“The people here have golden-brown skin, and the sunsets are very beautiful,” a Portuguese envoy reported from Malacca in 1541.
Thirty years earlier, the Portuguese had taken control of the trading city on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula. From there, they could enjoy the sight of the sunsets and the sailing ships gliding past in the tropical breeze.
Today, Malacca has lost its importance as a hub of shipping in Southeast Asia. But the Strait of Malacca is busier than ever. Last year, more than 100,000 large vessels passed through the narrow passage. It becomes narrower still when ships enter the Phillips Channel near Singapore. There, the fairway is only 2.8 kilometres wide. In other words, one of the world’s most important sea lanes is, at its narrowest point, no wider than the distance from Aker Brygge to Bygdøy.
Is it any wonder that leaders in Beijing, Tokyo and other capitals worry about what might happen if the Strait of Malacca, too, were drawn into a major conflict?
onsdag 1. juli 2026
Torbjørn Færøvik: The Strait That Could Strangle China
Can China target critics abroad with its new 'ethnic unity' law?
Zhang Yadi, 23, also known as Tara, is supposed to be studying at a prestigious university in the UK. Instead she is believed to be in detention in China.
In one of her last posts on the social media platform "X", she wished the Dalai Lama a happy 90th birthday. She had also helped edit an online Chinese language platform promoting Tibetan rights while studying in France. Her words of support for Tibetans, posted while abroad, are believed to have put her in prison. Beijing views the exiled spiritual leader as a separatist and what it calls the Tibet Autonomous Region, which it annexed in 1950, as an integral part of China.
Tara was reportedly arrested in Shangri-La in Yunnan province in July last year while on a visit to China, and is thought to be facing charges of "inciting others to split the country and undermine national unity."
In one of her last posts on the social media platform "X", she wished the Dalai Lama a happy 90th birthday. She had also helped edit an online Chinese language platform promoting Tibetan rights while studying in France. Her words of support for Tibetans, posted while abroad, are believed to have put her in prison. Beijing views the exiled spiritual leader as a separatist and what it calls the Tibet Autonomous Region, which it annexed in 1950, as an integral part of China.
Tara was reportedly arrested in Shangri-La in Yunnan province in July last year while on a visit to China, and is thought to be facing charges of "inciting others to split the country and undermine national unity."
Xi touts Chinese wisdom and solutions as a model for developing nations
China’s leader held up his country’s rapid industrialization as a new pathway for developing nations in a speech Wednesday that projected a growing confidence both at home and on the world stage. Xi Jinping, now in his 14th year in power, noted that China achieved in a few decades what it took centuries for rich countries to do.
“We advocate the building of a community with a shared future for humanity, providing Chinese wisdom, Chinese solutions and Chinese strength for addressing major issues facing humanity,” he said at an event marking the 105th anniversary of the founding of the ruling Communist Party.
China, which has long bristled at U.S. dominance of the international system, has said it doesn’t want to replace the global order but change it to better represent the interests of developing countries. Xi’s government went head-to-head with the U.S. last year and forced President Donald Trump to scale back import tariffs that he had imposed on imports from China.
“We advocate the building of a community with a shared future for humanity, providing Chinese wisdom, Chinese solutions and Chinese strength for addressing major issues facing humanity,” he said at an event marking the 105th anniversary of the founding of the ruling Communist Party.
China, which has long bristled at U.S. dominance of the international system, has said it doesn’t want to replace the global order but change it to better represent the interests of developing countries. Xi’s government went head-to-head with the U.S. last year and forced President Donald Trump to scale back import tariffs that he had imposed on imports from China.
Why Kim Jong Un never talks about his mother - or her controversial bloodline
Among the many mysteries shrouding North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, the secrecy around his mother stands out. In his 15 years of rule, he has never once publicly mentioned her by name.
The legitimacy of Kim's dictatorship rests heavily on his "Mount Paektu" bloodline - a lineage tied to the mythical founder of the Korean people. And in a country that prides itself on this hereditary purity, the identity of Kim's mother is not just a secret - but a threat to the regime itself.
