The Mt. Marion lithium mine in the Goldfields region of Western Australia: The country is home to the second-largest reserves of lithium. (Handout photo from Ganfeng Lithium) 
Nicholas Basan

Australia and Indonesia should forge business ties in lithium

Missing ingredient for Widodo's vision for EV sector is close at hand

Avatar
Nicholas Basan
Avatar
Dong-E-E-Jiao's ejiao in a drugstore in Shanghai: Donkey hides are the source of the gelatin that is the main ingredient for the traditional Chinese medicine.
Lauren Johnston

China must tame its donkey trade for Africa's sake

Smugglers hurt continent's rural poor to meet demand for traditional medicine

Avatar
Lauren Johnston
Avatar
Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping arrive for a signing ceremony at the Kremlin on March 21: China's interests lay much closer to Russia's.
Alexander L. Vuving

Ukraine shows how China will not get far posing as a peacemaker

Success brokering Saudi-Iran detente is not carrying over to Russia's war

Avatar
Alexander L. Vuving
Avatar
Then-Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz, left, and Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi met in Tokyo in August 2022: Japan should look further afield.
Gedaliah Afterman

Partnership with Israel can boost Japan's security

Tokyo can leverage relationships to catalyze regional cooperation

Avatar
Gedaliah Afterman
Avatar
Vancouver's Chinatown Spring Festival Parade on Jan. 22. Mayor Ken Sim, third from the right in the front row, is the city's first elected leader of Chinese descent. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and other political figures also participated.
Jia Wang

Canada's China policy must be about more than election interference

Export dependence means Ottawa cannot afford trade decoupling

Avatar
Jia Wang
Avatar
Fishermen in Karachi: The Delta Blue Carbon mangrove restoration project in Pakistan has had a positive impact on the local fishery community.
Nadeem Khan and Charles Bedford

Rows over Asian carbon credits overlook project benefits

Efforts to offset emissions can benefit communities most in need

Nadeem Khan and Charles Bedford
Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping after a reception in Moscow on March 21.

Changing environment is compelling China to raise its global profile

Ukraine peace plan is a sign of Beijing's wide-ranging interests

Avatar
China under President Xi Jinping has been cracking down on foreign citizens in the name of strengthening national security. (Photo by Yusuke Hinata)
Nikkei Editorial

China must immediately release detained Japanese citizen

Opaque interpretation of law means anybody can be arrested anytime

Nikkei Editorial
A boy in front of the remains of his home in Nurdagi on March 4 in the aftermath of Turkey's deadly earthquake: We need to place greater emphasis on disaster risk reduction.
Charlotte Benson

Underinvestment in disaster risk reduction comes at cost to us all

Recovery and reconstruction bills multiply while preparedness is shortchanged

Avatar
Charlotte Benson
Avatar
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew testifies before the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee on March 23.
Rui Zhong

U.S. politicians must decide what they really want from TikTok

Data exploitation and geopolitical issues have gotten muddled

Avatar
Rui Zhong
Avatar
Anthony Albanese, left, with Joe Biden and Rishi Sunak at U.S. Naval Base Point Loma in San Diego on March 13: The SSN-AUKUS program is set to constitute the backbone of the submarine force of both Australia and the U.K.
Alessio Patalano

AUKUS and GCAP set new Indo-Pacific security template

Technology cooperation more than a response to China's military modernization

Avatar
Alessio Patalano
Avatar
Office buildings in Tokyo: Women held 9.1% of the board seats and senior corporate and auditing positions at Japanese listed companies as of 2022. (Photo by Konosuke Urata)

Japanese businesswomen need more than a place at the table

Many companies focus on appearances rather than better management

Avatar
China did not agree to adhere to the same principles and rules in joining the WTO.
Rahm Emanuel

An anti-coercion coalition can check China's economic weaponization

Unified collective action would help block intimidation efforts

Avatar
Rahm Emanuel
Avatar
"Everything Everywhere All at Once"'s award-winning cast pose with the film's producer and directors at the 95th Academy Awards on March 12: We have reason for caution.
Karen Fang

'Everything Everywhere' has changed Hollywood, but not yet America

After surge in violence and hate, ethnic Asians still seek more empathy

Avatar
Karen Fang
Avatar
Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy in the U.S. Capitol on March 9: The reality is he had no good choices.
Derek Grossman

Juggled plan for McCarthy-Tsai meeting does Taiwan no favors

Change of venue to California likely to encourage China's aggressive stance

Avatar
Derek Grossman
Avatar
Trade ministers of India and the U.K. during the launch of free trade agreement negotiations in New Delhi in January 2022: The exports of one country are always the imports of another.

India's trade skeptics fail to consider the big picture

Strategy of hindering imports while seeking exports will not work

Avatar
Joe Biden with ASEAN leaders during a special summit at the White House in May 2022: The creation of an ASEAN-U.S. Center would dovetail with initiatives by the Biden administration to bolster ties with the region.
Sam Baron and Abhinav Seetharaman

U.S. needs its own 'ASEAN center'

Japan and India exemplify benefits of institutionalizing exchanges with bloc

Sam Baron and Abhinav Seetharaman
Incoming BOJ Gov. Kazuo Ueda during a Diet hearing on Feb. 24: He can forget tapering the balance sheet when he arrives on the job next month.

Crumbling Western banks will be new worry for Ueda at BOJ

Like Silicon Valley Bank, many Japanese lenders have piled into bonds

Avatar
A laboratory technician works on biodiesel 40% (B40) in Jakarta in August 2020: Biofuels are getting a renewed push.

Asia needs to face up to the downsides of biofuels

Blending mandates distort food markets and can have environmental side effects

Avatar
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at Buddha Jayanti Park in New Delhi on March 20.  
Nikkei Editorial

Kishida's trip to India heralds stronger ties with Global South

Japan should widen coalition of countries that oppose changing the status quo

Nikkei Editorial
Fumio Kishida speaks during a press conference in Tokyo on Feb. 24: The prime minister is already walking a fine line. (Photo by Uichiro Kasai) 
Nancy Snow

The world needs Japan to rally the G-7 against nuclear weapons

Amid Ukraine war, summit in Hiroshima presents opportunity to show leadership

Avatar
Nancy Snow
Avatar
Hun Sen speaks to ASEAN foreign ministers in Phnom Penh in August 2022: The unwillingness of the bloc's autocrats to condemn Myanmar is largely about self-preservation.
Charles Dunst

ASEAN's Myanmar paralysis underlines its illiberal skew

Authoritarian order grows in reach as democratic world fails to make its case

Avatar
Charles Dunst
Avatar
People gather to buy subsidized rice in Dhaka in November 2022: Low-income earners have been crowded out of resources and have found it difficult to access basic services.
Kithmina V. Hewage

Social investment tools can fill developing Asia's finance gaps

Structures allow governments to tap companies, diaspora communities for support

Avatar
Kithmina V. Hewage
Avatar
A public market in Manila on Jan. 28: Food prices are a key reason for the rising consumer inflation in Asia.
Priyanka Kishore

Stubborn inflation is challenging Asia's central banks

Prices may have risen less than in West, but also have fallen less

Avatar
Priyanka Kishore
Avatar
Chinese President Xi Jinping speaks during his meeting with Joe Biden in Bali in November 2022: China is capable of telling a better story about itself.
Brian Wong

China's foreign policy must get more pragmatic for economy's sake

Efforts to bring Putin to the table will reassure Europe of Beijing's sincerity

Avatar
Brian Wong
Avatar