About Asia

More Asian internet users are influenced by far-right causes including white supremacism in the digital age. Listen to Post reporter Kimberly Lim explain more about the ‘anti-woke’ movement’s slow creep in the region, while experts Munira Mustaffa, Jo Krishnakumar and Rizky Rahadianto provide context on how the internet has become so divisive.
Read more: https://sc.mp/h43aw 

How does a country deepen its relationship and do business with China without risking retaliation by the US and its allies? How can a nation protect its territorial claims in the South China Sea yet maintain a delicate balancing act with its neighbours with their own views and claims? Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim discusses these issues and more, including his deep anguish over the Israel-Gaza war, in this extended version of Talking Post with Yonden Lhatoo.

Harajuku, a neighbourhood in the Japanese capital Tokyo, has long been known as the birthplace of some incredibly colourful and unique fashion subcultures. The district had gone relatively quiet for years, but now one of its best-known styles called decora is staging a surprise comeback. In this episode of About Asia, we chart the rise, fall and rebirth of Harajuku’s fashion scene. 
Read more: https://sc.mp/cdeb24 

The US has been grappling with an opioid crisis for decades, but the problem has been exacerbated by the arrival of fentanyl – a synthetic drug 50 times more potent than heroin. What roles do China and India play in the global illicit fentanyl trade? Post correspondent Khushboo Razdan and independent investigative journalist Ben Westhoff walk us through their reporting.
For more on this: https://sc.mp/8c9626

Oppenheimer will finally make its Japan premier on March 29, 2024, eight months after the film’s world debut. How will the only country to suffer wartime atomic bombings react to a biopic about the American physicist who led efforts to build the first such weapons of mass destruction? Yuki Miyamoto, a nuclear ethics professor at DePaul University who has seen Oppenheimer three times, discusses her reservations about the film. 
Read more: https://sc.mp/92s0 
 

Protests continue in India against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), which many say is a Hindu nationalist campaign targeting Muslims, spearheaded by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Post spoke with independent journalist Angad Singh for more.
Read more on this: https://sc.mp/5396d3 

The yakuza are seeing a pop cultural renaissance with hit TV shows like Tokyo Vice and video games such as Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth. In reality, however, the Japanese organised crime groups are in serious decline. But do their shrinking numbers tell the whole story? To learn more, the Post’s Jonathan Vit spoke with Dr Martina Baradel, a criminologist at the University of Oxford.
Read more on this: https://sc.mp/r6law

How might a second Trump presidency affect US relations with China, North Korea, Japan, Asean, India and more? Post US bureau chief Robert Delaney compares and analyses the foreign policies of incumbent President Joe Biden and his predecessor Donald Trump and explores whether Beijing prefers one over the other.
Read the latest on the US presidential 2024 elections: https://sc.mp/0d0073 

A growing number of women are freezing their eggs as a means of prolonging their fertility, but what are the economic and social barriers they face along the way? The Post spoke with Dr Geetha Venkat to learn more.
Read more on this: https://sc.mp/3hse 

The political marriage of the Philippines’ two most powerful families appears to be crumbling. Lucio Blanco Pitlo III, research fellow at the Asia-Pacific Pathways to Progress Foundation, explains the history behind the apparent feud between President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr and his predecessor Rodrigo Duterte, and its potential implication to the country’s political future.
For the latest on the Philippines: https://sc.mp/ca9d66

Prabowo Subianto, Indonesia’s current defence minister, has won the presidential election by a wide margin, according to unofficial, but historically accurate quick count results. But there are lingering concerns about Prabowo related to past allegations of human rights abuses. In this episode of About Asia, we speak with Jacqui Baker of Murdoch University about the president-elect’s successful shift from fiery populist to a grandfatherly figure.

