Asian Insider

An incident at a school assembly has ignited a curious debate over what some regard as an outdated and top-down education system  Synopsis: Every first Friday of the month, The Straits Times' foreign editor Bhagyashree Garekar chats with ST’s correspondents in the Asia-Pacific, the US and Europe. They talk about life as it goes on, amid the screaming headlines and bubbling crises.  In this episode, she chats with ST’s Indochina Bureau Chief Tan Hui Yee. Highlights (click/tap above): 1:34 Why did over 100 students get ugly haircuts? 2:55 Do Thai schools have haircut rules for students? 4:10 Authoritarianism or a matter of discipline? 5:40 Is student unrest welling up in the election season? 7:55 Are gender identity issues at play? 9:20 What do ugly haircuts tell us about a changing Thailand? 9:55 Is Thailand a relaxed, tolerant society? Read Tan Hui Yee’s article here: https://str.sg/i4ia Produced by: Bhagyashree Garekar (bhagya@sph.com.sg), Ernest Luis, Hadyu Rahim and Fa’izah Sani Edited by: Hadyu Rahim and Fa’izah Sani Follow Letter From The Bureau Podcast every first Friday of the month on our Asian Insider Podcast channel here: Channel: https://str.sg/JWa7 Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/JWa8 Google Podcasts: https://str.sg/wQsB  Spotify: https://str.sg/JWaX SPH Awedio app: https://www.awedio.sg/ Website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts Feedback to: podcast@sph.com.sg Read Bhagyashree Garekar’s articles: https://str.sg/whNo Read Tan Hui Yee’s articles: https://str.sg/i4iR 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: In Your Opinion: https://str.sg/w7Qt 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 ST Sports Talk: https://str.sg/JWRE #PopVultures: https://str.sg/JWad Music Lab: https://str.sg/w9TX Discover ST Podcasts: http://str.sg/stpodcasts Discover BT Podcasts: https://bt.sg/pcPL --- Special edition series: True Crimes Of Asia (new): 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 --- Follow our shows then, if you like short, practical podcasts! #STAsianInsiderSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Is there liberal opposition to what is going on, even in a more diverse India with a raucous democratic tradition? Synopsis: Each fourth Friday of the month, The Straits Times' US bureau chief Nirmal Ghosh presents an Asian perspective of the biggest global talking points with expert guests.  In this episode, we discuss how and why, across the complex region of South Asia, majorities are convinced that minorities are a threat. South Asia is a region of some two billion, but right-wing politics and religious majoritarianism, the arms of the state and the media, are coming together to threaten democracy and the health and longevity of states. The politics of hate in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka is fuelling, and feeds off, religious majoritarianism. Nirmal Ghosh hosts Farahnaz Ispahani, a former journalist, former member of Pakistan’s parliament, and currently a senior fellow at the Religious Freedom Institute in Washington DC, and Salil Tripathi, author, journalist and member of the Board of PEN International.   Highlights (click/tap above): 1:40 Why Pakistan is the worst among "religious majoritarian states" in South Asia; add to that a "nuclear-armed Pakistan with an economy in free fall" 3:40 On the history and similar trajectory in Bangladesh and also, how "the liberal Pakistani used to look up to India for its democratic roots and tradition, when now… if you're Muslim, you can't be safe in India." 