Philippines’ peculiar health policy: Waiting until kidneys fail
The issue is not a choice between prevention and dialysis. The central issue is why public financing becomes so much more generous after kidneys fail than before they do.
Hanging a Banner for Chinese AI
Yesterday’s edition of the Chinese Communist Party's official People's Daily made a bold visual claim to leadership on artificial intelligence at home and abroad.
China’s growing role in Southeast Asia’s debt resilience
Southeast Asia faces a region-wide energy price shock.
To Secure the Natuna Sea, Indonesia Needs More Than New Ships
Maritime security is one of Indonesia’s most demanding defense domains. And at its current stage, Indonesia needs significant help.
Can South Korea solve Southeast Asia’s nuclear energy dilemma?
Rising electricity demand from data centre rollouts , manufacturing and electrification is prompting renewed interest in nuclear energy across Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand.
Cabinet reshuffle is a chance for Lee administration to turn things around
This should be an opportunity for the ruling camp to turn over a new leaf, achieve tangible results on issues affecting people’s livelihoods, and regain the public’s trust
Taiwan’s Eswatini Science Park Investment Not Likely to Entail Any Scrutiny of Human Rights
The Taiwanese government has proposed funding a science and technology park in Eswatini at a cost of 1 billion NT, the Taiwan Industrial Innovation Park. The science park would be to shore up relations in what is Taiwan’s sole remaining diplomatic ally in Africa, with the aim of expanding the footprint for Taiwanese businesses in Africa.
The Cockroach Janata Party’s caste blindspot
The emergence of the reactionary Reservation Hatao Andolan in the wake of the CJP protests is bringing questions about caste and inequality in Indian education to the forefront
Central Election Commission Rejects Caning, Traffic Fine Referendum, Approves Nuclear Referendum
The Central Election Commission has rejected two out of the three referendums advanced by the pan-Blue camp
In the Woods
In recent years, political depression has emerged not only as a psychological condition but also as a culturally embedded affective response shaped by broader socio-political forces. Clinically, it resembles depression, but its aetiology is tied explicitly to political events and structural disenfranchisement.
Wild pigs and pampered pooches: Hong Kong’s complex relationship with animals
“Some we love, some we hate, some we eat,” was the title of a best-selling exploration of the relationship between humans and animals, with the subtitle “Why it’s so hard to think straight about animals. ” The spectrum actually goes much wider than love, hatred and food.
“The Parade of the Gods”: Johor Bahru Chingay as a Collective Memory and Reflection of Malaysia’s Unresolved Cultural Politics
Jointly nominated by Malaysia and Singapore for inscription on UNESCO’s List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2025, Chingay is a yearly parade that takes place in Johor Bahru, Penang, and Singapore.
Takaichi’s growth strategy needs an outward turn
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s first major policy blueprint, Japan’s Growth Strategy , arrived on 24 June 2026.
Indonesia’s captive coal: ‘Who is this really for?’
As captive coal plants support Indonesia’s growing nickel industry, communities in North Maluku and Central Sulawesi shoulder the burden
Demand for Demand
Consumption Norms, Hysteresis, and the Struggle to Revive Whale Consumption in Japan’s Largest Whaling Port
What’s left for the Philippines’ Left?
The revolution has become a war of attrition against history itself
How a Victorian philosopher found common ground between Hindu philosophy and socialism
In India, English philosopher Edward Carpenter found ideas of equality and social justice that echoed the socialist convictions he had developed in Britain.
Words that dehumanise: The language behind anti-Rohingya hatred in Myanmar
Propaganda and prejudice have long stripped the Rohingya and other minorities of their humanity, making them easy targets of violence
The Problem With Peach
AI anchors and AI-generated dramas are growing rapidly in China. But how far can a generative persona go before the illusion is broken? Meet Peach Fang.
What may come of a meeting of Trump and Kim Jong-un
With wars in Ukraine and Iran dragging on longer than he’d hoped, Trump may be more eager than ever to declare an end to the Korean War