https://www.scmp.com/rss/318213/feed Latest news and analysis on diplomacy between Asian governments including China, Japan, Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines. Coverage of ASEAN summits. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Nikola Mikovic Nikola Mikovic Since America launched its “major combat operation” against Iran, several Nato allies have distanced themselves from Washington. Now America also risks losing ground in strategically important Southeast Asia to China. Could it face an erosion of influence similar to that suffered by Russia in Central Asia as a result of its “special military operation” in Ukraine? Soon after US President Donald Trump launched massive air and missile strikes on Iran on February 28, it became clear Washington... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3350148/can-iran-fiasco-help-china-edge-out-us-key-arena-southeast-asia?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3350148/can-iran-fiasco-help-china-edge-out-us-key-arena-southeast-asia?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 19 Apr 2026 12:30:09 +0000 Julian Ryall Julian Ryall Japan is set to take another step away from its long-standing limits on arms exports, a move analysts say will strengthen the domestic defence industry, spur innovation, deepen security ties and reduce Tokyo’s reliance on the US at a time when Washington is increasingly seen as a less reliable partner. The Yomiuri newspaper reported on Thursday that revisions to the Three Principles on the Transfer of Defence Equipment and Technology would be approved at a cabinet meeting next week. The changes... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3350486/japan-ditches-decades-arm-export-curbs-us-reliability-wavers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3350486/japan-ditches-decades-arm-export-curbs-us-reliability-wavers?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 18 Apr 2026 01:00:18 +0000 Mengzhen Liu Mengzhen Liu The decades-long negotiations on a code of conduct in the South China Sea may finally come to an end this year. Several parties involved, including China and the Philippines, have expressed confidence in reaching a final conclusion to the proposed set of rules in the contested waterways in the coming months. In March, Beijing signalled its hope of concluding negotiations with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations by the end of the year while Manila has repeatedly expressed its intention to... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3349697/without-restraint-beijing-and-manila-cant-deliver-south-china-sea-code?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3349697/without-restraint-beijing-and-manila-cant-deliver-south-china-sea-code?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 16 Apr 2026 21:30:10 +0000 Neeta Lal Neeta Lal The quiet conclusion of US and Iranian backchannel engagements in Islamabad left more than diplomatic ambiguity. It crystallised a striking image: a financially strained, politically volatile Pakistan briefly positioning itself as a facilitator in one of the world’s most combustible rivalries. Substantive or symbolic, the episode underscores a deeper churn in West Asian geopolitics – one in which agility trumps credibility. Pakistan’s role was not incidental. Islamabad offered itself as a... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3350023/why-india-rankled-pakistan-playing-mediator-us-iran-war?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3350023/why-india-rankled-pakistan-playing-mediator-us-iran-war?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 16 Apr 2026 12:30:09 +0000 Gabriela Bernal Gabriela Bernal Having invested significant diplomatic capital into ties with Russia in recent years, North Korea now seems to be pivoting back to China. Leader Kim Jong-un said his country places “the greatest value” on improving ties with Beijing. This shift came during Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s two-day visit to North Korea last week, where he met Kim and North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui. Notably, Wang’s visit marked his first to North Korea since 2019. In the intervening years of the... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3349984/why-north-korea-rekindling-china-relations?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3349984/why-north-korea-rekindling-china-relations?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 15 Apr 2026 21:30:12 +0000 Tom Hussain Tom Hussain As Islamabad prepares to host a second round of negotiations between the United States and Iran, Pakistani mediators are seeking ways to extricate the Gulf monarchies from the conflict, according to a well-placed diplomatic source. While the success of those efforts depends largely on the outcome of talks that US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday could resume by the end of the week, Pakistan’s mediation has produced a second confidence-building phone call in a week between the Iranian and... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3350175/pakistan-seeks-shield-gulf-states-us-iran-talks-set-resume?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3350175/pakistan-seeks-shield-gulf-states-us-iran-talks-set-resume?