9:05 How the religious right and the political right have come together to make the majority feel they're under threat from the minority 12:16 How this trend is happening, as our guest expert offers daily life examples in India 17:15 On how the media in these South Asia countries could amplify divisions Produced by: Nirmal Ghosh (nirmal@sph.com.sg), Ernest Luis, Hadyu Rahim and Fa’izah Sani Edited by: Hadyu Rahim and Fa’izah Sani Follow Asian Insider with Nirmal Ghosh every fourth Friday of the month: Channel: https://str.sg/JWa7 Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/JWa8 Google Podcasts: https://str.sg/wQsB  Spotify: https://str.sg/JWaX SPH Awedio app: https://www.awedio.sg/ Website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts Feedback to: podcast@sph.com.sg Follow Nirmal Ghosh on Twitter: https://str.sg/JD7r Read Nirmal Ghosh's stories: https://str.sg/JbxG Register for Asian Insider newsletter: https://str.sg/stnewsletters Asian Insider videos: https://str.sg/wdcC --- Discover more ST podcast channels: In Your Opinion: https://str.sg/w7Qt 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 ST Sports Talk: https://str.sg/JWRE #PopVultures: https://str.sg/JWad Music Lab: https://str.sg/w9TX Discover ST Podcasts: http://str.sg/stpodcasts Discover BT Podcasts: https://bt.sg/pcPL --- Special edition series: True Crimes Of Asia (new): 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 --- Follow our shows then, if you like short, practical podcasts! #STAsianInsiderSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Why Australia's Prime Minister is rooting for song and dance to be accepted as essential to the Australian way of life. Synopsis: Every first Friday of the month, The Straits Times' foreign editor Bhagyashree Garekar chats with ST’s correspondents in the Asia-Pacific, the US and Europe. They talk about life as it goes on, amid the screaming headlines and bubbling crises.  In this episode, she chats with ST’s correspondent in Australia, Jonathan Pearlman. Highlights (click/tap above): 1:00 Why the rugby-loving Australian PM Anthony Albanese cares about the arts 3:15 How big is the arts scene Down Under? 5:55 'DJ' Albo’s plans to raise the arts quotient 8:08 Is there a profit motive? 10:00 No more 'starving' artists? Read article: https://str.sg/ikT2 Produced by: Bhagyashree Garekar (bhagya@sph.com.sg), Ernest Luis, Hadyu Rahim and Fa’izah Sani Edited by: Hadyu Rahim and Fa’izah Sani Follow Letter From The Bureau Podcast every first Friday of the month on our Asian Insider Podcast channel here: Channel: https://str.sg/JWa7 Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/JWa8 Google Podcasts: https://str.sg/wQsB  Spotify: https://str.sg/JWaX SPH Awedio app: https://www.awedio.sg/ Website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts Feedback to: podcast@sph.com.sg Read Bhagyashree Garekar’s articles: https://str.sg/whNo Read Jonathan Pearlman's articles: https://str.sg/whNJ 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: In Your Opinion: https://str.sg/w7Qt 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 ST Sports Talk: https://str.sg/JWRE #PopVultures: https://str.sg/JWad Music Lab: https://str.sg/w9TX Discover ST Podcasts: http://str.sg/stpodcasts Discover BT Podcasts: https://bt.sg/pcPL --- Special edition series: 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 --- Follow our shows then, if you like short, practical podcasts! #STAsianInsiderSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Why perceptions of being “soft” on China will increasingly be a political liability in the US.  Synopsis: Each fourth Friday of the month, The Straits Times' US bureau chief Nirmal Ghosh presents an Asian perspective of the biggest global talking points with expert guests. Relations between China and the US are in for more rough weather with bipartisan consensus on China in the United States, a new House Committee hawkish on China, and visits to Taiwan by US lawmakers imminent which are bound to upset Beijing. Find out why intensifying political contestation in the United States in the run-up to the 2024 presidential election will have an impact on relations with China. In this episode, to assess the path ahead for the contentious and fragile relationship, Nirmal Ghosh hosts Joshua Kurlantzick, senior fellow for South-east Asia at the Council on Foreign Relations, and Dr Adrian Ang, Research Fellow at the Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) in Singapore.  