Asian Insider SPH Media

With limited agency and influence over events in Myanmar, India’s Act East policy is in jeopardy on several levels, including the risk of being outmaneuvered and encircled by China in its near east. Aparna Pande and Avinash Paliwal, experts on India’s foreign policy and South Asian geopolitics, dissect regional power dynamics and New Delhi’s options in this episode of Asian Insider.
Synopsis: Every fourth Friday of the month, The Straits Times' global contributor Nirmal Ghosh shines a light on Asian perspectives of global and Asian issues with expert guests.
It may have been called a “forgotten” war - but the civil war in Myanmar triggered by the military’s February 2021 coup d’etat, has grave implications for India’s national security, and plans for connectivity to Southeast Asia. 
Also, as it remains to be seen where the cards eventually fall, it has also heightened New Delhi’s concerns over potential encirclement by China. 
India’s immediate concern is spillover of the conflict into its own volatile northeast, where the state of Manipur which borders Myanmar, has been witnessing ethnic violence. But more broadly the crisis also threatens India’s “Act East” policy, and raises concerns in New Delhi as China extends its influence in Myanmar and also in Bangladesh; though Bangladesh’s current Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is pro-India, the country’s army is supplied mostly with Chinese weapons, and there is latent resentment against India. 
But India’s options are limited, experts Dr Aparna Pande and Dr Avinash Paliwal told Asian Insider. 
Dr Paliwal lectures in diplomacy and public policy at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London, has just published his book “India's Near East.” Dr. Aparna Pandey is a research fellow at the Hudson Institute in Washington, DC and has written books on Indian foreign policy. 
Myanmar’s internal conflict is a long war which is unlikely to be solved through traditional conflict-resolution diplomacy, they told Asian Insider. 
This leaves India forced to defensively mitigate risks and relegate connectivity projects - roads and port investments, for instance - to the back burner, in the hope that when the situation stabilises, they may resume. 
Highlights (click/tap above): 
2:19 The multi-sided civil wars has deep implications for India's national security
3:50 India's big investment in building connectivity through Myanmar
4:51 China's interests in Myanmar's civil and military domains concern India deeply
13:00 All of India's neighbours are its first layer of security
20:18 An asymmetric connectivity benefitting India but not for Bangladesh
21:49 Understanding India's regional geopolitics through domestic political lens 
25:36 India's challenge is broadly with all of its neighbours 
Produced by: Nirmal Ghosh (nirmal@sph.com.sg) and Fa’izah Sani
Edited by: Fa’izah Sani
Follow Asian Insider with Nirmal Ghosh every fourth Friday of the month here:
Channel: https://str.sg/JWa7
Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/JWa8
Spotify: https://str.sg/JWaX
Website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts
Feedback to: podcast@sph.com.sg
Follow Nirmal Ghosh on X: https://str.sg/JD7r
Read Nirmal Ghosh's articles: https://str.sg/JbxG
Register for Asian Insider newsletter: https://str.sg/stnewsletters
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Discover more ST podcast channels:
All-in-one ST Podcasts channel: https://str.sg/wvz7 
The Usual Place: https://str.sg/wEr7u 
In Your Opinion: https://str.sg/w7Qt 
COE Watch: https://str.sg/iTtE 
Asian Insider: https://str.sg/JWa7 
Health Check: https://str.sg/JWaN 
Green Pulse: https://str.sg/JWaf 
Your Money & Career: https://str.sg/wB2m 
Hard Tackle: https://str.sg/JWRE 
#PopVultures: https://str.sg/JWad 
Music Lab: https://str.sg/w9TX 
---
ST Podcast website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts 
ST Podcasts YouTube: https://str.sg/4Vwsa
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Special edition series:
True Crimes Of Asia (6 eps): https://str.sg/i44T

Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry wants to take action to get people to return to brick-and-mortar stores.
Synopsis: Every first Friday of the month, The Straits Times chats with ST’s correspondents in the Asia-Pacific, the US and Europe, about life as it goes on, amid the screaming headlines and bubbling crises.
