Asia /
Diplomacy
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US-China relations
China-Vatican relations
China-Africa relations
China-Australia relations
China-India border dispute
China-Japan relations
China-Sri Lanka relations
China-India relations
India
India’s looming BrahMos missile deal with Indonesia challenges US-China binary
New Delhi is emerging as a serious alternative security partner for Southeast Asia, offering hi-tech arms without ‘hegemonic baggage’.
1 Dec 2025 - 3:51PM
Thailand
Why Trump won’t let Thailand keep tariff, border talks separate
18 Nov 2025 - 4:22PM
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China-Japan relations
Beijing-Tokyo row over Takaichi’s Taiwan comments: everything you need to know
18 Nov 2025 - 11:14AM
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Vietnam
Avoiding ‘strategic suicide’: Vietnam’s US-Russia-China diplomatic dance
Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth’s visit pushed military cooperation, but Vietnam wants to ensure it keeps all its geopolitical options open.
9 Nov 2025 - 1:30PM
US and Vietnamese flags fly during a welcome ceremony for visiting US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in Hanoi, Vietnam, on November 2. Photo: AP
Donald Trump
‘He’s a friend of mine’: Trump says he will visit India despite tariff tiff
The US president had warm words for India’s prime minister, but tensions over trade and a recent conflict with Pakistan remain unresolved.
8 Nov 2025 - 1:07PM
China trade
China pushes for trilateral trade pact with Japan, South Korea amid US tension
Divergent interests, new governments and Washington’s influence complicate Beijing’s efforts to forge deeper economic ties with Japan and South Korea.
4 Nov 2025 - 10:54AM
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United States
‘Great friendship’: Trump arrives in Japan
The US president’s visit comes amid reports Washington and Tokyo will announce a shipbuilding deal.
27 Oct 2025 - 8:38PM
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Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara shakes hands with US President Donald Trump as he arrives at Haneda Airport in Tokyo on Monday. Photo: AP
United States
Trump and Modi’s tariff tango: Russian oil, soybeans and a delayed deal
India and the US near a breakthrough on slashing Trump-era duties, but elections and egos could impede the long-awaited trade pact.
24 Oct 2025 - 11:02PM
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North Korea
Why a Trump-Kim summit 4.0 would be on North Korea’s terms
Trump seems keen to rekindle their ‘bromance’ but a nuclear-emboldened Kim Jong-un has little reason to rush into talks, analysts say.
22 Oct 2025 - 12:40PM
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Japan
Will Japan’s new PM reopen old war wounds with South Korea?
A staunch conservative with ties to a powerful right-wing lobby group, Sanae Takaichi has repeatedly downplayed Japan’s wartime atrocities.
9 Oct 2025 - 3:17PM
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India
‘Short-sighted’: India’s realpolitik on Myanmar imperils Asean’s peace plans
Modi’s meeting with Min Aung Hlaing risks lending the junta legitimacy and undermining efforts to resolve Myanmar’s civil war, analysts say.
8 Sep 2025 - 11:04AM
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India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi shakes hands with Myanmar’s junta chief Min Aung Hlaing (left) on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Tianjin on August 31. Photo: by Indian Press Information Bureau / AFP
India
Is Trump’s Quad absence a sign of ‘fragile’ US-led alliances?
Trump’s plan to skip the India meet may underscore the limits of a grouping that relies heavily on US commitment, analysts say.
4 Sep 2025 - 7:07PM
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China-India relations
Modi says close China-India ties crucial for a multipolar Asia and world
Indian prime minister to meet with China’s President Xi Jinping at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit.
30 Aug 2025 - 4:12AM
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Ukraine war
Trump, Putin leave Ukraine war summit with no deal – as it happened
Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin’s Alaska summit on a possible Ukraine ceasefire ended amicably but with no deal.
16 Aug 2025 - 8:39AM
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Russia
Advantage America? Revived Silk Route puts US back on track in South Caucasus
The Trump-brokered Armenia-Azerbaijan peace deal, which gives the US an interest in the ‘Zangezur Corridor’, shifts regional power dynamics.
14 Aug 2025 - 2:50PM
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Azerbaijani soldiers drive a truck near a mosque in Agdam in the Karabakh region in 2020. Photo: Reuters
Malaysia
Malaysia’s king enthuses over ‘dream meeting’ with Putin
On the first-ever state visit to Russia by a Malaysian monarch, Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar praised Putin’s ‘strength, vision and resilience’.
7 Aug 2025 - 3:26PM
Cambodia
‘Currying favour’: why Cambodia nominated Donald Trump for a Nobel Peace Prize
Cambodia ‘needed a hero’ to intervene in its border dispute with Thailand, analysts say – and Trump’s ego made him the perfect candidate.
6 Aug 2025 - 4:52PM
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South Korea
South Korea deploys its new special envoys. Here’s what they’re set to do
From Europe and India to Canada and Australia, President Lee Jae-myung has deployed 14 personal emissaries in a bid to redefine global ties.
30 Jul 2025 - 9:23AM
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South Korea’s President Lee Jae-myung pictuted in April before taking office. Photo: AFP/Getty Images/TNS
War and conflict
Thailand, Cambodia agree to ‘unconditional’ ceasefire
The ceasefire will begin from midnight on Monday to end a deadly border conflict after talks in Kuala Lumpur.
28 Jul 2025 - 9:02PM
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United States
Marcos secures trade deal with Trump – but tariffs only drop 1 percentage point
Trump cites ‘beautiful visit’ in social media post announcement.
23 Jul 2025 - 9:36AM
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North Korea
Lavrov in North Korea: a sign Russia urgently needs more of Kim’s troops?
Moscow’s top diplomat capped a flurry of high-level visits to North Korea in search of more ‘allies willing to bleed’, analysts say.
14 Jul 2025 - 7:17PM
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Asean
Malaysia warns bilateral talks only avenue for Asean to negotiate US tariffs
All but two Asean states were served with tariff letters from Trump earlier this week, with Vietnam the bloc’s only member to secure a trade deal.
11 Jul 2025 - 11:07PM
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Shipping containers are stacked at Westport in Klang on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The latest tariff salvos by US President Donald Trump have triggered widespread anxiety among Southeast Asia’s economies, most of which are reliant on US demand. Photo: AP
Malaysia
Malaysia’s Anwar to confront Rubio over US tariffs amid fears about 25% levy
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is attending an Asean summit – his first official visit to the region since Donald Trump’s return.
9 Jul 2025 - 5:56PM
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United States
In global survey, US cited more often than China as greatest ally and threat
Pew Research worldwide poll of nearly 32,000 respondents finds 15 of 24 nations citing US as top ally while China is named by four.
9 Jul 2025 - 6:03AM
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Malaysia
Malaysia seeks urgent trade talks with US after 25% tariff blow
Trump suggested tariffs could be lifted if Malaysia shifts manufacturing to the US. Malaysia says it wants a ‘mutually beneficial’ deal.
8 Jul 2025 - 4:59PM
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