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Illustration: Craig Stephens
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

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Ageing society

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

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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.

US President Donald Trump (left) shakes hand with China’s Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on May 14. Photo: Reuters
US President Donald Trump (left) shakes hand with China’s Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on May 14. Photo: Reuters
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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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.

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
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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Illustration: Craig Stephens
Illustration: Craig Stephens
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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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
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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An aerial drone photo shows China’s Deep Sea No 1 energy station in the South China Sea off Hainan province in April last year. Photo: China National Offshore Oil Corporation/Xinhua
An aerial drone photo shows China’s Deep Sea No 1 energy station in the South China Sea off Hainan province in April last year. Photo: China National Offshore Oil Corporation/Xinhua
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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Asean

Opinion | Why China’s warning over military blocs is finding listeners in Asia

For regional governments, strategy is about preserving options. China has read this instinct carefully and given it a diplomatic vocabulary.

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Illustration: Craig Stephens
Illustration: Craig Stephens
Banking & finance

Macroscope | Australia’s interest rate rise signals growing hawkish stance in Asia

Reserve Bank of Australia is less an outlier than a harbinger of global monetary trends in the wake of war-induced supply shocks.

The Philippines

Opinion | US allies in Asia are looking to build middle-power coalitions

Faced with the US’ unreliability and China’s ascent, countries such as the Philippines are creating new networks of partnerships.

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Diplomacy

Opinion | As power flows through submarine cables, law of the sea must evolve

The global commons of the seabed is in effect being governed by private actors with the capital and tech to build and maintain cable systems.

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An Estonian naval ship sails in the Baltic Sea on January 9, 2025, as part of stepped-up Nato patrols in the region following suspected sabotage of undersea cables. Photo: AP
Asean

Opinion | Asia must unite to avert an Iran war food crisis

The energy and fertiliser shocks come amid crucial planting windows for Asia’s farmers, exposing the region’s dire dependencies.

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A farm worker sprays fertiliser on a paddy field at Sabak Bernam, outside Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on April 1. Conflict in the Middle East has driven up prices of energy, fertiliser and food production. Photo: EPA
A farm worker sprays fertiliser on a paddy field at Sabak Bernam, outside Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on April 1. Conflict in the Middle East has driven up prices of energy, fertiliser and food production. Photo: EPA
Japan

Opinion | The domestic dynamics driving Japan’s remilitarisation

Sanctions, diplomatic warnings and aggressive rhetoric create a perilous loop, reinforcing the very domestic tendencies China seeks to deter.

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Japan

Asian Angle | Why Japan-China ties can benefit from promoting people-to-people exchanges

Filling the information gap through direct contact between the two peoples can help improve both countries’ public images and ease tensions.

Thailand

Asian Angle | A year after corporal punishment ban, Thailand needs to curb resurgence

Two school incidents show corporal punishment remains prevalent, and Thai authorities must strengthen accountability to prevent a recurrence.

The World Health Organization asserts that corporal punishment increases behavioural problems, impairs socio-emotional development and, crucially, violates children’s rights to good health and physical integrity. Photo: Shutterstock
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