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Published daily by the Lowy Institute

  • 6 May 2025
    • Singapore

    What can we learn from the Singaporean election, where nobody lost?

    Kazimier Lim
    For starters, it is not a great time to be a small opposition party.
  • 1 May 2025
    • Singapore

    Singapore election: All about the lived economy

    Quah Say Jye
    Traditional “bread-and-butter” issues will feature prominently in this month’s ballot.
  • 15 Apr 2025
    • Asia
    • Malaysia
    • Singapore
    • Australia
    • Defence & Security
    • United Kingdom
    • New Zealand

    Asia without America? History shows Australia can be confident shaping regional security

    Rahman Yaacob
    The Five Power Defence Arrangements makes for a case in point.
  • 28 Mar 2025
    • Singapore
    • Defence & Security
    • Trade
    • Technology

    Chipping away at controls: Singapore’s challenge with China-linked companies

    Alvin Camba
    A tech fraud case has again put the Southeast Asian nation in the spotlight.
  • 13 Mar 2025
    • Singapore
    • Defence & Security
    • Maritime Security

    Singapore’s navy modernisation: Big on size but small on personnel

    Rahman Yaacob
    Grappling with the need to overcome constraints on the number of personnel available to crew warships and submarines.
  • 12 Mar 2025
    • Asia
    • Asean
    • Japan
    • Singapore
    • Australia
    • Climate change
    • Sustainability
    • Technology

    Artificial intelligence and sustainability in the Asia-Pacific

    Melinda Stuart
    With the right strategies, AI and clean energy can work in harmony, driving progress without compromising the planet.
  • 6 Mar 2025
    • Aid & Development
    • Cambodia
    • Indonesia
    • Laos
    • Myanmar
    • Philippines
    • Singapore
    • Thailand
    • Timor-Leste
    • Vietnam
    • Australia

    Missed signals: What Southeast Asia wants vs what Australia delivers

    Mira Sulistiyanto
    With US aid disappearing, a new report shows Australia has a chance to align development cooperation with the region’s challenges and Australia’s strengths.
  • 19 Feb 2025
    • Singapore

    Singapore in a spin under Trump

    Rahman Yaacob
    Small states see much to lose when might is right.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 23 Sep 2024
    • Asia
    • China
    • India
    • North Korea
    • Singapore
    • South Korea
    • United States

    Power in Asia: Outliers and curiosities

    Susannah Patton , Jack Sato
    Some findings of the latest Asia Power Index controvert conventional wisdom.
  • 16 Apr 2024
    • Singapore

    Lawrence Wong’s ascent as Singapore’s 4th generation leader

    Rahman Yaacob
    The island-state will have a new prime minister next year, but old hands will help guide the challenge from growing China-US rivalry.
  • 21 Mar 2024
    • Asean
    • China
    • Indonesia
    • Malaysia
    • Singapore
    • New Zealand

    New Zealand and ASEAN: Focusing on what’s right under its nose

    Orson Tan
    As a country at the end of the global supply chain, New Zealand depends on the stability of Southeast Asia.
  • 8 Feb 2024
    • Singapore
    • Technology

    TikTok’s unwanted viral moment shows Singapore-China confusion hasn’t changed

    Kazimier Lim
    A senator questioning the nationality of the TikTok CEO not only brought to mind experience of prejudice – but also highlighted misapprehensions about Singapore.
  • 7 Feb 2024
    • Asean
    • Asia Pacific Security
    • Malaysia
    • Singapore
    • Australia and Asia
    • Australia's Economy
    • Defence & Security

    The role of Singapore, Malaysia and Australia in ASEAN centrality

    Muhammad Faizal Abdul Rahman
    Cooperation, especially on security and the economy, is key to countering pressure from outside the bloc.
  • 2 Oct 2023
    • Indonesia
    • Malaysia
    • Singapore
    • South China Sea
    • Coronavirus
    • International law
    • Transnational Challenges

