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China pledged to sign the 1997 Southeast Asian Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone Treaty "without reservation," according to Malaysia's foreign minister, Reuters reported on July 10. 

China, ASEAN: Nuclear Pledge and Trade Ties Spell Symbolic but Not Structural Alignment

United States

Association of Southeast Asian countries are reeling in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump's July 7 announcement that six ASEAN countries -- including Indonesia (32%), Malaysia (25%), Thailand (36%), Cambodia (36%), Laos (40%) and Myanmar (40%) -- will face new reciprocal tariffs starting Aug. 1, with separate 40% tariffs targeting goods transshipped through ASEAN countries, Nikkei Asia reported July 8.

ASEAN, U.S.: New Trump Tariff Rates Target ASEAN Economies 

South Africa

Japan

South Korea

Kazakhstan

On July 7, U.S. President Donald Trump published on Truth Social seven letters addressed to the leaders of South Korea, South Africa, Japan, Malaysia, Myanmar, Kazakhstan and Laos informing them that the United States would begin implementing 25%-40% tariffs on their goods on Aug. 1, adding that the rate would double if the countries increased tariffs on U.S. goods in retaliation.

U.S.: Trump Announces 25% to 40% Tariffs From Aug. 1 on Seven Trading Partners

Ukraine

Russia

Russia-Ukraine Conflict

Ukraine's military intelligence claimed Russia sought to involve Laos in its war against Ukraine by deploying a unit of 50 Laotian military engineers to conduct demining operations in Russia's Kursk province, The Kyiv Independent reported on July 5. 

Laos, Russia, Ukraine: Ukrainian Intelligence Claims Laos Will Send Military Engineering Unit to Russia

Burundi

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Eritrea

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Sierra Leone

Somalia

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Togo

Cuba

Haiti

Venezuela

Iran

Libya

Yemen

Turkmenistan

Afghanistan

U.S. President Donald Trump signed a ban barring citizens from 12 countries from traveling to the United States, with the order set to take effect on June 9, The New York Times reported on June 4.

U.S.: Trump Administration Issues New Travel Ban

Bahrain

Kuwait

Oman

Qatar

Saudi Arabia

United Arab Emirates

Energy

Malaysia hosted the inaugural Association of Southeast Asian Nations-Gulf Cooperation Council-China trilateral summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Channel News Asia reported on May 27.

Asia-Pacific, MENA: ASEAN-GCC-China Inaugural Summit Marks Deeper Economic Alignment

China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations finalized negotiations for version 3.0 of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area, expanding the deal to cover digital trade, green cooperation and enhanced supply chain integration, Reuters reported May 21.

China, ASEAN: Negotiations Conclude for Upgraded Trade Deal

Environment, Science & Technology

Science & Technology

The United States imposed antidumping and countervailing duties ranging from an effective 0% to 3,521% on solar panels and modules imported from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam, according to U.S. Commerce Department data published on April 22, with rates on the affected exporting companies depending on their level of cooperation with the U.S. investigation.

U.S., ASEAN: New U.S. Tariffs To Hammer Solar Panel Exports, Chinese Transshipment

Assessments

The Geopolitics of Trade

Global Trade

The impending full implementation of sweeping U.S. tariffs threatens to significantly disrupt export-driven ASEAN economies, which is driving countries to seek alternative trade partners.

The Geopolitics of Trade: U.S. Tariffs Give Impetus to ASEAN Trade Diversification

Timor-Leste

The flags of the countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, are seen on display.

U.S.-China Relations

Malaysia's chairmanship will be pivotal in navigating security risks as well as those from U.S. trade restrictions, potential Chinese economic coercion, and supply chain realignments that threaten ASEAN's cohesion and strategic autonomy.

Previewing Malaysia's 2025 ASEAN Chairmanship

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba hold a joint press conference on Jan. 10, 2025.

Japan is intensifying its diplomatic and security engagement in Southeast Asia through defense, trade and infrastructure agreements to counterbalance China and enhance regional stability.

Ishiba Strengthens Japan's Role in Southeast Asia With Defense and Trade Deals

The Geopolitics of Water

Amid pressing energy and geopolitical needs, the accelerating construction of upstream dams will exacerbate the Mekong River region's water shortages and environmental degradation.

The Geopolitics of Water: National Interests Sideline Environmental Concerns in the Mekong River Region

Laos' Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone (center) and other ASEAN leaders take part in the 2024 ASEAN summit in Vientiane on Oct. 9, 2024. 

The deals signed at the summit reflect an increasing focus on economic integration amid the Southeast Asian bloc's continued failure to find consensus on security issues.

Reviewing the 2024 ASEAN Summit

The flags of ASEAN members are displayed at a naval base during the ASEAN Solidarity Exercise in Batam, Natuna regency, Riau Islands province, Indonesia, on Sept. 20, 2023. 