The Japanese are sentimental about bookstores, viewing them as precious communal spaces that do more than just sell books.  
And yet, fewer and fewer are going to these stores, in line with global trends.
What is more surprising is how the Japanese government has decided to seize the problem by its horns, with the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry setting up a taskforce to look into the matter, even as the bookshops themselves are striving to find fresh ways to appeal to customers. 
In this episode, ST’s foreign editor Li Xueying chats with Japan Correspondent Walter Sim on why the Japanese government has decided to be so interventionist.
Highlights (click/tap above):1:59 One in two Japanese read “less than one book” every six months
3:26 Why the Japanese are sentimental about bookshops
6:15 A “psychic” bookseller in Osaka
10:06 Laments at shuttered shops but it’s too late
12:15 Taking action
17:12 Walter’s favourite bookshops in Japan
Read Walter Sim’s article here: https://str.sg/AWsW
Produced by: Li Xueying (xueying@sph.com.sg) and Fa’izah Sani
Edited by: Fa’izah Sani
Follow Letter From The Bureau Podcast every first Friday of the month here:
Channel: https://str.sg/JWa7
Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/JWa8
Spotify: https://str.sg/JWaX
SPH Awedio app: https://www.awedio.sg/
Website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts
Feedback to: podcast@sph.com.sg
Read Li Xueying’s articles: https://str.sg/iqmR 
Follow Li Xueying on LinkedIn: https://str.sg/ip4x
Read Walter Sim's articles: https://str.sg/wHY2 
Read ST's Letters From The Bureau: https://str.sg/3xRd
Register for Asian Insider newsletter: https://str.sg/stnewsletters
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Discover more ST podcast channels:
All-in-one ST Podcasts channel: https://str.sg/wvz7 
The Usual Place: https://str.sg/wEr7u 
In Your Opinion: https://str.sg/w7Qt 
COE Watch: https://str.sg/iTtE 
Asian Insider: https://str.sg/JWa7 
Health Check: https://str.sg/JWaN 
Green Pulse: https://str.sg/JWaf 
Your Money & Career: https://str.sg/wB2m 
Hard Tackle: https://str.sg/JWRE 
#PopVultures: https://str.sg/JWad 
Music Lab: https://str.sg/w9TX 
---
ST Podcast website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts 
ST Podcasts YouTube: https://str.sg/4Vwsa 
---
Special edition series:
True Crimes Of Asia (6 eps): https://str.sg/i44T
The Unsolved Mysteries of South-east Asia (5 eps): https://str.sg/wuZ2 
Invisible Asia (9 eps): https://str.sg/wuZn 
Stop Scams (10 eps): https://str.sg/wuZB 
Singapore's War On Covid (5 eps): https://str.sg/wuJa 
---
Get The Straits Times' app, which has a dedicated podcast player section:
The App Store: https://str.sg/icyB 
Google Play: https://str.sg/icyX 
#STAsianInsider
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Analysing this is our guest - Ambassador Peter Tesch, the veteran Australian diplomat and policy strategist.
Synopsis: Join The Straits Times' associate editor and senior Asia columnist Ravi Velloor, as he distils his experience from four decades of covering the continent.
In this episode, Ravi speaks with the eminent Australian diplomat Peter Tesch, a former ambassador to Russia and Germany for his country as well as policy strategist for the Australian defence ministry.
They discuss the recent Putin visits to North Korea and Vietnam, the message he is sending to China and the region, as well as Russia’s overall approach to Asia, including India. Mr Tesch also comments on the Quad, the security dialogue that groups the US with Australia, Japan and India.
Highlights (click/tap above):
4:20 Russia the disruptor
10:10 A subtle message to Xi
16:00 For China, a convenient diversion
21:20 Judo, botox, and yoga!
