This Week in Asia /

Opinion

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

Japan

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

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Vietnam

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

Thailand

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.

Self-styled social media influencer Gun Jompalang with Thai officers. Photo: Handout
Self-styled social media influencer Gun Jompalang with Thai officers. Photo: Handout
Myanmar

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.

Vietnam

Asian Angle | The hidden domestic agenda behind Vietnam’s baffling foreign policy

To Lam’s recent pilgrimages to North Korea and Cuba signal ideological loyalty, even as he pushes a hard-nosed reform agenda at home.

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Britain

Opinion | Self-interest is now the main driver of Britain’s Asia policy

There are a great many reasons why the UK government should pay more attention to the Asia-Pacific, but that does not mean that it will.

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UK military personnel stand on board Britain’s HMS Prince of Wales aircraft carrier as it arrives in Tokyo, Japan, in August. Photo: Reuters
UK military personnel stand on board Britain’s HMS Prince of Wales aircraft carrier as it arrives in Tokyo, Japan, in August. Photo: Reuters
Taiwan

Opinion | Reinventing Kaohsiung: Taiwan’s port city transcends its industrial past

From shipyards and smokestacks to a smart, green metropolis, Kaohsiung shows urban renewal can succeed in the unlikeliest of places.

The Philippines

Opinion | The Philippines’ political chameleon: Juan Ponce Enrile’s complicated legacy

His journey from martial-law architect to defector reveals the shifting loyalties that shaped his career and the nation’s history.

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Thailand

Asian Angle | Thailand’s youth mental health crisis is fuelled by neglect and legalised weed

Young Thais are beset by anxiety and debt – and turning to readily available cannabis to self-medicate their isolation and despair.

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Deprived of robust family or societal support, many young Thais are left to navigate stress, loneliness and relentless academic pressures alone. Photo: Shutterstock
Nepal

Asian Angle | Nepal found out what Thailand already knew: digital repression is risky

The tactics vary, from Myanmar’s internet blackouts to Indonesia’s subtler control, but the results are the same: resentment and resistance.

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Protesters burn tyres in Kathmandu earlier this year. Following the protests over social media bans and government corruption, Nepal lifted its restrictions. Photo: AFP
Protesters burn tyres in Kathmandu earlier this year. Following the protests over social media bans and government corruption, Nepal lifted its restrictions. Photo: AFP
Malaysia

Asian Angle | Malaysia is not Palestine. False equivalence fuels ethnic polarisation

Such rhetoric paints Malays as the dispossessed natives of their own land and non-Malays as the occupiers.

Thailand

Asian Angle | Thailand’s ‘China plus one’ successes mask a middle-income quagmire

FDI figures hide the painful truth: an ageing workforce, structural challenges and low-value assembly threaten economic stagnation.

Diplomacy

Opinion | Diplomacy in the age of populism is fast, fickle and unbound by the rules of old

Swift, informal deals can quickly defuse crises, but without a new rules-based order, global stability is being held hostage to chance.

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US President Donald Trump meets Russian President Vladimir Putin for a summit in Alaska in August. Photo: AFP/Getty Images/TNS
Diplomacy

Opinion | What Syria’s post-war pivot to China reveals about the new world order

Damascus views engagement with Beijing as a pathway to legitimacy, leverage – and the US$216 billion it needs to rebuild.

Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa (right) disembarks from a plane during a state visit to Russia on October 15. He is expected to visit Beijing this month. Photo: Syrian Arab News Agency/AFP
Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa (right) disembarks from a plane during a state visit to Russia on October 15. He is expected to visit Beijing this month. Photo: Syrian Arab News Agency/AFP
Malaysia

Asian Angle | Why Malaysia’s fuel subsidy reform is stuck in the slow lane

Fears of a 2008-style backlash and poor public transport are keeping Anwar’s government from slashing the huge, regressive fuel subsidy bill.

China-Asean relations

Asian Angle | How China can anchor Southeast Asia’s future in an uncertain world

The promise is simple: a trajectory of growth with fewer surprises, built on China’s pillars of capital, diplomacy and shared development.

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Asean

Asian Angle | Caught in the crossfire: how Asean can survive a US-China economic cold war

Trapped between duelling trade wars and tech blockades, Asean must unite to avoid becoming a casualty of the US-China rivalry.

A worker looks at containers being loaded onto trucks at a port in Jakarta, Indonesia, in July. Photo: EPA
A worker looks at containers being loaded onto trucks at a port in Jakarta, Indonesia, in July. Photo: EPA
Asean

Asian Angle | Safer than cash? The real risks cryptocurrency poses to Southeast Asia

Crypto’s champions argue the technology offers unmatched transparency and security. But a closer look at the numbers tells a different story.

Brics

Opinion | Why New Zealand joining Brics makes sense in Trump’s ‘America-first’ era

Brics is a maturing economic and diplomatic powerhouse. Joining could help New Zealand spread its diplomatic wings and secure its future.

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Asean

Opinion | Asean’s newest prospective member confronts a Chinese triad threat

A senior official’s claims, backed by a UN report, allege triad gangs from China and Southeast Asia are corrupting East Timor’s democracy.

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Former guerrilla forces hold Timorese flags during a ceremony in 2002 marking East Timor’s independence. Photo: AP
Israel-Gaza war

Opinion | Gaza, Trump and New Zealand’s moment of truth on Palestinian statehood

Trump’s Gaza peace plan offers hope, but also forces New Zealand to confront uncomfortable questions about its role.

A displaced Palestinian child waves a Palestinian national flag as he walks on the rubble of a destroyed building in the Gaza Strip on September 22. Photo: AFP
A displaced Palestinian child waves a Palestinian national flag as he walks on the rubble of a destroyed building in the Gaza Strip on September 22. Photo: AFP
Malaysia

Asian Angle | Malaysia’s politics is becoming an ageing ‘poster boy’ personality contest

As elderly political figures jostle for power, they risk missing what Malaysians actually want from the government.

Vietnam

Asian Angle | False positive? Vietnam’s attempts to recruit influencers risk backfiring

Social media platforms value posts that spark outrage and emotional reactions over manufactured positivity.

Indonesia

Asian Angle | TikTok Live blackout in Indonesia exposes fragility of digital freedoms

The suspension shows how global platforms are intertwined with state power and digital infrastructure can be disabled in a political crisis.

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TikTok in Indonesia halted its live feature on August 31 over safety concerns amid the protests and described the suspension as “voluntary”. Photo: Shutterstock
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