In Asian media this week: US hopes Beijing might lean on Putin. Plus: Work starts on Xi-Trump summit in China; Former first lady jailed on gifts-for-influence charges; Japan looks to become regional weapons supplier; Indonesia deploys ballistic missile system; Hong Kong “suffering climate whiplash”.

The unanswered question of Donald Trump’s tariff entanglements is: why did he punish India for buying Russian oil, but leave China untouched?

Trump hit India with a 25% tariff rate plus a 25% penalty for its dealings with Russia. Yet, he extended by another 90 days the economic truce between Washington and Beijing.

Ravi Velloor, a senior columnist with The Straits Times, links Trump’s deep personal bitterness over Delhi’s role in effectively helping Russia prolong the Ukraine War to his harsh treatment of India.

Velloor, who has been writing for almost two months about the souring of relations between Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, says Trump is acting out of frustration as much as anger.

“Delhi’s increased imports of Russian oil — which helps… Putin thwart the pressure from Mr Trump to end the Ukraine War — seem to have jangled a final Trumpian nerve,” Velloor says.

But an article in The Diplomat, Asia’s online news magazine, points out that China buys more Russian oil than India.

The analysis, by Jianli Yang of Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, says the decision to target India starts with leverage. India relies heavily on Western markets while the US-China economic relationship is marked by mutual dependence.

“US policymakers thus believe they can pressure India economically without risking the kind of systemic disruption that would follow a direct confrontation with China,” Yang says.

But, says Yang, beneath the trade-related motives lies a controversial rationale for Washington’s restraint towards China: the belief that Beijing could help bring about a settlement of the Russia-Ukraine war. Trump, he says, sees China’s Xi Jinping as a potential kingmaker who could lend legitimacy to any peace deal.

Trump’s team believes India has little sway over Russia’s Vladimir Putin. But China is seen as too important to alienate while negotiations continue.

“The possibility — however slim — that Beijing might someday pressure Moscow towards compromise serves as an argument for strategic patience, not confrontation," Yang says.

US, China pull back from trade war

Officials in Washington are working on plans for Donald Trump to travel to China for a summit meeting with Xi Jinping, The Straits Times reported this week.

The US and China appeared to be pulling back from their trade war, with Trump extending the tariff pause on China’s exports until 9 November, the paper said. The move could be a prelude to a leaders’ summit, it said.

One likely venue could be Kuala Lumpur, which is to host ASEAN’s East Asia Summit over three days from 26 October. Another possibility would be the APEC meeting in Gyeongju, South Korea, on 31 October and 1 November.

“But there is a third possibility, which might hold special appeal for Mr Trump and… would be more in keeping with his penchant for dramatic actions: a quick trip to China,” says the report, written by Bhagyashree Garekar, the paper’s US bureau chief.

“The Straits Times has learnt from sources close to the administration that preparations are underway in Washington for a possible US presidential trip to China. Officials in Beijing are also on standby.

“Should it take place, the meeting would be the most critical between world leaders in 2025.”

Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post said Trump signed an executive order extending the trade war truce just hours before it was due to expire.

Trump said Beijing had taken significant steps towards remedying non-reciprocal trade arrangements and addressing US economic and national security concerns.

He called on China to quadruple its purchases of American soybeans, the paper said.

“China is worried about its shortage of soybeans,” he said in a social media post.

“Our great farmers produce the most robust soybeans. I hope China will quickly quadruple its soybean orders. This is also a way of substantially reducing China’s trade deficit. Rapid service will be provided.

“Thank you President Xi.”

Footnote: South Korea’s Lee Jae Myung and Trump are due to hold their first summit meeting – at the White House on 25 August. The Korea Herald said they were expected to finalise the tariff agreement reached on 30 July. There was speculation the Trump administration would push for bigger defence contributions by Seoul.

From luxury accessories to a mattress on the floor

A Van Cleef and Arpels necklace said to be worth A$66,000, Chanel bags, a Graff necklace and a Vacheron Constantin watch.

These are the luxury accessories that Kim Keon Hee, South Korea’s former first lady, allegedly received in exchange for influence – allegations that saw her this week consigned to solitary confinement in a small cell, with a mattress on the floor to sleep on.

Her husband, Yoon Suk Yeol, is also in custody on charges related to his failed attempt last December to impose martial law. It hardly needs saying that this is the first time a former president and his spouse have been jailed at the same time.

A Seoul court issued an arrest warrant for Kim on Tuesday, on charges that included violations of the Capital Markets Act and the Political Funds Act, The Korea Times said.

A key factor in her arrest was the allegation that she accepted multiple high-value gifts in exchange for special favours, the paper said.

Kim was moved to a detention centre shortly after the court issued the warrant for her arrest. It cited concerns that she could destroy evidence, the paper said in a separate story.

She was expected to be subject to the same entry procedures as other detainees, including submitting to a physical exam and mug shots while wearing khaki-coloured prison garb.

Amenities in her cell include a locker, a foldout table, a TV set and a toilet – but no bed.

