Asia & the Pacific

The Nepali Congress party looks set to hang onto power when final results come in next week.

Beijing’s military and infrastructure advantage has transformed the crisis and left New Delhi on the defensive.

It’s not recognition yet—just resignation.

Canberra has spent decades ostracizing asylum-seekers and detaining Africans and Asians fleeing war. Now, the national team needs them on the field.

The case for a global forecasting unit led by the United States and Australia.

The country’s government and central bank have adamantly opposed too much intervention in the yen despite the economic consequences.

Twenty years of double-dealing with insurgents has consequences.

Unfreezing billions of dollars while huge revenues flow to Kabul risks legitimizing an extremist regime.

They are, increasingly, the only financial link that connects the country to the rest of the world.

New Delhi has the chance to shape the global agenda and advocate for its vision of multilateralism.

Central Asians used to flee the Soviet empire’s periphery for Moscow. Russia’s mobilization has sent escaping Muscovites in the other direction.

The next head of the Army will be the chief power broker in the nuclear nation.

But Russia and China block any U.N. action against the Hermit Kingdom.

Foreign Policy talked to the former prime minister about the recent attempt on his life, relations with Washington, and how he’d make Pakistan great.

The West shouldn’t let up pressure after Myanmar’s recent prisoner releases.

Leading the bloc gives New Delhi an opportunity to show what it can do on the global stage.

The Itaewon crowd crush confirmed a growing distrust of national stories.

The top U.S. watchdog for the conflict has a new theory.

A messy array of politicians and parties are competing to win the election—and avoid jail.

In Sindh province, the food insecurity that followed extreme flooding may be a harbinger for the climate future.

Tokyo has become an indispensable security actor in the Indo-Pacific.

Led by Pakistan, climate-vulnerable countries seek aid for adaptation.

A provincial default has destroyed local government credibility.

Shipping workers abroad helps the North Korean leader evade sanctions and finance his nuclear weapons.

TSMC is an economic boon, but its success makes China covet the industry while its natural resource consumption reduces resilience.

The have-nots need lots of cash to tackle climate change. Can they be trusted with it?

Washington and Seoul need to be careful not to accidentally trigger war.

The former prime minister has turned against the force that once supported him.

How India’s prime minister dismantled the world’s largest democratic experiment.

Pakistan’s political crisis may be reaching a breaking point. The reported attempt on the opposition leader’s life could galvanize his supporters.

The United States is warning that a nuclear strike would be game over for Kim Jong Un.

The small pacifist Komeito party is managing rifts with its coalition partner.

More drugs and higher prices a year after the Taliban takeover.

Washington has a bold plan to restrict Beijing’s semiconductor imports. The world needs to talk about it.

Ahead of this month’s elections, Nepal’s democracy faces a dual challenge: its own factionalism and the Chinese Communist Party’s growing influence.

As Imran Khan plans another march on the capital, new developments have put the public on edge.

Internationalism is key to Ulaanbaatar’s strategy.

Abandoned special forces veterans are getting job offers for a very different kind of battlefield.

The Indian National Congress party has a new leader, but he will struggle to counter the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Imran Khan’s agitations won’t change how his country functions.

A new recruitment system could endanger Gurkha regiments—the “umbilical bond” between the two countries.

New Islamic State rhetoric targets Chinese imperialism.

Cramped conditions and snail-paced bureaucracy add to the misery of people forced to flee the Taliban’s takeover.

Forcing Pakistan to make debt payments after catastrophic floods is a moral atrocity.

Cold War archives reveal why South Korea doesn’t need its own nuclear weapons to deter the North.

Afghan refugees in New Delhi can now pursue an education in their mother tongue.

The Indian National Congress party has a chance to break from the Gandhi dynasty. It seems set on spurning the opportunity.

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s escalations in Ukraine have compounded diplomatic challenges for New Delhi.

Viewing recent conflicts in the Caucasus and Central Asia through the lens of Moscow’s political calculus overlooks important internal dynamics.

For an attack with such a high casualty count, it remains underanalyzed in the West.