Taylor Swift is one of the biggest musical acts in the world – and she’s coming to Singapore in 2024, along with Ed Sheeran, Bruno Mars and Coldplay. For decades, so-called “world tours” have skipped much of Asia, but how has the tide of concert tourism changed? We sat down with Post reporter Kimberly Lim to discuss more.
Read more on this: https://sc.mp/oh50b 

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has made the South its “principal enemy” in proposed changes to the country’s constitution. He has also ended hopes of reunification, while intensifying missile tests. Is the Korean peninsula on the brink of war? Former CIA analyst and North Korean expert Soo Kim has more.
Read the full story: https://sc.mp/u6mb

One year after Russia's disastrous attempt to invade Ukraine and overthrow its government, Vladimir Putin finds his military bogged down in a stalemate, and his nation economically and diplomatically isolated. Yet one ally stands with Russia: one year after declaring a "no limits" friendship, Xi Jinping is about to announce a 'peace plan'. But how has China's reticence to condemn Russia's war changed its relationship with Europe? And what is Beijing getting out of the Sino-Russian relationship…

Kinling Lo analyses a change of tone amid a staff change for Beijing’s senior diplomats; Rob Delaney on the future of US-China relations with Kevin McCarthy as Speaker; Zhou Xin reveals the deeper complexity of South Korean and Japanese  involvement in US chip sanctions; Kandy Wong reports on a series of moves showing China might be ending its sanctions on Australian coal, barley, wine and lobsters; and a Chinese-Australian partnership in lithium mining and processing.

Brussels-based SCMP correspondent Finbarr Bermingham recaps how Russia’s Ukraine invasion changed Europe’s relationship with China, and previews how the EU may change its tact to Chinese investment and trade; London-based correspondent Chad Bray analyses UK PM Rishi Sunak’s changing tone on China and the year ahead for HSBC; Lucio Blanco Pitlo III looks at Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr’s visit to Beijing and the dawn of “durian diplomacy”. as he balances US security and Chinese…

Post reporter Jack Lau analyses the energy and weapons deals signed by Saudi Arabia and China during Xi Jinping’s visit to Riyadh; hear about the historic Arab-China summit, and China’s push to expand the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation; New York-based reporter Khushboo Razdan discusses Joe Biden’s “America first” push, in a week where Taiwan’s TSMC opened its first US semiconductor plant and the EU agreed to subsidise its own vehicle industry to compete with Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act. …

How has the death of China’s former president Jiang Zemin inspired nostalgic memories of a different era of Beijing-Washington ties? Post North America bureau chief Rob Delaney gives his analysis on that, and reports on the spread of zero-Covid protests by Chinese students at US college campuses. Europe correspondent Finbarr Bermingham reports in increasing friction among European allies over the Biden administration’s efforts to curb China’s access to semiconductors and its role in the global…

Kinling Lo reports from Bali after three days of speeches and sideline meetings, including the first face-to-face talks of presidents Xi Jinping and Joe Biden since China-US ties worsened. Shi Jiangtao looks at the optics of Xi’s mask-free public appearance; what China watchers are saying was achieved in Xi’s meetings with Biden and other world leaders; and whether they signal a change in the US-China narrative or merely a ray of light in the storm.

Asia desk editor Bhavan Jaipragas previews a crucial Asean summit that will include US President Joe Biden sparring for relevance amid soaring Chinese investment in Southeast Asia, the ongoing Myanmar crisis, and tumultuous Malaysian elections. Political economy reporter Kandy Wong reports on China’s plan to expand private security forces overseas to protect its Belt and Road investments, and a special meeting in Beijing encouraging US multinationals to invest in China.
 

A week on from the harshest US sanctions yet on China’s access to semiconductor technology, Post tech-desk editor Zhou Xin unpacks the effect on China’s economy, the implications for American manufacturers and the dilemma faced by South Korean tech firms with big investments in China. Europe correspondent Finbarr Bermingham analyses the European Commission’s leaders meeting, where the focus is on Germany’s decision to allow Chinese shipping giant Cosco to invest in its biggest port and…

When the head of the US Navy declares his forces must be ready to “fight tonight” over the Taiwan Strait, is he referring to intelligence reports or the seasonal fight for funding? Hear from North America bureau chief Rob Delaney about this and on an unconfirmed report of a US-Taiwan weapons production deal as US midterm elections approach. Senior Asia correspondent Maria Siow analyses the historic Japan-Australia defence and energy deal announced over the weekend, and what it means for East…

