Indonesia’s Resource Nationalism Is Testing Its Relationship with China
Siwage Dharma Negara|Leo Suryadinata
The interests of Chinese investors and the Prabowo administration are increasingly misaligned.
Articles
Unleashing Officials, Unlocking Funds: PM Le Minh Hung Confronts Vietnam’s Economic Challenges
Tuan Ho
Vietnam’s new prime minister needs to disburse idle public funds. His previous role helming the Communist Party’s personnel system should help him galvanise officials who prioritise an overly cautious approach over rapid progress.
To Lam’s Regional Tour: From Hedger to Shaper
Nguyen Khac Giang
To Lam’s regional tour of Southeast Asia shows that Hanoi is shifting to a posture of shaping the rules of the game, rather than merely seeking to mitigate the risks of a fluid strategic environment.
No Longer Poor: Can Laos be Clean, Green and Great?
Anoulak Kittikhoun
Anoulak Kittikhoun argues that as Laos prepares to graduate from the United Nations’ least developed country category, the bigger challenge is no longer escaping poverty but building a future defined by clean space and green growth.
The Myanmar Military’s “New” Narrative: Caveat Emptor
Billy Ford
The new Myanmar regime’s narrative about promoting stability and strengthening international relations belies the instability and devastation its coup unleashed on the country.
Southeast Asia’s High-Income Aspirants Should Focus on Quality of Growth
Vinod Thomas
The vast minority of middle-income countries graduate to high-income status. Past strategies that prioritised physical capital must give way to a quality of growth approach premised on investment in human and natural capital.
Beyond Bamboo Diplomacy: Vietnam’s Shrinking Room for Manoeuvre
Nguyen Phuong Linh
Vietnam’s foreign policy has typically been described as bamboo diplomacy. This still holds true, but decision-making is increasingly being constrained by domestic considerations.
Vietnam’s Reconfigured Leadership: Personnel and Power in the “New Era”
Nguyen Khac Giang
This Long Read assesses one of Vietnam’s most consequential leadership transitions in decades, following the 14th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) in January 2026 and the 16th National Assembly elections in March 2026.
Scams in Southeast Asia: When Self-Regulation is Not Enough
David Lam
Social media companies cannot be trusted to police the scams they profit from. Some government intervention is needed.
Walking Malaysia’s Oil Shock Tightrope: Assisting Society While Stewarding Deficits
Firdausi Suffian
If the war in Iran does not end soon, the Malaysian government must have more arrows in its energy policy quiver.