• Editorial
After he won re-election last April, Indonesian President Joko ‘Jokowi’ Widodo was eager to emphasise the liberating effects of not having to worry about re-election. In his second and final term, the President told the Associated Press (AP) he wouldn’t face the same ‘political burden[s]’ he had in his first. While those words might have […]
• Editorial
Asean cooperation arrangements and Apec are important international assets. They contribute significantly to shared prosperity and political security in the Asia Pacific by building pillars for trade liberalisation, investment, the movement of people and — most importantly — political certainty and trust. The political foundations of cooperation arrangements in East Asia and the Pacific were […]
• Editorial
After profound advances in manufacturing and services most observers now believe that Vietnam is well-positioned to meet its principal Vision 2035 goal of achieving upper middle-income status. But sustained agricultural gains are by no means assured and key agricultural officials recognise this. In 2013, the government introduced an ‘agricultural restructuring’ programme and revised the Law […]
• Editorial
Government officials and heads-of-state in Asean appears to have a collective aversion to speaking up in public about Chinese transgressions and coercion in the South China Sea (SCS). Such reticence is based on misplaced fears of Chinese repercussions and does a disservice to regional interests, undermines deterrence, and needlessly concedes leverage in negotiations with China […]
• Editorial
Global media and numerous ‘experts’ routinely assert that Sri Lanka was forced to cede a strategically important port to China after being lured into a debt trap by easy Chinese loans. This story has now become part of the wider narrative of how China is using the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to achieve its […]
• Editorial
Singapore and Indonesia signed a $10 billion Bilateral Swap Agreement (BSA) in October 2018 allowing the two countries to assist each other through US dollar loans during financial stress. The move signals a willingness by Asean countries to play a bigger and more direct role in strengthening the region’s financial stability — but there is […]
• Editorial
Amid shifting global power dynamics and intense pressure from the West, Cambodia’s foreign policy strategy in the coming years will aim to diversify its external relations, with a focus on South and East Asian countries. But in practice Cambodia still struggles to implement an effective foreign policy, stymied by institutional weaknesses. Without much-needed reform, Cambodia’s […]
• Editorial
Thailand is in temporary limbo. The current government, which came to office in May 2014 via the country’s 12th military coup, is in full election mode. The Thai people wait in uncertainty for the outcome. Many major economic decisions, both private and public, remain on hold also. Even the government’s highly prized Eastern Economic Corridor […]
• Editorial
Chinese President Xi Jinping’s state visit to the Philippines in November 2018 was the first by a top Chinese leader in more than a decade, marking the culmination of an ongoing rapprochement between the two countries. Despite high expectations Xi’s visit failed to achieve any major breakthroughs. There was neither a firm resource-sharing agreement for […]
• Editorial
China’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) continues to draw criticism and disapproval. Its sceptics brand it as China’s Marshall Plan, or as a ‘neo-imperial project’. To ensure the initiative’s success, China should heed some of these concerns and take steps to improve the implementation of BRI-related projects. Doing so is particularly important in Asean […]
• Editorial
Laos is one of the fastest growing economies in Southeast Asia (SEA). On average the country’s economy as measured by GDP has grown by 7.5 per cent per year and trade by 17 per cent per year since 2000, reflecting the importance of trade as a key driver of its growth. However, while Laos is […]
• Editorial
For the Mekong countries, including Thailand, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia and Vietnam, 2018 was a big year both domestically and regionally. Key developments from last year will inevitably continue to shape the politics of the region in 2019. In terms of domestic affairs, the most worrying trend is the consolidation of autocratic power in almost all […]