Good morning and happy Sunday,

This is Pacific Weekly, a premium exclusive of The Intel Brief intended to keep you updated on events across the hotly contested Indo-Pacific region.

Reporting Period: 1-7 September 2025

Bottom-Line Up Front:

Leaders Gather For SCO Summit In Tianjin, China

Summary
From 31 August to 1 September, the 2025 Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit convened in Tianjin, China. A central theme was the promotion of a multipolar world order and a strong condemnation of what China and Russia described as "Cold War mentality" and "bullying behavior" by the West. The summit concluded with the adoption of the Tianjin Declaration and several key documents, including a new development strategy for the organization until 2035. Members and partners committed to coordination on some concepts, such as AI, a development bank, and multilateral governance.

Findings

• Background: The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) was founded in 2001 by China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan as a regional security bloc. Originally focused on counterterrorism and border security in Central Asia, the SCO has since expanded its scope to include economic cooperation, infrastructure development, and energy security. It now represents over 40% of the world’s population and more than 30% of global GDP, with India, Pakistan, and Iran as full members and several countries—including Turkey and Saudi Arabia—holding observer or dialogue partner status. While the SCO lacks the institutional coherence of NATO or the EU, it serves as a key platform for China and Russia to project influence across Eurasia and advance a multipolar world order.

• Scale and Scope: The SCO Summit saw unprecedented attendance, with over 20 national leaders present.
  The significant attendees:

• Economic and Financial Integration: The summit underscored the SCO's evolution from a regional security bloc to a multi-dimensional platform for economic and political cooperation. Leaders agreed to establish an SCO Development Bank to fund infrastructure and development projects across member states. This move is a clear effort to reduce reliance on Western financial institutions.
  Russia also confirmed plans for the Power of Siberia and Power of Siberia 2 pipelines, which will help expand Russia’s energy-based revenue stream. Additionally, expansion to the Russia-India-Iran Corridor will allow the block to bypass Western sanctions and naval enforcement.

• Security and Geopolitical Alignment: The Tianjin Declaration included a strong condemnation of the military strikes by the U.S. and Israel on Iran in June 2025. It reaffirmed a shared commitment to combating terrorism, separatism, and extremism without "double standards." A joint declaration was adopted to condemn recent terrorist attacks in both India and Pakistan.
  At the summit, both India and China committed to resolving border disputes, while Russia attempted to frame its invasion of Ukraine as a justified response to the Western-led global order and expansionism.

• Bilateral Diplomacy: India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, where he reiterated India's opposition to projects that violate sovereignty and territorial integrity, a veiled reference to China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) projects in Pakistan. Indian and Russian leaders also showed a strong rapport, with Prime Minister Modi and Russian President Putin sharing a car ride and engaging in extensive bilateral talks on the sidelines of the summit.

Why This Matters
The 2025 SCO Summit solidified the growing bloc—alongside BRICS—as a leading diplomatic, informational, military, and economic organization for the emerging multipolar world. The decisions, particularly the proposal for an SCO bank, represent significant efforts by the bloc to establish alternatives to Western institutions. The SCO is quickly becoming Eurasia’s greatest geopolitical driver.

The SCO's growing influence and membership, which now includes 27 countries in various capacities, strengthens the strategic alignment of China, Russia, and Iran. While internal frictions persist—notably between India and China—the members found common ground on security, economic development, and opposition to Western foreign policy. Such developments suggest the United States and its partners may not be offering enticing economic, security, or diplomatic cooperation.

One of the fascinating things about the SCO—in part due to Russia’s and China’s ability to bring people to the diplomatic table—is that many of the members have old conflicts, recent conflicts, on ongoing conflicts (even with each other). This is simply to suggest that the U.S. should formulate a way to compete against the growing bloc.

Sources: AP News, CNN, NBC News, AP News, CNN, Reuters

China Conducts Victory Day Parade In Beijing, Hosts Multipolar Allies

Summary
On 3 September, China hosted its largest-ever Victory Day parade at the Tiananmen Square in Beijing, commemorating the 80th anniversary of the defeat of Japan in World War II. President Xi presided over the ceremony, with President Putin and Kim Jong Un as his honored guests. The event spotlighted diplomatic unity between the growing multipolar “axis,” as well as advanced weapons systems including hypersonic missiles, underwater drones, and novel cyber-warfare units— all of which are intended to broadcast China’s military modernization and geopolitical ambitions.

