Regional Summary
Buy Before Washington Sells The American president’s description of Taiwan’s pending arms sales as “a very good negotiating chip” with China was the most explicit statement by any US president treating allied security as tradeable since the Taiwan Relations Act passed. He quickly qualified it — “no commitments,” a “decision” coming “soon” — but a president’s careless words carry weight even when he walks them back. Across the Asia-Pacific, the defining response was not alarm. It was acceleration. Japan moved fastest and most deliberately. It was the ally Washington briefed at both ends of the Beijing summit — Scott Bessent, the Treasury secretary, stopped in Tokyo before flying to China, and the American president’s first post-summit call went to Sanae Takaichi, the prime minister — confirming Japan’s place as the anchor of American diplomacy toward China. But Japan is not passive in that role. The Self-Defense Forces fired Type 88 anti-ship missiles in joint exercises with American, Australian, and Philippine forces — the first confirmed use — and the Defence Ministry is now weighing export of the same system to the Philippines, with Indonesia and Poland also in discussions. Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) internal talks have reached a defence spending target of 5% of GDP, beyond even Washington’s demands and well past what the party had previously considered possible. Andreessen Horowitz, a venture capital firm managing roughly $100 billion in assets, confirmed it will open its first overseas office in Tokyo, focused partly on defence startups — private American capital flowing into Japan’s defence-technology sector outside the usual government-procurement channels. The pattern is consistent: Japan is building capacity that reduces its dependence on the same relationship it is helping Washington manage. South Korea traced a similar arc. Lee Jae-myung, South Korea’s president, met Mr Bessent and He Lifeng, China’s vice-premier, back-to-back on May 13, a day before their principals met in Geneva, then spoke with the American president about the outcome. Mr Lee proposed a bilateral currency swap, pressed China for “tangible results,” and deepened ties with Mexico and Japan in the same week. Seoul is brokering the superpower relationship while hedging against it. Taiwan’s response was the most urgent. Five officials — the president, the national security secretary-general, the foreign minister, the presidential spokesperson, and the Washington representative — issued coordinated statements within hours, invoking the Six Assurances and insisting the arms sales were legally mandated. No sales were cancelled, but the end-of-May 2026 deadline for Taiwan’s High Mobility Artillery Rocket System payment now falls inside the president’s self-imposed “decision soon” window, and the People’s Liberation Army’s precise reduction of air sorties during the summit — from a baseline of ten to twelve daily to just two on May 13 and zero on May 16 — signalled calculation, not concession. Taiwan’s most durable hedge, though, is industrial. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) confirmed its most advanced nodes — the A16 through A12 processes — remain anchored in Taiwan through 2029; the $20 billion Arizona injection is real, but the leading-edge work stays home. The Democratic Progressive Party’s decision to run Puma Shen, a civilian defence advocate whom Beijing sanctioned in 2024, as its Taipei mayoral candidate signals the party intends to fight the 2026 elections on cross-strait threat. The Kuomintang’s Cheng Li-wun, who called the summit “the greatest blessing to the world,” represents the opposite pole. Taiwan’s domestic argument is now a contest over who defines American reliability — and the party is betting voters choose fear over reassurance, despite having tried that argument in the 2025 recall campaign and lost. Australia ended its ambiguity about the Gulf in the same week, deploying Wedgetail aircraft and Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles to the Strait of Hormuz with explicit freedom-of-navigation objectives, while opening a $200 million sovereign maintenance facility in Adelaide for the same aircraft — previously serviced in the United States. The logic mirrors Japan’s: extend reach, reduce dependence, do both at once. Indonesia cannot follow that logic. The rupiah broke 17,500 to the dollar — through the 1998 Asian Financial Crisis low, the most psychologically loaded threshold in the country’s financial history — and Prabowo Subianto, Indonesia’s president, responded by joking at a cooperative launch that currency weakness was “only a headache for people who go abroad a lot.” Economists at Gadjah Mada University called the remark reckless; it may also have added selling pressure to a currency already driven down by surging oil import costs, $2.2 billion in capital outflows since January, and Morgan Stanley Capital International dropping six tycoon-linked companies from its Indonesia index, triggering an estimated $1.6 billion in additional passive outflows. Danantara, the sovereign fund Mr Prabowo created to manage roughly $570 billion in state assets, has not published financial statements in over a year — a shortfall now documented with specific legal citations by a named analyst and confirmed by the fund itself. Jakarta is not choosing strategic clarity under pressure. It is being consumed by the pressure. The US-China summit did not so much destabilise the region as reveal which parts of it can absorb destabilisation. Japan, South Korea, Australia, and Taiwan are all building — autonomy, capacity, and leverage — against the same superpower relationship they are publicly supporting. If Washington eventually does trade something, whether Taiwan’s arms timeline, Korea’s operational-control schedule, or the terms of Gulf burden-sharing, the allies who accelerated will be better placed than those who waited. Indonesia, with its currency at a 27-year low, its sovereign fund unaccountable, and its president’s political instinct running toward crowd-pleasing deflection, has no such buffer. The gap between the states that used this week to build capacity and the state that used it to inaugurate cooperatives is not closing. It is widening.Country Summaries
Taiwan
After two days with Xi Jinping in Beijing, the American president told reporters that pending arms sales to Taiwan were “a very good negotiating chip” with China — the most explicit statement by any US president treating Taiwan’s security as tradeable since the Taiwan Relations Act passed.
The response from Taipei was immediate and total. Lai Ching-te issued a five-point statement insisting Taiwan “will never be sacrificed or traded.” Joseph Wu, the National Security Council secretary-general, backed the message on television. Alexander Yui, Taiwan’s representative to the United States, appeared on CBS. Lin Chia-lung, the foreign minister, invoked the Six Assurances as unchanged US policy. Karen Kuo, the presidential office spokesperson, issued a formal rebuttal treating the sales as legally mandated and noting their scale had “repeatedly reached historic highs.” It was the most coordinated sovereignty response of Mr Lai’s tenure — damage control, not precaution.
The immediate outcome offered some relief: no sales were cancelled, and the American president said he had made “no commitments” while a “decision” was coming “soon.” That qualifier is itself the problem. The end-of-May 2026 deadline for Taiwan’s High Mobility Artillery Rocket System payment — miss it and the letter of offer and acceptance lapses — now falls inside the president’s self-imposed “decision soon” window. With $20 billion in arms undelivered, the risk of delay has risen, not fallen.
