Indo-Pacific Insight Weekly: May 23rd 2026 edition
From May 23rd, Indo-Pacific Insight Weekly is going forward with a larger collection of recent, and relevant,
updates on the Indo-Pacific and those considerations that impact upon the region.
The format remains at-a-glance – headlines plus links – but the amount of items is greatly expanded;
this inaugural full edition, below, outlines more than 90 timely IndoPac items.
Items featured in the Weekly edition are drawn from the Indo-Pacific Update app,
which covers a wider range of items than the deliberately more-focused
Indo-Pacific 5×5 daily newsletters, which focus on 5 items each day.
Indo-Pacific Insight Weekly: May 23rd 2026 in full
• Breakthroughs for RCEP’s future regional order (OpEd)
• Pakistan, China strengthen TVET cooperation at Beijing symposium
• South-east Asia’s e-commerce market to hit nearly US$290 billion by 2029
• Laos, New Zealand strengthen partnership as foreign ministers hold talks
• Vietnam’s Starlink pilot and digital sovereignty in Southeast Asia
• Why does the PLA object to Japan’s drone plans for its southern islands?
• US-led Indo-Pacific Alliance launches network, excludes South Korea
• Japan integrates maritime systems with eight Southeast Asian nations
• Expanding market of BrahMos in ‘Global South’ boosts India’s global aspirations
• Stop calling it the ‘Gray Zone’: How China exploits the language of ambiguity
• Balikatan: Friends and enemies
• Pakistan’s debut Panda Bond draws strong global demand
• Indo-Pacific Insight Weekly: May 16th 2026 publication download
• Remote Japanese island draws scrutiny over nuclear waste, rare earth plans
• Beyond aid and trade: Japan, Mongolia, and the critical minerals opening
• Russia highlights expanding partnership with Islamic countries
• Laos, Thailand ink Mekong River navigation safety pact
• The new Indo-Pacific security architecture: From hub-and-spoke to allied security web
• Governments across the Indo-Pacific are getting busier without getting better prepared
• ZTE and Telkom Indonesia to accelerate digital solutions and infrastructure development
• Thailand advances plan for six new regional airports
• Washington Guard, Singapore conclude Exercise Tiger Balm
• HMS Spey back on the beat as extensive patrols around Southeast Asia and the Far East resume
• Shell Malaysia to expand its Westport fuels terminal
• Laos, Kyrgyzstan pledge stronger ties
• China burns more coal and gas as wind and nuclear output falls
• Erdoğan visit highlights Kazakhstan’s Middle Corridor strategy
• Rahmon looks to China as Tajikistan’s options narrow
• Corridor of Power: China’s Inland Hub Connects to ASEAN
• Malaysia eyeing conclusion of Malaysia-Korea Free Trade Agreement
• Marcos keen to discuss Japan’s defense, energy posture during Tokyo trip
• Guangxi’s Pinglu Canal to boost growing trade between South-east Asia and China
• Pakistani and Chinese law firms launch joint office to boost legal services
• Russia quietly adds four LNG carriers to its Arctic dark fleet
• Australia: Research collaborations that could work against the nation must stop
• Guangzhou Arbitration Commission opens global arbitrator applications
• Chinese scientists land on Sandy Cay reef as tensions with Philippines spike once again
• Laos signs concession for 80MW Xekaman 4 hydropower project to export power to Vietnam
• Sri Lanka and Vietnam discuss digital public infrastructure and AI cooperation
• Australia turns to China for emergency jet fuel supplies
• Philippines rejects special US status for planned Luzon industrial hub
• Indonesia’s nickel boom was built on an illusion
• Massive US missile order may expand American anti-ship arsenal
• Vietnam’s Green SM ride-hailer ups Philippine EV push with near 18,500 VinFast vehicles
• Japan-ROK Summit Meeting (Summary)
• Indonesia’s South China Sea fisheries get Japanese support
• Japan’s Type 88 transfer to Philippines could reshape South China Sea and Taiwan war calculus
• Myanmar junta’s forced remittance rules pull in $7.1BN
