Chinese and American firms are seeking to export their autonomous driving technologies to Southeast Asia. The signal lesson is that their data-driven models require sensitivity and adaptation to the region’s diverse markets.
Author Archives: chahaewon
How Will Vietnam Deal With President Trump’s Shocking Tariffs?
Faced with 46 per cent US tariffs, Vietnam is unlikely to retaliate in kind. It is likely that Hanoi would avoid confrontation and lean on diplomacy instead.
Singapore is Not Buying into Trump 2.0
This commentary draws on the perspectives of 242 respondents from Singapore who participated in the State of Southeast Asia 2025 Survey.
Malaysia’s DAP in the Post-Lim Era: Fighting Demographic Realities
Malaysia’s Chinese-dominated Democratic Action Party has made inroads as a multi-racial political party. But demographic and political realities will conscribe progress.
Growing or Shrinking? How Indonesia’s Middle Class is Really Doing
We must get Indonesia’s middle-class narrative right to devise appropriate policy responses. While some argue that the middle class has grown, the evidence tells a more sobering story.
Grey Chinese Trend on Thai TikTok: From Criminal Networks to Digital Aesthetic
In Thailand, TikTok users have turned the depiction of illicit activity by Chinese nationals into a stylised narrative where aesthetics and humour intertwine.
The Politics of Lanna Identity and the Restoration of Ethnic Thai Dishes
The Thai state has tried to use food hegemony to control cultural narratives but the sheer diversity of local cuisine is putting a brake on it.
Shaping Indonesia’s Democracy: Youth Alight Amidst #DarkIndonesia
Indonesia’s youth protests today call to mind past cases of student activism in the quarter century of post-reform democracy since the fall of Suharto. Will history repeat itself?
The Rules-based Order: In Dire Straits, But Not Dead
As the US steps away from the rules-based order it helped create, smaller countries need to step up to the plate to maintain it.
Thailand’s Unreliability as Broker Makes Peace Even More Elusive in Myanmar
Thailand’s efforts to mediate the peace in Myanmar are complicated by the kingdom’s extensive interests in the country.