Opinion /
Asia Opinion
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My Take
Macroscope
India
Macroscope
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India and Japan show impact of Trump’s tariffs extend beyond trade
While Japan is grappling with acute policy dilemmas and AI bubble fears stalk markets, India seems relatively resilient and forward-looking.
5 hours ago
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Myanmar
Opinion
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Why China is succeeding in Myanmar while the West has been sidelined
30 Nov 2025 - 1:30PM
Japan
Opinion
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Why Chinese are cancelling their trips to Japan
30 Nov 2025 - 9:30AM
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18
India
Opinion
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If China can cut its pollution, why can’t India?
India’s pollution crisis demands sustained, year-round action, not just emergency steps that kick in when the air turns toxic.
30 Nov 2025 - 5:30AM
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People protest about a lack of action to control air pollution in New Delhi, India, on November 18. Photo: AP
Climate change
Opinion
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How Cop30 laid bare the new geopolitics of climate action
Fractures, even among the Global South, show the energy transition is not just a technical challenge but a deeply political negotiation.
28 Nov 2025 - 8:30PM
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Asean
Opinion
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In its year under Malaysia, Asean tried to set systemic reform in motion
Despite grumbles about loss of focus and misgivings about the longevity of new networks, Malaysia, ironically, perhaps didn’t go far enough.
27 Nov 2025 - 5:30AM
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Technology
Opinion
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How AI, quantum and space technologies will define the Asian century
Together, they form an engine that will determine which nations shape the century ahead and which struggle to keep pace.
26 Nov 2025 - 8:30PM
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Illustration: Craig Stephens
Britain
Opinion
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Self-interest is now the main driver of Britain’s Asia policy
There are a great many reasons why the UK government should pay more attention to the Asia-Pacific, but that does not mean that it will.
24 Nov 2025 - 9:21AM
9
United States
Opinion
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How South Korea’s nuclear sub deal with US could torpedo inter-Korean peace
Seoul is clearly prioritising advancing its military capabilities with Washington’s help, rather than improving ties with Pyongyang.
24 Nov 2025 - 5:30AM
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South Korea
Opinion
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Why US-South Korea nuclear sub deal adds fuel to unstable region
Nuclear-powered submarines will heighten South Korea’s profile and China’s anxieties about US-led maritime groupings across East Asia.
23 Nov 2025 - 10:32AM
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European Union
Opinion
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Why Asia can’t wait for Europe to lead on deforestation-free timber
Asia’s dependence on regulatory developments in Brussels risks importing the same contradictions that hinder decisive action by the EU.
23 Nov 2025 - 5:30AM
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An aerial view of a cleared forest area under development for palm oil plantations in Kapuas Hulu district of Indonesia’s West Kalimantan province. Photo: Reuters
Taiwan
Opinion
|
Reinventing Kaohsiung: Taiwan’s port city transcends its industrial past
From shipyards and smokestacks to a smart, green metropolis, Kaohsiung shows urban renewal can succeed in the unlikeliest of places.
22 Nov 2025 - 1:30PM
China economy
Opinion
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The rise of a Beijing-led ‘Global South Consensus’
As the Global South seeks a better development model and China looks for alternatives to mature markets, a match made out of mutual need is emerging.
22 Nov 2025 - 5:30AM
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United States
Outside In
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Trump’s G20 boycott sums up a year of US attacks on multilateralism
Despite the duress, most countries clearly do not prefer Trumpian unilateralism. But while multilateralism is not dead, it is limping badly.
21 Nov 2025 - 9:15PM
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South Korea
Macroscope
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South Korea’s challenges a taste of what’s to come for global economy
While South Korea has been a big beneficiary of the AI boom, the surge is also highlighting its domestic and geopolitical vulnerabilities.
20 Nov 2025 - 4:30PM
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A cyclist rides past residential buildings in Seoul on November 11. Flat prices in the capital increased at the sharpest pace since 2018 last month while rents rose at the fastest clip on record. Photo: AFP
Banking & finance
Opinion
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Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai: the rise of the ‘family office triangle’
The Asian century will not be written by governments alone but by family offices that can turn opportunity into enduring prosperity.
