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Malaysia’s Defence Minister Mohamed Khaled Nordin receives an Asean emblem at the handover of Asean chairmanship in Laos on November 21. Photo: AP
Asean

Opinion

Asian Angle | Why Asean’s neutrality is our greatest asset in a divided world

As Malaysia prepares to assume the 2025 Asean chair, its trade minister argues for a unified approach to navigate the US-China rivalry.

War and conflict

Opinion | Seoul must stop using North Korea threat as an excuse to suppress democracy

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War and conflict

Opinion | US presidential transition is the thread tying world’s crises together

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Asia Opinion

War and conflict

Opinion | World watches and waits as Islamist group HTS leads a post-Assad Syria

From Russia and the Middle East to the EU and US, the rise of Islamist group HTS is cause for caution over optimism.

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Portraits of ousted Syrian president Bashar al-Assad are dumped in a skip in the Damascus suburb of Daraya on December 9. Islamist-led rebels took Damascus in a lightning offensive on December 8, sending Assad fleeing and ending five decades of Baath rule in Syria. Photo: AFP
Portraits of ousted Syrian president Bashar al-Assad are dumped in a skip in the Damascus suburb of Daraya on December 9. Islamist-led rebels took Damascus in a lightning offensive on December 8, sending Assad fleeing and ending five decades of Baath rule in Syria. Photo: AFP

China Opinion

Belt and Road Initiative

Opinion | Why China’s outreach to Central Asia will only grow

Amid increasing investments and a greater emphasis on security, China’s presence in Central Asia differs from its outreach to other regions.

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Asia Opinion

Diplomacy

Opinion | Korea instability should prompt US, China to put aside self-interests

Fresh geopolitical shifts underscore a need for leaders to transcend parochial interests and embrace a more holistic approach to governance.

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Asia Opinion

South Korea

Opinion | Yoon’s dangerous political gamble was no aberration

Yoon Suk-yeol’s declaration of martial law, albeit brief, is a reminder that South Korea must reckon with its authoritarian tendencies.

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Protesters hold candles and placards calling for the arrest of President Yoon Suk-yeol, outside the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, on December 6. Photo: EPA-EFE
Protesters hold candles and placards calling for the arrest of President Yoon Suk-yeol, outside the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, on December 6. Photo: EPA-EFE

Asia Opinion

Asia housing and property

The View | Asia’s property markets are shrugging off political risks

Despite the prominence of domestic and geopolitical strife, it is policy that ultimately matters most to markets in Hong Kong, Seoul, India and Japan.

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Asia Opinion

Asean

Opinion | Why Russia is finding favour in Southeast Asia once again

As Russia seeks Global South partners and the war in Ukraine drags on, Southeast Asian states are rekindling ties with the Kremlin.

Asia Opinion

Diplomacy

Opinion | Is South Asia finally trending towards regional peace?

Relative to the region’s history and instability elsewhere in the world, South Asia can be seen as something of an oasis.

Illustration: Craig Stephens

Asia Opinion

Asean

Opinion | Why cybersecurity could be Malaysia’s key to effective Asean leadership

Even modest success under Malaysia’s leadership could bolster the grouping’s unity and credibility, but failure will only deepen fractures in the bloc.

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Asean leaders and top ministers pose with United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres, sixth from the left, at the Asean-UN Summit in Vientiane, Laos, on October 11. Photo: Reuters
Asean leaders and top ministers pose with United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres, sixth from the left, at the Asean-UN Summit in Vientiane, Laos, on October 11. Photo: Reuters

Opinion

Thailand

Asian Angle | Thaksin’s return at Udon Thani election sparks play for national influence

The return of ex-PM Thaksin Shinawatra turned a local election into a national political stage, aiming to motivate Pheu Thai’s voter base.

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Opinion

Japan

My Take | Japan should not just focus on abduction issue and reach out to North Korea

Tokyo has demanded the return of its citizens abducted by North Korea over the decades but any breakthrough on the issue is unlikely.

Asia Opinion

Business of climate change

Opinion | Indonesia can’t afford to abandon coal as it shifts to greener energy

Phasing down coal and investing in renewable energy can ensure energy security and economic stability while creating a greener future.