Washington-based Post journalist Kinling Lo analyses the latest US national security strategy, which focuses on China and climate change as the biggest threats. New York-based deputy bureau chief Mark Magnier unpacks new sanctions on China’s access to US technology and their global reach, and to claims they are aimed at stifling China’s economic development. Post columnist Lucio Blanco Pitlo III analyses how Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr must carefully balance US and China interests…

Post journalist and North America deputy bureau chief Mark Magnier details the rejection of a proposed vote at the UN Human Rights Council to debate the High Commissioner for Human Rights report into alleged abuses in Xinjiang and what that says about China's influence inside the United Nations. Also, analysis of Washington’s escalating sanctions on Chinese tech companies and US companies doing business with them, and a review of Henry Kissinger's statements about Xi Jinping at the latest Asia…

The US announced a historic US$810 million-aid package for 14 Pacific nations after a two-day conference in Washington. Post China desk reporter Kawala Xie reports on the reaction from China watchers and analysts, and recaps Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi's bid to get nations on board a similar deal in early 2022. Brian YS Wong, founding editor-in-chief of the Oxford Political Review and Rhodes scholar from Hong Kong, discusses reports that US businesses are making exit plans from China if…

In-depth analysis of the speech by China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the 77th United Nations General Assembly, and China's relationship with the UN, from Professor Rosemary Foot, Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Politics and International Relation at Oxford University and author of China, the UN, and Human Protection: Beliefs, Power, Image.

In a week dominated by the UN General Assembly in New York, Post correspondent Khushboo Razdan analyses the distinct chill between China and India, and the ambiguity both have shown towards Russia over its Ukraine invasion; Carnegie Endowment for Peace fellow Temur Umarov unpacks Xi Jinping’s visits to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan and how Moscow’s war has pushed Central Asian nations to pivot towards China for economic stability and security.

Post diplomacy expert Shi Jiangtao pulls apart the language of the Xi-Putin meeting in Uzbekistan and looks at the agendas at play, how they relate to China’s troubled domestic politics and what this means for the future of the Sino-Russian partnership. Europe correspondent Finbarr Bermingham looks at the state-of-the-union speech from European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and how it targets new aspects of the EU relationship with China.

What does it mean for Russia and China to declare they will use the ruble and the yuan instead of US currency for their oil and gas deals? Have Chinese refineries decided they can avoid sanctions and buy cheap Russian crude? Siqi Ji analyses the growing Sino-Russian energy relationship, while William Zheng looks at the geopolitics of the upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organisation meeting and how Xi Jinping will use it to form an anti-US alliance. Chad Bray looks at the new UK government and PM…

Post journalists Finbarr Bermingham and Mimi Lau unpack the UN human rights report on conditions in China’s Xinjiang region and subsequent vehement rejection of it by Beijing; Kinling Lo on worries about drones flying over Taipei-controlled islands west of Taiwan as the US reaches another big arms deal; Japan-based correspondent Julian Ryall analyses Tokyo's concerns over Sino-Russian military drills on its doorstep and its plans to develop long-range missiles that could reach Russia and China. 

Post North American bureau chief Rob Delaney looks at two announcements that may feature highly in the US-China political narrative to come. What is the agenda behind a proposed formal trade deal between Washington and Taipei? Has a lone Republican in Dakota proposed legislation that could blacklist Chinese agribusiness investment? London correspondent Chad Bray unpacks the anti-China rhetoric coming from the two contenders for Boris Johnson’s job as well as the blocking of the sale of a…

Beijing ends its massive military exercises around Taiwan and issues a white paper laying out exactly its ambitions for when it "re-unifies" the self-ruled island with the mainland. The US Congress moves forward its Taiwan Act which declares Taiwan to be an important non-NATO ally. Post journalists Jacob Fromer and Shi Jiangtao analyse the reactions from each side, and Brussels based correspondent Finbarr Bermingham reports on an increasingly concerned Europe, as Baltic nations suddenly pull…

