Asia & the Pacific

An “America First” export strategy complicates efforts to obtain U.S.-made weapons.

Climate stress is rewriting the region’s rules of water sharing.

‘No Other Choice’ shows a man’s world collapsing—with deadly results.

From Britain to Japan, “keep calm and carry on” is getting buried.

The first vote since Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s ouster favors a dynastic party but could see the Islamists rise.

Parties failed to meet a modest commitment to field more female candidates, despite the leading role of women in the 2024 protest movement.

The island’s deputy foreign minister on Trump, defense, and why he thinks countries shouldn’t trust China.

An epochal win may yet mask a deeper desire for reform in the electorate.

From South Korea to Canada, allies are hedging their bets.

Despite a landslide victory, questions remain over the prime minister’s popularity and her fiscal plans.

Plus, more international fiction releases in February.

The recent border crisis with Cambodia has reignited pro-military sentiment.

By mishandling the T20 World Cup, India is ruining its 2036 Olympic dream.

The new U.S. ambassador in New Delhi may have played an instrumental role in this week’s trade agreement.

Why the ASEAN chair is pushing for a code of conduct with China.

A shared worldview, some personal rapport, and not being a U.S. ally makes all the difference.

Countries with a critical niche may be best primed to endure great-power competition.

Three factors shape when protests restrain democratic erosion—and when they don’t.

Trump announced the deal in a social media post on Monday.

Sycophancy and ideology have replaced realistic assessments of dangers.

The trade pact may be getting all the attention, but the pair also inked a landmark defense agreement.

The Trump administration has done little as China threatens U.S. allies.

A major border feud with Afghanistan should force Islamabad to reevaluate its latent ties with Central Asia.

He has boosted the private sector and fired tens of thousands of civil servants.

An infrastructure project between Afghanistan, Iran, and India gets caught in Trump’s crosshairs—again.

Beijing’s response to the latest agreement was predictably spiky.

Manila takes over the ASEAN chair in what could be a make-or-break year for the bloc.

Beijing’s saber-rattling conceals the real possibility of a loss.

Trump has shown how democracy can be neutralized without being destroyed.

A new annual strategy document would streamline spending and signal seriousness to allies.

How Islamabad is capitalizing on the current geopolitical moment.

How the Islamic Republic’s repressive tactics stack up against regimes around the world.

Further restrictions would almost certainly help the military as it consolidates power.

Washington’s outreach to Myanmar’s junta is shortsighted.

Plus, more international fiction releases in January.

How Beijing’s gamble could backfire.

With U.S. extended deterrence under strain, managing Seoul’s nuclear hedging may be safer than trying to stop it.

Cricket drama underscores the depth of the crisis, but Dhaka’s upcoming election offers a shot at a reset.

The region is no stranger to dealmaking, but Washington’s selfish ends are self-damaging.

The region’s rhetorical commitment reflects a wariness of great-power interference.

U.S. rivals aren’t deterred by norms so much as by the limits of their own militaries.

Beijing will welcome the chance for its own regional hegemony.

The world-minus-one moment.

U.S. allies and partners are taking steps toward a post-American nuclear order.

A new documentary details the complicity of the fourth estate with the U.S. government.

These are the year’s biggest races, from Bangladesh to Brazil.

The region faces some risks after a tumultuous 2025.

Policymakers in the region have a lot on their minds.

FP columnists on how the world could handle the new Washington.

Some parts of the country will begin voting on Dec. 28 in polls that could further legitimize the ruling junta.

How Gen Z-led movements shaped 2025—and what comes next.

The geopolitical ripple effects of the nuclear-armed rivals’ worst conflict in decades.

The stories that shaped the region in 2025, from India-Pakistan conflict to a deepening Afghan refugee crisis.

Here are the countries that have benefited the most—and least—from the U.S. president’s decision-making.

As the second Trump administration approaches the one-year mark, here’s who is influencing key policies. 

Smog is crossing borders and wrecking lives.

The former leaders of Colombia and Mexico are concerned over recent U.S. actions

The long-exiled Tarique Rahman will arrive ahead of a likely tense February vote.

A proposed Bangladesh-China-Pakistan nexus could raise concerns in New Delhi.

Sanae Takaichi’s massive spending program could be a risky political win.

Tracking the region’s biggest developments in 2025.

A constitutional reform throws restraint, deterrence, and regional stability into question.

Organizations working in Gaza and Sudan say their jobs have become harder than ever.

America’s greatest export was never democracy or consumer culture. It was the template for global power itself.

Officials still seem to be working toward a trade deal, but it won’t be a silver bullet.

Critics say the region’s leader hasn’t delivered on his defiant campaign rhetoric.

How New Delhi’s pollution has become a more fundamental crisis.

Hanoi has been quietly expanding partnerships beyond the Indo-Pacific.

The waters may have let up, but an aid crisis continues.

The MAGA revolution in U.S. foreign policy brings good news and bad.

The South Asian nation has deployed a combination of flattery and strategy to get Washington on its side.

“Left-Handed Girl,” Taiwan’s Oscar hopeful, offers a multifaceted view of women learning to live beyond shame.

The defense secretary is under scrutiny for a series of questionable decisions.

The visit comes at a somewhat precarious moment for India-Russia relations.

The tragedy confirmed to many locals that the city’s freedoms have vanished.

Three years ago, the country became a poster child for climate justice. Now, it faces a steep learning curve to secure the funding it needs.

“Sabah for Sabahans” undermines the country’s precarious ethno-political balance.

New sanctions on the world’s wealthiest criminal could threaten the Hun dynasty.

Beijing’s continued economic growth depends on a fragile balance of control and freedom.

Even imagining a potential Chinese invasion of the island has become a political act.

Why 2025 has been Modi’s most difficult foreign-policy year.

The leaders talked trade, Taiwan, and—likely—Japan.

Sanae Takaichi may be relishing confrontation with China.

The U.S. should avoid a narrow Christian focus.

Next week, the Russian leader visits New Delhi for the first time since his full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Popular protest is keeping the issue of flood corruption in the news.

Will the dream of indigenous technology be co-opted for political control?

Rapid geopolitical change requires an urgent debate in Japan.

The bloc is beginning to have some agency—as long as you don’t mention China.

The former prime minister was sentenced to death in absentia months before a high-stakes election.

A Trumpian promise may be hard to deliver.

How some countries are quietly advancing progress.

The new Japanese prime minister is unlikely to back down from recent comments.

A cheap and practical intervention, given at birth, could save lives in conflict zones and beyond.

Breaking out of their cycle of hope and distrust requires political imagination on both sides.

Land mines, and who planted them, have been an ongoing factor.

Forced recruitment has helped reverse momentum back in the military’s favor, even as it pushes many young men to flee.

Switzerland cuts a deal—plus the latest global picture on Trump’s tariff regime.

Beijing finds itself in a precarious geopolitical position.

Renewables are in hot demand in a growing region.