Welcome to the latest issue of Diplomat Brief. This week our top story looks back at a year of breakthroughs for China’s military aviation. We also have an interview with Petra Sigmund, the German ambassador to Japan, on Germany’s approach to the Indo-Pacific – and Japan in particular. |
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 | | | What Happened: Over the last 12 months – between October 2024 and October 2025 – the breadth, variety, and scale of developments in China’s military aviation have emerged at a speed that is difficult to keep up with. In an effort to bring analysts up to speed, long-time People’s Liberation Army (PLA) watcher Rick Joe summarizes the major observed developments in PLA aviation, from new next-generation fighters to unmanned aircraft. | Our Focus: Late 2024 saw several new Chinese military aircraft unveiled: the catapult-launched J-15T fighter, the fifth-generation J-35A fighter, and two next generation combat aircraft, the J-36 and J-XDS. More recently, the big military parade of September 2025 confirmed the in-service status of platforms like the J-20A and the J-35A. The past year has also unveiled multiple higher-end UCAV and UAV types, either in or destined for PLA service. And most remarkably, many of these platforms went from completely unconfirmed to officially revealed with no in-between, emphasizing the PLA’s high degree of secrecy and rapid pace of development. | What Comes Next: “This scale of new military aviation developments from a single nation, across just 12 months, is unprecedented for the modern era,” Joe concluded. “Stealthy manned and unmanned platforms, weapons, networking, AEW&C, and electronic warfare: Chinese aviation is running at high throttle in all of these domains.” Yet fact-based analysis remains lacking; many commentaries tend to either over-exaggerate PLA capabilities or, on the other extreme, rely on “outdated assumptions” about poor training and technological struggles. With China’s military making advances at a speed never seen before, defense planners must keep up. | Find out more |
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| VIDEOS |  |
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| | Our YouTube channel, Diplomat Asia, explains major topics and trends in the Asia-Pacific in video form. Check out our latest video on the history of the C5+1, just in time for the big U.S.-Central Asia leaders summit this week. | |
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| BEHIND THE NEWS |  |
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| | Petra Sigmund, the German ambassador to Japan, on the shared challenges faced by Germany and Russia poses a serious challenge to the security of its European neighbors and to the peace of the continent as a whole. In the Indo-Pacific, Japan also faces a tough security environment. We see countries pushing dangerous revisionist agendas, building up their militaries massively, and sometimes acting recklessly toward their neighbors… So fundamentally, Germany and Japan face similar security challenges, even though we’re at opposite ends of the Eurasian continent.” | |
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| | While the sideline meetings – especially the summit between Presidents Trump and Xi – got most of the attention, the APEC Summit that concluded over the weekend in Gyeongju, South Korea, was worthy of notice in its own right. APEC may not be able to completely flip the script on growing protectionism and great power competition, but it’s one of the few still-functioning international platforms to address economic concerns. This year’s outcomes showcased South Korea’s economic priorities – especially the focus on AI. | |
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| | On November 6, officials from Afghanistan and Pakistan will meet again to try to turn their temporary ceasefire into a more lasting peace. A serious escalation in October resulted in hundreds of casualties amid cross-border strikes. Qatar and Turkiye were able to mediate a ceasefire, but the first round of talks on a more lasting settlement concluded with no progress. The two remain far apart on the main s insistence that Pakistan forswear pre-emptive strikes on Afghan soil against suspected TTP hideouts. | |
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| | The United States and Vietnam pledged this week to expand security and defense cooperation, as U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth paid an official visit to the country. During the two-day trip, which coincided with the 30th anniversary of diplomatic normalization between the nations, Hegseth met with senior leaders including Communist Party chief To Lam. He also reaffirmed Washington’s commitment to address war legacy issues, including dioxin decontamination efforts at former U.S. air bases, which had been threatened by the Trump administration’s USAID cuts. These are an important precondition for more substantial defense and security cooperation, including potential arms sales, which were also reportedly discussed during Hegseth’s meetings. Vietnam is reportedly mulling purchases of C-130 Hercules military transport planes, as well as Lockheed Martin S-92 and Boeing Chinook helicopters. | |
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| | On November 6, the five Central Asian presidents are all expected in Washington D.C. for a summit with U.S. President Donald Trump. While the White House hasn’t made any official statements about the summit, the Kazakh, Uzbek, Kyrgyz, and Tajik presidents are all confirmed to be on the way. The C5+1 marks 10 years this November, having been launched on November 1, 2015 by then-U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. There is a lot at stake for the region, which sits between Russia and China at the heart of Eurasia, as it navigates the changing geopolitical order. | |
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| PODCASTS |  |
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| | In the latest episode of “Asia Geopolitics,” host Katie Putz is joined by Bradley Jardine, managing director at the Oxus Society for Central Asian Affairs, to discuss his upcoming book, written with Edward Lemon, titled “Backlash: China’s Struggle for Influence in Central Asia.” | |
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| VISUALIZING APAC |  |
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| After the invasion of Ukraine, Asian economies, including China and India, filled the gap left by Europe, becoming primary destinations for Russian hydrocarbons and/or hubs for re-export. | |
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| WORD OF THE WEEK |  |
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| | Kogane jidai, meaning “Golden Age” in Japanese. The phrase was rolled out to describe the state of the Japan-U.S. alliance during the first summit between Donald Trump and Takaichi Sanae. | |
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Welcome to my geopolitics blog site. This is a Hawaii Island news site focusing on geopolitical news, analysis, information, and commentary. I will cite a variety of sources, ranging from all sides of the political spectrum.