talks, as a senior Taiwanese official says full decoupling from China, Taiwan’s largest trading partner, is “not realistic.”
: North Korea fires intermediate-range ballistic missile over Japan, its first launch of an IRBM in eight months and the fifth missile test in just over a week. In response, a South Korean F-15K fighter fires two JADAM precision bombs at a firing range on a Yellow Sea island and air drills with the US in a combined strike package.
: South Korean activists clash with police while launching balloons carrying anti-Pyongyang propaganda materials across the North Korean border, ignoring their government’s plea to stop since the North has threatened to respond with “deadly” retaliation.
: Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Higgins (DDG 76) and fleet replenishment-oiler USNS Rappahannock (T-AO 204), in cooperation with the Royal Canadian Navy and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Forces, conducts exercises in the South China Sea.
: North Korea fires two short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea, a day a day after South Korea, the US, and Japan staged an anti-submarine warfare exercise. This marks North Korea’s fourth missile launch within a week.
: In Taipei, the US government convenes a preliminary meeting of “Chips 4,” a new working group of the US, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan intended to strengthen semiconductor supply chain resiliency and cooperation.
: China withdraws draft resolution against the AUKUS alliance at the general conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna after apprehending that the measure would not receive majority support.
: Court in military-ruled Myanmar jails deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her former economic adviser, Australian Sean Turnell, for three years for violating a secrets law.
: North Korea fires two short-range ballistic missiles off its east coast, a day before US Vice President Kamala Harris is set to arrive in Seoul.
: Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio kicks off three days of meetings with nearly 40 global leaders in Tokyo to attend state funeral for Abe Shinzo, using the opportunity to renew the ex-leader’s push for a “free and open Indo-Pacific.”
: US Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group conducts series of exercises with ROK Navy.
Sept. 27, 2022: State funeral for Abe Shinzo takes place.
Sept. 27, 2022: State funeral for Abe Shinzo takes place.
: North Korea fires a short-range ballistic missile toward the East Sea, the North’s fifth missile firing since the Yoon administration took office.
: Top diplomats from the US, Japan, and South Korea meet in New York to coordinate joint response to North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats.
: Nuclear-powered USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier arrives in South Korea to conduct its first combined drills with the South Korean Navy.
: Senior diplomats from the United States and China meet with tensions high after an explicit pledge by Biden to defend Taiwan.
: Quad Foreign Ministers Meeting on the sidelines of the 77th UNGA. Quad countries promised “to deepen Quad multilateral cooperation in support of advancing a free and open Indo-Pacific, which is inclusive and resilient” and agreed their “vision is for a region where the rules-based international order is upheld, and where the principles of freedom, rule of law, democratic values, peaceful settlement of disputes, sovereignty, and territorial integrity are respected.”
: BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) Ministers of Foreign Affairs and International Relations meeting takes place.
: Taiwanese government says that it will never allow China to “meddle” in its future after a Chinese government spokesperson said Beijing was willing to make the utmost effort to strive for a peaceful “reunification” with the island.
: Japan abandons controversial training program for Myanmar cadets, with a Defense Ministry spokesperson saying that the decision was a response to the military junta’s shocking execution of four political prisoners in July.
: US President Joe Biden says US forces would defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion, his most explicit statement on the issue, drawing an angry response from China that said it sent the wrong signal to those seeking an independent Taiwan.
: Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Higgins (DDG 76), in cooperation with Royal Canadian Navy Halifax-class frigate HMCS Vancouver (FFH 331), conducts exercises in the South China Sea.
: US President Joseph, when asked “Would US forces defend the island (of Taiwan)?” responds “Yes, if in fact there was an unprecedented attack.”
: Two Chinese military drones, the CH-4 and the WZ-7, are reported to have flown near Taiwan for the first time.
: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi tells Russian President Vladimir Putin that now is not the time for war, publicly assailing the Kremlin chief over the conflict in Ukraine.
: Seoul Central District Court dismisses its case for Japan to disclose its state assets in South Korea to pay compensation to comfort women because of its refusal to comply.
: President Biden signs executive order directing the Committee on Foreign Investments in the United States (CIFUS) to concentrate on specific types of transactions that would give a foreign power access to key technologies that are critical to US economic growth.
: Four Russian naval ships and three Chinese vessels launch their 2nd joint Pacific patrol.
: US Senate committee approves legislation that would significantly enhance US military support for Taiwan, including provisions for billions of dollars in additional security assistance, amid increased pressure from China toward the democratically governed island.
: UN General Assembly convenes in New York.
: Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, who seized power in a 2014 coup, is suspended while the court deliberates on the case filed by the opposition.
: Head of a UN team of investigators on Myanmar states that Facebook has handed over millions of items that could support allegations of war crimes and genocide.
: Indonesia and Norway sign bilateral climate and forest partnership to support Jakarta’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, even as it reduced deforestation to a 20-year low.
: Member nations of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework agree to start official negotiations to boost regional economic cooperation.
: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un publicly expresses determination not to give up the country’s nuclear weapons, accusing the United States of seeking the collapse of his regime, not just denuclearization.
: North Korea celebrates 74th anniversary of its founding. At the 14th Supreme People’s Assembly, North Korea announces five conditions for a nuclear preemptive strike, states that it will not share nuclear weapons and technology with other countries, and reaffirms that the country will resist all sanctions and pressures to give up its nuclear weapons.
: Japan and India agree to bolster bilateral cooperation on maritime security, including expanding joint drills and setting up a high-level defense dialogue.
: Third ministerial (and first in-person meeting) of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) is held in Los Angeles. The 14 members declare which pillars that they will negotiate in and agree upon the main issue areas for each pillar.
: State Department approves the potential sale of F-16 aircraft sustainment and related equipment to Pakistan in a deal valued at up to $450 million.
: Russia purchases millions of rockets and artillery shells from North Korea to re-energize its offensive in Ukraine, as Western sanctions cut Moscow’s supply of weapons.
: Philippine ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez states that the Philippines may allow the US military access in the event of a Taiwan conflict, “for our own security.”
: Biden administration says it will keep tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars in Chinese imports while it continues statutory review of duties imposed by former President Donald Trump.
: US State Department approves potential $1.1 billion sale of military equipment to Taiwan, including 60 anti-ship missiles and 100 air-to-air missiles.
: Office of the US Trade Representative confirms that domestic industry representatives requested continuation of Section 301 tariffs on China and the tariffs accordingly did not expire on their four-year anniversary.
: Former Sri Lankan president Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who fled and left the country in crisis back in July, returns from Bangkok in an apparent end to his self-imposed exile.
: Chinese e-commerce platform Pinduoduo quietly launches US site, aiming to crack a market dominated by Amazon and where China’s Shein is also making inroads.
: South Korea and the US wrap up Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise.
: A long-awaited UN report states that the actions of the Chinese government in Xinjiang, including the detention and persecution of Uyghurs and other ethnic Muslim groups, “may constitute international crimes, in particular crimes against humanity.”
: State media announces that ruling Communist Party of China will hold a twice-in-a decade congress beginning Oct 16. Chinese President Xi is widely expected to seek an unprecedented third term during the meeting.
: Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey arrives in Taipei, with the aim of boosting collaborations in semiconductors and other technology and security.
: Mikhail Gorbachev dies in Moscow.
: Russia conducted its “Vostok” (East)-2022“ exercises involving 50,000 military personnel, more than 5,000 pieces of military equipment, including 140 aircraft, 60 warships, boats and support vessels. China, Algeria, India, Belarus, Tajikistan and Mongolia participated.
: Authorities in Shenzhen temporarily close the world’s largest electronics market and suspended service at 24 subway stations in a bid to curb an outbreak of Covid-19.
: Prime Minister Kishida pledges $30 billion over the next three years for African development, with a focus on investing in human capital and fostering quality growth in a continent where China and Russia are exerting their influence.
: Japan will spend $1.83 million on a state funeral for slain former leader Abe, the government announces, despite growing opposition from a public angered by revelations of the ruling party’s ties to the Unification Church.
: Japan’s National Police Agency Chief Itaru Nakamura announces his resignation over Abe’s death following release of a report blaming flaws in police protection—from planning to guarding at the scene—that led to Abe’s assassination.
: Sen. Marsha Blackburn, a Tennessee Republican who sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee, arrives in Taiwan for a three-day visit.
: Thailand’s constitutional court orders Prime Minister Chan-o-cha to halt official duties pending the result of a legal review of his eight-year term limit, local media reported.
: Former Malaysian Prime Minister Razak Najib fails to win appeal in his criminal case and begins 12-year prison sentence for involvement in the 1MDB scandal.
: Opposition parties in Thai Parliament submit petition to the Constitutional Court of Thailand requesting that it remove PM Chan-ocha from office because he has exhausted his 8-year term limit. On Aug. 24 the Court accepts the petition and suspends him from his responsibilities as prime minister until a decision on the petition is reached.
: South Korea and the US launch Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS): their first large field-training military exercises for four years.
: Taiwan wants to ensure partners have reliable supplies of semiconductors, or “democracy chips,” President Tsai tells the governor of Indiana, also stating that China’s threats mean fellow democracies have to cooperate.
