Growing uncertainty over US commitment to Asia has encouraged Japan and South Korea to strengthen bilateral ties, driven by shared concerns about regional security and North Korea and despite ...

Beijing opened 2026 with a clear signal on Taiwan. In his New Year message, Chinese President Xi Jinping celebrated the establishment of Taiwan Retrocession Day on October 25 and called reunification ...

Indonesia’s proposed export scheme for strategic commodities, centred on the new state-owned enterprise Danantara Sumberdaya Indonesia, aims to curb trade misinvoicing but raises concerns about ...

China today is actively shaping the security architecture which it inhabits. In a layered manner, from Myanmar to Djibouti, Beijing has increased its presence, exerting influence to protect its ...

Japan’s Free and Open Indo-Pacific vision is evolving into a practical framework for regional resilience, with Japan–India cooperation emerging as a key driver. Deepening cooperation across maritime, ...

In March 2026, India eased investment restrictions imposed in 2020, allowing some non-controlling investments linked to countries sharing a land border with India to proceed without prior government ...

Indonesia’s fixation on the rupiah–US dollar exchange rate has made monetary policy too responsive to US and global conditions, leaving domestic activity to absorb external shocks. Proposals to ...

Greg Raymond is Associate Professor at the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre in the Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs, and is a leading expert in Southeast Asian politics, defence and ...

Despite a rocky 2025, the Pacific islands are entering 2026 with a more assertive posture. The region is pushing ahead on climate justice and self-determination, insisting that development and ...

ASEAN confronts three major challenges in 2025 -- Myanmar's deteriorating political situation, escalating South China Sea disputes, and intensifying US-China competition. While Malaysia's leadership ...

The Mekong River is the lifeblood of countries in the Mekong region, but the past few years have seen water flows recurringly decline and processes of saltwater intrusion accelerating in the ...

The new normal for any ASEAN Chair is the expectation of having to manage a crisis, if not multiple crises, amid an increasingly hostile geopolitical environment. The Myanmar conflict and South China ...