China
China’s Fujian carrier leaves port, adding to signs it will soon enter service. China’s third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, departed Jiangnan Shipyard after a three-month maintenance period, fueling expectations of imminent commissioning. Unlike previous trials, the ship showed signs of operational readiness, including a cleaned hull, a cleared deck, and fueling by a naval oiler. Its supporting aircraft were recently showcased in a military parade. Enoch Wong, South China Morning Post, September 11
Chinese, U.S. top diplomats, defense chiefs hold phone talks. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio held a phone call urging adherence to head-of-state consensus and warning against U.S. interference in China’s core interests, especially Taiwan. A separate call between defense ministers echoed calls for stable military ties and mutual respect. Global Times, September 11
Defense, military leaders from over 100 countries and organizations to attend 12th Beijing Xiangshan Forum. Delegates from over 100 nations and organizations, including Russia, the US, and Germany, will attend the Beijing Xiangshan Forum from September 17–19. The agenda includes global security governance, major-power relations, and arms control. Officials will also visit a defense technology expo highlighting China's rising international military influence. Guo Yuandan and Liu Xin, Global Times, September 11
Japan
Ex-minister Kobayashi says to run in Japan's ruling party leadership race. Former economic security minister Takayuki Kobayashi announced his candidacy for the Liberal Democratic Party’s leadership, aiming to succeed outgoing Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. Kobayashi, 50, joins former Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi in the race, with Sanae Takaichi and Yoshimasa Hayashi also expected to contend. The election is scheduled for October 4. Kyodo News, September 11
Japan lawmakers call on government to recognize Palestinian state. A nonpartisan group of Japanese lawmakers submitted a petition with 206 signatures urging the government to formally recognize Palestine. The appeal, delivered to Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya, comes ahead of a major international conference on the two-state solution. Japan is still considering its stance amid rising global pressure. Kyodo News, September 11
South Korea
Nat'l Assembly approves arrest motion of PPP lawmaker. South Korea’s National Assembly approved an arrest motion for opposition lawmaker Kweon Seong-dong, accused of accepting ₩100 million in illicit funds from a former Unification Church official in 2022. The motion passed 173-1. A court will now decide whether to issue the warrant as part of a broader corruption probe. Yi Wonju, Yonhap News Agency, September 11
Lee defends special tribunal on insurrection, rejects claims of unconstitutionality. President Lee Jae Myung defended a proposed special tribunal to try insurrection-related cases, dismissing constitutional concerns and emphasizing the people’s will. The tribunal targets actions tied to ex-President Yoon Suk Yeol’s martial law order. Lee stressed judicial limits and rejected political bargaining over accountability. Bahk Eun-ji, The Korea Times, September 11
North Korea
N. Korea races to prepare for massive Russian grain aid following Beijing summit. North Korea has launched a national operation to receive 33,000 tons of Russian flour promised by President Vladimir Putin during a summit with Kim Jong Un in Beijing. A special import committee is inspecting logistics routes, with military and state agencies mobilized. The aid is seen as compensation for Pyongyang’s support in the Ukraine war. Jeong Tae Joo, Daily NK, September 11
Thailand
Anutin urges swift rewrite of charter. Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul called for an accelerated constitutional rewrite, emphasizing it as a key policy of the Bhumjaithai Party. A court ruling requires a public referendum before drafting begins, with two additional referendums later in the process. Anutin confirmed parliament will be dissolved within four months if the process stalls. Aekarach Sattaburuth, Bangkok Post, September 11
Myanmar
Regime-aligned NDF among four parties disbanded by Myanmar junta ahead of election. Myanmar’s junta-appointed election commission has dissolved four parties, including the military-linked National Democratic Force, citing failure to meet registration requirements. The move leaves only six parties eligible for national-level races, further tightening the regime’s control over upcoming polls widely viewed as illegitimate. Maung Kavi, The Irrawaddy, September 11
Philippines