Even as the country receives increased support, its immediate outlook is grim, raising the specter of more mass protests.

Central Asian powers are learning that Putin is not the tough neighborhood sheriff he claimed to be.

Beijing, Taipei, and Washington can find a path forward to peace.

The world’s two most populous countries had similar starting points, but China has outpaced India across the board.

As men flee Putin’s draft, Russia’s neighbors struggle to cope.

As tensions between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan flared, Moscow and Beijing chose to remain on the sidelines.

NATO’s last man in Kabul helped facilitate the airlift and had a front-row seat to the Taliban takeover of the capital.

What lessons does the sinking of the Moskva have for Taiwan?

Can the new foreign minister escape the slipstream of the superpowers?

India lambasted a proposed U.S. military sale to Pakistan as both countries’ top diplomats met with U.S. officials this week.

But first they must present a united front to win the support they need to dislodge the Taliban.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Islamabad’s relations with Beijing and Washington and how his country is dealing with deadly floods.

People-to-people interactions are longer and deeper than the pair’s state relations.

The junta’s tactics have grown more brutal in the face of resistance. The international community doesn’t have an answer.

When sworn enemies with nuclear arms get along better, it’s incredibly significant news.

The departures of France’s TotalEnergies and Norway’s Telenor have left the military regime with more money and control.

The ceremony for the assassinated former prime minister marks the end of an era.

As Islamabad continues to appeal for international assistance, its political polarization has proved to be an obstacle too.

India may have signaled a shift in its posture on Russia’s war in Ukraine, but it seeks more quiet support from the West.

New Delhi just commissioned its first indigenously built major warship. It will need more to challenge Beijing on the high seas.

Regional groups and small banks are helping insulate Beijing against sanctions.

But it’s just going to go in Taliban pockets, critics say.

The diaspora is preserving Tibetan as Chinese oppression grows at home.

With a new law, Kim Jong Un takes a page from the Soviet nuclear playbook to ensure payback.

The worst floods in memory may have occasioned a reset in relations, but Imran Khan could still prove a spoiler.

The Ukraine war has given Astana a unique chance to frustrate Moscow.

The region has long served as a testing ground for Beijing’s economic and foreign-policy ambitions and is becoming increasingly close to China.

Modi will miss the annual summit, but other leaders are expected to address the region’s vulnerability.

Even a 1.5 degree warming target is untenable for countries already wracked by extreme weather. The West needs to step up.

“We have never had a really good plan in terms of how we counter climate change,” one expert noted.

Veteran politicians are defecting for regional parties or even the ruling BJP, further undermining the country’s democracy.

A long, strange trip through East Asia shows the region’s impressive steering skills.

Pyongyang has abandoned any rapprochement with Washington.

This year’s protests have revitalized the country’s socialists. But can they capitalize on that momentum electorally?

Al Qaeda once again has a safe haven in Afghanistan, endangering Americans.

International aid is pouring in, but the local food insecurity would have global consequences.

A top lawmaker says China’s game plan is to blockade the island and stop allies from helping out.

Unlike Ukraine, the island will be very hard to arm during a conflict.

The disaster has affected more than 30 million people and is a warning for other climate-vulnerable states.

Khan’s rhetoric resembles that of another former Pakistan Army protege: the late Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.

The Japanese ruling party’s ties to the South Korean sect stir public anger.

Two recent books chronicle how the United States turned its back on Afghanistan and pitched the country into chaos.

Floods, droughts, tropical storms, and heat waves are severely testing the resilience of a region with a lot of vulnerable people.

The ousted prime minister is challenging the taboos of Pakistani politics.

Almost the entire region backs China—but the regime’s behavior has also crystallized support for Taiwan.

Protesters have adopted humor and wit to critique the country’s politics.

The prime minister’s annual Independence Day speech reflected how far political discourse has fallen in New Delhi.

Realities in the Indo-Pacific region have changed, and it’s time for New Delhi to deepen its political ties with Taipei.

The priority is not who would win a war over Taiwan, but how to prevent one in the first place.