The People’s Liberation Army sent its own signal during the summit. Taiwan’s defence ministry reported just 2 air force sorties on May 13 and zero aircraft on May 16, against a baseline of 10 to 12 daily sorties in prior weeks. Naval vessels — 7 to 8 ships — stayed high throughout. The air reduction tracked the summit dates precisely. The pattern signals diplomacy, not retreat; the post-summit air baseline is now the thing to watch.
Even as it defended its security, Taiwan pressed its democratic credentials elsewhere. Mr Lai delivered a video address to the Copenhagen Democracy Summit, citing China’s April obstruction of his flight to Eswatini as evidence of “consolidating authoritarianism” and urging democracies to unite. The New York Times published details of the covert mission — a borrowed royal aircraft, satellite phones, only carry-on luggage to save fuel across a 15,815-mile detour — spreading Taiwan’s story in global media at precisely the moment Washington was treating its defence as a bargaining chip.
The summit also sharpened Taiwan’s domestic divisions. Cheng Li-wun, the Kuomintang (KMT) chairwoman, called the outcome “the greatest blessing to the world,” said her April meeting with Mr Xi had made her more convinced of cross-strait peace, and called on Taiwan to abandon its “first island chain” role in favour of what she called a “chain of peace and prosperity.” The Mainland Affairs Council accused her of echoing Chinese propaganda. The Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP’s) legislative caucus said she was speaking for Beijing. Chang Jung-kung, the Kuomintang’s vice-chairman, separately met Wang Huning — the Chinese Communist Party’s fourth-ranked official — at a cross-strait cultural summit in Beijing. Two Republican members of Congress, Tom Tiffany and Chris Smith, wrote Marco Rubio, the American secretary of state, urging that Mr Lai receive the same US travel rights as Ms Cheng, raising the asymmetry as a concern from within Washington itself.
These positions — DPP: our patron is treating us as a bargaining chip, sovereignty must be defended; KMT: the summit is a blessing, peace is possible — now define the poles of the November 2026 local election campaign. The DPP is betting heavily on it. Mr Lai formally nominated Puma Shen, a 43-year-old first-term legislator who founded the Kuma Academy — Taiwan’s civilian defence organisation, which has trained around 25,000 people — as the party’s candidate for Taipei mayor. Beijing sanctioned Mr Shen in 2024 as a “die-hard Taiwan independence activist” and accused him of separatism. Running him in a race the DPP has not won for decades, against Chiang Wan-an, the Kuomintang’s incumbent mayor, with no three-way split to help — the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) has pledged not to contest Kuomintang incumbents — signals the party intends to run the race on cross-strait threat. The risk is real: Mr Shen led the DPP’s failed 2025 recall campaign against 31 Kuomintang legislators under the same “resist China” argument, and voters rejected it.
The board of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) approved a capital injection of up to $20 billion into its Arizona subsidiary as part of a $165 billion US investment plan, and posted first-quarter net income of NT$572.5 billion with a quarterly dividend raised to a record NT$7 per share. The Japanese joint venture turned its first profit — NT$951 million in the first quarter, reversing a NT$1.39 billion loss the prior quarter. TSMC Arizona earned NT$18.81 billion in the first quarter alone, more than all of 2025 combined. At its Technology Symposium in Hsinchu, the company confirmed the A16 process on track for second-half 2026 production, with A13 and A12 processes following in 2029 and 25 finalised 2-nanometer customer designs already in place with more than 70 in development. The most advanced nodes through 2029 remain anchored in Taiwan.
The opposition’s presidential impeachment vote, timed for May 19 — the eve of Mr Lai’s second year in office — will not succeed. The KMT-TPP coalition holds roughly 60 seats; removing the president requires 76. Even if that threshold were cleared, the Constitutional Court cannot hear the case: only 8 of its 15 seats are filled, and the opposition’s own 2024 amendments require 10 justices for a quorum. Both sides know the arithmetic. The vote is a message, not a mechanism.
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- TSMC reports strong first-quarter results, approves $20bn Arizona capital boost, and sells down Vanguard stake — The board of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) approved (May 12) a capital injection of up to $20 billion into its Arizona subsidiary as part of a $165 billion US investment plan, while first-quarter 2026 financials showed net income of NT$572.5 billion and a quarterly dividend raised to a record NT$7. Separately, on May 15 TSMC announced plans to sell up to 152 million shares (about 8.1%) in Vanguard International Semiconductor via block trade, reducing its holding to about 19%; analysts read this as a capital reallocation toward AI-era investments. TSMC’s Arizona and Japanese joint-venture fabs both reported profits in the first quarter. Institutional investors including Tiger Global, Eminence Capital and Appaloosa added to TSMC positions while Driehaus Capital and others trimmed. (reuters.com)
- KMT-TPP opposition passes reduced NT$780bn defence budget, cutting domestic drone funding; legislative session extended — On May 9, the Kuomintang (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) used their legislative majority to pass a NT$780 billion supplementary defence budget — well below the NT$1.25 trillion requested by the Lai administration — in a 59-0 vote with 48 Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) abstentions. The approved package excluded domestic drone production funds and other asymmetric-defence line items. The DPP accused the Kuomintang of deliberately undermining Taiwan’s indigenous defence industry to please Beijing. In a related move, the legislature voted to extend the current session through August 31 over what the opposition called DPP budget negligence. Cho Jung-tai, the premier, was summoned to present the administration’s defence purchase plan to the legislature on Tuesday. (breakingdefense.com)
- KMT chair’s China visit, cross-strait stance and planned US trip draw fire from DPP and Mainland Affairs Council — Cheng Li-wun, the Kuomintang (KMT) chairwoman, drew sharp criticism from Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council after her meeting with Xi Jinping and public statements calling for the replacement of the ‘first island chain’ concept with a ‘chain of peace and prosperity’; the council accused her of echoing Chinese propaganda. Chang Jung-kung, the Kuomintang’s vice-chairman, separately met Wang Huning, the Chinese Communist Party’s fourth-ranked official, at a cross-strait cultural summit in Beijing. Reports also emerged that Ms Cheng’s planned 14-person US trip may be seeking funding from overseas Taiwanese groups; the Kuomintang denied this. Two US congressmen, Tom Tiffany and Chris Smith, wrote Marco Rubio, the American secretary of state, urging that President Lai receive the same US visit rights as Ms Cheng. (focustaiwan.tw)
