Kyodo reports Japan's defence minister Koizumi is considering attending a London meeting on the Strait of Hormuz.

As of July 24, margin financing balances on China’s stock exchanges totaled CNY2.658251 tln, down CNY22.195 bln from the previous trading day. Shanghai Stock Exchange: CNY1.350644 tln, down CNY7.998 bln; Shenzhen Stock Exchange: CNY1.307607 tln, down CNY14.197 bln.

On July 27 a China Coast Guard (CCG) flotilla of CCG vessels Changshan and Wuhu departed Qingdao for a 45‑day high‑seas fisheries enforcement patrol in the North Pacific. Operating under relevant international conventions, the mission will conduct comprehensive patrols and boarding inspections and will target illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing to maintain high‑seas fisheries order and protect fisheries resources.