The EU’s Indo-Pacific strategy can add a strong normative dimension to the Indo-Pacific region. As is the case with ASEAN, the EU places importance on building partnerships and reinforcing multilateral cooperation.
Category Archives: Long Reads
Mind the Gaps, Fill the Needs: A Strategic Outlook for the Philippine-US Alliance
The Philippines begrudgingly notes the disparity of treatment across US alliances in Asia as well as Washington’s shift to enhancing engagements with non-treaty partners. The Philippines must step up to play its part and articulate its key interests better.
Thailand’s Main Opposition Party Hopes for a Landslide Election Victory: A Realistic Goal or Just a Dream?
Phuea Thai (PT), Thailand’s main opposition party, is aiming at scoring a landslide victory in the country’s next general election, which is expected to take place in the third quarter of 2022. PT’s success may help allow the party’s chief patron, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, to end his self-imposed exile overseas.
The Kunming-Vientiane Railway: A Post-pandemic ‘Deus ex machina’ for the Lao Economy?
The Lao government has committed considerable sums of money and political capital to make the Kunming-Vientiane railway happen. It now needs to secure a return on that investment.
The ASEAN-China Comprehensive Strategic Partnership What’s in a Name
ASEAN’s decision to establish a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with both China and Australia demonstrates its desire to maintain equilibrium in its relations with all major powers and foster an inclusive multi-polar regional order.
Growing Shariatisation in Indonesia: The Ulama Council of Indonesia (MUI) Moment?
The Ulama Council of Indonesia (MUI) has evolved from a state “lackey” to an organisation with significant influence. With the shariatisation project becoming more mainstream in Indonesia today, this could be MUI’s biggest window of opportunity to further assert its influence.
Restoring Public Trust in Vietnam’s Pandemic Response: A Bumpy Road Ahead
The worst wave of Covid-19 infections to hit Vietnam since late April has threatened to chip away at the hard-earned public trust the government was able to engender last year. That is a major concern for a regime that relies on public support and patriotic nationalism to boost its legitimacy.
Japan’s Foreign Policy Direction under Kishida
New Japanese premier Fumio Kishida’s likely continuation of quiet economic, diplomatic and security investment in the region aligns well with Southeast Asian preferences.
The Melaka State Election: Unwanted, Unwieldy, and Unpredictable
The upcoming Melaka state election due on November 20 will be a useful barometer of the electoral fortunes of Malaysia’s shifting alliances and overlapping coalitions, particularly on the Peninsula.
Indonesia’s Budget Stretched to Control a Pandemic and to Revive a Struggling Economy
A massive second wave of delta-variant infections has disrupted Indonesia’s economic growth trajectory. This complicates the government’s budget implementation and planning for 2022. While funds are sorely needed for social spending and economic programmes, fiscal prudence is critical to avoid any downgrading of Indonesia’s risk and debt ratings.