https://www.scmp.com/rss/323050/feed Our experts on Asia guide you through the big issues facing the region en https://assets-v2.i-scmp.com/production/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Zha Daojiong Zha Daojiong Critical minerals have become a recurring source of friction in international diplomacy, with China’s dominance in the sector and US efforts to build alternative supply chains raising concerns that Southeast Asian countries may be forced to choose between the two powers. But this is a false choice. As important exporters of rare earth elements, Southeast Asian countries have leverage of their own and can use intensifying competition to diversify partnerships and capture more of the value chain... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3368823/southeast-asia-faces-false-binary-us-china-mineral-trade?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3368823/southeast-asia-faces-false-binary-us-china-mineral-trade?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 26 Sep 2026 04:00:08 +0000 Alexey D Muraviev Alexey D Muraviev Over the past two weeks, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin staged a major diplomatic blitz. Across three events in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, Vladivostok in Russia’s Far East and New Delhi, India, as well as a state visit by Vietnam’s leader, he met some 18 heads of state. Among them were the leaders of heavyweights of the Global South such as China, India, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia and Turkey, just to name a few. The Ukraine war certainly featured in these conversations. Russia has recently ramped up... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3368037/why-global-south-keeps-its-doors-wide-open-russia?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3368037/why-global-south-keeps-its-doors-wide-open-russia?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 19 Sep 2026 04:00:05 +0000 Hoang Thi Ha,Pham Thi Phuong Thao Hoang Thi Ha,Pham Thi Phuong Thao Vietnam is often held up as proof of China’s underwhelming soft power in Southeast Asia: a millennium of resistance against Chinese domination, a border war within living memory, unresolved maritime disputes and elite surveys that consistently show Vietnamese respondents’ deep distrust of Beijing. Yet beneath these strategic tensions, a quieter shift is under way. Young Vietnamese are warming to Chinese culture, language, lifestyles and economic opportunity. From crowds queuing for Labubu toys... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3367227/politics-aside-young-vietnamese-are-warming-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3367227/politics-aside-young-vietnamese-are-warming-china?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 13 Sep 2026 04:00:12 +0000 Soniya Rijal,Nader Naderpajouh Soniya Rijal,Nader Naderpajouh Hearts across the globe are aching for communities along the Nepal-Tibet border. Late last month, a catastrophic flash flood ripped apart whole villages and swept away dozens of vital bridges and roads. It has claimed the lives of more than 1,000 people, with authorities racing to find thousands more who are unaccounted for and free hundreds of workers trapped in a hydropower tunnel. In the wake of the flood, the world has rallied to support ongoing rescue and humanitarian efforts. But as with... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3366414/after-nepal-tibet-floods-recovery-depends-grass-roots-solidarity?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3366414/after-nepal-tibet-floods-recovery-depends-grass-roots-solidarity?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 05 Sep 2026 04:00:07 +0000 Donald Low Donald Low In the discussion on Hong Kong’s first ever five-year plan, much ink has been spilled on the merits of a planned economy. The most recent example of this was Anthony Rowley’s commentary that cited Singapore as an example of a highly successful planned economy. Unfortunately, he misrepresents what planning in Singapore is about. There are lessons that Hong Kong can draw from how the Singapore government navigated a changing environment – but not the ones Rowley highlights. It is quite... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3365630/singapores-blueprint-economic-success-plan-be-prepared-adapt?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3365630/singapores-blueprint-economic-success-plan-be-prepared-adapt?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 30 Aug 2026 05:00:10 +0000 Sanjaya Baru Sanjaya Baru When Ajit Doval met China’s top diplomat Wang Yi in June, New Delhi’s national security adviser called China and India “partners, not rivals” and said a stable relationship “serves the common interests of both sides”. Wang, for his part, called for the two countries “to accelerate the resumption of dialogue mechanisms and promote exchanges” in trade, finance and other fields. These warm statements were a sharp departure from the adversarial tone that had bedevilled ties since Chinese and Indian... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3365624/india-china-ties-are-warming-time-capitalise-now?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3365624/india-china-ties-are-warming-time-capitalise-now?