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North Korean Leader Inspects Building of Nuclear Submarine
According to the North’s state-controlled media, Kim Jong Un guided the building of a nuclear-powered strategic guided missile submarine on December 25.
2025 Recap: Five Key Developments in China’s Foreign Information Influence
Amid reduced Western countermeasures, the playing field appears tilted in the CCP’s favor compared to just a year ago.
What the Descent of India’s Biggest Airline Means for Its Booming Aviation Sector
By 2040, India’s passenger traffic is expected to grow six-fold, and exceed 1 billion. But consumer welfare can only be ensured with healthy competition in the industry and strong regulatory oversight.
From ‘Lost Decades’ to Populist Surge: Japan’s Unexpected Political Shift
Japan’s political calm may finally be ending.
3rd Cambodia-Thailand Ceasefire Holds Amid Talks in China
The removal of Cambodia’s scam compounds remains a sticking point.
Jayalakshmi K on Why Delhi Becomes a Toxic Gas Chamber Every Winter
“There are enough and more rules and regulations in India to control pollution. What we need is for them to be enforced.
Most Read
Why Is Myanmar’s Military Bothering to Hold an Election?
More than four years ago, the military ousted Myanmar's freely elected government at gunpoint. The upcoming polls will be a total sham.
Why is Türkiye Interested in South Asia?
Although Türkiye is geographically distant from South Asia, it has a history of involvement in the region because of religion and geopolitics.
Why Peace Keeps Failing on the Cambodia–Thailand Border
A resolution to the two nations' acrimonious border dispute seems remote amid their current conflict, but there could be one viable way forward.
Blogs
China Power
A New World Order
2025 Recap: Five Key Developments in China’s Foreign Information Influence
Amid reduced Western countermeasures, the playing field appears tilted in the CCP’s favor compared to just a year ago.
Invoking History: Xi Jinping’s Challenge to Okinawan Sovereignty and the US-Japan Alliance
China’s Quiet Stake in Post-Assad Syria
After the Subsidies: EVs and Lessons from China’s Industrial Policy
Flashpoints
Diplomacy by Other Means
China-US: A Rivalry Too Entangled to Decouple
Unlike its Cold War standoff with the Soviet Union, Washington's rivalry with Beijing is constrained by mutual dependence and the high costs of economic separation.
US Arms Sales to Taiwan Signal Policy Continuity
The 3 AI Problem: How Chinese, European, and American Chatbots Reflect Diverging Worldviews
The Cambodia-Thailand Conflict: Can China’s Influence Tip the Scales?
Asia Defense
Militaries of the Asia-Pacific
North Korean Leader Inspects Building of Nuclear Submarine
According to the North’s state-controlled media, Kim Jong Un guided the building of a nuclear-powered strategic guided missile submarine on December 25.
Japan Accelerates Defense Buildup With Record Budget and Expanded Unmanned Capabilities
Indian Navy’s Combat Aviation Capability Takes Wing
Russia’s Chinese-Enabled Drone Supply Network Is Remaking Warfare
ASEAN Beat
Insights Into Half a Billion
3rd Cambodia-Thailand Ceasefire Holds Amid Talks in China
The removal of Cambodia’s scam compounds remains a sticking point.
The World Is Failing Cambodia (Again) – and This Time Everyone Is Suffering
Thai Prosecutors Urged to Drop Malaysian Defamation Case Against Australian Journalist
The Bondi Attack, the Islamic State, and the Price of Strategic Shortsightedness
The Pulse
Perspectives on South Asia
What the Descent of India’s Biggest Airline Means for Its Booming Aviation Sector
By 2040, India’s passenger traffic is expected to grow six-fold, and exceed 1 billion. But consumer welfare can only be ensured with healthy competition in the industry and strong regulatory oversight.
Why Mobs in Bangladesh Attacked the Offices of Daily Star and Prothom Alo
2025: The Military Emerges Stronger in Pakistan’s Power Equation
Modi Government Rings Death Knell of India’s Legal Right to Employment
The Koreas
Divided Peninsula
The Return of Factional Conflict in South Korea’s Foreign Policy
Interministerial discord made a recent comeback, pitting the so-called “self-reliance faction” against the “pro-alliance faction” over how best to approach North Korea.
South Korea’s Labor Model and Its Strategic Consequences
What is Happening to North Korea’s Jangmadang Free Markets?
South Korean President Reiterates Necessity of Tipping Balance on Inter-Korean Relations
Tokyo Report
News From Japan
From ‘Lost Decades’ to Populist Surge: Japan’s Unexpected Political Shift
Japan’s political calm may finally be ending.
Japan’s Long Return to Artificial Intelligence
Will Japan’s First Woman Prime Minister Finally Tackle Violence Against Women?
The Takaichi Factor: Recalibrating the India-Japan Strategic Equation
The Debate
Comment and Opinion
US Immigration Policy and the Normalization of Military Rule in Myanmar
The Department of Homeland Security's claim that there has been “notable progress in governance and stability" in Myanmar borders on military propaganda.
Rohingya Inclusion Is the True Test of Myanmar’s Future Democracy
Dictators Don’t Take Holidays
In Asia, Political Power Is for Sale. Can Global Action Finally Rein It in?
Crossroads Asia
The New Silk Road
Killing of Tajik Boy in Moscow Sparks Debate About Motive
After a 10-year-old Tajik boy was killed at a Moscow-area school last Tuesday, Dushanbe has spoken out, calling the attack an act of ethnic hatred, but have left bilateral relations unchanged.
What Gulirano Kosimova’s Case Reveals About Accountability in Uzbekistan
Underground and in the Shadows: How Uzbekistan Lives With Its Radioactive Legacy
Kazakh Senate Approves Law Banning ‘LGBTQ’ Propaganda”
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
Forced Labor, Taiwan and the Implications of the US-Malaysia Trade Agreement
The new U.S.-Malaysia trade agreement’s forced labor import ban requirement may pose new risks for Taiwanese electronics firms. But it’s also an opportunity to make progress.
The Pacific Money Blog: 2025 Year in Review
The US Is Selling H200 AI Chips to China – So Why Isn’t China Buying?
Vietnam’s Tourism Sector Set For Record Year in 2025
Oceania
The South Pacific
Australia, Japan Establish Strategic Defense Cooperation Framework
With the U.S. less reliable, Australia and Japan seek to deepen their friendship and cooperation, especially in the defense realm.
Does Australia Need Additional Hate Speech Laws?
A Moment of Reckoning for Australia at Bondi Beach
National Cabinet Agrees to Sweeping Overhaul of Australia’s Gun Laws in Response to Bondi Massacre
Videos
Asia on Video
Why Is Myanmar’s Military Bothering to Hold an Election?
More than four years ago, the military ousted Myanmar's freely elected government at gunpoint. The upcoming polls will be a total sham.
Inside Hindu Nationalism: The Ideology Changing India
What’s Really Changed in ‘New Uzbekistan’?
Why China Can’t Make Gwadar Work – Even After Billions Spent
Podcasts
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.
