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US President Donald Trump meets Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr in the Oval Office at the White House on July 22, 2025, in Washington. Photo: Getty Images/TNS
Asean

Opinion | Will the US’ Pax Silica deliver for the Philippines?

The Pax Silica plan to make the Philippines a vital node in a US-led tech supply chain is built on seemingly speculative promises and risks riling China.

Asean

Asian Angle | Where Southeast Asians really want to live, work and travel

Ageing society

Opinion | East Asia’s population challenge isn’t just about raising birth rates

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Banking & finance

Macroscope | Why bond yields are going up everywhere

Unlike stock markets, bond markets are signalling a more cognisant and mature appreciation of the state of government finances.

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A woman walks past anti-US graffiti painted on the wall of Tehran University in Iran, on April 25. The war has pushed up inflation and added to the financial burden of already highly indebted countries. Photo: AP
A woman walks past anti-US graffiti painted on the wall of Tehran University in Iran, on April 25. The war has pushed up inflation and added to the financial burden of already highly indebted countries. Photo: AP
Malaysia

Asian Angle | Malaysia’s 3R catch-all risks turning every grievance into a threat

Conflating local governance concerns with racial and religious slights threatens pluralism and stifles legitimate public policy debate.

Asean

Opinion | Why the Philippines walks a delicate balance as Asean chair

Manila’s success at the helm will depend on its ability to make the Association of Southeast Asian Nations more operational than before.

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Middle East

Outside In | How Trump’s war on Iran is jeopardising Asia’s remittance lifeline

In Gulf economies, lost migrant jobs and remittances risk plunging millions across Asia into crisis.

Workers take a break with the city skyline of Dubai seen in the background on March 11. Photo: AFP
Workers take a break with the city skyline of Dubai seen in the background on March 11. Photo: AFP
Diplomacy

Opinion | Heroics will only turn middle power dreams into nightmares

Successful middle powers do not defy systemic pressures but recognise structural change early enough to avoid becoming trapped.

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Diplomacy

Opinion | The 4 trilateral frameworks defining northeast Asia future

As great-power bargaining between the US, China and Russia collides with three regional triangles, finding a balance will be key to managing competition.

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Asia housing and property

The View | The 2 main sources of resilience in Asian real estate

The shock absorbers of supply constraints, a flight to quality, the search for safe havens and domestic demand provide a robust base.

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A tram travels past premium office buildings in Central, Hong Kong, on January 26. Photo: Jelly Tse
Ageing society

Asian Angle | Asia’s silver dividend can offset ageing’s economic toll

Research shows demographic decline hits productivity, not workforce size. Keeping older workers active through technology is the solution.

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A street food hawker waits for customers by a roadside in Bangkok, Thailand, on May 12. Photo: EPA
A street food hawker waits for customers by a roadside in Bangkok, Thailand, on May 12. Photo: EPA
US-China relations

Asian Angle | What the China-US stability pact means for Southeast Asia

The real test of Beijing and Washington’s adoption of ‘constructive strategic stability’ will be how words translate into action.

China-India relations

Outside In | India and China are cautiously getting closer, thanks to Trump

The US trade war has prompted India to rethink China. While relations might be short of a breakthrough, deeper engagement is here to stay.

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Bonds

Macroscope | Bond market sell-off raises stakes for Asia’s tech-driven economies

Stakes are high for Asia’s tech-driven economies amid a global sell-off in bond markets that signals investor fears.

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A currency trader talks on the phone near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index and the foreign exchange rate between the US dollar and South Korean won at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul on May 20. Photo: AP
War and conflict

Opinion | Malacca Strait could be the next hinge point if Asia isn’t careful

Straits like Hormuz and Malacca are pressure points where commerce and power converge. What once defined success now defines vulnerability.

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A motorcyclist passes by liquefied natural gas tankers in the Malacca Strait off the coast of Malaysia on April 15. Photo: EPA
A motorcyclist passes by liquefied natural gas tankers in the Malacca Strait off the coast of Malaysia on April 15. Photo: EPA
Asia housing and property

The View | Japan no longer Asia’s only rental housing market attracting investors

While Japan remains the most developed market, property investors are finding new opportunities elsewhere in the region.

China-Asean relations

Asian Angle | China offers Southeast Asia clear advantages in nuclear power

With its experience in exporting nuclear reactors, China can offer long-term energy security and technological upgrades.

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Mainland China

Being Chinese | How to deal with this ‘very Chinese time’ in Western lives

The question is not whether outsiders are getting China or Chinese culture right, but what we choose to do with their attention.

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Foreign tourists in traditional Chinese costumes take photos near the Forbidden City in Beijing on April 16. Photo: AP
Foreign tourists in traditional Chinese costumes take photos near the Forbidden City in Beijing on April 16. Photo: AP
Diplomacy

Opinion | North Korea is not Iran. The same pressure tactics won’t work

North Korea’s nuclear reality and the overlapping interests of the US, China and Russia make tension reduction a prerequisite.

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Climate change

Opinion | How bad water management is turning up the heat on South Asia

Regional governments should stop blaming shortages on the failure of treaties, diverting attention from much-needed internal reforms.

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Diplomacy

Opinion | Just because Brics isn’t a coherent bloc doesn’t mean it’s impotent

The grouping has a future, not as a binding structure demanding policy alignment but as a tool for members to enhance leverage and maximise options.

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Illustration: Craig Stephens
US-China relations

Opinion | China shouldn’t view a tired US as signifying a Europe ready to pivot

As fractures within the US’ network of alliances deepen, China’s strategic window opens a little wider, with some key caveats.

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Illustration: Craig Stephens
Illustration: Craig Stephens
China-Philippines relations

Asian Angle | 3 reasons Marcos’ South China Sea energy gambit won’t work

The Philippine president has mooted the idea of joint oil and gas development. China is willing, but history shows this road leads nowhere.

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Japan

Macroscope | How Japan’s new economic model could inspire others to ‘look east’

As Tokyo seeks to boost its economic security, policymakers are tapping into household wealth and assets to advance industrial ambitions.

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United States

Opinion | Thanks to Trump, the gloves are off. There may be no new global order

With the UN, IMF and World Bank mired in old power structures, universities could be the platform to shape how the global future unfolds.

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A South Korean protester wears a mask of US President Donald Trump during a protest against Trump’s request to dispatch warships to the Strait of Hormuz, in front of the US embassy in Seoul on March 16. Photo: AFP
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