Highlights (click/tap above): 1:31 After the Xi-Biden summit in Bali in November 2022, both sides were searching for a base in the relationship  2:41 No dedicated hotline unlike during the Cold War; Biden’s China policy is tougher than Donald Trump’s 5:10 New House Select Committee on China will put more pressure on the Administration to be tougher on China 06:13 House Committee on China Chair visiting Taiwan in late spring will further strain the relationship 7:08 China is the last bipartisan issue in which there is consensus in the United States; no daylight between the parties  Produced by: Nirmal Ghosh (nirmal@sph.com.sg), Ernest Luis, Hadyu Rahim and Fa’izah Sani Edited by: Hadyu Rahim and Fa’izah Sani Follow Asian Insider with Nirmal Ghosh every fourth Friday of the month: Channel: https://str.sg/JWa7 Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/JWa8 Google Podcasts: https://str.sg/wQsB  Spotify: https://str.sg/JWaX SPH Awedio app: https://www.awedio.sg/ Website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts Feedback to: podcast@sph.com.sg Follow Nirmal Ghosh on Twitter: https://str.sg/JD7r Read Nirmal Ghosh's stories: https://str.sg/JbxG Register for Asian Insider newsletter: https://str.sg/stnewsletters Asian Insider videos: https://str.sg/wdcC --- Discover more ST podcast channels: In Your Opinion: https://str.sg/w7Qt 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 ST Sports Talk: https://str.sg/JWRE #PopVultures: https://str.sg/JWad Music Lab: https://str.sg/w9TX Discover ST Podcasts: http://str.sg/stpodcasts Discover BT Podcasts: https://bt.sg/pcPL --- Special edition series: 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 --- Follow our shows then, if you like short, practical podcasts! #STAsianInsiderSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Why the US wanted to send a strong signal to China and how this was also about domestic politics. Synopsis: The Straits Times examines various facets of the US-China rivalry and its implications for Asia. Join Charissa Yong and Danson Cheong - ST’s US and China correspondents respectively based in Washington DC and Beijing - as they take a look at America’s response to the alleged Chinese spy balloon, and the global fallout.  Highlights (click/tap above): 1:10 Why China was dismayed 2:28 Why Biden responded the way he did 4:27 China’s unusually conciliatory stance 7:25 The US-China spiral of suspicion Produced by: Charissa Yong (charyong@sph.com.sg), Danson Cheong (dansonc@sph.com.sg), Teo Tong Kai and Fa’izah Sani Edited by: Teo Tong Kai and Fa’izah Sani Follow our Asian Insider Podcast channel every week here and rate us: Channel: https://str.sg/JWa7 Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/JWa8 Spotify: https://str.sg/JWaX Google Podcasts: https://str.sg/wQsB SPH Awedio app: https://www.awedio.sg/ Website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts Feedback to: podcast@sph.com.sg Read Charissa Yong's stories: https://str.sg/3xRa Read Danson Cheong's stories: https://str.sg/3xR2 Follow Danson on Twitter: https://twitter.com/dansoncj Read ST's Power Play articles: https://str.sg/3xRE Register for Asian Insider newsletter: https://str.sg/stnewsletters --- Discover more ST podcast channels: In Your Opinion: https://str.sg/w7Qt 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 ST Sports Talk: https://str.sg/JWRE #PopVultures: https://str.sg/JWad Music Lab: https://str.sg/w9TX Discover ST Podcasts: http://str.sg/stpodcasts Discover BT Podcasts: https://bt.sg/pcPL --- Special edition series: True Crimes Of Asia (new): 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 --- Follow our shows then, if you like short, practical podcasts! #STAsianInsiderSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Why the Taiwan issue today is different from the Vietnam War's political dynamics. Synopsis: Every second Friday of the month, join The Straits Times' associate editor Ravi Velloor, as he distils his experience from four decades of covering the continent. In this episode of 2023, he chats with Nayan Chanda, the celebrated editor, journalist and Indo-China specialist on his eyewitness account of the end of the Vietnam War, the new Cold War in Asia, the Sino-Russian concord, and chances of an open conflict in the region. This podcast was conducted against the backdrop of the 50th anniversary of the Paris Peace Agreement that led to the end of the conflict in Vietnam.  