Latest Stories
Japan Says Recognition of Palestine Is a Question of When, Not If
The Ishiba administration’s policies reflect Japan’s traditional strategy of balancing its alliance with the U.S. against the expectations of the international community.
South Korea’s APEC Summit: A Test for Lee Jae-myung’s ‘Pragmatic’ Diplomacy
With Trump, Xi, and possibly Putin set to attend, the APEC Summit will bring a host of critical sideline meetings.
Why Are More Countries Shutting Their Doors to Bangladeshis?
Bangladeshis seeking to leave the country are not getting visas easily. The Bangladesh passport is the seventh weakest in the world.
Does Australia Need a New Flag? The Case for the Golden Wattle
Australia has a compelling story to tell as an independent and incredibly successful country. Yet its current flag doesn’t reflect this.
Arrest of Noted Environmental Activist Fuels Unrest in Ladakh
This is a sensitive border region, and Buddhists and Muslims are fighting for a greater say in administration and protection from corporate interests.
Trump’s Bagram Claims and the Taliban’s Foreign Policy
Taliban Foreign Minister Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi has characterized the group’s foreign policy as “balanced and economy-centered.”
Most Read
Arrest of Noted Environmental Activist Fuels Unrest in Ladakh
This is a sensitive border region, and Buddhists and Muslims are fighting for a greater say in administration and protection from corporate interests.
Massive Protests Condemn Corruption in the Philippines
The anti-corruption protests, which took place across Manila and other cities, are the largest to take place since the “Million People March” in 2013.
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia Forge Strategic Defense Pact Amid Shifting West Asian Dynamics
This is Pakistan’s most significant formal defense pact in decades, and the first such agreement that an Arab Gulf state has inked with a nuclear-armed partner.
Magazine
Can ASEAN Truly Remain Neutral Between the US and China?
Malaysia’s approach as chair epitomizes the bloc’s difficult balancing act.
Kabul Will Never Be the Same Again
24 years after the U.S. invasion, and four years after the Taliban’s triumphant return to power, the question lingers: Were the war’s many sacrifices worth anything?
Memory as Destiny: China and East Asia 80 Years After World War II
History in East Asia is never just history. It is weaponized, re-scripted, and deeply entangled in present-day struggles for legitimacy, identity, and power.
Napon Jatusripitak on How the Cambodia-Thailand Tensions Spiraled Into Conflict
“These flashpoints alone cannot account for the speed or scale of the escalation, or the intensity of the nationalist fervor it has unleashed.”
Blogs
China Power
A New World Order
How Ukraine Views Its Relations With China
China’s ever-closer ties with Russia have led to a marked deterioration in its engagement with Ukraine.
Between ‘Throwing Bombs’ and ‘Lying Flat’: The Psychology of China’s Economy
As China Seeks to Remake Global Governance, Its UN Diplomacy Is Changing
The Xibei Case: Understanding China’s Great Restaurant Debate
Flashpoints
Diplomacy by Other Means
Taiwan’s Waning Sense of Urgency on Defense – and How to Restore It
Taiwan’s security challenge is not simply China’s growing power but also its own fading vigilance.
How Trump Advances China’s Preferences for the International Order
The Real Meaning Behind China’s Viral UFO Video
Beyond Resumption of China-India Dialogue, Unresolved Issues Persist
Asia Defense
Militaries of the Asia-Pacific
Will Pakistan-Saudi Defense Pact Redefine Deterrence in the Arab Gulf?
Islamabad will need to figure out a balance between its primary commitments in South Asia and additional responsibilities in the tense region of the Arab Gulf.
Panel Urges Japan to Use ‘Next-Generation Propulsion Systems’ in New Submarines
Malaysia’s Defense White Paper Midterm Review: Emerging AI-Enabled Security Threats
South Korea Mulls the US Push for ‘Strategic Flexibility’
ASEAN Beat
Insights Into Half a Billion
Bangladesh’s Yunus Calls For Action to Prevent Rohingya Refugee ‘Catastrophe’
The festering humanitarian emergency in southeastern Bangladesh has been eclipsed by a succession of regional and global crises.
