US-South Korea Alliance Faces a Test beyond Political Rhetoric 
RECAP: Asia Sentinel Stories for August 2026 
Taiwan’s Habit of Releasing Soldiers’ Full Names Seems Risky Singapore’s economy expanded faster than expected in the first quarter as the global artificial-intelligence boom lifted the nation’s manufacturing and services, offsetting the drag from higher crude prices.
Gross domestic product grew a seasonally adjusted 1 per cent in the three months through March from the previous quarter, the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) said on Monday.
That is well above the government’s advance estimate of a 0.3 per cent contraction and the median forecast of a 0.2 per cent expansion in a Bloomberg survey.
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Singapore’s exposure to AI through electronics exports has helped insulate the city state from the threat of US tariff hikes last year and now the energy crunch from the Middle East conflict.
Those in Asia that are part of the AI supply chain, especially Taiwan and South Korea, are among the fortunate few that have seen their economies surge on the seemingly insatiable demand for their tech exports and services.
Amid stronger-than-expected data, MTI maintained its 2026 GDP growth forecast at 2-4 per cent, in line with the outlook it set in February. That compares with 5 per cent last year.
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