Korea

With China barring domestic operators of critical information infrastructure from procuring products from US chipmaker Micron as the latest move in the China-US chip war, there are concerns about whether moving too strongly might lead to China hurting itself instead. Zaobao correspondent Chen Jing takes a look at how the chip war might play out.

There have been recent signs of thaw in Japan-South Korea relations, not least with Japanese President Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol visiting the monument dedicated to the Koreans who died in the Hiroshima atomic bombing at the sidelines of the G7 summit. What are the larger motivations for the rapprochement and how will this affect the regional dynamics?

South Korea has far-reaching geopolitical ambitions but focusing on the regions closest to it will bring more dividends in a competitive world.

With North Korea declaring itself a nuclear state and indicating that it would only enter negotiations in its position as one, the situation in the Korean peninsula is getting more unstable. Among the global stakeholders in the issue, China is in a position to do more. Trilateral cooperation between the US, South Korea and China is even possible if China changes its perceptions and long-held approaches.

Lianhe Zaobao associate editor Peter Ong looks into why Asian countries are facing a declining population, especially those that have witnessed successful economic transformation. What social conditions have led to the staggeringly low birth rates? And is migration a solution?

As economic activities pick up in China after the country lifted its strict Covid-19 control measures, foreign businesses are raring to return to the world’s second-largest economy. However, they remain hesitant due to the long time away and geopolitical considerations. Zaobao associate editor Han Yong Hong finds out if China can easily rebuild its economic ties with foreign businesses and the outside world.

Since last month, China and South Korea have been engaged in a tussle of tit for tat when it comes to Covid-19 travel controls. From visa suspensions to “yellow tags” on Chinese travellers entering South Korea, it remains to be seen whether the current back and forth will affect months of China’s diplomatic efforts with South Korea, especially since Yoon Suk-yeol took office.

South Korea’s new Indo-Pacific strategy underscores the country’s ambitions to be a “global pivotal state”. Seoul seeks to effect a careful balance: inclining towards the US-led grouping advocating a “free and open Indo-Pacific”, while at the same time engaging China.

Delivering the keynote address of the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute’s Regional Outlook Forum 2023, Singapore’s former Foreign Minister George Yeo spoke about the ways that ASEAN’s weakness is also a strength in the transition to a multipolar world.