ARTICLES

31 Jan 2023

Beijing’s Engagement With Myanmar In 2023: Walking A Tight Rope?

A.T.

Beijing is likely to adopt a ‘carrot and stick’ approach to Myanmar. It would continue to engage the junta, yet at the same time work with ethnic armed groups opposed to it to protect Beijing’s investments in the country.

25 Jan 2023

South China Sea in 2022: Deadlock or Not, Disputant States Press Advantages

Hong-Kong Nguyen|Pham-Muoi Nguyen|Viet-Ha Nguyen

2022 proved to be another eventful year for the South China Sea as disputant states continued to take a variety of actions to assert their advantages.

China Maritime Security Philippine South China Sea Vietnam

1 Dec 2022

Vietnam Not Veering Closer to United States or China

Lye Liang Fook|Ha Hoang Hop

It is not in Vietnam’s national interest to be overly dependent on China or the United States. Hanoi is expected to continue to press ahead with efforts to build on its ties with the two major powers as part of its multi-directional foreign policy. There are, however, limits to both approaches.

China U.S. Vietnam

8 Nov 2022

Easy Highway, Troubled City: How China Wins and Loses Cambodians’ Hearts

Chanrith Ngin

Two China-driven projects show striking contrasts. The newly opened Phnom Penh-Sihanoukville Expressway has been well-received by Cambodians. But grand plans for Sihanoukville to be an investment hub and “multi-purpose” city have instead seen Chinese businesses crowding out locals, a boom-bust cycle in construction and illicit trades.

Belt and Road Initiative Cambodia China Infrastructure

1 Nov 2022

From a Rule Taker to a Rule Shaper: The Importance of UNCLOS to China

Jade Guan

For its own legitimacy and status as a big power, China has leaned on the law of the sea for leverage in the past several decades.

China UNCLOS Why UNCLOS Matters

4 Oct 2022

Can Mekong Stingrays Tell the Chinese Dam Story Well?

Hoang Thi Ha

China is crafting “wonderful stories” about its upstream dams in the Mekong. But the overall thrust of the narrative glosses over the more controversial aspects of dam building.

China Environment Mekong River

4 Oct 2022

UNCLOS’s Relevance to Taiwan Amid a Raging Storm

Huynh Tam Sang

After the 2016 South China Sea (SCS) arbitration award and recent developments, Taiwan — though not a formal party to the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) — has all the more reason to support the Convention.

China Taiwan UNCLOS Why UNCLOS Matters

20 Sep 2022

China Dream Keeps Southeast Asia Awake at Night

David Arase

Chinese President Xi Jinping’s trip to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan highlights his bid to advance his vision of the China Dream. This, however, will require changes in the global balance of power that Southeast Asian countries will find hard to manage.

China China-Southeast Asia relations Indo-Pacific Russia

16 Sep 2022

Chinese ‘Debt Traps’ in Southeast Asia: What the Data Say

Darren Cheong

This Long Read argues that while the terms of China’s aid and loans to Southeast Asian countries are less favourable compared to those of the World Bank, the weight of the evidence does not lend credence to the existence of a Chinese “debt trap” strategy in the region.

Belt and Road Initiative China China-Southeast Asia relations Economic Development Infrastructure

25 Aug 2022

The Taiwan Crisis and Implications on Southeast Asia

Drew Thompson

In this episode of Dialogues at Fulcrum, William Choong, Managing Editor of Fulcrum, talks to Drew Thompson about the latest Taiwan Strait crisis and the implications on Southeast Asia. Mr Thompson is a Visiting Senior Research Fellow at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore.

China Dialogues at Fulcrum Southeast Asia Taiwan U.S.