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Brunei’s Visit to Myanmar: No Time to Run Down the Clock

A photo taken during the ASEAN Leaders’ Meeting held at the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta on 24 April 2021.

A team from Brunei is reportedly visiting Myanmar this weekend. The aims of the visit are yet unclear. Still, Brunei, as ASEAN Chair, should first announce the identity of the grouping’s Special Envoy to the country and empower him or her with the necessary resources to carry out the task at hand.

Following the Money: Changes to Philippine Remittance Inflows

The U.S. solidifies its paramount status, and Singapore rises to #2.

U.S.-Vietnam Post-War Reconciliation: A Work in Process

US Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis (3rd-R) talks to Vietnamese military officials

Forty-five years after the cessation of the Vietnam War, relations behind Vietnam and the U.S. have improved markedly. But some issues, such as the legacy of Agent Orange and relations with former refugees, require delicate handling.

Jakarta and Papua: Where There are No Risk-Free Choices

A group of Papuan pro-independence protestors face off with police in Jakarta.

Recent events in Papua underscore the fact that there is no solution that is entirely free of risk for Jakarta. Instead, the choice is between separate sets of risks.

Sinovac or Not: Thai Vaccine Politics

A man has his photo taken with a mobile phone as a health personnel inoculates him with the second dose of China's Sinovac Covid-19 coronavirus vaccine

The country’s political polarisation is hindering the government’s COVID-19 vaccination programme.

Malaysia’s Federal and State Government Vaccine Drives: Too Many Cooks?

Due to the federal government’s slow vaccination rate, some state governments have stepped into the breach to inoculate their populations. Their collective experience thus far has been somewhat patchy.

Crisis upon Crisis: Fighting COVID-19 Becomes a Political Struggle after Myanmar’s Military Coup

Medical staff make a three finger salute with red ribbons on their uniforms inside a hospital in Yangon on 3 February, 2021 as calls for a civil disobedience gather pace following a military coup detaining civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi. (Photo: STR/ AFP)

In the aftermath of Myanmar’s coup, a nationwide strike by civil servants and lack of trust in the military regime that staged the February 1 takeover has reversed the country’s hard-won progress in the fight against COVID-19. The potential spread of the virus amongst protestors could accelerate the system-wide collapse of the already fragile health sector.

COVID-19 Measures in Malaysia: Resentment and Rancour Brewing on the Ground

As the government rolls out stricter measures to control the spread of COVID-19, it is unfortunate that some people on the ground blame the authorities for their incompetence instead of working together to break the back of the virus.

Fighting Covid-19: China’s Soft Power Opportunities in Mainland Southeast Asia

In mainland Southeast Asia, the Chinese government’s effective measures to curb the pandemic outbreak at home and the provision of Covid-19 assistance to regional countries have enhanced China’s soft power. Most of the mainland Southeast Asian countries, except Vietnam, have been receptive to China’s Covid-19 diplomacy.