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Bombings in South Thailand

Puangthong R. Pawakapan

While the Thai military government blamed the bomb blasts to the red-shirt conflict, incoming evidence suggests that Muslim separatist movements are involved. The bombings underscore the fact that the military government has failed to address the ethnic-religious conflict and the presence of Asian-based Islamic State (IS) networks in the south.

Duterte’s Aquino Legacies

Malcolm Cook

The ruling by the Arbitration Tribunal on the South China Sea and the U.S.-Philippine Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement are two foreign policy legacies left by the Aquino administration. They will be stumbling blocks to the Duterte administration if it seeks to revise its foreign policy with China and the US.

Myanmar Forum 2016: Key Takeaways

Moe Thuzar

The Myanmar Forum 2016 highlighted the imperatives for the NLD government to restore trust and create conditions that are conducive to doing business in Myanmar. The newly-elected parliament need to repeal and revise outdated laws and develop policies relevant to the country's current needs.

Duterte, Jokowi and ASEAN

Malcolm Cook

The political ascensions of Jokowi and Duterte is a significant challenge to ASEAN unity and centrality. As political outsiders with minimal international experience, their foreign policies are nationalistic and unilateral - focusing more on supporting the administration's domestic infrastructure and nation-building agenda.

Cooperation Necessary to Eradicate the Haze

Lee Poh Onn

The forest fires in Indonesia is a multilateral and transboundary issue that requires the cooperation of ASEAN in developing and implementing measures to prevent environmental and economic costs to affected countries. Indonesia needs to mitigate and assuage fears of a repeat of the 2015 haze incident.