Defense Policy

The world’s nuclear-armed states are deepening efforts to modernize and expand their arsenals, reversing decades of gradual disarmament and raising alarms about a renewed nuclear arms race, according to a report released today by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). The analysis reveals that, after years of net reductions, the total number of operational warheads is once again on the rise, propelled by large-scale upgrade programs in the United States and Russia, rapid force expansion in China, and renewed weapons development in regional powers such as India, Pakistan and North Korea.

For decades, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has openly vowed to thwart Iran’s nuclear ambitions by any means necessary. Those long-held threats culminated this week in “Operation Rising Lion,” a series of coordinated airstrikes against Iranian military and nuclear infrastructure. While Netanyahu’s carefully cultivated reputation as “Mr. Security” may have compelled him to pull the trigger, the strikes carry profound strategic, diplomatic, and domestic risks. As rescuers sift through the rubble in Tehran and world leaders scramble for a response, the true costs of confronting Iran head-on are only beginning to surface.

China’s foreign ministry has retaliated sharply against US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth’s keynote at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, accusing him of “villifying China with defamatory allegations” and deliberately “sowing division” across the Asia-Pacific region. Hegseth’s address on May 31, 2025, warned regional governments that Beijing might be “credibly preparing to use military force to alter the balance of power in the Indo-Pacific” and urged Asian countries to boost defence spending. In its official response on June 1, China described Hegseth’s comments as “filled with provocations,” decried his alleged “cold war mentality,” and accused the United States of hypocrisy in branding China a “hegemonic power.”

Israel’s government has formally approved the establishment of 22 new Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, a move that includes legalizing a number of previously unauthorized outposts. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a prominent ultra-nationalist and vocal proponent of annexationist policies, announced the decision on Thursday. He stated that the new developments will be concentrated in the northern West Bank, though specific locations have not been publicly disclosed.