Japan has a new Prime Minister and faces challenges both old and new. A comment from an opposition politician led Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi to make a statement on a possible commitment from the Japanese Navy to protect Taiwan. The response from China was quick, but the implications for Takaichi are more telling. Will she reposition Japan globally, or be stopped by the same forces that forced Shinzō Abe to halt his ambitions?
As the EU’s 4th Indo-Pacific Ministerial Forum (IPMF) took place in Brussels on the 20th and 21st of November 2025, the European Union faces a pivotal moment. Despite grand declarations, Brussels’ impact in the region remains constrained by episodic engagement and an overreliance on formal diplomatic channels, notwithstanding efforts to engage with civil society and other relevant stakeholders. How can the EU explore potential alternative channels of diplomacy to establish lasting, practical, and realistic partnerships with its Indo-Pacific partners? By leveraging European expertise as a result of private-sector champions, while simultaneously working together on developing capacity-building initiatives on the ground, the EU may transform its strategy from rhetoric into tangible action and show its partners it is serious about its commitments.
The EU’s Joint Communication on a New Strategic EU–India Agenda, released in September 2025, signals a renewed push to elevate India as a core strategic partner. Centred on trade, technology, security, connectivity, and global governance, the agenda reflects shared interests amid growing geopolitical uncertainty. While economic potential and security cooperation are significant, persistent trade barriers and regulatory frictions remain. Its success will hinge on effective implementation, with the partnership offering scope to support international stability and strengthen multilateral cooperation.
At the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s (SCO) 25th Summit in Tianjin, China, the image of Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin, and Narendra Modi clasping hands captured a shifting geopolitical order. Once dismissed as a merely symbolic forum, the SCO is emerging as a platform for financial innovation, technological coordination, and diplomatic thaw—most notably between India and China. Its evolution signals a broader attempt to redefine the architecture of global governance.
The 47th ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur took place amid rising geoeconomic uncertainty, reaffirming ASEAN’s commitment to rules-based trade and welcoming Timor-Leste as its 11th member. The meeting was overshadowed by US President Trump’s pursuit of bilateral deals with individual ASEAN states, exposing varying national vulnerabilities to US tariff measures and their economic fallout. In this context, the EU has a key opportunity to strengthen its role as a stable and predictable economic partner, underlineing the opportunity for a deeper ASEAN-EU partnership grounded in predictability, mutual benefit and in respect of ASEAN’s unique regional order.
The 47th ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur demonstrated that ASEAN still has diplomatic relevance: it expanded to include Timor-Leste, brokered a truce between Cambodia and Thailand, and attracted high-level participation from global powers. Yet, the Summit also exposed the limits of ASEAN’s influence. Political momentum is real, but fragile, and whether these outcomes lead to lasting progress will depend on implementation under the Philippines’ incoming chairmanship.
After nearly a decade of negotiations, the European Union and Indonesia have concluded their Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), a landmark deal linking Europe’s de-risking ambitions with Southeast Asia’s development priorities. As the agreement enters the complex EU ratification process, questions arise over whether Brussels can strike a balance between environmental integrity and strategic pragmatism. Palm oil, nickel, and sustainability compliance will test both partners’ political will and the EU’s ability to act as a credible, values-driven actor in the Indo-Pacific.
On the evening of Sunday 7 September 2025, Ishiba Shigeru announced he was stepping down from his position as the Prime Minister (PM) of Japan after less than a year in office. The decision has come following multiple election blows of his ruling coalition, consisting of Ishiba’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and Komeito. Already in October 2024, just weeks after having assumed office, the coalition lost its majority in the Lower House, following poor results in the general election. In July 2025, the majority was also lost in the Upper House after disappointing parliamentary election results, causing calls for Ishiba’s resignation as Prime Minister to grow louder.
Opposition leader Lee Jae-myung from the Democratic Party of Korea (DP) was sworn in as South Korea’s new president on Wednesday, 4 June 2025, following a snap election. Official results showed Lee winning by nearly three million votes (9% of the total votes) ahead of his main opponent, Kim Moon-soo of the People Power Party (PPP).