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 15 Apr 2026 10:00:04 +0000 Maria Siow Maria Siow A leaked plan to grant the US military sweeping overflight access to Indonesia’s airspace has triggered a domestic backlash over concerns that Jakarta is “colluding with the aggressor” amid Washington’s war on Iran. Analysts say the defence document, first reported by New Delhi-based newspaper the Sunday Guardian, raises concerns that President Prabowo Subianto may be trading away Indonesia’s strategic independence. The proposal, which reportedly emerged following a meeting in February between... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3350143/indonesia-leaked-plan-us-military-overflights-triggers-sovereignty-row?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3350143/indonesia-leaked-plan-us-military-overflights-triggers-sovereignty-row?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 15 Apr 2026 07:11:03 +0000 Marco Vicenzino Marco Vicenzino The two-week ceasefire between the United States and Iran is a real diplomatic breakthrough. It has reopened the Strait of Hormuz, triggered a relief rally in global markets and eased the immediate fear of a spiralling energy shock. But its strategic significance lies less in the relief it has produced than in the uncertainty it leaves behind. The truce is time-limited, tied to negotiations and built around temporary safe passage rather than a settled regional order. The ceasefire terms and... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3349425/asia-us-iran-ceasefire-offers-little-relief-and-much-uncertainty?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3349425/asia-us-iran-ceasefire-offers-little-relief-and-much-uncertainty?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 09 Apr 2026 14:30:10 +0000 Chenjie Song Chenjie Song On April 7, less than two hours before US President Donald Trump’s declared deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz expired, a two-week ceasefire was announced after being floated by Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. The deal followed Iran’s delivery of a 10-point proposal to the United States through Pakistani mediators on April 6. According to Iranian officials, Tehran’s acceptance came after a last-minute intervention by China. The breakthrough came seven days after China and... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3349462/chinas-role-iran-us-ceasefire-reflects-its-strategic-distance?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3349462/chinas-role-iran-us-ceasefire-reflects-its-strategic-distance?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 09 Apr 2026 12:30:09 +0000 Yogi Putranto Yogi Putranto Control of the seas has long defined power in the Asia-Pacific. From strategic chokepoints to contested fishing grounds, maritime space has shaped the region’s economic lifelines and geopolitical tensions. But a quieter contest is unfolding – less visible, yet potentially more consequential. It is not a contest over territory but over data. As satellite surveillance, digital tracking and advanced analytics transform how the ocean is monitored, a new question emerges: who controls the information... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3348997/asia-pacific-real-maritime-contest-over-satellite-surveillance?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3348997/asia-pacific-real-maritime-contest-over-satellite-surveillance?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 07 Apr 2026 01:30:11 +0000 Wenran Jiang Wenran Jiang The dust and debris of the US-Israeli war on Iran have yet to settle, but its strategic shock waves have reached East Asia. From Tokyo to Taipei, a reassessment is under way. The conflict, intended to project American resolve, has been a brutal stress test for the US-led order – with catastrophic results for Washington’s credibility. Far from cementing its primacy, America’s misadventure has revealed a superpower that is overstretched, vulnerable and seen as an unreliable partner. This erosion... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3348665/east-asias-crisis-confidence-us-militarising-chinas-backyard?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3348665/east-asias-crisis-confidence-us-militarising-chinas-backyard?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 03 Apr 2026 12:30:09 +0000 Hao Nan Hao Nan A month into the Iran war, Washington still says it expects to achieve its objectives in weeks, not months. That may prove optimistic. The terms on offer from the United States and Iran barely overlap, and markets remain unconvinced a durable settlement is close. But one fact is clear: the war’s most consequential effects may be felt not only in the Middle East but across East Asia. It would be a mistake to see this as only an oil story. It is also about hierarchy. In East Asia, the war is... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3348429/how-east-asia-being-quietly-reordered-us-war-iran?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3348429/how-east-asia-being-quietly-reordered-us-war-iran?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 02 Apr 2026 12:30:07 +0000 Haining Gao Haining Gao China and Pakistan unveiled a joint five-point plan on Tuesday to restore peace in the Persian Gulf after five weeks of US-Israeli bombardment of Iran. China, Pakistan five-point initiative for restoring peace in the Middle East by scmp https://www.scmp.com/plus/news/china/diplomacy/article/3348601/china-pakistan-five-point-plan-end-iran-war?