- Lai addresses Copenhagen Democracy Summit, cites China’s obstruction of Eswatini trip as proof of authoritarianism; NYT reveals flight details — Lai Ching-te, Taiwan’s president, delivered a video address to the Copenhagen Democracy Summit on May 12, citing Chinese interference with his April flight to Eswatini as evidence of consolidating authoritarianism and calling on democracies to unite. He also pre-summit thanked the US for defence support from Copenhagen. The New York Times (May 14) published new details of the ‘secret mission’ logistics — satellite phones, a borrowed royal aircraft — that allowed Mr Lai to reach Eswatini despite Chinese pressure blocking normal routing. Separately, commentators debated Mr Lai’s May 8 attendance at a ceremony honouring Japanese colonial-era engineer Hatta, which Beijing and domestic critics called politically provocative. (reuters.com)
- Canadian Conservative MP Chong visits Taipei to meet President Lai despite China’s warning to parliamentarians — Michael Chong, the Canadian Conservative foreign affairs critic, arrived in Taipei on Monday and was scheduled to meet Lai Ching-te, Taiwan’s president, on Wednesday, defying a recent warning from China’s ambassador to Canada against parliamentary visits to Taiwan. The visit followed an earlier January incident in which two Liberal MPs cut short a Taiwan trip before meeting Mr Lai after a Chinese diplomatic warning. (theglobeandmail.com)
Notes
Notes
Lai rejects being 'traded away' after Trump calls US arms sales a China bargaining chip following Beijing summit
May 12–17, 2026
TSMC reports strong Q1 results, approves \$20B Arizona capital boost, and sells down Vanguard stake
May 11–17, 2026
TSMC 2026 Technology Symposium: AI demand forecast, 2nm roadmap, CoWoS packaging advances unveiled
May 14–17, 2026
KMT-TPP opposition passes reduced NT\$780B defense budget, cutting domestic drone funding; legislative session extended
May 9–15, 2026
KMT chair's China visit, cross-strait stance, and planned US trip draw fire from DPP and MAC
May 11–17, 2026
DPP nominates legislator Puma Shen as candidate for Taipei mayoral race against KMT incumbent
May 12–13, 2026
Lai addresses Copenhagen Democracy Summit and cites China's obstruction of Eswatini trip as proof of authoritarianism; NYT reveals flight security details
May 12–16, 2026
Canadian Conservative MP Chong visits Taipei to meet President Lai despite China's warning to parliamentarians
May 17, 2026
Other
Japan
The American president rang Takaichi from Air Force One while leaving Beijing on May 15, completing a bracket begun four days earlier when Scott Bessent, the Treasury secretary, stopped in Tokyo on his way to China: Japan was briefed before the US-China summit and first after it.
The sequence — Mr Bessent’s pre-Beijing stop in Tokyo, the American president’s first post-Beijing call to Tokyo — is not coincidental. It confirms Japan’s place as the anchor of American diplomacy toward China, the ally consulted at both ends when Washington manages its most important relationship. That pattern now extends to Seoul: Ms Takaichi will visit Lee Jae-myung in his hometown of Andong on May 19-20, their third summit, with protocol Seoul has set at near-state-visit level. Both governments have framed the talks around the implications of the US-China summit — Japan and South Korea aligning their response to great-power competition in real time. In the background, the imperial couple will visit the Netherlands and Belgium in June for the 160th anniversary of Japan-Belgium diplomatic relations, keeping Japan’s European ties warm through royal diplomacy.
The Andong summit still carries friction. The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) agreed this week to introduce criminal penalties for desecrating the Hinomaru flag, with sentences of up to two years, extended to cover online posting. A report also suggests overseas statue removals are reigniting the comfort women row, stirring LDP hardliners. Neither development is likely to cancel the meeting, but both impose domestic political costs on Mr Lee for his Japan policy and signal that nationalist legislation is advancing even as the diplomatic mood warms.
Japan’s security transformation crossed two thresholds this week. The Japan Times confirmed — for the first time through a Tier 2 source — that the Self-Defense Forces fired Type 88 anti-ship missiles during joint exercises with US, Australian, and Philippine forces this month. That confirmation carries a second dimension: the Defense Ministry is considering exporting the same system to the Philippines. Shinjiro Koizumi, the defense minister, said “nothing has been decided,” but the deliberation itself is the signal — Japan went from using the system in combat exercises to considering its export within weeks of April’s arms export rule overhaul. Indonesia and Poland are also looking to buy the system. Separately, the LDP held internal talks on a defense spending target of 5% of GDP, exceeding even the 3.5% demand Washington had made and that Tokyo had previously resisted. This remains party talk rather than government policy, and Japan’s debt makes the arithmetic formidable. But internal ambition has now reached a level the prior assessment marked as structurally impossible.
Economic tensions sharpened. Japan’s April wholesale price index rose at its fastest pace in three years, driven by oil and chemical costs from the Iran war, while long-term bond yields hit their highest level in 29 years. Both developments strengthen the case for a June Bank of Japan (BOJ) rate hike — but the government is resisting. Nikkei Asia reports that Ms Takaichi’s economic advisers are cautioning the BOJ against cutting bond purchases further. The tension between the BOJ and the government, long predicted, is now confirmed. Mr Bessent’s Tokyo visit on May 11 reconfirmed the terms of the September joint statement, under which currency intervention “should be reserved for combating excess volatility” — language that implicitly endorses rate hikes over intervention and narrows Tokyo’s room to resist monetary tightening.
Andreessen Horowitz confirmed it will open its first overseas office in Tokyo by summer, with co-founder Ben Horowitz citing Japan’s growing role in Indo-Pacific security and the government’s push to build a domestic defense industry. The firm, which manages roughly $100 billion in assets and has significant political connections in Washington, will focus in part on Japan’s defense startups — private US capital flowing into Japan’s defense-technology sector outside the usual channels of government procurement or official alliance agreements. Ms Takaichi welcomed it as advancing “growth and security strategies” simultaneously.
Last week’s mass demonstrations — confirmed by international press as the largest in a decade — drew no follow-up. What followed was a social media monochrome-icon campaign that protest communities themselves are calling “completely meaningless” compared to street action. Japan’s protest tradition is episodic, and the peak has passed. The smear campaign allegation has proved more durable. Shukan Bunshun reported that Ms Takaichi’s publicly funded first secretary and associates produced and posted social media videos attacking LDP rivals including Mr Koizumi and opposition leader Edano during both the LDP leadership race and the February election. Pressed twice in the Diet, Ms Takaichi said: “I believe my secretary.” Analysts have called the answer an excellent non-answer. The allegation — which involves state resources used in political attacks — remains unresolved.