Highlights (click/tap above): 1:35 Fall of Saigon ends Vietnam War 6:00 Why he stayed, when other fled 10:45 Vietnam 1975, Afghanistan 2021 15:50 The new Cold War in Asia? 21:00 Sino-Russian ‘shotgun wedding’ 25:20 Possibility of war in our current times  Produced by: Ravi Velloor (velloor@sph.com.sg), Ernest Luis, Teo Tong Kai and Fa’izah Sani Edited by: Teo Tong Kai and Fa’izah Sani Follow Speaking Of Asia Podcast every second Friday of the month: Channel: https://str.sg/JWa7 Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/JWa8 Spotify: https://str.sg/JWaX Google Podcasts: https://str.sg/wQsB Website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts Feedback to: podcast@sph.com.sg Ravi Velloor's columns: https://str.sg/3xRP Ravi Velloor on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RaviVelloor Register for Asian Insider newsletter: https://str.sg/stnewsletters --- Discover more ST podcast channels: In Your Opinion: https://str.sg/w7Qt 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 ST Sports Talk: https://str.sg/JWRE #PopVultures: https://str.sg/JWad Music Lab: https://str.sg/w9TX Discover ST Podcasts: http://str.sg/stpodcasts Discover BT Podcasts: https://bt.sg/pcPL --- Special edition series: 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 --- Follow our shows then, if you like short, practical podcasts! #STAsianInsiderSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Find out what a '1-minute' sari is, and the best ways to drape a sari for running. Synopsis: Every first Friday of the month, The Straits Times' foreign editor Bhagyashree Garekar chats with ST’s correspondents in the Asia-Pacific, the US and Europe. They talk about life as it goes on, amid the screaming headlines and bubbling crises.  In this episode, she chats with ST's India correspondent Debarshi Dasgupta. Some Indian women are choosing saris over shorts as they go jogging along busy streets. But as they transform the traditional wear into activewear of choice, they encounter taboos. Are saris and sneakers not a fit combo? Highlights (click/tap above): 1:19 So, what is a sari run? 5:06 Is it truly comfortable to run in a sari? The best ways to drape the sari for running? 7:40 The fastest marathoner in a sari 9:31 Are saris more popular today? Heard of a '1-minute' sari, sari over jeans? 12:23 As India becomes the world’s most populous nation, are women becoming healthier? Read Debarshi Dasgupta’s article here: https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/south-asia/nine-yards-of-freedom-indian-women-take-to-running-in-saris-to-break-taboos  Produced by: Bhagyashree Garekar (bhagya@sph.com.sg), Ernest Luis, Hadyu Rahim and Fa’izah Sani Edited by: Hadyu Rahim and Fa’izah Sani Follow Letter From The Bureau Podcast every first Friday of the month on our Asian Insider Podcast channel here: Channel: https://str.sg/JWa7 Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/JWa8 Google Podcasts: https://str.sg/wQsB  Spotify: https://str.sg/JWaX SPH Awedio app: https://www.awedio.sg/ Website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts Feedback to: podcast@sph.com.sg Read Bhagyashree Garekar’s articles: https://str.sg/whNo Read Debarshi Dasgupta’s articles: https://str.sg/wtmh  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: In Your Opinion: https://str.sg/w7Qt 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 ST Sports Talk: https://str.sg/JWRE #PopVultures: https://str.sg/JWad Music Lab: https://str.sg/w9TX Discover ST Podcasts: http://str.sg/stpodcasts Discover BT Podcasts: https://bt.sg/pcPL --- Special edition series: 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 --- Follow our shows then, if you like short, practical podcasts! #STAsianInsiderSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A deep dive into the sensitive geopolitics at the Afghan-Pakistan border. Synopsis: Each fourth Friday of the month, The Straits Times' US bureau chief Nirmal Ghosh presents an Asian perspective of the biggest global talking points with expert guests. After 20 years of war, in August 2021, the United States became the most recent superpower to be seen off by Afghanistan. After the US withdrew, the Taliban, whom the United States had kicked out in 2001 after the 9/11 attacks, swiftly seized power again. But since then, the Taliban has challenged the status of the Afghan-Pakistan border and given haven to the anti-Pakistan insurgent group, Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan, TTP, which has killed thousands of Pakistanis and wants to establish a Taliban-style Sharia state in Pakistan.  In this episode, to explain the complicated knot in that volatile region, Nirmal Ghosh hosts Javid Ahmad, a non-resident senior fellow with the Atlantic Council South Asia Center, and former ambassador of Afghanistan to the United Arab Emirates; and Bill Roggio, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracy and editor of the foundation's Long War Journal.  Highlights (click/tap above):  2:35 The Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) is a classic case of reverse insurgency 4:50 Many believe the Pakistani military is in a pre-war stage with the TTP 5:30 Pakistani state, elites seek “strategic depth” within Afghanistan, against India – and continue to support the Afghan Taliban 7:20 The risk from Al Qaeda to the region and the US is very great; the Taliban is not abandoning Al Qaeda 13:10 The Taliban, or Afghans in general, have nothing in common with China 16:10 The wheel of jihad keeps on turning – and could turn into a major problem for the Pakistani state 21:17 Washington should diversify its approach toward the Taliban  Produced by: Nirmal Ghosh (nirmal@sph.com.sg), Ernest Luis, Hadyu Rahim and Fa’izah Sani Edited by: Hadyu Rahim and Fa’izah Sani Follow Asian Insider with Nirmal Ghosh every fourth Friday of the month: Channel: https://str.sg/JWa7 Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/JWa8 Google Podcasts: https://str.sg/wQsB  Spotify: https://str.sg/JWaX SPH Awedio app: https://www.awedio.sg/ Website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts Feedback to: podcast@sph.com.sg Follow Nirmal Ghosh on Twitter: https://str.sg/JD7r Read Nirmal Ghosh's stories: https://str.sg/JbxG Register for Asian Insider newsletter: https://str.sg/stnewsletters Asian Insider videos: https://str.sg/wdcC --- Discover ST's special edition podcasts: The Unsolved Mysteries of South-east Asia: https://str.sg/wuZ2 Stop Scams: https://str.sg/wuZB Singapore's War On Covid: https://str.sg/wuJa Invisible Asia: https://str.sg/wuZn --- Discover more ST podcast series: Asian Insider: https://str.sg/JWa7 Green Pulse: https://str.sg/JWaf Health Check: https://str.sg/JWaN In Your Opinion: https://str.sg/w7Qt Your Money & Career: https://str.sg/wB2m Music Lab: https://str.sg/w9TX #PopVultures: https://str.sg/JWad ST Sports Talk: https://str.sg/JWRE Bookmark This!: https://str.sg/JWas Lunch With Sumiko: https://str.sg/J6hQ Discover BT Podcasts: https://bt.sg/pcPL Follow our shows then, if you like short, practical podcasts! #STAsianInsiderSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Synopsis: Every third Friday of the month, The Straits Times examines various facets of the US-China rivalry and its implications for Asia. Join Charissa Yong and Danson Cheong - ST’s US and China correspondents respectively based in Washington DC and Beijing - as they take a look at China’s messy reopening and its global implications.  