Economy

9 September 2025
Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Vanuatu's Prime Minister Jotham Napat did not sign a landmark security and economic deal, but remain committed to doing so. (Nikkei montage/Source photos by Reuters)
Elon Musk, the world's richest man and a giant force in telecoms, is also one of the most politically influential people on the planet, raising questions for small island nations like Palau, seen above, as they consider using his Starlink service to improve their connectivity. (Nikkei montage/Source photos by AP, Getty Images and Reuters)
Policy Asia

Musk's Starlink expansion across the Pacific sparks enthusiasm -- and concern

Deals get remote islanders online, but fears linger over stranded investment, data security

14 March 2025
Rescuers search under the rubble in Port Vila, Vanuatu, on Dec.17, following a deadly 7.3-magnitude earthquake.
Natural disasters

Vanuatu quake leaves at least 14 dead as rescue efforts kick in

Australia, New Zealand send help as aftershocks hit Pacific island nation

18 December 2024
Palau is increasing international flight connections for tourists keen to access the white sand beaches and blue waters of the Pacific island country. (Photo by Palau Visitors Authority)
Travel & Leisure

Palau's tourism industry stays resilient despite Chinese pressure

Air travel is the 'bridge' as Pacific island nation increases flight connections

1 December 2024
The eruption of an underwater volcano off Tonga on Jan. 15, 2022 triggered tsunamis and damage from which the Pacific island nation is still recovering.
Natural disasters

Tonga struggles to break cycle of disaster and debt

Pacific island countries call for international community to step up aid

17 September 2024
Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting participants pose during their summit in Tokyo on July 18. (Photo by Yuki Kohara)
Indo-Pacific

Japan, Pacific islands to boost security ties as China's influence grows

Summit cites 'increasing complexity' of geopolitics, though views of Beijing differ

18 July 2024
Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr. speaks to Nikkei Asia in Tokyo on July 16. (Photo by Takuya Fujiwara)
Interview

Palau says China exerting 'new level' of pressure

President cites rejection of delegation to Macao and suspect cyber assault

16 July 2024
Toyota's electric vehicle bZ4X was on display last August at the Gaikindo Indonesia International Auto Show. Japanese carmakers have long dominated the Indonesian market.
Your Week in Asia

China 'third plenum' meeting, ADB economic outlook, Indonesia Auto Show

Your weekly lineup of Asia's biggest business and political events

14 July 2024
A woman tries to cool down in the Philippines in April 2024. People around Asia should expect more scorching weather as the year unfolds. 
Climate Change

Asia braces for more extreme weather like 2023, world's hottest year

Health fallout set to worsen as severe heat, dryness and rain have already hit region

6 May 2024
While global leaders make the trek to Port Moresby to court PNG's leader, rising debt, inflation and sluggish growth could derail Prime Minister James Marape's plan to make his country the world's "richest Black Christian nation."
Asia Insight

Papua New Guinea's Marape: Pacific power broker or PM in peril?

Amid U.S.-China balancing act, PNG leader faces mounting pressure at home

22 August 2023
Chinese President Xi Jinping shakes hands with then-Papua New Guinean Prime Minister Peter O'Neill in Port Moresby in 2018. 
International relations

China woos Papua New Guinea with free trade push

Beijing leverages frustrations over economic ties with U.S., Australia

12 July 2023
With her trip to New Caledonia and Tuvalu, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong will have visited every member of the Pacific Islands Forum.
International relations

Australia foreign minister visits Pacific islands with eye on China

Climate, post-COVID economic recovery on agenda in New Caledonia and Tuvalu

20 April 2023
Sri Lankan women protest against high living costs and taxes on March 8: The island nation and others in debt distress are in need of relief. 
Opinion

G-20 nations should commit $500bn a year to 'SDG Stimulus'

The world is running out of time to rescue the U.N. 2030 Agenda

10 April 2023
A farmer makes plantings on a floating seedbed made from invasive water hyacinths in Pirojpur district, Bangladesh: Modern-day green technologies can take inspiration from indigenous practices.
Opinion

Asia's green transition will require more climate finance

Philanthropic organizations can support technological innovations

14 February 2023
Oxeye scad in Raja Ampat, Indonesia: The transition from an extractive to a regenerative model will rely on systemic political and economic shifts.
Opinion