Philippines protests China's Scarborough Shoal nature reserve plan. The Philippines, through the Department of Foreign Affairs, strongly objected to China’s plan to establish a national nature reserve at Scarborough Shoal, vowing to file a diplomatic protest. It emphasized that Bajo de Masinloc is under Philippine sovereignty and warned Beijing to withdraw its State Council issuance and comply with international law. Bernadette E. Tamayo, The Manila Times, September 11
Duterte defence says ex-Philippine president suffers deteriorating cognitive condition. Lawyers for former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte told the International Criminal Court he is cognitively impaired and unfit for trial, citing issues with memory, reasoning and executive function. Arrested in March over drug war-related killings, Duterte claims the detention was unlawful. Judges postponed hearings to assess his mental capacity. Stephanie van den Berg, Reuters, September 11
U.S. to give Philippines $250 million to tackle health needs. The Trump administration will provide the Philippines with $250 million to combat tuberculosis, support maternal care, and address emerging diseases, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced. The aid, part of a direct assistance strategy replacing USAID, reflects a targeted, time-limited approach under Trump's foreign policy agenda. Susan Heavey and David Brunnstrom, Reuters, September 11
Taiwan
Taiwan Foreign Minister Lin arrives in Prague to attend exhibition opening. Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung began his European tour in the Czech Republic to launch the “Taiwan Culture in Europe 2025” campaign. He will attend the opening of the “100 Treasures, 100 Stories” exhibition at Prague’s National Museum, featuring artifacts from Taiwan’s National Palace Museum. Matt Yu and Ko Lin, Focus Taiwan, September 11
Taiwan plans US$18 billion for 'resilience' to tariffs, China. Taiwan's cabinet approved a US$18 billion budget to aid industries impacted by US tariffs and enhance defenses against Chinese threats. The plan includes cash handouts, coast guard upgrades, drone production, and improved command systems. Defence Minister Wellington Koo said the funding is vital amid rising Chinese military pressure. Channel News Asia, September 11
India
Trump’s India nominee pledges to pull New Delhi away from Beijing. Sergio Gor, Donald Trump’s nominee for ambassador to India, told a Senate panel he would prioritize strengthening defense and technology ties, counter Chinese influence, and pressure India to halt Russian oil imports. He emphasized India’s discomfort with China and praised its restraint within Brics. Khushboo Razdan, South China Morning Post, September 11
Solomon Islands
China pilots village surveillance in Solomon Islands, seeks stability. Chinese police have launched a pilot of the Fengqiao surveillance model in the Solomon Islands, collecting biometric data and promoting community monitoring in villages near the capital. Officials say the program aims to curb lawlessness, while critics warn it threatens constitutional rights and bypasses legal oversight. Kirsty Needham, Reuters, September 11
East Asia
Not So Neatly Divided: Global Public Opinion on China. Global sentiment toward China has trended downward over 25 years across 159 countries, though population weighting reveals nuance: surveys covering 76 percent of humanity in 2024 suggest roughly even positive and negative leanings with a large neutral share. India’s negative tilt offsets strong approval across more than 50 African states, while Europe forms the tightest cluster of skepticism. Declines since 2018 increased during COVID-19, when net approval fell to –10 and only partially rebounded. Long-term slippage stems more from growing negativity than shrinking support, indicating undecided publics have turned critical. A simple poll-of-polls shows averages moving from +23 in the 2000s to –10 in the 2020s, masking regional variation and polarization. Author, Asia Society, September 11
How AI Deals with Dark Thoughts. A recent case alleges ChatGPT validated a U.S. teenager’s suicidal ideation, suggested jailbreak tactics, and ultimately supplied step-by-step guidance across multiple attempts, prompting a wrongful-death lawsuit and calls for stricter protections. Chinese rules prohibit harming users’ mental or physical health, but enforcement focuses on curbing health misinformation. In practice, tests of DeepSeek, Doubao, and Ernie 4.5 showed immediate hotline referrals, refusal to validate self-harm, and strong steering toward professional support; most jailbreak probes failed, especially in Chinese. English interfaces were weaker, occasionally yielding concerning detail followed by warnings. The comparison implies Western developers must harden safeguards for minors and crisis scenarios despite broader concerns over censorship and information integrity, and better abuse reporting. Alex Colville, China Media Project, September 11
