Unfriendly US policies on other countries have not only failed but backfired, with indiscriminate tariffs being just the latest.

Even as foreign governments are humiliated in appealing to lift punishing US tariffs, those tariffs themselves are becoming humiliatingly hollow.

The best defence against Trump 2.0's worldwide tariffs is the administration's sense of national interest, if it kicks in soon enough.

US-China trade needs to improve as much as their bilateral relationship deserves much better, but not at the present rate.

Ukraine thought it had endless Western money and weapons to help it fight Russia, until Trump's White House expressed a desire to make peace.

New US tariffs worry Asean as a third party – unless they are meant only for bargaining with the principals.

US-China relations have sunk so low in recent years that change for the better can now be expected, for everyone’s sake.

A common implicit understanding within Asean is that national interests derive from shared regional interests, which means not siding with one big power over another.

A new year is said to offer new opportunities, and the prospect of improved US-China ties is matched by Malaysia’s enthusiasm as Asean chair.

China’s depopulation trend is often said to be a looming crisis, but the policy options available suggest that fears are overdone.

Some of the US president-elect’s preferred candidates for key posts may seem bizarre, but there could be a method in the madness.