Highlights (click/tap above): 1:38 The world reacts to China’s reopening 4:10 China’s lack of transparency 6:42 How China has responded 7:33 What the Americans say about China’s abrupt reopening Produced by: Charissa Yong (charyong@sph.com.sg), Danson Cheong (dansonc@sph.com.sg) and Fa’izah Sani Edited by: Fa’izah Sani Follow our Asian Insider Podcast channel every week here and rate us: Channel: https://str.sg/JWa7 Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/JWa8 Spotify: https://str.sg/JWaX Google Podcasts: https://str.sg/wQsB SPH Awedio app: https://www.awedio.sg/ Website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts Feedback to: podcast@sph.com.sg Read Charissa Yong's stories: https://str.sg/3xRa Read Danson Cheong's stories: https://str.sg/3xR2 Follow Danson on Twitter: https://twitter.com/dansoncj Read ST's Power Play articles: https://str.sg/3xRE Register for Asian Insider newsletter: https://str.sg/stnewsletters --- Discover ST's special edition podcasts: The Unsolved Mysteries of South-east Asia: https://str.sg/wuZ2 Stop Scams: https://str.sg/wuZB Singapore's War On Covid: https://str.sg/wuJa Invisible Asia: https://str.sg/wuZn --- Discover more ST podcast series: Asian Insider: https://str.sg/JWa7 Green Pulse: https://str.sg/JWaf Health Check: https://str.sg/JWaN In Your Opinion: https://str.sg/w7Qt Your Money & Career: https://str.sg/wB2m #PopVultures: https://str.sg/JWad ST Sports Talk: https://str.sg/JWRE Bookmark This!: https://str.sg/JWas Lunch With Sumiko: https://str.sg/J6hQ Discover ST Podcasts: http://str.sg/stpodcasts Discover BT Podcasts: https://bt.sg/pcPL Follow our shows then, if you like short, practical podcasts!   #STAsianInsiderSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Synopsis: Every second Friday of the month, join The Straits Times' associate editor Ravi Velloor, as he distills his experience from four decades of covering the continent. In this first episode of 2023, he chats with Serge Besanger, a director of Paris-based Centre for Diplomatic and Strategic Studies, on how the war in Europe is shaping and the potential for it to spread to Asia, thanks to the strategic compact between Russia and China. Besanger, who divides his time between Paris and Singapore, says Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to widen the war and that risks bringing Asia into the conflict.  Highlights (click/tap above): 1:30 How Besanger's organisation sends life-saving blood 'pouches' into Ukraine 8:50 French to supply ‘hot pursuit’ tanks to Ukraine 12:05 Fusing of Asian, European theatres 15:03 Which Asian nations are aiding Russia? 17:25 Europe’s view of China slides; how Russian-Ukraine war could last another three years Produced by: Ravi Velloor (velloor@sph.com.sg), Ernest Luis, Hadyu Rahim and Fa’izah Sani Edited by: Hadyu Rahim and Fa’izah Sani Follow Speaking Of Asia Podcast every second Friday of the month: Channel: https://str.sg/JWa7 Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/JWa8 Spotify: https://str.sg/JWaX Google Podcasts: https://str.sg/wQsB Website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts Feedback to: podcast@sph.com.sg Ravi Velloor's columns: https://str.sg/3xRP Ravi Velloor on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RaviVelloor Register for Asian Insider newsletter: https://str.sg/stnewsletters --- Discover ST's special edition podcasts: The Unsolved Mysteries of South-east Asia: https://str.sg/wuZ2 Stop Scams: https://str.sg/wuZB Singapore's War On Covid: https://str.sg/wuJa Invisible Asia: https://str.sg/wuZn --- Discover more ST podcast series: Asian Insider: https://str.sg/JWa7 Green Pulse: https://str.sg/JWaf Health Check: https://str.sg/JWaN In Your Opinion: https://str.sg/w7Qt Your Money & Career: https://str.sg/wB2m #PopVultures: https://str.sg/JWad ST Sports Talk: https://str.sg/JWRE Bookmark This!: https://str.sg/JWas Lunch With Sumiko: https://str.sg/J6hQ Discover ST Podcasts: http://str.sg/stpodcasts Discover BT Podcasts: https://bt.sg/pcPL Follow our shows then, if you like short, practical podcasts! #STAsianInsiderSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.