The Russia energy-hedge track, which surfaced briefly when the Iran war threatened Hormuz transit, has gone quiet. With the US-Iran ceasefire apparently holding and no new disruption since early April, the energy pressure behind that signal appears to have eased. The episode looks more like a crisis exception than a structural realignment.
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- Takaichi-Lee summit in Andong set for May 19-20 with near-state-visit honors — Sanae Takaichi, Japan’s prime minister, is scheduled to visit Lee Jae-myung, South Korea’s president, in his hometown of Andong on May 19-20 for their third bilateral summit, continuing their shuttle diplomacy. Seoul announced Takaichi would receive honors equivalent to a state visit, and the talks are expected to cover economic ties, regional security, and implications of the US-China summit. (reuters.com)
- US president calls Takaichi from Air Force One after Xi summit, reaffirms US-Japan alliance — The American president phoned Prime Minister Takaichi on May 15 shortly after departing Beijing, briefing her on his two-day summit with Xi Jinping and reaffirming the ‘ironclad’ US-Japan alliance. Takaichi said the American president confirmed an ‘unwavering’ commitment to Japan; they also discussed Iran and the Indo-Pacific, and both leaders looked forward to meeting at the G7 in June. (reuters.com)
- Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako to make state visit to Netherlands and Belgium in June — The Japanese government announced that Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako will make state visits to the Netherlands and Belgium from June 13 to 26, their first overseas trip to either country since Naruhito’s accession in 2019. The trip marks the 160th anniversary of Japan-Belgium diplomatic relations and will include banquets hosted by the royal families of both countries. (www3.nhk.or.jp)
- Takaichi renews push for constitutional revision of Article 9 as LDP-Ishin coalition commands votes — Prime Minister Takaichi signaled a renewed drive to amend Article 9, the pacifist clause of Japan’s constitution, marking the 79th anniversary of its enactment in early May. The LDP, which won an overwhelming majority in February’s lower house election, is moving toward a referendum; surveys show, however, that voters prioritize economic issues over constitutional reform, even among LDP supporters. (alpha.japantimes.co.jp)
- India and Japan hold second Economic Security Dialogue focused on supply chain resilience — India and Japan convened the second round of their Economic Security Dialogue in New Delhi, co-chaired by Vikram Misri, India’s foreign secretary, with both sides agreeing to deepen collaboration in critical minerals, semiconductors, and other key industrial sectors. The talks drew on recommendations from a March private-sector dialogue between the Confederation of Indian Industry and Keidanren, Japan’s main business federation. (tribuneindia.com)
- Takaichi’s Golden Week diplomacy included Southeast Asia sweep and Vietnam critical minerals deal — During Japan’s Golden Week holiday, Takaichi’s government advanced its ‘Free and Open Indo-Pacific’ strategy with diplomatic visits across Southeast Asia, Africa, and Australia. The Hanoi leg was notable: Takaichi and Vietnam’s prime minister signed six cooperation documents and launched the first project under Japan’s POWERR Asia Initiative, focused on critical minerals. (japantimes.co.jp)
- Andreessen Horowitz to open first overseas office in Tokyo by summer after meeting with Takaichi — Andreessen Horowitz co-founder Ben Horowitz met with Prime Minister Takaichi in Tokyo and confirmed the California-based venture capital firm plans to open its first office outside the United States in Japan by summer. Takaichi welcomed the announcement, signaling interest in attracting foreign capital to Japan’s startup sector; the firm is also reportedly looking to support Japan’s defense startups. (nippon.com)
- LDP pushes digital finance legislation as lawmakers warn on stablecoin risk to monetary sovereignty — Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) held internal discussions on digital finance policy, with LDP lawmaker Takuya Hirai warning that widespread stablecoin adoption could undermine Japanese monetary authority. The party is pushing development of next-generation on-chain financial infrastructure including real-world asset tokenization and AI-integrated settlement systems. (livebitcoinnews.com)
- Takaichi government signals energy-saving measures and supplementary budget as Iran war drives oil costs — Prime Minister Takaichi left open the possibility of calling for energy savings as supply concerns mounted from the Iran war, while noting Japan’s diplomatic efforts to secure passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz. Separately, the government is reportedly considering a supplementary budget for fiscal 2026 to ease the economic impact of elevated crude oil prices. (sp.m.jiji.com)
- Japan’s restaurants hit by visa suspension for foreign workers amid broader immigration debate — Restaurant operators in Japan are struggling after the government stopped issuing special visas for high-demand foreign workers in the sector, forcing them to rethink how they hire. Commentary in the Japan Times linked the staffing crunch to immigration policies rooted not only in the Takaichi administration but in those of her predecessors. (japantoday.com)
Notes
Notes
Trump calls Takaichi from Air Force One after Xi summit, reaffirms US-Japan alliance
May 13–17, 2026
Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako to make state visit to Netherlands and Belgium in June
May 12–13, 2026
Japan expands defense exports and eyes major security spending increase amid China tensions
May 12–16, 2026
Takaichi renews push for constitutional revision of Article 9 as LDP-Ishin coalition commands votes
May 11–13, 2026
India and Japan hold second Economic Security Dialogue focused on supply chain resilience
May 11, 2026
Japan wholesale inflation spikes to three-year high on Iran war oil shock, bolstering June BOJ rate hike case
May 15, 2026
Takaichi aide accused of running smear campaign against LDP rivals during leadership race
May 11–12, 2026
US Treasury Secretary Bessent meets Takaichi in Tokyo amid currency intervention tensions
May 11, 2026
Takaichi's Golden Week diplomacy included Southeast Asia sweep and Vietnam critical minerals deal
May 11–15, 2026
Andreessen Horowitz to open first overseas office in Tokyo by summer after meeting with Takaichi
May 14, 2026
LDP pushes digital finance legislation as lawmakers warn on stablecoin risk to monetary sovereignty
May 13, 2026
Takaichi government signals energy-saving measures and supplementary budget as Iran war drives oil costs
May 11–13, 2026
Japan's restaurants hit by visa suspension for foreign workers amid broader immigration debate
May 14–17, 2026
Other
South Korea
South Korea moved from diplomatic host to active broker this week: Lee Jae-myung met Scott Bessent, the US Treasury secretary, and He Lifeng, China’s vice-premier, back-to-back on the morning of May 13 — one day before their principals met in Geneva — then spoke by phone with the American president to discuss the outcome.
