Asia & the Pacific

Investing in weapons manufacturers has long been taboo. Now, ESG policies are hurting the bottom line in Ukraine.

In the state of Kayah, a patchwork of anti-regime forces has cooperated to seize territory with surprising success.

Compared to Western politicians, these leaders are doing something right.

Journalists flocking to cover life inside a geopolitical flash point often distort the reality on the ground.

Afghanistan’s government doesn’t recognize a 130-year-old border—and its local affiliates are causing havoc in the Pakistani borderlands.

This week’s presidential election put the country’s modernization program under a spotlight.

The country needs reconciliation. The next government will bring more political conflict.

An Indian state approved a bill that religious minorities say amounts to interference. National implementation could be next.

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party won’t take power, but it capitalized on public discontent to deliver a rebuke to the establishment.

Prabowo Subianto’s record doesn’t bode well for democracy.

The Indian Navy has suddenly become the go-to security provider in the Indian Ocean—with big implications for both the U.S. and China.

New airport plans are a test of openness to foreign business.

As the country heads to the polls this week, the future of Jakarta’s bid is set to come into sharper focus.

The jailed politician still stirs national pride.

Ukraine, the Middle East, and Taiwan are part of an unstable frontier—and require a more principled U.S. strategy.

After more than a decade at Apple, Doug Beck is in charge of making sure the Pentagon doesn’t lose a tech race with China. 

In its quest for cash, the tiny island nation of Nauru has tried it all. Its latest scheme may be its riskiest bet yet.

Bashir Noorzai was once serving a life sentence in the United States. Now he’s the key conduit for growing ties between China and the Taliban.

How the world is future-proofing (and China-proofing) its semiconductor supply chains.

The military has already shaped the outcome of the vote, which comes as the country’s challenges converge.

The disgraced prime minister’s sentence has been halved as the government seeks allies.

Two years in, IR experts are divided on whether the U.S. response to Russia’s war will deter a Chinese invasion.

Three years on, the administration’s policy has bright spots—but still lacks a clear strategy for the region.

With opposition leader Imran Khan behind bars, the Feb. 8 vote offers little hope for near-term stability.

Washington’s favorite prescription for Israeli-Palestinian peace risks unleashing a wave of interethnic violence unseen since the partition of India and Pakistan.

The U.S.-South Korea alliance perfectly illustrates the limits of independent action in an unstable world.

As the world worries about an invasion of Taiwan, Beijing is methodically continuing its seizure of territory in Bhutan.

Security threats along the frontiers with Iran and Afghanistan loom large ahead of elections next week.

Politicians celebrate Lai Ching-te’s victory but fear an upset Beijing.

A Hong Kong judge ordered the property giant to liquidate, but courts in mainland China will set the timeline.

Beijing has done very little to help—but it could.

Will it reshape cross-strait relations?

Hosting the French president as an honorary guest on Republic Day offers an opportunity to showcase the successful bilateral relationship.

A new president means another round of reaction from Beijing.

How a small town in an electorally significant state captured India's imagination.

Beijing has long used its backyard as a testing ground for foreign influence operations.

Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi on U.S. involvement in conflicts abroad: “We have to be equipped.”

The massive publicity around the consecration of a temple to the Hindu warrior-king Rama further consolidates the Indian prime minister’s political dominance.

The Belt and Road Initiative wasn’t a sinister plot. It was a blueprint for what every nation needs in an age of uncertainty and disruption.

Washington’s approach appears to be failing—but a military focus on Iran may not resolve the fundamental problems in the region.

Xi Jinping wants to be a new Great Helmsman. It won’t work.

The Biden administration hopes Lai Ching-te will take the threat of a cross-strait invasion as seriously as the U.S. does.

The Indian leader fulfills a signature promise with his consecration of the controversial landmark—just as elections approach.

Polling data indicates the public is split over the future of the island and the threat of annexation.

The country’s recent elections were a disservice to its citizens.

Pentagon and congressional hawks are overestimating their rival.

Namibia and Bangladesh are the most vocal of many countries backing South Africa’s legal challenge to Israel.

