I got an e-mail a while back from a reader who mentioned that he loved our Global Insider items, adding that they're always highly informative even if the subjects are a bit "random." I agreed with the former observation, but not with the latter. And a news item that I expect will garner a bit of attention over the coming days will help explain the method behind the apparent madness. We usually pick the GI topics from items on our Leading Indicators channel, based on whether we feel like it warrants closer attention due to its significance or its likelihood of developing into a major story in the future.
So, case in point, back in May, China and Japan had a brief maritime run-in off of a disputed island chain in the East China Sea. We went ahead and ran a Global Insider item explaining the background and significance of the territorial dispute, which you can find here. Now, that dispute has flared up again, only this time the captain of a Chinese trawler that rammed Japanese coast guard vessels in the disputed waters has been taken into custody by Japanese authorities. china is demanding his immediate release, and the incident could easily escalate. If you've been reading our Global Insider posts, you already have what you need to put it all into context. And if you haven't, you can find them all collected here, in a WPR special report.
So next time you see a Global Insider and think to yourself, "That's pretty random," give it some time. We're looking for tomorrow's stories. Sometimes we just get a little too far ahead of the news cycle.