Shahriman Lockman
@slockman.bsky.social
Director (Special Projects), Institute of Strategic and International Studies, Malaysia • Malaysian foreign relations, Asian security, South China Sea • Views expressed are my own.
The ICJ has now linked fossil fuel licensing and subsidies to potential legal wrongdoing.
www.icj-cij.org/sites/defaul...
www.icj-cij.org/sites/defaul...
July 24, 2025 at 11:16 AM
The ICJ has now linked fossil fuel licensing and subsidies to potential legal wrongdoing.
www.icj-cij.org/sites/defaul...
www.icj-cij.org/sites/defaul...
Reposted by Shahriman Lockman
Did this week’s U.S.-Japan trade deal also involve spending on defense? Donald Trump seems to think so. Japan, not so much.
Trump says Tokyo agreed to buy U.S. defense gear, clashing with Japan's account
Touting the surprise trade agreement with Japan, the U.S. president claimed that Tokyo agreed to buy billions of dollars in defense equipment.
ebx.sh
July 24, 2025 at 3:46 AM
Did this week’s U.S.-Japan trade deal also involve spending on defense? Donald Trump seems to think so. Japan, not so much.
Reposted by Shahriman Lockman
News broke a short time ago that Prime Minister Ishiba will likely be leaving the premiership in August. Here, I explain why he has little choice but to go, how the US-Japan trade deal contributed to his decision, and offered some initial thoughts on his tenure.
open.substack.com/pub/observin...
open.substack.com/pub/observin...
Tragic to the last
Ishiba moves towards the exit
open.substack.com
July 23, 2025 at 4:58 AM
News broke a short time ago that Prime Minister Ishiba will likely be leaving the premiership in August. Here, I explain why he has little choice but to go, how the US-Japan trade deal contributed to his decision, and offered some initial thoughts on his tenure.
open.substack.com/pub/observin...
open.substack.com/pub/observin...
I spoke to Money FM 89.3 in Singapore about Trump’s pick for US Ambassador to Malaysia, Nick Adams. We discussed his unconventional background, the risks and realities of political appointees, and why Malaysia will simply have to adapt. omny.fm/shows/moneyf...
The Big Story: Who is Nick Adams? Trump’s nominee for US ambassador to Malaysia raises eyebrows - Money Matters with Hongbin Jeong and Chua Tian Tian (4pm - 7pm)
US President Donald Trump’s decision to nominate outspoken internet personality Nick Adams as the next ambassador to Malaysia has sparked both controversy and curiosity.
Known for his fiery right-win...
omny.fm
July 14, 2025 at 11:40 AM
I spoke to Money FM 89.3 in Singapore about Trump’s pick for US Ambassador to Malaysia, Nick Adams. We discussed his unconventional background, the risks and realities of political appointees, and why Malaysia will simply have to adapt. omny.fm/shows/moneyf...
Reposted by Shahriman Lockman
My Trade Secrets today.
It's a longstanding American grievance that predates Trump: US companies can't sell cars in Europe & elsewhere because of evil trade barriers. It's actually because US protectionism has encouraged its carmakers to make clunky great gas-guzzlers no one else wants to buy.
It's a longstanding American grievance that predates Trump: US companies can't sell cars in Europe & elsewhere because of evil trade barriers. It's actually because US protectionism has encouraged its carmakers to make clunky great gas-guzzlers no one else wants to buy.
Trump’s auto tariffs build on a long destructive history
[FREE TO READ] It is US protectionism rather than trade barriers abroad that has undermined American carmakers
on.ft.com
April 17, 2025 at 10:26 AM
My Trade Secrets today.
It's a longstanding American grievance that predates Trump: US companies can't sell cars in Europe & elsewhere because of evil trade barriers. It's actually because US protectionism has encouraged its carmakers to make clunky great gas-guzzlers no one else wants to buy.
It's a longstanding American grievance that predates Trump: US companies can't sell cars in Europe & elsewhere because of evil trade barriers. It's actually because US protectionism has encouraged its carmakers to make clunky great gas-guzzlers no one else wants to buy.
Reposted by Shahriman Lockman
Fab FT Alphaville piece by @bryce.lol that asks the views of economists cited in constructing Trump's tariff formula
gift link: on.ft.com/43yp9t8
gift link: on.ft.com/43yp9t8
April 4, 2025 at 6:20 AM
Fab FT Alphaville piece by @bryce.lol that asks the views of economists cited in constructing Trump's tariff formula
gift link: on.ft.com/43yp9t8
gift link: on.ft.com/43yp9t8
Reposted by Shahriman Lockman
Reposted by Shahriman Lockman
Shortwave listeners noting China already taking over some frequencies used by VOA and RFA as USAGM has silenced its own transmitters. Especially critical with thousands of casualties in the Myanmar M7.7 quake where survivors would normally be receiving vital info from our Burmese language services.
