<p>The Asia-Pacific is home to more people than any other region. Centered on the western rim of the Pacific Ocean, this region includes the easternmost countries of continental Asia as well as the archipelagos that punctuate the coast. Several of these countries, most notably China, experienced rapid economic growth in the second half of the 20th century, giving the region a new sense of global economic relevance that continues today. That relevance, however, depends largely on China, a power in transition whose rise is testing the network of U.S. alliances that have long dominated the region. How effectively Beijing manages its transition will shape the regional balance of power in the decades to come.</p>

Centered on the western rim of the Pacific Ocean, the Asia-Pacific region includes the easternmost countries of continental Asia as well as the archipelagos that punctuate the coast. 

Asia-Pacific

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Beyond Quantitative Easing

The New Silk Road

Modernizing China’s Military

The U.S. and the Balance of Power

Globalization

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Coping With a Nuclear North Korea

Moscow Looks to the East

China in Transition

A Japanese Awakening

Asia-Pacific: Among Great Powers

Southeast Asia: Burdened by Consensus

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Ukraine

Protesters help an injured demonstrator near burning barricades amid clashes in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, on Oct. 29, 2025. 

Environment, Science & Technology

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Russia-Ukraine Conflict

A look at what the coming week will bring -- and a list of recommended RANE articles from the week that was.

The Weekly Rundown: Unrest in Tanzania, an EU Summit in Ukraine

U.S.-China Relations

Columns

On Geopolitics

Taiwanese President William Lai (center), flanked by other top officials in his government, discusses plans to propose a $40 billion supplemental defense budget during a news conference in Taipei on Nov. 26, 2025.

Economics

The 2025 Taiwan National Defense Report reflects Taipei's growing intent and tactical capabilities for deterrence by denial against a Chinese invasion, but it also highlights persistent challenges that contribute to a continually rising risk of conflict through 2028.

Taiwan Report Highlights Evolving Security Orientation

Honduras

Russia

India

Russian President Vladimir Putin greets Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for their bilateral meeting during the 2025 Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit.

Energy

Global Trade

The Weekly Rundown: Putin-Modi Meeting, Honduras General Election

United States

While efforts by China and others to de-dollarize their international trade will fragment the international trade financing regime to some extent, they will do little to undermine the dollar's dominance.

The Geopolitics of Trade: De-dollarization and International Trade

Angola

South Africa

United Kingdom

Banners bearing portraits of leaders of the G20 on Nov. 20 in Johannesburg. The South African government has focused the G20 summit's agenda on issues key to African countries.

The Weekly Rundown: A High-Stakes British Budget, South Africa Hosts the G20

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Podcasts

What is the outlook for Indonesia-Israel normalization, and what would that process look like?

Essential Geopolitics: Indonesia's Interest in Israel-Gaza

Chile

Venezuela

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Pakistan

People watch the USS Gravely, a Navy warship, departing the Port of Spain on Oct. 30, 2025. The U.S. warship arrived in Trinidad and Tobago on Oct. 26, 2025, for joint exercises near the coast of Venezuela, as Washington ratcheted up pressure on drug traffickers and Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.

The Weekly Rundown: U.S.-Saudi Meeting, Military Escalation in the Caribbean

Thailand's Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul (C) after chairing a National Security Council on Nov. 11 in Bangkok. An armed clash on the Thai-Cambodian border raises the risk of escalations that unwind the two countries' recent peace accord, though a return to full-scale war is less likely due to U.S. economic and security leverage.

While the most likely scenario is recurring but contained flare-ups through early 2026, a more escalatory scenario remains plausible.

More Clashes, but Not Full-blown Conflict, Likely on the Cambodian-Thai Frontier

Uzbekistan

Tajikistan

Turkmenistan

Kazakhstan

Kyrgyzstan

U.S. President Donald Trump (C), joined by lawmakers and members of his administration, delivers remarks during a dinner with leaders of Central Asian countries in the East Room of the White House on Nov. 6, 2025.

The recent C5+1 summit highlighted the U.S.'s desire to boost cooperation with Central Asian countries on trade and critical minerals, but the region's geography, governance and reliance on China and Russia will ultimately limit the impact of such efforts. 

The Promise and Limits of Increased U.S. Engagement in Central Asia

Brazil

Iraq

Syria

Campaign posters Nov. 6 ahead of Nov. 11 Iraqi parliamentary elections in central Baghdad.

The Weekly Rundown: Iraqi Elections, a U.S.-China Deal Enters Effect

Judges from across South Korea assembled at the Supreme Court and voiced concerns about the constitutionality and controversiality of two bills that President Lee Jae Myung's Democratic Party passed through the National Assembly on Dec. 3, Yonhap News Agency reported on Dec. 5. 

South Korea: Lee's Judicial Reforms Risk Overreach, Renewed Unrest

The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump paused plans to sanction China's Ministry of State Security over its role in the 2024 major hack on U.S. infrastructure called Salt Typhoon, according to Financial Times sources on Dec. 4.

U.S., China: Trump Pauses Sanctions, Constrains Export Curbs To Support China Deal

China's military seems to be conducting a major drill, slowly building since Nov. 14, with upward of 100 vessels and aircraft moving in the East and South China seas and in the West Pacific, according to defense representatives from China's regional neighbors cited by Reuters, but no Chinese military authorities have formally announced drills yet.

China: Cross-Pacific Military Drill To Deepen Regional Defense Pushback

France

French President Emmanuel Macron called for more Chinese investment in Europe and for Beijing to boost domestic consumption to address widening trade imbalances during a meeting in Beijing with President Xi Jinping, warning that a trade war would be the worst way to manage these tensions, Reuters reported Dec. 4.

France, China: Macron Calls on China To Address 'Unsustainable' Trade Imbalances

Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles confirmed formal receipt of the United States' review of AUKUS Pillar I and reiterated that Washington remains "100% supportive" of the nuclear-powered submarine program as Australia "works through" the document, the Australian Financial Review reported on Dec. 4.

Australia, U.S.: Canberra Receives Pentagon's AUKUS Review

The Hong Kong police arrested two individuals for calling for an independent investigation into the government's response to the Nov. 26 Wang Fuk Court apartment fire, which killed at least 156 people, The New York Times reported on Dec. 3.

Hong Kong: Dissenters Arrested Over Government Critiques Ahead of Elections

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung gave a speech in which he pledged to facilitate talks between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un by considering easing U.S.-South Korea military drills, Bloomberg reported on Dec. 3.

South Korea, U.S.: Lee Details Submarine Deal, Prepares for Trump-Kim Talks

U.S. President Donald Trump signed into law the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act after the bill passed the Senate and House, Bloomberg reported on Dec. 3. 

U.S. Taiwan: U.S. Bill To Facilitate Talks With Taiwan, Stir Chinese Retaliation

Asia-Pacific

SITUATION REPORTS

South Korea: Lee's Judicial Reforms Risk Overreach, Renewed Unrest

U.S., China: Trump Pauses Sanctions, Constrains Export Curbs To Support China Deal

China: Cross-Pacific Military Drill To Deepen Regional Defense Pushback

France, China: Macron Calls on China To Address 'Unsustainable' Trade Imbalances

Australia, U.S.: Canberra Receives Pentagon's AUKUS Review

Hong Kong: Dissenters Arrested Over Government Critiques Ahead of Elections

South Korea, U.S.: Lee Details Submarine Deal, Prepares for Trump-Kim Talks

U.S. Taiwan: U.S. Bill To Facilitate Talks With Taiwan, Stir Chinese Retaliation

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