As the US shuts down its supply of foreign assistance, some Southeast Asian countries are looking at China to fill the gap. But given China’s different approach to aid, it cannot step in as a direct substitute for America.
Category Archives: Commentaries
Trump’s Aid Freeze Could Disrupt Progress in US-Vietnam Reconciliation
Suspending USAID programmes risks undermining years of work building trust between the former enemies and helping victims of the Vietnam War.
Thai Undergraduates’ Voting Behaviour in Provincial and National Elections
Many Thai undergraduates are engaged politically. While ‘all politics is local’, there is regional variation in undergraduate voting behaviour that suggests nuance and nous notwithstanding their youth.
Southeast Asia must Prepare for Trump’s ‘Everything’s on the Table’ Approach to Trade
Southeast Asia was spared in the initial flurry of Trumpian trade actions, but Trump’s introduction of expansive and unprecedented non-trade issues into trade relations will inevitably entangle the region.
‘Airpocalypse’ Now: Vietnam at Crossroads of Progress and Pollution
Vietnam’s capital, Hanoi, is ranked as one of the world’s most polluted cities in 2025. This dubious honour highlights the country’s need to balance rapid economic development with preserving the environment.
Outcome of Recent Thai Provincial Elections Heralds Tighter Race in Next General Election
Thailand’s three most significant political parties have some tough lessons to learn from the recent provincial races in preparation for the next general election. Coalition politics is likely to endure, regardless.
Trump’s Territorial Ambitions Send Tremors Beyond the Western Hemisphere
US President Donald Trump’s rhetoric in past weeks has sparked a chain reaction of alarm in Southeast Asia. If his words become deeds, the region’s uneven but evident bedrock of trust in the US, carefully built up since World War Two’s end, could slowly turn to dust.
Timor-Leste Bets on Online Gambling
If the Timorese government can manage the potential negatives arising from allowing online gambling to be hosted in Timor-Leste, the returns from this bet could uplift the country’s fledgling economy.
To Lam’s Pragmatic Pitch to Vietnam’s Youth: Economic Prosperity, Political Control
Compared to their Southeast Asian peers, Vietnamese youth are more economically optimistic but politically disengaged. These attitudes concur with pragmatism of the country’s top leader To Lam, which focuses on material prosperity while calibrating civic freedoms to regime imperatives.
Trump 2.0 and the US-Philippines Alliance: Consistency and Change
The US-Philippines alliance is expected to be reinforced in the Trump 2.0 administration. It will, however, be tested given existing regional flashpoints and the need to follow through commitments pledged in previous years.