How China's Military Is Flexing Its Power in the Pacific
Beijing has long resented what it sees as interference by the U.S. and its allies in its traditional sphere of influence in the Asia-Pacific region. Now, it is asserting itself more aggressively in its backyard while also pushing well beyond longstanding geographical limits of its military.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
25 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Asia stocks, yen look past Japan politics as earnings loom
By Wayne Cole SYDNEY (Reuters) -Asian shares and the yen held their ground on Monday as Japanese elections proved bad for the government but no worse than already priced in, while Wall Street futures braced for earnings from the first of the tech giants. Investors were also hoping for some progress in trade talks ahead of President Donald Trump's August 1 tariff deadline, with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick still confident a deal could be reached with the European Union. There were reports Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping were closer to arranging a meeting, though likely not until October at the earliest. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has stolen a march and will meet with Xi on Thursday. In Japan, the ruling coalition lost control of the upper house in an election on Sunday, further weakening Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's grip on power as a tariff deadline looms. Ishiba vowed to stay in the position, which along with a market holiday, limited the reaction and the yen was 0.4% firmer at 148.29 to the dollar. "The loss was within the range of expectations, and actually the outlook was even more pessimistic," said Nissay Research Institute chief economist Tsuyoshi Ueno. "In terms of negotiations with the U.S., it is easy to doubt whether a government with such a weak foundation is reliable as a negotiating partner," he added. "For the Bank of Japan, if there is political instability, it will be difficult to raise interest rates, and pressure on the yen will continue." The BOJ still has a bias to raise rates further but markets imply little chance of a move until late October. While the Nikkei was shut, futures traded at 39,885 and up on the cash close of 39,819. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan eased 0.1%, while South Korean stocks added 0.5%. Chinese blue chips firmed 0.3%, led by rare earth and construction sectors, as Beijing kept interest rates unchanged as widely expected. MEGA CAPS KICK OFF EUROSTOXX 50 futures and DAX futures both dipped 0.3%, while FTSE futures were flat. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures both edged up 0.2%, and are already around record highs in anticipation of more solid earnings reports. A host of companies reporting this week include Alphabet and Tesla, along with IBM. Investors also expect upbeat news for defence groups RTX, Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics. Ramped up government spending across the globe has seen the S&P 500 aerospace and defence sector rise 30% this year. Tech giant Microsoft issued an alert about "active attacks" on server software used by government agencies and businesses, urging customers to download security updates. In bond markets, U.S. Treasury futures held steady having dipped late last week after Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller repeated his call for a rate cut this month. Most of his colleagues, including Chair Jerome Powell, have argued a pause is warranted to judge the true inflationary impact of tariffs and markets imply almost no chance of a move in July. A September cut is put at 61%, rising to 80% for October. Powell's reticence on rates has drawn the ire of Trump who threatened to fire the Fed chief, before backing down. The spectre of a potential political appointee who would seek to ease policy sharply has investors on edge. The European Central Bank meets this week and is expected to hold its rates steady at 2.0% following a string of cuts. "The press conference will likely keep highlighting uncertainty and need to wait for tariff negotiations to conclude before deciding the next step," said analysts at TD Securities in a note. "Similarly, its 'meeting-by-meeting' language would be retained in the release." The euro was unchanged at $1.1630 in early trading, having dipped 0.5% last week and away from its recent near-four-year top of $1.1830. The dollar index was a fraction lower at 98.373. In commodity markets, gold firmed 0.5% to $3,367 an ounce with all the recent action in platinum which last week hit its highest since August 2014. [GOL/] Oil prices were caught between the prospect of increased supply from OPEC+ and the risk European Union sanctions against Russia for its war in Ukraine could curb its exports.[O/R] Brent edged up 0.1% to $69.38 a barrel, while U.S. crude added 0.2% to $67.50 per barrel. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
The rise of the far-right 'Japanese First' party
For three years, a once fringe opposition party held just one seat in Japan's 248-seat upper house. But on Sunday, Sanseito emerged as one of the biggest winners of Japan's election - walking away with 14 seats. The party was born in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic, where it gained prominence with YouTube videos that spread conspiracy theories about vaccinations. More recently, it has built its platform on a nationalist "Japanese First" agenda, which has warned against a "silent invasion of foreigners". Sanseito's rise in popularity reflects growing unease over immigration and overtourism - issues the ruling government also sought to address with a new committee it created days before the election. But do these gains signal an enduring shift to the right in Japan? What is the 'Japanese First' policy? Launching in early 2020, Sanseito gained attention among conservatives with its series of YouTube videos centred on anti-vaccine and anti-masking rhetoric. It won its first seat in the upper house in 2022, following a campaign in which it fashioned itself as an "anti-globalist" party. Supporters at rallies spoke of a world where a cabal of globalists and financial institutions were conspiring to lord over powerless citizens. In its recent campaign, the party made populist pledges such as consumption tax cuts and an increase in child benefits. But it's been most well known for its nationalist "Japanese First" platform rallying against immigrants, with its leader Sohei Kamiya previously saying that he had drawn inspiration from US President Donald Trump's "bold political style". Sanseito's promises have won it