#OTD Those of us in #PhnomPenh or #Saigon did not know then but 31 March '75: Politburo in #Hanoi decided to launch general offensive to "liberate" Saigon ASAP. May be some revisionism here in Party paper as I was told by Hanoi commanders 1976 was goal. en.nhandan.vn/post-145966.ht…

Five senior members of Hong Kong's Democratic Party, the city's biggest and last remaining major opposition party, say Chinese officials or middlemen have warned the parties to disband or face serious consequences. w/James Pomfret Greg Torode reuters.com/world/asia-pac…

Role of foreign judges in #HK is “arguably cosmetic” says another foreign judge quitting Hong Kong's highest court amid national security crackdown - reuters.com/world/china/an… w/ ⁦Greg Torode⁩ ⁦Jessie Pang⁩

In his statement to Reuters, French said he rejected any suggestion that foreign judges serving on the CFA were "somehow complicit in the application ... of national security laws or somehow confer on them a spurious legitimacy."

A great weekend read after a week for the ages from Reuters' Tom Westbrook reuters.com/markets/wealth…

#Vietnam 50 years ago on this day, I reported the surrender of #Saigon to North Vietnamese forces. 30 April 75 at about 1030 am local. #HistoryIsAlive

A story that needs to be told: nearly 200,000 Vietnamese soldiers, mostly from the North, are still listed as missing from the Vietnam War. Some of them would never be found. npr.org/2025/04/29/nx-…

Rainy scenes in Hong Kong, Tokyo, Seoul and Da Nang

India-Pakistan conflict offers rich intelligence opportunity for China reuters.com/world/asia-pac…

Exclusive: China's most advanced bombers seen on disputed South China Sea island reuters.com/business/aeros…

The ability to cycle forces through the bases, especially higher level assets like the H-6, provides the PLA with a force protection mechanism - my views in this piece with Greg Torode as we explore the PLA's recent deployment of bombers to the SCS reuters.com/business/aeros…

New from PLATracker: Operationalizing Intelligentized Warfare Carson Keller details the role of the PLA's new "arms" following the dismantling of the Strategic Support Force in 2024. platracker.com/post/operation…

Hanoi motorcycle diaries observer.co.uk/news/internati…

Exclusive: China quietly issues 2025 rare earth quotas, sources say reut.rs/3IHsOfH reut.rs/3IHsOfH

Vietnam today launched its first home made amphibious warfare vessel VĐC-01, built at Ba Son shipyard with technology transfer from Poland (Polnocny-class landing ship). More to be built in the future.

At a Singapore hotel in April, a war game exercise simulated regional responses to a Chinese blockade of Taiwan with a fraught scenario: How to evacuate as many as 1 million Southeast Asian nationals reut.rs/45vwTvl

Great to be aboard the JS Ise in Wellington tonight. A truly horrible night raging outside but incredible hospitality on board. Defence Minister Collins effusive about the state of bilateral ties and warmth of her relationship with her Japanese counterpart.

On this day 100 years ago eight battleships and three auxiliaries, part of a much larger 56-ship and 25,000 personnel goodwill visit by the U.S. Navy Battle Fleet to Australia and NZ, arrived in Waitemata Harbour. The ships received a 21 gun salute and Aucklanders a half-holiday.