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Opinion /
Asia Opinion
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My Take
Macroscope
Energy
Opinion
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Clean energy works at scale. Now it must be coordinated
The next decade will be defined not only by new clean energy capacity, but by how well grids, storage and demand systems are connected and optimised.
19 Jan 2026 - 4:30PM
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Greenland
Opinion
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Greenland’s stress test of Nato will ripple beyond the Arctic
18 Jan 2026 - 8:30PM
US-Venezuela conflict
Opinion
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Why the US really wants Venezuela’s oil
18 Jan 2026 - 4:30PM
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Diplomacy
Asian Angle
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China has a worthy blueprint to improve the UN. Why is the West ignoring it?
China’s Global Governance Initiative seeks to end ‘might is right’, but the West insists on viewing it through a dusty Cold War lens.
18 Jan 2026 - 10:30AM
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(From right) Chinese President Xi Jinping, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin during the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Tianjin on September 1, 2025. Photo: EPA
Asean
Asian Angle
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To win the future, Southeast Asia must rewrite its industrial rule book
Success relies on five key pillars, including deeper regional coordination and targeted industrial upgrading.
17 Jan 2026 - 10:30AM
China society
Outside In
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Plight of Hebei’s freezing elderly shows urgent need for pension reform
The swarming sociability of family life is fading as one-person households and lonely deaths rise. Coping with loneliness is now a life skill.
16 Jan 2026 - 9:58PM
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European Union
Opinion
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An internally split Europe can never fully engage China and Asia
The Brussels effect is real but so is Europe’s strategic subordination to the US. For China, and Asia, this means proceeding with pragmatism.
15 Jan 2026 - 8:30PM
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Illustration: Craig Stephens
Diplomacy
Opinion
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High Seas Treaty will both boost China’s power and hold it accountable
Beijing realises that maritime leadership will be measured not just by fleets and bases but also by who protects the planet’s last great commons.
15 Jan 2026 - 6:33AM
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India
Opinion
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Is India fuelling an arms race in Asia or closing a deterrence gap?
The challenge for New Delhi is to solve its deterrence shortfall without letting competition harden into permanent confrontation.
14 Jan 2026 - 5:30AM
Diplomacy
Opinion
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Why China now needs North Korea’s denuclearisation
As optimism grows over an end to the Ukraine war, a weakening of Moscow’s support for Pyongyang may give Beijing new leverage to stabilise the Korean peninsula.
13 Jan 2026 - 5:30AM
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Asean
Opinion
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Why US ops in Venezuela have shaken Asia-Pacific’s middle powers
Middle powers fear a return to ‘rules of the jungle’ geopolitics as rival powers carve out spheres of influence.
13 Jan 2026 - 1:31AM
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Illustration: Craig Stephens
Asia housing and property
The View
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3 factors Asia’s real estate investors must watch in 2026
Asia might have sidestepped the worst of Trump’s tariffs, but investors should focus on price growth, Japan’s resilience and the sustainability of the data centre boom.
12 Jan 2026 - 6:45PM
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Indonesia
Asian Angle
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Indonesia’s digital 2045 ambition rests on a fragile seabed spine
With few domestic repair ships and convoluted laws, Indonesia struggles to safeguard the 115,000km of cables powering its digital future.
11 Jan 2026 - 11:00AM
Protests around the world
Opinion
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From memes to the streets: Gen Z’s fight back against corruption
Youth-led movements are too often treated as fleeting emotional outbursts, even though they express structured political demands.
10 Jan 2026 - 4:00PM
Legacy of war in Asia
Opinion
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Amid historical tensions with Japan, Hong Kong must engage for the future
Remembering the pain of the Nanking massacre does not preclude engagement, but ensures lessons of the past strengthen our shared commitment to peace.
9 Jan 2026 - 9:30AM
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Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu and government officials at the ceremony of the Nanking massacre memorial held at the government’s headquarters on December 13. Photo: Jonathan Wong
North Korea nuclear crisis
Opinion
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Maduro’s fate in Venezuela hardens North Korea’s nuclear resolve
It confirms Pyongyang’s belief that leaders seen as thorns in the US side who lack nuclear weapons ultimately fall victim to US intervention.
9 Jan 2026 - 5:30AM
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China’s military
Opinion
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How China’s history links military strength to fighting corruption
Lessons from the first Sino-Japanese War in 1895 shape Beijing’s drive to build a PLA defined by not just advanced weapons, but also institutional integrity.
8 Jan 2026 - 9:30AM
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North Korea nuclear crisis
Opinion
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As denuclearisation stalls, China will shape stability on Korean peninsula
South Korean leader’s Beijing visit makes clear need to manage inter-Korean tensions and establish stability en route to denuclearisation.
8 Jan 2026 - 5:30AM
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South Korean President Lee Jae Myung takes a selfie with Chinese President Xi Jinping using a Xiaomi smartphone after a state dinner in Beijing, China, on January 5. Xi gave Lee the smartphone during their first summit talks in Gyeongju, South Korea, in November. Photo: EPA / Yonhap
Sustainability
Opinion
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Why Shein doesn’t have to be the model for the fashion industry
Although the fast fashion label had a bumper 2025 while familiar brands faced collapse, the industry should not conclude that speed and scale are everything.
7 Jan 2026 - 8:30PM
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South China Sea
Opinion
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Why coastguards, not warships, are shaping future of South China Sea
The test is not claimants resolving their disputes but whether they preserve the infrastructure that keeps encounters from becoming a crisis.
7 Jan 2026 - 9:30AM
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Bangladesh
Asian Angle
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Bangladesh needs ‘structural’ change, but how will it get there?
As Bangladesh heads into elections next year, it must tread the challenge of political transition with more care and thoughtfulness.
3 Jan 2026 - 4:00PM
Myanmar
As I see it
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Why China is Myanmar’s only real hope
A general election won’t end the country’s brutal civil war, but regional coordination by key neighbouring countries without Western interference might.
31 Dec 2025 - 9:30AM
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Vendors sort vegetables at a market in Naypyidaw on December 29, a day after the first phase of Myanmar’s general election. Photo: AFP
Australia
Opinion
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Australia is losing its ability to engage Asia on its own terms
With security increasingly tied to regional developments, Australia’s eroding Asia literacy risks shutting Canberra out of crucial decisions.
31 Dec 2025 - 5:30AM
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War and conflict
Opinion
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If Trump wants a deal with China, he must rein in US allies in Asia
From Manila to Tokyo, domestic political dynamics are increasing the risks of a dangerous confrontation between Washington and Beijing.
30 Dec 2025 - 8:30PM
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Environment
Opinion
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Forest conservation must be long-term priority for Southeast Asia
The region’s challenges are primarily political as underfunding and business interests create fragmented institutions, weak enforcement and poor data.
30 Dec 2025 - 5:30AM
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