When the previous government released the first-ever national security strategy last year, it forecast stormy geopolitical weather ahead. In the brief few months since then, the sky has darkened further still. Beyond a slight rapprochement between China and the United States at the end of 2023, arms control remains poor, measures to prevent accidental war […]

The post New Zealand needs to muscle up for the New Cold War appeared first on Asia Times.

A shaky agreement to end fighting in northern Myanmar has served to highlight concerns in Beijing over the ongoing unrest – and the limits of China’s power to influence the ongoing civil war. On January 12, 2024, China announced that it had brokered a cease-fire between the Myanmar military and a trio of ethnic armies, […]

The post China’s influence on Myanmar insurgents only goes so far appeared first on Asia Times.

The state visit to Beijing by Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr in January 2023 did not yield the momentum for bilateral ties that his predecessor’s trip in 2017 did. Barely one month after the state visit, there was a flareup in the South China Sea (SCS) with the Chinese coastguard’s lasing of its Philippine counterpart off Second Thomas Shoal. The […]

The post Muscle and mediation swirl in the South China Sea appeared first on Asia Times.

Last year was unprecedented in independent Singapore’s history. Difficulties have arisen in past years for the government, the economy, specific sections of the Singaporean populace or in terms of escalating repression, but 2023 encompassed all the above. Recovering Singapore’s reputation for clean governance will not be an easy task. In January 2023, six executives of Keppel […]

The post Singapore’s year of living scandalously appeared first on Asia Times.

MANILA – The Filipino military chief has announced new plans for massive construction activities across all Philippine-claimed land features in the South China Sea, a move that promises to intensify already hot tensions with China over contested territories. General Romeo Brawner made the high-stakes announcement, which covers as many as nine disputed sea features, directly […]

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MANILA – “The Philippines is an important partner of Indonesia,” declared President Joko Widodo during a high-profile visit to Manila, one of his last major diplomatic trips before stepping down from office later this year. “Many Indonesian defense equipment products are purchased by the Philippines and investment there is also quite significant,” the two-term leader […]

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Philippine aspirations to hit upper-middle-income country status were derailed by the Covid-19 pandemic, but economic planners remain optimistic that this target can be achieved by 2025.  If a new era of global political and economic rebalancing is taking place, there are clear internal challenges and international economic opportunities for the Philippines to navigate. The Philippine […]

The post Philippine economics in a rebalancing world appeared first on Asia Times.

MANILA – In another sign that the South China Sea is at the heart of a brewing US-China new Cold War, both superpowers conducted tit-for-tat wargames in the disputed maritime area in the opening days of the new year. The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the United States Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM) conducted the […]

The post Tit-for-tat wargames rumble and churn South China Sea appeared first on Asia Times.

Highly trade-dependent economies like Singapore will be hardest hit by these monetary tightening measures. Singapore’s trade-to-GDP ratio was 336.86% in 2022, an increase of 3.52% from 2021. Since October 2022, Singapore’s export-led manufacturing sector, which comprises approximately 20-25% of its GDP, has remained subdued due to the decrease in global demand. After a pandemic-fuelled boom, […]

The post Can Singapore keep cheating recession in 2024? appeared first on Asia Times.

After an almost seven-year imprisonment, former senator Leila De Lima was released on bail in November 2023. In her speech, she thanked the Marcos administration for respecting the rule of law.  De Lima’s choice of words is not accidental. It was a loaded statement to fan the growing political wedge between the Marcos and the Duterte families […]

The post Deep, dark cracks in the Marcos-Duterte alliance appeared first on Asia Times.

MANILA – South China Sea disputes pitting China against Southeast Asian claimants are fast shaping to become the region’s major flashpoint of 2024. In its final act as the outgoing chairman of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Indonesia corralled the bloc’s foreign ministers for an unprecedented diplomatic intervention. As the world prepared for […]

The post South China Sea hot enough to bubble over in 2024 appeared first on Asia Times.

Semiconductors are quickly becoming both the new oil and a new source of global conflict. Today, everything that requires computing power has chips fitted, from weapons to watches and cars. The artificial intelligence era is only just beginning, which will inevitably lead to even greater use of semiconductor chips. Malaysia is right in the middle of […]

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MANILA – “China-Philippines relations are at a crossroads. Faced with the choice of where to go, the Philippines must act with caution,” warned Wang Yi, China’s top diplomat during a recent testy conversation with his Filipino counterpart, Enrique Manalo. According to a readout of the exchange, China squarely blamed the Southeast Asian nation for rising […]

The post Why Marcos Jr wants to go toe-to-toe with China appeared first on Asia Times.

In November 2023, several countries followed through on their earlier commitments to intervene in the Rohingya genocide case, supporting The Gambia against Myanmar at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Events on the battlefield have also shifted the military balance, which could affect the prosecution of crimes at the ICJ and other international courts. On […]

The post Myanmar’s battered junta in extreme legal jeopardy appeared first on Asia Times.

Ethnic Malay interests remain front and center in Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s Malaysia Madani. An uptick in ethnic polarization and a poor showing by parties from Anwar’s unity government in Malay-majority seats in 2023’s state elections leave the administration under pressure to shore up Malay support. To that end, the Malaysian government will be wheeling out a […]

The post Anwar to help or hurt Malaysia’s sons of the soil? appeared first on Asia Times.

MANILA – Japan and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) wrapped up a special summit in Tokyo over the weekend, marking 50 years of bilateral relations. Ties between the two sides are deep and friendly thanks to Japan’s pivotal role in post-war economic development and industrialization throughout the Southeast Asian region. With flagging approval […]

The post Japan-ASEAN in a much more muscular embrace appeared first on Asia Times.

In late October, an alliance of three ethnic armed organizations (EAO) launched a major offensive against Myanmar’s military regime in the north of the country.  Soon afterward, other EAOs and militia groups, including members of the opposition People’s Defense Forces (PDFs), took advantage of the regime’s troubles by opening new fronts in western, eastern and […]

The post Still too early to write off Myanmar’s junta appeared first on Asia Times.

Following the conclusion of President Xi Jinping’s Hanoi trip earlier this week, China has claimed itself to be Vietnam’s best choice for trade and diplomatic partnerships in the Asia Pacific region. Perhaps, but the proof will be in the pudding. Will Vietnam directly export its rare earths, as the US hopes, or send them for processing […]

The post China wants role in US-Vietnam rare earths plan appeared first on Asia Times.

Vietnam has become the only nation this year to host the leaders of the world’s two most powerful nations, underscoring the remarkable rise of a once-impoverished and war-stricken nation.  Vietnam’s famed “bamboo” diplomacy shifted into high gear this week, as the Southeast Asian nation hosted Chinese paramount leader Xi Jinping to mark a “new historic […]

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“The aggression and provocations perpetrated by [China’s maritime forces] over the weekend have only further steeled our determination to defend and protect our nation’s sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction” in the South China Sea,” declared Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr after yet another major incident in the hotly disputed waters.  According to Philippine authorities, a […]

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