The story of the Koreas, according to popular belief, begins on Mount Paektu - a mountain located on the China-North Korea border that is said to be the birthplace of Dangun, the mythical founder of what became Korea's first kingdom. Thousands of years later, Kim Il Sung - the founder of North Korea - reportedly used the mountain as a hideout when fighting against the Japanese. His son, Kim Jong Il, was said to be born on those same sacred slopes - despite reports indicating he was in fact most likely born in Russia - and for decades since the mountain has been used to legitimise the Kim dynasty.
The legitimacy of Kim's dictatorship rests heavily on his "Mount Paektu" bloodline - a lineage tied to the mythical founder of the Korean people. And in a country that prides itself on this hereditary purity, the identity of Kim's mother is not just a secret - but a threat to the regime itself.
The story of the Koreas, according to popular belief, begins on Mount Paektu - a mountain located on the China-North Korea border that is said to be the birthplace of Dangun, the mythical founder of what became Korea's first kingdom. Thousands of years later, Kim Il Sung - the founder of North Korea - reportedly used the mountain as a hideout when fighting against the Japanese. His son, Kim Jong Il, was said to be born on those same sacred slopes - despite reports indicating he was in fact most likely born in Russia - and for decades since the mountain has been used to legitimise the Kim dynasty.
Indian pilgrims stranded in Nepal due to China’s tight Tibet control
Visiting Tibet is not like visiting China or any other country as it is a difficult occupied territory under tight foreign control and a mere visa would not suffice to fly to it. This message was brought home to a number of Indian pilgrims who travelled to Nepal for their visit to Mount Kailash and lake Mansarovar in western Tibet’s Ngari prefecture but have remained stranded there.
While any individual can apply for a visa to travel to China, an additional special entry permit is requited to visit Tibet. This can be applied for through a travel agency registered with the Chinese government and is only given for group tours. Besides, India pilgrims can apply for visa only from the Chinese embassy in New Delhi, not anywhere else, including Kathmandu.
While any individual can apply for a visa to travel to China, an additional special entry permit is requited to visit Tibet. This can be applied for through a travel agency registered with the Chinese government and is only given for group tours. Besides, India pilgrims can apply for visa only from the Chinese embassy in New Delhi, not anywhere else, including Kathmandu.
10 Years After the South China Sea Arbitration: Will ASEAN Remain Silent?
The ASEAN Leaders’ Declaration on Maritime Cooperation, adopted at the 48th Summit in Cebu on May 8, 2026, referred to the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) no fewer than 18 times, reaffirming the key principles of peace and stability, the peaceful settlement of disputes and compliance with UNCLOS.
Yet ASEAN has never officially recognized the 2016 South China Sea Arbitral Award issued by an arbitral tribunal constituted under Annex VII of UNCLOS – the very convention that ASEAN itself has repeatedly affirmed as the comprehensive legal framework governing all activities at sea.
July 2026 marks the 10th anniversary of the arbitral ruling in favor of the Philippines in its case against China concerning the South China Sea. How will ASEAN respond to this important legal milestone?
Yet ASEAN has never officially recognized the 2016 South China Sea Arbitral Award issued by an arbitral tribunal constituted under Annex VII of UNCLOS – the very convention that ASEAN itself has repeatedly affirmed as the comprehensive legal framework governing all activities at sea.
July 2026 marks the 10th anniversary of the arbitral ruling in favor of the Philippines in its case against China concerning the South China Sea. How will ASEAN respond to this important legal milestone?
Nationality dispute: What does an Indian passport prove?
For decades, Indian citizenship was rarely questioned. Most people voted, obtained passports, enrolled in welfare schemes and went about their lives without having to demonstrate that they belonged in the country in which they were born. That assumption is steadily changing.
Last week, a senior official of India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said the Indian passport is primarily a travel document and should not be treated as a conclusive proof of citizenship, according to Indian media reports. Legally, that distinction is not new.
Former diplomat Veena Sikri notes that the Ministry of Home Affairs — not the MEA — has the sole authority to grant and determine citizenship. "A passport is an attribute of citizenship, but does not itself confer it," Sikri told DW.
