Commentary

In this episode of Tea Leaves, Kelly Magsamen, Senior Advisor at The Asia Group, sits down with Abe Denmark, TAG Partner and former Senior AUKUS Advisor to the Secretary of Defense, to unpack the strategic significance of AUKUS Pillar II. They explore how the U.S., U.K., and Australia can fast-track defense innovation across autonomy, long-range strike, […]

Scorecard Table Japan is pursuing the most ambitious defense expansion in its postwar history—yet it faces fiscal, political, and alliance-management headwinds. The scorecard below provides TAG’s snapshot assessment of Japan’s evolving defense policy at a critical time for its bilateral relationship with the United States and Indo-Pacific regional security. We made the evaluation using three

Key Takeaways U.S. trade negotiations appear far from complete after the August 1 deadline: The Trump administration has announced trade deals with the UK, Vietnam, Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines, the EU, South Korea and Pakistan. Additionally, U.S. President Donald Trump unveiled an executive order on July 31 imposing reciprocal tariffs of 10-40 percent on around

Key Takeaways  Global companies can no longer assume insulation from geopolitical dynamics. Instead, firms must integrate geopolitics into the core of corporate decision-making to thrive in today’s increasingly fragmented and politically charged environment.  The Asia Group (TAG) introduces the concept of the “GeoCommercial Era” to describe a new operating reality where commerce and geopolitics are

Key Takeaways: Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and his ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) won the May 3 election with a strong mandate. Winning 87 of 97 contested seats, the PAP increased its presence in parliament and grew its total share of votes from 61.2 percent to 65.57 percent. Singaporean voters embraced the PAP’s stable and experienced leadership over the opposition’s

Key Election Outcomes: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has won the Australian election in a landslide, securing a clear parliamentary majority with a bigger-than-expected swing of almost three percent to the Labor Party. The Liberal-National Coalition endured a historic loss with Leader Peter Dutton exiting politics after losing his seat and the Liberal Party’s overall seat

Key Takeaways: • China’s Made in China 2025 (MIC25) initiative is a strategic blueprint designed to transform the country’s economy from the world’s top factory for low-cost goods into a leader in high-tech and innovative manufacturing. • Since its initial release in 2015, China has frequently rebranded MIC25 to match its industrial policy objectives, while

Key Takeaways:   The likelihood of a meeting between Trump and Xi – considered a key event to get trade negotiations started – remains low in the near term. Trump has repeatedly expressed interest in meeting with Xi to “make a deal.” But Xi is in no rush to look weak or begin negotiations. China’s