Words hurt: time for Asean leaders to speak up on SCS
Government officials and heads-of-state in Asean appears to have a collective aversion to speaking up…
Fake news: Sri Lanka loses port over Chinese BRI debt
Global media and numerous ‘experts’ routinely assert that Sri Lanka was forced to cede a…
Friends in need: Asean’s financial safety net stigmatised & shunned
Singapore and Indonesia signed a $10 billion Bilateral Swap Agreement (BSA) in October 2018 allowing…
Uncoordinated efforts leave Cambodia foreign policy lacking synergy
Amid shifting global power dynamics and intense pressure from the West, Cambodia’s foreign policy strategy…
Overlooked for four years, Thailand’s education system awaits election result
Thailand is in temporary limbo. The current government, which came to office in May 2014…
Scepticism of Duterte’s flirting with Beijing mounts
Chinese President Xi Jinping’s state visit to the Philippines in November 2018 was the first…
More needed: Vietnam’s waste-to-energy power policies not powerful enough
As regional public discontent over environmentally destructive plastic straws and single-use plastic bags increases, Vietnam…
BRI backlash: time for China to reassure Asean
China’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) continues to draw criticism and disapproval. Its sceptics…
Private sector development essential for continued Lao economic growth
Laos is one of the fastest growing economies in Southeast Asia (SEA). On average the…
The Mekong: troubled waters in autocratic lands
For the Mekong countries, including Thailand, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia and Vietnam, 2018 was a big…
Barriers remain to Cambodia’s rush to a digital economy
In March 2018, the Cambodian government announced its intention to be ready to transform into…
Mahathir’s return sees Singapore-Malaysia relations navigating choppy waters
Having returned to the Malaysian prime ministership, Mahathir Mohamad is implementing a much-welcomed reform agenda…