A Week of Escalation: Disputes, Disasters and Diplomatic Power Moves
🌍 Top Stories of the Week 27/11 - 2/12
27 November
🇮🇳 🇨🇳 Border disputes amongst India and China is intensifying. Travellers obtaining a visa to Arunachal Pradesh were asked to purchase new flight tickets under China Eastern Airlines as Arunachal Pradesh is considered a “part of China”. [Aljazeera]
🇺🇸 White House in lockdown after two National Guard members were shot in Washington. [ABC]
🇭🇰 On this day the death toll of the apartment fires in Hong Kong reached 55, as of this publish date, death tolls have risen to 151.
28 November
🇩🇰 Denmark starts a Game of Thrones-like “night watch” over Greenland over the possible threat of Trump. Winter is coming. [The Guardian]
🇺🇦 Amid widening corruption scandal, Andriy Yermak, Zelensky’s chief of staff and top peace negotiator resigns. [New York Times]
After Zelensky’s business partner laundered $100 million from Ukraine’s publicly owned nuclear power company to then commit fraud and financial crimes. [New York Times]
🇮🇱 🇸🇾 Israeli Raid in Southern Syria Kills at Least 13, Syrian Officials Say. [New York Times]
29 November
Mass floods worldwide
🇮🇩 Death toll from Indonesia floods and landslides rises to 303 after a rare tropical storm forming in the Malacca Strait. [Reuters]
With most of the roads blocked, aid is currently being accessed by helicopters in the North of Indonesia.
🇹🇭 Death toll from flooding in southern Thailand reaches at least 145. [BBC]
🇱🇰 Death toll from floods and mudslides in Sri Lanka rises to 132. [St Albert Gazette]
🇺🇸 🇻🇪 Trump says airspace above and surrounding Venezuela to be closed in its entirety. Surrounding Venezuela. [ABC]
30 November
🇮🇱 Israel's Netanyahu seeks pardon in years-long corruption trial. [Reuters]
Netanyahu argued “ that criminal proceedings were hindering his ability to govern and a pardon would be good for Israel”.
🇮🇳 Government of New Delhi, India, forced to order half of its workers to work from home with toxic fumes. The fumes are said to be at levels of 20 times worse than the recommended breathing quality. [New York Times]
🇮🇱 🇵🇸 Pope Leo Calls for a Two-State Solution in Mideast Conflict. [New York Times]
Pope Leo stated he discussed with the Turkish president on how the Vatican might help Israel and the Palestinian territories find peace.
1 December
🇺🇸 🇻🇪 In a call with Caracas last week, Trump told Maduro: "You can save yourself and those closest to you, but you must leave the country now". Venezuela dismissed the ultimatum. [The Guardian]
🇹🇼 Taiwan’s delayed F-16V fighter jets are set to start test flights at start this month. [Reuters]
🇨🇭 Switzerland overwhelmingly vote against taxing the ultra rich (inheriting 50 million Swiss francs) 50% on inherited fortunes. [Reuters]
78% of voters were against this proposed inheritance tax policy.
2 December
🇦🇺 🇨🇳 Australia's Foreign Minister Penny Wong states that China is pushing their military power further into the Pacific. Australia relies on the Pacific Islands Forum for collective security. [Reuters]
🇵🇭 A private intelligence company identified a large Chinese flotilla off the Filipino east coast including a landing helicopter dock ship, a destroyer, a frigate and a refuelling vessel. Still known whether it was heading in the direction of Australia. [ABC]
🇩🇪 🇨🇳EU prepares for a greater control over trade talks with China as Germany's foreign minister is set to visit China next week. [Reuters]
Upcoming, Remote, and Free to Join NGO Events
4 December 2025 @ 3:00-4:00 p.m. (GMT+1), Chatham House, United Kingdom
How Gen Z is reshaping protest in North Africa
Once again, the youth of North Africa are rising up, and generation Z in Tunisia and Morocco are leading the new generation of protesters, who are inspired by the use of the new technologies, as well as their experiences of 2011. This conference assesses the degree to which the challenges of demographics, the use of the new technologies for social movements, and new forms of civic engagement are forcing the pace of dissent and disrupting the aging politics of the states of the region. For more information and registration, visit [Chatham House].
4 December 2025 @ 8:00 a.m. (GMT-5), Atlantic Council, USA
Enhancing Taiwan’s energy resilience: A cross-strait and beyond seminar
Seminar sessions focus on the ways and means available to Taiwan for bolstering their overall power sector against the likelihood of forceful intervention and blockade/quarantine by the PRC. This seminar, as the Indo-Pacific Security Initiative’s Cross-Strait Issues and Beyond Series, brings together various specialists to analyze the aftermath and development that took place during the blackout experiences, as well as the development of the power sector for the overall transition process. For more information and registration, please see [Atlantic Council].