    The surprising link between piracy and Covid-19

    Jade Lindley , Dhiyaul Aulia Huda
    Poverty, institutional incapacity and budget cuts fuelled a surge in pandemic piracy. The lessons are many.
  • 26 Jul 2022
    • South China Sea
    • Singapore
    • China
    • Malaysia
    • Australia
    • Defence & Security
    • United Kingdom

    Answering China’s South China Sea flying safety challenge

    Peter Layton
    A regional response can best manage risks, and the Five Power Defence Arrangement offers just the mechanism.
  • 27 May 2022
    • India
    • Singapore
    • Human rights
    • Multiculturalism

    A tale of two countries: interpreting The Kashmir Files

    Pravin Prakash , Antara Chakraborthy
    Once famed for their secular constitutions, India and Singapore have taken different tacks on religious vilification.
  • 4 May 2022
    • Singapore

    Death penalty: Singapore’s growing abolition movement

    Kirsten Han
    Public support for capital punishment isn’t as overwhelming and unshakeable as the government often portrays it to be.
  • 7 Mar 2022
    • Asean
    • Indonesia
    • Russia
    • Thailand
    • Vietnam
    • Singapore
    • Laos
    • Ukraine

    Reading Southeast Asia on Ukraine 

    Susannah Patton
    Russia’s invasion has unified the West with new clarity, yet exposed ambiguity and uncertainty in Southeast Asia.
  • 15 Nov 2021
    • United States
    • Australia
    • China
    • Southeast Asia
    • Singapore

    Is Australia relevant?

    Susannah Patton
    Neighbours in Southeast Asia may not be “forced to choose” but rather “left behind”.
  • 9 Sep 2021
    • Australia's Economy
    • Australia
    • China
    • Singapore

    Economic diplomacy: Australia Inc’s new world order

    Greg Earl
    Is “China plus” the answer to fading US global hegemony?
  • 7 Apr 2021
    • Technology
    • Singapore
    • Coronavirus
    • Human rights

    In Singapore, Covid vs privacy is no contest

    Kirsten Han
    The pandemic has shown how easily most people accept surveillance, and the government’s enthusiasm for new forms of it.
  • 27 Nov 2020
    • United States
    • Australia
    • China
    • Singapore

    Fareed Zakaria on Australia’s “opportunity” between the US and China

    Richard McGregor
    Inspiration from a tiny giant in Southeast Asia might help Australia find a way through multiple diplomatic obstacles.
  • 27 Oct 2020
    • Singapore
    • Sri Lanka
    • Coronavirus

    Singapore and Sri Lanka: Newfound opportunities amid Covid-19 pandemic

    Roshni Kapur , Chulanee Attanayake
    Singapore’s efforts to diversify food imports is a practical choice that bodes well for Colombo’s Asia-centric policy.
  • 5 Aug 2020
    • Singapore
    • Coronavirus

    The invisible during the pandemic

    Audrey Jiajia Li
    Singapore’s thousands of migrant workers make up the bulk of Covid-19 cases in the city-state.
  • 21 Jul 2020
    • Singapore

    Singapore’s election: Why aren’t the winners smiling?

    Ooi Kok Hin
    While the People’s Action Party was assured of holding power once more, the results didn’t all flow its way.
  • 8 Jul 2020
    • Singapore

    Singaporeans’ tricky exercise in tactical voting

    Kirsten Han
    The ruling PAP wants a “strong mandate”, while the opposition relies on electoral quirks and the guesswork of voters.
  • 14 May 2020
    • Australia
    • Technology
    • Singapore
    • Coronavirus
    • Human rights

    Covid-19 and the acceleration of state surveillance

    Muhammad Faizal Abdul Rahman
    The pandemic has suddenly made the unthinkable acceptable. Data and privacy may never be the same.
  • 8 Apr 2020
    • Singapore
    • Coronavirus

    Covid forces Singapore to confront conditions for its migrant workers

    Kirsten Han
    Infections have seen several crowded dormitories locked down and put a spotlight on the treatment of city’s builders.
  • 30 Mar 2020
    • Singapore

    Singapore’s vulnerability: A large and growing pool of older people

    Stephen Dziedzic
    The city state leads in the fight against the virus, but in the longer term, an ageing population is another challenge.
  • 19 Mar 2020
    • Singapore
    • Coronavirus

    Is Singapore feeling safe enough to go to the polls?

