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Southeast Asia taps Germany's defense industry
As countries in Southeast Asia look beyond the US and Russia for security partners, Germany is stepping up its defense diplomacy — signing deals, deploying warships and joining regional forums.
Published on: May 22, 2025 | Source:
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Chinese Premier Li Qiang set for joint meeting with Gulf and Southeast Asian states
Next week’s event, the first of its kind, offers Beijing a further opportunity to build support for its opposition to US tariffs.
Published on: May 22, 2025 | Source:Asian markets shudder on US national debt fears
Asian equities tumbled Thursday (May 22) as investors absorbed a stark message from Washington: America’s fiscal burden is ballooning and the impact is rippling across the Pacific. The sell-off wasn’t isolated. From Tokyo to Mumbai, regional benchmarks turned red, tracking Wall Street’s plunge as anxiety surged over a proposed US budget bill that could hugely […] The post Asian markets shudder on US national debt fears...
Published on: May 22, 2025 | Source:Trump’s coming currency war has Asia in its sights
TOKYO – Asia’s latest bull market is in wishful thinking as governments around the region believe that they can avoid an epic currency clash with Donald Trump’s White House. Officials in Tokyo, Seoul, Beijing and elsewhere claim to have it on good authority that they can keep their exchange rates separate from US tariff negotiations. […] To continue reading, please log in to your AT+ Premium account. Not yet a member?...
Published on: May 22, 2025 | Source:Crunch time for Japan as tariffs, elections loom
Subscribe nowwith a one-month trial for only $1, then enjoy the first year at an exclusive rate of just $99. Crunch time for Japan as tariffs, elections loom Scott Foster analyzes Japan’s precarious economic and political position ahead of its July Upper House election as the country grapples with domestic inflation, a weakening yen, and […] The post Crunch time for Japan as tariffs, elections loom appeared first on...
Published on: May 22, 2025 | Source:Indian Air Force close to becoming a near-space power
As the nature of warfare evolves, so too must the capabilities of those entrusted with defending national sovereignty. For the Indian Air Force (IAF), this means looking beyond traditional airspace and venturing into the largely untapped domain of near space—a strategic zone stretching from 20 to 100 kilometers above the Earth’s surface. This region, often […] The post Indian Air Force close to becoming a near-space...
Published on: May 22, 2025 | Source:When capital is an engine of humanity’s collapse
On paper, the global financial system was built to allocate capital toward the most productive uses. But in practice, it has often become a force that funds collapse, with growing speed and sophistication. We now live in an era where capital has lost its moral compass, accelerating the very crises it claims to mitigate and […] The post When capital is an engine of humanity’s collapse appeared first on Asia Times.
Published on: May 22, 2025 | Source:Golden Dome: real missile defense or grand strategic bluff?
Echoing Ronald Reagan’s “Star Wars” and reviving Cold War fears, US President Donald Trump’s US$175 billion Golden Dome missile defense initiative is being billed as America’s ultimate defense. But will Trump’s big-ticket plan offer real protection against Chinese, Russian and North Korean long-range missiles or is the Golden Dome more Trumpian political theater? Modeled loosely […] The post Golden Dome: real missile...
Published on: May 22, 2025 | Source:High and rising political price of China’s UK investments
One major consequence of the UK government’s resistance to rejoining the European single market is that it is forced to go around the world seeking trade deals and investment. Recently, the government has boasted of successful arrangements with India and the US and of some new agreements with the EU. But it has also found […] The post High and rising political price of China’s UK investments appeared first on Asia...
Published on: May 22, 2025 | Source:US Commerce Department Gets Green Light for Southeast Asian Solar Tariffs
The U.S. solar industry has been "materially injured" by a flood of cheap panels and components from four Southeast Asian nations, a key trade body has ruled.
Published on: May 22, 2025 | Source:Thailand’s Finance Minister Says It Wants Fair Trade Relationship With Washington
Like many Asian governments, Bangkok has announced a number of trade concessions while taking steps to reduce its overall reliance on the American market.
Published on: May 22, 2025 | Source:Bangladesh: Review Laws and Protect Human Rights Standards
Click to expand Image Members of Bangladesh’s paramilitary Rapid Action Battalion or RAB, a unit which is accused of enforced disappearances, stand guard in the capital Dhaka, January 7, 2024. 2024 Sazzad Hossain / SOPA Images/Sipa USA via AP Photo (New York) – Recent legislative initiatives byBangladesh’s interim government risk undermining fundamental freedoms, Human Rights Watch said today. Instead of pursuing its...
