Japan Rearms, Russia-China Align, and Iran War Escalates: Singapore's Neighbourhood Gets Rougher

Japan's defence ministry requested a staggering US$55.6 billion (8.9 trillion yen) on Monday, with the final figure potentially reaching 10 trillion yen as Tokyo accelerates its military overhaul. The budget puts heavy emphasis on artificial intelligence to speed up battlefield decision-making — a clear signal that Japan's decades-long pacifist posture is now firmly in the rearview mirror. The spending targets growing...