Foreign Policy

Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama reiterated Japan's readiness to intervene if there's excessive FX volatility or speculative moves, as USD/JPY trades near intervention-sensitive levels. Her comments come ahead of Ministry of Finance data expected to confirm recent stealth interventions when the yen spiked sharply. Market participants believe authorities stepped in through unannounced operations based on abrupt intraday reversals. Katayama linked recent yen weakness to oil market volatility spilling into FX, framing intervention as market stabilisation rather than competitiveness.

The Trump administration is establishing a quarantine and treatment centre in Kenya for Americans exposed to Ebola overseas, rather than bringing them to US hospitals. Officials defend the move as expediting care near outbreak zones, with Kenya confirming talks on health cooperation. A former CDC official called the plan 'unethical and irresponsible', citing Kenya's limited high-containment infrastructure compared to US biocontainment units. The policy reverses decades of repatriating exposed Americans to facilities like Emory and NIH, as Trump promises no Ebola cases will enter the United States.

China is stalling approval for Pentagon official Elbridge Colby's Beijing visit as leverage against a proposed $14 billion US arms package for Taiwan, following December's $11.1 billion weapons sale that already angered Beijing. The diplomatic pressure tactic comes after Xi Jinping reportedly pressed Trump to show restraint on Taiwan arms transfers during a February call. For investors, the significance extends beyond the weapons themselves to US-China strategic stability, semiconductor supply chain risk, and the precedent of Beijing tying military engagement to Taiwan policy decisions.

Trump postponed a planned military strike on Iran after Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE asked for a delay, saying they were 'getting very close to making a deal.' The former president said the US was 'ready to go in tomorrow' with something 'very big' but agreed to hold off for 'two or three days' while regional allies pursue diplomatic progress. Oil prices retreated immediately after Trump's announcement, reflecting how quickly geopolitical theatre moves energy markets. The episode highlights Gulf states' influence on US decision-making when their energy infrastructure is at stake, with roughly 20 million barrels per day passing through the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has not publicly confirmed the talks Trump referenced, leaving markets to price in uncertainty about both diplomatic progress and military escalation.

Geography is no longer destiny for New Zealand. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon declared the country's historic isolation strategy dead, comparing current global tensions to the Cold War and warning there's "no opting out" of great power competition. The shift is expensive: defence spending is rising from 1.3% to 2% of GDP, adding roughly NZ$3 billion annually. The timing is telling. China buys 29% of New Zealand's exports worth NZ$18.7 billion, but security partnerships with Australia and Japan are deepening as the Indo-Pacific militarises. For exporters like Fonterra, this means navigating between their biggest customer and their security guarantor. The days of sitting pretty in the South Pacific are over.

Forty-seven years of US arms sales to Taiwan just became a bargaining chip. Trump announced he's discussing future weapons packages with Xi Jinping, with $14 billion in pending sales now hanging in the balance ahead of their April Beijing summit. This breaks decades of precedent where arms sales were non-negotiable US commitments under the Taiwan Relations Act. Taiwan's government is quietly panicking, having just approved a $25 billion defence budget that assumes continued US support. For allies like Japan and the Philippines, the message is clear: even ironclad security commitments are tradeable if the price is right. China may offer agricultural purchases or Boeing orders worth tens of billions to sweeten the deal.

The May 14-15 Beijing summit will happen as scheduled, six weeks after Iran tensions forced the original delay. The meeting puts Xi in a stronger position than March, when Trump needed Chinese cooperation to reopen the Strait of Hormuz for oil flows. Council on Foreign Relations analysis suggests Beijing now holds leverage as Washington remains distracted by military operations. Expect limited trade progress on Boeing and soybeans, but Iran's status as China's largest crude buyer makes any oil-related concessions unlikely. The optics matter more than outcomes: both sides need stability theater.

Donald Trump just picked a fight with 1.4 billion Catholics. After Pope Leo XIV condemned his threats to "destroy an entire civilization" if Iran doesn't reopen the Strait of Hormuz, Trump lashed out at the first American pontiff as "WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy." The Vatican had called Trump's ultimatum — complete with an 8pm Tuesday deadline — "truly unacceptable" violations of international law. While Trump announced a Pakistan-mediated ceasefire hours later, his attack on Pope Leo signals a dangerous escalation of church-state tensions that could cost him Catholic swing voters.

Assembly elections in four Indian states are testing PM Modi's foreign policy credentials as the rupee fell 4% following the February US-Israeli bombing campaign against Iran, compounding a 5% decline from Trump's 2025 tariff war. Modi's traditional brand as a foreign policy strategist who elevated India globally faces scrutiny after New Delhi was sidelined in diplomatic efforts, with Pakistan taking a leading role. The PM announced seven inter-ministerial groups to assess energy and supply chain implications amid panic buying at fuel pumps.

Trump's two-week Iran ceasefire has exposed deep fractures within his base, with hawks like Laura Loomer calling the deal "legitimizing terrorists" while isolationists including Tucker Carlson and Nick Fuentes (1.3M X followers) criticize prioritizing Israel over America First. The split reflects broader tension between Trump's campaign promise to end endless wars and his administration's hawkish approach that killed over 3,000 civilians since February 28.