By Joseph Sipalan Malaysia’s next general election may well be decided by the country’s millions of young voters and its biggest conservative Islamist party is determined to win them over. For the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), winning young people’s support means dominating the online spaces they inhabit. “Whoever controls [online] media will gain their votes,” […]
Read MoreBy Seong Hyeon Choi In the US State Department’s catalogue of priorities for the next five years, Taiwan rates exactly zero mentions. The department’s Agency Strategic Plan does list peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific as a goal but its top focus after national security is the western hemisphere. The plan sets out the direction […]
Read MoreBy He Huifeng in Guangdong Despite a slowing economy, recurring trade frictions and intensifying price competition, the value of China’s exports rose in 2025 by 6.1 per cent, year on year, to a record 26.98 trillion yuan (US$3.87 trillion) – cementing its position as the world’s largest trading nation. Behind that growth, China’s export machine […]
Read MoreBy Finbarr Bermin gham in Brussels After German Chancellor Friedrich Merz pledged to make Europe “the antithesis to state-sponsored unfair trade practices”, the massive pressure the country’s automotive industry faced from China was laid bare in new figures. Over the course of 2025, German car and car part shipments to China saw dramatic slumps, while […]
Read MoreBangladesh’s decision not to take part in the T20 World Cup scheduled to be held in India is no longer just a cricketing matter. It has become a complex issue involving security, diplomacy, economics and long-term cricket planning — with consequences that could extend well beyond a single tournament. The government’s position, for now, is […]
Read MoreBy Maria Siow Vietnam’s Communist Party five-yearly congress is set to consolidate more power for General Secretary To Lam, whom observers say has behaved like he “expects a mandate”. But term and age limits on the leadership are expected to remain, they add, leaving Lam as just a “first among equals” when the conclave concludes […]
Read MoreBy Cao Jiaxuan in Beijing Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said it all in a phone call to his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, last week. With Tehran in turmoil and Washington threatening to intervene, Wang was holding Beijing’s long-standing line. “[China] opposes the use or threat of force in international relations, opposes imposing one’s own […]
Read MoreThe Syrian government’s rapid takeover of territory long held by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces took shape in a string of high-stakes meetings in Damascus, Paris and Iraq earlier this month, nine sources briefed on the closed-door summits told Reuters. The accounts, not previously reported and shared on condition of anonymity, showed that the US […]
Read MoreBy Kolette Lim and Aidan Jones Southeast Asian countries invited to join Donald Trump’s proposed “Board of Peace” should think carefully before entering what looks like a “more exclusive version” of the United Nations Security Council with the US president in ultimate control, analysts caution. Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam are among about 60 countries that […]
Read MoreBy Alcott Wei in Beijing China could learn from Ukraine about using drones to launch modified small and micro aerial bombs, a leading Chinese weapons expert said. Cai Yi, chief scientist of China North Industries Group Corporation (Norinco), said in an interview earlier this month that aerial bomb strikes by Ukrainian drones provided “a valuable […]
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