Showing 1 - 10 of 251
Trump goes off-script, US gone rogue
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 27/03/2026
» It was not supposed to work like this. "America First" and "Make America Great Again" (MAGA) were supposed to be about an inward turn to repair, replenish and rebuild an externally overstretched and internally weakened country, weighed down by unnecessary global entanglements, unsustainable national debt, and unimpeded mass migration. It seemed for a time that the MAGA movement to prioritise America above and beyond the international system and its constituent parts had found its final prophet in President Donald J Trump. But now, somehow, President Trump has betrayed the movement that has carried him to office by waging a disastrous war on Iran in cooperation with Israel.
Impacts of Iran war on Southeast Asia
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 20/03/2026
» For the most part, Southeast Asia as a region has taken a neutral stance toward the joint attack between the United States and Israel against the Islamic Republic of Iran. Even the Philippines and Thailand, two formal US treaty allies, have distanced themselves, calling for restraint and de-escalation.
Lesson from India to avoid the middle-income trap
Oped, Arvind Panagariya, Published on 18/03/2026
» Among Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's most ambitious goals is to transform his country into a developed economy by Aug 15, 2047 -- the centenary of Indian independence. Given India's growth record over the past two decades, the speed and scale of its infrastructure development in recent years, and the Modi government's willingness to enact large-scale economic reforms, India is likely to become one of the few developing countries to avoid the middle-income trap.
Diversification key to surviving volatility
Oped, Sally Tyler, Published on 13/03/2026
» On the day I am writing this editorial, I was meant to be travelling to Bangkok for one of my periodic visits to a city I have grown to love. I am always keen to shave off a few hours from a long-haul flight, which means the shortest flight path from my home in Washington, DC, would take me through Abu Dhabi, but my flight was cancelled like thousands of others due to the ongoing conflict in the Mideast. My inconvenience is nothing compared to the destruction endured by those on the ground, but it illustrates the expanding global impact of the US/Israel/Iran War.
Can artificial intelligence kill imaginary friends?
Oped, Naomi R Aguiar & Marjorie Taylor, Published on 13/03/2026
» Will we someday have nostalgia for a time when children talked to an imaginary friend instead of an AI companion?
It's never been more important to strengthen ties
Oped, Genevieve Donnellon-May, Published on 09/03/2026
» Australia and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) face a defining moment. Intensifying great-power competition, climate crises and economic fragmentation are reshaping the Indo-Pacific, raising urgent questions about how the two sides can build a truly resilient partnership.
For buses, safety first
Oped, Editorial, Published on 19/02/2026
» The government's attempt to raise the standards of public buses powered by compressed natural gas (CNG) by means of a "safety rating list" is welcome news, despite being long overdue.
Fiscal deficit will trigger 2026 crisis
Oped, Chartchai Parasuk, Published on 19/02/2026
» If readers want to be fully convinced that there will be a financial crisis in 2026, I can do that in three minutes. Readers need only look at the last two columns of the attached table, which depict the financing situation of the Thai economy in 2025 (actual) and 2026 (projected).
Could a Brics currency rival the dollar?
Oped, Jim O'Neill, Published on 18/02/2026
» Could the Brics (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) ever launch a shared currency to challenge the US dollar's dominant position in the world economy? Like many conventional international economists, I have generally dismissed the idea, despite my own role in coining the Brics acronym, which led to the creation of a formal Brics club (since expanded into the Brics+, with the addition of five new members).
How world's super-rich are rewriting the rules
Oped, Joseph E Stiglitz & Jayati Ghosh, Published on 13/02/2026
» Ongoing efforts to derail multilateral tax cooperation lie at the heart of a global programme to replace democratic governance with coercive rule by the extremely wealthy -- or what we call 21st-century Caesarism. Any strategy to counter this programme, therefore, must recognise that taxing extreme wealth is essential to saving democracy.