Showing 1 - 10 of 47
Time to tone down Taiwan tensions
Asia focus, Nareerat Wiriyapong, Published on 08/08/2022
» It was a picture-perfect shot, really. That was my thought when I saw US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi standing side by side with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen in Taipei last Wednesday. But the one-day visit to the self-ruled island by the 82-year-old American politician has created no end of tension, not only for the US and China but also many of their allies across the Asia Pacific region.
Chinese perceptions of the US role in Asia
Asia focus, Vun Phanith, Published on 25/07/2022
» China must exert and strengthen its sphere of influence in Asia to win against the United States on the battlefield of a complex and changing geopolitical landscape, and ally with Asean states to maintain Beijing's status quo.
The new Covid challenge
Asia focus, Nareerat Wiriyapong, Published on 11/07/2022
» As many Thais return to the office, entertainment venues reopen and wearing face masks is no longer mandatory in outdoor public places, new daily coronavirus cases have begun to climb lately, notably among school students.
Bangladesh pursues careful Myanmar policy
Asia focus, Parvej Siddique Bhuiyan, Published on 02/05/2022
» The history of Myanmar is one of struggle with coups, military rule, religious persecution and ethnic conflict. The ongoing violence between the country's military and organised armed civilians is now leading the country to the verge of a full-blown civil war that is unlikely to end anytime soon.
US-China rivalry and public diplomacy in Southeast Asia
Asia focus, Aristyo Rizka Darmawan, Published on 14/03/2022
» 'President Biden told President Xi that we share a profound responsibility to ensure that the competition between our countries does not veer into conflict," US Secretary of State Antony Blinken declared during a visit to Jakarta in December.
Taiwan feels chill from Ukraine crisis
Asia focus, Nareerat Wiriyapong, Published on 28/02/2022
» Countries across the world are feeling the impact of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine as stock markets tumble and oil prices spike. But Taiwan is feeling a particular chill, amid concerns that it eventually could face a similar fate at the hands of China.
Fragile, uneven recovery
Asia focus, Nareerat Wiriyapong, Published on 24/01/2022
» The world has entered 2022 facing numerous uncertainties. After two years of fighting the coronavirus pandemic, the emergence of the Omicron variant now poses challenges to economies even in countries where vaccination rates are high.
Pakistan a hub for South-Central Asian integration
Asia focus, Bilal Khan, Published on 10/01/2022
» Kyrgyzstan has become the latest country to formally express its desire to join the multi-billion-dollar China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) linking Western China with the Pakistani deep seaport of Gwadar at the mouth of Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf.
Year of Turbulence
Asia focus, Asia Focus Team, Published on 27/12/2021
» Pandemic drags on recovery: In the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, many Asian countries had enviable success, avoiding large-scale outbreaks and mass deaths. But the arrival of the more transmissible Delta variant this year and sluggish vaccine rollouts compounded by low availability sent cases surging. Combined with poor monitoring and easy movement among countries, often unofficially, Southeast Asia became a virus hotspot. The ballooning health crisis collided with churning political discontent in the case of Myanmar, Thailand and Malaysia. Economically, the new wave of infections, and attendant restrictions imposed to curb the spread, stalled recoveries. After nearly two years of strict border controls, many countries started to loosen up and live with Covid. But the rise of the Omicron variant now threatens to scuttle those tentative reopening plans and usher in a third year of economic anxiety.
Big powers ardently wooing Asean
Asia focus, Nareerat Wiriyapong, Published on 29/11/2021
» The Association of Southeast Asian Nations once more found itself serving as a shock absorber between great powers last week. The occasion was an online summit of Chinese and Asean leaders, where President Xi Jinping emphasised Beijing's strong commitment to the bloc and announced a "new milestone" in relations.