US and Japan warn of China’s aggressive behaviour as they upgrade military alliance

Good morning. Today we’re covering:

• Fears of an Israel-Hizbollah war

• Hong Kong’s secret garden

• South Korea’s new plan to boost birth rates

But we begin in Tokyo, where the US and Japan have outlined the most significant upgrade to their joint military alliance since 1960 as they warned that China posed the “greatest strategic challenge” in the Indo-Pacific region.

The allies want to bolster their security ties to respond to what they view as a growing threat from China’s aggressive posture.

“Such behaviour is a serious concern to the Alliance and the entire international community, and represents the greatest strategic challenge in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond,” said a statement after yesterday’s bilateral meeting between Antony Blinken, Lloyd Austin and their Japanese counterparts.

Central to their agreement, first reported by the FT, is a landmark upgrade to America’s military command structure in Japan, which will involve placing greater operational control in the hands of locally based US leadership.

Leo Lewis and Kana Inagaki have the details on their upgraded alliance.

Here’s what I’m keeping tabs on today:

• Economic data: Vietnam reports July inflation figures, industrial output and trade balance data. Malaysia publishes the producer price index for June.

• Italian PM meets Xi: Giorgia Meloni is scheduled to meet the Chinese leader after pledging to “relaunch” relations with Beijing. Her visit follows her dramatic decision last year to pull Italy out of China’s Belt and Road Initiative.  

• Venezuela election: Polls just closed in a presidential election in which authoritarian leader Nicolás Maduro’s future is on the ballot. The first results are expected at about 10pm local time (10am HKT). Check FT.com for updates

Five more top stories

1. Foreign politicians and diplomats sought to de-escalate tensions between Israel and Hizbollah yesterday after a deadly rocket attack from Lebanon into Israeli-occupied territory raised fears of a full-blown war. Israeli leaders vowed to retaliate forcefully for the deaths of 12 civilians, mostly children, who were killed when a rocket slammed into a football pitch in the occupied Golan Heights on Saturday.

2. Kamala Harris has raised $200mn for her White House bid in less than a week, her campaign said yesterday. The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee hopes to make up for a fundraising slowdown under President Joe Biden after his disastrous debate performance last month.

3. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has officially endorsed reformist politician Masoud Pezeshkian as the country’s next president. Khamenei’s backing of the election winner means Pezeshkian — who campaigned on promises to revitalise the economy, relax hardline social policies and improve foreign relations — can begin forming his government.

4. The shipping industry is facing a sharp rise in cyber attacks as geopolitical disputes prompt state-linked hackers to target trade flows. There were at least 64 cyber incidents last year, compared to three a decade earlier and zero in 2003, according to data from the Netherlands’ NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences.

5. France’s rail operator said yesterday that all repairs to damaged high-speed rail lines were now complete, days after the network was sabotaged hours before the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympic Games. No suspects for the attack have yet been identified and an investigation is ongoing. 

Hong Kong’s secret garden

Chan Siun-kuen left rural China in the slipstream of the 1949 revolution for a rapidly urbanising Hong Kong. His herb garden — tucked away in the Lung Fu Shan Country Park — restores a connection to forgotten traditions and the healing power of plants.

We’re also reading . . . 

• The Henry Mance Interview: Conductor John Eliot Gardiner, who slapped a singer, insists therapy has changed him. But convincing his peers is hard.

• Corporate twaddle: Empty, deceptive jargon is so pervasive we no longer notice it, writes Pilita Clark.

• ‘I’m going to get a spicy margarita and I’ll be back’: Here’s how executives approach work during holidays.

Chart of the day

South Korea is planning to bring in lower-paid foreign housekeepers to help ease the domestic and childcare workloads of women — and, Seoul hopes, encourage them to have more children.

Take a break from the news

The Olympic Games have begun, and the fashion, too, is going for gold. The athletes’ kit bags are full of team apparel which make for intoxicating viewing.

Additional contributions from Harvey Nriapia and Irwin Cruz