Still, Beijing’s reaction to Lai Ching-te’s victory has been surprisingly muted—for now.

Critics cite national security, but political concerns might be the real issue.

Taipei has switched strategies in its fight against Chinese disinformation.

After 25 years of deflation, the public is mad about price rises.

Cross-border murders have returned as a tool of statecraft.

FP learns why a war that isn’t on yet might matter more than one that’s been raging for years, in a chat with Elbridge Colby.

China’s hard-line stance on reunification is fueling anxiety about lost freedoms and bolstering a distinct Taiwanese identity.

Domestic issues are at the forefront of a tight race.

Taiwanese democracy is under threat from multiple fronts.

Beijing is using torture and coercion in its case against Jimmy Lai.

A focus on Beijing can miss real problems.

This week’s vote reflects a smooth transition to democracy—which isn’t always a guarantee.

Anti-government forces’ campaign against cyberscams has benefited Beijing, even as it keeps up ties with the ruling junta.

America is obsessed with diagnosing its rival’s future.

The U.S. and China are courting Hanoi. But the country is trying to chart its own path.

“Imagined Communities” is far weirder than you remember.

How upcoming elections in key countries could change geopolitics.

A sober assessment is needed in a bleak time.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her party are nearly guaranteed to win on Sunday. The rest of the region may welcome the result.

Depleted tech platforms, AI-enabled misinformation, and more than 50 countries voting in 2024. What could go wrong?

Identity politics has always influenced elections. In 2024, it will pose a serious threat to liberalism—and to democracy itself.

Why the moral panic is misplaced.

Nine top generals were removed from Beijing’s rubber-stamp parliament last Friday.

Dozens of countries will vote this year. In many of them, democracy is at a tipping point.

These are the international disputes that are currently flying under the radar but could emerge as major flash points in the coming year.

FP Live’s annual series looking ahead to the next 12 months.

More leaders are pursuing their ends militarily. More believe they can get away with it.

The U.S. president’s foreign-policy strategy came undone in 2023.

A distant war has powerful resonance in a region often divided by faith.

From the war in Ukraine to Sudan’s implosion, FP’s reporters were on the case.

As the world threatens to breach a critical global warming threshold, cooperation still seems to fall short.

What we think will happen, for better or worse, in 2024.

The world’s most dismal science could make Eurasia safe for illiberalism and predation—or protect it from those forces.

From predictable elections to Russia’s increased role in the region, here’s what to expect in 2024.

The legacies of departed leaders from Pervez Musharraf to Henry Kissinger still shape world politics.

From a small crisis with Taiwan to growing youth disillusionment, here’s what China likely faces next year.

This year, state intervention solidified as the world’s new economic orthodoxy—and its weaknesses began to emerge.

Guests on FP Live ranged from Israel’s Ehud Barak to Taiwan’s foreign minister.

Our favorite book reviews of 2023.

Washington is losing its rizz and other powers are stepping into the AIS gaps.

From the halls of the United Nations to leaders’ podiums, policymakers fixated on the concept this year.

Four stories stood out in 2023, from India’s moon landing to tension ahead of Bangladesh’s January elections.

St. Lucia keeps switching between Taipei and Beijing.

As Biden declines an invitation to New Delhi, Modi’s government has judged that a U.S.-foiled assassination plot won’t have serious consequences.

Washington wants change—but it can come in stages.

A recent agreement between Australia and Tuvalu reveals the unfairness of incrementalism.

Asim Munir’s trip comes at an uncertain moment for U.S.-Pakistan relations.

Beijing’s aggression threatens to disrupt friendshoring operations in the region.

New Delhi’s great-power ambitions may prevent it from espousing an overtly pro-Israel stance over the long term.

The category is emotionally powerful but fundamentally flawed.

The ruling party’s state election victories harm the opposition just as it was gaining momentum.

Countries are balancing against China—just like a student of international relations would predict.

A summit of opposition leaders was meant to produce a plan to fix Afghanistan’s trajectory. It generated more infighting and factionalism.