What are the political and diplomatic ramifications of Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan? Post US Bureau chief Rob Delaney analyses how the House Speaker’s visit has changed US politics, the G7 reaction and if her agenda included lobbying Taiwan’s semiconductor industry; Post diplomacy expert Shi Jiangato unpacks the nationalist and political pressures on Xi Jinping and how mainland analysts view the visit; Asia correspondent Maria Siow reports on reaction from Japan, South Korea, Vietnam and the…

US-based Post journalist Owen Churchill goes beyond the "playing with fire" headlines to analyse what was discussed – and what was not – in the 2.5-hour phone call between Xi Jinping and Joe Biden, as well as the domestic pressures from Nancy Pelosi's potential visit to Taiwan. Post diplomacy expert Shi Jiangtao looks at political scientist Graham Allison's theory of the 'Thucydides Trap', its forecast of war between the US and China and its relevance to the current state of Sino-US relations.

Post North America bureau chief Rob Delaney looks into the hype around US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s reported plans to fly to Taiwan, as  preparations continue for US President Joe Biden’s vital call with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, and US lawmakers consider legislation targeting Beijing. Indonesia-based reporter Resty Woro Yuniar analyses President Joko Widodo's visit to Beijing amid concerns over rising costs for a Belt and Road-funded high-speed rail project and his need to draw…

The Post's Beijing-based diplomacy correspondent Laura Zhou analyses Beijing's political and economic relationship with Sri Lanka, “debt traps” and the Hambantota port; tech desk editor Zhou Xin discusses the US pressure on Netherlands-based ASML, the world's premier builder of semiconductor-making machines, to ban exports to China and its impact on China's tech industry.

Post political economy editor Wendy Wu reports from Beijing on China’s reaction to the assassination of Shinzo Abe. Wendy analyses the complex relationship the former Japanese prime minister had with Xi Jinping and the legacy Abe leaves of economic cooperation and heightened militarism; Professor James Laurenceson of the Australia-China Relations Institute analyses the Wang Yi/Penny Wong meeting at the G20, whether claims of Beijing’s “demands” were lost in translation as Australia embarks on a…

Grave warnings on China from the FBI and MI5 on the eve of the G20 conference in Bali: how will this affect the agenda? SCMP correspondent Mark Magnier and Beijing-based political economy editor Wendy Wu analyse the pressures on Joe Biden to reduce tariffs to lessen inflation while not looking “weak” on China and what Beijing will do in response; veteran trade lawyer Ben Kostrzewa analyses how four years of tariffs and trade war has changed trade between the US and China.

Veteran SCMP diplomacy correspondent Shi Jiangtao reports on Beijing's response to US president Joe Biden's trip to South Korea and Japan, with angry phone calls to Tokyo, warnings to Jake Sullivan and corresponding incursions of Chinese bombers and naval vessels amid increasing concerns among Chinese analysts of a "NATO for Asia" being assembled. Trade expert Dr Deborah Elms unpacks the reality of Biden's IPEF trade agreement and how it might (or might not) work within the existing RCEP and…

What comes next after the historic election of Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jnr as the Philippines' new president, with Sara Duterte as his VP? Veteran analyst Lucio Blanco Pitlo III unpacks what to expect for Sino-Philippine ties, economic development and how the US will seek to wedge Beijing over fishing disputes and island development in the South China Sea. Global fisheries expert Prof Rashid Sumaila looks at the science of China’s recently announced fishing ban in the disputed “nine-dash…

SCMP's Washington-based corrrespondent Kinling Lo reports on the diplomatic full-court press delivered by the White House for the two day ASEAN summit, and picks up on the significant omissions in the offers of support from the US. Korea Times journalist Kim Bo-eun analyses the inauguration ceremony of South Korea's new president Yoong Suk-yeol and why the attendance of China's vice premier and Japan's foreign minister made history, amid plans for US president Joe Biden to fly personally to…

SCMP tech desk editor Zhou Xin looks at reports the US Treasury is about to sanction the world’s biggest maker of surveillance tech and why this worries Wall Street and China’s tech sector. Analyst Edward Cavanough, specialising in ties between the Solomon Islands and China, looks at comments by PM Sogavare on China’s links to Christian communities and why Australia’s Pentecostal PM Scott Morrison is now wedged, with few options to redress his foreign policy failure.

