Headlines

The Shangri-La shockwave and the death of automatic assurance

When US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth took the podium at the recent Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, his words signaled a profound structural shift in the global security landscape. Declaring that the era of America subsidizing the defense of wealthy nations is officially

Asia

Indonesia really can’t afford another air pollution crisis

In August 2023, Jakarta briefly became a symbol of what happens when governments ignore environmental warning signs for too long. The city ranked among the most polluted places in the world. Schools adjusted activities. Some offices asked employees to work from home. Parents

Asia

Australia is the victim of an AUKUS ‘bait and switch’

At a security conference in Singapore over the weekend, the three AUKUS partners – the United States, United Kingdom and Australia – announced a tweak to their partnership that has generated quite a lot of attention in Canberra. Australia will now receive three second-hand

Asia

All the reasons Cambodia should join the CPTPP

The natural instinct of any government facing a more fragmented global system is to guard its policy flexibility and keep its hands free to respond to whatever comes next. But the countries that consistently attract long-term investment tend to choose a different path. They

Asia

Xi closes the door after promising US CEOs to open wider

TOKYO — The billionaire CEOs who accompanied US President Donald Trump to Beijing last month are probably feeling some whiplash. Some of that disorientation comes from Trump himself — a president who built two campaigns on confronting China and has since recast himself as an

Asia

Why the Shangri-La Dialogue finally really mattered

Under Singapore’s increasingly sweltering skies, the lobby of the Shangri-La Hotel in late May 2026 offered a revealing snapshot of a world edging toward deeper fragmentation. The 23rd edition of the Shangri-La Dialogue, held from May 29 to 31, brought together representatives

Asia

Is Hormuz the US dollar’s Suez?

In the dog days of summer 70 years ago, Gamal Abdel Nasser announced the nationalization of the Suez Canal. The move triggered the invasion of Egypt by a joint force of British, French and Israeli troops. Although the military operation was a success, it was a diplomatic

Asia