5 December 2025 @ 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. (GMT-5), The Heritage Foundation, USA
A New American Statecraft for Winning the New Cold War
This event contends that the US government has been sleeping at the wheel during the strategic competition against the PRC, and that it requires a keener sense of statecraft. The speakers for the event, which include Alex Wooley, Brent Sadler, and Jeff Smith, would detail how the US could use the maritime domain as the means to leverage US strength, mitigate the use of PRC force, and shift the US back into the position for the future. These aspects would include homeland, institutions, and the global position. For more information and registration, please see [The Heritage Foundation].
5 December 2025 @ 9:30-10:15 a.m. (GMT-5), Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), USA
International Industrial Cooperation: Perspectives from Poland
The Center for the Industrial Base welcomes the Polish Undersecretary of State, Mr. Konrad Golota, for a fireside chat on the rapid growth of the Polish defense industry and how it reacts to the growing threats in the region. This event, chaired by CIB Director Dr. Jerry McGinn, explores possibilities for mutual projects and the Polish defense industry’s efforts to position themselves as leaders in European security efforts. For more information and registration, please see [CSIS].
8 December 2025 @ 3:00-4:30 p.m. (GMT+7), ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute, Singapore
The 2025 Sabah Election: Parsing the Polls
Election day is 29 November for the state of Sabah, whose politics are far less predictable than the rest of Malaysia, due to the state’s fractured politics and ethnic and development divides. Issues during the election include voter ennui concerning the repetition of elites, youth activism, discontent regarding the state of the infrastructure, and the question of the distribution of resources between the federal and state levels. Two members of the Malaysia Studies community will decode the election and provide insights into the future for the state of Sabah. For more information and registration, visit [ISEAS].
9 December 2025 @ 4:00-5:00 p.m. (GMT+1), Chatham House, United Kingdom
China’s Struggle for Influence in Central Asia. How is Beijing aiming to reshape the region?
This webinar examines how China’s growing presence in Central Asia is being resisted, negotiated and reshaped by local actors rather than simply imposed from Beijing. Speakers will explore what China wants in the region, why its projects have triggered protests and elite pushback, and how Beijing has adapted. The discussion also looks at how Central Asian governments balance China with Russia, the US, EU and Turkey, and whether Washington’s renewed attention to the region under Trump will translate into concrete gains. For more information and registration, visit [Chatham House].
9 December 2025 @ 10:00-11:30 a.m. (GMT+7), ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute, Singapore
Pacific Economic Cooperation Council’s (PECC) State of the Region Report 2025-2026
This seminar examines the 2025-26 State of the Region Report issued by PECC based on surveys conducted for over 500 leaders of the 24 economies of the Asia Pacific. Leaders surveyed are projected to face low growth for the global economy during 2026-27, and the challenge identified as the most significant risk for such growth for the coming year and the future is the trend of rising global protectionism and the advent of trade wars. An increase in global inflation and the threat of global climate change are other risks. Global trade, according to the report, faces fundamental and significant transformation.For more information and registration, visit [ISEAS].
9 December 2025 @ 3:00-4:00 p.m. (GMT-5), Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), USA
Three Years of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act: Assessing the Impact
This conference, which takes place on the occasion of the Uyghur Genocide Recognition Day, seeks to investigate the actual world implications of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, which already banned imports totaling over 10,000 shipments, close to one billion dollars, into the US. This would be followed by research presentations on the impacts of the Act on the shaping of global supply chains and forced labor laws, after which there would be discussions by the panel members on the future of the UFLPA. For more information and registration, please see [CSIS].
9 December 2025 @ 9:30-11:15 a.m. (GMT-5), Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), USA
Building a Golden Age for the U.S.-Japan Economic Partnership: Ensuring Security, Stability, and Prosperity in the Indo-Pacific
This conference examines how the US and Japan can ensure that their relationship remains solid and viable politically, as the US and Japan are experiencing growing levels of nationalistic challenges and shifts occurring in the global environment. They will analyze the rapid shifts occurring in the Indo Pacific economy, new threats and opportunities for collaboration on economy, investment, and economic security. They are also going to examine how the US and Japan can collaborate on new commercial opportunities abroad and develop a new outlook for the future that promotes stability and growth. For more information and registration, please see [CSIS].