With no viable opposition, the regime holds a firm grip on power in Afghanistan—but it could soon become shaky.

Conceding to Beijing’s demands compromises Pride’s values.

Banning travel, at last, will send a message that brutality and support for terrorists are not acceptable.

Despite domestic setbacks, the new South Korean president’s diplomacy has been a success.

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit exposed serious security weaknesses.

Accelerating atrocities show there’s no point in talking to a desperate regime.

Beijing’s shock-and-awe military response has created a new normal in East Asia.

The country’s military violates human rights with impunity—and gets a pass in Washington.

India’s liberal founders recede from view as its current leaders craft a new, less tolerant nation.

They could divulge sensitive U.S. military training and intelligence to Tehran, a U.S. lawmaker warns.

A year after the Taliban takeover, women took to the streets defiantly to demand bread, work, and freedom.

On the sad anniversary of the chaotic U.S. pullout, Afghanistan is once again primed for terror.

Three ways to prevent another debacle.

Western powers and donors created a category that consigned the women of Afghanistan to perpetual victimhood—while all parties instrumentalized them for political ends.

The return of the Taliban may have ended the fighting. The suffering goes on.

Two experts on the Taliban’s governing style—and why Pakistan has “buyer’s remorse.”

South Asia has closer ties with Beijing, but the risk of escalation presents a challenge, especially for New Delhi.

And the Pentagon wants to help India in the mountaintop brawl.

Tafsir Siyaposh has spent the past year pressing the Taliban on women’s rights by besting them at their own theological jousts on live television.

More than 70,000 Afghans who worked for the United States are still waiting for visas—unless the Taliban get to them first.

The maritime insurance industry sees little elevated risk from China’s exercises.

Afghanistan’s extremist rulers are cracking down on minorities, especially Shiites, as hard as they have on women.

Military exercises have stiffened Japanese resolve.

Yoon Suk-yeol simply isn’t up to international diplomacy.

Ignoring what everyone else thinks is part of the junta’s mindset.

Analysts have been keen to make comparisons to tensions in 1996.

Rising prices, food insecurity, and a growing debt burden make Islamabad’s other challenges all the more pressing.

The U.S. drone strike exposes the regime’s terrorist ties and further dims its prospects for international legitimacy.

The international community has a part to play in ending its culture of impunity.

Impressive as the operation to kill Ayman al-Zawahiri was, it doesn’t obviate the terrorism threat from Afghanistan.

Many on social media expressed anger that the government hadn’t followed through on its fiery rhetoric.

Oil and gas are a critical economic lifeline for Myanmar’s military junta.

A new report exposes the regime’s shocking brutality.

Years of propaganda have given Pakistanis an unrealistic understanding of what ails their country.

Pelosi’s visit is another spur for Beijing’s disinformation campaign.

“Justice has been delivered, and this terrorist leader is no more,” Biden says.

He inherited the leadership of al Qaeda when U.S. forces killed Osama bin Laden but lacked his predecessor’s charisma.

The U.S. House speaker puts both Washington and Beijing in a bind.

Beijing is desperate to avoid being trapped in Kabul’s politics.

The Tagalog word eludes Western concepts of gender and sexuality—and offers a window into LGBTQ+ Filipinos’ quest for acceptance.

The controversy over Nancy Pelosi’s proposed trip highlights the contradictions of U.S. policy toward the island.

Damned if she goes, damned if she doesn’t.

Uzbekistan hosts two major summits this week with consequences for neighboring South Asia, particularly Afghanistan.

A new Amnesty report lays out the Taliban playbook for erasing half the population: electrocutions, beatings, detentions, and disappearances.

If the U.S. wants to compete with China in developing countries, our research shows it needs to offer tangible assistance in response to real needs.

The House speaker’s visit is a grand gesture, but it shouldn’t be seen as a show of strength.

A risky trip seems more about dramatic gestures than actual help.

A three-day conference in Uzbekistan has united the region, worried about the guerrillas in their midst.

The Filipino American journalist and Nobel laureate explains what it’s like to be a government target—and how to safeguard a free press.

