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Aaron Connelly

@connellyal.bsky.social

3.8K followers 650 following 240 posts

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.

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Aaron Connelly @connellyal.bsky.social · May 29

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.

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Aaron Connelly @connellyal.bsky.social · 11h

Ever wish you were a drone flying through The Economist's newsroom in London? Wish no longer! youtu.be/tTRHPmFflTk?...

Step inside The Economist

YouTube video by The Economist

youtu.be

Reposted by Aaron Connelly

Emily Fishbein @emilyfishbein11.bsky.social · 1d

Myanmar has faded from global attention, but its people continue to endure excruciating violence on a daily basis. Monday, the military junta conducted another round of deadly airstrikes, targeting a peaceful candlelight vigil on the Buddhist holiday of Thadingyut (1/2)
www.bbc.com/news/article...

Myanmar: At least 24 killed as army paraglider bombs Buddhist festival

Locals tell the BBC the carnage has made it hard to identify victims of the military attack.

www.bbc.com

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Aaron Connelly @connellyal.bsky.social · 1d

“Starving children screaming for food as US aid cuts unleash devastation and death across Myanmar”

Starving children screaming for food as US aid cuts unleash devastation and death across Myanmar

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has repeatedly said “no one has died" because of his government’s decision to gut its foreign aid program.

apnews.com

Aaron Connelly @connellyal.bsky.social · 16d

After a long hiatus while we waited for a visa, Chaguan is back:

"The pace of change is so rapid in China, it is often said, that the country can seem almost unrecognisable.... Returning visitors find new highways, new trains, new buildings—sometimes entirely new cities....

"Or so it used to be."

The return of our China column

China’s era of rapid change is over. But deeper transformations are under way

www.economist.com

Aaron Connelly @connellyal.bsky.social · 16d

"In the nine months to July, 28.6m people took a train ride, a 6% increase on the same period last year. That puts the firm comfortably on track this financial year to record the most journeys in its 54-year history. Its fare revenue grew by 11% in the year to June."

Rail travel is booming in America

More trains mean more riders

www.economist.com

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Aaron Connelly @connellyal.bsky.social · 18d

There are a lot of Florida swamp things in Washington these days. www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202...

An alligator mysteriously appears in waters off the Potomac River

A two-foot-long alligator was caught in The Washington Channel off the Wharf on Thursday.

www.washingtonpost.com

Reposted by Aaron Connelly

The Economist @economist.com · 23d

The core belief of our column is that curious, open and rigorous enquiry about China and its affairs matters more than ever. After a hiatus of more than a year, it is time for Chaguan to return to analysing China

The return of our China column

China’s era of rapid change is over. But deeper transformations are under way

econ.st

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Aaron Connelly @connellyal.bsky.social · 23d

Gerry, I laughed at this. Thanks

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Aaron Connelly @connellyal.bsky.social · 23d

“‘Dinner out is a go’. Hell of a way to speak to your wife.”

Patrick Monahan @pattymo.com · 23d

Robert Redford setting up Operation Dinner Out in SPY GAME (2001)

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Aaron Connelly @connellyal.bsky.social · 26d

Wonder where Jerry is now.

Aaron Connelly @connellyal.bsky.social · 26d

"The killing of Mr Kirk is not representative of broader trends."
www.economist.com/graphic-deta...

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Reposted by Aaron Connelly

The Economist @economist.com · Sep 3

Protests in Jakarta intensified after a motorbike-taxi driver was hit and killed by an armoured police vehicle. The unrest is a crucial test for Prabowo Subianto econ.st/4642rsA

Photo: Getty Images

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Aaron Connelly @connellyal.bsky.social · Sep 1

These warnings were in the correct order

Aaron Connelly @connellyal.bsky.social · Sep 1

Talkback radio in Brisbane opens with: “Be careful, guys, it is magpie season; in addition, it is also snake season.”

