Asia

An interview with Paul D. Miller about his upcoming book “Choosing Defeat: The Twenty-Year Saga of How America Lost Afghanistan.”

Across India, on any given evening, glowing phone screens flash with gaming apps promising instant riches. But those promises have for too many ended in debt, despair and even suicide, propelling the government to outlaw real-money gaming apps in a bid to stem a crisis officials describe as “spreading like drugs in society”. On August 20, India’s parliament passed the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, a sweeping piece of legislation that bans real-money gaming online. Hosting or...

In the struggle to keep the Chinese resistance movement supplied against the Japanese invasion, a dangerous, winding route was carved through the jungles and hills of eastern Myanmar into Yunnan province. The Burma Road, a 1,200km-long lifeline as it became known, allowed goods to be shipped from Yangon (then Rangoon) and driven across the country into the interior of China, while its ports were blockaded by Japanese ships. But the convoys needed drivers, mechanics and guides to make the...

The world is in a state of geopolitical drift. The old unipolar order has fractured into a complex mosaic of competing interests and asymmetric power. From simmering US-China tensions to persistent regional conflicts in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, the traditional architecture of global governance appears increasingly strained. The United Nations, the very institution designed to manage this complexity, often finds itself paralysed by vetoes and competing national agendas. A search for a...

Demonstrations in Indonesia escalated on Sunday with reports of looting at the homes of the finance minister and several lawmakers, as a fire started by protesters at a council building killed at least three people. Frustration with lawmakers, accused of being oblivious to the struggles of common folk, snowballed into widespread violence after a delivery driver was fatally hit by a police tactical vehicle deployed to deal with protesters earlier decrying low wages and financial perks for...

Australia has announced an agreement with the tiny Pacific nation of Nauru, enabling it to send hundreds of immigrants to the barren island. The deal affects more than 220 immigrants in Australia, including some convicted of serious crimes. Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke signed the memorandum of understanding on a visit to Nauru, the government said in a statement on Friday. “It contains undertakings for the proper treatment and long-term residence of people who have no legal right to stay in...

Britain and Japan are set to usher in a “new golden age in defence cooperation”, the UK’s defence minister has said, as London seeks to cement Tokyo as its closest security partner in Asia. UK Defence Secretary John Healey made the declaration aboard HMS Prince of Wales on Friday, the Royal Navy’s 65,000-tonne flagship, moored at Tokyo International Cruise Terminal for the two-day Pacific Future Forum. The visit marked the first time a foreign aircraft carrier had entered Tokyo Bay, lending...

India will not “bow down” and instead focus on capturing new markets, trade minister Piyush Goyal said in his first public remarks since Washington imposed steep tariffs on Indian goods. The 50 per cent levies on many Indian imports into the United States took effect this week as punishment for New Delhi’s massive purchases of Russian oil, part of US efforts to pressure Moscow into ending its war in Ukraine. Since his return to the White House this year, US President Donald Trump has wielded...

China and India are having a bit of a moment. Five years after a fatal confrontation on their unresolved border pushed relations over the edge, the two sides are rushing towards a detente. They are restoring peace along the border, reversing trade and investment curbs, easing visa restrictions to promote business and tourism, resuming direct flights and orchestrating a flurry of high-level official visits to formalise the thaw. This weekend, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is visiting China...

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un met with the families of soldiers killed fighting for Russia against Ukraine and offered condolences for their “unbearable pain”, state media said on Saturday. Pyongyang has not confirmed the number of its soldiers that died fighting for Russia, though Seoul estimates around 600, with thousands more wounded. South Korean and Western intelligence agencies have said the North sent more than 10,000 soldiers to Russia in 2024 – primarily to the Kursk region – along...

The indictment of former first lady Kim Keon-hee on corruption charges has thrown a spotlight on the collapse of institutional checks during her husband’s presidency, prompting fresh calls to strengthen oversight and transparency measures. The wife of former president Yoon Suk-yeol was charged on Friday with stock manipulation, bribery and the receipt of illicit political funds by a team of investigators led by Special Prosecutor Min Joong-ki. This is the first time in South Korea’s history that...

