August 2025
In short: International current affairs for August 2025 - summits, indices, appointments, awards, bilateral ties, defence, world sport and organisations.
Current Affairs — India › International Affairs · 14 min read · Free to read · English & Telugu
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International current affairs - August 2025: the 25th SCO Summit at Tianjin with PM Modi's first China visit in 7 years, his 15th India-Japan Annual Summit in Tokyo and the ISRO-JAXA Chandrayaan-5 pact, plus three incoming leaders and key India-US, India-Singapore and India-Philippines engagements.
Skyline of Tianjin, China - host city of the 25th SCO Summit · Sevgonlernassau / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
August 2025 - At a Glance
August 2025 was a heavy month for India's foreign policy. PM Modi headed to Tianjin, China for the 25th SCO Summit - his first China visit in seven years - and to Tokyo for the 15th India-Japan Annual Summit. India hosted the Prime Minister of Fiji, China's Foreign Minister and the President of the Philippines, ran strategic dialogues with the US and Singapore, and signed an ISRO-JAXA pact for the Chandrayaan-5 lunar mission - all against the backdrop of the US raising tariffs on India to 50%.
1. Summits & Conferences
The month's biggest multilateral event was the 25th SCO Summit at Tianjin, China, which drew PM Modi back to Chinese soil for the first time in seven years and produced a substantive declaration plus a new development bank.
25th SCO Summit, Tianjin, China (Aug-Sep 2025)
- What — The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) held its 25th Heads of State Summit at Tianjin, China. PM Modi attended - his first visit to China in seven years (since 2018).
- Tianjin Declaration — The summit adopted the Tianjin Declaration, emphasising counter-terrorism, connectivity and multipolarity. India reiterated that combating cross-border terrorism was a core founding objective of the SCO.
- SCO Development Bank — Members approved the creation of an SCO Development Bank to finance regional connectivity and development projects.
- SCO Partners category — The SCO reorganised its membership tiers - the earlier observer states and dialogue partners were merged into a single 'SCO Partners' category.
- Modi-Xi bilateral — On the sidelines, PM Modi held a bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping - building on their October 2024 Kazan meeting; both sides called India and China 'development partners, not rivals'. Modi invited Xi to the 2026 BRICS Summit in India.
2. Bilateral Visits & Diplomacy
India hosted three foreign leaders in quick succession and PM Modi travelled to Japan - a burst of bilateral diplomacy stretching from the Pacific islands to East Asia.
- Fiji PM Sitiveni Rabuka's visit (Aug 2025) — Fiji's PM Sitiveni Rabuka paid his first official visit to India in his current term, under India's Neighbourhood First / Indo-Pacific outreach. India committed a 100-bed Super Specialty Hospital in Suva (its largest grant project in the Pacific) and Fiji joined the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI).
- China's FM Wang Yi's visit (Aug 2025) — Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited India ahead of the SCO Summit - part of the India-China thaw after the 2020 Ladakh border stand-off. Unlike in 2022, Wang secured a meeting with PM Modi; the thaw earlier revived the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra.
- State visit of Philippines President Marcos Jr. (Aug 2025) — President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. paid his first State Visit to India. The two nations elevated ties to a Strategic Partnership (Plan of Action 2025-2029), agreed to institutionalise a Ministerial Defence Dialogue, and the Philippines reaffirmed interest in expanding the BrahMos deal.
- PM Modi's Japan visit - 15th Annual Summit (Aug 2025) — PM Modi visited Tokyo for the 15th India-Japan Annual Summit - his eighth Japan visit. Japan pledged an investment target of ¥10 trillion (about $68 billion) over the next decade; 21 pacts were concluded, including the India-Japan Digital Partnership 2.0 and the ISRO-JAXA Chandrayaan-5 agreement.
Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., President of the Philippines - his August 2025 State Visit elevated India-Philippines ties to a Strategic Partnership. Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. · Office of the President of the Philippines / Wikimedia Commons (Public Domain)
Sitiveni Rabuka, Prime Minister of Fiji - during his August 2025 visit India committed a 100-bed Super Specialty Hospital in Suva and Fiji joined the IPOI. Sitiveni Rabuka (Pacific Islands Forum 2023) · DFAT / Sarah Hodges / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)
3. Strategic Dialogues & Defence
Alongside the leader-level visits, India ran institutional dialogues with the US and Singapore, held a first joint naval sail with the Philippines, and watched China build strategic infrastructure near the LAC.
- India-US 2+2 Intersessional Dialogue (Aug 2025) — Held virtually amid tariff tensions, the dialogue discussed a proposed 10-year Framework for the India-US Major Defense Partnership. Context: the US raised tariffs on India to 50% from 27 August 2025, partly over India's purchase of Russian oil.
- 3rd India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable (ISMR), New Delhi (Aug 2025) — About 10 pacts were finalised on connectivity, digitalisation, healthcare, skills and advanced technology - including an undersea cable project for solar energy and data connectivity.
- First India-Philippines joint naval sail (Aug 2025) — Coinciding with President Marcos's visit, India and the Philippines conducted their first-ever joint sail and naval exercise in the disputed South China Sea, within the Philippines' exclusive economic zone.
- China to build Xinjiang-Tibet rail link near the LAC (Aug 2025) — China plans a railway linking Shigatse (Tibet) to Hotan (Xinjiang) through Aksai Chin - Indian territory under Chinese occupation since 1950 - raising Indian concern over faster troop mobilisation near the LAC.
4. Space & Science
The single most consequential technical outcome of PM Modi's Japan visit was a space agreement putting India and Japan together on a mission to the Moon's south pole.
Chandrayaan-5 / LUPEX - ISRO-JAXA joint Moon mission
- What — An agreement between ISRO (India) and JAXA (Japan) to jointly execute the Chandrayaan-5 / LUPEX (Lunar Polar Exploration) mission, signed during PM Modi's August 2025 Japan visit.
- Goal — To explore the Moon's south polar region for water ice and study the lunar surface - a follow-on to Chandrayaan-3's 2023 south-pole landing.
- Division of work — In the LUPEX design, JAXA provides the launch vehicle and rover and ISRO provides the lander, pooling both agencies' lunar expertise.
The Moon's south polar region - the target of the ISRO-JAXA Chandrayaan-5 / LUPEX mission, which will hunt for water ice. Lunar south pole · USGS / Wikimedia Commons (Public Domain)
5. World in Brief
- UK expands 'Deport Now, Appeal Later' policy to India (Aug 2025) — The UK expanded the policy from 8 to 23 countries, now including India, allowing deportation of foreign nationals with pending asylum/human-rights appeals. About 320 Indian citizens were imprisoned in England and Wales as of 30 June 2025.
- US raises tariffs on India to 50% (from 27 Aug 2025) — Washington raised additional tariffs on Indian goods to 50%, effective 27 August 2025, partly citing India's continued purchase of discounted Russian crude oil - the backdrop to the month's India-US and India-China diplomacy.
- India-Philippines commemorative stamp (Aug 2025) — During President Marcos's visit, India and the Philippines jointly issued a commemorative stamp marking the 75th anniversary of their diplomatic relations.