Published on: May 22, 2025 | Source:Donald Trump may be doing the world a favor by isolating America
United States President Donald Trump’s tariffs against most of the world tanked stock markets, disrupted the US bond market and destabilized the global economy. Trump has economically and politically threatened American allies, shattering the unity of the western world. But Trump’s chaos may have inadvertently produced an opportunity to create a better world. Some western […] The post Donald Trump may be doing the...
Published on: May 21, 2025 | Source:Morning Mail: Trump confronts South African president, NSW floods warning, Spurs claim Europa trophy
Want to get this in your inbox every weekday? Sign up for the Morning Mail here, and finish your day with our Afternoon Update newsletterMorning everyone. First it was the turn of Volodymyr Zelenskyy and today it was the turn of the South African president, Cyril Ramaphosa, to be ambushed in the White House as Donald Trump confronted him with baseless claims about white people being massacred in his country.At home,...
Published on: May 21, 2025 | Source:China’s flawed narrative on India’s Indus Water Treaty abeyance
TheApril 22 terror attackin Pahalgam, India, and military clashes that followed between India and Pakistan have reignited fears of arenewed spiral of tensionsbetween the two neighbours. Even though the two sides have agreed to aUS-mediated ceasefirefor now, India has not withdrawn its decision tosuspendthe Indus Water Treaty (IWT) – a historic agreement that long survived […] The post China’s flawed narrative on India’...
Published on: May 21, 2025 | Source:China and ASEAN complete free trade area negotiations
Beijing, May 21 (Prensa Latina) China and the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) announced on Wednesday the successful completion of all negotiations on the Version 3.0 China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (CAFTA). The post China and ASEAN complete free trade area negotiations first appeared on Prensa Latina.
Published on: May 21, 2025 | Source:Scam centres are a ‘human rights crisis’, independent experts warn
Southeast Asian nations should do more to protect people from being reeled into scam farms, top independent human rights experts said on Wednesday.
Published on: May 21, 2025 | Source:Operation Sindoor: India’s new normal dominance of Pakistan
The recently announced ceasefire – referred to as an “understanding” by New Delhi – has drawn considerable criticism within India. Many argue that it failed to impose a sufficient cost on Pakistan, particularly when India held a dominant position across multiple domains – land, air, naval, cyber and informational. Critics saw the move as yet […] The post Operation Sindoor: India’s new normal dominance of Pakistan...
Published on: May 21, 2025 | Source:China the biggest winner of India-Pakistan air fight
The loudest cheers of victory in the brief India-Pakistan war are congratulating the Pakistani pilots who flew Chinese-built jets firing impressive PL-15 missiles, purportedly enabling them to shoot down six of India’s French and Russian warplanes. China is sharing Pakistan’s military success. Since the mid-20th century, China has been arming, investing in, and helping to […] The post China the biggest winner of...
Published on: May 21, 2025 | Source:The US factor in India-Pakistan tensions: a Kautilyan perspective
This commentary first appeared on Pacific Forum and is republished with permission. Read the original here. Following the deadly terrorist attacks in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir on April 22, Delhi and Islamabad engaged in immediate diplomatic and security measures and countermeasures. This period of heightened tension culminated in a four-day military clash that ultimately concluded […] The post The US factor in...
Published on: May 21, 2025 | Source:US spy scandals show Western allies not as allied as portrayed
Denmark’s Foreign Affairs Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen sounded surprised and emotional as he addressed a press conference on May 7. He announced he would call in the acting head of the US embassy in Copenhagen, Jennifer Hall Godfrey, over highly charged allegations that Washington has instructed its intelligence agencies to step up espionage on Greenland […] The post US spy scandals show Western allies not as allied...
Published on: May 21, 2025 | Source:Asia without America, part 3: liberal Taiwan in a realist world
Mornin’ will come, and I’ll do what’s right Just give me till then to give up this fight And I will give up this fight – Bonnie Raitt This is the third installment of a series. Read parts one and two. Liberalism – in the Wilsonian international relations sense – has had a few very […] The post Asia without America, part 3: liberal Taiwan in a realist world appeared first on Asia Times.
Published on: May 21, 2025 | Source:Hungary: Bill Threatens To Eviscerate Democracy
Click to expand Image Protesters demonstrate outside the parliament in Budapest against a bill empowering the government to sanction civil society groups and media deemed to threaten Hungary’s sovereignty, May 18, 2025. 2025 FERENC ISZA/AFP via Getty Images (Berlin, May 21, 2025) – A bill introduced by a member ofHungary’s ruling Fidesz party is designed to gut civil society and strangle freedom of expression and...
