Opinion

Original perspectives and fresh thinking on issues of concern to Asia from around the region, plus editorials and letters to the editor. Please contact us if you would like to submit a letter to be considered for publication. 

Trump can't be trusted to defend Taiwan

President's words, diplomacy with Xi and economic framing send Beijing wrong signal

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Derek Grossman
Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te poses with reservists during a training session at Loung Te Industrial Parks Service Center in Yilan, Taiwan, in December 2025.
Sanae Takaichi and Giorgia Meloni

Japan and Italy must help shape the future global order

Sanae Takaichi and Giorgia Meloni
Prediction market platforms such as Polymarket and Kalshi operate in a shadowy space between gambling and investing. (Screenshot from Polymarket website)
James David Spellman

Prediction markets are warping future expectations

Oversight is lacking as regulators debate guardrails for event-based trading

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James David Spellman
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Bull statues in front of screens showing the Hang Seng Index, outside Exchange Square in Hong Kong on Aug. 18, 2023. The HKEX has changed rules to help it attract bigger IPO volumes and proceeds, but the cost could be investor trust.
Iain O'Brien

The Hong Kong Stock Exchange is taking on too much risk

Pivotal bourse must safeguard investors by doing due diligence and vetting

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Iain O'Brien
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Laborers walk near the construction site of a Tata Group semiconductor fabrication plant in India's Dholera special economic zone in March 2024.
Aarthi Sivanandh

India is writing the opening chapter of its semiconductor story

Late to fabs but rich in talent and subsidies, nation faces the test of execution

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Aarthi Sivanandh
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In downtown Mexico City, products on display at a mall specializing in imports from China as the power of Chinese exports expands worldwide.
Henny Sender

China is already the economic Goliath it does not want to be seen as

Beijing should evolve from export-led growth and focus on services at home

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Henny Sender
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The CHS oil refinery in McPherson, Kansas, in the U.S.: The fossil-fuel energy sector is a major source of methane emissions.  
Tim Daiss

Satellites are forcing a methane reckoning in Asia

High-resolution monitoring exposes emissions governments and companies can't ignore

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Tim Daiss
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Yahoo Japan and Naver are among the Asian platforms that provide aggregated news. (Nikkei montage/ Source photos by Wataru Ito and Getty)
Douglas Montgomery

Teaching media literacy is the starting point for resisting fake news

Policing platforms isn't enough as Asian students tend not to investigate misinformation

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Douglas Montgomery
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A Venezuelan oil worker collects a crude oil sample at a well operated by state oil company PDVSA in Morichal. With President Nicolas Maduro's abduction, Asian creditors of state-owned PDVSA will look to recover stranded receivables.

Venezuela's oil upside for Asia comes with new risks

Oil prices might decline, while the US's increasing hostility against Iran casts a shadow

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China is Venezuela's largest importer of oil. (Nikkei montage/Source photos by Reuters)
AKITO TANAKA

Editor's Choice: Trump's Venezuela assault upends global norms, splits Asia

Akito Tanaka shares his weekly reflections and recommendations

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AKITO TANAKA
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People line up to cast their votes at a polling station during Myanmar's general elections in Naypyitaw on Dec. 28, 2025.
Benedict Rogers

China's malign influence in Myanmar's sham elections

Beijing is propping up a brutal regime, trading fake legitimacy for strategic control

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Benedict Rogers
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Donald Trump walks to the White House as he returns from Florida on Jan. 4. The "Trump effect" no longer guarantees political advantage.
Steven R Okun and Thurgood Marshall Jr

Second-term Trump: Constrained at home, unchecked abroad

Domestic resistance grows as US president's foreign-policy latitude expands

Steven R Okun and Thurgood Marshall Jr
Subaru cars await export at a port in Yokohama on March 27. Japanese companies at key nodes such as the automotive industry must build their supply chains in a reasonable way.
Wolfgang Lehmacher