26:00 Latest on Quad
Produced by: Ravi Velloor (velloor@sph.com.sg) and Fa’izah Sani
Edited by: Fa’izah Sani
Follow Speaking Of Asia Podcast every second Friday of the month here:
Channel: https://str.sg/JWa7
Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/JWa8
Spotify: https://str.sg/JWaX
Website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts
Feedback to: podcast@sph.com.sg
Ravi Velloor's columns: https://str.sg/3xRP
Ravi Velloor on X: https://twitter.com/RaviVelloor
Register for Asian Insider newsletter: https://str.sg/stnewsletters
---
Discover more ST podcast channels:
All-in-one ST Podcasts channel: https://str.sg/wvz7 
The Usual Place: https://str.sg/wEr7u 
In Your Opinion: https://str.sg/w7Qt 
COE Watch: https://str.sg/iTtE 
Asian Insider: https://str.sg/JWa7 
Health Check: https://str.sg/JWaN 
Green Pulse: https://str.sg/JWaf 
Your Money & Career: https://str.sg/wB2m 
Hard Tackle: https://str.sg/JWRE 
#PopVultures: https://str.sg/JWad 
Music Lab: https://str.sg/w9TX 
---
ST Podcast website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts 
ST Podcasts YouTube: https://str.sg/4Vwsa 
---
Special edition series:
True Crimes Of Asia (6 eps): https://str.sg/i44T
The Unsolved Mysteries of South-east Asia (5 eps): https://str.sg/wuZ2 
Invisible Asia (9 eps): https://str.sg/wuZn 
Stop Scams (10 eps): https://str.sg/wuZB 
Singapore's War On Covid (5 eps): https://str.sg/wuJa 
---
Get The Straits Times' app, which has a dedicated podcast player section:
The App Store: https://str.sg/icyB 
Google Play: https://str.sg/icyX 
#STAsianInsider
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our guest expert offers a striking insider look at what it was like to cover Donald Trump’s presidency, and lessons learnt from it.   
Synopsis: Every fourth Friday of the month, The Straits Times' global contributor Nirmal Ghosh shines a light on Asian perspectives of global and Asian issues with expert guests.
Notwithstanding a conviction, and other cases against him, Donald Trump remains the frontrunner for the Republican nomination - and has a realistic chance of being elected President again in November 2024. A look back at his tumultuous four years in office (2017 through 2020) holds clues as to what to expect, if he returns to power. 
Some world leaders - Vladimir Putin, Narendra Modi and Shinzo Abe for instance - quickly learnt that the then-President Trump enjoyed being feted, says Steven Herman, former Voice of America (VOA) White House Bureau Chief. He notes that Modi and Trump in particular, held unprecedented massive joint rallies, in the US and in India.
Herman, now chief national correspondent for the state-funded but non-partisan VOA, looks back at Trump’s summitry around the world including with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore and Hanoi, and his combative relationship with the media, in his book - Behind The White House Curtain: A Senior Journalist’s Story Of Covering the President ― And Why It Matters.
Speaking with host Nirmal Ghosh, Herman says that for most US Presidents, the priority is substance over style, but in the case of Trump, leaders took pains to roll out the red carpet knowing that his mood greatly depended on how he was greeted, and whether his ego was massaged. 
Highlights (click/tap above): 
2:33 On travelling the world with Donald Trump: How he very much enjoyed the pageantry
5:14 Why Trump was essentially franchising his name, but "when you're President of The United States, there tends to be a higher level of scrutiny..."
