The arrest of eight Bangladeshis in Singapore last month for plotting terror attacks in their home country highlighted gaps in Singapore’s overall strategy for dealing with the rising threat of terrorism in the region. Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam said that the arrests, the latest in...
Taiwan’s new President, Ms Tsai Ing-wen, has her sights set on South-east Asia and plans to woo the region during her term. Announcing her intention to “elevate the scope and diversity of Taiwan’s external economy”, Ms Tsai wants to provide Taiwanese businesses with an investment-destination alternative...
Indonesia is making every effort to ensure that the terrible fires and haze suffered last year will not recur. This reassurance was given at the recent 3rd Singapore Dialogue on Sustainable World Resources (SDSWR) by Mr Nazir Foead, who heads the newly created Peatland Restoration...
March was a month of many milestones. The nation marked the first anniversary of the death of Singapore’s founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew. It has been half a year since the General Election, when voters gave the Government a new and stronger mandate. And...
The fourth and final Nuclear Security Summit (NSS) concluded in Washington, DC earlier this month. The summit series was the brainchild of United States President Barack Obama, who first mooted the idea in 2009. Results have been mixed and it is unclear if the nuclear security...
Myanmar changed more than its government last week. For the first time in more than 50 years, a democratic and non-military President is in office. An historic new chapter begins for the country that some have dubbed Asia’s “last frontier economy”. The focus is understandably on...
Signs warn that haze may soon return to the skies of South-east Asia. Fires have already broken out in Riau and a state of emergency declared earlier this month. Yet, while some fear the worst, the declaration shows the urgent attention that the Indonesian President...
Blue skies breed amnesia. With the clear skies, many may now struggle to recall the urgency and anger over the smoke haze pollution in the region. Last year was one of the worst on historical record for fires and it was barely six months ago that...
ASEAN leaders will soon converge in the United States for a Summit with President Barack Obama. The Sunnylands summit, late into Mr Obama’s last year in office, is a marker of the American pivot to the region. His administration should be credited with giving closer...
The year 2016 has not gotten off to an auspicious start for Indonesia, with the capital Jakarta coming under a terrorist attack on Jan 14. The country and its new President both weathered multiple headwinds in 2015, and they could not have asked for a...