This year’s elections mark a significant milestone in Myanmar’s history. There is a growing thirst for change in Myanmar, and the party that wins the popular vote will be tasked to set the tone for the future of democracy in the country. The future of...
On September 25, China’s President Xi Jinping will make his first state visit to the United States to meet with President Barack Obama. It is expected that they may discuss both issues of contention and cooperation in Sino-American relations. While ASEAN may not be mentioned,...
We spoke with Dr. Evan Feigenbaum, Vice Chairman, Paulson Institute and former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State. Dr. Feigenbaum gave an evening talk at the SIIA on the subject of "What is the USA's role in Asia's new order?" on 22 July 2015. We asked...
As the Republic turns 50 years old, questions have arisen on whether Singapore is well-equipped to adapt to emerging challenges both at home and abroad. We spoke to Dr. Cherian George, Associate Professor at the Hong Kong Baptist University, on his views on the changing...
At last week’s US-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED), cybersecurity tensions received much attention as a source of growing friction between the two powers. However, to focus only on this aspect of the dialogue may trivialise the overall significance of the exchange. This year’s S&ED...
At the APEC meeting in April, Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo (popularly known as Jokowi) promised lucrative investment prospects in the region’s largest market. Yet, at the Asia-Africa Summit held in Bandung that same month, Jokowi’s tone shifted, urging emerging markets to avoid domination by foreign...
India’s ‘Act East’ foreign policy under Prime Minister (PM) Modi’s administration represents a dramatic shift from the relatively passive ‘Look East’ stance that characterised the 1990s. PM Modi’s proactive efforts in reaching out to strategic regional partners, paired with his charismatic approach to foreign diplomacy,...
The regional architecture in Asia is fast evolving, with China’s new initiatives gaining more traction. As Japan and the USA attempt to balance China’s growing influence by extending their own economic reach in Asia, ASEAN must stay united on all fronts and carefully navigate this...
With an estimated 25,000 Rohingya refugees having fled Burma since the beginning of 2015, and as many as 10,000 refugees still stranded in the Andaman Sea, the Rohingya crisis is becoming the largest refugee crisis in Southeast Asia since the exodus of Vietnamese boat people...
China has intensified construction on artificial islands in the South China Sea in recent months. At the end of April, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) — which includes the Philippines and Vietnam, rival South China Sea claimants who have clashed with China -...