Vietnam’s Public Infrastructure Drive: More Haste, Less Speed?
Le Hong Hiep
Vietnam has an ambitious plan for the building of infrastructure. But it needs to be mindful of significant risks such as corruption and subpar construction quality.
Articles
Partnership, Not Protection: Trump’s Defence Policy in Asia
Hoang Thi Ha|William Choong
At his maiden Shangri-La Dialogue outing, the US Secretary of Defense laid out a stark and demanding vision for the region’s security. ASEAN and much of Southeast Asia did not feature in it.
Thailand’s 2025 Municipal Elections: Triumph of Tradition or Transition?
Paul Chambers
The recent municipal elections in Thailand underscore the staying power of baan yai or “big houses” at the local level.
Plantation Workers Can Barely Live on Malaysia’s Minimum Wage
Alfian Al-Ayubby
Malaysia’s recently raised minimum wage is insufficient for plantation workers, who deserve a living wage to sustain their livelihoods and contributions to this key economic sector.
Vietnam’s Trump Card: Navigating Growth, Politics, and US Relations
Hoang Thi Ha|Dien Nguyen An Luong
Vietnam’s fast-tracking of a Trump-branded project is a high-stake diplomatic gambit to curry favour with the US president to ameliorate the extent of US tariffs. But the Trump project should also be viewed in the context of Hanoi’s relentless drive to do away with red tape and pro-business strategy.
Two-Tiered DEFA Needs A Coherent Strategy For Implementation
Kristina Fong Siew Leng
Given differing levels of digital capabilities among ASEAN members, a two-tier solution to the Digital Economy Framework Agreement might be most fitting.
The International Labour Organisation Has New Options to Push Myanmar’s Regime but Old Challenges to Navigate
Jared Bissinger
What might be the right economic tools to wield against Myanmar’s military regime, that minimise harm to the livelihoods of its civilian citizens?
Malaysia’s Chinese Primary Schools: Saved Yet Threatened by Rising Inflows of Malay Students
James Chai
Non-Chinese pupil enrolment in Malaysia’s vernacular Chinese primary schools (SJKC) has grown significantly over the past decades, from just 3-6 per cent in the 1990s to approximately 20 per cent by 2020, primarily driven by Malay pupils. These demographic shifts in SJKCs present a profound existential challenge to the Chinese community in Malaysia on whether they should preserve the cultural purity of SJKC or adapt to these demographic realities.
When AI Becomes Less Intelligent Beyond the English-speaking World
Surachanee Sriyai
Social media depend largely on English-language models to train their AI content moderation models. This has become a problem.
A Crisis of Trust: The SAC’s Failure in Post-Disaster Strategic Communications
Su Mon Thazin Aung
The ruling military regime in Myanmar has only itself to blame for dismal levels of public trust in it two months after the massive earthquake that shook the country.