March 30, 2025 at 12:57 PM
Shortwave listeners noting China already taking over some frequencies used by VOA and RFA as USAGM has silenced its own transmitters. Especially critical with thousands of casualties in the Myanmar M7.7 quake where survivors would normally be receiving vital info from our Burmese language services.
The truth is, Hayao Miyazaki would hate you fucking losers.
slate.com/life/2025/03...
slate.com/life/2025/03...
Hayao Miyazaki Would Hate You Losers and Your A.I. Slop
The famed animator is the last person who would approve of your little Ghibli-fied waste of pixels.
slate.com
March 30, 2025 at 1:01 PM
The truth is, Hayao Miyazaki would hate you fucking losers.
slate.com/life/2025/03...
slate.com/life/2025/03...
Reposted by Shahriman Lockman
The US Army's 100 Bn./442nd Regimental Combat Team page is down.
Formerly:
www.army.mil/asianpacific...
For posterity:
web.archive.org/web/20250304...
I never thought I'd see the day when the U.S. government turns it back on its soldiers because they weren't white men. But here it is.
Formerly:
www.army.mil/asianpacific...
For posterity:
web.archive.org/web/20250304...
I never thought I'd see the day when the U.S. government turns it back on its soldiers because they weren't white men. But here it is.
March 13, 2025 at 9:00 PM
The US Army's 100 Bn./442nd Regimental Combat Team page is down.
Formerly:
www.army.mil/asianpacific...
For posterity:
web.archive.org/web/20250304...
I never thought I'd see the day when the U.S. government turns it back on its soldiers because they weren't white men. But here it is.
Formerly:
www.army.mil/asianpacific...
For posterity:
web.archive.org/web/20250304...
I never thought I'd see the day when the U.S. government turns it back on its soldiers because they weren't white men. But here it is.
Reposted by Shahriman Lockman
WSJ: “.. Tariffs on washing machines created an estimated 1,800 jobs at firms like Samsung, according to a study .. but they cost consumers about $1.5 billion annually, or more than $800,000 per job.” 🇺🇸
www.wsj.com/economy/trad...
www.wsj.com/economy/trad...
March 10, 2025 at 12:00 PM
WSJ: “.. Tariffs on washing machines created an estimated 1,800 jobs at firms like Samsung, according to a study .. but they cost consumers about $1.5 billion annually, or more than $800,000 per job.” 🇺🇸
www.wsj.com/economy/trad...
www.wsj.com/economy/trad...
That sinking feeling when you catch yourself agreeing with Kagan or Frum or Kristol — architects of foreign policy disasters that helped create today’s mess. Like begrudgingly admitting an arsonist makes a good point about fire safety.
"Let’s start with security guarantees. Putin has never agreed to them for Ukraine—in any form"
Read Bob Kagan on the Trump capitulation to Russia
www.theatlantic.com/internationa...
Read Bob Kagan on the Trump capitulation to Russia
www.theatlantic.com/internationa...
Trump Is Offering Putin Another Munich
Hitler didn’t want a peace deal, and neither does Putin.
www.theatlantic.com
March 8, 2025 at 2:45 PM
That sinking feeling when you catch yourself agreeing with Kagan or Frum or Kristol — architects of foreign policy disasters that helped create today’s mess. Like begrudgingly admitting an arsonist makes a good point about fire safety.
A strategic reckoning by Hugh White.
March 8, 2025 at 9:04 AM
A strategic reckoning by Hugh White.
I had no idea there was a Brunei angle to the Iran–Contra affair.
March 8, 2025 at 4:45 AM
I had no idea there was a Brunei angle to the Iran–Contra affair.
Reposted by Shahriman Lockman
WSJ EDITORlAL BOARD: “He’s treating the North American economy as a personal plaything .. It’s doubtful Mr. Trump even has the power to impose these tariffs, and we hope his afflatus gets a legal challenge.”
www.wsj.com/opinion/dona...
www.wsj.com/opinion/dona...
March 7, 2025 at 11:00 AM
WSJ EDITORlAL BOARD: “He’s treating the North American economy as a personal plaything .. It’s doubtful Mr. Trump even has the power to impose these tariffs, and we hope his afflatus gets a legal challenge.”
www.wsj.com/opinion/dona...
www.wsj.com/opinion/dona...
Oh, the irony.
Beijing will ‘resolutely counter’ US pressure on tariffs and the fentanyl issue, China's foreign minister said, adding that major powers ‘should not bully the weak,’ in a veiled swipe at the Trump administration's foreign policy reut.rs/3XsO4dG
'Major powers should not bully the weak', China foreign minister says
Beijing will "resolutely counter" U.S. pressure on tariffs and the fentanyl issue, China's foreign minister said on Friday, adding that major powers "should not bully the weak", in a veiled swipe at the Trump administration's foreign policy.
reut.rs
March 7, 2025 at 9:15 AM
Oh, the irony.