• New Myanmar regime tightens forcible conscription covering 13 million citizens
• Indonesia receives French fighter jets as it beefs up defense capabilities
• Chinese Navy conducts Western Pacific drills post-summit
• Sun, sea and tax-free: Bali tries to woo investors
• Solomon Islands: Santa Cruz new terminal building reaches 70 percent completion
• South Korea to join Japan’s plan for joint oil reserve at summit
• Australia orders Chinese investors to sell rare earth stakes
• North Korea’s Kim calls to make border with South Korea an ‘impregnable fortress’
• Historic Tinian airfield slated for flight operations as Pentagon expands Pacific network
• Salaknib 2026: Multinational forces enhance interoperability during JPMRC-X air assault
• Kizilelma UCAV procurement is strategic leap in Indonesia’s aerial capabilities
• Japan eyes dedicated ship to lead deep-sea rare earths race, cut reliance on China
• Japan mulls early-warning drones to strengthen Pacific surveillance to Cover ‘blind spot’
• The global push for local-currency cross-border payments is intensifying
• Vietnam breaks ground on 60km expressway to Laos; Laos pushes ahead with linking section
• Malaysia approves RM10 billion E-ART rail project for Johor Bahru
• India eyes direct Gulf oil loading despite Hormuz blockade
• Pakistan offers huge potential for Chinese investors: Investment Minister
• South Korea: Military begins formal procedures to acquire nuclear-powered submarines
• Solomon Islands: SINBIP sixteen sites online
• US wants to construct Philippine Coast Guard maintenance, repair, fuel depot in Palawan
• China’s rare earth supply chain is expanding into Laos: The structural logic explains why
• India, Nordic nations upgrade ties with green tech, defense focus
• Indonesia secures US$60.3 million trade deals at China food expo
• Strategic partnership upgrade to defence roadmap: Outcomes of PM Modi–Meloni Rome meeting
• An America adrift risks falling behind China
• The strategic calculus behind Canada’s submarine procurement
• Pakistan’s structural relevance in a fragmenting regional order
• Japan’s largest warship prepares for F-35B training with US Marines
• South Korea, India approved for Apache helicopter upgrades, sustainment under possible US FMS
• Japan and Australia: A quasi-alliance comes of age
• Australian and Canadian navies conduct boarding exercises in South China Sea
• Operationalising the East: India’s naval engagement with Myanmar
• Viet Nam pledges to contribute more to adaptive, future-ready ASEAN | Nhan Dan Online
• Japan, PH to upgrade partnership to highest tier of strategic ties
• Singapore’s weaponised drone trial spotlights regional rush for unmanned systems
• Vietnamese, NZ officials co-chair 33rd ASEAN – New Zealand Dialogue
• Is Indonesia’s special economic zone strategy starting to bear fruit?
• Supply, Strategy, and Statecraft: India’s China Policy in an Era of Economic Rebalancing
• Nauru orders all public servants and government bodies to follow ‘One China’ principle
• Cook Islands prime minister to attend inauguration of new vessel in China
• Governor of Chuuk, FSM: We want to look up to and learn from Guangdong
• Fast-tracking the Asean Power Grid amid global energy turmoil
• Vietnam unveils timeline for $67 billion high-speed railway
• Why Australia’s cuts to news services in the Indo-Pacific are a failure of soft diplomacy
Disclaimer: Headlines, and content selections, presented here are taken directly from the referenced articles and online platforms, and do not reflect any personal value judgment, statement or opinion. Indo-Pacific Insight and its representatives make no warranty as to the accuracy, completeness, or truthfulness of the content of these articles. All news and information presented should be carefully scrutinized, considering the credibility of each source, the documented or discernible facts, the statements presented, and the strength of supporting evidence. Readers should form their own conclusions through the application of their own informed critical analysis. In detail >