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January 13th, 2022

Too big to fail

China eyes Afghanistan investment amid fears of state collapse

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The Big Story

Too big to fail: China eyes Afghanistan investment amid fears of state collapse

Allies China and Pakistan keen to maintain regional stability after U.S. withdrawal

China has been sending aid to Afghanistan, which is on the brink of a humanitarian crisis, since the withdrawal of U.S. troops last August. 
"Just like Kim Il Sung had 'juche' and Kim Jong Il had 'songun,' Kim Jong Un too is trying to create his own thought form, by combining these two ideologies and naming it after himself."
Asia Insight

Kim Jong Un-ism: Leader seeks 'new' ideology for North Korea

The third Kim is trying to build an image distinct from his father and grandfather

Dennis Uy looks on as President Rodrigo Duterte rings the Philippine Stock Exchange bell to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the listing of the tycoon's Phoenix Petroleum in 2017.
Business Spotlight

Duterte's tycoon donor Dennis Uy faces new political landscape

Businessman navigates pandemic and politics as president's influence ebbs

Foreign investors played little role in last year’s Mongolian Stock Exchange rally. (Source photos by Anand Tumurtogoo)
Market Spotlight

Mongolia stock market turns heads with 133% gain

Benchmark index topped world in 2021 as investors prepared for bank IPOs

Murata Manufacturing President Norio Nakajima said in an interview that a new plant the company planned to open in Thailand would eventually become as large as the one in Wuxi, near Shanghai. (Photo by Atsushi Ooka) 
Supply Chain

Murata's Thailand move heralds Japan tech shift from China

Renesas, Tokyo Electron also race to respond to geopolitical tensions

Arunachal Pradesh is one of the latest flash points between Prime Minister Narendra Modi's India and President Xi Jinping's China. (Source photos by AFP/Jiji and Reuters)
International relations

India, China spar over place names in remote border region

Spat comes amid fraught relations between New Delhi and Beijing

Foreign students learn about job hunting at a vocational school in Tokyo: Experts say Japanese companies' "club" approach to hiring leads them to overemphasize language skills.
Japan immigration

Japan misses foreign talent as companies seek strong linguists

Facing dearth of IT experts, recruiters call for focus on specialist skills

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen oversees a military drill in Penghu. China's People's Liberation Army is said to envision a Taiwan takeover in 14 hours, far less than the 24 hours that the U.S. and Japan would need to respond. (Taiwan Presidential Office/Handout via Reuters)
Indo-Pacific

Taiwan should destroy chip infrastructure if China invades: paper

U.S. scholars propose deterrence strategy to make island 'unwantable'

Workers stand at the entrance to a university's residential area under lockdown in Xi'an, China, on Dec. 20. The government maintains a zero-tolerance approach to containing COVID-19.
Politics

China's zero-COVID policy tops risk list for 2022: Eurasia Group

Big tech companies' dominance, U.S. midterms also on consultancy's warning radar

Russian servicemen board a military aircraft heading to Kazakhstan, at an airfield outside Moscow on Jan. 6.
Politics

Kazakhstan unrest rattles region as Russia steps in: What to know

CSTO intervention raises U.S. eyebrows; China calls turmoil 'domestic affairs'

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison hold up signed documents during their video signing ceremony for the bilateral Reciprocal Access Agreement on Jan. 6.
The Nikkei View

Japan, US and Australia must strengthen cooperation on China

Tokyo should pursue nuanced diplomacy while staying clear-eyed on risks

China's aircraft carrier Liaoning is transferred from dry dock into the water in Dalian in April 2017: China is intent on addressing the qualitative gap by building nuclear supercarriers.
Opinion

2022 look ahead: Arms race will dominate U.S. - China competition

Things will begin to heat up in two key dimensions

Indonesian President Joko Widodo attends the virtual ASEAN-China leaders' summit on Nov. 22: Indonesia's commitment to a free and active foreign policy will make any posture situational and not permanent.
Opinion

2022 look ahead: ASEAN needs Indonesia more than ever

Southeast Asian bloc's members need to define clear parameters for what they are

Prints from Ukiyo-e Project’s series featuring portraits of rock stars, including the members of the band Kiss, left, and David Bowie. (Courtesy of Ukiyo-e Project)
Arts

Japan's Ukiyo-e Project revitalizes classic art form

Innovative techniques and respect for tradition give contemporary look to woodblock prints

Activists of Hindu Sena or "Hindu Army" burn an effigy of Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Akhilesh Yadav as they demand a Central Bureau of Investigation enquiry to certify their conviction that Mohammed Akhlaq, who was lynched by a mob of Hindus for allegedly storing beef in his house, was indeed storing beef for consumption on Oct. 9 in 2015 in New Delhi.
Tea Leaves

India highlights dark side of vegetarianism

Cow protection campaign by vigilante ideologues threatens safety of beef eaters