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/plus/news/china/diplomacy/article/3348601/china-pakistan-five-point-plan-end-iran-war?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 01 Apr 2026 02:56:41 +0000 Julian Ryall Julian Ryall Japan has moved swiftly to contain the diplomatic fallout after a member of its Self-Defence Forces broke into the Chinese embassy in Tokyo last week. But observers and local media say the incident has given Beijing an opening to reinforce claims of rising militarism and anti-China sentiment in Japan. Yoshinobu Kusunoki, commissioner general of the National Police Agency, on Monday called the break-in on March 24 “extremely unusual and serious”, adding that it “should not have happened”. His... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3348549/japan-races-limit-fallout-chinese-embassy-break?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3348549/japan-races-limit-fallout-chinese-embassy-break?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 01 Apr 2026 02:00:12 +0000 Neeta Lal Neeta Lal As tensions simmer along the Pakistan-Afghanistan frontier – fuelled by disputes over the contested Durand Line, recurring cross-border strikes and the persistent threat of Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) fighters operating from Afghan soil – a subtle but consequential geopolitical shift is under way. India is quietly but steadily stepping up its engagement with the Taliban. The urgency of this recalibration was underscored on March 16, when Pakistani military forces carried out one of the... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3348182/why-india-quietly-deepening-its-engagement-taliban?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3348182/why-india-quietly-deepening-its-engagement-taliban?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 30 Mar 2026 21:30:08 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse North Korea and Belarus’ strongmen leaders signed a “friendship and cooperation” treaty on Thursday after Kim Jong-un gave a lavish welcome to President Alexander Lukashenko on his maiden visit. Besides supporting Russia’s war against Ukraine - around 2,000 North Korean soldiers are thought to have died - both nations are under Western sanctions and are accused of gross human rights violations. The two men met last year in China. “In the modern realities of global transformation - at a time when... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/diplomacy/article/3348067/north-korea-and-belarus-sign-friendship-treaty-lukashenkos-first-visit?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/diplomacy/article/3348067/north-korea-and-belarus-sign-friendship-treaty-lukashenkos-first-visit?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Mar 2026 02:08:08 +0000 Julian Ryall Julian Ryall Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is facing accusations of diplomatic sycophancy after White House footage showed her giggling at a portrait of an autopen – placed by US President Donald Trump in the spot reserved for his predecessor Joe Biden – during summit talks last week. The clip, posted on the official White House website, shows Takaichi pointing at the framed picture, then laughing and covering her mouth. It was filmed on the “Presidential Walk of Fame”, a gallery unveiled by Trump... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3347717/japan-pm-mocked-trump-sycophant-after-giggling-bidens-autopen-portrait?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3347717/japan-pm-mocked-trump-sycophant-after-giggling-bidens-autopen-portrait?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Mar 2026 09:40:50 +0000 Maria Siow Maria Siow Indonesia’s president is heading to Tokyo – and Japan has eight stealth frigates, a mineral deal and a seat at the emperor’s lunch table waiting for him. Prabowo Subianto is due to arrive on March 29 for a three-day state visit, his first trip to Japan since taking office in October 2024. He will hold talks with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and dine with Emperor Naruhito, according to a statement published by Tokyo’s Foreign Ministry on March 13. Analysts say the agenda will be... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3347360/japan-woos-indonesia-stealth-frigates-ahead-prabowo-takaichi-talks?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3347360/japan-woos-indonesia-stealth-frigates-ahead-prabowo-takaichi-talks?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 23 Mar 2026 00:00:12 +0000 Anthony Rowley Anthony Rowley Before his first term as US president began in 2017, Donald Trump was probably best known for his book, The Art of the Deal. But by launching, together with Israel, a widely unpopular war on Iran, Trump has arguably dealt himself a very weak hand. There is little “art” in it. The headline splashed across the front page of the Financial Times on March 17 – “Allies reject Trump’s call for warships” (to force open the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has partially closed after US and Israeli attacks) –... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3347250/trumps-war-uniting-world-just-not-how-he-might-have-expected?