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A Blood-Smuggling Scandal Reveals China’s Genetic Security Anxiety
A sprawling illegal trade in prenatal testing has triggered alarm – less about illegal sex selection than about who might end up with Chinese DNA.
Japan Voices Concerns as South Korea’s Hanwha Expands Stake in Australian Shipbuilder
The South Korean defense conglomerate will nearly double its stake in Austal, complicating efforts to protect Japanese technology and IP related to a new frigate.
South Korean President Reiterates Necessity of Tipping Balance on Inter-Korean Relations
During the Ministry of Unification and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ policy briefing, Lee Jae-myung warned that the two Korea “are becoming true enemies.”
Bangladesh-India Relations Are Back on the Brink
Sharif Osman Bin Hadi, a figure from the July Uprising, was allegedly shot by an Awami League activist, who has reportedly fled to India.
Trump 2.0’s National Security Strategy and the Future of the International Order
Welcome to the post-American world.
Cambodia, Thailand Willing to Deescalate Border Conflict, Chinese FM Says
Beijing is playing a more active mediation role after taking a relatively low diplomatic profile during the conflict's first week.
Most Read
What’s Really Changed in ‘New Uzbekistan’?
Since the 2016 death of the country’s first president, Islam Karimov, his successor, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, has strived to present himself as a reformer forging a “New Uzbekistan."
Japan’s Grim Demographic Reality
Can an anti-immigration turn really be compatible with a ‘Japan is Back’ narrative?
Why China Can’t Make Gwadar Work – Even After Billions Spent
Gwadar port has often been touted as CPEC’s “crown jewel.” Yet almost two decades after the port began operations, business has been lackluster.
Blogs
China Power
A New World Order
A Blood-Smuggling Scandal Reveals China’s Genetic Security Anxiety
A sprawling illegal trade in prenatal testing has triggered alarm – less about illegal sex selection than about who might end up with Chinese DNA.
The EU’s China Fault Line Runs Through Spain
Taiwan Is in the Middle of a Constitutional Crisis
Jimmy Lai’s Criminal Conviction Epitomizes China’s Cognitive Warfare
Flashpoints
Diplomacy by Other Means
The 3 AI Problem: How Chinese, European, and American Chatbots Reflect Diverging Worldviews
A test of the ideological biases of three leading AI models from China, Europe, and the U.S. returned some surprising results.
The Cambodia-Thailand Conflict: Can China’s Influence Tip the Scales?
What the Disappearance of the ‘One China’ Policy From Trump’s 2025 NSS Means for Taiwan
Should China Be Reassured by Trump’s National Security Strategy?
Asia Defense
Militaries of the Asia-Pacific
Japan Voices Concerns as South Korea’s Hanwha Expands Stake in Australian Shipbuilder
The South Korean defense conglomerate will nearly double its stake in Austal, complicating efforts to protect Japanese technology and IP related to a new frigate.
Iran’s First SCO Military Exercise Solidifies Ties With China and Russia
China Bets on Unmanned Stealth Bombers
100 Ships at Sea: Strategic Observations on the Chinese Navy’s 2025 Winter Exercises
ASEAN Beat
Insights Into Half a Billion
Cambodia, Thailand Willing to Deescalate Border Conflict, Chinese FM Says
Beijing is playing a more active mediation role after taking a relatively low diplomatic profile during the conflict's first week.
Thailand, Cambodia Agree to Deployment of ASEAN Observers, Malaysian PM Says
2025 Has Been a Good Year For Capital Punishment Abolitionism
Myanmar Military Prosecuting More Than 200 Under Harsh Election Disruption Law
The Pulse
Perspectives on South Asia
Bangladesh-India Relations Are Back on the Brink
Sharif Osman Bin Hadi, a figure from the July Uprising, was allegedly shot by an Awami League activist, who has reportedly fled to India.
India Doesn’t Know How Many Foreigners With Expired Visas Are in the Country
Modi’s Pick for BJP Chief Is Little-Known Nitin Nabin
Turbulence Hits Indian Skies
The Koreas
Divided Peninsula
South Korean President Reiterates Necessity of Tipping Balance on Inter-Korean Relations
During the Ministry of Unification and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ policy briefing, Lee Jae-myung warned that the two Korea “are becoming true enemies.”
The Lee Jae-myung Administration’s 2025 in Review
What to Make of North Korea’s End-of-Year Party Plenum
North Korea Kicks off Workers’ Party Plenary Meeting
Tokyo Report
News From Japan
Will Japan’s First Woman Prime Minister Finally Tackle Violence Against Women?
How Takaichi's government addresses the implementation gap for existing laws will define whether her historic appointment translates into substantive progress for women's safety.
The Takaichi Factor: Recalibrating the India-Japan Strategic Equation
Japan Reacts to the New US National Security Strategy
What a China-US Detente Mean for Japanese Foreign Policy
The Debate
Comment and Opinion
Rohingya Inclusion Is the True Test of Myanmar’s Future Democracy
The inclusion of the Rohingya is necessary if the United League of Arakan is to gain international legitimacy.
Dictators Don’t Take Holidays
In Asia, Political Power Is for Sale. Can Global Action Finally Rein It in?
Myanmar Photojournalist Sai Zaw Should Be Able to Report Freely. He Should Not Be In Prison.
Crossroads Asia
The New Silk Road
Underground and in the Shadows: How Uzbekistan Lives With Its Radioactive Legacy
The lack of transparent monitoring data and public access to environmental information significantly increases risks for communities living near former uranium facilities.
Kazakh Senate Approves Law Banning ‘LGBTQ’ Propaganda”
The Slow Transformation of Kazakhstan’s Independence Day
Even as US Travel Bans Expand, Turkmenistan Gets Good News
Trans-Pacific View
U.S. Policy on Asia
Trump 2.0’s National Security Strategy and the Future of the International Order
Welcome to the post-American world.
The US National Security Strategy: A Sobering Reality Check for South Asia
America’s Pharmaceutical Dependence on China Is a National Security Crisis
Trump 2.0 Southeast Asia Strategy Tests Agency Beyond the US-China Prism
Pacific Money
Economy And Business
Vietnam’s Tourism Sector Set For Record Year in 2025
Despite a string of devastating storms in the second half of the year, foreign tourist arrivals have risen by more than a fifth.
Pakistan’s IMF Program is Buying Time. Markets Want To Know What Comes Next.
Why Indonesia Cancelled the Early Retirement of the Cirebon-1 Power Plant
China’s Fiscal Winter Is Freezing Out Local Businesses
Oceania
The South Pacific
A Moment of Reckoning for Australia at Bondi Beach
An effort needs to be made to comprehend and counteract the political ideas, narratives, and movements that work like acid to erode social trust and encourage hate, division, and this week’s horrific violence.
National Cabinet Agrees to Sweeping Overhaul of Australia’s Gun Laws in Response to Bondi Massacre
Australia: Regionalism as a Nexus to Great Power Politics
Bondi Shooting: Could Australia’s Worst Terrorist Attack on Home Soil Have Been Prevented?
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Asia Geopolitics
Dissecting Trump’s Remarkably Odd US National Security Strategy
Half as long as his previous administration’s NSS, Trump’s newly revealed strategy is perhaps the clearest (though still confusing) outline of the U.S. president’s worldview.
