<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

Mongolia

Myanmar

Nauru

New Zealand

North Korea

Palau

Papua New Guinea

Philippines

Singapore

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

Kazakhstan

Russia

In this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev waits to greet foreign leaders during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization member states leaders' summit in Astana on July 4, 2024.

Politics

Despite President Tokayev's reform proposals, Kazakhstan's succession process will remain vulnerable to destabilizing forces, including elite rivalries and foreign influence.

How Kazakhstan's Proposed Reforms Will Impact the Question of Succession

Snapshots

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba attends a press conference at the Prime Minister's Office on Sept. 6, 2025, in Tokyo, Japan.

Economics

Military & Security

Japan's leadership contest will threaten to split the ruling party as conservative and reformer factions compete to place their leaders in the country's highest office.

In Japan, Ishiba's Resignation Sparks a Volatile Party Leadership Contest

Global Elections

Ethiopia

Brazil

Israel

France

United Kingdom

French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou leaves after the weekly cabinet meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, on Aug. 27, 2025.

Israel-Hamas 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: France's Bayrou Faces a Confidence Vote, Ethiopia Inaugurates Its Mega-Dam

India

Participants of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit 2025 pose for photos in Tianjin, China, on Sept. 1, 2025.

Energy

Global Trade

U.S. trade uncertainty will help China deepen trade ties with its Central Asian neighbors and infrastructure ties with Russia, but its relations with India will remain inhibited by border disputes and differing defense priorities.

China Positions Itself as Growth Catalyst for Central Asia at SCO Summit

A protest in front of police headquarters Aug. 31 in in Surabaya, Indonesia. Mass protests are poised to continue absent unlikely and large government concessions, but President Prabowo Subianto's position will remain secure.

While mass protests are poised to continue absent unlikely and large government concessions, President Prabowo Subianto's position will remain secure. 

Unrest in Indonesia Will Continue, but Not Dislodge the Government

Sub-Saharan Africa

Americas

Middle East and North Africa

Europe

Eurasia

South Asia

The Geopolitics of Trade

Environment, Science & Technology

Geopolitical, security and environmental risks threaten to disrupt trade through crucial waterways, including the Bab el-Mandeb strait, the Suez Canal, the Danish and Turkish straits, and the Panama Canal.

The Geopolitics of Trade: Threats to Maritime Chokepoints Endanger Global Trade, Part 2

Ecuador

Mexico

United States

Ukraine

Helicopters fly in the sky during a rehearsal for a military parade Aug. 24 in Beijing.

Russia-Ukraine Conflict

The Weekly Rundown: An SCO Summit, Rubio Closes Security Deals With Mexico and Ecuador

Diverse security risks threaten maritime chokepoints around the world, presenting unique challenges to international trade.

The Geopolitics of Trade: Threats to Maritime Chokepoints Endanger Global Trade, Part 1

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping attend a meeting on May 14, 2015, in Xian, China. 

While Trump-era tariff pressures offer a new economic incentive for cooperation, Beijing and New Delhi are unlikely to fully normalize ties due to enduring strategic and security concerns.

Despite Modest Improvement, India-China Relations Face Enduring Challenges

A photo taken on Jan. 11, 2022, shows soldiers from the Taaung National Liberation Army (TNLA), a Palaung ethnic armed group, gathering in Myanmar's northern Shan state.

The junta's recent announcements portend intensified violence ahead of what will be highly controlled elections, which will further fragment the war-torn nation but may also help ease its international isolation.

Myanmar's Elections and the Military's Quest for Legitimacy

Canada

Turkey

EU ambassadors discussed whether the bloc’s 150 billion euro ($176 billion) Security Action for Europe (SAFE) loan facility for defense investments and joint procurement could be used to finance arms purchases from the United Kingdom and Canada, with France pushing to cap such purchases at 50% of their value to prioritize EU-based defense manufacturers, Euractiv reported on Sept. 12.

EU: Member States Debate Third-Country Participation in SAFE Defense Joint Procurement Initiative

Late on Sept. 11, a Chinese Ministry of Commerce spokesperson addressed Mexico's impending tariffs on Chinese automobiles by saying, "Any unilateral tariff increase by Mexico…will be seen as appeasement and compromise of unilateral bullying" by the United States, The Wall Street Journal reported on Sept. 12. 

China, Mexico: Beijing Likely To Retaliate Against Auto Tariffs

At the annual Pacific Islands Forum leaders' summit, which took place in the Solomon Islands capital of Honiara, PIF leaders rejected a Chinese proposal to remove Taiwan from the forum framework and reaffirmed its status as a "development partner," the Australian Financial Review reported on Sept. 12. 

Pacific Islands: Annual Summit Advances Climate, Peace and Autonomy Initiatives

Thailand and Cambodia agreed to gradually withdraw heavy weapons from contested frontier areas, set up a joint landmine-clearing panel and prepare a plan to repatriate captured soldiers, the Phnom Penh Post reported Sept. 11.

Thailand, Cambodia: Limited Agreement Reached to Ease Border Tensions

U.S. President Donald Trump told European leaders during a conference call on Sept. 9 that he would be willing to add new tariffs on India and China to pressure Russia to end the war in Ukraine, but only if the Europeans also applied such tariffs, according to Bloomberg.

U.S., Europe: Trump Proposes U.S.-Europe Tariffs on China, Brussels Will Reject It

Australia will spend $1.1 billion to produce and deploy more than two dozen so-called Ghost Shark autonomous submarines with U.S. defense tech firm Anduril, the Australian Financial Review reported Sept. 10. 

Australia: Canberra Commissioning Drone Submarine Fleet with Anduril

U.S.-China Relations

Cyber

U.S. federal officials are investigating a purported Chinese-linked social engineering campaign that impersonated a Republican lawmaker and targeted several trade groups, law firms and government agencies in mid-July, apparently in an effort to garner insights about ongoing U.S.-Chinese trade talks, The Wall Street Journal reported on Sept. 7.

U.S., China: Beijing Threat Actors Impersonated U.S. Lawmaker To Gather Intelligence on Trade Talks

China is preparing to allow major Russian energy companies to sell yuan-denominated "panda bonds" in its domestic market, providing a new financing channel for companies largely cut off from international capital since 2022, the Financial Times reported on Sept. 9.

Russia, China: China To Open 'Panda Bond' Market to Sanctioned Russian Energy Companies

Asia-Pacific

SITUATION REPORTS

EU: Member States Debate Third-Country Participation in SAFE Defense Joint Procurement Initiative

China, Mexico: Beijing Likely To Retaliate Against Auto Tariffs

Pacific Islands: Annual Summit Advances Climate, Peace and Autonomy Initiatives

Thailand, Cambodia: Limited Agreement Reached to Ease Border Tensions

U.S., Europe: Trump Proposes U.S.-Europe Tariffs on China, Brussels Will Reject It

Australia: Canberra Commissioning Drone Submarine Fleet with Anduril

U.S., China: Beijing Threat Actors Impersonated U.S. Lawmaker To Gather Intelligence on Trade Talks

Russia, China: China To Open 'Panda Bond' Market to Sanctioned Russian Energy Companies

Forecasts

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