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3347250/trumps-war-uniting-world-just-not-how-he-might-have-expected?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 21 Mar 2026 08:30:07 +0000 Ambuj Sahu Ambuj Sahu In April 2020, as the world struggled with the Covid-19 pandemic and soldiers from India and China moved towards a large-scale border stand-off, New Delhi amended its foreign direct investment (FDI) policy to require prior government approval for all investments from countries sharing a land border with India – a measure directed at China. Nearly six years on, India has changed its FDI policy again. It is a significant move for India-China relations. During the pandemic, the FDI regulation... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3346614/indias-reopening-chinese-investment-reflects-strategic-pragmatism?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3346614/indias-reopening-chinese-investment-reflects-strategic-pragmatism?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 18 Mar 2026 08:30:08 +0000 Joseph Sipalan Joseph Sipalan Malaysia will wait for Washington to submit updated terms before deciding its next steps on their tariff deal, the country’s trade minister has said – just days after he declared the agreement had been rendered “null and void” by a US Supreme Court ruling. The government began the week on the back foot as allies and critics demanded clarity on the status of the multibillion-dollar deal with the United States, after Trade Minister Johari Abdul Ghani was reported on Sunday to have said it was no... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3346834/fate-us-malaysia-trade-pact-rests-washingtons-next-move?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3346834/fate-us-malaysia-trade-pact-rests-washingtons-next-move?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 17 Mar 2026 04:40:09 +0000 Joseph Sipalan,Biman Mukherji Joseph Sipalan,Biman Mukherji Malaysia’s government has been forced onto the defensive over its much-touted tariff deal with the United States, after a minister walked back an earlier claim that the agreement had been rendered “null and void” by a US Supreme Court ruling. Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s administration signed the deal in October, promising US$240 billion in investments and purchases of American goods, including beef and aircraft, in exchange for continued access to the world’s largest consumer market at a... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3346749/confusion-over-malaysia-us-trade-deal-null-and-void-claim-retracted?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3346749/confusion-over-malaysia-us-trade-deal-null-and-void-claim-retracted?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 16 Mar 2026 09:14:40 +0000 Brian Y. S. Wong Brian Y. S. Wong By the second half of the 21st century, the Sino-Indian relationship will become the world’s most significant geopolitical relationship, dislodging even the complex China-US cooperative rivalry. By 2050, the world’s three largest economies are likely to comprise some combination of China, India and the United States. PricewaterhouseCoopers predicts this exact order – with the US having the highest per capita income but the smallest population. Both Asian powerhouses enjoy significant theoretical... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3346270/boosting-china-india-ties-should-be-pillar-hong-kongs-five-year-plan?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3346270/boosting-china-india-ties-should-be-pillar-hong-kongs-five-year-plan?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 14 Mar 2026 01:30:07 +0000 Maria Siow Maria Siow For years, the West’s answer to Chinese dominance of critical minerals was to rally around Washington. Now, some of its most important allies are reaching a different conclusion: that depending too heavily on the United States carries its own risks. Japan, France and Canada have all been exploring how to build supply chains for rare earths and other critical minerals that answer to neither Beijing nor Washington. Senior officials from the three Group of Seven economies are working on... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3346530/beyond-pax-silica-japan-france-and-canada-seek-rare-earth-autonomy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3346530/beyond-pax-silica-japan-france-and-canada-seek-rare-earth-autonomy?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:09 +0000 Andrew Sheng Andrew Sheng The US-Israeli attacks on Iran have profound implications for the global governance order. For America, the world’s mightiest power, to attack another nation without congressional or UN approval condemns the rules-based order to the dustbin of history. Governance is about checks and balance by rules, self-restraint or simply a humble appreciation that waging “forever wars” often ends up in self-destruction. War is such an extreme and costly measure it should only be undertaken after careful... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3346410/us-israeli-war-iran-makes-mockery-global-governance-rules?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3346410/us-israeli-war-iran-makes-mockery-global-governance-rules?