A Turning Point, or a Tension Point? Japan’s economy stands at what its Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama describes as an inflection point — a transition from inflation driven by external cost pressures toward a more structurally embedded, wage-led inflationary cycle.…
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto marked two years in office on October 20, with his administration pointing to rice self-sufficiency, progress on energy independence and stronger-than-expected economic growth as its headline achievements. The numbers are not without merit. Yet as he…
A Headline That Flatters China’s economy grew at 4.5 per cent in the third quarter of 2025, the National Bureau of Statistics confirmed on Monday — a figure that beat the Reuters poll consensus of 4.4 per cent and marked…
A single vessel can carry significant strategic weight. In August, Reuters reported the first known sighting of a Chinese maritime militia boat in waters off Taiwan’s east coast — and the United States State Department’s response was unambiguous: China’s actions…
As ASEAN member states quietly normalise contact with Myanmar’s military leader Min Aung Hlaing, the bloc’s collective position on the country’s reintegration is facing its most sustained stress test since the 2021 coup — and Malaysia’s recent outreach has brought…
When the United States withdrew from the World Health Organization in January 2025, it did not merely create a funding gap. It created a political vacuum — and Beijing has moved with characteristic deliberateness to position itself inside it. China’s…
Vietnam’s central bank has acknowledged that inflation has breached its annual target, with the deputy governor warning of mounting pressure on monetary policy management through the end of 2024. Despite the overshoot, authorities insist prices remain within manageable bounds —…
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi formally described China as an “important neighbour” in a policy address to parliament on Monday, pledging to construct a constructive and stable bilateral relationship even as diplomatic tensions between Tokyo and Beijing remain severely strained…
On 15 September, Shoko Kawata posted a photograph to X — a new mother cradling her daughter, a mayor stepping into territory no elected official in Japan had formally navigated before. The image carried weight beyond the personal. Within weeks,…
The central question in the ongoing false trading trial of Dr Goh Jin Hian is not merely whether he conspired to manipulate New Silkroutes Group’s share price, but whether a man of his standing — the son of former prime…
