Following five decades of rule by socialist and military governments under which the country became one of the least developed countries in the world, a new chapter of Myanmar’s engagement with the international community was […]
Twenty years after the post–war normalisation of Vietnam–US ties, the two nations are increasingly close. This process has sped up with China’s moves in the South China Sea since 2014, although a number of issues […]
Singapore’s People’s Action Party (PAP) is riding high in the saddle again. After a decade of slightly sagging fortunes in which the long-ruling party’s share of the national vote slumped from over 75 per cent […]
Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has announced a comprehensive package of reforms aimed at reducing inflation and stabilising the exchange rate, stimulating demand through ‘deregulation’ and direct support, with a special focus on creating more […]
Today’s 2015 Singapore general election will be the most widely contested since independence. Eight opposition parties and a handful of independents will vie for 89 parliamentary seats in the 2015 Singapore election. A tactical question […]
As Singaporeans prepare to go to the polls in the 17th Singapore general election on September 11 2015 the contending parties appear to be heading for a showdown over the time-frame by which the government […]
Ever since Jagdish Bhagwati coined the phrase ‘spaghetti bowl’ to describe the maze of overlapping preferential trade arrangements (PTAs), trade economists have been split over whether such deals are ‘building blocks’ or ‘stumbling blocks’ for […]
Much uncertainty surrounds the lead up to and conduct of Myanmar’s upcoming legislative elections. The recent voting down of constitutional amendments in parliament — almost certainly (and solely) by the bloc of appointed, non-elected military […]
Investment in human capital through education, partly by the government, is almost universally thought to be a precondition for sustainable growth. For Asian countries that can no longer rely on factor accumulation to underpin their […]
Asia accounts for more than 50 per cent of the world’s automobile production, 62 per cent of liquid display screen, 86 per cent of smart phones and 100 per cent of digital cameras. Much of […]
In June 2015 several announcements suggested that Thailand would acquire three Chinese submarines for 36 billion baht (US$1.03billion). But by mid-July Thailand Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwon stated that the proposal would be deferred and subject […]
Indonesia became a middle-income country in 2004. Indonesia’s growth rates — while superior to those of most developing countries — remain below those of East Asia’s most dynamic economies. So why hasn’t the country grown […]