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 13 Mar 2026 12:30:08 +0000 Samer Elhajjar ,Niraj Dawar Samer Elhajjar ,Niraj Dawar For years, debates about US-China competition have defaulted to the obvious categories: ships, chips, tariffs and security pacts. Soft power was often treated as America’s home turf, the domain of Hollywood, top universities, global brands and a political ideal that still attracts even when it disappoints. That assumption is getting riskier. The world has entered a new emotional weather pattern: fatigue. It’s a structural condition shaped by overlapping shocks: pandemic after-effects, inflation... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3344992/fatigue-rewriting-us-china-soft-power-contest-starting-asean?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3344992/fatigue-rewriting-us-china-soft-power-contest-starting-asean?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 04 Mar 2026 08:30:08 +0000 Iman Muttaqin Yusof Iman Muttaqin Yusof The news rippled through Malaysian social media with something close to glee. Nick Adams, the Australian-born, self-described “alpha male” whom US President Donald Trump had nominated as ambassador to Kuala Lumpur, was not coming after all. “They do listen sometimes,” said Muhammad Izuan Ahmad Kasim, a youth leader from the People’s Justice Party who had been among the dozens who marched to the US embassy last July demanding Washington reconsider the appointment. Adams himself offered a very... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3344540/malaysians-cheer-us-drops-alpha-male-ambassador-pick-nick-adams?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3344540/malaysians-cheer-us-drops-alpha-male-ambassador-pick-nick-adams?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 25 Feb 2026 04:15:51 +0000 Dewey Sim Dewey Sim Last week, US ambassador to Poland Tom Rose cut off contact with his host country’s parliamentary speaker over what he described as “outrageous and unprovoked insults” against President Donald Trump. Washington would “not permit anyone to harm US-Polish relations nor disrespect” the president, Rose warned, without specifying the insults. However, lower house speaker Wlodzimierz Czarzasty, a left-wing Polish politician, had earlier criticised Trump’s policies and said he would not support an... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/diplomacy/article/3343426/trump-style-diplomacy-could-win-friends-china-harm-us-ties-beijing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/diplomacy/article/3343426/trump-style-diplomacy-could-win-friends-china-harm-us-ties-beijing?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 14 Feb 2026 14:00:10 +0000 Khushboo Razdan Khushboo Razdan Senior diplomats from China and India met in New Delhi on Tuesday for what Beijing described as a new round of strategic dialogue, emphasising the need to view each other as partners rather than competitors amid shifting global dynamics. India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri hosted China’s Executive Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu, who was in the country for the Brics Sherpa Meeting from February 8 to 10. The two sides’ readouts of the meeting, however, revealed a persistent gap in how the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3343113/china-and-india-seek-reset-talks-old-fault-lines-remain?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3343113/china-and-india-seek-reset-talks-old-fault-lines-remain?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Feb 2026 18:16:30 +0000 David Dodwell David Dodwell If anyone anywhere this week spares a thought for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, it will almost certainly be linked to the Apec leaders’ meeting set for Shenzhen in November. But this is to miss the massive value and purpose of the 21-member grouping inaugurated in Canberra in 1989. To witness Apec’s unique and distinguishing value, you should have been in Guangzhou this week, where over 1,000 have gathered without pomp or fanfare for the first senior officials’ meeting (SOM1). I... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3342541/apecs-quiet-cooperation-still-matters-noisy-divided-world?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3342541/apecs-quiet-cooperation-still-matters-noisy-divided-world?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 06 Feb 2026 08:30:09 +0000 Maria Siow Maria Siow Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s call for middle powers to band together amid a fragmenting world order is a vision analysts say appeals to many Asian nations, but lacks a blueprint to bring them all together. Speaking in Switzerland last month, Carney urged mid-sized and smaller countries to unite against the economic coercion of great powers, warning that nations failing to act collectively risked being “on the menu” rather than “at the table”, in a thinly veiled rebuke of the United... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3342400/canada-wants-middle-power-alliance-will-asia-pacific-sign?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3342400/canada-wants-middle-power-alliance-will-asia-pacific-sign?