Showing 1 - 10 of 93
Tackling Thai-Cambodian border row
Oped, William Roth, Published on 12/11/2025
» The tragic landmine injuries on Monday to two Thai soldiers have cast doubt on whether the ceasefire agreement with Cambodia will hold. But, even if it does, one also has to wonder whether either country really wishes to have lasting peace along this border. After all, for over 70 years, both countries, for domestic political purposes, have periodically used the continuing uncertainty about the actual boundary line to whip up nationalist sentiment.
Building an energy resilient bloc
Oped, Fajar Ikhsandy, Ignatius Primadi Limin, Mahila Shabira, Weilie Winaldy Sugianlie, Published on 11/11/2025
» According to our latest projection, electricity demand in Asean will reach around 173 million tonnes of oil equivalent (Mtoe), or about 2,000 terawatt-hour (TWh), in 2050 -- roughly 1.6 times higher than the 2023 level.
History beyond race, ultra-nationalism
Oped, Sanitsuda Ekachai, Published on 09/10/2025
» The hall fell silent as the 87-year-old anthropologist began to speak. His voice was weak, punctuated by pauses to catch his breath, yet every word carried the weight of decades of scholarship.
Cutting Asia's reliance on dollars
Oped, Yasuto Watanabe & Hiro Ito, Published on 02/10/2025
» The US dollar remains the world's leading reserve currency, but recent developments -- particularly President Donald Trump's unilateral economic diplomacy, including weaponisation of the dollar -- have fuelled doubts about whether it will maintain that status. While some of America's geopolitical rivals may hope to displace the dollar, the real challenge facing Asian economies is to manage the vulnerabilities created by their heavy dependence on it.
UN debate swerves, slides, but scores
Oped, John J Metzler, Published on 01/10/2025
» US President Donald Trump lambasted the United Nations on opening day for its failure to stop global crises in the midst of major regional wars, humanitarian disasters, looming security threats, never mind costly bureaucratic waste. But as the leader of the most prominent and founding UN member state, he then added that the world organisation isn't living up to its potential, and scathingly challenged, "What's the purpose of the United Nations?" The old rebuke, "You can do better!" Sometimes it works.
Authoritarians' brave new cities
Oped, Robert Muggah & Carlo Ratti, Published on 23/09/2025
» Few policy ideas are as radical -- or as misleadingly packaged -- as "freedom cities". Championed by Silicon Valley's techno-libertarian elite and recently embraced by right-wing politicians like Donald Trump, the idea is to create digitally powered, master-planned enclaves of deregulated innovation.
The Trump melodrama: Relief is at hand
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 22/08/2025
» Nobody had been bothering for the past three years, but then along came Donald Trump, determined to shape a "peace deal" between two countries about which he knows little and cares less. Why? Just to win a bauble called the Nobel Peace Prize, because Barack Obama got it first and that wasn't fair.
Why aid workers need protection
Oped, Pio Smith, Published on 20/08/2025
» From flood-hit villages in Nepal to conflict-affected areas in Myanmar, midwives, doctors and community responders save lives. These humanitarians are the first to arrive and the last to leave when a crisis strikes. They work in conflict zones, climate disaster areas and displacement camps, often with scarce resources and under constant threat of violence.
EU leaders must master Trump management
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 19/08/2025
» It's like one of those slapstick comedies from the early days of silent films: the "Keystone Cops" movies, perhaps, or Buster Keaton's various efforts. Lots of people rushing around, constant reversals of fortune, and many pratfalls.
Alaska talks will test the desire for peace in Ukraine
Oped, John J Metzler, Published on 13/08/2025
» Is there now a chance to end Russia's war in Ukraine? Are both sides in this bloody stalemate finally willing to give peace a chance, despite real reservations by both Moscow and Kyiv to keep the fighting going just a little longer? More importantly, are Ukraine's backers, notably the US and European countries such as the UK, Germany and Poland, able to exert enough pressure on Vladimir Putin to make a deal?