Aaron Connelly
@connellyal.bsky.social
Asia diplomatic editor and senior Asia correspondent at the Economist. Former think tanker. Author, with Shona Loong, of New Answers to Old Questions, on Myanmar.
What is there to say about APEC?
It is a zombie international organization.
Long stripped of its motivating life force, it ambles on. That’s not an original analysis, or even an a very new one: the late Allan Gyngell and Malcolm Cook wrote it up in 2005. www.lowyinstitute.org/publications...
It is a zombie international organization.
Long stripped of its motivating life force, it ambles on. That’s not an original analysis, or even an a very new one: the late Allan Gyngell and Malcolm Cook wrote it up in 2005. www.lowyinstitute.org/publications...
October 30, 2025 at 5:09 PM
What is there to say about APEC?
It is a zombie international organization.
Long stripped of its motivating life force, it ambles on. That’s not an original analysis, or even an a very new one: the late Allan Gyngell and Malcolm Cook wrote it up in 2005. www.lowyinstitute.org/publications...
It is a zombie international organization.
Long stripped of its motivating life force, it ambles on. That’s not an original analysis, or even an a very new one: the late Allan Gyngell and Malcolm Cook wrote it up in 2005. www.lowyinstitute.org/publications...
"The killing of Mr Kirk is not representative of broader trends."
www.economist.com/graphic-deta...
www.economist.com/graphic-deta...
September 13, 2025 at 2:12 AM
"The killing of Mr Kirk is not representative of broader trends."
www.economist.com/graphic-deta...
www.economist.com/graphic-deta...
Last month I boarded a US Air Force C-130 at Clark Air Base outside of Manila and flew to the Batanes. After a low ingress through emerald valleys, we landed on a short, gently sloping runway at Basco, halfway between Luzon and Taiwan. I was there to see US Marines deploy a new missile system.
May 29, 2025 at 5:45 PM
Last month I boarded a US Air Force C-130 at Clark Air Base outside of Manila and flew to the Batanes. After a low ingress through emerald valleys, we landed on a short, gently sloping runway at Basco, halfway between Luzon and Taiwan. I was there to see US Marines deploy a new missile system.
Our cover package on Vietnam this week argues that Communist Party boss To Lam has got much right. He is the rare leader in Asia right now with an acute sense of his country’s challenges and his place in history. This is Vietnam's last best chance at getting rich before it gets old.
May 24, 2025 at 7:21 AM
Our cover package on Vietnam this week argues that Communist Party boss To Lam has got much right. He is the rare leader in Asia right now with an acute sense of his country’s challenges and his place in history. This is Vietnam's last best chance at getting rich before it gets old.
Adams and Franklin as the diplomatic odd couple in 1770s Paris
April 12, 2025 at 12:14 PM
Adams and Franklin as the diplomatic odd couple in 1770s Paris
Fun (?) fact: the latest sunset of the year in Singapore is in mid-February, not June.
Near the equator, the elliptical shape of Earth’s orbit matters more than its axial tilt in determining these things.
Near the equator, the elliptical shape of Earth’s orbit matters more than its axial tilt in determining these things.
March 1, 2025 at 11:26 AM
Fun (?) fact: the latest sunset of the year in Singapore is in mid-February, not June.
Near the equator, the elliptical shape of Earth’s orbit matters more than its axial tilt in determining these things.
Near the equator, the elliptical shape of Earth’s orbit matters more than its axial tilt in determining these things.
Hard-right parties are now Europe’s most popular
economist.com/graphic-deta...
economist.com/graphic-deta...
March 1, 2025 at 11:13 AM
Hard-right parties are now Europe’s most popular
economist.com/graphic-deta...
economist.com/graphic-deta...
From @stephendziedzic.bsky.social on X
February 26, 2025 at 8:48 AM
From @stephendziedzic.bsky.social on X
No ASEAN member states voted with the United States and Russia against this resolution.
Not even Russia-dependent Laos or Vietnam, or Russia-friendly Indonesia, Malaysia, or Thailand. Even China abstained.
Not even Russia-dependent Laos or Vietnam, or Russia-friendly Indonesia, Malaysia, or Thailand. Even China abstained.
February 25, 2025 at 4:10 AM
No ASEAN member states voted with the United States and Russia against this resolution.
Not even Russia-dependent Laos or Vietnam, or Russia-friendly Indonesia, Malaysia, or Thailand. Even China abstained.
Not even Russia-dependent Laos or Vietnam, or Russia-friendly Indonesia, Malaysia, or Thailand. Even China abstained.
Bank of Hawaii, Tamarind Park, Hawaii State Capitol atrium.
