A system of alliances emerges to counter China in the South China Sea.

China leaks its plans for dealing with North Korean officials and refugees if the regime implodes.

President Obama will have to be at the top of his diplomatic game on his trip to Asia, and he’s made a good start. In a recent speech, he reassured Japan that the U.S. would protect its territory, and China didn’t get too annoyed in response.

A suburb of Sydney is the latest farflung city to be dragged into the debate over the legacy of the “comfort women,” girls and women who were forced into sex slavery by the Japanese military during WWII.

“We have no intention to rethink the Kono Statement,” the Japanese government announced yesterday. Some of the more fiery right-wingers in Tokyo will be disappointed.

A Japanese government-appointed council of experts will review the country’s landmark apology to “comfort women”—those whom the Imperial army forced into sex slavery during World War II. This will definitely go well.