The Historical Great Powers of Asia: Medieval Southeast Asia
Food Poisoning Outbreaks Heap Pressure on Indonesia’s Free Meal Program
The Tortoise and the Hare: A Tale of the Myanmar Military and the National Unity Government
The Pulse
Perspectives on South Asia
Why Are More Countries Shutting Their Doors to Bangladeshis?
Bangladeshis seeking to leave the country are not getting visas easily. The Bangladesh passport is the seventh weakest in the world.
Arrest of Noted Environmental Activist Fuels Unrest in Ladakh
Trump’s Bagram Claims and the Taliban’s Foreign Policy
In India, the Battle for Free and Fair Elections Begins Long Before Election Day
The Koreas
Divided Peninsula
South Korea’s APEC Summit: A Test for Lee Jae-myung’s ‘Pragmatic’ Diplomacy
With Trump, Xi, and possibly Putin set to attend, the APEC Summit will bring a host of critical sideline meetings.
War Narratives in North Korea-Russia Cultural Diplomacy
South Korean President Introduces His Vision for Inter-Korean Relations in UN
The Arctic and the Future of the South Korea-US Alliance
Tokyo Report
News From Japan
Japan Says Recognition of Palestine Is a Question of When, Not If
The Ishiba administration’s policies reflect Japan’s traditional strategy of balancing its alliance with the U.S. against the expectations of the international community.
Discrimination Persists for Foreigners Who Obtain Japanese Citizenship
Will ‘Iron Lady’ Takaichi Sanae Be Japan’s First Female Prime Minister?
Japan’s Ruling LDP Pursues Unity Ahead of Leadership Race
The Debate
Comment and Opinion
The Trump Administration Talks Tough on China, But Enables the CCP’s Repressive Behaviors
The White House’s actions are far short of what is needed for responding to, and now even reporting on, CCP abuses.
Preventing Simultaneous Contingencies in Europe and Asia
Silencing Voices Ahead of Myanmar’s ‘Sham Election’
Myanmar Risks Repeating History With the Arakan Army
Crossroads Asia
The New Silk Road
Kyrgyz Parliament Dissolves Itself, Early Elections on the Horizon
The Jogorku Kenesh voted to dissolve itself, setting the stage for elections in late November.
Zubaydullohi Roziq, Former Senior IRPT Figure, Dies in Prison in Tajikistan
Central Asia Shows Up at the UN: What Did the Region’s Leaders Say?
Trains and Planes: Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan Sign $12.2 Billion in Deals With US Companies
Trans-Pacific View
U.S. Policy on Asia
A US Congressional Delegation Just Visited China. More Should Follow.
A lack of exchanges puts blinkers on the United States’ China policy.
South Korea-US Relations Suffer the Aftermath of ICE’s Georgia Raid
The India-US Partnership Will Survive, Maybe Even Thrive
Trump and Xi Spoke on the Phone, But Differ on What Was Said
Pacific Money
Economy And Business
Can Multilateralism Survive the Deep Seabed Mining Race?
The seabed is more than a new resource frontier; it is a test of whether multilateral rules can withstand the strain of great-power rivalry.
EU Expects to Finalize Trade Pacts With Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia in 2026
Striking While the Iron is Hot: The Global South’s Rare Earth Moment
Rights on Demand: Asia’s Gig Economy Gets a Legal Upgrade
Oceania
The South Pacific
Does Australia Need a New Flag? The Case for the Golden Wattle
Australia has a compelling story to tell as an independent and incredibly successful country. Yet its current flag doesn’t reflect this.
What Did Australian Prime Minister Albanese Say at UNGA?
Familiar Tensions Emerge at the Pacific Islands Forum
Why Haven’t PNG and Australia Signed the Pukpuk Mutual Defense Treaty Yet?
Videos
Asia on Video
Podcasts
Asia Geopolitics
Strategic Alliances: The Pakistan-Saudi Arabia Mutual Defense Pact
Under the agreement, the two countries pledged that “any aggression against either country shall be considered an aggression against both.”
What’s Really Behind Nepal’s Gen Z Revolution?
What Actually Mattered at China’s Big Military Parade?
South Korea’s Lee Hits the Road to Japan and the United States
Photo Essays
Asia in Pictures
Self-Help Groups Are Transforming Women’s Lives in India
For decades, men ruled the farms in Bihar. Now, it’s women who are reshaping the agricultural economy.