Politics: News & Insights

Attendees hold lights to deliver a message during the Pink Dot event in Hong Lim Park in June 2019: The repeal of Section 377A does not remove the contending groups' deepest disagreements.

Opinion

Singapore's repeal of anti-gay law shows strength of its system

Political process has met challenge of accommodating divergent interests

12 February 2023

PAP politician Tin Pei Ling says she and Grab decided "it would be best for me to move into a role that did not involve any government relations in Singapore." (Photo courtesy of Tin Pei Ling's Facebook page)

Politics

Grab shifts Singapore lawmaker to new job after conflict criticism

Ruling PAP politician Tin Pei Ling won't have to lobby for unicorn's interests

10 February 2023

Vietnam's Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, left, meets with Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the Istana presidential office in Singapore on Feb. 9.

International relations

Vietnam PM Chinh seals green deals on Singapore visit

Neighbors align on renewable energy as Hanoi turmoil clouds prospects

9 February 2023

Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, right, hosts his Malaysian counterpart Anwar Ibrahim on Jan. 30.

International relations

Malaysia's Anwar tightens Singapore ties in ASEAN travel rush

New PM focuses on economic cooperation on third visit to a neighbor in a month

30 January 2023

Singapore believes its new talent visa will attract corporate investment, since companies "always look for the best people," the managing director of its Economic Development Board said.

Economy

Singapore's new elite visa will help lure investment, official says

City-state is competing with places such as Hong Kong, Thailand for foreign talent

16 January 2023

A participant at Pink Dot, an annual event organized in support of the LGBT community in Singapore, poses during the 2019 edition.

Politics

Singapore's parliament strikes down ban on gay sex

Legislators repeal controversial law but move to cement traditional marriage

29 November 2022

From left to right, Yessie Mosby, Anjali Viswamohanan, Chongrak Thinagul and Jose Cobangbang IV have a wide range of reasons for being at the world's largest climate summit.

COP27

'Why I'm at COP': Climate summit attendees tell their stories

Huge conference in Egypt drawing thousands of people from around the world

13 November 2022

Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Hsien Loong and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese meet at Parliament House in Canberra on Oct. 18.

International relations

In skeptical Australia, Singapore PM says China 'good' for CPTPP

Lee and Albanese seal green deal to seize opportunities in clean energy

18 October 2022

Chinese President Xi Jinping during a visit to Australia in 2014. The president's first mistake may have been to abandon the approach of 'hiding your claws and biding your time.'

Interview

Xi's China has made 3 foreign policy mistakes: Bilahari Kausikan

Former top Singapore diplomat says Beijing has miscalculated America's decline

12 October 2022

A competition for the best of the best workers is heating up across Asia, as governments and companies seek the talent they need to accelerate growth in the wake of COVID-19.

Asia Insight

From Singapore to Thailand, Asia dangles visas to lure high-fliers

New programs kick off as companies struggle to find skilled workers

4 October 2022

Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh at a civic ceremony in New Delhi during the Royal Tour of India, circa January 1961.

International relations

Legacy of decency: Asian leaders pay tribute to Queen Elizabeth II

Monarch was frequent visitor to region during her 70-year reign

9 September 2022

Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong meets Philippine President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. in the city-state on Sept. 7. (Photo courtesy of Singaporean government)

International relations

Philippines' Marcos, Singapore's Lee align on South China Sea

Leaders express 'deep disappointment' in Myanmar's military leadership

7 September 2022

Indo-Pacific

Indo-Pacific nations to agree on better supply chain communication

IPEF draft statement for Sept. 8-9 meeting also includes push for clean energy

4 September 2022

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has vowed to "stand firm in our independent foreign policy," siding with neither the U.S. or China. (Source photos by AP and Reuters)

International relations

Marcos's ASEAN trip sets tone for 'independent' foreign policy

Philippine president to make first official trips to Indonesia and Singapore

2 September 2022

LGBT+ supporters calling for the repeal of Section 377A of Singapore's penal code, which criminalizes gay sex, are about to get their wish. But the city-state also plans to enshrine male-female marriage in its constitution.

Politics

Singapore declines to follow Taiwan, Thailand on LGBT+ rights

Move to lift ban on gay sex comes with vow to enshrine male-female marriage

22 August 2022

Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has warned of "profound implications" from the Ukraine war for Asia and the city-state, economically and in terms of security.

Economy

Singapore cuts Q2 GDP growth to 4.4%, downgrades range for 2022

Full-year forecast trimmed to 3-4% amid Ukraine disruptions, Taiwan tensions

11 August 2022

Rights groups define some torture tools, such as shock devices and spiked batons, as "inherently abusive." (Photo of electric shock batons supplied by the Omega Research Foundation)

International relations

World trade in torture tools flourishes under lack of scrutiny

U.N. weighs first global-level controls, but China and other nations contest remit

10 August 2022

China's missile drills have forced Singapore Airlines and its budget carrier Scoot to cancel flights to and from Taiwan scheduled for Friday. (Source photos by Eastern Theatre Command/Reuters and Reuters)

Transportation

Asian carriers halt, reroute flights over Chinese drills near Taiwan

Beijing's military exercise could disrupt regional supply chains

5 August 2022

U.S. deploys ships and planes near Taiwan as Pelosi eyes visit

Speaker begins Indo-Pacific tour from Singapore

1 August 2022

Feeding Asia

Hunger in Asia on the rise

Inflation, COVID-19, climate, conflict drive food insecurity

6 July 2022

A breast cancer patient smokes a joint in Bangkok after marijuana was decriminalized last month. Across Asia, cannabis policies remain broadly restrictive, with some inconsistencies and loopholes.

Asia Insight

Smoke signals: Thailand blazes trail for cannabis in wary Asia

Recreational use still far-off prospect as taboos persist from ASEAN to Japan

5 July 2022

Rescuers work at the site of a Ukrainian mall in the Poltava region on June 28 after the shopping center was hit by a Russian missile strike.

Ukraine war

U.S. accuses 5 firms in China of supporting Russia's military

Washington also adds companies from Singapore, Vietnam to trade blacklist

29 June 2022

South China Sea

South China Sea stirs fears of Black Sea rerun as Shangri-La ends

Superpowers spar over waterway at Singapore summit; Malaysia warns of 'deadliest' war

12 June 2022

China's Defense Minister Gen. Wei Fenghe speaks at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on June 12.

US-China tensions

China's Wei slams U.S. 'smears,' Taiwan independence 'delusion'

Defense chief tells Shangri-La crowd that Biden's Indo-Pacific strategy creates conflict

12 June 2022

The defense chiefs from Japan, U.S. and South Korea met for the first time in two and a half years.  (Photo courtesy of Japan's Ministry of Defense)

Indo-Pacific

Japan, South Korea, U.S. to resume joint defense drills

Move comes after a flurry of North Korea missile launches

12 June 2022