Finbarr Bermingham reports onthe EU's legislative tools aimed at trade with China; why Xi Jinping phoned French president Macron; and complications for the UN human rights mission headed to Xinjiang. Hear a deep-dive into the security pact signed by Beijing and Solomon Islands: Dr Anna Powles, geopolitics and security expert analyses the Pacific balance of power; former Solomon Islands diplomat and Melanesian diplomacy expert Mihai Sora on why climate change, not military power, is the primary…

SCMP senior Asia correspondent Maria Siow analyses the geopolitical bombshell deal signed by the Solomon Islands with Beijing for security and a possible military base. What does this mean for the US Asia-Pacific pivot, and is this Australia’s single biggest foreign policy failure? Mark Magnier in New York looks at Chinese ambassador to the US Qin Gang’s courting of conservative opinion over China’s stance on the Russian war in Ukraine, and what actually happened with US House Speaker Nancy…

SCMP Europe correspondent Finbarr Bermingham analyses the fallout of the meeting between the EU senior leadership and China’s Li Keqiang and Xi Jinping, labelled a ‘dialogue of the deaf’ by one attendee. While Beijing refuses to discuss the Ukraine war or China’s state media amplifying alleged Russian disinformation and war crimes denials, Bermingham reveals the US is actively modelling the types of sanctions employed against Russia for use on China’s financial system. Hear also of how the…

SCMP's Brussels-based reporter Finbarr Bermingham previews the China-EU summit, and what the EU leaders want from Xi Jinping regarding the Ukraine war. China desk reporter Shi Jiangtao analyses Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi’s meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov. China desk senior editor Peter Langan reports from Tokyo about Japan’s recent discussions on nuclear weapons, and how Japan being (still) officially at war with Russia since WW2 complicates its multi-billion dollar…

Beijing is under growing pressure to offer diplomatic assistance for peace negotiations as Nato issues a historic statement taking aim at China’s state media for pushing Russian misinformation. Mumbai-based journalist Kunal Purohit unpacks the agenda of Beijing’s top diplomat Wang Yi as he visits the Taliban before landing in India. Meanwhile, Chinese President Xi Jinping makes an unprecedented call to South Korean president-elect Yoon Seok-yeol after North Korea’s latest missile launch…

The Post’s Europe correspondent Finbarr Bermingham reports on the one-year anniversary of China’s sanctions on European politicians and diplomats over Xinjiang, as the EU’s foreign and defence ministers meet in Brussels to discuss the war in Ukraine and Beijing’s support for Moscow. North America bureau chief Rob Delaney analyses the words used by Chinese ambassador Qin Gang on US television to balance Beijing’s refusal to condemn Putin’s war, and what Joe Biden had to say about the Russian…

SCMP's EU reporter Finbarr Bermingham analyses Xi Jinping’s phone call with his French and German counterparts and provides the latest on the UN human rights chief visit to Xinjiang. Chad Bray analyses sanctions on Russian oil, its financial system and high-profile resignation of Huawei executives. China foreign policy expert Dr Courtney Fung analyses China’s abstention at the UN General Assembly vote and explains why the ‘no-limits’ Sino-Russian partnership comes with costs for Beijing’s UN…

When China’s foreign minister Wang Yi held his annual extended press conference on the sidelines of the Two Sessions this week, there was one pressing question: what will China do about Russia and Ukraine? SCMP’s Beijing-based reporter Shi Jiangtao analyses Wang’s comments on Ukraine and Russia as well as what his words revealed about Beijing's policy for the EU, India, South Korea and Japan, amid growing international calls for Beijing to step in to end the worsening humanitarian crisis in…