Reposted by Shahriman Lockman
Donald Trump's tariff wars are supposed to herald a new American dream.
But they could become a nightmare for Boeing, which is in danger of suffering more than its rival Airbus.
But they could become a nightmare for Boeing, which is in danger of suffering more than its rival Airbus.
Trump tariff war would hurt Boeing more than Airbus
The U.S. plane-maker could be the “biggest victim” of a tariff war.
ow.ly
March 7, 2025 at 8:28 AM
Donald Trump's tariff wars are supposed to herald a new American dream.
But they could become a nightmare for Boeing, which is in danger of suffering more than its rival Airbus.
But they could become a nightmare for Boeing, which is in danger of suffering more than its rival Airbus.
“In Malaysia, 0.59% of GDP is tied to trade that adds value to Canadian and Mexican exports to the U.S., the highest share among Asian economies, data shows.”
www.reuters.com/markets/asia...
www.reuters.com/markets/asia...
Asian countries in the cross-hairs of Trump tariffs
Vietnam, Taiwan, and Thailand are the most exposed to increased U.S. tariffs due to their high export-to-GDP ratios.
www.reuters.com
March 7, 2025 at 8:43 AM
“In Malaysia, 0.59% of GDP is tied to trade that adds value to Canadian and Mexican exports to the U.S., the highest share among Asian economies, data shows.”
www.reuters.com/markets/asia...
www.reuters.com/markets/asia...
Reposted by Shahriman Lockman
NEW: Some U.S. allies are considering scaling back the intelligence they share with Washington in response to the Trump administration’s conciliatory approach to Russia, sources with direct knowledge of the discussions tell NBC News.
As Trump pivots to Russia, allies weigh sharing less intel with U.S.
Members of the so-called Five Eyes spy alliance, as well as Israeli and Saudi officials, fear the identities of foreign assets could inadvertently be shared with Moscow.
www.nbcnews.com
March 6, 2025 at 1:33 PM
NEW: Some U.S. allies are considering scaling back the intelligence they share with Washington in response to the Trump administration’s conciliatory approach to Russia, sources with direct knowledge of the discussions tell NBC News.
Reposted by Shahriman Lockman
How Trump’s tariffs threaten an iconic US pick-up truck
https://www.ft.com/content/fb55f297-7e29-4215-a67f-4217e1a026d6
https://www.ft.com/content/fb55f297-7e29-4215-a67f-4217e1a026d6
How Trump’s tariffs threaten an iconic US pick-up truck
Chevrolet Silverado’s complex supply chain leaves it particularly vulnerable to a looming trade war
www.ft.com
March 3, 2025 at 5:11 AM
How Trump’s tariffs threaten an iconic US pick-up truck
https://www.ft.com/content/fb55f297-7e29-4215-a67f-4217e1a026d6
https://www.ft.com/content/fb55f297-7e29-4215-a67f-4217e1a026d6
A king with no crown,
The shining hill writhes in flame,
Ruins lie in hush.
The shining hill writhes in flame,
Ruins lie in hush.
March 2, 2025 at 4:13 AM
A king with no crown,
The shining hill writhes in flame,
Ruins lie in hush.
The shining hill writhes in flame,
Ruins lie in hush.
Alleged Chinese spies gave Philippine city and police cash and motorbikes - www.reuters.com/world/asia-p...
Exclusive: Alleged Chinese spies gave Philippine city and police cash and motorbikes
Four Chinese nationals accused by the Philippines of espionage led Chinese Communist Party-affiliated groups that made donations of cash to a Philippine city and vehicles to two police forces, according to photos, videos and online posts seen by Reuters.
www.reuters.com
February 28, 2025 at 8:49 AM
Alleged Chinese spies gave Philippine city and police cash and motorbikes - www.reuters.com/world/asia-p...
This seems a tad excessive. Navarro has denied this, but perhaps what's equally concerning is that such a reckless move is eminently plausible in today’s America.
A top White House official has proposed expelling Canada from the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing network as Donald Trump increases pressure on the country he talks about turning into the 51st US state - FT scoop by Demetri Sevastopulo
www.ft.com/content/2dfa...
www.ft.com/content/2dfa...
White House official pushes to axe Canada from Five Eyes intelligence group
Peter Navarro wants to increase pressure on country that Donald Trump has threatened to annex
www.ft.com
February 26, 2025 at 3:39 AM
This seems a tad excessive. Navarro has denied this, but perhaps what's equally concerning is that such a reckless move is eminently plausible in today’s America.