COMMENTARIES

16 Mar 2026

Indonesia’s Aircraft Carrier: White Horse or White Elephant?

Ian Storey

Indonesia’s plans to acquire a second-hand aircraft carrier from Italy have been derided. The warship is more a symbol of Indonesia’s global aspirations than an operational asset for the country’s navy.

Defence Indonesia

Perikatan Nasional (PN) Chairman Dr. Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar at the meeting of the National Finance Council in Putrajaya, Malaysia on 5 March 2026. (Photo from Dr. Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar / Facebook)

16 Mar 2026

Perikatan Nasional’s Opposition Leader Dilemma

Norshahril Saat

Perikatan Nasional has been in a pickle over who will assume the role of opposition leader. While it has finally been decided that PAS should lead the coalition, PN’s marketability as a viable alternative to the ruling coalition remains in doubt.

Malaysia Malaysian Politics

13 Mar 2026

What is Shaping Artificial Intelligence (AI) Governance Policies in Southeast Asia?

Kristina Fong Siew Leng

Over the past couple of years, countries in Southeast Asia, as well as ASEAN as a whole, have made great efforts to formulate guardrails around Artificial Intelligence (AI) design, deployment and usage. This Long Read examines the state of play thus far.

Artificial Intelligence Southeast Asia Technology

13 Mar 2026

Running of Kuala Lumpur: When Demographics Stand in the Way of Direct Polls

Ooi Kok Hin

There are sound reasons for Kuala Lumpur to have a directly elected mayor. Such a technocratic solution, however, has been bogged down in the mire of ethnic anxieties.

Malaysia Malaysian Politics

Prime Minister of Laos, Sonexay Siphandone; President of Indonesia, Prabowo Subianto; Prime Minister of Cambodia, Hun Manet; Sultan of Brunei, Sultan Hassanah Bolkiah and President of Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr attend the 47th ASEAN Summit to amend the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA) in Kuala Lumpur Convention Center, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 26 October 2025. (Photo by Farid Bin Tajuddin / Anadolu via AFP)

13 Mar 2026

ASEAN Services Liberalisation: Big Promises, Modest Progress

Tham Siew Yean

ASEAN’s slow growth in services trade stems from persistent reservation and diluted liberalisation. Member states need to consolidate the region’s rules-based framework — and facilitate services trade.

ASEAN Asean Trade Economic Integration

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul stands on stage with party members at a Bhumjaithai Party rally at Lumpini Park on 30 January 2026 in Bangkok, Thailand. (Photo by Lauren DeCicca / GETTY IMAGES ASIAPAC / Getty Images via AFP)

12 Mar 2026

The Unravelling of Thailand’s Military-Backed Parties

Prajak Kongkirati|Napon Jatusripitak

The Bhumjaithai Party has had to step into the gap left by Thailand’s two conservative parties.

Thai Elections Thai Politics Thailand

12 Mar 2026

Malaysia’s Unity Government’s 10-Year Term Limit Terminated: What Next?

Francis E. Hutchinson

The prime minister and his government have little time to lose in pushing harder for reform, if they wish to retain their support base.

Malaysia Malaysian Elections Malaysian Politics

11 Mar 2026

Thailand’s New Conservative Turn

Mathis Lohatepanont

Fulcrum editor William Choong talks to Mathis Lohatepanont about the implications of the recent elections in Thailand. Mr Lohatepanont, a frequent contributor to Fulcrum, is a Ph.D. candidate at the Department of Political Science, University of Michigan.

Dialogues at Fulcrum Thai Politics Thailand

General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee To Lam and General Secretary of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party Central Committee and President of Laos Thongloun Sisoulith co-chaired a conference in Vientiane on 5 February 2026 on outcomes of the 14th National Party Congress, on the occasion of the former’s state visit to Laos. (Screengrab from Vietnam News Agency / Facebook)

11 Mar 2026

Beyond Brotherhood: Vietnam’s New Playbook for Laos

Nguyen Khac Giang

In an attempt to prevent the latter from drifting too far into China’s orbit, Vietnam has made overtures to Laos in the form of functional cooperation.

Laos Vietnam Vietnamese Politics