7:00 How the phrase “enemy of the people” that he used, really took a lot of journalists aback
9:45 How the media reacted to this phenomenon
13:07 Herman on the run-up now: "A lot of focus especially by the conservative media not on what Joe Biden is saying but how he’s saying it...they’ll chop up video to make it appear he is stumbling"
14:15 Herman has deep experience working in Asia too: How the Voice Of America has been received or perceived by governments of the countries here
Produced by: Nirmal Ghosh (nirmal@sph.com.sg) and Fa’izah Sani
Edited by: Fa’izah Sani
Follow Asian Insider with Nirmal Ghosh every fourth Friday of the month here:
Channel: https://str.sg/JWa7
Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/JWa8
Spotify: https://str.sg/JWaX
Website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts
Feedback to: podcast@sph.com.sg
Follow Nirmal Ghosh on X: https://str.sg/JD7r
Read Nirmal Ghosh's articles: https://str.sg/JbxG
Register for Asian Insider newsletter: https://str.sg/stnewsletters
---
Discover more ST podcast channels:
All-in-one ST Podcasts channel: https://str.sg/wvz7 
The Usual Place: https://str.sg/wEr7u 
In Your Opinion: https://str.sg/w7Qt 
COE Watch: https://str.sg/iTtE 
Asian Insider: https://str.sg/JWa7 
Health Check: https://str.sg/JWaN 
Green Pulse: https://str.sg/JWaf 
Your Money & Career: https://str.sg/wB2m 
Hard Tackle: https://str.sg/JWRE 
#PopVultures: https://str.sg/JWad 
Music Lab: https://str.sg/w9TX 
---
ST Podcast website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts 
ST Podcasts YouTube: https://str.sg/4Vwsa
---
Special edition series:
True Crimes Of Asia (6 eps): https://str.sg/i44T 
The Unsolved Mysteries of South-east Asia (5 eps): https://str.sg/wuZ2 
Invisible Asia (9 eps): https://str.sg/wuZn 
Stop Scams (10 eps): https://str.sg/wuZB 
Singapore's War On Covid (5 eps): https://str.sg/wuJa 
---
Get The Straits Times' app, which has a dedicated podcast player section:
The App Store: https://str.sg/icyB 
Google Play: https://str.sg/icyX 
#STAsianInsider
See omnystudio.com/list

Our expert guest on what to expect on the external front from Modi 3.0, India’s challenges, and options.
Synopsis: Join The Straits Times' senior columnist Ravi Velloor, as he distils his experience from four decades of covering the continent.
In this episode, Ravi speaks with the eminent foreign policy thinker C Raja Mohan, the noted scholar and close friend of India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.
They discuss Indian foreign policy in the wake of the recent elections that returned Prime Minister Narendra Modi to power for a third time.
Mr Modi resumes office at a time of dire border tensions with China, ruffles in what was a swiftly developing relationship with the United States, and a growing compact between India’s traditional security partner Russia and China.
Highlights (click/tap above):
3:50 A time for fresh choices
8:30 The Andhra factor in foreign policy
13:30 Could history repeat on the China border?
14:25 Soured ties with the West
17:30 Ties with Russia, now a junior partner of China’s
19:50 Soft-pedalling Quad
21:45 Where’s India’s ‘Act East’ policy?
Read more: https://str.sg/qSNa
Produced by: Ravi Velloor (velloor@sph.com.sg) and Fa’izah Sani
Edited by: Fa’izah Sani
Follow Speaking Of Asia Podcast every second Friday of the month here:
Channel: https://str.sg/JWa7
Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/JWa8
Spotify: https://str.sg/JWaX
Website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts
Feedback to: podcast@sph.com.sg
Ravi Velloor's columns: https://str.sg/3xRP
Ravi Velloor on X: https://twitter.com/RaviVelloor
Register for Asian Insider newsletter: https://str.sg/stnewsletters
---
Discover more ST podcast channels:
All-in-one ST Podcasts channel: https://str.sg/wvz7 
The Usual Place: https://str.sg/wEr7u 
In Your Opinion: https://str.sg/w7Qt 
COE Watch: https://str.sg/iTtE 
Asian Insider: https://str.sg/JWa7 
Health Check: https://str.sg/JWaN 
Green Pulse: https://str.sg/JWaf 
Your Money & Career: https://str.sg/wB2m 
Hard Tackle: https://str.sg/JWRE 
#PopVultures: https://str.sg/JWad 
Music Lab: https://str.sg/w9TX 
---
ST Podcast website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts 
ST Podcasts YouTube: https://str.sg/4Vwsa 
---
Special edition series:
True Crimes Of Asia (6 eps): https://str.sg/i44T
The Unsolved Mysteries of South-east Asia (5 eps): https://str.sg/wuZ2 
Invisible Asia (9 eps): https://str.sg/wuZn 
Stop Scams (10 eps): https://str.sg/wuZB 
Singapore's War On Covid (5 eps): https://str.sg/wuJa 
---
Get The Straits Times' app, which has a dedicated podcast player section:
The App Store: https://str.sg/icyB 
Google Play: https://str.sg/icyX 
#STAsianInsider
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The affordable luxury of personalised car licence plates are proving an enduring and endearing avenue for self-expression in a changing Hong Kong 
Synopsis: Every first Friday of the month, The Straits Times chats with ST’s correspondents in the Asia-Pacific, the US and Europe, about life as it goes on, amid the screaming headlines and bubbling crises. 
