COMMENTARIES

16 Dec 2025

Flood Control in the Philippines: When Corruption Bedevils Climate Change Mitigation

JC Punongbayan

The fact that the Philippines requires flood control measures is beyond dispute. But the problem goes far deeper.

15 Dec 2025

Momentum or Mirage? Anutin’s Risky Road to Re-Election

Napon Jatusripitak

Anutin Charnvirakul’s recent dissolution of the Thai Parliament is a tactical move to preserve incumbency advantages going into elections next year. Still, he might end up with an unwieldy “grand compromise” coalition that will give him little wiggle room.

Thai Elections Thai Politics Thailand

15 Dec 2025

Rebalancing Indonesia’s Trade Policy: After Prabowo’s First Year

Deasy Pane|Siwage Dharma Negara

Indonesia has its work cut out for it given tough headwinds in global trade, but the present government’s attempts to tack its sails may give the country a chance to move in the right direction.

Indonesia Indonesia Foreign Policy Indonesian Economy

12 Dec 2025

Reconstructing Indonesia’s Pesantren: Moving Beyond Concrete Matters

Irna Nurlina

Tragedies like the collapse of an Islamic boarding school in mid-September in West Java require nuanced solutions and hard soul-searching. Hope and inspiration may come from within the country, indeed, within the same province.

Education Indonesia

12 Dec 2025

Economic Gravity: The Rise of Asian Cities’ Powerhouses

Marco Kamiya

Urbanisation in Southeast Asia is now one of the region’s most powerful yet under-recognised industrial policy tools. Urban planners and economists need to work together to unlock the potential of the region’s cities.

Economy Indonesia Malaysia Singapore Southeast Asia Thailand Vietnam

11 Dec 2025

A New Deal for the Mekong

Anoulak Kittikhoun

Anoulak Kittikhoun argues that by treating the Mekong as an interconnected system rather than a patchwork of national interests, ASEAN can help transform the river into a model of regional cooperation, sustainability, and shared prosperity.

ASEAN ASEANFocus Mekong River Regional Cooperation

10 Dec 2025

ASEAN’S Evolving Climate Governance Framework

Sharon Seah|Melinda Martinus|Qiu Jiahui

ASEAN’s climate governance architecture has evolved to match the urgency to align regional ambition with Paris Agreement goals, with growing recognition that regional coordination is vital in accelerating the green transition and attracting international climate finance.

Carbon tax Climate Change Finance Governance

9 Dec 2025

Sovereignty and Military’s Image Drive Thailand’s Hardline Response to Cambodia

Pongkwan Sawasdipakdi

Territorial sovereignty and the military’s image as guardian of the nation limit the kingdom’s attempts at conciliation in its current dispute with Cambodia.

Cambodia Cambodia-Thailand Relations Thailand

8 Dec 2025

COP30: Highlighting the Importance of the Agri-food and Forestry Sectors in Southeast Asia

Elyssa Kaur Ludher|Paul Teng

ASEAN member states can work together to strengthen their national agri-food sectors, building on the outcomes of the 30th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Agriculture ASEAN