Former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s party won a surprise victory in a by-election in the country’s biggest province.

But the United States is leery of giving the Taliban access to billions in cash.

FP’s columnist on a harrowing return to Kabul, almost one year after the United States left Afghanistan.

“We managed to survive the pandemic, but this is worse.”

Even as he pushed for closer U.S. ties, Japan’s former prime minister clung to his belief in the legitimacy of Japanese conquest.

Hassib Habibi carries his convictions as easily as his AK-47. Now he has to resuscitate the Afghan economy.

But the Pacific Islands are loath to be pawns in a geopolitical game.

At the I2U2’s first summit, India, Israel, the UAE, and the U.S. are in the mood for cooperation.

Seoul aims to become one of the world’s top arms exporters.

U.S. elites were happy to overlook the late Japanese prime minister’s historical revisionism.

The food crisis is hitting the country’s most vulnerable the hardest.

Beijing’s investments in the island look shaky after protests topple the government.

Investments Indian and Russian public sector companies have made in each other’s oil sectors have created an umbilical cord between their energy industries.

The proximate cause for the protests is inflation, but the roots are in Sinhalese Buddhist nationalism.

A surprisingly precious resource is another front in gray zone warfare.

Abe’s killing may have boosted an already strong LDP vote.

The Taliban are strip-mining their mineral wealth to fund factional power grabs.

And made Tokyo a major player across the Indo-Pacific.

The success of productions such as “Squid Game” and “Parasite” prove the industry can hold its own without excessive protectionism.

The assassinated former prime minister leaves behind a complex legacy.

Washington mourns the man who made Japan a real security ally in the Indo-Pacific.

Abe killing shocks one of the world’s safest countries.

A flood of arms, including many from former Afghan soldiers, threatens to spark more violence.

The government’s crackdown on dissent puts it on a collision course with Big Tech.

Both maximalist and minimalist strategies have utterly failed.

What the kidnapping and trial of a former billionaire tell us about China’s ultrawealthy.

Violent protests over proposed changes to its status have swept the autonomous region of Karakalpakstan.

The battle for cash pits the Kabul extremists against Hazara locals.

With the Taliban at loggerheads and Afghanistan in chaos, one politician has a plan to stave off civil war.

Prodded by Washington, Seoul and Tokyo are taking steps to overcome deep historical tensions.

Seoul and Washington have pledged they’re ready to talk with a nuclear-testing North Korea—but they’re not getting any response.

The Agnipath plan has triggered protests among potential soldiers and criticism from veterans, but it’s not likely to dent Modi’s government.

The recent LGBTQ film tries to give life to the complications of queer desire. It falters.

Is it a genuine push toward a cleaner—and safer—nation?

The Taliban can’t govern in normal times, let alone disaster response.

A flurry of moves is positioning Tokyo at the center of anti-China alliances.

An internal United Nations report details escalating Taliban violations of human rights—and little U.N. leverage.

It’s not about democracy. It’s about power.

New Delhi makes a fairly safe gamble by supporting the group—without putting itself at odds with the West.

Stare, and the abyss stares back into you.

While American mothers can’t find enough formula, a new WHO report details why parents are getting too much in other parts of the world.

Worryingly, Washington’s concern does not rise to the level of the danger.

Thousands of Afghans who worked with the United States need a route out.

One of the United States’ oldest security partners in Asia is increasingly marching to Beijing’s music.

Many long-standing leaders are aging, raising questions about the longevity of the region’s political dynasties.

Cambodia’s prime minister has outmaneuvered political opponents and groomed his oldest son for power, but does he know when to walk away?

It’s time to consider what’s never been tried before.

The regional capos who broke Afghanistan once before are angling to contest control of the country with the current Taliban rulers.

Two years after a deadly border clash, New Delhi appears wary of Beijing but unwilling to partner with Washington. These contradictions leave it open to exploitation.

Naval power projection is a long way out for Beijing still.

Americans need to recognize their own ugly history in Southeast Asia.

Offensive remarks about Islam by ruling party leaders have consequences for New Delhi in Persian Gulf states.