Kim was questioned by a special counsel team on Thursday but The Korea Herald said she remained tight-lipped, exercising her right to remain silent.

The interrogation session ended early.

The special counsel team will try again on Monday, the Herald said.

Japan eyes frigates’ deal as way ahead for defence industry

Australia’s decision to buy Japanese ships to modernise the RAN’s fleet of frigates is being seen in Japan as a big deal, literally and metaphorically.

The heading on an analytical piece in The Japan Times says the choice signals the arrival of the Japanese defence industry.

And an editorial in the Times says it has the potential to transform Japan’s status as a regional security provider.

Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles last week announced that Mitsubishi Heavy Industries had won the contract to build 11 upgraded Mogami-class frigates to replace the navy’s aging ANZAC-class warships. Three of the ships are to be built in Japan, at a cost of about A$10 billion; the rest will be built in Australia.

The analysis in the Times says the purchase will support Japan's efforts to become an arms supplier across the Asia-Pacific region. Tokyo is already in defence-export discussions with Indonesia, India and the Philippines.

“The successful bid also highlights how far the Japanese industry has come since its failed submarine bid to Australia in 2016, and how critical close co-operation with the government has become to succeeding on the international defence market,” the article says.

The paper’s editorial says Japan has never made such a big defence sale. It sold a radar system to the Philippines last year – but nothing like a warship.

The deal is much more than a military sale, the paper says. It is a vote of confidence in Japan’s technological capabilities and confirmation of the commitment to deepening the ties between the two countries.

“The US is part of that relationship as well,” the paper says. “The Mogami is designed to be interoperable with US partners.

“The intensifying security partnership between Tokyo and Canberra aims to complement each country’s alliance with the United States.”

Prabowo’s motto: big nation needs strong military

Indonesia has quietly deployed a ballistic missile system – the first Southeast Asian country to acquire such advanced weaponry.

Singapore’s CNA (the short-form masthead for channelnewsasia.com) said the deployment was a pivotal move that changed the regional balance of power.

Indonesia has bought KHAN missiles from Turkiye – 280km-range weapons built by arms manufacturer Roketsan. They have been deployed in East Kalimantan, the site of Indonesia’s future new capital of Nusantara.

Kalimantan was chosen, CNA said, because of its position overlooking vital northern shipping lanes, and its role as the home of the new capital.

The system was first spotted by military enthusiasts, CNA said, and the delivery was confirmed by an Indonesian army spokesman.

The story quoted Ridzwan Rahmat, principal defence analyst at Janes, the defence and security publishers, as saying there is potential for the start of an arms race in the region.

CNA noted the acquisition coincided with restructuring of the Indonesian military, aimed at strengthening national defence.

It quoted Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto in a separate story as saying a big nation needed a strong military.

The Jakarta Post said Prabowo established six new regional commands for the army, 14 for the navy and three for the air force.

Prabowo’s military upgrade followed dozens of promotions in the army and amounted to a massive restructuring of the institution, the paper said.

It said the president had shown a growing dependence on the military to help deliver his priority programs.

The new moves had drawn mixed reactions from observers. Some thought they were important to modernise the military, but others doubted the changes would be effective.

Japan battles deadly floods, record temperatures

Hong Kong was inundated this week, with the city’s Observatory on Thursday raising a black rain warning signal (more than 70mm of rain in an hour), later reducing it to red (more than 50mm).

South China Morning Post reported an Observatory statement that an exceptionally severe rainstorm was hitting large areas of the city.

Only weeks ago, however, Hong Kong people were worried about unusually dry weather, according to a commentary in the paper. Kitty Tam Tsz-ching, from the Civic Exchange think-tank, said April, May and June were relatively dry months.

“Flowers wilted early, reservoirs dipped and farmers… feared crop losses,” she wrote. “Then came these early days of August: torrential downpours, landslides, flash floods and back-to-back black rainstorm warnings.”

This was not simply a matter of erratic weather, Tam said. Rather, it was climate whiplash – a rapid, extreme shift between drought and intense rainfall. “As global temperatures rise, the atmosphere holds more moisture, fuelling both extremes,” she wrote.

Hong Kong is not the only East Asian city suffering from extreme weather. The same weather patterns bedevil southern China. And, at the end of July, Beijing and surrounding areas were hit with almost a year’s worth of rain in less than a week, with 30 people dying and 80,000 being evacuated. The Straits Times called the city a rain trap.

In Japan, the island of Kyushu has been pounded by heavy rain, with The Asahi Shimbun reporting this week that two people were feared dead and four others were missing.

Yet, Japan this month recorded its hottest day, 41.8C – beating a record of 41.2C set just days earlier, The Japan Times said. The paper said almost 11,000 people were treated in hospital for heatstroke in one week of late-July, early-August, with 16 people dying.

In Osaka, which is hosting this year’s World Expo, one of the biggest challenges has been helping people to keep cool.

The paper reported organisers had set up 300 large umbrellas, 30 mist fans, 60 spot air-conditioners and a number of air-conditioned buses to act as cooling stations.

The views expressed in this article may or may not reflect those of Pearls and Irritations.