Global Watch

The United States has taken bold action in the Pacific. The Trump administration has sanctioned two leaders from Palau and the Marshall Islands. The move comes amid rising fears about China’s growing influence in the region.   The US Department of State announced that Hokkons Baules, President of the Senate in Palau, and Anderson Jibas, a former mayor in the Marshall Islands, are now banned from entering the US. Their immediate famil...

Japan’s seizure of a Chinese fishing boat near Nagasaki is not just a routine fisheries case. It comes at a time when several Asian governments are showing a tougher stance toward what they see as expanding Chinese pressure at sea.   Japanese authorities intercepted the vessel about 170 kilometers southwest of Nagasaki, well within Japan’s exclusive economic zone. Officials said the captain ignored an order to stop for inspecti...

Defense deals are not just about weapons and soldiers. Today, they are powerful political statements.   Countries use them to show strength, build alliances, and shape global influence. These agreements are turning into tools that can shift the balance of power across regions.   Philippines and Its North American Friends One of the biggest deals making noise right now is the Enhance Defense Cooperation Agreement between the Philipp...

China rules the rare earth market because it was willing to take on the pollution that others refused. For years, Western countries enjoyed clean energy dreams powered by Chinese processing plants that quietly handled the toxic side of the green transition. Now the world is scrambling to fix a problem it helped create.   How China Took Over In the 1980s, the United States supplied most of the world’s rare earths from the Mountain Pa...

Iran has raised alarms across the region after issuing a fresh warning to the United States and Israel. With tensions rising again in the Strait of Hormuz, Southeast Asia is watching developments closely due to the waterway's critical role in global energy flows.   Growing Threats to Close the Strait Tehran has repeatedly threatened to shut down the Strait as the US has increased pressure on Tehran, including surrounding it with military ...