Asia Watch Archive

The war in the Middle East continues to spill over into Asia, as countries grapple with sensitive diplomatic issues and elevated oil prices.

On March 4, an American submarine torpedoed an Iranian warship, IRIS Dena, in international waters off the coast of Sri Lanka, killing at least 87 sailors. From February 15–25, IRIS Dena was participating in India-led naval exercises, alongside navies from 40 other countries, including the U.S.

China’s ‘Two Sessions,’ dual meetings of top Chinese Communist Party (CCP) members, brought thousands of delegates to Beijing to greenlight plans for the year ahead and the government’s 15th Five-Year Plan, spanning 2026–30.

The weeklong sessions of the National People’s Congress (NPC), China’s “rubberstamp” legislature of 2,900, and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, an advisory body of 2,170 representatives, concluded today.

The wave of attacks by the U.S. and Israel on Iran — and the killing of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei — has prompted reactions from across the Indo-Pacific.

Canada and India tried to turn the page on a “challenging period” in the bilateral relationship this week, as Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney visited Mumbai and met his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, in New Delhi, the first trip to India by a Canadian prime minister in eight years.

The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision to invalidate some of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs (and Trump's subsequent set of new tariffs) is the latest chapter in a yearlong tale of backtracks and “chaos,” disorienting American trading partners as they seek trade deals with Washington.

Today, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney embarks on a major Indo-Pacific trip, criss-crossing the region on a 10-day tour of India, Australia, and Japan.

Bangladesh held its first fair, competitive election in nearly two decades last week, with rivals of the ousted Sheikh Hasina — the country’s long-time authoritarian leader, who fled in 2024 following a youth-led uprising — securing a majority.

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party won 209 out of 300 seats, and Jamaat-e-Islami, an Islamist party, won 68 seats. Voter turnout was 59.44 per cent.

New Delhi hosted a massive artificial-intelligence summit this week — the first of its kind in the ‘Global South’ — that convened world leaders, academics, policy experts, and high-profile CEOs for talks on the responsible use of AI, building a sustainable AI future, and retooling India’s workforce to meet market needs.

Since January 26, Indonesia’s stock market has lost up to US$120 billion in value, its worst rout in decades, due to concerns over transparency, market governance, and the policies of Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto.

Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae made history on Sunday, securing a rare ‘super-majority' win in the country’s lower-house elections. Her Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) won 316 of the 465 seats up for grabs, the first time in Japan’s postwar history that one party has won more than two-thirds of the seats.

Sunday marked five years since the military coup in Myanmar that sparked a devastating, ongoing civil war. Five years on, 70,000 people have been killed, 3.6 million have been displaced, and 16 million require humanitarian assistance.

On Sunday, India released its 2026 budget, offering the clearest articulation yet of how Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi plans to navigate a world shaped by U.S. protectionism and intensifying great-power competition.

By Ted Fraser, Senior Editor

By Ted Fraser, Senior Editor

The 14th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) kicked off Tuesday, revealing the ambitions and anxieties of the party’s top brass and the country’s economic priorities for the next five years.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Chinese President Xi Jinping inaugurated “a new chapter” of Canada–China relations last week, establishing a new “strategic partnership” and economic and trade co-operation roadmap, and wo

Just days after a trip to Beijing and Shanghai, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung was in Japan on Tuesday and Wednesday, discussing trade and investment, regional security, and cultural ties with Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney will aim to untangle the Gordian knot of Canada–China relations this week, enticed by the prospect of more trade (and less dependence on the U.S.), but alert to concerns over economic coercion, security, and

The U.S.’s extraordinary capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro on January 3 prompted official reactions in Asia ranging from seeming indifference to outright indignation.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung travelled to Beijing and Shanghai this week, meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping and heralding the “full-scale restoration” of bilateral ties after years of strained relations.