Mr Lee proposed a bilateral currency swap to Mr Bessent, framing it as support for a coming Special Act on Investment in the US; he pressed Mr He for “tangible results” in trade, industry, and culture, and praised the restoration of reciprocal leader visits. Mr Bessent acknowledged Korea’s “remarkable performance in growth rates and stock prices” under Mr Lee’s leadership. The currency swap is new to the relationship: if it advances, it would reduce Korea’s exposure to dollar liquidity stress during large outbound investment flows — a vulnerability the won’s recent weakness has made more visible. Whether it advances will depend partly on the Bank of Korea’s May 28 meeting and further talks with the Federal Reserve.
Even as it managed the superpower relationship, Seoul was deepening ties elsewhere. Sanae Takaichi, Japan’s prime minister, is set to visit Mr Lee’s hometown of Andong — a mirror of Mr Lee’s January trip to her hometown of Nara — for summit talks and what the Blue House called “private fellowship.” The announced agenda omitted historical disputes over comfort women and forced labour; it named energy supply routes that bypass the Strait of Hormuz and vessel security instead. Reporters have focused on possible progress on a Japan-South Korea military logistics pact, though the defence ministry said it is “not considering” one. Mr Lee also turned to Mexico: a call with Claudia Sheinbaum, Mexico’s president — conducted while Yeo Han-koo, the trade negotiator, was simultaneously in Mexico City setting up a formal strategic trade and investment dialogue — produced an agreement to resume long-stalled free trade talks and an invitation to visit in 2026. More than 2,000 Korean companies operate in Mexico, which is also among the world’s top 15 oil producers — a fact that bears directly on Seoul’s push to diversify energy supply routes away from the Strait of Hormuz.
Against these diplomatic advances, the most acute domestic risk is economic. Samsung’s wage dispute has entered its most dangerous phase: a 17-hour mediation session at the National Labour Relations Commission failed on May 13, the union rejected the commission’s proposed settlement of roughly 40 trillion won, and Samsung began winding down wafer inputs — a warm-down that incurs irreversible costs of around $20,000 per scrapped wafer. Jay Y. Lee, Samsung’s chairman, issued an apology to customers and the public on May 16, the most significant management concession in any Samsung labour dispute. The union agreed to resume direct talks on May 19, leaving two days before the May 21 strike. The stakes are severe: a one-day walkout in April caused foundry output to fall 58% and memory fabrication 18%; an 18-day general strike could cost between 30 and 100 trillion won, which analysts describe as the largest semiconductor supply disruption in history. The government has pledged to “pursue all options” to prevent the strike, citing Samsung’s 22.8% share of national exports.
The economy has also worsened. The won moved past 1,500 per dollar while export prices surged 40.8% year on year and import prices 20.2%, both driven by Hormuz-related energy costs. Kim Jin-ill, a new Bank of Korea board member who took office on May 15, said inflation worries had “heightened.” Foreign investors recorded their third straight month of outflows from Korean securities, and bond yields hit two-year highs. A rate hike at the central bank’s May 28 meeting now looks likely. That creates a tension the government is trying to manage: at his May 12 cabinet meeting, Mr Lee called for an expansionary 2027 budget, arguing that Korea’s net debt-to-GDP ratio of roughly 10% — against a G20 average of 89.6% — gives it room to spend. Park Hong-keun, the budget minister, made the first ministerial visit to the Bank of Korea in the institution’s history on May 14, which both sides described as “organic cooperation” and concluded with a joint pledge to prioritise “price stability and livelihood stability” — language that tacitly accepts the central bank’s tightening course while signalling that the executive intends to be consulted. The Bank for International Settlements separately elected Shin Hyun-song, the Bank of Korea governor, to its board for a three-year term, maintaining Korea’s seat there since 2019.
Domestically, the week added fresh complications to an already tightening pre-election environment. Bloomberg reported a Facebook post by Kim Yong-beom, the Blue House policy chief, suggesting AI-era tax revenues be “structurally returned to all citizens,” as implying a windfall tax on chip companies; the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell roughly 2% before Bloomberg updated its story following a government clarification. The presidential office then sent a formal letter of complaint to Bloomberg. The opposition People Power Party seized on the episode, with one lawmaker accusing the Blue House of “pressuring” a major foreign financial outlet and “controlling media” — drawing comparisons to the previous government’s handling of conservative outlets. Mr Lee’s approval fell 3 points to 61% in Gallup Korea polling conducted May 12-14, ending a seven-week streak at or above that level; Gallup attributed the drop primarily to controversy over a special counsel bill, which polling respondents in Seoul (49%), Busan (47%), and Daegu (54%) called “not appropriate.” The race for the June 3 local elections has tightened sharply: the Seoul mayoral gap has closed from 15 points to 8 in a month; Busan and Daegu are both within the margin of error. The ruling party’s national lead over the People Power Party has shrunk from 30 points to 22 over six weeks. In the Democratic Party of Korea’s stronghold of North Jeolla province, an expelled party member running as an independent leads the ruling party’s candidate by 3.5 points — a sign that the progressive coalition is fracturing, not simply losing ground to conservatives.
On security, the 28th Korea-US Integrated Defence Dialogue in Washington exposed a gap both sides now acknowledge openly. Ahn Gyu-baek, the defence minister, told his American counterpart there were “some differences” on the timetable for South Korea to take operational control of its own forces; the United States Forces Korea commander said publicly he was worried about “being driven to do something we are not ready for.” The joint statement did not mention the issue at all. Seoul wants the transfer by 2028; Washington’s position is conditions-based with no fixed date. On the Hormuz question — whether South Korea will contribute forces to protect shipping lanes — Mr Ahn described a “phased approach,” a phrase that keeps Washington engaged without committing troops and spares the domestic political cost of sending soldiers to a US-led operation. The Ministry of National Defence separately signed an agreement with SK Telecom to develop a defence-specific AI model — the first formal application of South Korea’s national AI programme to the military — and the first mass-produced KF-21 fighter completed its maiden flight in April, with delivery to the Air Force expected in September.
Officials cautioned against reading too much into the arrival of a 39-person North Korean women’s football squad in South Korea for an Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Women’s Champions League semifinal — the first North Korean athletes to enter the South in eight years. The unification ministry authorised the visit and provided 300 million won to fund cheering sections for both teams, while a senior official cautioned: “We should be careful about interpreting their visit as a sign of an improvement in South-North relations.” With no political symbols or anthems permitted under AFC rules, the match itself will reveal little. The outcome of Samsung talks on May 19-21 will reveal considerably more.