The MEA official's reported statement comes at a time when citizenship itself has become one of India's most politically contested subjects.
Last week, a senior official of India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said the Indian passport is primarily a travel document and should not be treated as a conclusive proof of citizenship, according to Indian media reports. Legally, that distinction is not new.
Former diplomat Veena Sikri notes that the Ministry of Home Affairs — not the MEA — has the sole authority to grant and determine citizenship. "A passport is an attribute of citizenship, but does not itself confer it," Sikri told DW.
The MEA official's reported statement comes at a time when citizenship itself has become one of India's most politically contested subjects.
Taiwan in Time: The world’s once-most-attended elementary school turns 130
Beginning with 10 students in 1896, enrollment at Laosong Elementary School soared to a record-breaking 11,100 in 1966 before falling to fewer than 500 today.
At a time when students had to pass entrance exams to attend junior high, Laosong became a magnet school due to its high advancement rate. According to news reports, 12 buses transported students to the campus in Taipei’s Wanhua District (萬華) from different parts of what is today New Taipei City.
Some classrooms were packed with more than 90 students. Even the principal’s office was converted into a classroom, forcing the principal to work out of a makeshift space partitioned off in the central hall. Eight additional classrooms were set up in the assembly hall, and in some cases three students shared a single desk. The school eventually split the day into morning and afternoon shifts to accommodate the soaring enrollment.
At a time when students had to pass entrance exams to attend junior high, Laosong became a magnet school due to its high advancement rate. According to news reports, 12 buses transported students to the campus in Taipei’s Wanhua District (萬華) from different parts of what is today New Taipei City.
Some classrooms were packed with more than 90 students. Even the principal’s office was converted into a classroom, forcing the principal to work out of a makeshift space partitioned off in the central hall. Eight additional classrooms were set up in the assembly hall, and in some cases three students shared a single desk. The school eventually split the day into morning and afternoon shifts to accommodate the soaring enrollment.
European heat wave brings in cool cash for Asian air-conditioner makers as sales surge
As Europe sweats through record-breaking temperatures, Asian makers of air conditioners, like South Korea’s Samsung Electronics, China’s Midea and Japan’s Mitsubishi Electric, are enjoying a boom in sales.
Air conditioning is common throughout buildings, transport and homes in major cities across Asia, but it is rare in Europe and people are struggling to stay cool as searing heat claims lives, disrupts power supplies and shuts schools. Seeking respite from the sizzling weather, people and companies across Europe are snapping up portable and fixed air conditioners as some countries warn the heat wave could intensify.
Air conditioning is common throughout buildings, transport and homes in major cities across Asia, but it is rare in Europe and people are struggling to stay cool as searing heat claims lives, disrupts power supplies and shuts schools. Seeking respite from the sizzling weather, people and companies across Europe are snapping up portable and fixed air conditioners as some countries warn the heat wave could intensify.
tirsdag 30. juni 2026
To Compete with China, US Must Win Next Generation Wireless
Mobile Artificial Intelligence is the next frontier of technological competition, and the ability to compete will depend largely on the strength of wireless networks and how effectively new 6G technologies are supported. A little-known secret in the tech world is the tight relationship between mid-band spectrum and global AI leadership. America’s technological advantage in AI depends on access to adequate spectrum, the invisible range of frequencies that carry wireless signals.
China’s AI Data Center Boom: How it Compares to the US
Since generative AI took off around 2022, the boom has opened a new front in the United States and China's race for technological supremacy.
More than 3,000 data centers have sprung up across all 50 states, with more than 1,400 others in various stages of development, according to Data Center Map, a Denmark-based commercial database. The thousands of specialized computer chips needed to process and store AI workloads consume enormous amounts of energy and require constant cooling to prevent overheating.
Residents and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have raised concerns about energy-intensive centers' impact on local power grids, water supplies and electricity costs, with 71 percent of respondents to a March Gallup poll opposed to data-center construction in their communities.
More than 3,000 data centers have sprung up across all 50 states, with more than 1,400 others in various stages of development, according to Data Center Map, a Denmark-based commercial database. The thousands of specialized computer chips needed to process and store AI workloads consume enormous amounts of energy and require constant cooling to prevent overheating.