19 Nov 2025 - 4:30PM
Japan
Opinion
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Takaichi’s Taiwan rhetoric is a strategic misjudgment
Hawkish statements might placate the Japanese prime minister’s base, but they will only put Beijing on alert and risk isolating Tokyo.
19 Nov 2025 - 7:23AM
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18
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US-China relations
Opinion
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US national security focus throws a spanner in the workings of global trade
While attention to legitimate national security interests is justified, trade matters have traditionally been viewed as a parallel sphere.
18 Nov 2025 - 5:08PM
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US President Donald Trump gestures during the American Business Forum Miami at the Kaseya Centre Arena in Miami, Florida, US, on November 5. Photo: Reuters
US-China relations
Opinion
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As US and China turn their eyes to Central Asia, Russia loses out
The region that has traditionally been in Russia’s geopolitical orbit is turning into a new arena of competition between the US and China.
18 Nov 2025 - 5:30AM
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Asia housing and property
The View
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An AI-fuelled data centre bubble in the making? Not in Asia
Asia provides strong reassurance that the AI boom is not the only factor driving development and investment in data centres.
17 Nov 2025 - 4:30PM
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Hong Kong youth
Opinion
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In this Age of Disruption, the youth are feeling their way forward
Behold the rise of feelings as a social force as young people everywhere speak more openly about anxiety, fatigue and the search for meaning.
17 Nov 2025 - 8:27AM
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South China Sea
Opinion
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How does China’s modernising navy stack up against the US seventh fleet?
Between what the US can sustain in the region vs what China can concentrate near its shores, the calculation increasingly favours Beijing.
17 Nov 2025 - 6:51AM
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16
Illustration: Craig Stephens
Thailand
Asian Angle
|
Thailand’s youth mental health crisis is fuelled by neglect and legalised weed
Young Thais are beset by anxiety and debt – and turning to readily available cannabis to self-medicate their isolation and despair.
16 Nov 2025 - 10:00AM
14
Nepal
Asian Angle
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Nepal found out what Thailand already knew: digital repression is risky
The tactics vary, from Myanmar’s internet blackouts to Indonesia’s subtler control, but the results are the same: resentment and resistance.
15 Nov 2025 - 1:00PM
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The Philippines
Opinion
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Why China need not fear US-led ‘Squad’ evolving into Asian Nato
Uncertainty surrounds the ‘Squad’, including the US’ ability to support another grouping and Trump’s push for a grand bargain with China.
14 Nov 2025 - 8:30PM
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Open Questions series
Ex-PLA colonel Zhou Bo on Taiwan reunification, lessons from the Ukraine war
1 Dec 2025 - 3:57PM
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43
Liu Qian on Chinese innovation, the US rivalry and women holding up half the sky
20 Oct 2025 - 11:18AM
7
Fuchsia Dunlop tells how she fell for China’s cuisine and names her perfect dish
5 Oct 2025 - 8:13AM
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5
80 years on from WWII, China’s interests lie in peaceful Asia-Pacific: Mitter
11 Aug 2025 - 9:13AM
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18
‘Delusional’: Jeffrey Sachs on why Western hegemony has ended
4 Aug 2025 - 11:00AM
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93
Ex-PLA colonel Zhou Bo on Taiwan reunification, lessons from the Ukraine war
1 Dec 2025 - 3:57PM
videocam
43
Liu Qian on Chinese innovation, the US rivalry and women holding up half the sky
20 Oct 2025 - 11:18AM
7
Fuchsia Dunlop tells how she fell for China’s cuisine and names her perfect dish
5 Oct 2025 - 8:13AM
videocam
5
80 years on from WWII, China’s interests lie in peaceful Asia-Pacific: Mitter
11 Aug 2025 - 9:13AM
videocam
18
‘Delusional’: Jeffrey Sachs on why Western hegemony has ended
4 Aug 2025 - 11:00AM
videocam
93
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