Honolulu Defense Forum opened by Admiral Samuel Paparo, Commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, who said on the record: „What China does around Taiwan are not exercises. Those are real rehearsals for forced unification of Taiwan with the mainland China.“ „Our precision guides

Ok folks, deep breaths. There is very real reason to worry about the dynamic emerging between Washington and Moscow when it comes to Ukraine. But there is also very real reason to believe that Ukraine and Europe can create a better outcome. (A rather long 🧵, obviously) /1

Our exclusive with JD Vance ahead of Munich Security Conference: -On Ukraine, he says there will be a good peace deal that will guarantee the country’s long-term sovereignty - and Putin will face sanctions and military measures if he doesn’t play ball. -On Europe, he will tell mainstream

Asked about the recent developments and whether a ceasefire would be acceptable without restoring Ukrainian territory to pre-2014 borders, Iwaya said Tokyo was watching “with great interest.” japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/02/1…

New: TSMC is open to taking a controlling stake in Intel’s US factories, Ian King & I are told Trump team floated a potential Intel deal in recent meetings w TSMC officials, who were receptive. Intel’s stance is unclear. Talks are in very early stages bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

"Commitment to misinformation"? I thought this administration considers the term "misinformation" to be a cudgel of Soviet-style censorship, as VP Vance just informed the crowd in Munich. #MSC2025

For a lifelong transatlanticist like me who came of age at the peak of American (hard and soft) power, these days feel like when your aging parent suddenly succumbs to Alzheimer’s, not recognizing you anymore, and, what’s worse, not knowing who they themselves are.

US-Ukraine minerals deal: the full text Financial Times The terms of the bilateral agreement between Kyiv and Washington ft.com/content/387afd…

The office responsible for implementing the Chips Act is losing around two-fifths of its staff - Around 20 people took voluntary deferred resignations & left last week - Around 40 probationary employees being fired today bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

“Four senior members of Donald Trump’s entourage have held secret discussions with some of Kyiv’s top political opponents to Volodymyr Zelenskyy, just as Washington aligns with Moscow in seeking to lever the Ukrainian president out of his job.” politico.eu/article/donald…

It’s clear from this that the only difference between Steve Witkoff’s and Vladmir Putin’s views on the war in Ukraine is that Putin actually knows the names of all the five Ukrainian regions he wants to keep.

China’s Foreign Ministry claimed that Ishiba had told Wang that "Japan respects the positions elaborated by the Chinese side” — a statement that Ishiba had never made, according to Japan’s foreign ministry. Japan protests. japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/03/2…

According to Japan MoD "the recent sailings by the carriers may have been intended to practice countering U.S. forces in the event of a Taiwan contingency, with one playing the role of a U.S. aircraft carrier and the other practicing intercepting it."👀 japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/06/1…

SCOOP - Japan scraps 2+2 meeting with Rubio & Hegseth over defence spending dispute. US was pushing Japan to boost spending to 3% of GDP but Bridge Colby abruptly increased the ask to 3.5%, angering Tokyo #USJapanScoop (w ⁦Leo Lewis⁩) on.ft.com/3TyrZYJ

Japan scraps US meeting after Washington demands more defence spending on.ft.com/4ncQ30O

Die Schlinge zieht sich zu. Die Versorgung der deutschen Industrie mit Rohstoffen aus China 🇨🇳 verschärft sich weiter. Es tritt jetzt ein, was jahrelang befürchtet wurde und vor dem wir gewarnt haben: #China setzt den Export als geopolitisches Druckmittel ein.🧵

I recognise not everyone feels the need to buy a screen privacy protector before working on their laptop on a train or plane. But if you're writing an email in massive font that begins "Dear Munich Security Conference team" you probably should be investing in one.

NEW: The new National Defense Strategy has been delivered to SecDef Hegseth for review, and places homeland security over deterring China has the Pentagon’s primary mission. Not everyone in the Pentagon thinks that’s a good idea.

The TikTok deal is a prime example of “win-win cooperation.” China wins twice.

The evidence suggests that this White House views its ties with China and its position in Asia largely through the prism of trade, with relatively little attention to security—regardless of what the DOD does or says. That is what worries Asian allies. scmp.com/news/china/dip…