Asia's 'blue capital' can help alleviate hunger and poverty

Fishery and aquaculture output can be sustainably expanded with care

2 February 2023
Debris from the tsunami litters a coastline in the Tonga capital of Nuku'alofa. (Broadcom Broadcasting via AP)
Natural disasters

Tonga islands face food shortages a week after volcano eruption

Long-term aid to archipelago will be 'essential,' WHO official says

22 January 2022
Buildings damaged by the volcanic eruption and tsunami in Tonga. Much of the capital Nuku'alofa remains covered in ash. (Photo courtesy of Marian Kupu/Broadcom Broadcasting FM87.5/via Reuters)
Interview

Tonga volcano: An explosion, then a rain of ash and rocks

Local journalist describes moment of eruption, ongoing water shortage

21 January 2022
This photo from the window of a New Zealand Defence Force P-3K2 Orion surveillance flight shows heavy ash fall over Nomuka in Tonga.
International relations

Australia and New Zealand compete with China for Tonga influence

Neighboring countries send ships and aid to help nation after volcanic eruption

20 January 2022
An eruption occurs at the underwater volcano Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai off Tonga on Jan.15. 
Natural disasters

Satellite images show explosive power of Tonga underwater volcano

Experts say 'once-in-a-century' eruption has unique seismic features

18 January 2022
The eruption of an underwater volcano off Tonga, which triggered a tsunami warning for several South Pacific island nations, is seen in an image from the NOAA GOES-West satellite taken at 05:10 a.m. GMT on Jan. 15. (Handout photo from CIRA/NOAA)
Natural disasters

Japan's eastern coast hit by tsunami triggered by Tonga eruption

Waves 1.2 meters high reported; agency warns of those up to 3 meters

16 January 2022
A woman and a child in Bangkok: no country is safe until every country is safe.
Opinion

What we must do to contain COVID in 2021

Lessons for the Western Pacific region from 2020

1 January 2021
French President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech in Noumea, New Caledonia on May 5, 2018. 
Politics

New Caledonia set for vote on ending 167 years of French rule

China watching Sunday's independence poll on increasingly strategic island

1 October 2020
A surfer in Tahiti: French Polynesia is due to lift its border restrictions entirely on July 15.
Travel & Leisure

Pacific islands await 'travel bubble' as French Polynesia reopens solo

Economic pressure prompts bold gamble in face of coronavirus risks

13 June 2020
Rescue personnel help move flood victims to safer areas in the southern Indian state of Kerala in August 2019.
Opinion

Central banks must connect climate change and financial inclusion

Extreme weather can wash away people's livelihoods

5 June 2020
With exports and domestic consumption crashing, China, the world's second largest economy, could be on course for losses of up to $1.6 trillion this year, according to the ADB. 
Economy

ADB warns coronavirus threatens to chop 10% off global output

Bank says fiscal and monetary responses needed immediately to soften fallout

15 May 2020
People sleep on benches at Hua Lamphong train station in Bangkok on Apr. 3: the urban poor are at risk, living in overcrowded spaces.
Opinion

Governments facing tough choices in COVID-19 crisis: World Bank VP

Countries in East Asia and Pacific must expand effective programs for poverty relief

27 April 2020
Tourist and school buses are seen at a parking lot near Kwai Chung Container Terminal in Hong Kong, April 1: The novel coronavirus outbreak has devastated the territory's tourism industry.
Economy

Pandemic to cut Asian growth to 2.2%, worst since 1998 crisis: ADB

Thailand, Hong Kong and seven other economies to shrink, China to slow sharply

3 April 2020
An Indian woman walks to get water from a communal tube well at Raichi Wadi village, India: women and girls are responsible for water collection in 80% of households without access to piped water.
Opinion

Follow Greta and listen to women in fight against climate change

Poor and marginalized women are most affected by it but least heard

5 March 2020
AI is creating unfamiliar possibilities.
Opinion

It is time for G-20 to give way to tech-driven AI-20

Multilateral body based on harnessing artificial intelligence is way forward

28 February 2020
Facebook's plan to create a virtual currency called Libra has prompted some emerging nations to consider developing their own.
Cryptocurrencies

Libra threat spurs small nations to create own digital currencies

Cambodia and Marshall Islands look to safeguard monetary sovereignty

16 February 2020