: Japanese FM Hayashi states in an interview that Japan will look into holding a summit meeting between Prime Minister Kishida and Chinese President Xi.
: Myanmar’s junta states it will import Russian gasoline and fuel oil to ease supply concerns and rising prices, the latest developing country to do so amid a global energy crisis.
: Talks with North Korea should not be for political show but contribute to establishing peace, South Korean President Yoon said, hours after the North test fired two cruise missiles into the sea.
: A senior UN official meets with Myanmar’s military leadership, in a rare, high-profile visit that comes amid growing political chaos and violence in the country.
: Poll by the Pew Research Center finds that nine out of 10 South Koreans hold a favorable view of the US and that 89% of South Koreans think the US is a “reliable partner.”
: Myanmar’s deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi is sentenced to six more years in prison.
: China’s military carries out more exercises near Taiwan on Monday as a group of US lawmakers visited the Chinese-claimed island and met President Tsai Ing-wen, who said her government was committed to maintaining stability.
: Japan joins US-Indonesian military drill for first time, alongside Australia. Garuda Shield is a joint drill between the US and Indonesia started in 2007 that aimed to build partnerships and deter Chinese aggression.
: China participates in 8th annual International Army Games in Russia (main site) with 11 other countries.
: China and South Korea clash over a US missile defense shield, threatening to undermine efforts by the new government in Seoul to overcome security differences.
: Former Sri Lankan President Rajapaksa arrives in Thailand, according to Reuters, seeking temporary shelter after fleeing his island nation last month amid mass protests.
: China’s Taiwan Affairs Office issues China’s third White Paper on Taiwan, titled “The Taiwan Question and China’s Reunification in the New Era.”
: Senior Indian army officer confirms “Yudh Abhyas” joint exercise with the US, first held in 2002, will take place in Himalayas in October near the disputed border with China.
: President Biden signs the CHIPS Act into law, including a spending package that allocates $52 billion to bolstering domestic chip manufacturing, finalizing what is seen as the nation’s boldest industrial legislation in decades.
: South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin departs for China to hold talks with his counterpart on issues related to supply chains, North Korea and regional security.
: South Korea, Japan, and the US participate in a trilateral ballistic missile defense exercise during the multinational Pacific Dragon exercise in Hawaii. This was the first trilateral drill since 2017.
: Japan and the US vow to enhance ties with Solomon Islands amid increasing Chinese influence.
: Lithuania’s Vice Minister of Transportation and Communications Agne Vaiciukeviciute leads a delegation to Taiwan to exchange views on 5G communications and electric buses.
: Secretary of Antony Blinken assures the Philippines that the US would come to its defense if attacked in the South China Sea, seeking to allay concerns about the extent of the US commitment to a mutual defense treaty.
: Asian carriers halt and reroute flights in and around Taiwan because of Chinese drills near the island, raising fears that Beijing’s military exercise could disrupt regional supply chains.
: China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announces cancellation of several planned US-China military dialogues as well as cooperation with the US on the repatriation of illegal immigrants, legal assistance in criminal matters, transnational crimes, and counternarcotics, and talks on climate change.
: China imposes sanctions on Nancy Pelosi and her immediate family members.
: Japan and the United States agree to work together on maintaining peace in the increasingly tense Taiwan Strait, amid unprecedented military drills by China including five missiles that landed in Japan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
: President Yoon calls Speaker Pelosi to reaffirm his efforts to deepen the bilateral alliance and states that Pelosi’s visit is a sign of deterrence against North Korea.
: Japan’s government protests after five Chinese missiles shot in retaliation against Taiwan hosting US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi land in Japan’s EEZ.
: Cambodian PM Hun Sen says that ASEAN will be forced to reconsider a peace plan agreed with Myanmar if its military rulers execute more prisoners.
: House Speaker Pelosi and several members of Congress land in Taipei for a much-anticipated visit that prompted China’s military to announce “targeted” military operations in the seas and airspace surrounding the island. Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng summons US Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns for an emergency meeting and lodges “stern representations and strong protests with the US side” against Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan.
: White House says it expects China to escalate its response to a potential visit by Speaker Pelosi to Taiwan and said the United States would not be intimidated.
: A Japanese man is detained by authorities in Myanmar after filming a protest in the country’s biggest city of Yangon.
: Korean President Yoon stresses the strategic importance of Southeast Asia to Korea at a summit with Indonesian President Widodo in Seoul.
: Cabinet officials from Japan and the US agree to pursue free trade and stronger, more transparent supply chains during first “two-plus-two” meeting focused on economic policy.
: Korean President Yoon and Indonesian President Joko Widodo hold summit in Seoul and agree to work together to stabilize supply chains of key minerals and strengthen cooperation on economic security issues.
: Shanghai Cooperation Organization holds annual foreign ministerial meeting in Uzbekistan.
: Defense chiefs from across the Indo-Pacific gathered to bolster connections against a backdrop of China’s campaign to expand its influence and military presence in the region.
: In a speech on what the DPRK celebrates as “the 69th anniversary of the great victory in the [Korean] War,” otherwise known as the 1953 Armistice, Kim Jong Un for the first time mentions his ROK counterpart by name: “We can no longer sit around seeing Yoon Suk Yeol and his military gangsters’ misdemeanors.”
: China and Indonesia pledge to scale up trade and expand cooperation in areas such as agriculture and food security, following a rare visit to China by a foreign head of state.
: Chinese President Xi meets visiting Indonesian counterpart Joko Widodo in Beijing.
: US and Australia co-host 2022 Indo-Pacific Chiefs of Defense conference in Sydney.
: Military regime in Myanmar executes four pro-democracy activists it had convicted on charges of “terrorism” because of their political activities in secret trials.
: China launches the second of three modules to its permanent space station, in one of the final missions needed to complete the orbiting outpost by year’s end.
: Thai PM Chan-ocha survives the 4th no-confidence vote against him.
: Chinese President Jinping offers Sri Lanka’s new president his support, CCTV reported, as the Indian Ocean island grapples with its worst economic crisis in decades.
: President Biden states the US military thinks that Speaker of the House of Representatives Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan is “not a good idea” as China promises to take “strong measures” in response.
: A Chinese navy ship sails through Japanese territorial waters, the sixth such intrusion of the year and the first since April.
: President Biden plans to speak with Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, by the end of the month at a moment of simmering tensions between the countries over Taiwan and trade.
: Asian Development Bank says that developing Asia is expected to grow more slowly than predicted this year, as the war in Ukraine pushes commodity prices higher and triggers monetary tightening.
: China agrees to coordinate economic policies with the EU, liberalize trade and investment, and further open its financial sector but was silent on an investment deal frozen by disputes over human rights, geopolitics, and the war in Ukraine.
: Japan and South Korea foreign ministers agree to improve ties, with Park Jin becoming the first South Korean foreign minister to visit Tokyo since 2019.
: EU and China hold high-level economic and trade dialogue amidst tensions over issues including the war in Ukraine, Xinjiang and an as yet unratified investment agreement.
: Finance ministers and central bankers of the G20 nations fail to find common ground regarding Russia’s war in Ukraine and its repercussions on global inflation, casting uncertainty over the forum’s prospects.
: Sri Lankan President Rajapaksa submits letter of resignation, says a spokesperson for the parliament speaker, hours after fleeing the country following protests over economic meltdown.
: 13-members of IPEF hold first senior officials meeting in Singapore.
: Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa flees to the Maldives, hours before he was due to submit his resignation.
: G20 finance leaders meet in Bali for talks to include issues like global food security and soaring inflation, as host Indonesia tries to ensure frictions over the war in Ukraine do not blow discussions off course.
: Commercial satellite imagery of North Korea’s Yongbyon Nuclear Scientific Center shows the 5 MWe Reactor continues to produce plutonium for the country’s nuclear weapons program.
: South Korea’s MOU publishes hitherto unseen photographs of the repatriation of two DPRK fishermen at Panmunjom in Nov. 2019. Though heavily pixelated, the graphic images show the men bound and blindfolded; one tries to resist as they are handed over. Video footage is released on July 18. A day later, Yoon Suk Yeol’s presidential office condemns its predecessor’s repatriation of the fishermen as a potential “crime against humanity,” and vows a full investigation.
: Attendance by four Asia-Pacific leaders at the NATO summit reflects a “consequential shift” in the US transatlantic security partnership which Washington seeks to expand to better counter China, a senior US diplomat tells Reuters.
: South Korea and the US conduct their first combined air drills, officials say, in an apparent show of force against North Korea’s growing military threats.
: Secretary of State Blinken offers his government’s condolences to Prime Minister Kishida in Tokyo over former Prime Minister Abe’s death.
: According to South Korea’s military, North Korea fires artillery shots from multiple rocket launchers.
: Japan holds Upper House election. The ruling LDP-Komeito coalition increase their majority from 57 % of the seats to 60%.
: Sri Lanka’s PM summons party leaders after protesters stormed the president’s house in Colombo amid growing anger over the government’s handling of an economic crisis.
