https://sagire.online/topic/east-asia/ Rolling analysis and coverage of geopolitics, energy, security and supply chains. en Thu, 05 Nov 2026 02:48:00 -0300 https://sagire.online/wire/628a56fc/https://sagire.online/wire/628a56fc/Thu, 05 Nov 2026 00:21:00 -0300China’s Supreme People’s Procuratorate indicted former Politburo member Ma Xingrui on charges of taking bribes, state news agency Xinhua said. Prosecutors in Yichang, a city in the central province of Hubei, accused Ma of using his leadership positions to accept “exceptionally large” bribes and to secure benefits for others. Ma had been named to the Politburo in 2022 and his downfall became public in April, when authorities said he was being investigated for severe violations of party discipline and national laws.ChinaEast AsiaJustice https://sagire.online/wire/bfe693f5/https://sagire.online/wire/bfe693f5/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 23:25:00 -0300A meeting between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during Trump’s November trip to Asia appears increasingly unlikely after the Republican election defeat, according to analysts. Kim Yo Jong signaled on Wednesday that Pyongyang had “no need to sit face to face with such unreliable and hostile persons.” A possible encounter had been floated around the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Shenzhen, set for November 18 and 19. Experts note that Democratic control of Congress could make it harder for South Korea to acquire nuclear-powered submarines and limit a Trump deal with the North.United StatesNorth KoreaEast Asia https://sagire.online/wire/9f2bb33d/https://sagire.online/wire/9f2bb33d/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 19:24:00 -0300South Korean President Lee Jae Myung is pushing for a centralized cybersecurity agency after passport details and other personal information of 168 people, including the president, his wife and senior security officials, were reported to be accessible online for nearly five months, according to the South China Morning Post (SCMP). Technology experts warn that creating a new organization alone does little to address the deeper problem of complacency, with businesses and government agencies viewing tighter cybersecurity as an unnecessary expense until a serious breach occurs.South KoreaCybersecurityEast AsiaTechnology https://sagire.online/wire/e7b0e1d9/https://sagire.online/wire/e7b0e1d9/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 18:23:00 -0300Japan’s Defense Ministry has estimated that its five-year defense plan beginning in fiscal 2027 will require about 80 trillion yen (about $507 billion), nearly twice the amount allocated under the current plan. The figure is preliminary: given funding constraints, the government is expected to review equipment procurement and other expenditures and adjust the total toward the upper end of the 70 trillion yen (about $443.5 billion) range. The new spending is likely to fund purchases such as large numbers of drones, according to a source familiar with the matter. The review is taking shape as a year-end deadline for revisions to three key security documents looms.JapanDefenseDronesEast Asia https://sagire.online/wire/9d7a5370/https://sagire.online/wire/9d7a5370/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 18:23:00 -0300North Korea test-fired a newly designed air-defense missile system and staged a cruise missile strike drill on Wednesday, state media KCNA said. The test confirmed the technical specifications and reliability of the new materials and multiple guidance modes used by the missile, as well as the system’s ability to identify and track targets. A sub-unit of the country’s long-range strategic cruise missile unit in the east struck a virtual airport target in the drill. The KCNA report appeared to confirm a South Korean Defense Ministry statement that Pyongyang fired multiple missiles toward the sea from the Sondok area on the east coast, the fourth North Korean weapons launch in a month.North KoreaDefenseEast Asia https://sagire.online/wire/79aa6aa1/https://sagire.online/wire/79aa6aa1/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 12:24:00 -0300Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said Beijing is maintaining contact with the relevant parties regarding a meeting between the leaders of China, Russia and the United States. The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit is set to take place in Shenzhen on November 18-19. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the agenda of a possible meeting of the leaders in China is being coordinated with the Chinese and US sides: “It is being agreed upon now.” Peskov ruled out, for now, continuing the talks at the Group of 20 (G20) summit in Miami: “No, this is out of the question yet.”ChinaRussiaUnited StatesDiplomacyEast Asia https://sagire.online/wire/ed4f6668/https://sagire.online/wire/ed4f6668/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 05:23:00 -0300China's foreign ministry said that Beijing is in communication with the relevant parties about a summit between Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting in Shenzhen on November 18 and 19. Spokesperson Mao Ning gave no details on the possible meeting, according to EFE, in a text republished by ABC Color. The Kremlin said on October 21 that the meeting was being prepared; according to the Financial Times, officials from the three countries had been holding serious talks for days about arranging the first trilateral meeting of the heads of state, and Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that work is under way on organizing it.ChinaRussiaUnited StatesDiplomacyEast Asia https://sagire.online/wire/d48b5734/https://sagire.online/wire/d48b5734/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 20:21:00 -0300North Korea launched an unidentified projectile toward the East Sea on Wednesday, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff. The Joint Chiefs did not immediately disclose the number of projectiles, their flight distances or other specifications. If confirmed as ballistic, it would be the North’s 19th such launch of the year, following the firing of more than 10 short-range ballistic missiles from the Wonsan area on October 29.North KoreaSouth KoreaEast Asia https://sagire.online/wire/072cde82/https://sagire.online/wire/072cde82/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 08:24:00 -0300China appears to be testing a stealthy new trimaran at sea, according to a photograph circulating on social media, in what could be a further effort to develop unconventional naval platforms, the South China Morning Post said. The image first emerged on Weibo on Sunday and appears to show a vessel featuring an inverted wave-piercing bow, a three-hull design and angular superstructure surfaces that could reduce its radar signature. The newspaper noted that the time and location of the picture have not been independently verified and that details about the boat’s specifications, intended role and operational status remain unclear.ChinaDefenseEast Asia https://sagire.online/wire/18295785/https://sagire.online/wire/18295785/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 05:22:00 -0300North Korea tested a dispersal warhead for a strategic cruise missile, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported, in a Yonhap story. Monday’s test was overseen by Kim Jong-sik, a member of the Workers’ Party Central Military Commission. The country’s Warhead Institute said the mid-sized dispersal warhead is capable of “turning into ashes” a target area of 5 to 6 hectares. On Saturday, the country had tested a cluster bomb for tactical ballistic missiles and vowed to field various types of cluster warheads by the end of the year.North KoreaDefenseEast Asia https://sagire.online/wire/8e9ad5dc/https://sagire.online/wire/8e9ad5dc/Mon, 02 Nov 2026 10:22:00 -0300Japan’s government and ruling coalition are weighing defense spending of 70 trillion to 80 trillion yen (US$457 billion to US$508 billion) over the five years from April 2027, about 1.8 times the 43 trillion yen in the current plan, according to the South China Morning Post (SCMP), which cites sources quoted by Reuters. Some of the money is expected to fund purchases such as large numbers of drones, and a weaker yen has pushed up the cost of procurement, one of the sources said.JapanDefenseDronesEast Asia https://sagire.online/wire/f1c83496/https://sagire.online/wire/f1c83496/Mon, 02 Nov 2026 06:23:00 -0300Japan launched a new national agency to boost its disaster response. Reconstruction Minister Goshi Hosono, newly named to serve concurrently as disaster management minister, spoke at a press conference at the National Disaster Management Agency in Tokyo on November 2, 2026.JapanEast AsiaPublic security https://sagire.online/wire/359cd82d/https://sagire.online/wire/359cd82d/Mon, 02 Nov 2026 03:21:00 -0300A South Korean army staff sergeant died after suffering external injuries at a frontline unit in Cheorwon near the North Korean border on Monday morning, Seoul's Defense Ministry said. A South Korean sergeant was killed on the border with external wounds, as tensions with the North escalate.South KoreaNorth KoreaEast Asia https://sagire.online/wire/f0c7936e/https://sagire.online/wire/f0c7936e/Sun, 01 Nov 2026 22:21:00 -0300Japan has asked the US for thorough discipline enforcement after Marine Kalvin Montoya Cardona was arrested in Okinawa on suspicion of drunk driving during curfew hours — caught at around 12:25 a.m. on Saturday with twice the legal blood-alcohol limit, according to Kyodo News.JapanUnited StatesEast AsiaPublic security https://sagire.online/wire/5652a33a/https://sagire.online/wire/5652a33a/Sun, 01 Nov 2026 22:21:00 -0300South Korea’s Defense Ministry says it launched a new drone headquarters on Monday and plans to acquire more than 20,000 low-cost, expendable combat drones, while accelerating the Korean Low-Cost Uncrewed Combat Attack System (K-LUCAS) program, according to the Korea Herald.South KoreaDefenseDronesEast AsiaTechnology