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 29 Aug 2026 04:00:12 +0000 Su Mon Thazin Aung Su Mon Thazin Aung SpaceX discontinued its Global Roam service for existing customers as of Monday. The US company offered no specific reason beyond regulatory compliance, but few would question the move, given the need to clamp down on the increasing number of cybercrime networks that tap into its Starlink services globally. Yet in Myanmar, the Starlink move is a double-edged sword. The country’s civil conflict has cut many people off from conventional digital communications. For conflict-affected communities,... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3364870/spacexs-starlink-blackout-punishes-myanmar-civilians-not-just-cybercriminals?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3364870/spacexs-starlink-blackout-punishes-myanmar-civilians-not-just-cybercriminals?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 22 Aug 2026 04:00:10 +0000 Nguyen Khac Giang Nguyen Khac Giang Third plenums are ordinarily the quiet part of Vietnam’s political calendar. Between its five-yearly congresses, the Communist Party of Vietnam governs through numbered plenums of its Central Committee (CC): the first two settle personnel decisions, and the third, six months on, usually does no more than ratify the term’s work programme. This time, the third plenum of the 14th CC, held from July 20 to 24, did more. It set out the next phase of the country’s most sweeping administrative overhaul... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3364056/how-vietnams-streamlining-revolution-may-lead-uneven-success?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3364056/how-vietnams-streamlining-revolution-may-lead-uneven-success?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 15 Aug 2026 04:00:14 +0000 Donald Low Donald Low In recent years, Thailand’s capital has discovered a surprising new attraction to add to its temples, shopping malls and street food: urban greenery. Unlike the others, which took decades to develop, Bangkok’s green credentials are a more recent phenomenon, emerging only during the Covid-19 pandemic. Despite their novelty, the city’s greening efforts are already bearing fruit. Visitors returning to Bangkok after the pandemic are often surprised by how green and walkable the city has become. It... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3363284/bangkok-branches-out-secret-thai-capitals-green-revival?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3363284/bangkok-branches-out-secret-thai-capitals-green-revival?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 08 Aug 2026 04:00:16 +0000 Chheang Vannarith Chheang Vannarith Cambodia has adopted a comprehensive approach to resolving its border dispute with Thailand, yet substantive progress will only occur once the two sides agree on where the border actually is. The Cambodia-Thailand border dispute is complex: the result of a tangle of colonial-era treaties, competing maps, contested temples, unsettled demarcation and recurring nationalism. The rise of ultranationalist groups on both sides has made reconciliation harder still. Armed clashes, partly driven by... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3362567/cambodia-and-thailand-must-define-border-achieve-lasting-peace?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3362567/cambodia-and-thailand-must-define-border-achieve-lasting-peace?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 02 Aug 2026 04:30:13 +0000 Thomas Greminger Thomas Greminger In the latest salvo of hostile rhetoric surrounding AI, Donald Trump told reporters last month that “America’s goal must be to dominate the future, and that includes being the No 1 superpower in artificial intelligence”. “Whoever wins that race, is probably going to win, period,” the US president said. While it may be politically expedient to frame AI development as a zero-sum geopolitical race, such rhetoric is concerning given the extreme risks the technology poses. In May 2023, a group of... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3362572/america-and-china-can-be-allies-against-ai-catastrophe?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3362572/america-and-china-can-be-allies-against-ai-catastrophe?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 01 Aug 2026 04:00:14 +0000 Elbinsar Purba Elbinsar Purba Asean leaders discussed a proposal at their summit in May to develop a regional oil stockpile, prompted by the energy crisis amid the US-Israel war on Iran. This move reflects renewed efforts to foster energy security, but a review of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ track record offers little reason for optimism. Unless the bloc moves quickly to institutionalise and implement the idea, it risks becoming another ambition that’s quietly shelved. Early reactions to the proposal were... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3361789/decades-talk-zero-barrels-stored-why-cant-asean-stockpile-oil?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3361789/decades-talk-zero-barrels-stored-why-cant-asean-stockpile-oil?