2 May 2025
How the Squad risks upending ASEAN norms
Is minilateralism really the way forward for the Indo-Pacific?
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24 Apr 2025
Economic diplomacy: Trump era transcends economics
The International Monetary Fund and Australia have found some welcome security amid growing geopolitical fragmentation. -
24 Apr 2025
In US-China rivalry, Southeast Asia is no one’s prize. Why do we insist otherwise?
That no relationship can be simplified to a dichotomy should be blindingly obvious. -
10 Apr 2025
Tariffs or temporary pause: ASEAN’s big choice
How Southeast Asian nations respond to Donald Trump’s economic coercion matters for the world and Australia. -
10 Apr 2025
The US has backed out of the Just Energy Transition Partnerships. Southeast Asia should double down
The region has a chance to take charge of its own clean energy solutions. -
9 Apr 2025
A tariffying shift for the ASEAN market
The US is driving away friends and accelerating a process of diversification. -
3 Apr 2025
What difference will the election outcome make to Australia ties with Southeast Asia?
Four issues to watch in how each party would approach the region, and how countries could react. -
2 Apr 2025
With 121 million smokers, Southeast Asia should turn to AI to help quit the habit
Technology advances give ASEAN the opportunity to enhance tobacco controls and encourage a healthy way. -
12 Mar 2025
Artificial intelligence and sustainability in the Asia-Pacific
With the right strategies, AI and clean energy can work in harmony, driving progress without compromising the planet. -
6 Mar 2025
Imagine a first for ASEAN, a woman as the Secretary-General
The Southeast Asian grouping has made strides in gender equality but a female leader would be an important step. -
28 Feb 2025
Russia’s ASEAN embrace
Moscow has increasingly looked to Southeast Asia for friends, even as distance and sanctions hamper ties. -
17 Feb 2025
Indonesia’s climate retreat puts the region’s green future at risk
Jakarta’s ambivalence is a litmus test for ASEAN’s climate solidarity. -
14 Feb 2025
US restriction is chipping away ASEAN’s semiconductor future
Southeast Asia needs to look at expanding and diversifying its semiconductor ecosystem beyond just manufacturing. -
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10 Feb 2025
Escaping the ASEAN paralysis on Myanmar
International organisations are often instruments for consolidating state power rather than agents of transformation, and ASEAN is no exception. -
4 Feb 2025
Securing Southeast Asian waters: Formalising the role of the ASEAN Coast Guard Forum
Transparency, open communications, and a mutual understanding of shared maritime security challenges is the goal. -
31 Jan 2025
Indonesia must reclaim its ASEAN leadership
Jakarta’s deft powers of shuttle diplomacy could revive a bloc that is increasingly at risk of becoming irrelevant. -
28 Jan 2025
ASEAN’s new developmental divide
The admission of Timor-Leste will recall quarter-century-old unease about the development gap within the association. -
15 Jan 2025
Can Malaysia drive ASEAN like the pony express?
Or does the regional grouping remain stuck in the stable? -
3 Jan 2025
Australia and ASEAN: A storied history
After 50 years of dialogue, the relationship has matured on economic, political, and strategic interests. -
13 Dec 2024
Diplomacy the Southeast Asian way
How ASEAN, Australia and New Zealand are making progress through informal dialogue. -
15 Nov 2024
Is Southeast Asia ready for a regional power grid?
Australia is in pole position to partner with the region on cross-border electricity supply. -
4 Nov 2024
ASEAN countries confront Chinese export glut
Left unchecked, a saturation of Chinese goods may complicate what has otherwise been a very compelling ASEAN growth story. -
16 Oct 2024
Malaysia’s ASEAN chairmanship is a catalyst, not a panacea
Moving beyond regional deadlocks will take more than a single year. -
4 Oct 2024
Marking time: The ASEAN summit in Laos
In a world of tumult, there is something quietly reassuring about the predictable summitry of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. -
24 Sep 2024
Timor-Leste joins the Asia Power Index
Despite its small size, the Southeast Asian nation should not be underestimated. -
22 Aug 2024
Southeast Asia’s great haze: Laggards and leaders
Indonesia is the region’s biggest producer of haze, so why was it the last to ratify ASEAN’s pollution prevention agreement? -
20 Aug 2024
Australia–ASEAN maritime cooperation: A focus on the whole risks losing sight of the parts
Tailored programs accounting for individual country needs will have greater influence. -
2 Aug 2024
Will Malaysia build ASEAN with BRICS?
