Three threads define the day: Taiwan pushes back against Beijing as Washington's post-summit reset shows cracks, Germany's center-right grapples with a far-right poll surge, and a defense-industry analysis questions whether 'strategic autonomy' is achievable.

Asia-Pacific

  • Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te pledged a bigger defense budget on National Day and called on Indo-Pacific democracies to help preserve the status quo, accusing China of changing it unilaterally — days after the Trump-Xi summit meant to stabilize relations (more).
  • Washington separately called recent Chinese military activity near Taiwan 'deeply destabilising,' suggesting the summit reset hasn't eased pressure over the island (more).

Germany

  • A new Insa poll gives the AfD 40% support in Brandenburg, double the governing SPD's share, while Chancellor Friedrich Merz's CDU has fallen to single digits in the eastern state (more).
  • Merz called a crisis summit as state leaders pushed the party to reconsider its decades-old refusal to work with the AfD, the so-called Brandmauer, with no decision announced yet (more).

Analysis: Defense Industry

  • The EU finalized laws to build up its domestic defense industry, the Pentagon overhauled missile procurement after Iran's strikes, and India's defense secretary pushed procurement and DRDO reform tied to a $25 billion industry opportunity — all aimed at reducing reliance on foreign suppliers (more).
  • The same week brought a new account of how China obtained sensitive F-35 parts despite the jet sitting inside one of the world's most tightly controlled weapons programs, raising the question of whether 'strategic autonomy' is a realistic goal or mostly a political slogan (more).