How the Panama Canal works shows why Trump wants it back so badly

    How China is factor in oil tanker seizures targeting Maduro, Venezuela

    A U.S. military helicopter flies over the Panama-flagged Centuries, which was intercepted by the U.S. Coast Guard, days after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a “blockade” of all sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela, east of Barbados in the Caribbean Sea on Dec. 20, 2025. Department Of Homeland Security | Via Reuters The escalating…

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    Boats at a dive site off Sipadan, an island over which Malaysia and Indonesia once had rival claims. Photo: Shutterstock

      Why are South China Sea disputes hard to resolve? Power ‘asymmetry’, Malaysian expert says

      An inherent “asymmetry” of power poses a challenge to resolving South China Sea disputes via the quiet diplomacy traditionally favoured by Southeast Asian nations, a leading Malaysian security expert has said. Chinese analysts said Beijing supported the “Asean way” too, so long as sovereignty claims were resolved bilaterally. They also warned against external interference and…

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      Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Japan would lift defence spending to 2 per cent of GDP by March – well ahead of her party’s earlier timelines. Photo: AFP

        Beijing bristles as Japan weighs missile export to Philippines

        Tokyo is considering exporting a missile system to the Philippines as it seeks to ease its weapons-export restrictions, Japanese media reported – a move likely to draw criticism from Beijing. The missile system, dubbed Type 03 Medium-Range Surface-to-Air Missile, is of the same type that Tokyo plans to deploy on Yonaguni, an island only 110…

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