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Diplomacy

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US-China relations
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China-Africa relations
China-Australia relations
China-India border dispute
China-Japan relations
China-Sri Lanka relations
China-India relations
Fiji’s Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka (left) meets with New Zealand’s Prime Minister Christopher Luxon on the sidelines of the Pacific Islands Forum summit in Honiara, the capital of the Solomon Islands, in 2025. Photo: AFP
Pacific nations

New Zealand’s Pacific defence diplomacy shifts into overdrive

Wellington’s four-month diplomatic blitz aims to lock down regional allies as Washington’s commitment wavers.

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China-India relations

India and China revive Himalayan trade at high-altitude pass

US-China relations

Top Chinese South Pacific security partner to let US patrol its waters

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North Korea

North Korea paves way for possible Kim trip to Moscow

Pyongyang’s top diplomat met Putin to discuss the Ukraine war, munition shipments and a likely Kim visit, analysts say.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) and North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui shake hands during their meeting in Moscow on Sunday. Photo: Kremlin/Sputnik/EPA
Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) and North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui shake hands during their meeting in Moscow on Sunday. Photo: Kremlin/Sputnik/EPA
Myanmar

Myanmar edges out of isolation as Asean steps up engagement

Bangkok talks spark warnings that Southeast Asian diplomats are legitimising a military regime still waging a bloody war on its own people.

Japan

Japan wants 60 million tourists, but China isn’t sending them

Tokyo is banking on a massive visitor boom to do what its factories and financiers increasingly cannot: carry the economy forward.

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The Philippines

After China sanctions Philippines’ defence chief, Marcos breaks his silence

For weeks, Ferdinand Marcos Jnr said nothing about the sanctions on Gilberto Teodoro. Then, on a work trip to Vancouver, he finally did.

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Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr pictured on Thursday during his visit to Vancouver, Canada. Photo: The Canadian Press/AP
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr pictured on Thursday during his visit to Vancouver, Canada. Photo: The Canadian Press/AP
2025 Cambodia-Thailand conflict

Can Asean keep the Thailand-Cambodia peace?

With zero enforcement powers, monitors risk being used to simply validate rival propaganda campaigns, analysts say.

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The Philippines

Inside Germany’s plan to transform a Philippine Cold War relic

A multimillion-dollar aviation deal at Clark highlights European economic investment as a tool of strategic power.

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India

3 killed, no apology: the strike straining India-US relations

Instead of showing remorse, Washington ordered New Delhi to obey its blockade, stoking public outrage.

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US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at a meeting with India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar during his visit to New Delhi on May 26. Photo: AP
Thailand

Costly Malaysia-Thailand seafood stand-off nears an end

Talks are advancing on resolving the dispute, but every day of delay is costing thousands of Thai shrimp farmers.

A Thai shrimp farmer holds a shrimp to the camera at his house in Samut Prakan province, Thailand. Photo: Reuters
A Thai shrimp farmer holds a shrimp to the camera at his house in Samut Prakan province, Thailand. Photo: Reuters
South China Sea

What is Marcos’ diplomatic end game? Inside Philippines’ South China Sea shift

By making undersea cables and fisheries the issue, analysts say Manila is trying to give all Asean members ‘skin in the game’.

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Thailand

Thailand and Vietnam team up in an Asean ‘plus or minus’ gamble

Southeast Asia’s second- and third-largest economies opt for bilateral insurance over reliance on the regional bloc.

Japan

Japan adds Indonesia to its ‘network of navies’ after Australia, Philippines

By exporting warships, analysts say Tokyo is sidestepping military pacts to bind partners through shared hardware.

JS Asagiri, lead ship of Japan’s Asagiri-class destroyers, heads a fleet review in Sagami Bay, Japan, in 1997. Photo: AFP
Asean

Asean at 60: peace, prosperity and polite paralysis

Non-interference bought decades of stability, but now breeds inaction. Is Asean due an overhaul?

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Illustration: Huy Truong
Illustration: Huy Truong
China-North Korea relations

Xi lands in North Korea with denuclearisation likely off the table

Chinese President Xi Jinping is making a rare trip to North Korea having stepped back from efforts to deter his host from building nuclear weapons.

India

Quad’s proposed port project in Fiji risks being ‘another empty promise’

Analysts warn that a lack of commitment by the four-member bloc on the project could open the door for China to expand its economic clout.

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India

Why India is rolling out welcome mat for Myanmar’s Min Aung Hlaing

The military leader’s first presidential trip to New Delhi signals pragmatic engagement as India moves to counter rising Chinese influence.

Indian Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi (right) shakes hands with Myanmar President Min Aung Hlaing before their meeting at Hyderabad House in New Delhi, India, on Monday. Photo: EPA
Indian Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi (right) shakes hands with Myanmar President Min Aung Hlaing before their meeting at Hyderabad House in New Delhi, India, on Monday. Photo: EPA
The Philippines

Philippines and Vietnam close ranks on South China Sea as To Lam visits

The Vietnamese president is wrapping up a Southeast Asia tour aimed at shoring up regional security alliances.

Malaysia

Did US restrictions sink Malaysia’s US$147 million Norway missile deal?

Analysts say US-controlled parts may have been a factor in Norway’s revoked export licences, underscoring risks for Asian defence buyers.

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Asean

Why Indonesia is ceding its role as Asean’s natural leader to Singapore

For decades, Indonesia’s standing was a given. A new survey suggests the region’s opinion leaders are no longer so sure.

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Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto (right) shakes hands with Singapore’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong after a press conference at the presidential palace in Jakarta in November 2024. Photo: AFP
Japan

Japan ditches decades of arm export curbs as US reliability wavers

From drones for Ukraine to warships for Australia, ‘peace-loving’ Japan is fast pivoting towards arming the world.

Japanese Type 10 battle tanks operate during a military drill in Funabashi, east of Tokyo, in January. Photo: Reuters
Japanese Type 10 battle tanks operate during a military drill in Funabashi, east of Tokyo, in January. Photo: Reuters
Pakistan

Pakistan seeks to shield Gulf states as US-Iran talks set to resume

A senior official involved in Islamabad’s diplomacy says it is trying to defuse the crisis ‘in any way we can’.

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Indonesia

Leaked plan for US military overflights triggers sovereignty row in Indonesia

Internal warnings reveal a government split over risks that blanket access for US warplanes could drag Indonesia into foreign conflicts.

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China-Middle East relations

China-Pakistan five-point plan to end Iran war

China and Pakistan launched an initiative to restore stability in the Middle East.

Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar (left) meets his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Beijing on January 4. Photo: AFP
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