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Aaron Connelly @connellyal.bsky.social · Sep 1

Yeah, fair

Aaron Connelly @connellyal.bsky.social · Sep 1

Anyways, we haven’t done this, I think, except to call the “efficiency drive” “a DOGE” in a headline in March. Which was a bit funny, because many Indonesian fans of Elon failed to recognize that it was a negative comparison and objected to it on those grounds.

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Aaron Connelly @connellyal.bsky.social · Sep 1

Think this depends on how it’s done. There are differences, yes, but they share a lot of views. Journalists and analysts need heuristics to convey information in limited space, and many readers don’t have time or can’t be bothered to absorb the whole context of Indonesian society and politics.

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Aaron Connelly @connellyal.bsky.social · Aug 27

Indonesia is probably the country that I know best after the US, where I grew up. And now when I meet my Indonesian friends who know America well, we can’t stop talking about how similar our countries are becoming.

Trump administration mulls taking stakes in defense firms including Lockheed Martin

The Trump administration is considering taking stakes in defense contractors, including Lockheed Martin Corp , U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on Tuesday as he defended President Donald Trump's push for a greater government role in American business.

www.reuters.com

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Reposted by Aaron Connelly

Shashank Joshi @shashj.bsky.social · Aug 21

We write on Tulsi Gabbard's purge of one of the most senior Russia analysts in the US intelligence community, alongside other serving officers who were associated, sometimes only tangentially, with the 2016 Russia report. The most serious purge vs the CIA to date.
www.economist.com/united-state...

economist.com

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Aaron Connelly @connellyal.bsky.social · Aug 20

“Some of the clearest thinking about this swot’s predicament can be heard in Singapore, a paternalist city-state that has risen from poverty to great wealth with the help of hard work, diligence and lots of rules about civilised behaviour—like a giant prep school with its own army and airport.”

David Rennie @dsorennie.bsky.social · Aug 19

Singapore is the model pupil of the world economy. It grew rich by studying hard, doing its homework and riding the wave of late 20C globalisation. Now it fears a global economy where FDI and trade flows follow politics and tariffs set by Trumpian caprice. My column
economist.com/internationa...

Was globalisation ever a meritocracy?

The Trumpian assault on globalism, as seen from Singapore

economist.com

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Aaron Connelly @connellyal.bsky.social · Aug 19

Excellent look by colleague @antonlaguardia.bsky.social at the Air Force’s strategy for defending Taiwan from an attack by China—and, one hopes, being prepared enough to do so that China never tries.

The Economist @economist.com · Aug 15

Because of China’s reach, America’s air force can no longer mass its planes in big bases close to the action, as it has done in recent decades. It must plan to survive and fight throughout the deep Chinese “kill zone”

America’s new plan to fight a war with China

Readying for a rumble in the jungle

econ.st

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Aaron Connelly @connellyal.bsky.social · Aug 1

One thing is clear, we argue in this week's @economist.com: the opacity of the political system on each side puts the other on high alert, and will make it difficult to get the ceasefire to stick.

Aaron Connelly @connellyal.bsky.social · Aug 1

Why did war break out over the border between Cambodia and Thailand last week? We are left with theories but no answers in this senseless conflict. www.economist.com/asia/2025/07...

Why did Thailand and Cambodia fight a senseless border war?

After five days, 40 people are dead. But few know what caused the skirmish

www.economist.com

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Aaron Connelly @connellyal.bsky.social · Aug 1

The world’s attention was briefly on Cambodia and Thailand this past week, where border clashes killed 43.

But that’s a typical week in Myanmar, where @frontiermyanmar.bsky.social reports that at least 40 have been killed in airstrikes in Mandalay, Sagaing, and Shan since Monday.

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Aaron Connelly @connellyal.bsky.social · Jul 31

"If a Trump-appointed Fed chair could control the votes of the FOMC, he could determine which countries have access to swap lines, and on what terms. Swap lines are the lifeblood of the entire global financial system. It’s hard to imagine a greater source of leverage for the administration."

What could a Trump appointee do at the Fed?

Were the president to replace Jay Powell as chair, his choice would have significant power to enforce the administration’s agenda

www.ft.com

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