Last week, China “fired Wang Chunning, commander of the People's Armed Police; Wang Zhibin, disciplinary chief of the Rocket Force; Zhang Lin, head of the Logistics Support Department under the CMC; & Gao Daguang, political commissar of Joint Logistics”. asia.nikkei.com/politics/defen…

Trump is meeting Albanese. Good news – he’s just not that into us. As long as he says the magic word “AUKUS” & not “cancel” or “3.5% of GDP” it'll be a glittering success. Back in Canberra, we’ll interpret a smile as showing the first sub is already here. strategicanalysis.org/the-trump-albo…

"China intentionally mischaracterizes World War II-era documents, including the Cairo Declaration, the Potsdam Proclamation, and the Treaty of San Francisco, to try to support its coercive campaign to subjugate Taiwan," US rep office in Taiwan.Yes it does. asia.nikkei.com/politics/inter…

“Beijing is banking on optics & time, while Washington is chasing a TikTok headline & a summit, & hopes..for more wins later” said Craig Singleton, from the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. "I think the Chinese are very happy with the current dynamic reuters.com/world/china/tr…

UK’s Keir Starmer shows how an underwhelming government can risk a huge parliamentary majority fast. No answers on big policy questions like housing & health are factors. “Labour & Tories on 16 per cent, Reform on 34 per cent.” telegraph.co.uk/politics/2025/…

🎤 When the Camera Turns Off: CCTV Anchors Retire in America They spent decades reading Beijing’s scripts — defending censorship, justifying crackdowns, praising “stability.” But when the lights go out and retirement calls, where do they go? Not Harbin. Not Chengdu. Not even

“The UK, along with others, will be under the spotlight of ‘What has recognition changed?’” added Mr. Levy, who once worked as a peace negotiator for Israel. “The answer will be nothing & pressure will again intensify to take more consequential measures.” nytimes.com/2025/09/21/wor…

America "is browbeating trading partners in Europe and Asia to buy U.S. oil and gas to stave off higher tariffs. But Chinese technology poses a long-term threat." wsj.com/economy/global… via The Wall Street Journal

"Australia's hopes for a one-on-one meeting appear to have been dashed again". I know we live in the best of all possible worlds, so this is no doubt an excellent, planned outcome - but it's obvious PM Albanese isn't on Trump's priority list. abc.net.au/news/2025-09-2…

Audi using Chinese competitors' batteries, software & powertrains inside its cars is a path to doom not resurgence. It's like Yahoo thinking using Google as its search engine was a good idea - Back when Yahoo was big....and Google was small..... reuters.com/business/autos…

Grumpy Strategists Episode 50: With friends like this…& Why spend real money on defence when you can just seem to? Michael & Marcus catch up on global & local events now that Marcus is back from Australia’s croc-filled Outback. strategicanalysis.org/episode-50-wit…

Trump TikTok deal: The law’s sponsors “told us that their main motivation was propaganda, & by shifting the app to more friendly, politically aligned owners, my worry is that we’ve introduced a different kind of propaganda concern.” washingtonpost.com/technology/202…

Xi dials down Jack Ma “Around the time of the broadcast, a video of Ma chatting with Alibaba executives at a bar went viral on social media. The phrase "Make Alibaba Great Again" began trending.” asia.nikkei.com/business/china…

South Korea cannot pay $350bn to US “South Korean President Lee Jae Myung told Reuters that without safeguards such as a currency swap, South Korea's economy, with foreign exchange of $410 billion, would plunge into a crisis” asia.nikkei.com/economy/trade-…

The CCP’s military, militia & Coastguard “exploit democratic lag. While Japan, Taiwan & the Philippines debate rules of engagement or coordination, China acts rapidly, setting new facts on the water before legislative or diplomatic response catch up.” asia.nikkei.com/opinion/the-ru…

Another lesson from this incident: rather than blaming Nathan Law 羅冠聰 for putting himself at risk by flying into Singapore, why don’t Western NGOs/thinktanks reflect on where they hold regional events? Why hold them in (1) authoritarian or quasi-authoritarian places ; and/or (2)

So, this is economic diversification Albanese Govt style. Trade Minister Farrell: “We sell 10 times more product to the Chinese than we do the Americans,” he said. “And we’re just getting started in China.” afr.com/rear-window/do…

Chinese EVs in Russia. 60% market share but troubles. "Chery Automobile, the top selling Chinese automaker in Russia, has said it will exit the market by 2027, while Great Wall Motor seems to be doubling down on the country." asia.nikkei.com/techasia/china… via Nikkei Asia