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This Week in Asia /

Opinion

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A man holds a rainbow flag, commonly used to signal LGBTQ pride. Photo: Shutterstock

Asian Angle | Malaysia’s LGBTQ crackdowns aren’t hypocrisy, they’re politics

Anwar’s government isn’t failing its ideals. It’s navigating a reality where Malay-Muslim legitimacy dictates the limits of social change.

4 hours ago

Opinion | Underwater and unprotected: why Asean and the EU must secure subsea lifelines

15 Mar 2026 - 12:00PM

Opinion | Myanmar’s junta staged an election. It couldn’t stage legitimacy

14 Mar 2026 - 12:00PM

Asian Angle | How to win an election in Thailand: stage a rebrand, rely on rural votes

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul put Bhumjaithai’s technocrats centre stage, while letting provincial barons run the real campaign.

8 Mar 2026 - 12:00PM

The Bhumjaithai Party’‘s “Gang of Four” poster features Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow, Commerce Minister Suphajee Suthumpun and Finance Minister Ekniti Nitithanprapas. Photo: Instagram.com/bhumjaithai_th

Opinion | Australia needs to make its stance on the Iran attacks known

By refusing to condemn these legally baseless strikes, the Albanese government risks choosing ‘might is right’ over the UN Charter.

7 Mar 2026 - 12:00PMvideocam

Artificial intelligence

Asian Angle | Southeast Asia needs AI sovereignty – the Grok scandal proved it

From Singapore’s SEA-LION to Malaysia’s ILMU, Southeast Asian nations aim to build AI that reflects their own languages, cultures and values.

1 Mar 2026 - 12:00PM

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US-ally trade wars

Opinion | Southeast Asia, do not mistake Trump’s tariff defeat for a reprieve

One court loss won’t end the trade wars. But if ‘Peak Trump’ has arrived, the region’s negotiating hand may have just got stronger.

28 Feb 2026 - 12:00PM

Vietnamese workers stitch apparel at a garment factory in Thai Nguyen province on July 2, 2025. Photo: AFP

Artificial intelligence

Opinion | Who will save the world from a US-China AI arms race?

Unrestrained military AI could doom us all. The window for a global middle-power alliance to rein in the superpowers is closing fast.

21 Feb 2026 - 1:00PMvideocam

Opinion | Cambodia’s scam factory survivors find no escape in freedom

A government crackdown freed thousands, but with no passports or support, survivors have simply traded captivity for destitution.

15 Feb 2026 - 12:00PM

Asian Angle | How Asean can resolve its Myanmar dilemma post-election

Asean should not discard the Five-Point Consensus, but translate it into a politically astute strategy of conditional engagement.

14 Feb 2026 - 12:30PMvideocam

Vote counting takes place on January 25 in Yangon for Myanmar’s general election. Photo: Kyodo

Opinion | Vietnam’s renewed nuclear power push faces formidable hurdles

Money, corruption, a lack of skilled staff and other factors may derail Hanoi’s goal of building its first nuclear power plant by 2031.

8 Feb 2026 - 11:30AM

A nuclear power plant operating at night. Russia’s state-owned energy company Rosatom has been contracted to build Vietnam’s first nuclear power plant. Photo: Shutterstock

Asian Angle | Thailand’s election will pass verdict on the architecture of elite control

After court rulings removed successive PMs, this election tests whether a popular mandate can finally survive the state’s veto traps.

7 Feb 2026 - 11:00AM

Opinion | Honking for votes: inside Japan’s tradition of election sound trucks

During election season, sound trucks drive around Japan’s cities blaring out candidates’ names and the parties they are standing for.

6 Feb 2026 - 3:23PM

China-Philippines relations

Asian Angle | South China Sea: 6 risks facing Philippines, China as conflict threshold lowers

From violent incidents to US missiles in Luzon, a ‘perilous new normal’ and vanishing red lines threaten to derail the Code of Conduct.

1 Feb 2026 - 11:00AMvideocam

A China Coast Guard vessel (right) fires its water cannon at the Philippines’ BRP Datu Pagbuaya near Philippine-occupied Thitu island, locally called Pagasa island, in the disputed the South China Sea on October 12, 2025. Photo: Philippine Coast Guard via AP

Asian Angle | ‘Old order is not coming back’: Trump’s US, not China, threatens status quo

American unpredictability is pushing countries to hedge more proactively – and, ironically, soften existing tensions with China.

31 Jan 2026 - 11:00AM

A protester interrupts US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (right) as he testifies before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday. Photo: Getty Images

The Philippines

Opinion | Marcos health problems call to mind past Philippine leaders’ woes

Marcos has admitted he suffers from diverticulitis, as he battles problems including impeachment complaints and public anger over corruption.

29 Jan 2026 - 10:00AM

Asian Angle | Malaysia’s PM term limits could backfire unless election cycles are set

To secure his legacy, Anwar Ibrahim must ensure his reform doesn’t accidentally encourage the very political instability he seeks to prevent.

25 Jan 2026 - 10:00AM

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Asian Angle | What a US-China ‘grand bargain’ would mean for Southeast Asia

Washington’s Venezuela raid has resurrected old fears about ‘spheres of influence’, sounding alarm bells for Southeast Asian autonomy.

24 Jan 2026 - 10:00AM

US President Donald Trump and China’s President Xi Jinping after their talks at the Gimhae Air Base in Busan on October 30, 2025. Photo: TNS

Asian Angle | 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 - 10:30AMvideocam

Asian Angle | 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

Asian Angle | 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

An illustration of a submarine cable. The main threats to Indonesia’s undersea infrastructure are fishing and anchor damage. Photo: Shutterstock

Protests around the world

Opinion | 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

An activist holds a poster next to a flag bearing an image of the “Jolly Roger” from popular Japanese anime “One Piece” during a protest in Jakarta, Indonesia, in September. Photo: AP

Asian Angle | How uneven borders fuel Myanmar’s vast and resilient scam economy

Fieldwork along the borders of China and Thailand reveals how uneven controls allow fraud networks to thrive despite crackdowns.

4 Jan 2026 - 1:00PMvideocam

Asian Angle | 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

Asian Angle | Sabah’s election proves Malaysians want results, not slogans

Local parties crying ‘Sabah First’ largely flopped as voters rejected empty identity rhetoric for proven service records.

21 Dec 2025 - 10:30AM

Officials from the Sabah People’s Coalition, or Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS), hold a launch event on October 20 in preparation for the 17th Sabah state election. Photo: Facebook/grs.sabah

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