: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi urges Australian counterpart Penny Wong to treat China as a partner, not an opponent, and to accumulate “positive energy” to improve ties.
: Japan’s former Prime Minister Abe Shinzo is fatally shot by a lone gunman, prompting an outpouring of condolences from around the world.
: Paying his respects to Abe while speaking at a memorial lecture, India’s PM Modi states that it is a day of great loss and unbearable pain for him as he had lost a close friend.
: Japan PM Kishida has a telephone conversation with President Biden, with Biden expressing his condolences after former Prime Minister Abe’s death.
: South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin, Secretary of State Blinken, and Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Hayashi Yoshimasa hold tripartite meeting to bolster cooperation on North Korea and pursue “future-oriented cooperation” to promote regional prosperity.
: China’s President Xi Jinping expresses condolences over the death of former Prime Minister Abe, whom Xi said had worked hard to improve relations between the neighbors.
: Foreign ministers of G20 states kick off a two-day meeting in Bali. looming over the gathering: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and its consequences, including global inflation.
: US expands export bans on China over security and human rights, to try to limit China’s military and technological advances.
: Philippine President Marcos says Manila’s relationship with Beijing is “not only one dimension” and should be about more than just their South China Sea row.
: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi arrives in Myanmar and becomes the highest-ranking Chinese official to visit the country since the coup in February 2021.
: North Korea criticizes the US, South Korea, and Japan’s recent agreement on strengthening military cooperation as a means to create a US plan for a NATO in the region.
: Indonesia and the United Arab Emirates sign a free trade agreement, strengthening economic ties between Southeast Asia’s largest economy and the major oil producing Gulf state.
: Pew Research Center releases new global public opinion poll showing that concerns about China’s human rights record has grown, with increasing unfavorable views of China among survey respondents in North America and Europe.
: Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., inaugurated as president of the Philippines and Sara Duterte as vice president.
: Commerce Department’s BIS adds 23 entities to the Entity List under the destination of China on the basis that they are determined to be acting against US national security or foreign policy interests.
: President Biden, South Korean President Yoon and Japanese Prime Minister Kishida hold a trilateral summit on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Madrid.
: Nikkei investigation finds North Korea is likely shipping coal directly to Chinese ports, activity that is banned from international trade under UNSC sanctions.
: NATO releases “NATO Strategic Concept 2022” which mentions China for the first time. China is described as presenting “systemic challenges” to Euro-Atlantic security.
: Biden administration adds five companies in China to a trade blacklist on Tuesday for allegedly supporting Russia’s military and defense industrial base, flexing its muscle to enforce sanctions against Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.
: India Prime Minister Narendra Modi holds first in-person bilateral meeting with Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau in over four years on sidelines of G7 summit in Germany.
: India and the European Union formally relaunch negotiations toward a free trade agreement, hoping to overcome sticking points as they aim to reduce their reliance on China.
: Indonesian President Joko Widodo visits Ukraine and Russia, the first Asian leader to do so since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February.
: US, Japan, Australia, Britain, and New Zealand launch the Partners in the Blue Pacific Initiative to step up engagement with Pacific Island countries, as China seeks to boost economic and defense cooperation with them.
: President of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte orders an end to talks with China over joint oil and gas exploration in the South China Sea.
: Xi Jinping chairs the BRICS 14th summit in Beijing via video. The summit’s Beijing Declaration was adopted and released at the event. Both Xi and Putin joined the event via video. Membership expansion was a key issue for the summit.
: South Korea will establish a mission to NATO in Brussels, officials say.
: Indonesian President Joko Widodo will fly to Ukraine and Russia to meet with each country’s respective leader later this month, Indonesia’s foreign minister confirms.
: ASEAN defense ministers express concern over an escalating US-China confrontation involving the South China Sea, calling on all parties involved to cooperate constructively and peacefully.
: State Department announces that US Customs and Border Protection will begin to implement the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act’s provisions to ban imports of products made by forced labor in Xinjiang into the US.
: A US law broadly banning imports from China’s Xinjiang region goes into effect—a move aimed at adding pressure over Beijing’s alleged use of forced labor among the Uyghur minority, and which could pose supply chain challenges.
: Sara Duterte-Carpio, daughter of outgoing Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, is sworn in as the country’s 15th vice president, calling for national unity following a divisive election campaign.
: Protests intensify over India’s new military recruitment policy. Demonstrators say the plan will cut opportunities for permanent defense force jobs and demand the government reverse course.
: State Department releases a statement in support of the Philippines, calling on the PRC to end its provocative actions, to uphold freedom of navigation and to respect international law in the South China Sea.
: Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare assures Australia that there will be no regular Chinese military presence in the country, following the signing of a controversial security pact between China and the South Pacific island nation.
: Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Lindsay Graham (R-SC) introduce the Taiwan Policy Act of 2022, which they billed as the “most comprehensive restructuring of US policy towards Taiwan since the Taiwan Relations Act.”
: Justice Department charges former University of Arkansas professor with making a false statement to the FBI about the existence of patents for his inventions in the People’s Republic of China.
: Australia updates its commitment to the United Nations convention on climate change, pledging to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 43% below 2005 levels by 2030, putting Australia on track to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.
: Japan and Australia pledge to expand defense ties, citing concerns about regional order. Both countries also pledged to work more closely with each other in the Southeast Asia region and the Pacific Islands.
: Taiwan admits to paying US lobbyists to help establish closer US ties amid rising pressure from Beijing.
: PM Kishida that he will attend the NATO summit, becoming the first Japanese leader to do so.
: Opposition parties in the Thai Parliament enter a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha and several of his Cabinet members.
: Dozens of countries call out China at UN over Xinjiang abuse allegations. A joint statement from 47 nations also calls for the release of a long-delayed report by UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet.
: United States backs Taiwan’s assertion that the strait dividing the island from the Chinese mainland is an international waterway, a rebuff to Beijing’s claim to exercise sovereignty over the strategic passage.
: UN ambassadors from the Quad meet in New York to discuss ways to strengthen the rules-based international order and reinforce efforts at the UN.
: Department of State’s Educational and Cultural Affairs team announces the Gandhi-King Scholarly Exchange Initiative, a new exchange program in partnership with the University of Alabama to inspire young leaders in the US and India to advance civil rights and inclusion.
: North Korea fires artillery shots, presumably from multiple rocket launchers, according to the South Korea’s military, in another show of force by the reclusive regime.
: Japan and Singapore launch talks on a defense equipment transfer pact.
: Secretary of Defense Austin, South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup and Japanese Defense Minister Kishi Nobuo hold trilateral ministerial meeting at the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. The three nations also resume joint exercises as North Korea picks up the pace of its missile tests.
: Beijing continues to “harden its position” along the border that it shares with India, US Secretary of Defence Lloyd J. Austin said.
: Chinese military officials hit back at US attempts to draw parallels between cross-strait tensions and the war in Ukraine, describing the comparison as very aggressive.
: Indonesia shifts G20 focus to energy security, as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent sanctions imposed on Russia exacerbated an increase in global energy prices.
: US approves a possible $120 million sale of parts to help Taiwan maintain its warships, which the island’s defense ministry said would help ensure combat readiness in the face of China’s “frequent activities” near the island.
: South Korea and the United States fire eight ballistic missiles into the East Sea in response to North Korea’s missile launches the previous day, according to the South’s military.
: Sri Lanka’s prime minister states that the country will need $5 billion over the next six months to ensure basic living standards, and that the state intended to renegotiate the terms of a yuan-denominated swap worth $1.5 billion with China so as to fund essential imports.
: US and South Korea fire eight missiles in response to launches by North Korea, demonstrating “the capability and readiness to carry out [a] precision strike” against the source of North Korea’s missile launches or the command and support centers, according to the South Korean military.
: Canada and Australia accuse Chinese military planes of nearly causing collisions during separate aerial encounters, with China rejecting said charges.
: North Korea fires eight short-range ballistic missiles toward the East Sea, a day after South Korea and the US wrapped up joint drills near the peninsula involving a US aircraft carrier, according to the South’s military.
: Japan announces that for the first time it will send an active-duty military officer to serve as Japan’s defense attaché in Taipei.
: In response to strong concerns from the LDP, Japan’s government revises a draft document with a timeline of five years for comprehensive strengthening of Japan’s defense.
: Australia’s recently elected PM Albanese meets Indonesian President Joko Widodo to discuss the AUKUS pact, making good on a pledge to make relations with his country’s largest neighbor a foreign policy priority.
: Philip Goldberg is sworn in as US ambassador to South Korea.
: Japan announces plans to develop drones to support fighter aircraft, and is considering equipping drones with missiles that would intercept enemy-launched missiles.
: US Department of State releases the “2021 Report on International Religious Freedom: China,” which concludes that the Chinese government “continued to assert control over religion and to restrict the activities and personal freedom of religious adherents.”
: US launches trade talks with Taiwan, days after the Biden administration excluded the island from its Asia-focused economic plan designed to counter China’s growing influence.
: China urges UN rights chief to look into school shootings in US.
: Taiwan jets scramble as China air force enters air defense zone.
: South Korea approves a 750 billion won ($605 million) project to upgrade its Patriot missile defense system by 2027, according to the state arms procurement agency, in the wake of North Korea’s recent missile provocations.
: Kiribati focuses on trade and tourism opportunities with China and not security during China’s visit to remote Pacific islands.
: China and Russia veto a US-drafted UNSC resolution to strengthen sanctions on North Korea over a spate of missile launches, the first time that the five permanent members of the Council have been divided on the issue since they began punishing Pyongyang in 2006.
: Singapore and Japan ink agreements on promoting start-ups and digital transformation for governments.
: Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative reports three separate incidents in the last two months in which Chinese law enforcement vessels challenge Philippine marine research and hydrocarbon exploration ships in the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.
: China announces it will seek a region-wide deal with almost a dozen Pacific island countries covering policing, security and data communication cooperation.
: North Korea fires three ballistic missiles toward the East Sea, including an apparent ICBM, just a day after Biden wrapped up an Asia trip highlighting the US security commitment to Seoul and Tokyo.
: Russian and Chinese bombers fly joint patrols near Japanese and South Korea air defense zones.
: Quad summit in Tokyo involving the leaders of Australia, Japan, India, and the US takes place. The leaders launch the Quad Fellowship to encourage research and innovation among young minds in the four countries.
: On a visit to Tokyo, Biden launches the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) with a dozen initial partners: Australia, Brunei, India, Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
: At a press conference in Tokyo, Biden says that the US is willing to get involved militarily to defend Taiwan if China attacked Taiwan by force while insisting that the US abides by the “one China” policy.
: South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Group says it will invest an additional $5 billion in the United States for robotics and autonomous driving software development, just a day after announcing a similar size investment to build an electric vehicle plant in the US.
: Labor Party wins Australia’s general election, making Anthony Albanese the nation’s 31st prime minister.
: Labor Party wins Australia’s national election, ending nine years of rule by the Liberal-National coalition government. Labor leader Anthony Albanese becomes the new prime minister.
: President Joe Biden and South Korean counterpart Yoon agree to hold bigger military drills and deploy more US weapons if necessary to deter North Korea.
: North Korea says it is achieving “good results” in its fight against its first confirmed COVID-19 outbreak.
: Biden visits South Korea and Japan to strengthen Indo-Pacific alliances amid China’s rise and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
: BRICS holds annual foreign ministerial meeting via video. A joint statement is released calling for dialogue between Russia and Ukraine. It did not use the term “invasion.” Chinese FM Wang Yi criticizes the West’s “absolute” and “unilateral” security policies, as well as arms supply to Ukraine. He also proposed to explore the potential and procedure for BRICS expansion, including mechanism such as BRICS-plus.
: Philippines President-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr says his country’s ties with China will expand and “shift to a higher gear” when he takes power.
: Justice Department charges US citizen and four officials from China’s Ministry of State Security with spying on prominent dissidents, human rights leaders, and pro-democracy activists.
: Myanmar’s shadow government defense chief calls for international help to arm its resistance forces fighting the ruling military.
: China’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian rejects G7 Foreign Ministers’ Communiqué issued May 14, which urged China to not support Russia in the war, not undermine sanctions imposed on Russia, and “desist from engaging in information manipulation, disinformation and other means to legitimize Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.”
: Malaysia Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah meets his counterpart from Myanmar’s National Unity Government, the opposition government opposing the military junta.
: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un says the spread of COVID-19 has thrust his country into “great turmoil” and calls for an all-out battle to overcome the outbreak.
: President Biden signs a law directing the US government to develop a strategy to help Taiwan regain observer status in the World Health Organization and the World Health Assembly.
: North Korea fires three short-range ballistic missiles toward the East Sea, its first missile launch since the inauguration of the Yoon administration.
: ASEAN leaders and the White House have a key summit amid increasing rivalry in the Indo-Pacific. During the meeting, US President Biden promises Southeast Asian leaders $150 million in spending on their infrastructure, security, pandemic preparedness, and other efforts aimed at countering the influence of China.
: UNSC convenes an emergency meeting to discuss North Korea’s recent missile provocations but fails to produce a tangible outcome due to opposition from China and Russia.
: Spurred by concerns over China and Russia, Japan passes a law strengthening supply chains to procure semiconductors and other vital products and facilitate development of artificial intelligence and other cutting-edge technologies through public-private partnerships.
: Yoon Suk Yeol takes office as the 20th president of the Republic of Korea.
: Singapore’s President Halimah Yacob and South Korea’s President Yoon agree to strengthen cooperation following inauguration.
: USS Port Royal (CG 73) of the 7th Fleet conducts a Taiwan Strait transit.
: General elections are held in the Philippines, with victories for Ferdinand “Bong-Bong” Marcos, Jr., as president and Sara Duterte as vice president, both by sizable margins.
: Laos reopens to tourists and other visitors from abroad.
: Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio underscores need to resolve his country’s longstanding diplomatic standoffs with South Korea as his foreign minister arrived in Seoul for the inauguration of President Yoon Suk Yeol.
: Wall Street Journal reports that a Department of Defense study found China is exploiting the Small Business Innovation Research program that funds innovation among small US companies.
: North Korea fires a submarine-launched ballistic missile four days after conducting a ballistic missile test.
: North Korea fires a short-range ballistic missile into Sea of Japan.
: New York Times reports that the Biden administration is rebuffing some of Taiwan’s requests for larger and more expensive weapons, instead urging Taiwan to buy other equipment that it believes will better deter and defend against China.
: China’s foreign ministry accuses Japan of exaggerating a perceived threat from Beijing as an excuse to boost its own military might.
: India’s central bank raises its benchmark interest rate for the first time in two years in an effort to rein in high consumer prices.
: US Senate votes unanimously to approve the nomination of Philip Goldberg, a career diplomat, as new US ambassador to South Korea.
: US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, meeting with Japanese counterpart Kishi Nobuo, reiterates the US commitment to defend the contested Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands.
: State Department updates “US Relations With Taiwan” page, removing phrases such as the United States “does not support Taiwan independence” and “opposes unilateral changes to the status quo by either side” and replaces them with the United States’ “longstanding one China policy, which is guided by the Taiwan Relations Act, the three US-China Joint Communiques, and the Six Assurances.”
: South Korea and Japan hold their first working-level diplomatic consultations in six months, a week ahead of the launch of the Yoon administration.
: North Korea launches ballistic missile into the East Sea. Some experts say it could have been a Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) or a completely new missile.
: Myanmar’s junta vows to defend China-backed copper mine after threats from the opposition People’s Defense Force (PDF). The PDF says the income from the project will support the junta’s repression of the people.
: US Trade Representative commences statutory four-year review of actions taken under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 in the investigation of China’s Acts, Policies, and Practices Related to Technology Transfer, Intellectual Property, and Innovation.
: South Korea’s foreign minister nominee stresses the need for “in-depth” deliberations on whether to deploy addition US made THAAD missile defense systems.
: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz visits Japan, not China, on his first Asian trip.
: China and Iran agree to step up military cooperation in a range of areas including exercises.
: USTR releases the 2022 Special 301 Report on intellectual property protection and enforcement, which places China on its Priority Watch List, indicating that “particular problems exist in that country with respect to IP protection, enforcement, or market access for U.S. persons relying on IP.”
: Court in military-ruled Myanmar sentences deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi to five years in jail after finding her guilty in the first of 11 corruption cases.
: US official says Washington wants to expand security cooperation with Papua New Guinea.
: European Union and India agree to set up a trade and technology council to step up cooperation.
: South Korea’s President-elect Yoon says he would “positively review” joining the Quad.
: Australia’s defense minister accuses China of paying bribes for international deals, but refuses to say whether corruption played a role in Beijing’s defense pact with the Solomon Islands.
: Guided-missile destroyer USS Momsen arrives in Goa, India, for a scheduled port visit. The Momsen is deployed to the US 7th Fleet in support of security and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.
: Japan’s foreign minister promises his country will bolster its military to help the United States maintain regional security.
: Indian and UK prime ministers issue a joint statement expressing “in strongest terms their concern about the ongoing conflict and humanitarian situation in Ukraine.”
: Biden administration “Indo-Pacific czar” Kurt Campbell visits Solomon Islands after it signs a security pact with China.
: Quad representatives hold handover ceremony for COVID-19 vaccine donation to Thailand.
: South Korea successfully test-fires two submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) consecutively earlier this week, in a sign the missile is nearing operational deployment.
: Chinese President Xi proposes a “global security initiative” that upholds the principle of “indivisible security,” though he gives no details on how it will be implemented.
: US and partner countries walk out of a G20 plenary session when Russia’s delegates speak.
: US shows concerns after China says it signs security pact with Solomon Islands.
: US envoy vows “strongest possible deterrent” over North Korea weapons tests.
: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un observes the test firing of a new type of tactical guided weapon aimed at boosting the country’s nuclear capabilities.
: South Korean government officially approves plan to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.
: Russian submarines in the Sea of Japan, also known as East Sea, fired cruise missiles during exercises.