As the next chair of the Southeast Asian grouping, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim will likely share the concerns of his new BRICS partners. -
25 Jul 2024
Child marriage in Southeast Asia: When a harmful practice becomes an international crime
ASEAN can lead the way in tackling a practice that regularly results in the trafficking of persons. -
25 Jul 2024
Could BIMSTEC be the answer to the Myanmar question?
With a new charter and fresh ambition, a little-known regional organisation has as big summit coming up in September. -
23 Jul 2024
ASEAN centrality stands in the way of an Indonesia-Australia alliance
While Jakarta’s non-alignment approach makes a pact unlikely any time soon, common strategic objectives can still be achieved. -
30 May 2024
Does India’s Act East Policy matter to Southeast Asia?
Ties with Malaysia make a powerful case study to assess regional ties with the South Asian giant. But others are doing better. -
16 May 2024
Economic diplomacy: Budgeting for deglobalisation
Keeping up with the worldwide shift to industry policy is stretching boundaries of both economics and diplomacy. -
15 May 2024
A code of conduct won’t solve the South China Sea crisis
Sub-optimal negotiations are likely to lead to a sub-standard agreement. -
29 Apr 2024
Why India’s Global South ambitions must turn to Southeast Asia
An important part of seamless communication is still missing – and this carries a regional cost. -
17 Apr 2024
Invisible victims: How counter-trafficking efforts leave people with disability behind
It is often those who should be responsible for protecting people with disabilities who exploit them. -
11 Apr 2024
ASEAN and the military applications of AI
While artificial intelligence can be used to magnify lethal force, it can also promote regional peace and stability. -
21 Mar 2024
New Zealand and ASEAN: Focusing on what’s right under its nose
As a country at the end of the global supply chain, New Zealand depends on the stability of Southeast Asia. -
6 Mar 2024
ASEAN-Australia: The art of what’s possible
The Melbourne summit delivered substance, even though it won’t change the world. -
5 Mar 2024
ASEAN-Australia: Small steps at the big summit
The nitty gritty of diplomatic practice carries a cost for leaders. -
4 Mar 2024
Melbourne gets a taste of the ASEAN way
Terms like 'consensus' and 'cooperation' float through the air, but awkward subjects keep intruding. -
1 Mar 2024
The parts within the whole: Understanding Southeast Asia’s economies
The diversity within the region is as important to understand as the ways ASEAN seeks to build consensus. -
29 Feb 2024
What to watch at the ASEAN-Australia summit
The summit will succeed if the prime minister can build relationships, articulate a clear narrative, and avoid controversy. -
29 Feb 2024
Southeast Asia's preferred military exercise partner
The US is at the top of the list for both the quantity and quality of its military exercises. Here's why. -
28 Feb 2024
ASEAN-Australia cooperation in the clean energy transition
Big ambition is the order of the day. -
15 Feb 2024
Go big or go home: Australia should invest at scale in Southeast Asia’s energy transition
The Paris Agreement will not succeed if the bid for net zero in Southeast Asia fails. -
13 Feb 2024
ASEAN summit a chance for Australia to reach out to mainland Southeast Asia
Melbourne gathering is a unique chance for Australia to relate to Cambodia, Laos and Thailand in ways that do not depend on geopolitical alignment. -
8 Feb 2024
Myanmar and Australia: A partnership paved with good intentions
Australia’s rationale for engagement has long been a hope to moderate the excesses of the regime. It does not seem to have listened. -
7 Feb 2024
The role of Singapore, Malaysia and Australia in ASEAN centrality
Cooperation, especially on security and the economy, is key to countering pressure from outside the bloc.