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has criticised the police for their handling of unrest in the capital, as elsewhere in the country at least three people died in a fire started by protesters. The protests – initially over increased allowances for lawmakers at a time of economic uncertainty for many Indonesians – were fuelled by anger over the death of a motorcycle taxi driver struck by an armoured vehicle during clashes on Thursday evening. They have mostly been concentrated in Jakarta...

Few political parties in the world know dominance the way Singapore’s People’s Action Party (PAP) does, as it looks set to become the longest-running administration in modern history. Following a resounding victory in May’s general election, the city state will on Friday open its 15th parliament that will largely resemble previous party alignments. The ruling party will continue to occupy a supermajority of seats, now at 87 of the 97 elected seats while its main rival, the Workers’ Party (WP),...

Asia’s rising middle classes are not just fuelling economic growth – they’re reshaping consumption itself. Nowhere is this transformation more visible than in the region’s embrace of healthier eating. From Hong Kong to Jakarta, a new generation of consumers is driving a quiet revolution in food choices. But is this a more lasting realignment of preferences or merely a pandemic-fuelled detour? Market research suggests consumer attention on health will grow. China’s healthcare-related consumer...

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday signalled a further warming of ties with Beijing, urging the two Asian giants to collaborate in shaping a multipolar world, even as New Delhi remains wary of China’s growing military might and tries to finesse its own recent estrangement from the White House. “Stable, predictable and amicable bilateral relations between India and China, the two largest nations on Earth, can have a positive impact on regional and global peace and prosperity,” he told...

Elections in Nepal are becoming increasingly expensive, thereby threatening inclusive democracy and raising concerns about the future of political participation.

Since the beginning of 2025, New Delhi’s outreach to the Taliban has increased tremendously.

A decade of tensions has reshaped China’s war memory toward caution, loyalty and sacrifice.

Over the past few months a process of normalization in the China-India bilateral has taken off.

This incident not only illustrates the continued tensions in the South China Sea but also provides an opportunity to evaluate China’s maritime capabilities.

Chinese traders want North Korean companies to continue to export raw materials, which conflicts with the North Korean regime’s policy of exporting processed goods.

Weak EV demand in the United States – exacerbated by the loss of the 30D tax credit and broader economic uncertainty – is likely to depress prices further, reinforcing Indonesia’s dominance.

China is not only pursuing space exploration on its own, but also assessing a key role for itself in space diplomacy and coordination.

The defense budget request for next fiscal year places a strong emphasis on strengthening unmanned asset defense capabilities.

Mongolia is renewing its focus on ASEAN and its member countries, with an aim to diversify trade.

New Delhi’s efforts to re-engage and rebuild ties with China reflect a refusal to be co-opted by any singular geopolitical axis, even under intense economic pressure.

The Pentagon walked back remarks denying that Marles had had an official meeting with his U.S. counterpart and the U.S. vice president. But the puerile fiasco reveals an important truth about the United States.

Officially, China can only give a neutral reaction to the Trump-Putin summit because the ultimate outcome is still uncertain.

India and Japan will “shape the Asian Century”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday, on a visit expected to secure billions of dollars in Japanese investment and an upgrade to security ties. “India and Japan’s partnership is strategic and smart. Powered by economic logic, we have turned shared interests into shared prosperity,” Modi told a business forum in Tokyo. “India is the springboard for Japanese businesses to the Global South. We will shape the Asian Century for stability, growth,...

Foreign patients are visiting South Korea’s dermatology clinics in unprecedented numbers, making skin treatments the leading driver of medical tourism and underscoring the global reach of the country’s beauty and wellness industry. According to the Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI), 705,044 foreign nationals received dermatology treatments in 2024, a 117-fold surge compared with 2009 when just over 6,000 patients sought such care. Dermatology now accounts for 56.6 per cent of...