ARTICLES

26 Jul 2022

Shinzo Abe’s Legacy: The Centrality of Southeast Asia

David Arase

Shinzo Abe learned that Japan’s security did not lie in its military, but Japan’s good citizenship in a free-trading rules-based order. Southeast Asia was central to his pursuit of a free and open Indo-Pacific.

26 Jul 2022

The U.S.-China Strategic Competition in the Pacific: Something ASEAN Needs to Watch

Daljit Singh

Beijing’s recent moves to establish security cooperation with Pacific Island states have riled the U.S. and Australia. ASEAN needs to watch the ongoing great power competition there closely to draw lessons for its own security.

ASEAN AUKUS Australia China Maritime Security Pacific Islands Quad Security U.S.

25 Jul 2022

No Room at the Inn? ASEAN Should Not Delay Timor-Leste’s Membership

Julia Lau

Timor-Leste hopes to become a fully-fledged ASEAN member in 2023 when Indonesia takes over as ASEAN Chair. The regional grouping should allow its admission, even if embracing this newest member, the most democratic in the region by some measures, might prove to be uncomfortable.

ASEAN Timor-Leste

19 Jul 2022

Enhancing ASEAN Access to Finance with Digital Banknote

Sithanonxay Suvannaphakdy

Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) form an integral part of ASEAN economies, but they have not been able to access sufficient financial resources to unlock their growth potential.

ASEAN Digitalisation Economic Development Monetary Policy

18 Jul 2022

Can the Russia-Ukraine Conflict Derail Southeast Asia’s Decarbonisation Efforts?

Mirza Sadaqat Huda

The commodities supply crunch can disrupt Southeast Asia’s goal of attaining net-zero targets in the next few decades. While regional countries have backtracked on climate commitments, the crisis can stimulate long-term strategic responses such as accelerating decarbonisation efforts and developing domestic deposits of critical minerals.

ASEAN Climate Change Energy Environment Renewable Energy

15 Jul 2022

China’s Global Security Initiative Stoking Regional Tensions

David Arase

China has doubled down on its alignment with Russia against the West. This has led to a proliferation of minilaterals and security partnerships aligned with the United States.

ASEAN China-U.S. Relations Indo-Pacific

14 Jul 2022

Can Indonesia Provide Much-needed Leadership in ASEAN?

Joanne Lin

Indonesia's various moves on the foreign policy front suggest that it is preparing for a robust role as ASEAN Chair when it takes over the regional grouping's leadership in 2023. However, its ambitious ideas for revitalising ASEAN will meet headwinds regionally and globally.

ASEAN Indonesia Indonesia Foreign Policy

7 Jul 2022

Australia and ASEAN Relations: Hard Yakka Ahead

William Choong

Australia has made significant inroads in its engagement with ASEAN. But Canberra’s relationship with the grouping will be a hard slog, given their differences in approaching China and ensuring that Sino-U.S. rivalry does not derail regional aspirations.

ASEAN ASEAN-Australia Relations

7 Jul 2022

‘Tell the RCEP Story Well’: The Salience of RCEP in China’s Global Discourse

Hoang Thi Ha

China has gone to extensive lengths to underscore the tangible benefits arising from its participation in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership. But Beijing’s criticism of the United States as being anti-globalist is overdone.

ASEAN ASEAN-China Relations ASEAN-U.S. Relations China RCEP

5 Jul 2022

Could Franchising Help Save The Planet?

Michael Schaper

The franchising sector has the capacity to play a lead role in reducing emissions, but appears to be a bit of a blind spot for climate change support and action by governments.

ASEAN Environment Sustainable Development