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- 45,000+ Samsung workers threaten history’s largest chipmaker strike; government pursues emergency arbitration — More than 45,000 Samsung Electronics union workers announced an 18-day general strike beginning May 21 over bonus pay disputes, threatening to disrupt global dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) and high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chip supply. The South Korean government — from the prime minister down — declared a strike must be prevented at all costs, citing Samsung’s share of national exports (22.8%) and potential daily losses near 1 trillion won; management entered emergency production mode, wound down wafer input, and Jay Y. Lee, Samsung’s chairman, issued a public apology, while the union agreed to resume mediated talks on May 19. (reuters.com)
- Lee’s predatory finance crackdown prompts mass selloff of Sangnoksu delinquent claims, debt relief for 110,000 borrowers — Following press criticism and President Lee’s social-media amplification of reporting on ‘Sangnoksu,’ a private bad bank that has withheld debt forgiveness from more than 90,000 borrowers since the 2003 credit card crisis, all nine major shareholder banks and card companies announced they would sell their delinquent receivables to the government’s New Leap Fund — prompting the liquidation of Sangnoksu and releasing 110,000 borrowers from long-standing debt obligations. (khan.co.kr)
- Hana Bank acquires $670m stake in Upbit operator Dunamu as South Korean banks push into crypto and stablecoins — Hana Financial Group announced a $670 million acquisition of a 6.55% stake in Dunamu, operator of South Korea’s leading crypto exchange Upbit, with plans to co-develop a won-pegged stablecoin and blockchain-based remittances; the deal came as the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) proposed a Digital Asset Basic Act and South Korean domestic crypto holdings fell $41 billion over the past year as investors rotated into equities. (coindesk.com)
- KOSPI nears 8,000 as global investors pile into Korean stocks amid AI semiconductor boom — South Korea’s benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) approached the 8,000-point level during the week, drawing coverage in Japanese and US financial media of a ‘Wall Street loves Korean stocks’ trend; market capitalisation of listed Korean firms grew approximately 4,500 trillion won in 11 months under the Lee administration. Citi moved to trim its bullish KOSPI position citing overheating risks, even as analysts raised price targets on Samsung and SK Hynix citing a structural memory supply shortage. (asiae.co.kr)
- North Korea earned about $14bn from Russia war support in three years; North Korean operatives steal $2 billion targeting financial firms — A research institute affiliated with South Korea’s National Intelligence Service, citing Bank of Korea data, estimated North Korea earned up to $14 billion over three years by supplying weapons and troops to Russia — equivalent to roughly half of North Korea’s annual GDP. Separately, a CrowdStrike report found North Korean cyber operatives stole $2 billion in 2025, with financial services firms identified as the primary next target. (pravda.com.ua)
- Lee’s approval rating slides to 61%, then 59.7%, amid citizen dividend controversy — Gallup Korea polling released on May 15 showed President Lee Jae-myung’s approval rating fell 3 percentage points to 61%, ending a seven-week streak above 60%, with the decline attributed to the citizen dividend controversy; an earlier Realmeter survey from May 11 had shown a rebound to 59.7% driven by stock market gains. (koreaherald.com)
- Lee makes rural and market outreach visits; appoints senior officials; promotes Saemaul Movement expansion — President Lee Jae-myung conducted a series of domestic public engagements during the week: he drove a rice transplanter in rural Daegu while sharing makgeolli with farmers, reunited with his elementary
Notes
Notes
45,000+ Samsung workers threaten history's largest chipmaker strike; government pursues emergency arbitration
May 11–17, 2026
Lee hosts US Treasury Secretary Bessent and Chinese VP He Lifeng ahead of US-China summit, emphasizes shipbuilding investment
May 12–17, 2026
Lee and Mexican President Sheinbaum hold bilateral call on energy, trade, and a planned state visit
May 14–15, 2026
AI 'citizen dividend' controversy: Lee defends policy aide against 'fake news' as PPP attacks and Bloomberg dispute emerges
May 13–17, 2026
Bank of Korea faces rate-hike pressure as inflation surges and won breaches 1,500 per dollar
May 11–17, 2026
BOK Governor Shin Hyun-song elected to BIS board; budget minister makes historic first visit to central bank
May 12–15, 2026
Korea-US defense dialogue addresses OPCON transfer gap and South Korea's potential Hormuz contribution
May 12–14, 2026
June 3 local elections: DPK maintains lead but PPP closes gap in Seoul, Busan, Daegu polls
May 13–17, 2026
Yoon Suk-yeol appeal trial halted after recusal request; Han Duck-soo challenges 15-year sentence
May 12–14, 2026
Lee backs expansionary 2027 budget and proactive fiscal policy, rejecting 'austerity trap'
May 12–13, 2026
Lee's predatory finance crackdown prompts mass selloff of Sangnoksu delinquent claims, debt relief for 110,000 borrowers
May 12, 2026
North Korean women's soccer team arrives in South Korea for AFC tournament — first visit in eight years
May 17, 2026
Lee and Japanese PM Takaichi plan Andong hometown summit focused on 'substantive cooperation'
May 15, 2026
Hana Bank acquires \$670M stake in Upbit operator Dunamu as South Korean banks push into crypto and stablecoins
May 11–15, 2026
ROK Defense Ministry signs MOU with SK Telecom to deploy AI foundation model in military; KF-21 deployment nears as F-5 fleet retires
May 13–14, 2026
KOSPI nears 8,000 as global investors pile into Korean stocks amid AI semiconductor boom
May 11–14, 2026
North Korea earned ~\$14B from Russia war support in three years; NK operatives steal \$2B targeting financial firms
May 11–14, 2026
Australia
Australia deployed E7-A Wedgetail aircraft and Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles to the Gulf this week, citing freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz as its objective — a commitment that replaces the careful ambiguity Canberra had maintained until now.
Richard Marles, the defence minister, travelled to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to meet Emirati leaders and Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel. His ministerial release made the operational logic explicit: Australia’s new National Defence Strategy names disruption to sea lines of communication as the country’s primary strategic risk, and the Hormuz deployment is its direct expression. Where Mr Marles had previously confirmed that no American request for Australian naval involvement in the Gulf had been received — a framing designed to preserve options — Australia is now deployed there with stated objectives.
