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Indian soldiers take part in a military drill during a media tour ahead of India’s Independence Day, near the Line of Control that divides India and Pakistan at Sunderbani, Jammu and Kashmir, India, on August 12, 2025. Photo: AP
India

Opinion | 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.

US-China relations

Opinion | Trump’s audacious imperialism will only propel China’s rise

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China-EU relations

Opinion | EU-China ties are stuck between interdependence and rivalry

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Taiwan

Opinion | The US wants to block China’s peaceful reunification. It won’t work

US weapons sales to Taiwan violate the one-China principle but won’t sway Asean or the wider international community.

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The Patriot missile system is deployed at a park in Taipei on July 11, 2025. Photo: AFP
The Patriot missile system is deployed at a park in Taipei on July 11, 2025. Photo: AFP
Asean

Opinion | 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.

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US-China relations

Opinion | How Trump’s ‘Donroe Doctrine’ is escalating US-China rivalry

Maduro’s capture not only challenges China’s influence in Latin America but also signals a bolder US security posture that could reshuffle great-power competition.

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Artificial intelligence

Opinion | The global AI race: 3 scenarios the world must prepare for

From US-China dominance to regulatory reset or systemic disruption, the AI race is heading towards three very different outcomes.

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A man plays chess with an AI-powered chess robot at the exhibition area of Chinese company SenseRobot at a pre-show event of the 2026 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, US, on January 5. Photo: Xinhua
A man plays chess with an AI-powered chess robot at the exhibition area of Chinese company SenseRobot at a pre-show event of the 2026 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, US, on January 5. Photo: Xinhua
Stocks

Macroscope | Why Asian family businesses are pivoting to private equity

Family firms, the backbone of the Asian economy, have tended to be reluctant to go public but are increasingly open to private equity funding.

United States

As I see it | Welcome, world, to the American jungle

Far from deterring China and Russia, the operation signals that brute force, not international law, now defines American action.

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North Korea nuclear crisis

Opinion | 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.

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Illustration: Craig Stephens
US-Venezuela conflict

Opinion | US invasion of Venezuela no guarantee of hemispheric dominance

By signalling how far it will go to defend its interests in Venezuela, the US might have intensified conflicts closer to home rather than resolving them.

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Ousted president Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela (second from right) and his wife Cilia Flores (second from left) arrive at the Wall Street Heliport in the New York City borough of Manhattan on January 5. Photo: TNS
Ousted president Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela (second from right) and his wife Cilia Flores (second from left) arrive at the Wall Street Heliport in the New York City borough of Manhattan on January 5. Photo: TNS
China stock market

Macroscope | Chinese stocks could be biggest winner of Venezuela fallout

Amid rising fears over an AI bubble and geopolitical strife, China’s push for self-reliance has left it more insulated from global storms.

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Sustainability

Opinion | 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.

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United States

Opinion | Why Asia should be concerned about the US attack on Venezuela

Venezuela matters less as a case in itself than as a signal of how energy is being repositioned amid intensifying US-China competition.

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A man walks past a sculpture outside a building of Venezuela’s state oil company PDVSA in Caracas, Venezuela, on May 17, 2019. Photo: Reuters
United States

As I see it | Monroe Doctrine 2.0 portends the end of the US empire

The eerie return of the 19th century foreign policy doctrine indicates a declining empire seeking to consolidate power in its own backyard.

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US President Donald Trump (right) speaks as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio looks on during a press conference in Palm Beach, Florida, after he ordered strikes on Venezuela, on January 3. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife were also captured by US special forces during the bombing raid. Photo: Reuters
US President Donald Trump (right) speaks as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio looks on during a press conference in Palm Beach, Florida, after he ordered strikes on Venezuela, on January 3. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife were also captured by US special forces during the bombing raid. Photo: Reuters
United States

Opinion | The US now owns more than just Venezuela’s oil

A hard lesson in foreign policy comes to mind: if you break it, you own it. America is now responsible for Venezuela’s failures, factions and future grievances.

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United States

Opinion | The dawn of a new American empire without the burden of responsibility

Its Caracas operation with neither legal backing nor democratic pretence underlines the Trump doctrine of expansionism without responsibility.

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War and conflict

Opinion | US attack on Venezuela tests moral clarity of the post-war world order

Amid Washington’s use of force, there is a sense that global affairs are drifting towards a modernised version of the law of the jungle.

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Illustration: Craig Stephens
Illustration: Craig Stephens
Artificial intelligence

Opinion | Why reducing AI harm requires more than tech firms’ empty promises

Real action incurs real cost, which is why incentives and regulatory frameworks for tech firms matter.

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US-China relations

Opinion | Will US interference in Hong Kong or Taiwan end? Don’t bet on it

Amid stabler US-China relations, confidence in Hong Kong has recovered. However, the city needs to be on the alert for other threats.

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US-China trade war

Macroscope | Can a world obsessed with greed and power avoid a war in 2026?

The desire for economic growth and military might is driving the world towards conflict while devaluing concepts such as mutual respect and peaceful coexistence.

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Statues of a bull and a bear face off in front of the German stock exchange in Frankfurt. Photo: Reuters
Science

As I see it | We can now watch our own genes dance

Modern biology reveals a real miracle: how broken pieces of molecules evolved into a species that became conscious of its own genetic make-up.

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An animation of the structure of DNA. Photo: Shutterstock Images
An animation of the structure of DNA. Photo: Shutterstock Images
European Union

Opinion | Can Europe survive its crippling paralysis?

The brutal reality is that the European Union is failing to get its squabbling nations to work as a coherent group.

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United States

Opinion | As the US struggles with affordability, consumer confidence eludes China

While many have soured on globalisation, protectionism has also failed to guarantee people’s desire for affordability and financial security.

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War and conflict

Outside In | 2025 was the year of denial. What now?

Despite the threat of wars, tariffs, climate change and AI, normality has persisted. But it can only be a matter of time before such contradictions explode.

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A couple kiss next to a Christmas tree in Kyiv, Ukraine, during celebrations before a curfew on December 31. Photo: Reuters
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