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 26 Jul 2026 06:30:05 +0000 Anna Fong,Donald Low Anna Fong,Donald Low In recent years, Southeast Asian governments have viewed the “China plus one” strategy as their best chance to escape the middle-income trap. As global manufacturers looked to diversify away from China because of rising costs, trade tensions and supply-chain vulnerabilities, Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia seemed perfectly placed to benefit. The promise was simple and compelling: new factories would arrive, more formal jobs would be created, wages would rise in tandem with higher productivity... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3361816/southeast-asia-must-embrace-reforms-china-plus-one-succeed?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3361816/southeast-asia-must-embrace-reforms-china-plus-one-succeed?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 26 Jul 2026 04:30:06 +0000 Chheang Vannarith Chheang Vannarith Online scams have become one of the world’s most pressing non-traditional security threats in recent years, with Southeast Asia emerging as the site of rampant transnational criminal activity. In response, Cambodia has stepped up efforts to fight back, moving in recent months from ad hoc enforcement towards more centralised, coordinated action. While the political will is clear, implementation is now the issue. The question is not whether Phnom Penh is fighting the war against online scams, but... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3361790/cambodias-war-scammers-needs-blueprint-built-last?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3361790/cambodias-war-scammers-needs-blueprint-built-last?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 25 Jul 2026 04:00:14 +0000 Zhang Jiebin,Donald Low Zhang Jiebin,Donald Low By most economic measures, Vietnam had a spectacular 2025. The economy grew 8.02 per cent, its fastest pace since 2011, even as a 20 per cent US tariff landed on its goods and Typhoon Kalmaegi tore through its coastline. Total trade exceeded US$930 billion. Exports to the United States jumped 28 per cent to more than US$150 billion, handing Hanoi its largest-ever trade surplus with Washington. Foreign investors poured in record sums. Draft a prospectus for the next Asian miracle and Vietnam in... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3360983/vietnams-economic-miracle-has-made-elsewhere-problem?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3360983/vietnams-economic-miracle-has-made-elsewhere-problem?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 19 Jul 2026 04:00:07 +0000 Meg Rithmire Meg Rithmire Southeast Asia has been thrust into the crosshairs of geopolitical competition these past few tumultuous years, necessitating choices about how to handle the movement of economic activity emanating from China. This movement is not entirely new. Roughly a decade after China’s accession to the World Trade Organization solidified its status as the “world’s factory”, wages in the country began rising – a natural consequence of improving living standards and greater competition for increasingly... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3360984/southeast-asia-must-write-its-own-trade-rules-chinas-flying-geese?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3360984/southeast-asia-must-write-its-own-trade-rules-chinas-flying-geese?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 18 Jul 2026 04:00:14 +0000 Roland Rajah Roland Rajah Southeast Asia imported more than half a trillion dollars in goods from China last year, leaving the region with a collective trade deficit of around US$290 billion. It has only grown further since. Should the region’s policymakers be concerned? Should they, perhaps, even join the United States and Europe in pushing back against China’s imbalances? Globally, China’s swelling exports and trade surplus since roughly 2020 have been dubbed the second “China shock”. Its customs trade surplus hit... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3360162/why-second-china-shock-good-southeast-asia?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3360162/why-second-china-shock-good-southeast-asia?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 12 Jul 2026 06:30:06 +0000 James Dwyer James Dwyer On Monday, a Chinese submarine fired a long-range ballistic missile into international waters in the South Pacific. The nuclear-capable missile, which was launched from underwater and carried an inert dummy warhead, is believed to have splashed down near Tuvalu. The Chinese government said the event “was a routine part of China’s annual military training programme” and was “not directed against any specific country or target”. It added that other countries had been notified, and urged them not... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3360161/panic-over-chinas-missile-test-born-western-bias?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3360161/panic-over-chinas-missile-test-born-western-bias?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 11 Jul 2026 05:30:09 +0000 Alessandro Arduino Alessandro Arduino US President Donald Trump hailed the agreement with Iran as a historic breakthrough, announcing the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and the end of the American naval blockade. Trump claimed that, with a 14-point memorandum, he had secured lasting peace for the entire region, using the kind of triumphalist language he has often deployed in the past, from Gaza to Ukraine. But, as is so often the case in international diplomacy, the real success of any agreement lies in the details. For now, the... