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Macroscope
A South Korean dealer looks at an electronic signboard showing the benchmark Kospi index at Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, on September 2. Photo: EPA
Global monetary policy

Macroscope | Asia is not on the edge of a new 1997-style financial crisis

While risks to Asia’s financial stability exist, they have nothing to do with the policy and structural weaknesses behind the 1997 crisis.

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Belt and Road Initiative

Opinion | 3 key belt and road connectivities that Hong Kong drives

2026 China-Nepal flash floods

Opinion | Nepal-China floods highlight a growing front of the climate change crisis

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India

Opinion | India’s conflicted stance on China is unlikely to bear economic fruit

New Delhi’s approach has gone from welcoming economic engagement with Beijing to containment to the latest calibrated reopening.

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Illustration: Victor Sanjinez
Illustration: Victor Sanjinez
Asia housing and property

The View | Hong Kong and Singapore property shrug off fund tax breaks

While the two cities compete on wealth management incentives to draw talent and capital, the spillover into office and residential real estate remains negligible.

2026 China-Nepal flash floods

Opinion | Why Nepal-China floods are more than a natural disaster

While the solidarity on display in the wake of the disaster is commendable, the tragedy must not be viewed as an unpredictable, unpreventable act of nature.

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Singapore

Opinion | Singapore’s blueprint for economic success: plan, but be prepared to adapt

External shocks and changing domestic conditions often render plans unfeasible, so being agile is a better policy.

A city view of Singapore on Tuesday. About 80 per cent of Singaporeans live in public housing. Photo: Xinhua
A city view of Singapore on Tuesday. About 80 per cent of Singaporeans live in public housing. Photo: Xinhua
Diversity and inclusion

Opinion | Jason Arday’s death is not just a ‘woke Cambridge’ tragedy

In our globalised knowledge system, his death indicts universities, the press, online mobs – and those of us imagining ourselves safely outside culture wars.

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China-India relations

Asian Angle | India-China ties are warming, the time to capitalise is now

The post-Galwan freeze is over. Rebuilding economic dialogue offers both nations a win-win path forward.

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Diplomacy

Opinion | US-China AI rivalry needn’t preclude cooperation

Forcing countries to choose between the US’ and China’s initiatives would be counterproductive to global AI governance.

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The first session of the Global Dialogue on AI Governance in Geneva, Switzerland, on July 6. Photo: Xinhua
Asean

Opinion | Why Southeast Asia isn’t buying the US’ offer of ‘flexible realism’

Pentagon policy chief Elbridge Colby talked up US partnerships with Asean nations during his trip to the region, but Washington’s actions contradict its ‘Asia first’ rhetoric.

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Illustration: Henry Wong
Illustration: Henry Wong
Asean

Opinion | As the US and China compete over AI, Asean must secure strategic autonomy

Asean’s choice is not between technological dominance and isolation but between dependence and agency.

US-China relations

Opinion | The security-obsessed global economy needs its own Helsinki process

Cold War rivals used ground rules to make competition more transparent, bounded and predictable. Today’s weaponised trade needs the same ambition.

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Middle East

Opinion | Could Mecca defence pact be first step to new Middle East order?

As security deal shakes up calculations for the US, China and Russia, a regional order shaped by regional states is no longer unthinkable.

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Illustration: Victor Sanjinez
Diplomacy

Opinion | For states, being part of everything doesn’t mean being part of nothing

The opposite of commitment is breach, not multiplicity. A nation’s reliability isn’t measured by how many treaties it signs.

The United Nations General Assembly Hall in New York on March 25. Governments increasingly face the same demand: prove the depth of your commitment by closing the door on everyone else. Photo: Zuma press wire / dpa
The United Nations General Assembly Hall in New York on March 25. Governments increasingly face the same demand: prove the depth of your commitment by closing the door on everyone else. Photo: Zuma press wire / dpa
Malaysia

The View | Malaysia wants sustainable data centres, not a blanket ban

Unlike the US backlash, Malaysia is drawing up efficiency requirements to guide a sustainable tech boom.

China technology

Opinion | Asia is reaching for the open road that Chinese AI offers

Countries seeking sovereign AI want to control their own AI capabilities rather than rent them from a foreign platform.

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Hong Kong economy

Opinion | Hong Kong can open a lucrative new frontier as Chinese tech IP hub

As the city works more closely with mainland tech firms seeking to expand internationally, it can carve out a distinctive role.

Illustration: Dennis Yip
Illustration: Dennis Yip
Hong Kong economy

Macroscope | What’s so bad about a planned Hong Kong economy? Just look at Singapore

Dismissing economic planning out of hand is a mistake. The market does not always get it right.

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Myanmar

Asian Angle | SpaceX’s Starlink blackout punishes Myanmar civilians, not just cybercriminals

An estimated 13 million people – nearly a quarter of Myanmar’s population – rely on Starlink for internet access.

Chinese culture

Being Chinese | If your elders stop organising Chinese New Year, will you know how to?

For most of my life, festive gatherings seemed to happen automatically. What happens when those quietly maintaining family traditions stop?

Chinese New Year decorations in a shop in Singapore’s Chinatown in January 2021. Photo: EPA-EFE
South China Sea

Opinion | How China can turn its ‘blue cradle’ into a bridge with Southeast Asia

A jointly governed, tiered South China Sea ocean data framework would transform knowledge of a contested sea into stewardship of a shared one.

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Illustration: Victor Sanjinez
Illustration: Victor Sanjinez
Japan

Macroscope | Japan isn’t the only Asian economy giving bond markets a headache

Bond markets are nervous about central banks’ ability to contain inflation as South Korea, Indonesia and the Philippines face similar pressures.

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Diplomacy

Opinion | Trump’s blunt remarks offer South Korea an opportunity

Reduced US-South Korea drills complicate Seoul’s security dilemma but are also a low-cost goodwill signal to Pyongyang that could create room for dialogue.

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Asia housing and property

The View | Japan property is booming, but China is where the value lies

Japan’s commercial property market is in a league of its own, but the sharp repricing in China creates compelling opportunities for investors.

The Shanghai skyline as seen from Lujiazui on July 8. Premium buildings in the city’s central business district are outperforming the rest of the market, creating opportunities for investors seeking to position for a stronger recovery. Photo: Getty Images
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