Asia Opinion

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Vendors sort vegetables at a market in Naypyidaw on December 29, a day after the first phase of Myanmar’s general election. Photo: AFP

As I see it | Why China is Myanmar’s only real hope

A general election won’t end the country’s brutal civil war, but regional coordination by key neighbouring countries without Western interference might.

31 Dec 2025 - 9:30AMvideocam

Opinion | Australia is losing its ability to engage Asia on its own terms

31 Dec 2025 - 5:30AMvideocam

War and conflict

Opinion | If Trump wants a deal with China, he must rein in US allies in Asia

30 Dec 2025 - 8:30PMvideocam

Opinion | Forest conservation must be long-term priority for Southeast Asia

The region’s challenges are primarily political as underfunding and business interests create fragmented institutions, weak enforcement and poor data.

30 Dec 2025 - 5:30AMvideocam

The Angkola Protestant Church stands amid flood devastation at Aek Ngadol village in South Tapanuli, North Sumatra province, Indonesia on December 25. Photo: AFP

Asia housing and property

The View | How AI helped Asia’s real estate sector pass the tariff stress test

While multiple factors are at play, this year’s tech exuberance helped the region’s property markets stay afloat.

29 Dec 2025 - 4:31PM

Artificial intelligence

Opinion | Asia needs AI talent to fuel its future growth

As governments around the region take steps to upskill workers for an AI-driven world, companies must also do their part.

28 Dec 2025 - 5:30AMvideocam

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Artificial intelligence

Macroscope | Can AI deliver the economic goods and high returns? Don’t count on it

The dash towards AI might become a rout as the public rebels against the environmental costs while investors worry about the returns.

27 Dec 2025 - 4:30PMvideocam

A construction worker stands outside a data centre being built in Sedenak Tech Park in Johor, Malaysia, on September 27, 2024. Emerging AI data centres are giving the region’s main data centre hubs, Japan and Singapore, a run for their money. Photo: AP

Banking & finance

Opinion | To harness crypto ingenuity, financial threat must first be neutralised

Future of money must be shaped by competition between private ingenuity and public purpose, not by rent seeking and speculative bubbles.

26 Dec 2025 - 8:30PMvideocam

Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation

Outside In | As the US pursues unilateralism, China faces challenging task as Apec host

China’s return as Apec chair is an opportunity to show that both the organisation and its message of multilateralism are as relevant as ever.

26 Dec 2025 - 4:30PMvideocam

Opinion | Seoul holds the key to US-North Korea denuclearisation talks

South Korea is taking steps to cool tensions – from moving to opening joint military drills to consultations to easing up on immediate denuclearisation demands.

25 Dec 2025 - 5:30AMvideocam

President Donald Trump with South Korean President Lee Jae-myung at a dinner event in Gyeongju, South Korea, on October 29. Photo: AP

Opinion | Why China has moved to curb steel exports

China’s pivot to emerging markets has kept its export machine running. But frictions are growing and steel is the most visible flashpoint.

23 Dec 2025 - 7:49AM

A worker stacks steel products meant for the export market at a factory in Binzhou, Shandong province, China on April 15. Photo: AFP

Asian Angle | Sabah’s election proves Malaysians want results, not slogans

Local parties crying ‘Sabah First’ largely flopped as voters rejected empty identity rhetoric for proven service records.

21 Dec 2025 - 10:30AM

Macroscope | Japan’s economic security push heralds rising protectionism in Asia

The emphasis on securing supply chains and stockpiling critical resources is no substitute for free and open trade and investment.

20 Dec 2025 - 4:30PMvideocam

The Philippines

Asian Angle | Greed and pork barrel politics fuel the Philippines’ fatal floods

Filipinos are paying the ultimate price for a system that favours corrupt lawmakers’ pet projects over scientifically sound flood control.

20 Dec 2025 - 12:00PMvideocam

Rescuers carry a resident of Cebu City, the Philippines, past cars swept away in floods brought by Typhoon Kalmaegi on November 4. Photo: AFP

Outside In | Six years on, are we better prepared for the next pandemic?

Preparedness plans remain a work in progress while health budgets have been sliced by urgent demands and US withdrawal weakens global coordination.

19 Dec 2025 - 8:58PMvideocam

A woman walks past the National Covid Memorial Wall in London, Britain, on November 20. Photo: EPA

Artificial intelligence

Macroscope | Fears of an AI bubble in Asian stock markets are misplaced

The concentration risk so prevalent elsewhere is mitigated in Asia by a diverse equity landscape and the unique strengths in China.

18 Dec 2025 - 4:30PMvideocam

Asia housing and property

The View | After vitalising its property market, India must shore up its weaknesses

The sustainability of the real estate boom will depend on how well New Delhi can address lingering gaps in affordability and infrastructure.

15 Dec 2025 - 5:43PM

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The Philippines

Asian Angle | Is the new Philippines-Germany defence pact built to last?

Rising anxieties over Beijing and Moscow have united Berlin and Manila in an axis that must now be institutionalised to ensure it endures.

14 Dec 2025 - 10:30AM

German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius (left) mets his Philippine counterpart Gilberto Teodoro Jnr in Manila last year to discuss defence cooperation. Photo: Reuters

Opinion | From Singapore to Taiwan, Japan must face its past for Asia’s future

Lasting peace in Asia demands that Tokyo abandons its historical revisionism and refusal to acknowledge past crimes.

13 Dec 2025 - 11:00AM

Chinese overseas

Being Chinese | The 30-word identity pitch of an overseas Chinese

To some, “Are you Chinese?” is a question about nationality. To others, it’s about ethnicity. To cover all bases, I’ve crafted a 30-word answer.

13 Dec 2025 - 11:18AM

War and conflict

Opinion | Only true repentance from Japan can resolve East Asia’s ‘memory wars’

It is important that Japan, China and South Korea collectively reckon with the legacy of military aggression and wartime atrocities.

13 Dec 2025 - 5:30AM

Illustration: Craig Stephens

Opinion | How Pakistan’s rising confidence could shape a cooperative South Asia

If Gulf investment, Chinese strategic interest and Pakistani willingness align, the region could shift from confrontation to collaboration.

12 Dec 2025 - 5:30AMvideocam

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif addresses a special session of the National Assembly in Islamabad on May 7 after India and Pakistan exchanged heavy artillery fire along their contested frontier. Photo: AFP

Opinion | Behind Russia’s show of strength in India lies a fragile partnership

Despite Russia’s display of defiance and India’s quest for autonomy, US policy shifts are pushing both into uncharted geopolitical territory.

12 Dec 2025 - 5:46AM

Opinion | Why India can’t afford to let relations with Russia crumble

Partnering with Moscow brings New Delhi important leverage on Washington and Beijing as well as support for continued strategic autonomy.

11 Dec 2025 - 5:44AMvideocam

China technology

Opinion | Why the Global South is embracing Chinese AI

The US champions AI as an autonomous agent, a content creator. China exports a vision of AI as a digital nervous system for the real economy.

10 Dec 2025 - 10:26AMvideocam

The Chinese approach, forged in the fires of domestic industrial competition, views AI as “relational infrastructure”: a connective tissue for physical systems. It is designed to get its hands dirty, such as in mining, ports and factories. Photo: Adobe Stock

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