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3359347/oman-and-china-real-winners-trumps-iran-deal?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3359347/oman-and-china-real-winners-trumps-iran-deal?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 05 Jul 2026 03:00:07 +0000 Tristan Eng Tristan Eng As the fallout from the Iran war has renewed attention to the fragility of global supply chains, Singapore is emerging as a leading architect of new agreements and partnerships to maintain the flow of essential goods. In early April, Australia and Singapore announced they had substantially concluded negotiations on a legally binding protocol covering economic resilience and essential supplies, including petroleum and liquefied natural gas. Weeks later, New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3359349/singapores-trade-pacts-prove-small-states-can-shape-global-rules?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3359349/singapores-trade-pacts-prove-small-states-can-shape-global-rules?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 04 Jul 2026 04:00:12 +0000 Ary Hermawan Ary Hermawan It has been 25 years since Indonesia’s Liberal Islam Network (Jaringan Islam Liberal or JIL) was established in March 2001, just three years after Reformasi. The intellectual network has been in disarray for much of the past decade, reflecting the current state of Indonesia’s broader liberal and progressive Islamic movement. The old guard, represented by the establishments within Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah, faces elite co-option as they seek access to state resources while also... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3358528/liberal-islam-indonesia-sliding-irrelevance?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3358528/liberal-islam-indonesia-sliding-irrelevance?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 28 Jun 2026 05:00:15 +0000 Yuyun Wahyuningrum,Sarah Teitt Yuyun Wahyuningrum,Sarah Teitt As Asean foreign ministers prepare to meet in Manila from July 21-22, a quiet but significant shift is under way in the bloc’s approach to Myanmar. Although the Association of Southeast Asian Nations remains formally committed to the “five-point consensus”, several member states appear to be reconsidering the collective pressure strategy adopted since the 2021 coup. Rather than abandoning the consensus outright, they argue that more direct engagement with Naypyidaw may be necessary to encourage... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3358527/aseans-side-deals-myanmar-risk-missing-where-power-truly-lies?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3358527/aseans-side-deals-myanmar-risk-missing-where-power-truly-lies?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 27 Jun 2026 03:00:13 +0000 Yanyan Hong Yanyan Hong Within a week of its release, Netflix’s new Korean drama Teach You a Lesson, directed by Hong Jong-chan, topped the platform’s global non-English rankings for the week of June 1 to 7. Adapted from the popular webtoon Get Schooled (2020), the 10-episode series about a government-backed vigilante unit trying to fix the wrongs in schools has quickly become a highly rated breakout hit. Described in a Forbes article as “one of the most addictive feel-good dramas of the year”, the series has exploded... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3357715/korean-drama-teach-you-lesson-serves-reality-check-education?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3357715/korean-drama-teach-you-lesson-serves-reality-check-education?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 21 Jun 2026 05:30:05 +0000 Nguyen Khac Giang,Le Hong Hiep Nguyen Khac Giang,Le Hong Hiep The Trump administration’s indictment of former Cuban president Raul Castro and sanctions on his successor, Miguel Diaz-Canel, suggest Washington now views regime change in Havana as a viable policy objective. This adds to Cuba’s mounting woes. The fall of Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro in January severed the subsidised oil lifeline that had long kept the island nation afloat, plunging Cuba into its worst socio-economic crisis since the 1990s. For most countries, this is a distant problem. For... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3357706/when-us-comes-cuba-what-can-vietnam-do?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3357706/when-us-comes-cuba-what-can-vietnam-do?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 20 Jun 2026 07:00:08 +0000 Zenobia Chan Zenobia Chan In the contest for influence in Southeast Asia, the United States and China agree on one thing: the region is indispensable. Yet beneath the flurry of high-level summits lies a quieter divergence in how each cultivates knowledge about the region. The US is hollowing out the university-based programmes that have long trained its students in Southeast Asian languages, history and politics. China, conversely, is elevating area studies into a top-tier, state-backed academic field. Beyond a shift in... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3356939/china-builds-southeast-asia-expertise-us-lets-it-wither?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3356939/china-builds-southeast-asia-expertise-us-lets-it-wither?