Asia Opinion

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An illustration of a submarine cable. The main threats to Indonesia’s undersea infrastructure are fishing and anchor damage. Photo: Shutterstock

Asian Angle | Indonesia’s digital 2045 ambition rests on a fragile seabed spine

With few domestic repair ships and convoluted laws, Indonesia struggles to safeguard the 115,000km of cables powering its digital future.

11 Jan 2026 - 11:00AM

Protests around the world

Opinion | From memes to the streets: Gen Z’s fight back against corruption

10 Jan 2026 - 4:00PM

Legacy of war in Asia

Opinion | Amid historical tensions with Japan, Hong Kong must engage for the future

9 Jan 2026 - 9:30AMvideocam

North Korea nuclear crisis

Opinion | Maduro’s fate in Venezuela hardens North Korea’s nuclear resolve

It confirms Pyongyang’s belief that leaders seen as thorns in the US side who lack nuclear weapons ultimately fall victim to US intervention.

9 Jan 2026 - 5:30AMvideocam

Illustration: Craig Stephens

China’s military

Opinion | How China’s history links military strength to fighting corruption

Lessons from the first Sino-Japanese War in 1895 shape Beijing’s drive to build a PLA defined by not just advanced weapons, but also institutional integrity.

8 Jan 2026 - 9:30AMvideocam

North Korea nuclear crisis

Opinion | As denuclearisation stalls, China will shape stability on Korean peninsula

South Korean leader’s Beijing visit makes clear need to manage inter-Korean tensions and establish stability en route to denuclearisation.

8 Jan 2026 - 5:30AMvideocam

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Opinion | Why Shein doesn’t have to be the model for the fashion industry

Although the fast fashion label had a bumper 2025 while familiar brands faced collapse, the industry should not conclude that speed and scale are everything.

7 Jan 2026 - 8:30PMvideocam

Police secure the area as people queue to enter a department store, during the opening of Shein’s first physical outlet in Paris, France, on November 5, 2025. Photo: Reuters

South China Sea

Opinion | Why coastguards, not warships, are shaping future of South China Sea

The test is not claimants resolving their disputes but whether they preserve the infrastructure that keeps encounters from becoming a crisis.

7 Jan 2026 - 9:30AMvideocam

Asian Angle | Bangladesh needs ‘structural’ change, but how will it get there?

As Bangladesh heads into elections next year, it must tread the challenge of political transition with more care and thoughtfulness.

3 Jan 2026 - 4:00PM

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

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

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

With security increasingly tied to regional developments, Australia’s eroding Asia literacy risks shutting Canberra out of crucial decisions.

31 Dec 2025 - 5:30AMvideocam

Chinatown in Melbourne, seen in 2020. Despite its strong trade and people-to-people links to Asia, reinforced by waves of migration, Australia’s Asia literacy has steadily declined. Photo: Shutterstock

War and conflict

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

From Manila to Tokyo, domestic political dynamics are increasing the risks of a dangerous confrontation between Washington and Beijing.

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

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

Tourists take photos at the Lotte World Tower’s observation deck in Seoul on September 5. Photo : Xinhua

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

An usher directs an attendee to a seat for a seminar at an AI Expo convention, in Tokyo on August 27. Photo: AP

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

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

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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

US President Donald Trump, left, and President Xi Jinping speak as they leave after a bilateral meeting at Gimhae International Airport on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Busan, South Korea, on October 30. Photo: Reuters

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

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

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

Officials from the Sabah People’s Coalition, or Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS), hold a launch event on October 20 in preparation for the 17th Sabah state election. Photo: Facebook/grs.sabah

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

Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi gestures as US President Donald Trump delivers a speech in front of US Navy personnel on board the USS George Washington aircraft carrier at the US naval base in Yokosuka, Japan, on October 28. Photo: AFP

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

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

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

An employee debugs the AI-powered live-streaming machines at a Rexso workshop on December 8 in Huangshan in China’s Anhui province. Photo: VCG via Getty Images

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