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The Real Meaning Behind China’s Viral UFO Video
China appears to have seized on U.S. conspiracy theorists’ current and most enduring obsession: unidentified flying objects and the aliens believed by many to pilot them.
Kyrgyz Parliament Dissolves Itself, Early Elections on the Horizon
The Jogorku Kenesh voted to dissolve itself, setting the stage for elections in late November.
Striking While the Iron is Hot: The Global South’s Rare Earth Moment
China built its rare earths dominance from the ground up. What’s stopping the rest of the Global South from following a similar path?
South Korea-US Relations Suffer the Aftermath of ICE’s Georgia Raid
Damage control is in full gear, but the tenor of South Korean investment will change.
Rights on Demand: Asia’s Gig Economy Gets a Legal Upgrade
The initiatives in Singapore and Malaysia to protect gig workers could act as a model for emerging economies to regulate platform labor.
Panel Urges Japan to Use ‘Next-Generation Propulsion Systems’ in New Submarines
The blue-ribbon panel called for the use of unspecified “next-generation propulsion systems” in new submarines equipped with vertical launch systems (VLS) capable of firing long-range missiles
Most Read
Cambodia’s Decline Under 2 Years of Hun Manet
Hun Manet’s two years in power have witnessed a decline in any semblance of a government functioning in the interests of its people.
The AI Race: How China Inherited (and the West Lost) the Apollo Blueprint
China’s strategic ambition is reminiscent of the pioneering spirit of the Apollo missions that won the Space Race for the U.S.
What Singapore’s Poseidon Purchase Tells Us About Its Foreign Policy Worldview
It reflects the city-state’s confidence in advancing its own national interests together with those of neighbors, major powers, and the wider maritime commons.
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
Flashpoints
Diplomacy by Other Means
The Real Meaning Behind China’s Viral UFO Video
China appears to have seized on U.S. conspiracy theorists’ current and most enduring obsession: unidentified flying objects and the aliens believed by many to pilot them.
Beyond Resumption of China-India Dialogue, Unresolved Issues Persist
Pakistan-Saudi Arabia Defense Pact: The Alliance of the Decade?
AI Propaganda and the China-US Race for Influence
Asia Defense
Militaries of the Asia-Pacific
Panel Urges Japan to Use ‘Next-Generation Propulsion Systems’ in New Submarines
The blue-ribbon panel called for the use of unspecified “next-generation propulsion systems” in new submarines equipped with vertical launch systems (VLS) capable of firing long-range missiles
Malaysia’s Defense White Paper Midterm Review: Emerging AI-Enabled Security Threats
South Korea Mulls the US Push for ‘Strategic Flexibility’
India Retires Its Workhorse: the MiG-21 Fighter Jet
ASEAN Beat
Insights Into Half a Billion
India’s Myanmar Minerals Gamble: Rare Earths, Rebels, and the China Challenge
Even if India sources ore from KIA-held pits, processing know-how, reagents, and capital at many Kachin sites are Chinese.
Anti-corruption Revolutions Taunt Southeast Asia’s leaders
Malaysia’s Anwar Winds up Visit to Timor-Leste as ASEAN Membership Looms
An Australian Man Was Returned Home Without a Heart. Who Is to Blame?
The Pulse
Perspectives on South Asia
The EU’s New India Strategy Amid the China-US Rivalry
The European Union’s new strategy to reinforce partnership with India holds immense promise for India-EU cooperation on tech and innovation ecosystems.
Stories of Resilience and Innovation: Women in Afghanistan Under the Taliban
Gen Z’s Challenge to Elite Dominance in South Asia
Are Bangladesh’s Overseas Guardians of Democracy Being Silenced?
The Koreas
Divided Peninsula
South Korean President Introduces His Vision for Inter-Korean Relations in UN
Three months after taking the presidency, Lee Jae-myung introduced the "END" initiative during his address at the United Nations.
The Arctic and the Future of the South Korea-US Alliance
The Devil Is in the Details: US and South Korea Seek Alliance Modernization, But How?
South Korea in the Indo-Pacific: a ‘Force Multiplier’ in the Making?
Tokyo Report
News From Japan
Will ‘Iron Lady’ Takaichi Sanae Be Japan’s First Female Prime Minister?
Takaichi’s popularity among LDP supporters stems from conservative bona fides. But her win would also be a landmark for gender equality.
Japan’s Ruling LDP Pursues Unity Ahead of Leadership Race
Why Can’t Japan Solve Historical Perception Issues?
How Japan’s Active Cyber Defense Is Changing Its International Cooperation
The Debate
Comment and Opinion
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
South Korea-US Relations Suffer the Aftermath of ICE’s Georgia Raid
Damage control is in full gear, but the tenor of South Korean investment will change.
The India-US Partnership Will Survive, Maybe Even Thrive
Trump and Xi Spoke on the Phone, But Differ on What Was Said
Trump’s TikTok Deal Is Lose-Lose Diplomacy
Pacific Money
Economy And Business
Striking While the Iron is Hot: The Global South’s Rare Earth Moment
China built its rare earths dominance from the ground up. What’s stopping the rest of the Global South from following a similar path?
Rights on Demand: Asia’s Gig Economy Gets a Legal Upgrade
The Economic Philosophy of Sumitro Djojohadikusumo
Sri Lanka’s Development Financing Crossroads: Lessons for a Post-Aid Era
Oceania
The South Pacific
Familiar Tensions Emerge at the Pacific Islands Forum
With China-Taiwan rivalry, China-Western competition, and big carbon emitters at odds with the islands on climate policy, there is plenty of tension to go around.
Why Haven’t PNG and Australia Signed the Pukpuk Mutual Defense Treaty Yet?
New Zealand Looks to Europe for Defense Industrial Partnerships
Reforming Australia’s Migration to Favor Skilled Workers, Not Family Reunion
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.