Situation Reports

The United States hosted the "Shield of the Americas" summit in Doral, Florida, during which U.S. President Donald Trump signed a proclamation launching a coalition to combat drug cartels, The Guardian reported on March 7.

South Korea's presidential office pledged on March 9 to move toward implementing a price cap on fuel that week and added that Seoul is investigating tax evasion and price collusion among refineries and gas stations.

Taiwanese Premier Cho Jung-tai visited Japan in a private capacity to attend a World Baseball Classic game in Tokyo between Taiwan's national team and that of the Czech Republic on March 7.

Pakistan's army chief Asim Munir met with Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman to discuss Iran's attacks on Saudi Arabia and potential joint measures under their strategic defense agreement, Geo News reported on March 7.

Local media sources, including Thai PBS, claimed on March 8 that Thai Premier Anutin Charnvirakul had finalized a roughly 290-seat ruling coalition for the 500-seat House of Representatives, including his Bhumjaithai Party (with 191 seats), the center-left Pheu Thai (74) and 13 smaller parties.

European natural gas prices surged on March 9 as the war in the Middle East continued to disrupt global energy markets and seaborne fuel shipments, Reuters reported the same day.

G7 finance ministers held an emergency meeting on March 9 to discuss the impact of the Iran war on global energy markets and possible stabilisation measures, including a release of strategic oil reserves, Reuters reported the same day.

The White House released its National Cyber Strategy on March 6, outlining six pillars to guide U.S. cyber operations and calling for "unprecedented coordination between the government and the private sector."

U.S. investigators believe that Chinese state-sponsored threat actors are responsible for breaching computer networks linked to the FBI that hold information related to domestic surveillance orders, The Wall Street Journal reported on March 6.

On March 7, U.S. President Donald Trump said he did not want the Kurds to conduct an offensive into Iran, pouring cold water on the rumored operation, The Times of Israel reported the next day.