Residents and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have raised concerns about energy-intensive centers' impact on local power grids, water supplies and electricity costs, with 71 percent of respondents to a March Gallup poll opposed to data-center construction in their communities.
China Hails Breakthrough in ‘Artificial Sun’ Project
China has achieved a major engineering milestone in its fusion energy program, marking a major step forward on what media has dubbed the "artificial sun" project.
Fusion generates energy by combining light atomic nuclei rather than splitting heavy atoms, the method used in conventional nuclear power plants. While the reaction occurs naturally in stars, reproducing it on Earth requires temperatures of over 180 million degrees Fahrenheit while containing the plasma with powerful magnetic fields, as no material structure can withstand direct contact with these temperatures.
Fusion generates energy by combining light atomic nuclei rather than splitting heavy atoms, the method used in conventional nuclear power plants. While the reaction occurs naturally in stars, reproducing it on Earth requires temperatures of over 180 million degrees Fahrenheit while containing the plasma with powerful magnetic fields, as no material structure can withstand direct contact with these temperatures.
EU gets tough on China as trade imbalance stokes deindustrialisation fears
As European Union trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic hosted Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao in Brussels for talks on Monday, the Slovak diplomat was all smiles.
But behind the diplomatic niceties, Sefcovic’s message to China rang out loud and clear. Addressing the media after a marathon day of negotiations with Wang, Sefcovic may not have literally said “enough is enough,” but he hardly needed to. “China’s exports to the EU keep rising, while our market share in China keeps shrinking,” Sefcovic said. “This trend is not sustainable. The status quo is not an option.”
For a long time, Europe was seen as the Transatlantic counterargument to United States President Donald Trump’s protectionism, defending free commerce and trade against a rising populist tide. That now feels like a distant memory.
But behind the diplomatic niceties, Sefcovic’s message to China rang out loud and clear. Addressing the media after a marathon day of negotiations with Wang, Sefcovic may not have literally said “enough is enough,” but he hardly needed to. “China’s exports to the EU keep rising, while our market share in China keeps shrinking,” Sefcovic said. “This trend is not sustainable. The status quo is not an option.”
For a long time, Europe was seen as the Transatlantic counterargument to United States President Donald Trump’s protectionism, defending free commerce and trade against a rising populist tide. That now feels like a distant memory.
China’s New “Ethnic Unity” Law: Why Taiwan, Uyghurs, and Tibetans Are Alarmed
On March 12, 2026, China’s National People’s Congress adopted the Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress, a sweeping piece of legislation that takes effect July 1, 2026. The law codifies more than a decade of policy under Xi Jinping aimed at forging a single, Party-defined “Chinese national identity” out of the country’s 56 officially recognized ethnic groups.
The statute represents the culmination of a policy shift dating back to the 2014 Central Ethnic Work Conference, in which Beijing moved away from the Soviet-derived framework of nominal ethnic autonomy and toward what scholars call “second-generation ethnic policies” – an assimilationist approach prioritizing a unified national identity over accommodation of ethnic difference. Provincial governments in places like Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia had already passed local “ethnic unity” regulations in 2015 and 2021 respectively; the new statute elevates this approach into national law.
The statute represents the culmination of a policy shift dating back to the 2014 Central Ethnic Work Conference, in which Beijing moved away from the Soviet-derived framework of nominal ethnic autonomy and toward what scholars call “second-generation ethnic policies” – an assimilationist approach prioritizing a unified national identity over accommodation of ethnic difference. Provincial governments in places like Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia had already passed local “ethnic unity” regulations in 2015 and 2021 respectively; the new statute elevates this approach into national law.
Nvidia flew to Beijing with Trump to sell but China said no
A month ago, the CEO of the world’s most valuable company boarded Air Force One in Alaska as a last-minute addition to President Trump’s Beijing delegation. Jensen Huang came to sell Nvidia’s H200 chips, just cleared for export by Washington. But Beijing said no.
