Japan's Q2 GDP grew 1.4% on an annualized basis, above the prior estimate of 1.1% but below economists' median forecast of 1.8%, the Cabinet Office said on Tuesday. The stronger-than-previously-reported reading supports the BOJ's assessment that growth is broadly in line with its outlook and reinforces the case for a rate increase at the Bank of Japan's Sept. 18 policy meeting.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy deputy political commander said safe passage for US vessels in the southern route of the Strait of Hormuz is virtually impossible. He warned any ship entering the corridor will no longer be safe once it reaches the Hazb Oman area and could face potential threats. The IRGC Navy says it continuously uses its intelligence and combat capabilities to monitor movements of all vessels in the Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz and Gulf of Oman, and that ships seeking safe passage through the Strait must use routes designated by Iran.

China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued its information and communications “15th Five-Year” development plan, directing stepped-up core technology R&D. It mandates accelerated 6G core R&D and continued 6G trials; expanded R&D in ultra‑high‑speed, large‑capacity optical transmission, optical access and submarine‑cable optical systems; fast‑tracking new fiber technologies including hollow‑core fiber and their deployment; industry convergence work on vehicular optical communications and industrial‑control optical networks; data‑communications innovation to tackle IP wide‑area lossless transmission and flow‑level load balancing; R&D of compute‑transmission channels that sense compute and network resources; key satellite‑communications work on efficient space‑to‑ground transmission, inter‑satellite networking and routing; and accelerated frontier deployment in optoelectronic fusion and integration of quantum encryption with information and communication networks.