ARTICLES

29 Mar 2022

Russia, Ukraine and ASEAN: Reading the Geo-political Tea Leaves

William Choong

In this episode of Dialogues at Fulcrum, William Choong, Managing Editor of Fulcrum, talks to three scholars about the 2022 State of Southeast Asia Survey, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the United States’ Indo-Pacific Strategy.

22 Mar 2022

China and Chinese Overseas: A Softer Soft Policy Needed?

Tan Chee-Beng

This Long Read describes China’s soft power in relation to Chinese overseas who as a whole constitute a potentially important resource for it.

ASEAN-China Relations China Education

15 Mar 2022

Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine: Southeast Asian Responses and Why the Conflict Matters to the Region

Ian Storey|William Choong

ASEAN’s official response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was relatively mild, reflecting the lowest common denominator of the varied positions taken by ASEAN member states. But the grouping needs to be mindful of the dangerous precedents set by Russia’s actions.

ASEAN ASEAN-Russia Relations China Ukraine

21 Feb 2022

Polite Wolves: China’s Soft Twitter Diplomacy in Southeast Asia

Darren Cheong

China's diplomats have gained fame on Western social media platforms for their strident 'wolf warrior' discourse. But the strategy is not applied uniformly across all countries. In fact, they have taken a more polite tone towards Southeast Asian countries.

ASEAN-China Relations China

18 Feb 2022

The State of Southeast Asia Survey

China Should Build Trust Where it Matters

Joanne Lin

The majority of Southeast Asians continue to regard China as the most influential political, strategic and economic power in the region. But wariness of this state of affairs has not gone away.

ASEAN-China Relations China Diplomacy State of Southeast Asia Survey

11 Feb 2022

Chinese Students in Thailand: Cash Cow, At a Cost

Aranya Siriphon|Fanzura Banu

Thailand is reaping the benefits of a steady stream of Chinese students being enrolled in its universities. The trend, however, is not cost-free.

China Education Thailand

6 Jan 2022

Policymakers’ View

Whatever Happened to the Middle Way?

Teo Chee Hean

In an increasingly fractious world, Singapore and like-minded countries can reclaim the middle ground and build greater consensus and cooperation. Speaking at ISEAS’ 25th Regional Outlook Forum today, Teo Chee Hean, Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security, spoke of how this can be achieved. The full text of the speech at the online forum is below.

ASEAN China Southeast Asia U.S.

14 Dec 2021

ASEAN and the Group of 7: Same Bed, Different Dreams

Joanne Lin

The Group of 7 is courting ASEAN in a bid to increase its profile in the Indo-Pacific. It is easy to list the convergences in approaches between the two groupings. But the divergences are more significant.

ASEAN ASEAN Neutrality China U.K. U.S. UNCLOS

10 Dec 2021

The Kunming-Vientiane Railway: A Post-pandemic ‘Deus ex machina’ for the Lao Economy?

Nick J. Freeman

The Lao government has committed considerable sums of money and political capital to make the Kunming-Vientiane railway happen. It now needs to secure a return on that investment.

China Economic Development Laos Laos Economy Technology

9 Nov 2021

Southeast Asia and the Major Powers: Climate Change and the Need For Shrewdness

Melinda Martinus|Sharon Seah

Although geopolitics is encroaching onto climate change discussions, a poll shows that Southeast Asians remain objective and pragmatic. Achieving climate goals in the region depends on realpolitik and ASEAN leaders’ shrewdness in tapping resources from all major powers.

China Climate Change E.U. Environment Southeast Asia Sustainable Development U.S.