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Description: The US, Japan and the Philippines have agreed on extended cooperation in several areas including maritime security. The Presidents of the three countries had a conference call where maritime infrastructure projects and joint military exercises have been agreed upon. Japan’s President also confirmed his country’s support for the newly – elected US President Donald Trump as well as expressing his concerns over the transaction involving US Steel and Japan’s Nippon Steel. Impact: With the expansion of maritime activities by China, especially towards Taiwan, the US and its allies are bolstering regional capacities with the aim of establishing
Description: Within a week of Trump’s inauguration as the next US President, Ukraine’s latest situation on the ground is dire. The troops have lost significant ground as Russia had taken up to 150 square miles of territory in December only. With the new US administration, military aid and support was expected to be halted while EU allies continue to supply Ukraine with much – needed military supplies. Although reassurances have been guaranteed both by US and EU allies, Ukraine is yet to repel another wave of Russian attacks with minimal to none supplies in the new year. Impact: The change in US administration as well as the disarray in EU’s foreign po
Description: With Donald Trump taking over the US Presidency for the second time, China has substantially intensified their exports while their imports have been stable and on the rise. China’s exports mostly focused on the automotive industry with disputes in the EU and the US in terms of tariffs, were still on the rise. Impact: As the world’s second – largest economy, China is set to face the eminent trade war with the US under the Trump administration. The strengthening in export growth while keeping a stable rate of imports indicates that Chinese economy was set to reach different levels of exponential economic growth. The possibility of new round
Description: The question on whether Ukraine can join NATO and how, had been widely discussed since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. Although several articles in NATO’s Statute don’t allow for a country which is in conflict to enter NATO membership accession negotiations there are several exclusions. Under those exigent circumstances, Ukraine would have to declare and issue a non – use of force pledge, NATO would have to send an official invitation and amend the accession criteria labeled in Article 6. Impact: Ukraine’s accession to NATO although a largely discussed geopolitical topic still doesn’t seem possible. Even if several conditions under which Ukraine
Description: One of the largest social media platforms in the world – Meta has been accused of faltering under political pressure in light of Trump’s presidential turn. The media giant would eliminate the third – party fact checkers on their platform and replace them with user generated community notes. Problems and concerns have been raised since the measure came into effect after Donald Trump was confirmed as the next US President. Impact: Meta has faced scrutiny from Donald Trump’s administration and especially from the public for non – effective and efficient implementation of fact checking programs. As one of the largest social media platforms this repr
Description: The United States has further bolstered Taiwan’s defense capabilities reaffirming their strong regional alliance and cooperation. The White House had stated that several assistance programs such as Foreign Military Financing, Presidential Drawdown Authority and International Military Education and Training have been implemented in the cooperation. Further cooperation was expected since Joe Biden’s administration authorized 19 arms sales to Taiwan as well as the regional cooperation with Australia, New Zealand and Japan. Impact: With the reaffirmation of Taiwan as one of their priorities, the US prioritized the Indo – Pacific geopolitical region
Description: Top level security officials from the Israeli government have been received in Doha, Qatar on 12 Jan 2025 amid continued peace talks for Gaza ceasefire. Among the officials are the head of the Mossad, David Barnea, and the head of the Shin Bet, Ronen Bar. Both Israeli and Palestinian officials have stated that backchannel talks resulted with some progress but not a concrete proposal or a resolution. Steve Witkoff, President Trump’s Middle East Representative, previously met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani. Impact: With the International Community actively monitorin
Description: The US Supreme Court is set to rule on the law enforced by President Biden’s administration of banning TikTok from the US market. Lawyers from TikTok had appeared before the Court and have been unfavorably received which put the possible ban high on the agenda. The law demanded TikTok to be sold to a US – owned company and for ByteDance, the current Chinese owner, to fully divest their stake. Although future Trump administration had stated support against banning the social media platform, the prognosis has been deemed unlikely. Impact: With the perpetual trade war between China and the US intensifying, the TikTok ban would not only have socio –
Description: Far – right President of Alternative for Germany (AfD) Alice Weidel, has been confirmed to lead her party at Germany’s general election next month. She was overwhelmingly supported at the party’s conference and reaffirmed her intentions of solidifying AfD’s key political priorities related to immigration and the consolidation of power within the European Union. Her checkered past and controversial background didn’t influence her election as a candidate although the conference was interrupted on a few occasions by protestors. Impact: The resurgence of right and far – right political parties would influence the European Union’s both internal and e
Description: Within the last two years, Russia has significantly raised the level of conducted covert operations within the European Union. Their activities have ranged from sabotage to targeted assassinations, disinformation campaigns and special operations involving members of the GRU (Russia’s Military Intelligence Agency). Ukraine being the main focus of their special activities, Russia expanded their covert operations all across Europe with Germany, France and the UK being among their top targets. Impact: Although plummeted by EU sanctions, Russia leveraged the somewhat diluted state of EU’s main members in a crucial period in the war with Ukraine. The