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  • 14 Feb 2025
    • Asean
    • Southeast Asia
    • Technology

    US restriction is chipping away ASEAN’s semiconductor future

    Doris Liew
    Southeast Asia needs to look at expanding and diversifying its semiconductor ecosystem beyond just manufacturing.
  • 10 Feb 2025
    • Laos
    • Southeast Asia
    • Australia
    • Trade

    Sharing Australia’s coffee culture with Southeast Asia

    Shaun Cameron
    And getting far more than change in return.
  • 21 Jan 2025
    • Southeast Asia
    • Defence & Security

    Southeast Asia’s arms suppliers, by the numbers

    Rahman Yaacob
    Diversification seems to be the mantra.
  • 18 Dec 2024
    • Aid & Development
    • China
    • Indonesia
    • Southeast Asia
    • Taiwan
    • Russia
    • Trade
    • Climate change
    • Technology
    • Papua New Guinea
    • Solomon Islands
    • United States

    What I’ll be watching for in 2025

    Susannah Patton , Melanie Pill , Sam Roggeveen , Robert Walker , Mihai Sora , Hilman Palaon , Oliver Nobetau
    Lowy researchers gaze at their crystal balls – with questions, more than answers, for the year ahead.
  • 16 Dec 2024
    • Indonesia
    • Indonesia and the Death Penalty
    • Malaysia
    • Singapore
    • Southeast Asia
    • Human rights
    • International law
    • United Nations

    Southeast Asia’s death penalty laws: The ultimate political game

    Kirsten Han
    The region’s diverse policies on executions are about more than the war on crime.
  • 13 Dec 2024
    • Aid & Development
    • Southeast Asia
    • Australia

    Two steps up in Australia’s Southeast Asia engagement

    Grace Stanhope
    The detail is starting to emerge for the government’s big ticket spending initiatives in the region.
  • 15 Nov 2024
    • Asean
    • Singapore
    • Southeast Asia
    • Australia and Asia
    • Energy
    • Environment
    • Sustainability

    Is Southeast Asia ready for a regional power grid?

    Hannah Lord
    Australia is in pole position to partner with the region on cross-border electricity supply.
  • 11 Oct 2024
    • Southeast Asia
    • Thailand
    • Climate change

    Thailand’s path to climate resilience

    Genevieve Donnellon-May
    While the government has taken steps to address the effects of climate change, efforts must be scaled up.
  • 3 Oct 2024
    • Southeast Asia
    • The Biden Presidency
    • The Trump Presidency
    • United States
    • US Elections

    Kamala Harris and the Indo-Pacific: Correcting the attention deficit

    Susannah Patton
    Many Southeast Asian countries already see the United States as a more distant and less reliable partner.
  • 20 Sep 2024
    • Asia
    • China
    • Southeast Asia
    • United States

    Why US-China bipolarity is good for Asia

    Hervé Lemahieu
    Restoring US primacy is not in Asia’s interests but preserving a power balance with China is.
  • 9 Sep 2024
    • Cambodia
    • China
    • Indonesia
    • Japan
    • Malaysia
    • Southeast Asia
    • Thailand
    • Australia
    • Australia and Asia

    China’s rise in Southeast Asia is bringing in a golden age for Australia

    Susannah Patton
    Disquiet about Beijing’s growing presence is motivating countries across the region to seek deeper cooperation with Canberra.
  • 5 Sep 2024
    • Asia
    • Southeast Asia
    • Australia
    • Australian trade, investment & economy

    Economic diplomacy: Taking sides for an election

    Greg Earl
    From ANZUS, Indonesia, regional business and media reporting, Penny Wong seems to have legacy in mind.
  • 23 Aug 2024
    • Asia
    • Southeast Asia
    • Australia and Asia
    • Diplomacy
    • Communities
    • Regional relationships

    Key questions for reform of the New Colombo Plan

    Ly Tran
    A boost to the ties that bind Australia and the Indo-Pacific is essential to humanising public diplomacy and building life-long connections.
  • 23 Aug 2024
    • Indonesia
    • Southeast Asia
    • Resource security

    A glimpse into Indonesia's nickel policy

    Hilman Palaon , Robert Walker
    China has become a key partner, but locals pay the price and need more support to realise the benefits.
  • 16 Aug 2024
    • Southeast Asia
    • Australia
    • Defence & Security

    Interoperability: The missing link in Indo-Pacific security

    Jennifer Parker
    Settling on a definition of an overused buzzword is the first step for Australia to ensure successful military partnerships in Southeast Asia.
  • 9 Aug 2024
    • Southeast Asia
    • Australia
    • Australia and Climate Change
    • Australian trade, investment & economy
    • Energy
    • Climate change
    • Environment
    • Sustainability

    Is Australia too late to claim its green economy share?

