Politics

Children draw Myanmar flags at a school in a refugee camp in Cox's Bazar, southeastern Bangladesh.
Economy

Economies begin to flourish at Rohingya refugee camps

Steady salaries and supplies create 'comfort' that could impede repatriation

15 April 2018
A parent and child gaze at their camp from a nearby hill. At present, about 620,000 people live in the Kutupalong-Balukhali camp in the Cox's Bazar district of Bangladesh.
International relations

In pictures: The plight of Myanmar's Rohingya refugees

A grim life and uncertain future confront 670,000 people stranded in Bangladesh

14 April 2018
Large numbers of Rohingya, a Muslim ethnic minority in Myanmar, have fled to Bangladesh amid violence at home.
International relations

UN Security Council to visit Myanmar and Bangladesh

Members hope to see the city to which masses of Rohingya have fled

13 April 2018
Nepal's new Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli treads a tightrope between India and China, which are both jostling for influence over the small, landlocked country.
International relations

Nepal's prime minister walks tightrope on India visit

Courted by Delhi and Beijing, Oli wants to extract investments from both

5 April 2018
K.P. Sharma Oli lights a candle at an event in Kathmandu in 2016 marking the first anniversary of an earthquake in the capital that killed nearly 9,000 people. (Photo by Yuji Kuronuma)
Politics

Who is Sharma Oli?

Veteran communist leader rose from prison to prime ministership in Nepal

5 April 2018
Exiled Tibetans rally in New Delhi last August to show their support for India in the Doklam standoff.
Politics

Brahma Chellaney: China carries out a stealthy war in the Himalayas

India flounders as Beijing works to steadily change the status quo

29 March 2018
A Chinese construction worker at the site of a Chinese-backed hotel complex in Colombo in October 2015
The Big Story

Is China's Belt and Road working? A progress report from eight countries

Beijing's infrastructure push clouded by project delays and mounting debt

28 March 2018
Massive traffic jams like this are a daily occurrence in Jakarta. (Photo by Ken Kobayashi)
Economy

Only bigger public investment can ease Asia's infrastructure shortages

Private funding is too small to close the gap in transport, energy and telecoms

27 March 2018
Sri Lanka President Maithripala Sirisena, left, meets Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at Abe's official residence in Tokyo.
International relations

Japan and Sri Lanka to step up maritime cooperation

Abe seeks to counter China with health and infrastructure assistance

15 March 2018
Sri Lanka's southern port of Hambantota was leased to China in 2017 to ease the country's debt servicing burden. (Photo by Yuji Kuronuma) 
International relations

Sri Lanka's silent port reveals China's ever tighter grip

Attempts at fiscal discipline strengthen Beijing's hand

14 March 2018
Myanmar authorities are building military bases and roads over the ruins of Rohingya villages, according to an Amnesty International report.
International relations

Myanmar military bases built atop Rohingya ruins: Amnesty report

'Land grab' intended to erase evidence of crimes, rights group says

13 March 2018
Soldiers of Sri Lanka's Special Task Force walk past damaged houses after a clash between two communities in Kandy district, Sri Lanka on March 8, 2018.
Politics

Buddhist mobs threaten Sri Lanka's fragile ethnic peace

State of emergency declared over anti-Muslim violence

11 March 2018
Nepal's Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli
International relations

China and India court new Nepali leader

Railways seen to be next area of contention for superpowers

8 March 2018
A woman shows her finger after voting in national elections in the Philippines. The Southeast Asian nation ranks above the global average in women in parliament.
Politics

Once a world leader, Asia now trails in women lawmakers

Philippines, Laos and China among best in terms of females in parliament

8 March 2018
A Chinese sailor signals Russian ships as a Chinese-Russian joint naval drill concludes off Zhanjiang, Guangdong Province, China.
Politics

China puts the US Navy on notice with far-flung ports and big guns

Xi's drive to become a maritime superpower echoes European imperialism

8 March 2018
U.S. Pacific Fleet Commander Adm. Scott Swift speaks to reporters in Tokyo on March 6. (Photo by Ken Kobayashi)
China People's Congress 2018

China's economic coercion worries retiring US Navy commander

Rules-based order pushed aside by repressive powers in Indo-Pacific

7 March 2018
A Pakistani official hoists a national flag during the country's Independence Day. (Getty Images)
International relations

'Gray-listing' pushes Pakistan further into China's orbit

Watchdog's move to sap South Asian nation of non-China cash

6 March 2018
President Maithripala Sirisena waves to supporters after addressing them at an election rally. (Courtesy Sri Lankan President's Office)
International relations

Japan to roll out the red carpet for Sri Lankan president

Abe looks to support Sirisena as a counterweight to Beijing

3 March 2018
A ship departs a port in Zhanjiang, China, in July for Africa's Djibouti to dispatch members of the People's Liberation Army to man a military base there.
Politics

Brahma Chellaney: China is ensnaring vulnerable states in debt traps

The Maldives is just the latest nation at risk from Beijing's maneuvering

1 March 2018
A Chinese sailor signals Russian ships as a Chinese-Russian joint naval drill concludes off Zhanjiang, Guangdong Province, China.
China People's Congress 2018

China puts US Navy on notice with far-flung ports and big guns

Xi's drive to become a maritime superpower echoes European imperialism

27 February 2018
The site of a Chinese-financed project to build a bridge connecting the Maldivian capital of Male with a nearby airport island (Photo by Yuji Kuronuma)
Politics

China debt puts the Maldives at risk of 'land grab,' ex-leader warns

Former president says Male government has opened the door to a takeover

22 February 2018
An aerial view of Male, the Maldives' capital.
Politics

Beijing hits back at criticism of its Maldives policy

Foreign ministry blasts 'land grab' allegations as 'absurd'

22 February 2018
Japan's newborns had the lowest mortality among the 184 countries ranked by UNICEF.
International relations

Japan the safest place to give birth: UNICEF

New report calls for universal health coverage to lower infant mortality

21 February 2018
The competition between China and India over a stake in the Dhaka Stock Exchange is seen as part of a geopolitical power struggle in South Asia.
International relations

Dhaka Stock Exchange picks China's bid for stake over India's

Decision by Bangladeshi bourse could intensify Beijing-New Delhi rivalry

20 February 2018
People walk past the Dhaka Stock Exchange in the Bangladeshi capital.
Economy

China and India take battle for influence to Dhaka stock market

Bangladeshi bourse's 25% stake offer highlights regional economic rivalry

19 February 2018