China
Chinese container ships pass through Strait of Hormuz at second attempt, data shows. Two Chinese container ships crossed the Strait of Hormuz on Monday on their second attempt after turning back on Friday, according to ship tracking data. Kpler said they were the first non-Iranian container vessels to leave the Gulf since the war began. A Greek-operated tanker carrying Saudi crude for India also exited, while Indian-flagged LPG tankers made crossings, offering signs that limited traffic is resuming through the waterway this week. Jonathan Saul, Renee Maltezou, Nerijus Adomaitis, and Aizhu Chen, Reuters, March 30
China’s factory activity seen returning to expansion in March: Reuters poll. China’s factory activity was forecast to return to growth in March, with a Reuters poll of 28 economists putting the official manufacturing PMI at 50.1 after 49.0 in February. Strong goods exports have supported production, but supply chain disruption from the Iran war and higher oil costs threaten margins. Analysts also see the private sector RatingDog manufacturing PMI easing to 51.6 from 52.1 while policy support continues for the economy. Yukun Zhang and Ryan Woo, Reuters, March 30
China steps up North Korea connections as regular Beijing-Pyongyang flights resume. Air China resumed direct Beijing to Pyongyang passenger service on Monday, a step that underlines warmer bilateral China-North Korea ties after passenger trains returned this month. The Boeing 737 left Beijing around 8 a.m. and arrived in Pyongyang at 10:40 a.m., with the return leaving around noon. China’s ambassador Wang Yajun called the route a landmark in aviation cooperation and a bridge for travel, commerce and cultural exchange between the countries. Vanessa Cai, South China Morning Post, March 30
China sanctions aide of Japan PM Takaichi for Taiwan trips. China sanctioned Japanese lawmaker Keiji Furuya, a close aide to Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, over what it called collusion with Taiwan independence forces after his visits to Taiwan. Tokyo called the move unacceptable and demanded a reversal. Furuya, who leads a Japan-Taiwan lawmakers group and met President Lai Ching-te this month, said the action would not matter. Beijing said Taiwan remains a core interest and red line in its foreign policy. Liz Lee, Kantaro Komiya, Reuters, March 30
Japan
Japan’s parliament passes emergency ¥8.56 trillion stopgap budget. Lawmakers passed an emergency ¥8.56 trillion stopgap budget to fund basic services through April 11 after the government dropped plans to enact the ¥122.3 trillion fiscal 2026 budget by the end of March. The temporary measure was the first in 11 years. Cross-party support carried the bill after an election last month left less time for debate, with the main budget still under Upper House review. Eric Johnston, The Japan Times, March 30.
Japan boosts efforts for multination coalition to ensure safety in Strait of Hormuz. Tokyo is stepping up work on a coalition of countries seeking safe navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital route for crude oil shipments. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is urging other governments to join a joint statement on safe passage. Japan seeks to show diplomatic commitment to President Donald Trump as pressure grows on Iran over its blockade of the Strait. The Japan Times, March 30.
LDP gives up on last-minute approval for fiscal 2026 plan. The Liberal Democratic Party abandoned hopes of passing the fiscal 2026 budget by March 31 after the Diet approved a provisional budget worth about ¥8.6 trillion to cover the first 11 days of April. Opposition lawmakers joined the ruling coalition in backing the stopgap measure. LDP and Constitutional Democratic Party officials agreed to continue Upper House budget deliberations on April 1 and April 2. The Asahi Shimbun, March 30
South Korea
South Korea considers nationwide driving curbs as oil prices soar. South Korea is weighing wider driving restrictions if crude oil rises to $120 to $130 a barrel, extending curbs beyond public institutions to the general public for the first time since the 1991 Gulf War. Officials said the government would weigh supply conditions and economic factors before acting. South Korea imports about 70% of its crude from the Middle East and is considering fuel tax cuts as household pressure builds. Kyu-seok Shim and Hyunjoo Jin, Reuters, March 30
President to hold summits with Indonesian, French leaders in Seoul. President Lee Jae Myung will host Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto and French President Emmanuel Macron in Seoul this week for state visits focused on defense, supply chains, artificial intelligence, energy security and the Middle East. Talks with Prabowo are expected to center on the KF-21 fighter partnership and possible Indonesian purchases. Lee and Macron are set to mark 140 years of diplomatic ties and discuss nuclear, space and shipping cooperation. Yi Whan-woo, The Korea Times, March 30.
U.N. Human Rights Council adopts resolution on N. Korea’s human rights. The U.N. Human Rights Council adopted this year’s resolution on North Korea’s human rights by consensus at its 61st regular session, with South Korea and 49 other countries as co-sponsors. Seoul said the text recognizes efforts to resume dialogue and notes some cases of North Korean compliance with human rights obligations. The resolution condemns widespread abuses, urges immediate steps to end them, and calls for detainee releases and family reunions. Kim Seung-yeon, Yonhap News Agency, March 30.
