Hot War

What Saudi Arabia wants from China over the Houthis

While Saudi Arabia may want China to help it communicate with Iran and use its economic leverage over it, China may be hard put to do as it asks. Commentator Göktuğ Çalışkan examines the issue.

Göktuğ Çalışkan

12 Nov 2026

Rich nations tell citizens to stockpile for crises. Why not China?

From the US and Europe to Japan, official appeals for households to stockpile essential supplies are sweeping developed nations. They reflect a sobering recognition that governments may not be able to reach everyone in time during a major crisis. Academic Zhang Tiankan examines why China takes a different approach.

Zhang Tiankan

03 Nov 2026

Bilahari Kausikan: The Korean Peninsula and the future of East Asian geopolitics

Former Singapore diplomat Bilahari Kausikan believes that a momentous strategic shift is underway on the Korean Peninsula, impacting the East Asian geopolitical landscape. The rise of a nuclear-armed North Korea and a transactional US alliance system are forcing a structural reset. An independent nuclear path for South Korea and Japan may be next.

Bilahari Kausikan

16 Oct 2026

Drones are cheap — China wants to make killing them cheaper

As cheap drones dominate modern battlefields, China is racing to reverse the cost curve. But unproven tech and mass saturation mean the swarm retains its edge, argues researcher Tahir Mahmood Azad.

Tahir Mahmood Azad

02 Oct 2026

Trump-Xi summit: The ‘China threat’ and America’s real war

American commentary is resurrecting the “China threat” narrative ahead of Xi’s visit. US academic Ma Haiyun takes a look at US foreign policy towards China and Israel, revealing a stark asymmetry in how US’s foreign entanglements are managed and judged.

Ma Haiyun

24 Sep 2026

From DJI to drone killers: China’s cheap air defence revolution

Just as it found its niche in drones, China is leading the way in the global move towards developing cheaper air defences like 3D-printed interceptors. Indian researcher Adya Madhavan shares her observations.

Adya Madhavan

09 Sep 2026

Could the PLA’s robot soldiers be used against Taiwan?

China is developing humanoid robots that could enter the battlefield within a decade. While Taiwan is a potential scenario, experts say the PLA’s push reflects a broader drive to prepare for the warfare of the future. Lianhe Zaobao correspondent Edwin Ong finds out more.

Edwin Ong

09 Sep 2026

Bilahari Kausikan: How to think about foreign policy and geopolitics

Former Singapore diplomat Bilahari Kausikan rues the general lack of understanding about foreign policy and geopolitics. On Ukraine, US-China relations and the wars in the Middle East, he offers some rubrics to fall back on in a speech delivered at the Humanity Matters Charity Conference at the Institute of Lifelong Learning in July. This is an edited version of the transcript.

Bilahari Kausikan

28 Aug 2026

Aircraft carriers cannot erase Asian civilisational memory

Military superiority can destroy infrastructure, but it cannot erase a people’s past. Historian Wu Guo takes a look at how centuries of collective identity have formed an unbreakable shield against American intervention.

Wu Guo

10 Jul 2026

America at 250: Independent no more?

As the US marks 250 years of independence, US academic Ma Haiyun examines whether America has drifted from the founding ideal of political autonomy towards foreign influence and proxy wars.

Ma Haiyun

03 Jul 2026

How Trump’s Iran war boosted Beijing

China’s diplomacy in the Middle East has seen highs and lows, most recently garnering some success in the Iran war, after troughs during the post-7 October 2023 period and initial highs when the US withdrew from Afghanistan in 2021. Chinese academic Fan Hongda explains.

Fan Hongda

18 Jun 2026

Why bombs don’t break Iran

The domestic issues and fragile regime in Iran would have led one to believe that an attack by the US would result in a quick defeat. Commentator Tao Ray offers a perspective on why Iran remains resilient: not because of its military strength or strategy, but the strong sense of “us versus them”.

Tao Ray

26 May 2026