Findings

• Multipolar Allies: The majority of leaders and officials who were in attendance can be considered China’s multipolar partners; those officials who support a shift in the “world order” away from U.S. and Western dominance. Many of Xi’s guests were leaders of SCO or BRICS nations.

  President Putin and Kim Jong Un were in attendance, and were identified as Xi’s guests of honor. Only two European leaders attended the event—Robert Fico (Slovakia) and Aleksandar Vucic (Serbia).

• Military Parade and Weapons Systems: The central event was the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) parade. During the parade, various weapons systems and platforms were on display in addition to conventional platforms, such as trucks, tanks, and armored vehicles.

  • Nuclear Capable Missiles: Jinglei-1 (air launched long-range missiles), Julang-3 (submarine launched ICBM), Dongfeng-31 and Dongfeng-61 bad-based ICBMs.

  • Hypersonic Anti-Ship Missiles: Yingji-17, Yingji-19, and Yingji-20s.

    Some Dongfeng-17 and Dongfeng-26D “Guam Killer” hypersonic missiles were displayed.

  • Unconventional Weapons Systems: The PLA also displayed the AJX002 underwater drone, the FH-97 stealth drone, and direct energy and electronic warfare systems.

Why This Matters
The convergence of non-Western authoritarian leaders alongside China’s most advanced weaponry signals a recalibration of global power dynamics:

• The attendance of Putin, Kim, and a cadre of Global South heads of state underscores the formation of a reinvigorated anti-Western bloc, challenging the cohesion of Western-led institutions.

• The unveiling of a full nuclear triad, hypersonic missiles, stealth drones, and cyber-warfare units demonstrates PLA modernization across multiple domains.

• These displays, timed ahead of the UN General Assembly, highlight Beijing’s intent to pair military prowess with diplomatic narratives to develop international support and legitimacy.

• For U.S. allies and partners, the combined message of martial readiness and geopolitical alignment pressures collective defense strategies—especially across Eastern Europe, the Indo-Pacific, and NATO’s southern flank.

Sources: The Sunday Times, The Guardian, Economic Times

Japan, Australia Deepen Defense Cooperation

Summary
On 5 September, following a high-level security dialogue in Tokyo, Japan and Australia agreed to deepen defense cooperation in response to growing regional threats, particularly from China. The agreement encompasses expanded joint training, operational deployments, and defense technology collaboration. This includes a landmark $10 billion Japanese contract to build warships for Australia—Japan’s most substantial defense export since 2014—and plans to scale up cooperation in unmanned systems and critical minerals.

Findings

• Strategic Reinforcement: Japan and Australia's commitment to deepen security ties signals a clear intent to bolster collective deterrence in the Indo-Pacific. The partnership is structured around more joint military exercises and mutual operational deployments under the existing 2023 reciprocal access agreement (RAA).

• Major Defense Procurement: Japan has signed a sizable $10 billion warship deal with Australia—its largest defense export in over a decade. This not only strengthens Australia’s naval capability but also underscores increasing defense industrial cooperation between the two democracies.

• Advanced Capabilities & Resource Security: Discussions focused on future collaboration in advanced defense technologies—such as unmanned systems—and securing critical minerals. Australia aims to advance its exports of resources key to defense manufacturing, while Japan seeks reliable upstream supply.

• Alliance Network Engagement: Both nations reaffirmed close alignment with the United States and shared Quad partnership goals, expanding their strategic posture amid concerns over China’s assertive behavior.

Why This Matters
The agreement between Japan and Australia to expand security cooperation reflects a significant shift in the Indo-Pacific’s strategic landscape. By committing to joint training, operational deployments, and major defense-industrial projects such as the warship deal, the two partners are signaling their readiness to assume a more proactive defense posture.

This partnership not only strengthens deterrence against China’s assertive behavior in the South and East China Seas, but also deepens interoperability within the broader U.S.-led alliance network, including South Korea and the Philippines.

Beyond military implications, the focus on advanced technologies and critical minerals highlights the convergence of defense and economic security, ensuring resilience against supply chain and crisis vulnerabilities. Taken together, Japan and Australia’s cooperation underscores an emerging regional defense identity that both complements and reinforces U.S. strategic priorities in the Indo-Pacific.

Sources: Reuters, CNN

End Brief

That concludes this edition of Pacific Weekly.

Thank you for reading!

— Nick