Vietnam’s rapid headline growth is driven almost entirely by foreign‑invested and government‑favoured conglomerates, leaving domestic small-to-medium enterprises and workers behind. Foreign-invested ...

Japan’s rising anti-immigration reflects the growing influence of populist narratives that have supplied a ready-made explanation for existing anxieties about foreigners. Decades of accepting foreign ...

Though Chinese AI models are approaching or matching leading US systems on public benchmarks, this does not necessarily mean that export controls have failed. Chinese firms still own only a fraction ...

For much of the post-Cold War era, the Philippine military has struggled to reconcile its strategic responsibilities with limited capabilities, relying on ageing platforms and a force structure geared ...

The Philippines’ proposed New Clark City industrial hub could help diversify supply chains and attract new US investment. But Manila wants US capital and technology without abandoning mineral networks ...

Donald Trump’s second-term tariffs have imposed significant costs on the US economy, but the shift to protectionism is likely to outlast both legal challenges and Trump’s presidency as the domestic ...

Countries across the Asia Pacific have been hit with a bewildering array of tariffs since US President Donald Trump returned to the White House in January 2025. Negotiations for tariff reductions have ...

Taiwan’s 2026 local elections will test whether cooperation between the KMT and TPP can evolve from parliamentary coordination into a more durable electoral alliance. The opposition parties are ...

China’s remarkable rise in electric vehicles is often attributed to coordinated state-led industrial policy, but its success depended crucially on competition and experimentation among central ...

Australia is paying greater strategic attention to the Maldives as it broadens its engagement in the Northeast Indian Ocean. The Maldives’ location along critical maritime routes and growing capacity ...

Dollar-linked stablecoins could make cross-border payments across Asia faster and cheaper, especially where banking access is limited or remittances are costly. But their wider use would shift part of ...

Nahdlatul Ulama’s centennial in January 2026 coincided with a deepening internal crisis. Controversy over a coal mining concession and an attempt to oust chairman Yahya Staquf exposed how deeply the ...