double-skinned crabs Vietnamese crab exporter

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Asia Opinion

Workers assemble electric cars at a factory in Hai Phong, Vietnam, on September 29, 2023. Photo: AP

Opinion | In Vietnam, ‘China plus one’ still needs Chinese input

As global companies try to move production outside China, Chinese businesses and components often move with it.

10 Nov 2026 - 5:30AM

War and conflict

Being Chinese | I’ll never know the war horrors my Singaporean grandparents survived

8 Nov 2026 - 5:30AM

Asian Angle | Thailand once had an economic miracle. It needs another

7 Nov 2026 - 12:00PM

Opinion | Can China champion the Global South without speaking for it?

China’s challenge is to turn its economic relationships into constructive partnerships without expecting political loyalty in return.

7 Nov 2026 - 5:30AM

Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Plus meeting in Tianjin, China, on September 1, 2025. Photo: EPA/Iranian Presidency handout

Artificial intelligence

Macroscope | The AI sell-off is a taste of things to come

Companies with aggressive AI spending plans and negative free cash flow are being punished. Beneficiaries of AI spending might be next.

6 Nov 2026 - 5:30AM

China’s military

Opinion | Understanding China’s October drills and the growing risk factor

Each Chinese move may be calibrated, but its neighbours seem to be reading their accumulation as a trend, which can encourage the cooperation Beijing objects to.

5 Nov 2026 - 9:30AM

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Opinion | Singapore’s haze crackdown tests limits of sovereignty within Asean

The city state has moved from conventional environmental diplomacy towards a more assertive model of cross-border corporate accountability.

5 Nov 2026 - 5:30AM

People wearing masks walk past public housing in Singapore on October 18, as the country continues to be shrouded in haze caused by fires in Indonesia. Photo: AFP

Opinion | As US-Iran war shows, China’s influence can’t secure its line to Gulf oil

The conflict has made clear the limits of China’s efforts to cultivate commercial and diplomatic clout among its energy suppliers in the Middle East.

4 Nov 2026 - 4:30PM

Opinion | China’s new nightmare: a Japanese containment arc in the Indo-Pacific

A Japan motivated to act in its own defence by an unreliable US is creating a regional security framework that must worry China.

4 Nov 2026 - 5:30AM

Opinion | Both Japan and China can help Bangladesh reach its full potential

Closer ties with Japan will not harm Bangladesh’s relationship with China. Better transport and energy supply can help no matter where the money comes from.

31 Oct 2026 - 4:30PM

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi (right) and Bangladeshi Prime Minister Tarique Rahman shake hands ahead of their meeting at the Prime Minister’s Office in Tokyo on October 27. Photo: AFP

Asian Angle | In Malaysia’s largest state, ‘Sarawak First’ faces a Dayak election test

No party can govern Sarawak without the Dayak vote, yet internal splits dilute non-Muslim indigenous political clout.

31 Oct 2026 - 12:00PM

An orang ulu, or “upriver person”, from Sarawak plays an musical instrument called a sape during a music festival in Malaysia’s Sarawak in 2003. Photo: Reuters

As I see it | The flaw in Australia’s ‘China threat’ thesis

Instead of adopting Washington’s security priorities, Canberra should leverage superpower rivalry to its own advantage, argues policy veteran John Edwards.

31 Oct 2026 - 5:30AM

The Philippines

Opinion | Manila speaks with 2 voices on China

Conflicting statements from the Philippines’ diplomatic and security arms add uncertainty to an already fraught relationship with Beijing.

28 Oct 2026 - 9:30AM

Opinion | China may well be the next big competitor for Asian migrant labour

The country that once transformed global labour markets by exporting workers could reshape Asian migration by beginning to import them.

26 Oct 2026 - 4:30PM

Labourers at a construction site in Shanghai, China, on April 15, 2024. Photo: EPA-EFE

Pop culture in Asia

Opinion | East Asia’s cultural economies are bridging politics-driven divides

The cross-border penetration and appeal of cultural products throughout and beyond East Asia is making openings beyond traditional diplomacy.

25 Oct 2026 - 4:30PM

Visitors dance while wearing costumes at Chen Go, an “idol experience centre” where fans dress up as K-Pop idols, in Shanghai on April 5, 2025. Photo: Reuters

Artificial intelligence

Opinion | How to share AI wealth? Neither the US nor Asia has the answer

US firms offer cash and shares on their own terms while Asian economies still rely on creating jobs to share the dividends of growth.

25 Oct 2026 - 5:30AM

Opinion | The US has South Korea over a trade barrel – and the world should take notes

Clearly, appeasement doesn’t work and dependence just feeds leverage. Collective action is the only effective stand that states can take.

24 Oct 2026 - 6:23PM

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Asian Angle | Can Vietnam sustain its high-growth ambitions amid capital constraints?

Vietnam must choose whether to align its growth targets with the capital it can raise, or accept considerably greater economic risks.

24 Oct 2026 - 1:00PM

Residential and office buildings in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Wednesday. Photo: EPA

Opinion | Why raising Asia’s fertility rate starts with giving people time to date

If city and state governments want young people to fall in love, they should start by giving them the time and space to make it happen.

24 Oct 2026 - 7:49AM

Macroscope | Investors mistaken to think India, Indonesia sell-offs are the same

Indonesia’s financial woes are home-grown and structural – arising from failures to embrace reform – while India’s are externally driven.

23 Oct 2026 - 8:53AM

Opinion | China’s J-35 stealth fighter exports bumps up against the US factor

Pakistan wants to buy J-35s but also has a US F-16 upgrade deal. Will China be happy to risk exposing its stealth technology to US monitors?

22 Oct 2026 - 8:34AM

A J-35 stealth fighter jet taking off from China’s third conventionally powered aircraft carrier, the Fujian, as they conduct the electromagnetic catapult-assisted takeoff training at an undisclosed location. Photo: Xinhua via AP

Opinion | As the world moves towards ‘fractalisation’, China could be the new leader

China has all the signs of world-topping national strength but whether other countries accept its leadership will depend on what’s on offer.

21 Oct 2026 - 5:15PM

China’s President Xi Jinping inspecting the troops at a military parade marking the 80th anniversary of victory over Japan and the end of World War II, in Beijing on September 3, 2025. Photo: Xinhua

Opinion | Energy shock could spark Asia’s next debt crisis

The IMF and World Bank need to step up debt surveillance as rising energy costs drain foreign exchange reserves and make debt repayments harder.

20 Oct 2026 - 4:30PM

Opinion | Southeast Asia need not be a pressure valve for China’s exports

The issue is whether the region can become more capable through trade with China or if it is simply a larger outlet for China’s production.

19 Oct 2026 - 8:53PM

Opinion | Economic realities threaten Asia’s green aviation ambitions

Even as pressure grows on airlines to adopt sustainable fuel, higher prices driven by the Middle East conflict are squeezing an industry operating on thin margins.

18 Oct 2026 - 4:30PM

A worker from a firm collecting used cooking oil to produce sustainable aviation fuel pours oil from a Tempura Ten-ichi restaurant into a tank in Tokyo on April 22. Photo: Reuters

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