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A petrol station attendant gestures in Beijing on March 11. Photo: AP
China economy

Macroscope | China is weathering the Iran war oil shock better than others in Asia

As the conflict threatens Asian economies, the best protected are those that can leverage import diversification and energy independence.

Asean

Opinion | Tariffs grab headlines, but non-tariff barriers decide winners in Asean

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China-India relations

Opinion | India’s reopening to Chinese investment reflects strategic pragmatism

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War and conflict

Opinion | Who will be the real winner from the Iran war fallout? Not the US

With no clear goal or timetable for ending the war, the US president is running out of options.

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Illustration: Craig Stephens
Illustration: Craig Stephens
Asia housing and property

The View | Why Iran war disruption isn’t enough to unsettle Asia’s hotels

While higher energy prices pose a threat to global travel, Asia’s strong regional travel demand and diversified source markets offer resilience.

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Asean

Opinion | Underwater and unprotected: why Asean and the EU must secure subsea lifelines

With global data at risk from hybrid threats, Southeast Asia and Europe need to look past declarations to secure our shared data arteries.

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War and conflict

Opinion | US attack on IRIS Dena shows that wars know no borders

The sinking of an Iranian naval frigate off Sri Lanka’s coast is a grim reminder of how easily conflicts can spill into unexpected places.

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Injured Iranian sailors are seen at Galle National Hospital on March 5, following a submarine attack on the Iranian military ship IRIS Dena off the coast of Sri Lanka. Photo: Reuters
Injured Iranian sailors are seen at Galle National Hospital on March 5, following a submarine attack on the Iranian military ship IRIS Dena off the coast of Sri Lanka. Photo: Reuters
US, Israel war on Iran

Macroscope | Trump hasn’t counted on financial blowback from his war with Iran

As Washington fights a war with global economic ramifications, allies may soon begin to reassess their financial support of US coffers.

Myanmar

Opinion | Myanmar’s junta staged an election. It couldn’t stage legitimacy

A closer look at the vote raises doubts about whether the generals can hold the country hostage in the long term.

Hong Kong economy

Opinion | Hong Kong can play vital part in boosting crucial China-India relations

India is a vibrant, emerging and complex power with much to offer the city and China as a whole.

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Illustration: Craig Stephens
US, Israel war on Iran

As I see it | Trump and Netanyahu’s Iran quagmire is wrecking the global economy

While bombs are being dropped on communities that may seem far away for some, the ripple effects of war in the Middle East are truly worldwide.

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A tanker sits anchored off the coast of Muscat, Oman, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, on March 10. Photo: Reuters
A tanker sits anchored off the coast of Muscat, Oman, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, on March 10. Photo: Reuters
War and conflict

Opinion | US-Israeli war on Iran makes a mockery of global governance rules

Inevitably, the world will be split between those committed to peace and harmony, and those who want to fight to secure dominance.

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Hong Kong housing

Opinion | When homes are small and costly, dreams of having a family shrink

In Asian cities, imagining family life has become the real work of adulthood – shaped by square footage, commute times and childcare options.

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Energy

Opinion | Why Asia’s future depends on breaking the shackles of fossil fuels

The choice facing Asia is clear: pay the large, one-time cost of transition or keep paying the unpredictable price of vulnerability.

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Motorists, some with containers, queue for gasoline at a gas station in Hanoi on March 10. Photo: AFP
War and conflict

Opinion | Iran strikes are a wake-up call to regulate military AI

Amid a lack of regulations and binding agreements on the use of artificial intelligence in war, the risks to civilians will only increase.

A group of men inspect the ruins of a police station, bombed during US-Israeli strikes, in Tehran, Iran, on March 3. Photo: AP
A group of men inspect the ruins of a police station, bombed during US-Israeli strikes, in Tehran, Iran, on March 3. Photo: AP
Asia housing and property

The View | 4 reasons Asia’s property will endure despite Iran war headwinds

Asian property’s sources of resilience are potent and multifaceted, with the drivers of sentiment distinct from those in financial markets.

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North Korea

Opinion | Under Kim Jong-un, North Korea is burying the dream of reunification

The Workers’ Party Congress signals a different form of “liberation” – securing regime survival through nuclear deterrence, not the liberation of the Korean peninsula.

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Thailand

Asian Angle | How to win an election in Thailand: stage a rebrand, rely on rural votes

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul put Bhumjaithai’s technocrats centre stage, while letting provincial barons run the real campaign.

The Bhumjaithai Party’‘s “Gang of Four” poster features Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow, Commerce Minister Suphajee Suthumpun and Finance Minister Ekniti Nitithanprapas. Photo: Instagram.com/bhumjaithai_th
The Bhumjaithai Party’‘s “Gang of Four” poster features Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow, Commerce Minister Suphajee Suthumpun and Finance Minister Ekniti Nitithanprapas. Photo: Instagram.com/bhumjaithai_th
Australia

Opinion | Australia needs to make its stance on the Iran attacks known

By refusing to condemn these legally baseless strikes, the Albanese government risks choosing ‘might is right’ over the UN Charter.

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China-Middle East relations

Opinion | US-Iran conflict puts China’s pragmatism to the test

For Beijing, the danger is less about losing Iran as a partner than losing stability in the energy-rich Middle East.

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War and conflict

Opinion | Pakistan’s forever war and the politics of exhaustion

What Pakistan needs is not war with Afghanistan but urgent efforts to fix its economy, security and divided society after disruptive decades.

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People gather around the coffin of an army soldier, killed in the border clashes between Pakistani and Afghan forces, during a funeral prayer in a village in Lakki Marwat, a district of Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on February 28. Photo: AP
Asean

Opinion | Fatigue is rewriting the US-China soft power contest, starting in Asean

At a time when no one has bandwidth left, soft power is being won by being the partner that feels usable, steady and low-risk.

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People pick up Labubu toys at a Pop Mart store in Siam Square in Bangkok on May 8, 2025. Photo: AFP
People pick up Labubu toys at a Pop Mart store in Siam Square in Bangkok on May 8, 2025. Photo: AFP
US, Israel war on Iran

Opinion | US war on Iran isn’t likely to go as planned

US war planners have overlooked viewing their adversary through realpolitik in the past. They now face a far more organised opponent.

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Diplomacy

Opinion | Kim Jong-un’s daughter may well become North Korea’s first female leader

The signs of succession are apparent, from Kim Ju-ae’s growing public appearances with her father to her reported appointment to a new leadership position.

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Disease

Opinion | Nipah and mpox expose Asia’s urgent need for stronger disease surveillance

Many Asian countries face barriers in building effective disease surveillance networks, including relying on shrinking external funding.

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A passenger is checked with a thermal imager at Indonesia’s Soekarno Hatta International Airport, after India confirmed two cases of the deadly Nipah virus, in Tangerang near Jakarta, Indonesia, on January 30. Photo: Reuters
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