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 14 Jun 2026 05:30:05 +0000 Siwage Dharma Negara,Leo Suryadinata Siwage Dharma Negara,Leo Suryadinata Chinese investors in Indonesia’s nickel industry recently sent a formal protest letter to President Prabowo Subianto. The message reflects their concerns over Indonesia’s political and economic direction, and the long-term trajectory of Chinese investment and Indonesia’s industrialisation programme will hinge on how Indonesia resolves them. The letter, submitted by the China Chamber of Commerce in Indonesia (CCCI), complained about a series of government policies, including proposed royalty... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3356938/indonesias-nickel-rule-changes-are-spooking-chinese-investors?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3356938/indonesias-nickel-rule-changes-are-spooking-chinese-investors?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 13 Jun 2026 07:00:10 +0000 Max Lane Max Lane In Jakarta last month, many May Day demonstrations took place, but two stood out as reflections of the divisions among Indonesia’s trade unions. At the National Monument (Monas), tens of thousands of workers gathered at a rally with President Prabowo Subianto as the guest of honour. Several kilometres away at the People’s Representative Council complex, around 10,000 people assembled under a different banner: “May Day with the People”. Their stated position was an explicit refusal to be co-opted... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3356134/indonesias-labour-movement-deeply-divided-over-political-patronage?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3356134/indonesias-labour-movement-deeply-divided-over-political-patronage?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 07 Jun 2026 02:00:10 +0000 Francis E. Hutchinson Francis E. Hutchinson Eyebrows were raised and pulses quickened in Malaysia when the Negeri Sembilan state government teetered last month. Like several other states, Negeri Sembilan has been jointly run by Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Barisan Nasional (BN) – the two pillars of the national unity government. The state has since become the latest to call a local election, raising questions about the national coalition’s solidity and whether the country is heading towards a snap poll some 18 months before the next general... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3356133/can-malaysias-unity-government-survive-state-poll-fight?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3356133/can-malaysias-unity-government-survive-state-poll-fight?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 06 Jun 2026 04:00:12 +0000 Irna Nurlina Irna Nurlina Mass media commonly portrays Southeast Asia as an exciting, adventure-fuelled and culturally rich region – if often an exoticised one – for inhabitants and visitors alike. The final section of the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute’s State of Southeast Asia 2026 Survey, based on respondents’ “relocation preference and travel choices”, adds to the already abundant evidence of the “soft power” of regional countries. Soft power, a term coined by American political scientist Joseph Nye in 1990, is widely... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3355340/where-southeast-asians-really-want-live-work-and-travel?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3355340/where-southeast-asians-really-want-live-work-and-travel?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 31 May 2026 02:00:12 +0000 Syaza Shukri Syaza Shukri A recent controversy surrounding a surau (prayer hall) in Malaysia appeared straightforward at first. A resident of Taman Seraya, Selangor state, raised concerns about the noise and congestion, particularly during prayer times. Police subsequently investigated the complaint as an attempt to incite provocation and disrupt social harmony. The surau management’s escalation of the complaint to alleged harassment – and the subsequent police report – reflects the persistent challenge of managing... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3355339/malaysias-3r-catch-all-risks-turning-every-grievance-threat?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3355339/malaysias-3r-catch-all-risks-turning-every-grievance-threat?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 30 May 2026 02:00:16 +0000 Donghyun Park,Kwanho Shin Donghyun Park,Kwanho Shin Population ageing is fast becoming a global phenomenon. Even regions currently enjoying youthful demographics will eventually undergo demographic transition – and this is increasingly relevant for developing countries too. Some Southeast Asian economies, Thailand and Vietnam among them, have already reached the intermediate stages of this transition. It has begun even in younger economies such as the Philippines, where the fertility rate has now fallen below replacement level. Conventional... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3354533/asias-silver-dividend-can-offset-ageings-economic-toll?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3354533/asias-silver-dividend-can-offset-ageings-economic-toll?