COMMENTARIES

24 Feb 2023

Recent Clashes at Chinese Companies in Indonesia Might be Fodder for Political Manipulation

Deasy Simandjuntak|Aswin Lin

A fatal incident last month involving a Chinese-owned mining company raises the spectre of political opportunists exploiting anti-Chinese sentiments in the run-up to Indonesia’s 2024 elections.

23 Feb 2023

The Era of Coalitions: The Shifting Nature of Alignments in Asia

Zack Cooper

As the world becomes more multipolar, many countries are likely to prefer flexible alignments over fixed alliances, creating a far more complex web of relationships. This era of coalitions poses a particular challenge for Southeast Asian states, which have heretofore sought to avoid such alignments to maintain ASEAN unity and centrality.

ASEAN ASEAN Unity International Relations

23 Feb 2023

Tools for Planning and Mapping a Food-Secure Malaysia

Elyssa Kaur Ludher

Malaysia has developed comprehensive agriculture and food security policies to respond to exceptionally high inflation since 2020. However, comprehensive tools are also required to successfully translate aspiration into action.

Food Security Malaysia

23 Feb 2023

Ukraine and Southeast Asia: Implications One Year On

Kateryna Zelenko|C. Raja Mohan

In this episode of Dialogues at Fulcrum, Dr William Choong, Managing Editor of Fulcrum, talks to Ambassador Kateryna Zelenko and Prof C. Raja Mohan about the implications of the war against Ukraine on Southeast Asia. Ambassador Zelenko is the Ukrainian ambassador to Singapore and long-serving diplomat with her country’s Foreign Ministry. Prof Mohan is a Senior Fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute in New Delhi, a contributing editor on International affairs at the Indian Express and a visiting professor at the Institute of South Asian Studies at the National University of Singapore.

Armed Conflict Dialogues at Fulcrum Russia Southeast Asia Ukraine

22 Feb 2023

The Chinese Offer of a Global Security Initiative: Anything New?

Zha Daojiong

Zha Daojiong articulates the key principles of China’s Global Security Initiative (GSI) and what it means for ASEAN.

ASEAN ASEAN-China Relations ASEANFocus China Security

22 Feb 2023

ASEAN’s Next Generation of Leaders in a Newly Competitive World

Chong Ja Ian

Chong Ja Ian calls attention to the need for new ASEAN leaders to adapt to a changing global order.

ASEAN ASEANFocus Indonesia Malaysia Philippine Singapore

22 Feb 2023

Is ASEAN’s Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Becoming A Farce?

Joanne Lin

Joanne Lin explains what a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership status means and how it should be leveraged to achieve ASEAN’s strategic interests.

ASEAN ASEANFocus Australia China Comprehensive Strategic Partnership

22 Feb 2023

Southeast Asians Mull Over a Taiwan Conflict: Big Concerns But Limited Choices

William Choong|Hoang Thi Ha

In the event of hostilities in the Taiwan Strait, Southeast Asian countries will face a difficult dilemma. Their latitude for manoeuvre will be limited, particularly as the Philippines, a key ASEAN member and a U.S. treaty ally, prepares to provide base access to the United States in such a contingency.

China Southeast Asia State of Southeast Asia Survey Taiwan U.S.

21 Feb 2023

Imagining Marcos Jr. as the “Strong Leader” in an Age of Digital Disinformation

Jason Vincent A. Cabañes|Fernando A. Santiago, Jr.

Digital disinformation has been menacingly deployed to distort historical narratives about the Philippines’ Martial Law period in the 1970s and early 1980s. This tactic, bolstered by social media technologies, has masterfully resonated with the yearning for a “strong leader” who is independent of the country’s elites and able to discipline the nation’s masses.

Philippine Philippine Elections

20 Feb 2023

Southeast Asian Economies: Out of the Storm, Clouds on the Horizon

Jayant Menon

The Southeast Asian economy is looking up, after absorbing the blow of several downside risks in 2022. Continued growth in 2023 will depend on China’s recovery, the management of the fallout from the U.S.-China trade war and the war in Ukraine.

ASEAN Economy