Venus Upadhayaya
Venus Upadhayaya is a senior journalist and a 2025 MOFA Taiwan Fellow.
China Builds Barricade at Scarborough Shoal, Raising South China Sea Tensions With Philippines
China’s activities in the disputed South China Sea continue to escalate, with Beijing recently constructing a barricade at the entrance to Scarborough Shoal, further heightening tensions with the Philippines. Satellite imagery analyzed by Reuters from...
Japan Joins US-Philippines Military Drills in South China Sea
Japan will take part in the latest round of U.S.-Philippines military drills in the South China Sea from April 20 to May 8, marking its first large-scale participation in the annual Balikatan exercises. Analysts say...
US Truckers Hit by 50% Diesel Price Surge Amid Iran War; Renewed Talks Bring Cautious Optimism
The war with Iran has significantly eroded profits in the U.S. trucking industry, with retail diesel prices rising roughly 50 percent since the conflict began and disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz tightened supply. However,...
Xi Meeting With KMT Chair Cheng Li-wun Signals Narrative Shift Toward ‘Peaceful Reunification,’ Taipei-based Experts Say
Taiwan’s opposition Kuomintang (KMT) party sent a delegation to China for a six-day visit from April 7 to April 12, led by its chairwoman, Cheng Li-wun. Cheng met Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Friday, April...
Trump’s Blockade Aimed at Ending War After Collapse of Iran Talks, Expert Says
U.S. President Donald Trump announced April 13 (Monday) that the United States would begin blockading ships entering or leaving Iranian ports later that day — a move a Middle East expert said may signal an...
US-Iran Ceasefire Under Pressure as Leaders Prepare for ‘Islamabad Accord’ Talks in Pakistan
The U.S. and Iran haven’t stopped issuing warnings and threats against each other despite the two-week ceasefire announced on April 7. Several Gulf nations reported Iranian attacks against them even after the truce was issued...
What the US Iran Ceasefire Means as Geopolitical Tensions Continue
The U.S. and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire reached two hours before President Donald Trump’s deadline for Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz on April 7 (Tuesday) evening. Both countries’ leadership claimed victory amidst...
India Advances Its Civil Nuclear Program With Prototype Breeder Reactor
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 6 announced the country attaining criticality of its indigenously built Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR). Criticality means the stage at which a nuclear reactor attains a self-sustaining chain...
How China Uses the Iran Conflict to Test AI-Driven Warfare
Officially, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is keeping its distance from the war in the Middle East; however, its private firms, including those with ties to its military establishment, are busy marketing U.S. wartime...
Japan, France Sign Rare Earths Recycling Deal to Lessen China Reliance
As French President Emmanuel Macron visited Japan, the two nations agreed to grow cooperation on rare earth mineral supply chains, according to a deal they secured on April 1. The agreement was signed between Japanese...
China Stands to Gain if Iran Controls the Strait of Hormuz: Analysts
More than a month into the U.S.-Israel war against Iran, the conflict has expanded beyond direct strikes to include Iranian drone attacks across the region. While all sides continue to frame the war in terms...
Trump’s NATO Withdrawal Threat Is a Bid to Get European Countries to Join Iran War: Analyst
President Donald Trump called NATO a “paper tiger” and has threatened to pull the U.S. out of the alliance system after European allies declined to actively join the U.S. and Israeli campaign against Iran. “Oh...