Published on: May 21, 2025 | Source:EU releases funding to keep Radio Free Europe afloat
The emergency funding would not cover Radio Free Europe across the globe, but only in select European and Asian countries. The pro-democracy outlet's funds were cut off by the Trump administration.
Published on: May 21, 2025 | Source:Beijing’s blurred red lines and the strategy of ambiguity
Originally published by Pacific Forum, this article is republished with permission. When Lithuania let Taiwan opena diplomatic officein Vilnius in 2021, China froze trade overnight.Goods were blocked, supply chains snarled and European firms with Lithuanian ties faced pressure. The message was clear: a red line had been crossed. But what line, exactly? Beijing never said. […] The post Beijing’s blurred red lines and...
Published on: May 20, 2025 | Source:Mercenary firm set to oversee Gaza aid for Israel goes on LinkedIn hiring spree
Mercenary firm set to oversee Gaza aid for Israel goes on LinkedIn hiring spree Submitted by Sean Mathews on Tue, 05/20/2025 - 20:19 Private military contracting firm advertises for hires with experience in 'Middle East field work', video technology and Arabic language skills Armed men stand guard at a checkpoint manned by US and Egyptian security at the Netzarim Corridor on Salah al-Din road in central Gaza, on 29...
Published on: May 20, 2025 | Source:US clears way for stiff tariffs on Southeast Asian solar imports
China-based firms are accused of flooding the US with unfairly cheap panels and other products via Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.
Published on: May 20, 2025 | Source:Cruise ship Star Voyager to make Hong Kong its home port from June to November
Operator making a comeback in Asia following the bankruptcy of Genting Hong Kong in 2022 due to pandemic.
Published on: May 20, 2025 | Source:New US nuke won’t fix its China deterrence problem
Designed to destroy bunkers but dogged by doubts, the US B61-13 nuclear gravity bomb enters a strategic storm of China’s silo surge, fragile US basing and rising allied skepticism over deterrence in Asia. This month, The War Zone reported that the US has completed its first production unit of the B61-13, a more powerful nuclear […] The post New US nuke won’t fix its China deterrence problem appeared first on Asia...
Published on: May 20, 2025 | Source:Trump’s tariffs will hurt the world’s poor the most
Most US media coverage of President Donald Trump’s trade war has focused on how his global tariff regime is likely to impact the US economy and American consumers. However, it’s the workers inBangladesh, Cambodia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Lesotho, Vietnam and otherpoor countrieswho are likely to be harmed the most by the trade war if it continues […] The post Trump’s tariffs will hurt the world’s poor the most appeared...
Published on: May 20, 2025 | Source:US brain drain handing the global talent war to China
The US-China rivalry is no longer just a clash of tariffs, navies and diplomatic showdowns. A quieter, subtler front has emerged – one that is nonetheless reshaping the global order and deciding future winners and losers. It’s a contest for people, specifically the scientists, engineers and academic pioneers who will shape the future. In this […] The post US brain drain handing the global talent war to China appeared...
Published on: May 20, 2025 | Source:Asean, Gulf leaders to meet in Malaysia as region seeks new investment lifeline
Malaysia to host summit with Gulf Cooperation Council next week as Southeast Asian nations hope for new funding to offset US tariff shocks.
Published on: May 20, 2025 | Source:Italy: Constitutional Court Hears Challenge to Law Penalizing Sea Rescue
Click to expand Image The SOS MEDITERRANEE crew performs a rescue in the central Mediterranean, March 9, 2025. 2025 SOS MEDITERRANEE/ by Stefano Belacchi HRW Amicus to Italy's Constitutional Court_3 December 2024 (Berlin, May 20, 2025) – On May 21, Italy’s Constitutional Court will consider for the first time arguments about the constitutional legitimacy of a law that imposes sanctions on sea rescue groups, Human...
Published on: May 20, 2025 | Source:China, France, and the Political Economy of Defense Modernization in Southeast Asia
Southeast Asian nations have tended to lean toward European partners in their quest for military modernization. Could China present an affordable alternative?
Published on: May 20, 2025 | Source:How China Has Responded to Southeast Asia’s ‘Scamdemic’
Selina Ho discusses the Chinese government's efforts to combat criminal operations that are harming its image and reputation in the Mekong region.
Published on: May 20, 2025 | Source: