Ian sits down with Warren Fernandez, Editor-in-Chief of The Straits Times, Singapore's most-read newspaper, to talk about our new partnership, and to discuss the future of geopolitics in Asia. You can watch the full video here.
Here are the key takeaways:
We're entering a big election season in Asia, with upcoming national elections in Thailand, Indonesia, and India. In all three countries, the races are close. In Indonesia, the latest polls suggest that incumbent President Jokowi Widodo's lead is narrowing ahead of the April election. The Thai election this Sunday will likely end inconclusively with months of wrangling between pro-junta and pro-democracy forces. And in India, a national security crisis has upended an election that was set to be fought mainly over the economic record of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's BJP-led government.
There's good news on the US-China trade fight: The delay of a planned summit later this month between President Trump and President Xi is actually positive, because it suggests that unlike his Vietnam blow-up with Kim Jong-un, Trump is only willing to sit down with Xi if the two sides are close to a deal. The final agreement could actually be much more significant than most expect.
But the long-term problem for the US and China is that even if they resolve their disagreement on trade, mutual trust has vanished. That – rather than a trade deal – is the most lasting result for the world's two largest economies.
Check out GZEROMedia.com for more Asia news from The Straits Times.