2027 fiscal policy to potentially reach 800 tln won with goal of AI transformation. South Korea said its 2027 budget could approach 800 trillion won as it pursues an expansionary fiscal policy to speed an economy-wide shift toward artificial intelligence. Cabinet guidelines call for stronger support for advanced industries, semiconductors, regional hubs, startups, and vulnerable sectors. The government also plans a national growth fund, a semiconductor account, and spending restructuring, while seeking to cut mandatory spending by 10% and discretionary spending by 15% Kim Han-joo, Yonhap News Agency, March 30
North Korea
North Koreans speculate on succession as Kim Ju Ae drives tank in state media footage. North Koreans reacted after state media showed Kim Ju Ae driving a tank during a March 19 exercise, with many linking the images to succession planning around Kim Jong Un. A source in South Pyongan said the tank scene drew more attention than earlier photos of her firing weapons. Older people tended to accept the message, while younger viewers questioned whether the display was meant to shape propaganda around a future transfer of power. Lee Chae Eun, Daily NK, March 30
Thailand
PM submits cabinet line-up for approval. Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul submitted his cabinet list for royal endorsement after vetting, aiming to present a policy statement to parliament before Songkran. The proposed cabinet would have 36 positions, with some ministers expected to stay for continuity. The policy document, planned for April 7 to 9, centers on the Thailand 10 Plus strategy, built around growth, competitiveness, debt management, industrial development, and contingency planning for disasters and security risks. Mongkol Bangprapa, Bangkok Post, March 30.
Court seeks evidence in ballot dispute. Thailand’s Constitutional Court is gathering evidence in a case over ballot papers carrying barcodes and QR codes after accepting a petition forwarded by the Ombudsman. Court president Nakharin Mektrairat said the Election Commission and Ombudsman must submit statements, evidence, and sourcing details. Judges will decide if hearings are needed. Relevant agencies and individuals have 15 days to clarify whether the design violates constitutional rules or ballot secrecy under Thai law. Bangkok Post, March 30
Myanmar
Myanmar junta chief in line for presidency as military seeks to maintain power. Min Aung Hlaing stepped down as Myanmar's armed forces chief to seek the presidency, moving from military rule toward a civilian structure shaped by the generals after a disputed election. Lawmakers in the lower house nominated him for vice president, one step in the process for choosing a president. He handed command to Ye Win Oo, a former intelligence chief and trusted loyalist, as civil war continues across the country. Devjyot Ghoshal, Reuters, March 30
Myanmar junta chief installs loyalist Ye Win Oo as military commander. Min Aung Hlaing named General Ye Win Oo as Myanmar’s new military chief, passing over senior deputy Soe Win as he moves toward the presidency. Analysts said the choice keeps power with Min Aung Hlaing because Ye Win Oo is a trusted loyalist without a strong battlefield record. Ye Win Oo led military intelligence after the coup and now commands the armed forces under his patron’s close watch and trust. Maung Kavi, The Irrawaddy, March 30
Myanmar junta chief purges heir to military helm as presidency beckons. As Min Aung Hlaing prepares to become president, he has sidelined Vice Senior-General Soe Win, the expected successor to lead the military, and elevated loyal spy chief Ye Win Oo instead. The move removed Soe Win as deputy commander in chief and may send him to the new Union Consultative Council. Analysts said Min Aung Hlaing chose control over seniority and popularity inside the armed forces as he seeks civilian office. The Irrawaddy, March 30
Cambodia
Cambodia says 'no land ceding' to neighbor, only land demarcation. Cambodia rejected claims that it offered land to Thailand in exchange for peace, calling online statements false. The foreign ministry said Phnom Penh seeks border demarcation under existing treaties, laws, and joint mechanisms. It said any land found beyond the agreed line must be returned by either side. Cambodia accused Thai forces of using force, barbed wire, and containers to seize areas it considers its own. Meng Seavmey, Cambodianess, March 30
Indonesia
Indonesia, U.N. to meet after peacekeeper killed in Lebanon. Indonesia will meet the U.N. peace operations chief after a projectile killed peacekeeper Farizal Rhomadhon at a UNIFIL position in southern Lebanon. Foreign Minister Sugiono said Jakarta wants a full investigation and is coordinating the repatriation of the soldier’s body. Three other Indonesian personnel were wounded, including one with severe injuries. Indonesia, one of UNIFIL’s largest contributors, has 756 personnel in the mission and is weighing calls for withdrawal. Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta Globe, March 30
Malaysia
PM Anwar to chair economic council meeting on West Asia conflict tomorrow. Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim will chair the National Economic Action Council on March 31 to discuss responses to the West Asia conflict and its effect on Malaysia’s food security. Deputy Agriculture and Food Security Minister Chan Foong Hin said fisheries and crop sectors face pressure from the crisis, which has driven an energy shock and higher oil prices. He said disruption in the Strait of Hormuz has exposed risks to fuel and food supply chains, while the government prepares measures for possible worst-case conditions. Malay Mail, March 30
Taiwan
U.S. agrees to HIMARS payment delay; talks on other systems ongoing: MND. The United States agreed to Taiwan's request to delay the first HIMARS payment beyond March 30 as Taipei faces a budget impasse. Defense Minister Wellington Koo said talks are underway on similar deferrals for M109A7 howitzers, TOW missiles, and Javelin missiles. Initial payments for the four systems total about $79 million. The weapons were part of a $11.1 billion arms sale package announced by Washington for Taiwan last December. Matt Yu and Joseph Yeh, Focus Taiwan, March 30
Taiwan probes 11 Chinese firms for illegal poaching of tech talent. Taiwan launched investigations into 11 Chinese companies accused of recruiting semiconductor and other high-tech engineers on the island without approval. Authorities searched 49 sites, questioned 90 people, and said the firms hid Chinese ownership through shell companies or unauthorized offices. The probe reflects concern over technology leakage as Beijing pushes semiconductor self-reliance. A task force created in late 2020 has handled more than 100 similar recruitment and business cases. Wen-Yee Lee, Reuters, March 30.