: Sen. Lindsey Graham leads congressional delegation to Taiwan during which they discuss US-Taiwan relations, regional security, and other issues of mutual interest with senior Taiwan leaders.
: Australia’s international development minister asks Solomon Islands not to sign China security pact.
: US aircraft carrier deploys off Korean Peninsula amid tensions following North Korean missile launches.
: Quad countries hold handover ceremony for COVID-19 vaccine donation to Cambodia.
: US secretaries of state and defense and India’s external affairs and defense ministers take part in 2+2 meeting, affirming their “common strategic interests” and “abiding commitment to the rules-based international order.”
: President Biden meets virtually with Modi to discuss deepening ties between both governments, economies, and people.
: China’s foreign ministry expresses “strong dissatisfaction” with the United States after it raised concerns over Beijing’s coronavirus control measures
: White House Press Secretary Psaki says that President Biden believes that the US-India partnership is the most important relationship the US has in the world.
: Peng Ming-min, a Taiwanese democracy activist and the DPP candidate for president in Taiwan’s first freely contested popular election in 1996, dies.
: China warns that it will take strong measures if Speaker Pelosi visits Taiwan. The trip is called off when Pelosi tests positive for COVID-19.
: South Korea’s president-elect says he wants nuclear bombers and submarines to return to the Korean Peninsula.
: Department of State notifies Congress that it has agreed to sell Taiwan equipment, training, and other services totaling $95 million to support the island’s Patriot Air Defense System.
: China warns Philippines to avoid “improper measures” for stability in South China Sea.
: Bucha massacre is first reported.
: China extends lockdown in Shanghai after surge in COVID infections.
: China proposes revising confidentiality rules involving offshore listings, removing a legal hurdle to China-US cooperation on audit oversight while putting the onus on Chinese companies to protect state secrets.
: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov visits India from March 31-April 1, 2022 and meets with FM Jaishankar. Lavrov expresses appreciation for India’s neutral stand on Ukraine.
: EU leaders call on China to help end Russia’s war in Ukraine.
: Japan provides emergency grant aid for humanitarian assistance to populations affected by the coup in Myanmar.
: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov visits India from March 31-April 1, 2022 and meets with FM Jaishankar. Lavrov expresses appreciation for India’s neutral stand on Ukraine.
: Department of Defense releases its annual Freedom of Navigation Report for Fiscal Year 2021, which lists excessive maritime claims by 26 claimants, including China.
: In response to US visa restrictions on Chinese officials who are believed to have violated human rights, China imposes reciprocal visa restrictions on US officials “who concocted lies about China’s human rights issues, pushed for sanctions against China and undermined China’s interests.”
: State Department releases the 2022 Hong Kong Policy Act Report, which documents actions by leaders in Hong Kong and China from March 2021 through March 2022 that have further eroded both democratic institutions and human rights.
: US Securities and Exchange Commission places 11 Chinese entities on its provisional or conclusive list of issuers under the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act.
: Secretary Blinken meets Indian FM Jaishankar to discuss bilateral cooperation to address the humanitarian situation in Ukraine, shared efforts in the Indo-Pacific, and the global economy.
: Biden meets Singapore PM Lee Hsien Loong to discuss Asian relations.
: Classified versions of US National Defense Strategy, Nuclear Posture Review, and Missile Defense Review are released. The 2022 National Defense Strategy identifies China as the “most consequential strategic competitor and the pacing challenge for the Department.”
: Kim Jong Un says North Korea will continue to develop “formidable striking capabilities” that cannot be bartered or sold for anything.
: India and Maldives sign a memorandum of understanding to upgrade police infrastructure in archipelago.
: Beijing announces it will host the third regional meeting between foreign ministers of neighboring countries of Afghanistan at the end of the month.
: North Korea says that it successfully test-fired a new ICBM, the Hwasong-17, the previous day on the direct order of leader Kim Jong Un. US and South Korean intelligence later say the ICBM launched by North Korea was actually a Hwasong-15 missile disguised to look like the newer, larger Hwasong-17, according to South Korean military sources.
: Solomon Islands confirms it is drafting a security deal with China.
: South Korean and Japanese authorities say that North Korea has conducted what is likely its largest-ever intercontinental ballistic missile launch.
: North Korea fires an apparent long-range ballistic missile toward the East Sea, says South Korea’s military.
: North Korea fires four suspected projectiles from its multiple rocket launchers into the Yellow Sea, says South Korean military officials.
: PLA spokesperson says the USS Ralph Johnson‘s sail-through of the Taiwan Strait on March 17 is a “provocative” act by the US and sends the wrong signals to pro-Taiwan independence forces.
: South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor opens Indonesia factory, where the company plans to roll out electric vehicles.
: North Korea fires an apparent ballistic missile, but the launch ended in failure, says South Korea’s military.
: USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier leads military exercises in the Yellow Sea, and air defense artillery at Osan air base intensified drills.
: US tells allies in NATO and several Asian countries that China has signaled willingness to provide military and economic aid to Russia, at Moscow’s request, to support its war in Ukraine.
: National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan meets Chinese Communist Party Politburo Member and Director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission Yang Jiechi in Rome and discusses issues in US-China relations, Russia’s war against Ukraine, and the “importance of maintaining open lines of communication between the United States and China.”
: Australia reports that it has stopped an “incursion” by Beijing into the Pacific islands by talking with leaders there weekly and offering vaccine aid.
: Vietnam bans Sony’s action movie Uncharted from domestic distribution over a scene featuring a map that shows a disputed line declared by China to stake its claim to large parts of the South China Sea.
: India claims that it has accidentally fired a missile into Pakistan because of a “technical malfunction” during routine maintenance.
: North Korea appears to be working to restore underground tunnels of its purportedly demolished Punggye-ri nuclear test site.
: Prime Minister Kishida and President-elect Yoon speak on the phone for the first time since Yoon’s victory. They agreed on the importance of improving ties and resolving pending issues. Kishida is the second leader to speak with Yoon, after President Joe Biden.
: Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez says Manila is ready to assist Washington should the war between Russia and Ukraine reach Asia.
: Members of US Congressional Hispanic Caucus urge President Biden to champion vaccine collaboration with India to end the COVID-19 pandemic
: Summitry between President Biden and ASEAN leaders to be held later this month is postponed.
: Vietnam lodges a complaint and urges China to respect its exclusive economic zone and sovereignty after China had earlier announced military drills in the vicinity of China’s Hainan Islands in South China Sea from March 4-15.
: South Korea’s military seizes a North Korean boat that crossed into its waters and fires a warning shot to see off a North Korean patrol vessel that tries to intervene.
: China’s foreign minister announces that it is a “naked double standard” to seek to conflate the issues of Taiwan and Ukraine, claiming the island has always been part of China.
: Analysts say recent photos taken from space show new buildings and other signs of work at North Korea’s nuclear testing facility.
: Three-day 23rd Executive Steering Group Meeting begins in New Delhi between the Indian and US Navies. The meeting discusses bolstering defense relations
: Over 100 Rohingya refugees from Myanmar arrive by boat on the shores of Indonesia’s Aceh province.
: North Korea says it has conducted “another important” test for reconnaissance satellite systems.
: North Korea appears to continue producing fissile materials for nuclear weapons at its main Yongbyon nuclear facility, says a US monitoring website, citing recent satellite imagery of Yongbyon.
: Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank announces that it has put all activities relating to Russia and Belarus on hold and under review in the wake of the conflict in Ukraine.
: Top diplomats of Southeast Asian nations call for an “immediate cease-fire” or “armistice” between Russia and Ukraine, urging continuation of dialogue between the two warring parties.
: Modi participates in a call with Putin to review the situation in Ukraine and emphasize India’s need to evacuate its citizens from Kharkiv amid an assault by Russian forces.
: Cambodia rejects the use or threats of force and does not side with any of the parties in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
: USTR releases its 2021 Annual Report and its Fiscal Year 2022-2026 Strategic Plan, in which one of its objectives is to “pursue strengthened enforcement to ensure that China lives up to its existing trade obligations.”
: A delegation of former senior US defense and security officials sent by President Joe Biden arrive in Taipei.
: South Korea and Singapore unveil sanctions against Russia for invading Ukraine, rare pushback against Moscow in a region that largely avoided taking sides in the conflict.
: Former Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo suggests the US renounce “strategic ambiguity” toward a cross-Strait conflict, saying in unusually direct language that a Taiwan contingency is a Japan contingency.
: South Korea and Japan say that North Korea fired a ballistic missile.
: Modi participates in a call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss the situation in Ukraine.
: US warship sails through the strait separating Taiwan and China.
: United Nations Security Council fails to adopt a draft resolution, submitted by the United States and Albania, intended to end Russia’s military offensive against Ukraine
: Japan strengthens sanctions against Russia to include financial institutions and military equipment exports.
: Based on Biden administration leaks, The New York Times reports that the US shared intelligence with China on Russia’s troop buildup around Ukraine over a three-month period and urged Beijing to tell Putin not to invade. The Chinese dismissed the intelligence and allegedly shared it with Moscow.
