ASIA III

CHINA

Days after Trump's Visit, Putin Scores Big Victory with His Own Larger-than-life China Visit

Days after President Donald Trump's much trumpeted visit to China which turned out to be the sub-optimal in outcome, Russian President Vladimir Putin visited China. The Associated Press on May 20, 2026 reported that Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin had overseen at least 40 trade and commercial agreements. Xi called the countries' ties having reached the highest level. According to Xinhua news agency, the bilateral trade stood at $228 billion in 2025. The Russian oil exports to China climbed by 35% in the first quarter of 2026. 

SOUTH KOREA

Trump Orders Cut in Joint Drills with South Korea

Angered by South Korean President Lee Jae Myung's refusal to join the U.S. in securing the Strait of Hormuz, President Donald Trump wrote in the social media that he had instructed Secretary Pete Hegseth to reduce the scope of the U.S. military participation in the 11-day Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises, an annual summertime military drill that had begun on August 17, 2026, according to the August 18, 2026, edition of The Dallas Morning News. President Trump continued on the social media hours before the launch of the 11-day joint military exercises that his relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was good and "friendly". A circa 18,000 South Korean soldiers are taking part in the Ulchi Freedom Shield. 

TAIWAN

Trump Yet to Make a Decision on Taiwan Aid Package

A day after hearing a stern message from his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, U.S. President Donald Trump on the penultimate day, May 15, 2026, of his three-day [May 13-15, 2026] China trip said that he had yet to make up his mind whether to go ahead with the $11.5 billion weapons package that the U.S. government had announced with much fanfare on December 18, 2025. 

However, Trump administration officials are not talking in unison as far as Taiwan vis-a-vis China policy is concerned as the administration's top diplomat, Marco Rubio, has told the NBC News that U.S. policy remains unchanged and it will be a mistake for Beijing to forcibly take over Taiwan.