US lawmakers urge Taiwan to pass stalled $40 billion defence budget. U.S. lawmakers visiting Taipei urged parliament to pass President Lai Ching-te’s extra $40 billion defence budget, warning that a delay could weaken deterrence against Chinese military pressure. Senator John Curtis said Washington expects Taiwan to invest alongside American support, while Senator Jeanne Shaheen cited concern over rising activity from Beijing. The opposition-controlled legislature remains in debate over the package, though it has approved four U.S. arms deals worth $9 billion total. Yimou Lee, Fabian Hamacher, Ben Blanchard, Liz Lee, and Ann Wang, Reuters, March 30.
Taiwan’s opposition leader to visit China next month, ahead of Trump. Kuomintang chairwoman Cheng Li-wun will visit China from April 7 to 12 after an invitation from Xi Jinping, in a trip scheduled before Donald Trump’s planned May visit to Beijing. Cheng said she wants the trip to begin a period of trust and help cross-strait peace and stability. The announcement comes as Taiwan’s government presses the opposition-led legislature to approve defence spending and Beijing refuses contact with President Lai Ching-te. Ben Blanchard, Reuters, March 30
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan tests Trans-Caspian route for flour exports to U.S. Kazakhstan has launched a pilot export corridor for flour shipments to the United States through the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, testing a new logistics path for finished goods. The 24-ton cargo moved from Kostanay through Aktau, Alyat, Poti, Istanbul, and the Atlantic to New York with CMA CGM handling the maritime leg. Officials said the trial supports efforts to expand sales and assess whether the route can become commercial. Dauren Moldakhmetov, The Times of Central Asia, March 30
Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan moves toward power consolidation ahead of 2027 election. Kyrgyzstan’s leadership is moving to tighten control before the January 2027 presidential election as staff changes, legal cases, and state company probes reshape the political field. Analysts linked the February removal of Kamchybek Tashiyev to efforts to manage elite tensions and secure stability. Debate over past prosecutions, media cases, and Kyrgyzneftegaz investigations has added pressure as President Sadyr Japarov stresses unity and institutional continuity ahead of the vote. Andrei Matveev, The Times of Central Asia, March 30
East Asia
Tracking Chinese Investments in Overseas Industrial Parks. Chinese firms have built and financed 194 overseas industrial park projects over three decades, with 145 in operation or under construction and 16 canceled or suspended. Most projects come from private firms, with state-owned enterprises accounting for a large share. Investment follows market access, demand, infrastructure, trade routes, and at times strategic goals, with project announcements rising after the 2013 Belt and Road Initiative. Sub-Saharan Africa leads in active projects, followed by Southeast Asia, and many sites sit near ports and airports that deepen trade links. The tracker shows that project outcomes rest on local economic conditions, as seen in the pullback from the Russian Far East after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Zongyuan Zoe Liu, Council on Foreign Relations, March 30
For China’s officials, the goal was once growth. Now it’s loyalty. Xi Jinping has recast cadre evaluation away from growth targets and toward political performance defined by his own priorities, language, and style. Local officials have stopped chasing GDP overshoots, and environmental goals have not replaced growth as the main test. Instead, party campaigns and promotion incentives reward alignment with Xi’s slogans, speeches, and model behavior. Vague standards make loyalty more important than measurable output and push cadres to study Xi, mimic his habits, and show discipline through work style and career choices. The change gives Xi a stronger hold over the bureaucracy, but it leaves officials guided less by objective metrics than by conformity to the leader. The Economist, March 30
What the Iran War Means for China. Beijing sees a weaker United States as useful only if the global system stays stable. War with Iran threatens China less through oil scarcity than through disorder that can disrupt shipping, energy flows, trade, finance, and the conditions China needs for growth. China’s calls for a ceasefire and refusal to take on a security role reflect a strategy of risk control, not passivity. Beijing wants access to Middle East markets and energy without the burdens of regional policing. A distracted Washington also does not create a clear Taiwan opening because a less stable United States may rely more on force and make any clash far riskier. Zongyuan Zoe Liu, Foreign Affairs, March 30
China’s Major-Country Diplomacy Leaves No Room for European Characteristics. Beijing’s major-country diplomacy places supreme weight on leader-centered ties, state sovereignty, and examples set by top rulers. Xi Jinping’s system treats summit statements as guidance for lower ranks and prizes head of state diplomacy in relations with powers such as Russia and the United States. That framework leaves the European Union at a structural disadvantage because Beijing does not see EU institutions or most European leaders as peers able to strike lasting deals. Talks with Brussels struggle for that reason, not only from policy gaps. Europe’s better option is to shape China’s choices through material pressure, industrial resilience, and stronger ties in China’s neighborhood instead of waiting for summit diplomacy to produce major bargains. Sense Hofstede, chinaobservers, March 30
Japan is preparing for the worst. Taiwan is just preparing excuses. Japan has raised defense spending, strengthened its military, expanded nuclear power, and framed security policy as national defense in terms the public accepts. Taiwan faces a harder picture. Chinese aircraft pressure has intensified, the legislature has blocked a major defense budget, energy reserves are thin, U.S. weapons deliveries lag, drone output is small, and opposition messaging echoes Beijing’s peace narrative. Public dysfunction weakens deterrence and feeds Chinese information warfare. Breaking legislative deadlock, restoring energy resilience, building defense production, and contesting hostile narratives are presented as urgent steps if Taiwan is to remain an asset to allies rather than a liability. Kolas Yotaka, Nikkei Asia, March 30
Defense in a democracy: Political competition and Taiwan’s special defense budget. President Lai Ching-te’s proposed $40 billion special defense budget faces resistance from an opposition-led legislature, showing how Taiwan’s defense planning is shaped by party competition, social spending demands, and split control of government. Special budgets fund large acquisitions and are easier to block than regular military spending, which gives the Kuomintang leverage to shrink or redirect Lai’s plan. The party has offered a smaller package centered on U.S. systems already in the pipeline. The dispute does not erase a larger change. Taiwan’s defense spending has risen for more than a decade, public concern about China has grown, and a compromise budget still looks likely. Drew Thompson, Brookings, March 30
Kim Yo Jong’s Discourse as Signaling: Managing External Interpretation in DPRK Foreign Policy. Kim Yo Jong’s public statements serve as tools for North Korea to shape foreign policy interpretation toward South Korea and the United States. A review of 67 statements from 2020 to February 2026 groups her discourse into expectation management, value statements, warnings, threats, and strategic silence. The pattern shows that harsh language need not signal action, while silence can mark uncertainty and preserve room for choice. Her messages address outside readings of North Korea’s intentions, nuclear status, and inter-Korean ties, not events in isolation. This role lets Kim Jong Un apply pressure through her voice while keeping distance from public overcommitment. Donghyuk Shin, 38 North, March 30
Southeast Asia
Iran Conflict Highlights Vietnam’s Energy Security and Foreign Policy Vulnerabilities. War in the Gulf exposes Vietnam’s weak energy buffer and the foreign policy balancing that comes with dependence on imported fuel. Fuel shortages, price spikes, and pressure on tourism, construction, and growth have pushed Hanoi to create an energy security task force, diversify imports, and seek supply assurances from the UAE, Qatar, Angola, Japan, South Korea, and Russia. The strain may speed moves toward nuclear power, renewable energy, electric vehicles, and larger oil reserves. It may force a rethink of LNG plans tied to U.S. sourcing. Greater reliance on Russian oil, gas, and nuclear cooperation could complicate ties with Washington and Europe. Le Hong Hiep, FULCRUM, March 30
South Asia
Sri Lanka’s counterterrorism reform falls short. Sri Lanka’s proposed Protection of the State from Terrorism Act fails to deliver the reform promised after the 2024 election and repeats core defects of the Prevention of Terrorism Act. The draft uses a broad definition of terrorism that can capture ordinary crimes and expand use against critics, civil society, and minorities. It gives armed forces wide search and seizure powers on suspicion, permits long deferral deals with weak consent rules, and grants major powers to the president, police, and defence officials. These features threaten rights protections, weaken transitional justice, and place Sri Lanka at odds with United Nations and European Union demands tied to human rights commitments and GSP+ trade access. Niki Siampakou, East Asia Forum, March 30