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This Week in Asia /

Opinion

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China Briefing
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People at the Merlion statue in Singapore. The city state has emerged top among Southeast Asians who chose an Asean member as their preferred relocation destination, according to a survey. Photo: AFP
Asean

Asian Angle | Where Southeast Asians really want to live, work and travel

While Thailand leads for tourism, Singapore and Japan are the top draws for work, revealing uneven regional soft power dynamics.

Malaysia

Asian Angle | Malaysia’s 3R catch-all risks turning every grievance into a threat

Ageing society

Asian Angle | Asia’s silver dividend can offset ageing’s economic toll

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US-China relations

Asian Angle | What the China-US stability pact means for Southeast Asia

The real test of Beijing and Washington’s adoption of ‘constructive strategic stability’ will be how words translate into action.

US President Donald Trump (left) shakes hand with China’s Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on May 14. Photo: Reuters
US President Donald Trump (left) shakes hand with China’s Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on May 14. Photo: Reuters
China-Asean relations

Asian Angle | China offers Southeast Asia clear advantages in nuclear power

With its experience in exporting nuclear reactors, China can offer long-term energy security and technological upgrades.

History

Opinion | The West was never the whole world. It’s time to move on

As Asia reclaims its roots, the burden of reinvention now falls on the West. Its brief era of supremacy was a historical aberration.

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China-Philippines relations

Asian Angle | 3 reasons Marcos’ South China Sea energy gambit won’t work

The Philippine president has mooted the idea of joint oil and gas development. China is willing, but history shows this road leads nowhere.

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An aerial drone photo shows China’s Deep Sea No 1 energy station in the South China Sea off Hainan province in April last year. Photo: China National Offshore Oil Corporation/Xinhua
An aerial drone photo shows China’s Deep Sea No 1 energy station in the South China Sea off Hainan province in April last year. Photo: China National Offshore Oil Corporation/Xinhua
US, Israel war on Iran

Opinion | Trump’s threats against Iran are historically illiterate

The US president’s threats to end Iranian civilisation expose his ignorance of the country’s long history.

Japan

Asian Angle | Why Japan-China ties can benefit from promoting people-to-people exchanges

Filling the information gap through direct contact between the two peoples can help improve both countries’ public images and ease tensions.

Thailand

Asian Angle | A year after corporal punishment ban, Thailand needs to curb resurgence

Two school incidents show corporal punishment remains prevalent, and Thai authorities must strengthen accountability to prevent a recurrence.

The World Health Organization asserts that corporal punishment increases behavioural problems, impairs socio-emotional development and, crucially, violates children’s rights to good health and physical integrity. Photo: Shutterstock
US, Israel war on Iran

Opinion | Trump’s oil crisis is accelerating the end of the fossil fuel era

Ironically for president ‘drill, baby, drill’, this crisis may prove an irreversible tipping point for clean energy.

An oil tanker burns off the coast of Iraq after being hit by an Iranian strike last month amid the US-Israel war on Iran. Photo: AP
An oil tanker burns off the coast of Iraq after being hit by an Iranian strike last month amid the US-Israel war on Iran. Photo: AP
War and conflict

Opinion | Blinding the world with lies makes peacemaking an impossible task

From Iran to the Horn of Africa, disinformation is killing diplomacy. Mediators need facts, not state-sponsored fictions.

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United States

Asian Angle | The Thucydides Trap is a lie created to justify a US-China war

Ancient Greece offers no lessons for Asia. The Global South must stop letting America’s war machine write history.

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US, Israel war on Iran

Opinion | Passage through the Strait of Hormuz is a right in war and peace

Neutral ships have a legal right of passage, even in war. Singapore has defended international law, which provides for a stable world order.

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An illustration shows the Strait of Hormuz, which is bordered by Iran and Oman. Photo: Reuters
Asean

Asian Angle | Doubts about Trump strain Southeast Asia’s US-China balancing act

An increasingly unpredictable Washington is making the region’s traditional hedging strategy harder to sustain.

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US President Donald Trump (centre) stands for a group photo with Southeast Asian leaders at the 13th Asean-United States Summit in Kuala Lumpur on October 26, 2025. Photo: AFP
US President Donald Trump (centre) stands for a group photo with Southeast Asian leaders at the 13th Asean-United States Summit in Kuala Lumpur on October 26, 2025. Photo: AFP
Vietnam

Asian Angle | Who is Vietnam’s new Prime Minister Le Minh Hung?

The ex-central banker has the credentials to succeed. Whether he has the political capital remains to be seen.

US, Israel war on Iran

Opinion | Why the ‘Gate of Tears’ may yet make the whole world weep

With the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed, any attacks on the Bab el-Mandeb Strait will pile further pressure on global supply chains.

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US, Israel war on Iran

Asian Angle | Hormuz is sending Southeast Asia a warning – and we can no longer ignore it

The crisis has shown we must invest in renewables rather than staying in a fossil fuel comfort zone.

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People wait to refill their motorbikes at a petrol station in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Monday. Photo: EPA
People wait to refill their motorbikes at a petrol station in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Monday. Photo: EPA
US, Israel war on Iran

Opinion | One rule for Israel and another for Iran risks nuclear disaster

Israel is believed to have some 80 to 90 nuclear weapons. Iran has none. Such double standards are unsustainable.

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The Philippines

Asian Angle | The Philippine military must transform, not just modernise

Changes to doctrine and force structure are needed to realise the armed forces’ dream of becoming a 21st century military.

Indonesia

Opinion | Indonesia’s new aircraft carrier is more vanity project than war machine

The jet-less carrier might buy Jakarta a seat at the elite table, but it offers no advantage in modern naval warfare.

The Italian aircraft carrier Giuseppe Garibaldi pictured in 2016. Photo: AFP
Malaysia

Asian Angle | Malaysia’s LGBTQ crackdowns aren’t hypocrisy, they’re politics

Anwar’s government isn’t failing its ideals. It’s navigating a reality where Malay-Muslim legitimacy dictates the limits of social change.

A man holds a rainbow flag, commonly used to signal LGBTQ pride. Photo: Shutterstock
A man holds a rainbow flag, commonly used to signal LGBTQ pride. Photo: Shutterstock
Asean

Opinion | Underwater and unprotected: why Asean and the EU must secure subsea lifelines

With global data at risk from hybrid threats, Southeast Asia and Europe need to look past declarations to secure our shared data arteries.

Myanmar

Opinion | Myanmar’s junta staged an election. It couldn’t stage legitimacy

A closer look at the vote raises doubts about whether the generals can hold the country hostage in the long term.

Thailand

Asian Angle | How to win an election in Thailand: stage a rebrand, rely on rural votes

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul put Bhumjaithai’s technocrats centre stage, while letting provincial barons run the real campaign.

The Bhumjaithai Party’‘s “Gang of Four” poster features Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow, Commerce Minister Suphajee Suthumpun and Finance Minister Ekniti Nitithanprapas. Photo: Instagram.com/bhumjaithai_th
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