: President Biden speaks with Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar about the crisis in Ukraine and the importance of a strong collective response to Russian aggression.
: Indian Prime Minister Modi participates in a call with Russian President Putin, and the prime minister urges an end to the violence in Ukraine.
: Taiwan’s air force scrambles to warn away nine Chinese aircraft that entered its air defense zone on the same day that Russia invaded Ukraine.
: South Korea test-fires a long-range surface-to-air missile.
: China’s foreign ministry asserts that Taiwan is “not Ukraine” and has always been an inalienable part of China.
: India asks for restraint and greater diplomatic effort to prevent military escalation in Ukraine as it prepares to evacuate its citizens.
: China’s foreign ministry denies a US report that a spent rocket booster forecast to crash on the far side of the moon next month was debris from a Chinese lunar mission in 2014.
: China imposes sanctions on US defense firms Raytheon Technology Corporation and Lockheed Martin Corporation in response to their arms sales to Taiwan.
: Australia brands a Chinese navy vessel pointing a laser at one of his nation’s surveillance aircraft off the northern coast an “act of intimidation.”
: Philippines follows New Zealand’s decision to reject inclusion of Myanmar in RCEP.
: Russia and China alter communique being drafted by the G20 to remove a reference to “current” geopolitical tensions clouding the global economic outlook.
: New Zealand says it will not allow Myanmar into RCEP.
: Vietnam announces that it will lift most restrictions on international tourists arriving in the country beginning March 15.
: Secretary of State Blinken and foreign ministers of South Korea and Japan, meeting in Honolulu to discuss North Korea and issues between Japan and South Korea, present a unified front against Pyongyang’s recent missile tests.
: South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong and Japanese Foreign Minister Hayashi hold bilateral talks in Hawaii to discuss North Korea, shared history, and other bilateral issues.
: Hong Kong extends a ban on incoming flights from eight countries, including the United States and Britain, and imposed one on Nepal until March 4.
: President Joe Biden nominates Philip Goldberg a senior member of the foreign service, as ambassador to South Korea.
: White House releases its Indo-Pacific Strategy, which notes the challenges that China poses for the United States.
: Secretary of State Blinken and foreign ministers of Japan, Australia, and India release a joint statement on their fight against COVID-19 and their cooperation “to address regional challenges, including humanitarian assistance and disaster response (HADR), maritime security, counter-terrorism, countering disinformation, and cyber security” as part of the Quad Foreign Ministers meeting.
: Indonesia urges G20 to establish a global body that can dispense emergency funds during a health crisis.
: Taiwan’s foreign ministry expresses support for US Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) and says it will continue to exchange views with Washington on it.
: Japan offers Europe part of its liquefied natural gas imports over fears supplies will be disrupted following a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine.
: China suspends imports of beef from Lithuania. No reason is provided, but the move is the latest in a series of retaliatory measures Beijing has taken against the Baltic state since it allowed a de facto Taiwan embassy to open in its capital.
: Taiwan says that it will relax a ban on Japanese food imports put in place following the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster.
: CSIS reports that North Korea harbors an undisclosed missile base built specifically for a unit equipped with intermediate-range and potentially intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs).
: Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) announces that it has conducted a four-day exercise with the US Navy in the East China Sea to boost joint deterrence capabilities.
: State Department approves a possible arms sale to Taiwan of equipment and services to support the Patriot Air Defense System for an estimated cost of $100 million.
: Singapore President Halimah Yacob meets China’s President Xi Jinping in Beijing and congratulates him on the successful hosting of the Olympic Winter Games.
: Russia agrees to a 30-year contract to supply gas to China via a new pipeline and will settle the new gas sales in euros.
: United States asks Japan if it could divert some LNG to Europe if the Ukraine crisis leads to a disruption of supplies.
: US House of Representatives advances a multibillion-dollar bill aimed at increasing US competitiveness with China and boosting US semiconductor manufacturing.
: RCEP takes effect for South Korea. This 15-member free trade agreement is the first to have both South Korea and Japan as members.
: Japan’s Parliament adopts resolution on the “serious human rights situation” in China and calls on Prime Minister Kishida Fumio’s government to take steps to relieve the situation.
: United States, Britain, and Canada impose sanctions against additional officials in Myanmar.
: Taiwan Vice President William Lai concludes visit to the United States and Honduras with a virtual meeting with US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
: Chinese Foreign Ministry “lodges solemn representation” with the US over meetings between Taiwan’s Vice President Lai and several US officials, including Vice President Kamala Harris in Honduras and a virtual meeting with House Speaker Pelosi.
: North Korea fires ballistic missile toward the East Sea said South Korea’s military. It conducted four other launches earlier this month, including those of what it claimed to be hypersonic missiles.
: United States customs agency has banned imports from Malaysian disposable glove maker YTY Industry Holdings (YTY Group) over suspected forced labor practices.
: China agreed to allow UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCR) Michelle Bachelet to visit Xinjiang in the first half of 2022 after the Beijing Winter Olympic Games.
: China’s ambassador to US warns of conflict over Taiwan.
: North Korea sets off another volley of suspected short-range ballistic or tactical guided missiles.
: US announces it will join the UK, the EU, Australia, and Taiwan at the WTO to challenge China’s trade curbs on Lithuania.
: Prime Minister Narendra Modi hosts first India-Central Asia Summit in a virtual format.
: In an anti-dumping dispute that dates back to 2012, the World Trade Organization rules in China’s favor, permitting it to slap duties on $645 million worth of US imports per year.
: Secretary Blinken holds call with China’s State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi to discuss the Russia-Ukraine situation, health security and climate change. The MFA readout says Wang called on the US to “stop interfering with the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022, stop playing with fire on the Taiwan issue, and stop creating various anti-China ‘small cliques.’”
: US Navy makes arrangements to recover F-35C fighter jet that fell into the South China Sea after the pilot attempted a landing on the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier.
: White House announces the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force, chaired by the Department of Homeland Security, will work to implement the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act and prohibit the importation of goods made by forced labor from China.
: North Korea fires two suspected cruise missiles from an inland area, its fifth such test this year.
: Two US aircraft carrier groups enter South China Sea for training as Taiwan reported a Chinese air force incursion at the top of the waterway including a new electronic warfare jet.
: Taiwan reports largest incursion since October by China’s air force into its air defense zone.
: State Department imposes sanctions on three Chinese entities for engaging in missile-technology proliferation activities.
: US Transportation Department issues order to suspend 44 China-bound flights from the US by four Chinese carriers in response to the Chinese government’s decision to suspend some US carrier flights over COVID-19 concerns.
: Vietnam’s Foreign Ministry officials reject reports from Chinese media that Vietnam has been supporting and arming militia fishing vessels in the maritime dispute.
: China and Russia delay a US effort at the United Nations to impose sanctions on five North Koreans in response to recent missile launches by Pyongyang.
: Russia, China, and Iran hold second joint naval exercises in the Gulf of Oman. They practice sea-lane protection, anti-pirate, and hostage-rescue operations.
: US Special Envoy for North Korea Sung Kim, South Korea’s Special Representative for Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs Noh Kyu-duk, and Director-General of the Japanese Foreign Ministry’s Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau Funakoshi Takehiro hold phone talks to discuss North Korea’s missile launch.
: UN envoy calls on Thailand’s support to prevent a deterioration in the crisis in neighboring Myanmar and welcome assurances that refugees fleeing military operations will be protected by the Thai government.
: Singapore’s prime minister says ASEAN should continue excluding Myanmar’s junta from its meetings until it cooperates on an agreed peace plans.
: Myanmar’s ousted former leader Aung San Suu Kyi and deposed President Win Myint face five additional charges of corruption, each carrying a maximum of 15 years in prison.
: North Korea fires two suspected ballistic missiles eastward, South Korea’s military said, after Pyongyang publicly warned earlier in the day of a “stronger and certain” response to the United States’ imposition of new sanctions.
: Japan donates approximately 2.72 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to Indonesia.
: Inter-governmental Mekong River Commission (MRC) urges China and mainland Southeast Asian countries to better coordinate management of Mekong hydropower dams and reservoirs.
: After nearly two years of border closures to protect North Korea against the pandemic, some humanitarian aid trickles into the country.
: China orders the suspension of six more US flights in the coming weeks after a surge in passengers testing positive for COVID-19.
: Cambodia postpones meeting of ASEAN foreign ministers scheduled for next week because some ministers expressed “difficulties” in attending.
: North Korea fires a suspected ballistic missile toward the East Sea, less than a week after it launched what it claimed to be a hypersonic missile.
: Supreme Court of South Korea dismisses second appeal filed by Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries against the forced sale of two of its patents to compensate forced labor victims.
: Taiwan suspends F-16 training missions after jet crashes into the sea.
: Aung San Suu Kyi faces six years in jail after new sentences from a Myanmar court.
: Secretary of State Blinken says China’s sanctions in December on four US Commission on International Religious Freedom commissioners “constitute yet another PRC affront against universal rights.”
: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visits Sri Lanka as the island nation searches for funds to rebuild foreign exchange reserves and repay debt amid ballooning import bills.
