COMMENTARIES

18 Feb 2021

The State of Southeast Asia Survey

America is Back – For Now At Least

Choi Shing Kwok

The advent of the new Biden Administration has sparked high hopes for US engagement by Southeast Asians. Still, Uncle Sam has a mountain to climb.

9 Feb 2021

Southeast Asia and America: Biding for Biden

William Choong

Some Asian states have gushed over the new Biden Administration’s return to foreign policy normalcy. However, the last “normal” American administration had a mixed bag of outcomes in the region.

China-U.S. Relations Southeast Asia U.S. U.S. Foreign Policy

29 Jan 2021

The US Coast Guard and the Indo-Pacific: Straddling the Sweet Spot between Diplomacy and Lethality

Ian Storey

The United States has added the US Coast Guard to its South China Sea toolbox. This bodes well for regional security and the maritime rules-based order.

China-U.S. Relations South China Sea U.S. U.S. Foreign Policy U.S. Pacific Fleet

28 Jan 2021

Singapore in the Eyes of the Chinese: Amity and Likability

Jian Qiang Kwek|Xiaojun Li|Adam Y. Liu

A recent survey shows that Chinese people are much more favourably disposed towards Singapore than other rich nations such as Australia, Japan and the United States.

China China-Singapore Relations China-U.S. Relations Singapore

27 Jan 2021

China’s New Coast Guard Law: Illegal and Escalatory

Aristyo Rizka Darmawan

A new Chinese law, which gives its coast guard legal cover to fire on foreign vessels in contested waters, is worrying. States interested in the peace and stability of the South China Sea should do something about it.

ASEAN-China Relations China-U.S. Relations International Relations South China Sea

27 Jan 2021

America, China and Southeast Asia: Where “Win Win” Can Become a Reality

Liew Chin Tong

If China and the United States play their cards right, the two powers can avoid a hot or cold war. This will be good news for the world, in particular Southeast Asia.

China-U.S. Relations Chinese Foreign Policy Southeast Asia U.S. Foreign Policy

People pass by flags of ASEAN countries along the banks of the Mekong River in Vientiane

7 Jan 2021

Agency Requires Action: Southeast Asia and Great Power Rivalry

Hanh Nguyen

The US-China rivalry means that Southeast Asia needs more integration and a more outcome-oriented ASEAN.

ASEAN Unity China-U.S. Relations COVID-19

A worker makes Christmas cards in a factory in Hung Yen, Vietnam

8 Dec 2020

Managing the New Normal in Relations Between China and the United States

Zha Daojiong

The China-US new normal maybe more stable and less worrying for Southeast Asia than commonly thought.

China-U.S. Relations Cold War Southeast Asia

26th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Regional Forum (ARF) in Bangkok on August 2, 2019

3 Dec 2020

Southeast Asia in 2055: Greater Collective Responsibility?

Tim Huxley

Thinking 35 years ahead, Southeast Asia could see two scenarios: one where it has continued to depend on extra-regional powers but China has demonstrated greater staying power; and the other where the region takes greater responsibility for its own security.

ASEAN ASEAN Unity China-U.S. Relations Southeast Asia