The prospect of a negotiated peace in Ukraine carries seismic implications far beyond Europe, with Asia poised to experience political and economic aftershocks. As the United States and Russia inch toward a possible resolution following talks in Saudi Arabia,...

Just one month into his second term, President Trump 2.0 has angered America’s longstanding allies and wreaked havoc on Uncle Sam’s carefully cultivated soft-power diplomacy. While the chaos is hard to keep track of, the upshot could hardly be...

Theoretically, America – whether led by Joe Biden, Kamala Harris or Donald Trump – should be trying to remain the world’s pre-eminent strategic power. In international relations theory, the realist outlook maintains that the international system of states compels...

In the wake of the fourth anniversary of Myanmar’s military coup, prognostications on the civil war in the year ahead have been notably broader than usual: the State Administration Council (SAC) junta lurches toward inevitable collapse; decisive China intervention...

The latest actions from the Trump administration have reaffirmed the imperative for Chinese firms to reduce their dependence on the American market. Trump’s 10% additional tariffs on all Chinese imports have predictably invited Chinese countermeasures. And markets remain fearful...

Recently a flood of articles appeared in the press showing a US satellite photo of what was described as a huge laser facility under construction in southwestern China. Readers were given the impression that this was a newly-discovered secret...

The recent rise of DeepSeek and Alibaba’s Qwen artificial intelligence platforms is a hot topic among technology experts and investors in China and the United States. Yet specific information about the Chinese engineering teams remains scarce.  An Asia Times...

Apple Inc. partnered with Alibaba to bring artificial intelligence (AI) features to the iPhone, ignoring US lawmakers’ call to stop all AI partnerships between American and Chinese companies.  Apple’s share price increased to US$241.5 on Thursday, up 6.4% from...

Hypersonic weapons promise game-changing war-fighting capabilities, but unresolved technological flaws, operational vulnerabilities and strategic risks may outweigh their potential advantage for the US military. This month, the US Congressional Research Service (CRS) released a report saying that despite the...

America has a weapon that scares the daylights out of Xi Jinping. Nukes? F35s? Attack submarines? No. Tariffs? Trade and technology sanctions? No. It’s Public Law 117-263 — passed by Congress on December 23, 2022, known also the National Defense Authorization Act for...

MANILA – The Philippines kicked off its midterm election cycle in turmoil, with the Ferdinand Marcos Jr administration engaged in a two-front assault targeting his former ally-turned-enemy the Dutertes on one hand and their perceived backers in Beijing on...

DeepSeek’s successful launch of a low-cost chatbot has sent shockwaves through the American IT community, sparking growing calls to ban Chinese AI tools in the United States. New York and Virginia said this week that they had decided to...

US tariffs – both threatened and imposed – on trade partners including China, Canada, Mexico and the EU quickly set off waves of retaliatory measures. The latest commodities in the sights of President Donald Trump are steel and aluminum...

Readers in a hurry may wish to put this article aside for later. It is an important long-form exploration, not a quick read. – Editors We are in the early days of a seismic shift in the global AI...

Russian Ambassador to Pakistan Albert Khorev told TASS over the weekend that his country supports Pakistan and Afghanistan’s respective counter-terrorism efforts. He then added that it encourages both of them to resolve their border tensions through bilateral or multilateral means. This suggests...

Vietnam’s economic rise has been one of the biggest success stories of the past decade. Its position as a key manufacturing hub and a favored alternative to China in global supply chains has brought remarkable growth and foreign investment....

As the US struggles with delays and cost overruns in its Sentinel missile program, China and Russia are pressing forward with cutting-edge missile developments, potentially tilting the global nuclear balance in their favor. This month, Defense One reported that...

CHIANG MAI – US President Donald Trump’s move to freeze American foreign aid programs will impact civil war-wracked Myanmar, where multi-million-dollar USAID programs have supported health, rights, democracy, governance and independent media programs along the Thai-Myanmar border. While the...

Russian President Vladimir Putin sent a guarded message of congratulations to Donald Trump on inauguration day but then held a long direct call with his “dear friend,” Chinese leader Xi Jinping. From Putin’s perspective, this makes sense. Russia gets...

The Chinese economy is divided into two parts, one geared toward domestic growth and another for exports. The structure can function because its currency, the RMB, is not fully convertible and its market is not freely accessible. Exports help...

With France fast losing its influence in west Africa’s Sahel region and an unpredictable US president in power, will China fill the vacuum? The Sahel region includes Nigeria, one of the continent’s largest economies, and nine other countries: Burkina...

Most of Washington finally realizes – even if grudgingly – that the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is a threat. Indeed, President Trump’s challenge resembles that of Ronald Reagan taking over in 1981 from a feckless administration that allowed America’s...

Chinese start-up DeepSeek’s remarkable AI software results have shaken public markets, driving down the shares of leading US technology companies, including Nvidia. Many now wonder how a small team in China could, in such a short time, challenge the...

It has been three weeks since Donald Trump was inaugurated as America’s 47th president, but it feels like three years. Tariffs imposed, tariffs suspended; a Gaza ceasefire negotiated and then put in danger; Greenland, Panama and Gaza all desired as...

Japan is ramping up its hypersonic weapons program amid mounting threats from China and North Korea, but technological gaps and dependence on the US defense industry could slow progress. This month, Japan’s Ministry of Defense (MOD) announced that it...