Check out the best of 2023 through the 25 most-read articles on JAPAN Forward, continuing with 20-16. Did your favorites make the list?
Countries such as the Philippines have lodged protests against China's new map, which includes a "ten-dash line" claiming almost the entire South China Sea.
According to a 2022 opinion poll, only 23% of Solomon Islands residents view China's aid favorably, whereas some 77% perceive it negatively.
The Chinese railway project has left Indonesia in a quagmire of mounting costs and missed deadlines. There are also concerns about the railway's profitability.