<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

Australia

Samoa

Brunei Darussalam

Cambodia

China

Timor-Leste

Federated States of Micronesia

Fiji

Indonesia

Japan

Kiribati

Laos

Malaysia

Marshall Islands

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Palau

Papua New Guinea

Philippines

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Solomon Islands

South Korea

Taiwan

Thailand

Tonga

Tuvalu

Vanuatu

Vietnam

Beyond Quantitative Easing

The New Silk Road

Modernizing China’s Military

The U.S. and the Balance of Power

Globalization

Social Issues

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

Assessments

United States

Iran

Bangladesh

Campaign posters Feb. 6 of candidates running in the upcoming Japanese House of Representatives election, in Inagi, Tokyo prefecture.

Military & Security

Politics

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

The Weekly Rundown: Japan Holds Snap Elections, U.S. Weighs Options After Iran Talks

U.S.-Iran Relations

Visitors take pictures in front of an electronic board displaying falling stock prices at the Indonesia Stock Exchange in Jakarta on Jan. 29, 2026.

Economics

The episode exposes structural risks embedded in the president's governance that could threaten investor confidence -- and with it, Indonesia's economic growth and manufacturing competitiveness.

Lessons Learned From Indonesia's Market Rout

People walk past campaign posters in Bangkok on Feb. 2, 2026, ahead of Thailand's Feb. 8 general election.

Thailand's Feb. 8 general election and constitutional referendum are unlikely to deliver a decisive political reset and will instead risk extending a familiar cycle of constrained reform and policy caution amid heightened security and economic pressures.

Elections and Referendum Unlikely to End Thailand's Cycle of Constrained Governance

Russia

Russian soldiers wear chemical protection suits as they stand next to a military fueler on the base of a prime mover of Russian Topol intercontinental ballistic missile during a training session at the Serpukhov's military missile forces research institute some 100km outside Moscow on April 6, 2010.

Russia-Ukraine Conflict

Over time, this will intensify an ongoing buildup of nuclear capabilities across the globe and make crises involving nuclear powers more unpredictable and prone to miscalculations. 


Implications of the Last Major U.S.-Russian Nuclear Arms Control Agreement's Expiration

U.S.-China Relations

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi (top, 5th from left) speaks during the election campaign rally on Jan. 29, 2026, in Himeji, Japan. 

Outcomes for the Feb. 8 snap ballot include a decisive victory for Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's Liberal Democratic Party, a weakened conservative coalition and an opposition win.

Japan's Lower House Elections: Potential Outcomes and Their Implications

Global Elections

The Australian flag flies at half mast over Parliament House on Jan. 22, 2026, in Melbourne, Australia, to honor the victims of the Bondi shootings.

Passed in response to the Bondi Beach attack, the legislation will likely fuel legal and federal-state friction, deepen opposition fragmentation and entrench security policy as a persistent fault line in Australian politics.

The Political Impact of Australia's Gun Reform and Anti-Hate Bills

Snapshots

Zhang Youxia, senior vice chairman of China's Central Military Commission (CMC), attends the opening of the fourth plenary session of the National People's Congress on March 11, 2023, in Beijing, China. 

The removal of Xi's closest military ally signals an acceleration of his push to eliminate internal threats and heightens uncertainty about the president's decision-making on Taiwan, potentially raising the risk of future conflict.

China's High-Level Military Purge Raises Risk of a Miscalculation on Taiwan

Israel

Palestinian Territories

United Kingdom

India

Egyptian trucks and heavy machinery on Oct. 26, 2025, on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip.

Israel-Hamas Conflict

The Weekly Rundown: A Gaza Border Reopening, EU Leaders Visit India

A man walks past a billboard for the 14th Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam outside the National Convention Center in Hanoi on Jan. 15, 2026. 

The five-yearly event will likely codify a more centralized, security-anchored governing model, while setting ambitious goals for economic growth and administrative reforms, though internal and external pressures will hinder implementation.

Previewing Vietnam's 14th National Party Congress

Columns

On Geopolitics

Europe

Global Trade

U.S. protectionism has dramatically weakened the rules-based, multilateral trade regime established after World War II, driving governments to increasingly view trade through a national security lens rather than purely an economic one.

The Geopolitics of Trade: Conclusion

Taiwan's defense ministry said it will ask the United States to extend deadlines for signing several arms purchase agreements because parliament has still not approved the required funding, Reuters reports Feb. 6.

Taiwan, U.S.: Taipei Seeks Extension for U.S. Arms Deal

Lithuania

China said it was open to resuming dialogue with Lithuania after Lithuanian Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene said the country's 2021 decision to allow Taiwan to open a de facto embassy in Vilnius was a mistake, Reuters reported Feb. 6.

Lithuania, China: Vilnius Signals Shift Toward Normalizing Relations With Beijing

Australia and Indonesia signed a security treaty committing both countries to consult the other if either faces a threat, following talks between Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto in Jakarta, The Jakarta Post reported Feb. 6.

Australia, Indonesia: Security Pact Deepens Strategic Relationship

South Africa

Eswatini

South African Minister for Trade and Industry Parks Tau signed a framework agreement with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Wentao, that paves the way for South African exports to gain duty-free access to the Chinese market, Reuters reported Feb. 6.

South Africa: Framework Agreement for Duty-Free Access With China Signed

Chinese state media announced on Feb. 4 the dismissal of three National People's Congress (NPC) delegates with ties to the defense industry, including senior figures from aviation and nuclear weapons research, without providing official reasons, Reuters reported.

China: Lawmakers With Defense-Sector Ties Dismissed as Anti-Corruption Purge Widens

Hong Kong SAR, China

During the Feb. 4 Critical Minerals Ministerial hosted by the U.S. State Department, U.S. Vice President JD Vance proposed creating a "preferential trade zone" for critical raw materials among allies to counter Chinese dominance, the Wall Street Journal reported.

U.S.: Vance Calls for Creation of Critical Minerals 'Trade Zone' With Allies

Deputy Chairman Hsiao Hsu-tsen of Taiwan's opposition Kuomintang (KMT) met with Director Song Tao of China's Taiwan Affairs Office in Beijing on Feb. 3 to revive party-to-party talks that ended in 2016, the Taipei Times reported.

Taiwan: KMT Revives Dialogue With Chinese Communist Party

Energy

Environment, Science & Technology

The European Commission opened an in-depth investigation under the EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation into Chinese wind turbine manufacturer Goldwind, according to a Feb. 3 commission press release.

EU, China: Brussels Opens Subsidy Probe Into Chinese Wind Turbine Maker Goldwind  

Asia-Pacific

SITUATION REPORTS

Taiwan, U.S.: Taipei Seeks Extension for U.S. Arms Deal

Lithuania, China: Vilnius Signals Shift Toward Normalizing Relations With Beijing

Australia, Indonesia: Security Pact Deepens Strategic Relationship

South Africa: Framework Agreement for Duty-Free Access With China Signed

China: Lawmakers With Defense-Sector Ties Dismissed as Anti-Corruption Purge Widens

U.S.: Vance Calls for Creation of Critical Minerals 'Trade Zone' With Allies

Taiwan: KMT Revives Dialogue With Chinese Communist Party

EU, China: Brussels Opens Subsidy Probe Into Chinese Wind Turbine Maker Goldwind

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