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 24 May 2026 04:00:11 +0000 Hoang Thi Ha Hoang Thi Ha When Xi Jinping and Donald Trump concluded their Beijing summit, the most consequential outcome – for China at least – may prove not material, but conceptual: the adoption of “constructive strategic stability” (CSS) as the guiding framework for managing their intensifying competition. For Southeast Asia, a region often caught in the rivalry between the two powers, understanding what this means will matter in the years ahead. The framework reflects a long-held Chinese strategic aspiration.... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3354534/what-china-us-stability-pact-means-southeast-asia?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3354534/what-china-us-stability-pact-means-southeast-asia?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 23 May 2026 03:00:13 +0000 Zha Daojiong Zha Daojiong Southeast Asia stands at the threshold of a nuclear renaissance. Vietnam and Russia signed an agreement in March for the Ninh Thuan 1 Nuclear Power Plant. The Philippines and Indonesia aim to have operational reactors by the early 2030s. Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore are studying small modular reactors. Given heightened energy insecurity, climate commitments and the imperative to meet surging electricity demand from industrial growth, data centres and AI development, nuclear energy is... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3353742/china-offers-southeast-asia-clear-nuclear-power-advantages?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3353742/china-offers-southeast-asia-clear-nuclear-power-advantages?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 17 May 2026 04:00:10 +0000 Kishore Mahbubani Kishore Mahbubani Western social science has made three metaphysical mistakes. The first was to assume that its laws and lessons were, like the physical sciences, universally applicable to all societies. Harvard Professor Theodore Levitt captured the prevailing zeitgeist well when he wrote in 1983: “The world’s needs and desires have been irrevocably homogenised.” That may have been true 40 years ago. It is no longer. One indirect consequence of this assumption – that the whole world was converging towards a... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3353739/west-was-never-whole-world-its-time-move?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3353739/west-was-never-whole-world-its-time-move?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 16 May 2026 02:00:19 +0000 Ian Storey Ian Storey Due to its dependence on Middle Eastern oil, the Philippines has been hit harder than any other Southeast Asian nation by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. But President Ferdinand Marcos’ suggestion that the crisis could rekindle talks with China on joint energy projects in the South China Sea faces three insurmountable challenges: the Philippine constitution, a trust deficit between Manila and Beijing, and Philippine nationalism. In a media interview on March 24, Marcos floated the idea that... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3352927/3-reasons-marcos-south-china-sea-energy-gambit-wont-work?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3352927/3-reasons-marcos-south-china-sea-energy-gambit-wont-work?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 10 May 2026 04:00:16 +0000 Amin Saikal,Amitav Acharya Amin Saikal,Amitav Acharya US President Donald Trump’s threats against Iran since the war began have targeted not just the country’s military capabilities, but its entire civilisation. In recent days, he has threatened that Iran would be “blown off the face of the Earth” if it attacks US ships trying to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. He has previously pledged to send Iran back to the “Stone Age” and warned that “a whole civilisation will die tonight, never to be brought back again”. These statements show not only extreme... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3352928/trumps-threats-against-iran-are-historically-illiterate?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3352928/trumps-threats-against-iran-are-historically-illiterate?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 09 May 2026 07:30:06 +0000 Akio Takahara Akio Takahara Japan and China are Asian powerhouses that should collaborate responsibly for the peace and prosperity of the region. However, bilateral relations have experienced ups and downs since the start of the century and are now at their lowest point after normalisation in 1972. A major cause of this is the widening perception and information gap between the two nations that needs to be addressed through direct people-to-people contact. Some, perhaps many, misunderstand that Japan and China are always... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3352140/why-japan-china-ties-can-benefit-promoting-people-people-exchanges?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3352140/why-japan-china-ties-can-benefit-promoting-people-people-exchanges?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 03 May 2026 01:00:22 +0000 Panarat Anamwathana Panarat Anamwathana An old Thai proverb says, “If you love your cow, tie it up; if you love your child, beat them”. It is meant to convey that a loving and responsible guardian should discipline their child and that corporal punishment is an act of care as sensible as tethering one’s cattle so that it does not wander off. For many generations, this proverb and traditional practices have normalised corporal punishment. This attitude is also displayed by teachers in schools. One year after Thailand legally banned... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3352136/year-after-corporal-punishment-ban-thailand-needs-curb-resurgence?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3352136/year-after-corporal-punishment-ban-thailand-needs-curb-resurgence?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 02 May 2026 04:00:16 +0000 Wesley Morgan,Ben Newell Wesley Morgan,Ben Newell US President Donald Trump is a long-time climate denier and oil industry ally, who sums up his own energy policy as “drill, baby, drill”. Yet he is doing more than almost anyone to speed up the global shift from fossil fuels to clean energy and electric vehicles. After the US and Israel struck Iran in late February, Tehran closed the Strait of Hormuz and triggered the largest disruption of oil supply in history. Ironically for Trump and his oil industry donors, this crisis may be an irreversible... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3351337/trumps-oil-crisis-accelerating-end-fossil-fuel-era?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3351337/trumps-oil-crisis-accelerating-end-fossil-fuel-era?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 26 Apr 2026 07:00:09 +0000 Michael Vatikiotis Michael Vatikiotis The fog of war is getting thicker. The world is beset by conflicts, yet we are increasingly in the dark regarding their causes. Without this understanding, we lack the insight necessary to resolve them. Understanding conflict is a basic tool of mediation. It helps us define who the main actors are, the context in which they operate and the positions they hold. These data points are vital precursors to resolving conflict through mediation, of any kind. Yet in today’s world, the basic information... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3351339/blinding-world-lies-makes-peacemaking-impossible-task?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3351339/blinding-world-lies-makes-peacemaking-impossible-task?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 25 Apr 2026 03:00:21 +0000 Chandran Nair Chandran Nair From Washington to Brussels and even Asia, policymakers have become obsessed with the “Thucydides Trap”, a concept born from Graham Allison’s Destined for War, published in 2017. We are endlessly warned that whenever a rising power challenges the hegemon, war is almost inevitable. This is convenient and lazy. It also ignores the history of peacemaking and the lesson of most wars, which are driven by conquest and control of resources – the creation of the United States being a war of conquest... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3350495/thucydides-trap-lie-created-justify-us-china-war?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3350495/thucydides-trap-lie-created-justify-us-china-war?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 19 Apr 2026 05:30:08 +0000 Nilufer Oral Nilufer Oral On February 28, the United States and Israel bombed Iran. In response, Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz to the passage of all shipping. This has caused a crisis in energy supply chains, with serious economic consequences for countries, including Asian ones, that rely heavily on the strait for their energy supplies. To compound matters, US President Donald Trump announced a sweeping blockade of Iranian ports, which would impede the passage of all maritime traffic entering and exiting the strait.... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3350493/passage-through-strait-hormuz-right-war-and-peace?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3350493/passage-through-strait-hormuz-right-war-and-peace?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 18 Apr 2026 05:30:08 +0000 Joanne Lin Joanne Lin For years, Southeast Asian countries have preferred to avoid taking sides between China and the United States. This year’s State of Southeast Asia survey shows that this approach still holds, but a more contested geostrategic environment is making it harder to sustain. The region continues to feel uneasy about China’s entrenched influence, is increasingly troubled by US leadership under President Donald Trump and is more conscious of Asean’s institutional constraints. The weakening of confidence... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3349676/doubts-about-trump-strain-southeast-asias-us-china-balancing-act?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3349676/doubts-about-trump-strain-southeast-asias-us-china-balancing-act?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 12 Apr 2026 04:00:08 +0000 Nguyen Khac Giang Nguyen Khac Giang On Tuesday, Vietnam’s National Assembly elected a new prime minister. For once, the appointment looks less like a factional compromise than a deliberate bet on competence. Le Minh Hung, born in 1970, is the country’s youngest prime minister since 1955. In a system that often prizes seniority, that alone is striking. More striking still is Hung’s profile: he is not a provincial baron or a deal maker forged in the rough-and-tumble of local politics. Hung is a technocrat with economic training in... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3349678/who-vietnams-new-prime-minister-le-minh-hung?