Right-shoring: Japan can redesign the supply chain to fit its interests

Politicalizing friend-shoring or decoupling could weaken the system

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Wolfgang Lehmacher
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The Venezuelan flag flies atop the National Assembly in Caracas on Jan. 5, the day Vice President Delcy Rodriguez was sworn in as interim president.
Derek Grossman

Asian nations hedge bets after Trump's Venezuela strike

From allies to fence-sitters, governments signal concern without open confrontation

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Derek Grossman
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South Korean President Lee Jae Myung takes questions at a Dec. 3 news conference in Seoul to mark the first anniversary of the martial law declaration by former leader Yoon Suk Yeol.
Joseph Yi and Wondong Lee

South Korea's 'militant democracy' authoritarianism

A year after failed martial law declaration, nation faces erosion of liberal democracy

Joseph Yi and Wondong Lee
A woman in Beijing uses her smartphone on Sept. 19. China's government has built a layered framework for generative AI since 2023.
Vivian Toh

Reality bites for hotly anticipated Chinese AI smartphone

Device hit with superapp-related teething problems on debut this month

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Vivian Toh
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Susumu Kitagawa, winner of the 2025 Nobel Prize in chemistry, stands with his award at Concert Hall in Stockholm Concert Hall, in Stockholm on Dec. 10. 

Open-ended research brings novel benefits, even in AI era

By demanding immediate returns, Japan is limiting opportunities for breakthroughs

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In business and tech, AI and EVs will be in the spotlight again following last year's booms. 
AKITO TANAKA

Editor's Choice: My predictions for 2026 -- Asian democracy, AI and Trump

Akito Tanaka shares his weekly reflections and recommendations

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AKITO TANAKA
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A street vendor waits for customers in Peshawar, Pakistan. The nation faces a host of challenges in 2026 and beyond.
Farhan Bokhari

Pakistan has some tough choices to make in 2026

The nuclear-armed country has avoided default but faces major challenges

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Farhan Bokhari
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Asia faces three specific risks that will require deft, nimble and creative policy responses: Trump, Trump, and Trump. (Source photos by Reuters)

Asia has a big Donald Trump problem on its hands in 2026

Which of the American president's alter egos will Japan, South Korea and China have to confront?

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People stand on Nov. 25 in front of houses in Afghanistan's Kunar province that the Taliban government said were damaged after Pakistan carried out raids. 
Syed Munir Khasru

Afghanistan is once again proving that geography is destiny

Nation sits at intersection of Indian, Pakistani, Chinese and Russian ambitions

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Syed Munir Khasru
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Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits the Jordan Museum in Amman on Dec. 16. Rather than projecting confidence as a regional stabilizer, India in 2025 often appeared reactive.

After a year of foreign-policy shocks, India faces hard choices

New Delhi should recognize the reality, be flexible and think strategically

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A nuclear-powered Type 094A Jin-class ballistic missile submarine of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy navigates during a military display in the South China Sea on Apr. 12, 2018.
Imran Khalid

Nuclear submarines and the new underwater arms race in the Indo-Pacific

South Korea has received US approval to purchase vessels, while Japan is debating its strategy

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Imran Khalid
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The former Emperor and Empress, as Crown Prince and Princess, arrive in Bamiyan, central Afghanistan, and are welcomed by children performing a dance on June 7, 1971.
Peter MacMillan

The lifelong pilgrimage that redefined Japan's monarchy

Postwar imperial couple reshaped the throne by confronting war memories

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Peter MacMillan
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A view of a container port in Qingdao, China: Asia's development model needs a rethink, according to the Asian Development Bank Institute's Bambang Brodjonegoro.
Bambang Brodjonegoro

It can still be Asia's century

Five pillars can help developing economies escape the middle-income trap in a fractured global economy

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Bambang Brodjonegoro
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The Philippines' logo for its 2026 ASEAN chairmanship. (Photo courtesy of ASEAN)
Don McLain Gill

The Philippines seeks maritime security through 2026 ASEAN chairmanship

Manila must balance it with food and energy security, disaster relief, or other issues

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Don McLain Gill
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