HEY YU, DREAMER, ADD OIL. The messages on Hong Kong's vanity car plates can draw nods of appreciation or chuckles for the city’s motorists. They can tell you a thing or two about their owners' status, sense of humour and beliefs. 
Since the authorities made these special plates possible 20 years ago, Hong Kong has seen a proliferation of such plates on its roads. And along with it, communities have sprung up online devoted to sightings of this phenomenon. 
In this episode, ST’s foreign editor Li Xueying chats with Hong Kong correspondent Magdalene Fung on the motivations behind this trend and what it reveals about Hong Kongers' deepest desires and obsessions. 
Highlights (click/tap above):
0:50 Why vanity plates aren’t just for vanity’s sake alone 
3:20 What Hong Kong’s vanity plates reveal about the city and its people 
9:55 How a car with a special plate came to be impounded in Hong Kong on the anniversary of China’s Tiananmen incident 
12:33 The biggest changes in Hong Kong society in recent years 
Read Magdalene Fung’s article here: https://str.sg/KKxa
Produced by: Li Xueying (xueying@sph.com.sg) and Fa’izah Sani
Edited by: Fa’izah Sani
Follow Letter From The Bureau Podcast every first Friday of the month here:
Channel: https://str.sg/JWa7
Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/JWa8
Spotify: https://str.sg/JWaX
SPH Awedio app: https://www.awedio.sg/
Website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts
Feedback to: podcast@sph.com.sg
Read Li Xueying’s articles: https://str.sg/iqmR 
Follow Li Xueying on LinkedIn: https://str.sg/ip4x
Read Magdalene Fung's articles: https://str.sg/dbo9  
Read ST's Letters From The Bureau: https://str.sg/3xRd
Register for Asian Insider newsletter: https://str.sg/stnewsletters
---
Discover more ST podcast channels:
All-in-one ST Podcasts channel: https://str.sg/wvz7 
The Usual Place: https://str.sg/wEr7u 
In Your Opinion: https://str.sg/w7Qt 
COE Watch: https://str.sg/iTtE 
Asian Insider: https://str.sg/JWa7 
Health Check: https://str.sg/JWaN 
Green Pulse: https://str.sg/JWaf 
Your Money & Career: https://str.sg/wB2m 
Hard Tackle: https://str.sg/JWRE 
#PopVultures: https://str.sg/JWad 
Music Lab: https://str.sg/w9TX 
---
ST Podcast website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts 
ST Podcasts YouTube: https://str.sg/4Vwsa 
---
Special edition series:
True Crimes Of Asia (6 eps): https://str.sg/i44T
The Unsolved Mysteries of South-east Asia (5 eps): https://str.sg/wuZ2 
Invisible Asia (9 eps): https://str.sg/wuZn 
Stop Scams (10 eps): https://str.sg/wuZB 
Singapore's War On Covid (5 eps): https://str.sg/wuJa 
---
Get The Straits Times' app, which has a dedicated podcast player section:
The App Store: https://str.sg/icyB 
Google Play: https://str.sg/icyX 
#STAsianInsider
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.