Asia Times

The West’s spree of “shadow fleet” seizures might finally be coming to an end after what Putin just told his Pacific Fleet commanders during his visit to the Russian Far East. As he phrased it, “We can see that the officials of some countries are attempting to restrict the movement by peaceful means of our economic […] The post Putin threatens tit-for-tat seizures of foreign vessels appeared first on Asia Times.

For a fortnight beginning August 30, Tehran gets to feel wanted – first in Bishkek, at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit, then in New Delhi at the BRICS summit, Iran’s leadership will sit among presidents and prime ministers who need something from Tehran just as much as Tehran needs something from them: a reopened Strait […] The post Can Iran’s ‘Asian friends’ reopen Hormuz when the US cannot? appeared first on Asia Times.

This article was originally published by ProPublica, a Pulitzer-prizewinning investigative newsroom. A robot was on fire. Again. It was the summer of 2024, and the cutting-edge robots inside General Dynamics’ sweltering artillery factory near Dallas were catching fire with startling regularity, according to four former workers there. This wasn’t ideal, as the plant was supposed […] The post Pentatgon funded a $533 million artillery plant that made nothing appeared first on Asia Times.

   North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has doubled down on his military and strategic alliance with Vladimir Putin and the Russian regime, betting that this axis will strengthen his own position for now. However, Kim’s strategic calculus depends on the outcome of the war in Ukraine and its economic and political impact on Russia.  […] The post North Korea doubles down on its alliance with Russia, for now  appeared first on Asia Times.

Zhu Rongji, born on October 23, 1928, died on August 12, 2026. He had been a prime minister, and a great modernizer of China’s financial system. Yet his legacy seems to have faded. Premier Zhu was the man who pushed for China to join the World Trade Organization. He wanted China to be fully integrated […] The post Goodbye, Comrade Zhu Rongji appeared first on Asia Times.

China’s mystery weapon aboard its experimental stealth corvette points to a wider naval race to harness directed energy for everything from deniable gray-zone coercion to defeating the drone swarms that threaten to overwhelm conventional ship defenses. This month, Defense Blog reported that China has modified its experimental stealth corvette by replacing a previously fitted missile […] The post China’s new stealth corvette tests the future of naval warfare appeared first on Asia Times.

“No longer necessary.” That was Min Aung Hlaing’s foreign ministry on August 8, on the office of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Chair’s Special Envoy on Myanmar. He had flown home from a state visit to Thailand 48 hours earlier, which invited the easy reading: a man cashing in his winnings too fast. […] The post Myanmar’s junta wants to cancel the diplomatic test it can’t pass appeared first on Asia Times.

In the weeks since the US-Iran Memorandum of Understanding collapsed, Washington and Tehran have used the time to strengthen their respective positions in the event negotiations resume. For the United States, this has largely taken the form of overt threats by President Donald Trump himself and hints that an even more comprehensive US bombing campaign against Iranian […] The post Why the Trump administration will have to accept a Hormuz toll appeared first on Asia Times.

One of the things that surprised this tourist in Oslo last February was the vast number of electric vehicles. EVs were everywhere. Every taxi I rode in was electric. I shouldn’t have been surprised. Norway has long been a leader in adopting electric cars. Last year, encouraged by government subsidies, EVs accounted for 95.9% of […] The post Detroit knows China’s eating its EV lunch but can’t change course appeared first on Asia Times.

The Trump administration has launched a series of measures to ensure that US defense contractors source critical minerals domestically or from allied nations, building a supply chain that officials hope would break China’s monopoly over materials such as scandium and tungsten. Since July, US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order restricting the use […] The post Trump fires on multiple fronts to break China’s minerals monopoly appeared first on Asia Times.

NEW YORK – Earlier hopes that China had beaten deflation took a hit this week. China’s consumer prices rose just 0.5% year-on-year in July, down from June’s 1% rate — the slowest pace in six months and the third straight month of deceleration, despite surging energy prices amid Strait of Hormuz disruptions. Producer prices slowed […] The post Why China’s war on deflation is faltering in real time appeared first on Asia Times.

The Trump-class battleship risks becoming more of a prestige project than a practical answer to the US Navy’s longstanding challenges in fleet modernization, emerging technologies and power projection. This month, the US Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released a report estimating that the US Navy’s proposed Trump-class nuclear-powered guided missile battleship program will cost roughly US$275 […] The post Trump-class battleship designed for a bygone era of warfare appeared first on Asia Times

By the early 2030s the US will have a “new” tank to replace the Abrams M1. The M1 was designed between 1972 and 1976, although many changes have been made over the years. The Abrams is the main heavy battle tank deployed by the United States. Whether having a “replacement” makes sense is open to […] The post Do main battle tanks have a warfare future? appeared first on Asia Times.

Cambodia and China recently agreed to fast-track four priority infrastructure projects under the Diamond Hexagon cooperation framework, deepening a partnership that already accounts for roughly 75% of Cambodia’s foreign direct investment. The acceleration comes as Cambodia pursues its own ambitious development targets under the Pentagonal Strategy, which aims for upper-middle-income status by 2030 and high-income […] The post Clock ticking down on Cambodia’s growth momentum appeared first on Asi

Neighbors are busy rehabilitating the diplomatic standing of Myanmar’s junta-chief-turned-president Min Aung Hlaing just as his regime openly shreds the regional bloc’s peace plan. Min Aung Hlaing may have traded his general’s uniform for civilian clothes and a practiced smile on his recent diplomatic tours, but Myanmar’s military leadership remains entirely unchanged. Its latest message […] The post Talking to the dead: the high price of engaging Myanmar’s junta appeared first on Asia Times.

Every investor pricing artificial intelligence as a chip story is missing the real bottleneck. A chip can be designed and shipped within roughly two years. A power grid cannot be rebuilt on anything close to that timeline. This gap, not silicon supply, is what will determine how fast the AI industry can actually grow, and […] The post Watch Malaysia for a preview of Asia’s coming AI power crunch appeared first on Asia Times.

Japanese electric vehicle (EV) makers have fallen so far behind BYD and other Chinese competitors, and been so brightly outshone by Tesla, that it is easy to forget that the Nissan Leaf was the world’s first mass-market EV. People might also fail to notice that the Japanese auto industry has launched more than 20 new […] The post Japan has another go at electric vehicles appeared first on Asia Times.

The deadlocked Middle East war gave birth last week to a defense alliance among Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Pakistan that represents a vivid backlash to the failures of heavy American bombing of Iran and President Donald Trump’s spasmodic diplomacy to end the conflict. The agreement was signed Friday in Saudi Arabia, which is among fossil […] The post New allied trio militarily moves on from faltering US and Trump appeared first on Asia Times.

Time is a stern teacher of nations. It changes the character of alliances, reshapes national priorities and repeatedly reminds states that geography is destiny only when political wisdom knows how to use it. Countries may differ in ideology, resources and ambitions, yet history repeatedly brings them to the same conclusion: In an uncertain world, security […] The post History shows why the Makkah Agreement could fail appeared first on Asia Times.

On July 30, Donald Trump said his Board of Peace had reached what he called a monumental step toward disarming Hamas. The weapons are not the part Tokyo should study. The gate the deal opens is. Disarmament is conditions-based, and the conditions are already contested. Israel has not signed on to the terms. Hamas says […] The post Why Japan is stalling on Trump’s Gaza rebuild offer appeared first on Asia Times.