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A woman walks past the National Covid Memorial Wall in London, Britain, on November 20. Photo: EPA

Outside In | Six years on, are we better prepared for the next pandemic?

Preparedness plans remain a work in progress while health budgets have been sliced by urgent demands and US withdrawal weakens global coordination.

19 Dec 2025 - 8:58PMvideocam

Artificial intelligence

Macroscope | Fears of an AI bubble in Asian stock markets are misplaced

18 Dec 2025 - 4:30PMvideocam

Asia housing and property

The View | After vitalising its property market, India must shore up its weaknesses

15 Dec 2025 - 5:43PM

The Philippines

Asian Angle | Is the new Philippines-Germany defence pact built to last?

Rising anxieties over Beijing and Moscow have united Berlin and Manila in an axis that must now be institutionalised to ensure it endures.

14 Dec 2025 - 10:30AM

German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius (left) mets his Philippine counterpart Gilberto Teodoro Jnr in Manila last year to discuss defence cooperation. Photo: Reuters

Opinion | From Singapore to Taiwan, Japan must face its past for Asia’s future

Lasting peace in Asia demands that Tokyo abandons its historical revisionism and refusal to acknowledge past crimes.

13 Dec 2025 - 11:00AM

Chinese overseas

Being Chinese | The 30-word identity pitch of an overseas Chinese

To some, “Are you Chinese?” is a question about nationality. To others, it’s about ethnicity. To cover all bases, I’ve crafted a 30-word answer.

13 Dec 2025 - 11:18AM

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War and conflict

Opinion | Only true repentance from Japan can resolve East Asia’s ‘memory wars’

It is important that Japan, China and South Korea collectively reckon with the legacy of military aggression and wartime atrocities.

13 Dec 2025 - 5:30AM

Illustration: Craig Stephens

Opinion | How Pakistan’s rising confidence could shape a cooperative South Asia

If Gulf investment, Chinese strategic interest and Pakistani willingness align, the region could shift from confrontation to collaboration.

12 Dec 2025 - 5:30AMvideocam

Opinion | Behind Russia’s show of strength in India lies a fragile partnership

Despite Russia’s display of defiance and India’s quest for autonomy, US policy shifts are pushing both into uncharted geopolitical territory.

12 Dec 2025 - 5:46AM

Opinion | Why India can’t afford to let relations with Russia crumble

Partnering with Moscow brings New Delhi important leverage on Washington and Beijing as well as support for continued strategic autonomy.

11 Dec 2025 - 5:44AMvideocam

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin speaks with India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi after making a press statement at the Hyderabad House in New Delhi on December 5. Photo: AFP

China technology

Opinion | Why the Global South is embracing Chinese AI

The US champions AI as an autonomous agent, a content creator. China exports a vision of AI as a digital nervous system for the real economy.

10 Dec 2025 - 10:26AMvideocam

The Chinese approach, forged in the fires of domestic industrial competition, views AI as “relational infrastructure”: a connective tissue for physical systems. It is designed to get its hands dirty, such as in mining, ports and factories. Photo: Adobe Stock

Asia housing and property

The View | Asia’s housing affordability squeeze shows no signs of slowing

Some of the sharpest increases in property values are in economies facing major headwinds or those suffering from an acute shortage of affordable housing.

8 Dec 2025 - 5:23PMvideocam

China-Russia relations

Opinion | Despite their strong ties, Russia and China are emotional opposites

Moscow is haunted by a longing for Western approval in contrast to Beijing, which focuses on borrowing what works and changing what doesn’t.

8 Dec 2025 - 11:41AM

Asian Angle | Vietnam’s anti-drug police are speaking Gen Z, and it’s working

Ho Chi Minh City’s police have found a way to wrap dry state messaging in viral humour, mirroring China’s digital playbook.

7 Dec 2025 - 10:30AM

A viral social media post showing a faux wedding proposal created by an anti-drugs police unit photo in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Facebook/PC04.CATP

Opinion | Does AI’s rise have to mean job losses? East Asia tells a different story

Studies from Vietnam to South Korea show AI adoption has not cannibalised jobs. Instead of simple mechanisation, economies are synergising.

7 Dec 2025 - 9:30AMvideocam

The automated Seres Super Factory fpr electric vehicles in Liangjiang New Area, southwest China’s Chongqing, on September 19. Photo: Xinhua

Opinion | Fashion industry must tailor climate plans to Asian suppliers’ reality

Efforts to cut down on greenhouse gas emissions in the fashion industry will not work if they rest on a Western design paired with Eastern sacrifice.

7 Dec 2025 - 5:30AM

Asian Angle | The Thai influencer bringing viral warfare to Cambodia’s border

Gun Jompalang is a self-styled ‘justice crusader’ with over 9 million followers but no commander. He’s not a soldier, but he is waging war.

6 Dec 2025 - 11:00AM

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Hong Kong politics

Opinion | Legco poll a chance for Hong Kong to show its resilience after Tai Po fire

The election is an opportunity for the city to display maturity in the face of loss and prove civic participation can coexist with national security and solidarity.

5 Dec 2025 - 9:30AMvideocam

Illustration: Craig Stephens

Opinion | Not just China: India also a piece of the US opioid puzzle

Like China, India has a large pharmaceutical sector that provides precursor chemicals. But it lacks China’s drug policy control.

5 Dec 2025 - 8:16AMvideocam

Macroscope | India and Japan show impact of Trump’s tariffs extend beyond trade

While Japan is grappling with acute policy dilemmas and AI bubble fears stalk markets, India seems relatively resilient and forward-looking.

4 Dec 2025 - 5:13PMvideocam

Opinion | Why China is succeeding in Myanmar while the West has been sidelined

The West’s incoherent strategy is no match for a ruthless, integrated Chinese approach that leverages economic links to its advantage.

30 Nov 2025 - 1:30PM

Chinese President Xi Jinping shakes hands with Myanmar leader Min Aung Hlaing in Moscow in May, on the sidelines of celebrations marking the 80th anniversary of the Soviet victory in World War II. Photo: Xinhua

Opinion | Why Chinese are cancelling their trips to Japan

The Japanese prime minister crossed a red line and reopened old wounds in employing language that echoed rhetoric used by imperial Japan to justify invasion.

30 Nov 2025 - 9:30AMvideocam

Chinese tourists visit the Sensoji temple in the Asakusa district of Tokyo on November 20. Many Chinese have chosen to cancel their trips to Japan after Beijing issued a travel advisory. Photo: AP

Opinion | If China can cut its pollution, why can’t India?

India’s pollution crisis demands sustained, year-round action, not just emergency steps that kick in when the air turns toxic.

30 Nov 2025 - 5:30AMvideocam

Opinion | How Cop30 laid bare the new geopolitics of climate action

Fractures, even among the Global South, show the energy transition is not just a technical challenge but a deeply political negotiation.

28 Nov 2025 - 8:30PMvideocam

Opinion | In its year under Malaysia, Asean tried to set systemic reform in motion

Despite grumbles about loss of focus and misgivings about the longevity of new networks, Malaysia, ironically, perhaps didn’t go far enough.

27 Nov 2025 - 5:30AMvideocam

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim hands the gavel over to Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr at the closing ceremony of the 47th Asean summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on October 28. The Philippines takes over as Asean chair on January 1. Photo: Xinhua

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