#Geopolitics

Iran's crude oil exports have climbed 5% in 2025 to a 7-year high, driven by massive purchases from China that defy U.S. sanctions. What does this mean for oil prices and geopolitics?

Japan announces plans for a deep-sea rare earth processing facility by 2027 on Minamitorishima island, aiming to tap vast reserves 6,000 meters deep to reduce its critical mineral reliance on China.

Are U.S. seizures of Venezuelan oil tankers lawful sanctions enforcement or a form of modern piracy? An analysis of the geopolitical and legal battle shaping the rules of global trade.

South Korea's military has revised its guidelines for defining the MDL border with North Korea to prevent accidental clashes, but the move raises concerns about a potentially softer response.

Clashes between the Syrian army and Kurdish-led SDF in Aleppo coincide with high-stakes Turkish-Syrian talks on the group's military integration, threatening Syria's fragile stability.

Israel's security cabinet approved 19 new settlement outposts in the occupied West Bank, marking the highest rate of expansion since 2017 and further undermining a two-state solution.

An Israeli airstrike killed at least three people in southern Lebanon on Dec. 22, the latest violation of a fragile Nov. 2024 ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah that both sides have failed to fully implement.

Thailand and Cambodia agree to restart ceasefire talks after a deadly border conflict killed 41 and displaced nearly a million. The previous Trump-brokered deal collapsed, with a top Thai official calling it 'rushed'.

President Donald Trump's appointment of a special envoy to facilitate Greenland's annexation into the U.S. has triggered a major diplomatic conflict with Denmark, a key NATO ally.

Beijing lodges a protest with Tokyo over visits to Taiwan by senior Japanese LDP lawmakers, escalating tensions amid a downturn in bilateral relations and heightening regional security concerns.

In December 2025, peace talks to end the war in Ukraine are ongoing in Miami, attended by representatives from Russia, Ukraine, and the Trump administration. The world watches to see if a breakthrough is possible.

A leading expert, Diao Daming of Renmin University, warns that the U.S. tendency to analyze China through an 'American lens' leads to policy missteps and hampers efforts to build trust.