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Original perspectives and fresh thinking on issues of concern to Asia from around the region, plus editorials and letters to the editor. Please contact us if you would like to submit a letter to be considered for publication.

Supporters of a British activist facing defamation charges gather at Bangkok South Criminal Court in 2016: Thai companies have filed SLAPP cases to intimidate human rights activists.

Puttanee Kangkun

Thai companies should not be able to jail their critics

Activist faces possible 42-year sentence over tweets about working conditions

Puttanee Kangkun

A child is enrolled in the Aadhaar national ID system in New Delhi in 2018: The system, linked with a financial inclusion program, could help increase financial access in African states.

Rahul Mazumdar

India has more to offer Africa than just trade

Sharing of public technology platform know-how could have major impact

Rahul Mazumdar

Tanks of treated water at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant: TEPCO highlights the presence of tritium in the water but the presence of other radionuclides is of more significance.

Ferenc Dalnoki-Veress

It is not too late for Japan to change course on Fukushima water

TEPCO's track record provides little reason for confidence in 30-year release plan

Ferenc Dalnoki-Veress

A rally in May in Hyderabad to show solidarity with Pakistan's army: New legislation criminalizes criticism of the country's armed forces.

Salman Rafi Sheikh

Pakistan's military can now legally do whatever it wants

To keep Imran Khan at bay, PML-N and PPP have further empowered the army

Salman Rafi Sheikh

The leaders of South Korea, the U.S. and Japan head for their summit at the Camp David presidential retreat, near Washington, on Aug. 18.

Stronger Japan-South Korea-US ties help stabilize Indo-Pacific

New stage of trilateral cooperation will deter threats from China, North Korea

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, left, with U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at Camp David on Aug. 18.

Yun Duk-min

A new era of Korea-U.S.-Japan trilateral cooperation has begun

Normalization of Seoul-Tokyo ties is changing the regional strategic landscape

Yun Duk-min

India's UPI real-time payment platform was linked with Singapore's PayNow in February.

Manoj Dugar

A South-Southeast Asia payments network is worth the trouble

Governments have been forging bilateral cross-border links but should aim higher

Manoj Dugar

Ko Wen-je, left, addresses a rally in Taipei in July: Ko lacks a clear and comprehensive foreign policy vision and his team is short of experts on China and U.S.-related issues.

James Yifan Chen and Ray Wang

Taiwan presidency will remain elusive for former Taipei Mayor Ko

TPP chairman enjoys poll surge but will find it difficult to consolidate support

James Yifan Chen and Ray Wang

Solar panels on the roof of a building in Bangkok in 2017: Solar energy has entered mainstream policy in most ASEAN member states.

Fabby Tumiwa and Marlistya Citraningrum

ASEAN can be a power in solar energy with teamwork

Members should work together to make region a production hub

Fabby Tumiwa and Marlistya Citraningrum

My Number, Japan's new national ID system, is becoming a test of whether the public can trust the government to get the basics right when it comes to networked systems.

David J. Farber and Dan Gillmor

Japan can still make its grand plans for 'My Number' work

Government needs to prove ID system's resilience and security to the public

David J. Farber and Dan Gillmor

Japanese midfielder Hinata Miyazawa, with headband, celebrates a goal with teammates during their defeat of Spain in Wellington, New Zealand on July 31.

Chris Wallace

Women's World Cup is the right event for Australia

Victoria has good grounds to walk away from 2026 Commonwealth Games plan

Chris Wallace

The crew of the BRP Sierra Madre at Second Thomas Shoal in 2014. Recently, China demanded that the Philippines remove the vessel.

Alexander L. Vuving

Philippines must stand up for its rights at South China Sea shoal

Fear of escalation should not paralyze defense of international law

Alexander L. Vuving

Cambodia's incoming Prime Minister Hun Manet has little choice but to follow the footsteps of his father, Hun Sen who ran the country based on political and police repression. (Photo by Ken Kobayashi)

Sam Rainsy

New prime minister is not a fresh start for Cambodia

Hopes that Hun Manet will reform system Hun Sen built are illusory

Sam Rainsy

Rice sacks in a market in Ahmedabad: India currently holds about 40% of the global rice export market, sending its grain to more than 130 countries.

Poornima Varma

India has better options than banning rice exports

Frequent policy changes may jeopardize country's leading market position

Poornima Varma

U.S. President Joe Biden in Wisconsin on Aug. 12: His order restricting U.S. investment in China's tech industry adds to the forces already throwing Asia's biggest economy off balance.

Wrong timing for Biden to further squeeze China's economy

Instability would rebound on U.S. to its detriment

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim waves to the press in Kuala Lumpur on Aug. 12: The election reaffirmed that Malaysians want better governance.

Bridget Welsh

Anwar must listen to Malaysia's voters

After election rebuke, prime minister must attend to structural issues

Bridget Welsh

Chicken rice made with plant-based meat: Alternative proteins will need to account for more than half of all protein production in Asia by 2060 to achieve the 1.5 C goal. (Courtesy of Love Handle)

Ryan Huling

Asia will not get to net-zero without changing its diet

Capping emissions requires shift to cultivated and plant-based meat

Ryan Huling

A female presenter at Tolo TV in Kabul in May 2022: The Taliban have since cracked down harder with censorship, assaults, arbitrary arrests and restrictions on female journalists.

Beh Lih Yi

Taliban media repression is deepening Afghanistan's isolation

Free access to information could help save lives and livelihoods

Beh Lih Yi

Japan's first large-scale offshore commercial wind operation, near the port of Noshiro in Akita prefecture. (Photo by Masayuki Kozono)

Liming Qiao

Asian wind power development isn't moving fast enough

More collaboration needed on supply chains, effective policy frameworks

Liming Qiao

The Bangkok skyline on July 3: The economic costs of shoddy politics are incalculable for Thailand, a country that was once Southeast Asia's star performer.

Pavida Pananond

Business is out of patience with Thailand's political mess

Economy will continue to perform below potential without major reforms

Pavida Pananond

North Korea's Kim Jong Un, center, with Chinese Communist Party Politburo member Li Hongzhong, right, and Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu in Pyongyang on July 27. (KCNA via Reuters)

Ellen Kim

Biden-Kishida-Yoon summit can build platform for 3-way cooperation

Trio has to respond to North Korean threats and military exchanges with Russia

Ellen Kim

Many Japanese employers now offer a flexible work style for those who wish to continue working past 60.

Nobuko Kobayashi

Japan Inc. should be flexible for all workers, not just seniors

Age-free work style would suit any employee dealing with changing circumstances

Nobuko Kobayashi

The Atomic Bomb Dome in Hiroshima on Aug.5, eve of the 78th anniversary of the U.S. nuclear attack: Japan was already essentially defeated before the city was destroyed. (Photo by Yo Inoue)

Brahma Chellaney

The wartime legacies of Hiroshima and Nagasaki haunt humanity

Atomic bombings were more about demonstrating power than securing surrender

Brahma Chellaney

A clothing store in Sydney: Consumers demand instantaneous access to goods and services at low prices, which requires substantial capital and global reach.

Satyajit Das

'Greedflation' is an unhelpful concept

Elevated profits stem in part from overwhelmed supply chains

Satyajit Das

Rafael Nadal, left, and Roger Federer at the 2022 Laver Cup in London: Like many great sports rivalries, the U.S.-China rivalry is pushing both to raise their game. (Action Images via Reuters)

Charles Ormiston

U.S.-China rivalry has upsides for the world

Competition will drive technological innovation to higher levels

Charles Ormiston