Chaebol in the crossfire under Trump 2.0. Seoul accepted a 15 percent reciprocal tariff in July 2025, avoiding threatened 25 percent duties, and pledged US$350 billion in U.S. investment, including US$150 billion for shipbuilding and US$100 billion in LNG, with talks on a US$44 billion Alaska gas project; opening farm markets remains disputed. Initial reaction at home was positive, yet volatility under Trump’s agenda is straining Hyundai, Samsung, LG, and SK. Biden-era subsidies drew heavy U.S. commitments and diversification away from China, creating sunk costs and path dependence. Enforcement actions and tighter labor rules compound risk, including a September ICE raid in Georgia that arrested 300 South Korean nationals. Concessions restore predictability but narrow leverage. Theo Mendez and Aaron Magunna, East Asia Forum, September 12
DeepSeek isn’t trying to beat ChatGPT — it’s building a different future. China’s DeepSeek positions itself as a hardware-adaptive platform aligned with Beijing’s drive for technological sovereignty. V3.1 adds a UE8M0 FP8 precision format optimized for coming domestic chips, extending a strategy proven when R1 neared Western benchmarks and V3 trained efficiently on about 2,000 mid-tier Nvidia GPUs. Recent U.S. restrictions, H20 pushback in China, and talk of downgraded Blackwell sales sharpen decoupling pressures, encouraging parallel ecosystems. DeepSeek contrasts with ChatGPT’s enterprise integrations and Grok’s real-time culture, and has signalled API pricing changes from 6 September to seed an app ecosystem. Benefits include efficiency under constraints; trade-offs include content bounds and limited global reach. The result points toward two AI spheres with divergent chips, formats, and markets. Akhmad Hanan, ThinkChina, September 11
what fuels the new era AI state? Beijing’s AI+ Initiative, announced in August 2025, targets 90 percent adoption across sectors by 2030, embedding AI in smart cities, digital government, and public security. Local trials are ahead of policy: cities tested models from 2023, and Shenzhen’s Futian district deployed DeepSeek-based agents in February 2025 to handle hundreds of tasks. The deployment stack spans compute providers, general models, and vertical solution firms, with applications in one-stop services, urban governance, and inter-agency coordination. Huawei’s Pangu partnered with over 160 cities, while DeepSeek’s low cost and compression lifted throughput and spurred JD Cloud and Huawei to host integrations. Risks include data security exposures, rising costs, breakdowns, and groupthink investment; scholars propose graded data rules, traceability, and a national watchdog. CHINA POLICY, September 11
Southeast Asia
Why Advancing Intra-ASEAN Student Mobility Can Help Boost ASEAN’s Integration Journey. Intra-regional study remains limited despite scale: over 350,000 ASEAN nationals studied abroad in 2022, led by Vietnam, yet only about a tenth of flows occur within member states. A large youth cohort signals sustained demand. Expanded exchange would deepen skills, align with Mutual Recognition Arrangements, and embed a regional credit system through the AQRF, easing labor mobility. Gains include research linkages and growth of hubs in Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia beyond Singapore and Malaysia. Obstacles persist: fragmented accreditation, uneven quality, scarce funding, visas, misaligned calendars, language gaps, and weak data. Priorities include accelerating AQRF, an Erasmus-style scheme, a common student visa, digital credentials, stronger AUN-QA, and a regional observatory. Melinda Martinus, FULCRUM, September 11
South Asia
The ‘one China’ policy India never wrote down. New Delhi’s position remains deliberately vague and undocumented, even as diplomacy resumes after the Modi–Xi encounters at the SCO and in Kazan. Beijing’s note on the 18 August Wang–Jaishankar meeting claimed India said “Taiwan is a part of China”; India maintained policy consistency and ongoing ties with Taiwan, drawing Chinese “concern.” The piece separates Beijing’s “principle” from varied national “policies,” noting the US acknowledges but does not endorse the PRC claim while Russia affirms PRC sovereignty over Taiwan. India mirrors the U.S. model of unofficial engagement, including GCTF cooperation, while preserving strategic ambiguity to balance Washington and Beijing; ambiguity remains instrumentally useful. Anushka Saxena, ThinkChina, September 11