Latest Stories
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.
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.
Discrimination Persists for Foreigners Who Obtain Japanese Citizenship
As anti-immigration sentiment rises, kikajin are being subjected to new scrutiny.
Islamists Sweep Students’ Union Elections in Key Universities in Bangladesh
The Shibir’s victories reveal the extent to which the Jamaat and its affiliates have gained influence in Bangladesh’s educational institutions.
As China Seeks to Remake Global Governance, Its UN Diplomacy Is Changing
A month after launching his “Global Governance Initiative,” Xi Jinping broke with tradition by skipping the 80th U.N. General Assembly.
Trump’s Bagram Gambit and Its Regional Fallout
Ultimately, Trump’s Bagram demand is less about Afghanistan and more about U.S. politics. But for regional actors, the consequences of such rhetoric are all too real.
Most Read
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.
Why Viral Western Takes Still Misunderstand China’s Political Economy
Both the “engineering state” and the “mayor economy” framings obscure the critical mechanics of China’s growth machine.
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
As China Seeks to Remake Global Governance, Its UN Diplomacy Is Changing
A month after launching his “Global Governance Initiative,” Xi Jinping broke with tradition by skipping the 80th U.N. General Assembly.
The Xibei Case: Understanding China’s Great Restaurant Debate
China’s Soft Power Gambit in Peru
2025 Xiangshan Forum: China Enters a New Era of Assertive Global Governance
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
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
Singapore Orders Meta to Clamp Down on Facebook Impersonation Scams
The number of such cases more than tripled from 589 in the first half of 2024 to 1,762 over the same period this year, according to the Singaporean police.
Every Government Needs Several Rival Tax Departments
India’s Myanmar Minerals Gamble: Rare Earths, Rebels, and the China Challenge
Anti-corruption Revolutions Taunt Southeast Asia’s leaders
The Pulse
Perspectives on South Asia
Islamists Sweep Students’ Union Elections in Key Universities in Bangladesh
The Shibir’s victories reveal the extent to which the Jamaat and its affiliates have gained influence in Bangladesh’s educational institutions.
Trump’s Bagram Gambit and Its Regional Fallout
The EU’s New India Strategy Amid the China-US Rivalry
Stories of Resilience and Innovation: Women in Afghanistan Under the Taliban
The Koreas
Divided Peninsula
War Narratives in North Korea-Russia Cultural Diplomacy
Beyond the military cooperation, Moscow and Pyongyang are seeking to cement their ties in the realm of public opinion.
South Korean President Introduces His Vision for Inter-Korean Relations in UN
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?
Tokyo Report
News From Japan
Discrimination Persists for Foreigners Who Obtain Japanese Citizenship
As anti-immigration sentiment rises, kikajin are being subjected to new scrutiny.
Will ‘Iron Lady’ Takaichi Sanae Be Japan’s First Female Prime Minister?
Japan’s Ruling LDP Pursues Unity Ahead of Leadership Race
Why Can’t Japan Solve Historical Perception Issues?
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
EU Expects to Finalize Trade Pacts With Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia in 2026
EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic signed a long-awaited Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement with Indonesia on Tuesday.
Striking While the Iron is Hot: The Global South’s Rare Earth Moment
Rights on Demand: Asia’s Gig Economy Gets a Legal Upgrade
The Economic Philosophy of Sumitro Djojohadikusumo
Oceania
The South Pacific
What Did Australian Prime Minister Albanese Say at UNGA?
The prime minister laid out Australia’s ambition to be an active player in shaping a global system beyond its current turbulence.
Familiar Tensions Emerge at the Pacific Islands Forum
Why Haven’t PNG and Australia Signed the Pukpuk Mutual Defense Treaty Yet?
New Zealand Looks to Europe for Defense Industrial Partnerships
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.