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Women sit on a hill overlooking the Suralaya coal power plant in Cilegon, Indonesia, in 2023. Photo: AP

Opinion

Asean

Asian Angle | How Malaysia can boost Asean agency and centrality amid global challenges

As 2025 chair, Malaysia should adopt a cross-disciplinary approach to issues and undertake incremental but bold moves to cement Asean centrality.

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Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim speaks during the closing ceremony of the 44th and 45th Asean Summits and Related Summits in Vientiane, Laos, on October 11. Malaysia assumes chairmanship of Asean on January 1 next year. Photo: Reuters
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim speaks during the closing ceremony of the 44th and 45th Asean Summits and Related Summits in Vientiane, Laos, on October 11. Malaysia assumes chairmanship of Asean on January 1 next year. Photo: Reuters

Asia Opinion

Climate change

Opinion | Southeast Asia’s energy transition is lacking both finance and policy

The bulk of funds needed will have to come from private finance, which requires a conducive environment that regulatory policy can create.

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Asia Opinion

Thailand

The View | What ‘China problem’? Thai tourism post-Covid is in good health

The Thai government’s optimism about the number of overall foreign arrivals suggests fewer Chinese tourists isn’t as big a problem as feared.

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Asia Opinion

Chinese overseas

Being Chinese | I may not use my ‘beautiful’ Chinese name often, but I’m glad of the gift

My father was renamed when a Briton couldn’t make out his Chinese name. I’m grateful for mine, though I now use a name that confounds some.

Guests attend an event at the Sha Tin Racecourse on November 3. In a fluid world, can assumptions be made about the connection between names, ethnic identities and cultural backgrounds? Photo: Kenneth Chan
Guests attend an event at the Sha Tin Racecourse on November 3. In a fluid world, can assumptions be made about the connection between names, ethnic identities and cultural backgrounds? Photo: Kenneth Chan

Opinion

Bangladesh

My Take | ‘Worse than before’: Bangladesh’s turmoil grows as Yunus tries to restore order

Muhammad Yunus faces challenges in restoring order and reviving Bangladesh’s economy amid ethnic tensions and urgent calls for new elections.

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Asia Opinion

The Philippines

Opinion | Why the Philippines must stand its ground against a friend like Trump

Nothing less than the country’s strategic autonomy as a sovereign nation is at stake as the Marcos administration faces Trump 2.0.

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Asia Opinion

US-China trade war

Opinion | Why Asia is in denial over Trump’s threat and its own economic problems

Not only is China unwilling to admit the severity of its downturn, many Asian officials believe Trump’s tariff pledges are a bluff.

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Employees work on a motorcycle assembly line in Chongqing on November 13. Chinese manufacturers hoping to export goods to the US are bracing for higher tariffs with the return of Donald Trump to the White House. Photo: Xinhua
Open Questions series

Why eco-warrior Ma Jun sees hope for China’s role in Cop29 amid US uncertainty

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Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

Historian on why we aren’t heading towards WWIII yet and how wars have changed

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Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

China’s evolving role in Middle East conflicts, according to an academic

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Illustration: Victor Sanjinez

This economist says China’s property oversupply is far from over. Here’s why

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Illustration: Victor Sanjinez Garcia

Ex-World Bank economist on why ‘China will not be misled’, dodging Japan’s fate

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Illustration: Victor Sanjinez Garcia

Arthur Kroeber: why China decoupling is unlikely, and talk of reform incomplete

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Illustration: Henry Wong

Why eco-warrior Ma Jun sees hope for China’s role in Cop29 amid US uncertainty

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4
Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

Historian on why we aren’t heading towards WWIII yet and how wars have changed

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32
Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

China’s evolving role in Middle East conflicts, according to an academic

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13
Illustration: Victor Sanjinez

This economist says China’s property oversupply is far from over. Here’s why

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46
Illustration: Victor Sanjinez Garcia

Ex-World Bank economist on why ‘China will not be misled’, dodging Japan’s fate

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21
Illustration: Victor Sanjinez Garcia

Arthur Kroeber: why China decoupling is unlikely, and talk of reform incomplete

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Illustration: Henry Wong
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