Blog
The Debate
The Debate is our home for the best opinions from around Asia. Whether it is negotiating with Iran, responding to North Korean provocations, discussing Japan's looming demographic issues, or considering the new balance of power in the Asia-Pacific, some of the region's leading thinkers offer their take.
The Worst Threat to Philippine Maritime Security
By Ellaine Joy Sanidad
The biggest problem starts with the Philippine government itself.
Bangladesh Must Protect the Rights of Rohingya Muslims Stranded at Sea
By Tasnim Nazeer
The coronavirus pandemic cannot be used as an excuse for a policy that forces Rohingyas to face death sea.
SOS Rohingya: Desperate Refugees Adrift
By Christopher Paul Catrambone
Search and rescue is a moral imperative. We can’t just look away.
Countering China’s Technonationalism
By Martijn Rasser
A new approach is needed if today’s leaders are to maintain their primacy in cutting-edge technology.
‘Quarantined to Starvation’: A Bangladeshi Sex Worker’s Struggles Amid the COVID-19 Lockdown
By Maliha
A Bangladeshi sex worker fears for herself and her family without the prospect of work during the lockdown.
COVID-19 and a New Direction for Asian Integration
By Mie Oba
The crisis should prompt a change in thinking.
Wang Quanzhang and China’s ‘Non-Release Release’
By Jerome A. Cohen
Wang, a rights lawyer, was released from prison on April 5. So why hasn't he been allowed to go home?
Global Health Security: A Call for Taiwan’s Inclusion
By Chen Shih-chung
Taiwan’s minister of health makes the case for the country’s inclusion in the WHO.
COVID–19 Is a Test for Climate Migration and the World Is Failing
By Pierfilippo M. Natta and Adam Weinstein
Countries need to come together to stem the effects of climate migration in the coming years and decades.
Trump Is Right That the WHO Has a China Problem. Cutting Funding Isn’t the Answer.
By Yu-Jie Chen and Jerome A. Cohen
The WHO should be held accountable for its failings, but Trump is wrong to halt funding to the world’s health body.
A Hunger Crisis Beckons as Afghans Reel From the Impact of COVID-19
By Wahidullah Amani
Three people receiving World Food Program assistance reveal why urgent investment is needed to fend off the pandemic
Why Is a French-Iranian Academic Still Languishing in an Iranian Prison?
By StoriesAsia
Fariba Adelkhah must be freed.