February 13, 2025 at 1:16 AM
Bank of Hawaii, Tamarind Park, Hawaii State Capitol atrium.
Popped into a coffee shop in Honolulu’s turn-of-the-century Chinatown after a meeting to finish a story on deadline. Walking over toward the commercial district after, the tropical brutalism (not pictured) reminds me a bit of Florida.
February 12, 2025 at 11:04 PM
Popped into a coffee shop in Honolulu’s turn-of-the-century Chinatown after a meeting to finish a story on deadline. Walking over toward the commercial district after, the tropical brutalism (not pictured) reminds me a bit of Florida.
For this week’s issue of The @economist.com, I wrote about troubled relations between China and Cambodia, Beijing’s closest ally in Southeast Asia. For a different American administration, this might have been an opportunity. www.economist.com/asia/2025/01...
February 5, 2025 at 6:32 AM
For this week’s issue of The @economist.com, I wrote about troubled relations between China and Cambodia, Beijing’s closest ally in Southeast Asia. For a different American administration, this might have been an opportunity. www.economist.com/asia/2025/01...
Actually, this is part and parcel of how oligarchy works in emerging markets like Indonesia or Thailand. This is what we meant when we wrote in December that America was becoming more like them.
February 4, 2025 at 5:05 AM
Actually, this is part and parcel of how oligarchy works in emerging markets like Indonesia or Thailand. This is what we meant when we wrote in December that America was becoming more like them.
Really interesting. The United States is a net exporter of oil. But it still imports a lot of Canadian oil because its refineries are designed to handle the thick, black "heavy" oil that Canada produces, not the lighter, purer shale oil that the U.S. produces. edconway.substack.com/p/america-st...
February 3, 2025 at 1:36 PM
Really interesting. The United States is a net exporter of oil. But it still imports a lot of Canadian oil because its refineries are designed to handle the thick, black "heavy" oil that Canada produces, not the lighter, purer shale oil that the U.S. produces. edconway.substack.com/p/america-st...
Helpful flowchart from my colleague Alex Holmes at our sister company, Economist Intelligence Unit, on how American tariffs will suppress growth in Asian economies. Should put offside in particular leaders like Thaksin and Prabowo who have big spending plans.
February 3, 2025 at 9:25 AM
Helpful flowchart from my colleague Alex Holmes at our sister company, Economist Intelligence Unit, on how American tariffs will suppress growth in Asian economies. Should put offside in particular leaders like Thaksin and Prabowo who have big spending plans.
My colleagues interviewed the favorite to be South Korea's next president, Lee Jae-myung, and found the polarizing figure in a pragmatic mood. But his past statements on foreign policy suggest a return to a populist Democratic Party position on Japan and China.
February 3, 2025 at 6:14 AM
My colleagues interviewed the favorite to be South Korea's next president, Lee Jae-myung, and found the polarizing figure in a pragmatic mood. But his past statements on foreign policy suggest a return to a populist Democratic Party position on Japan and China.
Worth reading this Steve Coll profile of Tulsi Gabbard. www.economist.com/1843/2025/01...
February 2, 2025 at 9:45 AM
Worth reading this Steve Coll profile of Tulsi Gabbard. www.economist.com/1843/2025/01...
Learned a good bit from this interesting note by my colleague Corbin Duncan on translation issues in diplomacy between America and China: www.economist.com/china/2025/0....
February 1, 2025 at 7:39 AM
Learned a good bit from this interesting note by my colleague Corbin Duncan on translation issues in diplomacy between America and China: www.economist.com/china/2025/0....
Some reflection from Jake Sullivan on Gaza: on.ft.com/3PXWA0g. A lot else, too, in this Lunch with the FT.
January 31, 2025 at 4:05 PM
Some reflection from Jake Sullivan on Gaza: on.ft.com/3PXWA0g. A lot else, too, in this Lunch with the FT.
Excellent briefing by my colleague @hern.bsky.social on how China's AI industry has almost caught up to America's: www.economist.com/briefing/202.... The latest Chinese models are cheaper, too, to train and to query, and work in more languages of the Global South, like Bengali.
January 26, 2025 at 11:38 AM
Excellent briefing by my colleague @hern.bsky.social on how China's AI industry has almost caught up to America's: www.economist.com/briefing/202.... The latest Chinese models are cheaper, too, to train and to query, and work in more languages of the Global South, like Bengali.
Our leader this week on Trump’s “Project 1897”:
www.economist.com/leaders/2025....
www.economist.com/leaders/2025....
January 23, 2025 at 3:11 PM
Our leader this week on Trump’s “Project 1897”:
www.economist.com/leaders/2025....
www.economist.com/leaders/2025....