Asia Opinion

Related Topics:

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif addresses a special session of the National Assembly in Islamabad on May 7 after India and Pakistan exchanged heavy artillery fire along their contested frontier. Photo: AFP

Opinion | How Pakistan’s rising confidence could shape a cooperative South Asia

If Gulf investment, Chinese strategic interest and Pakistani willingness align, the region could shift from confrontation to collaboration.

12 Dec 2025 - 5:30AMvideocam

Opinion | Behind Russia’s show of strength in India lies a fragile partnership

12 Dec 2025 - 5:46AM

Opinion | Why India can’t afford to let relations with Russia crumble

11 Dec 2025 - 5:44AMvideocam

China technology

Opinion | Why the Global South is embracing Chinese AI

The US champions AI as an autonomous agent, a content creator. China exports a vision of AI as a digital nervous system for the real economy.

10 Dec 2025 - 10:26AMvideocam

The Chinese approach, forged in the fires of domestic industrial competition, views AI as “relational infrastructure”: a connective tissue for physical systems. It is designed to get its hands dirty, such as in mining, ports and factories. Photo: Adobe Stock

Asia housing and property

The View | Asia’s housing affordability squeeze shows no signs of slowing

Some of the sharpest increases in property values are in economies facing major headwinds or those suffering from an acute shortage of affordable housing.

8 Dec 2025 - 5:23PMvideocam

China-Russia relations

Opinion | Despite their strong ties, Russia and China are emotional opposites

Moscow is haunted by a longing for Western approval in contrast to Beijing, which focuses on borrowing what works and changing what doesn’t.

8 Dec 2025 - 11:41AM

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Asian Angle | Vietnam’s anti-drug police are speaking Gen Z, and it’s working

Ho Chi Minh City’s police have found a way to wrap dry state messaging in viral humour, mirroring China’s digital playbook.

7 Dec 2025 - 10:30AM

A viral social media post showing a faux wedding proposal created by an anti-drugs police unit photo in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Facebook/PC04.CATP

Opinion | Does AI’s rise have to mean job losses? East Asia tells a different story

Studies from Vietnam to South Korea show AI adoption has not cannibalised jobs. Instead of simple mechanisation, economies are synergising.

7 Dec 2025 - 9:30AMvideocam

Opinion | Fashion industry must tailor climate plans to Asian suppliers’ reality

Efforts to cut down on greenhouse gas emissions in the fashion industry will not work if they rest on a Western design paired with Eastern sacrifice.

7 Dec 2025 - 5:30AM

Asian Angle | The Thai influencer bringing viral warfare to Cambodia’s border

Gun Jompalang is a self-styled ‘justice crusader’ with over 9 million followers but no commander. He’s not a soldier, but he is waging war.

6 Dec 2025 - 11:00AM

Self-styled social media influencer Gun Jompalang with Thai officers. Photo: Handout

Hong Kong politics

Opinion | Legco poll a chance for Hong Kong to show its resilience after Tai Po fire

The election is an opportunity for the city to display maturity in the face of loss and prove civic participation can coexist with national security and solidarity.

5 Dec 2025 - 9:30AMvideocam

Illustration: Craig Stephens

Opinion | Not just China: India also a piece of the US opioid puzzle

Like China, India has a large pharmaceutical sector that provides precursor chemicals. But it lacks China’s drug policy control.

5 Dec 2025 - 8:16AMvideocam

Macroscope | India and Japan show impact of Trump’s tariffs extend beyond trade

While Japan is grappling with acute policy dilemmas and AI bubble fears stalk markets, India seems relatively resilient and forward-looking.

4 Dec 2025 - 5:13PMvideocam

Opinion | Why China is succeeding in Myanmar while the West has been sidelined

The West’s incoherent strategy is no match for a ruthless, integrated Chinese approach that leverages economic links to its advantage.

30 Nov 2025 - 1:30PM

Chinese President Xi Jinping shakes hands with Myanmar leader Min Aung Hlaing in Moscow in May, on the sidelines of celebrations marking the 80th anniversary of the Soviet victory in World War II. Photo: Xinhua

Opinion | Why Chinese are cancelling their trips to Japan

The Japanese prime minister crossed a red line and reopened old wounds in employing language that echoed rhetoric used by imperial Japan to justify invasion.

30 Nov 2025 - 9:30AMvideocam

Chinese tourists visit the Sensoji temple in the Asakusa district of Tokyo on November 20. Many Chinese have chosen to cancel their trips to Japan after Beijing issued a travel advisory. Photo: AP

Opinion | If China can cut its pollution, why can’t India?

India’s pollution crisis demands sustained, year-round action, not just emergency steps that kick in when the air turns toxic.

30 Nov 2025 - 5:30AMvideocam

Opinion | How Cop30 laid bare the new geopolitics of climate action

Fractures, even among the Global South, show the energy transition is not just a technical challenge but a deeply political negotiation.

28 Nov 2025 - 8:30PMvideocam

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Opinion | In its year under Malaysia, Asean tried to set systemic reform in motion

Despite grumbles about loss of focus and misgivings about the longevity of new networks, Malaysia, ironically, perhaps didn’t go far enough.

27 Nov 2025 - 5:30AMvideocam

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim hands the gavel over to Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr at the closing ceremony of the 47th Asean summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on October 28. The Philippines takes over as Asean chair on January 1. Photo: Xinhua

Opinion | How AI, quantum and space technologies will define the Asian century

Together, they form an engine that will determine which nations shape the century ahead and which struggle to keep pace.

26 Nov 2025 - 8:30PMvideocam

Opinion | Self-interest is now the main driver of Britain’s Asia policy

There are a great many reasons why the UK government should pay more attention to the Asia-Pacific, but that does not mean that it will.

24 Nov 2025 - 9:21AM

Opinion | How South Korea’s nuclear sub deal with US could torpedo inter-Korean peace

Seoul is clearly prioritising advancing its military capabilities with Washington’s help, rather than improving ties with Pyongyang.

24 Nov 2025 - 5:30AMvideocam

Illustration: Craig Stephens

Opinion | Why US-South Korea nuclear sub deal adds fuel to unstable region

Nuclear-powered submarines will heighten South Korea’s profile and China’s anxieties about US-led maritime groupings across East Asia.

23 Nov 2025 - 10:32AMvideocam

A sign is stuck onto a picture of US President Donald Trump near the Defence Ministry in Seoul on November 4, as protesters demand that the United States not help South Korea acquire nuclear-powered submarines. Photo: AP

Opinion | Why Asia can’t wait for Europe to lead on deforestation-free timber

Asia’s dependence on regulatory developments in Brussels risks importing the same contradictions that hinder decisive action by the EU.

23 Nov 2025 - 5:30AMvideocam

Opinion | Reinventing Kaohsiung: Taiwan’s port city transcends its industrial past

From shipyards and smokestacks to a smart, green metropolis, Kaohsiung shows urban renewal can succeed in the unlikeliest of places.

22 Nov 2025 - 1:30PM

Opinion | The rise of a Beijing-led ‘Global South Consensus’

As the Global South seeks a better development model and China looks for alternatives to mature markets, a match made out of mutual need is emerging.

22 Nov 2025 - 5:30AMvideocam

Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Plus meeting in Tianjin, China, on September 1. Photo: EPA/Iranian Presidency handout

Help preserve 120 years of quality journalism.