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 05 Feb 2026 01:31:42 +0000 David Dodwell David Dodwell In Ernest Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises, Mike Campbell described how he went bankrupt: “Gradually, and then suddenly.” Over the past weeks, there is a feeling that US President Donald Trump and his administration have reached the “suddenly” bit. First, Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney captivated a World Economic Forum audience when he described the “rupture” in the rules-based order, a “bargain” that “no longer works”: leaving middle countries like Canada with no choice but to dilute their... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3341726/gradually-then-suddenly-world-waking-us-threat?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3341726/gradually-then-suddenly-world-waking-us-threat?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 30 Jan 2026 08:30:14 +0000 Richard Heydarian Richard Heydarian At Davos, US President Donald Trump declared he had “always had a very good relationship with President Xi” Jinping, calling the Chinese leader “an incredible man”, “highly respected by everybody”. Trump also praised TikTok’s decision to transfer parts of its US business to a consortium of US investors, thanking Xi on social media. This broadly friendly rhetoric is likely to be a signal of Washington’s keen interest in finalising a trade deal with the world’s second-largest economy. Trump’s... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3341461/trumps-power-politics-paving-way-g2-world-order-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3341461/trumps-power-politics-paving-way-g2-world-order-china?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 29 Jan 2026 12:30:11 +0000 Jiang Jiani Jiang Jiani At Davos this year, a familiar but sobering warning echoed through the slopes: the global order is fracturing into closed loops. In Western capitals, “de-risking” remains the dominant keyword, framing the global economy as a series of strategic high walls. Yet, beyond these barriers, a more tangible crisis is unfolding across the Global South. The infrastructure deficit continues to widen, estimated at a staggering US$1.7 trillion annually for Asia alone. This is a crisis of global governance.... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3341126/china-grows-it-reshaping-how-global-public-goods-are-delivered?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3341126/china-grows-it-reshaping-how-global-public-goods-are-delivered?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 27 Jan 2026 12:30:08 +0000 Anthony Rowley Anthony Rowley Some weighty themes were addressed at the World Economic Forum in Davos, from the apparent return of the Monroe Doctrine and US “manifest destiny” in geopolitics, to a replay of the 19th-century “Great Game” among competing nations elsewhere. But one critical issue that did not receive sufficient attention was the prospect of a global financial system crisis undermining such monumental assumptions. These annual gatherings of the supposedly great and good, from national leaders to business barons... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3340902/distracted-davos-leaders-are-ignoring-one-critical-issue?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3340902/distracted-davos-leaders-are-ignoring-one-critical-issue?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 24 Jan 2026 08:30:12 +0000 Nong Hong Nong Hong Talk of the United States acquiring Greenland has often been dismissed as rhetorical provocation. But the latest escalation is harder to wave away. President Donald Trump said it would be “unacceptable” if the US did not control Greenland only hours before Vice-President J.D. Vance hosted the Danish and Greenlandic foreign ministers. When territorial language is paired with senior-level diplomacy, it forces allies to draw public red lines, narrows the space for quiet crisis management, and turns... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3340064/greenlands-stress-test-nato-will-ripple-beyond-arctic?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3340064/greenlands-stress-test-nato-will-ripple-beyond-arctic?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 18 Jan 2026 12:30:09 +0000 Li Xing Li Xing When contemporary Europe engages with the world, it increasingly presents as two distinct Europes operating within the same institutional framework. This duality – a Europe of strategic dependence vs a Europe of normative assertion – creates a contradiction. For partners, particularly in China and across Asia, this is not merely an abstract identity crisis but a practical geopolitical puzzle that complicates engagement and challenges assumptions about Europe’s global role. One Europe, embedded... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3339744/internally-split-europe-can-never-fully-engage-china-and-asia?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3339744/internally-split-europe-can-never-fully-engage-china-and-asia?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 15 Jan 2026 12:30:09 +0000 Chan Young Bang Chan Young Bang The Ukraine war and Donald Trump’s return to the White House have significantly altered northeast Asia’s geopolitical landscape. North Korea’s defence treaty with Russia and leader Kim Jong-un’s decision to deploy troops to support Moscow have shattered any remaining illusions of strategic restraint. While Russia is believed to be supplying North Korea with finance and technology, Japan and South Korea are accelerating military spending and preparing for long-term confrontation, potentially –... