Alerts update
1. Okinawa elects Takaichi’s candidate as governor
Conservative Genta Koja will become the Japanese archipelago’s next governor, a win for the country’s hawkish prime minister as she works to accelerate a military buildup amid fears on the island about China and the economy.
2. China threatens summit cancelation if US approves arms sales to Taiwan
China told the United States it would cancel a planned meeting between their leaders scheduled for 10 days’ time if Washington were to approve any new arms sales to Taiwan before then, multiple sources familiar with bilateral ties said Saturday.
Source: https://english.kyodonews.net/articles/-/84865
3. South Korea's expanded espionage law takes effect
South Korea's expanded espionage law took effect on Sunday, 13 September, broadening espionage offences beyond acts involving North Korea to include all foreign countries as Seoul seeks to protect key technologies amid intensifying competition in semiconductors and other strategic industries.
4. Continued destruction of Russian refineries
Ukrainian drones successfully attacked Russia’s Slavyansk refinery and struck the Taneco refinery in Tatarstan, more than 1,200 km away from the Ukraine-Russia border. As Gavekal’s Louis Gave noted, “This means that we now live in a world in which both the Russian and Saudi energy industries are under attack. And all this while the Iranian, Kuwaiti, Iraqi, Qatari and Emirati energy-producing assets are under severe production, and exporting, constraints."
Source: https://research.gavekal.com/article/rapidly-shifting-sands/
5. German companies increase investment in China
German companies increased investment in China by a third in the first half of 2026 while sharply reducing investment in the United States, according to a study by the German Economic Institute (IW), Reuters reported.
German firms invested €5.6 billion ($6.50 billion) more in China than in the same period of the previous year, while their iInvestment in the US fell by nearly two-thirds to around €4.3 billion, the study said.
Source: https://www.reuters.com/world/china/german-firms-lift-china-investment-us-outlays-fall-iw-study-shows-2026-09-13/
6. China sent Iran satellite pictures of US base ahead of Iranian attack: WSJ
Chinese entities supplied Iran with high-quality satellite imagery of a US Air Force base in Jordan both before and after Tehran launched a deadly ballistic missile attack on the facility on July 17, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing US officials familiar with the matter.
Source: https://www.timesofisrael.com/report-chinese-entities-gave-iran-satellite-images-before-deadly-strike-on-us-base/