: US agrees to impose stricter COVID-19 measures at US military bases in Japan.
: North Korea fires suspected ballistic missile into the sea off its east coast, in its first such launch since October.
: Australia and Japan sign a treaty to beef up defense and security cooperation at a virtual summit.
: US Navy joins India, Australia, Canada, Republic of Korea, and Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force to begin multinational exercise Sea Dragon 22.
: Taiwan announces launch of All-Out Defense Mobilization Agency to boost capabilities of Taiwan’s reservists.
: Indian Minister of External Affairs Dr. S Jaishankar meets US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to discuss bilateral issues, the Indo-Pacific region, and other global matters.
: Okinawa’s governor criticizes US military over spread of Omicron variant of COVID-19.
: Vietnam urges China to urgently reopen border gates as trade stalls.
: Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement enters into force.
: Chinese defense spokesman urges the United States to cease hostile naval and air force maneuvers against China.
: Taiwanese President Tsai-Ing-wen condemns China for police raids on the Hong Kong offices of pro-democracy media outlet.
: Philippines orders two new warships from South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries.
: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un opens the 4th Plenary Meeting of the 8th Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea.
: President Biden signs 2022 National Defense Authorization Bill into law, which stipulates that the US will “support and legitimize” the National Unity Government in Myanmar.
: New UN special envoy on Myanmar Dr Noeleen Heyzer, expresses concern about escalating violence in Myanmar and calls for a new year’s ceasefire to facilitate humanitarian aid.
: Xinjiang’s newly appointed leader pledges to maintain focus on social stability in the far western region, where human rights practices have fed international criticism and boycotts.
: Taiwan looks to create a semiconductor task force for Lithuania as the two broaden ties in the face of China’s economic and political coercion.
: More than 10,000 Russian troops return to permanent bases after month-long drills near Ukraine.
: China’s regulatory body unveils a draft of new rules for domestic firms to raise funds overseas, allowing them to do so after registering with the regulator.
: Myanmar military attacks village of Mo So in Kayah State, killing 25 civilians. Among the burned bodies were several women and children and two international aid workers.
: Japanese Cabinet approves a 1% increase in the FY 2022 defense budget to $291 billion.
: Solomon Islands says China will send police officers to help train its police force.
: Germany dispatches warship to the South China Sea in an attempt to expand military deployments in Asia.
: President Biden signs into law the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, which bans all imports from China’s Xinjiang region and imposes sanctions on foreign individuals responsible for force labor in the region.
: Senior South Korean diplomats hold talks with Chinese counterparts after a diplomatic spat with Taiwan.
: Beijing announces sanctions against four members of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom in response to Washington’s latest sanctions targeting China’s Xinjiang policies on Dec. 10.
: Taiwan lodged a protest with South Korea after a conference invitation to one of its ministers was rescinded over “cross-Strait issues.”
: A Myanmar junta court postpones its verdict in Aung San Suu Kyi’s trial for illegally importing and possessing walkie talkies.
: State Department releases the Hong Kong Autonomy Act Report to Congress, which underscores US concerns about the PRC’s continued efforts to undermine the democratic institutions in Hong Kong and erode Hong Kong’s autonomy in its judiciary, civil service, press, and academic institutions.
: China blocks a US draft resolution in the UN Security Council that provides a system for humanitarian exceptions to economic sanctions imposed on Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.
: Japanese PM Kishida announces that he is extending the ban on foreign visitors to Japan until at least early 2022.
: China vows o take all necessary measures to safeguard its institutions and enterprises after the US Senate passed a new law barring imports from the Xinjiang region.
: Hundreds of Myanmar villagers fled to Thailand after junta troops clashed with an ethnic rebel group.
: US Commerce Department hits several Chinese companies with export restrictions due to national security reasons.
: Treasury Department adds eight Chinese companies—including DJI, the world’s largest commercial drone manufacturer—to an investment blacklist for actively supporting the “surveillance and tracking” of Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities in China.
: Secretary Blinken cuts short his trip to Southeast Asia due to a COVID-19 case among his traveling party.
: Indonesia cites strong US commitment as Secretary of State Blinken starts ASEAN tour.
: South Korean Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki says his government will begin the process to join the CPTPP, joining a growing list of applicants that includes China and Taiwan.
: At the G7 meeting, the UK Foreign Secretary stresses the importance of working with ASEAN countries and aims to forge closer tech, economic and security ties.
: On Human Rights Day, the US Treasury Department imposes investment restrictions on the Chinese company SenseTime, and sanctions two Chinese individuals over alleged oppression of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang. State Department designates four current and former senior PRC officials in Xinjiang for their involvement in arbitrary detention of Uyghurs. The US designates a number of entities in China and Russia for violating UNSC resolutions that prohibit UN member states from employing or hosting North Korean workers.
: Thirteen Chinese air force planes enter Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ).
: Department of State issues a statement on the announcement by Nicaragua that it is breaking ties with Taiwan and establishing diplomatic relations with the PRC.
: US imposes an arms embargo and new export restrictions on Cambodia over the growing influence of China’s military in the country.
: New Zealand’s Defence Force warns of the increasing security threat posed by China to the country and its neighbors.
: Senate Foreign Relations Committee holds hearing on “The Future of U.S. Policy on Taiwan,” with witnesses Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink and Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs Ely Ratner.
: Nearly 100 Japanese lawmakers from several political parties visit Yasukuni Shrine, prompting the South Korean government to express “deep concern and regret.”
: Biden administration announces US diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing.
: A court in military-ruled Myanmar finds deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi guilty of charges of incitement and breaching coronavirus restrictions.
: Russia and India sign a flurry of trade and arms deals during President Putin’s visit to New Delhi for talks with Prime Minister Modi.
: Lowy Institute’s Asia Power Index projects that the next century will be dominated by the US and China.
: Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin delivers a speech titled “The China Challenge” at the 2021 Reagan National Defense Forum.
: Russia and ASEAN conclude their first joint naval exercise as the region faces rising tensions with China.
: US says it is keeping South Korea on its list of countries to be monitored for currency practices.
: India-Russia ties deepen amid mutual concerns including Afghanistan.
: Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen offers support for his eldest son as his potential successor.
: Top diplomats of South Korea and five Central Asian nations gather at a regional forum in Tajikistan to explore ways to expand cooperation and promote economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
: China tells Indonesia to stop drilling for oil and natural gas in maritime territory that both countries regard as their own during a months-long standoff in the South China Sea.
: Myanmar’s military government files a new corruption charge against deposed civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi and former President Win Myint.
: Myanmar’s navy seizes a boat carrying 228 Rohingya and arrests all on board, after members of the persecuted Muslim minority group try to leave the country.
: Taiwan’s air force scrambles to warn away 27 Chinese aircraft that entered its air defense zone.
: Japanese government approves a supplementary budget increase defense spending for FY 2021 to $52,8 billion, or 1.09% of GDP, the highest percentage in a decade.
: Five members of US House of Representatives arrive in Taiwan for a short trip expected to focus on security matters, the second time in a month US lawmakers have visited.
: India and China win two posts as delegates for Asia to the Executive Committee of the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL).
: Biden administration invites Taiwan to its “Summit for Democracy” in December, infuriating China.
: China’s birthrate plummets to lowest level seen in official annual data going back to 1978, as the government struggles to stave off a looming demographic crisis.
: During the fifth edition of the East Asia Summit (EAS) on Maritime Security Cooperation, India expresses its commitment toward the vision of a free, open, inclusive and rules-based Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI).
: Chinese President Xi Jinping meets regional counterparts in a virtual summit marking the 30th anniversary of ASEAN-China dialogue relations.
: Chinese leader Xi Jinping says his country will not seek dominance over Southeast Asia or bully its smaller neighbors amid ongoing friction over the South China Sea.
: “Taiwanese Representative Office in Lithuania” officially opens. This is the first representative office in Europe that uses the name “Taiwanese.”
: Chinese envoy lobbies Southeast Asian nations to let Myanmar’s military ruler attend a regional summit being hosted by China’s president next week.
: Japanese Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa stresses the importance of peace and stability between China and Taiwan and expresses “serious concern” about the situation in Hong Kong and China’s Xinjiang region.
: US designates North Korea as a state violator of religious freedom.
: Thailand’s legislature shoots down a draft bill aimed at strengthening democracy and at weakening military’s political role.
: Speaking to reporters in New Hampshire, Biden says Taiwan “makes its own decisions,” and is “independent.” Hours later Biden amends his statement, saying “we are not encouraging independence.”
: Richardson returns to Myanmar to meet with Gen. Min Aung Hlaing and to negotiate the release of Danny Fenster, a US journalist who had been detained following the February coup.
: US and China simultaneously release detained citizens from each country. Daniel Hsu is allowed to leave China and seven Chinese nationals convicted of crimes in the US are sent back to China.
: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits a new city being built near the border with China and a sacred mountain revered by his family in his first public appearance in more than a month.
: Thousands of Thais take to the streets of Bangkok demanding reform of the monarchy, defying a court ruling that such demands are a veiled attempt to overthrow the institution.