In the same week, Mr Marles opened a $200 million deep maintenance and modification facility at Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Base Edinburgh in Adelaide, operated by Boeing Defence Australia. The facility will perform deep maintenance and upgrades on Australia’s P8 maritime surveillance aircraft and, eventually, the E7-A Wedgetail fleet — both previously maintained in the United States. Moving that work onshore, creating around 80 permanent jobs, is a direct step toward the sovereign industrial capacity the defence strategy demands.
There was a darker note. Warrant Officer Lachlan Muddle, a Special Air Service (SAS) soldier with five operational deployments and more than 15 years of service, died on 11 May after a mid-air collision during advanced night parachuting training at the ADF Parachute School at Jervis Bay. The collision also injured a second parachutist. The ADF suspended parachuting pending military and independent investigations — a real, if time-limited, constraint on specialist capability.
At home, the government faced a different kind of damage. Jim Chalmers, the treasurer, delivered a budget that restricted negative gearing to new-build properties, preserving existing arrangements for current investors but breaking an explicit pre-election pledge. The fallout was immediate: multiple polls put Labor’s primary vote at 29%, and Angus Taylor, the opposition leader, edged ahead as preferred prime minister for the first time. Anthony Albanese refused to apologise, framing the change as necessary housing reform. Mr Chalmers said the government had not expected a poll bounce. About one-third of voters remain undecided; around 20% outright oppose the changes. The grandfathering of existing arrangements limits the policy’s structural impact — the reform is real but partial.
Mr Taylor’s budget reply showed his strategy is not the economic pivot many had expected after the election. The speech pledged historic immigration cuts, restricted welfare access for non-citizens, backed coal power stations, abandoned nuclear energy, and proposed income tax indexation against bracket creep. Pauline Hanson accused Mr Taylor of stealing her immigration policies. Andrew McLachlan, a senator from the Liberal-National Coalition, publicly expressed concern about the migrant welfare restrictions — confirming the party is not unified behind its leader’s direction. Mr Taylor’s abandonment of nuclear, reversing a signature Coalition commitment from the previous parliament, may deepen the fracture with the party’s pro-nuclear wing. The speech revealed a multi-front bid for populist ground: competing with One Nation on identity while offering working-class economic relief, rather than the purely economic pitch his post-election positioning had implied.
Ms Hanson is the week’s quiet beneficiary. She can free-ride on the broken-pledge narrative against Labor and let Mr Taylor absorb the backlash for borrowing her immigration platform, without bearing either’s political costs.
The legislative path for the budget’s housing reforms is clear. Larissa Waters, the Greens Senate leader, confirmed her party would support passage while calling the measures insufficient. Labor and the Greens together hold 39 Senate votes, enough for a simple majority. The Greens may yet seek amendments in committee, but the core reforms will pass.
One acute pressure has eased. Mr Albanese confirmed that fuel supply has returned to pre-Iran war levels, consistent with the $10.7 billion fuel security package announced the previous week and the budget’s temporary halving of fuel excise. The structural vulnerability — Australia’s fuel reserve falls well short of the 50-plus day target it aims to reach by 2030 — remains. But the immediate crisis that drove the fuel security package has passed.
Other Stories
Other Stories
- Labor’s 2026 budget breaks negative gearing and capital gains tax promises, triggering political crisis and falling polls — Jim Chalmers, the treasurer, reversed pre-election pledges in his federal budget by winding back the capital gains tax discount and negative gearing for future investors, drawing accusations of ‘lying’ from the Liberal-National Coalition and causing a major fall in trust. Anthony Albanese defended the changes as necessary housing reform while refusing to call them a broken promise, and multiple polls showed Labor’s primary vote falling to 29% and Angus Taylor edging ahead as preferred prime minister for the first time. (thenightly.com.au)
- Angus Taylor’s budget reply proposes deep immigration cuts, coal support, and income tax indexation — Angus Taylor, the opposition leader, delivered his first budget reply speech, pledging historic cuts to immigration, restricting welfare access for non-citizens, supporting coal power stations and abandoning nuclear, and proposing income tax indexation against bracket creep. The speech drew accusations of policy theft from Pauline Hanson and prompted internal dissent within the Liberal-National Coalition over the migrant welfare restrictions.
Notes
Notes
Indonesia
The rupiah broke through Rp17,500 this week — past the 1998 Asian Financial Crisis low, the most psychologically significant threshold in Indonesian financial history. The president’s response was to joke about it.
At a cooperative launch in Nganjuk on May 15, Prabowo Subianto told the crowd that the weak currency was “only a headache for the people who go abroad a lot,” gesturing toward his ex-wife and cabinet members to laughter. Economists at Gadjah Mada University and Atma Jaya University of Yogyakarta called the remark reckless — the Indonesian word they used was gegabah — and warned it could add selling pressure to an already fragile market. The parliament’s finance commission demanded Bank Indonesia raise rates. Most striking was what came from inside the cabinet: Bahlil Lahadalia, the energy minister, said the same day that rupiah weakness was a concern for fuel pricing — implicitly contradicting the president he serves. Open disagreement within the cabinet is unusual in Indonesia’s managed information environment, and it suggests either a breakdown at the top or an energy minister who also chairs Golkar choosing to distance himself from a politically risky position.
The rate itself — Rp17,500 to Rp17,613 per dollar — sits roughly 6.5% above the government’s own budget assumption of Rp16,500. Three forces are driving it down. Oil import costs have surged with Brent crude at $110 a barrel following Hormuz disruptions. Capital is leaving: foreign investors have sold $2.2 billion in Indonesian stocks since January. And governance penalties are compounding those outflows. MSCI, the index compiler, removed six companies from its Indonesia index — among them tycoon-linked firms Amman Mineral and Barito Renewables, cited for concentrated ownership — triggering an estimated $1.6 billion in additional passive fund outflows and sending Jakarta’s main index down nearly 2%. FTSE Russell acted simultaneously. A full MSCI review is due in June, with the question of a frontier market downgrade still open.
Bank Indonesia has been issuing bills at the fastest pace in two years, but has announced no rate decision and given no signal on its next move — conspicuous silence while the currency sets records and the legislature demands action. Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa, the finance minister, said conditions are “not as bad as the 1998 crisis.” That the comparison needed to be made at all showed how seriously officials read the situation.