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3349678/who-vietnams-new-prime-minister-le-minh-hung?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 11 Apr 2026 05:00:16 +0000 Flavio Romero Macau Flavio Romero Macau If you had never heard of the Strait of Hormuz before, you probably have by now. Iran’s effective closure of the waterway, which usually carries about 20 per cent of the world’s oil and gas, has put severe pressure on the global economy. Now, some analysts are warning a new flashpoint could emerge: the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. That’s because on March 28, the Houthis, a military group that controls large parts of northern Yemen and is aligned with Iran, entered the war, launching missiles towards... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3348969/why-gate-tears-may-yet-make-whole-world-weep?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3348969/why-gate-tears-may-yet-make-whole-world-weep?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 05 Apr 2026 04:00:09 +0000 Dicky Yordan Dicky Yordan Somewhere in Manila, a journalist reported a scene where tricycle drivers queued since six in the morning for a government cash handout worth US$84 – compensation for fuel prices that have surged since Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz. The Philippines has also become the first country to declare a state of national energy emergency. In Hanoi, petrol stations are rationing by the hour and unleaded prices have climbed more than 20 per cent in a matter of weeks. In Jakarta, the government is... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3348970/hormuz-sending-southeast-asia-warning-and-we-can-no-longer-ignore-it?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3348970/hormuz-sending-southeast-asia-warning-and-we-can-no-longer-ignore-it?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 04 Apr 2026 04:00:27 +0000 Marianne Hanson Marianne Hanson Israel’s avowed goal in the Middle East war is to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. Yet the double standard associated with this is hardly sustainable in the long run. The worst-kept secret in the world of nuclear politics is that Israel possesses a formidable arsenal of nuclear weapons. It began developing these in the 1950s and reached a fully operational capability by the late 1960s. Although Israel refuses to confirm or deny this fact, arms control organisations have assessed that... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3348192/one-rule-israel-and-another-iran-risks-nuclear-disaster?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3348192/one-rule-israel-and-another-iran-risks-nuclear-disaster?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 29 Mar 2026 03:30:12 +0000 Francis C. Domingo Francis C. Domingo The Philippines has exerted tremendous effort in conducting internal security operations since it gained its independence from the United States. Given the country’s reliance on Washington’s security umbrella until the 1990s, its military never effectively developed the capabilities for territorial defence operations. Indeed, the Korean war of 1950-1953 is the only overseas conflict in which Philippine military forces were deployed in combat operations. This preoccupation with internal security... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3348188/philippine-military-must-transform-not-just-modernise?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3348188/philippine-military-must-transform-not-just-modernise?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 28 Mar 2026 03:00:10 +0000 Ian Storey Ian Storey If everything goes according to plan, Indonesia will be in possession of an aircraft carrier come Armed Forces Day on October 5. When that happens, it will become only the second country in Southeast Asia, after Thailand, to operate such a vessel. But this does not mean Indonesia’s maritime power will increase significantly. The issue here is prestige, not combat power. The warship in question is the Italian navy’s Giuseppe Garibaldi. The 14,000-tonne flat-top was commissioned in 1985 and... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3347362/indonesias-new-aircraft-carrier-more-vanity-project-war-machine?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3347362/indonesias-new-aircraft-carrier-more-vanity-project-war-machine?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 22 Mar 2026 02:00:17 +0000 Syaza Shukri Syaza Shukri Malaysia’s recent enforcements and cancellations linked to LGBTQ-related activities have ignited debate about whether the government is backsliding on reform. Rather than reading these moves purely as contradicting past administrations’ policies, these government actions may be better understood as an attempt to balance two political imperatives. For the political establishment, appearing conservative – and being conservative – remains central to political survival in a context where... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3347361/malaysias-lgbtq-crackdowns-arent-hypocrisy-theyre-politics?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3347361/malaysias-lgbtq-crackdowns-arent-hypocrisy-theyre-politics?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 21 Mar 2026 03:30:15 +0000