This strategic move is designed to counter China's dominance in the sector at a time of crisis in bilateral relations. The Chikyu drilling vessel is set to leave on Sunday for the Pacific island of Minami Torishima. Experts believe the seabed around it could contain the world's third-largest deposit.

The 'Yesterday’ project, which reports from abroad on protests in China, selected the 10 most significant collective initiatives of the past year, offering a snapshot of activism in China. It features “unsung heroes” who together defend the rights of workers, parents, students, and small businesses, often challenging the agents of repression.

Following the capture of the Venezuelan president, strategic tensions between the United States and China, which has invested heavily in Latin America and the Caribbean in recent years, have returned to the forefront. Competition between the two powers could now fall on the Panama Canal. In the recent past, the Central American country has sought to keep a balance among rival interests. Washington could target other Chinese infrastructure projects and investments in raw materials.

China cites "international law” and “the UN Charter" to stand with Venezuela (while not respecting it in the South China Sea). Xi Jinping calls on South Korean President Lee to make the “right strategic choices”. A former Japanese defence minister is concerned about a possible domino effect involving Taiwan. India is cautious in order to keep a door open for Trump on tariffs.

The year that just ended saw China further tighten its bureaucratic control over religions. The idea that the country’s interests must come before religion is growing stronger. This includes a “fight” against religious education for minors. Following an unscheduled visit to the Vatican by the Abbot of Saholin, new regulations are expected on issuing passports for members of the clergy. Mainland China has come 99 Catholic bishops: 80 in the official Church, 10 in the underground Church, and nine irregular.

Some 15,000 people gathered in Hanoi at the shrine of the Vietnamese martyrs to celebrate the conclusion of a Holy Year marked by more than a thousand pilgrimages. Celebrations were also held in dioceses in mainland China. In Japan, Cardinal Kikuchi addressed the Church of Tokyo: "May the flame of hope never be extinguished.”