What Matters Today 1 Japan and Australia refuse Trump’s Hormuz naval coalition call — PM Takaichi says “no decisions whatsoever” about dispatching escort ships; Brent above $104; South Korea “carefully deliberating”; IRGC says strait is “not blocked, merely under control” — Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said on Monday that Tokyo has made “no decisions […] The post Asia Intelligence Brief — March 16, 2026 appeared first on The Rio Times .