Nation & Identity

Papua New Guinea (PNG) is increasingly at the center of US-China competition in the Indo-Pacific, emerging as a key arena where security, trade, and influence intersect.    The country's location between Oceania and Southeast Asia places it along major shipping routes and close to key regional economies. Beyond geography, it also has a population of more than nine million and significant mineral, energy, and fisheries potential, highl...

A gradual but important shift is unfolding in the southern Philippines. In Mindanao, particularly in Sulu and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), local peace and security efforts are beginning to produce visible results after decades of conflict, underdevelopment, and political instability.   The changes remain fragile, but still they point to a deeper transformation. Instead of relying mainly on military operation...

Across Southeast Asia, education has shifted beyond classrooms and textbooks. Schools now depend on digital platforms, online assignments, and virtual tools. This change accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic, but it has not slowed down. Digital learning is now part of daily school life.   Unfortunately, access has not kept pace. For many low-income families, one device must serve several children. In some homes, there is no suitable dev...

The Philippine Senate became the center of a scary political crisis Wednesday night after gunfire erupted inside the building, hours after a top Rodrigo Duterte ally claimed police were coming to drag him to International Criminal Court (ICC).   The chaos struck Manila’s political core. Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa, Duterte’s former drug war enforcer, is wanted by the ICC in a crimes against humanity case tied to th...

Across Southeast Asia, Israel's war on Gaza triggered some of the strongest public reactions to any external conflict in recent years. Protests, boycotts, and sustained online mobilization spread across Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and beyond, driven by anger over civilian casualties and perceived Western backing of Israel.   That reaction has seemingly solidified amid the still unresolved war between the US, Israel, and Iran. The disrup...