    Trang Nguyen
    Playing a role in Southeast Asia’s green energy transition is an opportunity Australia must not let pass.
  • 9 Aug 2024
    • Asia
    • Southeast Asia
    • Climate change
    • Environment
    • Sustainability
    • Africa

    Without money, the global biodiversity target is just an empty promise

    Mohd. Yunus
    Beyond social responsibility, funding conservation in developing nations is critical to the global economy.
  • 25 Jul 2024
    • Southeast Asia
    • Australia
    • Australian trade, investment & economy
    • Geo-economics

    Economic diplomacy: Looking beyond a 30-year anomaly

    Greg Earl
    Divining economic statecraft is animating international relations roundtables but unnerving the money managers.
  • 25 Jul 2024
    • Asean
    • Southeast Asia
    • Human rights
    • Migration

    Child marriage in Southeast Asia: When a harmful practice becomes an international crime

    Leisha Lister , Indira Rosenthal
    ASEAN can lead the way in tackling a practice that regularly results in the trafficking of persons.
  • 19 Jul 2024
    • Southeast Asia
    • Climate change
    • Environment
    • Sustainability

    The uncertain future for Southeast Asia’s great sea nomads

    Mohd. Yunus
    The seafaring tribes that crisscross the region’s waters are vital to ocean conservation but climate change is taking a toll.
  • 17 Jun 2024
    • Aid & Development
    • Southeast Asia

    2024 Southeast Asia Aid Map: Warning signs for the region

    Grace Stanhope , Alexandre Dayant
    Declining levels of international financial support, especially for the clean energy transition, are cause for alarm.
  • 31 May 2024
    • Southeast Asia
    • Global Economy

    Southeast Asia after the shocks: Economic growth, but not as we know it

    Robert Walker , Roland Rajah
    New Lowy Institute research shows the pandemic and Ukraine war have taken a toll, while the benefits from supply chains shifting out of China have so far been limited.
  • 30 May 2024
    • Asean
    • India
    • Malaysia
    • Southeast Asia

    Does India’s Act East Policy matter to Southeast Asia?

    Yanitha Meena Louis , Jaideep Singh
    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
    • Asean
    • China
    • India
    • Southeast Asia
    • Australia
    • Australia's Economy
    • Papua New Guinea

    Economic diplomacy: Budgeting for deglobalisation

    Greg Earl
    Keeping up with the worldwide shift to industry policy is stretching boundaries of both economics and diplomacy.
  • 29 Apr 2024
    • Asean
    • India
    • Southeast Asia

    Why India’s Global South ambitions must turn to Southeast Asia

    Rahul Mishra , Yanitha Meena Louis
    An important part of seamless communication is still missing – and this carries a regional cost.
  • 26 Apr 2024
    • Indonesia
    • Southeast Asia
    • Australia
    • Energy
    • Climate change
    • Sustainability
    • Technology

    Australia’s comparative advantage in climate transition

    Stephen Grenville
    Already world leaders in rooftop solar, Australians should take the opportunity with supporting rollouts in Southeast Asia.
  • 17 Apr 2024
    • Asean
    • Southeast Asia
    • Human rights
    • Migration
    • Transnational Challenges

    Invisible victims: How counter-trafficking efforts leave people with disability behind

    Elisabeth Jackson
    It is often those who should be responsible for protecting people with disabilities who exploit them.
  • 2 Apr 2024
    • Japan
    • Southeast Asia
    • Australia and Asia
    • Australia's Trade
    • Multilateral Development Banks

    Australia’s Southeast Asia trade stumbling block

    Maxfield Peterson
    Canberra must move fast on a formal information-sharing facility to reach its regional economic and foreign policy goals.
  • 28 Mar 2024
    • Asia
    • China
    • China's Economy
    • Chinese Trade
    • Southeast Asia

    Mind the gap: China’s megaproject promises fall short of reality in Southeast Asia

    Grace Stanhope , Alexandre Dayant
    Debt, delay and deteriorating ties between China and its infrastructure partners have led some to go it alone.
  • 14 Mar 2024
    • Aid & Development
    • Southeast Asia
    • Climate change

    A multilateral bank for the Indo-Pacific?

    Michelle Lyons , Roland Rajah , Grace Stanhope
    The region needs a dedicated bank that enhances economic security in the pursuit of climate and development goals.
  • 8 Mar 2024
    • Development Assistance
    • Southeast Asia
    • Poverty
    • Multilateral Development Banks
    • Sex and Gender

    Gender equality financing: Spotlight on Southeast Asia

    Grace Stanhope
    A discrepancy in data collection for gender-led funding is skewing the stats on development support in the region.
  • 1 Mar 2024
    • Asean
    • Southeast Asia
    • Global Economy
    • Trade

    The parts within the whole: Understanding Southeast Asia’s economies

    Hannah Denson
    The diversity within the region is as important to understand as the ways ASEAN seeks to build consensus.
  • 26 Feb 2024
    • Southeast Asia
    • Middle East Conflict
    • Middle East

    Israel-Hamas: A globalised conflict

    Ben Scott
    The Palestinian issue has never lost its resonance beyond the Middle East, especially in the Global South.
  • 15 Feb 2024
    • Asean
    • Southeast Asia
    • Australia
    • Climate change

    Go big or go home: Australia should invest at scale in Southeast Asia’s energy transition