the support of young conservatives online - cutting into the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's (LDP) conservative support base. The weekend's election result also underscores voters' frustration with the LDP's leader and Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who has struggled to inspire confidence as Japan struggles against economic headwinds, a cost-of-living crisis and trade negotiations with the United States. Jeffrey Hall, a lecturer in Japanese Studies at Kanda University of International Studies, says support for more right-wing parties had drawn conservative voters away from the LDP. "Prime Minister Ishiba is considered not conservative enough by many supporters of the former Prime Minister [Shinzo] Abe," he says. "They think that he just doesn't have the nationalistic views on history, he doesn't have the strong views against China that Abe had." Mr Hall adds that the party's win means "for the next six years, [Sanseito] are going to feel a lot less restrained and a lot freer... [to express its] conspiracy theories, anti-foreign statements, very strong revisionist views about history". But despite its gains this election, Sanseito still falls short of the minimum number of seats required to submit budget bills in the upper house. And in the more powerful lower house, it holds just three seats. Who is Sohei Kamiya? Kamiya, 47, was at one point of his political career a member of the long-ruling LDP. During the 2012 general election, the party's then-president Shinzo Abe personally campaigned on his behalf - though he eventually lost the race. Kamiya launched Sanseito in March 2020, and was the party's only candidate to be elected into the upper chamber in 2022. The former Self-Defence Force reservist has openly credited Trump for shaping his approach, and has railed against the political and financial elite. "Under globalism, multinational companies have changed Japan's policies for their own purposes," he said at a recent rally in Kagoshima. "If we fail to resist this foreign pressure, Japan will become a colony!" Earlier this year, he faced backlash after calling gender equality policies a mistake, saying they would encourage women to work and prevent them from having more children. When asked about the party's appeal to men, he said it might be due to him being "hot-blooded", claiming "that resonates more with men". Following Sunday's election, Kamiya vowed to secure "50 to 60 seats" in future elections so that "[the party's] policies will finally become reality". He also appeared to try to walk back some of his earlier statements, clarifying in an interview with Nippon TV after the vote that his nationalist policy was not meant to "completely ban foreigners". Why is there so much anger over immigration? The number of foreign residents in Japan hit a record 3.8 million at the end of 2024. That figure marks an increase up 10.5% from the previous year, according to immigration authorities - but still makes up just 3% of the country's total population. Tourist numbers also hit an all-time high of about 36.9 million last year, according to the National Tourism Organisation. Sanseito has seized on the growing unease over immigration, blaming the ruling LDP for policies that have allowed more foreigners into the country. Anti-immigration rhetoric often surfaces in countries dealing with a weakening economy, says Mr Hall. "Misbehaviour and bad manners by some tourists" have added fuel to the fire, creating an impression of a "big foreign problem", he adds. "[Sanseito] tapped into the frustration over immigration and the perhaps unwarranted feeling that immigrants were rising too much in number," he says. Japan has traditionally been wary of immigration, but faced with an ageing population, the government had eased immigration laws in recent years in an effort to boost manpower. Some Japanese people have been frustrated by the influx of foreigners and have blamed them for rising crime and inflation, among other things. On Tuesday, less than a week before the election, authorities set up a new committee aimed at easing citizens' concerns, pledging to shape a "society of orderly and harmonious coexistence with foreign nationals." But it now appears to have come too late - and Sanseito's ascent may signal a turning point in Japan's political landscape. "I think for years now, people said Japan doesn't have a populist right, or doesn't have a populist far right," says Mr Hall. "But I think [the result] has proven that there is a possibility for this to happen in Japan, and it's probably here to stay."
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Japan's Ishiba says he'll stay in office to tackle inflation and US tariffs despite election loss
TOKYO (AP) — Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Monday he will stay in office to tackle challenges such as rising prices and high U.S. tariffs after a weekend election defeat left his coalition with a minority in both parliamentary chambers. Ishiba's ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its junior coalition partner Komeito were short three seats to maintain a majority in the 248-seat upper house in Sunday's vote. The coalition is now a minority in both houses of the Diet, or parliament, though the LDP is still the leading party. Ishiba said he takes the result seriously but that his priority is to avoid creating a political vacuum and to tackle impending challenges, including the Aug. 1 deadline for a tariff deal with the U.S. 'While I painfully feel my serious responsibility over the election results, I believe I must also fulfill my responsibility I bear for the country and the people so as not to cause politics to stall or go adrift,' Ishiba said. 'Challenges such as global situation and natural disaster won't wait for a better political situation." The prime minister said he hopes to reach a mutually beneficial deal and meet with U.S. President Donald Trump. Sunday's vote comes after Ishiba's coalition lost a majority in the October lower house election, stung by past corruption scandals, and his unpopular government has since been forced into making concessions to the opposition to get legislation through parliament. It has been unable to quickly deliver effective measures to mitigate rising prices, including Japan's traditional staple of rice, and dwindling wages. Trump has added to the pressure, complaining about a lack of progress in trade negotiations and the lack of sales of U.S. autos and American-grown rice to Japan despite a shortfall in domestic stocks of the grain. A 25% tariff due to take effect Aug. 1 has been another blow for Ishiba. Solve the daily Crossword