It’s pushing Chinese firms to use Huawei and other domestic sources instead. Nvidia’s market share in China collapsed from 95% to essentially zero last year. The summit was framed as a negotiation over what China would buy from America: planes, soybeans, chips. The Huang episode reveals Beijing’s actual priority: technological independence, then supremacy. Trade, markets and profitability be damned.
As China reaches parity and even overtakes the West in more technologies, the direction of technology transfer is reversing. Early signs are already visible.
It’s pushing Chinese firms to use Huawei and other domestic sources instead. Nvidia’s market share in China collapsed from 95% to essentially zero last year. The summit was framed as a negotiation over what China would buy from America: planes, soybeans, chips. The Huang episode reveals Beijing’s actual priority: technological independence, then supremacy. Trade, markets and profitability be damned.
As China reaches parity and even overtakes the West in more technologies, the direction of technology transfer is reversing. Early signs are already visible.
China imposes export controls on 40 Japanese entities as tensions with Tokyo rise
China imposed new export controls Monday on 40 Japanese entities it says are contributing to the country’s “remilitarization,” as tensions with Tokyo rise. Relations between Beijing and Tokyo have been increasingly tense since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi last year implied Japan could intervene if China used military force against Taiwan, an island democracy China claims as its own.
Meanwhile, Japan has accelerated its military expansion, especially by adding offensive capabilities, which Beijing has condemned. China’s Commerce Ministry on Monday placed 20 Japanese entities, including multiple divisions of Mitsubishi Corporation, on a control list, which prohibits Chinese and foreign exporters from selling to them dual-use items made in China. Dual-use items can be used for both civilian and military purposes.
Meanwhile, Japan has accelerated its military expansion, especially by adding offensive capabilities, which Beijing has condemned. China’s Commerce Ministry on Monday placed 20 Japanese entities, including multiple divisions of Mitsubishi Corporation, on a control list, which prohibits Chinese and foreign exporters from selling to them dual-use items made in China. Dual-use items can be used for both civilian and military purposes.
A Chinese dissident recounts his perilous dinghy escape to South Korea and how he got to Canada
A roughly 40-hour sea journey on a dinghy with a dying phone. Detention in South Korea. That’s just part of what Chinese dissident Dong Guangping endured to escape his native country. He arrived late last week in Canada, a destination he had eyed for more than a decade.
Dong had been locked up in China several times, including for his activities commemorating the 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square and past efforts to flee. “It’s like living in a cage. Very suffocating,” he said in an online video interview with The Associated Press from Toronto, referring to the lack of freedom of expression in China.
Dong had been locked up in China several times, including for his activities commemorating the 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square and past efforts to flee. “It’s like living in a cage. Very suffocating,” he said in an online video interview with The Associated Press from Toronto, referring to the lack of freedom of expression in China.
Self-exiled Chinese billionaire Guo Wengui gets 30 years in US prison for fraud conviction
A self-exiled billionaire Chinese business tycoon once believed to be among China’s wealthiest men was sentenced Monday to 30 years in a U.S. prison for a massive financial fraud that a federal judge said cost over 1,000 people worldwide hundreds of millions of dollars.
Guo Wengui, who fled China a decade ago and reinvented himself as a U.S.-based Communist Party critic, was sentenced in a Manhattan courtroom packed with his supporters by Judge Analisa Torres. She said he “preyed on those seeking to bring Democracy to China,” taking their money so he could live lavishly.
Before he was sentenced, Guo protested his treatment in jail, saying he was taken to the hospital early Monday. He disputed a prosecutor’s portrayal of him as a malingerer faking illness, saying he repeatedly vomited as he was returned to jail before being brought to court.
Guo Wengui, who fled China a decade ago and reinvented himself as a U.S.-based Communist Party critic, was sentenced in a Manhattan courtroom packed with his supporters by Judge Analisa Torres. She said he “preyed on those seeking to bring Democracy to China,” taking their money so he could live lavishly.
Before he was sentenced, Guo protested his treatment in jail, saying he was taken to the hospital early Monday. He disputed a prosecutor’s portrayal of him as a malingerer faking illness, saying he repeatedly vomited as he was returned to jail before being brought to court.
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