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3339398/why-timing-may-be-right-china-press-north-korea-denuclearisation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3339398/why-timing-may-be-right-china-press-north-korea-denuclearisation?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 12 Jan 2026 21:30:10 +0000 Richard Heydarian Richard Heydarian America’s capture of Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro in a special operation sent shock waves across the world. With characteristically bombastic rhetoric, US President Donald Trump hailed Operation Absolute Resolve as “an assault like people have not seen since World War II” and “one of the most stunning, effective and powerful displays of American military might” in history. His deputies were quick to add that the operation also showed the long arm of the US justice system by accusing... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3339093/us-action-venezuela-fuels-asias-fears-collapsing-rules-based-order?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3339093/us-action-venezuela-fuels-asias-fears-collapsing-rules-based-order?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 12 Jan 2026 12:30:11 +0000 Gabriela Bernal Gabriela Bernal The US removal of Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro from power has reverberated far beyond Latin America. In Pyongyang, where regime survival is the paramount concern and every US action is scrutinised for hostile intent, the deposing of a sitting head of state sends an unmistakable message: dialogue with Washington is a dangerous gamble, and only nuclear weapons guarantee survival. The Venezuela operation may have killed the prospects for meaningful US-North Korea diplomacy in 2026 before they even... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3338953/maduros-fate-venezuela-hardens-north-koreas-nuclear-resolve?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3338953/maduros-fate-venezuela-hardens-north-koreas-nuclear-resolve?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 08 Jan 2026 21:30:08 +0000 Lee Min-Yong Lee Min-Yong At the recent South Korea-China summit, both sides agreed to improve dialogue, rebuild trust and promote regional peace and stability, marking a first step towards a normalisation of relations. While the Beijing meeting produced no concrete agreement for peace on the Korean peninsula, it reaffirmed the peninsula’s stability and peace as a common interest – paving the way for cooperation. The prolonged stalemate over North Korea’s nuclear programme is no longer just a diplomatic impasse. The... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3338207/denuclearisation-stalls-china-will-shape-stability-korean-peninsula?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3338207/denuclearisation-stalls-china-will-shape-stability-korean-peninsula?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 07 Jan 2026 21:30:08 +0000 Hannan Hussain Hannan Hussain Seoul has been putting its weight behind lowering the temperature on stalled US-North Korea denuclearisation talks. The issue remains fraught with tension: Washington has grown increasingly sceptical of the prospect of Pyongyang’s complete denuclearisation and attempts to engage North Korean leader Kim Jong-un have met with limited success. For Pyongyang, any discussion of its nuclear programme appears to be a red line. Kim has brooked no compromise on the issue, which is domestically important... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3336536/seoul-holds-key-us-north-korea-denuclearisation-talks?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3336536/seoul-holds-key-us-north-korea-denuclearisation-talks?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 24 Dec 2025 21:30:08 +0000 Maria Siow Maria Siow When Washington unveiled its “Pax Silica” initiative earlier this month, the absence of countries like India and Vietnam spoke almost as loudly as the presence of Japan, South Korea and Singapore. The message? America’s new vision for the AI supply chain will begin with only its most trusted hands. The Pax Silica Declaration, signed at a summit held in the United States on December 12-13, brought together a carefully chosen group as founding signatories. Alongside the host nation and its East... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3337104/pax-silica-americas-new-ai-inner-circle-and-asias-chosen-few?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3337104/pax-silica-americas-new-ai-inner-circle-and-asias-chosen-few?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 22 Dec 2025 00:00:12 +0000 Anthony Rowley Anthony Rowley An obsession with “security” can create increasing insecurity. This paradox is being amply demonstrated as advanced nations, including the United States and Japan, take or contemplate joint action aimed at bolstering economic security but which could erode global economic growth and prosperity – or even result in physical conflict. How might such threats crystallise? Strengthening security, whether economic or military, suggests increased defence spending to, for example, secure sea lanes and... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3336952/japans-economic-security-push-heralds-rising-protectionism-asia?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3336952/japans-economic-security-push-heralds-rising-protectionism-asia?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 20 Dec 2025 08:30:09 +0000 David Dodwell David Dodwell This week, exactly six years ago, as we were gliding cheerfully into the 2019 festive Christmas season, the Covid-19 virus was spreading in Wuhan, China. I was preparing for an important Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in Australia in February (the last overseas trip I would make for three years), oblivious to the looming pandemic. The world in general had no inkling of the terrible three years that would follow, with death estimates ranging from 7 million to 36 million, over 700... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3336967/six-years-are-we-better-prepared-next-pandemic?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3336967/six-years-are-we-better-prepared-next-pandemic?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 19 Dec 2025 08:31:28 +0000 Lijia Zhang Lijia Zhang During a trip home, I took my daughters to the Nanking massacre memorial hall. It is not an easy place to visit. In shadowy rooms, photographs of victims line the walls. The names of the dead stretch across black stone. In glass cases lie bones unearthed from mass graves. I wanted my children to learn history honestly, to understand what war does to people. I shared stories my grandma had told me: as she fled town, a bomb fell on a nearby street. One neighbour vanished. Only bits of her remained... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3335767/only-true-repentance-japan-can-resolve-east-asias-memory-wars?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3335767/only-true-repentance-japan-can-resolve-east-asias-memory-wars?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 12 Dec 2025 21:30:09 +0000 C. Uday Bhaskar C. Uday Bhaskar Russian President Vladimir Putin’s two-day state visit to New Delhi last week, for the 23rd Russia-India Summit, was heavy on optics, symbolism and multilayered signals, while tangible outcomes were relatively modest. First and foremost, Putin signalled to the West that Russia is not isolated, despite the US-led criticism of the war his government has unleashed against Ukraine since 2022. In an unusual departure from customary diplomatic practice, three European ambassadors to India – from... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3335866/putins-visit-india-reveals-anxieties-changing-world-order?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3335866/putins-visit-india-reveals-anxieties-changing-world-order?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 11 Dec 2025 12:30:08 +0000 Junaid Kathju Junaid Kathju India and Indonesia are close to finalising a US$450 million sale of BrahMos missiles, in a deal analysts say could give Southeast Asia a long-sought alternative to dependence on the US or China. The deal, discussed last Thursday during the third India–Indonesia Defence Ministers’ Dialogue co-chaired by Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Indonesian counterpart Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin, would make Indonesia only the second Southeast Asian country after the Philippines to acquire the missile... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3334719/indias-looming-us450-million-brahmos-deal-indonesia-challenges-us-china-binary?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3334719/indias-looming-us450-million-brahmos-deal-indonesia-challenges-us-china-binary?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 01 Dec 2025 04:30:10 +0000 Wang Xiangwei Wang Xiangwei Since Donald Trump’s return to the White House, a growing chorus of Chinese officials and analysts have talked of an unprecedented window of opportunity for Beijing to recalibrate its domestic and international strategies. At its heart lies the Taiwan question, a perennial flashpoint in relations between Washington and Beijing. As the Trump administration ramps up its “America first” policies abroad, the US – the self-appointed world’s policeman for seven decades – has embarked on an... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3334463/trumps-world-view-offers-beijing-window-opportunity-taiwan?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3334463/trumps-world-view-offers-beijing-window-opportunity-taiwan?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 30 Nov 2025 12:30:08 +0000 Ren Yan Ren Yan Recent weeks have seen a sharp decline in Sino-Japanese people-to-people exchanges. All flights on 12 routes from mainland Chinese cities to Japan had been cancelled as of November 24, reportedly due to low demand. According to the Civil Aviation Data Analysis System, some 12 per cent of flights between China and Japan scheduled between November 24 and January 18 have been cancelled. On some routes, more than half have been cancelled. Chinese tourists, Japan’s largest inbound group, had... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3334373/why-chinese-are-cancelling-their-trips-japan?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3334373/why-chinese-are-cancelling-their-trips-japan?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 30 Nov 2025 01:30:09 +0000