    Kirsten Han
    All signs point to a looming election, but nothing is official so far – and a ballot in a pandemic is a big risk.
  • 26 Feb 2020
    • Singapore

    Singapore: Hedging with hope

    Stephen Dziedzic
    The gift of geography has made Singapore wealthy, yet also puts the city-state at a choke point in regional competition.
  • 12 Feb 2020
    • Singapore

    Singapore’s quarrel over colonialism

    Stephen Dziedzic
    The affluent city-state gained independence over a half-century ago, but a deeper past is still present.
  • 3 Dec 2019
    • Technology
    • Singapore

    As Facebook caves to Singapore censorship, the writing is on the wall

    Kirsten Han
    The tech giant’s capitulation, while unsurprising, sets an ominous precedent that others would be happy to follow.
  • 8 Aug 2019
    • Singapore

    The backlash to “brownface” in Singapore

    Sangeetha Thanapal
    <p>A racist advert on the state broadcaster has again thrust tensions about Singapore society into the limelight.</p>
  • 24 Jul 2019
    • Singapore
    • Hong Kong

    Hong Kong’s political trouble is Singapore’s gain

    Jason Lim
    History looks to be repeating, as earlier strife in Hong Kong helped the rise of another of Asia’s island cities.
  • 16 Jul 2019
    • Singapore

    The guessing game for Singapore’s elections

    Kirsten Han
    The scramble for the ballot box where the boundaries are redrawn at every election and the PM controls the timing.
  • 6 Jun 2019
    • Asia
    • United States
    • China
    • Singapore

    Singapore steers the US-China extremes at Shangri-la

    Richard McGregor
    Was Lee Hsien Loong critical of China, giving the stick to America, or perhaps resigned he could please neither?
  • 8 Apr 2019
    • Singapore

    Singapore: a fake news law which is actually very bad news

    Kirsten Han
    Human rights groups and big businesses alike fear a new law could have major repercussions, including overseas.
  • 15 Mar 2019
    • Defence & Security
    • Singapore

    Singapore’s careful F-35 fighter aircraft purchase

    Peter Layton
    With these flying advanced sensor arrays, the aim could be to protect Singapore as Switzerland of Southeast Asia.
  • 14 Feb 2019
    • Malaysia
    • Singapore

    Spats in the straits between Malaysia and Singapore

    Bec Strating
    The diplomatic tit-for-tat between the two neighbours for the territorial claim of the waterway has a long history.
  • 12 Feb 2019
    • Singapore

    Singapore: data leaks in a “Smart Nation”

    Kirsten Han
    Robust processes and security apparatus are needed before embracing the collection of vast amounts of sensitive data.
  • 7 Nov 2018
    • Singapore

    Singapore: policing social media

    Kirsten Han
    Chatter and dissent are now taking place online while freedom of expression and assembly are curbed elsewhere.
  • 29 Oct 2018
    • Singapore

    The last man executed in Singapore, until the next

    Kirsten Han
    Singapore doubles down as Malaysia retreats from the death penalty.
  • 19 Sep 2018
    • Asia
    • Singapore

    The fight to repeal anti-gay laws in Singapore

    Kirsten Han
    The movement to repeal a colonial era ban is gaining momentum, despite the skewed social and political playing field.
  • 9 Aug 2018
    • Asia
    • China
    • Singapore

    The many ways to be Chinese Singaporean

    Kirsten Han
    Beijing’s attempts to appeal to young Chinese Singaporeans may fall on deaf ears.
  • 31 May 2018
    • Singapore

    Change in Malaysia, awkward questions for Singapore

    Kirsten Han
    <p>Singapore, a country that has also been ruled by the same party since independence, is&nbsp;watching as its&nbsp;close neighbour&nbsp;strikes out on a new path.</p>
  • 24 May 2018
    • Singapore

    Operation Coldstore: Singapore’s struggle to confront history

    Kirsten Han
    A gruelling parliamentary hearing has opened a debate on a largely forgotten official crackdown in the Asian city state.

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