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Sholto Byrnes

Sholto Byrnes

Columnist
Sholto Byrnes is an East Asian affairs columnist for The National. A commentator and consultant based in Kuala Lumpur, he previously held senior roles at the Independent and New Statesman in London, set up and edited a quarterly international affairs magazine in the Arabian Gulf, and was a senior fellow at the Institute of Strategic and International Studies Malaysia. He was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts in 2009 and a corresponding fellow of the Erasmus Historical and Cultural Forum in 2019.
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Articles

Rodrigo Duterte was president of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022. Reuters
CommentDuterte’s arrest puts the ICC back on trial in the Global South

The court’s uneven implementation of its arrest warrants appears neither credible nor impartial to some

OpinionMarch 12, 2025
Sholto Byrnes
US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hold a joint news conference in the White House last month. AP
CommentWhat explains Trump’s odd contradictions between Israel and Ukraine?

For the US President, the political is personal

CommentMarch 07, 2025
Sholto Byrnes
Donald Trump views Xi Jinping's China as an economic rival only. Reuters
CommentEurope won’t be the template for Trump’s American foreign policy in the Asia-Pacific

But expect Washington’s policy to be pragmatic

CommentFebruary 27, 2025
Sholto Byrnes
A NIO Inc ET7 electric vehicle on display at the NIO House showroom in Berlin, Germany, last July. Bloomberg
CommentChina cannot be contained - just look at their products

Plus this isn’t a zero-sum game, as the country’s achievements will benefit us all

CommentFebruary 21, 2025
Sholto Byrnes
The US-Mexico border in El Paso, Texas. US President Donald Trump has declared a national emergency at the southern border 'to repel the disastrous invasion of our country'. AFP
CommentOn immigration, Trump’s America and Britain are in a race to the bottom

Some South-East Asian countries have shown a better, and more humane, approach

CommentFebruary 13, 2025
Sholto Byrnes
Demonstrators outside the headquarters of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in Washington, on February 3. AFP
CommentBy cutting USAID, is Trump really making America great again?

One way of looking at it is to let the review of US foreign aid proceed, identify the core humanitarian work and pull out of other projects

OpinionFebruary 05, 2025
Sholto Byrnes
Fish lanterns being paraded through Chinatown in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia earlier this month. Getty
Malaysians celebrate diversity – the Chinese New Year proves this

Forging a national identity that encompasses all is still an ongoing – and maybe never-ending – task

OpinionJanuary 29, 2025
Sholto Byrnes
Matryoshka depicting Chinese President Xi Jinping, US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin at a souvenir shop in St Petersburg, Russia. AP
CommentTrump’s pragmatism will be key to reviving US-China relations

The US President’s desire to meet Xi Jinping means a grand bargain cannot be ruled out

CommentJanuary 22, 2025
Sholto Byrnes
When people vote for Donald Trump, and leaders like him elsewhere in the world, they are choosing outsider politicians who they believe are more aligned with their real interests and values. AFP
Trump and other populists won in 2024. That’s not democracy in danger – that’s democracy in action

Liberal democratic politics may well be in trouble, which should force centrists to introspect

CommentJanuary 16, 2025
Sholto Byrnes
When it comes to Elon Musk, who is expected to work in the Trump administration, foreign intervention or interference is deemed wrong. AP
CommentMusk's interference in Europe's politics offers lessons to the West

The real problem with foreign interference of any kind is that outsiders will never know a country as well as its own people

CommentJanuary 08, 2025
Sholto Byrnes
Then US president Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping meet business leaders in Beijing, in 2017. Reuters
CommentA Trump trade war with China would be very bad for South-East Asia

For a duel between these two elephants would more than just flatten the region’s 'grass'

CommentJanuary 01, 2025
Sholto Byrnes
A survivor among the rubble of Rahmatullah mosque that was damaged by the 2004 tsunami in Lampuuk, Indonesia on Tuesday. Getty
CommentWhat Syria's new leaders can learn from East Asia

It is still early days of the new government in Damascus, but it seems to be keen on changing institutions rather than sweeping them away

CommentDecember 26, 2024
Sholto Byrnes
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer had previously been lukewarm about Britain joining the CPTPP. AP
CommentDoes anyone really care about Britain’s 'biggest post-Brexit trade deal'?

What strikes UK politicians as big news has hardly resonated in most of the original members of the bloc

CommentDecember 19, 2024
Sholto Byrnes
A protester holds a placard to condemn South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol's surprise declaration of martial law. Reuters
CommentFew believed martial law was the way for South Korea - that's why it failed

Politics in Seoul has deep challenges but they are still solvable by civil means

CommentDecember 04, 2024
Sholto Byrnes
People mark Victory Day at a Second World War memorial in Almaty, Kazakhstan in 2022. The country and its neighbours are becoming a significant economic and political force. Reuters
Central Asia's importance makes 'Borat' jibes fall flat

Something akin to a new middle power may be on the cusp of appearing at the heart of the Eurasian landmass

CommentNovember 28, 2024
Sholto Byrnes
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