Singapore

India

Economics

Environment, Science & Technology

Politics

Science & Technology

During his two-day trip to Singapore, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, alongside Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, signed four memorandums of understanding focused on digital technologies, semiconductor development, health collaboration and skill enhancement, The Hindu reported on Sept. 5. 

India, Singapore: Four MoUs Strengthen Cooperation, Including on Semiconductors

Australia

Brunei Darussalam

Cambodia

Indonesia

Japan

Laos

Malaysia

Philippines

Thailand

Vietnam

Energy

Ministers from the 11-country Asia Zero Emissions Community, or AZEC, agreed to establish an Asian supply chain for sustainable fuel at a meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia, Nikkei Asia reported on Aug. 21.

Asia-Pacific: AZEC Countries To Collaborate on Sustainable Fuel Supply Chains

Myanmar

Military & Security

Foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) began their annual meeting on July 25 in Vientiane, Laos, Nikkei Asia has reported.

ASEAN: Foreign Ministers Meet in Laos for Annual Summit

Malaysian authorities arrested eight suspects involved in what they say were terrorist-linked threats against King Ibrahim Iskandar, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, other top government officials and top police brass, the New Straits Times reported on June 24. 

Malaysia: Authorities Thwart Alleged Terrorist Threats Against King, Prime Minister

China

Thailand will officially integrate its national rail system with Laos' China-built Kunming-Vientiane high-speed rail line under China's Belt and Road Initiative, or BRI, in July, Nikkei Asia reported on June 11.

China, Thailand, Laos: Thailand To Integrate Laos-China High-Speed Rail With National Network

Bangladesh

Countries across South and Southeast Asia are issuing extreme heat warnings for at least the next three days, though likely longer, as the region grapples with an extended heat wave, portending health risks, business and school closures, and strained electric grids, VnExpress reported on April 29. 

Southeast Asia: Extreme Heat Wave Creates Health and Business Risks, Stresses Energy Grids

Singapore announced that Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong will resign in favor of his appointed successor, Finance Minister Lawrence Wong, on May 15, which will make Wong the city-state's fourth prime minister, CNA reported on April 15.

Singapore: Prime Minister To Step Down on May 15

Singapore's Parliament passed the Significant Investments Review bill, a new law allowing the Ministry of Trade and Industry to scrutinize entities deemed critical to national security by blocking or otherwise checking company buyouts, Channel NewsAsia reported on Jan. 9.

Singapore: New Law Grants Ministry Sweeping Authority to Block Company Buyouts

Assessments

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

United States

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

Columns

On Geopolitics

Fiji

New Zealand

North Korea

South Korea

United Kingdom

A 3D rendering of Southeast Asia from space at night with city lights showing Southeast Asian cities in Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia.

U.S.-China Relations

In the Asia-Pacific, countries are increasingly pursuing complex networks of political, economic and defense ties as part of a burgeoning "multi-alignment" strategy that seeks to avoid U.S.-China strategic competition.

Examining 'Multi-Alignment' in the Asia-Pacific

Snapshots

A photo of Singapore's Parliament building against a cityscape.

Singapore's Incoming Prime Minister Brings a Fresh Face to an Old Regime

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

Hong Kong SAR, China

People cycle along the promenade at Marina Bay in Singapore on Oct. 13, 2023. 

While it may briefly slow its economy, the city-state's robust response to the crisis will ultimately mitigate the impact on Singapore's reputation as an easy and safe place to do business.

Singapore Races To Keep Money Laundering From Muddying Its Image

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

A photo taken on May 23, 2022, in Tokyo shows U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida attending a video call with leaders from countries in the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity. 

Supply Chains

The U.S. and the Balance of Power

Asia-Pacific: Among Great Powers

The narrow scope of the initiative will limit its effectiveness in achieving Washington’s goal of countering China’s regional rise.

The Stumbling Blocks of Biden's New Indo-Pacific Economic Bloc

On Security

Mozambique

Somalia

Yemen

Royal Malaysian Police Special Forces personnel storm a mock hijacked ship during an anti-piracy demonstration exercise June 13, 2007, in Port Klang, Malaysia.

Piracy tends to occur in globally significant locations and counterpiracy options all come at a cost to shippers.

A Primer on Global Maritime Piracy, Part 2

<p>The city-state of Singapore sits at the southern tip of Southeast Asia&#39;s Malay Peninsula. Malaysia lies to its north and parts of Indonesia lie across a strait to its south. The island nation rests near the end of the Strait of Malacca, which links the Indian Ocean and South China Sea, and is one of the world&#39;s busiest shipping routes. The area emerged in the 13th century as a small trading outpost and gained prominence through its strategic location on the Maritime Silk Road. That location and success repeatedly put it at risk, from Siam and Javanese kingdoms in ancient times, and later from European powers, including the Portuguese and Dutch. It eventually fell into the hands of the British Empire and was later seized by the Japanese in World War II. Since its independence from Malaysia in 1965, it has focused on preserving its dominance of the regional shipping lane that runs near it and on avoiding the domination of outside powers. Though the country is dominated ethnically by Chinese, it has tried to create a distinct national identity. Maritime trade has led to an export-led industrialization that has far outpaced its neighbors, and its vulnerability has led it to develop a strong navy. Now it is striving to maintain a strategic balance among big powers, namely the United States and China, as relations in the region shift.</p>

SITUATION REPORTS

India, Singapore: Four MoUs Strengthen Cooperation, Including on Semiconductors

Asia-Pacific: AZEC Countries To Collaborate on Sustainable Fuel Supply Chains

ASEAN: Foreign Ministers Meet in Laos for Annual Summit

Malaysia: Authorities Thwart Alleged Terrorist Threats Against King, Prime Minister

China, Thailand, Laos: Thailand To Integrate Laos-China High-Speed Rail With National Network

Southeast Asia: Extreme Heat Wave Creates Health and Business Risks, Stresses Energy Grids

Singapore: Prime Minister To Step Down on May 15

Singapore: New Law Grants Ministry Sweeping Authority to Block Company Buyouts

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