Asia
Japan is again hunting whales. What can be done?
This week Japan has formally recommenced commercial whaling for the first time in over 30 years.
A small Japanese whaling fleet left port on 1 July after the Japanese government…
Economic diplomacy: Japan v Korea, and trade negotiation secrecy
Own goals
It is hard to find a more remarkable recent example of decades old unresolved nationalist tensions suddenly jumping the fence to the new world than Japan’s decision…
Vietnam shapes as a key winner from the US-China trade war
Even a few hours in Ho Chi Minh City, still called Saigon by the locals, will give you a feel for how much the Vietnamese economy is booming. The international airport completed…
Lessons of globalisation: the vulnerable women of the Nokia factory
Just 40 kilometres southeast of Chennai in the south of India lies Sriperumbudur, a part of the Kanchipuram district of Tamil Nadu. While Kanchipuram is a town, famous for its…
China’s Belt and Road Initiative, from the inside looking out
China is sparing no efforts in promoting the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which, as Beijing claims, aims to enhance regional connectivity between China and countries in Asia,…
Unpacking the Asia Power Index – Podcast out today
This week on the Rules Based Audio podcast: power in Asia. Who’s got it, who’s losing it, and who’s using what they’ve got in the smartest way?
The world’s geopolitical centre of…
Jakarta’s air quality kills its residents – and it’s getting worse
The end of the Ramadan fasting period is marked by a week-long holiday in Indonesia. In Jakarta, this means that almost half the population leave the city to travel back to their…
China’s financial risk and lessons from the Baoshang Bank collapse
The recent collapse and restructuring of Baoshang Bank – a smaller but still large bank based in Inner Mongolia in China – has once again raise the issue of the likelihood of a…
The Indo-Pacific is the New Asia
It’s official. We live in the Indo-Pacific. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations released a joint statement this week in Bangkok during its annual summit called the “ASEAN…
Why Mahathir is unlikely to make Anwar his successor
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad’s latest promise that he “will not go more than three years” in the premiership is the latest in an ongoing saga of leadership succession…