    Michelle Lyons , Roland Rajah , Grace Stanhope
    The Paris Agreement will not succeed if the bid for net zero in Southeast Asia fails.
  • 4 Dec 2023
    • Asean
    • China
    • China's Military
    • South China Sea
    • Southeast Asia
    • Australia
    • Australian Navy
    • Defence & Security
    • International law

    How to stop any repeat of the Australia-China sonar incident

    Collin Koh
    A regional deal to close a loophole relating to the use of sonar in international law could be a good place to start.
  • 29 Nov 2023
    • Aid & Development
    • Asean
    • Southeast Asia
    • Australia
    • Energy
    • Technology

    Southeast Asia's minerals: Opportunity knocks

    Ian Satchwell
    Australia should make better use of its regional leadership in minerals technology, skills and governance.
  • 22 Nov 2023
    • China
    • Chinese Trade
    • Myanmar
    • Southeast Asia
    • Thailand
    • Trade and Investment in the Asia Pacific
    • Australia and Asia
    • Quad
    • Australian trade, investment & economy
    • Trade

    Why is Myanmar’s new deep-sea port such hot property?

    Shaun Cameron
    An alternative route to the Strait of Malacca offers China, and others, a safer, faster and more efficient trade route.
  • 17 Nov 2023
    • Aid & Development
    • Southeast Asia
    • Australia
    • Pacific Islands

    Australian development cooperation: Urgent and important, but “not a priority”

    Richard Moore
    Development policy contradictions reveal the failure of the DFAT-AusAID integration.
  • 26 Oct 2023
    • Southeast Asia
    • Defence & Security

    Not only the dragon: Understanding Southeast Asia’s complex security landscape

    Rahman Yaacob
    Yes, US-China rivalry creates unease. But so do more pressing threats closer to home.
  • 19 Oct 2023
    • Asean
    • Southeast Asia

    Owning the Indo-Pacific term: Time for a new ASEAN strategic narrative

    Ngô Di Lân
    With its diverse membership that includes democracies, monarchies, and single-party states, the grouping is well positioned for an inclusive approach.
  • 10 Oct 2023
    • Southeast Asia
    • Human rights
    • Transnational Challenges
    • United Nations

    Online scams in Southeast Asia create double victims: those targeted and those forced to carry them out

    Jitsiree Thongnoi
    There are those deceived by scams, and those coerced into crime.
  • 29 Sep 2023
    • Southeast Asia
    • Australia and Asia
    • Australia's Economy
    • Australia's Trade
    • Diplomacy

    Great expectations: Australia’s elusive Southeast Asia vision

    Stephen Grenville
    Diplomacy, economic partnerships, copper mines and instant noodles - the Moore Report has much to reflect on.
  • 12 Sep 2023
    • Asean
    • China
    • South China Sea
    • Southeast Asia

    ASEAN, China and the trust deficit

    Rahman Yaacob
    The gap between rhetoric and action is Beijing’s biggest problem – and the region showed it isn’t afraid to call this out.
  • 11 Sep 2023
    • Asean
    • Southeast Asia
    • Australia
    • Australian trade, investment & economy

    In Australia’s big play in Southeast Asia, mobilising the private sector is critical

    Georgie Skipper
    A stand-off over perceived risks and rewards has long hampered Australia’s economic engagement in the region but a new strategy marks a strong step forward.
  • 28 Aug 2023
    • Southeast Asia
    • Pacific Islands
    • United States

    Indo-Pacific strategy: Uniting all the players on the board

    Saba Sattar
    Trouble in the Pacific shows that an aligned approach across the sub-regions is essential in the contest with China.
  • 24 Aug 2023
    • Southeast Asia
    • Australia
    • Global Economy
    • Technology

    Cash is king, no more

    Hilman Palaon
    Digital payments have transformed Australia, but global financial infrastructure for a cashless society still has some catching up to do.
  • 11 Aug 2023
    • Aid & Development
    • Development Assistance
    • Southeast Asia

    The constrained ambition of Australia’s new development policy

    Roland Rajah
    Aid “rebuild” focuses on quality and smarter geopolitics, but not dollars.
  • 21 Jul 2023
    • Cambodia
    • China
    • Southeast Asia
    • Russia
    • Global Issues
    • Africa

    Who leads the world as longest in charge of their country?

    Daniel Flitton
    Put together a list and you can start to see a pattern.
  • 14 Jul 2023
    • Indonesia
    • Southeast Asia
    • Australia
    • Energy
    • Technology

    Australia and Southeast Asia: Driving EV collaboration across borders

    Nicholas Basan
    A regional value chain for battery production – with Australia to process critical minerals and export these products – is too good a chance to ignore.
  • 5 May 2023
    • Asean
    • China
    • Indonesia
    • South China Sea
    • Southeast Asia

    Indonesia’s dilemma as China pushes a “Global Security Initiative”

    Alfin Febrian Basundoro
    Existing regional mechanisms can accommodate diverse interests in Southeast Asia without the need for a new forum.
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