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Opinion

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Myanmar’s Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs U Hau Khan Sum (left) with other Southeast Asian leaders at the Asean summit in Cebu, the Philippines, on May 8. Photo: Pool via Reuters
Asean

Asian Angle | Asean’s side deals in Myanmar risk missing where the power truly lies

Trading collective leverage for isolated bargains blinds the bloc to changing realities on the ground.

South Korea

Asian Angle | Korean drama Teach You a Lesson serves up a reality check on education

Vietnam

Asian Angle | When the US comes for Cuba, what can Vietnam do?

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Asean

Asian Angle | China builds Southeast Asia expertise as the US lets it wither

Yet neither power will truly grasp this complex, diverse region if they continue to treat it merely as a geopolitical chessboard.

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People gather in front of the “Sunflower Angel”, an illuminated nine-metre-tall fibreglass art installation, at Prambanan Temple in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Photo: AFP
People gather in front of the “Sunflower Angel”, an illuminated nine-metre-tall fibreglass art installation, at Prambanan Temple in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Photo: AFP
Indonesia

Asian Angle | Indonesia’s nickel rule changes are spooking Chinese investors

A leaked grievance letter reveals how Jakarta’s resource nationalism risks driving essential Chinese capital away.

Indonesia

Opinion | Indonesia’s labour movement is deeply divided over political patronage

Rival rallies reveal a fundamental clash between a co-opted union elite and an independent grass-roots movement.

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Malaysia

Opinion | Can Malaysia’s unity government survive a state poll fight?

Pakatan Harapan and Barisan Nasional might find it easier to compete locally and maintain a lukewarm federal alliance.

A motorcycle passes campaign flags of Malaysia’s Barisan Nasional (blue) and Pakatan Harapan (red) coalitions displayed in Kuala Lumpur in 2022. Photo: AP
A motorcycle passes campaign flags of Malaysia’s Barisan Nasional (blue) and Pakatan Harapan (red) coalitions displayed in Kuala Lumpur in 2022. Photo: AP
Asean

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

While Thailand leads for tourism, Singapore and Japan are the top draws for work, revealing uneven regional soft power dynamics.

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.

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
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-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.

History

Opinion | The West was never the whole world. It’s time to move on

As Asia reclaims its roots, the burden of reinvention now falls on the West. Its brief era of supremacy was a historical aberration.

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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
US, Israel war on Iran

Opinion | Trump’s threats against Iran are historically illiterate

The US president’s threats to end Iranian civilisation expose his ignorance of the country’s long history.

Iranian women visit the ruins of Persepolis, ceremonial capital of the ancient Achaemenid empire of Persia, near Shiraz in Iran. Photo: AFP
Iranian women visit the ruins of Persepolis, ceremonial capital of the ancient Achaemenid empire of Persia, near Shiraz in Iran. Photo: AFP
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.

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US, Israel war on Iran

Opinion | Trump’s oil crisis is accelerating the end of the fossil fuel era

Ironically for president ‘drill, baby, drill’, this crisis may prove an irreversible tipping point for clean energy.

An oil tanker burns off the coast of Iraq after being hit by an Iranian strike last month amid the US-Israel war on Iran. Photo: AP
An oil tanker burns off the coast of Iraq after being hit by an Iranian strike last month amid the US-Israel war on Iran. Photo: AP
War and conflict

Opinion | Blinding the world with lies makes peacemaking an impossible task

From Iran to the Horn of Africa, disinformation is killing diplomacy. Mediators need facts, not state-sponsored fictions.

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United States

Asian Angle | The Thucydides Trap is a lie created to justify a US-China war

Ancient Greece offers no lessons for Asia. The Global South must stop letting America’s war machine write history.

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US, Israel war on Iran

Opinion | Passage through the Strait of Hormuz is a right in war and peace

Neutral ships have a legal right of passage, even in war. Singapore has defended international law, which provides for a stable world order.

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An illustration shows the Strait of Hormuz, which is bordered by Iran and Oman. Photo: Reuters
Asean

Asian Angle | Doubts about Trump strain Southeast Asia’s US-China balancing act

An increasingly unpredictable Washington is making the region’s traditional hedging strategy harder to sustain.

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US President Donald Trump (centre) stands for a group photo with Southeast Asian leaders at the 13th Asean-United States Summit in Kuala Lumpur on October 26, 2025. Photo: AFP
US President Donald Trump (centre) stands for a group photo with Southeast Asian leaders at the 13th Asean-United States Summit in Kuala Lumpur on October 26, 2025. Photo: AFP
Vietnam

Asian Angle | Who is Vietnam’s new Prime Minister Le Minh Hung?

The ex-central banker has the credentials to succeed. Whether he has the political capital remains to be seen.

US, Israel war on Iran

Opinion | Why the ‘Gate of Tears’ may yet make the whole world weep

With the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed, any attacks on the Bab el-Mandeb Strait will pile further pressure on global supply chains.

US, Israel war on Iran

Asian Angle | Hormuz is sending Southeast Asia a warning – and we can no longer ignore it

The crisis has shown we must invest in renewables rather than staying in a fossil fuel comfort zone.

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People wait to refill their motorbikes at a petrol station in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Monday. Photo: EPA
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