Vietnam is one of ASEAN’s most promising car markets. To tap the growing potential in-country and across ASEAN, however, Hanoi will need to leverage on — and slalom around — a raft of regional free trade agreements.
Author Archives: blackbox
Learning from “Social Punishment:” Neutrality in Myanmar is No Longer Tenable
Business leaders, foreign and local, have a big choice to make as Myanmar’s crisis deepens.
Anwar Ibrahim and Zahid Hamidi – Forbidden Phone Friends?
An audio clip of a conversation between Anwar Ibrahim and Zahid Hamidi has given Malaysians a ringside seat into the shady backroom dealing between two of the nation’s prominent politicians. Genuine or not, the political interests of the two men have increasingly converged.
Harnessing a Rising Economic Tide to Lift All Boats
As the Malaysian economy switches into recovery mode, the country must ensure that growth benefits all households, especially those at the bottom.
The Makassar Bombing: Attacking Terrorist Attacks
The condemnation in Indonesia of the anti-religious nature of this latest terrorist attack is stronger and broader than before.
US Indo-Pacific Strategy: Digging in For the Long Game
It is easy to find fault with the recently-declassified version of the United States’ strategic framework for the Indo-Pacific. The fact remains, however, that the US is making strategic adjustments to steel itself for years, if not decades, of strategic competition with China.
H&M Saga in Vietnam: The Promise – and Peril – of Social Media
Vietnam has effectively fanned the flames of online nationalism in its altercation with a Swedish fast-fashion retailer — and by extension, China. It has to be careful not to stoke the flames too far.
Another Movement Takes Aim at Prayut
A new movement of “fed-up” Thais has arisen, calling for a less ambitious goal — getting the Prime Minister to resign. This will be a tall order.
Irregular and Inappropriate: Thailand’s Paramilitaries and Pro-Government Militias
The Thai state’s numerous off-budget militias and paramilitaries should be terminated.
The Unusual Appointment of Vietnam’s New Minister of Industry and Trade
Nguyen Hong Dien’s personal links and his expected support for General Secretary Trong’s agendas may explain his rise to the top of the economic super-ministry.