• Contributed content • editorial
The Philippines is at a critical juncture in its economic relations with the European Union (EU) over free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations. As the economic consequences of the global coronavirus pandemic grips the world, it should seize this opportunity to revive negotiations and secure a Philippine–EU FTA to help drive long-term and sustainable economic recovery. […]
• Contributed content • editorial
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said recently that the United States considers Chinese maritime claims in the South China Sea illegal. This is a fundamentally new stance. While scholars and pundits are trying to make sense of what the statement means for the dispute, more interesting is how Asean will respond, as it is inevitably caught […]
• Contributed content • analysis
On July 1 2020, the European Union (EU) and six of its member governments announced a moratorium on debt repayments due from Myanmar. The agreement allows Myanmar to ‘focus efforts on economic recovery from COVID-19’ and is worth almost $100 million — 20 per cent of Myanmar’s current debt payments schedule. Widely reported in the […]
• Submitted content • analysis
Singapore’s ruling People’s Action Party’s (PAPs) election victory on July 10, winning 83 out of 93 seats, was emphatic. Still, the opposition Workers’ Party (WP) gains from six to ten seats mark a political watershed in the tightly controlled city-state: its highest parliamentary representation since Singapore’s independence in 1965. Hitherto, crises of any sort — […]
• Contributed content • editorial
Malaysia’s spending to fight COVID-19 through four economic stimulus packages now totals RM295 billion (about US$69 bln). The first package, worth RM20 billion ($4.7 bln), was issued on February 27 to counter COVID-19’s immediate impact on the tourism industry. As the pandemic worsened and impacted the broader economy through implementation of the Movement Control Order […]
• Contributed content • editorial
COVID-19 is a wake-up call for the world. The pandemic has brought some of the worst economic impacts since World War II. While some Eastern countries seem much better prepared than their Western peers in terms of handling infections, testing ,and mitigating the pandemic’s economic impacts, the poorest countries will be hit hardest. As of […]
• Contributed content • editorial
A public health crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic destroys economic growth and pushes millions into poverty. Without policy interventions, it will also worsen income inequality. As of June 16, 2020, there have been more than 885,900 reported cases of COVID-19 and about 23,400 deaths in 33 out of the 45 economies in developing Asia. The […]
• Contributed content • analysis
While many countries are struggling with the COVID-19 pandemic, May 11, 2020 marked the end of the ‘longest New Year (Tet) holiday ever’ for students in Vietnam. When the nationwide lockdown was lifted, Vietnamese students at all levels returned to school. Shops and restaurants reopened, and local markets were busy again. Despite sharing an almost […]
• Contributed content • editorial
Indonesian President Joko Widodo’s announcement last August that a new capital will be built in East Kalimantan has been widely met with scepticism. While warranted, some of the project’s potential upsides are being overlooked by both outsiders and the government. Given the threat climate change poses to keeping Jakarta’s head above water, the case for building a […]
• Contributed content
Unlike Europe, North America and recently Brazil, Mexico, and India, Southeast Asia does not seem to have been hit as hard by the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of total deaths and confirmed cases. Indonesia, the Philippines, and Malaysia are the worst affected countries in the region, while Vietnam, Cambodia and previously Singapore, have managed to […]
• Contributed content • analysis
In February, the European Parliament adopted the EU–Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA). This is the most comprehensive and ambitious EU trade agreement with a developing country to date, the result of bilateral negotiations between the two following a failed attempt to negotiate a broader EU–Asean trade agreement. The EVFTA will be Vietnam’s next big step […]
• Contributed content • analysis
When Myanmar’s military regime began opening up the country politically and economically in 2010, one motive was to alleviate the country’s overreliance on China. Ten years down the road, in the context of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the threat of new Western sanctions triggered by human rights violations (HRV) against the Muslim […]