US-Asia relations

China warns against joint US, Philippines and Japan drills eroding regional trust

Japan’s Self-Defence Forces are taking part in live-fire drills for the first time.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth (left) and Indonesia's counterpart Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin announce a "major defence cooperation partnership".

Indonesia weighs proposal allowing US military overflights

It will enhance Washington’s ability to move its forces quickly across a strategically vital corridor

From the Middle East to Greenland, US President Donald Trump’s persistent foreign policy brazenness has sapped the trust of longstanding allies.

Are Asia and Europe at ‘Trump tipping points’?

Developments in Greenland and Iran have fed into a wider reassessment of US power in key Asian and European nations

US military personnel with munitions at the RAF Fairford airbase in Gloucestershire, UK. Defence officials in Asia are growing alarmed that more American firepower will shift over time if the Middle East conflict drags on.

The quiet death of the US pivot to Asia

Iran campaign consumes capabilities America would rely on in any major conflict in the Indo-Pacific

A garment factory in Ho Chi Minh City. Targets of the US probes include Vietnam, which had the largest trade surplus with the US in January.

US tariff turmoil: Will partners in Asia and Europe break away from their 2025 deals?

For economies already hit by the war in Iran, America’s new ‘unfair trade practices probes’ spell only more trouble

Japanese Trade Minister Ryosei Akazawa said that he will continue the tough negotiations, noting that Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi plans to visit the US in March.

Japan, US far apart on US$550 billion fund projects

The grant aims to spur a wave of Japanese investment into key US industries, and is vital to the bilateral tariff deal

Sino-American tensions and US President Donald Trump’s actions are critically important, yet not everything should hinge on the US and China.
POLITICS THAT MATTER

A long year that is not over

Growth has been resilient and fundamentals remain positive, but problems have grown

The Party Central Committee begins its 15th plenum on Monday (Dec 22), to discuss key issues ahead of the twice-a-decade party congress.

Vietnam replaces trade minister as leadership review begins

The current chairman of PetroVietnam, Le Manh Hung, becomes the acting minister of industry and trade

During his Asia tour, Trump hogged the headlines from that first jig when he arrived at Kuala Lumpur airport. When Trump chooses to turn up, it is his agenda for America that is not only first but perhaps the only item on the agenda.
POLITICS THAT MATTER

Asean in a ‘Minus One’ world

When America First means the US chooses when to show up, the region must find its way to live and prosper