Scrutiny of Danantara — the sovereign fund the president created to manage roughly $570 billion in state enterprise assets — sharpened into documented legal controversy. Herry Gunawan, an analyst at the NEXT Indonesia Center, told Katadata that Danantara has yet to publish its 2025 financial statements despite operating for more than a year, alleging violations of at least three regulations including mandatory performance-reporting rules and a public information access law. Danantara confirmed it had not published the statements, defending this on the grounds that its founding statute routes reporting to the state audit board and then the legislature rather than the public. The comparison was unflattering: the smaller state fund reported 37% profit growth for 2025 the same week. This is the first time the shortfall in oversight has been documented with specific legal citations and a named institutional response — a shift from opacity to open legal dispute. The deadline for submitting to the state audit board is now the thing to watch. That same week, the president witnessed Danantara sign a technology cooperation agreement with China’s Hisense Group at his private Kertanegara residence, with the foreign minister in attendance — a signal that these are being treated as affairs of state, not routine business.
Even as the numbers deteriorated, the president continued his populist rounds. In Nganjuk and Tuban, he inaugurated the Marsinah Labor Hero Museum — honoring a female factory worker murdered in 1993 with probable military involvement — and launched 1,061 Red and White Village Cooperatives, part of a plan to have 30,000 running by August. He pledged personal accountability for food security and called for investigators to pursue corruption regardless of proximity to the presidency. The Marsinah inauguration was rich in contradiction: the president honored the most visible victim of New Order military violence while rehabilitating Suharto elsewhere in his governance record, occupying both ends of the labor-military spectrum without resolving the tension between them.
A 23-year-old Raider battalion soldier fatally shot a fellow soldier at a Palembang café in the early hours of May 16, following a confrontation on the dance floor. The weapon was improvised; a civilian was detained for concealing it. Military Police detained the suspect and referred the case to military prosecutors. The incident fits the pattern of Indonesian military indiscipline processed through internal channels; the improvised weapon raises questions about unit-level armory control.
No organized protest activity has emerged in response to the rupiah breaking its 1998 levels — notable, given that last August’s demonstrations were triggered by the narrower grievance of a parliamentary housing allowance. Whether that reflects the more diffuse nature of currency pain, the deterrent effect of last year’s crackdown, or simply how long it takes for protests to form is not yet clear.
Other Stories
Other Stories
- Rupiah hits record lows above Rp17,500 while Prabowo’s dismissive comments draw economist backlash — The Indonesian rupiah fell past Rp17,500–17,600 per US dollar this week, breaking through the state budget assumption of Rp16,500 and sparking calls from parliament’s finance commission and analysts for Bank Indonesia to raise its benchmark rate. Prabowo Subianto, the president, inflamed the controversy with remarks at the Nganjuk cooperative launch stating “villagers don’t use dollars,” which economists from Gadjah Mada University, Atma Jaya University of Yogyakarta, and other institutions publicly criticized as inaccurate and potentially counterproductive to Bank Indonesia’s stabilization efforts. Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa, the finance minister, separately sought to calm markets by insisting conditions are not as bad as the 1998 crisis. (en.tempo.co)
- Prabowo’s East Java tour launches 1,061 village cooperatives, inaugurates Marsinah Museum, touts food self-sufficiency — Prabowo Subianto, the president, made a multi-day working visit to Nganjuk and Tuban in East Java from May 15–16, inaugurating 1,061 Red and White Village Cooperatives (Koperasi Merah Putih), opening the Marsinah Labor Hero Museum, attending a simultaneous corn harvest, and making wide-ranging speeches on food sovereignty, Pancasila economics, anti-corruption, and leadership accountability. He praised Amran Sulaiman, the agriculture minister, and Listyo Sigit Prabowo, the police chief, while declaring food self-sufficiency achieved in one year. (jawapos.com)
- Danantara accelerates waste-to-energy projects, targets Denera IPO in 2028 — Danantara signed memoranda of understanding (MoUs) with six regional governments to advance waste-to-energy power plant projects totalling an estimated $5 billion in investment, and announced plans to list its waste-to-energy holding company PT Daya Energi Bersih Nusantara (Denera) on the Indonesia Stock Exchange by 2028. Pandu Sjahrir, Danantara’s chief investment officer, said over 100 investors had already registered for the second phase of projects. (idnfinancials.com)
- Gerindra disciplines two local legislators after viral ethics violations go public — The Great Indonesia Movement party (Gerindra) held hearings on May 15 through its party honor council (Majelis Kehormatan) and issued final warnings to two regional legislators: Achmad Syahri Assidiqi, a member of the Jember regional legislature (DPRD) filmed playing a mobile game and smoking during a committee meeting on stunting, and Iman Sutiawan, chair of the Kepulauan Riau regional legislature, filmed riding a motorcycle without a helmet. Both received written reprimands and face dismissal if they reoffend. (msn.com)
- VP Gibran’s 2025 wealth declaration shows Rp27.9 billion in assets — The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) released Gibran Rakabuming Raka, the vice president’s, 2025 State Officials’ Wealth Report (LHKPN), showing total declared assets of Rp27.9 billion, a modest increase of roughly Rp395 million from the previous year. The report drew public interest for its inventory of vehicles and asset composition. (viva.co.id)
- VP Gibran’s active schedule: MRT inspection, religious event, student quiz controversy — Gibran Rakabuming Raka, the vice president, conducted multiple public engagements this week including inspecting Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Phase 2A construction progress (59% complete, targeting 2029 completion), attending the 55th Haul of K.H. Abdul Wahab Chasbullah at a pesantren in Jombang where he gave away bicycles, and inviting students from a state high school in Pontianak to the Vice Presidential Palace after a viral judging controversy in a People’s Consultative Assembly quiz competition. He also promoted tourism via the Bali & Beyond Travel Fair.
Notes
Notes
Rupiah hits record lows above Rp17,500 while Prabowo's dismissive comments draw economist backlash
May 11–18, 2026
Prabowo's East Java tour launches 1,061 village cooperatives, inaugurates Marsinah Museum, touts food self-sufficiency
May 14–18, 2026
Danantara signs Hisense tech MoU, claims top-six SWF status, faces transparency scrutiny
May 11–17, 2026
MSCI removes six Indonesian companies from its index, stocks slide amid transparency pressure
May 13–16, 2026
Golkar affiliate SOKSI holds national conference, backs Prabowo-Gibran government and Bahlil leadership
May 15–17, 2026
Jokowi's post-presidential political influence contested as PSI and Projo compete ahead of 2029
May 15–17, 2026
VP Gibran's active schedule: MRT inspection, religious event, student quiz controversy
May 11–14, 2026