ASEAN's economic and geopolitical diversity will impede significant progress toward deeper integration, despite members' intention to collaborate more closely.

Economic and Geopolitical Diversity Hinders ASEAN's Path to Deeper Integration

An aerial photo taken on Sept. 25, 2022, shows solar panels at the Sao Mai solar energy plant in Vietnam’s An Giang province. 

Several ASEAN countries are on track to develop substantial renewable power capacities in the short term, but technical, political and financial constraints, coupled with incentives to keep burning fossil fuels, will impede long-term decarbonization goals.

The Challenges Facing Southeast Asia's Decarbonization

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida delivers a speech at the gala dinner for the ASEAN-Japan commemorative summit in Tokyo on Dec. 17, 2023. 

Over the next year, Tokyo will provide ASEAN countries with military equipment and more infrastructure investment, which will raise threat perceptions and further deteriorate Japan's ties with China.

The Implications of Japan's Growing Interest in Southeast Asia

Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (R) delivers an opening address at the start of a bilateral meeting with Laos' Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone (L) at the prime minister's official residence in Tokyo, Japan, on Dec. 16, 2023.

Laos' vulnerabilities will weaken its ASEAN chairmanship, although the bloc's economic interconnectivity will likely continue to grow.

Laos' Limitations Portend a Lukewarm Year for ASEAN

Snapshots

Regional leaders pose for a group photo before the ASEAN-Australia summit, held as part of the 43rd ASEAN summit in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Sept. 7, 2023. From left to right stand the Philippines' President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Thailand's Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Sarun Charoensuwan, Vietnam's Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Indonesia's President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, Laos' Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone, Brunei's Prime Minister Hassanal Bolkiah, Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Manet, Malaysia's Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and East Timor's Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao.

ASEAN's most recent summit underscored chronic passivity within the bloc that will only worsen in 2024. 

Amid ASEAN's Inaction, the Block's Members Look to External Partners for Security

A Chinese coast guard ship sails past anchored Philippine fishing boats in the Scarborough Shoal, in the disputed South China Sea, on Feb. 3, 2023.

A binding code of conduct in the South China Sea remains unlikely, despite the resumption of negotiations between claimant states.

With No Deal in Sight, South China Sea Claimants Continue to Militarize

Columns

On Security

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France

United Kingdom

Asia-Pacific: Among Great Powers

Rising competition with the West and more programs designed to counter China's BRI will prompt Beijing to expand its intelligence-collection efforts.

China's Cyberespionage Will Remain Robust and Expansive in Southeast Asia

Laos stands at the crossroads of Mainland Southeast Asia. Fully landlocked, the country is isolated by mountains and surrounded by powerful neighbors, including China and Myanmar to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west. This geography has made Laos closely entangled in its region's geopolitical competitions. Since it was established as an independent entity in the 14th century, Laos has oscillated between serving as a land bridge for trade and communications and acting as a buffer between its more powerful neighbors. During its history, Laos has acted as both a vassal state and an invasion frontier for its larger neighbors.     The country's primary geographic challenge is to secure its borders against threats from its powerful neighbors. The western highland means Laos has shared trade, ethnicity and religion with present day Thailand and, to lesser degree, Myanmar, but it also invited repeated invasions until the Laotian border retreated to the natural geographic barrier of the Mekong River. To the east, the Annamite Mountain Range and Annam Highlands provide a strong, albeit passable, barrier to Vietnamese expansion.     Despite the protection they bring, the country's rugged mountain ranges and Mekong River tributaries also make Laos difficult to govern. Because of this, Laos has been vulnerable to external exploitation throughout its history. On the other hand, the mountains provide ample water for hydropower and numerous natural mineral and coal resources, though the terrain and climate limit agricultural activity.     Because of its landlocked status, resource scarcity and powerful neighbors, Laos has limited options to secure sea access, economic lifelines or a strong defense. It has typically gained these by exploiting differences among its neighbors, accommodating them politically or by gaining the backing of an external power, as it did with France in the early 20th century. Today, enhanced road, rail and power linkages with Indochina place Laos at a crossroads for trade and communication. However, this also means China's expanded influence in the region puts considerable pressure on Laos.

SITUATION REPORTS

China, ASEAN: Nuclear Pledge and Trade Ties Spell Symbolic but Not Structural Alignment

ASEAN, U.S.: New Trump Tariff Rates Target ASEAN Economies

U.S.: Trump Announces 25% to 40% Tariffs From Aug. 1 on Seven Trading Partners

Laos, Russia, Ukraine: Ukrainian Intelligence Claims Laos Will Send Military Engineering Unit to Russia

U.S.: Trump Administration Issues New Travel Ban

Asia-Pacific, MENA: ASEAN-GCC-China Inaugural Summit Marks Deeper Economic Alignment

China, ASEAN: Negotiations Conclude for Upgraded Trade Deal

U.S., ASEAN: New U.S. Tariffs To Hammer Solar Panel Exports, Chinese Transshipment

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