: Biden, Xi, and leaders of APEC member economies conclude their virtual APEC Leaders’ Meeting, agreeing on a series of commitments regarding the coronavirus pandemic, economic recovery, and climate change mitigation.
: South Korea’s main opposition presidential candidate says he will strengthen military cooperation with the United States and Japan if elected to better cope with North Korea’s nuclear threat and strive to make the North a leading foreign policy priority for the U.S.
: Senior US and South Korean diplomats discuss how to restart stalled talks with North Korea, days after the North conducted artillery firing drills in its latest weapons tests.
: US national security advisor Jake Sullivan says the “stiff competition” between the United States and China in the Indo-Pacific does not have to turn into a new Cold War, describing the United States as “doubling down” on its presence in the region.
: UN Security Council expresses deep concern over increased violence across Myanmar and calls for an immediate end to fighting and for the military to exercise utmost restraint.
: Secretary Blinken says the US and its allies would “take action” if China uses force to alter the status quo over Taiwan.
: Pacific Rim senior officials agree to make coronavirus vaccines more accessible and reduce carbon emissions at the APEC forum.
: Australia pledges more than 3 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to Cambodia.
: Leaders of APEC focus on economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, emphasizing supply chain support and decarbonizing economies, at virtual talks this week.
: In an interview with CNN, US national security adviser Jake Sullivan says that US is seeking coexistence with China rather than containment or a new cold war.
: North Korean mechanized troops hold artillery fire competition as part of efforts to boost defense capabilities.
: China-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) says it will continue to finance developing countries to acquire COVID-19 vaccines.
: ASEAN Secretariat announced that the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement will enter into force on Jan. 1, 2022.
: Bill Richardson, former US ambassador to the United Nations, visits Myanmar on a private humanitarian mission to encourage the regime to allow the distribution of aid and to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. In doing so, he secures the release from prison of Aye Moe, a former employee of the Richardson Center for Human Rights.
: ADB launches a plan to speed the closure of coal-fired power plants in Indonesia and the Philippines to lower the biggest source of carbon emissions.
: ADB wins commitments of $665 million to support climate-related projects in Southeast Asia.
: Japanese Prime Minister Kishida signals that he will pursue policies aimed at deterring China, addressing climate change, and accelerating recovery from the pandemic.
: US expresses concern about increased military operations in parts of Myanmar, including Chin state, where it said more than 100 homes and churches had been destroyed.
: Secretary Blinken and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi meet in Rome, on the margins of the G20, where Blinken reaffirms US’ one-China stand on Taiwan and both sides reaffirm the need to keep communication lines open.
: China submits renewed emissions cutting plan that promises to peak carbon pollution before 2030.
: Australia rejects a push by the US and the European Union to join a global pact to cut methane emissions, expected to be announced at the crucial COP26 summit.
: Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen confirms the presence of US military trainers in Taiwan during a CNN interview.
: Speaking at a virtual East Asia Summit, President Biden calls China’s actions toward Taiwan a threat to peace and stability and reiterates that US support for Taiwan is “rock-solid.” He reaffirms US support for human rights in Xinjiang and Tibet, and for the rights of the people of Hong Kong.
: Secretary of State Blinken urges United Nations member states to support Taiwan’s “robust, meaningful participation throughout the UN system.”
: Japan and China extend a currency swap arrangement, signed in 2018, for three years to October 2024.
: Leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will continue to push Myanmar’s military junta to allow the group’s special envoy to visit the country.
: Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) finance ministers agree to step up efforts to expand COVID-19 vaccine manufacture and supply and work together to ensure a sustainable and inclusive recovery.
: Speaking at a CNN town hall event, Biden answers the question if the US “would come to Taiwan’s defense if China attacked” with “Yes, we have a commitment to do that.” White House press secretary Jen Psaki later walks back Biden’s statement that the US is committed to defending Taiwan should it come under Chinese attack, sayingUS policy “has not changed.”
: South Korea launches first homemade rocket, which officials call an important step toward placing domestically made satellites in orbit to better monitor growing threats from North Korea.
: United States offers to meet North Korea without preconditions and says Washington has no hostile intent toward Pyongyang.
: Philippines issues a diplomatic protest over Chinese vessels challenging its ships patrolling the South China Sea with sirens, horns, and radio communications.
: North Korea fires a suspected submarine-launched missile into waters off Japan.
: Myanmar will release a total of 5,636 prisoners jailed for protesting the coup that ousted the civilian government.
: Malaysia and Indonesia share strong reservations over Australia’s decision to acquire nuclear-powered submarines, even though nuclear weapons were not part of the plan.
: Prime Minister Kishida sends ritual offering to the Yasukuni Shrine.
: China’s military condemns the United States and Canada for each sending a warship through the Taiwan Strait.
: Russian and Chinese warships conduct the first ever joint patrol in the western part of the Pacific Ocean.
: Myanmar’s junta says it is “extremely disappointed” with ASEAN’s decision to exclude its leader Min Aung Hlaing from an upcoming summit.
: Southeast Asia’s foreign ministers decide not to invite Myanmar’s military leader to an ASEAN annual summit.
: Biden condemns the “oppression and use of forced labor of the Uyghurs in Xinjiang” in a speech at the dedication ceremony for the University of Connecticut’s new Dodd Center for Human Rights.
: Satellite pictures surface showing China upgrading military air sites near Taiwan.
: Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Dewey (DDG 105) conducts Taiwan Strait transit in cooperation with Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) Halifax-class frigate, HMCS Winnipeg.
: ASEAN Special Envoy for Myanmar Erywan Yusof cancels his planned trip to Myanmar after the junta refuses access to Aung San Suu Kyi and other leaders of the National League for Democracy under detention.
: Myanmar’s ruling military allows a special Southeast Asian envoy to visit the country but does not allow him to meet detained former leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
: Britain reaffirms an Asia “tilt” as a new warship makes a stop at Singapore.
: Spokespersons for the two militaries say talks between Indian and Chinese army commanders to disengage troops from key friction areas along their border have failed.
: China and Taiwan trade barbed comments over the future of the island territory.
: Japan’s Prime Minister Kishida agrees in his first talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping since taking office on the need to work together on issues of shared concern.
: Senior French senator says Taiwan should be called a country, doubling down on earlier comments that have angered Beijing.
: Asian Development Bank announces plans to create funds to facilitate early closures of coal-fired power plants in Southeast Asia.
: US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman visits India to exchange views on regional issues pertaining to the Indo-Pacific region.
: Biden announces that he has spoken to President Xi about Taiwan and they agreed to abide by the “Taiwan agreement.”
: Japan’s new Prime Minister Fumio Kishida says he will call a general election on Oct 31.
: Southeast Asian countries voice disappointment about army-ruled Myanmar’s commitment to an agreed peace plan.
: Taiwanese Foreign Minister warns his country is preparing for war with China and asks Australia for help.
: US voices concern regarding China’s increasing military activity near Taiwan and adds that China’s military pressure against Taiwan undermines regional peace and stability.
: President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines says that he would retire rather than pursue the vice presidency next year.
: North Korea announces it testfired a new type of anti-aircraft missile. The latest launch marks North Korea’s seventh major weapons test this year.
: Taiwan says 25 Chinese fighter jets, including nuclear-capable bombers, entered its defense zone on a day Beijing marked its national day.
: Report from the Lowy Institute shows China’s aid to the Pacific Island countries has declined in recent years.
: North Korea test-fires a newly developed hypersonic missile, joining a race headed by major military powers to deploy the advanced weapons system.
: Kishida Fumio is elected president of Japan’s majority Liberal Democratic Party, and by extension its new prime minister.
: World Bank downgrades growth forecasts for most countries in East Asia and the Pacific region as economies slowed on the back of COVID-19.
: White House says a near-simultaneous release of top Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou and two Canadians, detained shortly after her arrest, is not a prisoner swap.
: North Korea fires unidentified projectile into the East Sea, days after Pyongyang held out the prospect of an inter-Korean summit if the South drops “double standards.”
: Xi Jinping congratulates Eric Chu on his election as KMT chairman and welcoming the KMT’s commitment to the 1992 Consensus.
: Taiwan Strait situation is “complex and grim,” Chinese President Xi Jinping writes in a congratulatory letter to the newly elected leader of the KMT.
: North Korea says it will consider a summit with South Korea if mutual respect between the neighbors can be assured.
: Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs releases a fact sheet on US interference in Hong Kong affairs and support for anti-China, destabilizing forces.
: China releases Canadians Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig after nearly three years of detention, lending weight to suspicions that their arrests were retaliation for Meng’s arrest.
: Leaders of the Quad release a statement outlining their cooperation in areas including pandemic response, climate change, and critical and emerging technologies.
: Taiwan’s air force scrambles to warn off 19 Chinese aircraft that entered its air defense zone.
: US Vice President Kamala Harris meets Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and stresses the importance of a free and open Indo-Pacific region.
: US prosecutors announce that they are dropping their extradition request against Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou and that she will be released, almost three years after Canadian authorities arrested her on bank and wire fraud charges at the US’ behest. Meng is officially released the following day.